leclaire

It's been a month, suppose I should update this log. Following a two-week trip to Western New York to visit family in my land of origin, I slowly got back to the model desk. I've pretty much completed the heads and related structures along with the framing of the wheel housings.
 
First, here's the "open" side of the model, the side of which won't be planked over (the top will). I designed the inner framing supporting the arch based on drawings by Alan Bates.


And here's the "closed" side. The entire housing and the area in front of the stacked crates will be planked over.
 


Here's a top view. The upper roof surfaces will be covered by the hurricane deck so aren't painted or otherwise finished; I used scrap sheet wood for these, which is why their appearance varies.
 

Fun note, these were taken with my new cell phone, the first one I've ever owned. I have decidedly mixed feelings about this, but the world moves on and it's becoming ever more difficult to operate without one, even for a rural recluse like me.
 
Finally, two photos of maritime interest from our trip. First, me at the Sodus Point lighthouse along Lake Ontario. Growing up, I learned to sail in the bay this lighthouse guards, my mother's second marriage took place here, and I took my high school senior photos here.

 
Second, a work boat and barge entering a lock on the Erie Canal, taken by Mrs. Cathead. She had fun watching a full lock cycle as this little fella went through. Looks like a fun someday model subject, and the canal lock would make a neat diorama. The Erie Canal played a large role in my upbringing as well, and I love returning to it.
 

We also had a good time visiting the Erie Maritime Museum in Pennsylvania (home of the Niagara), Niagara Falls, and lots of very hikeable waterfalls and gorges in the Finger Lakes region. Fun fact, we missed an historic event at Niagara Falls by one day. There's a wrecked scow that's been stranded just above the falls for over 100 years without moving. It moved downriver during a strong storm the day after we were there; would have loved to see that change!
 
Thanks for reading, we'll see if I get back to more regular updates from now on.
 

I mounted my Benjamin W Latham (similar profile to the Bluenose)  using 2 walnut blocks with the same cross section but different heights. 

Thanks for bringing this to our attention. I have been using an inexpensive combination belt and disc sander purchased from Harbor Freight which was OK but does not offer the variable speed control feature. I bought the one from Menards yesterday and it works like a charm.
 
Bob

Greetings everyone,
 
It has been a while since my last update. Unfortunately, end of year work travels and work on the ranch has taken a considerable toll on my ship building time. However, winter is fast approaching which means colder weather to stay indoors and in the shipyard. 
 
I was able to accomplish a few tasks on my build, but not a whole lot. I figured I'd go ahead post what I have so far.
 
Work was completed on construction of the Texas deck. All those little battens to glue into place. A monotonous task to say the least, but I got it done. I still need to hang the curtains and secure it to the top of the Hurricane deck, but I need to get the LED wiring dressed up and run the main power wire from the bottom. I was going to go with a battery powered solution, but I couldn't come up with a way to house the batteries that I liked. So I decided to just run an external power source. (more pictures on that later)
 
 

 
Next I fastened the Hurricane deck to the top of the Boiler deck and pulled the wiring through. I used thin tissue paper to cover the windows to hide the LED's that are glued to the top. The tissue paper should provide a nice glow with the yellow LED's.

 
Lastly, I started work on the smokestacks. I tried several methods to simulate the joint between sections. First I tired using some leftover pin-striping I had, but I couldn't get the tape line up all the way around. Next I tried small rubber bands (leftover from the kids braces). Unfortunately, the kids have been out of braces for several years now and most of the ones I had left were dry rotted and didn't have enough good ones to complete the job. So I finally came up with the idea of using heat shrink tubing. I was outside repairing the wiring on my trailer when the idea occurred to me that this would be a perfect solution. So I gave it a whirl. I am actually pleased with the result. All I have left to do is paint them and see how they look. The smokestack caps I made from a sheet of thin copper, in which I pasted the pattern on and cut out with small snips. I am going to use the same method and material for the decorative tops.




 

 
That all for now. Hopefully I will be able to get more done with all of the travelling done for the year.
 
Thanks for looking (and Happy Veterans Day to all those who served)
 
-Brian

Thanks for bringing this to our attention. I have been using an inexpensive combination belt and disc sander purchased from Harbor Freight which was OK but does not offer the variable speed control feature. I bought the one from Menards yesterday and it works like a charm.
 
