leclaire

Thanks a lot for posting the photo as I haven't come across it before. Well the possibilities are great and I'm sure these boats got remodeled with use just like the same racecar gets painted with different liveries. Anyway I'm just trying to build a boat that might have existed at the time and not anyone in particular. Thanks again!

Very well deserved, Eric. Nice to see your excellent work being recognized this way. I will most certainly buy a calendar.
 
Bob

Very well deserved, Eric. Nice to see your excellent work being recognized this way. I will most certainly buy a calendar.
 
Bob

Very well deserved, Eric. Nice to see your excellent work being recognized this way. I will most certainly buy a calendar.
 
Bob

Congratulations Eric.   I think this is the MSW equivalent of an Oscar.

Eric:
Feel even better about it because I had absolutely no input on the selected images so the model made it without my positive bias toward riverboats.
Kurt

Some really amazing news: the Arabia was chosen as a featured model in the NRG's 2021 calendar, now available in the NRG store. The timing of this announcement is particularly good as we just passed the anniversary of her sinking on September 5. Please go buy a calendar and support the NRG! I still can't believe this was chosen.

I made a pair of rudders and some brass mounting pins on which i turned shoulders some the rudders would have a positive seat.

I got the planks for the paddlewheel done and mounted so that pretty much completes the wheel. I made the pillow blocks and mortised them into the cylinder timbers and attached them with bolts. The bolts will get washers in the final assembly

Hello again everyone,
 
I'm back from a much needed vacation. 
 
Not a whole lot was accomplished this time around, haven't had a lot of build time having to playing catch up at work but I did manage to get a few post-worthy things done.
 
So with my change of mind to go ahead and do some of the interior of the model, I got the bulkheads cleared out from the boiler hold. This was a task that I wish I had thought about prior to building the hull since it would have been much easier to do with all of the glued hull planks. However, I managed to get them removed without too much damage. 
 
Here the bulkheads are removed and I am going in with the sub framing for the boiler decking. I figured that since the next forward bulkhead was further forward then the boiler hold that I would also build out the forward coal bunkers as well.

 
Floor planking going in.

 
Floor planking completed and the curved hull planking going in.

 
Curved hull planking completed.

 
Forward coal bunkers trimmed out.

 
And finally the deck sanded down and the boiler hold trimmed out. I am going to simulate the port and starboard coal bunker doors as closed since I don't want to cut into the false keel boards. I'm too afraid this will weaken the hull if I cut into them too much. Besides, they will be in a location where they are not easily seen.

 
I had started cutting out the hatchways and realized that it is very difficult to keep the framing lines straight, so one of my next tasks is going to build a cradle for the hull to sit in so that I can keep everything lined up properly. I've seen this methods done on several builds and it seems to have helped those builds. We'll see how this goes.
 
Until next time. Thanks for looking and all of the likes.
 
-Brian

Vaddoc,
 
Thank you. The girls were tickled that they got to help, and the smiles on their faces was priceless. 
 
I chose basswood wood because I am familiar with it from many of the kits that I’ve built in the past. It’s rather inexpensive, it’s an easy wood to work with and cleans up nicely. Since most of this model is going to be painted I didn’t want to go with the more expensive alternatives. 
 
-Brian

Brian, a good start. If your craftsmanship on this project is anyway near as good as your Chaperon, it will turn out great.
 
Bob

Fantastic job Eric. I guess I had forgotten how long you have been working on the Arabia, even though I have followed your progress from the beginning. The old saying about how time flies when you are having fun surly applies in this case. Can't wait to see what you have on tap for your next project.
 
Bob

Hello everyone,
 
I know we may have beat this horse to death, but the subject has been on my mind and I wanted to throw this out there to any future City Class Iron Clad builders. As Roger stated before, the plans that I have are wrong. With that being said, here is what I discovered after reviewing my source material. The Bob Hill plans are the ones that are wrong. His plans plans have the chine turning into the outboard keels and terminating a couple of feet forward of the stern post. This is the way that I built my model the first time around. I used these plans since they were a lot clearer than the HSR plans. I didn't think to do a side by side comparison of them, taking for granted that I thought the Bob Hill plans were correct.
 
