EdT

Lovely work, Remco. I could be wrong, but I believe all were the same length - but the upper straps are fore shortened in the drawings due to the hull curvature. Note that the bolt spacing on the drawings decreases on the higher ones. If you think about it from a strength point of view, there is no reason why these should be of different lengths. I'd vote for making them all the length of the lowest. That one and the next couple are shown in true view. Ed

Thank you, everyone. Elia, I share your fascination with Young America's stern - its both beautiful and complex. Doing it justice is a challenge. I wish I could say it took just one try, but the final solution worked well and it is presentable. Its by no means finished. Planking below the lower rail and around the "knuckle" still awaits. Ed

I can't add any knew words, Micheal, but the like button just seems completely inadequate. Beatiful design. Beautiful workmanship. Can't wait to see it running. Ed

Bravo, Dave! Ed

Fascinating, Micheal. I don't know what else to say. Ed

Young America - extreme clipper 1853 Part 99 – Rails and bulwark continued Most of the work since the Thanksgiving holiday has consisted of fitting the rails and planking around the upper stern. This has been challenging and there has been some rework along the way. I will forgo a full tutorial and summarize. The planksheer rail was fitting around the stern in an earlier post. To fit the members above this and to refine its exact curve better, I decided to start at the top where the heights are easiest to measure as shown in the first picture - and to adjust if necessary. The top of the planking around the poop corresponds with the top of the poop decking at the side. This is also the top of the frames and the underside of the fancy rail that caps the bulwarks around the hull. These heights are critical. In the next picture the first strake of planking below the main rail has been boiled and clamped to dry. The main rail was shaped to fit and is only pinned in place. It will be painted white and the surrounding hull - and the lower rail -black, so it will not be permanently installed until much later. The dark, saturated plank being fit is held tightly against it. These planks not only curve around the stern but twist to fit the slant of the underlying timbers. Lots of new clamps here made for this awkward work. The next picture shows the third and lowest planking strake being fit. The height gauge is being used here to check heights at points around the stern. The lower rail has been removed for this. The next picture showing the finished work is the acid test. I’m not sure which was a bigger problem in judging this, my glasses or the camera lens, but this is the final version. Both rails have now been replaced with newly formed, clean versions. The originals suffered from all the fitting, clamping and refitting. The next picture shows a different angle. All this work was done in hard maple because it will be painted and it was easier to bend. The main rail is still only fitted temporarily. The planking is now ready for Treenailing. There will be a carved, gilded America eagle placed between the rails. I can’t wait to plank below the lower rail around the stern – more twisted planks and more clamping issues. A job for the new year. With the stern work completed the top members around the rest of the hull will be easy to fit. In the next picture the mizzen channels are being installed. The top channels are set at the height of the main rail and the lower channels just below the planksheer. Notches for the chains will be cut later in situ. The channels will be capped with moldings much later. In the next picture the starboard main channel is being installed. There is still much work to be done on the port side. In the next picture a section of main rail is pinned in place and one of the topside planks held against it. There are two of these 6” x 3” planking strakes above the rail. They must fit tightly down on the rail and the channels. The channels were most likely bolted to the outside of the planking to keep them outside the main watertight skin, but I am installed them against the frames to improve their strength on the model. The appearance will be the same. In the last picture the uppermost planking strake is being held in place to check its height against the tops of the frames. A white capping rail – the fancy rail – will fit over this, but much later. There is no inside planking above the main rail, so the fit on the frames will be visible. Ed

If you were me, Micheal, you would probably have thrown those gears away a month or two before you needed them. Ed

Like a piece of jewelry, Micheal.

Thank you, Karl, for the excellent explanation. The process is very similar to what I do using Swiss pear, but I do not use sealer before the wax. If the sealer is water based - and therefore probably acrylic - it will add no color. If it is, for example, shellac based it will add some yellow to the color, as will most natural waxes. The sanding sealer may account for some of the silky smooth surfaces in your work. A very good method. Regardless, your results are quite beautiful. Thanks, again for taking the time to explain - and for the pictures. Ed

I know what you mean, Micheal. I have some 12' lengths of 4 x 6 Douglas Fir in my workshop - about the size of YA's stern planking in fact. Whenever I look at it these days I think of the effort it must have taken to wrap one these around a 15' radius at an angle through its cross-section some 30 odd feet in the air. One can only admire what it took to build one of these monsters in those days. Ed

Thank you, E&T. Very kind words. Right now I am a bit stressed over both progress and precision - and of course the two are sometimes in conflict as you must well know. The work on the upper bulwarks and rails - especially around the stern - is going slower than my impatience would like, but with the long sleek lines of the ship there is little room for error because every bump or imbalance stands out. The work has taken me back through the drafting process and even to the original table of offsets on a few occasions. I sometimes long for the complex breaks in line and the clutter of external features of the earlier ships. But the challenge is part of the deal - so who's complaining? Ed

I love your process on the top, Karl. First rate - and beautifully executed. Also, I may have commented on this in the past, but I love the rich nutty brown color of the wood. What species are you using and what finish? thanks, Ed

