G.L.

Not really, Unfortunate
 
Price in 1955 : 12590 francs.  A big investment in that time (about 412 in the current euro's).
Present value ... somewhere around 50 euros ... That's why I'll never sell it
https://www.singersewinginfo.co.uk/valuations
https://www.singersewinginfo.co.uk/306
 
Did some electracal repairs

And first, lubricate rotating parts. 

Meanwhile, there is "life" in the machine again. But not enough for now
 

With the fitting of the transom, the model is now ready for the side planking. The planking of the full-sized skiff consists of a thicker (7/8") garboard strake and three strakes of topside planking (9/16"). Fudging the numbers a little bit, I'm using 3/32" basswood for the garboard and 3/64" basswood for the topside planking. 
 
The width of the garboard planking tapers through its length from 3-1/4" to 2-5/8" (full) in a straight taper - no spiling!! The topside planks also have a straight taper from 5" to 4" (full). I milled some 3-1/4" (and a bit) strips from the 3/32" basswood sheet and some 5" strips (and a bit) from the 3/64" sheet. Tapering these was pretty easy, using a 24" straightedge and going in repeated light moves on the tapering line. 
 
I'm not quite sure about the use of basswood for the planking - it seems that there is certainly an opportunity to use nicer hardwoods and to produce a nice natural finished model. I do have a supply of boxwood and some scraps of other exotic hardwoods from previous builds, but I'm saving the boxwood for a special project and I don't have the other woods in dimensions I need....so I will likely be painting the exterior, staining and varnishing the interior and using hardwoods for the frames, rails, thwarts and so forth....
 
In any case, after cutting and tapering the planks I had to start wrestling with the question of how to fit them. In full-sized construction, the strakes are screwed temporarily into the molds, with these holes being re-used later to attach an interior frame. This isn't really an option for me at this scale, at least not in the same way. I'm still considering the best way to fit the strakes, but I have thought of two options - would be very happy to hear any thoughts on either or both of these....
 
1. Do the same thing as I did with the transom - that is, temporarily pin the strakes to the molds, and then carefully edge-glue the strakes as well as fixing them to the transom and inner stem. Theoretically, the planking should hold together and then I can simply remove the pins and lift the hull off the molds....."theoretically"....
 
2. Glue the strakes to the molds, as well as edge-gluing them. Then, when it's time to turn her over, I will cut the molds off at the base of the verticals and then gently pry and detach the molds. This seems likely to result in some damage to the interior planking of the boat - but this may not matter much, since frames will be added to cover where the molds were previously attached..
 
Anyway, again - thoughts on these (or other) possibilities are most welcome
 
I did soak the garboards and the first strake of topside planks and they are now clamped and drying on the molds - and this is where I've come to in the process so far, so will be considering the planking over the next day or so....Photos follow. Enjoy!
 
hamilton

The transom was pretty easy to make. In the full-sized skiff it is built up out of edge-glued lumber, but I had some 3/32" basswood sheeting lying around that was perfect for the purpose, so I simplified things for the model. Offsets were taken from the plans and transferred to the basswood sheet. I then rough cut it and sanded it to final shape.
 
The mounting of the transom turned out to be a bit tricky, though I think it also introduced me to a technique that will be used for the side planking and garboard strakes. The transom needs to be stable in its mounting to the transom frame, but it can't be glued on, since the boat will need to be removed from the skeleton at some point. 
 
I marked a centreline on the transom piece and used this as reference for dry mounting the transom on its frame. Once clamped in place, I marked the outlines of the angled transom frames on the inside of the transom itself. I then pre-drilled holes in the marked out areas and into the transom frame supports. I then tacked the transom in place using the small brass nails that come with every model kit (and that I have only ever used very sparingly)....
 
Here are some images showing how this went. Enjoy!
 
hamilton

The next stage is to set up the molds on the strongback. This was, again, very finicky but not difficult, and was greatly assisted by the use of a 1/4" x 1/8" ribband along the centre notches between the transom frame and mold 1. 
 
The first stage here was to mark the centre line on all the molds using the strongback centre line as reference. For this, I made a small square jig out of a couple of flat 2 x 4 lego pieces angled together - sometimes I think that modellers use more lego than my kids ever have!! These jigs also ensure both squareness across the station lines and in the vertical plane.
 
