Designing a boat at age 12

[confused]

I know apex1, how you said not to use steam engines for a couple more years or whatever, but pleasse just tell me if this engine will work on my 8 footer! It is machined, so I dont have to worry about that, I guess give me your opinion what you think about using it on my boat. I really want to use a steam engine on my boat. I have chronic steam engine disese. It might be a little contagious, but it ain't that bad. http://cgi.ebay.com/Live-Steam-Marin...3A1%7C294%3A50 I mean, I don't want the ugly buzzing of a gasoline outboard scaring away all of the wildlife, and ruining the piece and quite.

Originally Posted by confused

I know apex1, how you said not to use steam engines for a couple more years or whatever, but pleasse just tell me if this engine will work on my 8 footer! It is machined, so I dont have to worry about that, I guess give me your opinion what you think about using it on my boat. I really want to use a steam engine on my boat. I have chronic steam engine disese. It might be a little contagious, but it ain't that bad. http://cgi.ebay.com/Live-Steam-Marin...3A1%7C294%3A50 I mean, I don't want the ugly buzzing of a gasoline outboard scaring away all of the wildlife, and ruining the piece and quite.

wait for a moment I calculate ............edited: NO!
wait I´ll find a solution.
You know this site?:
http://www.smokstak.com/forum/showthread.php?t=14185

[confused]

thanks!

[marshmat]

If quiet, and not scaring the wildlife, is an important design factor, how about looking at electric?

Trolling motors are cheap, nearly silent, work well at low speeds, and aren't too hard to modify for unusual applications. They're not so sexy, though. Of course, there is the problem of limited range- you end up needing either a rather large set of batteries, or a small gas generator, if you want to go far.

With a bit of creativity, I think one could come up with a pretty sleek looking boat in the 8 to 12 foot range that would move along smartly with an inexpensive (and concealed) electric motor, and would still be nice to row and easy to carry up on the beach, or to the car, etc.

Just a thought.

[confused]

haha! electric motors are too heavy, and they suck! (no offense) and, with the heavy battery (probably a car battery) they be even heavier..
Oh, and apex1, do ya think that I might be able to put a small gear train in to increase the power alittle? yeah, I know smokstak. been there before.

Originally Posted by confused

I know apex1, how you said not to use steam engines for a couple more years or whatever, but pleasse just tell me if this engine will work on my 8 footer! I mean, I don't want the ugly buzzing of a gasoline outboard scaring away all of the wildlife, and ruining the piece and quite.

I just have the opinion, that a sort of lower level entry is far easier to achieve and not as frustrating!
I am for sure the last one to keep you off steam technology. the exact opposite..
The tiny engine you mentioned is really just a toy. Apart from the lack of quality, the size is too small to move your boat. You´ll need a cyl. diam. of at least 1,5 inch to achieve the power required (1/4 to 1/3 ihp). If you manage to find such engine do not forget to find a compatible boiler as well. The latter is more difficult.
Search for old "Stuart", "Stuart Turner", "Alex Ritchie" "Blackstaffe & Wood" engines, sometimes they are sold together with the boiler. Never within your todays budget.
Find the steam community in your neighbourhood! You will definitively find someone who lends, gives or builds you an appropriate installation if you have proven to pursue your target.
Bad news for today I regret to say that.
If you can manage to find a little "Stirling Motor" you have won the first race. The Stirling can be operated by a simple (and safe) propane gas burner and is more efficient than steam. Moreover the overall weight of the installation is less than half the weight of steam technique.
Let me know your opinions.
Regards
Richard

[confused]

thanks. I know where to find stirling motors at. I'll give you the link so you can see if it's the right type. I think that I'll stick with the steam engine (just as a birthday present). I'll find a stirling motor for the boat still though. http://www.tinypower.com/store2.php?...mode=cat_click and with quality comes the price

Originally Posted by confused

thanks. I know where to find stirling motors at. I'll give you the link so you can see if it's the right type. I think that I'll stick with the steam engine (just as a birthday present). I'll find a stirling motor for the boat still though. http://www.tinypower.com/store2.php?...mode=cat_click

