[Ted Davisson]

Greetings From New Orleans ,
From the very first time I first laid eyes on the enormity of the paddlewheel on the Str. Sprague to the present I have often pondered the question of Paddlewheel Science Or Lack There Of !
I have this picture in my mind , of standing on the Sun Deck of the Str. Delta Queen and honestly looiking UP at the paddlewheel on the Str. Sprague when we would tie off to her when on the Yazoo River in Vicksburg !
Furthermore , was the paddlewheel designed and built around the boat or was the boat designed and built around the paddlewheel ?
Was the paddlewheel simply an afterthought and was designed and constructed to just fit on the fantail of the boat after it was designed and built regardless of other very consequential issues ?
Were there other issues at hand with the science or lack there of with paddlewheel design and construction such as ; the deep draft of the intended boat , the depth of water that the intended boat would be navigateing in , the optium speed for the indended boat and or the approximate weight of the paddlewheel that would or could have an adverse effect on the overall perfoirmance and trim of the intended boat that the paddlewheel would be afixed to ? Also , was the maintenance and care of the paddlewheel ever an issue ?
I have personally spent more hours than I care to remember in the paddlewheel of the Str. Delta Queen with sometimes an entire deck crew and consequently consumed the entire time the boat and paddlewheel was secured and which resulted in the inability for the deck crew to take care of other deck related chores !
I recall reading of the great steamboat races in which the winner of these races would be awarded the lucretive government mail contracts , so were some boats literally built for speed and consequently was the paddlewheel designed and built to increase the speed and perform more efficiently ? Is that why the herring bone wheel and the split wheel come into existance ?
To ths day I remember Captain Wagner giving the order to fill the forpeak of the Str. Delta Queen in order to act as a counter balance to help lift the stern of the boat to get the paddlewheel out of the water . In essence , he was putting the boat into an optium trim so as to create less drag and squat so as to increase the speed of the boat so as to better compete on race days and especially in the spring of the year when making good time was a major factor when going up the river to meet scheduled and profitable shore stops and the ever important date with the Belle Of Louisville !
I also remember him saying that originally when the Str. Delta Queen was constructed , her paddlewheel was designed , constructed and mounted correctly to give the DQ the proper and correct trim and propulsion but over the years with the addition of " Creature Comfort " additions , the stern and paddlewheel of the DQ literally sank deeper into the water and altered her overall trim and consequently adversely affected her overall performance !
I also remember when the paddlewheel on the late and great Str. Mississippi Queen was trimed down because it sat too deep in the water and in high water conditions with the presence of drift in the water , the MQ's paddlewheel had a propensity to literally pick up and throw drift wood into and through the windows of the the MQ's paddlewheel bar !
Was the paddlewheel also designed and constructed to accomodate another function such as its overall noise factor ? I have herd that the greater number of wheel arms on a paddlewheel would lessen the noise factor from splashes that the wheel would make when slapping through the water . Also , originally on both the Str's Delta King and Delta Queen , there was a paddlewheel box constructed over the paddlewheels to dampen the noise so that the on board passengers could rest better at night . Having said that , I always enjoyed the sound and view of the paddlewheel splashing through the water and was just part of the overall steamboat experience !
Also , recently on the National Geographic program , " Rocket City Red Necks " , it was mentioned that the formula for constructing a paddlewheel was to take the diameter of the inner flange of the wheel and multiply it by 2and that would five you the required number of wheel arms . For example , if the diameter of the inner flange was six feet , you would multiply that number by 2 , so the minium required number of wheel arms would be 12 . Now haivng said that , I am sure ther there are other factors and issues that must be taken into account to make that determination as well !
One other question of the Science Of The paddlewheel Or Lack There Of , was it ever an issue with the design and construction of the paddlewheel , if the wheel was to be operated by pittman arms or by a chain ? If it was to be operated by a chain , would the overall weight of the paddlewheel be an issue if it were to be chain driven ?
I also remember sitting in the Pilothouse of the Str. Delta Queen and just listening for hours on end to the Pilots like Louden , Ware , Tate , Zimmer , Karnath , Hamilton , Winford and Mac Arthur and others address this subject and give their time hardened experience on how a good paddlewheel should be constructed ! I remember that these same Pilots would mention what they refered to as a " Square " paddlewheel that was of the same diminsion of width and heighth and was generally the best design and would give the best overall performance . I also wondered why these same " Masters Of The Mississippi " were NOT consulted when the MQ 's wheel was designed and constructed and then had to be re-designed and re-engineer by the so called experts of the day ! Go Figure !
So , hopefully some one with a better insight or knowledge of this issue will chime in and enlighten us all to the factors that came into play with the science and design of the paddlewheel !
Smooth Sailing !
Ted Davisson
WA-4141