Water Mill - A Boat Mill Variant!

[Kevin WS]

One of my interests (in terms of vernacular architecture) are Water Mills, and naturally I enjoy making paper models of these - as and when I find the models - there are not as many models of water mills as you one would think) - as well as the time to make them!

I have 3 or 4 now waiting to be built, so decided I would now start one – an interesting little model from Richard Vyškovský – a Boat Mill!

An explanation here is probably needed, as most people have never heard of boat mills....

SOME BACKGROUND HISTORY
From the Middle Ages on, water mills were a really important power source in Europe, but eventually suitable sites for them were used up. This resulted in a need to find other sites and other ways of harnessing water power, which then lead to the development of bridge mills (mills mounted on bridges), hanging mills (mills suspended from a fixed structure), and boat mills.

As well as the need for a suitable site, water used for mills also had to be controlled – remember that water levels fall and rise.

Undershot water wheels (powered from the bottom - see Picture 1 below) were very prone to this, with mill ponds being used to a degree to control the water flow to them.

Another (more efficient) type of wheel used was the overshot water wheel, where the water was directed from above the wheel using channels and troughs. See Picture 2 below.

Both methods ideally also used small dams and sluice gates to control the water – and things could get quite complicated in the search for the delivery of a constant controlled flow of water.

Boat mills overcame much of the above issues.

• They could be anchored in the middle of wide streams, or wherever the current was strongest.
• They were unaffected by rising of falling water levels.
• They could be used in cities (where the river banks were crowded).
• And importantly, the (undershot) water wheel was always kept at the optimum level for the best power generation.

Boat mills date from the 6th Century and two types existed.

One type had wheels on either side of one hull, like a paddle steamer (Picture 3) shows this type, while the second type had two hulls on either side of one wheel - Pictures 4 and 5.

The second type of boat mill was far more common (two hulls on either side of one wheel), as this design had a number of additional advantages.

• Firstly it further channelled the water between the two hulls, thereby increasing power output.
• Secondly the use of the two hulls enabled a larger mill wheel to be supported.
• Thirdly control gates could be used to control wheel speed, while lastly the two hulls meant greater stability.

Richard’s model is of this later type.

This type of boat mill had some generally standard design features worth noting……..

• The one hull was firstly bigger than the other – this housed the actual mill and often the miller’s house.
• The second hull was a lot smaller – it only needed to house the axle bearing and a number of rocks (used to balance the mill).
• In actual use the mill was always used with the large hull on the river bank side, and was generally accessible by a wooden bridge from the bank.
• More rarely it would be anchored mid-stream – then boats had to be used!
• Another difference was although water mills were used for all other tasks – including minting, oil mills, sawmills, oil mills, cotton mills etc., most boat mills were only used as corn mills.

Boat mills spread in the 9th century to the Middle and Far East.

The demise of boat mills basically came with the introduction of steam power – which especially led to steamboats and the related need for more open navigation channels, which in turn lead many authorities to ban boat mills. In later years boat mills survived on only in Turkey, Germany, Bosnia, Serbia, Slovakia, Japan, Hungary and Austria.

THE MODEL
As mentioned Richard’s model is of a boat mill with two hulls and central wheel.

It represents a fairly typical central European grain mill, complete with the millers’ residence.

The instructions follow Richards’s normal style and have the usual exploded diagram as the main reference source. After a bit of studying this looks clear enough, and I will cover any issues (hopefully few or none) as I go along. A lot of the artwork is more “subdued” than normal. All in all a very nice and unusual little model.

I have done my usual and reduced it to 1/160, printing it on 120 grm paper which seemed about right for me.

Warning – this will not be a quick build as I have plenty of other things on the go at the moment, but I will try to devote time to it on a regular basis - starting with some work later tonight!

Picture 1 shows a typical undershot water wheel.

Picture 2 shows an overshot wheel.

Picture 3 shows the first type of (less popular) boat mill – two wheels either side of a hull. This is actually a photo of a Chinese mill.

Pictures 4 and 5 show two hulled boat mills (with a central wheel). This the type of mill I will be making.

Picture 6 lastly shows the component sheets for the model– lots of fiddly small pieces, even more so in 1/160!

