The Bitter End

I believe you are right on all of the above. I am going to look into a number of options for accurate cannon. Marcus has given me dimensions for some of the cannon, and I am going to try to turn them on my lathe. I don't know how well this is going to go, my lathe options are a tiny, somewhat underpowered unimat3 and a Colchester with a 2-meter bed and a chuck that weighs more than 1000 of these canon will. so Neither is idea.. Thank you very much for the tip on Mustafa friend and syren, I will contact both.

I know 😂 It is crazy. My thinking is that the kit is so bashed so far that it might as well be a scratch build anyway(I actually regret not just cutting the bulkheads and false keel myself, they are the only parts I have made use of from the kit. A little extra bashing shouldnt hurt. Also I did consider doing as you said and showing her with her gun ports closed but I felt it would have taken away from the feeling of her as a fighting ship and taken away from another little piece of information about her(her armament when she was launched). I am sure I will live to regret this as I now have to somehow make or buy her cannon but we will see what happens. Haiko

Thank you to everyone who commented here. Lots to learn as always. It's great to see all this experience and knowledge laid out so eloquently. I think each and very perspective is certainly plausible: 1. The tops were not the tops as we see them but rather the upper part of the bulwark 2. The hammocks were intended to protect the dead eyes 3. The hammocks did in fact go into the tops and were perhaps hidden behind canvass covers or wooden structures 4. The hammocks went into the tops and were just stacked without any sort of additional structure. I will continue to look into this and I look forward to any additional gems that you gentlemen find. Kind regards Haiko

I really hope you can recall the source. To me it really made a decent amount of sense. If I had the option available I would certainly want to make use of it. If it's good enough for the boys on decks it would be good enough for me. Haiko

I noticed the same red structures in many of the paintings I looked at. That in itself is a little unusual, and I would love to know the origin of that colour choice. I really hope you find the painting you were looking for. It also occurs to me that these artists would very rarely, if ever, see ships in actual battle. These paintings would have been based on what would have been seen when the ships were in port or at anchor. That may explain the absence of a feature which is only mentioned in the context of beating to quarters. Haiko

Hi Gaffrig I thought this might be the case too so I looked at a nautical glossary from the period and I could find no other definition besides the standard fighting tops. I also think it would be an unusual turn of phrase because he says in the netting and the tops. I think the netting would be a reference to the netting on the rails? This is all speculation and you might be right that it was infact a reference to the tops of the stern bulwarks and the netting was a reference to the netting in the waist? A mystery indeed! Haiko

Hi Marcus I guess you are right on this. I am familiar with the rails, I had just not seen them covered with canvas before and I assumed that was just the same kind of canvas we would have seen in a deck level hammock crane. I guess I need to do some more digging. Cheers Haiko

Hi there Thank you for your response. This is a great suggestion and I think I may have found something which looks like it could potentially be what I was looking for. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f5/Thomas_Whitcombe_-_HMS_Crescent%2C_under_the_command_of_Captain_James_Saumarez%2C_capturing_the_French_frigate_Réunion_off_Cherbourg%2C_20_October_1793_CSK_2017.jpg Please let me know if you find anything else which might contribute. TBE

Hello to everyone interested in a most obscure of nautical questions. I am busy building the USS constitution, and this has lead me into some fairly interesting reading and discussions(particularly with @Marcus.K. who suggested I ask for input from the forum)In this process I found an extract from the diary of Midshipman James Pity where he makes the following statement: 31 Aug 1798 - "Beat to Quarters and Stow'd our hammocks in the Nettings and in the Tops and fill'd our Lockers with Shot..." Is this gentleman telling us that they stowed hammocks in the fighting tops? I don't think it's the most outrageous Idea, hauling things into the tops would have been pretty standard behaviour and there is the advantage of potentially providing cover for the marines stationed in these tops, but I cannot find any other references to this being done or any evidence for stowing locations. Does anyone here have and info on this or evidence to support the idea. Alternatively, is there another explanation for what our friend here meant by "tops"? Thanks! Haiko

