leclaire

Apologies, Eric, for not looking/reading carefully ... What actually puzzled me on this photo with all the ladies on the boiler deck is that they are all rather precariously perched there with no rails around the deck. I am aware that risk awareness dramatically changed over the centuries, but when the boat is moving, the boiler deck may have not been a very stable and safe place. Perhaps the ladies and others just posed there for the picture, but would not normally be admitted there - hence, some simple ladder or the like for the crew may have been sufficient at the time of this picture.

I've started laying out the forms for the superstructure. Peerless, like many similar vessels, has a very simple deck layout: a solid engine room structure at the stern and a series of posts going forward. So I laid out the shape of the stern structures pretty easily, after some careful measurement and decision-making:

If you're wondering about the coloration in the middle of the forms...it's what you probably think it is. Like all the rest of my models, there's now a little bit of me in Peerless!
 
After this I started laying out where the posts would go. To do this, I cut a rectangle from a thin sheet of scrap wood in the exact internal dimensions I wanted, and laid it on the subdeck to mark out where posts would go. At this point, I also decided I would build the frame that rests on top of these posts, essentially the subdeck for the boiler deck (if you're confused, on Western river steamboats, the boiler deck was the deck above the boilers. No one knows why). Building this now would help ensure that I could lay a nice square structure on top the posts, rather than having to build it in place later. So here I'm laying out and cutting the longitudinal beams for this, again using my sheet wood as a guide:

And here I'm using my magnetic squaring jig to begin gluing up this sub-boiler-deck framing, again using the scrap sheet wood as a form (this will not be present in the finished model):
 

Once I have this sub-structure built, I'll lay it over the sub-deck to double-check my post locations, then it's time to start laying decking, being sure to leave holes for the posts.
 
Thanks for reading!

Looks good, Eric. I would agree with using the shorter pieces rather than the full beam approach. No one will see it after laying down the deck anyway. Good idea.
 
Bob

I agree with Kurt, I bet you'd be surprised how many modelers would enjoy seeing your work in person. Photos never do models justice, or at least they're not the same experience as real viewing. Entering a contest doesn't have to be about being competitive, you can just think of it as a framework for sharing work in person.
 
And I'm so glad you chose to share this build with us. Such a unique prototype; I really enjoyed learning about it and seeing the project unfold. This is also the kind of model that may well find a home  beyond yours one day; unlike the thousands of, say, Constitutions out there, it's special and would probably have value to a library or local museum when you're ready to part with it. "Museum-quality" is an over-used term in model ship building as it tends to have a condescending tone that implies anything below Smithsonian-level is unworthy, but museums come in all sizes and serve many constituencies. Models are almost always a crowd-pleaser in any setting and I've seen far lower-quality models than yours proudly displayed in local museums and enjoyed by visitors of all ages. 
 
By all means enjoy it in your home, as I currently do mine, but one beauty of building unusual and region-specific models is the higher potential for them to live beyond us.
 
Thanks again for your work!

Nice work Eric. Having the guards the same length as the depth of your clips is a happy accident. Almost as if you planned it that way. 😁
 
I’ve used both methods of decking, each with their own advantages and disadvantages. Building the superstructure over the planks is less cutting and give you nice clean lines, but you have to make sure that your planks are laid out evenly so they balance out on each side. Using the guides gives you a chance to have the superstructure wall locations in place before planking so you balance everything out ahead of time, it’s just a little more labor intensive. Personally I think putting the guides down first is the way to go. 
 
-Brian

The next step was to wrap these guard beams with an outer strip of wood; I have no idea (or have forgotten) what this was called in practice (anyone know?). It's functionally like the wales on a regular sailing ship, though it's not part of the hull.
 
For these, I transitioned back to my own homegrown wood. I carefully milled some thin strips of maple whose width roughly matched the average thickness of the guard beams. One of these I soaked for a while, then carefully bent it around the entire bow, clamping it in place and using an electric plank bender to apply heat to the curve. Having not used this tool in a while, I carelessly applied heat to a finger as well, requiring another local plant-material harvest, this time a piece of aloe. Once I was happy with the curve, I applied beads of glue to the end of each beam, then thoroughly clamped the bow curve in place.

