FriedClams

Just catching up Ekis and I see you have been busy. Your village is coming along great. This is such a fun build to follow. Thanks for sharing your progress with us. Gary

Deben is looking beautiful Vaddoc. Seems that you're not far from the finish line. I like all the rigging work that you've done - so neat and precise, just like the rest of the model. Great stuff. Gary

That's a sharp looking sharpie Jim - very nice tight work. It would be hard to tell it apart from a full sized version were it not for the clamps, ducks and other such items in the photos as a size reference. Splining the joinery for center board and rudder is a real craftsman's touch. Beautiful work. Gary

Wonderful work on the Arabia Eric. She's is looking very nice and I think your decision on the support base was a good one as the simple design keeps the viewer focused on the model itself. I love all the cargo details and they provide an authentic atmosphere. As John has stated above, I too appreciate your last post detailing the workings of the grasshopper poles. I knew how they worked in theory, but couldn't envision how it was actually done. Your log has been such an interesting read into the history of these riverboats. I had no idea how many variations on the basic design were used for different river conditions - stern vs sidewheel and so on. It's the history and story behind any given craft that brings a model of it to life. Looking forward to the final photo shoot. Gary

Nice work on the deck and cockpit/cabin Jim. Beautiful tones in the wood and I really like the contrast of the lighter king plank to the rest of the deck. Looking real good. Gary

Excellent work Ken - your hull and planking look great. Nice progress. Gary

Just catching up on your build Keith. And what do I find? The same old predictably perfect and wonderful craftsmanship of a true artist. Very - very nice. Gary

Excellent work on the 60 LB gun. Nice clean shape and edges - not easy to do in wood. Nicely detailed as well. The Harper’s Weekly page has to be a rare piece. It’s amazing to think that such a fragile piece of ephemera, something intended to last maybe a few months, has survived for 140 years and will now find a good home alongside your model. It’s in good condition too and will make a great complimentary display. Nice find. Your Tennessee is looking beautiful Keith. Gary

Hello and thanks to everyone for the kind words on the build. I really appreciate it. As to the concern for my whereabouts and well-being, I don’t quite know what to say except simply “thank you” for that concern. You are a wonderful and thoughtful group of people here at MSW. I've been busy doing mostly outdoor activities – hikes in the woods, bicycling, fishing, landscape photography and yes the dreaded yard work. But after being cooped up in the house for a few months, even yard work has a newfound appeal – well, sort of. I look forward to catching up on all your builds over the coming week or so and getting back to my own model. We are living in uncertain times with this on-going virus and I hope you are all well and doing what you can to protect yourself and those around you. Thanks again. Gary

Great work Cajun. You're building a beautiful first model of a fine historic craft. Gary

Sweet progress on the Tennessee Keith - she is looking great and your stacks turned out very nice. That was a clever idea to place the support columns and stairs on the stack base - I like it. Waiting to see your approach on the deck guns. Nice looking craftsman era bungalow across the street from you. I love the older neighborhoods with the grass strips and old trees between the street and sidewalk. Granite curbstone? Does Ward and June Cleaver live next door? Gary

Excellent job on the skylights Keith, they look terrific. I especially like your work on the bar guarding. Repetitive, evenly spaced details like this require such precision as the eye will quickly pick out the slightest irregularity. Very nice work as always. Gary

Hello Patrick, it's good to see you back at the modeling bench. You can sure pack an amazing amount of detail into your tiny models. 1:388 - good grief man! Well considering that you're working at a sub-atomic level, they look darn good to me Patrick. They must be less than 5mm tall if I am calculating that correctly! I wouldn't even have the courage to try. Sapphire is looking really great and I look forward to more updates. Gary

Thank you Keith for your wise-guy remark and Bedford for your comment. And thanks to all for the likes and to those following along quietly. Mounting the winch and some other stuff Here’s a small up date on the dragger. Before placing the winch onto the deck, I needed to wrap some additional outer layer cable onto the drums and a wrap or two of chain that will terminate at the otter boards (doors). I had pre-wrapped the drums with cable (beading wire) when I made the winch, so I only need a few wraps of this outer cable to finish it off. These last few wraps are a little rougher looking than the shiny beading wire underneath. This outer cable is actually stainless fishing leader wire and if I had to make the winch over again, I would use only this fishing wire and no beading wire at all. In fact, now that I have “discovered" this fishing wire (some of which was sitting in my tackle box all along), I don’t see myself using beading wire often, if ever again. I have used 7-strand beading wire simple because it looks like scale wire rope. But fishing leader wire looks even more convincing. And it is available in small sizes as well. For example, 10lb 7-strand uncoated is .008". The image below shows a comparison between .019" coated 7-strand beading wire and 40 lb test (.015") 7-strand uncoated leader wire. Notice how the twist is much tighter on the leader wire. Here I painted the leader wire black then sanded the surface with 1500 grit, which leaves color deep in the twists and accentuates the cable look. Most beading wire is nylon coated and little can be done to improve the look. The fishing leader wire looks great annealed as well. The winch is glued to the deck and the chains slung over the towing blocks. Color is added to the deck around the winch and gallows. In the image below, the iron straps that prevent the doors from slamming against the hull have been glued on. They will eventually get fastener heads and weathering once the hull has been painted. A half round styrene rub rail has been glued on and two different black acrylic paints were applied to the planks above it. The base coat is flat with semi-gloss dry brushed on here and there for a slight sheen. This breaks up the monotone look of the solid flat black. In this photo, the effect is noticeable on the left due to the angle of light and is difficult to see otherwise. I also added some salt leaching between planks caused by water seepage off the forward deck. And the boat gets a name. The dry transfer lettering is from Clover House in California and is applied one character at a time. Flat black acrylic is dry-brushed over the top. A half round iron stem guard has been added. The doors won’t be hung off the ends of the chains until the hull is complete. Thanks for taking a look. Stay safe. Gary

