Cap'n Rat Fink

Hello my Friends,
Since my new job assignments has left me with very little time for research and building, I have decided to do a "FUN BUILD" , since I like to build more then research.
I have decided to venture into the realm of "REMOTE CONTROL" boating. Since I know nothing of R/C'n I am getting myself into a lot of trouble here. Scratch building the boat will be easy. It's the R/C stuff that will be a pain. My kids have been bugging me to build one so I have decided to build "THE ORCA" from one of my most favorite movies...."JAWS". Once completed i already have another R/C boat waiting in th wings to be built.
As for the Orca there is plenty of information on the WWW to pull from plus all the info I have on hand to assist me with the construction of the boat. My objective is as usual to make even a fictitious boat as accurately and realistic as possible of a world famous boat. The only part that might not have any detail will be the inside of the cabin. the reason is because the motor shell reside in the cabin area. If it sits low enough then you can bet your boots I will detail out the cabin. In the R/C world I have found out that the Orca is one popular R/C boat to build. So mine has to be detailed out to the max and make it my own.
Why the Orca, because it was the very first time my brother, cousin and I had to wait in line to watch this movie way back in 1975. Jaws was the first ever movie that bore the name of a "SUMMER BLOCKBUSTER". Another was I'm from Southern California and the beach go hand and hand in my area. But after watching that movie i really did not miss the beach too much that year. Ah what goes on inside a kids mind after watching that movie....HAHA!
The plans mention the boat being built completely out of Balsa. Well I do not like or care for balsa so I will be going with Basswood. The deck may be built from Teak wood. I hope to add as I go along a lot of "FACTS" and "FUN FACTS" about the boat and the movie.

HELP WANTED....
SINCE I KNOW NOTHING OF R/C RUNNING SYSTEMS I HOPE SOME OF YOU OUT THERE CAN ASSIST ME WITH THAT PORTION OF THE BUILD. MY OBJECTIVE IS TO DO A VERY DETAILED BUILD OF THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE BOAT....PLUS A DETAILED CONSTRUCTION OF THE RUNNING GEAR SO OTHERS CAN USE BUILD LOG FOR THEIR R/C BUILDS THAT ARE BEGGINERS IN THE FIELD OF R/C'n AS I AM.....

The next update will be when the hull is complete. So it may be a bit depending again on my workload at my job, as to how much time I have to play.....So talk to you all real soon I hope and "HAPPY MODELING.

Today was rather successful.  I managed to cement both the port and starboard coamins on using CA.  I again applied the CA in sections so I can hold each one in place to help it hold its location.  I used a toothpick this time to apply the CA only where it's needed.  This way it didn't come into contact with my fingers - - - much 
 
After the CA had set I measured the height and marked it off with a soft pencil, then proceeded to sand it down using my Proxxon moto tool with a disc sander.  The final sanding was done with a small home made sanding block.
 
I decided against cutting the deck narrower in the work area and just followed te kit plan for the most part.  That meant that I had to add one extra plank to the side seats.
 
All this worked out so nice and faster then I anticipated so I went ahead and cemented the wales on and after the CA had set I also cemented the toe rails on.  A little bit of dressing them, removing a few spots where the CA had oozed out and sanded them down with 300 grit sandpaper.  
 
I also managed to make a new cabin roof and added a top moulding inside the cabin so the roof has something to glue to.  That 1 mm ply is not enough as far as I'm concerned.  It's not glued in yet, that I'll do tomorrow before I go grocery shopping.
 
All in all I'm quite leased with the results.  Here are a few pics of today's effort.
 

Starboard side view.  the wale and toe rail are hard to see on this side but at least the toe rail is visible on the port side.  You can also see why I had to make the mast partner / collar.  The deck was further back then I wanted it so the forward part of the coaming would be flush with the forward bulkhead.  You can also see the added planks to the seats.  The next picture shows the added moulding at the top of the cabin coaming.  I'll be using 1 mm birch ply again for the cabin roof.  Oh yeah, I still have to put the portholes in the cabin coaming yet.
 

 
Cheers. 

Hello friends, Gwen and I wish all of you a very happy and prosperous and above all a healthy 2015.
 
Well, today I made the two coamings out of 1 mm birch plywood.  I left them a little oversize for a fudge actor.  I started with the port side and soaked it first in water. Then I used small round jars to make the bends at the fron and the aft end.  This didn't work to too well, it also twisted the coamings so I had to cut another one out.  This time I used the boat itself as a guide, which worked out mush better.
 
