Gerhardvienna

All of the thwarts are now in place.  But no glue yet.  These are all just test fit.  The tweaking is completed and all of the pieces seem to fit together with nice tight joints.   I will glue them into place next and paint them.  She is finally getting there....  Once these are done the only major construction left is the remaining inboard planking.   After that its just the fancy bits and little detailing which makes it all come together.  The paneling and carvings ect.
 

Hi Patrick
 
That is the bad influence that drags us to new skills
 
Regards
Gerhard

Gerhard,
Nice photo of the Cincinnati. I'm pretty sure it is post-Civil War and the 5 aft casement windows were added then to relieve excessive  heat when it was safer to have openings in the side casements. We have also wondered about the structure or "trunk" on the aft casement and our best guess is that it was a chicken coop. One of the small stacks between the funnels is most likely the cook stove smoke stack which is directly below on the gun deck. I don't think they would be engine exhaust which reportedly vented directly to the main smokestacks and are located a long distance away for such a small stack. One of them could have been a steam whistle but I haven't ever read anything about one.  The 4 ventilation funnels show pretty well in this photo of the USS St. Louis model; 2 are just forward of the main smokestacks and 2 are just forward of the wheelhouse. They also show up in numerous contemporary photos but can be confusing to locate because they can be rotated and elevated to best catch the prevailing wind direction. Most drawings of the USS Cairo that I've seen also show them on the hurricane deck but their exact locations vary a little.
 
johnhoward

USS Baron DeKalb(2).bmp

Hi johnhoward
Maybe I`ve dicovered some, in Wikipedia I found a pic from the Uss Cincinnati, with openings under the aft boat, and somewhat like a small trunk on the rear superstructure. Maybe this was a later modification?

Pic source : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Cincinnati_(1861)
 
On this photo I also discovered two narrow tubes(?) behind the big smokestacks, could this have been funnels from the engine? and; where were the four ventilation funnels located?
Questions, Questions, Questions.....
 
Best Regards
Gerhard

Gerhard,
The 16+ ventilation openings I am referring to are the small multi-use hatches on the gun deck which had both wooden and grate covers for either access to, or ventilation of, the lower hull areas. We will be modeling some with each type of cover in place and probably a few simply open. The framing and covers for these openings were flush with the deck so they didn't obstruct the cannon carriages and normal crew activities.
Our assessment of the ironclad access & ventilation concluded the following: We believe that there must have been more access hatches between the hurricane deck and the gun deck than shown on existing drawings (possibly they were within the deckhouses). The only known hurricane deck hatch is inside the pilothouse and the only other inter-deck access is via the ladders on the bow and stern casements. The forward small skylight probably also served as a hatch for commissary stores loading. The small hatches on the fore and aft decks are pretty far away from the hubs of activity to be much value. Most of the stores loading & ventilation must have been accomplished thru the gun ports. The four ventilation funnels only extended thru the hurricane deck and not thru the gun deck. After the Civil War some of the surviving ironclads such as the USS Cincinnati were modified to add openings in the aft side casements, which would have been extremely hot without any gun ports, as seen in some contemporary photographs. The USS Cincinnati had been sunk twice and recovered, which probably explains these modifications.
 
Have you discovered any others?
 
johnhoward

Thanks, John - yes, it does seem like there's more and more...and more detail to come!  Will she ever fly!?  ;-)  
 
gsdpic:  thanks for joining in. The prop was a more interesting piece to build, it being in a laminate of wood sheets. I had built props from solid blocks before, also a challenge though not as initially scary to face down.  I found that grinding the main shape, as seen from the side, using a Dremel tool, worked really well. Then I could face it from the front and back to get the angle of attack right. After that, a lot of fine sanding brought it to the final shape, followed by 4 to 5 layers of shaded poly. I am happy with it. I am considering a metal leading edge/tips. I am still thinking on that.
 
~john
 

Hi Patrick
 
That is the bad influence that drags us to new skills
 
Regards
Gerhard

Hi Patrick
 
That is the bad influence that drags us to new skills
 
Regards
Gerhard

Hi johnhoward
 
Nice progress again, and some new infos too for me! Have not discovered the 16+ ventilation openings yet, but will follow further to see them!
 
Regards
Gerhard

Thanks Gerhad
 
That's the best thing about MSW, isn't it? We never stop learning, until the day we cark it!
 
Cheers
 
Patrick

Hi Patrick
 
That is the bad influence that drags us to new skills
 
Regards
Gerhard

Nice job on the hollowing out, Nenad!
 
Sorry if I've been a bad influence on you😏!
 
Have a great weekend. 
 
Cheers. 
 
Patrick

thanks Daniel..........I feel it already       I went to all the trouble to make the stand.......and what do I do......use the stand from the Thermopylae.    I needed to be able to put her at a pretty drastic slant.  I did the chains,  the gun port lids,  and the pegs for the tack lines.   I was going to call it an evening,  and that's when I thought about using Thermie's stand.   I did the starboard side first,  installing everything,  and then touched it all up at once.  I have plenty of that super soft wire,  found in many Billing kits.  it was easy to cut and shape.


then I did the port side.   here I am complaining about this small crane light..........I got better pictures at my desk,  than at my table      go figure.


now I can proceed with the rigging without having to worry about doing that other crap!  

thanks for look'in in......and thanks to all who hit the like button      Happy camper signing off  

Attached are today's progress  photos for our USS St. Louis ironclad model which include installation of the fore and aft deck margin planks and a dry-fit of the hurricane deck "ventilation" grate. It should be noted that, on most "City Class" ironclad models and drawings, this grate is erroneously fabricated as, or referred to as, a "skylight", similar to the small glass paneled skylight in the far forward part of this deck.
Besides the fact that the only objects beneath this grating are the five hot boilers enclosed by louvered walls, which wouldn't particularly benefit from any great amount of light, Samuel M. Pook's original gunboat specifications for the "Hurricane" deck states as follows:  [Quoted from the NPS Vicksburg Historic Structural Report(HSR)]
"There shall be an opening in this deck eight feet wide fore and aft the boat for ventilation; a coaming will be formed around this opening three inches above the deck and six inches thick; there will also be a center piece of the same height fore and aft the opening, over each beam a thwartship piece will be fitted and fastened to the beam; the whole will then be covered with grating."
 
