Cathead

Huh, I don't think I got that email. This was the first I knew of, though I was expecting something of the kind. We were strongly considering going, so hopefully it'll work for us in another year. Definitely the right decision under the circumstances. Thanks for getting the word out, Kurt.

Forgot to say, I totally agree. Granted, I've never rigged a big three-master, but I really like the visual appeal and logical puzzle of rigging. I certainly think the extras I added to Arabia add visual interest to the otherwise somewhat spare topside, and grasshopper spars are great for adding complicated eye candy!

As is often the case, what I thought I'd do next wasn't what I ended up doing next. Instead of the capstan and grasshopper spars, I focused on other details. For example, I added strips of wood sealing in the edge of the main deck. For the curves around the bow and stern, these were soaked, bent, and dried, then painted while held in a jig so the paint's moisture wouldn't undo the bend. Worked pretty well. It's hard to tell the difference in photos, but they really clean up the deck's edges in person. I added other bow details, such as the jackstaff and the curved bit of wood extending above the deck around the bow (no idea what this is called). The latter was tricky and took several tries. I consulted various photos and drawings of different jackstaffs, then went within a design I liked. This would have been attached to an extention of the stem (coming out through the deck). Some were strapped on with iron; I chose to "bolt" mine on instead. The jackstaff was not a flagpole but a navigation aid. The pilot could use this to as a reference point when sighting against faraway landmarks like ridges, bluffs, trees, and islands. The relative motion of the boat and jackstaff helped him judge the boat's actual movement in difficult navigational conditions. The red ball, called a "nighthawk", was placed roughly at the pilot's eye level as an additional reference point. Based on photos, some boats had rigging bracing the jackstaff and some did not. I added a bit, both for visual interest and for reasons explained after the next photo. I also added support lines to the engine steam vents. As far as I can tell, like the jackstaff rigging, some boats did this and some didn't. I decided that Arabia, which navigated far up the Missouri River into the windy Great Plains (deep into Montana), would want the extra bracing in both cases. For similar reasons, I added "iron" bars bracing the vulnerable pilothouse. Finally, I rectified an early mistake. The lower posts supporting the boiler deck should extend through the deck just a little. I didn't do that early on, so cut a series of short "post" stubs and glued them on top. Looks pretty convincing. Pretty soon I'm going to need to build the final stand, as I'll want to attach her permanently to that before doing the most delicate work (like the grasshopper spars). I have a lot of well-cured cherry lumber in my barn that I cut here years ago, and think I'll try to put something together with that. I ordered a few last details from Model Expo (like a bell and two boat kits), so whenever those arrive they'll help add some more details. That order also included my next project, which I'm already looking forward to. Having it in hand will encourage me to finish this model. Thanks for reading. The end is now in sight, though it's weeks away yet.

Just a thought, but as long as you're considering nail holes, keep in mind that planks were nailed to every deck beam, not just the ones at the end. In practice, you'd have parallel sets of nail holes every scale foot or two along each plank. Of course, that's a lot of work and you could decide it would make the deck look too busy, but I thought I'd suggest it. Your approach highlights the idea of nailed planks while leaving a clean-looking deck that emphasizes the planking. Especially given that this kit isn't particularly prototypical, the best choice is whater you think looks best!

One trick I've found very helpful personally, choose a "good" side for the model (the primary display side) and always do uncertain tasks on the other side first. For example, if you plan to display the port side, plank the starboard side first so any initial mistakes are less visible at the end. Same for anything else that has a "side".

Prices can reflect a lot of things. For example, how old is the kit? If it's been around 20 years and the manufacturer has long since paid off the development costs, it might be sold cheaper as they can just churn out replacements. If it's newer, it may be more expensive because it takes a lot just to develop a kit, but it also may be a better kit as manufacturing methods and other aspects of improved over time. Quality of materials is a big one, and may relate to kit age. Newer kits are likely to have better-quality materials, which you might have to pay for but are well worth it. Then there's the question of who's doing the selling; different outlets have different business models; the cheapest price might not be fair or sustainable depending on the background context.