The starboard coaming is now clamped in he model to shape it.  I'll see tomorrow how that one looks.
 
As the coamings are soaking I made the fish bin lids.  They still need to be finished and I thing I'll stain them to give that are of the deck some color.
 
I also soaked and shaped both toe rails.  I keep finding little things to fiddle with.  I little filing here, a little sanding there, you know the routine, never satisfied.  There is one more spot that's been bothering me some and I'll have to attend to that to morrow, hope it works for me.
 
As all this soaked stuff is clamped and taped to the boat I started sanding down the mast to taper it.  Then it was time to close the shipyard and feed my koi fish and call it a day.
 
Here are a few pics of today's work.
 

Port view - both fish bin covers or hatches are completed and installed, just waiting for the New England maple stain.
 

Stern view - look into the cabin.
 

Starboard side - I had to make a mast partner or collar because the pre-made mast hole was too far forward so I had to elongate the hole aft.
 

These last two pics show how I clamped the port coaming.
 

 
Cheers.

Hello everyone,
 
I had to make a new cabin roof for this little boat and also a working hatch.  I could not use the kit supplied wood, it was just too flimsy to my liking.  I used the 1 mm birch plywood.  As is usual I made a paper template for the roof outline and the entry opening.
I also made the sliding hatch in the rough.  I had to wait till the roof was secure to install the sliding hatch rails.
The kit does not have a working hatch or working doors.  
 
Oh yeah, I also put the "glass" in for the portholes before the roof was permanently on cemented. 
 
First I had to glue the extra moulding in on the top of the cabin coaming for a better glue surface for the roof.  Then fairing everything for a good fit of the roof.  After the TiteBond glue had set enough I could then cement the roof on using the "slow set" CA.  I had to use all ten fingers to hold it down.
 
At this point I made the sliding roof rails.  I cut a groove in them on the outboard side for the slider hardware.  These will be made from 0.2 mm brass shim stock cemented to the hatch sides.
The hatch has stop strips on the forward and aft sides to prevent it from sliding off.
 
The slider hardware and doors will be my next project.  I did cut the doors out and started to fit them when it was time to close shop.  There is always another day.  The doors will be hinged. 
 
Okay, here are a few pics for you to peruse, 
 

This shows the cabin roof installed with the sliding hatch in the closed position.  It's still loose and waiting for the slider hardware.
 

This hows the sliding hatch in the open position.  You can see here the aft stop strip cemented to the underside of the hatch.
 

A peek inside.  I still have to make pillows and blankets for the bunks.
 

Here is a bow view.
 

This shows the prototype cabin doors being fitted.
 
Cheers,

Four down, six to go...

So after looking at the oars, something seemed missing.
 
So this is what I came up with...for now.

Thanks Buck, I just might have to copy your compass.
 
Just a few quick pics of my Turks head.

Hello everyone  
Below, I will continue with my introduction to the subject.   ... A short historical summary about the RS14 you will find in an article of the classic boot magazine, may 2012, Page 29-38: "Stavanger's thousand-mile farewell tour" by Nic Compton (see link).
 
http://content.yudu.com/Library/A1wcz6/ClassicBoatMay2012/resources/3.htm

For my part, the research and the creation of my own drawings about RS14 lasted months and even today still not completed. This investment was necessary, so that I could be trusted with "Stavanger". To do this, the Book Colin Archer and seaworthy double-ender by John Leather was one of my main sources.   Regards Mike   Below: - Book cover. - Original drawings of the Svolvear class 1901 (RS14 was the third boat of this series). - Some of my studies of RS14          

Hello everyone
 
Today is a good day to start my scratch build log.  
Maybe this Tableboat would be something for a scratch build log ... Seriously, i wish you all a happy new year!   Cheers  : )   Mike

Well it’s time to start building again.  I’ve been working on the plans for an early friendship sloop.  The friendship sloop was originally a fishing boat similar to the Muscongus Bay lobster smack, but since it did not have a centerboard it became popular with the cursing and day sailing crowd.  That is the way I plan to build this one.  Start with the plans drawn by Chapelle, remove the fish well and enlarge the cabin.  I plan to hold to Chapelle’s sail plan with two head sails no shrouds and no topsail.  First I scanned Chapelle’s plans into the computer and drew the keel parts and bulkheads.  After planking the bulkheads will be removed except for the lower portions which will become the floors.   Now it’s time to slice up some wood for the planking.
 
