captainbob

Finally everything is settling back down and getting back to normal.  I got a gift of a sign that makes my work area official, so I went in and started planking.  The plans say the planking is 2 1/2” X 7” and narrower.  That’s .05” X .15” so I’m planking with .07” thick figuring the sanding will take it down to .05”.  In the pictures you can see the gar board and the sheer strakes.  It looks like I will have to use a lot of filler planks at the stern, but that will be a few days yet.  I was looking at the planking of the Bluenose.  The one I was studying used 15 planks bow to stern.  It doesn’t look like I’ll be so lucky.
 
Bob
 

 

 

 

 

Finally everything is settling back down and getting back to normal.  I got a gift of a sign that makes my work area official, so I went in and started planking.  The plans say the planking is 2 1/2” X 7” and narrower.  That’s .05” X .15” so I’m planking with .07” thick figuring the sanding will take it down to .05”.  In the pictures you can see the gar board and the sheer strakes.  It looks like I will have to use a lot of filler planks at the stern, but that will be a few days yet.  I was looking at the planking of the Bluenose.  The one I was studying used 15 planks bow to stern.  It doesn’t look like I’ll be so lucky.
 
Bob
 

 

 

 

 

Finally everything is settling back down and getting back to normal.  I got a gift of a sign that makes my work area official, so I went in and started planking.  The plans say the planking is 2 1/2” X 7” and narrower.  That’s .05” X .15” so I’m planking with .07” thick figuring the sanding will take it down to .05”.  In the pictures you can see the gar board and the sheer strakes.  It looks like I will have to use a lot of filler planks at the stern, but that will be a few days yet.  I was looking at the planking of the Bluenose.  The one I was studying used 15 planks bow to stern.  It doesn’t look like I’ll be so lucky.
 
Bob
 

 

 

 

 

I have tapped the keel nuts and epoxied them in, so as not to waste too much epoxy I made the rudder too and epoxied the rudder post into it and coated the wood in epoxy.
 
I needed to make sure the keel nuts would set square to the keel so I drilled two holes in a piece of timber at the same spacing and organised some wires to suspend that with the boat hanging below, this should ensure they are square.
 
I'm flamin' glad it is a lot cooler than when I did the last lot of epoxy work, the keel nuts fell out when I was trying to screw the bolts into them to hang it so I had to dive in with fingers and got epoxy all over them in the process of refitting them, thankfully I had plenty of time to get it all sorted before the epoxy started going off. Did I mention that I LOVE alcohol ! yes that kind too but I mean the isopropyl alcohol, it makes cleaning up an epoxy drama so easy.
 
I am sipping a very nice scotch at the moment too
The steel shaft goes into the groove machined in the rudder and the right angle section goes into the hole in the groove, should be plain to see I think, I have done this in the past with nitro speed boats so I reckon it should be more than strong enough for a schooner. Not sure if I will bother with false brass hinges as they just mean more holes in the hull.
 

 

 
The brass keel nuts are long enough that they protrude beyond the keel. Two reasons, on display they will be the pedestals it rests on and more importantly, when trying to mount the sailing keel it would be hard to get the screws to line up with the holes when working underneath the hull but I will drill holes in the keel that will accept the nuts so they act as dowells. That should make fitting the keel much easier.
 

 

 
In this pic you can see the braces I fitted between the keel and ribs adjacent to the keel nuts to take any lateral strain the keel imposes during sailing.
 

I have also done more work on the hull.
 

 
These are the rear seats. The kit would have the side seats resting on top of the thwarts. I preferred the look of all the seats on the same level, so that's what I did.
 

 
This is the grating as supplied in the kit. It looks rather cheesy, and I can not find any reference to the grating in AOTS: Bounty or any other source I have on hand.
 

 
I therefore cut up some spare wood and fabricated myself a replacement. This hasn't yet been glued in, it was a rough fit for the photo!
 

 
I added a wale, then masked it off and painted it yellow.
 

 
Gunwales added! All the other build logs seem to use the same method to clamp down the gunwales while waiting for the glue to dry. I had plenty of chopsticks on hand, so that's what I used.
 

 
The masts have been completed (L-R): maintmast, foremast, bowsprit. The bowsprit has been finished as per McKay. I calculated it at 82% the length of the foremast. In this kit, the foremast is 32cm, so the bowsprit works out to be 26.2cm.
 

