NMBROOK

Excellent work Frank  
 
I beg to differ with Druxey,Vertical scarphs for English ships,but the French scarphed keels horizontally,as this ship was built in Quebec,the latter style may have had some influence in design.
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

She looks looking terrific Bob ! great work  .Personally,my artistic nature told my historically accurate side where to get off a while back   I know which route I would take
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

She is looking grand Mark         The rudder is just a minor setback,I have the utmost respect for you for going ahead and reworking it.It makes me think,back in the day before internet forums,you just used to see pics of completed models in books and magazines and the reader assumed wrongly that everything went smoothly with the build.I wonder how many were discouraged when their efforts didn't meet muster the first time around?
I now view a project as just that,to build a model of 'X',whatever has to find it's way in the scrap bin between start and completion is immaterial
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

She is looking grand Mark         The rudder is just a minor setback,I have the utmost respect for you for going ahead and reworking it.It makes me think,back in the day before internet forums,you just used to see pics of completed models in books and magazines and the reader assumed wrongly that everything went smoothly with the build.I wonder how many were discouraged when their efforts didn't meet muster the first time around?
I now view a project as just that,to build a model of 'X',whatever has to find it's way in the scrap bin between start and completion is immaterial
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

She looks looking terrific Bob ! great work  .Personally,my artistic nature told my historically accurate side where to get off a while back   I know which route I would take
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

She is looking grand Mark         The rudder is just a minor setback,I have the utmost respect for you for going ahead and reworking it.It makes me think,back in the day before internet forums,you just used to see pics of completed models in books and magazines and the reader assumed wrongly that everything went smoothly with the build.I wonder how many were discouraged when their efforts didn't meet muster the first time around?
I now view a project as just that,to build a model of 'X',whatever has to find it's way in the scrap bin between start and completion is immaterial
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

I've now mounted and rigged the boom and gaff. Before describing that work, I present a cautionary tale. This about not thinking far enough ahead and simply following plans without research or thought. I had chosen to mount and rig the yards before the boom and gaff. In the past, I have done this both ways without much difference. In mounting the yards, I decided to use simplified trusses, as shown on the plans with a note that many cutters did not use them and they are optional. I chose to use them because they help to hold the yard to the mast securely during rigging. Not until all of the work on the yards was complete did I notice on the the plans that the gaff is shown as being above the lower yard on the mast. Since the gaff slides up and down on the mast, this seemed an odd and improbable situation.
 
At this point, I contacted Chuck to get his input on this. He agreed with my conclusion, but provided persuasive evidence from contemporary models that this was, in fact, the way it was done on many cutters, particularly those that did not employ trusses on the lower yard. I was going to try to remove the truss and mount the gaff above the yard, when it became apparent that the only way to accomplish this would be to remove virtually all of the rigging to the yards that was now in the way. I chose not to do this, but go with mounting the gaff below the yard, as shown on some models with trusses. It also seems, from my exchange with Chuck, that if a truss was employed and the gaff shown below the yard, the fore and aft braces on the lower yard, one of the most visually interesting features of the cutter rig, would not be used, but only the forward brace.
 
In any event, the boom and gaff are now in place and rigged. Mounting involved making parrels for each from black beads. The boom rigging consists of a topping lift and the boom sheet. The gaff rigging involved the peak and throat halliards and the flag halliard. All of the blocks had been attached to the boom and gaff and the masthead before mounting the boom and gaff. After completing this work, I permanently tied off a number of lines that had previously been only temporarily done and added rope coils.
 
This completes the rigging except for the lower yard braces. While I understand that it is probably accurate to use only the forward braces, given what I've done, I really like the look of the double braces.   What should I do?
 
Bob

I'm a little behind in my posting, because I've had some computer issues that have kept me from accessing or using my photos. Hopefully, all is resolved now.
 
The topsail yard has now been fitted out, mounted and rigged. As with the lower yard, the fitting out included adding the foot ropes, blocks, the yard portion of the halliard, the lifts, the clews and the braces. With all of that completed , I mounted the yard to a pin on the topmast and completed the rigging. This involved running the halliard through the masthead sheave and then adding it's tackle, running the lifts through blocks seized to the masthead, completing the clews and adding the sheets which were then run down through the sheaves in the lower yard and running the braces through a block hooked to an eye at the bowsprit tip.
 
