Cathead

I also just experienced the new theme. My concern is that all the text is now a light grey that is very difficult and eye-straining to read against a white background. I went into my account settings and could find no way to change those display options. Is there a way for me to set the basic text back to black or is it now built into MSW? Regardless, it's giving me eye strain within a few minutes of looking at the site and I'd be very grateful to have black text back. I realize site managers have a thankless job when things go well but only ever hear from us with complaints, so I apologize. But this is really affecting my ability to read the site.

Good idea. Here's a few quick shots on the floor (too hot and sunny to go outside). They were similarly sized: Arabia: Length 171', beam 29' (hull; with guards, around 48'), tonnage 222 Bertrand: Length 161', beam 32' (hull; with guards, around 40'), tonnage 251 I also made a mistake in the last post (now corrected); Bertrand was built at 1:87, not 1:72.

Two last shots of Arabia in her display location in my model/nautical corner of the house. We might move her somewhere else once I get a full case figured out, but this is good for now. I like that the bookcase opens on both sides so it's easy to view the open and closed sides of the model. Out of shot on a lower shelf is my model of Bertrand, another open/closed sided steamboat, so the two go well together here. Note that the Arabia and the revenue cutter behind her are the same scale (1:64); I think it's a fun visual comparison. Some of you asked about my next project. Having bought a Byrnes table saw over the winter, I had been planning to shift to scratch-building full-time using wood harvested on my farm. I have billets of maple, cherry, and various fruitwoods that have been drying for up to two years and will provide all the modelling wood I could possibly use. My goal was for the cost of the saw to replace the cost of kits and wood in our budget, which it should. There are a variety of interesting Missouri River craft on the agenda, including the boats used by the Lewis & Clark expedition and some smaller steamboats used on tributaries of the Missouri River. However, the last few months have been extremely stressful for reasons from personal to global, and my brain is a bit fried with trying to keep track of this complicated build. Moreoever, the libraries and historical societies I might otherwise visit to do primary research in Missouri craft are closed or restricted. So I bought one last kit as a simpler relaxation project: the Dusek Viking longship in 1:35 scale (note that the scale of my builds keeps going up, from 1:87 Bertrand to 1:64 Arabia to 1:35 Viking ship; this could be a problem down the road). I am of Norse descent (my beloved grandfather was extremely proud of his heritage), my father-in-law was a scholar of Old English and the Saxon period, and I'm a huge fan of Bernard Cornwell's long "Saxon Tales" series of historical novels (better known as "The Last Kingdom" once a TV show based on it was launched). So this will have some meaning for me while at least letting me follow someone else's instructions. I do plan to make some modifications for authenticity/uniqueness and to replace some of the kit wood with my own home-cut-and-milled; I may also use the plans to build several versions using my own wood. I'll launch a build log eventually, but will likely be dormant for a while. The next few weeks will involve helping my elderly in-laws move closer to us, which would be a massive enough undertaking if there wasn't an ongoing pandemic, so I don't think I'll have a lot of free time until sometime in July. I'll post a build log link here once I start it, for anyone who wants to follow along. Thanks once more for your support and interest.

Seems reasonable from what you've described.

No worries, thought I'd mention it just in case.

Great choice, looking forward to following along. In case you're interested, MSW user Kurt Van Dahm has a great digital guide to building this model that has a lot of useful tips and insights for this kit; I highly recommend it. Here's a link where he describes it and explains how to order.

Four mounting points make a lot of sense, I did the same thing with Arabia. These flat, wide bottoms are perfect for that and I feel a lot better with the foursquare support. Treenailing in the false keels is a good touch, too.

I took advantage of a cloudy afternoon to take a break from regular work and do a quick photo shoot on my porch, using my phone with a few rumpled sheets as backdrops. May try to do a nicer job someday but the model's not going anywhere and this let me feel a sense of closure. It was pretty windy and you'll see the flag changing positions! First, a few overhead shots: Stern views: Bow views: Side views: Overall views: Painting for comparison with the last view: Thanks for everything.

I finally got an updated (larger) stencil from the neighbor teen and relettered the wheel housing. I like this much better: Compare with the earlier, too-small version: And with that, she's done. Next post will feature some final shots. Wow. I'm having a hard time adjusting to this, after 2 years and 8 months, the longest I've worked on any model project. I can't emphasize enough how important all of you have been, through likes, comments, suggestions, criticisms, and support. Even when I didn't take your advice, I listened to it and learned from it. You've helped me create something pretty special to me, and maybe to others if I ever get to display it somewhere other than my quarantined rural farmstead. Thank you.

Model Expo is shipping and they sell packaged strips in all kinds of dimensions that are very useful.

That's what "fairing" refers to; bulkhead edges need to be filed to an angle that matches the flow of the planks. I thought that's what we had been talking about. Have you read any of the planking tutorials here on MSW? They'd be pretty helpful. If your bulkheads haven't accounted for this, there's a way to fix it. Many of us, when fairing, mistakenly take off too much at some point, resulting in the plank not sitting properly as you describe. You could use filler as you suggest, but it's often easier to glue a thin strip of wood to the outside edge of the bulkhead, then sand this back down to the properly faired angle.

Wait, so are you or aren't you burning it? It's your choice, just confused as to the plan.

I agree with Petr. If you want to have it just-so for your own satisfaction, that's fine, but it should have little bearing on whether it floats (that would seem to relate more to whatever sealant is used and proper ballasting, not precise planking). As for burning, I recall reklein sharing photos of a model he gave a proper flaming burial to (earlier in this thread), but I don't recall Kris saying that was the purpose of this model (just that it represented a personally symbolic "burial"). Did I miss something? I'm still not sure about the reasoning regarding needing to get the fairing right before gluing in the bulkheads.

