tug boat ALVA B

[Dave Stevens (Lumberyard)]

The Alva B had a 22" bore x 24" stroke, 425 hp 2 120 rpm, HPNC (High Pressure Non-Condensing)
engine built by Whitman Co., Buffalo, NY and a 8'2" x 15", 140 psi, firebox boiler, built by Lake Erie Boiler Works, Buffalo, NY. Of the 11
tugs built between 1888 & 1893, 10 had HPNC engines of which 9 were built by Whitman Co. All but two of the 11 firebox boilers came from
Lake Erie Boiler Works.


Apparently mistook amusement park lights for the harbor markers, struck bottom in shallows 1 mi W of Avon Pt and was destroyed by waves.
Master: Capt. John Frietas. In 1970 the ships 8 foot anchor and some chain were recovered by a group of local residents and placed at the
Aqua Marine Resort in Avon Lake. In October of 1989 the 7 ‘ 3”, 2390 pound prop was removed and donated to Miller Road Park in Avon Lake, Ohio. Read more at wrecksite:


general nationality: american purpose: utility type: tug propulsion: steam date built: 1890 status: live details tonnage:
83 grt dimensions: 22.4 x 5.6 x 3.2 m material: wood engine: 2" x 24" non-condensing engine, 1 firebox boiler, single shaft,
1 screw yard no.: 54 IMO/Off. no.: 106738 about the loss cause lost: ran aground (wrecked) date lost: 08/11/1917 [dd/mm/yyyy]
about people builder: Union Drydock Co., Buffalo last owner: [1] American Towing Co., Buffalo SS Alva B. (+1917) period 1917 ~ 1917
IMO/Off. no.: 106738 prev. owners: [2] Kerbaugh H.S. Inc., Buffalo Alva B. period 1914 ~ 1917 IMO/Off. no.: 106738 [3] Great Lakes Towing Co., Cleveland (OH) Alva B. period 1899 ~ 1914 IMO/Off. no.: 106738 [4] Vessel Owner's Towing Co., Cleveland (OH) Alva B. period 1890 ~ 1899 IMO/Off. no.: 106738

The Alva B sits upright in only 12 feet of water.
With her stern to the west, the boiler is off the boat to the east of the prop shaft.
Large fish are attracted to the wreck and congregate around the boiler and wooden planking.
Boaters beware! The boiler rises to within 3 feet of the surface.
One unsuspecting dive boat was using a Westmar scanning sonar to locate the wreck.
Although the wreck did not show up on the sonar, the divers found the wreck when they struck the boiler with the sonar head.

 

[Frank48]

molto interessante
Pollice su

 

[Dave Stevens (Lumberyard)]

molto interessante
Pollice su

Very interesting
Thumbs up

at this time i have contacted local wreck divers to find out if it is possible to dive on the wreck to document the engine if it is still there, photograph the wreck and document details.
My idea is to 3D model and print the engine and boiler for a model of the Alva B

Historic steam engines add a lot to model ship building.

This is one of many modeling project i start, close to 80% end up as a dead end because of a lack of research information, plans, cost of research, cost of cad and 3D modeling, little interest in the subject and because 90% of model ship builders built kits so very few would tackle such a scratch project like the Alva B. But i do enjoy the thrill of the chase and running down leads and information so lets see where the Alva B ends up.

 

[Dave Stevens (Lumberyard)]

it is possible the engine is still at the wreck site but the biggest problem it is covered with zebra and quagga mussels making engine details difficult to see.
This was a wooden ship and adding a detailed kit of the engine adds much more to the model. I do know people who can re engineer the steam engine, draw it and produce a 3D printed model.

like all project ideas it takes a long time to gather the needed information and very often that falls short and the project has to be abandoned. So time will tell if this can be done.

