CharlieZardoz

The yellow or light wood whatever you want to call it strikes me as something similar to clipper ships and pilot boats of the time. I think it was too early for the white strip that Corel's Ranger suggests, however I'm taking it off a model of Dallas from shipmodel.net also images of Dapper Tom model that I've seen. But I'm uncertain so any sources others may be aware of could be helpful in my understanding. I know the bulwarks were white and the bottom likely coppered so it's what's in between which I'm considering my options and also I'd like each boat to be a bit different. Maybe Dallas will have a green strip, Active a red strip and Eagle a yellow strip or somesuch

The yellow or light wood whatever you want to call it strikes me as something similar to clipper ships and pilot boats of the time. I think it was too early for the white strip that Corel's Ranger suggests, however I'm taking it off a model of Dallas from shipmodel.net also images of Dapper Tom model that I've seen. But I'm uncertain so any sources others may be aware of could be helpful in my understanding. I know the bulwarks were white and the bottom likely coppered so it's what's in between which I'm considering my options and also I'd like each boat to be a bit different. Maybe Dallas will have a green strip, Active a red strip and Eagle a yellow strip or somesuch

The yellow or light wood whatever you want to call it strikes me as something similar to clipper ships and pilot boats of the time. I think it was too early for the white strip that Corel's Ranger suggests, however I'm taking it off a model of Dallas from shipmodel.net also images of Dapper Tom model that I've seen. But I'm uncertain so any sources others may be aware of could be helpful in my understanding. I know the bulwarks were white and the bottom likely coppered so it's what's in between which I'm considering my options and also I'd like each boat to be a bit different. Maybe Dallas will have a green strip, Active a red strip and Eagle a yellow strip or somesuch

Thanks Doc! Welcome aboard

So let's have a moment discuss names and color schemes of these ships. The nameing is somewhat easier than the color scheme but the information on Doughty's ships is somewhat vague. What I do know is that these ships were built to prevent piracy and replenish the coast guard after the war of 1812. Of the 3 classes, according to the coast guard website and Donald Canney's book which are the most recent and up to date source the Eagle and Crawford were very likely of the largest type. Of the mid sized type two ships Alabama and Louisiana are pretty much confirmed to be 51 ton ships, there is also confirmation via the site that Dallas and Surprise were of this type as well. This is in contrast to Irving King's Coast Guard Under Sail book and infor in Howard Chapelle's book which has Eagle and Crawford as the mid type and Dallas and Surprise as the larger however that book was dated from 1989 and the information within it looks out of date to modern sources. Alert while a larger type, also had 4 cannon ports per side so if she is a Doughty design she was significantly modified. So were Search and Detector which were an in between size about 65 ton?

The real issue is the 31 ton ship, I am not even sure if any were ever built. However I want to name her something and of that there sort of 2 options. One is Gallatin which was also the South Carolina probably renamed. This ship has no info from what I can tell and accomplished nothing historic so I could just utilize the name for the sake of it. The other is Active which is supposedly a purchased vessel, however it had one gun, was 38 tons (the smallest confirmed tonnage) so I could close one eye and just let it be. Chapelle states that this ship which he incorrectly called Alert could have very well been built from the Doughty design though King claims it wasn't. Meh ;P

So in conclusion the models will probably be 31 ton (Active or Gallatin) 51 ton (Dallas) and 79 ton (Eagle). I'm more inclined to use names rather than States seems more personable (less battleship-ish). How does that sound to all of you I'm open to thoughts

As for color schemes give me a few moments....

A comparison of the deck plans for each revenue cutter nice to see them all lined up

The yellow or light wood whatever you want to call it strikes me as something similar to clipper ships and pilot boats of the time. I think it was too early for the white strip that Corel's Ranger suggests, however I'm taking it off a model of Dallas from shipmodel.net also images of Dapper Tom model that I've seen. But I'm uncertain so any sources others may be aware of could be helpful in my understanding. I know the bulwarks were white and the bottom likely coppered so it's what's in between which I'm considering my options and also I'd like each boat to be a bit different. Maybe Dallas will have a green strip, Active a red strip and Eagle a yellow strip or somesuch

The yellow stripe is very British; were American ships ever painted following that pattern? It looks nice but I wonder if it's at all authentic?
 
Really nice rundown of color options and models.

Food for thought, Charlie.   Would they have been painted to look like privateers?  A form of camouflage?   Given the choices, I'd pick the one's that please you.

That last one looks like pb and j on toast lol

The next options get interesting, this would be black below the wale and the railing while the wale and below the railing is in wood with various colored stripe. This is very similar to the lumberyard's model of Lively and I also gave options for a black wale as well?  Feedback is welcomed.

Some contemporary drawings show ships with only 1 or 2 very thin strips among black hulls this could be a choice as well though I cant help but feel it's a tad dull?

Next we have brown/wood hull with a black wale. This is similar to other models of the cutter I've seen and looks nice but I sort of feel that by 1818 so much bare wood wouldn't have been likely? PS that Dirk's gorgeous model of Alert there.

Ok so lets look at our options. The coast guard site offers little help only that old ships were black with white interiors. Most of the models of these cutters I've seen are broken up into 2 categories, black hull with brown or yellow wale or brown (wood) hull with black wale. Then you have various red or yellow stripes. This design matches up closely to the mamoli kit color scheme and also makes the ship look much like privateers of the time.

