# Aster Tugboat 'Perseverance'



## AsterUK (Jan 2, 2008)

Seeing Zephyra's thread about his new project - HMS Valiant, reminded me of one of the Aster Hobby Co's earliest creations. Yes the steam tugboat - Perseverance.

I had been looking for one of these for many years having first seen it in one of the earliest Aster Catalogues. The only actual model I had seen until recently belongs to a long standing friend who has kept his in the dusty recesses of his workshop. Not even Aster Hobby Co in their Yokohama showroom have one and when I asked Toyoki Inoue a few years ago about the Perseverance he became unusually reticent.

I finally tracked down a 90% completed model a few weeks ago but would like to learn from anyone who has steamed one of these beauties. I suspect that the pressurised alcohol burner maybe the problem since a fire in the boiler room could bring about a swift demise of this mainly timber craft.

I know its off-topic but it is an Aster so maybe we can see who knows something of interest and value.

Pictures of a completed model with a couple of errors can be seen here - http://modelandtoysteamforum.myfineforum.org/Aster_Perseverance_about54.html

Thanks and with seasonal greetings to all.

AsterUK


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## Chris Scott (Jan 2, 2008)

Extraordinary 
Stunning
Remarkable.


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## Mike Toney (Feb 25, 2009)

Wonder if a gas fired poker burner could be adapted to the boiler flue to make firing the boat a bit safer than the alcohol torch burner? Mike


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## Charles (Jan 2, 2008)

The alcohol vaporizer burner is perfectly safe and very easy to operate. We have numerous steam boats with this system including the Aster Perseverance.
An easy adaption if one does not want to use the tray would be to use a standard click butane lighter to heat the tube getting it hot enough to create vapor flow towards the blower then light it off.


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## StackTalk (May 16, 2014)

Congrats to Zephyra on his beautiful model . . .


I was not aware Aster produced a tug to go along with their model marine engine plant(s.) The model is attractive and I too am a bit surprised that the 3 cylinder version can be squeezed successfully into a relatively narrow hull of 750 mm LOA.

I have built only one tug, a 1:32 scale (39") Midwest Seguin (original plank-on-frame version) and putting a 3 cylinder Saito in that hull seems like a tight fit, along with R/C gear.

I am wondering whether Aster's Perseverance is loosely based on the renamed Imara - sans upper wheel house?

http://www.modelboats.co.uk/news/article/imara-to-perseverance/7575

Cheers,

Joe


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## Chris Scott (Jan 2, 2008)

All thing considered, a ceramic gas burner would be the most fuel and heat efficient, and the simplest type.


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## David Leech (Dec 9, 2008)

AsterUK said:


> Seeing Zephyra's thread about his new project - HMS Valiant, reminded me of one of the Aster Hobby Co's earliest creations. Yes the steam tugboat - Perseverance.
> 
> I suspect that the pressurised alcohol burner maybe the problem since a fire in the boiler room could bring about a swift demise of this mainly timber craft.
> 
> ...


Andrew,
I am confused!
Reading from the original Aster brochure it says "METAL HULL. The hull is made of Super Plastic Zinc Alloy and is formed by a pressing process.
Further, the wheel house, cabin skylight, funnel, hatches, engine room etc. are made of metal for the safety of the boat"
Was this not the case then, and the actual models were wood?
Merry Christmas,
David Leech, Delta, Canada


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## David Leech (Dec 9, 2008)

StackTalk said:


> Congrats to Zephyra on his beautiful model . . .
> 
> I am wondering whether Aster's Perseverance is loosely based on the renamed Imara - sans upper wheel house?
> 
> ...


Again, to quote from Aster's original brochure: "In the early 20th century, Great Britain was the most glorious in the world's oceans. ASTER has faithfully reproduced one of the typical steam tug boats which really existed in that era, the PERSEVERANCE, in the scale of 1/41; without destroying the atmosphere of the 1920s typical steam tug boats which sailed the rough North Seas."
Merry Christmas,
David Leech, Delta, Canada


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## David Leech (Dec 9, 2008)

Charles said:


> The alcohol vaporizer burner is perfectly safe and very easy to operate. We have numerous steam boats with this system including the Aster Perseverance.
> An easy adaption if one does not want to use the tray would be to use a standard click butane lighter to heat the tube getting it hot enough to create vapor flow towards the blower then light it off.


Charles,
It is not really the vaporizing burner of Bassett-Lowke days.
Aster refer to it as a Self-Pressurising Blow Lamp Burner.
Since you have one, you can correct me, but from what I see from the explanation and diagram for lighting it, 50ml of alcohol goes in the 'Igniting Burner' which appears to pre-heat the end of the Blow Lamp Pipe, which in turn will heat up the actual fuel tank.
As you have suggested, an alternate is to use a butane lighter - for how long?
The needle valve on the fuel tank is opened which will allow the now slightly pressurised fuel to pass into the Inner Blow Lamp Tube and then ignite into a flame out the front end of the pipe.
Then, I assume as everything continues to get hot, so the fuel continues to be pressurised and the cycle continues.
The instructions seem to suggest that you will get 15 to 22 minutes of burning time, after which the 'blowing force' will be weakened.
Does any of that make sense?
Merry Christmas,
David Leech, Delta, Canada


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## StackTalk (May 16, 2014)

David Leech said:


> Again, to quote from Aster's original brochure: "In the early 20th century, Great Britain was the most glorious in the world's oceans. ASTER has faithfully reproduced one of the typical steam tug boats which really existed in that era, the PERSEVERANCE, in the scale of 1/41; without destroying the atmosphere of the 1920s typical steam tug boats which sailed the rough North Seas."
> Merry Christmas,
> David Leech, Delta, Canada


Thanks David,

Doing a little further checking, "Perseverance," is one of those vessel names that have been used and reused a number of times on both sides of the Atlantic . . . since at least 1814. There is a vessel supply/tug Perseverance operating in Alaska right now. Assuming the Aster is correctly scaled up from .75 meters at 1:41, she'd be a 30.75 meter tug. Imara was taken over by the Royal Navy between the two wars and renamed "Perseverance" and bears some superficial similarities to the Aster model, but Imara/Perseverance was a 35.5 meter twin screw vessel.

