Keith Black

Gary, yes the stern door to the pilothouse stays.

Thank you for your input, Gary. Folks much more knowledgeable than myself can provide a definitive answer on doing away with the walkway above the wheel and the back of the pilothouse but I'm going to take a stab at answering. One, it allows the most direct entry into the pilothouse because of the stairway. Two and most importantly I think that being able to observe the wheel in operation from above is crucial. Direct observation of the pillow blocks, paddle boards, and possible obstructions can be easily seen from the walkway. I don't see any advantage to moving the pilothouse three feet to the stern plus I like the esthetics of the way the pilothouse sits atop the engine room on the ferry Lula.

Thank you, brother Tom. With no photographic evidence nor plans to go by I've had to rely on thinking through how a supply/work boat would have been built during the early 1870's. I'm positive I've overlooked certain aspects of their construction thus my reliance upon the collective wisdom of my fellow MSW members to help me render a model as correct as possible. Your praise of my drafting is far too kind, but then you always have been.

It's great to see an update on the Duchess, Bob. She's looking fantastic and will be quite the beauty when finished. It's also good to see Gobber and Pile being put through their paces.

John, thank you. I'm anxious to to start cutting wood versus messing about with the necessary research. Thank you Bob and Kurt for your thoughts. As seen in the photo of the ferry Lula the only entry is via a door at the stern. My thought on replacing the most forward side windows with doors hinged on the stern side, swinging outward, would allow the pilot to momentarily release the wheel and step through either side door to get a better view forward around the boiler stack, boom mast, pile driver tower, and engine shed. I can see the need for vertical flags on the bow of the pile driver barge.

Thank you to everyone for the comments and likes. Eric, thank you for your input. You've been up and down this road many times, I'm just getting the map unfolded so I'm relying heavily on your comments and builds, mainly the Peerless. I finally have Lula on paper drawn to scale. Please forgive my amateurish attempt at drafting,. My high school mechanical drafting teacher would be appalled but my tools are a mechanical pencil, ruler, gum eraser (which stinks), and a WWII compass. Hey, I ain't framin' this but if a guy can 5.2 million for a banana and a piece of duct tape..... In listing the alphabetical details I'm going to start with the last one (K) first. K. The overall length including the wheel is 82'. The hull is 22" W x 67' L, 4' above the waterline at the bow and 3' at the stern, and a depth of 2' below the WL. The deck is 26' W. There is a clear line of sight from the pilot house's forward windows to the bow where the knees meet the deck. A. The pilothouse is 8' L, and 10' W, and 8' H on the ends and 7.5' on the sides. B. The engine room is 12' L x 16' W x 10' H. C. The wheel is 14' in dia x 14' W. D This is benched seating for pile driver crew members being transported to and fro. I need to add a dingy so this length may increase to make that accommodation. E. This is the hanging box for the fire buckets. F. Doctor engine, size to be determined. G. The boiler is 4' dia x 12' L, the stack is 22' H. H. The coal bin is 6' L x 14' and is 6' H on the ends and 5.5' on the sides holding approximately 6 tons. By adding another 2' to the width would increase the holding capacity to 7 tons. I've yet to decide if the the top will be tarped or hatched. I. The boom lift's mast and boom are 32'. The boom overhangs the bow by 12' and 19' on either side. J. Capstan, size to be determined. The above dimensions are flexible at this point should anyone think the above needs to be adjusted. Please don't hesitate to add your comments and thoughts. Thank you to all who have signed up for Lula's journey. It's been rather slow going to this point but hopefully we'll pick up steam shortly. Keith

Dave, welcome to MSW. Glad to have you aboard.

Keith, I'm enjoying the Erebus sidetrack but Endurance does need a wee bit of attention.

Andy, thank you for taking the time to explain the process.

Yes, welcome home. Did the cows miss you? The Connie is looking right smart, Glen. Fine job you're doing.

Jim, welcome to MSW. Glad to have you aboard.

Keith, thank you for sharing your furniture delivery experience. Eric and Kurt, thank you both for your sage thoughts. Time to devote to Lula has been in short supply as of late but I have been laying out her design elements and I should have her profile on paper within the next few days. During layout I was worried about the pilothouse being so far astern until I realized the pilothouse has to be as far astern as possible because of her job pushing the pile driver barge. Forget about trying to see around a stack, the pilot is trying to see around the pile driver tower! Photo Lula's pilot house has two windows on both the port and starboard sides with the only door at the stern. Knowing the pilot needs as much aside view as possible I think I need to replace the forward windows with doors. Lula's water tank will be built into the hull set forward allowing the boiler to be set closer to the engine room also a coal bin will be set forward of the boiler. Sacked coal would not have been used because of the numerous coal tenders working the harbor. She'll also have a boom lift near the bow. Because of the water and coal weight plus the mast and boom lift weight I think I can justify placing the boiler closer to the engine room. I debate with myself whether to have the boiler exposed or inclosed. Exposed makes for a more rough working like appearance while enclosed would be better for keeping steam temperatures elevated. An exposed boiler also provides more visual interest. Thank you to everyone for following along in these early days of Lula's development. Your thoughts are greatly appreciated! Keith.

Neat tool, Paul.

One can paint over polyurethane using acrylics. It's easy to get outside the line when working at small scales, when painting on top of polyurethane it's very easy to remove that area of paint where a mistake occurred.

For myself, the best line/thread cutting tool I've found is flush wire cutters. Years back I bought a cheap ten piece pack off Amazon, five flush cutters were designated solely for cutting line/thread and the other five were designated for cutting wire. I marked the handles so I wouldn't confuse between the two. I like flush cutters due to the flat profile. I use high magnification glasses (6X) when modeling and depth perception is a problem. Flush cutters allow mw to get into those tight spaces between lines and make cuts with less fear of making a mistake. I find cuticle trimmers to be much more cumbersome. The link below is for a five piece pack, searching "flush cutter" you'll also find singles both expensive and cheap. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09V7ZSJGM/ref=sspa_dk_hqp_detail_aax_0?sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9ocXBfc2hhcmVk&th=1

Thank you, Eric. I hope your time away was enjoyable.

I use a brush.

Graig, that's some dandy work on the tup, sink and WC.

That's so cool, John. Do you ever give em a show and pretend to break something?

Thank you for joining in, Keith. In the past couple of weeks I haven't thought about modeling as our ten year old refrigerator started failing October the 16th and the need for a new refrigerator has been paramount in my mind. We've been living out of an ice chest for the past couple of weeks as the old frig completely died on October the 29th. Delivery of the first frig ordered was supposed to have taken place on November the 1st. At the time of the order the vendor (big box) said the frig was in stock and would be delivered November the 1st but two days before delivery they said the frig was on backorder from the factory. Order canceled. Second frig ordered, when delivered, was too large to fit through the four doors to the kitchen so we had to buy another that would fit through the doors. It was delivered yesterday and successfully installed. Of course during this time our house looked like it had been stirred with a stick due to doors being removed and furniture pulled away from the door openings. Thank God for our new refrigerator! Hopefully I can focus my attention on Lula now that we're no longer camping out.

Gary, great detail in woodworking and weathering. Thank you for the update.

For seizing a polyester fishing line would be dandy.

Why try using fishing line when Guermann polyester thread replicates cotton line very well with less fuzz plus the added benefit of longitivtiy?

Simon, how goes life? I've missed seeing your updates.

It's a good time to head to Hawaii with the election and all. Have a safe enjoyable trip, Glen.