Roger Pellett

I found a great way to weather copper plates on my Flying Fish clipper. Mix one part Miracle Grow plant food to three parts water. Mix until the crystals are dissolved and either brush it on or use Q-tips and wipe it on the sections you want weathered. It only takes a few minutes to start the color change. The longer you leave the solution on the greener it will get. I weathered the top two courses really Statue of Liberty green and kept it lighter down the sides. It looks great. 

Hmmm, Pat.  I think my CNC will consist of a dremel rotary tool and crude manual skills.  ☹️  In the meantime, I have not gotten any work done on the ship - still doing some research and playing around with the whole concept. 
 
Thanks to Phil, (a.k.a. @GrandpaPhil), for the link to all those ship plans.  There was nothing for the Banshee, but I did find a couple of sidewheel steamers that are similar enough that their plans will help me with the profile and footprint of my ship.  Although I'm embarrassed to tell you how long it took me to find the button that converted the language from French to English.  🙄
 
For those interested in more history of the blockade runner ships, I did find a couple of interesting bits of information:  First, according to historian Stephen R. Wise, the Confederate blockade runners carried 2 types of coal on board - hard (anthracite) and soft (bituminous).  The hard coal burned smokeless and efficient, making it better suited for use when it was time to actually run the blockade.  It provided strong bursts of speed and lower visibility.  The soft coal was used in open waters.  Even while burning the soft coal, the blockade runners could outrun almost all the Union ships.
 
Second, there's a simple reason why there never seemed to be a shortage of blockade runners willing to help the South, despite the obvious risks involved.  The return on investment in many cases was tenfold.  In his book, From Sail to Steam - Four Centuries of Texas Maritime History, Richard Francaviglia gave an example  of the schooner John Douglas buying cargo for $2000 and receiving $21,500 upon its delivery just a few weeks later.  
 
I think I've pretty much zeroed in on the concept for the project, although I reserve the right to change my mind along the way.  Since Galveston was central to the Banshee II's story, I wanted to incorporate something about civil war era Galveston into the presentation.  Unfortunately, there's nothing hugely recognizable or iconic about Galveston, except maybe the seawall.  But the seawall was built in 1902, a couple of years after a major hurricane almost wiped out the city.  I did find this painting of the Battle of Galveston (1863 when Confederate forces expelled occupying Union troops).  The painting shows hand to hand combat on the city's waterfront.  I liked the look of the waterfront with its wooden planks and piers, so decided I would try and give a small representation of it. 

 
 
I've also got some nice walnut cutouts of Texas that I think will make an interesting backdrop.  So here's the whole idea roughed out in Powerpoint.

 
 
 
  

Thanks Shipman
I don't have cancer.  I have more tests to undergo.

Apologies to everyone for the long delay… I spent some time across the past few months working on my US Frigate Constitution model along with a bunch of travel (including to the other coast for my daughter’s college graduation) that kept my Titanic on ice (so to speak).
 
Let me catch you up.
 
Propeller Wings Continued…
 
There was still some styrene to add to the propeller wing surfaces.  The top and bottom wings are now completely covered and additional styrene was bent and glued around the prop shaft/boss outer surface. 
 

 
 

 

 
Added some thin strips to represent the plate overlaps in the same manner as the underbody hull plating… 
 

 
Used Tamiya tape to make a template to help guide similar placement on the starboard wing to make sure it all looks equal from the stern.
I won’t be utilizing the kit provided propellers, but why not slide them on to get a quick perspective with everything in place?

 
Next up I’ll highlight my initial effort to thin out the sides of the hull around the open first-class lobby entry doors to better match the scale.
 
Cheers,
Evan
 

@LAHF1  Ahoy Loni... Thank you for popping in... I appreciate your interest in my Titanic.  I hope you consider adding your perspective in a build log or some other format.  I find that keeping some sort of log helps me to organize my approach and maintain the long view needed to make progress.  Hope you had a great holiday season!
 
