Roger Pellett

Almost another week gone and here is another update.
 
Firstly a couple of pictures of the hull with the compensation plates in position.

And a picture of the plywood wrapped around the stern.

The next job was drilling out the portholes. These are positioned mid way between the frames and as the frames are to scale the lontitudinal positioning of the holes should have been easy. The problem occurred because one of the holes on the plan view was in a different position to the hole on the side elevation. There followed a long process of investigating photos to try and decide which was right. I think I got it right but then again who knows.
The next photo is my list of the porthole positions measured in "frames". Port and starboard are different so this introduced a further degree of uncertainty, prompting checking and re-checking and re-checking. I hate the anxiety accompanying drilling holes in hulls.
 

Fortunately (as near as makes no difference) all the portholes are equidistant from the bulwark edge of the compensation plate.
I made my self a little marking out jig (arrow A) to get the positioning consistent. The half frame positions were transferred from the hull up-stands using the laser level. Arrows B are the centre lines for drilling.

I took the drilling steadily, fearful of splintering the plywood. The next photo is my drilling equipment consisting of an alarmingly powerful drill plus a 6mm brad point wood drill, a 7mm reamer, a 8m reamer and a set of 9mm sanding drums glued to a pencil. The reamers occasionally went into threepenny bit mode but the sanding drums always brought the holes back to round.

Some time later all 28 holes were drilled.

I then transferred my attention to planking the stern. You can see from previous posts that the stern is the only part of the hull with a mahogany finish.

The stern has vertical edge planks with horizontal planking between. The edge planks were cut as matched pair and glued in place with PVA.

I decided it would be easier to pre-bend the horizontal planks. Fortunately my wife was out and I discovered that one of her baking tins was just what I needed for the former.

With the plank attached to the former I dunked the whole thing in boiling water (utilising a Lecruset pan that just happened to be lying about). I really have been living on the edge this week.


Then the last bit of the hull planking was done.

That's all for now folks.
 
 

I 3d printed a model of a Chinook helicopter which founded online, after doing some necessary modification. I confused the fuselage length to the total length which include the blades. So after doing my maths at 43mm fuselage length it turned to be in 1/372 scale.
Nevertheless instead of throwing it away, I made a simple diorama. The blades were scratched. The resin wasn't polished because this had to ended today last day before my 3 weeks leave. Pics were also taken in a hurry. Fortunately I didn't miss the ferry im actually on board as I'm posting it.
 

Greetings all,
 
Thanks so much for the wonderful comments, the thumbs-ups and for finding the time to visit this build. 
 
Bulwark Stanchions
 
Before work could begin on the stanchions for the bulwark, I first had to finish up from the last post by adding five more deck beams where the span between existing beams was too great.
 

 
 
With that done, I started on the stanchions which the drawings refer to as the “top timbers.”  This boat has 106 top timbers and are spaced about every 18” (45.7cm). In full disclosure, there are several details of these timbers that I didn't model because I felt there would be little return on the effort invested.  First of these details is a taper of the timbers from 4.75” (12cm) at the deck to 4” (10cm) at the underside of the rail.  In 1:48 that's a difference of .016” (.39mm), so I used wood that doesn't taper and scales to 4.5” square instead.  Also, the drawings call for chamfered edges on the inside facing corners - very nice, but no.  The most glaring omission is that I didn't bevel the outside and inside faces as they approached the stem and stern.  In the image below, the top timbers below the red line are obvious enough that I should have beveled them, but I didn't.  Forward of the blue line will be a raised “whaleback”, so those extremely beveled timbers are all hidden.
 

 
 
This is the profile of the whaleback (green) visible above the main rail (red).
 

 
 
And the same thing aft, but there are no beveled timbers as they round the stern and there is little discernible bevel moving forward through midships. If it sounds like I'm constructing a justification for not beveling any of the top timbers, you're onto something.
 

 
 
I made four off-model stanchion bulwark assemblies.  One each for the port and starboard bulwarks forward of station #7 and two more for P/S aft of station #7.  I created a template for each assembly based on the distance between bottom of deck at side and bottom of main rail.
 

 
 
The top timbers are at a right angle to the waterline, not the rail.

 
The angle of bend at each body plan station is found.
 

 

 
 
The upper waist strake for the bulwark section is bent to the proper arc and then attached to the template with double-sided tape. The top timbers are then glued to it.
 