From here, it is on to the gaff and boom.
 
Bob

I chose to begin the running rigging with the foresail halliard and the jib halliard and it's in haul and outhaul and then move on to the lower yard and it's rigging.
 
The one item of note on the halliards is the traveler to which the jib halliard is attached. This was made from a ring formed from wire, to which a small brass shackle was attached. The shackle was one of those odd bits that we collect over the years. Fortunately, I had remembered to place the traveler on the bowsprit before I had done any of the standing rigging to the bowsprit. It would have been much more difficult to make it up in place now, rather than simply sliding the completed part on when I did.
 
The lower yard had been made up and painted earlier, but still needed to be fitted out. This meant adding the foot ropes, the yard portion of the sling, the sheet blocks, the lifts, a truss, and the brace blocks and pendants. After these were all in place,  the yard was mounted to the mast on the pin that had previously been mounted on the mast. The truss was then completed, securely holding the yard to the mast. After that I added the sling portion around the masthead and then ran the lifts through blocks hooked to eyes on the mast cap.The braces won't be run until later.
 
I am now working on the topsail yard and it's rigging. 
 
Bob
 
 

I have now mounted the topmast and added the topmast stay, topmast shrouds and topmast backstay. These complete the standing rigging. The combination of scale, size and a relatively simple, but interesting, rig have made this a very enjoyable process.
 
Now, it is time to turn to the yards and running rigging.
 
Bob

The dreaded ratlines turned out to not be so dreaded at all. Primarily, this was because there was only the lower shrouds on one mast to do. It just never seemed the endless task that I had encountered on Essex, for example. Like riding a bike, tying clove hitches is something that just comes back to you, once you start doing them again. Having said this, I'm still glad to be done with them and moving on to the topmast and it's rigging.
 
Bob

The next photo shows the beak in a more completed fashion. Next begins the work where the beak encounters the hull of the ship. 
 

 
More to follow...........

Part 3 – The Model Shipway
 
Before beginning construction on the model, I needed to build the platform to support the ship during construction – the Model Shipway.
 
I used a 12x24 melamine shelf for the building board, mounted some 5/8x5/8 rails under it, and added felt feet to save the surfaces it would be on.  A centerline was scribed down the center of the Shipway.
 
            
 
This shelf is only 21/32 thick, so it is not thick enough to support the normal ½” T-track.  I was able to find shallow T-Track (3/8”) from Lee Valley, along with T-Nuts specifically configured for these tracks.
 
            
 
            
 
A scaled drawing of the frame configuration of the sectional model was needed for the Shipway.  I developed this using TurboCad Designer (a 2D CAD program).
 
             
 
There will be 52 frames in the sectional model, arranged in frame pairs or framesets.  The 26 framesets of the sectional model are represented by the different color lines.  The green line is the forward face of the forward frame of a frameset.  The red line is the aft face of the aft frame of a frameset.  The black line is the junction of the two frames, or the middle of the frameset.
 
It can be seen that the frames are very close to each other – not the usual ‘room and space’ that we would normally expect.  The sided dimension of the floor of each frame in a frameset is 8.5 inches, making the frameset 17 inches at the floors.  The space between frames is only 5+ inches, or 0.11 inches at 1:48 scale.
 
The drawing of the frame configuration was printed on 11x17 card stock (I found 100 lb card stock that my printer was able to handle).  After it was trimmed to the appropriate size, 9x15.5, I aligned the centerline of the drawing with the centerline of the Shipway, then glued it to the Shipway using Krylon 7010 spray adhesive. I coated the drawing with Krylon Preserve-it to protect the drawing (I learned of these products from Ed’s Young America book, and they’re excellent).
 
I constructed two types of fixtures for the Shipway, as shown in the following photo (the keel is already installed in this photo, but more on that in a later post)
 
            
 
The fixture in the middle of the Shipway will be used to align the individual frameset during installation, and will also serve as a clamping base to secure the frameset while the glue is curing.
 
The gantry-like fixtures at each end will be used to hold a string stretched between them as an aid in centering the frameset.  These strings are laid in notches in the cross-piece and have been centered over the centerline of the drawing.  The centering string and its weights can be seen in this view of the Shipway.
 
            
 
The next post will address making the keel and mounting it to the Shipway.

