Steam powered Skiff where do I start?

[bouch]

Thank you for all the info! I think I'm going to start with a flame licker engine to hone my skills then graduate to a steam engine. Once I learn the basics and quirks of the flame licker I think I will get a better grip on steam and how that type of engine functions. My experience centres around diesel at the last count I've rebuilt around 260 big diesels and diagnosed over 1000 so steam is a new realm with similar parts. If I take on too much at first it may put out the flame for me.

I would suggest a simple oscillating steam engine would be easier and run more reliably than a flamelicker.

My father was a professional machinist, and has built a LOT of model engineering projects. The only engine he built but couldn't get to run worth a damn was a flamelicker (the thin metal on the "flap" would heat up and not hold the vacuum required for the return stroke)

Single-acting oscillating steam engines are damn hard to make not work. My 17 year old nephew with no machine shop experience made one in a week (with a little help/instruction from me).

 

[Cogsy]

My very first engine was a flamelicker (and it's still my avatar picture) but I have to agree they are tricky things to get right. I thought with the small number of parts it'd be a fairly simple job but in hindsight, I could have made 2 or 3 wobblers/oscillators in the time it took me just to get the thing running (after all the machining was completed). They look simple, but they're not. Having said all that, it can be done as a first engine, but be prepared for a lot of frustration.

 

[Shipdisturber]

Well so much for me making life simpler. Yes less parts but more of a challenge to get running, sounds like fun so far. Like I say this is a start and from the sound of things a quick build, steam will come next.