 
@Jeff59 You have a great start on gathering some terrific enhancements for the Trumpeter kit... Good stuff.  I'm being cautious about how much investment I need to make on 3rd party add-ons.  At some point they can detract rather than enhance... I'll try to focus on acquiring elements that solve for issues that I can't otherwise handle with some scratch building - or at least gain significant time advantages.  Model Monkey is a terrific resource - I've utilized some MM 3D prints for my Old Ironsides build.  Certainly the Titanic funnels are on my radar.  I do hope that my build helps with your efforts in some small way... At least serve as some sort of inspiration.
 
@NavyShooter I checked in on your Titanic... That is a big boat.  Impressive 3D printing - must've taken days to generate! Thanks again for looking in on my build.  
 
@Roger Pellett Please let us know if Naval architects do discover the necessary engineering needed in order to sailor proof anything that floats. 
 
@md1400cs  I'm happy you found your way here... I suppose at some point I'll have to admit that I'm immersed enough in all of Titanica that I'm another in a long list of Titanicphiles... A fan.  She is a beautiful ship and the circumstances of her end makes for compelling research in my quest to enhance the kit and move it closer to an accurate representation.
 
To that end... I'm gonna double down on the research side of the hobby.  I've decided it was time to join the club:

 
I'm now a proud member of the Guild and have already benefitted from my first Journal issue... A great overview of a FFG build that will inform my own (eventual) kit build... An older brother served on a Perry class frigate while escorting tankers during the Persian Gulf war.
 
Cheers
Evan
 

@Roger Pellett
 
Ahoy Roger... The book has some fascinating insights and I am learning a lot that isn't included in the normal fare that we all consumed about the Titanic over the years.
 
I will PM you regarding the email insights.
 
I do like the professional assessment that Naval Engineers provide about the Titanic disaster... Sure, the rivets varied in relative tensile strength and the cold temperatures of the North Atlantic may have played a part in their failure... There was a smoldering fire in a coal bunker that may have weakened the nearby bulkhead and made it vulnerable to hydrostatic failure... But ultimately the Titanic was state of the art and built to the highest standards available in that era.  
 
After extensive research and recent insight I've unearthed the TRUE reason for the tragedy of the Titanic... Psst (in whispered tones)... While steaming along at over 20 knots she sideswiped an iceberg in the North Atlantic.  The rivets would've failed regardless... The internal bulkheads would ultimately fail to protect her regardless... No level of 1912 era technology would've saved her.
 
Sure... Plowing straight into the berg might've kept her afloat with massive casualties in the forward section.  But nobody then or now should advocate for Murdoch to have made that choice.
 
I should include this stuff in my YouTube log!
 
Cheers
Evan

Center Keel
 
Time to lay the keel down… Obviously this is where the actual ship began construction, but I’m only now getting to this critical element on my build.
 
I laid the keel down in manageable sections using .030 x .080 Styrene strips.  Not sure this would be exact to scale, but it closely lines up to the width shown on my 1/200 scale print of the hull bottom.

The critical thing is to keep it straight all the way down the length of the underbody.  I taped a straight edge against the styrene and began cementing down the aligned strip in two-inch increments – moving the straight edge along as I worked my way from bow to stern.  I also had a small piece of scrap styrene that perfectly fit into the needed gap between the keel and the inner edge of the hull plating that I test fitted as I glued each strip.
 
The forward most keel section was tapered to meet the kit keel at the bow.  

The stern section was angled down toward the sternpost and filed to blend.


It really takes some effort to make sure that the keel stays straight and true all the way across the length of the hull.


Butt Straps
 
Generally, the hull plates were overlapped and riveted together across the length of the hull.  There was, however, a section of strakes lower down in the hull that had the butt ends set flush together without the overlap.  These plates were held together with “butt straps” – small plates riveted to the ends of the abutting hull plates.
 
See my orange highlights in Bob Read’s hull plan:

(Note that the port side butt straps are indicated with dotted outlines in Bob’s drawing and are offset port vs starboard.)
 
The Trumpeter kit seems to include faint outlines of these straps in the approximately correct location forward of the bilge keels. No indication, however, on the strakes aft of the bilge keels.  
 
