Roger Pellett

This just keeps getting better and better!

Silverman, First, I would like to congratulate you on an absolutely stunning model! Your clean, precise, workmanship is outstanding. Re; your post no 45 above concerning the method for working an eye into the end of a rope. If I correctly understand the method, this same idea has been used in more modern times to make rope grommets. In this case, the rope is first separated into its three components and then put back together again into a circle. Roger

A trite expression: “you can’t prove a negative.” Fundamental geometric relationships have not changed since ancient times. Venetian shipyards were not outfitted with “Plank-O-Matic” machines that allowed them to defy Euclid’s laws. If the shape of your hull requires a stealer or drop strake it’s a reasonable assumption that the Venetians required ones too. Roger

Very nice!

Very nice carving.

Bob, thanks for your post and alternate procedure. 30or so years ago hatch boards like you posted were popular decorator items. Although I knew what they were, I often wondered where they came from. I recently reviewed a book on the Ocean Class steamships for the Nautical Research Journal. The more famous Liberty ships were modifications of the British designed Oceans. When modifying the design of the Oceans for the Liberties, it was decided to retain the wooden hatch covers as they could also serve as lifesaving devices. Roger

Short Answer: I’m cheating! Actually, I’m still refining the process. There are 150+ to make. ID of each ring is 1/32”. Here’s my process: 1. Make a fixture consisting of a 1/32” diameter aluminum wire embedded in an aluminum block. There is also a brass ground lug bolted to the block. 2. Make loops of 30 gage tinned copper wire. Diameter is unimportant. Ends of wire are lightly twisted and soldered together. 3. Place one end of the loop over the aluminum pin in the fixture. Chuck the other end in an “eggbeater” type hand drill. Turn the drill until the loop twists and forms an eye around the 1/32” dia Al pin. 4. Solder the twisted tail using my resistance soldering device. 5. Remove from fixture and round up the eye with a tapered pin. I have tried steps 1-4 with success. In use, the rings will lay flat on the hatch board with the tail cemented into a hole in the board. Roger

I need to make a large quantity of ringbolts for the hatch covers for my current project. At 1:96 scale they are tiny. I decided to make them from 30ga (.010” diameter) tinned wire so I ordered a small spool from Amazon. The wire was supplied by a Company named Remington Industries. They are a supply house in the Chicago area specializing in wire. They stock bare copper, tinned copper, nichrome, and stainless steel wires., plus various insulated wires. There is no minimum order, they do not charge for shipping and service was prompt. A possible source for specialized needs. Next time I’ll order direct. Website is Remingtonindustries.com Roger

Guy, if you have bought your Byrnes saw or (or any other mini saw with a 1/2 in miter gage slot), by all means buy the NRG’s thin rip fixture. I just finished cutting 70+ hatch boards with my saw using this little fixture. These boards are only 1/32” thick (1/2 mm?). It made the job quick and easy. Buy directly from the, NRG office. Roger

A major advantage of any compressor/ tank combination is the amount of energy that can be stored. The compressor that I described in my post #11 above stores air at 125 psi. My Badger airbrush requires air at approximately 25psi. The remaining 100psi x the volume of the tank is stored energy. The pressure control switch turns the compressor on and off to maintain 125psi in the tank. This ability to store large amounts of energy in a small volume is what makes compressed air so useful. Ignoring aerosol type systems, all other systems for supplying air brushes require the compressor to keep up with demand as without a tank they cannot store energy. in other words, capacity is dependent on the capacity of the compressor itself. Compressor capacity will be limited to the volume of the compression chamber x the # of compression cycles/ minute. This would require the compressor to operate at very high speeds. The same idea as a Dremel type tools that produce advertised power by speed rather than torque. It is also possible that these tools might use some type of turbine technology. This again would be a low pressure system requiring very high speed operation can producing high frequency noise. Again without an air tank, they would probably struggle to keep up with demand. Roger

If you want to feel that this is really your model, avoid the plastic hull and build a solid hull model with a carved wooden hull. IMHO carving a wooden hull is enjoyable and will give you a feeling for the “lines” of a real ship. Solid hull model kits are unusual in today’s POB model world but they do exist. Bluejacket offers several. Roger

Bill, have you tried the air tanks used for “portable air” for inflating automobile tires. You can fill it at any gas station. Roger

Eric, even with silk paper your sails will be much thicker than “scale.” It is, therefore common practice to make the area of the sail smaller so the furl will not look too bulky. Roger

When I partitioned off a section in the basement of my house for a workshop. I ran copper tubing through the walls with tees and valves strategically placed for an air system. I bought one of the portable air tanks that Bob mentioned, a pressure control valve, a moisture trap, and hooked everything up to an old compressor that I inherited from my Dad. I even ran a line upstairs into the garage. To my surprise, it worked! Fast forward 15 or so years and I was encouraging my son to set up a workshop. For his birthday, I bought him one of the small compressor/ air tank combinations sold by any major hardware or home improvement store in the US. The whole outfit cost less than $90.00. After some disparaging remarks by my daughter-in-law; “why would anyone want one of those?” My son was fixing loose trim in the house with an air nailer. When I got home, I bought one too, tore out my air system, and have used it (the combination compressor/ tank) ever since. It does have a drain valve on the tank and a moisture trap. It has standard NPT connections so it is easily connected to quick disconnect fittings and readily available air brush connections. It is noisy but so are my full sized woodworking tools. I don’t know what’s available outside the US, but for US members these compressor/ tank combinations are an easy and inexpensive way to supply compressed air to an air brush. Roger

