The Unofficial Mamod and Other Steam Forum

mogogear · Last edited by mogogear on Fri Apr 04, 2008 9:59 pm; edited 1 time in total

She is officially Boat #4 but at least she has a factory name. So The Snipe arrived with the Bowman box all intact !!! I had just gotten in from a long flight back from the wilds of Alaska when my postman handed me the box!!! Yippee- Christmas in April.

So I quickly opened it - looked at it- ran across the street and bewildered my neighbors with this quaint little toy, peppered them with too many small details about "Bowman" etc..

NOTE: they all love me for my youthful exhuberation for things they know I love like... espresso machines, my home distillation of single malt scotch, and now Steam........ boats ......... - OK - onward!

So after the showing of the daughter and wife- I quickly hid in the shop and assessed condition and did the autopsy.

Here is what the parts look like- It really doesn't look like it got a ton of use and sat for some time.

Boiler and firebox- B condition

Hull over all- B ( bottom -C-)

Front screen- 95 original looking paint

Rudder still has almost new lacquered shine -A

Engine and flywheel still had red painted body with black painted tubing. Flywheel also still had a lacquered shininess!!--B+

Prop shaft and tube and prop- had so--- B+

Burner- used but still had white wicking in it and all green paint except for the tube. Tube still flexibly twistable... -B

Burner clip - Ok- C+

Boiler frame - some rust through at one end- D+ or C-

So here is the group of parts..

Now as discussed in another thread the screws employed by Bowman to attach the boiler frame, engine bracket and skeg stud all are counter sunk through the bottom of the hull and nutted on top a a thin flat washer. This is all done prior to painting. The hull bottom is thin so the possibility for leakage ands deterioration of the wood at this seal is likely over time addressed later with a repair method still yet to be chosen

Well that was a lot for the first post on this project, but I am very proud to be a Bowman Snipe Skipper!! I can't wait to get this one up and going and I will try to outline here , not so much every little detail of the process but ones that seem to be common repairs or things that all future Bowman or other boat owners might encounter when restoring.

Cheers and already thanks to Moose, Pete, Mamod123 and John for todays suggestions on the Snipe oiler thread here
http://modelsteam.myfreeforum.org/about10110.html

Thanks

_________________
regards,

Mo

This week I are His Most Noble Lord Mo, the Apocalyptic of Old Tonbridge Wafers

MooseMan · Posted: Fri Apr 04, 2008 7:31 pm Post subject:

Mo, that's about as good as they come - far better than average condition, and wonderfully complete. Hope you're a happy skipper!.
_________________
Stands the glass half empty,
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Blast your Buddhist mantra, man,
I'll take another pull.

mogogear · Posted: Fri Apr 04, 2008 7:35 pm Post subject:

Aye Admiral Moose-

I am happy about the small list of tasks at hand.. a smile a bit smaller than yours is firmly on my face

_________________
regards,

Mo

This week I are His Most Noble Lord Mo, the Apocalyptic of Old Tonbridge Wafers

RocDoc · Posted: Fri Apr 04, 2008 7:41 pm Post subject:

Shiver me timbers ... she's a real beaut she is ... ha haarrrr Jim lad, pieces of eight.

A nice boat Mo, good luck with the restoration.

Pete

mogogear · Posted: Fri Apr 04, 2008 8:03 pm Post subject:

Steve_S · Posted: Fri Apr 04, 2008 10:20 pm Post subject:

What a great boat! I'm very jealous... must get a boat.

Les · Posted: Fri Apr 04, 2008 10:47 pm Post subject:

That looks lovely, in not too bad a condition at all. You must be well chuffed.

_________________
Les - Old age isn't so bad when you consider the alternatives.

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mogogear · Posted: Fri Apr 04, 2008 11:28 pm Post subject:

Ahh my shop seems like Santas Christmas shop working on toys..

I even sanded, stained ( light) and sealed the Bowman crate she came in.. that is goofy I suppose.

Oh yes - busy hands are happy ones.. so mine are ecstatic!!

The bottom of the hull holes look to be the biggest project . then repaint the bottom. Some touch up a little paint on the engine, VHT the firebox, and take care of a few recommended mod's suggested by Moose and others.

I am going to re-build the wick tube on the burner- There were a few small tears at each end of the slot for the wick. I am going to solder some small brass bands in place- one at each end to strengthen it for the long haul. New ceramic fiber wick - and should be done with that.

So nothing earth shaking!!
_________________
regards,

Mo

This week I are His Most Noble Lord Mo, the Apocalyptic of Old Tonbridge Wafers

mogogear · Posted: Mon Apr 07, 2008 5:05 am Post subject:

A start on the Bowman burner..which I am showing here because the deterioration of these has to be a common issue.. I think

It was not in bad shape- of course I have never actually seen one in person. But considering the thin bras used in the "snout" the small tears at the ends of the wicking slot almost seemed expected.