Bob’s drawing shows five of these forward and four aft.  In a perfect world these butt straps would all line up against a single strake across the length of the kit underbody. This would include the tops of the butt straps that peek out above (and below) the bilge keels.  Unfortunately, the compromises made by Trumpeter in molding the hull have made it tough to add these butt straps with all the top edges aligned against one hull strake.
 
I’ll need to fudge things a bit to get these represented on my model. I’ll go ahead and use the kit outlined versions forward of the bilge keels for positioning my straps.  Aft of the keel I’ll align them against the existing kit hull strakes - marked first with a pencil.  

Thin .010 x .156 strips of styrene will be used for these butt straps:

These will all sit in line with the “in” strakes of the molded hull.  I inserted small snips of styrene to fill the gap to create a flush surface before overlaying the butt straps:

The corners of the styrene were first rounded and then cemented in place.

Once put in place, I came back along and sanded down the straps to reduce the dimension – didn’t want these to stand out too proud against the hull. Tape protected the hull while I used an Emory board.

Sample views:

 
 

I’ve decided to hold off on adding the bilge keels for now.  There is much abuse left to deliver on the hull and I think these keels will be fragile and vulnerable as I flip the hull on its side and upside down to make more modifications.  I can be patient and add these (along with more butt straps) at a later stage.
 
Miscellaneous Detail
 
I’ve also been tending to some of the smaller details along the hull.  
 
The historic photos show a small crease near the hull stern plates:

I grabbed the hobby knife and a micro chisel and went to work.

Thanks again for the interest everyone has shown (and the patience between updates).
 
Pondering next steps – probably the propeller wings.
 
Cheers,
Evan

Yeah, it's hard to imagine these things snaking around winding river bends with a barge lashed to the front and just a sternwheel and a few little rudders. But it happened! Z-drives were not yet even a twinkle in a dreamer's eye.
 
And since we have no idea what Peerless' rudders or lower stern actually looked like, it's all conjecture. I just don't have any evidence for any setup other than the typical one for the era leading up to her construction. One of the great benefits of a waterline model, I can mostly ignore the issue!

Right now, I'm waiting for all the existing drawings to be professionally scanned.  Note that the following drawings were laid out on the floor and photographed with a cell phone, and as such will not be used for anything besides initial planning.
 

This first drawing comes from a set drawn by the builder's son in October 1921.  As a primary source, it is obviously valuable, but there are differences between these plans and what was actually constructed.  For example, there was only one pair of boats on the boat deck (as can be clearly seen in the maiden voyage photograph).  One of the other drawings contains features that, while present aft, did not run the length of the ship.  However, I will use these drawings to get dimensions for windows, the wheel house, etc.  There are also no known photographs of the starboard side prior to 1934, so this is the only data I have for window configuration on this side.
 
 
 

Lines, as drawn 1934 by a professional marine architect.  I will be referencing these as well as measurements taken off the ship when I draft my own drawings.
 
 
 

 
The final drawing I'll be posting this evening.  This demonstrates the changes made to the ship after the 1934 rebuild.

All wales on the clinker planking are installed.

On the starboard side a beam has been simulated where the swivel cannons will later be placed

And the thinning of the frames has begun
First a pencil line.

Then the more "heavy tools", used carefully of course.

One side is from 6 to 5 mm, the intention is to later make the frames even thinner above the beam of the swivels to 4 or, if possible, 3 mm

Yesterday was another day that tries the patience of men. I was adding some highlights to the tunic of the Yellow Boy and the glue (Gorilla Glue) I used to secure the base to the pill container being used as a handle cracked away and the figure dropped. It landed hard, the base separated and the head fell off again. I decided to try 15 minute epoxy to resecure everything and had just placed the head back and thought it was settled when it fell off AGIN. Only this time it landed smack in the little tray of mixed epoxy and got a liberal coat. I gave it a liberal spray of alcohol which I had handy and wiped it off as best I could. Of course most of the paint came off too.
I switched to five minute epoxy and tried again and this time I think I got a good bond. Activity was suspended for the day to reconsider and repair the shower.
I initially thought of going back and air brushing the black and white undercoats but I suspect I wasn't able to get all the epoxy off and if so then over spraying it was going to obscure details.
I decided to use white primer hand brushed where needed and after it was dry, this morning, I started repainting. I may have lost some of the pre-shading on the turban but I think its good enough to carry on. I can try using different shades to deepen the folds. I see a couple of spots on the face which may need attention too then back to qorking on the details

I got ambitious and started adding the basic paint to Nabopolassar. In some ways it might be a simpler figure to work on. Its a great sculpt regardless.. The tan colour is an undercoat for the gold decorations that will follow - at least that's the idea.


