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HOWARD STEAMBOAT MUSEUM |
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Sun 2/26/12: Send A Boat! |
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6/2/12 Reception In Memoriam Capt. Alan L. Bates |
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October, 2006: New Hands-On Exhibit Being Installed on Back Porch
A “hands-on” exhibit is being installed by Capt. Alan Bates,
naval architect and founding Board President of the
Howard Steamboat Museum and Bill Ray, pilot of the Belle
of Louisville.
The new exhibit will incorporate authentic museum artifacts
into an interactive experience.
Visitors standing at a turn-of-the-century pilotwheel will be
able work the bell system used by the Captain to communicate
with the engineers three decks below.
The installation coincides with the adaptive restoration of the museum’s
enclosed back porch and addition of a new entranceway designed
to accommodate an access ramp.
PilotWheel: A pilotwheel will be mounted on an axle and fitted part-way down into the floor of the renovated back porch. Bell Stand: To simulate the pilot’s end of the old-time bell system for signaling orders to the engineer, a “bells & gong” has been designed by Alan Bates. A bell stand crafted by tool and diemaker, Bruce Babcock, will be mounted in front of the wheel and re-strung with cables to operate the “bells & gong” system below the porch. The bell stand used as a model came from the sternwheel towboat Edith Nugent built in 1915. Old-Time Bells: A set of authentic engineroom bells that have been assembled for this project include a stopping bell, backing bell and trip gong. The bells installed under the porch will be operated by the bell stand in front of the pilotwheel. Hands-on Experience: From inside the glass porch, a visitor will be able to stand next to the pilotwheel, put on a captain’s hat, and operate the “bells & gong” as if in a pilothouse. The total display will illustrate the system for transmitting the pilot’s orders to the engineer at a time before telephones or cell phones. The pilot steers from inside a small room-with-a-view on top of the boat. He/she signals for power from the boiler-room engineer below who cannot see what is happening. The problem is analogous to the driver of a car steering from the front seat giving orders to “stop, go, slow down or back up”, while the person pushing the brake and gas pedals is stowed in the trunk! Grant Funding: The exhibit is funded in part by a grant received from the J Mack Gamble Fund of the Sons and Daughters of Pioneer Rivermen, Marietta, Ohio. The grant proposal was written by Janice Molnar, volunteer and docent. |
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