 

 
 
The section of top timbers is affixed to the hull.  Note that a strip of wood equal to the deck thickness has been glued to the upper most hull strake.  The bottoms of all the top timbers are glued to its inside edge.
 

 
 
The final eight timbers at the stern were placed individually.
 

 
 
The scant number of timbers in the bow area were placed willy-nilly to temporarily hold the waist strake in its proper orientation until the bulwark is complete and the whaleback structure starts taking shape.
 

 

 

 
Next up – finish planking the bulwark, installing the inside rail stringer and fitting the covering boards (oh boy!).
 
Be safe and stay well.
 
Gary
 

With the room completely, cleaned, repainted and reorganized. There is time for Mary again.

The cannon deck has been provided with planks in the places where the stairs will come. And has been given a coat of diluted and polished Tamya paint. Little or nothing of all this will be visible later.

The railing of the upper deck is ready.

Color test for the hull.
It is not known for sure whether the original ship was white below the waterline. It could be, but it has never been further investigated.
To maximize the effect of the treenails, oil will be applied to the hull.
I had some walnut oil left as a test. This is much better than the very diluted Tamya paints.
Walnut oil gives a nice result on wood, but you have to repeat the treatment after a few year. So it will be Danish oil or Tung oil.

 

Hello. I just found this site while doing some boat research. I am at a dead-end and need to find some leads.
I grew up in Philadelphia, PA and moved to Ohio (on the Ohio river) for high school, I have lived on the banks of the Mississippi river, Kanawha river, and Lake Erie/Grand River.
I am a biochemistry professor, woodworker and carver, 3D printer fanatic and lover/builder of boats.
When I was in graduate school 20 years ago, I was anxious, so I built a small sailboat in my garage. It was a fun project. I didn't (and still don't) know much about sailing. I knew I wanted to build boats.
I then moved to a place that I didn't have as much space, so I wanted to get into model boats. I went to hobby shops, trying to find a reasonable Sternwheeler model (Artesania Latina has the King of the Mississippi that looks great), but they were all expensive. In the back of one shop, under some other models was a kit for a 1:65 Santa Maria (La Gallega) model kit. It was collecting dust and said, "As-is $50. Parts missing" Well, not to be too personal, I couldn't even afford that. So I asked the owner what pieces were missing. He looked through it and couldn't tell me, so he sold it to me for $20. Turns out all of the precut/laser cut pieces were gone. This included the bulkhead pieces (its a plank on bulkhead model) and only had materials for sub-planking, planking, masts, rigging, etc. This meant that I got the chance to use my woodworking skills to build the parts of the boat that would be the most important to the shape and form of the whole thing! It took me many years, but I finished and then rigged the Santa Maria. I was so proud of the 6 years of work. (I have a few of the pictures attached). I don't know much about sailing/rigging, so I just used the directions from the kit.
After that, I wanted to add her sister ships, La Nina and La Pinta. I wanted to make them from scratch (it is cheaper, so far). I had to wait until I could find the materials. I got a package in the mail that was wrapped in multiple sheets of 5-layer plywood! This was my moment. Ply that thin is very expensive if purchased from a hobby store. There was enough there for false decks. Also, I had enough to glue it in layers to make: (plank-on-bulkhead) ribs, false keel, even some of the first layer of planking (the rest I had leftover from La Gallega). I then actually purchased grain-matched wood veneers from Woodcraft (the corporate HQ is in our town, which was convenient for deals) which had them on clearance (my wife would have otherwise not allowed that purchase). I was able to plank the hull and decks of both boats! I need some guidance on how to cut planks more uniformly. Currently, I have to start making pieces of the boat that are thicker and require thicker stock to make. I am stuck, do I glue a bunch of veneer wood together (which I am currently, agonizingly, doing), or use a saw and gently cut aged, local wood that I have from the backyard (it has dried for some years) and plane/sand it down to the thickness I need?
I have attached pictures of those boats, I don't have any with them with final hull planking, but they look pretty good (for my novice eye) with walnut on the hull and cherry on the deck. I will post those in projects, when I find more pictures.
I have since started doing research into boats built in my area (Marietta, Ohio). Our town was a boat-building community starting in the early 1800's till ~1900(with a few hiccups). I really wanted to make a scratch-built Sternwheeler, but I found out Boat builders here made seagoing-wooden boats! I decided I wanted to make one of those next. I started researching the 1800 -St. Clair (a 110 ton Brig) built in Marietta Ohio (the first seaboat built on the Ohio river). I asked at the Martime museum (Campus Martius/Ohio River Museum). They gave me a little info. And I have been researching at Marietta College. They have an extensive boat-building collection. I am trying to generate a schematic for the vessel, but there are only accounts of the boat's: materials, beam, tonnage, etc. It was build by J.Devol from Connecticut (moved his family to Marietta in the 1790's). I will post in the research section to see if anyone knows about the styling of his ship hulls, pre-1800.
I am big into woodcarving and I hope to carve hulls in the future. I am still a boatbuilding novice and am here to learn about all of it. I wish I had learned of this community 10 years ago, but I am glad to be here and hope I can learn more and improve my models.
Thanks for the time reading my opening post.
Atomj

