During
the summer of 1986 there was an open house at the boat. ~ It was
early in the year and it was sunny and warm. ~ There were big
bright tents set up where T-shirts, hats and other souvenirs
were for sale. ~ Hot dogs and other carnival foods and drinks
were being served and there was music. ~ Calliope music of a
sort. ~ The big brass whistle of the Crystal Beach boat had been
set up with a compressor to supply the air and for $1.00 you
could pull the lever and blow it. ~ It was a wonderful sound. ~
An instantaneous trip back through time each time that whistle
sounded its deep, totally unique and remembered toot.
The gigantic Crystal Beach Boat sat where she was left by the
winter storm, with her stern end towards the gathering and
stretched across the slip to the other bank. ~ The party was
being held in open fields on the lake side of this slip. ~ A
wooden stair-structure and gangplank had been constructed for
access to the ship directly above the propeller. ~ The ship was
cleaned up quite a bit by this time and some of it repainted. ~
She looked almost beautiful. ~ People were enjoying themselves
ashore while small groups on guided tours were being shown
through the ship.
The tours brought back a flood of memories. ~ Walking through
and seeing again all the familiar pieces and parts of the ship.
~ The small areas and little things that perhaps would not be
remembered unassisted. ~ Speaking for myself; the ship was so
big when I was small that I looked on individual areas of the
ship as complete in themselves. ~ I was unable to get a vision
or concept of the entire ship in my mind and so would just wait
till I got to those other places to remember them again. ~ Those
small stairs set against the inside walls of the ship. ~ The
stairs that lead up to somewhere important and were only for the
crew. ~ They told me I was as high up as I could go. ~ The
sliding doors for entering the second deck salon from the
outside walkways on either side. ~ The small heat radiator that
was located inside at the front of the salon. ~ This was the
only device of its kind in the public area of the boat. ~ We
remember one particular night being very grateful that radiator
existed. ~ A day that had turned cold and stormy and it was the
darkest of nights when we come back from the beach. ~ The boat
was being tossed about by giant waves and the rain and bursts of
spray from the breaking waves were beating on the windows of the
salon. ~ It was impossible to see outside. ~ I knew the heater
was there and had headed forward and upward as soon as I got
aboard. ~ Thinking there would be no room in the salon as
everyone else surely would be heading there also, I remember
being surprised to find the salon was not totally packed. ~ The
others apparently were hunkered down on the benches, wrapped in
their picnic blankets, perhaps not knowing or caring of the one
small feeble source of heat. ~ But I liked it.
The tours also brought us into the crews area. ~ These were the
never before seen parts of the ship that were totally
fascinating. ~ The most awesome and unexpected was the ships
galley area. ~ A large dining room that was located under the
first deck to the rear of the engine room. ~ It took the entire
width of the ship and about the same in length. There were
columns throughout supporting the upper deck but otherwise it
was an open space. ~ The columns and walls of the room were
again done in the utmost of style with detailed woodwork all
around. ~ The walls consisted of a lower half fashioned similar
to wainscoting. ~ The upper portion of the walls were divided
into rectangular areas like a series of giant picture frames,
with vertical dividers and accompanying trim. ~ Several sections
held horizontal ovals made up of curved pieces of what appeared
to be Oak, and these ovals enclosed paintings done on the wall
covering. ~ Total turn of the century grace and elegance. ~ That
theme did go throughout the ship and may be best remembered by
the underside of the grand staircase, between the second and
third deck salons. (photograph here) ~ The excellence of the
eating area strikes one as truly exceptional, especially
compared to what one might expect using today's standards. Just
the fact it was thought worth doing by the builders. ~ It's a
tribute to them that they did so, knowing the only ones to ever
see and enjoy the area would be crew members. ~ But this was to
be their home. ~ It was obviously done with the intent to be a
place where the crew would want to be; to feel comfortable in
and enjoy.
