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Lecrenb

NRG Member
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About Lecrenb

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  • Location
    Beaumont, Alberta
  • Interests
    Model building from planes, trains and automobiles to ships too!

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  1. Thanks Mark... no masking at this point as the white is also the primer... and good thought on the empty hold. Regards, Bruce
  2. It has been a couple of weeks since my last progress report, we have been enjoying summer and family time, and I have gotten back to work on the model railroad, which will be dividing my hobby time at least for the next few months! I have applied the first coat of white primer - sealer on the inside of St. Roch's hold, using 'AutoBorne white sealer and Createx Colours thinner. These are not cheap, but they come in 8 ounce squeeze bottles, so they compare favourably by volume with other brands. It is only necessary to thin 10% then it sprays easily through the airbrush and cleans up easily when done. Speaking of airbrushes, I thought this was a good project on which to bring my old Badger 35 out of retirement! This single action sprayer was my first air brush, bought in 1976, and I used it until upgrading to a Badger 150 some years later. It remains a good brush for area spraying, and it did not disappoint as it made short work of fogging the hold interior! I will apply a second coat, then use my long handled, coarse bristle, brush to dry brush medium gray over the white, to give a good approximation of the actual hold's colour. The colours will be visible to anyone who looks down the hatch. I am unsure whether or not to place cargo in the hold... St. Roch usually carried coal over which were lumber then other supplies as required by the RCMP Arctic detachments, however I do not want to hide the posts and beams... Once I settle this question I will begin deck planking followed by the bulwarks and completion of the hull planks. Thanks for looking in, comments and thoughts on cargo are appreciated!
  3. Now it is off to the drill press... remember to use a Forstner or brad point bit to avoid tearing the wood! The next photo shows the mainmast set onto the mast step, there is enough wiggle room to allow fine adjustments of the angles using wedges made from toothpicks. The procedure is repeated for the foremast... Setting the masts completes the work inside the hold... Now I can paint it, then start planking the deck and completing the bulwarks! Thanks for looking in, and your comments and critiques are appreciated!
  4. To set the masts into the vessel I need to set the rake angle properly. For this I consulted the original St. Roch rigging plan, drawn in 1927. (It is interesting to note some detail differences on the hull portion of the drawing, but this is the rigging plan, and it was dated prior to 1928 when most of the ship's drawings were prepared.) This drawing also details St. Roch's mainmast which was removed in 1944, and which forms part of my model. Thanks again to the Vancouver Maritime Museum archives for locating and copying this drawing for me! The drawing gives a 3 degree rake angle. I measured using my protractor and the drawing baseline, which in this case is the waterline... the next drawing shows my protractor meeting the mainmast 3 degrees aft of perpendicular. Then I transferred this onto a piece of paper. I made a 3 degree angle template on the paper, then I taped the template to a beam in my model's hold that I knew to be vertical, such that the raked line was set to the front of the mast step, previously installed in the hold. This lets me take a measurement at the deck level that will be the front edge of the hole I have to drill for the mast. I offset the measurement by half the thickness of the mast... where this meets the center of the deck beams is my hole center.
  5. Now I have made the masts, at least the wooden parts, the bands and other hardware are still to come! I built my masts up from surplus sticks I had laying around in my stash. I prefer this method over using dowel rods, since those can warp over time with changes in humidity. I could also have used fewer, large, sticks, but I used up the smaller unused ones I had on hand. Here is the cross section showing all the sticks. It is important to ensure the glue is spread over the entire gluing surfaces with no gaps... after gluing I wrapped the mast tightly with thread over the entire length. This ensures even pressure on the gluing surfaces while keeping everything aligned. The next photo shows the masts and laying beside the hull, the main has been rounded on the lathe. I also make the masts a few inches longer that required, for holding while turning and sanding. The next photo shows turning the tops on both the masts, the main is finished and sanded, the fore is still being finished. Next I will show you how I set the masts into the hull! Thanks for looking in, comments and critiques are always welcome!
  6. Merci Alain! C'est bien d'avoir le bateau reel comme reference! Frustrant aussi car mon modele ne sera pas tel qu'il est presente aujord'hui! Regards, Bruce
  7. Thanks Gabe! It is great having the actual ship as a reference, but it can be frustrating because I am modelling her as she was during most of her working life, not as she is displayed today. The staff at the Vancouver Maritim Museum have been wonderful in locating original plan sheets and contemporary photos! Regards, Bruce
  8. Thanks JacquesCousteau! It is great having the actual ship as a reference, but it can be frustrating because I am modelling her as she was during most of her working life, not as she is displayed today. The staff at the Vancouver Maritim Museum have been wonderful in locating original plan sheets and contemporary photos! Regards, Bruce
  9. Before I continue the upper hull and deck planking I must make the masts and accurately locate the holes where they will pass through the deck. Once that is out of the way I will start planking the deck, and finish the upper hull strakes and bulwarks...
  10. Hi there everyone, wherever you are I hope you all had a great Canada Day and 4th of July! I have now got the lower hull planking completed I used my miniature hobby vise and reversed clothespins to push the final strakes up against the completed part of the hull. Here is the lower hull completed, and with wood filler applied to even out any divots and other rough patches, after sanding. Most of the wood filler is in the bow area, and that will be covered by a steel shoe that was fitted to help St. Roch push through the Arctic ice. The hull will also be painted which will cover the remaining filler.
  11. Some progress on planking the hull... I worked one or two strakes at a time, each side, letting my Titebond III glue dry overnight before continuing... Is it perfect? No... But the actual ship has a rough looking outer hull too... her hull was given an outer sheath of Australian Gum (Ironbark) for ice protection. This was left uncaulked so the seawater would reach the inner Douglas Fir hull; this would help to prevent dry rot. I also got the rudder post and prop shaft sleeve installed, and the rudder well planked inside. Next up will be some sanding and probably a bit of filler to even out the area at the stern, which I had trouble with... and one or two divots along the hull... Must replace divots!
  12. Thanks very much Gary. I had written an article about the ship's history for Ships in Scale, published in their Vol. XXV, Nr. 2 (March/April 2014). If you get out to Vancouver, the ship is preserved in their maritime Museum. Regards, Bruce
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