So I decided to strengthen the tube by taking some brass bands I had, cut them as to make them "clamp on the slightly larger diameter tube. ( after cleaning and buffing and alcohol prep and then fluxing of course"!!)

So a before shot..

after the clean up - but before the bands in place

bands in place

and all the gear ready to solder

So here it is after a quick re-paint...

So a lot better I think..IMHO

I did not do a perfect job- but the tube is as strong as I was aiming for. So function a little over form.

A bit of caution as the tubing is very thin and the torch could easily melt the stuff if not careful

Also- I did not have VHT paint in this almost Bowman color... doesn't baking / curing this stuff still help it be more durable??
_________________
regards,

Mo

This week I are His Most Noble Lord Mo, the Apocalyptic of Old Tonbridge Wafers

mogogear · Posted: Mon Apr 07, 2008 5:08 am Post subject:

question about the burner,,,

Before I feed the new wicking back in.. Does the tube stop as it enters the body of the burner or does it turn downward to feed the wick into the bottom of the alcohol reservoir?

I assume I need to feed the new wicking sufficiently to not be left above the alcohol level when it lowers!!?
_________________
regards,

Mo

This week I are His Most Noble Lord Mo, the Apocalyptic of Old Tonbridge Wafers

Les · Posted: Mon Apr 07, 2008 6:43 am Post subject:

That is a nifty repair

, and as for the tube, it stops just after going into the body and all you do is feed plenty of wick back in to soak up the meths.
_________________
Les - Old age isn't so bad when you consider the alternatives.

www.freewebs.com/lesmarsh

mogogear · Posted: Mon Apr 07, 2008 3:49 pm Post subject:

Thanks Les!!
_________________
regards,

Mo

This week I are His Most Noble Lord Mo, the Apocalyptic of Old Tonbridge Wafers

mogogear · Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2008 4:40 am Post subject: Hull Holes!!

Ok, Great Snipe /but not floatable Snipe _ I Wanted a Snipe to steam, not to look at...So the holes that are in the hull from the boiler mounting bolts and the engine mounting bolts had all pulled through.

It is a rather a poor design and I have wrestled with how to address it. I had a improved design where I glued in vertical sleepers to the gunwales - drill a hole in each- epoxy in a thread insert and I could fit the boiler in place and no holes through the boat!!

But after arguing with "improve and repair" vs Restore faithfully .. I chose the middle ground. Moose had some good advice , Rocdoc did also as did Atticman and a few others..So here is what I did

After filing out the holes to get rid of any dry rot, I cut wood plugs, used resin for fiber glass application, mixed fine sawdust in to the brew and resined the plugs in place. WA LA- sandable, paintable..and drillable!!

I am going to re-drill them and insert some very nice and very flush, very corrosion proof and water proof bolts and washers.

But that is another chapter Lets just say 4- 40 stainless steel flat taper head for counter-sunk holes -stainless steel, hex drive bolts! with matching counter sunk stainless steel bonded neoprene insert washers!!! ( Of course that is for the water side of things) A matching neoprene washer will clamp down from the top side with a bit of silicone sealant in between. They can come off and will not corrode!! WOW that is a mouthful of adjectives.....

Back to hole filling...

The stuff Used- a 22 magnum, shell casing to punch holes out of some bass wood, a tack hammer, a file and some 2 part resin..

EDIT: Before I filled the holes - I also used a good wood sealer on the holes. This is an important step that Bogstandard and others helped me understand as the very first step to insure the wood stays ddry!!

Ok... now bang out some hole plugs
- about halfway through - I finished off the plug with the use of my handy el-cheapo-Harbor Freight bench grinder and fiber wheel!!

Now resin those puppies in place!! I didn't fit them exact, but they were very close.

The resin with the sawdust is a great idea that moose has thrown out there many times- some one taught him and I am claiming the goodness of it right again!! MORE FIBER makes the world better right?

Ok- Inside the hull

See that wasn't so bad!! Was it?

So all in all a pretty good day-
Oil trap- Check
Bolts and washers found - Check!!
Holes filled -CHECK!!!!

And .............................................................

The firebox was re-painted VHT and baked in the oven for an
hour!!!

Good nite SHOP
_________________
regards,

Mo

This week I are His Most Noble Lord Mo, the Apocalyptic of Old Tonbridge Wafers

Les · Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2008 6:02 am Post subject:

Looking good so far. Thumbs up!

_________________
Les - Old age isn't so bad when you consider the alternatives.

www.freewebs.com/lesmarsh

MooseMan · Posted: Wed Apr 09, 2008 8:36 am Post subject:

Fantastic Mo! I may have mentioned mixing sawdust with glue a couple of times, but I NEVER thought of mixing it with resin - you can claim that one as your own without any pangs

I'll definitely try that one out next time I need a hole filling.
_________________
Stands the glass half empty,
Or stands the glass half full?
Blast your Buddhist mantra, man,
I'll take another pull.