Another Roman Steam Galley - Fini ! Ave Imperator Romana

[buzzbomb]

"All right, but apart from the sanitation, the medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, a fresh water system, and the Steam Engine, what have the Romans ever done for us?"

This is a full on inspiration build from Nonobars most excellent idea of a Steam Roman ship
https://www.whatifmodellers.com/index.php?topic=35382.555

I had parts of a Roman Galley left over from another build where I built this IceRigger



But as a point of difference, I wanted to go side paddlewheeler and show a bit more of the engine gubbins



using some of the very early vertical boiler types as a rough guide, but going for impression only.
So early days, but enthusiasm is high.

Thanks Nonobars for the terrific inspiration 

[zenrat]

Icerigger looks good BB, and the steam galley looks very promising.

[Old Wombat]

Et tu, Bwian!?

[NARSES2]

Looking good 

That side shot makes me think of a 3 Stooges film for some reason. It's the one where at one point they are galley slaves and one of the other slaves develops a Hercules like physique and ends up rowing all the oars on one side of the galley. I can just see a primitive steam engine being connected to oars using the same system used for him in the film. 

I'll go and get my coat now 

[Doug K]

Icerigger looks good BB, and the steam galley looks very promising.

I agree, I did once try an Icerigger after reading Alan Dean Foster's book, I was young and it was rubbish (poor donor Curry Sark!)...

[Rick Lowe]

Vultus bonum, porto in!

And yes, the Icerigger looks good, too. The book spawned a thought to do one myself, but lack of skill stopped the plan.

[Joe C-P]

I am imagining the complexity of trying to rig a trireme's worth of oars to a steam engine.   

Out of curiosity I had to check, and waterwheels of this type were known in Roman times.

Another alternative propulsion means would be an Archimedes screw.  If no one else adopts that I'll put it on my eventual project in the same vein, though on a different tack.

JoeP

[nönöbär]

I looks as if your wise constructor  has access to the same kind of ship than Marcus Thomasius the Younger.

Looking good 

[buzzbomb]

Thanks Team.

Again NonoBars.. thanks for the inspiration.

So more work.
A bit of over the top engine work



Current (well almost current) state of build look and feel.


The Mast and all the rigging were the bits taken for the Ice rigger build to get the double sail setup. So working on new setup for that gear

[Old Wombat]

 

[kitbasher]

 

[zenrat]

I do like your engine detail.  I was wondering if you would build one.
Very good so far.

What was Roman metallurgy like?  Would they have been able to produce large castings or would they have fabricated wooden engine parts?

[NARSES2]

That does look good 

What was Roman metallurgy like?  Would they have been able to produce large castings or would they have fabricated wooden engine parts?

They might have been able to produce the castings but the quality, in terms of durability, wouldn't have been very good. They could have fabricated items from smaller wrought iron parts. Maybe they would have used bronze rather than iron as they'd have been more at home with the technology/metallurgy of that. Whatever they used it would have been bespoke and there wouldn't have been many of these built.

But hey, this is Whif World so anything is possible.

[Old Wombat]

The Romans could make pretty good steel & forge it into good-sized sheets, & could rivet very well but didn't have anything like nuts & bolts.

More recent (than Roman) forged steel steam vessels were riveted but there was always an opening, where one of the riveters had to go inside the vessel to expand the inside portion of the rivets. This hole was always sealed with a (usually cast iron) end plate bolted over the hole.

Still, an appropriate back story can fix this, be having the Romans working out the mystery of tap-&-die sets.

[buzzbomb]

Still, an appropriate back story can fix this, be having the Romans working out the mystery of tap-&-die sets.

I will leave that to smarter folks than I.
My take is that all the basic concepts were historically present, the steam concept, paddlewheel and handling heat/steam by channelling, like the bathhouses. Just a smaller more concentrated scale. I would think that the craftsman would be capable, if the basic concepts and designs were available.

any hoooooo.

Just about done as far as the build

I figured that these early engines would be perhaps temperamental, like early steam engines were.
So the plan was to have the front oar stations still in play. Also useful for port navigation
That meant my head said I had to build a stowage rack for the oars when not in use. Plus a view of the scratchbuilt Ballista


Couple of General Views. Iacomus Wattus is there for a Scale feel. Standard Airfix Roman from the ridiculous Chariot they included.


next is painting then a lot of rigging I suppose.

The voices are also saying I need to track down the "Castle structure" that I did not use in the Ice Rigger to put forward. Bit concerned with it interfering with the sail though.
Also considering Shields On or Shields Off.

I look at this as a small ship, perhaps the equivelent of a Destroyer for Coastal Trade Protection (or Protection Racket/Privateer)