Bob

WOW. I may reorder my Chaperon kit and start all over again.

Roger,
The links for different projects (top bar of any given page) give some information on model destination. For example, the intro page for the Heroine project states:
 
We're thinking about an Oklahoma/Texas road trip next year, and this would definitely be on the agenda.
 
As for the wheel, I definitely see what you mean, but I think that can't be entirely representative of later practice based on photos and drawings from the 1850s onward. Heroine, as an 1832 boat, definitely represents an earlier experimental stage in steamboat design. I don't think a later boat could handle that ratio of wheelhouse to wheel diameter given the known size of wheels. But point well taken, the model certainly shows a precedent for lots of space below the curved wheel housing.

WOW. I may reorder my Chaperon kit and start all over again.

Here is the link to Glenn's finished model of Heroine.
 
https://nautarch.tamu.edu/model/report5/reconcomplete.htm

I would rather buy a Byrnes saw for that money.   That is crazy at $400.  Or buy another kit or two......or $400 worth of boxwood or swiss pear sheets.   
 
I am sure there are far less expensive way to cut basswood and styrene.
 
Chuck

Thanks for the review, Chris. I have been looking for a new "page turner" to get immersed in and this sounds like it might be just the ticket.
 
I just ordered the first in the series and I'll let you know how it turns out.
 
Bob
 

Our men’s book group just read and discussed the Caine Mutiny in memory of its author Herman Wouk who died earlier this year at age 103.
 
It is an excellent piece of naval fiction as well as a fine portrait of life on a small combatant, in this case a minesweeper built from a converted four stack destroyer.
 
If you have seen the movie, the book adds a lot that was cut and Queeg is not the same character as the one that Humphrey Bogart played.  Wouk served on one of these ships and writes from experience.

Thanks for the review, Chris. I have been looking for a new "page turner" to get immersed in and this sounds like it might be just the ticket.
 
I just ordered the first in the series and I'll let you know how it turns out.
 
Bob
 

Eric:
Unless I am seeing something wrong, the painting shows a wide box but it only comes to the side of the boiler deck cabin.  I think it might be a matter of the visual perspective as to how wide the box appears in the painting.  You have made the paddle wheels and buckets per the wreck and the box should be sized accordingly.  There is nothing gained by making them wider than is needed for clearance of the wheels/buckets. With the photos of the other boats, I think they had wider wheels - thus the wider box.
Kurt

Eric,
 
I always try to go with the solution that is supported by logic when all else fails. Of course, logic (as well as common sense) seems to be in very short supply in the world we live in today. I can see no reason for wide paddleboxes other than to maybe give more room for on the river repairs, maintenance, etc. to the paddles. But given these boats were built to provide their owners with a profit, they would not go the extra expense if they didn't have to.
 
Bob

Eric,
 
I always try to go with the solution that is supported by logic when all else fails. Of course, logic (as well as common sense) seems to be in very short supply in the world we live in today. I can see no reason for wide paddleboxes other than to maybe give more room for on the river repairs, maintenance, etc. to the paddles. But given these boats were built to provide their owners with a profit, they would not go the extra expense if they didn't have to.
 
Bob

I made a bit more progress by permanently combining the texas and the pilothouse, then building stairs down from the latter. I also added the clerestory windows that support the middle (raised) part of the hurricane deck; these provide natural light to the central cabin that runs down the middle of the boiler deck. In these photos, the texas/pilothouse assembly isn't permanently attached to the rest of the model.
 


As I started to think through the paddleboxes, I came across a conundrum. Many photos of similar vessels show very wide paddleboxes. For example, see the Mary McDonald:
 

Or the Alice:

Both images are from the University of Wisconsin-Lacrosse steamboat collection. These really wide boxes suggest either very wide guards and wheels, or that the boxes extend well past the width of the wheels/guards into the main hull. I can't determine from any images which is correct. Even the museum's Arabia painting (which I don't take as super-accurate) shows really wide paddleboxes:
 

The problem is, this doesn't fit the Arabia's design. She had really narrow wheels and guards, as can clearly be seen from the wreck photos:
 


So is it correct to give her narrow paddleboxes only as wide as the wheels (which makes logical sense to me even if it doesn't look like other boats) or should the boxes somehow extend inboard, over the boiler deck and onto the main superstructure?
 