Part 2 – The Sectional Model
 
My interest in the model is to show the portion of the ship that was occupied by the Irish emigrants.  The Accommodation Deck consisted of three main sections:  the aft section contained the quarters for the ship’s officers and first class passengers, and the forward section was the quarters for the ship’s crew.  Temporary quarters for the emigrants were set up in the central area of the ship.  The following illustration from Colin Mudie’s book depicts the general layout of the Accomodation Deck.  His comments are interesting, in that he suspects the ship was designed from the beginning to support the emigrant trade.
 
                       
 
The sectional model will encompass the central area of the ship, from frame 19 to frame 44, a distance of 48 feet.  This area is the middle of the emigrant area.  The scale will be 1:48, so the model will be 12 inches long.
 
The starboard side of the model will be completely built, but the port side will be left as open as possible so that the interior of the ship showing the emigrants living conditions can be seen.  On a trip to Ireland in 2013 I toured the Dunbrody, and was taken by the cramped quarters the emigrants shared during the voyage.
 
Structural timbers will be made from Madrone, a hardwood from the Pacific Northwest that is very similar to Pear in that it is relatively dense, has a very tight grain, and is a light pinkish-brown color.  Madrone machines very cleanly, and finishes well.  Madrone is sometimes difficult to find, but is much less costly that European pear woods.  Planking, deck furniture, and other non-structural parts will be made from Castello, which has many of the same properties and color as Boxwood. 
 
I haven’t decided yet whether the model will be presented on a simple base or whether I will build a model of the building slip for the ship.  I am also considering using some figures of emigrants in the ship, but this depends on being able to find 1:48 figures that can be used with some minor modifications.
 
 

Part 1 - Introduction
 
When I first started ship modeling in 2012, I purchased a set of plans from Seaways Publishing for the Dunbrody Irish Famine Ship.  The plans appealed to me because I was born in Ireland and have read quite a bit on the famine years. 
 
The Dunbrody is a replica of an actual ship that was built in Quebec in 1845 by Thomas Hamilton Oliver for William Graves, a lumber merchant from New Ross in County Wexford in the southeastern part of Ireland.  The Dunbrody’s construction coincided with the Irish Famine years, during which the Irish tenant farmers were starving due to the failure of their potato crops – their primary food source.  The ship was designed to carry lumber from the new world to Ireland and England.  On her return voyage she mainly carried pig iron and limestone, which left room for carrying a fairly large number of passengers and normally accommodated up to 176 Irish emigrants who were trying to escape the potato famine.
 
The replica ship was commissioned by the John F. Kennedy Trust of New Ross, as a tribute to the emigration of the Kennedy family from their Irish homestead near New Ross.  The current Dunbrody was designed by the naval architect Colin Mudie, who had designed a number of replica ships.  The plans for the replica were based on entries for the original ship in the Lloyd’s Register, and from certificates and surveys.
 
                      
 
Mr. Mudie also wrote a book titled “Sailing Ships” in which he presented a number of ships he had designed.  The book included a section on the design and construction of the Dunbrody.
 
I don’t think I had any real thoughts on how to model the Dunbrody when I originally purchased the plans.  I was new to modeling and didn’t have any experience in scratch building.  After seeing Ed Tosti’s work on Young America I decided a few things. 
 
First, Dunbrody is not a very refined ship, and her lines are no comparison to the beauty of the clipper ships.  My primary reason for building Dunbrody is to show the accommodations for the Irish emigrants.  I felt that this could best be accomplished by building a sectional model.
 
The plans from Seaways Publishing contain most, if not all, of the details needed to construct an accurate model, so I would try to reproduce the details presented in the plans.
 
           
 
I would use Ed Tosti’s build logs and books for Naiad and Young America to learn the techniques and processes I would need to build the model. 
 
In addition to the plans for Dunbrody, and Ed’s books, I will also be using two excellent books as references: “American Built Packets and Freighters of the 1850s” by William L. Crothers and “Wooden Ship-Building” by Charles Desmond.
 
A number of questions arose as I started planning for this build, and I started a thread entitled “Planning for a Sectional Model of Dunbrody” to get some feedback from the more experienced modelers on this site.  Most of my questions have been resolved, so it’s a good time to start building.