Thanks for looking in and for the likes and comments
Alan
 
 
 
 
 
 

The problem will be exacerbated when you work from scanned original drawings. Every line that is not absolutely aligned to the axis of the scanner will become a fuzzy, jagged something.
 
There are a few strategies to overcome the problems discussed above:
 
- never ever use chain measurement. By way of example, it you have a row of identical boxes fitted to each other, don't measure each individual box, but measure the overall length and divide it by the number of boxes to give you their dimensions. 
 
- Similarly, when drawing plans for a ship, do not start from the details, but from the overall dimensions and fit the parts in. The percentage lengths mentioned by Dr PR above go this way.
 
- Think about the practicalities of building: what materials and what tools do I have available or can obtain; dimension parts accordingly, if the deviation would not really by visible.
 
- Think also which part would the easiest to make fit to other parts; say you have to make a flange for a pipe, in which case you may fit the inner diameter of the flange to the available wire/round stock; the inverse, could be also the case for bigger parts, where it may be easier to turn the pipe to the diameter of a flange for which you had a drill for the whole; etc.
 
- Unless I would make a drawing for publication, I tend to make no real drawings for parts, but rather (computer) sketches to which I add the measured/calculated dimensions; I then work from the numbers, rather than taking off another set of measurements from a drawing.
 
- Work from parts with well-known dimensions; say, you need to construct a shell-locker, then start with the dimensions of the shell, which typically are very well documented in the literature of the time, etc.
 

For older wooden vessels no one will ever know what their dimensions really were. They were built from experience, not accurate drawings. This is especially true for the hulls. They were built on the ways piece by piece and often the parts were hammered into place to fit with all the other pieces. The frames were fared with battens, not rulers, and certainly no two hulls were the same dimensions exactly.
 
So don't sweat the small stuff!
 
There is one trick that I have learned. For things that have straight lines or regular arcs/curves the designer/builder was working in some type of measurement units (inches, millimeters, etc.). You don't make something like a cabinet, deck house or hatch by just slapping together random pieces. So if the measurement you get from your drawings comes out to 10.082 units, it is probable that it should be 10.000 units. When I was making my CAD drawings for the USS Oklahoma City CLG-5 I found that the designers worked in common fractions of an inch - 1/16, 1/8, 1/4, 1/2, etc. So when photoguesstimating dimensions from photographs I just rounded off to the nearest fraction and things fit together pretty good in the drawing.
 
A real problem here is that an older European vessel may have been designed to the inch/foot, but was it the English inch, or the French, Dutch, Danish, Swedish ... inch? They were all different!
 
Another trick you can use when you don't know the actual real world dimensions is to use "relative units." For example, in a drawing/photo make the hull length at the waterline 100 units. Then measure things relative to the hull length. How many relative units back from the bow was the fore mast, main mast, etc.? How tall were the masts in relative units? Just make your CAD drawing in relative units and everything will be in proportion. Then, if you learn the actual dimensions of any part you can rescale the drawing to make that part the right size in real world units, and everything else will also be the right size.

Most of the model is hand built from wood of course... but certain components were printed- either in plastic, or in wax for investment casting in bronze. Such as the struts and rudder footing. The footing works with the extended wood  skeg, a common design layout in the 20's and 30's. This casting is missing from the boat at Finca Vigia, which leads some modelers to make some odd drive arrangements. If only they knew...
 
Hemingway had Wheeler make several well known modifications to Pilar, including the installation of an auxiliary 4 cylinder Lycoming for trolling. There is no evidence of this on the boat now, so this is also omitted from models.
 
