The story of Meritiitu begins in 1986, when its hull was completed from Seppo Suurnäkki’s boat sculpture. The boat was made for the Finnish Navy team as a racing boat for a sailor competition. It changed to maritime titre in 2000 when it was bought at an auction in the Gulf of Finland Maritime Defense Area. The new owner commissioned the refurbishment of a long-serving boat at the boat sculpture in Åminne and began working on a steamboat.
The marine tite machine is personal, it is made from the Wickström engine (petrol / kerosene) of the early 1930s, which was once the typical average engine for boats. Nikkanen bought the engine from a scrap shop for 100 marks and started to turn it into a steam engine. The conversion work itself was already completed in 2000, but some creative thinking has been done to improve the machine since then. Like internal combustion engines, the Wickström piston only works in the other direction. Below the piston is a crankcase whose steam, which passes through the oils, messes up into a “toffee-like” ATV. Disassembling the machine and machining and re-sealing the crankcase stopped the leaks, but only more toffee came. Eventually, the owner came up with the idea of guiding the crankcase breather pipe directly into the firebox. The furnace-side end of the pipe heats up enough that the quadrant has time to melt into water and oil droplets that burn in the furnace. The problem was solved, although when driving hard, the machine can sometimes “vomit decent dumplings properly” into the firebox and the rush is in line with it.
Another issue to be addressed with regard to the machine was lubrication, especially with respect to the crankshaft and the lower end of the connecting rod. This was solved by installing a copper tube through a hole drilled through the crankshaft bearing and a drip cup at one end of it. In this way, the oil dripped onto the bearing, and Nikkanen drilled a hole in the crankshaft corresponding to the corresponding point on the neck of the connecting rod bearing. This is how both got their anointing. The upper end of the connecting rod gets its lubrication from the oil pushed into the steam by the lubricator, which at the same time lubricates the slide, the cylinder and the piston trucks. Equipment outside the machine such as lubricator, water pump, slide mechanism, etc. lubricated in the traditional way by hand with a brass drip tray. One specialty due to the origin of the machine is that it does not have a change of direction. The issue has been resolved by installing a “kamewa” propeller with an adjustable blade in the boat. To change direction, stop the machine, turn the propeller blades, and turn the machine back on.
The owner just didn’t have to intervene in the boiler, it worked anyway. However, to facilitate heating, he increased the grate space, and in addition changed the chimney to a larger one. This has helped, “if you drive the steam even with a slight choke and rot the trees diligently, then the funds will go”. The heating of a small boiler with a hot surface of about 2.3 square meters must therefore be careful. Wood, coke and coal are used for heating. However, the charcoal smells so it is not pleasant to warm up on a calm day. Birch sticks are pleasant in this respect, and I can even heat the sausages with charcoal or in the ash hatch. The operating pressure of the boiler is 10 kg / cm2, but most often shaved with 4-8 kg.
Although Meritiitu is only six meters long, it is suitable for trees for a distance of 30-40 nautical miles and for five people with their belongings to enjoy the silence and unhurriedness of the steam. Meritiitu is about to have a new pier, and will continue to run next to the Billnäs power plant to the Åminneforss power plant and back. In addition, it has occasionally participated in Steam Yacht Club regattas and exhibited at boat fairs.
Technical information
- Name: Meritiitu
- Type: Steam launch
- Home port: Åminnefors
- Completed: 2000
- Builder:
- Former names: –
- Lenght: 6.0
- Beam: 1.7
- Draught: 0.4
- Speed (knots): 5.5–6
- A nice to know fact about the ship: Hull completed in 1986
- Engine type: 1 cylinder engine
- Engine built: around 1930
- Engine manufacturer: Wikström
- Engine power (ihp): 3
- A nice to know fact about the engine:
- Boiler type: Vertical fire-tube boiler
- Boiler built: ?
- Boiler manufacturer: ?
- Fuel: Wood, coal
- Furnaces (number): –
- Operating pressure (bar): 10
- Heating surface: 2.3
- A nice to know fact about the boiler:
