Cathead

And the little gates fixed - a bit rough and ready, but at least well enough for a prototype. When it comes to the "good one" at 1:25 I'll be more careful and finish them better.

Ready for tomorrow's exhibition.
 
Steven

It is indeed difficult to get Viking period figures who are ordinary people, not warriors or the rich. A site that gives a more realistic idea of what "normal Vikings" looked like is at https://sagy.vikingove.cz/en/the-interview-for-hella-the-viking-blog/
 
A well-off merchant might have looked like this - https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/137219119871448037/
 
While a really high status Viking (probably a member of the nobility) might have looked like this https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/948148527770532075/ (that cloak is copied from a real archaeological find, including that wonderful decorative border - click on the Pinterest link and it takes you to an article on the original find).
 
Sorry I can't help with figures ( I have to carve mine), but cargo would yes, be barrels, perhaps oiled leather bags (for waterproofing) chests (There's the Mastermyr chest, which contained carpenters' tools https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mästermyr_chest and https://www.angelfire.com/wy/svenskildbiter/Viking/vikchest.html, and is fairly typical, as well as the Oseberg chests https://loveevamk.life/product_tag/32008505_.html - but use those with caution, as they were in a royal grave).
 
For  my own nef - though it's from a few centuries after, ships hadn't changed all that much - I added a cargo of barrels - see post #193 and onward at 
Hope that helps. Nice to see someone doing a merchant ship instead of all the drakkars!
 
Steven
 
 

The manufacture of beams continues.  All the beam 'blanks' have now been completed and I've started to work on the deck opening framing for them. Everything still, of nececcity, still unfixed, so everything needs to be carefully marked as it all goes together like a mad jigsaw puzzle.
 
below are a couple of images of the forest of frames all roughly in place.
 
John
 

Ian, that block looks like an ordinary block with a toggle each side. Those toggles have been found in archaeology as far back as the 11th century, though I don't know if they've been found from the Classical Roman period. They are very useful for quick attachment and release of different parts of rigging on Mediterranean lateeners - for an example of the toggle in use see my post #1217 at 
Tony, thanks for your nice comment. Much appreciated.
 
More progress on the San Marco ship.
 
Grab rings for the hatch covers:

Hatch covers in place and with grab rings (now blackened) in place. I had to wait until the masts were glued in before I could finalise the hatch covers, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to see the mast steps to guide the masts into position.


Shrouds:

Foremast starboard shrouds in place:

All foremast shrouds in place. The port shrouds are loose because the lateen sail was within the shrouds - if the leeward shrouds were kept tight they would interfere with the sail as it bellied out with the wind. 
   
Getting ready for tomorrow's Modelling Exhibition! while I'm sitting there keeping people (and their precious little darlings) from touching my models with their sticky fingers I'll probably be working on positioning the halyards and their tackle, and adding the blocks for the tacks to the yards. 
 
Steven
 

Note to self: use a thesaurus to assemble a list of superlatives before Brian's next update. Or switch to a new language; I've always been partial to German's "ausgezeichnet" because just pronouncing it provides a feeling of accomplishment. 
 
I totally agree with Keith that the bottom needs to be visible somehow. You may not go this direction, but a great benefit of the larger display cabinet I had built for my models is that the multi-level glass shelving makes it easy to see the undersides, which is especially good for my  openly framed Bertrand's hull. It's also a lot more space- and material-efficient than a bunch of individual glass cases.
 
Also, as a fellow Mac user, welcome! One thing I particularly appreciate is the seamless coordination of photos (and other documents) between phone and computer, then up to iCloud storage, so I don't have to think about manual backups or worry about the loss of a device.

Thanks, all, and Keith - I agree. I think that's one the best model I've ever built. Guess I'm going downhill now!

Thanks, all, and Keith - I agree. I think that's one the best model I've ever built. Guess I'm going downhill now!