Between the mess and engine room was the kitchen area. ~ Near
the center of the ship was a cooler that was about seven or
eight foot square. ~ It was built with thick walls and ceiling
and inside of these were slabs of cork for insulation. ~ In the
beginning it was cooled with ice but later there were cooling
systems installed. ~ Steam operated pumps and compressors that
contained CO2 at first and then Freon. ~ They had no
thermostats. ~ Just turn it on for awhile and then turn it off
some hours later on a schedule. ~ On the port side of the ship
was the utensil area. ~ Cupboards and drawers for dishes and
silverware, sinks for washing and the like. ~ On the starboard
side of the cooler and stairwell was the big room for cooking. ~
It contained a mammoth cast iron coal burning stove and other
arrangements for preparing meals for the many hungry
crew-members. ~ To the rear of the ship were three bunk rooms
for the usual two cooks and one steward.
In the forward area of the hull ahead of the engine room and the
fuel tank bulkheads were the main crews quarters. ~ They were
accessible from the main deck through a door on the backside of
the main staircase. ~ To go down these steps brought a feeling
of entering some inner sanctum. ~ It was a narrower portion of
the ship and it was close. ~ The ghosts of all the people who
had lived down there seemed to be in the air. ~ You touched a
door handle and, except for time, you felt another hand there
also. ~ Perhaps this very someone had, in his life, gone through
the door while you were above, riding the ship on the lake so
long ago. ~ You could imagine and hear the laughter that must
have sounded throughout when someone passed a joke between the
rooms. ~ The hustle of getting ready for the day. ~ Trying to
make room for each other as they passed in the cramped hallway
space.
The toilets in the crews area must have gotten a real work out
every morning. ~ For all the crew, there were just three up
front and one astern. ~ Mounted on somewhat higher flooring
against the curve of the hull; you had to step up on a platform
to get to them. ~ Doing so gave use of the greater width of hull
available higher up and it also provided the added advantage of
having the toilet open to the lake above the water line. ~ There
may have been a few ships designed which did not make use of
these features but it was discovered quite early in shipbuilding
history that those simple design elements added years to a ships
life and so most did incorporate them.
The ships potable water tank was down here at the rear of the
stairway. ~ Every spring is was flushed and cleaned and it was
kept chlorinated. ~ The public health inspectors kept close
watch on ships in those days and the Canadiana always passed
their inspections in fine shape.
These rooms too were done nicely but in a more basic fashion. ~
Each room had a one or two level bunk with drawers built in at
the bottom. ~ There was a radiator, sink, mirror and small
closet in each room. ~ There was one large room, more like a
dorm, with space for perhaps three or four doubled bunks. ~ The
rooms of various sizes and numbers of bunks were assigned to the
rank of job position. ~ The Captain had a room to the rear of
the pilot house but very seldom lived aboard. ~ The purser who
took care of the ships payroll and other finances had a room on
the first deck just ahead of the port-side staircase, amidships.
~ The first engineer had a room forward of the pursers, close to
the head of the stairs to the engine room. All the rest were
below. ~ There were the 1st and 2nd Mates who ranked just below
the Captain. ~ Then came the Able-Bodied Seamen who were the
watchmen, wheel-men and the like. ~ Next were Ordinary Seamen
who took care of the maintenance, cleaning the decks, etc. ~ The
Chief Engineer and the 1st Engineer came in under the Captain
and Mates in another line. ~ Below them were Oilers who kept the
mechanisms lubricated and the 3 Firemen to shovel the coal or
later the 1 or 2 needed to man the oil burning boilers. ~ Then
the usual tour was 4 hours on and 8 hours off so that there were
three men for most every job. ~ The ship took a lot of people to
run it.
In the ceiling of the open center area, between the crew
quarter's rooms, was the bottom end of the controls from the
pilot house. ~ A square, cabinet like housing, that extended
from floor to ceiling through each salon, carried all the
electrical, mechanical and acoustical signals that controlled
the ship, down to this point in the crews quarters. ~ Although
not used in later years, there was also a flexible voice tube
that carried commands directly to the ear of the engineer. ~
Under the floor up in the pilot house were enough batteries,
under constant charge, to keep the ship in lights and power for
24 hours. This power was also brought down this same cabinet
conduit, to be fed into the system if needed. ~ All the original
D.C. wiring that carried power to and from the pilot house was
still in place and in use along with man-overboard alarms and
other necessary electrical circuits between the pilot house,
engine room and other sections of the ship. ~ This D.C. wiring
was all single conductor and was routed through the ship under
grooved strips of wood which separated each wire from the other.
