AnobiumPunctatum

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 210 - Mainstay
 
Once the main shrouds were installed the main stay was next.  Like the lower shrouds and the forestay, this was 10 ½" rope.  The first picture shows the main shrouds in place and tensioned, and the mainstay rigged so the served areas could be marked out.
 

 
The shackled bullseyes and eyebolts through the main deck beams were installed earlier.  In the next picture the stay has been served and leathered and is rigged to allow the glue on the leathering to dry in position before painting.
 

 
The stay is clamped where a collar seizing will be placed after the stay is secured at the fore ends.  In the next picture the first seizing at the lower port end has been tied.
 

 
The lower ends of the stay are served as well as the collar at the top.  In the next picture frapping turns to the first seizing on the port side are being made with the aid of a sewing needle.
 

 
The next picture shows the four seizings on each leg completed.
 
 
 
I was very pleased that the stay clears the chafing battens on the mast by about six inches and is just inside the sheet bitts, so I may not install the spreader that was used if needed to keep the stays outside the mast.  The smaller bullseyes inside and just aft of those for the main stay will anchor the main topmast stay and will hopefully fit as well as the first.
 
The last picture shows the completed main stay with the collar seizing applied below the top.
 

 
The sheer poles have yet to be installed on the main shrouds and the lanyards are still dangling loose.
 
 
Ed

Hello,  
 
Here is another update.

Alexandru

Absolut wonderful progress Nils. Your model is fantastic.
Sometimes, especially at the bridge, the color is in my opinion a little bit thick, but it looks together with the other parts of your model absolut great.

Really nice progress

Really nice progress

Really nice progress

Wonderful model. Really nicely done

Thanks very much for your interest

It's good to see progress on your model again, Christian. It looks very nice indeed.

Well done, Christian. Doing this in two parts certainly helps keep the rabbet crisp but you did a very nice job..

Hey howya goin Christian, great job so far mate will be following along on this one. Been thinking of getting a set of these plans.
 
Take lots of pics mate up, down, left, right, in and out even in the 4th dimension if possible mate so to help me if I get this one.

Very nicely done.
 
ben

The boats multiply ...

Thanks for all the likes.
 
Greg, I am going to build a cradle to display the model.
 
And now for the update.  All of the square frames are installed.  She is starting to look like a ship.  This week I will work on cutting out all of the half frames and cant and hawse timbers.  I also need to figure out the best way to make the transom timbers as well.
 
Anyways, here are the pictures.

Wonderful model. Really nicely done

Taking more of Druxey's good advice, I looked for more details on the original Grice drawings blown up 600%.  I found a significant variation regarding the shrouds between Grice and both Grimwood and Cairo.

Grice shows the shrouds outside both rails but no detail as to how they setup. The other two clearly show them inside the top rail (setup to eyes in the waterways).  Grice is careful to show other items behind the rail where appropriate.  To be outside, they would bind on the upper rail if not set to a channel which is not shown.  Unlikely arrangement for standing rigging.  But there are some other things not shown on the original drawings...topmast stays, wales, bowsprit rigging, etc...Comments encouraged!
Maury

Small forward:
this is my wrapping machine

I own the complete set. I think that Volume 4 is less interesting for ship modelers and more for historians

I own the complete set. I think that Volume 4 is less interesting for ship modelers and more for historians

Absolut wonderful progress Nils. Your model is fantastic.
Sometimes, especially at the bridge, the color is in my opinion a little bit thick, but it looks together with the other parts of your model absolut great.

Civil War Ironclad, USS St. Louis -  !:24
Sequence of Assembly for USS St. Louis Model Rev C
 
Notes:
Rev A: This revision modifies Steps 5 thru 13 to permit direct use of the NPS plans to locate the structural elements yet allows installation of tempered hardboard sheets to add longitudinal stiffness to the lower hull structure.
Rev B: This revision adds Steps 14 thru 18 with details for constructing and installing the hurricane deck as a removable sub-assembly.
Rev 😄 This revision adds refinements to the sequence of assembly which were developed during model construction thus far.
1. Make a copy of sheets 3 & 4 of the "USS Cairo" National Park's Service plans at 1:24 scale and secure them to a sheet of 1/8 inch thick tempered hardboard.
 
2. Fabricate the three keels with scarf joints necessary to achieve about 4" longer than plan apparent length. Secure them directly on sheets 3 & 4 of the NPS hull floor plans with several 1/8" wood screws. (The keels will be trimmed to their final lengths in Steps 6 thru 9.
 
