Thistle17

I received the book via Amazon in 2 days! It is a superb volume! Joe

You have a gift Ryland. Another beautiful model coming to life. Joe

If it seems I am obsessing over the restorartion of this model it is most likely true. I have such respect for the creator's craftmanship that I feel if I do not try to replicate his work I am doing the person a misservice. There are some wooden parts missing. Namely the port engine hatch and the main cabin doors. given the patina of the aged wood I have been experimenting with different species to see if I can approach existing wood aging. I happen to have a sheet of Alaskan Yellow Cedar that is actually on the orange side. I had to mill it to .039 in so I lost some of the color but my first coat of WOP seems to be bringing in the correct hue. A few more coats should do it. To the upper right is the hatch. I have built the lid and it is yet to be finished. I show it as further testament to the creator's talent. Observe the "tree nailed" framework of the assembly. This person even treated the inner sleeve that sets down in the hull (of course nobody can see it) with the same detail and the same precision. To the left are the main hatches for color comparison. Joe

I know I have intimated this before but each time I approach this model to evaluate any restoration element I find myself in awe of the original builder. Everything on the model is of the highest precision and execution. Planking, deck furniture, metal work replication is just astounding. Each tree nail, each pinning is precisely located. In evaluating building a missing hatch in the stern I now realize the entire hull has been ribbed and I will bet all bulkheads called out on the drawing are there as well. I can not imagine that this could have been done without machinery. In examing the hatches and the deckhouses I recently discovered the modeler had used quarter sawn material to minimize expansion problems. I am still a bit puzzeled as to the wood species. The model has never been sealed so there are years of a deep patinia to the wood. At times I suspect it is boxwood due to its density (using the finger nail depression test) or bass wood that has just dried out over time. When I look at the end grain of the items I mention I can see a distinct grain so it makes me think I still do not know. As an aside I was trimming a flowering ornamental apple tree today and in examining the grain and color it made me think it just might be hand milled lumber of this sort. Now the other aspects of this model are its origin and its travels. It has had some disrespect in that some boom and other metal work is missing, there are missing doors to the main cabin, some rigging is missing on both the fore and main sails, and oddly some key deck terminations for fore and main sail control from the stern were never added. There is more but these are the main elements. So one question, that I probably never will answer was why wasn't she completed? Perhaps it was a life interrupted and then perhaps it was something less tragic. On another note the modeler had such an intimate knowledge of how it was built and rigged even in areas where elements are not shown in detail or below deck. One source could have been the North Carolina Sharpies as they were so close to this Florida Sharpie. But they were virtually wiped out in a hurricane somewhere in the mid 1930s. Could the model be even older than I think???? An update: I forgot to mention that all sheaves are boxwood, fully operational with what appears to be aluminnum or iron innards. They too are incredible. At this point I have to live with the unkowns and drive forward hoping that I am worthy of restoring this incredible work. Stay tuned if you wish. Hopefully next time there will be more show than tell. Joe

Obviously this is not your "first rodeo". Excellent work and incredible drive moving to the finish line! Joe

As you intimate I wasn't happy with the transom at first encounter either. But now with the paint detail you have applied I have to say I am taking on a different sense of it. Thank you. Joe

Nice work harlequin! My Unicorn, a 1980's kit is sitting in a container maybe never to finish as the materials then were quite second rate by some standards. Maybe, just maybe you can inspire a restart for me with your good works. Joe

Incredible, this world technology we so often take for granted and that is so abused by many I might add! Within minutes this morning David Bennett of the North Carolina Maritime Museum responded to my email. He is the curator there and is extremely knowledgable on the sharpie's. He sent me several photos that answer the question clearly, I might add that he has developed a You Tube video on the sharpie subject that is a historical journey of this work boat and its many lives as an oysterman, a commercial transport and fisherman. You have to witness the bounty these craft brought in. It was just astounding. Sadly it is gone. I lament the our lack of sealife care then. If only!!!!!!

Roger I searched the web and only came up with one grainy photo that hints at the existence of the rigging you describe. David Bennett of the NC Maritime Museum has spoken with me about sharpies so I sent him an email in hopes he may be able to provide further info. In regard to using the scope of an ENT, there is only one open cavity at the stern and if I read this modeler correctly he placed the bulkheads exactly where they lie on the drawings. That would likely yield a dead end for me. Joe

Roger just in the last two days I have gotten my head and "nose" into this model. Two thoughts have come to mind. For example I pulled up one of the pump shafts that are P & S and aft of the main hatch. The original builder had machined registration slots in the bottom that once seated into the hull would lock them into position. Who does that kind of work where no ones sees the care and precision. Or the centerboard hoist below the hatches that has modeled "iron works" fashioned out of blackened brass of minute scale that no one sees and that took me about 1 hour to re install in the repair! So the first thought is he was an incredible and extremely adept modeler. The second thought is as I take a menatal inventory I am finding more fittings and details that are missing and not obvious to the casual approach. And I might add that to recreate them is going to be very challenging for me. Your description of how the centerboard could be controlled is making sense to me as I had assumed it was controled by someone forward of the main cabin. I am going to start a search on the internet to try to tie this down. Joe

You will have to fill the group in at our next meeying on the conference. I am sure your model was well received. Joe

