leclaire

Howdy everyone, 
 
I know it has been a while since I last updated this log, This has been one busy summer and I have hardly had time to work on any personal projects. Most of the last few months have been spent helping my daughter and son-in-law get their house finished, most of the stuff they didn't want to contract out like running the 900' water line, fencing, dirt work, tree clearing and other odds and ends. However with the bulk of the work done I finally found some time focus on my projects and get some work done on the shipyard.
 
I am not real sure what day I left off on so I will just post some of the things that I have accomplished.
 
First, I took ,my adjustable work bench and scaled sown the top a bit to fit in the room. The length had to be cut down to 5' from 6' and I squared off the front to make it more uniform.

 
I took the old gray, dinged up bottom and gave it a fresh coat of flat black, to fit my color scheme of the room a little better.

 
Next, I wanted to dress off the edges of the top, so I purchased some vinyl trim to protect the edges, routed the groove and installed the edging. 


The final product, I am completely satisfied with.


 
Then it was on to building the shelves for my reloading bench to help organize some of the clutter. I didn't take any pictures of the building process, but this is the finished results.

 
 
Next, I wanted to have a place that I could use to clean my guns, or work on them, or other tasks, but didn't want to take up more space, so I decide to build a Murphy Desk. Some thing that would fold up out of the way, but could be setup quickly if I needed the extra counter space. Again, I failed to take pictures of the build, but this is what I came up with.


 
Finally, needed a place to store all of my wood strips that wouldn't take up valuable counter top space. Some place out of the way, but with easy access. I decided that a small shelf under my storage area was the perfect place. I just purchased some inexpensive drawer dividers, turned them on their side and glued them into place on the shelf. Now I can keep them nice and organized and out of the way, and all I have to do is a 180 from the workbench and grab what I need.

 
I've started work on the book/display case. So far I have managed to get the main framework of it built, I just need to cut and install the facing and trim, then paint it all up. I plan on running lights to the display area, where my Chaperon proudly sits temporarily and I will also install a glass panel on the front to help keep the dust off of her.

 
More to come soon. The brutal Texas summer has finally started to subside and the weather is getting a bit more tolerable to work out in the barn.
 
Thanks again for stopping by, and I hope to not wait so long between updates. I'm really ready to be done with this project and get back to the Caroline. Her hull has been sitting on the workbench, neglected and untouched for way too long.
 
-Brian

These river boats were painted with cheap readily available colors. Bitumen is of course petroleum based tar, a byproduct of reducing coal to coke.  It would have been used for tar paper on upper level decks not subject to foot traffic.  White would have been white lead.  Bright (expensive) colors would have been in applications intended to attract customers.  Model railroad colors should be fine.
 
BTW, MSW has A resident riverboat expert.  He hangs out on the Scratch Built Models 1850-1900 area under the name Cathead.  He knows many times more about Western Rivers Steamboats than all of the European kit companies put together.  Look up one or more of his outstanding models.
 
Roger

Agreed! But not near as monotonous as all those battens on the Boiler and Texas deck cabin walls. 😁
 
-Brian

Roger, sorry if this wasn't clear: we used Amtrak to shuttle our vehicle, not the canoe. Though I love the image of loading that thing into a baggage car! Basically, there are multiple towns along the river that have Amtrak stations and nearby waterfront parks with boat ramps. So first thing in the morning, I dropped my wife off at the upriver boat ramp with the canoe, drove down to the downriver ramp and parked the car there, walked over to the train station and took the morning Amtrak train back upriver (there are two trains a day each way along this route between Kansas City and St. Louis). We were on the river by mid-morning, and when we arrived at the downriver ramp our car was there waiting for us.
 
The funny thing, when it comes to asking about taking canoes on the train, is that this Amtrak route IS bike-friendly, and mostly parallels the 240-mile Katy Trail State Park rail trail that crosses most of Missouri. We've been using the rail line to bike the entire trail in four parts this summer, without having to stage or shuttle vehicles, because the trail connects to Amtrak stations across the state. We're 3/4 done, only one 60 mile segment to go that we'll hopefully get to this fall.
 
