bdgiantman2

I'm making slow progress on the head rails. There is a lot more going on here than I thought.
 
I struggled initially to keep things in place with rubber cement in order to view the relationship between the head timbers. Chuck suggested that I could set the center head timber vertical and then work the other two head timbers in such a way that it would look okay to my eye. With that in mind I did just that. After setting the middle timber I could see that the front one could lean slightly forward. I removed the fore end of the template which lies in front of the notch. A thin strip was placed between the back of the head timber and the template to angle the timber forward while at the same time keeping it parallel to the center timber.

The aft head timber was angled slightly rearward. I can now use this as a guide for the other side. Btw; notice the position of the main rail in relationship the timberhead on the forecastle just behind it. This worked out okay on my Winnie, though that might be different on your ship.

Mike

Very impressive model. I have been fascinated with Ketch rigs for a long time, they have a uniqueness about them as there never seemed very many throughout nautical history. Most seem to have been private fishing or small cargo vessels. Enjoying your blog and looking forward to more.
 
Brian D.

Finished all the frames,now to make the bolts and spacers between  the frames and start gluing it all together.

Congrats on the finished project of Winnie, Mr. Passaro! Your model has come out fantastically and this blog has been a privilege to follow and learn from. Thank you also for putting up with my questions and comments on your forum. This is a real masterpiece. Looking forward to your next group project on here.

Well, as much as I respect some peoples views - I do respect my own taste and views as well - captains choice - so here is how my Pegasus will be going forward!

 

After a few experiments and four different versions, here is my final Tafrail that I managed to get the garland carvings into the outer coves just like the Pegasus draft, I also “textured” the coves like the draft.
 

Not a problem Glenn. You'll know when I'm on chapter 12 and doing the head gratings. You'll be able to hear the cussing all the way to your house. 

Hey Rusty, want to join me in building a model of the Brig Eagle from 1814? I can e-mail you some designs that were sent to me although I have made some modifications after doing my own research about her.

Congrats on finishing this beautiful model,  first-rate all around in construction and meticulous research.  Happy holidays to you and your family.  This blog was a lot of fun to follow. 

Congrats on finishing this beautiful model,  first-rate all around in construction and meticulous research.  Happy holidays to you and your family.  This blog was a lot of fun to follow. 

Hey Glenn, I guess after 3 years and ten out of twelve chapters almost finished, I'm "almost" done? 😂
 
Well Chucks Speedwell is at the top of the list with Chris's Indefatigable. I also received
Pavel Nikitin's Captain John Smith's Shallop as a fun little side project.
 
But first I have many months of work on the Winnie yet to complete.  

Congrats on finishing this beautiful model,  first-rate all around in construction and meticulous research.  Happy holidays to you and your family.  This blog was a lot of fun to follow. 

Eberhard, there are still a couple of items that I need to add to the display. One is the data plaque that I am having engraved for it, the other is a mirror to go under the paddlewheel. I put so much work and detail into the building the paddlewheel that it was a shame to hide it. It is almost impossible to see it through the cutaway, so I decided that I would elevate the model from the base and place a small mirror under it. When the lights are on, it should highlight the paddlewheel nicely. If you notice, there is a coin located on the starboard aft of the base. This is a US Quarter for the Vicksburg NMP. The quarters obverse has a depiction of the USS Cairo on it, and I thought it was a nice addition to the display. The Quarter also functions as the switch to turn on the internal lighting of the boat. Once I get these other items completed, I'll get more pictures posted.
 
-Brian

Oh yes, I forgot about her wheel. That makes perfect sense to show it with a mirror underneath ... 

I've continued to work my way aft building one section at a time. Still some clean up and touch up needed.
 

I have done some more small steps that have to be done before planking of the ship will start. I prepared all supplied planking strips and removed all the laser char with 120 grit sanding paper. I had to exchange four planking strips as well because of small defects in the cherry wood and used them as templates for new ones made of scrap wood. There are 25 planking rows on each side and the planking layout used on one side is mirrored on the other. That is a lot of work ahead and I hope to finish both sides before Christmas. 
 