Here's what I mean on the actual model:
 

Logically, it seems like the paddleboxes should only cover the wheel itself (dotted line on left). But the super-wide boxes on other vessels imply that these should extend further inboard (such as dotted line on right), covering the passageway. I can't figure out why any builder would do that. The model follows the wreck dimensions pretty closely based on extrapolations from the known wheel dimensions and other information, so I know my wheels and guards are right. Any thoughts on which approach to use and why? Note that I framed this photo to show the painting in the background for comparison. I don't know what to do.
 

I don't think there's a clear answer on why the hurricane deck is called that, any more than the boiler deck. Just one of those terminologies that came into use and stuck. Goodness knows sailing vessels have any number of bizarre or illogical names for things.

Thanks, popeye!
 
This week's accomplishment was finishing the pilot house, which ended up being a fun little mini-model that I documented in a fair amount of detail. It was nice to take a break from the larger model and just focus on this one feature. I put a lot of detail into this since it's a visual focus point of the whole vessel.
 
First, I built the wheel by laying out very thin strips of wood on double-sided tape and carefully fitting in braces around the circumference. When I liked what I had, I painted it. It's not as clean as if I'd bought a similar-sized one from Syren, but I liked doing it myself and its slightly rough style fits the rest of the model. This thing was super-delicate and I almost didn't get it off the tape in one piece.
 

I then mounted the wheel in the pilot house, slotted into the floor the way all steamboat wheels were:
 

Next, I built the windows using the same very fine strips and a lot of careful cutting and patience:
 

After painting, I carefully glued sheets of clear plastic to the inside. My first attempt, I apparently used too much CA and it crazed the plastic, so I very carefully scraped the plastic off with a razor blade and tried again. I actually couldn't believe I got away with that, I was sure the window frame would shatter. The second time stuck with no crazing. I then added various internal details to the pilot house before gluing in the windows and door:
 

Details include a small wood stove, a basic spittoon, a small bench, the hinged "bridle" that pilots used to hold the wheel in place if they needed to step away (next to the wheel at right), and two pull ropes for engine control. I ran these on criss-crossing lines as shown in various sources. The glue dried on the left-hand one a little weird; I'm saying a breeze is catching it through the open front window. The rods the lines are hanging off of are belaying pins from an old kit; the handles are parrell beads from same. There are a few other very small controls that could be added, but this thing is tiny and you'd never be able to see them clearly through the windows, so I decided this was enough to capture the proper feel. For a size comparison, the Chaperon model is in 1:48 scale while Arabia is in 1:64; this pilot house is ~1.5" to a side (~3.5 cm).

At the front, I added the hinged/swinging shades that could be used to close off the normally open pilot house front during bad weather. Once I was happy with the internal detail, I added the rafters and the roof, which I made using the same masking-tape technique described in a previous post. This roof needed to be held down securely; three rubber bands took care of the edges but the top was bulging up too much, so I balanced a rock on it. Looks like she's bringing home a major geological sample from the Montana gold fields!
 

And here's the finished pilot house with roof and stove chimney. I guess it's not 100% finished as I still need to add whistles, but it's close enough to move on from for now.
 

This was really fun. Hope you like it.

Straight, strong and FREE. Doesn't get much better than that. Nice job, Eric.
 
Bob

That's a great idea Eric. I would get behind that venue 100%
 
Bob

Hey Eric, you better hurry up and finish your Arabia. Looks like you might just have a new boat to model. I wonder if the Malta was a stern or side wheeler.
 
Bob

I started working out how best to build the hurricane deck (also known as the roof of the main cabins) and quickly realized I would need to work out exactly where, and what size, the hurricane deck cabins would be. That, in turn, meant I needed to do the same for the pilot house on top. So I changed plans and started building the rest of the superstructure first, since once that's in place it'll be easier to build the remaining decks around it.
 