Hatch Covers. Great Lakes bulk cargo vessels have a long tragic history with hatch covers. From sailing ship days down to and including the 1975 sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald leaking or failing hatch covers have been blamed for their loss. Great Lakes vessel’s are “low freeboard” ships.There are several reasons for this: First of all an assumption that Great Lakes vessels sail in “protected waters.” Second, Great Lakes upper lake ports are equipped with huge trestles extending into the harbor. Cargo is loaded by gravity. The need to provide adequate slope to the loading spouts limits freeboard. So Great Lakes vessels sailing in heavy weather often have their decks awash. The original hatch covers were wooden planks. These were labor intensive and leaked badly without additional covering with tarpaulins. The last Great Lakes vessel with wooden hatch covers sailed until 1970. In 1904, telescoping steel hatch covers were introduced. These could be opened and closed with the ship’s steam deck winch but were not watertight without tarpaulins. Telescoping steel hatch covers without waterproofing Tarpaulins were directly responsible for the 1957 sinking on Lake Superior with heavy loss of life of the George Steinbrenner. In the 1920’s one piece steel hatch covers secured with dozens of cam operated clamps around the hatch periphery were introduced. These heavy steel plate covers had to be handled with traveling gantry cranes powered by electric motors. While these would seem to be impregnable, leaking of or collapse of hatch covers caused by waves breaking over the deck were blamed by the USCG for the 1975 loss of the Edmund Fitzgerald; a conclusion still hotly disputed by Great Lakes steamship companies. There has been one American ship built on the Great Lakes since the 1980’s, Interlake’s Kyle Barker. She was placed in service within the past several years. She appears to be equipped with large hydraulically operated hatch covers. Roger Next: Benjamin Noble’s hatch covers

Yes, Great Lakes Vessels built in the first quarter of the 20th Century had these same D shaped pilot houses. The houses were of steel construction but the windows were flat set into wooden frames. In addition to being easy to build, at least some of the pilot house windows needed to be raised and lowered. It’s safe to assume that the windows on these NYC Harbor craft would also be flat for the same reasons. Roger

Can’t help much with the propeller arrangement except to say it is dependent on hull form. If your plan view shows a square stern then the simplest and most likely arrangement would be the solution as posted by Jim Lad. The engine itself: I believe that a 24ft ships boat c1914 or earlier would have been powered by a petrol (gasoline) engine. Prewar WW I Diesel engines were big, heavy, and complicated. The major problem under development in 1914 being the fuel system. The Diesel cycle, unlike the auto cycle requires injection of fuel to the cylinder at or near peak compression pressure. To do this, early diesels required a separate compressed air system. There were also semi- diesels. These used glow plugs in the cylinder head heated with a torch to provide ignition heat while starting the engine. Once the engine got going cylinder heat kept the glow plug hot. Here in the US, these were popular with commercial fishermen. The spark ignited petrol fueled auto cycle avoided these complications although the volatile fuel was and still can be dangerous aboard a small boat. There were many different patented varieties of these engines. Pick a likely one for which you can find drawings. Roger

I make all of my models as two half models. Alignment is guaranteed by drilling alignment pin holes before the haves are shaped. Roger

Good to see that you're healthy and back at the workbench.

I’ve never had much interest in the Columbus ships; probably a result of having seen too many really bad replicas and models. You, however, have produced a stunning model that in my opinion nicely captures the essence of what a late Fifteenth Century Nao might have looked like. Your hull construction technique is unique and innovative Well done! Roger

Very nice desk! All you need now is a miniature brass spittoon!😆

Tuna fish cans! I keep a supply of these in my shop. I try to get in the habit of putting small parts in one whenever I’m not actually working on it. It’s amazing how far a dropped part can travel. Roger

Good choice! Look forward to following your progress. Nice progress so far. Roger

Since this appears to be the most active thread about late Nineteenth Century Sailing Ships (not related to pirates, or Nelsonian Royal Navy). I would like to offer some random thoughts. After posting somewhere else about Snow Squall, I reread the parts of my book about her concerning disposal of the salvaged parts of her hull. It seems that her salvors could not find a museum willing to take them so they split them between Maine Maritime Museum, San Francisco, and NYC South Street Seaport. What a shame. There are interesting pictures of her bow section complete with its Muntz Metal sheathing on the Maine Maritime Museum’s Website. South Street Seaport has her Waterway. Last time that I visited them I was disappointed by their meager indoor exhibits. I have heard that they never recovered from Super Storm Sandy and their real estate Is tied up in NYC politics. I wish that the Maine people could get this important part of the ship back where it belongs. Drawings- While checking the Maine Museum’s website I noticed a digital drawings tab. They offer a wide selection of drawings of Maine built vessels at reasonable prices. Many of these are lines drawings taken from half models supposedly in the Museum’s collection. They include Medium Clippers, aka Downeasters, St. Paul and Henry B. Hyde. Worth checking out. Roger

Nic, Is the brass anchor chain your customer’s choice or do you intend to blacken it later. A beautiful model! Roger