Jack12477

Bob, here's the link to the Coast Guard Historian's web page where I found the information. And here's a link to a PDF file listing all the hull numbers including your boat. Their site says the W designation started in 1942, but not sure how long it took to implement fleet wide. Nice photo of her in 1944.

Bob, in addition to the color scheme, all USCG boats 65 feet or longer are called Cutters and given a name as well as a hull number. Boats less than 65 feet in length are just given a hull number and the first two digits of the number give you the hull length, e.g. 44nnn is a 44 ft, 36nnn is a 36 ft, etc. Starting in WW II all Coast Guard cutters were designed with the letter W followed by a alphanumeric scheme to distinguish them from US Navy vessels. This applies to both black hull and white hull boats. Some of the newer special purpose boats have orange hulls but these are generally less than 30 ft boats, example, the Rigid Hull Inflatables used for harbor security and similar functions.
 
Hope this helps

Bob, according to my friends at our local USCG station, today's color scheme is black hull with white cabin for "working" boats, e.g. tugs, buoy tenders, ice breakers,  etc and white hull with white cabin for Search & Rescue (SAR) and Law Enforcement boat. The Polar Ice Breakers are a red hull.

I get mine in the local Michaels craft store and none of the pieces I looked thru were warped. The had them down to 1/8 thickness.  Saw a couple pieces of 1/16 "airplane" plywood but wasn't too impressed with it. Most of the sheets were 8 x 8 or 12 x 12 with some 4 x 8 (all inches not feet).

I get mine in the local Michaels craft store and none of the pieces I looked thru were warped. The had them down to 1/8 thickness.  Saw a couple pieces of 1/16 "airplane" plywood but wasn't too impressed with it. Most of the sheets were 8 x 8 or 12 x 12 with some 4 x 8 (all inches not feet).

I've used it a lot but only in the 3/8 and 1/2 inch thicknesses.  Works fine for jigs and portable work tables for me. Haven't used it for model keels or bulkheads tho.

No nothing like that at all George. After thinking about it, I would say it would be a bit difficult to scratch build from these plans.

These are the profiles I was meaning. There's one sheet with nothing but the keel and bulkheads, and another with nothing but framing, all shown separately along with these 2, a deck plan, separate plans for the lifeboats, a complete rigging layout and belaying plan in 2 more sheets. 8 sheets in total for this ship.
 

One correction - the parts list is in 4 languages - Spanish being the fourth.
 
George, here's a couple of pictures of the overall plans.
 

The paper plans  are 1:1 so yes I have been using them to pull measurements, But they don't show all the views I would like. They're on two sheets of paper printed on both sides - a good portion is waste by the parts list printed in English, French and German. Then another part is wasted with complete layout of each sail - as if you were going to cut them out and sew them yourself, except they're in the kit.  The top down deck view is pretty good for measurements, the side view is only the port side - no starboard view (which is not a mirror image of port)  There's a whole section 1:1 for the masts, spars etc.
 
The first picture of the capstan is a partial view of the top down deck plan view 1:1.

I probably should step back a moment and clarify my remarks about the instructions. First let me say that this kit is fantastic and right up to the standards I've come to expect from AL. The wood is excellent, the brass parts are excellent, well machined, etc, The sails, which I have not shown, are excellent, all sewn with a bolt rope around all edges, seams sewn into the sail in prototypical fashion. The model is very attractive. There is no shortage of wood, or brass or nails (I'm inundated with little nails), rope for the rigging, blocks, etc. In fact I will probably have some left-over stock to add to my stash.
 
The gripe I have is with these [what I will call] picture book instructions which show the step from a poor angle, with poor detail, and little to guide you other that a numbered balloon with a line point to a part. Even the parts lists does not accurately describe the dimensions of the part.  The least they could do is show 2 angles [view points] for some of the more complex assemblies, like the capstan as an example.
 
I would recommend the kit to anyone but just be aware that you may have to wing it with some of the assembly steps. Except for the frustration with the poor pictures I am enjoying this build a great deal.

