has any one built a Bolger paddlewheel?

[seafox]

Hi
back in about 2001 about 4 people were talking about building the paddlewheel Phil bolger designed for his fast sternwheeler, but I never heard if any one had or if it worked?

it consists of a closed cylinder with many small cletes on it and was intended to turn at higher speeds than a regular paddle wheel. almost like the tread on a tracter tire perhapse it would get its propulsion by the amount of water it axcelerated backwards
thankyou for your comments
jeff

[paladin]

I have a set of plans for a large sidewheeler intended as a day boat with gambling, dinners or whatever aboard.....similar to a couple of the Mississippi boats. It would make an interesting project.

[boylesboats]

Harold "Dynamite" Payson built one in his book "Build The New Instant Boats"...
http://www.woodenboatstore.com/prodinfo.asp?number=300%2D152
http://www.duckworksbbs.com/media/books/payson/index.htm

it is basically a pedal-driven sidewheeler, the plan is inside this book starting on page 117...

[doorstop]

Which is most efficient a side wheeler or a stern wheeler and why??
Please...

[P.L.Lenihan]

Good question. I would be inclined to say a stern wheeler since;
1)the paddles operate in solid water,all the time,regardless of how much the boat rolls.
2) the paddles get"fed" solid water from the flow rising up from beneath the hull as it moves forward.
3)you can get greater paddle surface area from one large stern wheel then two smaller side wheels.
4)More constant thrust unlike side wheels which have to deal with irregular waves on either side of the hull,especially if turning sharply.

None of the above applies,I think, if we are talking about paddle boats intended for still,protected water use.

Peter

[doorstop]

Surely the side wheelers paddles are encountering water less disturbed??

[P.L.Lenihan]

imagine the smooth flow of water leaving from behind and underneath the hull :)

Peter

[Mark Van]

Stern wheelers are more efficiient. During the peak of the steamboat era on the Mississippi, most of the boats were side wheelers, because they were more manouverable. When they started pushing barges, after the river was improved for navigation, all the tow boats were sternwheelers.

[Thorne]

Considering the amount of duckweed that is taking over the waterways, the paddlewheeler's day may come again!

;0(

[boylesboats]

Considering the amount of duckweed that is taking over the waterways, the paddlewheeler's day may come again!

;0(

He he he he :D now that is interesting Thorne...:D

[seafox]

Thankyou about HH Paysons second book but the boat in it ( the madiline) is as you say peddle powered and uses a radial wheel with solid ply wood sides
The bolger wheel was developed for a cartoon in the old small boat journal. the paddles or floats are 3/4th inch wide by 1 inch high(iirc) nailed to the face of a closed cylinder 36 inched diamiter and 6?feet long.
Mr Bolger judged that the area of the cleats would be like the swept area of a propeller blade and predicted it would need a 125 horse power engine. the cylinder would spin very quickly and spray water backwards in a great rooster tail.

thankyou
jeff

[seafox]

I wonder if the switch to stern wheeler for tow boats was because side whels might be more subject to dammage? or perhapse since tow boats would sometimes be lashed sideways at the end of a group of barges for manoverability side wheels would be between the barges and the boats hull and if they moved ( bent) wrong the side wheel would be distroyed?

also since stern wheelers often used a angine at each end of the wheel and off side their was no chance of the wheekl being cought at top or bottom dead center while for a side wheeler it would take 4 engines for the same effect?

[Mark Van]

I think the main reason towboats used sternwheels are that they are more powerfull than sidewheels. they are also less prone to damage from floating logs and stuff. they can operate in shallower water, because the hull can be slightly deeper than the wheel, so when running aground the wheel won't get damaged. Note that all the ocean going steamboats switched from sidewheels to propellers many years before the riverboats switched to props. They were still using sternwheel boats on the Mississippi in the 1950's.

[seafox]

the british navy as late as the 1950s was ordering paddle wheel harbor tugs that I belive were side wheelers and had paddle wheel mine sweepers built durring the first world war they had a draft of 8 to 9 feet but sometimes it still wasn't shallow enough
jeff