And I closed the gaps between the inner and outer planking left and right of the frames that are still viewable with small pieces of scrap wood. On the real ship this may have been done to prevent things falling between the planking sheets. 
 

 

 
At last I sanded the stern planking to the final shape. 
 

 
I‘m still a little scared about the clinker-planking but will start with that major step the next days. Stay tuned ..

Thank you John for the kind words. I see that you are new to MSW and I hope you are planning to do a build log on your model. There are so many wonderful resources here at MSW and I would love to follow along and help out where I can.
 
- Brian

I think this would be great for a Group Project with parts and monographs published like you did the Winnie.

Great looking first few ribs, Mr. Passaro, and thank you so much for the well explained instructions thus far. I am guessing that those grooves you have made in the taller ribs double up not only as the markers for the railings but also be the marker guides for the shorter ribs and using the same puzzle construction for them? I will look forward to much more on this project.
 
Brian D

Good Morning folks...
 
I had previously made a bunch of frames as a test that can now be placed on the keel.  But before I do that, let me show you the plan for two "Tall" full height frames.  I just want to show you guys the differences you will encounter between some of these.  Primarily the fact that some of the frames will have a full floor section across the keel with futtocks on either side.  like the one below...
 

 
Others will will have a FLOOR Chock that sits on the keel with the futtocks following on either side up to the sheer.  This is typical so when you are searching for the parts on the frames you are building, beware of the two variations.   This type of square frame construction will alternate every other frame on the keel.
 

 
With this in mind, it is time to place the very first "TALL" frame on your model.  I strongly urge you to start with frame "Aa".  This frame is shown on the build board template so you will be able to ensure that it is centered and perfectly vertical.  This is so crucial.  This first frame you place on the keel is crucial that you glue it on perfect vertical and centered port and starboard.   The reason is that all subsequent frames will "Lock" into each other across the the jig cross bar.
 
Before you begin...Make sure the three center keel notches line up with those shown on the build board template.  Adjust your keel on the build board before gluing in the first frame.
 
So a few notes:   
 
You will absolutely need many good quality metal squares.  I have about 7 of these in various sizes.  They are heavy steel squares.
 
I used four of them to align this first frame "Aa" on the keel.  Remember to have it facing the right direction.  The arrow on the jig cross piece always faces forward.
 

In the photo above you can see a square placed against the outside of the frame on both sides.   It is basically at the frames widest part or maximum unfaired width.   This should line up with the outside hull line on the build board template.  This marks the Maximum breadth or width of the hull.   Now it may not fall exactly on the line because you havent faired the hull frames yet,  but it will be very close.   I left a lot of meat on those frames for fairing.  The important thing to remember is to make sure that it is equal distance from the "maximum breadth line".
 
In addition you can see one more square on each side of the frame.  These are used to ensure that the frame is perfectly vertical.  They sit against the fore side of the frame.  The metal squares are quite heavy with a flat block on the bottom.  So they stay where you place them.  I applied some yellow glue to the notch and seated it on the keel.  
 
Moving the heavy squares before the glue set,  the frame was adjusted so it was in the correct position.  I left the squares where they were until the glue fully dried.
 
From this point on you can start adding the remaining "Tall" full height frames next to it.  They should fit perfectly needing only minor adjustment as the cross bar jig on each frame act like puzzle pieces.   Concentrate on building and installing several tall full height frames first.  See below.  I have installed 5 of them.
 

They are glued directly to the keel...BUT,  I have yet to glue the cross jig bars together.  I am not really sure you need to do so.  I have simply used a length of tape to secure them to one another.   This will be advantageous when we cut them free after planking.  We will be able to remove one jig cross bar at a time rather than the whole top which would be more cumbersome to do. 
 
