Schooner Altair by KeithAug - Scale 1:32 - 1931 - Finished

[Bedford]

I do like a bit of ingenuity!

It looks great

[Jim Lad]

That deck is looking very nice, Keith.

 

John

[Jond]

Kieth

 

wow   i just had a great half hour finding and reading this log.  You are doing a great job with a difficult shape.   I am intrigued with your method because I assume your hull is very thin and light.

 

also I wonder if the the bulk head and balsa process could lead one to a plug for  a gel coat hull.

 

 

regardless I look forward to follow along as this looks like a beautiful yacht

 

cheers 

[KeithAug]

Hi Jond

 

I think using the balsa method to create a plug is a possibility. I like wood finishes so for me it wasn't an option. My plan is to second plank in mahogany and then finish above the waterline in white enamel with a polished mahogany finish below the waterline. As you say the hull is very light at the moment.

 

Thank you Bedford / John for your feedback.

[KeithAug]

More deck planking:-

 

I made a start on the planking which follows the contour of the deck edge. As explained previously these planks are much narrower. I made the planks .108 inch wide x 10 inch long which is 3.5 inch by 26 foot at full size.

 

It's probably worth posting a few images of the real thing at this point:-

 

 

I wanted the deck to be representative of the real thing but accepted that absolute accuracy wasn't quite achievable.

 

So here are a few images of progress to date:-

 

 

I was progressing well until my helper arrived and demanded some exercise!

 

 

 

 

[pete48]

Very Nice Keith, She's going to be an Amazing Boat 

 

Best Regards,

Pete

[mtaylor]

The deck planking is looking great.  That is an interesting pattern they used and you're matching it.

[KeithAug]

Hi Mark

 

Yes the deck planking pattern is a bit unusual. I'm not sure why they would do it like that but it may just have been a consequence of the timber they had available in the ship yard.

 

Hello Pete

 

Altair is a beautiful yacht and I hope I do it justice.

[KeithAug]

Deck planking complete - but as yet not sanded:-

 

A quick post this time consisting mainly of photographs.

 

Yesterday afternoon / evening and earlier today I completed the deck planking the initial photographs show where i started yesterday.

 

 

The accurate marking and positioning of the deck edge planks paid dividends and by the time I reach the deck centre line the symmetry was virtually spot on. No doubt an element of luck played its part.

 

 

Deck sanding tomorrow...........

 

 

 

 

 

[pete48]

Wow Keith, You have been busy, The Deck looks Fantastic, Well done 

 

 

Best Regards,

Pete

[michael mott]

I am amazed at how fast you put that deck planking on, it looks good.

 

Michael

[KeithAug]

Hi Pete / Michael,

 

I'm not really very quick - I just stuck at it, all day and some of the night. Putting the caulking in makes it quite fiddly and slow. Their must be a better way of simulating caulking but I don't know what it is. I bet their is a thread somewhere. Thank you for the comments.

[KeithAug]

Slow progress but I did finish sanding the deck. I started with 120 grit emery cloth and removed all the plank thickness irregularities. I then used 400 grit wet and dry paper (used dry) to give a silky smooth finish. I used a damp cloth wiped over the deck to raise the nap and when dry I again used the 400 grit wet and dry. I repeated this twice.

 

 

I also sorted out the stern planking detail.

 

 

Time is drawing near when I will need to address the bulwarks so I decided to mount the plank required for inverted handling of the hull. To protect the deck rubber pads are attached to the bearers where they bolt to the hull. The plank is mounted parallel to the waterline so that the setting out of hull details (portholes etc) will be easier later on.

 

 

Having completed the deck sanding I wanted to protect the deck from workshop grime. I decided to give it a few coats of satin finish varnish. I need to glue ribs etc to the deck edge once the bulwarks are in place so I masked the deck edge mahogany planks so that gluing would not be a problem at a later stage. The photos were taken with the 1st coat of varnish still wet.

 

Edited March 8, 2016 by KeithAug

[michaelpsutton2]

Very nice work

[michael mott]

Keith your deck looks super.

 

Michael

[KeithAug]

Thank you Michael and Michael.  As I explained the deck planking isn't exactly to scale - I find it difficult to achieve this at 1:32 scale but I still need to get comfortable with the compromise. May be I will have to move to larger scales at some time. 

Edited March 8, 2016 by KeithAug

[mtaylor]

What an astounding looking deck, Keith.  I think you've captured a big part of the beauty of these boats.

