JKC27

The Wood Mill in Tecumseh, ON (just east of Windsor). They don't have balsa, but have a huge selection of wood. I found that large size chunks of balsa are virtually impossible to find anywhere near me. There is a place in Colorado that has it, but with shipping costs, customs, and shipping delays due to covid, along with the US to CDN dollar converstion - it wasn't worth the cost

I guess I never realized how far reaching Gordon Lightfoot's song really was. I'd even venture a guess and say most people outside of the Great Lakes region know much about these ships as most never venture outside of the St. Lawrence Seaway, whereas us boatwatchers get to see ships from around the world from bulk carriers, to tankers, to heavy lift ships.

For the bottom of the stern...... This was quite challenging and I thought of all the different ways to get to where I need/wanted to be. Basically used my dremel with a toothed attachment and cut out small chunks to get to the right areas from the centerline of the keel as well as the right heights from the bottom. I now have the basic shape - which I have had to fill in with wood filler and sand down, where I am happy that I can now move on to the topside features. I am being 100% honest on this. With having reference pics, the plans (lines drawing was really helpful), and a ton of patience, most of the shaping on this picture came down to 'eyeing it'. Overall I am very happy with how this has progressed so far.

As you can see in the last pic above, I started to lay out the cross sectional lines which would represent the appropriate sections as noted on the lines drawing that is on the prints I have. I really had to think hard on this once I chose this method for my build. Do I do the basic mid-section as one piece and then do the fore and aft sections in a sandwich method and then attach them? I just figured it would be much easier for me to do it as one solid piece. Figuring out the intricate curves of the bottom of the hull at the stern was a rather daunting task. Keep in mind, I have limited tools. I have a scroll saw, and table and chop saw. For the more detailed work that was next....I have an oscillating ool with attachments and finally get to use my Mastercraft (Canadian Tire brand) dremel tool that has bits that are quite good for using on basswood.

After I found my source for basswood, I quickly decided that this might the easier way to proceed for the hull. I got a large chunk of basswood, and once home I squared it up and cut it in half - so I have the base for my next freighter too! I used the pattern from my set of plans and had to borrow a family members bandsaw to cut the shape of hull.

I first started to do the bulkhead method, but with limited tools at my disposal (and no money to get any right now), I set this aside. Here is where I was at after tracing out cross sections from the set of plans I have and using a very old, but still quite capable scroll saw.

Pardon any formatting errors - My first build log, and first build. Trying to follow the conventions on this site. Quick blurb about me (if anyone cares...lol). I was 2 years old when this ship went down, so I obviously have no recollection of ever seeing it sail up/down the Detroit River on it's regular run carrying taconite (iron ore pellets) from Lake Superior ports to the steel mills in Detroit and Ohio regions. Born, raised, and still live only a couple blocks from the Detroit River on the Canadian side in Windsor, Ontario. Been a boatnerd my whole life, and still am. Have visited the museums near me (Dossin in Detroit, and the old one in Vermillion, OH which I believe is now located in Toledo, as well as multiple trips to the St. Catharines Museum and Welland Canals Centre in St. Catharines, ON). I did consider a career on the lakes, but at time I decided I go another route. From the time I was a young boatwatcher I have always wanted to built a model freighter - sadly no mass market companies ever got into this sub-genre of models. Which brings me to 2020 and finally deciding at 47 years of age to finally tackle this on my own. Built by Great Lakes Engineering Works in River Rouge, MI (the history of GLEW is fascinating itself - I highly recommend anyone interested in it to read up on it's history - not sure how well known they were outside of the Great Lakes region). The Fitzgerald was launched the summer of 1958. Owned by Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance, and operated by the Columbia Transport division of Oglebay Norton Corp. At launch it was the largest ship on the lakes and set numerous records during her career. The launch is interesting in that it took 3 times for the champagne bottle to break during the christening. Also the sideways launch was not only delayed due to difficulties removing the keel blocks, but once it hit the water many of spectators were drenched and it even hit the pier before settling. On Nov 10, 1975 she was lost in a major storm on Lake Superior with wind gusts approaching hurricane force and large waves likely over 25ft tall. A ship (Arthur M Anderson) that was following the Fitzgerald recorded wind gusts of 81-86mph and waves up to 35ft. Keep in mind, she was fully loaded with over 26,000 tons of taconite, so was surely sitting very low in the water. Why I chose the Fitzgerald for my first build: Great Lakes freighters have always been a hobby and interest of mine (see above). Ironically, with the covid pandemic getting plans for any ship proved to be a challenge, as most sources for plans for this type of ship were/are shut down or severely restricted. I was able to get a set of plans from eBay for this ship. Method: I tossed around the idea of doing a bulkhead/frame with balsa sheeting, and then a combination of balsa and styrene for the hatches, pilot house, etc. I actually started this method but stopped. Again, with access to materials and shipping to me in Canada, I found a local specialty wood dealer who stocks basswood, so I made the decision to do a solid basswood hull. I started sometime in early July (I think). I will do some catch up photos and notes, and then post as I go. Here is a pic of how she looked in 1971 - so hopefully my model looks pretty darn close to this!