Well done and thanks for sharing. A beautiful build.

In terms of general fairing, I don't think you need a scale plank. Any strip of flexibile material is enough to test the accuracy of fairing, either wood thin enough to bend easily or plastic/styrne. The goal is to ensure that you always have a smooth run between bulkheads (i.e the plank/trip doesn't lift off the bulkhead or have a gap) and that shouldn't require a precise plank width. I'm not sure what you mean by this: Do you mean that you don't want to glue the bulkheads in place before fairing, i.e. that you're trying to fair them before installation? Normal procedure would be to glue the bulkheads in place, then fair them all in one go. Or am I misunderstanding you?

Welcome. Coastal NC has been a special place in my family for over 40 years and I envy your proximity. I hope you'll find value and peace in returning to this community.

I am no master modeller, but for my last sailing vessel I developed a sail-making method I quite liked and wrote it up here. Feel free to review it and the ensuing discussion for whatever knowledge and ideas you might want to glean.

Cool. As you said, it's nice to see the hull taking shape, even as a ghost.

A real ship's hatches would likely be aligned to fit between the regular deck beams to eliminate the problem you describe.

I'm not sure I can envision what you're describing. Photos might help.

Roger, thanks so much. That means a lot coming from you. You've been such a help and inspiration as I learn more about steamboats over the years and you've helped me hold myself to a higher standard (though I still have a ways to go). Brian, I was thinking (hoping?) that I could get an inexpensive plexiglass case made that would fit over the model and inside the raised lip around the wooden base. I was thinking of contacting a few sign-making shops that seem to do various such work. Anyone have a smarter idea?

Keith, I do have my next project selected, but am keeping it under wraps for now until I can truly declare this one done. Some may be disappointed to learn that it is not another riverboat; after 2.5 years of this complex scratchbuild, and under the higher level of stress I'm currently under for various reasons, I needed something simpler that someone else wrote directions for. Will reveal once I'm ready. I think it'll be fun. In the meantime, anyone looking for a new riverboat scratchbuild should head on over to Brian's just-started USS Cairo, which promises to be fascinating. John, that sounds really cool and I'd love to follow along. When you get started, feel free to drop a note in here so we can all be in on it from the beginning.

Port rigging is done: Bow view: I added a few final details. For example, there should be a series of posts hung from the sides to protect the vessel. These are similar in function to the tires commonly used by more modern tugs and other vessels. It was common on more busy waterfronts (like St. Louis) for steamboats to line up shoulder-to-shoulder, making these barriers necessary. Photos show a variety of setups, from posts integrated into the hull to those hung loosely from lines. I opted for the latter; you can see the lines tied off to structural posts if you look closely. A spot of glue at the lower end of each post holds it in place as these aren't dense enough to hang right on their own. For example, here's a view of the St. Louis levee in 1852 from the Steamboat Times website: For the final detail, I added a flagpole and flag to the sternmost part of the hurricane deck, rigging it using a small block. This is the 31-star flag used from 1851 to 1858, following the admission of California to the Union. As Arabia was built in 1853 and sank in 1856, the choice of flag was clear. I printed it on bond paper as a single front-and-back image that could be folded over itself with glue between. I did this with a line carefully inserted along the seam, then rubbed some grey pastel on to dull the paper. I think it has a good texture, and between the weight of the paper and the glue, it takes and holds a decent wavy bend. Notice MSW on the laptop in my home office, set in the opposite corner of our small living room from my workbench. Here's the contemporary drawing I based the flagpole on, from the UW steamboat photo database: Those are all the final details, save one: I want to redo the lettering on the wheelhouse. Something had been bugging me about it, and I finally realized that it came out smaller than I intended. I compared the 3D-printed stencil with my initial paper test print and found that the stencil was quite a bit smaller than it was supposed to be. Can't believe I didn't notice up front. Somehow the design shrank in the transfer from my graphics program to the file used for printing. So I contacted the neighbor's teen again and he's going to ensure that the final design is scaled properly before printing a new one. So once I get my hands on that, I'll paint over the original lettering and redo it. Then she'll be done. This might take until next week, so not sure when I'll do a final photo shoot. I want to do one here under the right outdoor lighting conditions (not too sunny) and I also want to take a walkaround video. My final goal is to take the model down to the Missouri River and do a photo shoot with her natural habitat in the background. Also not sure when I'll get to that; the best place to do this is at a conservation area about 45 minutes from me. Stay tuned just a little bit longer. Thanks for all your support, comments, and likes.

Nemo, It's the Nao Victoria museum in Punta Arenas, Patagonia. I was going to link their site but it's down; see Wikipedia instead. See this post and the next few in my Chile thread for a series of photos; I can provide more if you're looking for details of a given area. Here's one photo for inspiration: You're right that it's not a good idea to post emails publically, but you can contact members privately through the site. Click on someone's name and go to their profile page. There's a fairly obvious "Message" button that lets you send private messages (usually called PMs around here) in which it's safe to exchange emails, etc. By the way, as my avatar suggests, I love your helper! EDIT: I'm not expert enough to judge the absolute accuracy. But the ship is littered with plans, and I got the impression they were shooting for a reasonably level of accuracy. Can't promise any detail is right. It's rather a Quixotic endeavor, mostly one guy's dream project.

Oh, wow, I've dreamed of building this ship! I grew up not far from where she sank and have a signed copy of the book about her (and the subsequent discovery efforts). I always thought I'd have to scratchbuild this, but now maybe not? Someday... Meanwhile, I strongly recommend the book (linked to by an earlier poster) as very well written and quite interesting for anyone interested in the design, construction, and operation of sailing vessels on the Great Lakes (some noticeable differences with marine conditions).