realworkingsailor

You've been quietly busy. Nice job on the rig so far. Andy

Rigging is coming along really well. I'm in agreement with everyone else, she's looking amazing. Andy

All that math... Makes my brain hurt... Besides, it's much more fun taking large pieces of styrene and systematically reducing them into smaller bits of styrene.... Scribe and snap, scribe and snap...

Carrying on with construction of the unloading gear. The next major structure is the "A" frame. This consists of 2 massive girders that join at the top to support the swivel for the boom headblock. Although this looks like a simple structure, it is remarkably comlex, given the angles involved. A lot of trial and error. There is still a lot more structure to be added to the two side girders as well as the framing in between them. Eventually they will be supported about 1/3rd of the way down from the top by a vertical girder(s) attaching to the loop belt casing. One of the key things to be aware of is that the alignment of the various components; the swivel for the headblock, the gooseneck hopper just under the loop belt, and the boom pivot all have to be in line. There is still many adjustments to be made. And Popeye... you would have to be stark raving made to want to attempt to model the innards of a self unloading system. if you think an admiralty style model is complex.... you have no idea the work that would be involved I'm being sent out again to take a ship down the river. I leave tonight and won't be back again until Saturday sometime. The shipyard will undergo another short hiatus in the interim. Andy

Consider yourself lucky, it's not for nothing they are sometimes snidely referred to as "self destroyers" with respect to the crews.... Andy

Remember the transfer belts I mentioned?

I've been considering giving the stern a bit of a re-think. I'm not entirely happy with the upper level, so I've tkaen a pause on that for some deep thought. In the mean time, I've started work on the cargo handling system. Self unloading vessels originated on the Great Lakes in the 1920s and 30s. A system of hoppers, gates and belts is used to bring cargo from the bottom of the holds up to a boom, and then off the ship, either into a shore based hopper, or onto an open pad. Below deck, instead of the cargo holds being flat bottomed, they are slopped into a series of hopper gates. These gates are located above 1 or more longitundinal belts. Crew, known as tunnelmen, open and close the gates to all the cargo to fall ont the tunnel belts. These belts take the cargo forward or aft, depending on which end of the ship has the boom. In a multiple belt system, the tunnel belts unload into short transverse belts known as transfer belts. These belts take the feed and consolidated it onto another belt that brings the cargo up from below. There are three types of elevating belts. The simplest type is an Incline Belt. This is a very straight forward open belt that brings cargo up on a shallow angle. This system is generally quieter, but it take up a lot of space to get enough height to depost the cargo onto the boom. Another system is known as the Bucket Conveyor. This is a special thick belt equipped with rubber buckets that can bring the cargo up almost vertically from below. These are very noisy systems and they are limited in the ammount and types of cargo they can move. The most efficient and modern system is known as a Loop Belt. This is actually two belts that compress together over the cargo and forms a gigantic "C". These belts can move very fast, and can move a large variety of bulk cargos, there is very little they can't lift. A basic section of a modern self unloading vessel: Which brings me back to the Stadacona. I am fairly certain she had a loop belt system. You can see on the Photo of the Joseph H Franz, the ammound of space needed for an incline belt system. So whether or not she had a bucket belt or a loop is a matter for the rivet counters, the point on this excercise was for get the outer casing made up. The first step was roughing out the dimensions on a piece of paper. The two sides were then created and then the middle parts (my supplier is currently out of white styrene sheet, so I had to resort to black sheet instead.... not as convenient to write on... but it is UV resistant... ) Anyway, there are a lot more details to work out as well as construction of the massive "A" frame structure that supports the boom. Another challenge lies ahead. Andy

Very nice! If I wasn't knee deep in plastic at the moment, you know what I'd be up to Andy

Ha! I worked on the Parisien in 2003, the summer she laid up before her conversion to the Assiniboine. Small world! Andy

The kit actually comes with that moulded in already. Although the rivet detail is a bit faint, the panting between the frames is done to good effect. Andy

More on stern anchors later... A small update this morning. Just the preliminary work on the poop deck structure. The forward part would have been part of the engine casing, while the after part was more accomadations. And just for my own reference, and everyone else's amusement, another view of the whole ship mocked up as she stands now in construction. It happens to be a nice sunny (and cold) day, so I'm affraid all the white in the photos gets washed out. Andy

It's not so much that the stern swings... (The whole ship swings anyways when going astern, due to transverse thrust). In the canals and dredged channels of the Seaway, ships are travelling at a minimum safe UKC (underkeel clearance). Often less then 2 feet, after squat is factored in. Let's face it, in a canal a ship can only swing so far... But a ship with only 2 feet of bottom clearance, and an anchor that could be well over than in thickness... Well....imagine a really large tuna can meeting a gigantic can opener. Andy