Bob Hill Plans.

 
The drawings in the HSR are correct where they have the chine turning into the outboard keels and terminating at the stern post.

 
There are several other noticeable differences that I have discovered as well between the two plans and now I am going back and making several adjustments to my build because of them. I'll point them out in later posts. But, since this was on my mind I figured I'd post it now. I have still not gone back and looked at the step-by-step documentation the USS St. Louis build to see if they pointed this issue out, so if anyone else has looked and found that they have mentioned it, then please forgive my duplication of info.
 
-Brian

Fantastic job Eric. I guess I had forgotten how long you have been working on the Arabia, even though I have followed your progress from the beginning. The old saying about how time flies when you are having fun surly applies in this case. Can't wait to see what you have on tap for your next project.
 
Bob

Fantastic job Eric. I guess I had forgotten how long you have been working on the Arabia, even though I have followed your progress from the beginning. The old saying about how time flies when you are having fun surly applies in this case. Can't wait to see what you have on tap for your next project.
 
Bob

I've enjoyed intermittently following this fantastic build.  Really impressed by the level of thought and research you put into the project.  You were not just building a model, but really trying to understand how it all worked and how the original builders approached construction.  Well done.

Fantastic job Eric. I guess I had forgotten how long you have been working on the Arabia, even though I have followed your progress from the beginning. The old saying about how time flies when you are having fun surly applies in this case. Can't wait to see what you have on tap for your next project.
 
Bob

Fantastic job Eric. I guess I had forgotten how long you have been working on the Arabia, even though I have followed your progress from the beginning. The old saying about how time flies when you are having fun surly applies in this case. Can't wait to see what you have on tap for your next project.
 
Bob

I took advantage of a cloudy afternoon to take a break from regular work and do a quick photo shoot on my porch, using my phone with a few rumpled sheets as backdrops. May try to do a nicer job someday but the model's not going anywhere and this let me feel a sense of closure. It was pretty windy and you'll see the flag changing positions!
 
First, a few overhead shots:
 



Stern views:
 


Bow views:
 


Side views:


Overall views:
 



Painting for comparison with the last view:

Thanks for everything.

I finally got an updated (larger) stencil from the neighbor teen and relettered the wheel housing. I like this much better:

Compare with the earlier, too-small version:
 

And with that, she's done. Next post will feature some final shots. Wow. I'm having a hard time adjusting to this, after 2 years and 8 months, the longest I've worked on any model project.
 
I can't emphasize enough how important all of you have been, through likes, comments, suggestions, criticisms, and support. Even when I didn't take your advice, I listened to it and learned from it. You've helped me create something pretty special to me, and maybe to others if I ever get to display it somewhere other than my quarantined rural farmstead.
 
Thank you.
 

Hello Everyone,
 
It's been a little hectic over here since my last update. With the warm weather we had several of our goats give birth within a few days of each other, so time has been split between nursing kids and my build.
 
I did manage to make some progress on my Cairo though (along with a lot of sawdust) and her hull is finally starting to take shape.
 
 
I cut out the filler blocks for the bow and stern sections and got them all temp installed into place.

 
I then used my template to mark the hull outlines on top and bottom.

 
This is where a lot of sawdust was generated. The filler blocks were cut down and glued into place. Then they were shaped to the contour of the hull with the sander.



 
Next, I installed the center keel and stempost.



 
Next, I started planking the hull bottom on both sides of the center keel between the port and starboard keels.

 
I finished up with the center planking and then installed the port and starboard keels. I also installed the display mount blocks. Since this is a rather wide ship, I decided to go with four mount points to give it a better stance for stability. Not to mention that with all of this wood, this is going to be a fairly heavy model and I definitely don't want to risk any damage to it by scrimping on the display.