~ As we have plastic sheathing over our multi-conductor wire
today, they used this flat, wood molding equivalent. ~ As some
of these electrical areas were disassembled, scorched areas were
found on the wood where arcing had taken place, through the
years, under screw terminals of light fixtures and switches. ~ A
little chill went through the air on seeing this.
A steel shaft brought the revolutions of the ships wheel, three
decks above, straight down to the ceiling of the crews quarters
where it transferred its motion and direction to another shaft
heading back to the engine room. ~ This was done by meshing
gears, each about 10 inches in diameter and attached like wheels
to the ends of the two shafts. ~ The shaft going to the engine
room went along the ceiling of the crews quarters, through
bulkheads and past the triple expansion engine to the steering
engine where its direction was again directed downward, in the
same manner, to operate a control valve. ~ This steering engine
was a bulky cast iron object that squatted on the engine room
floor near the rear bulkhead. ~ It was in fact a steam operated
device with a set of pistons that produced the power and
strength needed to turn the big ships rudder. ~ The shaft
rotation brought from the pilot house would allow steam into the
appropriate cylinder. ~ Which ever direction it turned caused a
large chain loop with 3" links to continue the message, along
greased tracks, to the steering mechanism and rudder at the rear
of the ship. ~ To turn the ship to starboard, the starboard side
of the chain loop was pulled while being released on the port
side and vice-versa.
The engine room was the hardest to understand but just looking
at it was impressive. ~ As it always was from above, it was much
more so from below. ~ The many cast iron moving monsters kept
everyone who worked down there constantly busy and alert. ~ To
describe what appeared to be a chaotic arrangement of machinery
is difficult. ~ There was of course; the main mover. ~ The
triple expansion steam engine dominated the area. The basic
principal and design of this engine was that it consisted of
three different sized cylinders. ~ Each cylinder operated the
same in that they were sealed at top and bottom with a piston
inside; the piston connecting rod having a steam tight exit out
the bottom. ~ The pistons were forced down by applying steam to
the top end while exhausting the space at the bottom and then in
the opposite direction by applying steam to the bottom cavity
while exhausting the top. ~ Ahead of each of the three cylinders
was a steam box that contained slider valves. ~ These valves
were controlled by the revolutions of the crank shaft; sending
steam either to the tops or bottoms of the cylinders as
determined by the position of the shaft.
Steam, right out of the boiler, was at its hottest and maximum
pressure; its most compressed state. This steam was kept at 185
plus or minus 2-3 pounds. ~ If it was higher it would pop safety
valves and loose steam and if it was lower you lost speed. ~ The
steam was sent to the steam box ahead of the first cylinder. ~
It was then routed to the top or bottom as described and in
addition; the valves were set so that they cut off the steam
before the piston had fully completed the stroke in whatever
direction it was being sent. ~ The steam trapped in the cylinder
at that point continued to expand and complete the distance. ~
This cut off point determined the amount of power the engine
had. ~ On the exhaust, the steam, while it had expanded somewhat
in filling the area of the first cylinder, was still under very
much pressure and was driven into the next steam box. ~ This box
received steam alternately from top and bottom exhausts and it
steam was applied to the second cylinder in the same manner as
the first.
This cylinder, larger to match and accept the expanded volume,
produced another thrust of respectable force to the crankshaft
below. ~ The steam pressure in the intermediate cylinder went in
at 65 pounds. ~ The same went for the last cylinder, the largest
of the three, taking another usable gulp of just 6 pounds of
steam before it was totally expanded. Remember; as the pressure
applied to each cylinder decreased it was being applied to
larger and larger piston surface areas so that the resulting
push was amplified and each of the three were close to being
equally forceful. ~ A rough calculation shows that each cycle of
steam on its trip through the engine, causing one revolution of
the crank shaft, was capable of producing a total of over 16
tons of force distributed over the three pistons and the two
directions of travel. ~ H/P was determined by "PLAN". That is;
(P) Pressure times (L) Length of stroke times (A) Area of piston
times (N) Number of strokes per minute divided by 33000.
Cruising speed was 90 r.p.m.