[elliott]

Kevin, pictures 1 and 2 are reversed. Picture 1 is an overshot wheel and picture 2 is a wheel that is undershot. Other than that niggle it is a most interesting article. I'd never heard of a water mill. Learn something new every day. Thanks for sharing and explaining. This will be an interesting build.

[Tomdaviesclay]

Kevin, thank you for sharing the wonderful illustrations and history of the water wheel. I learned a lot. I am anxious to see your finished model. Having been born in WVA and raised in Ky, I have seen a number of the overshot water mills.

Are you familiar with the Great Courses? " Understanding Greek and Roman Technology:from Catapult to the Pantheon" has several fascinating lectures on the use of water power and wheels. I found all 24 lectures on medieval technology to be very intriguing and enlightening. I highly recommend this course or any course that The Teaching Company has produced.

[Kevin WS]

Elliot, thank you. I am glad you enjoyed the explanation. I actually was worried it was a bit too long, and shortened it quite as far as I could!

And yes, I did reverse the two pictures in error. Thanks for picking this up. Unfortunately it is too late to edit it now! Irritating, but so it goes!

And if people are getting confused .....sorry!

Picture 1 = Undershot. The water drives the wheel from the bottom.

Picture 2 = Overshot. The water drives the wheel from the top.

[SCEtoAUX]

Watermills are some fascinating machines. Sort of calming to watch. That model looks to be an interesting build.

Have you ever seen Akira Kurosawa's Dreams (Yume)? It has a section titled "Village of the Watermills" that is very good.

[Kevin WS]

Tom, thank you also. Your post crossed mine...

I looked up the "Great Courses", as I was not familiar with these. Very interesting indeed! But incredibly pricy! Pity, as I would like to indulge!

Mediaeval technology is a very interesting topic, and I have quite a few books on the subject. It is spreading how much of modern technology that we take for granted is in fact not really modern at all!

Something I did not mention in the explanation above is that hanging mills and bridge mills, and the concept of the mill pond to control the water flow, led directly to the development of the hydroelectric dam. The latter is no more then an enclosed bridge mill really, backed up by a large "mill pond"!

-----------------------------

Doug, thank you also for your input.

I have seen"Dreams" - I found it quite a striking film, and remember the segment you mention. The section on the "Village of the Water Mills" was filmed in the Daio Wasabi Farm, where they have those striking (working) water mills. There are some beautiful pictures around of these mills.......

[Tomdaviesclay]

Kevin, Look at the Great Course webpage often or better yet get on their mailing list. I get a catalog from them about twice a month with a huge sale - as much as 75% off the regular price. I always wait for a sale before buying a course. We have about 20 of them. Finding time to watch them is sometimes a problem.

[Yale]

Kevin: Like Abhovi's Dutch fluyt, your information on boat mills and other water wheels is a fascinating bit of earlier technology. Just one model of each type would be a very nice collection, perhaps worthy of display at a local library.

Thomas: You clearly share my enjoyment of the Great Courses. The Greek/Roman Technology course caught my eye, too, but haven't been able to order it yet. At full price, as Kevin notes, these courses are prohibitively expensive, so it's good that the firm has frequent 70% sales. There hasn't been time to see all the courses I have so far. Furthermore, several local libraries have additional Great Courses available for checkout, so any of you might suggest such acquisitions for libraries near you.

But here we are on a modeling forum, so I can't help imagining a Great Course on modeling. And I'll bet that certain members here would do great jobs as lecturers.

[Kevin WS]

Tom and Yale - thanks for your advice re the "Great Course" discounts - appreciated!

Our currency here is just collapsing - which makes the dollar prohibitively expensive.....

[Kevin WS]

Here are some more boat mill pictures that may be of interest.

The first two are of mills that survived until recently.

These mills survived relatively unknown in Central Europe, until "discovered" in the late 1990's in relatively remote areas.

Picture 1 was taken in Slovenia. Looking like it is on its last legs!

Picture 2 in Serbia. A pity this has been rendered in black and white and not left in colour. Also looking pretty worn out!

Picture 3 in Slovenia again. Another mill taken in the early 2000's after restoration. Not a daily working mill (unlike the other two).