Papa

i occasionally get visitors of the 4 legged variety outside my shipyard window.  Occasionally a fox.  More commonly deer.

Still working on this as time permits.  Should be painting soon. 

Still working on this as time permits.  Should be painting soon. 

Did a little more painting...it’s very nice to get things put together.  Had a rough weekend finding out my 4 year old son has type 1 diabetes.  So hard only seeing him on the weekends.  Ok enough personal stuff, here’s some pictures.

Rub rails complete!

Has this kit been released yet?  I do not see at at Model Expo or other ship model sources

Still working on this as time permits.  Should be painting soon. 

Still working on this as time permits.  Should be painting soon. 

i occasionally get visitors of the 4 legged variety outside my shipyard window.  Occasionally a fox.  More commonly deer.

A lesson on reading ahead and studying the plans.  I was about to start the planking when I read the second paragraph in the instruction’s section on planking. It said there is part call a “thick pad” around the main mast and should be put in before planking, so as to plank around it.  This is not shown in the simplified deck plan on sheet (#tbd). On the other hand this plan sheet recommends adding some scrap wood around the hatch positions to help support the hatch coamings and deck planks, which is also in the instructions but I overlooked it at first. So be careful. Plans and instructions complement each other. Additionally, there is no laser cut “thick pad” in my kit. It is not mentioned on the list of laser cut parts and I couldn’t find such a piece. So I scratch built it.  The mast in the photo is just there to keep everything aligned. 

Still working on this as time permits.  Should be painting soon. 

i occasionally get visitors of the 4 legged variety outside my shipyard window.  Occasionally a fox.  More commonly deer.

Still working on this as time permits.  Should be painting soon. 

Still working on this as time permits.  Should be painting soon. 

Still working on this as time permits.  Should be painting soon. 

And thank you David and Phil  .
 
The plumbing is made from 3 sizes of brass rod - 2.0mm, 1.5mm and 1.0mm. I annealed it before attempting to make the bends. The most complex bend took me over an hour to get it ready for blackening with Birchwood-Casey Brass Black. I installed these pieces now before fitting the sections of boiler together :




Some type of safety blow-off valve perhaps ?

Also before fitting the boiler sections together I finished off as much of the front plate as I could :


Danny

A “dragger” is a fishing vessel that tows a trawl net.  A trawl can be dragged along the bottom of the seafloor, just above the bottom, or in midwater depending on the target species.
 
In the early 1920’s the Connecticut fishing industry began producing what is known today as the Western-rig dragger.  These boats were not the first pilothouse forward fishing boats built in New England, but due to their small size, the design was affordable and perfectly suited to independent fisherman working the local inshore waters.
 
These small fishing draggers were typically less than 60 feet in length.  Built of steam bent oak frames and planked with yellow pine or white oak, they were both light and strong.  The popularity of this Western-rig design quickly spread and by the 1930’s could be found in many ports of southern New England.  The use of these boats for ground fishing was so prevalent in the port of Stonington, Connecticut, that the design commonly became known as “Stonington Draggers.”   

Western-Rig  -  Winthrop Warner Collection,  Mystic Seaport Museum
Western-Rig vs. Eastern-Rig 
The difference between a Western-rig and Eastern-rig boat is one of deck arrangement and not the gear used in catching fish.  Western-rig boats have the pilothouse positioned in the bow with the working deck aft.  On Eastern-rig boats the working deck is positioned mid-ship with the pilothouse in the stern.  
 
Eastern-Rig  -  Albert E. Condon Collection,  Mystic Seaport Museum
 
The Eastern-rig deck arrangement evolved from the New England fishing schooners and  “auxiliary schooners” which required the helm to be over or near the rudder. But once fishing vessels became fully powered with a tiller system and rudder quadrant installed, the pilothouse could be positioned anywhere.  Enter the Western-rig. 

Western-Rig  -  Winthrop Warner Collection,  Mystic Seaport Museum
 
The Western-rig has some advantages.  With the pilothouse forward in the bow, there is easier access to the fo’c’sle and the engine room.  It also provides better visibility for the captain, and the crew is somewhat safer in bad weather working behind the pilothouse rather than in front of it.  One disadvantage to having the pilothouse in the bow is that the windows are more vulnerable to being smashed out in bad weather.
 