Technically they are Sterling engines, but I mean a real one.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stirling_engine
A old Philips for example.
edit:
another steam link:
http://www.steamboating.de/stuff/stuff-main.html

[confused]

I see...maybe this idea? I could modify the gasoline engine to burn wvo, maybe I could just take the cylinder and piston out, and the crankshaft, all the necessary stuff, except the sparkplug. then, I heat up the head of the cylinder until it is hot enought to combust oil, and after I fill the gas tank with wvo, I could turn the engine over and when the fuel inlet valve opens, it lets fuel in which touches the hot inner surface of the cylinder and ignites. if it doesn't work, what have I got to lose? a piece of c--- engine.

[marshmat]

Stirling engines are fun. Nice and quiet, and if well designed can be reasonably powerful. They don't have a steam engine's torque, preferring to build up a few RPM, but are lighter and generally more efficient. A real Stirling engine will run pretty much forever with very little maintenance. If, that is, you can find one.

haha! electric motors are too heavy, and they suck! (no offense) and, with the heavy battery (probably a car battery) they be even heavier..

LOL. You might want to try lifting one up sometime. On the last solar car I worked on, we built an electric motor right into the wheel, the complete assembly weighed maybe 20 kg (add another 5 kg for controller, plus whatever batteries you use- 30 kg in our case, which is about what a full 30 L gas tank weighs). It could give us good bursts of 5+ kW, about double the power of the diesels you've been mentioning despite weighing 1/4 as much. We could do burnouts in the parking lot, the torque was amazing if you set things up right. With the solar array unplugged it could run for 300 km on about 40 cents worth of electricity. We had a nice custom bank of lithium polymer batteries for that one, that would not be available (or advisable) for a home builder.

A trolling motor's not as sophisticated as a solar car drive, of course, but still packs a decent whallop of thrust in a compact, cheap package.

[confused]

ok. ok. sorry...(haha) I have an idea forming in my head... (please let this work God!) I was thinking about that steam engine that I want for my birthday, I could somehow make it run on wvo, like I could attach the steam inlet pipe to an air and fuel inlet, and it would work this way: after attaching the steam inlet pipe to a wvo tank, and putting a seperate pipe for air to come through, I will fill up the tank with wvo, heat up the head of the cylinder to the combustion point of the oil, and turn the engine over, and when the inlet valve opens letting in wvo and air, the wvo touches the inside of the cylinder and ignites, driving the piston, which turns the flywheel, etc, etc. It would make a nice little verticle hot bulb engine which might have more power than if it were running on steam. Sounds like it'll work to me.

Originally Posted by confused

ok. ok. sorry...(haha) I have an idea forming in my head... (please let this work God!) I was thinking about that steam engine that I want for my birthday, I could somehow make it run on wvo, like I could attach the steam inlet pipe to an air and fuel inlet, and it would work this way: after attaching the steam inlet pipe to a wvo tank, and putting a seperate pipe for air to come through, I will fill up the tank with wvo, heat up the head of the cylinder to the combustion point of the oil, and turn the engine over, and when the inlet valve opens letting in wvo and air, the wvo touches the inside of the cylinder and ignites, driving the piston, which turns the flywheel, etc, etc. It would make a nice little verticle hot bulb engine which might have more power than if it were running on steam. Sounds like it'll work to me.

That could work......................





.........once....



...I mean one ignition.......

The trouble with all Diesel engines wheather they burn Mc Donalds residue or mineral oil: the fuel has to be vaporized during injection and against the pressure of the upward going Piston, as a brief overview. A steam engine has´nt such equipment.
If you bring fuel to ignition as you describe, the cylinder will burst.

do´nt callme killjoy


Regards
Richard

[confused]

who called you killjoy? (I didn't)

Originally Posted by confused

who called you killjoy? (I didn't)

No. no..
Just sometimes I feel as if I was a sort of.

[confused]

yeah. I just stick with steam for steam engines. I could run it on compressed air though, or compressed water... don't open that attachment! (really) I was trying to attach a picture, it might be a virus. how'd that picture get there? (snicker)