kurtvd19

As long as you have adequate free board go for it!

Towboats do not pay the road use taxes (at least in IL) so the price is less than diesel at the gas station. I don't remember how much less as the last time I was onboard when being fueled was several years ago and my memory isn't what it once was. It is still a heft sum though.

VIRTUAL WORKSHOP VIDEO RECORDINGS The video recording of the last Virtual Workshop Building OKESSA - Part 1 from July 13 is now available on the NRG website – in the EVENTS section. The recordings are in the Member’s Only area, so you must sign in to access these recordings. Once signed in go to https://thenrg.org/page-1075419 to access the video. Members can access the recordings as a member benefit as many times as desired. There are now 20 videos posted for members to view. Previous Workshops Building Okesa (Part 1) presented by Dr. Bob Jenkins Creating Realistic and Working Furled Sails presented by Ron Neilson and Tom Ruggiero How to Airbrush presented by Kurt Van Dahm The Origins of the 18th Century Sloop of War presented by Ian McLaughlin Strategic Detailing Part Three presented by Chuck Bauer Online Research Sources presented by Paul Fontenoy Diorama Water Crafting presented by Ron Neilson Paper Ship Models (Part 2a & 2b) presented by Ian McLaughlan Paper Ship Models (Part 1) presented by Ian McLaughlan Strategic Detailing Part Two presented by Chuck Bauer Strategic Detailing presented by Chuck Bauer From Slide Deck to Presentation presented by Robert Chenoweth Sharpening Slitting Saw Blades presented by Bob Filipowsk Painting a Waterline presented by Kurt Van Dahm Using the Table Saw Safely presented by Kurt Van Dahm The Ship Modeler's Ten Step Program, or How to Transform Your Kit Model from "Out of the Box" to "Out of this World" presented by Toni Levine Photography for Ship Models presented by Kurt Van Dahm

Welcome aboard.

I agree 100% with Eric on the pulling off a pier by attaching forward and then reversing. Kurt

Saturday July 13, 2024 BUILDING OKESA By Dr. Bob Jenkins The model of OKESA is an example of boatbuilding in the US in the WWI era. Ships were critically needed to transport goods and troops and with steel being used for weapons and Navy ships it was decided that wooden ships could fill the need. The presentation on July 13 will be Part One of a multi part series on the building of this model. Part One will cover the history of the ship, the research necessary to obtain plans and other reference materials, and the construction of the model starting with the keel frames and building jig up to the point where the ship would have gone down the slipway to floating. Part Two will cover the details of the building and detailing the model from the weather decks and up. This will include deck houses, rigging, the wheelhouse interior details etc. The interior includes the triple expansion steam engine and the boiler among other details. A second steam engine and boiler were constructed to be mounted on the display board as shown in the lower right of the photograph. Part Two has not been scheduled. Build Log on MSW The Virtual Workshop is open to all NRG members to attend the ZOOM event on Saturday, July 13, 2024, at 10:30 AM CDS time. 11:30 AM – Eastern 10:30 AM – Central 9:30 AM – Mountain 8:30 AM – Pacific 4:30 PM – Greenwich

The video was uploaded today 6-23-24. NRG members can now view it at their convenience.

The kit has not increased in price since it was introduced. Shipping,which we have absolutely no control over is another situation entirely. Take care, Kurt

I have used a similar drafting chair for years. Many 8 hour days spent on it.

The half-hull kits are still available. Use the link on the MSW home page - The black line of topics immediately under the Model Ship World name - click on NRG Home Page - 4th to the right - and check out the NRG store to find the kit and ordering information.

The sign fix is nicely done. Neat project. Kurt

I have been using the OptiVisor by Donegon for 20 years or so. With many 40 hour weeks in the shop I started to get eye strain. I was advised by my Ophthalmologist to make sure I only used glass lenses to reduce eye strain. I ordered a set of their DA-5 OptiVisor with 3 sets of glass lenses - I have only ever used one of the extra lens sets and for some extremely small work. I was able to try out an OptiVisor at a trade show where they had different lenses in some of the units. I ordered the OptiVisor with the 3 sets of lenses and it was a completely different view than with the unit I had with the plastic lenses. I have never used the old set with the plastic lenses since then. I only keep the old set around in case somebody needs to use them at a club function in my shop. Glass is the way to go. Donegon has auxiliary lights that can be attached to the visor, but I have very good bench lighting so I have not had a need for more light. LED's are the way to go - I have a 4 foot LED shop light over each bench providing a lot of light - that was the other thing my Ophthalmologist recommended.

I just found your latest build and I am realty enjoying it. I don't know how I missed it but I find your work very interesting and your use of the chalk and alcohol to weather the wood is very realistic. Keep posting the interesting work you are so good at. Kurt

If you are an NRG member there is a video posted in the member's section on Airbrush Basics. In addition there is a list of resources with the video that lists some informational videos on cleaning your airbrush. Open the NRG website and look under Events then pick Workshops from the drop down.

CAF is legitimate. They are a MSW Sponsor/Advertiser. Check the right hand column of the home page.

Looks like the one from Harbor Freight -cheaper to go buy one than the cost of shipping. I don't often mention Harbor Freight but for some stuff they are pretty good.

I started with the Taig lathe with many accessories including the milling tool. It did everything I wanted to do including pens. I had a chance to purchase a slightly used long bed Sherline lathe and jumped at the opportunity. I have to say that Sherline has more accessories than Taig but I am not a machinist and both lathes are capable of doing much more than I will ever be capable of doing. I have come to the conclusion that the Taig was perfectly good enough for me and I didn't really gain anything by purchasing the Sherline lathe until I late had a chance to pick up a very slightly used Sherline mill. The ease of switching from turning to milling having both Sherline machines far out weighs the conversion from turning to milling with the Taig lathe with its milling tool. A big difference in price to add the Sherline mill but I am very happy I did it. There are times I wish I had stuck the Taig lathe in the corner because some things I found were easier to do with the Taig but I got my entire investment in the Taig back when I sold it so overall selling it to a club member worked out for both of us.

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.

Something that we offer to members are the Virtual Workshops we offer throughout the year on Saturday mornings (10:30 AM Central). We record the workshops and within a week or two they are available on the website for members to view as often as they want. We have a new workshop on May 4 on Basics of the Air Brush. We also have a two part one on June 15 on Creating Realistic Working Sails and Creating Furled Sails. Check out the recordings in the Events section of the website. Also, they are priced right - FREE! All members will get an email with the Zoom link real soon.

Check out the NRG website thenrg.org You can join for as little as $40 (US funds) with the Digital Edition. It can be read on-line or saved to your computer. You can print out articles for your private use (copyrights). There is a downloadable pdf copy of a Journal you can read to see a typical Journal. There is a lot of useful information on the site. Like all hobby related magazines we can only print what is submitted. We do pay for modeling articles so you might want to consider sharing with your fellow modelers and write an article - and get paid. As others have said NRG membership helps support MSW. Take care, Kurt

Looks great Eric. Brian, I use one of the magnetic squaring jigs when it's possible to build off the model. When it's scratch I always use it.

Model Expo has licensed the Midwest line of boat models from Midwest and are now manufacturing the kits. Check their catalog. They are also distributing some of the kits to Micro Mark. Check/compare the prices. Model Expo likely lower.

The books are a great addition - really personalizes the model.

I can't remember the brand as there were several saws made with this junk motor type. Jarmac? for the brand possibly. A lot of end play so the blade kind of goes where it wants and it goes way too fast. It's wort $5 at the most sorry but it's junk.

The sanding drum or the sandpaper on the sanding drum?