[pete48]

Hi Keith, I could not agree more with everyone, Beautiful deck

 

Best Regards,

Pete

[KeithAug]

Mark / Pete - thank you. The deck varnish is still tacky some 18 hours after application so I don't think I am going to be making much progress today. Modern oil based varnishes don't seem to dry as quickly as they seemed to when I was younger. I keep thinking I should try water based varnishes which claim to dry much quicker. I wonder what you all use?

[mtaylor]

Keith,

 

I've been using Wipe-on-Poly lately but in the past I used spray on.  I've not tried any of shellacs or varnishes.

[Bedford]

I have noticed that some types of timber seem to make the varnish take longer to dry.

On a side note, I varnish my decks too but in reality we should leave them bare if we want to be accurate.

[KeithAug]

Thanks Mark - I'll try wipe on poly on the hull. 

 

Hello Bedford - As you say it may be the wood. If I left the deck untreated I be constantly annoyed with family and friends when they pawed it. Hopefully the miniature crews deck boots will cope!

[pete48]

Keith,

 

I've been using Wipe-on-Poly lately but in the past I used spray on.  I've not tried any of shellacs or varnishes.

Hi Mark, I have been using Epifanes varnish with good success ( it does take about 10 hours in between coats ) 

 

Best Regards,

Pete

[KeithAug]

Today I had to find something to amuse myself as watching varnish dry isn't a very stimuating pass time (it has dried finally after 24 hours). 

 

I thought I would have a go at making the propeller. I have not made one before and the fall back option was going to be to buy one. I don't however like buying fittings as it always feels like cheating.

 

This is what I did.

 

Firstly to make the blades I cut 3 identical strips of brass .040 inch thick. The 3 strips were fastened together using double sided tape as I intended cutting out all 3 blades at the same time. A paper template was fastened to the brass strips again using double sided tape . Confidence / experiences was low so I marked out 6 blades. The pin in one of the photo's gives an idea of scale.

 

 

I din't need the reserve set of 3 blades as the first lot turned out ok. The small peg at the bottom of each blade was to locate / fasten them in the hub.

 

 

The hub was turned on the lathe and 3 equi-spaced holes were drilled around the circumference to take the pegs on the blade. Each blade was given a slight curvature by bending it around a bar - using the vice to apply the pressure. The whole lot was then assembled and soldered together.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mtaylor]

A beautiful prop there, Keith.   Nice work, indeed.   Nothing wrong with watching paint/varnish dry.   I do it early then read MSW and sometimes take a nap... although naps lately have been impossible due to dog seeing me doze off decides suddenly that it's play time.

[KeithAug]

Thanks Mark,

 

I used to do naps but Maisie is only 10 months and like your dog has banned all restful activity.

[KeithAug]

I'm still watching varnish dry. The second and third coats have gone on and each dried in 10 hours. The 24 hours drying of the first coat must have had something to do with absorption of the varnish into the wood. Anyway it gave me time to finish off the prop shaft. I still have to make the "A" frame for supporting the rear bearing.

 

 

 

[pete48]

Beautiful work Keith, It looks Amazing

 

Best Regards,

Pete

[mtaylor]

Wonderful metalwork, Keith.

[KeithAug]

Bulwarks!!

 

So I finally got round to making a start on the Bulwarks. From earlier posts it is apparent that I was approaching this with some trepidation. The sculpturing of the hull on the outside of the bulwarks (see photo) is something I have not done before and I tend to explore options in my head for weeks before attempting something like this. In the end I have to get on with it before I go mad.

 

 

I had done a bit of preplanning in that I had left the upper edge of the hull un-planked so that the recess could take the lower edge of the bulwark.

 

 

To create the sculpturing the bulwark is going to be laid up in 3 layers of .032 inch ply. The middle of the 3 layers is going on first and fits in the un-planked recess. This middle layer will form the upper sculptured line and the outer layer the lower sculptured line. A bit difficult to explain but I'm sure it will become clear as I work through the process over the coming days.

 

Anyway the starting operation was to make up a cardboard template to get an accurate representation of the hull recess.

 

 

The shape of the bulwark pieces is quite complex and it took a lot of assembling, removing, sanding etc etc before I was happy with the shape. After the best part of a days work I now have 2 parts almost complete and temporarily pinned in place. 

 

 

Only 4 more pieces to go.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 12, 2016 by KeithAug