Delta Queen wheel.

For a year or two the Avalon had signs painted on the bucket planks. One bucket was marked, "VISIT OUR," and the next was marked, "GIFT SHOP." Passengers got the message about 15 times a minute. The wheel was red and the lettering was white gothic.

Bertrand's paddlewheel was painted with red lead (bright orange).

There was a wide-spread superstition that blue brought on bad luck. The Louisville and Cincinnati Packet Co.'s sidewheeler housing tops were light blue according to Captain Jim Howard. Same for pilothouse domes.

*RE: Painting boat wheels when?*
Hi, Alan & Steamboating colleagues:
Thanks Alan for memories of Louisville landing and GREENE boats in port. Granted, with those hours laying there painting could be done more frequently. This not the case with the DK/DQ in California days. Both boats, upon returning to San Francisco from the Sacramento run, entered into the 'huckster trade' in and around the port picking up, dropping off cargo for the night runs. They had precious few 'down' hours in SF until sailing time. What few memories and accounts we have indications are the boats could have done wheel maintenance laid up in Sacramento during the day. Bottom line was/is if the wheels aren't turning then you aren't making any money. For some years a funny story has been passed around RE: a crew member painting one of the GREENE boat wheels and what happened when the man--bucket, brush and all--fell in the river. I won't repeat it here. Thanks for the below RE: Jim Howard's memories on 'blue paint.' Cheers!

R. Dale Flick
Coal Haven Landing, Ohio River, Cincinnati.

DQ Sign on the Roof?

Judy and others,

Today's question comes from the back of the SB 101 class near the windows. What was the purpose of the "backwards" DQ sign on the roof in Judy's bucketboard photo? Is this a left over artifact that found a home in that location?

And thanks for the "sigh" picture. Hard to believe that it has been 15 years since my one and only trip on DQ. Ahh, what fun it was.

Best to all of my friends on .org

Wesley

DQ roof sign

I believe it was two-fold: to hide some piping or whatever, and to provide an overhead id, such as you saw in my picture - after all, you get lots of people pulling off into emergency lanes on an interstate bridge to take photos of boats passing underneath! And in 34 years of teaching, I found I needed to be suspicious of last row by the window scholars!

Wesley Paulson;24863 wrote: Judy and others,

Today's question comes from the back of the SB 101 class near the windows. What was the purpose of the "backwards" DQ sign on the roof in Judy's bucketboard photo? Is this a left over artifact that found a home in that location?

And thanks for the "sigh" picture. Hard to believe that it has been 15 years since my one and only trip on DQ. Ahh, what fun it was.

Best to all of my friends on .org

Wesley

Just came across another view of the Str. IDLEWILD (today's BELLE OF LOUISVILLE) in her early days with a WHITE sternwheel. This view was taken at the St. Louis levee.

Paddlewheel question

I recently was at a business show and a man had a trailer made for food service. It had an attached deck made from trex, which is a plastic composite. It was infused with red color and looked like a paddlewheel bucket. The owner claimed it was fifty times stonger than wood, won't chip, color fade, or break. It was solid and looked VERY good. Has this material ever been attempted on a paddlewheel. I know the Spirit of Peoria has fiberglass paddle wheel (I am not sure about the buckets). This seems to me an interesting new technology. Any thoughts?

Mark, the paddlewheel on the Spirit of Peoria is a mixture of materials. The shaft is steel, the arms/radials are fiberglass and the buckets are wood. The Spirit was originally built with an all steel wheel with wood buckets. The original wheel was too heavy (actually the bow was too light) and they could not keep the bow of the boat in the water. The wheel was replaced after the first or second season with the current wheel, the fiberglass was used to reduce the weight at the stern. The Casino Rock Island had the exact opposite problem, she was built with a steel, fiberglass and wood wheel, but she was too light in the stern. Instead of replacing the wheel with a heavier wheel, they filled the sponsons (pontoon type structures at the stern) with tons of lead shot and set concrete blocks on the deck next to the paddlewheel for ballast.

I've never heard of anyone using "Trex" for a bucket, but there have been many experiments with different configurations and materials for paddlewheels over the years. I don't think you can beat wood for buckets, buckets need to be strong, but not too strong. When a paddlewheel come into contact with drift, the bank, rocks or a drydock...something's got to give. It's better that the less expensive, relatively easily replaced wood of the wheel give, rather than the expensive, more difficult to replace machinery driving the wheel.

John

Searching for the thread on paddlewheels and dip, etc., I ran across this old thread. Lo and behold, in this picture I do believe that is Capt. Don Summers working in the ADMIRAL's wheel!

hi all riverrats
I only know the Dredge Lewis wheels. The arms were of finished, planned wood with faded red paint, The bucket boards were raw wood. as she was a side wheeler. there were extra bucket boards to off set the weight of the crank and the wheel was egg shaped so that at the end of the stroke there was less bucket in the water.

going way back in history to the Missouri Packet lost on the Missouri River in 1819. She had metal arms and boards for buckets not the 2 plus inch thick planks of the Lewis. the Missouri Packet only had one engine with the wheel in a boot jack arrangement. there was an iron balance wheel on the other side to keep her from dead centering. In looking at that engine and the rods to the sliding valve she may have had a cut off to the valve to save steam. The last I know that engine was at the Arabia museum in KC.

Carl