Official Wreck Number:​	106738​
Wreck Location:​	41 30.759 N 82 01.923 W (Kelch et. al., personal dives)​
Type of Ship at Loss:​	Steam Tug, Wooden​
Cargo on Ship at Loss:​	None​
Captain of Ship at Loss:​	Barrington​
​	​

Waves and ice scour have taken their toll over the years. Scattered remains, including some timbers, planking, the steam boiler and other various engine parts in 10-12 FOW on a bottom of mostly sand, rock and gravel. The boiler can be a navigation hazard during periods of low water levels.
This is yet another interesting wreck for novice divers and snorkelers, as visibility is usually fair to good. (Note: the Sarah Sheldon, offshore of Sheffield Lake, is also shallow, accessible for novice scuba divers and snorkelers, and is relatively close to the Alva B. The wrecks of the Prince, Adventure and Hanna, all nearshore of Kellys Island, are also shallow and provide good opportunity for novice scuba and snorkeling. All of these wreck sites can be found on this website)
The Alva B wreck provides habitat for a number of Lake Erie fish species, including smallmouth bass, rock bass, sheepshead, sunfish, the non-indigenous round goby, and others. Like other nearshore, shallow water wreck sites, anglers will also visit the location. Make sure you fly the diver-down flag, and keep someone on board to flag away unknowing anglers, curious boaters and jet skiers.
As the wreck is covered by zebra and quagga mussels, divers should use caution. If you're a fish watcher, the Alva B, along with the other mentioned nearshore, shallow wreck sites, are well worth the visit; especially for kids who are interested in snorkeling to see "what's under the surface" of Lake Erie.
Unfortunately, the propeller and anchor from the Alva B were taken in the early 1970's by a group of residents from Avon Lake. Fortunately, however, the propeller sits on permanent display at the Miller Road Park in Avon Lake, with her anchor and anchor chain located at a prominent Avon Lake Resort, formerly know as the Aqua Marine Resort. These artifacts, although best to remain at the original shipwreck site, provide shipwreck curious non-divers, maritime history buffs and others to visibly observe past maritime history.

 

[Stevedownunder]

Interesting project Dave,

I wonder if the engine was an off the shelf engine. To me it looks like a mine or industrial engine that has been installed, if that's the case maybe there are plans already, I would add I am not an really knowledgeable on this.
Doing a quick Google search the company you mention made steam trains as well.
I seem to think you have probably tried what I have mentioned.
I wish you fair weather on your journey.

Cheers,
Stephen.

 

[Dave Stevens (Lumberyard)]

in the beginning there was research and finding original drawings

there is no kit of the Alva B so where do you start?

with AutoCad

 

[Dave Stevens (Lumberyard)]

it takes about a work week to do a set of bulkheads

it takes about 8 work weeks to do a set of frame drawings

this is a tricky drawing because there is a rake to the keel so the hull is drawn two different ways

 

[Pathfinder65]

You have a very interesting project going. I’m impressed by your research.

 

[Dave Stevens (Lumberyard)]

i started with the bodyplan the Alva has 2 bodyplans one drawn on a level keel and one drawn on a raked (slanted) keel



the difference between the two with a rake to the keel the body lines cross as they move to the stern and rise up as they approach the bow.



working with a level keel all the body lines are seperate and much easier to adjust to one another you can also spot problem areas like
errors in the body to the left where the lines jumble up and to the right where they hit in the same spot, all the lines should not touch one another and have an even spacing.



once the kinks in the body lines are worked out and you have smooth flowing body lines then the bodyplan and profile are set on a base line.

For a bulkhead hull every other frame location is used. Those are the green frame locations. So one at a time each bulkhead is drawn to match the profile slots. The drawing below the profile is the start of the deck layout



The final results are all the bulkheads and profile are set for a standard printer



With this type of vessel the plans are drawn for framing or in this case bulkheads on a level keel. All framing is always perpendicular to the keel and when the hull is floating those frames will have a slight slant to the stern.

to do all the upper works like the wheel house and cabin, bitts etc are drafted with the rake to the keel. You want the structures perpendicular to the water line.