Eric it just keeps getting better. 👍
 

Looking at that sketch reminded me of the stern of the steamboat Arabia. This was a Western River sidewheel steamboat built in 1856, a very different context than yours, but the geometry is somewhat similar. The Arabia's stern was recovered and is now on display at a museum in Kansas City, where I took a bunch of photographs of it (both exterior and interior) while planning a scratchbuilt model of her. If you're having trouble conceptualizing the stern of your vessel, perhaps it'd be helpful to look at these photos, since so few real-life examples of these hulls remain? I wrote a whole thread on researching that model, here's the relevant post where I share all the stern photos, and below is one just for an example (I don't want to spam your thread with lots of these):
 

 
 
 
 

Note to self: use a thesaurus to assemble a list of superlatives before Brian's next update. Or switch to a new language; I've always been partial to German's "ausgezeichnet" because just pronouncing it provides a feeling of accomplishment. 
 
I totally agree with Keith that the bottom needs to be visible somehow. You may not go this direction, but a great benefit of the larger display cabinet I had built for my models is that the multi-level glass shelving makes it easy to see the undersides, which is especially good for my  openly framed Bertrand's hull. It's also a lot more space- and material-efficient than a bunch of individual glass cases.
 
Also, as a fellow Mac user, welcome! One thing I particularly appreciate is the seamless coordination of photos (and other documents) between phone and computer, then up to iCloud storage, so I don't have to think about manual backups or worry about the loss of a device.

Time for a big dump of progress photos!
 
I completely failed to take photos of building the roof for the pilot house and cabin, but it wasn't complicated. I just cut a thin sheet of wood to the shape I wanted, spread glue on the "rafters", and secured everything with rubber bands.
 
The photo story picks up again as I applied the simulated canvas. I used the same method as I did on Arabia: strips of masking tape held down with a thin layer of wood glue. When that's dried overnight, I trim the edges and paint it. It's held up perfectly on that last model, I really like the texture, and it's more forgiving to work with than tissue paper or silkspan or other options. Plus it's dirt cheap. Here's a sequence showing the progression of slightly overlapping layers on the gently arching cabin roof:



And the same for the pilot house:
 


I'll use some pastels to weather this a little, dull it down, and give it some subtle variation in tone.
 
In the meantime I worked on laying out the support posts for the hog chains, which needed to be carefully situated to run just along the outside edge of the cabin roof. So I marked the final location of the cabin and carefully laid out where I wanted the posts to go through the boiler deck. Then I drilled a series of small holes and used a sharp knife tip and then small files to make the final shape:
 

I then made a simple jig for the angle I wanted the posts to sit at, and used this to set them up. Here they've already been cut and painted. The black tips are meant to represent the iron caps that actually held the hog chains onto the wooden posts.

And here are a few shots of the fore and aft hog chain posts resting in place (not yet glued); you'll notice I temporarily removed the chimneys to avoid any possible damage as I worked on all this:
 



I also built the assembly that goes over the stern, which I'd left off until now since it rises above the boiler deck and I didn't want to bump or snap it while doing earlier work on the deck.
 


Finally it was time to start attaching things for good. Here I've glued down the cabin and pilot house (big step!):
 

And while that was drying I got started laying down the "canvas" on the boiler deck, working up to the aft part of the cabin. I'll let this all dry completely before proceeding up either side of the cabin.
 

A close look will also show that I built and attached the little L-shaped guard wall around the staircase up to the boiler deck.
 
Once all the boiler deck canvas is laid, I'll (re)cut the hog chain post holes, paint it carefully (trying to avoid the cabin walls), then attach the stern piece. At that point the model will really be coming together though a lot of detail work remains to be done (not to mention the paddle wheel, which I'm dreading).
 
Thanks for reading (or at least skimming) through that big dump of updates!

Well, I said I'd work on either the hog chains or the main cabin, and for once I stuck to the plan.
 
Building the rest of the cabin was mercifully straightforward, to the point that I didn't take many in-progress shots. I used some sheets of board-and-batten wood left over from past model railroad projects to lay out the walls, and scavenged close-enough windows from my scrap box. Here are the walls well underway, showing the bracing in the back and the carefully cut-and-fit holes for inserting the windows:

I painted everything white, then glassed in the windows the same way as the pilot house (CA plus scrap clear packaging), then added shades using some old sailcloth material from a past ship kit. When that was done, I assembled the structure using my magnetic squaring jig:
 

And here's the result:
 

Here's the cabin test-fit on the rest of the model, with relevant photos in the background:
 


It's been stressful around here lately and I needed a simple project that didn't require too much thought. This fit the bill perfectly. Doing the roof should be easy, too. Then I'll mark its location carefully and start laying out the hog chain braces.
 
