Construction of the Vernon C. Ledbetter
More Time Passes
Well, here it is, Fall of 2008, and I'm just getting around to up-dating my progress on Vern. Perhaps a brief word of explanation is called for.
For those who don't know, my wife, Marilyn, and I live full time on board our paddlewheeler, the Gambler. We have since 2002 and, every since we built the boat twenty-five years ago, it's been moored on the Ohio River..............most recently at mile 203. During February of 2007, we had a very close call with ice on the river. This prompted us to move up river about 120 miles to a 'safe harbor marina'....mile 81. It's called Rayland Marina and is owned by friends, Rick and Rachelle DeMent, and, since it is in off the main body of the river, there is no flowing ice. Of course, I brought Vern along. However, during the summer of 2007, I got involved in helping out around the marina and had no time to work on Vern. I did take some time this summer.... 2008.... to do some more work and this is chronicled below.
The first thing I needed to do was build the top and see how much weight this would add. I framed the top with plain, ol' spruce 2x4's so it would be light and they would hold paint. I chose corrugated vinyl, beige colored, for the roofing material and clear, white pine for the 'bull rails'.
I thought that covering the entire 18 foot length of the deck would make the appearance a bit 'funky' and, since the vinyl roofing only came in 12 foot lengths, I decided to make the top 12 feet long by 7 feet wide. I 'narrowed' it from the 8 foot deck width for two reasons. One, since all vessels will 'bob' in the water, I didn't want the top banging into other vessels or lock walls. Two, the vinyl covered 2 feet in width so, by making the top 7 feet wide, this allowed me to wrap the vinyl completely down over the side framing (this also keeps it from looking like a box and adds a 'touch of class'). This all worked out to weigh about 220 pounds and with about 50 pounds for the carpet, I have 270 pounds to add to the existing 2354 pounds. This makes 2624 pounds or 64 pounds (one beer cooler) over my 'upper limit for 6 passengers' at 11 inch draft.............that's pretty close........I think I can live with this. The picture below shows the top with the carpet and Power Module (I don't know why the grill over the Power Module looks funky....must be do to some change in picture resolution). The exact location of the Power Module has not yet been established.
If you remember, I had all the fabrication work done on the Drive Module except painting and the Power Module was ready to install. I wanted the steel components of the Drive Module to surface rust so that cleaning and painting would be easier (surface rust removes mill scale thus sandblasting is not needed). Well, in over a year, it rusted so, I wire-brushed all the steel of the drive module including the rudders and paddlewheel, primed them with Rustoleom 'Rusty Metal Primer' then top-coated with Rustoleom...... White for the frame and Red for the paddlewheel. Below is the Drive Module painted and installed.
You will notice the oil cooler above the monkey rudder. However, after using some 'redneck logic', I removed it. Why? Well, I wasn't sure if I needed it; some 'experts' said yes and others said no. The only way, I could think of, to find out was to start without it and see if the hydraulic oil got too hot; if it did, I could re-install it. If not, one less item to worry about.
Time to start bolting things in place.............like the jackshaft and drive sprocket.
Next comes the drive chain and hydraulic motor. Notice the 'splash bulkhead' in front of the paddlewheel. I originally made this using the same beige colored vinyl as the roof, however, I didn't like the fact that I couldn't see the paddlewheel while sitting at the helm, so, I changed later to 'clear polycarbonate'. I figured I needed to see the paddlewheel, especially when working in close, so I could tell when it was safe to change directions. Remember, this is hydraulic drive; there is no 'slip' in the system.
I didn't want Vern to be just another 'pretty face' on the river...........I have visions (perhaps nightmares) of this vessel doing some work; perhaps pushing a party barge or assisting other vessels that are in distress. To that end, I added 'tow knees'. They're shown below without the oak 4 x 4's which will bolt inside the channel iron pockets.
After I trimmed and nailed the carpet to the lower edge of the deck, I ripped some 5/4 by 6 inch treated deck boards for a 'rub rail'. These were installed along the deck edge with 3/4 inch treated plywood spacers between the rail and the carpet.
Notice, I held the vertical, Top supports (bull rail posts) up so that the carpet could lay underneath. The carpet is notched for the metal plates that anchor the vertical supports.
Forward, I had to square off the rub rails to protect the 'splash guards' which were built onto the pontoons. The cute wheels are to protect the square corner and for keeping me off lock walls and docks.
