Blackie

Hi Floyd, if it will help you I can send you my diagrams of the lengths and diameters for my spars. I searched some books I have and settled on these as the best fit that I could find for a schooner of the BC size. The spars are mot straight tapers from end to end as shown in the kit drawings/instructions.

Moving slowly but have finished the gaff for the foremast as per the attached.

I am now working on the masts. The bowsprit, jib boom, foremast and fore topmast are advanced with assorted bits for support all fitted with blu-tack so far as shown in the images. I am a little puzzled by the way to attach blocks and stays to the mast cap. I have made a strap to fit around the mast cap with tabs to which the fittings will be attached. However, I am unsure if this is correct. Perhaps a few eyebolts is what should be fitted. Any comments?
I also made a rudder and tiller rather than use the kit versions - images are attached.
 

Hi Floyd and Russ Thanks for comments.
 
Floyd, now to try and answer your queries.
The planking was a long time in the making. I divided the hull into 4 and then used a flexible tape and proportional dividers to determine each plank width at each bulkhead/frame.
 
I agree with you about the pump location. It must be as far aft as possible to get into the lowest depth of the bilge and just behind the main mast seems the correct location for the Harvey model. I have attached shots of the binnacle, cabin, pump and galley stove pipe. The binnacle is from Karl Heinz Marquardt's book The Global Schooner p201. It is 3 compartments, each with vertical sliding panels; the centre section is for a light and so the ring on top is the "chimney", the outer sections had compasses in them. Charles Davis in The Built-Up Ship Model also shows a box-type binnacle.
 
The cabin is my version as I did not like the clumsy kit one. I believe that the companionway covering/hatch would be better integrated with the companion light.
 
I do not have any gratings though I did make them from the kit and have retired them to the "extras" box. I don't believe that a single deck vessel such as the Baltimore clipper with low freeboard would be fitted with gratings over the hatches even if they could be covered and battened - why not just fit solid hatch covers to keep the hold reasonably dry, which can be removed relatively easily at anytime for ventilation compared to canvas covers and battens?
 
Yes, it is a stove pipe and a small hatch ahead of it to get some air in over the stove.
 
Cannon shot will be fitted into racks alongside the main hatch. I have bought some smaller shot (2mm balls) to fit better with my idea that the cannon are 4 pounders. I agree with your comment about moving the aftmost cannon forward. Its a pity that when I built the bulwarks a few years ago, I did not know as much about Baltimore clippers as I think I do now. I am thinking about cutting in cannon port up forward about inline with the foremast or perhaps just forward of the foremast channels.
 
Finally, my date of 1820 was a bit of guesswork based on Howard Chapelle's The Baltimore Clipper Its Origin and Development in which he talks about the design being used by slavers after the 1812 war as it was very fast and could sometimes outrun the Royal Navy cruisers. On reflection my deck layout might be a bit influenced by Chapelle's comments on slavers which went for unencumbered decks with smaller and fewer openings. That said Chapelle's book has a number of drawings of clippers and similar vessels which all show few deck fittings and dates of 1811, 1815, 1816, 1817, or so.
 
Hmmm. these fittings look OK in real-life but a bit rough under the macro lens.

I started this AL kit Harvey some 12 years after 2 other kit builds - Mercury and Panart Saint Lucia, a tartan. The build progressed very slowly and I abandoned it about 8 years ago due to work and other interests. Finally in mid last year I was able to get back to it and I finished the hull planking just before Christmas. However, about then I began a lot of research into Baltimore clippers and I realised that the Harvey kit is "not true to form". My version of the kit materials-wise does seem to be quite good compared to those that I have read about so perhaps the kit has deteriorated over the past decade. Anyway, I now see that the deck layout could not be as shown in the kit and I have decided to scratch build my deck fittings to a new layout and I have almost completed a scratch build of the jolly boat for the stern davits.
 
The deck fittings are made but not attached and I am also building new cannon carriages about half the size of the kit parts - this is the correct size as far as I can determine using the same brass cannon in the kit which seem to be 4 pounders. I must admit that I have been a bit distracted by other things and doing some research on the rigging but hope to get going again now on the build.
 
I welcome any comments.

I don't know where the time goes though some travelling has slowed me down a bit. Progress shots are attached and I have now almost finished the main mast, main topmast, boom and gaff. I have also made the yards for the foremast but will not fit them until I have finished the ratlines. The rigging is not tightened until I rig the main mast as I have seen changes in rigging already set when I add other lines.The deck houses etc are completed but will be fitted after the masts and rigging.

Hi Floyd and Russ Thanks for comments.
 
Floyd, now to try and answer your queries.
The planking was a long time in the making. I divided the hull into 4 and then used a flexible tape and proportional dividers to determine each plank width at each bulkhead/frame.
 
I agree with you about the pump location. It must be as far aft as possible to get into the lowest depth of the bilge and just behind the main mast seems the correct location for the Harvey model. I have attached shots of the binnacle, cabin, pump and galley stove pipe. The binnacle is from Karl Heinz Marquardt's book The Global Schooner p201. It is 3 compartments, each with vertical sliding panels; the centre section is for a light and so the ring on top is the "chimney", the outer sections had compasses in them. Charles Davis in The Built-Up Ship Model also shows a box-type binnacle.
 