Thanks as always for following along and giving feedback, whether through likes or comments. You all keep me going!

Looking at that sketch reminded me of the stern of the steamboat Arabia. This was a Western River sidewheel steamboat built in 1856, a very different context than yours, but the geometry is somewhat similar. The Arabia's stern was recovered and is now on display at a museum in Kansas City, where I took a bunch of photographs of it (both exterior and interior) while planning a scratchbuilt model of her. If you're having trouble conceptualizing the stern of your vessel, perhaps it'd be helpful to look at these photos, since so few real-life examples of these hulls remain? I wrote a whole thread on researching that model, here's the relevant post where I share all the stern photos, and below is one just for an example (I don't want to spam your thread with lots of these):
 

 
 
 
 

Hardly Eric.
 
Each boat you build is beautiful tribute to some of the lesser known vessels of the Western rivers. I love the fact that the subject of each of your scratch builds are some of the more obscure boats rather than one that tends to be overbuilt. Add in the fact that you try your best to mill your own lumber sourced from your property whenever possible. I say nothing downhill about that. In my eyes they are all works of art. 
 
-Brian

Ah! - that makes perfect sense.

Thanks, Kurt, these are interesting insights into the operation of such tow-boats. Of course, if these flanking rudders can move, they make perfect sense, when going backward.
 
This would be a classical application for Schottel-props, but I gather they may be too delicate for the shallow rivers full of debris. There is also a limit to the amount of HP they can bring into the water. Turnable pods with Kort-nozzles would obviate the need for all those rudders, but again debris might be a problem and the shallow draught needed.
 
In the early 20th century for working on shallow (central and eastern) European rivers systems, where the props worked in half-tunnels were developed. Some tow-boats also used early forms of water-jet propulsion to aid maneuvering and turning in tight bends.
 
 

Thank you Kurt for chiming in with that detailed explanation. Being a complete novice in this era of ships, I was only able to explain what I read about while researching the rudder design. I didn’t delve too much into the science behind it, but it all makes sense. 
 
I can only imagine the enjoyment you got showing up the pilots with the RC boats. I used to be into RC planes and it was a similar situation when actual pilots would show up to the model air fields thinking that if they could fly an actual plane, an RC one would be a piece of cake. I never had the opportunity to show a pilot up myself, but at some of the model air shows I attended I saw it happen more than once. Fortunately I never saw any of the attempts end in disaster. Most of the RC pilots only allowed them to fly with a trainer lead attached to their remotes. 
 
-Brian

Thanks, all, and Keith - I agree. I think that's one the best model I've ever built. Guess I'm going downhill now!

Thanks, all, and Keith - I agree. I think that's one the best model I've ever built. Guess I'm going downhill now!

A lovely little fleet there Eric - although Arabia is still my favourite.
 
 

The flanking rudders move to aid maneuvering.  Water flowing over a rudder from the props is very effective in turning the boat (high velocity) while water flowing over the rudder in baking up and not from the props is very ineffective in steering (low velocity).  Thus the flanking rudders being ahead of the props work very well in controlling turning while in reverse.   The boat can move sideways when the flanking rudders are turned one way with the steering rudders (behind the props) are turned in the opposite direction with one prop in reverse and the other going ahead.  I can't remember the combination of port or starboard props in forward and port or starboard in reverse with the direction of the flanking rudders being to port or starboard and steering rudders to being to port or starboard, but both props and rudders must be set in opposite directions to move the boat sideways.
 
