egkb

Your clues suggest this may have been the last Spruance-class destroyer built:  USS Hayler (DD-997).

DFellingham, you are correct. The USS Hayler (DD-997) was suppose to be a class of it's own, DDH-997 (helicopter destroyer). But the Navy could not get enough funding to build it as such so completed it as a Spruance class destroyer. By the time it was built they were out of parts so had to find them where they could. All of the spruance class destroyers had the SPS-40 Air Search Radar except for the Hayler, it had the SPS-49. It made it easy to find at the piers, when there could be several Spruance classes nested together. As far as that armored door, I remember having to do maintenance on it. We had to bring in riggers just to change the hinge pins. During heavy seas the door would be secured because it could crush someone if it closed unexpectedly. All of the other Spruances and Ticonderogas had a large aluminum door in that location.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Hayler_%28DD-997%29
 
DFellingham, you win. So what have you got?

Hi Nigel, I have just had a look at it now that it is actually glued in place and fitting a little better, and all seems 'fairly' parallel, I chose to go with a slight opening at the top which removed the taper, I also filed out a little gap to accommodate the Bow Piece!
 
Also I couldn't wait until tomorrow and cut out a Cap Rail to test the lines.. PHEW all seems ok! I'd say about 85% of perfect (nothing sticks out where it shouldn't !) and there is enough 'play' in the cap rail should any discrepancies show up later.
 
Thanks for the help Nigel, always appreciated!
 
Take Care Mate
 
Eamonn

DFellingham, it is not the Oldendorf (DD-972). Titanic it was not the Kidd, the Kidd was the lead in it's on class.
Here is the hint. When they were building this ship they ran out of Spruance Class parts, so they used parts from the Ticonderoga class and what could be salvaged to finish it. This included the Fresh water evaporators (Ticonderoga class - never had water hours in 5 years), HF Communications suit (from a decommissioned ship), Air Search Radar (Ticonderoga Class) and the huge Steel Armored door on the starboard side just aft of the break (Virginia Class Cruiser I believe). I never understood why put a steel armored door on an aluminum superstructure.

Ok then, we have the Bulwarks glued in place, No End of 'Faff' involved there as plans say to be sure that it reaches the top of all bulkhead 'Horns' well that aint gonna happen as said horns vary in height somewhat! also if you keep the tops all level (Bulwark & Bulkhead Horns) then you are unlikely to meet the top of the transom, so I had to 'interpret' it a bit by keeping Transom /Bulwarks Level, some of the midships B/Heads Level and the Fore Most B/H level.  Later when I do the Sherbourne this will have to be done exactly as the Cannons won't fit if the Bulwarks are misplaced! but on the Ballahoo it shouldn't be a problem as there is no ordinance towards the stern (Oh Oh! those famous last words again.. :mellow: )
I'll cut out the Capping Rails tomorrow to make sure the Lines of the Bulwark are ok in relation to it, so there is no guarantee that they are in their final position!!
 
Below is a quick photo of todays work..
 
Bye For Now.
 
Eamonn
 

Hi Eamonn
Looking at the pics,my only concern is the gap is tapered and not parallel.Have you checked the height of the bulwark right at the tip of the bow?Just worried incase the very front of the bulwarks wants to go up a bit,this would make the gap parallel.If all is ok,I would try and bridge the gap with some ply offcut from the bulwarks and then fill otherwise this area may be prone to cracking.
 
Kind Regards Nigel

All Righty Then, here are those promised photos..
 
The Bulwarks are dry fitted only, the issue I was having doesn't seem to be sooo bad this morning (the issue was that there didn't seem to be a whole lot of room for the Bow piece and the Bowsprit to fit, the photo shows the Bow Piece too) Well, the Bowsprit issue is resolved as the Plan actually calls for this hole to be enlarged, Lesson Here.. Examine the Flippin Plans :mellow:  my other issue, AKA 'Why wont the Bow Piece Fit?' can probably be addressed using the same solution as per the Bowsprit and that is 'File the Bulwarks down a bit !' Simples..
 
The other photos show the Transom and Stern Fascia fitted in place. 
 
Next Up, Glue the Bulwarks in place (after a touch of judicious filing of course for the Bow Piece Gap, I won't go tooo mad on the Bowsprit Hole just yet, as this spar has to taper somewhat!)
 
Then onto Planking, and this inevitably is where it all goes pear shaped....
 
Thanks for looking in, and remember if you see me doing something you think I shouldn't then feel free to put me right ( I usually mention in advance what my next steps are) Call it a Build by Consensus !
 
Bye For Now,
 
Eamonn

Pictures as promised.
 
The first shot shows two of the three types of rollers used on the boom conveyor. The top carriage rollers are the ones I'm going to have cast. That's the one on the right. Too many variables to make fabricating 50+ of them worth while. I'm going for the easy road.
 
The ones on the left are to support the belt on its return to the heel. There are considerably less of them. A small break from reality here, in the name of simplicity. These "rollers" are actually a set of wheels spaced out along an axle, rather than a complete roller. Since visibility will be somewhat limited, I opted for this approach. It still looks good enough for me, or anyone poking around.
 
The second photo shows the boom head and the head roller installed, as well as some of the return rollers.
 
I am currently working my way down the boom towards where the boom drive will be installed. I've got a little thinking to do in that area as I have a good idea how the boom drive worked, I just need to figure out the construction.
 
Andy
 

All Righty Then, here are those promised photos..
 