. 

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.

Thank you, Pat
 
 I couldn't rest without correcting those horrible photos in my previous post not that these are all that great. My camera stinks when it comes to taking nighttime photos. I'll make sure I don't take anymore at night.
 

 

 
 Thanks for putting up with me. 

Seems like I spent hours on her today and you can't see the difference. 
What you can't see is where I have added additional wood to the bulkheads and then sanded them back to blend it in. Still not finished but I don't think that I need to add any more, just sand down and blend in the last ones. 
Still have the aft deck to construct and create the supports so the is no sagging. 
Still need to make my mind up on the material for the decks. 

Bought more 1/16" basswood - - managed   to cut out and glue the 'main deck in place
 

Rabbits set for first strake. Not ready to start planking but have run out of timber for decks. 
Plus this helps to show where I have to reduce or build up the bulkheads. 
I the end, there will be no plywood visible, it will all be planed over or veneered. 
 
Can't decide on mahogany or cherry for the decking. Hull will have to be painted anyway so not too fussy about that. 
 
Simon

Eric, 
 
I think you are correct, I’m sure that rudder configuration was adequate for the size of your vessel and conditions on the Missouri River. 
 
For the sake of a good rudder discussion, I’ll submit this drawing of the Klondike operated on the Yukon River. You’ll note the same rudder configuration with the addition of a “Monkey Rudder”. 
 
I just thought it might be interesting to add for discussion. 
 
John
 

Taking a break from my production line of turnbuckles, I turned my attention to the radar enclosure which is mounted on the foremast (below the fore yard).
 
Using numerous photos both from my archive and from current sources, I determined the size and shape of the enclosure for my model. The radar enclosure in 1972 consisted of a pair of horizontal concentric circles of steel bars about 8 feet in diameter, separated by about 30 inches, and connected by several vertical bars, and about 20 inches below which was a small platform connected to the above circles with additional bars, to support the actual radar sweep mechanism. The current radar enclosure is more oblong and includes an additional support for other electronics.
 
Below is my plan for the radar enclosure, and two photos of the fabricated enclosure, made with 1mm brass rods and wood for the platform, radar sweep and mount. For simplicity, I elected to place the support bars at the front and both sides, whereas the actual enclosure has more bars at different points around the circles. I left the attachment points longer than needed until I determine the exact rake of the foremast. The enclosure will be painted Coast Guard spar color, the radar sweep and its mount will be painted white, and the circular bars will be covered with baggywrinkle which will hide some of the imperfections (I haven't decided how to make baggywrinkle yet).
 
       
 
 

21. Ship’s Boat and Final Rigging
 
 
 
The Boat
 
The instructions call for carving a provided block of wood into a boat shape -that's beyond my skills so I ordered a 3 3/16" britannia boat from blue jacket and covered the top with tracing paper to simulate a canvas covering.
 
Standing Rigging
 
For the shrouds and stays I followed the recommendation in the instruction book for the RC option and used black stretch cord (.5mm) that I bought online. To secure them I used .015 inch crimping tubes.
 
Previous build logs, as confirmed by the plans, reported that the after boat davit is completely blocked by the shrouds on the port side of the aft mast so I moved both davits 1/2” forward. Several build logs reported a problem with the shrouds impinging on the deck house roof. I found that if I anchored them on the inboard side of the cap rail that there was no problem.
The stretch cords, set to be about 1 inch short of their pre-stretched final length, hold the deckhouse firmly in place but are easy to lift off of the hooks on the mast so the house can be removed.
 

 

 
Running Rigging and the flags
 
The model comes with a gaff boom on each mast. I assumed they were there as part of an emergency “get home” sailing rig. If so, the rigging on the plans did not make much sense to me so I copied the gaff rigging used on my model of the USS Olympia (built at the same time as the Seguin) and added double blocks to the gaff vangs and changed the rigging of the gaffs themselves.
 