And three overall shots:
 



I don't have sufficient words for how much all of your interest and support has meant over the last year or so as I work through this build. I made a lot of mistakes along the way and you all did a great job gently pushing me to be better. I thought this was going to be a relatively easy project given  my past steamboat scratch builds, but it was very different than any of the others and once again I had to learn new skills and figure out new things. My heartfelt thanks for every like, comment, message, and so on.
 
As for what's next, which I promised to answer. I'll taking a bit of a break from ship-building to work on a ~12' long modular diorama depicting Peerless's home port of Rocheport on the Missouri River, arranged as a model railroad setting that may be expanded into an operational Missouri, Kansas, & Texas layout depicting that railroad's operations along the Missouri River in this area ca. 1900. Whether I go that far or stop with the Rocheport bit, Peerless will have pride of place on the foreground river with the railroad tracks clinging to the limestone bluffs soaring 300' over the river. Here are a few historic photos from the ~1900 period to give you a sense of the landscape I'll be recreating. All photos are public domain, from the State Historical Society of Missouri digital collections.
 
 A different steamer tied up at the Rocheport waterfront with river bluffs in the background:

MK&T passenger train along the river near Rocheport:

Another view of river bluffs with the railroad wedged between water and bedrock:

Rocheport town and riverfront, bluffs in background, railroad at left:

I was a model railroader long before I got swept up in wooden ship building, and that old love has been resurfacing over the past few years, so I'm going to give it another go. If all goes well I may end up building yet another Missouri River vessel anyway, because there's this photo of an amazing little ferry that operated at Rocheport:
 

Isn't she just darling? And look at those covered wagons. This view spans so many eras in American history.
 
Thanks again, hopefully I'll have another photo shoot to share in a few weeks.

I removed the arms and drilled them so they can be held on a cocktail stick during painting. I them started adding the first glazes to the jacket and hose. This is more of a yellow ochre than the deep yellow of Skinners Horse. It seems to build up more easily than the brighter colour. 

Following the thinking of others out there, it occurred to me that the casque is polished metal and the figure is metal so rather than trying to paint the helmet maybe I should try polishing it. I started with cut down very fine sanding pads and then moved to solver polish. It looks better in real life but I think I will give it another go with the polish. Its small and awkward to hold (and I am nervous about deforming the collar below). I think a gloss coat and then a black wash to bring up the details


Thanks for looking in, the likes and kind comments
 
alan
 
 

USS Coates (DE-685), finishing up detail on the port side, then going in the case to enjoy.

Fire buckets.

Ha ha Keith, the light saber is still functioning, but the laptop is not.  
 
I haven't had a lot of time to devote to the build due to work, life and other projects, but things have not been totally stagnant. My old laptop died on me a couple of months ago so it needed to be replaced. Well after 30 years of being a Windows user I finally had enough and made the change to a MacBook. Needless to say, there is a slight learning curve and it took a bit of retraining my brain, but I think I finally figured it out. My biggest hurdle was trying to figure out how to scale down the file size of the photos so they could be uploaded to MSW. This will be my first attempt, so if things run afoul, please bear with me.
 
I dug through all of my pictures on my phone that I have taken since my last update and I think I'm on track as to where I last left off, so here we go.
 