Thanks for sharing your canoes' heritage! Our canoe was once my mother's and I have a very long history with it, though it hasn't needed any restoration so far. She's still an active paddler in her mid-70s, though now she uses a small ultra-lightweight boat that she can still lift herself.

Very nice work as usual Eric.
 
I have two Old Town canoes that I restored a number of years ago.  The first is a 1916 Charles River.  My sister belongs to a canoe club in Pittsburgh started by Westinghouse Employees over 100 years ago.  Someone dumped the canoe off in the weeds next to the clubhouse.  My sister told me to take it before it was burned in the spring cleanup.  Restoration bordered on Abe Lincoln’s story about his father’s axe. New handle, new head, but it’s still my father’s axe.
 
The second is a 1944 OTCA.  I traced it back to a camp in upstate New York that was the inspiration for the movie Dirty Dancing.  Old Town wood canvas canoes are all stamped with unique serial numbers and production records are available on line.  Restoration was easier; replacement of several broken ribs, some planking, new canvas, and fixing some rot.  Photo below.
 
How does the Amtrak shuttle work?  I can’t imagine loading the boat on the train.
 
Roger
 

 
 

Also, while you all wait for more progress, here's a bit more geographic context. Mrs. Cathead and I were able to get away for a day-trip paddle on the Missouri River, on a stretch that Peerless certainly navigated many times (although the modern channel is very different). We did an easy 30 mile paddle, using Amtrak service that parallels the river to shuttle our vehicle.
 
Here's a couple towboats waiting on a sand & gravel barge to be loaded (I thought of @mbp521's current project when taking this shot):

Here's a representative view of river bluffs and sand bars; the river is very low as Missouri's been in various stages of drought for close on a year now, especially bad for most of this summer:

If you're wondering about the outriggers, we're testing them for longer trips. The Missouri is a large, fast, deep river with a lot of control structures and other hazards, including woody debris. It's also a very isolated channel with very little development, access, or services; when you're out on it it feels more like you're in remote Montana than the Midwest. We're highly experienced canoeists and Mrs. Cathead used to be a researcher on the river. For day trips these aren't really necessary but we're planning some longer multi-day trips, and once the canoe is loaded down with supplies, outriggers really add some safety stability. Even those towboats can generate large wakes that can be bothersome.
 
These huge drought-exposed sandbars make great napping points.

Even though the channel is very different now, maybe you can envision Peerless steaming along under 200-300' tall bedrock bluffs, dodging extensive sandbars blocking the old river's braided channel, and trying not to hit logs like you see above that could easily punch a hole in her thin hull. Just a fun image to hold onto while the build waits patiently to resume.

Finally finished the main deck! This was delayed, in part, by yet more other projects, such as finishing the renovation of another bedroom by replacing drywall, repainting, and adding new window, door, and floor rustic trim made from cedar lumber cut and milled on-farm. This not only used up free time but made me less inclined to work on yet another wood project (the model). Now it's done, with window and exterior door curtains hung from cedar bars suspended on iron hooks made by a local blacksmith.


Anyway, I finally milled the last bits of deck wood needed, installed them, then started sanding down the deck. First, here's a clear look at the limitations of my current ability to mill precision scale lumber:
 


Those planks are all over the place in both thickness and width, despite using the NRG's depth gage made for the Byrnes saw. The good news is that this gives the model a very rustic appearance. I knew I'd need to do some significant sanding and just accepted that. I decided early on that I'd rather mill things too thick and sand them down, than deal with too-thin segments prone to breakage.
 
I took an orbital sander to this deck, starting with coarser grit and working down. I'm quite pleased with the final product, which I still need to buff by hand with very fine paper. You can see that the deck preserves its subtle camber even after sanding:
 



The sander made this mostly smooth, with just a touch of texture left where the biggest differences in plank thickness remain. This gives it a lot of visual appeal; as the viewing angle changes you can still see hints of shadows between different planks and it really pops and looks like a rustic deck.
 