The cabin is my version as I did not like the clumsy kit one. I believe that the companionway covering/hatch would be better integrated with the companion light.
 
I do not have any gratings though I did make them from the kit and have retired them to the "extras" box. I don't believe that a single deck vessel such as the Baltimore clipper with low freeboard would be fitted with gratings over the hatches even if they could be covered and battened - why not just fit solid hatch covers to keep the hold reasonably dry, which can be removed relatively easily at anytime for ventilation compared to canvas covers and battens?
 
Yes, it is a stove pipe and a small hatch ahead of it to get some air in over the stove.
 
Cannon shot will be fitted into racks alongside the main hatch. I have bought some smaller shot (2mm balls) to fit better with my idea that the cannon are 4 pounders. I agree with your comment about moving the aftmost cannon forward. Its a pity that when I built the bulwarks a few years ago, I did not know as much about Baltimore clippers as I think I do now. I am thinking about cutting in cannon port up forward about inline with the foremast or perhaps just forward of the foremast channels.
 
Finally, my date of 1820 was a bit of guesswork based on Howard Chapelle's The Baltimore Clipper Its Origin and Development in which he talks about the design being used by slavers after the 1812 war as it was very fast and could sometimes outrun the Royal Navy cruisers. On reflection my deck layout might be a bit influenced by Chapelle's comments on slavers which went for unencumbered decks with smaller and fewer openings. That said Chapelle's book has a number of drawings of clippers and similar vessels which all show few deck fittings and dates of 1811, 1815, 1816, 1817, or so.
 
Hmmm. these fittings look OK in real-life but a bit rough under the macro lens.

I started this AL kit Harvey some 12 years after 2 other kit builds - Mercury and Panart Saint Lucia, a tartan. The build progressed very slowly and I abandoned it about 8 years ago due to work and other interests. Finally in mid last year I was able to get back to it and I finished the hull planking just before Christmas. However, about then I began a lot of research into Baltimore clippers and I realised that the Harvey kit is "not true to form". My version of the kit materials-wise does seem to be quite good compared to those that I have read about so perhaps the kit has deteriorated over the past decade. Anyway, I now see that the deck layout could not be as shown in the kit and I have decided to scratch build my deck fittings to a new layout and I have almost completed a scratch build of the jolly boat for the stern davits.
 
The deck fittings are made but not attached and I am also building new cannon carriages about half the size of the kit parts - this is the correct size as far as I can determine using the same brass cannon in the kit which seem to be 4 pounders. I must admit that I have been a bit distracted by other things and doing some research on the rigging but hope to get going again now on the build.
 
I welcome any comments.

I don't know where the time goes though some travelling has slowed me down a bit. Progress shots are attached and I have now almost finished the main mast, main topmast, boom and gaff. I have also made the yards for the foremast but will not fit them until I have finished the ratlines. The rigging is not tightened until I rig the main mast as I have seen changes in rigging already set when I add other lines.The deck houses etc are completed but will be fitted after the masts and rigging.

I don't know where the time goes though some travelling has slowed me down a bit. Progress shots are attached and I have now almost finished the main mast, main topmast, boom and gaff. I have also made the yards for the foremast but will not fit them until I have finished the ratlines. The rigging is not tightened until I rig the main mast as I have seen changes in rigging already set when I add other lines.The deck houses etc are completed but will be fitted after the masts and rigging.

Bob
 
The attached image shows the "cradle" that I made to overcome the slight list that the model developed. The cradle, made from some scrap timber, sits away from the model and allows a good view of the hull but supports it also.  Perhaps I should have accentuated the list as the model has some "sails" but I didn't.
 
Good luck

My 1:50 scale allowed me to do so blocks

Moving slowly but have finished the gaff for the foremast as per the attached.

Moving slowly but have finished the gaff for the foremast as per the attached.

Hi Lou
 
I must admit that I am thinking of changing the rake on my masts. Perhaps 12o on the fore mast and 15 on the main. Still not as much as POB vessels but a bit more like my source books say. We are all building variations into our models which is what I think happened with the original Baltimore schooners.
 
Re your chainplates, can you tell me what diameter brass wire and sheet thickness did you used. I think that what I have is a bit thin.
Blackie

Yes Floyd and I have now done a drawing for the square sails. I also had a rethink on the fore and aft sails and the stay #224. It interfered with hoisting the main gaff topsail using sail hoops rather than another gaff set vet high on the main mast. I have added another sketch.

I started this AL kit Harvey some 12 years after 2 other kit builds - Mercury and Panart Saint Lucia, a tartan. The build progressed very slowly and I abandoned it about 8 years ago due to work and other interests. Finally in mid last year I was able to get back to it and I finished the hull planking just before Christmas. However, about then I began a lot of research into Baltimore clippers and I realised that the Harvey kit is "not true to form". My version of the kit materials-wise does seem to be quite good compared to those that I have read about so perhaps the kit has deteriorated over the past decade. Anyway, I now see that the deck layout could not be as shown in the kit and I have decided to scratch build my deck fittings to a new layout and I have almost completed a scratch build of the jolly boat for the stern davits.
 
