Biloxi schooner model restoration by Russ - 1/24 scale - Finished

[russ]

Hello everyone.

As some of you may recall, I restored a locally made fishing schooner model a few years back. Now that I have a few moments, I am reposting that log.

 

The story begins in the 1940s. My friend Gabe Kasovich was given this model by his father in about 1948. The origins of the model are uncertain, but Gabe recalled that it was made by one of the Fountains, a local boatbuilding family. The model may have been made as early as the 1930s. It seems probable that the model was repainted at least once before Gabe got the model in 1948, so this would support the idea that the model being a few years older than 1948.

 

Here is a photograph of the model in 1948

 

The hull is a single piece of wood, most likely red cypress. It was carved to shape on the outside of the hull and then hollowed out on the inside. It originally had a lead keel that was bolted to the hull. The deck was a single sheet of cypress laid over about 5-6 deck supports. The model was originally intended as a sailing model. These models were used by the local children back in the 1930s in model regattas along the beach front.

 

The bow area of the model is a bit crude, but the midsection and the stern area are remarkably well formed and certainly look very much like a Biloxi schooner.

 

Here is what the model looked like as the paint was stripped in the summer of 2005.

 

 

 

As you can see, she needed "a new everything" on deck. We were able to salvage the two lower masts, but that was it. Actually, the main mast was the only original mast. The foemast was a smaller diameter replacement that was possibly made from a pool cue. The bowsprit was a hideously oversized hunk of wood that begged to be replaced with something more in scale.

 

Gabe wanted the model restored as a static model, with as much accuracy as we could get without disturbing the outer hull's original construction. The decision was made to strip as much of that lead based paint as possible and repaint the hull white with a water based paint. Gabe agreed to do the stripping since he does some of his own furniture restoration. Not having to strip lead paint was fine by me.

 

This project almost did not happen. Gabe brought me the model in mid August 2005. He had repainted the hull, but it was a bit too glossy for my taste, so I suggested he go for a more satin finish. He took the model back home and a couple of weeks later, Hurricane Katrina came plowing through and everyone was preoccupied for several months. In truth, I was not able to get hold of Gabe for several months and I did not know for certain if he or the model had survived the storm. Fortunately, when we spoke in late November, he said that while his house had been damaged in the storm, his old work shed out in the back yard where the model was kept had not even been touched. Go figure. So, he brought the model back to me in mid January 2006.

 

Next time, the restoration begins.

 

Russ

[russ]

One aspect of this restoration/rebuild was to strip plank the deck. I began by laying a waterway and adding faux bulwark stanchions. These gave the model a more authentic appearance, but they were also important because I needed to add cleats to the stanchions as belaying points for the rigging.

 

Here is the model, cradled and with the stanchions and waterway installed and painted. I am strip planking the deck with basswood.

 

Here is another shot of the deck planking in the bow.

 

More to come.

 

Russ

 

 

[cog]

Russ,

 

I remember this one. I enloyed the log tremendously. Looking forward to the 'development'. It's good to see her back coming a live.

[captainbob]

Russ,

 

I'm going to watch this one.  Looks like fun.

 

Bob

[russ]

Thanks for looking in. I should mention that the basswood decking was created from a sheet of basswood that was as thick as the deck planks are wide. I painted one side of the basswood sheet with acrylic grey and then used my table saw to slab off the planks. This gave me uniform width planks that had one edge grey and the other edge plain. When laid grey edge to plain, it created a nice muted caulking seam.

 

This is a tried and true method for maiking caulking seams in deck planking.

 

Russ

[Jim Lad]

Nice to see her back on the forum, Russ!

 

John

[russ]

John:

Thanks. This was a good project and I learned a lot doing it.

 

Russ

[russ]

Once the deck planking was completed, I was able to begin work on deck fittings. The standard deck plan calls for a main hatch between the masts, another smaller hatch between the deck house and the main mast, and a smaller scuttle just forward of the foremast. We also needed the bitts and a windlass, a ship's wheel and wheel box, and the deck house, which takes the form of a trunk cabin.

 

Here is the deck house and aft hatch. The deck house has already been painted and the hatch will also be painted. Note the cleat on the stanchions in the background.

 

More later.

 

Russ

 

[russ]

The windlass was next. I made it out of wood and then painted it to look like worn or aged metal. It is bolted to the bowsprit bitts.

 

Here is the unpainted version.

 

And the painted version.

 

And here it is dry fitted in place on deck, but before painting. Note also the scuttle, main hatch, and the cleats along the bulwarks.

 

Russ

[druxey]

This is an interesting project with a history! I'm looking forward as you continue to restore her, Russ.

[russ]

Druxey:

Thank you for those kind words. I should note that this project took place from January 2006 to May 2008. I am reposting the log because of the crash.

 

Russ

[russ]

Although this is slightly out of sequence (I just found this photograph), here is an early photo of the model in my shop, after the stanchions were installed. Note the new bowsprit being fitted. This is much more in scale with the model, but it required filling in the area under the rail where the bowsprit passes through to the deck. The new bowsprit was much smaller than the out of scale replacement that had been added back in the 1960s.

 

 

Of course, the bowsprit still needed a bit of work, bands added etc, but this was a big improvement over what was there earlier.

 

Russ

[russ]

Another important fitting was the ship's wheel. These schooners used an Edson brand wheel in the early 1900s. Earlier on they may have used an all wood wheel, but from the photos of the 1920s, we know that the Edson wheels were quite popular.

