tmj

I agree with everyone so far. #1, the repair should be quite simple. #2, "Do Not" mess with the splintered ends where the break is. Simply 'dob' some clear PVA glue into the splintered ends, press the two parts tightly together, wipe all squeeze-out off with a 'very moist' paper towel, cover the joint with saran wrap, then 'tightly' wrap the freshly glued joint with string until the glue dries. Keep a close eye on things for the first half hour or so just to make certain that you have the splinted pieces absolutely straight, and nothing shifts, and/or goes crooked on you while the glue is setting up. be creative in bracing to temporarily hold things firmly in place. Give it a solid day or two before unwrapping the bandages. Being wrapped in cling wrap will trap the joint in a humid environment and effectively delay the PVA glue's typical drying time. Once unbandaged, give it another day to dry, then use 400 grit sandpaper to smooth things out. You'll then need to observe the tint/colors of the surrounding finish, paint, etc. and determine what type of 'new' finish would best make your new repair blend in with its surroundings. It's doubtful that you, nor anyone else will ever make the repair totally invisible, but if you do a good job of this repair nobody will ever notice it unless they put it under a microscope, per se. Last, but not least... if there is uneven tension on the rigging, wanting to pull things in one direction, you'll need to readjust that tension to balance it out and keep such extra stress(s) off of that repaired joint. Not totally necessary, but good insurance for future integrity and longevity!   

  Good luck!   

32 minutes ago, Keith Black said:

Thanks for joining in, Keith. I think Billy is the epitome of bizarre but I continue to search just in case. 

You'll find something else 'bizarre', I have no doubts! 

FWIW, speaking of bizarre... when I lived on Treasure Island, in Florida, there was a 'Tops' grocery store that had boat docks on the intercoastal waterway. While hanging out on 'my' dock, about a mile away from the store, I often saw this 'teeny-tiny' little homemade boat go by, heading for the grocery store. I honestly don't think it was even as long as a 'bathtub'! Barely enough room for the driver and a couple bags of groceries, LOL! 

3 hours ago, builder_Nick said:

I didn't drill holes in my thwarts to add belaying pins because I thought I had read somewhere that this would not have been used on the real boat. Am I correct or not? And if so, would anyone be able to point me in the right direction for proper rigging attachment points?

Without belaying pins, how would the sails have been properly set, tied off and fixed into any needed position for 'sailing'? The sails would just swing wildly in the wind with nothing to hold them in place! 

"Where can I find hull seeds that will grow trunnels like that?"

If they are like 'this', you could just drill all the way through the pedestal and run a long screw through the bottom of your base, through the pedestals and into/through the bottom of your keel. Depending on the type of screw you use, you might need to drill/tap threads into your keel for a good 'grab' (machine screw) or just drill a proper sized pilot hole through the keel to keep the screw from bulging or splitting the keel (wood screw).

11 hours ago, Bryan Woods said:

I would like to find some type of rigging used. I’ve found some pictures but I can only make out the mast. I would think some had winches on them.

Maybe 'this' stuff will be helpful... 

1582619702_1495448238-bb474-cux-87-main-plan.pdf

15 hours ago, Bryan Woods said:

This I believe is a mid 1900 German fishing boat.

Yep, this would have been a coastal vessel used for shrimp, herring, cod, etc. in Bavaria. Nice subject!

"What Johnny said." I use mineral oil on my kitchen cutting boards to keep them oiled and to prevent the wood from drying out and cracking. Not sure I'd want to use it on my model ships as an under-coat below additional finish. If you're looking for a light-colored deck, sand it with 220 grit paper and give it two light coats of 'Tru-Oil'... then sand it again with 400 grit paper. The Tru-Oil will give it a warm, white oak sort of look. You won't notice any glue trails, either.    

On 7/5/2025 at 1:29 AM, Jim Lad said:

Another update. The 'Duchess' continues to grow sails. First two on the mizzen mast. The cro'jack is rigged, the lower topsail merely crossed at this stage, but at least she looks a little more balanced with sails on all three of the forward masts.

 

John

 

Oh my... "That's NICE!" "Beautiful!"

4 minutes ago, Keith Black said:

Thank you for the rendering, but where do the stairs land?