 
Everyone seems to have a different method for aligning the gunwales. Mario (Cap'n Rat Fink) assembled his on the plans, then lofted the entire thing on the model. I didn't like that idea, so I came up with this. After I glued in the gunwales, I masked off the gunwales and levelled off the bow gunwale cheeks. After a good sanding, these were re-stained. They are now beautifully flush.
 

 
A number of build logs on MSW have also commented that the rear gunwale cheeks are too short. Not mine - mine dropped in perfectly after I shaved off half a mm. This is the completed rear of the boat, with the rear thwart, the backrest, and the completed gunwales.

Few pics for you Keith:
 

 
Just cut from a brass strip and crudely shaped. Hole drilled for a nail in top and a big hole drilled and ground to fit over the loop bit
 

 
I just played with some of my carbide and diamond bits to texture etc.
 

 

 
the bit attached to the chest bottom had two holes drilled into it and I made a ring eye - cut in half and glued into the drilled holes and into the wood of the chest.
 

 


 

 

 
Hinges made from brass strip cut to size and then cut to look like a capital "F" and the sticky out bits of the "F" were rolled back to make tubes - and a pin inserted through the holes

I am no fitter/machinist but I love having a lathe !
 
I have turned the blind nuts that will go through the keel to mount the sailing keel, they will also be used to mount her on display. All I have to do now is get a tap and cut the threads and I can epoxy them in.
 

 

 

 
Since I bent a prop shaft and had to order a full replacement assembly I now have one set left over albeit useless for driving a boat. It is however quite good enough for steering a boat. I have cut the outer tube quite short and epoxied it through the keel and I will use the bent shaft to attach the rudder to after bending it some more. I have two bearings for it but the one that would go inside the boat is too long and would put the tiller above deck so I turned a second outer bearing which will make it all nice and neat.
 

 
In spite of appearances the hole through both bushes is the same, 3mm. Yes you can easily tell which one I made by the finish but re-read the first sentence in this post

I see you are moving right ahead.  Good job.
 
Bob

A few updates.  I have the platforms on.  Upon further looks at the plans I should include a platform on the mizzen mast as well.  I also moved the main mast aft.  It didn't look right being so close to the forward mast so I repositioned it.  I then put a hatch cover over the hole for the original mast.  Except for the stern I'm ready for yard arms.  I still need to figure out what windows or designs to put on the back (transom?).  I think that's the right word.  
 

 

 

That's fine esion, if you are almost finished i'll wait for your completed model
 
Before I went for my NYE party yesterday I managed to mask off the bottom of the boat and apply 3 layers of white paint. When I came home (blind drunk, at 3AM) I managed to add another layer, miraculously without spilling paint all over myself, the floor, or the boat. I left the paint to dry, had a shower, then went to sleep.
 
I woke up at close to noon with a nasty hangover but that didn't stop me from trudging down into my modelling room to do more work. Wasn't such a good idea, given how many mistakes I made today. The reason why I am going so slow is because I have gone treenail crazy and i'm treenailing everything:
 

 
The sheer clamps and windlass holder have been treenailed and installed. Note that the wood has been stained, yet the treenail sits flush and crisp against the plank. How to get a crisp finish - stain the wood and allow to thoroughly dry. Drill the hole for the treenail, then dip the treenail in slightly diluted PVA glue (I use 9:1 PVA to water). Push the treenail through and allow it to sit slightly proud, about 0.1mm. You will note that simply by pushing the wet treenail through stained wood, the surface of the treenail will be slightly stained! When the PVA glue is dry, chisel off the proud area, then lightly sand with 800 grit sandpaper - this will leave you a crisp treenail.
 

 
The center floorboard was likewise treenailed.
 

 

 
I made a little jig to help space the planks evenly. The pictures are self explanatory.
 

 

 
This is where I am up to right now. Note that I have moved the mainmast closer to the windlass.
 
Tomorrow after work - i'll complete the floorboards, sand back the painted area and give it another coat of paint.

More paint
 

 

 

Very nice.  I like the large hatch instead of two.
 