Then, of course, there's an anchor. It rests, partially in a slot, in the vertical 2 x 4. The 'rode' keeps it in the slot and the line....all 60 feet.....hangs on a bracket forward.
I guess it's time to discuss the placement of the Power Module. Originally, I was going to use electronic scales placed at the four corners, with everything else in place, to locate the module so that the vessel would be 'in trim' when in the water. However, remember, paddlewheels are 'depth sensitive'. Too high and power is lost. Too low and power is wasted. Also, most, if not all, vessels perform best when in trim. Since I designed Vern to handle six adults, I thought it should be 'stern high' or, out of trim when in 'light boat' condition. The passengers would all be seated aft of the center of buoyancy and, thus, bring the vessel into trim. Therefore, to establish the correct position of the Power Module, I did a 'vector analysis' or, perhaps more accurately, a 'summation of moments'. A moment is a 'torque' created by a force acting at some distance from a fixed point. In this case, the forces are the 'weights of each component' (i.e. Power module, Top, Paddlewheel, etc.) and they act straight down. The fixed point is the 'center of buoyancy'.
I first had to find the center of buoyancy; it is not just half the pontoon length. The overall length of one of my pontoons is 24 feet, however, the forward 4 feet comprised the tapered or bow section. Obviously, this section does not offer the same floatation as the rest of the float. My 'best estimate' was about two-thirds (yes, if I remembered more calculus, I could calculate the variable buoyancy vs draft but, alas). Therefore, instead of 4 feet, it should be considered only 2 1/2 feet in length for 'full floatation'. This makes the center of buoyancy 11 feet, 3 inches from the stern rather than 12 feet, if the overall length of 24 feet is used. [(20' + 2/3 x 4')/2 = 11.25'] Got that?
Now, I took the weight of each part of the vessel, including passenger weight, and multiplied it by the distance from the center of buoyancy to the 'center of mass' of each part; those forward, of the center of buoyancy, were assigned plus values and those aft were negative. This gave 'moments' or torque values in foot-pounds. I left the Power Module for last. I added the moments and adjusted the position of the Power Module until I obtained a sum of zero..............vessel in trim with passengers. Simple, huh? Now, this technique will work if you don't screw up the numbers and, yes, it does take a lot of paper. Well, it worked out that the module should be 1.67 feet (20 inches) back from the front edge of the deck and that's where I put it. Of course, it's centered side to side.
All of the fabrication is now complete; time to start hooking things up. First, I cut an access hole in the deck directly below the helm and installed the 'pulley assembly' used to route the steering cables aft to the main/flanking rudder.
These cables attach to the rudder via all-steel turnbuckles. I installed 'jam nuts' on the 'standard thread' end of the turnbuckles to prevent them from loosening. I should point out that these cables must 'cross each other' under the deck so that, when you turn the Pilot wheel to Port, the vessel steers to Port...............think about it.
Now, cables had to be run from the main/flanking rudder to the monkey rudder via the pulleys at the corners of the Drive Module frame. The picture below shows the cable in the aft, Starboard pulley.
Now, both cables (Port and Starboard) must be attached to the monkey rudder quadrant.
Both cables, of course, attach to the main/flanking rudder in the same manner.....this picture shows the method more clearly. The actual clamping was done with standard, 3/16 inch, cable clamps (I used 3/16 inch diameter cable) and a 1 inch piece of, 3/16 inch diameter, all-thread rod. The all-thread was placed between the u-bolt and the cable to provide a good grip. The 'saddle' of the clamp was not used.
Both the main/flanking rudder and the monkey rudder are made with pipe and plate. The rudder posts are solid steel. Therefore, to assemble, the pipe, of the rudder, is slid up over the solid rudder post and a single, grade 8, bolt is used to hold the rudders in place. So, just in case the bolt gets sheared off, I installed a 'safety cable' between the rudders and the post assemblies. I don't like to loose rudders just 'cause I messed up and hit something.
Well, at this point, the only items left are the two hydraulic lines to the motor and the engine exhaust system. I used a piece of rope to establish the distance from the appropriate valve ports to the hydraulic motor and had the lines made up at a local supplier. Installation was kind of a 'no brainer' although I did have to switch them to achieve proper rotation vs valve position.
A trip to a local muffler shop and some crawling around underneath took care of the exhaust work. I terminated the 'tail pipe' just forward of the paddlewheel.
All that's left now is to pour in some hydraulic oil and fuel, load Vern on a trailer, launch and start the SEA TRIALS.
Remember, I can be reached at: gemort@wirefire.com