Steamboat Register

Krakatua

Status: Steaming

Owner: Nathan Dickey

Area: USA

Hull

fantail launch. Construction: Fiberglass hull, mahogany decks, white oak trim.
Built 1980
LOA: 28' 0", Beam: 8' 0", Draft: 2' 6",

Boiler

Steel tubes.

Engine

Compound.
Built 1887 by A.G. Mumford Ltd.

Propeller

3 blades,

History

Krakatua is a 28-foot steam launch built over a period of time and launched in 1985. The vessel was built around an antique compound steam engine by A.G. Munford, Ltd., 1887c. The vessel was named for the volcano that erupted in Indonesia in the same year. The fiberglass hull was built by Eclipse Company in Preston, Maryland by Jonathan T. McClain in 1980. It was then finished by Rich Boatyard in Bass Harbor, Maine in clear ash with quarter saw fir decks and cockpit soul. The deck hardware was custom made by G.D. Smith in Victoria, Australia. She is 28 feet long, 8 feet beam, and 2-½ feet draft. The vessel cruises quite easily at 7-1/4 knots. The steam engine is a compound surface condensing engine built by A.G. Munford, Ltd. in England. The pistons diameters are 2 ½ inches x 5 inches x 4-inch stroke. The engine was completely rebuilt by Peter Freebody and Company in England. For safety the boiler can be fed through three separate independent systems; mechanical pumps driven off the engine, Penberthy injector, and hand operated pressure pump. After the steam is exhausted it passes through an external bronze condenser manufactured by Walter’s Clean-Flow Keel Coolers. The condensent then goes to a hot well where the steam oil is separated out. The feed water is recycled so the makeup tank is only about 25 gallons. The Semple vertical fire tube boiler (FT 80) is completely wood and brass jacketed. It is equipped with tri-coxes and water level sight glass. The design strength is two thousand psi with an operating pressure of 150 pounds psi. The boiler has been fired with coal but could be fired with charcoal, wood, etc. It is also equipped with a blower and a super heating coil. The boiler holds 35 gallons up to the top of the sight glass. The vessel is equipped with a gusher bilge pump and a steam ejector for pumping the bilge. Steering is hydraulic with a wheel mounted on the starboard side.