Just catching up on your build Jean-Paul and it is looking amazing! Wonderful craftsmanship and meticulous work process. I especially like your personalized transom painting, very nice indeed. You’re creating a beautiful model! Gary

Just found this build log Jim and I've enjoyed reading through your progress so far. I really like small working/pleasure craft and this Chapelle Sharpie is a beauty. The fact that you're building her much the same way the full sized boat would be adds to the interest. Most of us love reading about this stuff. I've never know a modeler who has made a perfect model or wouldn't do things differently next time - the journey of improvement is part of the fun. Very nice work and looking forward to future posts. Gary

This model is coming along very nicely Kevin. It is a very interesting vessel and I always enjoy seeing builds of subjects that are out of the ordinary. Your clear explanation of the building process is much appreciated - and of course the videos are great. Gary

I dislike working with chain as it can be so fiddly. Just when you think you've got the end landed, it slips from your grip and the length of it collapses into a tiny pile - followed by the muttering of coarse language. Your forward stack turned out great, with all chains taut and nicely symmetrical side to side. I also like the companionways, such tiny work nicely executed. Great progress Keith - she's looking terrific! Gary

Beautifully done G.L. - congratulations on it's completion! Thanks for all the effort you put into your log to show us how you built her. Gary

Very nice work on the masts Greg. Beautiful clean wood cuts with nice sharp edges - and everything fits together just so. Sweet. Gary

Nice progress on your diorama Kevin - it's looking good! I like the way your stone work is turning out. Sometimes things just happen that way and one can never be sure what will look best. The next time, it won't be an accident - it will be experience. Keep it coming. Gary

Thanks to everyone for looking in and for the likes. I just needed a short break and now it feels good to be working on the model again. I’m glad you found the short history of interest. I enjoy researching the when and why of whatever I'm modeling. For me, the story brings the object to life, whether it’s a model or an old woodworking tool that belonged to my grandfather. Thanks for the comment Chris and your continuing interest. Thank you John. I have been avoiding grocery shopping also - around 2week intervals, so maybe my mention of baked haddock was a sub-conscious thing. When all this is behind, I’m going to go out and eat and drink like a Roman emperor. Thanks for the kind words Keith and for stopping by. As Paul said – Japanese breadcrumbs. They provide a nice crispiness, and are great on oven baked chicken. I gave this a try and it works quite well. I did find that I had to set the line weight a little heavier for a decent transfer, but quite successful otherwise. I have some laser transparency film in the closet that I'll have to dig out and see if that works also, because I do like to be able to register the image onto the material. Thanks for the tip and the comment Wefalck. Thanks for stopping by Eamonn and for the nice complement. I hope you can find something useful here. Hello Jim – they are going to dangle off the gallows similar to this more recent boat. The model will probably end up on a simple diorama with a worker scraping or painting the hull. Not quite sure yet. Thanks for dropping by and the kind words. Gary

