Midship (English version)

Adventures

2006-03-03T11:20:00.000+01:00

Departure of Versailles 6 o'clock in the morning, arrival in Calais towards 9h30,it is raining cats and dogs!
Crossing in ferry,

with a good breakfeast!
Arrival under a radiant sun!! then drive on the left and arrived at Hampton on Thames, a place which charm, much boats on the river, narrow at this place.
Towards 12h30, call on the portable of the seller, no answer…
(the seller had envisaged us a one hour way i.e arrival at 11H 30!) ,

After several attempts, I succeeded in joining him, problem! it awaited us only next Monday?? the boat is not on the trailer, there is another on it! some work has to be done!

Rendez vous on a carpark and on the way towards the place where the hull is.
Arrival and first surprised, this hull is enormous!! much larger than I imagined it, small blow of anguish!!!!!

The hull being on hold, it is necessary to release the trailer and to slip it under the boat, and there second small blow of blues, the hull is deformed, makes some it remained months tightened by a strap on a trailer not adapted, result the stand of the trailer have deformed the hull towards the inside!

Discussion with the seller, who of course explains me that it is not serious, that the boat dried in this bad posture, but after a total immersion of a fifteen days all will be back .

I took the bet to trust him, the hull is very beautiful, even if as forecast there is repairs to do, and even if the seems to be be more serious that considered, we haven't do all this expedition for nothing!

Now it is necessary to fit the trailer with the boat, so that will damage it any more and that the transport will be safe!

After 2h in the mud and the oil of draining spread on the ground of the shelter, the boat laid on its keel and is well fixed laterally.

Now it is then necessary to achieve to the unpleasant operation: to pay!
For that, I must change my travellers into cash, therefore it is necessary to find a bank, the first one explains me that as the travellers do not come from their bank, there is a fee which should be paid !
Thus we leave to research a branch office my bank.
After some miles, we find it, it sound better, at least it was what I believed, in fact there were not the name of the bank on the travellers===> so fees! after long palaver, where in my more beautiful English with my passport, all my bank cards, chéque-book and others to prove that I am really a customer of this bank and that I do not have anything to pay…
Long deliberation of the counter clerk with her colleagues….
It is ok!, now, it is necessary to sign, date, to mark each traveller, then she must type on her keyboard the 3 numbers with 12 digits of each one, there are 35 of them!!!
I see Georges coming in the bank,(who had remained in the car with Joe, my seller, this one worries!) it is true that that must make 45 min well that I am in the bank!

Finally….

I recover an envelope with my bank notes, ouf!

This time all seems good, in fact not, the registration plate nicely lent by Patrice, has a too short cable! and the stores which sell some are with about fifteen miles, fortunately one of the people who helped us to put the boat on the trailer has an extension cable and he ok to sell it to us (15£!), checking of the lights and we go!

To drive with lading of more than 10m length, on the left, when one do not know the way, it is far from being obvious, but happily we got time, because fortunately there were no more room on the boat at 18h and I had to reserve on the one at 19 h30.
Joe having explained me that 1h to travel to him, 1h to return, the bank close to the boat, and a half hour to fix the trailor with the car, I would have any problem with a boat at 16h!!!!!!

Arrived in Dover at 18h15, pictures before the boarding

We are lucky, it remains room on the 18h30 one's, boarding.

Some problem of the harbour installation in Calais, after one hour and half of crossing, one announces 1h to us to be turned in round, which is transformed into one hour and half! Fish and chips on board, unboarding, 3h of motorway and parking, burst but pleased, with 2h of the morning on the place of weapons in front of the castle of Versailles, only possible place for my 10m length!!!!

This morning I have to move all this bazaar, but God how this hull is beautiful!!!
(to be followed)
Pale early morning

Blog creation

2006-01-30T09:58:00.000+01:00

This blog is the translation of my blog Midship
about my steam launch project.

I have a lot of work to translate all the pages, so please be patient, it will be operational soon!
I will begin par the translation of the oldest posts to be cherent with the story

PS: Please be also indulgent with the quality of the translation!

Adventures

2005-05-04T11:20:00.000+02:00

She is there!

2005-05-04T11:12:00.000+02:00

After a long trip (1000 km and 18h!) and some adventures!!
She arrived in Versailles (details of the travel this evening)

Adaptation of the trailer under the monitoring of Georges

Working hard!