Part 4 – The Keel Assembly
 
Dunbrody’s Keel, as measured from the construction plan, is 14 inches square.  There is a rabbet that starts approximately 5 inches down from the top of the keel.  Below the keel is what the plans call a False Keel, which has a breadth of 14 inches and a depth of 9 inches.
 
My reading of the Crothers and Desmond books shows that typically a False Keel is installed to protect the keel from damage due to grounding or striking an obstacle, and as such is relatively thin at 1 – 4 inches, is installed in a fashion that would allow it to be easily replaced, and has only simple butts to join its components.  The depth of Dunbrody’s False Keel seems to be much larger than expected, and the construction plan shows the parts of the false keel joined by a nibbed scarf joint. 
 
I’ve found several items in Dunbrody’s construction that are very different than the construction described in the Crothers and Desmond books.  I’ll point these out as I go along, but my intent is to reproduce the Dunbrody plan as far as possible.
 
The keel at 1:48 would be .292 inches, or a little over 18.5 64ths.  To simplify the model construction, I’ve reduced this to 9/32.  After milling some appropriate lumber I needed to mark a centerline on the keel and found this to be fairly difficult with a pencil and ruler.  I had seen a woodworker’s centering device that consisted of two outside rods with a pencil in the middle, all equidistant from each other.  I made a miniature of this using stiff piano wire as the outside rods and a medium needle as the marking device instead of a pencil.  Drilling the holes at the correct distances was fairly easy using the calibrated wheels of the milling machine.
 
                        
 
I also needed a way to cut the rabbet.  Since the sectional model is the middle of the ship the keel is straight and flat, so the rabbet will be the same throughout the model.  I decided to use a scraper type of device similar to what Ed shows in Young America.  I drafted the profile of the rabbet in TurboCad.
 
                        
 
I then pasted this profile onto a piece of 18 gauge stainless sheet and cut the shape of the rabbet cutting tool using a jewelers saw and files.
 
                        
 
Before cutting the rabbet, though, I needed to create a hooked scarf joint in the keel.  I drafted the pattern for the hooked scarf and used a glue stick to paste it to the wood to be cut.
 
                        
 
This being my first hooked scarf, there was a lot of trial and error, and the scrap box started filling up.  As part of making the joint, I needed to set up a clamping arrangement that would ensure the two pieces of the keel stayed straight and level while being glued.  I used a straight piece of aluminum stock as a straight edge, and clamped this to a piece of ¼ “ plate glass as a flat base.  I then used an arrangement of clamps that would keep the keel tight against the straightedge and the glass surface, making sure that the joint itself was properly clamped.
 
                        
 
The nibbed scarf of the False Keel can be seen in the background, awaiting gluing.  I decided to work on the nibbed scarf of the False Keel at the same time as the Keel’s hooked scarf.  The following photo shows the end result for both joints.
 
                        
 
When I was reasonably happy with the joint on the keel I fastened the joint using the bolt pattern described in the reference books and then cut the rabbet.
 
                        
 
In prior builds I’ve always neglected to address mounting requirements until the end of construction, and then have run into difficulties getting a mount that is secure and attractive.  I decided on this build to use the approach from both Naiad and Young America, which is to use mounting bolts that attach to nuts that are embedded in the False Keel and then covered by the Keel.
 
The size of the False Keel limited my choice of threading, so I used 4-40 nuts.  Even this nut size was too large to comfortably embed in the false Keel, so I filed the nuts square to reduce their size and to simplify the cutting required for them.  The following photo shows an original 4-40 nut and the two that were reduced to square.
 
                        
 
Since the mounting bolt needed a shoulder to prevent it from being run too far into the False Keel, I decided to center drill a ¼-20 threaded rod, and to solder an appropriate length of 4-40 threaded rod in the hole.
 
                        
 
This is satisfactory at present, but I think I’ll replace the bolt with a one-piece bolt with two different thread sizes, as in Ed’s work.  The false Keel was then mounted on the shipway.
 
                        
 
                        
 
This was followed by gluing the Keel to the False Keel, effectively hiding the mounting hardware.  I used spring clamps to ensure that the Keel and false Keel were properly aligned, and pins to secure the joint from the top.
 
                        
 
This completed the installation of the Keel Assembly.
 
                        
 
In the next post we’ll start discussing the construction of Dunbrody’s frames.  It will be a few days before the next post – company arrives tomorrow to enjoy the beautiful Arizona weather, so the shipyard will be closed for a few days.
 