See the tops all fit together like a puzzle piece below.  The tape holds them tightly together and it is quite sturdy.   
 
ALSO...note the spaces left between these full height frames.   These spaces are for the "Short" frames I mentioned.  With the spaces fore them now defined, we can start adding those.   The "short" frames fall where there are gunports and sweep ports.  They have a port sill or sweep port designed into the tops of the frames.   We will cover there construction and mounting next.
 

 
Any questions...there is a lot to cover but since this will be a kit and possible group build I want to make sure my descriptions are thorough and understandable.
 
DRAT...notice that one frame where I forgot to sand the laser char from the inside edge....That will leave a dirty mess of dust when I fair the interior.  I will try and clean that up ahead of time.  Its important to try and get the majority of laser char off of the inside and outside edges before you make up each frame.  That dirt char dust will get everywhere and make your frames look dirty later when you fair the hull.
 
If you examine the framing plan you will notice that above the wales...the framing get interesting and unique.   Since this will be covered with planking it does NOT follow actual framing practices.  It was designed with ease of construction in mind.  Here is an early draft of the framing...showing the first few frames I have drafted and built in this post.   It will help put into perspective what I am describing.
 

 
WHAT A TREAT!!!  No big box of scaffolding all around your frames and hull so you cant see what you are building.  Its a very different concept than all of those POF kits folks are buying on EBAY and ALI EXPRESS.
 
 

There will be for lack of better terminology, two styles of frames.   There will be "TALL", full height frames,  and "Short" frames.  The taller frames extend up to the sheer line and beyond, terminating at the top with the cross jig piece.  The cross jig piece is crucial to the entire build concept.  It assures the frame is the correct width and shape when you build it.  There is no need to build these on top of a plan of the frame.  They will all come out the same size when finished, if you don't over sand any scarf joints.   The joints between the frame sections are precision laser cut.  BUT I left them slightly longer.  Most of the frames we will be building are of the tall variety and all need to made first and placed onto the keel.  They need to be on the keel so the "short" frames can be added in the remaining open spots for them.   More on those later.
 
But lets build our first TALL full length square frame.  We will be building them in groups.  The first group of square frames will contain about 12 or 14 frames.   
 
Here is a look at the first full length frame unbuilt.
 

I highly recommend that you remove the laser char from the outside edges and inside edges before assembling each frame.  In this case it is frame "Ba".  But dont tough or remove the chare from any of the scarf joints that connect each section.  They are precision cut and wont be the correct shape if you monkey around with the char on those.   The will almost glue up perfectly as is.   But I show circled in red the two sides on each scarf joint you will need to sand.   These were intentionally left a bit longer.   You need to test fit each segment together first and then sand a bit from one end of the scarf joint.  Test it again.  If needed tweak the circled ends only to close up the scarf joint so it fits tightly.
 
A few NOTES...
 
The floors and futtocks are different thicknesses.  See the books for details.  This creates a stepped edge on the frames.   MAKE SURE...you check the framing plan to see which side of the frame should have that stepped edge.  It could be on the fore or on the aft side.   In some cases where you have three thicknesses you might actually have to steps.  Each frame is different and some frames could even show this stepped joint on both sides of the frames.   So carefully examine the framing plan.
 
On all the square frames the floors and floor chocks are always 5/16" thick.   The square frames will always alternate with one solid floor that spans across the keel in one piece, followed by the next frame which will have the 5/16" thick floor built up with a "floor chock" in the center.   You will see this detail in the Seawatch books clearly and this proper framing structure is followed for the kit.
 
The futtocks and top timbers are 1/4" thick in most cases.   But in order to simplify the building process it was sometimes necessary to use a third thickness for the top timbers that fall next to a gun port or sweep port.   In some cases these were made using 3/16" and 5/32" thick Cedar.   Whenever this happens I have made note of it on the framing plan so you can better find those parts on the appropriate laser cut sheet.
 