Above are the hurricane deck cabins. I made them exactly the same way as the boiler deck cabins, so didn't take any new photos of the process. The blocky beams are a special support structure for the pilot house, which I built as a separate unit that can be slotted into place, like this:
 

Doing this made it a lot easier to work on each piece separately and will be especially helpful for adding lots of interior detail to the pilot house. Below is a shot of the pilot house removed, showing the interior bracing that slots into the beams atop the hurricane deck cabin.
 

Next up, I worked on the hurricane cabin roof. Because this deck has some curvature to it, I used scrap pieces of scribed wood (scribing side down) as this takes a curve easily. This roof/deck would have been covered in strips of tar paper. Kurt Van Dahm's digital book on building Chaperon has a nice tip on how to simulate this, using strips of silkspan attached to a surface with matte medium and painted; it looks quite realistic. Having neither on hand, I made up my own adaption. I cut strips of masking tape to appropriate widths, smeared wood glue thinly on the roof surface, then carefully laid the masking tape strips with just a tiny bit of overlap at the seams. As a bonus, the moisture of the glue made the wood warp just about perfectly for the required curve! Below you see an upper and lower view of two such pieces; the lighting makes it hard to see the detail but hopefully it's clear enough.
 

I used masking tape on my Bertrand to simulate the metal cladding on the chimneys, and it looked really good when painted and has yet to budge (I didn't even use glue that time). So I was confident it'd work here. After painting, the tape has a really nice rough texture and just a little bit of crinkling that looks pretty realistic. I trimmed the tape on all sides, then cut the pilot house gap out of the forward piece and test-fit them.

Look closely and you'll see that I screwed up. I measured the width of the cut against the outer walls of the cabin, not the slightly narrower pilot house itself. After some roustabout phraseology, I quickly decided I could apply the old modeller's trick of "add useless but benign detail to cover up a mistake" and glued two thin strips of wood to either side of the pilot house, filling the gap nicely.

I like how this looks (note that this is only a test fit). The masking tape has a good texture and you can just see the seams. I'll use the same technique for the much larger hurricane deck once it's laid down. In the meantime, there's a lot of pilot house detail to make, including some very small-paned windows (not sure how I'm going to scratchbuild these, especially if I want "glass" in them) and a proper wheel (I want to try the method used by Brian for his Chaperon, if I don't like the results I'll order one from Syren). I think I'll try and finish the pilot house next, so that this whole assembly can be attached permanently before I start building out the rest of the hurricane deck. Not my original plan, but it's working out fine.
 
Finally, on a separate note, as a treat for my 40th birthday (actually tomorrow) we spent last weekend in Kansas City attending the big Irish music festival there and doing some other fun things. I thought some folks would be interested in seeing the ASB Bridge over the Missouri River. This is a pretty unique design (I think there's only a few others in the world) using a double-deck setup in which the lower level (carrying rail lines) raises by telescoping into the upper level (carrying cars and streetcars), allowing river traffic to pass without disrupting the upper deck. It was completed in 1911 and still carries rail traffic, though a newer road bridge was built just to the east in 1987 to carry road traffic.
 

Just upstream, another active rail bridge:
 

Shipping on the Missouri River is very minor these days, but rail traffic in KC is alive and well; the city's riverfront trail is a great place to set up for train-watching while the river rolls by. In these photos it's still pretty swollen from the heavy spring and summer rains; you can see a big jam of woody debris against one of the bridge piers. The Arabia sank less than 10 miles upstream from here.

In Memorium Mitch Michelson July 12, 1953 to August 28, 2019     This week, we lost a passionate member of the ship modeling community. Mitch Michelson died on Wednesday, August 28 from a massive heart attack. He was 66 years old. His funeral was held on August 30 in his hometown of San Antonio, Texas.    Mitch joined the Nautical Research Guild in 1989. He had been a Director since 2009 and served as Chairman of the Board in 2017. Those members who have attended the annual Conference recently will remember Mitch as our humorous emcee.   In addition to his contributions to the Guild, he was actively involved in Boy Scouts and mentored many young men to achieve Eagle Scout status. He was an avid pipe collector and served on the boards of several business organizations and his synagogue.    He is survived by three children and three grandchildren.    Most of all, he was my friend.   Kurt Van Dahm Chairman of the Board Nautical Research Guild  

Scale matters to anyone who cares about how much room the finished model takes up in their home or the cost of the resulting case.