Cathead

Over lunch I skimmed through all my riverboat references and could not find a single reference to caulking or any other treatment of the seams between deck planking on American riverboats. Even the archeological report on the Bertrand didn't say anything about this, and they documented the location and dimensions of every single plank on the main deck. It's an interesting question. As Kurt notes, the only real threat would be rain, and most of the main and boiler deck areas were covered by higher decks eventually capped with tarpaper, such that the only real deck area clearly exposed to the weather without tarpaper or other covering would be the bow area and the outer edges of the main deck. The guards (if present) certainly wouldn't need caulking as they didn't cover any hull area. So my guess would be that caulking either wasn't used or was done only in the bow area of the main deck. On the other hand, given the potential intensity of rainstorms in the Mississippi Basin, a riverboat deck could easily be awash in minutes from driving, blowing rain, and many boats had open cargo areas on the main deck with minimal superstructure to block wind-driven rain. So it's not hard to imagine a thunderstorm dropping multiple inches of rain in short order that could blow/leak down into the hold, causing potential problems for cargo stored there. But my guess that this just wasn't enough of a problem to warrant caulking; a competent crew would simply not store any water-sensitive cargo far forward in the hull (the only place really potentially prone to meaningful leaks from above) or use basic tarpaulins as necessary. I'm interested to know what Kurt finds out from his sources.

Well said, Imagna, it's not about laziness but about efficiency. Yes, if you only need one calculation, it's quite easy to do the math. But at the scale of a full build, there's nothing wrong with setting up a more efficient way to do the work. Or should we all hand-cut every bit of railing rather than using a stopper to automate the cuts?

As I mentioned earlier, I went ahead and wrote up a tutorial on using spreadsheets to calculate model conversions. This is exactly the kind of tool that would let you quickly figure out various measurements at 1/60 (such as a person's height) without having to remember and set up equations each time or search for the right online conversion tool. I mention it here at the risk of self-promotion because it seems pretty relevant.

Hard to say for sure what's "accurate", but I agree that a sloped skylight set back from the edge a bit makes logical sense.

I've learned to do it by hand (i.e. no power tools), either by taper square stock with a knife then sanding, or just sanding down a dowel. In fairness, the largest ship I've built is a topsail schooner, but doing it by hand makes sure I don't overdo it. I just put on an audio book or baseball game and work away.

Regarding cats, my avatar is getting on in years and has never been overly adventurous. As long as I push in the chair at the model desk, she doesn't try to get up there. Not sure how to exclude a more active cat other than a door. Hope you have fun with this model and manage to keep the paws off.

This is really cool; I love builds that help me learn about the ship itself. And I really appreciate the captioned photos that clearly document your steps. I'm going to try that angled plank end approach, too, seems obvious now that it's pointed out.

This is a really neat project. Being from the American Midwest, I had never heard of this type of kit before. It seems a very intelligent and interesting approach. Can you share any more about how this sort of thing works? In any case, being of partial German heritage and fascinated by this era as a kid, I'm excited to follow along on this.

A good ruler is indeed invaluable. But you can also use any of the multitude of online conversion calculators available. For example, go to http://www.onlineconversion.com/length_common.htm and just enter 6 feet divided by mm, then divide that by 60. Pretty much every computer has a basic calculator you can do that last step on if you don't have a physical one. Or you can use a spreadsheet like Excel, and if you don't have that, you can use the free versions offered by platforms like Google. For every one of my builds, I set up a basic spreadsheet that has a number of common conversions for that model's scale, and a few custom fields that let me enter a given number and have it spit out the corresponding scale measurement. Maybe I should write up something about this with examples as a separate post.

This is a someday build for me as I really like the look of Admiralty models. Your careful build looks great so far. I look forward to your progress.

Pretty much every model has workmanship flaws if you look close. Mine sure as heck do. Part of what I enjoyed so much about this one was your combination of freelanced accuracy; you created something of your own but still a very realistic representation of the type. Your words are kind, too, but I'd say Glenn Grieco was the biggest draw of interest before he had to give up the build log.

That looks very similar to the mast arrangement and sail plan of the Bounty's launch. Technically a different style of boat, but it's your model, and there were almost certainly some unusual prototypical arrangements out there.

Well, this is a wonderful model and I'm so glad you shared it with us. I devoutly hope I can produce such work 50 years from now (yes, I skew the age distribution here).

Thank you for sharing this news. I had been missing his updates on this model, and his presence in general, and now I know why.

Roger and Cog capture my feelings on this. Digital is fine for light linear reading, especially fiction, but I cannot stand trying to work through a technical text of any kind (involving figures, illustrations, or the need to move back and forth in the text) in digital form. Plus I, too, spend a lot of work time on the computer and really don't like the additional eye strain of reading for pleasure on a screen. I have a Kindle, but only use it for reading when traveling. Any book or magazine I care about comes in print. And it's not just age, I'm under 40.

What a lovely achievement! The work is very crisp and manages to look both accurate and artistic. Thank you for sharing it with us.

She is looking absolutely gorgeous! Really hits the sweet spot with crisp work and coloring that is both clean and realistic. Apologies for my long absence from Arabia. A variety of life and work conflicts have been keeping me away from that project.

Bill, I'm glad it was worth pointing out. Always feels awkward to do so, but it seems that most people would prefer the peanut gallery to ask questions and such.

Looks really good. Nice color balance and crisp-looking work. Well done, and thanks for sharing!

Thanks for the early tutorial in overcoming QC issues. I definitely like your marker stick. Keep up the good work!

Looks nice so far. I do have one question: the two gunports in the stern appear to be different widths. Is that intentional, or an optical illusion?

I use either a piece of plywood or foam core board. Both are easy to move around and plans can be taped or clipped to them. I lean the plans against the wall behind my desk or place them on the floor, depending on how I'm using them. I'm very cramped for space and this works fine. If I had more space, I like Kurt's approach.

Those really are glorious. You hit the perfect combination of detail, weathering, and simplicity.

I'm just catching up with you here, and those are some great photos you've shared in the past few posts. I really liked the one laying out all the different blocks: daunting but fascinating. And your explanation of the topmast's shape and fitting was really interesting and educational. Thanks.

I think the unfortunate reality is that this forum has far more questions and topics than everyone can keep up with, especially those with the knowledge to answer every question. Sometimes the person you need is busy; not everyone checks the forum every day or even every week, and it's easy to miss a given question or topic for a little while. There's a real tension between the immediate need of the modeller for an answer, and the delayed response time of other forum members who aren't necessarily on the same schedule. I certainly can't keep up with everything that's happening on here. I'm in central Missouri, a bit north of the river.