Stern anchors are very rarely used, if ever. They are a requirement for the Seaway, so they continue to be fitted. The whole idea is that in the event a ship has to make a crash stop in a canal, it is better to drop a stern anchor, rather that drop one (or both) the forward anchor(s) and risk over-running them and puncturing the underside of the ship. Andy

Stern work over the past couple days. Excavating the pocket for the stern anchor too a bit of doing, the resin casting is particularly thick in that area. The anchor pocket will sit just below the deck, with a hawse pipe running up to a windlass on the poop deck. This is one of these areas that will be purely speculative. I've yet to locate decent photos of her stern, however careful study of contemporary vessels can help create something at least close. I've come across some great photos of a fleet mate, the S.S. Lemoyne built by the same shipyard 3 years earlier than the S.S. Stadacona. There will most likely be some similarities between the two vessels. I've also started work on the afterhouse. I used the kit supplied casting for the lower part, mostly for the sake of simplicity. I did, however, replace the resin cast poop deck for one made from 0.030" styrene. It's a bit mroe rigid (and less warped) than the resin piece, plus I needed to make modifications to the width and the forward end. I saved the cast on details of the engineroom skylight and stores hatch for re-use later on, as well as the cast on base for the funnel. There is a second level to the afterhouse that I will have to build on top, and most of those details will be relocated there. Andy

Styrene.... Yes... That stuff can be fun.... Question: how large a tube are you trying to make? Is it larger than commercially available stock? Use boiling water to soften the styrene sheet, and then tape it around a dowel slightly smaller than the diameter of the tube you want. When it cools it should hold its shape with minimal spring back. You can further set the shape by reheating with a hair dryer if needed. Hope that helps. Andy

All shall be revealed in due time...... Patience.... Andy

Thanks again, everyone. A small break from the shipyard today, well... Half day break.... Started working on getting the stern section ready. Unfortunately there seem to be few clear photos kicking around, of the Stad's stern. The views that I've found will allow me to progress to some degree, the rest will have to be a matter of conjecture, educated guesswork, and comparison with contemporary vessels. Like I stated at the beginning, the goal is to creat something that looks superficially similar to the prototype. One of the key sticking points right now is the arrangement of the stern anchor. More on that tomorrow when I've managed a bit more progress..... And photos... Andy

I think there was a few build logs of this ship on the old MSW.... And we all know what happened.... Interesting idea, dropping the gunport patterns, looks like it should work well for you. Andy

Sjors, Yes I will be using an airbrush (and the odd rattle can too). She will be painted at the club, as we have a spray booth. She will also be displayed there as part of the layout, so no cases need to be bought, or space made in the house (at least after she's built). And for the record, it's not that my bench is too short.... More like it's too crowded.... Andy

Looks great, Tom! Sorry I missed your earlier posting, but everything turn out really nice. Can't wait to see it all painted up and installed. Andy

Like many of the chemicals we use, ventilation is the key. I have a large ceiling fan that can move a considerable quantity of air.... Also being sparing with the application and keeping the lid on the bottle as much as possible, keeps the fumes to a minimum. As for the wheelhouse details, most are already supplied with the kit and just need a bit of cleaning up. But all that will have to wait until the painting has happened. Andy

To be honest, bite the bullet and go with CA. Get a respirator and gloves too, if you need them. Make sure any mould release is washed off the resin first, before gluing parts. Also it helps to rough up the mating surfaces a little with some 220 grit sandpaper. Hope that helps. Andy

It's very different from the rest of the world, a unique take on short-sea shipping. If you get the chance, you should tour the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway system, you'd find it very worth while. Andy

I have no idea where the term originated, but on a forward end job, the deck below the wheelhouse is traditionally called the Texas deck. But this seems a reasonable enough explanation: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_(steamboat) As for the eyebrow, I'd love to be able to tell you how I calculated all the geometry and worked out all the radii..... But to be honest, it was half way between a lucky guess, trial and error and referring to the part supplied for the kit pilot house. With a small dose of swearing thrown in for good measure Andy

More work on the forward house. It seems every time I turn around, there some other little bit to be added on. One of those perilous things about knowing how actual ships are built.... it can make things rather tedious... So I've finished the eyebrow over the forward pilot house windows. I've also added monkey's island (yes the IS what the top of the wheel house is called.... stop laughing..... seriously..... stop it!). It is removable for now, so that after painting, I can still access the inside to I can add all the nice details. I then carried on the deck framing under the Texas deck. A few more bits to add around the sides and the forward corners. And finally, just for good measure, in case anyone has forgotten how big this beast of a model ship really is.... Andy