Julie Mo

Oh, I also forgot to mention we painted the exterior of the house, laid sod in the front and planted a ton of plants and a few trees, too. So it's not like I've been letting moss grow on me.

Since we moved in last December, I have completely gutted the master bedroom, right down to the block wall or studs. We found mold and the remains of a once great civilization of termites. Then it all had to be built back up again including new PTL firring, foam board insulation and all new electric. Then drywall, taping and painting. I HATE TAPING!!! Anyway, we've got a coat of primer paint on it now. The other big project is a new frame for our waterbed. I move a lot slower these days, like about 1/10 the speed of my younger days. But the Endeavour will not be forgotten. Every time I walk into the workshop (which is several times a day) I see it. No out of sight, out of mind is being permitted.

I never thought it would take so long to get the shop set up. But I am just now coming to that point when I can move about and get things done. It will still be a while before I can devote any serious time to the build but I am happy to report I have her in a place she won't be forgotten. I have great plans for her.

I downloaded the FREE!Ship program and loaded it in today. I opened a new project and inserted the numbers I had from the Endeavour II drawing. When the new project opened, here's what I saw: Maybe that 14' draught number wasn't supposed to include the keel.

A couple of years ago I bought Understanding Boat Design by Ted Brewer and The Elements of Boat Strength: For Builders, Designers and Owners by Dave Gerr. The latter was pretty intense and, with the little knowledge I had, was more than I cared to tackle at the time. Now I'm anxious to find it after the movers arrive. I worked in the building trades for 35 years and at the end of my career I was taking engineered electrical drawings and redrawing them into construction-ready plans. That's when I taught myself AutoCAD. I took to it like a child to Disney World. Definitely some of my best years in the trades. I saw the Skeen book on Amazon. They grouped it with two other books as a "Frequently Bought Together" - the two books I mentioned above. So maybe I'm on the right book learning track. BTW, I ordered Skeen. Julie

Thank you, Bob. While I won't lie and say I absorbed everything you said, I will say it helps me get a better understanding about how a boat design comes into fruition. I find myself surprised that something I intended to be a woodworking project to keep me busy during a house hunt (the kit build) has become a door that opened to something I have been interested in for decades.

I finished the half-breadth lines, mirrored them and put them in place. Working in a wireframe like this gets more difficult as you add to it. You have to be very careful you are snapping to the proper place. Yes, I goofed some of it up. This is an image looking up from the bottom: On the left is the composite of everything I have added to the 3D wireframe. Middle and right are the body lines I used to make the frames. I still have to rework the keel area if I want this done right. I also noticed the half-breadth lines weren't drawn in at every level line. If I am to complete the 3D image, I will need to figure out how to draw a 3D half-breadth outline that will allow for all three x, y and z coordinates. So far, all I have been able to do is two planes in any kind of line. AutoCAD won't allow something like a polyline to run through three planes.

John, I confess to being a tool junkie but any attempts at an intervention will be met with the utmost resistance including but not limited to temper tantrums, kicking, screaming, yelling and, if the intervener is persistent, very loud and shrill whining. I support your purchase of the Liogier rasps and in the event making that purchase brings about any personal strife, I will appear on your behalf as a hopeless tool addict and show the need to own more tools is as important as breathing.

Bob, when redrawing, do you go with what looks good? Or do you follow something more precise? I'm going to draw over the buttock lines next and insert them in place. I realize I won't have anything that replicates the sheer at the rail but maybe the level lines will provide some guidance. Whatever the case, I am enjoying this. I've been drawing boats since I was in grade school but I never had a clue how to do anything close to design.

Thank you for the replies. I absorbing everything like a sponge. I started taking the body lines and making full frames. After rotating them into their 3D position, I placed the front frame lines in their respective locations. Working from the inside toward the outside, I placed the frame lines at each point along the hull. I made an operator error that isn't so evident in this picture but I was able to fix it without a lot of trouble. Next I placed the back half of the frame lines in position and moved them from stern to midships working inside to out. As you can see, the back half didn't come out as well, relative to the keel line. If I moved the frames so they better line up with the keel line, the width of each frame line doesn't fair properly from one frame to the next and on from there. As it is in the picture above, they do. Since I was unable to decipher the frame numbers on the PDF, I just placed them according to their position on the body line drawing. I was pretty exact when creating the body lines but the lines were a blur when zooming in close. And at the keel section, it was hard to tell if any of the lines crossed over one another. Some just melted into each other. This is just an exercise to help me understand boat design and see how I fare. It's keeping me busy as we approach moving day. I doubt I'll ever use this for a scratch build but it's nice to use it as a learning experience.

Packing for a late Wednesday move. To be continued...