Last post for today. Originally, I planned to show the model with split and closed gun ports. Research (and Marcus) have told me that the gun deck probably didn't have gun port lids when she was first launched. Or rather had fully removable lids instead of the split lids provided in the kit. This means that if I wish to show her guns (open lids) then I need to do a gun deck of sorts inside. I will probably do a fairly basic deck that only shows the details that will be visible when the model is complete, but we shall see. Regardless, this means that I need to now install a gun deck at this very awkward stage. My solution for this was to glue 5x5mm alignment blocks on the bulkhead deck beams with a small spot of glue so that if I cut the deck beams they could be used as reference points for reinstalling the beams later. Once these were glued in, I cut the beams with a Stanley knife blade and cut the vertical support with a dremel. This opened the space for gun deck installation. Unfortunately, when I put my bracing blocks between the bulkheads I hadn't planned to do a gun deck and the work was a bit sloppy, so I butchered out the blocks where they protruded above deck level. Not a pretty result, but they will be hidden under the deck TBE

Two quick posts coming up. This is the approach I went with for the capping rail for the waist. I made it wide enough that it sits flush with the outer planking and thick enough that it is the same height as the plankshear which I cut out and replaced. I don't know that I love the appearance of it, but I had to choose between having the cap not align with the plankshear or having a thick cap. Furthermore, I suspect that the dimensions given for the plankshear on the model shipways plans are a bit too big(I would make it narrower f I started again). I am very much open to suggestions on how to improve this. I can easily remove and redo it. TBE

Continued from post 94: final spar deck bulwark layout sanded and complete.

Hello Boys and Girls! After a long delay due to the festive season, harvesting and research, I finally have some time for a bit of an update. I have been having some very interesting conversations with the very kind and well-informed, @Marcus.K.and he has inspired me to really go with a model that is as close to the 1797 launch design as possible. This of course brings up a whole array of challenges and questions, but I have found it adds an element to the model that I am really enjoying. I will try to justify my choices as much as possible as I post here. If anyone is interested in further detail, please let me know. Marcus is being as patient and helpful as any human could be, and I look forward to building a model that both of us can be happy with. I welcome any and all input on choices made here, both historical and practical. To the build. Having completed the plankshear I began the bulwark component. I settled quite early on a layout with 20 gun ports on the spar deck, as per the Doughty drawing (Humphrey's). I felt fairly happy with this choice as it matches both the earliest drawings from 1794 and the paintings of Corne from 1803. Looking at the repair record of the 1801 shipyard, there is no mention of moving gun ports, so I am more than happy with this configuration. I got the gun port and waist spacing by scaling up the doughty drawing and converted the measurements. I can give the exact distances to anyone who happens to care. Initially I also opted for a raised stern bulwark (as reflected in the corne paintings), an open waist and a slightly raised section forward of the waist followed by an open forecastle with just a 2 plank bulwark(+-40cm at full size). I achieved this by first planking the inner bulwark with 4 strakes of 2.8mm pear planking. I ended up needing to have joints in the planks because of the limitations of the material I am using, but I simply made sure that this joint fell on a gun port so would be cut away at a later stage. Once these had been installed, I trimmed back the bulwark extensions. Then realised I had actually put in too many strakes. Removed a strake and roughly sanded the planking back. I then put a thin film of wood filler over the whole area and redid final sanding. I find it is best to do this sanding before bringing the bulwarks to height or length to prevent rounding of the edges. At this point, I also rounded over the plankshear slightly to create a more natural finish. Next was to add the gun ports as per the doughty measurements. This was done by measuring and marking from the stern forward. This resulted in gun ports landing over bulkhead extensions. To remedy this, I first cut away a narrow slot in the extension so that I could install the horizontal gun port beam at the level of the plankshear while the extension still held the upper portion of the internal bulwark in place. I then added the 2 vertical parts of the gun port opening. Then I did this I only worried about the visible faces of the framing, which also meant in certain cases the bulkhead extensions needed to be trimmed back and faced with pear wood so that only the pear wood would be visible when the gun port was complete. The rest would be hidden by the outer bulwark planking and the thickness would be corrected during faring. These framing pieces were then fared back so that once the two additional layers of planking were in place, the top of the bulwark would be 5mm thick to match the correct dimensions of the ship (21 inches at deck level and 15 inches at the top of the bulwark.) I then began cutting out the gun ports. I did this by using a jewelers saw to cut a small relief slot down the centre of each gun port and then clipping back the excess until it was almost flush with the gun port frame. Furthermore, I then used a scalpel, sanding stick and files to square everything off. Next up was installing the 4 lime wood strakes on the outside of the bulkhead extensions. This had to be done as I am double planking this hull, but I actually made a mistake here. This method resulted in a thin strip of lime wood being visible inside the gun ports, but I can live with that. The procedure was the same as above...glue on planks, rough sand, wood fill, final sanding then cutting out the gun ports... I added one additional strake below the bulwark to help with the alignment of the waist capping rail. At this point in my discussions with Marcus, I felt that I needed to make a change to my layout choices. It appears that the vessel probably had lowered bulwarks from the waist forward. I say this for a number of reasons. 1. The Gillmer drawing (based on the doughty drawing) shows a low bulwark and rail forward of the waist - From Old Ironsides -the rise, decline, and resurrection -Thomas Charles Gillmer 2. The doughty drawing (available on the USS constitution museum website) shows a raised section forward of the waist but just a bit lower. That being said he also shows a far lower bulwark in the stern which seems to have been raised in the building in my opinion as the stern bulwark is raised in the corne paintings, but there is no record of the bulwark being raised during the 1801 refit, although it is possible (as Marcus pointed out) that this was simply done at sea without any mention because it is essentially a simple task to clad the railings 3. Tyrone martin is adamant that the bulwark was open forward of the waist and closed in the stern. I cannot imagine that he would have made these very specific changes to the doughty plan without good reason - Mentioned in "Constitution - Close up - Tyrone G. Martin" and "Tyrone G. Martin - A Most Fortunate Ship - A Narrative History of Old Ironsides" and again quoted below in "The Artist, the Historian, and the USS "Constitution" - William Gilkerson, Tyrone G. Martin" 4. The corne painting appears to show an open bulwark forward with hammock netting. "Michele Felice Corné - 1803 This resulted in me cutting back the bulwark once the second planking had been done and ending up with this final layout. I wish I had realised that I preferred this configuration earlier, but there is nothing a little steam can't fix.: The final layer of planking was added, sanded filled and cut back with this as the result.(See next post) TTBE

Thanks to some additional inspiration by @Der Alte Rentner and some research, I finally came up with a design for a thicknesser of sorts. It's mostly from a design stolen from this site with some slight modifications. Essentially just a board with a piece of aluminium channel on a pivot point bolted to my drill press. I added a set screw and a tension spring, and the results are surprisingly consistent and neat. It's not quite a Byrnes, but it's a hang of a lot better than doing it by hand. TBE

You make an excellent point. I guess in this case its all fantasy anyway because as you said everything would have been painted in reality. It probably makes the most sense to just do what looks best to the eye. TBE

Good Morning Peter Thank you for your input, I think I will skip the caulking as per your suggestion. I had the exact same thought about caulking the hull planking as you did, it's a strange quirk in a way that everyone caulks the deck but nothing else. For all we know I will have to paint the hull regardless, but let us see. As for the use of the term gunnel, I should probably have checked the terminology, I worked in the oil and gas industry before I became a farmer, and we used the term gunnel, along with a lot of other vernaculars that would not have impressed my mother. I am continuing my search for a reasonably priced hobby drum sander, but it is roving to be a challenge. I even made an attachment for my belt sander that should in theory function like a thicknesser, but it grabs the piece of wood and shoots it past the belt before it can do much....very frustrating. Kind regards Haiko