 
Once I had started the center keel hull planking, I noticed that the port and starboard false keels had developed a slight curve to them beginning just past the end of the center keel. Rather than just trust the CA to hold everything in place, I decided to drill and install trenails along the false keel to add extra support. I also temp installed a piece of 1/8" plywood between the keels to keep them straight until the bottom hull planking was done. Just to be sure that everything stays straight.

 

 
From here I will work on planking the rest of the hull bottom. As you can see from the above picture I have some of it in place on the starboard side. This week I will try to finish up on it and get it all sanded flush with the edge of the hull sides, then hopefully start planking the hull sides.
 
Until the next update, thank you all for looking and for all of the likes.
 
- Brian
 

Hello again everyone,
 
I managed to make a little progress over the week, but not a whole lot. My main hold up was waiting on my hull planking and other wood products to arrive. Fortunately, they arrived just before I sat down to type this up, so I am good to go.
 
So here is what I was able to get done since last time.
 
All bulkheads were squared up and glued in place.

 
Then I cut out the pieces that will form the back side of the center hull, just in front of the paddle wheel. Not sure of what you would call this section, but it is where the rear pontoons begin. These will provide a mounting brace for the planking that curves up from the bottom of the hull.



 
Planking this rounded section of the hull. I had to give each of these planks a slight taper on the insides so they would fit together nice and snug. 


All the planks in place. I see now that I may need to up my magnification on my glasses. Some of my nail holes aren't all in line with each other. Thankfully this will be on the bottom and not seen. 

 
Next I printed out the Hurricane Deck plans and pinned them in place to use as a guide to help true up all of the bulkheads and to make sure they are all the correct width.



 
From here I will get the bulkheads sized to the template and start putting in my filler blocks and shaping the hull. Things should move along a little better now that I have some material to work with.
 
That's all for now. Thank you all for looking and for all the likes.
 
- Brian

Port rigging is done:

Bow view:

I added a few final details. For example, there should be a series of posts hung from the sides to protect the vessel. These are similar in function to the tires commonly used by more modern tugs and other vessels. It was common on more busy waterfronts (like St. Louis) for steamboats to line up shoulder-to-shoulder, making these barriers necessary. Photos show a variety of setups, from posts integrated into the hull to those hung loosely from lines. I opted for the latter; you can see the lines tied off to structural posts if you look closely. A spot of glue at the lower end of each post holds it in place as these aren't dense enough to hang right on their own.

For example, here's a view of the St. Louis levee in 1852 from the Steamboat Times website:
 

For the final detail, I added a flagpole and flag to the sternmost part of the hurricane deck, rigging it using a small block. This is the 31-star flag used from 1851 to 1858, following the admission of California to the Union. As Arabia was built in 1853 and sank in 1856, the choice of flag was clear. I printed it on bond paper as a single front-and-back image that could be folded over itself with glue between. I did this with a line carefully inserted along the seam, then rubbed some grey pastel on to dull the paper. I think it has a good texture, and between the weight of the paper and the glue, it takes and holds a decent wavy bend. Notice MSW on the laptop in my home office, set in the opposite corner of our small living room from my workbench.

Here's the contemporary drawing I based the flagpole on, from the UW steamboat photo database:

Those are all the final details, save one: I want to redo the lettering on the wheelhouse. Something had been bugging me about it, and I finally realized that it came out smaller than I intended. I compared the 3D-printed stencil with my initial paper test print and found that the stencil was quite a bit smaller than it was supposed to be. Can't believe I didn't notice up front. Somehow the design shrank in the transfer from my graphics program to the file used for printing. So I contacted the neighbor's teen again and he's going to ensure that the final design is scaled properly before printing a new one. So once I get my hands on that, I'll paint over the original lettering and redo it. Then she'll be done.
 
This might take until next week, so not sure when I'll do a final photo shoot. I want to do one here under the right outdoor lighting conditions (not too sunny) and I also want to take a walkaround video. My final goal is to take the model down to the Missouri River and do a photo shoot with her natural habitat in the background. Also not sure when I'll get to that; the best place to do this is at a conservation area about 45 minutes from me. Stay tuned just a little bit longer. Thanks for all your support, comments, and likes.

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