This is a great example of an approach I've become comfortable with in modeling: focusing on what looks good/right over what's technically right. Any contest judge would instantly notice the inconsistent deck lumber thickness and some of the wider-than-scale cracks between individual planking runs. But visually, these create the impression of a rough-built vessel in the way that a truly accurate to-scale deck would not.
 
The photos don't really capture the effect fully, it really comes out in person, and I love it. The cherry wood is already halfway to the reddish color the deck should have (like my other steamboats) and I'm debating how far to go on further coloration (painting/staining/weathering) as the natural wood's variability brings out a lot of interesting complexity.
 
I was debating how to handle the boiler deck (next level up) as it's a much more fragile construction than this main deck, sitting up on its little posts with not much superstructure beneath it. If I were using perfect scaled planking from a commercial source, I'd  just built it in place. But since I've shown no sign of being able to mill consistently thin scale planking, I'm thinking about building the whole boiler deck as a separate piece off-model, sanding it down once it's built (but when it can sit firmly on a solid surface while doing so), then installing it in its precarious final position on the model.
 
Thanks for your patience with this slow build. It's going to be a while before more progress is made due to an imminent family visit (one impetus for the timing of that  bedroom remodel) and other commitments; fall is a very busy time on-farm between major produce harvest, start of bow season for deer, and various other commitments. I do appreciate likes and comments that remind me others enjoy this work as well!

Eric,
 
I wonder if the builders of these boats were as worried about some imperfections in their work as we modelers seem to be.
 
Bob

I still think it’s impressive that you harvest and mill your own wood on property, then turn out beautiful work. 
 
-Brian

Well, my model's imperfections don't threaten to take me and my livelihood to the bottom of the river!

Eric,
 
I wonder if the builders of these boats were as worried about some imperfections in their work as we modelers seem to be.
 
Bob

Eric,
 
I wonder if the builders of these boats were as worried about some imperfections in their work as we modelers seem to be.
 
Bob

Eric,
 
I wonder if the builders of these boats were as worried about some imperfections in their work as we modelers seem to be.
 
Bob

Eric,
 
I wonder if the builders of these boats were as worried about some imperfections in their work as we modelers seem to be.
 
Bob

Eric,
 
I wonder if the builders of these boats were as worried about some imperfections in their work as we modelers seem to be.
 
Bob

Main deck planking is almost done! One more run to go on either side, but I don't know when I'll get to it as I need to cut more planking to do this. I've learned some lessons doing this and cursed myself for some (in hindsight) fairly stupid decisions. I'll also need to improve my plank-milling skills moving forward as this deck is more forgiving than the rest of the model will be. But I'll write more about that when this deck is actually done. I just figured you all should get a progress report as it may be a bit longer before another, I have a busy stretch coming up. Thanks for sticking around...

 

I appreciate the suggestions of "silk paper used to wrap gifts" and " regular tissue paper and ModgePodge", but I think at this time I am pretty well committed to masking tape.   Below are the results after painting them a matte black.    After overlapping the tape I sprayed from the opposite side of the wrapped tape to more show the seams...   Not real sure I like the result as the seams show up as a lighter color than the black...  Not a realistic look for tar seams, but I may leave it vs applying another coat of black and cover up the seams...    
 

 

 
Once piece of advice for novices' like my self...  If you do cover the hurricane deck flooring with something, before you mount it on the main deck structure, be sure to verify all the holes in the deck have been opened up to later accept the pieces that will be going through them.    Much easier now before you glue down the deck ceiling 
 
In preparation for laying the hurricane deck flooring I wanted to double check the alignment of all the posts and stairs that need to line up.    In doing so I noticed the back stairs do not exactly line up with the wall etching.   From the plans the stairs are supposed to line up against the wall - thus the etchings.   When I first put on the vertical strips on the walls I assumed all was good and followed the lines.   After seeing about a 1/2" gap between the stairs and wall I decided that needed to change.    Others have mentioned this little fact, but I forgot.   Since there is about a 1/2" gap that probably was wide enough for a person to slip by, so rather than extend the stair sides to meet the wall I decided to add the strips over the stairs etching in the wall.
 