Once this had hardened, doing the two sides was quite easy, just more beads of glue and more clamps. It was entirely a fortuitous coincidence that the width of the guards was just about the same as the depth on these clamps, though I ended up placing another thin strip outboard of the glued strip just to ensure that the clamps fully held the "wales" onto their beams without the clamps nudging up against the hull and leaving a slight gap. It would have been really smart to think about that and make the guards slightly longer! I didn't photograph this step, but here's the finished result:

I'm really pleased with this. The maple is obviously harder and smoother than soft basswood, and takes a curve with no flaking or cracking. It's starting to look like something. 
 
For fun, I held the hull at this stage up to two reference photos, so you can judge for yourself how it recreates the lines of the original.


The next step is complicated. My plan is to lay the decking, which will rest on the "wales" and be sanded smooth to match that curve. I'll then lay a second layer of "wales" around the outside of that, wide enough to cover the lower layer and the planking, essentially sealing it all in.
 
But I have two ways to proceed in the long run. One is to lay the decking first, then lay out the superstructure and just built it on top of the decking. The other is to lay out the superstructure now, and build some guides or markers into the decking before doing the planking.
 
I dabbled in this second way when building my Arabia, as shown in the photo below, where you can see how I laid strips a bit thicker than the decking to guide later placement of the aft superstructure and wheelhouses:

Here's another view with the deck completed:

My recollection is that I found these guides pretty useful, and am leaning toward doing this again. It also has the benefit that I can mark up the current sub-deck surface with pencil all I want, rather than trying not to mark up the nice maple deck I plan to lay.
 
I'm also leaning toward doing something I didn't do on Arabia, which is to lay out where all the forward support posts go as well, and potentially planking around them so they sit in a slight recess into the decking rather than sitting on top. This would be a lot fussier but I think would look better and be a bit stronger. It would also help solve the problem I noted earlier, in which not fully filling the guard beam slots means that some deck posts might be left hanging over an empty slot. Laying them out first would mean I can fill a slot with scrap wood if needed, to support a given post.
 
Thoughts/input welcome. Thanks for reading, liking, and commenting!
 

And the guard beams are finished! To form the curve at the bow, I soaked and clamped a flexible piece of wood into the approximate curve I wanted, and used it as a guide.
 

As you can see, it didn't bend evenly, so I focused on the port side (right in the view above) as the curve there was smoother. Above, all the beams are just being test-fit. I installed the guides the way I wanted on the port side, then used calipers to transfer the same measurement for the length of the starboard side.
 

Once the glue was dry, I did more test-fitting with the wooden strip and did some sanding and shaping of the beams to ensure they'd hold the curve I wanted. I used the same procedure at the stern, which was much easier. So here are the completed bow, stern, and full hull.
 

Looks good, Eric. I would agree with using the shorter pieces rather than the full beam approach. No one will see it after laying down the deck anyway. Good idea.
 
Bob

Looks good, Eric. I would agree with using the shorter pieces rather than the full beam approach. No one will see it after laying down the deck anyway. Good idea.
 
Bob

Looks good, Eric. I would agree with using the shorter pieces rather than the full beam approach. No one will see it after laying down the deck anyway. Good idea.
 
Bob

Looks good, Eric. I would agree with using the shorter pieces rather than the full beam approach. No one will see it after laying down the deck anyway. Good idea.
 
Bob

Looks good, Eric. I would agree with using the shorter pieces rather than the full beam approach. No one will see it after laying down the deck anyway. Good idea.
 
Bob

Looks good, Eric. I would agree with using the shorter pieces rather than the full beam approach. No one will see it after laying down the deck anyway. Good idea.
 
Bob

I am finally getting close to the end of my Thistle build after two years.
 
The hurricane deck was finished with the addition of fire buckets and the bell.
The boiler deck had "Official Notices" in 2 height font attached.  A ladder to the pilothouse was added along with the two ladders attached to the railings.  The latter were the federal fire requirements after the General Slocum disaster.
The main deck had the canvas coverings attached above the bulwarks, although they are hardly noticeable. Firehoses were added to the underside of the boiler deck.  The firehoses were located under the hurricane deck in the early years.  The change may have also been a requirement due to Slocum. Safety ropes were affixed to the boiler and engine superstructures.  Lastly, kevels (a/k/a cleats) were attached  to the main deck.
 