Erik,
 
You're not the only neat freak, though I tend to work in cycles. Mess builds up temporarily while I'm in the middle of a step, then I go on a whirlwind of cleanup to get things trim again. It's about a weekly cycle. My work station, about the size of yours, is right in our living room, which helps motivate the organization. 
 
In any case, I'm really intrigued by this new twist on "kits", and will happily learn from your experience. As another model railroader turned ship modeler in the last few years, we're on a similar trajectory! Similar name & age, too, didn't know I had a long-lost twin.

Don't think it is a ship's bell, Ken. The hole goes all the way thru and it appears to be shaped like a capstan the one side is flush the other side has a cone shaped recess. Some close up pictures. It measures 5 mm long by 4 to 5 mm in diameter.
 

 
 
Forgot to add a close up of the chain roller in the bow (another fun sub-project) - there was no information on how big or small to make the cut out in the bow wall. Had to dry assemble the piece and get measurements off it then transfer to bow, drill a series of small holes to form a rectangle, cut out with small saw (#11 saw blade), then file, file, file, file until it all fit.
 

 
Some touch up of the paint job will be necessary.

All things considered after looking at the - cough cough - highly detailed instructions     , I'd say your doing very well Jack! 

Another update:  First challenge was interpreting the pictorial instructions
 
The very clear instructions for the capstan:

 
Then sorting out the parts and assembling them.  The parts list called for a 1 mm diameter brass wire 150 mm in length to be used as the hand crank - searching thru the kit all the brass wire was 100.xx mm in length, none was 150 mm. The two end pulley drums each had a nipple on one end - okay one fit into the gear but the large center drum did not have any holes drilled into it , hmmmmm????
 
After some fiddling we finally got it together.  Don't like the bends in the crank handle but it had to be bent installed because it would never snake its way thru the assembled pieces pre-bent. Must get myself a better set of bending pliers.
 
Parts laid out for identification - note the small pulley in the upper right corner between the gear and the brass wire, never could identify it - the hole bored thru it was too small for the wire specified and I could not located it in the step 17 photo.
 

 

 
Turning the bowsprit was interesting. Some time ago one of my woodcarving club members gave me a old Dremel lathe (free - he'd gotten it free also) so I decided to try tapering the bowsprit on the Dremel. WRONG !  First the bed barely took the length of the dowel I had cut for the bowsprit and then as soon as I applied the least pressure with a sanding stick the Dremel stopped turning the dowel. So we went to Plan B, which was get out the Lee Valley Veritas low angle miniature hand plane and slowly plane the dowel into a taper.  Worked fine ! Slow ! But fine !
 
Bow on shot of the current status.
 

 
Back to the "picture book" for the next step in the construction Stay tuned !

Jack, a WAG: maybe the ship's bell? Is there any flare on the narrower end? It's kind of bell shaped, maybe? I stared at the picture for 5 minutes, trying to figure it out.   Assuming a fishing boat has a ship's bell.  
 
The windlass/capstan handles look like the chain pump cranks on many warships. Look good. :)

Since you are talking about Herreshoff designed boats, are you aware of his Ice Yacht Slipper? The only ice yacht (boat) he designed. I had the pleasure of seeing it under sail on the Hudson River in March 2014. I have pictures if you want me to post them.  Also Wooden Boat magazine did an article complete with plans on it in their January/February 2005, Number 182 edition. The tiller/rudder is unique in that it has a sprocket and chain drive. It is presently owned by someone in CT.

Bob, here's the link to the Coast Guard Historian's web page where I found the information. And here's a link to a PDF file listing all the hull numbers including your boat. Their site says the W designation started in 1942, but not sure how long it took to implement fleet wide. Nice photo of her in 1944.

Although it may not look like much, most of the free time this weekend was spent making and installing ringbolts and eyebolts.  All the iron work was made with 20, 22 or 24 gauge brass wire.  The eyebolts and most of the ringbolts are silver soldered closed.  I ran out of propane and it was just too cold (-4F) to want to run out to the hardware store.   ​ 
   

 
There are five stopper bolts.  These run through the binding strake just lateral to the fore hatch.  The top tackle eyebolt is located in the binding strake at the level of the aft end of the after hatch.  The gun tackle ringbolts are used to haul the guns inboard and are also located in the binding strake.  The stopper bolts serve double duty in this regard.  There are four eyebolts in the main mast partners.  Finally, there are three ringbolts in the bulwark at the level of the main mast.  The breeching ringbolts and port tackle eyebolts will be installed when the guns are rigged.
 