For our 1:24 scale model this ventilation grate is fabricated from pearwood frames and "1/8-inch hardware cloth" (galvanized wire grating) which could be walked upon, if necessary. The grate will ultimately be fastened atop the Hurricane" deck planking. In actual practice, this grating would ventilate the excessive lower deck boiler heat. Awnings were fitted above this deck, primarily for protection from the sun in the Southern USA, but would also provide protection from excessive rain. All of the other 16+ small gundeck access/ventilation openings will be similarly covered with 1/8-inch grating and wood panels. The fore & aft deck margin planks will either be "nibbed" for the deck planks, or the deck planks themselves will be beveled in accordance with standard shipbuilding practice.
 
johnhoward
 

you do make a valid point though Russ......I've become too complacent relying on the supplied stands.  I'll do something for this one.......but I'll look towards ramping things up a notch  
 
for this......I'll need a volunteer.   you sir.........I like the cut of YOUR jib!  you look like a perfect 36!   step right up here..........
>the flying Dutchman comes to the table<
 
look!  he' laugh'in so hard his sides split!  com'on my good man...pull yourself together.....here's some tape!  nyuck.....nyuck.....nyuck!   let's take a look here........stick out yer tongue!.....you got a coat on it......put on a pair of pants and take it for a walk!  >where's my cigar<   anyway......you look to be this.....this.....and this   icky Mae.  hold on wilst we go to the wood shed  >lucky man....we're gonna make you your very own seats of ease!

there we are!   I didn't measure anything either........cut the base and the cradle parts!   cemented the front cradle part to the base,  and reinforced it with short lengths of square stuff.


when the Dutchie could climb on board.......the other cradle part was marked off and then added to the base.   I spared no expense with the xtra pieces of wood

after it was dry........there were a couple of adjustments to be made.....totally cosmedic {cosmetic} {pick which one ya want I assure you....both of them gets under my skin}.  Ok....climb right up there Dutchie and have a seat.......newspaper is extra  

not bad.....but a little more off the sides.   I'll make that adjustment.....then it's out to the wood shed for a paint job.  then it can get these nice cushions........a little cush for the tush  

>a paint job and an oil change later...............<
WHOA........BABY!!!!!!!   look'in good!  if this is what the best dressed boat models are wearing today........  I am like soooooo enthused!   

now maybe I can get some rigging done........in peace  

anyway.....yesterday,  I began to rig the bow.   I am going to use the sails ......I sewed one of the spirit sails to it's yard.  that went pretty good     

this was met with little resistance.......but the further I went,  the more it rocked the boat.

I'm using a thicker black thread......it's working out OK.   I sewed the sail at this time.......while I was doing that,  the boat flipped on her side,  and the spanker gaff broke off!

at this point....everything stopped.  I will make a stand to keep her steady.  more on this when I get back.......the admiral announced that she's hungry!    she who should be obeyed.

Sorry for the late reply on this, Nils.  Back at the time of your ship, lifebuoys were usually just plain white.
 
John

I dunno.......I just look at it.......yup,  that's white    black 'n white photos make it hard though.   but take into consideration though that it may now be a light gray color due to aging and weathering.
 
{my glass is always half full}  

Today I found time for the comparison of the carriages, my version fits almost to the drawings johnhoward showed earlier. It`s a matter of a few 1/10mm so I will lwt it as it is.
The red drawn parts show how I made them.

 
Regards
Gerhard

Sorry, did not want to offend the DOG!!!
Why dont you file a bit away from the lower end of the mast to fit it into the hole? If its only the lower hole, noone will see it after.
 
Regards
Gerhard

Today I found time for the comparison of the carriages, my version fits almost to the drawings johnhoward showed earlier. It`s a matter of a few 1/10mm so I will lwt it as it is.
The red drawn parts show how I made them.

 
Regards
Gerhard

Thank you Pat!
So I`ve got 13 years more for the Cairo, but i hope it will not take that long. No clue what I will do next, today I must visit my parents-in -law, maybe there is little time later for the ship.
 
Regards
Gerhard

Hi Carl
I KNOW, I should have to speed up................
But there is so much to do exept model building, but with time there will be a new born Cairo
 
Best Regards
Gerhard

Has been some days till my last report, heer comes the news. I could set some timbers to the inner structure, just to make the walls look a bit better than they were from plywood. Cut a lot of 2 x 3 mm pinewood strips, and glued them to the walls. And I made 2 crossways from port to starboard, there I used 5 x 5 mm pine wood.
 
Timbers glued into the gas tank room

 
All internal walls related to the engine compartement are glued in, all unnecessary frame parts are cut away.

 
The crossways from port to starboard side

 
Thank you for watching, and comments or critics too!
Regards
Gerhard
 
 
 

Engine stands are set in, but not glued at the time. Before glueing all the parts I must make some smaller changes to the engine timbers, not too much, but a bit of milling or grinding will be needed to fit the brass parts to the timbers. Just waiting for the photos from johnhowards associate to build all the parts in scale, or as close as possible. Then a bit of turning/milling/soldering/cutting...... will take place!

 

 
Regards, and thank you all for watching
Gerhard