Topic starter
06/12/2011 5:39 pm
I mentioned in another thread about the absence of the white ring which was originally on the circumference of the NATCHEZ' paddlewheel. Here is a picture of a picture of the wheel on the dock at Buck Kreihs during the 1989 layup.
Standing in front of the wheel are Capts. Steve Nicoulin and Roddy Hammett.
You can see at this point the white rim was still attached.
For those who didn't see the other posting: they were rolling the wheel to fix the white rim, and it 'got away'. They were able to stop its flight before it moved any serious distance, but that convinced them it would be easier and smarter to just remove the rim. I can remember how shockingly different it looked the first time I saw it rimless, as that was a striking characteristic of her wheel which none of her contemporaries shared. Now, however, I don't even think of the old look when I see the wheel.
The second pix, taken in summer 1984, and the third, taken in summer 1994, show the two wheel looks - rimmed and rimless. Also notice the lack of canopies in 1984 and the canopies in 1994. And yes, that is Doc playing the calliope in the '94 picture. I was on the Canal St. ferry and the NATCHEZ was making her landing approach. The calliope is played from the turn at Julia St. until Canal St., conditions permitting.
Topic starter
06/12/2011 6:35 pm
NATCHEZ paddlewheel in drydock
These were taken in January 1987 at the Zito drydock, just below the Huey P. Long bridge.
1)That is Doc with either Roddy or Steve looking at the wheel. Note the long rung ladder on the starboard fantail - that is how our dining room crew accessed the boat on Friday. We had a charter scheduled that night and the entire boat had to be hosed/washed down from the sandblasting, so we boarded her while she was still drydocked. That was an interesting feeling to be on board working as we returned to the waters of the Mississippi. Doc played a calliope salute to the shipyard workers and then it was man the hoses outside and scrub everything inside. We made it in time for the charter.
2) Standing under the starboard pitman, with the white ring to the right.
3) Standing in the middle of the stern. That is the middle rudder (she has 3) directly ahead of the camera. Note the harbor towboat in the drydock upriver.
Topic starter
06/12/2011 6:44 pm
More on white rings
Lest anyone say, wait a minute the DQ and BELLE both have white rings too!... Yes they do, but neither has a ring on the circumference of the wheel, on the very tip. The DQ has 4 rings, the outer one is a foot or less from the boards' edge, and the BELLE has an outer ring just below the outer bucketboard (according to the pictures I'm looking at from several years ago). Note that now that the outer white rim is gone from the NATCHEZ, she has NO white rims, period.
06/12/2011 8:48 pm
Rings on a wheel
Judy,
Other than the original wheel on the MISSISSIPPI QUEEN, I can't recall a set of rings outside the wheel arms on a contemporary steamboat. The AMERICAN QUEEN has her most outboard ring just inside the wheel arms, like the DELTA QUEEN. The ALEXANDER MACKENSIE and JASON had them...as did many later Upper Ohio River pool boats. Perhaps Capt. Alan Bates or Bill Judd can enlighten us to the purpose of these outer rings. Was it something particular to boats with a all steel wheel? Perhaps something to do with compound condensing engine sets?
I always wondered why then the outer rings were removed from the NATCHEZ wheel the first ring under the bucket boards wasn't painted white like is steamboat tradition. On the NATCHEZ it has always been the second inboard ring, which has always looked strange to me. Of course, this is coming from a person who hasn't stopped raving about the shorter stacks on her since 2005...and I know I am in the minority here.
Like Dale says..."what do I know"?
Travis
Topic starter
06/12/2011 9:09 pm
Exposed rim
I would think the rim exposed such as was the NATCHEZ' would have taken quite a beating from debris. Surprisingly, the NATCHEZ has had to replace very few bucketboards during the season. Of course, there are no Rapids to rip the boards apart, either, in NOLA... as to those smokestacks, I've gotten used to them too, but I would like to see the second spreader bar put back on.
07/12/2011 1:39 am
NATCHEZwheeldrydock_0003.jpg is the best picture ever!
It is now my desktop background.
Thanks a bucketload!
07/12/2011 2:33 am
Outer rings on paddlewheels
The outer rings at or near the ends of the wheel arms are called "drift braces", according to Capt. C.S. "Rip" Ware. They are there to help keep drift from getting lodged between bucket boards and tearing things up worse than they would without the drift braces. On the DELTA QUEEN, they are only inboard of the ends of the wheel arms by about 3 or 4 inches, and on that boat are actually individual pieces of wood hammered in place and secured between the two pieces of steel ring -- one on the outboard side, one on the inboard. Bolts are run through the wood (called "circle braces" on the DQ) to hold them in place, with a nut on the other side.
I have always thought the NATCHEZ looked much better without those steel rims on the wheel.
Topic starter
07/12/2011 5:08 am
Outer rim
Thanks for that explanation Bob. Since they didn't have problems with driftwood, they obviously felt it wasn't needed. Glad you liked that unusual perspective Ron. It isn't the prettiest picture, but it isn't one you can get very often. I had two cameras with me that day in the drydock because there was no way I was going to miss recording that visit. I think I'll pull out the whole set and post more when the NATCHEZ goes in for her 5 year drydocking next month.
07/12/2011 4:24 pm
Outer ring
I also thought the outer ring was for busting ice. Seeing as the Natchez would seldom have to do such a thing, they weren't all that important. The rings were not meant to propell a wheel across hill and dale, but obviously could be used to do so. Too bad it didn't happen more recently. The event would have been recorded by at least one cell phone. Now how did they get it to stop?
Topic starter
07/12/2011 5:27 pm
Outer ring
I'm not sure how they stopped it - this is one of those deals that not much is said, better to forget about it. I'll have to ask next visit.
08/12/2011 4:19 pm
The brakes
If the Natchez has balance buckets, the wheel could have stopped on its own when those buckets rotated to the down position. I originally had balance buckets on the Graceful Ghost, but when we took the wheel off in 2000 for major repairs, I removed them. Didn't seem to make any difference. The removal of that paddlewheel from the boat would have been a good event for a movie camera. Did not quite go as planned.
Topic starter
08/12/2011 5:39 pm
Balance buckets
Yes, she has balance buckets so that is possibly the answer. The wharf at Buck Kreihs is quite lengthy, so that would not have been a problem. Somewhere I have pictures of the DQ's wheel on shore at the Avondale Westwego branch, back in 1997 at the same time of the NATCHEZ' drydocking I posted, and also pix of the DQ wheel another time up on the Robin St. Wharf. Where oh where though they are...