 

Here is a nice example of an Edson wheel.

 

Here is what I was able to create for the model.

 

My wheel is not perfect, but it is a close approximation. It was created using several different materials. The basic rim is 1/16" plywood. The inner and outer bands of the rim are poster board. The spindles are bamboo. The handles are hand turned from cherry and have dowels formed on their ends to glue into holes in the rim. The hub is a piece of basswood and the sockets for the spindles on the outer part of the hub are brass tubing.

 

Note the locator dowels at each corner of the bottom of the wheel box. This is now a standard method for me. I can drill corresponding holes in the deck to locate a piece of deck furniture and always be able to remove and replace the fitting during construction. In fact, I do not think I even glued the fittings to the deck permanently because the fit was so snug with the locator dowels.

 

Russ

Edited May 12, 2013 by russ

[michael mott]

Russ thanks for re-posting this log, Your work on this originally was before my joining the forum so I definitely missed it the first time round. I will be following along. The grey paint to produce a muted caulking is a "greyt" idea.

 

Michael

[russ]

Michael:

Thanks. This will not be nearly as nice as the work you are doing on your cutter, but I hope it will be useful to someone.

 

The grey color was actually an idea I got from looking at the caulking compounds that are used on local boats. Their caulking is, of course, not black like they used 200 years ago. I toyed with the idea of painting the deck or maybe giving it a grey wash, but I decided I just could not cover up the lines of the planking and the subtle shades of color from the wood. So, I just made the seams.

 

Russ

[themadchemist]

Thanks for the repost. Interesting project.

Nice work on recreating that wheel. What's its total diameter and how did you create the rises in the plywood ring that simulate the spindle passage through the wheel? You did a really bang up job of recreating the look of the Edson wheel.

[russ]

Thanks for the kind words.

 

I am not sure about the wheel diameter since it has been several years and the model is not handy to take measurements. I am pretty sure the rim was about 7/8" or 1". The handles are about 3/16" or 1/4" long each. I think the total diameter was about 1 1/2" or so. The extra thickness where each spindle goes through the rim was done with pieces of thin wood.

 

Russ

[russ]

One of the aspects that I wanted to address in this restoration was the rigging. I created new chainplates for the model. Originally, they just had screw eyes in the railing. Gabe and I agreed that we wanted more authentic looking chainplates. First was the chain plate itself.

 

Here is the chainplate with the soldered eye in the top.

 

Here is a look at the parts of the chainplate and deadeye assembly.

 

The bolt and nut are from Micromark. The bolt passes through the chainplate loop and through the holes of the deadeye strap. The deadeye strap is just a length of brass strip with holes drilled in either end to take the bolt. The strap is drilled to take small nails to fasten it to the hull.

 

Here is one of the completed assemblies. Note the holes for the nails that will fasten the strap into the hull.

 

Russ

[russ]

There were several photos of detail in the original build log that I no longer have. So, descriptions will have to suffice for the most part. After fitting the deadeyes and chainplates, I had to work on the masts. The original mainmast was one long stick, but it had been broken about two thirds the way up, so it made sense to cut the mast off and then add a proper masthead.

 

Here you can see what I did. The white area is a separate piece of wood shaped and fitted to the lower mast. A dowel was used to connect the two pieces, using the dowel as a spline.

 

This same procedure was done on both mastheads.

 

Russ

[russ]

New gaffs and booms were made and the sails were sewn out of japara cotton. Rigging was created from Egyptian cotton. I can heartily recommend Egyptian cotton for rigging. It is some of the best stuff I have used.

 

Here are some photographs of the completed model.

 

More to come.

 

Russ

Edited May 17, 2013 by russ

[russ]

Here are some detail photos.

 

Please feel free to ask any questions. Thanks for looking in.

 

Russ

[captainbob]

Russ,

 

Did all Biloxi schooners have a boom on the jib?

 

Good job on this restoration.

 

Bob

[Anja]

Hello Russ,

 

A very successful restoration, my compliments.

These Schooners are called "White Winged Queens", and your is just as beautiful.

 

Congratulations on a job well done.

 

Anja

[russ]

Bob:

In all of the photos I have seen of Biloxi schooners, they had the boom on the forestaysail as I have shown. The jib does not.

 

Thanks for the kind words.

 

Russ

[russ]

Anja:

Thank you. It was an enjoyable project. The term "white winged queen" was very likely coined by a local journalist, Walter Fountain. He wrote many newspaper stories about the annual schooner races.

 

Russ

 

 

[michael mott]

What a sweet looking boat. Nice work on the restoration Russ.

 

Michael

[russ]

Michael:

Thanks for your kind words. I appreciate it.

 

Russ

[rdsaplala]

Excellent restoration work, Russ, she's a real beauty

[russ]

Aldo:

Thanks. This restoration will always be one of my favorite projects. It was a good subject, a great client, and the finished model has gotten more than a few ooos and aahhs.

 

Russ

[trippwj]

Fantastic job, Russ.  Not only a great client, but a boat type that is near and dear to you as well!  Have greatly enjoyed learning about these beautiful schooners through your builds.  Just wish we had been able to visit the museum when we were down last year.

 

Also wish we could make it down this weekend, but doesn't look like we will be able to get away.  Are you going to have this one in the display?