It's been on the water !
First up a bag of lead was measured out for the front to drop the bow and counterbalance the heavy resin figure. I'll work on disguising this later, probably in a sack of coal. The hull is very bouyant though and I suspect a bit more weight wouldn't go amiss.
Next I fired up the boiler with 1 1/2 flammable tablets and 50ml of water. Once steam was raised the boat puttered around OK but seemed to run out of puff every so often. Oddly though, the engine did restart sometimes, something a single oscillating cylinder ought not to be able to do.
Steering is fine but I need to adjust the trim to give a bit more right rudder. The boat is badly affected by wind so a calm day is required before a trip to the boating lake. That steam outlet seems to act as a retro rocket sometimes too.
The second run was carried out with 2 tablets and 80ml of water. this was a bit better but I'll try a slightly less water next time. There is a balancing act to be carried out to get the best steam raising capability. At it's peak the engine runs brilliantly but often slows so that drive is non-existent. I also want at least 10 minutes continuous running and reliability as I can't rely on the engine to restart.
On the plus side, the woodwork looks fantastic in the sun. I'm going to need to polish the bras though.
No comments:
Post a Comment