Roger Pellett

I don’t know anything about Chinese shipbuilding technology, but it’s certainly possible to build a steel ship without a hard copy lines drawing. The computers in the design offices can communicate directly with computer driven plate burning and frame bending equipment, eliminating the need for patterns. The hatches are a variation of the single plate hatch covers handled by a hatch crane that are currently used on lake vessels. The American company Interlake (Black stacks with an orange band) is currently building a River Class Lake Vessel at Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. It will be interesting to see if the hatch coamings and clamps that you show will be used on this new vessel or if they are unique to the Equinox Class Boats. Roger

We have all kinds of modelers, building different types of ships using a variety of techniques. What matters is the finished product and your’s is first rate. Roger

Ras, Some time ago, someone posted a build log for this Port Dredger. You can probably find it on the scratch built model posts.

Hi Dave, As I posted above, my office was nearby on Garfield Avenue. The Lincoln Park neighborhood where Carr’s was is being cleaned up. A number of young entrepreneurs have established businesses there; a brewery, several restaurants, and a competitor to Duluth Pack. Curley’s Bar is still there. Roger

This would not be hard to do as this is a “hard chine” boat. The dotted lines represent the chines in each view. For each section simply measure distances from the centerline in the plan view and above and below from the waterline, plot, and connect the points with straight lines. No CADD program is needed. Roger

The problems in saving this magnificent wreck are unfortunately inherent with human nature. First of all our’s is a technical, specialized discipline with it’s own history and language. At least here in the US, criteria for historic preservation are written by govt. bureaucrats and reflect the current political fads about our history. Engineering on its own has been unfashionable since the 1960’s, with military history a close second. Second, I suspect that there is a Lot of “not invented here” on the part of the archeologists, so that people that actually have specialized expertise get the cold shoulder. A case in point is the Sutton Hoo wreck recently publicized on NETFLIX. The wreck was identified by a highly knowledgeable amateur investigator leading to a fight with the archeologists. Roger

Brian, No I was not a pipefitter, but like you I have great respect for their abilities. IMHO, they are the aristocrats of the building trades. Few people probably realize that they are graduates of a demanding four year work study apprentice program. Much of what they do requires an advanced knowledge of trigonometry. I came into the piping industry via the back door. I am an engineer with a degree in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering, and a commission as an Ensign in the naval reserve. Upon graduation I was ordered by the Navy to report to Admiral Rickover’s Nuclear Engineering organization where for the next four years I worked on nuclear submarine piping systems. When I left the Navy, I was hired by a large engineering company, that was building piping systems for civilian nuclear power plants, as their quality assurance manager. I went on to other engineering and management roles, all involving high pressure piping. It is a small but fascinating industry with its own technology. Roger

I would assume that this is the same technology that dentists have been using for at east 50-60 years. It was supposed to have revolutionized the experience for patients relative to the old belt driven drills.

Brian, Wonderful work and research! The Monitors also had armored gunports. Unlike the external swinging leaves used on CSS vessels, these were internal and pivoted on vertical shafts. I seem to remember that one of the CSS ironclads was partially disabled when a shot struck one of the leaves and jammed it in front of the gunport. BTW guys, having spent my working career building piping systems, “Plumbing” refers to very low pressure domestic service drains. The stuff carrying water and steam to generate power is just called piping. 😏

Rick, IMHO Tom Cunliffe’s Book, Hand Reef and Steer is a must read for anyone building a model of a small sailing craft. As an experienced sailor of traditionally rigged boats, he not only explains how each sail is rigged but how, all with a light touch of dry humor. The book’s focus is gaff rigged craft so would apply to anyone building a pilot cutter or sailing trawler. Roger

This might be a Nineteenth Century version of a Heavy Lift Ship. Note the large multi part tackle to the left of of the spar. Cargos like quarried blocks of stone would have required special arrangements for lifting.

The photo posted above is of the Constellation as she currently appears in Baltimore Harbor. This is the c1859 Sloop of War Constellation. She was spar decked. Her guns were carried below on a gun deck with the lighter unarmed spar deck overhead. Roger

You did a beautiful job. The model is begging for a case to protect it. Roger

I have experience painting canoes with alkyd resin paints. Using these paints straight from the can, I had problems with brush marks, and areas where the paint did not cover; effectively a major brush mark. I was finally able to get a good finish by; Thinning the paint with mineral spirits. Keep in mind that these are volatile, so the paint will actually thicken while you are painting with the can open. Adding a conditioner called Penetrol. Using a painting procedure called rolling and tipping where the paint is applied with a foam roller and then very gently tipped, or leveled with a paint brush. So is any of this applicable to your situation: As recommended above, thin your paint with turpentine or mineral spirits. Add thinner if the paint thickens as you paint. Check your brush. While the roll and tip technique is not going to work for the small surfaces on your model, an overly stiff brush is going to leave marks. Roger

Excellent!