So starting off, I designed the window and door frames on my "light saber" (sorry Keith, it was too good not to use). These I made from gray card stock. The inner frame is just slightly engraved, to show the separation from the outer frame, but not so much that I had to install two pieces. I'm pretty pleased with the results on this.

Pilot house window frames.

 
 
Next, I drew up the plans for the tow knees. These plans included the stair stringers and risers, sides and bases. I used the engraving feature to allow an easier way to align each step as well as the front panel. It took a couple of tries to get my measurements just right, but I finally got it.

 
Here is the results after they have been cut out.

 
The first tow knee going together.

 
Here I marked the locations of the tow knees on the bow.

 
All of the tow knees constructed and temp installed to get an idea of how they are going to look.



 
While I pondered how to paint the tow knees up (really I just don't like painting that much, so I was looking for an excuse to put it off for as long as possible) I started work on the handrails along the main deck cabin. I struggled to get a good view of these from the pictures and videos that I researched but I think I came pretty close to getting it right. My main hang-up was how they were attached to the walls and how far they were located from the walls. I went with my gut that there was about a two inch gap between the rail and the wall given that on several locations you can see where the railing is bent around the downspouts that run from the deck above. The first picture is drilling the holes for the standoffs for the railing.

Here are the standoffs going in. For these and the railings I used 1mm styrene. I cut these a little long at first to give me enough play to trim them to the correct length and allow for some sanding to mate up to the railing a little better.

The first railing installed.

More of the port side railings.

 
Once all of the railings were installed, it was time to suck it up and start painting the tow knees. I didn't take any pictures of the painting process, because it was just painting. But here are the results.

Port view of the knees.

Starboard view of the knees, You can also see some of the completed railing on the main deck. Notice how the rail curves around the downspouts.

 
Finally, I did a little side project but didn't do a build log on it (it only took a week). This was a birthday present from the Admiral and our offspring. I'm still a kid at heart and I still love playing with Legos, so I thought I would share with the group.

 
Well that is all for now. My "other projects list" is starting to shrink so hopefully I'll be able to devote some more time to the build. I promise it won't be near as long before my next update. Hopefully this will keep everyone's interest for the time being.
 
Thanks for stopping by. 
 
-Brian
 
 

Steven,
 
I understand that materials readily available in one country may not be in another, BUT!    Here in the USA we have a Company called K&S.  They sell thin walled brass tubing in sized from 1/32” OD to about 9/16”OD.  Each size telescopes into the next size larger.  They also sell similar metric sizes.  This stuff would be ideal for your roof supports.  Using the telescoping of two sizes you could avoid soldering.
 
Roger

Sorry to hear of your misfortunes OC. Life seems to wait until you are on your knees before lining up a big kick. I hope you get a speedy recovery from all three events.
 
Lifes full of it though. The girl friend decided the full tub of dietary fibre was out of date and dumped it down the sink (Don't ask me why) and ran water into it. Blocked the whole thing up. The plumber just finished installing a new waste disposal and drain line.
 
Alan

The fleet is lined up. The hulls are from Vigilances planking - larch I think, and I raided the kitchen drawer for bamboo skewers for the masts soaked in thin CA glue for more strength. 


Away for a few days then back onto the 'real' build.

Thanks Keith! I added some bloomers for you which you'll see below. If I was any good as CAD I'd be able to bring the cant frames into a 2D axis to print out. But I'm not,  so I did it using trial and error with some card, and then lots of back and forwards to the sander. 

After a good deal of T&E and a little foul language which helped, I have something like the shape I need.

I think it was Gary @FriedClams who wisely suggested leaving plenty of meat on the bone, so I've done just that with these, especially underneath so that when I put the filling pieces in I can have a glorious sanding session to try and fair it all in.

There may be a pause for a while as I have offered to turn some of the old decking from Vigilance into little 'models' of her to help raise funds for their rebuild at a local country fair. I think I'll sand the shape of the hull and maybe stick some bamboo masts on them. Its really so that local folk who donate to the refurbishment can have a piece of the old boat as a keepsake. The good news is that the Trust have been successful in getting a further National Heritage grant to complete the replacement of the deck, which means Vigilance will now have a fighting chance of another 100 years afloat! 
 

All for now!

Thank you Gary - and thanks to all my other viewers, your visits to my log are much appreciated.
 