I don't have a clue where they might begin, 'or' end! I don't care to guess, either! I only rendered what I personally see in the original photo... then rotated that 3D view a bit for better observation, consideration and thought. What If the engine was chain driven to the paddle wheels? Could the engine have been off centered to keep the chain(s) centered on the paddle shaft (or whatever it's called), and in such the PH was off set, to the opposite side of the boat, as a counterweight? I'm sure you know exactly where I'm pulling this curious train of thought from, LOL. Maybe I'm just trying to make ol' Billy a bit 'quirkier' than she really was! 

9 minutes ago, KeithAug said:

Keith - I think it's just the viewing angle and the curvature of the deck. My vote is for it being on centre ( not that anyone will ever know for sure ).

Quite true Mr. Aug! We can't truly see the deck on both sides. What I'm looking at is the location of the pilot house between the 'stacks'. The PH could very well be centered and what I'm seeing in my mind's eye is a simple illusion, however. To 'me' it looks like the PH is closer to the stack in the background than it is to the one in the foreground. Every time I study this photo I see something different. "Where's Columbo when you really need him?" 🤔

It's very interesting how different eyes and different minds can see totally different things while viewing the same subject! 🙂

Sensible or not, this is what 'I' see. My railings abruptly end in space because the view of the rest of those railings is not visible. Only 'Billy' knows what's going on 'behind the scenes'. 

I also see the pilot house being off-centered. Doesn't mean it was. That's just how it appears to 'me' in the photo.

Message Sent

Something 'else' just caught my eye on this curious boat. What could 'this' be? The angle of its projection suggests that it's not just a 'wooden' feature nor a photographic anomaly, but rather something like a bent 'pipe' running forward out of the pilot house. Could this have anything to do with the indoor 'bar'? LOL

Knee-Rail

This appears to be a really low 'knee-rail' as well. Very dangerous, unless it's just to keep junk from blocking the pathway into the pilot house. Who knows. I'm just stabbing in the dark! LOL

I'm going out on a limb again. Could Billy have possibly had 'two' doors for the pilot house, one forward and one aft? I see what must be a handrail, and also some curious carpentry in the aft end of the pilot house. Could that irregular open panel on the port side be a door? Maybe there was a stair coming up from 'inside', not on the outside. One entered the pilot house from the rear end and came out on the upper deck from the forward door.

On 11/16/2025 at 11:58 AM, Keith Black said:

A 6 to 9 inch bicycle horn to scale would be 0.050 to 0.075 inches in length. It would be so tiny one couldn't make out the detail in normal viewing regardless of how exacting it was made. Sometimes you have to take what Mr Keith says with a grain of salt. 

Hmm... The scale is obviously a bit smaller than what I was thinking it was! 😕 I didn't think of 'that'. Makes sense to me now. Maybe you can just add an electronic 'bicycle-horn' sound effect for your "tongue in cheek" representation, LOL

23 hours ago, Keith Black said:

I wish I was really good and I could make a realistic looking bicycle horn, as a tongue in cheek gesture I'd hang it on the starboard side. 

Maybe you could flare a small brass tube and glue a black bead on the end?

I don't like using rubber bands nor tape. I simple keep different sizes of stock 'loose' in different poly bags/sleeves... and store those individual bags of 'sleeved' stock in labeled round cardboard tubes, in an air-conditioned home environment. Works like a charm!  

That's not a large model ship... "That's a small CANOE!" 😲

Holy smokes, looks 'GREAT'! "Very nice job, indeed!"

I have a question concerning scale and actual dimensions of ol' Billy. Was lumber for boats like this not typically milled to certain standards of the times, much like lumber is milled today? I'm asking this because of the different dimensions of lumber planks being used as 'siding' on the exterior of the 'above-deck' buildings. Could the width of those exterior planks/boards hold a clue as to the actual scale dimensions of the boat... or were things like lumber made with non-standard milling practices back when/where Billy was built? In guessing, I'd say the wide horizontal planks were around six inches wide and the vertical planks were about three inches wide. I came up with this by looking at the height of the windows where the wide horizontal planks are located. I might be way off base, dunno. I'm just looking for any known dimensions to accurately scale the photo by. I'm thinking that the dimensional lumber might hold a clue if known dimensions of that lumber can be revealed. 😕 

Visit Seawatch Books for Swan Class plans, etc.

Very clever idea Glen! I'm late but will be keeping up with future progress for sure.