Concerning feathered paddlewheels...

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I found another interesting one. I think the central sprocket is stationary. This looks pretty simple with just a chain and sprockets, and that's usually what the final drive is anyway, a chain and a sprocket, so it's apparently rugged enough. This doesn't have all those cams and levers in other designs, which schemes don't keep the paddles all that vertical anyways. These are completely vertical 100% of the time.

I don't know if any paddle feathering is actually needed though. I believe the normal paddle wheel is efficient enough without the added complexity, the problem with paddle wheels is the whole paddle wheel apparatus is just generally cumbersome and inconvenient compared to propellers. It just depends on if you want a paddle wheel or not.

Patente US1811031 - Water wheel http://www.google.st/patents/US1811031

 

They make this excellent point

"In the side wheel drive one of the most frequent troubles is caused by drift in the form of floating logs which enter the wheel when the radial paddle wheel is used. In our wheel with the paddles always in a vertical position there is no chance for drift to enter, as it is pushed down under the wheel."

 

Ask and you shall receive: the last patent is nearly something I've been thinking about. Not quite, but nearly. For what it is, replacing the chain with a modern belt may be an improvement for requiring less in the way of lubrication, at least for fresh water (not sure drive belt materials are commonly made for sea water). That minor modification should still be covered by the patent (so not patentable).

 

Cyclorotor - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclorotor
Voith | Voith Schneider Propeller http://www.voith.com/ca-en/products-services/power-transmission/voith-schneider-propeller-10002.html

Many years ago I ran into a fellow who operated the ferrys at Galena Bay in British Columbia. He had discussed the propulsion system that he said was basically paddle wheels on end, ie vertical shaft
The links above show the system. The blades/paddle angle of attack change the direction of thrust
Quite interesting

 

The Voith is a fascinating technology. It's ability to vector thrust might even make it suitable for a completely bonkers sub with one or two of these sticking from each side.

 

From SamSam: "I found another interesting one..................... This doesn't have all those cams and levers in other designs, which schemes don't keep the paddles all that vertical anyways. These are completely vertical 100% of the time.................... I believe the normal paddle wheel is efficient enough without the added complexity, the problem with paddle wheels is the whole paddle wheel apparatus is just generally cumbersome and inconvenient compared to propellers. It just depends on if you want a paddle wheel or not."

A few incorrect statements here.

The feathering paddlewheels of the last half of the 19th century had no cams whatsoever. At least I have never seen cams on the feathering mechanisms, and I have examined hundreds.

Keeping the paddles perfectly vertical is presented in the patent SamSam is examining, but the old conventional feathering mechanisms could be configured to do just that also, however, the optimum hydrodynamic geometry would not seek to always keep the paddles vertical anyway.

Conventional paddlewheel (with fixed paddles) is "efficient enough" without all the complexity of a feathering mechanism? I guess that depends on your priorities, the feathering wheels were on the order of 15%-25% better propulsive efficiency than the fixed paddle designs. This is at the expense of having the feathering mechanism, and (in the case of my sidewheeler) having 72 rotating joints in the water. I have run for 3 years with fixed paddles, then I made feathering wheels, they have been in service for 4 years now, without any failures.

Yes, screw propellers are a much better design, except when you want to run in shallow water, or in water with underwater grass, which stops many steamers these days. Pictures follow,Margaret S. Sidewheeler, with fixed paddles, and feathering wheels fitted later.

 

I would expect feathering wheels to kick up less water, at least when going faster, but what about noise? Does that in your experience translate into much less noise?

 

Feathering wheels kick up less splashing, so less splashing noise. But all those joints working back and forth add some machinery noise. Not very noisy on either account tho. The rotating joints on my wheels are 5/8 inch diameter Nylon bolts, running in ordinary steel nuts. They are lubed with special food grade grease, and believe it or not the grease does not wash out with years of very much washing action. I chose the Nylon bolts so they could break if I hit something badly, rather than bending up the paddles. I think they are plenty strong tho, having hit underwater logs several times without breaking anything. Actually the wheels, shafts, etc. are from a truck, so they can take plenty of load. Boat speed is about 5mph max.

 

Brilliant idea
I am having anger issues with the inability to easily add images in this new system,

This is a terrific picture of a tug with twin versions


By Voith AG, Heidenheim, Attribution, File:VSPsurtug.jpg - Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2984404

 

I just had a brain flash - if you could rotate the central sprocket, to adjust the camber operation - you could have the bottom blades feather to horizontal ( flat ). That would enable you to walk the 'boat' out of the water onto land, using the blades as 'tracks'. Real amphibian operation.

 

"with the paddles (for the sprocket feathering system patent) always in a vertical position there is no chance for drift to enter, as it is pushed down under the wheel."

That may be a patent claim, but I think the paddles would still have a probability of running afoul of floating debris while underway. It would be a valid claim if the boat were tied stationary, with no relative water flow toward the wheel as would occur if the boat were moving forward. Floating logs and branches have all kinds of shapes, and with a conventional wheel, 95% of them are forced downward and pass under the wheel, same with conventional articulated wheels. Maybe the sprocket wheel is a little better , but an irregular shaped floating tree branch could jam into any of the three types mentioned here.

The Voith propeller wheel, with vertical shaft, works very well. I expect the installation cost is far more than a conventional screw propeller. Does anyone have some direct experience with their cost, and maintenance expense?

 

I think that the BC government took the Voith ferrys out of service in maybe 2013-14 and replaced them with new ferrys with props. So the engineers/ bean counters must have felt that props were going to be better