@Roger Pellett Been a bit since I've visited, as I have been working away (slowly) on my Fitzgerald build - which I should upload some pics here. I will be watching this build of yours closely as this topic is really in my area of interest. Love the short, but detailed history on this ship too.

Making slow progress on my first model. It's the Edmund Fitzgerald. 1/16" = 1ft scale. Having a hard time figuring how to shape the stern properly. I do have limited tools by the way. Have a belt sander that i borrowed and an oscillating tool with sander attachment...also have a dremel with attachments. Here is where I am at (first 2 pics) and then a pic of what it is supposed to look like...

Welcome to the world of model ship building, from a fellow newbie, embarking on my first scratch build!

I can totally understand that. Very basic shape, especially the lake freighters, not much to distinguish from others, and really, it is a very regional type subject matter. I will not do the Edmund Fitzgerald - been done hundreds of times. My goal is to try something different. Turning out the planning for this is quite a journey itself. I did reach out to Canada Steamship Lines to try to get plans/drawings for their new Trillium Class bulk carriers (see CSL Welland as an example for those unfamiliar with this), more than just the general info page that's on their site, and their response was that they are not able to provide that information due to safety reasons. So, finding builders drawings/plans for the newest freighters are going to be hard to find. I do have a resource that is going to provide me with original builders drawings once the covid related restrictions are lifted. This will be something totally new to me. With no experience doing something like this, it's going to be a challenge. I know this isn't going to be a weekend project either.

Glad I found this site, and thank you for confirming my registration! Rookie model builder, as in it's been years since I have even built a plastic model kit. Also, very big interest in ships. Being located in one of the major great lakes port cities, following the ships on the Detroit River has been a part of my life since before I could walk. With that being said, I want to start to get into the model building hobby. Sadly, in terms of stock kits, there is nobody out there that makes model kits of these types of ships (be it a great lakes freighter, or even a "saltie"). The imagine in my profile pic is what I am looking to do (or similar). There seem to plenty of kits/builds of the mores historic wooden ships, and many military (again, pretty much zero Canadian military ships), and these are all great builds that I have seen on here and elsewhere. From talking to local hobby shops and other people with similar interests, it seems scratch building is the way to go. Also, the owners of the shops around here did say that if there ever was a company who starting issuing models of ships like the Edmund Fitzgerald, they would be hard to keep in stock. For whatever reason(s), they just are not made. I did go through one build log of the Maersk Detroit - all I can say is "WOW"! Obviously this builder has tons of experience, so not expecting a museum quality build for my first one, but this is what I am striving for. I am sure I will have lots of questions, so apologies now. Hope I don't drive everyone crazy.