Keith Black

Was there ever a doubt?

John, most have gone to polyester thread because of longevity and much much less fuzz. One source of Gutermann threads in the UK. https://www.myfabrics.co.uk/guetermann-thread?gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADpLKWABIbKJHXc4mAxNNMV2DY97G&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIivahq4TFiQMV-Eh_AB0q7AQIEAAYAiAAEgIEWvD_BwE

Ron, sorry to hear modeling is no longer enjoyable, All the best to you and I hope you're able to dispose of your model stash without issue.

Alan, welcome to MSW. Glad to have you aboard. Take advantage of MSW's search engine and search "Chris Craft", you should get a fair idea of what's involved to tackle that project and if your current skills would meet with moderate success. A lot of folks start with the Lowell Grand Banks Dory which comes with tools. Most have found that the tools provided are not sufficient but by searching Dory build logs you'll discover what other tools you'll need to purchase.

Looking good, Tom. Enjoy your away time.

George, beautiful model, congratulations. When Shapeway was still in business I ordered the below sets by Holden. Last I saw Holden was offering his figures on Facebook.

For the most part men aren't neat and tidy creatures. The 65 foot Duyfken had a crew of twenty and I expect they would have left a proper mess in their wake on a normal sailing day. But a some point a Captain would have had to order the deck cleared and the ship made tidy once more for reasons of safety more so than aesthetics.

Thank you, Gary. Thank you, Tom.

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

Thank you, Rick. Thank you, mcb.

Eberhard, do you like working at 1:160 scale or is it a case of continuing to work at that scale having geared up to do so early on? I hope I asked that question clearly. I started with 1:120 and have continued because of tools and leftover inventory. There are times when I wish I had started with 1:87 because of the availability of figures and fittings.

Thank you, Jacques. Thank you, Grant. Thank you, Bob. Thank you, Chris. Thank you, Paul. Thank you, Phil. Thank you, Roel. Thank you, Glen. Thank you,, Keith Thank you, Andy. Thank you, Ed. Thank you, Brian. Thank you, John. Thank you, Ken. Thank you, Eberhard.

Jackson, welcome to MSW. We build ships so that we might contemplate our naval. Glad to have you aboard.

Glen, you nailed the lanyard lengths. I agree with Bob, alternate. Better safe than sorry.

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

Thank you, Grateful. By chance is there a 63 Chevy parked inside your garage? The reason I ask is the 409 in your screen name. Gentleman, this project is completed. I want to say a special "thank you" to, Dan Kimmer, @Daniel Kimmer for providing me with the wood and the push that started this project, to Gary, @FriedClams for providing the sheave wheels that sit atop the pile driver, and to mcb, @mcb for providing the invaluable historical pile driver photos I so heavily relied upon. And I want to say thank you to everyone who followed this Wonky Donkey journey, your supporting comments and likes has been absolutely amazing! Thank you so very much. I added the six pile buck figures completing the seven man crew including the donkeyman. As they were originally navy figures I had to carve away their uniforms. There were times when the #11 blade was used with tad too much force and a head broke off and an arm plus one guy lost both hands. I didn't add the ladder, maybe another time. I consider the project a success as I think I was able to build a fairly accurate portrait of a floating pile driver. The story I'm trying to tell with the figures is... Lula is in route with pilling and during the downtime the crew is making sure everything is up to snuff before Lula's arrival. Climbing up to check the boiler water level. Carrying in firewood for the steam boiler and checking the friction drum line for potentially dangerous wear. Climbing up to inspect the tower ensuring all's well. Elliot (the donkeyman) set this young man up to the headlog to inspect the sheaves and pillow blocks. I bought a super cheap case off Amazon ($28.00) to help keep things tidy. And that's it guys. Again, thank you so very much for your support during this build. Keith

That's great news, thank you. Supporting the NRG by becoming a member helps keep our beloved MSW afloat.

You're not that far away. We'll have to get together sometime.

You must live in Michigan, where bouts? The pile driver is unique.

Welcome to MSW. Glad to have you aboard.

This post contains those sites I've come across during my researching for the Lula build that I felt were well worth mentioning. Hopefully they'll be of use to others. Keith https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/search/categories/marine engines?page[size]=50&page[type]=search&page[sort]=default https://www.hrmm.org/history-blog/previous/21 http://www.islandnet.com/~westisle/History/horizeng.html https://www.naval-history.net/WW0Book-Sennett-MarineSteamEngine.htm https://www.shippingwondersoftheworld.com/marine_engines.html#Elizabeth https://www.shippingwondersoftheworld.com/modern_boilers.html

Thank you for looking in, Brian. I'm using the 1930's Lula the ferry in the photo as only a reference image for what I want Lula the 1870's supply boat to look like. Obviously there won't be Model A's on deck, where the cars are parked is where the boiler will be. Lula the supply boat will be steam powered so the chain drive disappears. Due to the need for power and space Lula the supply boat gets lengthened to approximately a 100 feet.

Thank you to everyone for the likes and for the support. Thank you, Mark. Last night while doing research for Lula I came across this great photo. What a project! Thank you to all for following along. Keith

Thank you to everyone for the likes and for following along. Thank you, Pat. I'm assuming that the supply boats would have taken on water fit for boiler use at one of the piers in the New York harbor area. In a modest 10,500 (20' x 35' x 2') gallon water tank, the water alone would have weighed almost 44 tons. I say modest because the supply boat needed water for her boiler plus the daily water needs for the pile drivers she would have supported. When researching floating pile drivers I had determined that water fit for boiler use and the water's weight was the most critical element in the dock building scheme. Researching supply boats has only emphasized my thoughts on the water issue. Is that much water weight plus all the other weight (boiler, coal, stem engine, and empty build weight) have been doable on a sternwheeler with hull proportions of 25' x 100'? If someone says "absolutely" I'm ready to move forward. Thank you and welcome, Eberhard. I envisioned the wheelhouse being above the steam engine with the boiler forward of both. Thank you for suggesting the boiler type. All insights are most welcome. Thank you to everyone for the support. Keith

A week in and all I have to show for myself is words, certainly no wood, not even pencil to paper. Going through Eric's Peerless build last night a realization took me by surprise. In the floating pile driver build we discussed the necessity for Lula to provide boiler water. The thought that hit me was, Lula also needed freshwater for her boiler! She wouldn't have been able to pull freshwater from the Hudson till 153 miles up river near Troy. This means Lula would have required a water tank large enough to supply her needs as well as the needs of the various pile drivers she would have catered to. I envision the need for a huge water tank. How large and where would it have been placed? I swear, the more I research the more questions I have. Freshwater requirements may well be a game changer.