Bob

First off HAPPY NEW YEAR, and I hope that everyone had a Merry Christmas. Originally I was going to close out this build log with a bunch of comparisons between the Kit and the scratch build, I will say this that the Kit can easily be made to follow the Chapelle drawings. It is mostly in the Fairing of the frames and having the correct transom. The result that I had hoped for was achieved by both my Daughters when they recived the boats my oldest got the Kit build and my youngest Daughter got Keel # 1 her expression is priceless . Here are results

Planking's looking good, Popeye.
 
Bob

Thanks for your kind words Tim.
 
The sheer rails have been added as well as some of the cleats the plans call for.
Next I have to make a bunch of ring bolts and then the gun carriages. No Guns
yet but I might as well as start on the carriages
 

 

 
Also the quest for a lathe continues. I have ordered the Tabletop Machining
book by Joe Martin and will read up on lathe usage as well as annoying some
of you with dumb questions.

Next time before you cut out the wood parts put the sheet on a copy machine then you will have a paper master and can make as many copies as you want.
 
Bob

Greetings,
 
It's a rainy, gloomy and windy day in Hampton Roads, (winds are gusting to 27mph, 23.46 knots, a perfect day to stay inside and work on a model.  
 
These are the latest photos of my work on the Schooner Atlantic half hull, as you can see she is taking shape rather well and I'm pleased at the progress.  The photos show me checking the shape at each point then sanding and rechecking.  At this point I'm too close to the correct shape to use a chisel to remove excess wood because I don't want to use any filler which would ruin the natural mahogany I plan to show below the waterline.  It's best to take my time and remove a little wood each time.
 
Cheers,
Tim
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Its good to hear your son Kevin is looking for a hobby. So many today think TV is a hobby. For me a hobby involves creation and all one creates in watching TV is a depression in the seat cushion as well as the brain cavity. Personally we've been TV'less since 2005 and I feel we're the better for it. I'm not knocking TV, its just some spend hours a day, but then say... I don't have time for a hobby.
 
I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but hobby lobby will send a 40% of coupon on 1 item per week to your email. Tammy signed up for it and typically takes care of it, but 40% off help make some decisions sometimes when something you want isn't on sale that week. I've also found that there sales rotate and if one waits but a short time, the savings is usually 25 to 50% off. 
 
I've never thought of checking out he dollhouse stuff, great advise.

Greetings,
 
My next step was to attach the backrest to the  forward turret race.  This unit is made from two pieces of photo etch brass, the back rest has to be shaped so it will fit the rearward section of the turret race.  After the shaping and fitting is completed it's then glued to the race with CA glue.  
 
Cheers,
Tim
 

 

 

 

 
 
 

Hi all,
 
Years ago I read "Sailing Alone Around the World" by Joshua Slocum, and in January 2012 I decided that I would build his boat, the "SPRAY", in 1/48 scale POF with bent framing. The way Slocum built it.  I started asking questions on this forum, and I want to thank all those who answerd with help.  The information on this forum is invaluable.
 
Then the research began.  In the first chapter of his book, Slocum said he was given an old "fishing smack".  So I looked for fishing smacks of 1800.  About when his was built.  Someone suggested the "Emma C Berry" for framing, so I hunted for information on that boat.  I also gathered as many plan drawings of the "Spray" as I could find.  About five.
 
Now it was time to check and redraw the plans.  The first thing I discovered was that ALL the plans had errors.  Things like, the shear and section views would agree and the shear and the plan views would agree, but the width of the plan was no where near the same as the width of the sections.  Of the drawings I had, the drawing from the appendix in the book was the closest.  So I traced that into an old copy of AutoCad and worked out the errors.
 
Checking the fishing smacks plans had shown a frame spacing of from 15" to 22" I chose 18" for framing the Spray.  I drew a section at each frame.  I offset a line .031" inside to subtract the 1.5" planking Slocum used.  The frames will be 3" X 5" so again I offset another line .062 inside the planking for the frames.  This gave me the section lines for the plug I will carve to shape the frames.
 
I am going to plank only half the deck and deck houses so I can show the insides, taken from the sketches in Slocum's book. (See below)
 
Bob
 

Rusty,
 
I'm no expert by any stretch of the imagination, but I would offer this additional thought for you. Turning very small wooden parts in a wood lathe, using hand held tools, is a very delicate (and difficult) operation as just a tad too much pressure will destroy the part in the blink of an eye. If you use a metal lathe, the tools are held in the machine and applied with great control, making the manufacture of small parts so much easier. So it's not a question of, "how much metal would I turn", but more one of, "how much control of the tool do I need?". I know the outlay cost is more, but you will remember the quality of the Sherline long after you have forgotten the price.
 