Pat, In my opinion, your model is scratch building at its finest. Not only is your workmanship first class, your replication of detail at this small scale is remarkable. In addition you are modeling a unique subject and doing your own research as you go. Keep in mind that some materials do not “scale” accurately. While you might be able to find stranded wire, or solid wire of the correct diameter or solid wire to make your own, its stiffness will probably be “over scale.” I believe that appearance and longevity of the finished product are what’s important. There is no reason why properly stained cotton wouldn’t work. Roger

Sorry, Kris, but when I clicked onto your reference, the site identified the material as “Premium Content,” and I couldn’t open it. I cannot comment on Rhino but probably could draw it on paper if I could visualize the situation. Roger

It would be helpful if you could post a picture illustrating your post. Roger

Carr’s Hobby Shop was just around the corner from my office. It was an interesting place in what was then a tough neighborhood. Curley’s Bar, his next door neighbor was the scene of all kinds of trouble, most, fortunately after dark. It was an old time hobby shop with a huge inventory of stuff for virtually every kind of model building. There were all sorts of model airplanes hanging from the ceiling as well as a large inventory of model trains. He also bought and sold Lionel trains. In addition, he had a world class collection of full size train memorabilia. For reasons unknown, Mr Carr and I never connected. Whenever I was in the store, any attempt to engage him in any conversation about modeling interests was fruitless. The last time that I visited the store I was interested in setting up Lionel trains for my grandchildren and needed a transformer. He reluctantly admitted that he could order a new transformer from Lionel. He died, maybe two years ago and when I read his obituary I thought, “Is this really the same guy?” I have no idea how they disposed of all of his stuff. A model of Edmund Fitzgerald and I believe another Laker were displayed next to the door. I never realized that he offered kits for these ships. They were handsome models. Roger

Greg, That last picture is interesting. It would appear that the Navy built the carrier on top of the old collier without removing the old hatches. Roger

LJP, I just stumbled onto this, and assumed that Wisconsin Steamboat applied to a boat on the St Croix River- Mississippi watershed. I was surprised and delighted to discover that the Fox River from Green Bay South was navigable and Western River type steamboats operated along it. This makes you an honorary Great Lakes Ship modeler! I am looking forward to future posts. Roger

If you did that, and it worked 😁, you can certainly rig this boat! Roger

Tim, American Pilot vessel were specialized in both hull form and rig. First of all, except for a brief time c1830’s when intense competition required long offshore voyages to secure work, they did not set square sails. Second, in addition to the pilots, boats were manned by boat keepers, often apprentices. When the pilots had been placed aboard incoming vessels, the one or two boat keepers were expected to sail the boats home, so the rig was kept simple with the little running led to a point where it could be handled while the boat keeper manned the helm. Third, these were the sports cars of their era; small, fast, and often short lived. As such, they were ideal platforms for builders to try out new ideas. For example, they were often rigged without standing rigging; shrouds or stays. In the early 1800’s, before there was a US Navy to enforce American territorial rights, the Royal Navy often operated in the lower Chesapeake Bay. An officer by the name of George Tobin painted a series of pictures of Virginia Pilot Boats. Here’s one that I posted a while ago but illustrates my points.

Progress continues albeit at the all ahead slow bell, interrupted by the all back full bell. Hopefully I will get this done before the finished with engine bell. Work has involved getting the hull halves ready to be joined. The first project was to add the fenders that run along the hull sides. Whenever a Ship on the Great Lakes is in one of the rivers connecting the Lakes, in one of the two connecting canals, or enters or leaves harbor, the captain is on the bridge and conns the vessel. Great Lakes Captains are considered by many to be some of the world’s best shiphandlers but never less, the vessel’s that they command do rub against things, sometimes on purpose. In one of the approaches to the SOO locks ships are controlled by “riding the wall.” Benjamin Noble’s fender was made from 6”x8” oak timbers sandwiched between 3in x 3in structural steel angles, all layed end to end. In my case, I ripped two 1/16in x 32in maple strips, one per side, and skipped what would have been the four tiny angles. In my opinion, the slight simplification was better than something over scale. The fenders were secured with wooden pegs driven and glued into holes drilled into the wood core and through the paper planking. Another project that took longer than expected was the engine room gangway. The only major opening in the side of lake freighters is the engine room gangway. In addition to providing access, it also provides a perch for the engineer to watch the world go by. The door was, and still is on modern vessels, closed by a “Dutch door” with top and bottom sections, and in good weather when entering or leaving port, the top section is often open. I decided to show the gangway on the starboard side with the top half open and the one on the port side closed. Although the opening and door frame is done for now, the interior is too black. I’ll have to figure out how to tone down the paint job. Although it now sticks up above the sheer, there is another deck to be added once the hulls, are joined. I also spent considerable time completing the other openings like hawse pipes that attach to the hull. All are soldered brass. the last distinctive hull feature that I built was the stern frame that holds the upper bearing for the rudder. The photo below shows the hull frame for the museum ship William A. Irvin in the Duluth Harbor.

We’ed like to see CatMan too!