 

[Stevedownunder]

Hi Dave,

Great drafting.

Cheers,
Stephen.

 

[bill schwartz]

hello dave, I live near the wreck of the alva b and floated over it while fishing 2 weeks ago, it comes up fairly close to the surface and was marked on the gps map as such, I was looking for information on a possible build of the model living in avon lake, ohio , I was looking for some do-able plans, I would like to make this my winter project, Bill S.
Looking for just this ship plans

 

[Dave Stevens (Lumberyard)]

this is the start of the inside profile which gives me the location of the deck level and the wheel house, stack, boiler, sky light height of the bulwarks from here it is adding more details but first i needed the basic size location of stuff




right off the bat i see the doors and windows are not in the same location. What we have here is an as drawn and as built or at some point changes were made to the Alva

 

[Dave Stevens (Lumberyard)]

hi Bill that makes building a model quite interesting when you can float over the wreck and actually see it. Even better being so close you can almost swim down to it. But i can't swim nor do i have any underwarer photo equipment. Oh so close but yet so far away.

 

[Dave Stevens (Lumberyard)]

there might be more information in maritime collection i know there are 5 or 6 historical archive around the great lakes that can be searched.

there is something in front of the wheel house i can not identify i do not know who TBNMS is or i would see if i can find the original image rather than this newspaper photo. it is on the drawing and it is sitting on coamings

 

[Dave Stevens (Lumberyard)]

i am interested in the Alva's steam engine something to 3D model and print

this sat around for years until Bill PM and asked about plans this is one of the last wooden built tugs a nice piece of maritime history and a challenge to build fully framed with the boiler and steam engine. But at this point the engine has not been identified or who built it and what exactly does it look like.

give me a rope and a breathing tube and lower me down mate. i will take a look!

 

[Dave Stevens (Lumberyard)]

it is one thing to draw the structure and another to figure out details like what are the sides of the wheelhouse and cabin is it toung and grove narrow boards or sheets of paneling. I search Bowling Green Great Lakes archives to find pictures of tugs but they are far and few. There are othet drawings of wooden tugs built at the same yard and i would think they were pretty much built the same.

 

[Dave Stevens (Lumberyard)]

i was looking in the wrong place to find images of wooden tugs i started to search the on line collection at Bowling Green. This is just in the A and B i have not gone from A to Z yet.

these are all low resolution images but finding the right ones you can get high resolution files from Bowling Green and some are so good you can zoom in and see and door knob. So this is a great resource for modeling building details.

 

[Dave Stevens (Lumberyard)]

looking at tugs you begin to see similarities like deck structures and cabin siding it's the big picture that gives you the little details. i am liking the sheer line of tugs with that up sweep at the bow then curving into sort of a half moon then a little up sweep at the stern, hum sexy lines.

 

[Dave Stevens (Lumberyard)]

and now back to the drawing board
adding to the profile, i am drawing the inside of the bulwarks this part right here



they are tinted in pink and sitting on waterway.



when drawing keeping in mind everything is attached to everything else so one part of a drawing will define what you are doing in another drawing.
You would think the stanchions would be the top timbers of the frames like this.



when you project the frame locations on to the deck plan



looking close guess what the stanchions all fall between the frames, and that was clearly done on purpose. Go back to the first image what caught my eye was the stanchion was bigger than the frames top timber. Now i know exactly where to draw the stanchions on the inside profile of the bulkwarks.



that waterway will be one of the hardest parts to fabricate you will need to cut 82 suqare holes exactly in the right place and all the same size. OR.........

 

[Stevedownunder]

Great investigative work Dave,
From my limited knowledge of full size boat building a lot depends on the yard with reference to the stanchions some yards would make them in a manor that with a hard knock they would break away without much damage to the hull. While other yards would make a very strong structure that would cause a lot of damage and be difficult to repair.

Cheers,
Stephen.