Hope this helps.

Hi Jakob, Yes she is going to be a big one.
 
The sheer rail was cut from cherry as it’s hard enough to hold an edge but soft enough
to make scraping the edge easier. I used a dremel and files to first remove the razors
edge and then cut the shape into the old blade to make a scraper. After many passes
I obtained the edge I wanted.
 

 
I then sanded it smooth, stained it with Fiebing’s and
left it to dry.
 

 
After it’s good and dry I’ll rub it down and apply a coat of wipe on poly.

Gaff tops'l I, as you say, treat as an extension of the course, treat it all as one sail.  Stays'l that have to cross a stay are another matter.  Most models I've seen don't have stays'ls, and those that do either keep the clews above the stay, and often just don't bother with controlling the sheets, or just sheet them to the centerline and leave them that way..  One idea I gave some thought was a bit of elastic that would raise the clew just over the stay when the sheet was eased, but this too may be more trouble than it's worth.
 
On Pride I'm leaving off the fisherman stays'l because it would interfere with the fors'l far too much and is just too complex to try to handle remotely on that rig.
 
Trained squirrels, BTW, are also not feasible as they tend to gnaw on the model and fill the hold with nuts.
 
More details on Pride's control systems will appear in my MSW build log for her, rather than clutter up Bedford's log.
 
I've never used a bilge pump.  I usually toss a feminine napkin in the bilge to soak up anything that gets in there and leave the hatches open for a while after sailing to let everything dry.  Anything catastrophic a bilge pump wouldn't keep up with anyway.  I also sail in salt water which little pumps don't stand up to for long.

Here's a quick post with overlapping sail sheeting ideas, just tossed together...
 
Any one that sails knows when tacking, simply put, you let fly the lee sheet at helms-a-lee and take in the new lee shet after the heads'ls across the wind/centerline.
Accomplishing that in a model isn't as easy as it sounds.  For one thing, remote set-up don't tend to work well with slack.  Slack lines tend to snag things and there's no one aboard to clear these snags when they occur.  There's also the issue of space in the hull and access for installation, maintenance, and adjustments.  Servo arms long enough to pull the required length won't usually have the room in the hull to do it.  Winches don't have this issue, but have issues all their own - especially with slack.
 
Typical way of handling overlapping sails with a winch from Dan L:

 
A servo arm set-up from the late Jimmy James:

 
A two servo design.  One servo pulls the sheet to port or starboard, the second servo moves the first servo itself to let in or out the sheets, from someone on Model Boat Mayhem forums:

 
My playing with the above idea, but with one servo.  Instead of a servo sliding the other one fore and aft, the servo slides itself via a line to the other side of the arm.

 
The sliding sheet: the sheet slides through the clew until a knot pulls it over the stay.  Sheet doesn't require a lot of tension if used with a servo arm, if with a winch, that's another issue

 
Someone posted this on RCGroups a while back and it looked really promising to me, but...
I've mocked this up on the bench and couldn't get get a pull of much length.  It's also tough to start the arm from center as the servo hasn't as much leverage.
Trying to make this work within the space available in the hull hasn't been successful but I'm convinced something along this line is the answer.

I made a few items to enhance the boat contents over the kit supplied items. I made a bucket by turning a piece of dowel on the lathe. For the slates, I used the same technique I used for the barrels, scoring the lines using a razor saw. I added a handle and filled it with some husked coconuts I made from Sculpey. I also made some unhusked coconuts from Sculpey and a halved one. I made the cutlass from some brass strip and a small piece of brass tubing. I used a wide piece for both the blade and the handle. On the blade, I filed in the curves. I used a single piece for the handle. I first filed in the shape of the hand guard, then filed the rest narrower and bent it around for the finger guard. I blackened the individual pieces, then glued them together with CA. I filled in the end of the handle with wood filler, then painted the handle black. I lightly sanded the blade so some of the metal shown through. I still have to add the bands around the bucket, which I will do with black paper.
 

 

 

 
I really enjoy making these extra little details. Now I just have to figure out how to put all the stuff into the boat so it looks right.