Thanks Doc! Welcome aboard

So let's have a moment discuss names and color schemes of these ships. The nameing is somewhat easier than the color scheme but the information on Doughty's ships is somewhat vague. What I do know is that these ships were built to prevent piracy and replenish the coast guard after the war of 1812. Of the 3 classes, according to the coast guard website and Donald Canney's book which are the most recent and up to date source the Eagle and Crawford were very likely of the largest type. Of the mid sized type two ships Alabama and Louisiana are pretty much confirmed to be 51 ton ships, there is also confirmation via the site that Dallas and Surprise were of this type as well. This is in contrast to Irving King's Coast Guard Under Sail book and infor in Howard Chapelle's book which has Eagle and Crawford as the mid type and Dallas and Surprise as the larger however that book was dated from 1989 and the information within it looks out of date to modern sources. Alert while a larger type, also had 4 cannon ports per side so if she is a Doughty design she was significantly modified. So were Search and Detector which were an in between size about 65 ton?

The real issue is the 31 ton ship, I am not even sure if any were ever built. However I want to name her something and of that there sort of 2 options. One is Gallatin which was also the South Carolina probably renamed. This ship has no info from what I can tell and accomplished nothing historic so I could just utilize the name for the sake of it. The other is Active which is supposedly a purchased vessel, however it had one gun, was 38 tons (the smallest confirmed tonnage) so I could close one eye and just let it be. Chapelle states that this ship which he incorrectly called Alert could have very well been built from the Doughty design though King claims it wasn't. Meh ;P

So in conclusion the models will probably be 31 ton (Active or Gallatin) 51 ton (Dallas) and 79 ton (Eagle). I'm more inclined to use names rather than States seems more personable (less battleship-ish). How does that sound to all of you I'm open to thoughts

As for color schemes give me a few moments....

A comparison of the deck plans for each revenue cutter nice to see them all lined up

A comparison of the deck plans for each revenue cutter nice to see them all lined up

So now for confession time. I saw a deal on ebay for the old Dallas kit for $50 so picked it up. The kit is 1/48 scale so the parts won't be used however she is modeled after the 80 ton cutter so decided to convert the kit to 1/64 in a similar manner to how I converted the 50 ton kit. This model will be done last but I started some of the process so you can see how it's assisting me in the other two. The use of this kit helps me in understanding the changes between each cutter how the shape changes/gets bigger yet planking seems to have stayed the same (width of planks), and other parts helping me understand camber, etc. for the other 2 models. I just needed to see all 3 in perspective as they are sort of connected and don't fully trust myself as a scratch kit builder just yet. It also means that each cutter is going to be built in 3 different ways, block of wood, bread and butter slices and plank on bulkhead! Learning a lot with these 3 and will apply that to Sultana when I get back to her.

I'm not sure how I missed this log, but I just pulled up a chair, Charlie. Most interesting. I may have to learn CAD to run with the crowd you've recently joined!

A comparison of the deck plans for each revenue cutter nice to see them all lined up

Here she is lined up with the keel and all glued together. You can see the material that needs to be removed with the dremel the rest is ezpz!

Another quick point im using the flat edge to create the keelson edge. Then sanding away and down if that makes sense.

Thanks Mark! It came from the kit. I'm debating whether putting it through the laser was even necessary since as you saw the keel
s via the plans came out just fine (and the bow part was shaped funny). That deck also came from the kit as an etched veneer you can just slap on. The deck lines are worth saving though I plan to do the deck planking with strips but will use the resized image as a guide.
 
Again I've debated on whether to put this log in the kit or scratch section. Sultana honestly is 90% scratch this one is like 99.9% lol

The keel and hull lines are all separated same as I did with Sultana and templates cut out with carboard. I did this for both models. NOte my Sigmund Frued action figure to the left. he assures me that I am perfectly sane!

So step 1 for me anyways is to take apart the plans into the pieces necessary for shaping and constructing the hull. Note that I superimposed the deck hatches etc. over the lines using bitmap so that way I can justge placement and size of everything that will have to be built on the deck. Also shows mast placement which on the wood block will be moved appropriately. Here are the top and side profile templates of both ships and both keels alongside.
 
 

Hey there fellow builders! So I finally had a chance to start cataloging all the work I have been doing on my revenue cutters alongside Sultana. Sultana is proceeding slowly but surely as will soon be updated, however as some of you may know at the last ship model convention in Connecticut I won a kit of Bluejacket's 31 ton revenue cutter. From the moment I got it I couldn't help but start tinkering with it. The reason why I put this in the scratch section is because I plan on building all my ship models (at least for the moment) in 1/64th scale since I like to be able to make size comparisons. Therefore this log will be an exercise in how to properly resize a kit to a preferred scale. So what of the kit itself? Fortunately the ship comes in 3 sizes and at 1/64th scale the 51 ton falls in a similar size to the 31 ton at 1/48 scale. So in addition to a smaller 31 ton I am going to scratch build, I will also use the wood hull and some of the kit materials to also build the 51 ton ship. The wood block and plans must be modified but let's go over the details and I will show you how I have been proceeding
 
Also if for whatever reason this log should be moved to the kit section then by all means as I wasn't sure which section to put it.