The deck fittings are made but not attached and I am also building new cannon carriages about half the size of the kit parts - this is the correct size as far as I can determine using the same brass cannon in the kit which seem to be 4 pounders. I must admit that I have been a bit distracted by other things and doing some research on the rigging but hope to get going again now on the build.
 
I welcome any comments.

In between other jobs I have been making my own cannon carriages but have reused the kit cannons. I have assembled two so far and am going crazy making the hooks for the tackles. One of them is in the attached file.

I am just adding an image of some of the fittings that I have been working on. The rigging will be the bobstays and they were made by twisting copper wire to form a strand of the required diameter and then serving the strand with cotton thread. The yard is the lower foremast yard.
All comments are welcome.
 
 

I am now working on the masts. The bowsprit, jib boom, foremast and fore topmast are advanced with assorted bits for support all fitted with blu-tack so far as shown in the images. I am a little puzzled by the way to attach blocks and stays to the mast cap. I have made a strap to fit around the mast cap with tabs to which the fittings will be attached. However, I am unsure if this is correct. Perhaps a few eyebolts is what should be fitted. Any comments?
I also made a rudder and tiller rather than use the kit versions - images are attached.
 

I started this AL kit Harvey some 12 years after 2 other kit builds - Mercury and Panart Saint Lucia, a tartan. The build progressed very slowly and I abandoned it about 8 years ago due to work and other interests. Finally in mid last year I was able to get back to it and I finished the hull planking just before Christmas. However, about then I began a lot of research into Baltimore clippers and I realised that the Harvey kit is "not true to form". My version of the kit materials-wise does seem to be quite good compared to those that I have read about so perhaps the kit has deteriorated over the past decade. Anyway, I now see that the deck layout could not be as shown in the kit and I have decided to scratch build my deck fittings to a new layout and I have almost completed a scratch build of the jolly boat for the stern davits.
 
The deck fittings are made but not attached and I am also building new cannon carriages about half the size of the kit parts - this is the correct size as far as I can determine using the same brass cannon in the kit which seem to be 4 pounders. I must admit that I have been a bit distracted by other things and doing some research on the rigging but hope to get going again now on the build.
 
I welcome any comments.

In between other jobs I have been making my own cannon carriages but have reused the kit cannons. I have assembled two so far and am going crazy making the hooks for the tackles. One of them is in the attached file.

I am just adding an image of some of the fittings that I have been working on. The rigging will be the bobstays and they were made by twisting copper wire to form a strand of the required diameter and then serving the strand with cotton thread. The yard is the lower foremast yard.
All comments are welcome.
 
 

Floyd
I have attached a few shots of my Harvey plus the drawing to illustrate what I did. I have 22 planks at about the centre from bow to stern and these run from bow to stern, except where 3 planks change to 2 as shown in one of the photos (Harvey Bow). That means I have 21 planks at the bow. The main thing is to not taper the plank more that half its width.
At the stern I have 25 planks. This should not have happened. I probably could have done it with 23-24 but I must have over-tapered and 3 stealers were inserted. 
I tried to do the system in chapter 3 of Donald Dressel's book Planking Techniques for Model Ship Builders but lost my way a bit. Still, I'm pretty pleased with the result. The drawing I have attached is from Historic Ship Models by Wolfram Zu Mondfeld.

A bit more reading and so some more tinkering. Now I must get down to doing some work on it.
 
I have thought about Floyd's comment re positioning the forward cannon forward of the shrouds and think that I also will do this - Easier to build but also shown on images of Baltimore Clippers in books that I have been reading and the cannon fire is further away from the shrouds.
 
Spars: I am starting with the foremast and don't like the look of the masthead - it looks too short in the kit drawings. Again using my library for reference, Charles Davis in his book Ship Model Builder's Assistant p52-53 discusses the masthead length and states that up to about 1800 the masthead was quite short and about 1/6 of the mast length. After 1800 or so the masthead began to lengthen but he still has a BC masthead at 1/6 of mast. I have lengthened masthead on the Harvey model to 55mm which is about 1/7 and looks about right. I also show how I will taper the foremast and the changes in shape that I hope to achieve.
I have changed the mast top to shorten the cross trees and move them - perhaps I will add a third cross tree forward of the top mast but other two as shown.
 
I have yet to decide about the stunsail booms.
 
Rigging: I am definitely going with 3 shrouds on the lower mast and 2 shrouds on the top mast plus a standing backstay and a running backstay.
I am almost set for the bowsprit and jib boom rigging as shown in my sketch - perhaps the martingale fixing to the hull will slide a bit. I am yet to decide on where the various forestays attach to the foremasts but will go with only 3 foresails not the 4 shown in the kit drawings.