Anyway, once the centrelines were brought up, and the ribband notches widened around them, I used a 1/4" x 1/8" lime strip to set the molds square and in alignment. The lego brace allowed for a good fit against the station braces, while the ribband provided stability through the mold. I was very gratified to see the nice, sweet curve that the ribband made once the molds were all in place!
 
The final step here was to cut and install the three ribbands in place. These serve a couple of purposes. There's the obvious one of providing structural stability and strength to the framework, but they also serve as reference points for the rubbing strakes that will be added to the bottom of the boat much later. As part of this process, I made a stem bracket to support the centre ribband at the bow, This is a temporary piece, cut to the height of the stem, but serving only to maintain the lines of the boat's bottom. In the photo below, you can also see the inner stem, which is rough tapered through its length from a roughly trapezoidal shape at the upper end to a triangular one at its base. I made the inner stem from a 1/4" x 1/4" strip of beech. The port and starboard ribbands also had to be trimmed back and faired to the run of the planking, as you'll see in one of the images below.
 
Photos documenting these steps follow. Enjoy!
 
hamilton

Hello again:
 
Following the construction of the strongback it was time to make the molds. There are 5 molds plus the transom. These were made using the same 1/8" x 1/4" lime that was used for the transom bracket and the braces on the station lines. Taking off the measurements from the plans was finicky (especially where there were fractional measures in the /8 range) but not too difficult - keeping a very sharp pencil and using a magnifying lens helped considerably. I did have to make a few of the molds a couple of times as I made some calculation errors the first go around, but in the end, the results were good - symmetrical, solid and accurate to the offsets given on the plans.
 
For each of the molds, I first drew a baseline and centre line on a small piece of 1/4" plywood. I then took the offsets from the drawing to make a basic outline of the mold (to the inside of the planking). I then fixed a 1/4" x 1/8" lime strip along the baseline to act as an anchor piece for the construction of the mold. Two more pieces were cut to act as braces for the verticals to insure that they retained a consistent 12" run from their outside edges. The bracing strip that you see in one of the images below is not fixed, but is used to ensure symmetry in the verticals and (later) to help brace the whole mold while it's being glued up.
 
The verticals and the angled sides of the mold both lie on the control edge, so the side pieces were clamped down in position as a next step, with clamps being added at the base of the verticals for stability and accuracy in setting the horizontal pieces. All these pieces (with the exception of the verticals) were cut overlength and then shaved down on the disc sander - which I am increasingly finding to be one of the most useful and indispensable tools in the shop.
 
The final step in mold construction was to cut three notches in the smaller crosspiece to allow for the ribbands which serve as structural reinforcements later in the process. A crossbar with similar notches was also made for the transom support frame. These also serve the purpose of ensuring the correct alignment of the molds once they are set up on the strongback.
 
Here are some images documenting the process. Enjoy!
 
hamilton

Back in summer 2017 I scored a serious modelling injury - a deep cut in my left index finger that severed the nerves and nicked a tendon. The results were not only the immediate physical damage (despite surgery and physio I still have only very limited use of that finger and it still causes physical discomfort to bend the last knuckle), but also that my focus on modelling drifted in the extreme - a psychological barrier that I have found it much more difficult to overcome than the injury itself! 
 
My modelling hasn't stopped entirely, but the model I was working on when the injury happened has languished (I think I've spent maybe half a dozen days on it since the injury), and I have not been able to make much progress on the other project I have on the go - a 1:64 scale Bluenose scratch-built from the MS plans. I hope to finish both of these models one day, but I felt like I needed a smaller project just to get me back into the swing of modelling. I did not want to break open a new kit (I have quite a few on the shelf waiting) so I started looking for a good small project that I could dive into.
 