Ready to go

Travel!

2005-04-28T11:07:00.000+02:00

The ticket of ferry is taken! departure for London Tuesday, when dawn is breaking, to go to seek the hull. This time it's gone!

Action

2005-04-27T10:59:00.000+02:00

In fact, everything really started, while ferreting on Ebay, first machine, and the decision, does I buy it or not, knowing that if I buy, it will be necessary to go until the end of the project.

It left, but the machine is small to propel a boat able to trott the family.
The steamboating having to be a shared pleasure,I need a second machine,and there is another one on Ebay!

And now it is necessary to find a hull, there are wonderfull one in England, the Frolics, but they are quite expensive and a little low on water to go at sea.
Research continues, here and there, nothing of nothing! then, one day, a mail of Patrice, it found a hull on Ebay,but it is necessary to decide quickly and go to seek it in London!
(to be continued…)

Presentations

2005-04-26T10:39:00.000+02:00

Having thus decided to pass to the real staem, I was registered with the Abv (French steamboat association). The annual meeting of theAbv, last year being held in DINAN, on the river Rance, located at 15 km of my house in Brittany,I could appreciate the pleasure of navigation, thanks to new friends. Because of course, a project like that, that are done between friends! Some presentations: There is first those which I knew before, George and Benoit, first are impassioned of mechanics with built many small engines steam, large handyman, he is the specialist machining in the group, Benoit, is the youngest (sixteen years old) but intellectual curiosity do not await the number of the years! therefore all impassions it and its dynamism given pleasure to see. Then there is those fully experienced tried with steamboat in full scale: Patrice who has his own boat, bought in GB, I will put the picture of its boat online very soon! Patrice is member of the Abv and of Sba, it is impassioned of steam, and motorbike. And then there are those, which built or build their boat, in Paris area, Bruno, of which I already spoke you who assisted of Jean-Yves, carried out Mélusine.
Jean-Jacques, whose beautiful clinkers hull Keltia and its Pearl engine are in completion, and many others still! Jean-Jacques, is the man who is able to find everything, suppliers, machinists, he carried out the drawings of all the accessories of his boat!

Let us begin again at the beginning

2005-04-23T16:49:00.000+02:00

All that being unstitched a little, I will take again a little the history and the explanation of this project.

Model maker, after having tested the plane and of to have crashed many! I convert to the boat, quieter, and I discovered the steam, with these small machines and their boilers.

Our British friends are the largest specialists in this hobby, a famous company in that area is STUART MODELS, their steam engines, are for a long time a reference on the matter.
After having the small sizes run, I discovered that STUART also manufactured the foundries which make it possible to produce machines for boats of real size.

Thus model making led me to the boats into full scale, (tour common to much of vaporists which mixt the two passions).

The Paris model show enabled me to meet the ABV, french steamboat association , (They are present at this show which, do not hesitate to make a trip there)

On this stand, I discovered what was a true boat, launch MELUSINE, a splendid boat, entirely built by Bruno and his friends, and there ,I say that one day me also….

The second machine

2005-04-23T16:44:00.000+02:00

The second of the two machines, this one has its Stephenson reverse, these two machines will be coupled longitudinally to produce a twin-cylinder, it will be necessary to carry out the missing reverse on the first machine and the coupling of both.
The wheel of inertia of each machine will be dismounted and replaced by only one.

Pressure vessel

2005-04-23T16:40:00.000+02:00

The pressure vessel of the boiler such as it will be necessary that I carry it out!! unless I do not find an used boiler! I am looking for!

The first machine

2005-04-23T16:34:00.000+02:00

The first machine, bought on ebay, was damaged in the transportation, the crankshaft was distorted, the heavy wheel not having been dismounted, a shock twisted slightly!

The Hull

2005-04-23T16:30:00.000+02:00

The hull that Patrice found me, such as I discovered it on Ebay, 18 feet length, apparently in good condition, therefore a little gamble!

The beginnig

2005-04-22T16:24:00.000+02:00

This blog will enable you to follow the realization starting from existing elements to be restored, modified, invented of a 18 feet steam-launch, intended for navigation in river and Northern Brittany along the coasts.