Well that's another week gone by. We have had the builders in this week so I needed to watch what they were up to. We all get spoilt by MSW contributors attention to detail. I don't think any of us would be able to achieve general builders standards! 
As usual Cangarda progress hasn't been stellar.
 
Firstly I drew the plan for that little bit at the end of the keel that I damaged.  

I then made it. I didn't shape it or glue it on though. I am saving that for a bit later when damage is less likely. Once bitten twice shy!

The next step in the build was sorting out the stress compensation plate that runs the full length of the hull.

I am going to create this by overlaying the hull with 1/32" birch ply. (Hence my previous comment about needing to paint the hull above the waterline).
 
Getting the compensation plate correctly shaped and positioned could have been tricky had it not been featured in one of the drawings supplied by Rutherford's Boat Shop. 

I transferred the position of the compensation plate on to the lines drawing (red arrows) . Also note my special pencil.

I needed the pencil to draw straight lines on the hull as the hull curved away from the straight edge. Hence I cut the side off to eliminate the effect of the cone produced by the pencil sharpener.

The frame lines were then transferred to the hull at the positions corresponding to the green dots in the previous photo. The vertical height of the top edge (or is that the bottom) of the compensation pate was then marked on (just noticeable on the next photo).

These points were then drilled with a .025" drill and sewing pins were inserted to define the line against which the plywood compensation plate needed to butt. An over width birch strip was then cut and offered up to the pins. 


Despite what the photo looks like the strip didn't butt up to all pins. The amount needing removal was then marked on the strip a this was planed away slowly while frequently checking the fit. The shaping is fairly obvious in the next photo.


Once the correct shape was achieved it was clamped against the hull in preparation for transferring the lower edge positions on to the strip. The next photo shows the positions being marked. You will see the plate doesn't run the full length of the hull because I only had a 4 foot sheet of 1/32 birch ply. 

Because of the more pronounced vertical curvature of the hull at the stern the compensation plate plank wouldn't fit flush to the hull. I therefore needed a different approach to marking the shape of the plank. Hence both top and bottom edges were marked directly on the hull.

The bottom (or is it top) edge of the front plate was then marked. I like to draw the curve by putting pins through at the marked out points and then pressing a flexible stick up against the pins to define the curve. I find the cork mat very useful. Many years ago it was a feature off the bathroom floor.

The following shot shows the shaped plank held in position by clamps.

The stern compensation plate was manufactured in the same way as the bow one and offered up to the hull. I took some time taking off fine slivers to get the upper and lower edges flowing together nicely at the join.


The port side plates were then made using the starboard side as patterns. 
 
The vertical curvature of plate at the stern is going to be a challenge, it just don't wanna flex that much!!!!!!!!
 
That's all friends.
 
 
 

Hello all- I am lucky to have a Byrnes saw and sander.. yes, they're hard to find..however, just a thought. I inherited a small .belt driven HEAVY  Dunlap  saw, not Dunlop..they make tires..I put a 7 " blade on it and use it to rip down my wood, prior to finishing with the Bsaw and sander. Using a  0 clearance  plate, I am able to cut to 1/16 th in ebony.  The saw  table is @13 in square and somewhat "safer" than using my 10"  table saw. These saws  are different in that the table raises up and the blade stays stationary.  I've seen them sell restored or original for cheap..  Beware..shipping would be costly!  Mine is from the 50's I think.. Heavy cast iron ..pretty accurate for what it is.   I do like using some of the older ,well  made  stuff...but again,the Byrnes is  sweet  if you are scratchbuilding.  Happy modeling!
  John

Thank you Druxey, Gary, Keith, Andy, Steve.
 
So onward and upward. Now if you thought planking was mind blowingly boring, just draw up your seats for sanding time!
 
Firstly though, the excitement of the week was breaking off the fragile keel end piece (red arrow). No it didn't break off neatly, the neatness comes from a bit of fettling. You can see the plank edges beginning to disappesr with the application of 80 grit aluminium oxide paper and a lot of elbow grease. I use a cork sanding block 2"x3"x"1" and one 8"x2"x3/4". No electric sanding aids for this old luddite. Note the copious amounts of dust collecting on the B&D Workmate.

To feel that I am making some progress I work my way around the hull progressively.

The planking job seems to be handling the reveal quite well for the moment. The "sanding through the planks tension" builds just like electric car range anxiety. I comfort myself by starting to draw pictures in the sanding dust.

