A Modular Riverboat

I've designed paddle riverboats in the past, but in all cases the paddles where free wheeling and the drive was from well mounted outboards. The paddles still turned, but you had the maneuverability and efficiency of the outboards.

I'd shy away from pontoons if you can and go with a mono hull. You get more capacity, you only have to build one hull, you don't have to worry about attachment of the 'toons, etc. An added benefit of the mono hull is you can stow all the hardware and equipment below decks, out of sight and with some level of noise reduction too. Run the exhaust from the gen set(s) up a stack.

They certainly could be liability and other issues associated with this, particularly if you offer rides or services for payment. Sort out the aesthetics after you've solved the capacity and equipment issues.

 

There are already a couple of 'paddle wheel' cruiser vessels on the Thames, even if it not their native environment.


http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fz7EnjWlV.../fIY4L4qSzv0/s1600/thames luxury charters.jpg

 

I agree that on forums no one really knows what other people know, or even have in mind. Just for the record I appreciate all feedback and thoughts, and I'm never insulted by anything precisely for the reasons you point out here.

However, just to clarify, I came here seeking information on how I might go about finding plans to build the craft I'm attempting to describe. I didn't come here for advice on band equipment. I have that covered already and so it's just not an issue that I'm interested in discussing on this boat forum.

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As some background for the project I should explain that we have actually already done this in canoes already.

We took three canoes down the river along with acoustical instruments. The acoustical instruments consisted of bongos, acoustical rhythm and lead guitars, a saxophone, harmonica, and a singer who had nothing but her own voice to work with.

No amplification of any kind. This worked out quite well. The river is quiet and the canoes make no noise at all to compete with. The people along the shore appeared to have no problem hearing us.

It was from this experience that we came up with the idea of doing this on a larger scale. The idea of having a full set of drums, and electric guitars was a natural extension of this, and of course the vocalist would do well to have a PA system to keep up with that. But we don't feel that we need to have super powerful professional grade equipment to manage this. We also aren't expecting super large crowds of fans.

We're just toying with an idea of having some fun on a purely hobby level no profit is expected. So that's where we're coming from. The idea is simply being upgraded from using canoes to obtaining a larger platform where amplified equipment can come onto play. It's not going to be a rig that would satisfy the needs of a popular professional rock group. No argument there.

So that's not an issue I care to get bogged down with here.


Back to the topic of building the Boat

My purpose here is mainly to seek out PLANS for similar boats. I would love to see the actual blueprints for the Paddellac. Not that I would copy it directly but it's always nice to see the details of how other people have done things so I can get ideas to design my own craft.

If I built something like the Paddellac I think I would move the paddles further aft along with the pilot's seat and steering wheel. But the general idea is interesting. Those paddle wheels could probably be "inset" into the main body so they don't stick out the sides too.

There are a lot of possible variations. This is why I would like to see as many examples as I can find. And especially actual drawings of detailed plans would be super great.

So just plans for small paddle wheel boats would be appreciated.

In the end I'm basically talking about building two paddle wheel "tugs" that are pushing around two flat barges.

I'll deal with all the other problems that might be associated with the proposed cargo and passengers separately. I only described how I intend to use the craft to give an idea of how it will be used. Not for the intent of seeking advice on what it takes for a band to be heard on the river.

 

I have a bar-owner friend that would have rock and roll bands and If I remember right, he only needed one 120V 20amp circuit. If that's the case, that's a small generator, if not the smallest.

The Paddellac pictured above is just a converted pontoon boat, you can see the 'toons at the front. So, it's probably 8' wide and that one doesn't look very long, maybe 20' ?

You can buy them pretty cheap, boat motor and trailer. You could load all your stuff on the boat, drive down the road, launch it and wouldn't have to be carting everything on and off the boat a number of times.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8QAF9sZwDc

Found this...

http://shantyboatliving.com/2011/1117/

Then there's this little deathtrap that might give you some ideas on how to make it look steamboaty. Oddly enough, my bar owner friend is building one.

http://www.svensons.com/boat/?p=PaddleBoats/Showboat

 

Thanks.

That's the kind of drawings and plans I'm looking for.

Not that I would build this precise boat. But the plans and drawings give me a lot of ideas. So thanks for posting this little showboat.

I'm still thinking that something like that Paddellac is pretty close to the idea I have in mind.