In the early days, the Western-rig boats were small and only used for inshore fishing while the larger more powerful Eastern-rig boats fished offshore.  In time however, the Western-rig boats grew in size and power to become today’s offshore stern trawlers and the dominant fishing vessel type. 
The Otter Trawl 
Even though the Western-rig Stonington boats had an open aft deck and a square stern, most continued to drag off the side.  And like the Eastern-rig boats, the gear most commonly used was the “Otter Trawl.”
 
Otter trawling was invented in England and came to America around 1910 – give or take.  It derived its name from the “otter board” which was the name given to a sheering device that was being used for “hook and line” lake fishing in Ireland.  Like a modern day planer board, this rectangular wood board would sheer on the water surface and course away from the direction it was being pulled.  In commercial fishing, the otter boards are industrial scale and can weigh hundreds of pounds.  Two such boards (commonly called doors) are used to hold open the mouth of the trawl net.  Like underwater kites, the otter boards are setup to push outward, away from each other, as the hydrodynamic pressure of moving water acts upon them.  This was a major advancement over the “beam” trawl, which as the name implies requires a beam of some sort to keep the mouth of the net spread open.  Needing a beam also severely limited the size of the trawl being towed and was cumbersome and impractical for a smaller boat.  Now with the otter trawl, a single small boat, like the Stonington dragger, could tow a net limited only by its engine power. 

The Otter Trawl - above & below  Copyright Seafish


The drawings, inspiration and photos for this build come from several sources and the model built from them will be a vessel typical of the design but not of a single example.  The hull will be built from one source, while some detailing and features may come from elsewhere.  All features and details will depict what would have been found on actual boats – nothing will be added for the sake of visual interest.
 
This model will be weathered to show honest wear.  It will not be a wreck, but I have never seen a pristine commercial fishing vessel.  Hard working fisherman worked these boats hard.  I hope to capture that feel without making a caricature out of it.
  
Thanks for taking a look.
 
Gary

This is my first attempt at model ship building... I plan to move on to wooden ships but thought I'd try my hand at a plastic ship first to ease into the hobby.
 
The kit requires quite a bit of time spent removing the excess flashing. I tried my hand at acrylic paints initially but decided to stick to Humbrol enamel paints (hand painted) as recommended in the manual.
 
Instead of Humbrol 81 Matt Pale Yellow, I opted for 63 Sand Matt as I felt it didn't look as bright and had a more muted tone.
 
Got a sore throat while painting the hull and wondered if it was due to the solvents in the enamel paint. Cured it with some whiskey but will be sure to wear a face mask moving forward...

I painted the sections first before glueing them thinking it would be easier to paint them this way. I used Tamiya Extra Thin Cement to glue the hull and bottom deck to start and noticed some slight dissolving of the enamel paint. Will touch them up later but maybe glueing them first would have been wiser...
 
Glued on the deck posts first but now starting to regret it as I foresee some issues aligning the upper deck above this (could knock them over).

Hopefully these decisions won't come back to bite my behind later in the build. I am however enjoying the build process immensely.
 
 
As a total newbie, I have a few questions to ask:
1. I used a fine handheld drill to reopen the holes in the hatches but in the process, the holes became round and lost its original square shape. Is there a better way to do this?
 
2. Any advice on painting the stern? Was thinking of painting the lighter colours on first then filling the windows with either a light blue or grey colour. Or is it better to do the opposite and dry brush the window frames with yellow?
 
 
Thanks again for sharing your thoughts.
 
Cheers,
 
 
 
 

Has this kit been released yet?  I do not see at at Model Expo or other ship model sources

Has this kit been released yet?  I do not see at at Model Expo or other ship model sources

Thanks for the likes. I glued the sub deck to the frames and sheer strips.

This crate has crossed the finish in my books time to move on. Kevin

All ropes for main sail are in place (what a mess) 

Now I could secure the mast in position and slowly start to solving that "hairy" puzzle. I must say it is a Joy to go through all the tackles! 
 

@ccoyle thank you!
 
Sail is finished so I could attach it to gaff and mast and test-fit it on the deck 

I’ve painted the bulwarks and am ready to start planking the deck.