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Thanks for the response, Chris. How was the prop stopped? Was there a shaft brake? Was there a clutch of some kind?
I am building a model of the engine designed by Jon Ericsson for the USS Monitor, leaning very heavily on Ric Carlstadt's highly detailed model. I have no experience with full scale steam engines or full size ships so I would like some input on maneuvering a steam ship. One of the factors that led to the Monitor's success was it's maneuverability and to my mind that would include the ability to shift from forward to reverse and back, quickly and easily.Ericsson's design included and elaborate reversing mechanism but it is not clear to me what was necessary to use it. Can a ship's engine be shifted from forward to reverse without bringing the ship to a full stop or near stop? How quickly can the steam be shut off, Ericsson's engine had a gate type throttle valve that took 10-12 full turns of a hand wheel from full open to full closed. Would any damage occur if it were to be closed as quickly as possible?Would there be any value to having a quick steam shutoff in addition to the fine control offered by the gate valve. My experience with maneuvering a heavy, under powered craft is in sailboats. It is quite difficult to steer a slow moving boat going forward and nearly impossible to steer in reverse. To kick the stern in one direction or the other is often done using "prop walk". Could that be done with a steam engine?Your input will be very helpful. .