Good Morning Jon A wealth of knowledge as always! It is a real pity that the Peabody photos are no longer available, I searched high and low myself. I will give all that you have sent me some serious thought and make a decision. I was thinking this morning that there cant be many models out there with more variation than the Constitution, I guess the nice part of that is the fact that it really forces you down the road of research and learning. Thanks again(and sorry for hijacking your peter) Haiko

That is a very complimentary question to ask, thank you! I am just a farmer, that means that a big part of my life involves making things. Out here I have to be the carpenter, mechanic, plumber, electrician, weather man and a thousand more things. I am not particularly goo at any of these tasks but they all help in some small way to keep me going. If you are interested this is my home...https://www.instagram.com/langdam.guest.farm/ Are you a carpenter? i think your models must be some of the most precise on the forum.

Thank you for the compliment. It was a joy to build.

Mustafa! Thank you for the encouragement. I am making very good use of your log to help me along with this build. Below is the portion I am referring to. The portion above the planksheer. I hope that makes sense Regards Haiko

I am about the start planking the gunnel(I dont even know if this is the correct term). Can anyone tell me if there should be visible caulking between these planks? I know its a strange question because the original vessel was obviously painted but suggestions would be appreciated. TBE

Waterways and planksheer The waterway process was pretty simple. I just cut stock to the size suggested on the plans from a pear stump, then cut away the portion of the waterway that was going to make contact with the bulkhead extension until it sat nice and flush along its length. I then marked the toe of the stock with a 1.5mm strip of wood and the top of the stock with a 2.2mm piece of wood. This created 2 pencil lines, which I could just taper between to create the profile of the waterway. I hope this makes sense, I realise it's a pretty shoddy explanation. The process of shaping the waterway was greatly helped by the application of the hand sanitizer mentioned in a previous post. It really helps with the hand carving component In order to make the curved section I marked out the waterway with a pencil on the plans then cut out this profile and glued it onto a suitable plank after which I cut out the shape on a bandsaw and fine-tuned it on the belt sander. The pieces were then marked using the same technique and installed with the rest of the waterway and steamed for bending to fit correctly. I also made a little modification to my lathe to create a sanding disc that could neaten up the faces of the waterway and make better butt joints. The final step for now was installing the planksheer. It was incredibly difficult to cut 2.38mm square strips on my full sized table saw, but with some sanding I got the stock pretty close. This stock was then cut to length, steamed and shaped to produce the final result which can be seen below. I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to get your bulkheads and extensions properly levelled and aligned. Do the extra work, or you will end up with a wavy planksheer and waterway. I am going to have to fill in some gaps when it comes to the first row of planks, and hopefully this hides the defects. TBE P.S. After writing this post I decided to steam loose the planksheer and waterway where it dipped then force a wedge(a chisel) under the low point and allow the timber to dry. This means that in those places the waterway no longer makes contact with the bulkhead but is at least running straight. Due to the fact that I am using a plywood carrier for the deck, I think I can live with this compromise. I have included a photo below of what this minor modification achieved. I fear only the most OCD amongst you will notice the difference. It is still not perfect, but I can accept it knowing that a lot of this will be hidden by future work, and it is a reasonable price to pay to use this pear wood.

Bowsprit fitting Just a quick post on the bowsprit. In order to get the waterways to fit correctly and be snug up against the bowsprit, I needed to do a temporary fitting of the timber. This item will probably be discarded in the end as there is an old plum tree in my garden with a dead branch that is begging to be turned into masts for this project, but we shall see. To do this one must cut a tenon at 25 degrees into the end of the bowsprit and in my case cut away the knight's head timber support that I made oversize. I had noticed earlier in the build that there was some misalignment in the bulkheads, which meant that I needed to cut away a lot of bulkhead A to allow the bowsprit to lie straight. This also meant that I need to make my tenon slightly narrower so that I could shift the base of the bowsprit slightly to starboard to get everything lined up nicely. The bowsprit in place will appear in my next post. The images below just show that I did this cutting process in essentially 2 steps. TBE

