Hi all, first post here so please be gentle. I am building RCMP St. Roch as she spent most of her life in the Arctic, wearing her mainmast and schooner rig and with the original smaller deck house. I am using copies of original plans from the Vancouver Maritime Museum where the ship is currently the main exhibit. I am also old school, so dividers and French curves are substituting for CAD!
The only kit of St. Roch is a 1:72 rendition by Billing Boats which I see several members here have built or are in the process of building. I look forward to checking these builds out! I will build my model plank on bulkhead in 1:48 scale, with the cargo hatch open to show the transverse beams in the hold that were designed to prevent the hull from being crushed in the ice. I will also include the rudder well which allowed the rudder to be lifted clear of ice. I will decide how to display the sails later in the build.
So, to start:
I drew patterns onto tracing paper to be transferred to plywood for cutting out. My copy of the 1927 lines drawing is 9 scale inches (3/16”) short, so I did not directly trace parts from it. I also referenced a copy of the 1944 section and general arrangement plans, but with caution since it shows her later configuration. I drew a base line onto the tracing paper, then vertical lines to mark the frame locations shown on the drawing, and the stern. Next I added seven horizontal waterlines, also from the lines drawing. Their vertical distance from the base line is not important.
The spacing of frames and waterlines came from actual measurements noted on the lines drawing, which when transferred to my tracing paper made up for my undersized copy. When checked, I verified that my hull will indeed be the correct scale size after planking. I now have a template onto which I can draw my model’s spine.
I used a 1:48 scale rule, dividers, and French curves to transfer scaled measurements and known dimensions from the drawings to complete this pattern, which is the aft half of the vessel, drawn from frame 5 aft to the stern.
I will need extra frames at the aft end of the hold and the fore and aft ends of the open rudder well, and these locations are shown on the 1944 drawing, taking note that a jog was made in the hold to enclose St. Roch's larger engine. I transferred these locations to my spine drawing then drew in the propeller and rudder posts and the rudder well, and indicated the rudder axis and propeller shaft centerline. The large jog near frame 6 is the aft end and floor of the hold.
Next I will finish my paper templates and cut wood!
Thanks for looking in and comments and critiques are welcome!
I'm not laughing, I think you have built a credible model of St. Roch. I have visited and photographed the ship in the museum and have now started a scratch build of her. BTW, the original ship's outer layer of planking is Australian Ironbark, chosen for ice protection, and was deliberately uncaulked to allow seawater to penetrate to the inner planking to help prevent dry rot. Hence the gaps. Well done sir! Regards, Bruce