In the below picture, it shows the remains of the five partial strips that originally were on the wall.   This was in preparation for adding new full strips.
 

 
Below shows the new strips added.   I probably should have closed up the etching before attaching the strips, and it would have been  a lot easier, but closing that gap with a little extra paint can be done now too.
Moral of this lesson is be sure to check the back stairs before you lay the hurricane deck flooring and make a decision as to what you want to do about the gap

 
With all in place the boiler deck structures can now be attached to top of the main deck.   Below are a few pictures of the final result
 

One thing to note, on some of the raw corners I added some right angle styrene pieces to cover up the raw corner.   I have some of them marked below with circles.  
 
Just noticed I have some extra glue showing,,,, need to break out the paint and fine brush  🙂

 

 

 

I've made it about halfway through the decking. Just a slow process of cutting and laying planks one row at a time, trying to keep them parallel with the centerline. It's definitely more challenging with home-cut planks as every strip has slightly variable dimensions, so laying out each run is time-consuming. I'm definitely still an amateur at cutting out consistent scale lumber. Therefore this has been a lot more like planking a hull, in which each deck plank is a mini-project, than planking a deck with nice consistent commercial strips. So I end up laying a couple strips every evening, or whenever I can steal a bit of time. But here's what it looks like so far:

The photo makes it look better than it is; the work is actually pretty rough. The planks are thicker than I initially intended, and the surface is pretty variable. I intend to sand the deck down smooth once the planking is done. There are also some disturbing gaps between some plank edges that I expect to need some sawdust filler on. The good news is that (a) unlike a sailing vessel, most of this deck will be relatively hidden, and (b), it's supposed to look rough-built. 
 
You can see the two parallel lines of holes left in the decking, where the boiler deck support posts would go. If you recall the framing I built in the last update, I used that to lay out exactly where the posts should lie and carefully arranged the deck planking runs so that the post holes would fall within a single run of planks. 
 
I started at the center and worked my way out, to help ensure that everything stayed parallel to the hull. This has worked well, but its downside is that the "best" planking got laid down the center where it'll be mostly hidden while the most visible planking (along the outer guards) will be done with whatever dregs I haven't used yet. I may end up cutting some more planking to avoid this potential problem, as I can tell I'm slowly concentrating the most problematic pieces in the so-far-unused pile.
 
But it's progress, and I think will turn out well enough in the end. Thanks for sticking with the slow progress on this part.
 

I prefer the classic PEMDAS order of operations:
 
Paint Each Module Drink A Scotch🤣

Looks like a nice solution to your kit designer's "error". Better use the strong words sparingly or you will run out before the Peerless is afloat.
 
Bob

Looks like a nice solution to your kit designer's "error". Better use the strong words sparingly or you will run out before the Peerless is afloat.
 
Bob

Looks like a nice solution to your kit designer's "error". Better use the strong words sparingly or you will run out before the Peerless is afloat.
 
Bob

Looks like a nice solution to your kit designer's "error". Better use the strong words sparingly or you will run out before the Peerless is afloat.
 
Bob

Looks like a nice solution to your kit designer's "error". Better use the strong words sparingly or you will run out before the Peerless is afloat.
 
Bob

My goodness, that question sparked quite a discussion! Unfortunately that kicked off right when I went into a really busy stretch and couldn't keep up. Let's see if I can unpack it all.
 