Pilots can do this in their sleep before they are entrusted to operate a towboat with barges.  I have spent a lot of time on towboats on the IL River when I was associated with the owner of the business and while I did a lot of steering on mostly straight parts of the river or gentle sweeping turns I would never have thought of asking if I could attempt a sharp turn where operating both sets of rudders and using reverse on one prop to aid turning knowing the pilot would absolutely not allow it.  Back then I was into R/C boats and had a twin screw towboat with steering and flanking rudders with individual motor control.  The towboat company had a real nice shallow pond adjacent to their office building and our Radio Control Model Boat club was able to enjoy operating our boats there.  I used to truly enjoy calling out to a Captain or Pilot and ask them if the wanted to operate my tow.  They all said yes without hesitation - the first time.  After a quick explanation of which control lever on the radio was the steering rudders with the other by default the flanking rudder, the port and starboard motor controls were very obvious which controlled the props.  On a 1:1 towboat the steering controls are horizontal levers that operate on a concentric pair of control rods to the rudders.  The engine controls are side by side levers with duplicate sets of motor controls on each side of the steering levers.
 
Like I said earlier all Pilots and Captains can make their boats move in any direction by combining steering and motor controls as describer earlier.  They don't have to think about forward/reverse/port/starboard.  But the simple fact that there  is a different R/C control layout than in any towboat caused them to screw up the simplest maneuver.  Most would hand me the radio and walk away after just a few minutes.  But most of them came back later because "no toy boat is smarter than me!"  We did have a lot of fun operating at the shipyard.
 

Thank you Eberhard, I have the same setup and keep all of my photos on a backup drive and generally back them up monthly. When I take pictures of my builds I put them in a different folder that contains all my research and other documents. I have to scale them down, otherwise the files are too big and MSW website will not upload them. Once my build is completed I save the entire folder on the hard drive as well to free up storage space. This folder is also backed up monthly. Unfortunately, my old laptop died before I could back it up and lost some of the pictures, but I was fortunate enough that most of them were still on my phone. 
 
 
 
Keith, Eberhard, this rudder arrangement is pretty standard on this type of towboat. They are called flanking rudders and are used to add maneuverability to the boats when setting up the tows and to help with navigating the twists and turns of the narrow, shallow rivers. They help the main rudders at times by providing sideways force to help swing the tows around, which can get to more than 1000' long. 
 
 
I am definitely considering it. Since I am building this one for somebody else, I'll need to make sure that there will be enough room where he plans on displaying it. 
 
Going to a Mac was the best computer move I ever made. I wish I would have converted sooner. I've already filled my complementary iCloud storage and had to purchase more. Still worth it.
 
-Brian

Note to self: use a thesaurus to assemble a list of superlatives before Brian's next update. Or switch to a new language; I've always been partial to German's "ausgezeichnet" because just pronouncing it provides a feeling of accomplishment. 
 
I totally agree with Keith that the bottom needs to be visible somehow. You may not go this direction, but a great benefit of the larger display cabinet I had built for my models is that the multi-level glass shelving makes it easy to see the undersides, which is especially good for my  openly framed Bertrand's hull. It's also a lot more space- and material-efficient than a bunch of individual glass cases.
 
Also, as a fellow Mac user, welcome! One thing I particularly appreciate is the seamless coordination of photos (and other documents) between phone and computer, then up to iCloud storage, so I don't have to think about manual backups or worry about the loss of a device.

Note to self: use a thesaurus to assemble a list of superlatives before Brian's next update. Or switch to a new language; I've always been partial to German's "ausgezeichnet" because just pronouncing it provides a feeling of accomplishment. 
 
I totally agree with Keith that the bottom needs to be visible somehow. You may not go this direction, but a great benefit of the larger display cabinet I had built for my models is that the multi-level glass shelving makes it easy to see the undersides, which is especially good for my  openly framed Bertrand's hull. It's also a lot more space- and material-efficient than a bunch of individual glass cases.
 
Also, as a fellow Mac user, welcome! One thing I particularly appreciate is the seamless coordination of photos (and other documents) between phone and computer, then up to iCloud storage, so I don't have to think about manual backups or worry about the loss of a device.

Thank you Keith. I am definitely happy with the way the underside of the hull turned out. Lots of little details going on there that I am not used to.

I may have to look into installing a mirror under the hull once I’m finished. Right now my plan is to only have her sitting about an inch off the base, so I’m not sure how much would be visible in a mirror, but that plan can change. One never knows. 
 
I still think there were more photos of my progress that I had on my old laptop that I was not able to recover. Fortunately it died before I downloaded all of them off my phone so I managed to hang on to the bulk of them. 
 
- Brian