To break the excitement I pick up the broom and do a bit of dust mountain creation on the workshop floor. it was about here that I wandered into the kitchen for a cup of tea only to be thrown out because I apparently looked like the dust monster.

At this point "thickness anxiety" overcame me and I switched to 120 grit.

In my backward construction world it now seemed about the right time to retrofit the rabbet line. The pointy but at the front was sanded flat revealing the bow frame.
 This was then overlayed by a longitudinal plank over the bow and along the keel. Held in place by PVA glue, elastic bands and the "Mother of All Board Pin" (MOABp) missiles. 

Then along the keel with more rabbet planks. The sanding stick isn't being glued on, it s just evening out the pressure on the plank being attached below.


A second rabbet plank was then attached over the first.
I then cut 1/10" strips of card and pasted these along the rabbet strips as a sanding guide. The keel has yet to be attached and this will be 1/10" wide and will fit on to the landing defined by the paper strips.

Then some more 120 grit sanding the fair in the rabbet strips and further smooth the hull. The planking is now of indeterminate thickness but holding up for the moment. No major planking gaffs discovered as yet.

Now the detached "keel end blunder" needs to be attended to. But that is a job for next time. The skeg block is finally starting the blend into the hull.

Thanks to everyone who managed to stick with it through that turgid story.
 
That's all for now folks! 
 
 

USS Coates (DE-685), construction of MK15 trainable Hedgehog mount, MK32 ASW torpedo deck launcher, Skipper needs a signal bridge chair...

USS Coates (DE-685), fitting out 40mm bofors, directors, 5"mount, 5" practice loader etc.

USS Coates (DE-685), fitting out adding some detail, making of the MK5 MWB. A basswood plug was made for the hull and insert. Used my buddy's old homemade vacuum form machine, adding some small photoetched pieces for detail.

Bow views .....

The rudder blade in place .......

Simon,
 
You do have a drawing board,  the plywood sheet that you are using to cut the bulkheads.  I would suggest that you visit an office supply store (Stationer?) to buy an inexpensive French curve.  You can use this to draw your bulkheads without “jiggles.”
 
On a broader note, you are trying to transform a 2D drawing into a 3D object.  250+- years ago shipbuilders developed the system of “Lofting,” to solve this problem.  Lofting involved redrawing the ship’s entire lines drawing full sized on a large flat floor.  The purpose was to check all views to ensure that everything matched.  This would ensure a fair hull; one with smoothly flowing lines.  Full sized patterns for the various structural elements could then be developed from  the lines drawn on the floor.  Note that every time that the lines drawing is redrawn, including the lofting process, subtle changes in the hull’s shape occur, as the draftsman or loftsman adjusts things to ensure that the 3D hull will be fair. There is, therefore, no “definitive” model of an old wooden ship as each draftsman’s interpretation will be slightly different.  CAD does not eliminate this issue.  It just means that the computer is making these adjustments.  In your case, you are making bulkheads without doing the lofting.  This will likely cause problems throughout your build.
 
So, what to do?  First of all, start with a good set of drawings that you are not trying to expand with a computer printer.  A set of lofted drawings exists in the MacGregor archives.  I believe that they can be bought from the SS Great Britain People.  If CAD is your thing, get the drawing scanned and lift and print the bulkhead shapes.  If like me, you are not interested in using CAD trace the bulkheads directly from the drawing using your French curve.  Tracing half a bulkhead and folding it to cut it is fine.  An architectural printing house that makes contact prints, not photographic prints can make copies and even change the scale.  Making smaller scale copies from large scale drawings is preferable to going the other way as minor drawing errors are reduced rather than expanded.
 
Roger

Keith, I may be "young", but I grew up listening classic rock. 
 
Yanking this thread back on topic, you hard-driving taskmasters got your way. I made some thin covers for the pitman arm openings that better mimic the real vessel, and replaced the wooden beams with round pipes. Here's the result from each side:


Also, here are a couple more shots of the bow:


I think this completes the model itself. Only the addition of some superficial details remain. Here's some shots posed against comparable imagery.



Once my detail parts order arrives, I'll work on adding some fun final touches. Really getting there now!
 

I know both men will jump in with their contributions.  
 
For me it meant cleaning and preparing the shop for a new build.