Do you work at a hospital or were you a patient? Regardless, glad to see you're still working on this.

Nice touch adding working hinges!

As you asked, I have built one Corel kit and swore never to again as I found the instructions, materials, and kit design rather poor and frustrating. However, there is no doubt that even a bad kit can be completeted successfully and attractively with enough perseverence, patience, and research into the necessary skills to overcome its flaws. So keep at it if you really like this particular prototype. As others have said, starting a proper build log is likely the best way to get ongoing help with your build.

Cool, I love Scandanavian ships of this period and might someday want to build this. Looking forward to reading about your experience.

What a fantastic detail! Really nicely done and gives the build a very distinct personal touch. I'll miss this build when it's gone.

Thanks, John. All kidding aside, we actually know a lot about her cargo as it was almost all salvaged and is on display (or still being catalogued and cleaned) at the museum in Kansas City. She was carrying a lot of whiskey (hence all my barrels) and tons of crates of frontier supplies (nails, boots, tools, farm implements, etc.). She was heading upriver when she sank; any agricultural products would have been carried on a downriver trip. Some cotton was grown in central Missouri, along with other plantation crops like tobacco and hemp; this region was (and still is) referred to as "Little Dixie" given that it had the highest antebellum concentration of slaves and plantations anywhere in the state and was decidedly more Southern than elsewhere; you can still find huge plantation-style houses along the Missouri River in this area.

Mark, that's very generous, let me think about it. Another option is just to make a rough solid hull, plank over it, and cover the boat with a tarp. I've read in multiple locations that these were almost never covered, which is why I've avoided that option so far.

I have tried three different ways of scratchbuilding scale boats and none have worked. Feeling rather frustrated. I just can't get them to form right using pieces small enough to look in-scale; my skills just can't seem to handle detail work at that level and I don't have a feel for the natural shape of a hull. Even a simple john boat is escaping me. I did make some other progress by installing some more details along the superstructure and setting up the rigging for the main chimneys (below). The two small chimneys down the centerline would lead to wood stoves. The two taller stacks are the steam vents from the engines. Two shots of the chimney rigging (below). I used a basic braided line left over from some kit. To make the attachments on the chimneys, I glued some old parrel beads from my revenue schooner. To make the attachments on the deck, I made thin wooden "clamps" (these would have mirrored similar planks below the deck, clamping together over the beams) and drilled small eyebolts into them (also left over from my revenue schooner). The line was white, so once it was tied and glued in place, I painted it black, hoping that would help stabilize it. The knots came out a little coarser than I intended, but they match the overall quality of the build (don't look too closely). I know these are supposed to have turnbuckles but I couldn't come up with a way to simulate these at scale that looked better than leaving them out. I think the next step will be to start placing various details on the bow, such as the steam capstan and the "grasshopper" spars used to haul the boat over sandbars. Then she'll be getting pretty close to finished, other than those danged boats.

Mark, I meant the scale of the craft overall. I can know that I need a boat that's X long in inches, but depending on how the parts are scaled it may or may not look right. For example, a boat with parts scaled for 1:48 just won't look right in 1:64 even if it's the right "length". And I can't find any info on scaling from MS; need to check out MK. The scanner idea is interesting but then I have a boat kit I don't otherwise need. For the moment I'm going to keep stubbornly experimenting for myself but I'll keep your idea as a backup.

Those kits look really handy, but I'm afraid they'd be out of scale at my 1:64 if they were right for your 1:48; MS doesn't give a scale. I've started dabbling with this but have yet to figure out an approach that works for me. It's harder than I thought to lay out and build a very small boat at this scale.