Dave, The clipper sterns were kept small - just large enough to accommodate the helm and the rudder mechanism. They were light and raised up to reduce drag when heeled. Gone were the wide wing transoms and full buttocks of earlier years. Ed

Magnificent. Simply magnificent. Ed

Young America - extreme clipper 1853 Part 98 – Planksheer / Main Rail continued The planksheer rail around the stern was made from hard maple. Although the remainder of the rail is Castelo, my stock was too old and dry to bend around to the required curve. No problem with the maple. All the maple will be painted. In the first picture the section around the stern has been formed and is being beveled to fit against the slanting frame timbers. In the next picture the rail is being positioned and pinned at the proper heights using the height gauge. This fitting took some time. The bevel of the rail is most pronounced at the very stern and is vertical at the forward ends of the piece. With the pins setting the heights, the rail was glued into place as shown below. Lots of clamps required for this. There was a lot of waiting during the forming and gluing of the stern rail, so work continued concurrently at the bow. In the next picture, planking above the main rail is proceeding. Space has been left for the main rail itself. This will be installed after it and the surrounding planking are painted – as described earlier. In the next picture all of this planking has been treenailed. Once the planksheer rail around the stern was installed, the rail was continued forward on the port side. In the next picture it is held in position with pins and is being glued. Planking of the upper sides will now continue up to the top rail – the fancy rail. Ed

I continue to be enthralled, Micheal. I had almost forgotten the size of this until you mentioned the 1/8 shaft. Will you need oil seals? Ed

Thanks, everyone - on Thanksgiving morning - that means I have chores to do. Druxey, I will not hide the fact that it was only a lot of checking. There was some remedial rework - and as always with rework, some lessons learned. One is that (if I do this again) I will always leave generous excess in the lengths of the top timbers - as they did in the shipyards. Thanks, Maury. The only thing I know about patience is that I haven't got a lot of it. Again, Happy Thanksgiving, all.

A complex bit of work. I'm still not sure I understand this last piece, but will patiently await the next steps. Amazing. Ed

Looking wonderful, Micheal. Really superb work. Ed

Young America - extreme clipper 1853 Part 97 – Planksheer / Main Rail In the first picture the a portion of the port outer planksheer rail is being fitted. The height gauge is being used here to check the height along the rail before inserting pins to hold the correct line. This part of the rail needs to be beveled to fit against the flare of the bow. In the next picture the rail is being glued with the pins holding the line. I spent a lot of time checking heights this week. In the next picture the height of the lower edge of the main rail is being marked out to set the top of the band of planking between the rails. The distance between the height of the planksheer and the main rail varies over the length of the hull. This became apparent when setting these points. It seemed wrong, but the drawings verified this. This made me suspect my drawings but the original table of offsets confirmed the variation. The planking of this band between the two rails is further complicated by the flare out at the bow. This makes the true projection of the band wider than shown on the vertical section. These differences are small, but critical if the planking is going to converge at the top of the frames. I was doing a lot of height checking this week. A part of the inside of the main rail and fillers between frames have been installed in the next picture. The “look” of the inside of the bulwarks is starting to emerge. An outside view of this work at the bow is shown in the next picture. The bottom of the inside of the main rail must match the height of the top of the outer band of planking. The next picture shows why. In this picture the outer main rail is being fitted. Its top is flush with the tops of the filling pieces between frames. All these rails are horizontal. The last picture shows the inside of the bow at this stage before fitting the main rail in this area. I say "fitting" because the outer main rail will not be installed until later - for painting reasons. The next step is to install the thin planking above the main rail up to the tops of the frames leaving a tight space for the outer main rail. This will be installed after the surrounding planking and the rail itself are painted - black and white respectively. It is also time to fit the rails and planking around the elliptical stern. Can’t wait. Time for a holiday break. Happy Thanksgiving everyone – well at least everyone in America. My British friends used to tell me they celebrated thanksgiving on July 4th. Cheers, Ed

Thank you all. I am glad to be finished with the major deck framing effort and to be getting into some different interesting work. Jan, to answer your question from a few posts back, the 1:72 model will be about 36" high from keel to the top of the mainmast - almost 220' on the real ship. Ed

Young America - extreme clipper 1853 Part 96 – Planksheer continued In the first picture the starboard planksheer rail is being fitted at the bow. Pins were needed here to hold the position when clamping due to the outward flare of the sides. This part of the rail also had to be beveled on the back side to keep the top face level. In the next picture the inside rail on the port side is being glued. While the glue on that rail was drying the starboard outer rail was glued. As you can see it was all hands on deck for the clamps. Anything that resembled a clamp was drafted into service to keep every part of the rail tight to the side. The next picture is a close-up of the forward rail on the starboard side. In the next picture a dummy bowsprit has been fitted and planking has begun above the rail on this side. I am using hard maple for the external planking. It will be painted. The last picture shows the port side ready for the outer rail. The inner rails and spacers between top-timbers are now completely installed on both sides. Getting these rails finished – including around the elliptical stern – and planking up to the main rail is the next order of business. Ed

Jan, that will takes some checking. Look in later. Ed

Jack, stem to stern she is about 44". Ed

Fascinating work, Micheal. Will you be making piston rings? Is it 4-cycle? I can't wait to see the valve train. Ed