3. Fabricate all full and half frames up to the gun deck level chines using the three assembly jigs, locate them to the plans using small try-squares, and secure them to the keels with "Titebond III" wood glue and .052" diameter treenails in .055" holes. Place temporary wood support strips, which are the same thickness as the keels, under the lower frame floors at their outboard edges. (Do not glue or treenail the frames to these strips) Make a dozen or more wooden combs about 9" long by 1" wide by .25" thick which are dadoed to the "room and space" dimensions of the lower hull framing. Use these combs to temporarily locate and support the outboard ends of the frames as they are being secured to the keels. This is especially important for the aft half frames at the paddle wheel opening since they are only attached to one keel at this juncture. (By overlapping these 9" combs most of the hull structure can be made very rigid in preparation for installing the keelsons, deck clamps and other longitudinal structural members.)
 
4. Make the five keelsons & port and starboard gun deck clamps and secure them to all frames.
 
5. Attach about 6 temporary spreader beams, especially at the stern where the hull is split into two booms between the port & starboard gun deck clamps to maintain the lower hull shape.
 
6. Invert the partially completed hull structure and support it on jig locators to the inside of the hull floor timbers.
 
7. Make two longitudinal strips of 1/8-inch tempered hardboard approximately 4.5 inches wide which will fit snugly between the 3 keels and secure them to the lower surface of the frames with glue and treenails.
 
8. Add the cant frames, bevel the frames of the bow and stern to achieve a faired surface on the lower chine and install one or two rows of planking along the lower edge of the chine.
 
9. Make two additional strips of 1/8-inch tempered hardboard which abut the outer edges of the port and starboard keels and trim them to the outer surface of the lower chine planking. Secure them to the frames with glue and treenails.
 
10. Return the model to its upright position and install portions of ceiling, floor planking and longitudinal stanchions.
 
11. Frame and plank the waterway leading to the paddlewheel.
 
12. Add hull mounting provisions for the engines, paddlewheel and other machinery.
 
13. Add selected portions of the gun deck beams and planking which provide support for the armament while maintaining desired visibility to lower portions of the hull.
 
14. Based on further research of contemporary Civil War photographs we are convinced that unlike the flat decks shown on the NPS "USS Cairo" plans, the hurricane deck actually has a significant round-up (camber) of about 6.5-inches or .27-inches & a 15-foot arc at the 1:24 scale of our model. For accuracy this deck will be fabricated as a sub-assembly directly upon sheets 7 & 8 of the NPS plans and subsequently located over the lower hull structure and attached via the upper casement frames with removable pins thereby providing good internal hull access throughout the remaining model construction. The lower surfaces of the deck beams will remain flat since the distance between the gun deck planking and hurricane deck beams is over 7-feet and therefore an additional 6.5-inches on centerline would have been an unnecessary expense.
 
15. Make the 43 hurricane deck beams (carlines) from hard maple stock with identical the round-up (camber) formed into their upper surfaces using a special sanding fixture for the 15-foot radius mounted on a 4-inch table equipped vertical belt sander.
 
16. Construct the hurricane deck consisting of the port and starboard carline clamps (deck clamps), deck beams, and additional longitudinal framing members for the stacks, skylight, and wheelhouse. The present plan is to apply deck planking to at least one side (port or starboard) and additional selected planking to be determined later.
 
17. Locate the hurricane deck sub-assembly above the lower hull assembly on temporary supports or internal hull bulkheads while installing upper casement frames which are permanently fixed to the chine knuckles and pinned to the hurricane deck beams.
 
18. Frame in the gun ports and apply selected exterior planking to the upper casements. Temporarily un-pin and remove the hurricane deck to provide access for installing selected upper casement ceiling.
 
19. With the hurricane deck removed, continue with installation of the bulkheads and partitions around the wheelhouse, cabins and boilers and any other features on the gun deck.











Method used to Construct the Lower Hull Frames (Rev A).doc
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Jig #3 Set-Up and Procedure for Use 26 Mar 2015.doc
Method used to Construct the Lower Hull Frames (Rev A).doc
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Absolut wonderful progress Nils. Your model is fantastic.
Sometimes, especially at the bridge, the color is in my opinion a little bit thick, but it looks together with the other parts of your model absolut great.

The fourth production

 

 

 

 

Hi,
 
i haven't been able to spent as much time on the cross section as I like but I manage to do a bit here and there.
Sanding took a lot of time and was the only way I could find to give the hull the right shape.
Here how she look now...






in some places I didn't manage to get a good fit but still learning I guess...
 
Hugo

No problem, here are the values for the regular frames from Elements of Naval Architecture (Steel):
 
floor timber: 12 1/2''
1st futtock: 13''
2nd futtock: 11''
3rd futtock: 10 1/2''
4th futtock: 10 1/4''
top timber: 10''
 
Source: Allan Yedlinsky: Scantlings of Royal navy Ships 1719-1805, SeaWatchBooks LLC, 2014