The paper flags are from the kit. I rubber-cemented a piece of aluminum foil onto the back of one half of the flag, leaving a border around it for paper to paper gluing. When dry I placed the halyard in the fold crease and then folded and glued the flag halves together. Two different size dowels were used to impart alternating curved folds. Although the dowels could just as well be used to make the flags hang limply I wanted the Seguin to look as if she is headed down the Kennebec River under a full head of steam to pick up a schooner to tow into Bath for an extortionate fee.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
The only thing left to do now is to design and fabricate a launch/recovery/carrying cradle, probably from PVC piping and then conduct the maiden voyage, but that will have to wait until Nov when we get back from a road trip out to the West Coast.

Steven,
 
1150 borders on prehistory, a long, long, time ago.  Short of digging up a well preserved vessel no one can really say how these vessels were built and sailed.  Likewise, no one can really say if details known to exist on much later lateen rigged vessels were used in 1150.  The best anyone can do is to make use of contemporary information available, which you are doing.  Keep up the good work, while realizing that this is a difficult subject.
 
Roger

Before skinning the boat with a fine-weave fiberglass cloth set in epoxy, there were a few details to be completed.  The first was to drill the hole for the rudder post. This rudder post is perpendicular to the DWL and after some careful measurements and a check for prop clearance, I used an awl to dimple where the hole should emerge from the hull.  Once again, we leveled the building board and set up the laser level on a stepladder (and blocks) perpendicular to the boat's centerline with the projected horizontal line at the DWL and the light of the vertical line "emerging" from the hull on the centerline of the rudder post. Vicky called out whether I was plumb fore and aft while I sighted along the boats fore and aft centerline marked on the bottom of the keel.  The technique worked well.
Because the hull is rising toward the knuckle (when right side up), a wooden bung was cut out with a plug cutter and, before being removed from the stock, a centered hole was drilled in it to permit the rudder post's upper bearing to sit square with the rudder post.  The "holed" plug (or boss) was slid down the drill bit representing the rudder post until it contacted the hull and scribed to accommodate the angle of the hull at that location.


The boss was glued in place and the drill retracted. 
While we had the laser set up, I took the opportunity to put tick marks along the line of light representing the DWL.  While I know where it should be from the drawings, it is always a bit of a treat to see it in 3 dimensions.

The next phase is to seal the hull with the epoxy and fiberglass cloth sheathing. After doing this with MAGIC, I realized that this would be easier for me to do one side at a time. I attached some planks to the side of the building board to permit the whole structure to lay on its side.  Once clamped to the trestles, the cloth wa smoothed on dry and then wet down with the epoxy.


Once both sides were initially sheathed, the building board was returned to its usual position and additional smoothing coats of epoxy and sanding filler were applied, scraped down and sanded


I will pick up the rudder construction next.
 

Thank you John and mikegr.
 
And so onto the taper planks. Because I want both sides of the hull symmetrical I set about making the taper planks as matched pairs. Two parallel planks were taped together using double sided sellotape.
I then marked the "unshaped" edge of the joined planks so that I would retain the reference orientation of the planks on each side of the hull.
The planks were then mounted in my "plank clamping vice" and the edges were reduced. It is probably not clear from the photos but a reference taper strip is glued on to the jaws of the "plank vice" so that I can follow this reference when creating the taper. Additionally the clamping vice has inch subdivisions along its length. By moving the end of the planks to different positions along the vice I can create different widths of plank. Currently I am reducing the planks to 2/3 width at the stern and 1/2 width at the bow as per the measurements in the previous post. 

The following shots are just a sequence of taper planks going on to the hull.
 

For the moment the taper planks seem to be working and I am not having to force bend them in the width direction. Consequently I am not experiencing and "Clinkering".
I am bevelling one edge of each plank as it goes on to the hull to keep adjacent planks abutted tightly. I did make a small tool to assist with the bevelling.

However in the end I found that it was just a easy to shape the plank edges with a small sanding block and the tool was consigned to the bin.
 
So it was that I progressed steady to plank 14.


I am finding the pins on the "string" line are really convenient for storing the planks prior to fitting. You can just see one parked on the opposite side of the hull in the next photo.

More planking fun to continue next week.