Bob
 

 

 

Progress report.  I have been messing around in the cabin and made two bunks with mattresses on the port side.  Then I made a fake cabinet on the starboard side with a little table.  The cabinet is just a plank with the cabinet doors and mouldings scribed into it.  
 
I am looking for some material for the blankets.  I may have to go to the fabric store and see if they can give me a a few square inches.  For the mattresses I used small pieces of styrofoam and wrapped pieces of an old handkerchief around it.  With the blankets over it it should look quite nice.
 
I made the helm from boxwood and soaked it in water overnight and bend it around my coffee cup and clamped it till it was dry.  I stained it in New England MapleI and used the same stain for the cockpit benches and the cabin furniture.
I painted the cabin walls white as the bulwarks.  I used Testors flat white, looks okay.   
 
I installed the rudder and helm.  It works 
 
I am ready to cement the deck to the hull but am rather apprehensive doing it.  The kit plans call for using slow acting CA but even with that I am afraid that I don't have enough time to position the deck properly. I have done a few dry runs and I do need more time positioning it properly then the CA gives me.  
I'm really leaning towards using Titebond glue and plenty of elastic bands to clamp it down.  Right now I'm not committed yet to which glue I'll be using.
 
Okay, here are a few pics of how the sloop looks like as of today.
 

This shows the finished benches and the helm.  The deck is just laying loose on top of the hull.  Thinking about the paint scheme, I may just paint the frames, bulwarks and bulkheads green.  I'll use the same green for the cabin coamings, toe rails, trail boards and wales.  I think to paint it red below the waterline and white above the waterline.  Just thinking ahead right now.
You may also see a pencil outline to where I thought in trimming some decking away.  This too is still up in the air.  It seems strange to me to have such a wide deck area where they man-handle lobster traps in and out.  But then again, why make extra work for me.
 

This hows the two bunks with the mattresses.  Yup, it's a fist class cabin, nothing but the best. 
 

This shows the starboard side of the cabin with the fake cupboard and table.  The cupboard is still  made to fit after the coaming and roof are being installed.  Thinking of adding a strip of wood around the top of the coaming for extra glue area for the cabin roof.
 

 
Cheers.

Hello everyone, I trust all y'all had a great holiday.
 
I finally finished the dinghy for my O19 submarine model and can spend more time on this little boat.
In between jobs I managed to finish the cockpit seat and installed it.  
I'm now moving forward and started on making the bunks for the little cabin.  The lower bunk is all glued in but the top bunk still needs to be finished.  I'm holding off with that one till I have scrounged up "stuff" for the mattress and bedding materials before I can glue the top bunk in for excess to the lower bunk.  I still need to stain the bulkhead planking before I can finalize the bunks.
I don't know yet about other furniture beside a table.  A stove would be nice but I need to think about that one.  It would pose a real fire hazzard and we need to put some asbestos heat shields in    OSHA and the EPA will not be happy with that idea   
 
I also made the gudgeons and pintles for the rudder today but need to wait with installing the rudder till the cabin interior is finished.  That'll be the last thing to do before I can put the deck on.
 
Here are a few picks of the work so far.
 

 

 

I made lockers under the benches to stow "stuff" in.  
 

Perhaps not standard equipment, having two bunks but I figured - why not.  I plan to add 2 mm to the cabin roof to give the top bunk a little more headroom 
 
Cheers,

Thank you George for your kind words and thanks to all for visiting and clicking the like button.
 
Did some work on this little sloop.  I made the bench seat for the cockpit out of a piece of 1.5 mm boxwood that I cut out of a previously made plank.  I made that plank for another project out of a larger timber on my 10 inch bench saw and smoothed it down with a belt sander.
 
Looking at the photo I think I'll have to make it a little narrower and also narrower planks.  I kinda followed the kit drawing but it just looks a little to big.  
There'll be (fake) storage lockers under the seats therefore the seat planking will have to be close together to keep most of the water out of the lockers
 
There is some more cleaning and tweeking to be done with other things as well but I'm progressing.
 

 

 
Cheers, 

Thanks everyone for dropping in and clicking the like button.
 
Well, I decided to make the additional "false" frames in the cockpit / work area and at the fish bin.  I figured it enhances the look somewhat and will give the deck some more points to glue to.    
 
I also installed the framing for the fish bin hatches.
 