Then last summer I stumbled across a site that I imagine some of the MSW crew are aware of - Off Centre Harbor out of Brooklin, Maine. OCH came up in a search for small boat kits (full size) and I discovered this great video series that follows the construction of a 14' rowing skiff, designed by Havilah Hawkins. The build was conducted by an OCH instructor and a group of what look like 7-12 year old kids. It was watching the kids build it that I think inspired me to have a go at modelling this and as an entry back into ship modelling. Here is a link to the first video in the series - the full set of videos is available only to OCH members - I joined and discovered quite a few useful and interesting  resources, but am otherwise unaffiliated with them.
 
https://www.offcenterharbor.com/videos/how-to-build-a-beautiful-skiff-part-1-introduction/
 
OCH makes the plans for this kit available at a reasonable price (40$) - and the 5 sheets (of varying scales but with all necessary offsets included) are accompanied by a wood list for the full scale boat that also serves as reference for modelling the skiff at scale. The video series shows an adaptation of the skiff for sail, but no plans for this are currently available.
 
So in essence this build serves a couple of purposes - first (hopefully) to bootstrap me back into modelling and second to give a sense of how easy or difficult it might be to build one of these things full size at some point in the future. I'll be building the model at 1:12 (1" = 1') scale and following as much as possible, the process as outlined for the construction of the full sized boat - with some modifications. I'll close out this post with an image (cropped) of the profile and plan views of the skiff. Enjoy!
 
hamilton

Hello all.
 
The first stage in the construction of the OC Skiff is building a strongback on which the molds will rest. I built this from some 1/4" plywood that our contractors left over from the renovation of our garage, which is where my workshop is located. The strongback's dimensions are 12" x 14', with a number of 9" bracing pieces on the interior for strength. The forward end of the strongback is raked at 83 degrees to (later) support the inner stem.
 
A centre line and station lines were marked on the strongback, including a reference line where the verticals of the transom support frame will go. Several 1/8" lime strips were used as support braces at each of the reference lines to add stability to the molds, once they are attached. The forward end of strongback cap also had to be cut to a 1/4" point at the end to accommodate the sheer planking where it connects to the inner stem. Finally, the transom support frame (raked at 60 degrees) was added. Here are some pictures to document the process...somehow I failed to get an overall shot of the finished strongback.....Enjoy!
 
hamilton

Sails... I intend not to rush to make them.
My mother's old sewing machine. She could sew anything with it, clothes, curtains, etc. Sewing the sails would have been an easy job for her

Bought in 1955 and motorized in 1963

Making sails! I was afraid of it for a long time. But as with most things, once you start doing it, you start to like it. I am full of admiration for your Singer sewing machine, it will be quite an adventure to get it up and running again.

Fitting the coaming. In the beam round the coaming the dove tails notches for the deck beams are already made.

At the front of the coaming is a shelf that serves as a pin rail. Making the pin rail.

 

In front of the pin rails there are passage holes through the coaming for the halyards and sheet. They are protected against scouring with a piece of brass pipe.

 

Gluing the pin rail.

...and re-fitting the coaming.

Now the coaming can be varnished. Note that there are also two extra pin holders in the coaming. In the photo you can see the starboard one.
 
Thank you very much for reading this log, for your likes and for your encouraging reactions.
 
Till next week!

12. Cockpit coaming.
The cockpit coaming has to be integrated in the deck beams. Before making it I will lay first the two adjacent deck beams. Therefore I have to glue the beam clamps first. I learned from my experience with the wales that bent ebony transmits great pressure to the model (post 43), so I do not make the deck clamp from ebony, but from cherry. I will stain it black later.

 

I saw the deck beams out of 3 mm thick ebony. They are sawn manually with the help of a paper template glued on the wood.

The deck beams sit in notches in the beam clamps. The notches are sawn with a small metal saw blade. a piece of cardboard protects the thwart.

 

 

The two deck beams bounding the cockpit coaming.

The cockpit coaming has an oval shape. It will be made by laminating three layers of mahogany veneer. I saw the laminating mold of a piece of waste wood.

Presenting the mold on the model.

Gluing the three layers veneer.

When the glue is dry I saw out the coaming...

... and I sand the edges.

Round the bottom side of the cockpit coaming lays a round deck beam. It is also made by laminating four strips of veneer round the coaming.

The beam will consist of two half rings. Here it is like it comes off the mold; it still has to be sanded, sawn to size and re-stained in black.

Fitting the coaming. In the beam round the coaming the dove tails notches for the deck beams are already made.