Remember that no drawings of each frame are provided as built or as individual parts because we must do our very best to prevent unscrupulous Chinese manufacturers among others from copying the kit illegally.  So check the framing plan for the number of parts for each frame and their thicknesses.  
 
You should only work on one frame at a time and only remove those parts from the sheets for that frame to avoid mixing them up.  They are all labelled.  
 
So working one frame at a time, first check the plans for the number of parts in that frame.   Then look for them on the laser cut sheets.
 
Finished frame assembled...
 

Note the top cross piece which acts as a jig.   Each frame added to the keel extends the jig and keeps the whole hull its proper shape and perfectly aligned.
 
Make sure you have the cross piece facing the correct direction.  There is a laser etched arrow down the center of the cross piece which always points forward.   Double and triple check that your frame and cross piece are facing the right way before you glue this cross piece in position.  The cross piece should always be the very last segment you glue in position.  Dont sand any char from this cross piece at all.  Measurements are precise and very important.   None of it will show anyway and these jig tops will be cut free once we plank the hull.  They are basically going to end up in the trash. so no need to clean up the cross pieces.
 
When sanding the char off the other frame pieces inboard and out you will notice that I left the char above the tiny notches on each frame.  Those notches indicate the sheer of the hull.  Any surface above the notches and sheer line do not have to have any char removed at all.
 
More finished tall frames with the cross jig piece.
 

The Frame Chocks...
 
These are just simulated.  We dont have to mess around with actual tiny chocks.   The joints between frame segments are actually simple scarf joints.  There is a laser etched line to help simulate the full chock on one side of the frame.  You can if you like,  scribe the same on the other side or even just use a pencil.  But truthfully these frames are so close together you wont actually see the lines anyway.  I am not going to simulate the chock lines on the unetched side.
 
BUT...you will notice after you glue up your frame that the chocks look off....
 
The step in the frame should actually be straight across the center of the chock.  I have strategically made the chock full thickness.   This needs to be addressed on all frames.
 
It will initially look like this.  It has a full thickness chock and half of it needs to be thinned down to complete the step.

 Use a sharp #11 blade to place a stop cut down the center of the chock as if it extends across the entire frame.  Then slowly and carefully shave that thicker half of the chock down flush with the next segment (the futtock) of the frame.   See below.
 

Until it looks like this....nice and cleaned up.
 

Then the char can be removed from the inside and outside edges of the frame.  Or better yet clean those before you even glue up all the frame segments.
 
This needs to be done to every joint and really does look like it should with proper chocks.  Nobody will ever know.
 
You might have also noticed that each joint is treenailed at the chocks.  This is optional.  You can follow the framing plan for the placement of those.   This is finicky to say the least.  If they arent all uniform in distance within a group from frame to frame it wont look good at all.  I have seen wooden treenails used here.  I decided to show them but I am not using wooden treenails. If not done properly and all of the same size, again they would look really bad.   Better to leave these off the model than risk that.  So I am just using more black fishing line.  They are always the same size.  I am using 25 pound line for these.   Wooden treenails turn black anyway because of the end grain.  We shall see later after the hull is all framed up if this was a mistake.  You will have to make a decision about this for your model.
 

 
Tomorrow I start gluing frames onto the keel....
 
 
 

While you are in San Diego make some visits to the the Maritime Museum and the the Midway Carrier Museum. I used to live in San Diego. Have a great vacation with your family.

If good at using a scroll saw it could be done, but most likely wouldn't have as pretty an outcome as this laser product and a time-consuming attempt. Having wood files and proper sanding blocks are a big help either way. 
 
I personally have never used chisels building a model ship and honestly hesitant to try.  

McDonald's was the first job I had,  and I do remember the hysteria of some customers over that sandwich.  I agree it was overrated for what you got.

McDonald's was the first job I had,  and I do remember the hysteria of some customers over that sandwich.  I agree it was overrated for what you got.