I took the model down to measure it for a case as it was starting to accumulate dust and I could not resist starting to work on it. I repaired the main hatch covers as eye rings had come off and one hatch cover had come apart. In doing so I did observe that some glue joints on the hatch coaming also had loosened. That was repaired. In doing so the centerboard lift internal "iron works" came apart. It is incredibly tiny so I am struggling with its repair. While doing so I began wondering about the chain lift that hauls the center board up. I now observe that the chain appears to be "terminated at an "iron work" mounted to the main cabin roof. This is just visible in my entry posting above on the 3rd photo. On the drawing it is the dotted line shown heading for the cabin roof. The termination appears just in front and to the side of the main cabin smoke stack. The Smithsonian drawing does show a dotted line indicating this odd termination point. What is even more puzzling is how the center baord is lifted when required. It imust weigh over 500 lbs! Joe

To say this gun tub deserves a good home is an understatement. One of the most troublesome parts of this project has been a hull that meets the replication requirements and is worthy of such a fine sub system as the gun tub. If one recalls the hulls were reworked products of United Boat Works of Bellingham Washington. As such hull drawings were minimal so we had to replicate via what we had including photos. Patriots Point photos have been the most beneficial. As we now are preparing to ready the hull for all the topsides detail such as the helm build out, the stern gun platform, all the topsides armor shielding and the canopy metal work we had to get one last hull detail right. The bow flair has plagued us from the get go. It just wasn't right compared to the photos supplied. So to tackle the problem the bow rub rail was built out in laminated form from about the chine entry to the bow with water soaked bass wood bent and pinned to shape around the bow port and starboard. This built a "shelf" to which more Rage Easy Sand body filler was added to "bulk up" the area. At this point we needed a product we could easily shape and sand to the correct contour. We discovered yet another Evercoat product called Metal Glaze Ultra that is advertised as applicable over painted surfaces that have been roughed up. It has the same open time as other Evercoat products (about 5 minutes) but this product has a consistency of thick mayonaise. Using a rubber applicator we were able to fair the surface to a near perfect contour. Sanding and checking with the guage to the left periodically yielded the desired result. Joe

David its that Marine Green almost green/black. I will see if we can improve on the situation of our photography. Joe

Yes it is a bit more friendly in my estimation. Still not a complete CAM per se and the drawing capability (CAD) is primitive. Joe

I have the 3018 Pro and I find/found it was OK as a learning tool. I was not impressed with its front end software. It is more or less a CAM facility with limited capability. Supposedly you can import other file types but my experience wasn't too successful. Also I had startup problems as one of my axis directions was incorrect and it would not run the test programs until the "NVM" was corrected. Take a look an INVENTABLES CAM like front end since they help with bit sizes, tabs, material cutting and depth parameters. Also my unit did not have overlimit travel and I had to add it. And yet another comment hold downs/clamping can eat up real estate. So consider that in your decisioning. Joe

Here it is 3 months later! Where does the time go? I wanted to show you the advancement of the forward Gun Tub that has been made since Jim began the build out of this very complicated sub system. The manual from NAVORD provided by ALROSS has been a break through event for us. We are so grateful. And I must publically compliment Jim on his incredible rendition of the 1:6 scale model of the gun tub. I knew from the outset he was the one to execute this unit and I knew it would be done with care and accuracy but my jaw dropped when I finally saw it all assembled and painted correctly. You will note the flash guards now mounted on the barrells. In addition, though hard to observe, he has detailed the innards with the fire control panel, charger system and rotational mechanism. The only thing he has left off and to come is the search light and 50 cal bandoliers. Joe

It is all a learning experience. Once understood we move on to bigger things. I haven't looked yet but I assume the daugther board is offered as an accessory to the controller board. You have my attention. Joe

I too have moved to a house half the size of the former one and that made my basement shop an OK place to work but lacked the space, lighting and environmental control I had grown accustomed to. I use the computer room in the new house. It isn't ideal as I still have to return to the basement for lumber milling. But the bottom line is the lighting, the comfort and there is no more isolation. That is probably the best part. Joe

Too often I think we characterize this branch of service as secondary to the Navy. They are not! I recently did a presentation on this service for our model group on another lifeboat of the USCG. If you wish I will share it with you. PM me as I do not want to highjack your blog. Joe

Nicely done Mike! Not familiar with the Web plan can you enlighten? Joe

I have limited use of AYC to date but much more experience with boxwood. What I would say about the AYC in comparison is that it is obviously softer i.e. less dense, it produces a machined edge reasonably well in comparison but I find it takes more care keeping it. In terms of sanding it is easier to sand than boxwood. If you are using laser cutting it's char is easier to remove. I find you have to be more attentive to keeping it clean compared to box as it seems to smudge much easier. It has almost no grain evident but I can't say that it is characteristicaly so as I have not bought large billets. I understand it bends well in comparison owing to its density and fiber construct. In terms of price I believe you will find it considerably less expensive. I have even less experience with Beech so others should be able to help. Joe

Opening up MSW and dialing in your build is akin to morning vespers for me. So much so that I brought out my Winne bulkhead assembly and placed it where I cannot ignore it any longer. Your work is so inspriational! Joe