Wanganui River Steam Tug: Kumea

[sea monkey]

Thanks boys! Something very satisfying about building a hull from scratch – a lot of work but there is pleasure in the pain.

The simulated plating turned out OK so the next step was to go to final painting.

The only existing photo of the Kumea is an old B/W so the boat's colours were always going to be pretty much guesswork. I had initially planned to paint the hull in a Union Castle lilac. I've always liked that colour but Wanganui is definitely not a 'lilac' kind of place. I eventually went for a warm grey. The original Kumea was probably light grey and this colour is very close in tone. I used to row on the Wanganui River many years ago and often, after a lot of rain, it was a similar colour to this grey.

So far so good.

[sea monkey]

The hull only has a couple of scuppers/freeing ports, not really much for ocean work but probably OK for a river. Most freeing ports in salt water don't have covers as they can rust shut.

The deck steel colour is some left over paint from my last project, the Parahaki. Looks OK with the grey and red oxide of the hull.

[sea monkey]

Last couple of pictures for today...

[model tugman]

A lovely shape hull Steve, looking really good 👍👍👍

[sea monkey]

Thanks George, looks like you and me are the only ones building any more. Hopefully someone will post something new soon.

The propellor for Kumea arrived from Cornwall Model Boats today (excellent service and prompt delivery as usual), and that was the last item needed to complete the basic hull.

[sea monkey]

I added a timber rubbing rail at the stern gunwale and at the other end, a bow fairlead.

Haven't even thought about the deck equipment yet but it will need a windlass, capstan, towing beam and bow derrick at the minimum.

[sea monkey]

Tugs of this era still had chain steering linkages so while I was waiting for the propeller to arrive I decided to try and make a chain steering system. There are a couple of common ways that the chain systems work.

One runs down the side of the gunwales as a chain from the wheel that crosses the deck, runs through some rollers, connects to a rod that runs the length of the boat before reconnecting to a chain that runs around the steering quadrant. Mirror image port & starboard.

The other common method runs the rods through a box conduit along the centre line of the deck and where it exits the engine room housing it splits at 90º into chains that then turn another 90º to link to each side of the quadrant. The chains run through square steel channels so you don't see the chain much at all.

All clear as mud? I'm sure most of you know how it works anyway. I know George does – 'cause he showed me!

I went for the first method because the way the system works is more visible – and I didn't want channels running down the timber section of the deck. There's no evidence as to which system was used on the Kumea so either could be correct, although as the tug was quite a dated design even when it was built I'm thinking my choice is probably more likely.

So... here's how it looks.

Pic 2 is the deck plate that covers the chain as it crosses the deck from the bridge.

[sea monkey]

Whoops hit the wrong button.

[sea monkey]

In real life the port chain attaches to the starboard side of the quadrant and vice versa. Luckily all this end is hidden by the quadrant cover/duckboard.

[spud]

Hi sea monkey

Great build log , Very interesting regarding the chain steering , I'm at similar stage on one of my builds ,I will get back on it when time allows.

Spud

[sea monkey]

Thanks Spud, I'd be interested to see how yours turns out.

And now... on to the superstructure...

The basic structural parts had been laser cut from 1.5mm ply from the same sheet as the deck and bulwark knees.
They fit together with a simple slot and tab system. The 4 basic components are superstructure, wheelhouse, engine room housing and deck hatch.

The main superstructure unit went together pretty quickly and easily. I used some square basswood section to brace the corners. A baseplate and the boat deck keep everything square and solid.

[sea monkey]

So far so good.

The superstructure went together according to plan. I managed to fill any gaps and sand the corners down to the right radius for the rounded corners. After a coat to primer I was ready to tackle the next step.

I had decided to try and simulate rivet lines and had ordered some decal rivets from Micro mark in the US.They looked pretty good and the instructions were thorough and clear: get the surface as smooth as possible (paint, 1200 wet & dry), apply decals carefully, leave to dry 24 hours and then apply several coats of decal solvent, with 24 hours between coats.

The whole process turned out to be quite a disaster.

The first problem was that USPost considered the decal solvent a 'hazardous substance' and refused to send it. I had to go through a slow process of getting a detailed description of the constituent chemicals and their dangers and submit that to the USPost. After 3 weeks they decide it was safe to send. The bottle was only 1oz so not really a weapon of mass destruction. After it arrived I discovered that the same product is available in NZ at a fraction of the cost. Doh!

So here's how the decals look at the start, before any coats of solvent.

[sea monkey]

After 6 applications of solvent the decals are still not adhering to the paint. They flake off at the merest touch.

Even with 2 light coats of sealer primer they still peel away. I've had to make repairs to or replace the decals almost every time I work on the parts – and I have been handling them extremely gently and not touching the decals directly. The process has been very disappointing – and frustrating.

The instructions show it working on brass, maybe they only work on plastic or brass. I had painted the ply as per instructions and the surface was super smooth and clean – but no joy. Pretty much a total waste of time – and money – all up the decals, solvent and postage to NZ came to about $50. Arrrgh!!

[des]

For what it's worth I've found that putting on a coat of gloss clear coat prior to applying the decals works for me - followed by another coat of clear coat (gloss or matt) over the decals to seal them.

Des.

[sea monkey]

Thanks Des. I'll give it a go.