Cathead

So here's what the new stacks look like. Still not attached permanently so don't worry about their exact orientation.
 

I still have to figure out how to make the little rain shields (I assume that's what they are) that sit between the chimneys and the broader heat shields; you can see them clearly in this image:

I've tried a few things and none have looked good.
 
On to the pilot house. Here's a bit more progress, showing the ubiquitous wood stove in the corner, and the back wall added.
 


This had an unusual window pattern that you can see here:

 
And some rafters added:
 

Better late than never, I added some hardware to the bottom of the hull so the model could be bolted down to a base if desired. I should have done this much sooner, and now was the last chance while I could reasonably work on it upside down (before more delicate structures were added).

That's all for now, but it's progress. Thanks so much for sticking with me!

So here's what the new stacks look like. Still not attached permanently so don't worry about their exact orientation.
 

I still have to figure out how to make the little rain shields (I assume that's what they are) that sit between the chimneys and the broader heat shields; you can see them clearly in this image:

I've tried a few things and none have looked good.
 
On to the pilot house. Here's a bit more progress, showing the ubiquitous wood stove in the corner, and the back wall added.
 


This had an unusual window pattern that you can see here:

 
And some rafters added:
 

Better late than never, I added some hardware to the bottom of the hull so the model could be bolted down to a base if desired. I should have done this much sooner, and now was the last chance while I could reasonably work on it upside down (before more delicate structures were added).

That's all for now, but it's progress. Thanks so much for sticking with me!

So here's what the new stacks look like. Still not attached permanently so don't worry about their exact orientation.
 

I still have to figure out how to make the little rain shields (I assume that's what they are) that sit between the chimneys and the broader heat shields; you can see them clearly in this image:

I've tried a few things and none have looked good.
 
On to the pilot house. Here's a bit more progress, showing the ubiquitous wood stove in the corner, and the back wall added.
 


This had an unusual window pattern that you can see here:

 
And some rafters added:
 

Better late than never, I added some hardware to the bottom of the hull so the model could be bolted down to a base if desired. I should have done this much sooner, and now was the last chance while I could reasonably work on it upside down (before more delicate structures were added).

That's all for now, but it's progress. Thanks so much for sticking with me!

So here's what the new stacks look like. Still not attached permanently so don't worry about their exact orientation.
 

I still have to figure out how to make the little rain shields (I assume that's what they are) that sit between the chimneys and the broader heat shields; you can see them clearly in this image:

I've tried a few things and none have looked good.
 
On to the pilot house. Here's a bit more progress, showing the ubiquitous wood stove in the corner, and the back wall added.
 


This had an unusual window pattern that you can see here:

 
And some rafters added:
 

Better late than never, I added some hardware to the bottom of the hull so the model could be bolted down to a base if desired. I should have done this much sooner, and now was the last chance while I could reasonably work on it upside down (before more delicate structures were added).

That's all for now, but it's progress. Thanks so much for sticking with me!

A very strong El Niño has given us a record winter; much above average temperatures and almost no snow. As a result, the SOO locks intend to open several days earlier than planned. Noteworthy this past month was the recent announcement of the discovery of the SS Arlington sunk in 600ft of water off Lake Superior’s  Kweanee Penninsula.  Arlington, sunk in 1940 shares several similarities with Benjamin Noble.  Both were close to the same size and were designed for the pulp wood trade.  Both were built by the same yard (five years apart). Arlington was loaded down with a late season grain cargo.  Heavy seas washed off hatch bars, tarpaulins, and la least one hatch failed entirely flooding her hold.
 
Work since my last post involved assembling the hatch covers on a backing piece of 1/64” plywood and fabrication of the hatch bars.  Wooden hatches float, so hatch bars were fastened atop to restrain them.  These were pieces of 3” steel angle bolted at the ends to padeyes attached to the deck.  For the model I used 1/32” square brass wire.  At each tip, I soldered a short piece of I/16” brass tubing.  A #75 hole through the top of the tube will accept the simulated hold down bolt.  A fussy detail requiring a frustrating amount of time.
 
Roger
 

Closed the gap by the port transom crutch, 

 
and worked on building the mast.
 