At the front of the coaming is a shelf that serves as a pin rail. Making the pin rail.

 

In front of the pin rails there are passage holes through the coaming for the halyards and sheet. They are protected against scouring with a piece of brass pipe.

 

Gluing the pin rail.

...and re-fitting the coaming.

Now the coaming can be varnished. Note that there are also two extra pin holders in the coaming. In the photo you can see the starboard one.
 
Thank you very much for reading this log, for your likes and for your encouraging reactions.
 
Till next week!

Fitting the coaming. In the beam round the coaming the dove tails notches for the deck beams are already made.

At the front of the coaming is a shelf that serves as a pin rail. Making the pin rail.

 

In front of the pin rails there are passage holes through the coaming for the halyards and sheet. They are protected against scouring with a piece of brass pipe.

 

Gluing the pin rail.

...and re-fitting the coaming.

Now the coaming can be varnished. Note that there are also two extra pin holders in the coaming. In the photo you can see the starboard one.
 
Thank you very much for reading this log, for your likes and for your encouraging reactions.
 
Till next week!

12. Cockpit coaming.
The cockpit coaming has to be integrated in the deck beams. Before making it I will lay first the two adjacent deck beams. Therefore I have to glue the beam clamps first. I learned from my experience with the wales that bent ebony transmits great pressure to the model (post 43), so I do not make the deck clamp from ebony, but from cherry. I will stain it black later.

 

I saw the deck beams out of 3 mm thick ebony. They are sawn manually with the help of a paper template glued on the wood.

The deck beams sit in notches in the beam clamps. The notches are sawn with a small metal saw blade. a piece of cardboard protects the thwart.

 

 

The two deck beams bounding the cockpit coaming.

The cockpit coaming has an oval shape. It will be made by laminating three layers of mahogany veneer. I saw the laminating mold of a piece of waste wood.

Presenting the mold on the model.

Gluing the three layers veneer.

When the glue is dry I saw out the coaming...

... and I sand the edges.

Round the bottom side of the cockpit coaming lays a round deck beam. It is also made by laminating four strips of veneer round the coaming.

The beam will consist of two half rings. Here it is like it comes off the mold; it still has to be sanded, sawn to size and re-stained in black.

Fitting the coaming. In the beam round the coaming the dove tails notches for the deck beams are already made.

At the front of the coaming is a shelf that serves as a pin rail. Making the pin rail.

 

In front of the pin rails there are passage holes through the coaming for the halyards and sheet. They are protected against scouring with a piece of brass pipe.

 

Gluing the pin rail.

...and re-fitting the coaming.

Now the coaming can be varnished. Note that there are also two extra pin holders in the coaming. In the photo you can see the starboard one.
 
Thank you very much for reading this log, for your likes and for your encouraging reactions.
 
Till next week!

12. Cockpit coaming.
The cockpit coaming has to be integrated in the deck beams. Before making it I will lay first the two adjacent deck beams. Therefore I have to glue the beam clamps first. I learned from my experience with the wales that bent ebony transmits great pressure to the model (post 43), so I do not make the deck clamp from ebony, but from cherry. I will stain it black later.

 

I saw the deck beams out of 3 mm thick ebony. They are sawn manually with the help of a paper template glued on the wood.

The deck beams sit in notches in the beam clamps. The notches are sawn with a small metal saw blade. a piece of cardboard protects the thwart.

 

 

The two deck beams bounding the cockpit coaming.

The cockpit coaming has an oval shape. It will be made by laminating three layers of mahogany veneer. I saw the laminating mold of a piece of waste wood.

Presenting the mold on the model.

Gluing the three layers veneer.

When the glue is dry I saw out the coaming...

... and I sand the edges.

Round the bottom side of the cockpit coaming lays a round deck beam. It is also made by laminating four strips of veneer round the coaming.

The beam will consist of two half rings. Here it is like it comes off the mold; it still has to be sanded, sawn to size and re-stained in black.

A beautiful model, Giampiero, congratulations. 

A beautiful model, Giampiero, congratulations. 

Many small things has been done since the last update.
 
The rudder has been completed. The tiller is made of walnut rather than lime. I was afraid that the lime would have been to soft.