I managed two more steps this week. First was gluing in the chimneys, which was scary as now there's a much larger delicate feature to bump or snag. No photos of this because it doesn't look any different from past test-fittings. Second, I worked on the main deck stern railings. This was difficult because I needed the railings to hold the full curve around the stern without any other support as the boiler deck doesn't extend out over this. Here's an example of what I'm basing this on. So what I did was build a basic jig that would hold the railings in the right curve while I (a) soaked and bent them and (b) painted them, as I've learned the hard way that painting makes thin strips like this lose a lot of their pre-bent curve. This worked really well. After the initial soaking and drying, I painted them in place. When that was dry, I took them off and painted the small bits covered by the clamps and jig; this wasn't enough to lose the curve. Then I mounted three thick posts on the main deck using small pins, one at each end of the railing and one at the very stern. When these were solid, I mounted the railings, then went back in and added smaller spacing posts. Here's the results: I think it came out nicely. Now I'm terrified of bumping the stern. Oh well. I've also started thinking about the two yawls I'll need. These were a pretty distinct design used on the Western Rivers; there was some good discussion of these over in Brian's Chaperon build, such as here and here. Basically I need to build two 16-18' boats with a flat stern and a hard chine (no rounding between the bottom and the sides). In addition to the photos shared in the second link above, I found two relevant drawings of what these craft might have looked like, but these differ in one important respect and I'd like an opinion from the resident experts (look, I'm asking ahead of time for once!). First, drawings of an Ohio River yawl from Howard Chappelle (sourced from Google Books). This has a fully flat bottom from side to side. Second, a sketch of a riverboat yawl from Alan Bates (photo from a book in my possession). This has an angled bottom from side to side: I'm not sure about posting these images as it technically may violate copyright, but I'm also not sure how else to explain what I'm trying to work out about these two designs. Happy to take them down in a moderator thinks it's a problem. Meanwhile, I'd like to better understand the difference between the two and which version might be better for me (and/or easier to build). Any advice/input?

That's an interesting thought. I'm feeling that a bit in my current 2.5 year project and could see the value in doing somethinge else, but I also so want to be done! Regardless, well done. Master Korabel seems to do really nice work.

Chuck has been affected by the virus-related business closures; you can keep up with his status here; it's a long thread but reading the last couple pages will give you a sense of his current situation. As you don't need the blocks for a while, just keep the idea in mind. I don't remember their cost offhand.

Good start, happy to follow along. Depending on your budget, you might consider replacing all the blocks with those made by Syren as they're of really high quality and a joy to work with. Not that you need to order them now, but as a thought instead of ordering replacements from M-E.

Lovely. I especially like the bull rail detail.

I'd like to say that I really enjoyed the article on the Coast Guard river cutters, especially given the Yacona's early adoption of desegregated crews. I knew nothing about this bit of history and was glad to learn it.

Spent the last two weeks working on various details. The railings on the boiler deck have been giving me nightmares, but I finally figured out a "good-enough" way that works at the level of the rest of the model (representative if not precisely accurate, don't look too close). These were really difficult to bend and shape, especially where they didn't extend between two decks for extra support. I left a gap on either side, forward of the wheels, to allow access to where the boats will be stored. Figured a chain was enough to keep passengers out; this was leftover scrap from a past model: These stern railings were especially tricky: Ladders up to the pilot house and various Texas cabins: A couple broader views: And here's one posed with the painting this model is loosely based on: It's getting ever scarier to handle this model as the fragile details go in. I'm so paranoid about bumping these railings, they were such a pain to do in the first place. And it's just going to get worse...

Nice work so far, especially in working around the inevitable mistakes or accidents. The general consensus is that wood glue is far preferable for binding wood than CA is, though the latter has a role in certain applications. Just keep it away from water! I think you said you were bending your planks dry, which might have contributed to one snapping. Soaking them really helps loosen up the fibers so the wood takes the bend easier. Your model is looking very nice, and this is a great way to practice these skills before diving into something bigger. Keep it up!

I thoroughly approve of your helpers, as evidenced by my username and photo. You made an earlier comment about certain things looking better from a distance, that's true for most models. Only the true geniuses among us can make things that look great in close-up photos!