Paddlewheel Restoration

When we took delivery of the vessel, it was obvious that the old paddlewheel buckets ("paddleboards") needed to be replaced. The buckets had been in use since at least 1982. Many of the outer boards had hit debris during their life and had pieces missing from them. In some cases, entire sections of bucket boards were missing. All boards suffered from shrinkage with age.

The paddlewheel required 33 white oak planks, each measuring 1.5" by 8.75" by 12' in length. A local sawmill felled the white oak trees and milled the lumber into planks. The planks were milled 12% larger than required to allow for shrinkage during the drying process. The planks were then air-dried for approximately 50 days before red paint was applied.

Replacement of the old buckets was done one at a time. A "Saws-All" was used to cut away most of the old bucket boards, which were saved for posterity. The rusted retainer bolts, which fix the boards to the spoke arms, were cut away using a grinder with a cut-off wheel. The set of three spoke arms were then prepared for red paint. A powerdrill with a wire brush was used to remove old paint and surface rust from the spoke arms. After wire brushing, a special primer called Corroseal® was applied which turned any remaining surface rust back into good metal. The spoke arms were ready to be painted red once the primer coat had completely dried. A special hardening agent was mixed with the red enamel paint. The hardening agent also significantly reduced drying time, which meant the paint needed to be applied without delay.

Left: The paddlewheel before restoration.
Right: The restored paddlewheel in action.

The paddlewheel's 10 buckets consist of three planks each. Once a set of three spoke arms were painted red and dry, it was then time to put on the bucket boards. The paddlewheel was positioned so that the spoke arms for the bucket were relatively horizontal to the fantail. The boards were laid into place and clamped to the spoke arms. Holes were marked and drilled through the boards to match the bolts holes on the spoke arms. Standard 2.5" by 3/4" bolts, nuts and washers were used. The work was made difficult by the location, which was precarious at best. Some of the work could be done from either side of the paddlewheel on the fantails, however, much of the work required climbing around on the paddlewheel over the river . All tools had to be tied-off with safety rope, or they would surely have been lost to the river. Being extra careful, only 1 bolt (out of a total of 90) was lost to the river, and no one got wet!

With all of the steps involved, it required an average of 2.5 days per bucket to replace all 10 buckets.

Superstructure Paint

The existing paint on the wooden superstructure was suffering badly from the ravages of time. Paint problems ranged from simple fading and chalking, to chipping, peeling and bare wood. We began scraping paint on the port side, from top to bottom. The woodwork in some areas required minor caulking. One of the lapboards on the port side amidship had popped loose. It was popped back into place and fastened firmly. Two other lapboards in this area will require further attention due to dry rot.

Deck Paint

The exterior steel deck had approximately 70% of its paint still in place. A powerdrill with a wire brush was used to remove old paint and surface rust from the deck. After wire brushing, Corroseal® was applied to turn any remaining surface rust back into metal. Following this, red paint with hardener was applied.

By the end of the 2001 season we had managed to paint all of the lower superstructure, or approximately two-thirds of the entire exterior. Approximately 25% of the upper deck was completed as well.

Pilotwheel Restoration

The WILLIAM LARIMER JONES caused quite a stir when it came out in 1930 with tiller levers but no backup pilotwheel. Since the turn of the 20th century, various steamboats began experimenting with steam-assist tiller levers for steering. The steam-assist mechanisms were not entirely reliable, and for many years a traditional pilotwheel was still installed in the pilothouse as backup. By the 1930s, the advantages of the tiller lever, and the perfection of its power-assist mechanisms, marked the end of the use of pilotwheels. The BARBARA H was built before the tiller lever was perfected, and we are fortunate to have a beautiful pilotwheel that measures nearly 7' in diameter.

The workboat environment was often hard on these wooden pilotwheels. The build-up of dirt and grime required that they be stripped and refinished every few years. The BARBARA H's pilotwheel had not been refinished since 1982, and restoration of the finish was required.

Barbara Huffman took-on the pilotwheel restoration project in the spring of 2001. Two different chemical strippers, one being store bought, and the other a home-made recipe, were tested on a small area of the wheel that was not readily visible. The home-made stripper was less harsh and was the better choice for the job.

It was discovered that the pilotwheel was made from at least two different varieties of oak (white oak for the spokes and red oak for the wheel stock). The pilotwheel's decorative routing and filigree made slow work of the project. After a month of careful stripping, Barbara was ready to prepare the surfaces for varnish. This would be accomplished with the finest grade of sand paper. The pilotwheel's ornate construction once again made for slow work. After two weeks of sanding the wheel was finally ready for its first coat of varnish.

We chose an oil-based high gloss polyurethane for the finish. Between coats the pilotwheel was steel wooled. A total of four coats were applied to the pilotwheel over a two week period.

Not long after taking delivery of the boat, we discovered the whistles tucked away in the crawl-space below the pilothouse. The former owner confirmed that the 4" Powell whistle was indeed original to the boat to 1923. The origins of the other whistle, a 4" Buckeye Brass, are unknown, but it is thought to have been with the boat for many years as well.

We were fortunate to have amongst our crew an expert steam whistle craftsman. Aaron Richardson of The Whistleshop (and 1st Mate aboard the BARBARA H) volunteered to restore the whistles. He knew that under all the paint, tarnish and wrench marks, there was a beautiful finish waiting to be uncovered. The rest of us couldn't have imagined that these whistles could polish-up so well.