So what is left is on the main deck at the bow.  A capstan, anchor, bulwarks and jackstaff are still needed to finish the project.  But again, during summer, modeling takes time. I hope to finish in August - the month Thistle (as the J.H. Crawford) was launched in 1894, and as Thistle was sent to the breakers in 1915.    That I started and finished the build and will finish it in August is pure coincidence.
 
 

Thanks for the explanation Brian. Makes sense for what you are building.
 
Bob

Brian,
 
At the risk of exposing my ignorance, what is a mini-split unit? Obviously it has something to do with air conditioning and seeing two boxes suggests the split reference. How does this work in your case with one room to cool.
 
Bob

Love the ceiling tiles. That's gonna be one spiffy workshop, it'll be neat to see the future projects that emerge.

More progress on the shipyard.
 
Day 17: The ceiling tiles arrived right on schedule, beginning the tedious process of getting them installed. Each tile is glued and stapled into place, just to make sure it doesn't come down on me. I decided to forgo the use of the track system to hang the tiles on since they take up an additional 1/2" and my walls are already short enough as it is.

 
First few courses going in. Making sure that they maintain a straight line is the most difficult challenge, but so far so good.

End of a long day and I'm halfway there.

 
Day 18: Finally finished with the ceiling. 


 
Day 19: Not much work here, but I did get the bead board installed where the bookcase is going. This will eventually be painted either black or a dark gray once the shelves are installed. I will also be using a couple of these shelves as a display case for my Chaperon & KotM kits.

 
Day 20: The AC works great and keeps the room ice cold. It's almost hard to go outside with the comfortable working conditions in here. Unfortunately I am not getting the most efficiency out of the unit with the blue tarp strung up over the door opening, so I decided it was time to get working on the door.
 
I kind of wanted to go with rustic looking "ship-like" door so I figured I'd build it out of 2x6's. 

 
Each board will be glued together and held in place with biscuits.



 
Most of the inner part of the door is glued together, I installed some clamps and braces to keep it flat. Now to let the glue dry and setup.

 
While the glue dries, I wanted to get a better idea of the bench layout so I drew everything up on the floor. Hard to see the chalk lines, but I think I'm going to have plenty of room to move around.

 
This is where I am at now. I still need to finish the outside panels of the door and work on the framing. One thing is for sure, this door is going to be heavy. Good thing I pre-planned and beefed up the frame opening. It will definitely be a true test of my engineering skills.
 
Thanks again for stopping by.
 
-Brian

I tend toward the tan to mid brown colors but hey, that's why they make chocolate and vanilla. There's only one person that it needs to please and that's you! 
 
 Now you're going to have a heater/AC and paneling making you feel all cozy.......are you putting a recliner and a TV out there too? 

Thank you Eric. 
 
For now the plan is to just turn the unit off when I’m not in there, but that plan may change. I’ve got the room well insulated so I’m hoping that it will retain some of the heat/cooling, but that remains to be seen, so I’ll play it by ear. It helps that the unit can be controlled via wi-fi so I can monitor things remotely and adjust them as needed when I’m not there.  
 
As for the temp settings, I know the AC will go down to 60, not sure of the heat. Since it is a heat pump, I would assume the inside temp would be relative to the outside temp, but all I really need is for it to stay a comfortable 72 in the winter and I’ll be fine. And just like any typical guy, I haven’t read the instructions (and possibly threw them away during my cleaning spree) so can’t say for sure what the temperature range is. 
 
-Brian

Thanks for the explanation Brian. Makes sense for what you are building.
 
Bob

Thanks for the explanation Brian. Makes sense for what you are building.
 
Bob

Thanks for the explanation Brian. Makes sense for what you are building.
 
Bob

Thanks for the explanation Brian. Makes sense for what you are building.
 
Bob

Thanks for the explanation Brian. Makes sense for what you are building.
 
Bob