I have also made the pump. This is of a very simple type, just a simple handle to pull. It is placed where the skipper can work it while also handling the sails and rudder.
 

I have also started the mast, boom and gaff.

Before I install the mast and rig the lines and sail I will make the stand. For this I plan to use supports in plexiglass which will sit on a bottom plate of oak.

 

Fitting the coaming. In the beam round the coaming the dove tails notches for the deck beams are already made.

At the front of the coaming is a shelf that serves as a pin rail. Making the pin rail.

 

In front of the pin rails there are passage holes through the coaming for the halyards and sheet. They are protected against scouring with a piece of brass pipe.

 

Gluing the pin rail.

...and re-fitting the coaming.

Now the coaming can be varnished. Note that there are also two extra pin holders in the coaming. In the photo you can see the starboard one.
 
Thank you very much for reading this log, for your likes and for your encouraging reactions.
 
Till next week!

12. Cockpit coaming.
The cockpit coaming has to be integrated in the deck beams. Before making it I will lay first the two adjacent deck beams. Therefore I have to glue the beam clamps first. I learned from my experience with the wales that bent ebony transmits great pressure to the model (post 43), so I do not make the deck clamp from ebony, but from cherry. I will stain it black later.

 

I saw the deck beams out of 3 mm thick ebony. They are sawn manually with the help of a paper template glued on the wood.

The deck beams sit in notches in the beam clamps. The notches are sawn with a small metal saw blade. a piece of cardboard protects the thwart.

 

 

The two deck beams bounding the cockpit coaming.

The cockpit coaming has an oval shape. It will be made by laminating three layers of mahogany veneer. I saw the laminating mold of a piece of waste wood.

Presenting the mold on the model.

Gluing the three layers veneer.

When the glue is dry I saw out the coaming...

... and I sand the edges.

Round the bottom side of the cockpit coaming lays a round deck beam. It is also made by laminating four strips of veneer round the coaming.

The beam will consist of two half rings. Here it is like it comes off the mold; it still has to be sanded, sawn to size and re-stained in black.

Thank you very much for these encouraging words, Gary.

11. Thwart
The outsides of the thwart are laying on a rising. The risings are made of ebony.

More to midship the thwart is supported by support beams.  The two front beams do not run the full width of the hull, but are interrupted in the middle. I leave them whole for the sake of working for now.
With the bottom boards (center board case removed):

Without the bottom boards:

The support beams rest on a strut. Making a template to saw the strut.

The forward struts placed provisionally.

The rear support beam runs from side to side and is supported in the middle by a pillar. Turning the ebony pillar with the lathe.

The three support beams with pillar and struts. I repeat: the two forward beams will be interrupted in the middle.

The thwart will be made of mahogany, I make a template to saw it out. Determining the shape of the hull sides. First at one side:

 

 

then also the other side:

I draw the shape of the thwart on the template with the help of an improvised light box.

Here the thwart is glued and sawn. Fitting it.

I want to finish the curved inside of the thwart with a thin frame. To give the frame its curved shape, I make an improvised bending iron. I secure a can on the workbench and aim the paint burner in the can. The wet frame can now easily be bent round the can into the desired shape in two directions.

 

The frame is now glued in place on the thwart.

The center of the two front support beams is now cut away.

 

Fitting the finished thwart. Nothing (neither bottom boards nor thwart) is glued yet.
 
Thank you very much for reading this log and for for your likes.

Very nice progress G.L.  The metal can and paint burner is a great idea.
 
Gary

From these: 
 

 
To this: 
 

 
It is literally amazing. The hull as you see it, has a total cost of $45 plus $3 for the pedestal. Once the license has been purchased ($50), you could print out as many hulls and parts as you want.
 
A few more picture of this behemoth: 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
This last picture gives you an idea of the size of this hull: 
 

 
Next, is the delicate application of acrylic putty and some sanding, before a first coat of primer. Originally, this kit is intended for navigation and Radio Control and as such the designer is suggesting to cut the inside frames to gain access to the RC equipment, batteries and motors. I am going to keep them all, as they will be perfect to support the decks and cabins. Hull is very stiff and would not require them, but they will make my life so much easier for what is to come.
 
Yves
 
Yves