Everything is still in the rough and awaits dressing-up.
 
Here are the pics of today's activities.
 

 

 
Cheers,

Thanks everyone for visiting and your like votes.
 
Hello Russ and thank you for your kind words, appreciate it.
 
 
I'm not in the least thrilled with the balsa side planking and have caused some damage to the top sides in handling.  But I guess that's the price i am paying for batching it to this extend.  If the boat is build according to the build guidance this won't happen though because the deck'll be on first.
 
Okay, I managed to complete the planking of the cockpit / work area and the fish bin deck.  I also made and installed planking to the fish bin aft bulkhead.
 
Next job?  that'll be a toss-up right now.  I think I need to make a few false ribs for the cockpit / work area to strengthen the side planking.  I did glue a strip of heavy paper to the outside at the sheer.  I was even contemplating of a sheer nylon cloth over the hull with poly urethane like I did on the O19 sub hull. 
 
Well, in any case I'll play it by ear right now and keep plugging along.  At least I'm in the building-up stage and not tearing things down 
 

 
Cheers, 

Captain Steve and Matt, thanks. I think I'll be adding the extra braces for the stem and stern mold frames. The rest of them  look solid enough  for the fairing. The glue on the mold frames is drying overnight. I'll probably add the bracing tomorrow, even though it is Christmas Eve. The Admiral is working the night shift, so I should be able to get some time in the 'yard.
 
I did the stem taper with the plan template, my dividers and a little contour template I cut out of the plan. I copied the appropriate section of the plan onto card stock; right above the cutout template was the dimensions and shape of the keel cross section. I marked out the stem with the template, marked the depth to be removed with my dividers and then slowly sanded the stem down, using the contour template to check my progress. The stem looks better than my picture shows.
 
My card stock templates: 
 
Tapered stem:
 
Thanks for the fairing tip; I would probably have started on it like eating corn on the cob, from one end.    And I already got some wax for the mold frames.
 
Thanks for looking.
 

Finally, I cut the rabbet into the keel.
I cut it as a symmetrical groove, since the pictures I've been looking at all seemed to be configured so. But, while testing it with my trusty 1/16" scrap plank, I sensed that the rabbet should not be symmetrical. The plank edges should lay in the rabbet.
Here's the rabbet:
 
My tester:
 
Copied the stem tapering pattern onto some 90# card stock.
 
I also started fitting the molds. They're loose right now.
 
Looking at the transom board, what were they thinking when they lasered the label onto it? I think I'm going to thin it and lay some nice boards over it.
 
Lessons learned: Keep the cutting edges sharp. I love the nice, thin slice that sharp #17 blade can make for cutting rabbets.
More light in that dungeon of a work space - actually a corner of my utility room. These old eyes aren't Hawkeye anymore.
 
Thanks for stopping by.

Started on the chest today

Well I came up with this addition to my windlass to make it look stronger. It seems to look ok?

Hit a big milestone...  framing is complete and ready for planking.  Well, one minor tweak to the transoms to get smooth run to the counter but that's not going to be a stopper.
 
Right now, I'm having second thoughts about the bulk of the planking in Swiss Pear and am considering cherry.   I'll ponder a bit more.....
 

Deadlights.
 
After staring and thinking... I decided deadlights next.  Not the frames yet but the black background part.   Being a glutton for punishment, I decided to use ebony since I love the look of this wood.  Which begat more contemplation because that stuff is a bit hard to work with.  I think I found an adequate solution.
 
Being fond of quick prototyping in many areas, I made up some deadlights from basswood.  Gave it some thought and decided to make some ebony veneer.  I tried to rip some down to 1/64" (.35mm)....by 1" (25mm) with the thin side coming off the 1" thick billet.  Don't try it.   I got it down to 1/32" (.7mm) before things starting exploding across the shop.  Might have something to do with the blade but I wasn't going to kill a new Thurston blade on an experiment.    Anyway... now I have to clean up fragments everywhere.    I was using the table saw for this.
 
I took the 1/32" inch thick piece that survived and ran it through the thickness sander to get it where I wanted it, glued the prototype deadlights to it and cut them out with the scroll saw.  A bit of sanding and they fit about right.  The pics show a gap but that will be covered by the window framing.  Did I mention I hate macros...   To the naked eye (or even with glasses on) it looks pretty good. I don't feel anything out of place running my fingers around everything, so that's good also.  
 