Thanks to all for the nice comments, I really do appreciate them. And thanks for the likes and taking the time to visit my build log. It has been a while since my last posting and I hope you are all well and staying safe. After finishing the trawl winch, I tired of working on the model and dropped it like a dirty sock. Now after several weeks away from all modeling, it’s calling me back. Otter Boards Commercial fish trawling on its face seems like a static and unchanging technology, but it has evolved greatly over time. One of the most significant changes came with the invention of the “otter trawl". Otter trawling was developed in England and came to America around 1910. It derived its name from the otter board which was the name given to a sheering device that was being used for “hook and line” lake fishing in Ireland. This rectangular wood board would skate laterally across the waters’ surface and away from the direction it was being pulled. To some, the water disturbance caused by the board must have called to mind the activities of an otter. In commercial fishing, two otter boards are used together below the surface of the water to horizontally hold open the mouth of a trawl net. Like underwater kites, the otter boards are setup to push outward, away from each other, as the hydrodynamic pressure of moving water acts upon them. This was a major advancement over the “beam” trawl, which as the name implies requires a beam of some sort to keep the mouth of the net spread open. This beam arrangement severely limited the size of the trawl a single boat could tow. Otter boards used in ground fishing actually skid along the surface of the seabed. The noise this creates attracts fish and the turbidity helps to conceal the oncoming net. The fish become fatigued swimming out in front of the nets' cavernous mouth and eventually begin to fall back past a point of no return and end up in the “cod end”. The graphic below is from Seafish with text that I added. Otter boards are commonly referred to as “doors" and their design has been greatly improved over the years, but in the 1920s they were typically flat and made of wood. The doors in a trawling system work in equilibrium with drag from the net and pull from the boat. The doors have to be the right size and weight for the trawl net gear used, but the available horsepower of the towing vessel limits the size of the doors and how much hydrodynamic force can be applied to them. The doors end up as the pivot point between competing forces and have to accommodate both. It has been estimated that the doors account for about 1/4 of the total drag on the vessel. Because I have a boat of known horsepower, I can use the formula below from CIFT to determine the maximum square foot area of a single otter board based on tow HP. S=0.105P+4 This 45’ dragger is powered by a 100 HP engine, so... S = 0.105(100) + 4 = 14.5 sq ft. The rectangular ratio of 2 length x 1 height is commonly used to define the boards’ actual dimensions. Doing the math and rounding up gives dimensions of 5’5” x 2’8”. This is surprisingly close to the ballpark dimensions I estimated from photo scaling. W = 2.7P determines the optimum weight of a single wooden door based on tow HP. W=2.7(100) = 270lbs. Heavier perimeter strapping and a beefier iron skid plate can be added to increase the weight if required. So if I ever build a full-scale dragger in my back yard - I'll keep this in mind. My drawings below are based on documents from the 1940s and any photos of trawl doors I could find. The two doors will be identical except that they are mirror images of each other. I also draw part cutting and locating templates. The wood part of the doors is made from 1/16” basswood, providing a 3" scale board thickness. The wood is a single piece scribed to imitate individual boards. I’m using aluminum beverage can sidewall for the strapping and tin for the skid plates. This allows me to simulate seabed scraping by exposing the bright metal. I find this easier than trying to replicate bare metal with paint. To create the section of strapping with the radius that follows the forward edge of the door, I use a laser printer to transfer that shape to the aluminum. I first separate out the pieces in CAD to be used as templates. The image is printed on regular copy paper and ordinary cellophane tape is placed onto the templates. The sheet goes back into the printer and this time the image is transferred to the tape. The only reason for the first printing was to know where to place the tape. I peel the tape from the paper and stick it to the metal and cut it out. The tape transparency allows me to take advantage of the clean straight edge and square corner of the material. Clear laser printer labels would work great for this if you happen to have some lying around. All strapping and skid plates are glued on. The rear rings are made up from thin slices of .120” OD brass tube, which are held captive by a loop of annealed .014" brass wire. The back plate is cut from 1:87 rivet plate material and the diameter of the rivets are approximately tiny. I’m pretending that the rivets are actually the heads of bolts. The fore bridle is .032” brass rod and the rear chain is 15 links per inch. The paper clamps as you can see are yet untrimmed. Channel iron is glued into place using the drawing templates as a guide and injection molded nut/bolts are added. The channel iron is styrene strip “I” beams with one side sanded off. The rear rings are placed and some first attempts at color is added. The fore and rear bridles are placed along with the associated bolt plates. Thin CA is trickled down the chain links to help keep it from slumping. The rear ring plates are also glued on. Holes are drilled around the perimeter of the strapping and square nut heads are glued in. The wood was weathered with chalk and alcohol and the strapping is pigment over a base of flat black enamel. If I had to do this over, I would use blackened brass rather than the aluminum, as I’ve had to touch up the black enamel several times due to tiny flakes popping off from the constant handling. So once I finalized the color and was happy with the look, they were over sprayed with a clear flat coat to stabilize everything. A couple of items were intentionally left out for simplicity but mostly because of laziness - flat head screws holding the skid plates on and the tiny bolts for the thin upper strapping. I have never set foot on a commercial dragger, but building this model has given me a greater appreciation into how much skill and know-how is needed to bring in a catch of fresh fish. Describing what an otter board is and what it looks like is one thing, but being able to set it up and trim its attitude to work efficiently underwater is an art learned through years of experience and hard work. Suddenly, I’m hungry for fresh baked haddock with a slightly browned topping of panko and parmesan . . . Thanks for stopping by. Stay healthy. Gary

Exquisite work - all of it. Everything is cut so cleanly and fits so perfectly. Gary

Congratulations Rob, she’s a beautiful model of an amazing ship. Excellent work. Gary