On the output of the low pressure cylinder was the steam
condenser. ~ It was a large bulbous looking cast iron fixture
and its purpose was to cool the steam and so return it to its
water state. ~ Condensing was done by spraying cool lake water
into the tank filled with steam exhaust. ~ Depending on the lake
water temperature, it took about 16 parts of spray water to
condense out one part of reclaimed steam water. ~ Not much need
for the reclaimed water except that the operation was necessary
to help the engine run. ~ As the large volume of exhaust steam
was reduced to its water state it left a vacuum in its wake.
This vacuum actually pulled the balance of the nearly spent
steam from the last cylinder. ~ The vacuum even pulled on the
piston itself, in the exhaust direction, to gave an additional
driving force to the engine. ~ In fact; it would not run without
it. ~ If the vacuum wasn't there, the cylinder could not exhaust
quickly enough and the back pressure would buck the piston
travel. ~ The steam pushed at the input and vacuum pulled at the
end of the proper three cylinder sequence. ~ In rough weather
the intake for the condenser water would sometimes be out of
water and it would suck air. ~ This would cause the engine to
bang and bang until it either worked itself out or the engine
died.
To keep the sprayed lake water from being drawn in the direction
of the vacuum it created, there was a steam operated pump that
pulled the water out of the condenser. ~ This pump was self
regulating to maintain a vacuum of 22 inches on the last
cylinder. ~ Some of the water was sent back to the boilers but
most of it went back into the lake.
All the other small steam devices around the room usually
expended their steam directly into the air but various means
were devised to condense and collect their water to keep the
humidity down.
The main engine was started by simply applying steam. ~ Once in
a while if it was cold and wouldn't roll over, the engine was
switched into reverse and given another shot of steam in that
direction, then perhaps again. ~ This back and forth rocking
could be built up until it rolled over and kept on going. ~
Always; when starting the engine, it had to be done with great
care. ~ One never knew when there may be water in one or more of
the cylinders. ~ If the pistons came up with water in the
cylinder it had to be blown out the safety petcocks on the ends
of the cylinders. ~ If it came up too fast and couldn't do this
the water would cause blockage like a brick in the cylinder. ~
You could end up with bent and cracked castings and the engine
out of service.
In operation, the engineer manipulated controls for speed and
power. These consisted of the actual steam pressure allowed out
of the boiler, the amount of water being sprayed into the
condenser to vary vacuum produced, and the cut off points of the
steam box slide valves. ~ Cutting off the steam to the cylinder
earlier for light loads and later for heavy loads. ~ When more
speed was called for, more water was moved by the propeller;
thus increasing the load.
Two bells to the engine room meant forget everything else, give
me full reverse power and do it now. ~ The Engineer had
to be ready for this one at any time. ~ When in reverse,
everything went full open; it was always full speed and full
load power. ~ Reverse was simply a matter of moving "take-offs"
to the opposite end of their rockers. ~ These take-off rods
operated the steam box slide valves and they would then open and
close in the opposite sequence with respect to the position of
the crank shaft. ~ This then caused the engine to reverse and
therefore the shaft to rotate in the opposite direction. ~ When
the rockers were shifted, even at top speed, with everything
counter balanced and having no flywheel, the reversed steam
application would instantly cause the engine to come to a halt
and start rotating in the opposite direction.
On the stern end of the engine and on the protruding end of the
crank shaft was what was called the rag gear. ~ This was used to
turn the engine by hand when it was being worked on. ~ There was
a ratchet assembly that was supposed to be usable by one or two
men but it often came to tying a rope to it and running it into
the boiler room so everyone could get into the act.
The propeller shaft was a foot in diameter and extended from the
rag gear, through the engine room bulkhead enclosure and under
the mess hall in the shaft housing, to the point where it tied
onto the tail shaft. ~ The tail shaft was also a foot in
diameter and it was 30 feet long emerging through the keel just
ahead of the rudder. ~ All along the main shaft were Babbitt
bearings for support and at the point where it exited the hull,
the tail shaft went through a six foot enclosed section which
was packed tight with greased hemp rope for the water seal.
