Half hull clippers 1845~1869 by rwiederrich - Finished

[rwiederrich]

Searching for a good place to start this..and since I will be building wood half models of at least 8 clipper ships..this looks like the right place.

 

I have several builder half models of several clipper ships..ie...the Lightning and the Cutty Sark.

 

But my problem is, in all the clipper models I build they are all roughly the same size models..but do not represent the actual comparative size to each other.  To keep the scale issue from being clouded as folks view my collection..and from misconceptions being formed that this ship was the same size as that ship; I am embarking on a new project.

 

To scratch build from carved wood a plaque that will contain some significant clipper ships through the period from 1845 to 1869.  A representation of the evolution of the clipper design.  As far as I am aware...there is no such collectors plaque currently available...so I am taking it upon myself to design and build one myself, for my library.

 

This means I will draft and scale 8 clippers...that I feel represent significant design changes and establish a visual representation of scale between these clipper ships.

 

I'm first starting with the Rainbow..of 159 ft built in 1845.

The Sea Witch of 170 ft built in 1846.

The Cutty Sark of 212 ft built in1869.

The Flying cloud of 229 ft built in1851.

The Young America of 243 ft built in 1853.

The Sovereign of the Seas of 258 ft built in 1852.

The James Baines of 266 ft built in1854

The Great Republic of 335 ft built in 1853

 

Each one of these clippers represents different designs and sizes...just what I want to demonstrate.

The average clipper's size fell between 170 and 260 ft in length....so I selected vessels that fell within that norm.  Not to be eclipsed by the Giant of them all the Great Republic.

 

I will be carving each of the half hull models from soft pine and the scale selected for rooms sake will be 1": 35'.  So the Rainbow will be roughly 4 1/4" long and the GR 9 1/4".

 

All will be situated in row on a nicely detailed plaque of wood(Painted antique green) with gilded trim.

 

Lets get started.

 

Rob

Edited February 22, 2018 by rwiederrich

[Sailor1234567890]

Because you don't have enough ships being built right now?  Looking forward to seeing your progress.

 

[rwiederrich]

I'm  A SHIPYARD.

 

Well I took a few images of the blocks of wood for the next 3 hulls...the Sovereign...the James Baines and the Cutty Sark.

 

Drawn on the wood in 3D...I'll go to the bandsaw and cut them out.

[rwiederrich]

Next I'll post some images of the first three hulls already cut and primed.

Here is the small Rainbow

[rwiederrich]

The next is the Sea Witch

[rwiederrich]

And the Flying Cloud

[rwiederrich]

All together

 

Edited February 22, 2018 by rwiederrich

[rwiederrich]

I still have rudders to add and painting the muntz bottoms.  The Rainbow will have a green bottom and a wide white band along the hull.

These are simply the primed wood half hulls and lots of details left to bring them up to the finish I want.

 

I still have Young America and the Great Republic to transfer to the pine blocks.

 

I use my bandsaw...and drum sander along with hand grinders to shape the hulls.

 

Rob

[Tigersteve]

Interesting. I’ll follow. 

Steve

[rwiederrich]

I wasn't sure if half hull models were considered a legit topic...but I'm sure many have either put their hands  or wanted too, to creating half models of their favorite ships.

 

Thanks for all the likes everyone.

 

More to follow.

 

Rob

[rwiederrich]

Here are some images of the three after I made the cuts on the band saw...co carving or shaping yet.....

 

Rob

[Jaager]

To clarify your data,

when I saw that you were saying that the scale was 1:35 - I thought

"this will be one heck of a plaque- the Great Republic hull being 9.5 feet long."

So, playing with your numbers - I am guessing that  you are at 1" : 35'  or 1:420 for scale?

 

Half hulls are not a frequent subject, but they are certainly a valid subject.

The difference in hull lengths - being displayed in actual 3D - is educational and adds perspective

to the contemporary written comments.

 

[rwiederrich]

Thanks Jaager...so very much.  I should have stated 1 inch equals 35 feet...your scale is nice 1:420....

I used the " and ' marks for the measurements.

 I thought the half hull comparisons would help clarify the problem we can sometimes have when we have similar size models of different scales and no real way to demonstrate the actual size comparison between vessels.

 

I hope it is a great visual aid...and one nice to have on the wall of my nautical Den.

 

Rob

[druxey]

Half hull models are certainly a valid expression of ship modelling, Rob. I'm interested that you are making these at such a relatively small scale.

[rwiederrich]

Thanks Druxey.  I intended the scale to be small so as to allow me to fit at least 8 hull models/designs on the plaque.

The plaque must be large enough and small enough to accommodate the half models, descriptions of them and a characterization of the particulars of why hull models were used and to demonstrate the varied size of clipper ships being built during the clipper era and be able to comfortably find a wall space.

Thanks for your fine comments and interest.

 

Rob

[rwiederrich]

I've finished cutting out the Great Republic and the Young American...but still need to contour and finish carving them(as well as the three just cut) into their final designs.  that takes the longest, because the true hull design is captured in the final carving and great care must be taken to make an accurate representation.

 

More to follow.

 

Rob

[rwiederrich]

Here are some new images of the finished band saw cut half hulls.

 

Young America in the middle(Just started carving) and Sovereign of the Seas on top

 

Rob

[rwiederrich]

Here is the rough carved Great Republic(Top) and the James Baines..the seond larges clipper ever made next to the GR.

[rwiederrich]

Lastly the entire collection in order and in various stages of completion.

You can see the significance of the comparison...for if one didn't have such a form of comparison..you will fail to recognize the size difference between famous clippers of the same era.

 

More to follow.

 

Rob

[Srodbro]

Very creative and instructive. 

[russ]

Rob:

Very nice work. I like the various hull forms, especially the bottom most one in the last photograph. What ship is that, if you do not mind? 

 

I have also built small half models and they can be a lot of fun to build. 

 

Russ

[rwiederrich]

Thanks Steve and Russ.   I hope to continue with the step by step construction and explanations of the significance of the project to me.

Russ, the smallest half hull model is of the Rainbow..the vessel identified as the first true clipper.

From bottom to top....Rainbow, Sea Witch, Cutty Sark, Flying Cloud, Young America, Sovereign of the Sea, James Baines and the Great Republic.

 

NOTE: All the clippers are modeled using the actual builders line drawings of their particular hulls.

 

Thanks for all the likes.

 

Rob

[mtaylor]

Wonderful work, Rob.  The differences in size is surprising to me. 

[rwiederrich]

Yes..so if you compare the Young America(An Ed build log on this vary forum) to the Great Republic you can see the difference.  It was ginormous.

 

Rob

[rwiederrich]

Spent some time finishing up the initial carving of the half hulls.  Here are some pix.

[Sailor1234567890]

What information will be included with the hulls? Ship's name and some basic dimensions like LOA, LWL, Draught and Beam maybe?

[rwiederrich]

A small plaque beneath each will state the year it was built, Name of ship, Origin of build, tonnage, and length of ship.

Off to the right of the listed models will be another plaque stating a brief description of the Era and the  builders/designers names.

 

Each half hull will also be painted bellow the waterline and any plank sheer line detailing will be added as well.

 

Rob

[rwiederrich]

I painted the bottoms today...a metallic *Muntz*color..cept the Rainbow had a green bottom.

[Tigersteve]

I’m interested to see where this project leads us. 

Steve

[Sailor1234567890]

They were all fully rigged 3 masted ship except GR with her 4th mast, is that correct? The difference in scale even at this stage of the project is striking. Discounting GR, the remaining are all 3 masted so the difference in size of the rig and gear must have been quite considerable. Looking forward to more progress.

Cheers,

Daniel