 

Dave, I am just now starting to plank the lower portion of the hull on my Couronne build. This is a double plank hull and the first layer I used for practicing as I am still learning myself. I ran into the problems mentioned above of the bulkheads being to far apart which did create problems where the planks met and with flat spots in the shape. Fortunately as this will all get covered up I was able to use wood filler to smooth the shape out in preparation for the 2nd planking. For this I have swapped out the kit supplied wood for better quality as much of what came in my kit was not cut as straight as I wanted. Doing this I was able to buy strips of varying sizes plus some sheet material to allow me to attempt spiling for the first time. This will be a great learning experience. Whether I learn how to successfully do this or how not to do it remains to be seen.
 
I like to try to cut each individual plank too. This may make things harder and I constantly consider using full runs and simply scoring the joints later but I'm like you in that I take a lot of pride when I tell people that I cut each plank one at a time.
 
What I am doing now is laying out the spacing on the hull. Measuring, drawing lines and making notes and often erasing and starting over. Going slow and taking your time is vitally important here. Best advise I can give is to take your time with the initial framing. Make sure your bulkheads get positioned correctly and fair them up so all your planks lay flush and true with them. This is another step that I know I have been guilty of rushing and can make huge differences in the quality of the planking later. 
 
Good luck to you! I look forward to seeing your build as it progresses.

Sounds like a good approach Dave,you haven't mentioned whether your kit is double or single planked?If it is single planked and the bulkheads are quite far apart,you tend to get kinks where you have joins in the strips.Simulated joints is a better approach in this instance.Like Chris rightly says,a scribed line and then drawn in with pencil after the hull is sanded is all that is needed(assuming you are using pencil for your caulking).
If I have a plank with a long sweeping taper,I shape in a long strip and then cut to scale length before fitting.This prevents any slight steps in the taper at the joins.
As is said frequently,start a log and ask questions if you are unsure.It is easier to advise if there are a sequence of photos to follow and then to work out the next step
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Hi Dave
 
I think that it is necessary to clarify what appearance you are after.You can plank with kit supplied material with tapering and no clinkering HOWEVER the planking will look nothing like the planking on a real ship.You can compensate by edge bending the strip but that has its limitations and it''s effectiveness varies with wood species.This does vary a lot with hull shapes,I am a glutton for punishment and build 3 deckers mainly.These hull shapes are very unforgiving when trying to use parallel strip.
As the original would have the wales fitted prior to planking the planking must appear to run inbetween the wales to look authentic.This again compounds the problem that planks need to curve in two directions,quite a lot on some vessels due to the sheer compounded with the hull curving inward.
Regarding tapering,it really doesn't matter which side you taper and on the garboard,this piece invariably is anything but straight so there isn't really a tapered side.
On my build of Nuestra Senora (the pic Chris has used above)things get even more complex,the hull is divided into bands of planks on the lower hull,but these bands are tweaked to provide a pleasing visual run when viewed from all angles.This does not follow exact ship building practice,but reflects the style that contemporary models were planked,with no stealers or drop planks.
Regarding sheet stock,I would wait until your kit arrives to determine exactly what thickness you require.
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Truly outstanding work Johann!!!!!!!!
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

I agree, reklein!  Spiled planks tend to look amazing, and that's what I want!  I also think it will feel great to look at the hull of the ship when it's done and know that I hand-crafted each plank.  That would certainly be something of which to be proud!  It's going to take a lot longer, but I'm happy to take my time and get superior results rather than finishing quickly and getting something that doesn't completely please me.  

She is looking good Ulises,great work
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Thank you Bill,B.E and Kevin.
 
We hired a van yesterday and emptied our storage unit.I know I like to have a few projects on the go at once but was struck by the reality of exactly what I have infront of me .I have always been of the mindset that it would be best to have plenty stashed for my retirement whilst still earning before the harsh reality of todays underperforming pension schemes kick in  Taking into account I have twenty years until retirement,I am going to have to live to 100
To cut to the chase,I am going to focus on Nuestra 100% until completion and then revisit this and other builds
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

She is looking good Ulises,great work
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

The construction of the beak is progressing. Provision has been made for the gammoning that will secure the bowsprit.
 

 
The view from above.
 

 
More to follow...............