 
While there is still access to the inner bulwark I installed the simulated chain and preventer bolts.  These bolts secure the preventer plates to the hull.  First, stub masts were inserted and a string was used to determine the angle of the stays as they intersect the hull.  I marked this on masking tape.  The locations were then marked internally and installed using 1.5" bolts.
 

 

 

 
 

Michael
 
I am amazed as i read this log.  The solution of steaming has given me courage to think about possibly trying something similar.  I need to figure out how to use wider and thinner planks on my hulls so i can consider letting the planking show through on the outside. Currently I sand the hull smooth and avoid the issue.   Thanks for sharing.  I look forward to watching and learning some more
 
jon

Thanks for all the kind comments and likes.
 
build part 17
 
The planks are getting rather curved now near the mid point of the bilges, and I keep wishing I had made them just a little thinner. I did cut a bunch that were thinner to begin with but picked up the thicker pile when I originally brought them into the house. I did not realize it until I had glued a couple on.
 
Proceeding on after shaping the next plank I made a copy for the opposite side
 

 
and I am cutting them out with the trusty #11
 

 
taking little scallop type cuts to the line, the grain differential hardness means that it is not easy to cut cleanly in one long cut, so after rough cutting the large waste off leaving some for fine cutting. I use the block plane to finish the convex edge which mates to the previous plank and a sanding stick for the concave edge which winds up being the top new edge. 
 

 
After matching them I popped one in the steam box.
 

 
and then after 25 minutes it laid on the frames nicely.
 

 
It is looking more like a hull now.
 
Michael

Thanks for the positive feedback.
 
build part 16
 
The progress continues with the bending of the planks working up now from the sheer strake I am finding that about 20 minutes in the steamer then clamping up the plank till the following day seems to be working well, there is a little spring back when the clamps are removed for the final tweaking of the plank before gluing
 
The picture shows the first plank glued to the sheer strake on the starboard and the opposite sister drying up prior to gluing.
 

 
The next one is of the second plank on the starboard drying I just took it out of the steam box.
 

 
This shot is now clearly showing the hull taking form.
 

 
Michael

Back then, those change orders took longer to implement, since all the paperwork and new paints usually moved via surface mail. And then the bases may not have had the correct materials handy to implement the changes. On top of that, the vessel may only get worked on at scheduled intervals. I've read research on the ship's colors during WW II and these changes weren't done very quickly.
 
And having worked for my Uncle Sam more recently, we experienced similar delays with equipment and paint changes. It took four years to get the Viet Nam era paint scheme used on tactical fighters to what some folks called a European scheme. It got rid of the pale gray bellies and wrapped the green and sand colors over the bottoms of our jets.
 
Don't forget, all this stuff is done by the lowest bidder.

Bob, here's the link to the Coast Guard Historian's web page where I found the information. And here's a link to a PDF file listing all the hull numbers including your boat. Their site says the W designation started in 1942, but not sure how long it took to implement fleet wide. Nice photo of her in 1944.

Now that the keel, false keel, and bulkheads are together, I thought it would be a good idea to build a build board/cradle to hold the Cheerful upright.  I also built a jig out of scrap wood to gently, but securely, hold the ship upside-down when I need it held for fairing and planking.  While I was cutting lumber, I also referenced the Cheerful plans to make two curved sanding blocks, one for the bow curvature, and one for the more gradual curve at the stern.
 
I threw in a photo of my work area.  This is in the spare room/office in my house.  I model with a small footprint.  I'm not typical of a lot of modelers . . . in that I'm a neat freak!  I have a vacuum cleaner, and small shop vac in the closet of the room.  You can see, with the larger size of the Cheerful, I had to adjust my lighting height by adding a stand for my lamp . . . made out of the same 1 x 6 I bought for the build board. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Erik