Thrust bearings were mounted on the shaft at the engine end. ~
They receive the forward push of the shaft and transfer it to
the hull. ~ That is; while the propeller is turning and pushing
the water out the back, the reaction is that the shaft is forced
forward. ~ It is this forward motion that pushes the ship but if
there was nothing else, it would be applied directly to the end
of the engine and the crank shaft and cause all kinds of
problems. ~ So at the rear of the engine the thrust bearings
were put in place to take the pressure off the engine. ~ On the
Canadiana there are four, equally spaced, along the shaft for
about five feet to the rear of the rag gear. ~ They are large
thick steel disks with the propeller shaft going through their
centers. They are keyed and fixed to the shaft. ~ They revolve
with it and their front and rear surfaces supply half the
necessary load transfer mechanism. ~ The other half comes from
the horseshoe shaped collars which set down over each of the
disks and totally encase them. ~ The collars are bolted down to
the hull and their inside surfaces match up with the disk
surfaces on the shaft. ~ As the shaft is revolved and forced
forward or backward, the pressure of the four shaft disks is
applied to the surfaces of the four collars bolted to the hull
and so, ship then just naturally comes along with them. ~ These
thrust bearings are also serviced by cooling water lines and
lubricating oil lines as is most everything on the ship.
While the boat was in operation, oilers were constantly at work.
~ These men covered everything that needed oiling or greasing
every 1/2 hour. ~ There were small oil containers attached to
the heavy structure of the engine at each cylinder and from
these, tubing went down to the bearings of the drive shaft. ~
These containers were never to go below a certain level and had
to be constantly filled. ~ Every grease fitting had to be turned
in a half turn every 1/2 hour. ~ This applied a little pressure
to the contained grease and forced some into the bearing or
slide area. ~ When sailing, every moving piece of machinery in
the ship had to be covered in thirty minutes, and then the
process started over.
Other machinery in the area consisted of several steam operated
water pumps; fire protection, boiler, ballast and bilge. ~ There
was an electrical generator and of course, the steering engine.
~ Six large gauges and meters were concentrated on a large slate
panel mounted against the forward bulkhead on the starboard
side. ~ On each side of the area, just under the deck above and
attached to the hull were large tanks used to keep the boat
balanced. ~ They were called leveling tanks and the idea was
that water would be pumped in and out of each, or back and forth
between them, according to the force of the wind on the ship,
the weight of passengers and fuel or any other factors causing
the ship to list. ~ In practice; according to the Chief Engineer
who ran the ship last, this was not done nor needed as the ship
handled so well.
Under the starboard leveling tank and tucked behind its
supporting structure was a small machine shop area. ~ Really not
much more than a bench, a lathe and a vice but it was here that
many items were fabricated for minor repair work.
Stooping down and looking around to what was the forward end of
the engine, one engineer who had worked on the ship, pointed out
a small screw that had been placed up high into the forward
connecting rod. ~ As this giant connecting rod drove the huge
crankshaft that propelled the ship across the lake, it was also
hard at work doing the laundry. ~ A cord and hook could be
strung to slosh any clothing or oily rags that needed cleaning,
up and down in a bucket of steam-heated water and detergent.
For the balance of below decks; there was the very bow of the
ship in which was stored the anchor chain. ~ There was a large
steam operated winch engine on the first deck at the bow used to
wind the anchor chain in and out of storage and through feeder
holes in the deck plate and hull to the outside where the anchor
hung. ~ The anchor could also be raised and lowered by means of
a manual capstan on the first deck.
* * Boiler room and coal/oil bunkers...* *
At the stern was a small area below decks which housed the
steering mechanism of the rudder. ~ Normally operated by the
chains pulled from the engine room, the rudder could also be
operated manually by means of another large capstan which stood
by itself at the rear of the main deck. ~ It connected directly
to the rudder post and capstan bars could be placed through it
to manually force it around.
Other miscellaneous items were the capstan steam engines at the
sides of the ship on the first deck. ~ These had single 4"
cylinder vertical castings and were used to crank in the hawsers
and pull the ship in close to the dock.
Another room previously unvisited and unknown to us was the
hospital or medical care room. ~ It was located directly ahead
of the staircase amidships on the starboard (right) side, across
the ship from the pursers room. ~ More than likely, seasickness
caused the biggest single need for this room. ~ A room forward
of this was for the Assistant Purser. ~ He was the storekeeper
and he emptied the slot machines. ~ His supplies were kept in
the triangular space directly under the starboard amidships
stairs. ~ This was the whiskey, the Babe Ruth's other supplies
that were dispensed at the big food island right there on the
first deck and at the big counter in the salon.
