S.S. Grackle
After a month and 11 days of work the S.S. Grackle is done!
S.S. Grackle is a 1850s styles paddle/propeller ocean liner, inspired by real ships such as SS Great Western, SS Great Britain, and RMS Britannia.
She is sinkable via a button in the engine room and sinks differently depending on what doors are open to flooding. The flooding starts from the forward compartment but once it spreads to the engine room the power will quickly drain and the ship could capsize if the stabilizer fails.
The Grackle has 4 lifeboats, working steam engines and pumps, whistles, lights, and a mostly full interior aside from the physics flooded areas.
She hold plenty of passengers in her cabins and plenty of crew, and is capable of 13.5-15 knots depending on how high the generator is running. Passengers can enjoy a below decks dining saloon or a lovely lounge above decks. There is 4 crates in the hold so you can bring your dogs along for the ride! There is a mail room, steam machinery room, a engine room with working steam-powered paddle engines, and about 1400 tons coal so you’ll have plenty of time to sail before needing to be bunkered. I XML edited all the rigging myself so that there is no lag. I recommend playing in low physics though since all my testing was done in that mode.
Startup procedure (very simple)
1: head down the engine room
2: open the firebox air valve, turn on the boiler pumps and radiations, and light the firebox
3: open the turbine throttle via the level under the engine
4: at the forward end of the engine room there is a lever that controls the generators, you might want it at 50% depending on how much electricity you are using
5: engage the propeller once the turbine is running. Once the boiler reaches a pressure of 1 you can engage the paddle wheels as well. The throttles for both are in the engine room, as well as throttle telegraphs on both the bridge and the wheelhouse, any method of throttling can be used.
make sure you shut off the firebox by closing the air valve to prevent a boiler explosion if you aren’t running the turbine.