Bow filler blocks Just the usual copying of the plans, gluing them to the blocks with rubber cement and then sanding back to the lines with the belt sander. As with the stern fillers, I used the contour strips provided to help with shaping (see useless photo below). After the basic shape had been formed, I then cut out the profile for the notches in the filler blocks to accommodate the knights heads (apparently this is a misnomer of sorts, but I's sure you all know what I mean. These notches were cut with a combination of cheap chisels from Temu and some sharp number 11 scalpel blades. It did require some fiddling to get everything correctly sized for a nice fit, but I got there in the end. I did pass the block over a flame to burn away some of the messy standing grain that is common with this type of wood after the carving was done. Nothing special with the knights head timbers except that 4 strips that will ultimately edge the bow gun ports were lined with a thin strip of pear wood as I am still hoping to avoid painting this model if possible, this can just be seen in the last photo of this post on the starboard side. I made them up with the usual copying and gluing then sanding method. You will also notice that I left the profile of the upper supports square and did not cut them away. This will later provide support for the spar deck when It gets installed. It is worth noting that this was not entirely correct, and I had to later cut some of these pieces away to allow the bowsprit to fit These parts were then fitted and fared until all was reasonably well positioned for something which will later be hidden under planking. TBE

Moving on to the transom. Once the stern counter had been installed and the first of the transom pieces held in place, it became obvious that there was an issue with a measurement or two. The transom pieces protruded above the edge of bulkhead "R" this would need to be addressed. As stated earlier, I elected to not make the stern counter thinner, but rather modify the transom pieces to correct the issue. The approach I took was designed to address both the misalignment of the transom and the incorrect angle of the transom. I took an image of the stern gallery and overlaid a protractor onto the image to determine the correct angle for the transom, which turned out to be 70 degrees...see below.... This is a happy coincidence because removing the offending material from the top and bottom of each transom to get them flush with bulkhead "R" translated into a 70 degree transom. It's a bit hard to explain, but hopefully the images of the pencil lines below will show what I did to correct the issue. I then cut away the relevant material above and below the pencil lines, re cut the notches for the cross planking and obviously forgot to take a new photo. To glue these in place, I again copied the plans and stuck the cutout onto the stern counter, then makes the transom positions with a pencil and glued them down while measuring their spacing at multiple locations to ensure they were square. As you can see the extensions are grossly misaligned, I like to think this is mostly the fault of the kit, but I guess I may have played a role in that too. I remedied this by spraying the offending extensions with Propranolol based hand sanitizer and then clamping a slightly flexible sanding block made of wood to the transom to create a nice smooth curve. I was pretty happy with the result. Installing the beams was pretty straight forward. I had however cut the slots slightly wider than needed, so you can faintly see that there are in fact 2 beams in each slot to make up the extra space. Once this was all in, I sanded the faces flat so that everything was nice and flush. The last part of the stern for now was to add filler blocks to the port and starboard sides of the transom. Be careful to not oversize these and allow for the "wings" which are gone behind the stern galleries. I like to do her stern in the 1812 style with 7 windows and a more curved Taff rail. Hopefully this can still be achieved with this layout of transoms and some finagling. Post addition...once the stem and stern were complete, I also added support blocks between the bulkheads cut from a random pine plank I had lying around the workshop. A simple matter of measuring the distance between bulkheads at the false keel and then cutting a matching set of blocks to fit the gap. The result wasn't terribly pretty, but I know that this will all be hidden. It might not have been the worst idea in the world to cut these blocks with great accuracy and install them while installing the bulkheads, and the glue was still wet. In this photo you will also see there are reinforcements on either side of the space for the 3 masts, again nothing fancy, just some off cut wood glued either side of the gap while ensuring they do not protrude above the false keel and interfere with the masts. TBE