 

 

 

 

 
I'm now working on shaping the bow sprit, booms and yards, and looking forward to starting on the standing rigging.
 

Few updates, been working on all the deck furnishings the last few days.  It takes way longer than I was expecting to get all these little pieces put together and painted and I have only just begun on them.
 
Ships wheel and ladders, still cleaning up the CA glue mess I made while struggling to glue down the wheel.

 
Pin rails, I really need to get a drill press or something, because the hobby pin drill took forever on these.
 

 
Poop deck hardware and mounts for the 28ft whaleboats that the kit doesn't include.  Might have to see if anyone sells anything close to a 28ft whaleboat in this scale. 
 

 
Forecastle hardware, I glued on the carronade mount and not two seconds after i glued it something looked off and i realized i forgot to install the hardware hooks on the mount so i quickly pried it off before the CA glue got too hard, but you can see the remaining residue.

Hello,
during the week the carpenters have cut the beams and today they installed the clamps for the pop deck.
You may see, that there is not much headroom even in the great cabin. From the floor to the upper side of the beams it is 6ft 8in! At the beginning of the deck, 6ft 6in. And the beams are 5in high.

I've been away photographing birds for a few days. Thank you for the additional embarrassing comments.
 
Grant - the hull is 46cm (18.1in) long.
 
John 

I was not looking forward to the gangway rigging.
 

I don’t know how to tie rigging knots; I’ve seen some fancy knots in various pictures on the forum but they are beyond my skill.  I looked into one and it resembled a fishing knot but it was too difficult to tie on a small scale so I went with simple knots and CA glue to accomplish this task.  
 

I tied a simple overhand knot and tried to lasso the groves in a block but that was too hard.  I placed thread in the grove on one side and applied thin CA glue.  When the glue set, I tied an overhand knot on the other side and applied thin CA glue.  I extended the two threads and applied CA glue at the ends of the two threads to make it easier to tie a knot later.  I looped the thread around a mast and wrapped it around the thread between the block and mast and applied CA glue to hold it in place.  I tied a half hitch to complete installation.
 

I found pictures in Bob Fraser's log (thread #68) to be very helpful (mast pictures). 
 


I found it difficult to work the rigging while the mast and gangway moved around.  Parts of the routing didn’t make sense; I wasn’t sure where some lines ended.  Working with 0.15 mm rigging and sewing thread required a level of precision I lack. 
 

The gangway ended up much higher than it should, I had adjusted the lines to get the gangway to the proper height but between sorting out the spaghetti of lines and taking up slack it had moved.  I was focused on getting the knots tied and didn’t notice the change.  After installing the rigging, I have a better idea how it works.  I determined which lines control the gangway height and I think I have enough line to fix it.  The gangway chains are unequal (I had adjusted them once already) so I have more to do. 
 

Yes, I also found the need to adjust a few. It's likely that'll occur in any kit, so it ends up being part of the learning experience. Nice work so far!
 
 
For what it's worth, Toni is a woman.

Yes, I also found the need to adjust a few. It's likely that'll occur in any kit, so it ends up being part of the learning experience. Nice work so far!
 
 
For what it's worth, Toni is a woman.

All right, you lot got your way! I went to the hardware store and got some brass tubing to play with. Here's the resulting second draft of the chimneys. I scored them using a razor saw to simulate the joints. I shaved/sanded a wooden plug to fit tightly in the bottom of each so they'd sit and attach properly. Don't judge their exact angle, they're just sitting there as a test-fit.
 



I also moved forward on the pilot house; here's its current status. I used some clear plastic and CA formulated not to craze plastic. Not entirely happy with the outcome but it's too late now. Guess it looks like old glass. It'll certainly blend into the background of the finished model.
 



Sharp eyes will notice that I simulated the gap into which the lower half of the wheel vanishes by just putting down a thin dark piece of wood. It'll be barely visible in the finished pilot house and I didn't think building in the full gap and wheel was worth it. I still need to weather the steps to match the pilot house floor.
 
Next up I need to decide whether to try blackening the brass, or painting it with primer and then black paint. Also whether to try roughing it up with fine sandpaper or leaving it smooth. Will do some test pieces since there's tubing left over.
 