Let's see if I am on the right track... I took a line drawing of Endeavour II and drew over the body, breath and sheer level lines (do I have those terms correct?) Then I put it into 3D and rotated the lines to get them into the correct x,y,z planes So if I draw in all the buttock lines and orient them properly, I should have a 3D line drawing. If I take those same buttock lines and create planes with them and loft them, I should be able to create a 3D hull. If I'm missing something, please let me know. Thanks, Julie

Thanks, Pete. I've been envisioning using a plane to get the rough shape then use different length pieces of MDF with PSA sandpaper attached to finish it off. For my guitar necks I start with a spokeshave but I think a plane would be better on a mast. We'll see...

Mark, thanks for the link. I had been on that page but missed that particular article. I read through it and I think I pretty much understand what's going on. Next step for me will be to apply my understanding of all this into a CAD drawing. I have AutoCAD MEP, which is intended for mechanical, electrical and plumbing in buildings but I can make it work for modeling purposes. It will be interesting to see how this works out. German Frers, look out!

Thanks for the answers, guys, but please don't dismiss the class yet. I understood everything you said, Wayne. I figured the lines on the top view and side view drawings were planes slicing through the hull. What I didn't figure was the station lines may not necessarily reflect frame shape and location. I thought they were there specifically to design the frames. But I would imagine if you made frames based on station lines, you should replicate the intended hull design. Correct? For model building purposes, could you use the station lines to create the frames? And, theoretically, should that method give you a reasonable facsimile of the actual ship/boat hull?

Thank you, Ron. Next question, when looking at the bottom picture in the first post, the lines from bow to stern should be created by the planking. Right? Same with this drawing... I can see it adds the water line and the keel and rudder shape. But as far as the hull shape, that should be created by the frames being placed in the correct location and planking the hull?

Pete, what did you use to taper the mast?

I think I'm beginning to understand boat drawings. I have seen line drawings many times but never stopped to figure out what is going on. It wasn't until I began my first model that I actually started to put it all together. But I'm not sure I have this right. What I think I am seeing with the hull lines is the frames from the bow to midships on the right and from midships to stern on the left. So if you cut the drawing above down the middle, and took each half and made mirror images of the other half, you would have all the frames necessary to duplicate the shape of the hull. Next you take those frames and place them where the vertical lines are on the above drawing, from "0" to "20". Then you plank it and you have the hull. Am I on the right track?

Are you looking for crew? Nicely done! Where do you get the plans, the images for the decals, etc?

Per, I would suggest first buying one modeler's rasp, 6-7", with maybe a 13 grain. You will find this a pretty versatile tool and you'll get a feel for what they do without having to buy a set. It's easier on the pocketbook pain. If you need others, you can gauge what you need based on your experience with the first rasp. Craftsman Studio carries Auriou and has free shipping on orders over $75, which is pretty much every Auriou rasp, so shipping costs won't be an issue buying one at a time. I have the Auriou needle rasp set that I have found very useful in this build. I also have a few rifflers that have come in handy, too. Liogier has what they call a "very tapered rasp" they describe as: Due to their very small cross section and a very fine stitching grain, these rasps allow a perfect finish and provide access to hard to reach parts with sandpaper. They are also used in model-making or to make miniature objects. It looks interesting as a model builder's tool. I am too new to this to make any real assessment but I may one day find one of them in a package on my doorstep.

Here's the 58" version, Mike. Here's the 43" kit. The 58" version finished: What do you think, maybe a weekend to build?

Richard, I apologize in advance for the financial hardship this addiction may cause.

David, what they were making was rasps, not files. I just wanted to make that distinction in the event you went shopping. Rasps work much differently than files on wood. I never found much usefulness for wood files, but once I discovered rasps, I felt like Geppetto.

I agree, the finish is completely dependent on what the builder is going for. Realism would require one to do some research on the real thing and attempt to duplicate that. If your goal is to bring out the beauty of the wood, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Some love high gloss but it requires a lot of work, such as French polishing. Porous woods like mahogany require fillers. Lacquer is probably one of the best finishes if you want a high gloss effect. Waterborne finishes are best if you don't want any coloration. Varnish is great for giving wood an aged look. Jeff Jewett is probably one of the best known finish experts in woodworking. He has a forum at his website that I have used in the past. Though his website is geared for woodworking, I'm sure modelers would find some helpful information there. But in the end, I think the modeler has to know what the goal for the finish will be. Once that is determined, the vast array of finishing options narrows dramatically.

Rasps are a bit of a hit and miss. The machine made rasps frustrated me. I have a couple of Nicholson rasps that were a waste of money, for me anyway. Some people are OK about working with them but I'm not in that group. When I got into building solid body guitars, I bit the bullet and bought a couple of Auriou rasps. It hurts once, then you enjoy them for life. They are hand stitched and simply a joy to work with. They are locked up so I bought an Iwasaki rasp for this build. It was better than the Nicholson but I missed my Auriou rasps. After the longing for those rasps got the better of me, I bought a couple more. I closed my eyes at the price once again and hit the order button. Liogier is said to make equally good rasps but I have never used one. They are a little harder to get in the US. If you want to see how the Auriou are made...