But yeah, drawings like this is what I came to get.

 

Sorry Sweet Dreamer I can see you are visibly upset.

However you have missed my point. I am talking about the boat.

Weight distribution on a barge is very important, you need to make sure exactly what your carrying and where it is going otherwise your barge could float at 45 degrees.

My point was to make sure you have the right sized equipment and next is its weight and where it is going.

But I'll leave you to your dream.

Bye

Poida

 

I thank you for your concern.

In this project all of that has been taken into consideration. All band equipment will be very tightly secured in spaces built specifically for it with weight and balance having been taken into account. This boat will be built specifically with this purpose in mind.

Everyone on-board this boat will also be well-informed and aware of all of the safety issues.

I do appreciate you bringing up this issue in case others reading this thread are inspired to build a similar craft. Yes, planning out weight distribution and securing cargo is an important factor in boating. In this case all band equipment should be treated as cargo and fastened securely in proper lockers, or bays.

I am in total agreement with this.

In the meantime none of that can even begin until we have a boat design to build around.

So I'm hoping to start from the beginning. The first thing I need is a basic boat design to build around.

The Paddellac has really caught my interest. I see a lot of potential in that basic design. Even watching the videos of the Paddellac I see extreme instability in terms of bobbing right and left.

Stability is an important factor here, especially if we include dancers.

Toward that end I have already come up with an idea of having additional pontoons that extend outward on the sides. Kind of how some canoes have been built as in this photo:



We could have pontoons that extend far wider than the 8 foot trailer limit. This would give us added stability whilst still maintaining a craft that can easily be moved by trailer.

I'm not sure if this would really be necessary though since we will already have two barges and tugs chained together. We will already have a 16 foot width. That alone will already provide a great deal more stability than the single 8 foot wide vessels alone. Added extension pontoons may be an unnecessary over-kill. But certainly something worth taking under consideration.

 

I drew up some preliminary scratch drawings.



This is just one tug and one barge.

I'll put the pilot shed just over the tug motor. This will raise up the pilot house for a better view for the captain. Then all the amplifier equipment and electric power generator can be placed at the front end of the barges. Also placing them on a higher deck to get them up away from splashing water.

The central deck will then just be a flat area where band can have secure seats to sit on. Most everyone will probably want to sit down save for maybe the singer and any dancers.

Dancers could potentially dance on the elevated deck where the amps will be.

These amps won't be standard musical amps. They will be "heads" without speakers. In fact, I'm thinking that the speakers might be best mounted up high on beams like in the drawing below. Using outdoor horn type speakers. These beams could also serve as a place for lighting at night.



This is exciting! I'm almost ready to start building.

Two of these rigs tied together side-by-side should be more than enough room and plenty stable. I don't think the out-rigger pontoons would really be necessary, but that's always a thought to keep in mind. They could be added later if required.

 

I just realized also, with four barges like this it will only be 3 persons per barge for a total of 12 persons. This should be quite stable actually. Each person will understand that they are assigned to their particular barge. Not that we couldn't walk around a bit, but we'd just need to be aware that walking around from barge to barge could potentially introduce instability.

I think this set up will be very stable for a max crew of 12 people. That's only 3 persons per boat.

I think that Paddellac had seven people on board.

 

modular boat

I have also a modular catamaran project. It is still at the design stage for the hulls (60 ft total length) in CM okoume/epoxy.
One interesting aspect is what is the legal size of the boat. Could it be a 30 ft boat with 18 ft forward hulls and 12 ft aft hulls (bolted additions) , they would fold inward creating a 30ft L x 17 ft (beam) in a marina for example.

I like your idea of the wheel as a propulsion especially in shallows. I would consider having some kind of flexible ends in case you hit. I used tail boats in asia in shallows and algeas areas. In my design, everything (mostly) will have at least two purposes onboard. Oherwise you would have to make the wheel out of light materials with hardly any structural . On a river ! why not create an hydro power generator at anchor or mooring ? Now you have 3 purposes justifying it.

 

That is a really brilliant idea and would make a lot of sense for someone who is building a riverboat to use for long-term occupancy.

In the case of my project it probably wouldn't be worth the extra materials (i.e. generators and mechanism) simply because we won't be using this rig for long-term residency. But yes, that's a brilliant idea and probably wouldn't take that much to implement. All you really need is a way to switch the drive mechanism between motors for power out, and generators for power in.