Stairs vs. ladders
 
My strong impression, from extensive reading/research, is that between-deck ladders were rarely used on Western river steamboats. I can't recall seeing a photo with a ladder and every photo or plan I can recall has stairways between decks. I skimmed various references I have on hand and found nothing to counter this. Keith, thanks for your detailed thoughts, but I can't convince myself of the ladder you suggest in that photo. Moreover, the location of the man & child standing in front of the potential ladder strikes me as much farther forward than you indicate; to me they're standing directly under or just fore of the pilot house. That would be a very inconvenient place for it; emerging under the pilot house is impossible, and just forward of the pilot house there's no sign of any protection around the "hatch" that would be necessary. My personal opinion is that a stairway is far more likely and that I need to determine where it was. I continue to lean toward the location I identified at the end of my post and plan to build a cardboard mockup to test out the idea.
 
I don't know why Peerless wasn't constructed with a forward stairway in the first place, like most steamboats, but one possibility is that she was built to be a cargo-only boat. By the late 1890s passenger river travel would have declined quite severely, and Peerless was likely initially intended to be that era's equivalent of a local towboat, handling local bulk cargo for areas not yet served by railroad but not really set up for long-distance passengers. As noted above, the boiler deck is where passengers would be carried, but (a) her cabin looks too small to accommodate more than a handful of passengers, (b) she has no outhouse hanging off the stern end (above the wheel) where passengers' needs would normally be accommodated, and (c) there are no railings along the boiler deck as in any boat I know of that carried passengers. And if she was designed for freight only, then there would be little reason to have a passenger-convenient forward stairway right in the way, when you could just tuck a crew-only stairway somewhere back in the engineering spaces.
 
We do have photos of her hosting jaunty outings in this era, and it's possible a decline in freight due to the building of the MK&T railroad along the north shore of the river pushed her owners to diversify, but such outings would have occurred when she wasn't carrying freight, so passengers could remain on the main deck while the vessel was in motion. As someone noted above, the only photos we have of people crowding the boiler deck are taken when the vessel is clearly stopped and staging a photo shoot. 
 
Chimneys (stacks)
 
To the best of my knowledge, based on references such as Alan Bates and various plans, steamboat chimneys had heat shielding jackets placed around them from the boilers as far up as passengers were likely to encounter them. For example, here are two different plans for Bertrand, both of which show heat shielding around the chimneys as far back as her 1856 construction date.


Note that these extend through the boiler deck (one above the main) to the roof of the hurricane deck (two above the main). The boiler deck was the main passenger area so the shielding was certainly relevant there. Passengers would normally not be allowed on the hurricane deck, so there the shielding ends as soon as the chimneys pass through the deck (also because above that the hot chimneys don't encounter anything flammable).
 
In addition, Model Expo's Chaperon (1884) kit also clearly includes heat shields around the chimneys, with the instructions stating "There are two 1" diameter dowels, 2-5/8" long in your kit. These are the smoke stack covers. They were sheet metal cylinders that surrounded the smoke stacks to prevent the crew from coming into contact with the hot stacks." See quote on page 8 (link above) and accompanying Photo 12. Kurt Van Dahm's detailed publication on building Chaperon also clearly documents this heat shielding.
 
So I think it's pretty conclusive that chimneys had heat shielding on their lower stretches, usually until they'd passed through the final deck. Above that they came into contact with nothing but guy wires and nobody but crew, who had to take their chances. No doubt it was still a hot place to stand during operation, but it clearly wasn't too much of a problem since standard steamboat design had the shielded chimneys passing right through what must have otherwise been the most popular outdoor passenger location (view forward, access to whatever breeze was available).
 
Chimney painting
 
This is a fun question that I had not thought about before. My initial reaction was the same as Brian's, that the identifying bands of city-class gunboats were painted directly on the chimney, not on any special heat shielding. All photos I can find seem to bear this out. My guess is that, by the time hot gases had made it that far up the chimney, they (and the surrounding metal) were cool enough not to blister paint off. Steamboats had very long chimneys to increase the draft of their boilers, and it seems to me that intense heat would bleed off quickly with height. But you'll notice that all the identifying bands of city-class gunboats were painted very high up the stacks; I'd always assume this was simply for visibility, but there's likely a convenient coincidence that this also minimized any heat-related degredation of the paint. A very neat insight if true!
 
Wow that was a lot to think and write about. Further thoughts?