Thanks for pushing me to improve my work!

super clean build Erik.  and assuming you didnt find a larger than life pencil that tugboat is ridiculous. 

What an interesting vessel! The previous post with the roof on looks so nice.

Glad you think so, mate. I'd thought it was rather boring, compared with most paddlewheelers (it doesn't even have a funnel!). Glad to know someone else disagrees.
 
Steven

Seats added. Ready to add the awning and railings.
 



I've learnt from doing this one that for the "good" version I need to make some sort of jig to ensure all the seats are identical. I was a little too casual about making these ones.
 
Steven
 

All right, you lot got your way! I went to the hardware store and got some brass tubing to play with. Here's the resulting second draft of the chimneys. I scored them using a razor saw to simulate the joints. I shaved/sanded a wooden plug to fit tightly in the bottom of each so they'd sit and attach properly. Don't judge their exact angle, they're just sitting there as a test-fit.
 



I also moved forward on the pilot house; here's its current status. I used some clear plastic and CA formulated not to craze plastic. Not entirely happy with the outcome but it's too late now. Guess it looks like old glass. It'll certainly blend into the background of the finished model.
 



Sharp eyes will notice that I simulated the gap into which the lower half of the wheel vanishes by just putting down a thin dark piece of wood. It'll be barely visible in the finished pilot house and I didn't think building in the full gap and wheel was worth it. I still need to weather the steps to match the pilot house floor.
 
Next up I need to decide whether to try blackening the brass, or painting it with primer and then black paint. Also whether to try roughing it up with fine sandpaper or leaving it smooth. Will do some test pieces since there's tubing left over.
 
Thanks for pushing me to improve my work!

Lots of input to consider here, thank you! One note, Roger, great idea, but there isn't any natural mica within probably 800 miles of here!

Hello,
because the weather changed here dramatically, it has not rained now for 4 days and the sun is shining , I'm not so busy at the shipyard. Since November it is raining here with only some dry days between and may be 2 or 3 days with sunshine. Since Christmas it stormed every week, sometimes also twice a week and now for 14 days we had no storm. They said, this winter we had 22% more rain and it was 5°C warmer then the years before! 
 
But at the shipyard the carpenters where busy and finished the quick-work. 

 
 

Hello,
that was a week of drawing. But at least I will build the cabins after the standard drawing. If it was really so, I don't know

May be I make the bed place a little narrower. But here I can store the cannon in the cabin.

This is the version they used at the Medway. The difference is, at the Medway the cabins are going until right behind the mast. So they are a little broader, but there is at least no space left for the cannon. 
They had this cabins for the master and someone else, but I think that the master must look in this case for a place in the lobby for his maps and octant. When the 1.Lt. and the master had this deck, there are these extra cabins. Below the drawing for the 1745 establishment.

The carpenters where also busy and build the spirketting for this deck.

 
 

I suspect that the verticals were indeed vertical and that the horizontals followed the curve of the deck (but were actually straight lines themselves) except perhaps at the head. This would make the panels parallelograms (except the outside ones and perhaps the middle ones).
The five columns (blue) were probably proud of the 'wall'.

But there's also a good chance I'm wrong.
 
The standard answer is 'make a jig', it may take twice as long but it will give better results.

Your quibble is the type of input I'm looking for.  Thanks.
Yes, I had simplified things by making that sort of baseboard at the bottom of everything.

 
 
Should the plain of those features follow that curve all the way up?  Now that you mention it, the Campbell drawings seem to reflect that to some extent
Are you aware of any contemporary drawings that show this?
 
The panel beveling is a real challenge at these scales.  Trying to get that right is really delaying this project
 
All quibbles and nitpicks are welcome.
 
 

After several attempts and re-do's (I'm a slow learner), I've got the masts and bowsprit/jib boom assemblies made. Nothing is glued together until after all the hardware is attached. My next project.

Incidentally, in the book Aubrey mentions that Sophie carried royals. I'm going to write that off to O'Brian's lack of nautical knowledge and not include them on the model.

Thanks for your comments gentlemen!
 
John