If I was planning on living on this thing for extended periods I'd definitely consider that. But for our purposes it would just be unnecessary extra cost and weight of the generators.

Although you could probably get by with something as small as a car alternator. I'll keep in it mind. When it comes time to design the drive mechanism in detail that's when the decision will be made whether to include this feature or not.

Thanks for the idea though. It's a really great idea.

 

Hull Design

I'm on a roll here.

I've decided on building the barges 8 feet wide by 20 feet long.

Here's my preliminary drawing: It's not much but it's a start.



Now the question is what construction method should I use to move forward with?

I'm thinking of two possibilities.

#1 A mono-hull construction using wooden framing covered with a fiberglass skin.

What are the pros and cons of this approach? What will the costs be?

#2 build pontoon barges using plastic corrugated culvert pipes.

The idea here is cost effective? I won't know if this is cost effective until I research the cost of both methods of construction.

If I go the pontoon route I'm thinking of actually running the culvert pipes sideways instead of lengthwise. This is because they are corrugated so I may as well allow the corrugations to run in the direction of motion.

Barges are just floating docks being pushed around. This project doesn't need speed or efficiency. So if this method is cost effective it might be the wiser choice.

I prefer the wood/fiberglass mono hulls, so I'll be looking into that as well.

Any other construction method ideas?

I've thought about multiple aluminum pontoons but that could be quite costly I would think.

 

Epoxy over scarfed plywood panels glued together with epoxy and wood flour putty. Fiberglass tape over all joints. Stitch and glue if you like or use a minimum of framing to give shape when bending the panels. I am trying to decide if it would be better to build the first one while making patterns to see if it works and then building the other three on an assembly line, or just building all four at once since they are simple shapes and will probably work just fine first try.

 

Thank you for the construction tips.

I wonder how deep I should make these. I don't have a depth on my drawing yet because I haven't yet decided on one.

I'm thinking somewhere between 2 to 3 feet deep?

Is there an optimal depth?

The deeper I make them the higher they should float above the water line right?

What's a good procedure for deciding on the depth of these hulls?

Is there any negative side-effects from making them too deep?

I guess I should do some calculations on how much weight I'll be placing on these. Engines, cabins, people, other equipment. I can probably come up with some trustworthy ball-park figures fairly quickly.

I'm not sure about the engines yet. I'm thinking of using twin cylinder Briggs and Stratton engines like are used on garden tractors. Probably in the neighborhood of 12 to 18 hp each. That should be enough to push this stuff around. We don't need any major speed. And with the paddle wheel propulsion we won't need high-revving engines either. So these should do quite nicely.

I'll mount these engines as far forward as practical below the pilot cabin to help distribute the weight.

I guess I'll need to consider the weight of the paddle wheels themselves too.

Lots of numbers to crunch yet.

In the meantime is there a rule-of-thumb for a depth for a 20 foot barge hull?

It would be nice to have these things riding high above the waterline so if deeper means a higher decks then I'm all for deep hulls.

The river we will use this boat on is quite deep, so there's no problem at that end of things.

 

Scratch the culvert pipe idea! That stuff's not cheap! I thought it was cheap. Forget that.

So yeah, a real wood-fiberglass hull is the way to go. So that's the design we'll focus on at this stage.

Also, we have a portable sawmill and trees. So lumber is basically free for all intents and purposes.

We have the choice of White Pine, Oak, Cherry, Maple, and possibly Spruce. Not sure about the Spruce.

Which wood would be the best choice for framing? I'm guessing it will be Spruce, but that may not actually be on the list. I'll have to check into that. White Pine, Oak, Cherry and Maple are all plentiful around here. So all those woods are a GO!

I'd like to avoid having to buy marine plywood if at all possible. That's stuff's expensive.

I'd rather used wooden slats and cover them with fiberglass or just tongue and groove them and cover with epoxy paint.

We basically have all the wood we want for free (other than the labor of making the lumber, but that's no problem). We don't mind the work. And we have a full woodshop so tools are no problem.

So wooden hulls are the key to our financial success. Fiberglass can be used to cover the bottom I suppose. It could be pretty thin since it's just for water-proofing the wood.

We might be able to just get by with paint, and annual maintenance?

Wooden boats used to work before fiberglass came along.