The food island was a rectangular enclosure that offered two
sides and its stern end to the public as it sat, backed against
the engine room wall. ~ It had all the necessities to supply the
hungry and thirsty crowds. ~ A pair of early coolers from this
area were transferred to land, perhaps on an upgrade, before it
left Buffalo and were still in use behind the bar on the beach
at Crystal until the park was closed in 1991. ~ There was a
narrow counter running along a series of windows around the
perimeter of the food area while an overhanging canopy extended
along the top of the windows. ~ The windows could be raised or
lowered and they did close them whenever they were at the dock.
~ When the window was down there was a sign "CLOSED AT DOCK",
right on the glass, that made it perfectly clear as to where the
boat was at that moment.
On each side of the ship and forward of these rooms were the
publics rest rooms and lounges. ~ The men were greeted by a long
trough like fixture against the outside wall of the ship. ~
There were small panels out from the wall to provide a bit of
privacy; they created five individual sections of trough. ~ The
trough had a slight tilt downward on one end and a pipe led from
the low end down through the floor overhanging the hull and
opened to the lake below. ~ The tilt of course, not only aided
flow but provided the variable needed to accommodate ones
particular height. ~ The standard sit down compartments for both
the men and women were along the inside walls of each of these
twenty foot rooms. ~ They were the standard functional design of
the day. ~ The horseshoe shaped seat was held up and away from
the bowl at an angle of say 20 degrees or so, until it was sat
on. ~ This downward lever action caused the bottom of the bowl
to open for the duration. ~
Lounges on both sides but especially the women's, were grand. ~
Again the mahogany prevailed. ~ Before the day of broad expanse
plywood and other paneling, most all walls were built up from
"tree width" wood. ~ To overcome the "plank" look, wall assembly
usually consisted of variations on the design of small square or
rectangular panels separated and supported by vertical and
horizontal runs of board. ~ All of the panels then had an inset
look and were edged with smaller moldings to blend them into the
longer runs of board. ~ With sills and ceiling moldings,
starting with a 3/4" by 3" for instance, they piled decreasing
sizes of plain wood strips upon the one below, for perhaps 4 or
5 layers, to provide a stepped build out from wall to ceiling. (
diagram of build out ) ~ Over this was applied the ornate strips
of mahogany trim; each one blending into the one above and below
to effect a look of one continuous massive carved piece of
molding. ~ The mahoganies used on the boat were of the Honduras
variety. ~ A rainforest wood that today is being replaced by an
easier to grow but not so nice, Philippine variety. ~ The
Honduras woods have beautiful, deep red coloring; rich looking
and at the same time, mahogany is about the best wood possible
for marine construction.
The ceilings of the lounges were covered with three dimensional
plaster designs of grape clusters and vines. ~ They were flat
delicate and lacy castings that were attached in artistic
arrangements and outlined with more mahogany oval and
rectangular framing. ~ The grapes and other designs of the
ceilings were then hand painted and the overall look to these
rooms was very elegant indeed. ~ Of course; most of us only
remember the end of those forty six years of sailing to Crystal.
~ Some of the wood and beautiful plaster artwork had been
painted over in the name of expediency and was not quite so
magnificent. ~ Where the Neptune heads appeared between windows,
they were by then covered with the same paint as the rest of the
wall and were perhaps not even especially noticeable. ~ It
belied all the underlying beauty.
The Pilot House was where much of the action was. ~ This was the
control point for the entire ship. ~ As in all ships, this is
where all commands are given by the Captain. ~ There was much to
control and it was a somewhat thankless job. ~ While not
completely verified, its been said that the Captain had to pay a
hefty fine if he damaged the pier, dock or boat. ~ The boat was
hard to steer in the wind. ~ The broad expanse of the ship
caught the breeze like a sail. ~ The ship normally backed
straight out from the pier at the beach and then headed forward
again, making a turn towards Buffalo in the forward direction. ~
There was minimal steerage in reverse so they couldn't cause the
boat to turn when backing out, they just went straight back. ~
When they stopped to try the turn toward Buffalo, if the wind
was coming from the wrong direction, they could not get the boat
to turn away from the beach. ~ They would have to back halfway
to Detroit before there was enough room to clear the pier and
head for home.