Not meaning to take anything away from the Aster model . . . which is beautiful in its own right and quite unusual if indeed it has a pressed metal hull.

Cheers,

Joe


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## Charles (Jan 2, 2008)

David
"It is not really the vaporizing burner of Bassett-Lowke days.
Aster refer to it as a Self-Pressurising Blow Lamp Burner."

I never referenced the Bassett-Lowke setup in the discussion.

To be a "self-pressurizing" burner the setup requires pressure exerted by the gas from a liquid in a closed container at a given temperature. That pressure is called vapor pressure. Thus, the "blow lamp burner" is burning the the alcohol vapors that are escaping the closed container.
Therefore in my simple terminology: Vaporizer burner.

As to time required for the heating of the enclosed vessel to produce vapors; never put a clock on it (maybe a couple of minutes). Normally, feel the container to determine if it is getting warm and turn the valve ; if it pops off to flame then is is ready. Once again having operated numerous steam powered boats over many years, with Saito setup (same as Aster steam power components), I have not once seen a boat catch on fire. Even if one was to use the burner tray with the little bit of alcohol in it to start the vapor burner it would not greatly damage the boat if some how it spilled over (easily put out). Please note, that most every one has a procedure to fire up on land prior to placing their boat into the body of water. Thus the boat is up to steam and the alcohol in the tray has been dissipated, therefore no "fire" spill over while on the water. 

Lastly, the hull is as described as well as the wheel house, cabin skylight, funnel, hatches, engine room etc. are made of metal.


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## du-bousquetaire (Feb 14, 2011)

Actually the Basset Lowke "vapourised burner" was a bit different. My first gauge one live steam engine was a Bing for Basset Lowke GNR Atlantic, which I restored and ran for a couple of years in the 1976--78 era. it had their vaporising burner. This consisted of a meth tank and tubes coming up front of it to the burner which consisted of two horizontal tubes with holes in the top from which meth vapour could burn. To heat up the meths so that it would produce meth gas, there was a small vertical tube coming from the lower feed tube vertically between the two hrizontal tubes; in which there was a wick (coton) much like the ones in Zippos, this wick in turn heated the two horizontal burner tube enough so that the meth would vapourise. the whole set up was much like the one JVR installed in the BR 86 and his Swiss prototype which unfortunatly wasn't produced. It was not a blow torch burner and was very safe.


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## StackTalk (May 16, 2014)

There are other videos on line that show how these burners function.

The Saito and Aster are nearly identical . . .

This one is pretty thorough, actually too thorough:






Jump ahead to the 9 minute mark if you are only interested in the burner/boiler combination.


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## AsterUK (Jan 2, 2008)

Many thanks to the interesting responses. Yes the hull is metal but the deck and much else is wood and so a fire 50 yards from the shore is not going to end well.

Probably to give me confidence that a fire is unlikely I should test the burner / boiler setup on the bench.

It does occur to me that the boiler / burner may have been subcontracted to Saito because they are so similar. There is no-one at Aster to ask and this was all before the present owner, Mr Fujii, was involved in the business.

AsterUK


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## Joe Johnson (Jan 2, 2008)

I was nervous at first with the alcohol burner on my boat until I remembered how easy it was to put out an alcohol fire with water. One thing nice about a steam boat is that you usually have lots of water available.


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## zubi (May 14, 2009)

AsterUK said:


> [...]
> It does occur to me that the boiler / burner may have been subcontracted to Saito because they are so similar. [...]


I assume that this boiler + engine are the same as those sold separately (that is without the boat) by Aster. According to Mr Toyoki Inoue (RIP) they were designed and produced by Aster. During one of my conversations with Mr Inoue, he mentioned that Saito actually asked him how they could produce these engines+boiler sets (so much) cheaper than Saito... Best wishes from Tokyo, Zubi


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## StackTalk (May 16, 2014)

I am guessing that the Aster 2-cylinder and 3-cylinder marine engines are identical - or nearly identical - to the engines used in the Aster Shays? I would not know from any first-hand experience.

Even the handrail on the side of the cylinders has been reproduced.

Good video here:






Good article and video here:

http://asterplant.blogspot.com/2012/03/aster-3-cylinder-marine-steam-engine.html

The second video shows the "warming up" process.

Years ago, I do remember reading something about the differences between the Saito and the Aster. One concern had to do with the care one must exercise if one were to remove the manifold on the Aster as it is made of zamac or other white metal alloy. The Saito manifold screws directly into the machine brass cylinders.

Cheers,

Joe


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## Tomahawk & Western RR (Sep 22, 2015)

StackTalk said:


> There are other videos on line that show how these burners function.
> 
> The Saito and Aster are nearly identical . . .
> 
> ...


that steam power plant is crying out for someone to mount it in a boxcar and attach a rotary plow instead of a flywheel



.....someday i will do this...(AKA when i can afford to do so)


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## Steve Ciambrone (Feb 25, 2014)

I have experience with both Aster and Saito marine engines. The Saito engines are much better built and run very well. The Saito two cylinder T2DR would probably fit and run well in the boat.

Steve


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