I'll re-fillet the glue joints on the framing and cut them down to shape.  Also need to get the middle area of the counter fixed up with some wood for the landing of the counter plank ends at the rudder and stern post.  
 
First pic of the basswood and veneer laminated together for the deadlights.  Second one is the installation and..hmm... wet glue.      What the hey.. I'm having fun it's turning out well in my opinion.  I past the point where Version 1.0 met it's end (the stern area) so I'll be carrying on.

Thanks for the "likes and" comments.
 
Just a break from building here while dimensioning my Swiss Pear supply for this.
 
For hull planking, I'm need 4 sizes of wood:  1/32" X 1/8",  3/32" X 3/16", 1/16" X 1/8" and 1/16" X 3/16".
 
I have an ample supply of planking wood that is  +1/16" X +1/8" and +3/32 X +3/16" that I'm converting down.  I've been testing out my technique on this and sorting things out.  For the first batch of 1/32" X 1/8", what I'll be doing is running it through the thicknesser to get it down to 1/32" (dead on exact) and then running it thought the table saw with a 230T blade to get the exact 1/8" I want..   For those on metric, 1/32" is equal to about 1mm. 
 
I give the raw dimensions as "+" because they're all a tad oversize and the oversize seems to be inconsistent.
 
I'm attaching two pics of the saw with the wood being run through it.  You can see that very little wood is being removed and also how I'm keeping my big paws away from the blade. 
 
I hope to have planking underway pretty soon.  In fact, maybe tomorrow, I'll take a break from dimensioning and do the counter.  Hmmm... I need some ebony for the stern above the lights so I'll have to do that also.
 
 
Overall view: 
 
Close up of blade area: 

O’course, masts ‘n’ spars will be requiring sails to be hung from them …
“Otherwise, what beeth the point ??”, CaptainSteve didst juxtapose. “Indeedeth, without sails, ye may as well just be calling ‘em Sticks !!”
 
So far, Our Hero has traced patterns from the Plan sheets onto the kit-supplied cloth ...

 
… thence didst he also maketh patterns for the corner trim pieces.

“All I shalt be sayin’ fer now wouldst be ‘Thank Thee Heavens for Fray-Check !!’”
 

 
“At this point, I should wish to thank JesseLee," CaptainSteve didst sayeth. "For ‘twas from his Scottish Maid log which I didst borrow most heavily whence making me sails.”
 
“O’course, they shall be needing sail bands,” CaptainSteve didst explain.
Here, Our Hero doth show the making o’ these …

 
Essentially, what he didst doeth was to clamp thin strips (5mm) of the sail cloth between two steel rulers. Then, Our Hero wouldst carefully go along the length, ensuring a straight 1mm edge. Once lined up, he didst useth ruler and table-top to fold the cloth edge over and onto its' ownself.

 
... thence turn the sail-band over, reclamp between the rulers, and do the same thing to the other edge ...
 
 
Now provisioned with a goodly stock of bands ready-to-go, CaptainSteve be currently in the process of sewing these in place upon his sails …

 

 
Our Hero will no doubt tell you that these be a work-in-progress …
 
“These sails be a work-in-progress,” CaptainSteve didst begin. “Verily, I doth have plans to give ‘em a weathered and weather-beaten look …”
[TEASER: Currently, there is a spare piece of sail cloth drying on my balcony after spending several days soaking in coffee as a test.]
 
“To this point, I only be half-ways done wi’ these,” he didst conclude.

As ye will no doubt be aware, Our Hero hath been down (but not out) these past few weeks. He be back at work this previous seven-day, although on reduced duties as per the Sawbone’s orders, and surgery doth feature in CaptainSteve’s future early in the New Year.
 
“I be slowed … but notteth stopped,” he didst explaineth, “and Life must moveth onwards.”
 
O'er the past few weeks, as Our Hero’s pile of unwatched DVDs grew smaller and smaller, and as he didst regain some limited movement, work commenced on sanding down masts and spars …

 
Here they be after staining ...

 
... and fading on their lower ends (where they shall be affixed into the mast-steps)

 
… and with the tops painted.

“O’course, they didst require a Docker stripe at the top,” CaptainSteve did addeth.
 
Here they be dry-fitted to me Launch (apologies for the blurry photography) …

Incidentally, whilst he didst haveth out his modelling clay, CaptainSteve happened to baketh up some spear-heads.
 
"Here be a couple o' native spears, just as Ol' Bligh hisself doth detail in his log."