The Bulwarks are dry fitted only, the issue I was having doesn't seem to be sooo bad this morning (the issue was that there didn't seem to be a whole lot of room for the Bow piece and the Bowsprit to fit, the photo shows the Bow Piece too) Well, the Bowsprit issue is resolved as the Plan actually calls for this hole to be enlarged, Lesson Here.. Examine the Flippin Plans :mellow:  my other issue, AKA 'Why wont the Bow Piece Fit?' can probably be addressed using the same solution as per the Bowsprit and that is 'File the Bulwarks down a bit !' Simples..
 
The other photos show the Transom and Stern Fascia fitted in place. 
 
Next Up, Glue the Bulwarks in place (after a touch of judicious filing of course for the Bow Piece Gap, I won't go tooo mad on the Bowsprit Hole just yet, as this spar has to taper somewhat!)
 
Then onto Planking, and this inevitably is where it all goes pear shaped....
 
Thanks for looking in, and remember if you see me doing something you think I shouldn't then feel free to put me right ( I usually mention in advance what my next steps are) Call it a Build by Consensus !
 
Bye For Now,
 
Eamonn

Well, I hate to say it, but this log is now terminated.     I knew about a year ago that it might come this but not in the way I thought.   There's been a lot of lessons learned and I'll give some of them as they are also reasons for terminating this log.
 
However... I will be starting a new log on Licorne once a fresh supply of framing material arrives. 
 
Lessons learned:
 
1) Use only one set of drawings.  I started by using two and assumed that they were dimensionally the same.  Wrong!
 
2)  Be darn sure that the reference points are adhered to throughout the build.   A couple of points on this one.   Hahn's drawings use a 1/4 inch build board, I used 3/16 inch thick board.   My confusion came on as I thought his measurements went from the bottom of the build board up.. they didn't.  Only the frame drawings had the full build board thickness and I made a faulty assumption but apparently not consistently as I'm off as much as 1/16th of inch in places.
 
3)  Add reference lines in the cutting process of frames.  I took measurements after the frames were cut and was led astray by 2).
 
4)  What I found acceptable even two months ago in my build, I find unacceptable now.
 
5)  I've discovered better ways of using my power tools with time and usage.  
 
6)  Use only quality wood and reject out of hand anything less than quality.  There's places where I "made do" and I'm less than happy about it.
 
7)  Keep the fingers away from spinning tools -- like milling bits and saw blades.
 
8)  Even the master messes up.  I noticed in photos that there's errors where things just didn't go together right on Hahn's model and he tweaked it.
 
9)  It's a hobby dammit!!!!!!!!   Slow down and enjoy the trip not the destination.
 
Anyway, thanks for following along on this journey of discovery and I hope the next will be better.  It has to be since I learned from this one.
 
Lastly, expect more idiotic questions as I go... It's still a learning process.
 
See you on Licorne... Version II.

Thanks everyone for the words of encouragement and support.
 
Augie: This is a club I'd rather not have joined, but onward and upward.
 
Steve: You're wrong about one thing....she flew quite well...it was the landing that wasn't so great.    The carving was unscathed, thankfully.
 
Vivian: Painful it was! When you do get to the scratchbuilding stage - you will love it.
 
Anja: It did hurt, but the repairs are going better than expected.
 
Michael: If it had been any more serious I might have put it in the closet for a while.

Thanks Grant. Repairs are already under way.....and actually, I had Danny's inspirational repair in mind when I started the fix. 

25th January
 
 
1782
The Battle of St Kitts (aka The Battle of Frigate Bay). The British fleet under Rear-Admiral Sir Samuel Hood out manouvered and was attacked by a larger French fleet under the Comte de Grasse off Basse Terre, St. Kitts. Hood repulsed repeated attacks but could not prevent the loss of the Island.
HMS Solebay (28) wrecked off Nevis
1794
HEICS Houghton, Cptn. Hudson, and HEICS Nonsuch, Cptn. John Canning, engaged Cybele off Saint-Nicholas point, Java
1800
HMS Brazen (18), Cptn. J. Hanson, driven by a gale on to the Ave Rocks near Newhaven and wrecked.
1824
HMS Columbine Sloop (18), Hon. Chas. Abbot, wrecked in the harbour of Port Longue, Island of Sapienza

Military History - 25th Jan.

On this day in 1776, the Continental Congress authorizes the first national Revolutionary War memorial in honor of Brigadier General Richard Montgomery, who had been killed during an assault on Quebec on December 31, 1775.

The Israeli submarine Dakar, carrying 69 sailors, disappears on this day in 1968 and is never seen again. The exact fate of this vessel remains a mystery to this day.

1579 - Treaty of Utrecht signed, marks beginning of Dutch Republic (VERY important)

1775 - Americans drag cannon up hill to fight British (Gun Hill Road, Bronx)

1802 - Napoleon Bonaparte elected president of Italian (Cisalpine) Republic

1856 - Battle of Seattle; skirmish between settlers & Indians

1865 - CSS Shenandoah arrives in Melbourne, Australia

Just a quick update.  The first belt of planking below the wales has been completed P/S. 
 

 

 
Not bad so far and hopefully sanding will bring everything in line.  There will be a molding running across where the counter meets the planks in the stern.  Open framework amidships is starting to look nice!
 
Moving on now to the lower most belt starting with the garboard plank and heading up.  Holding off on stealers and drop planks until the final belt.   Will be trying some 3/16" planks, tapered, for the stern (everything else is 1/8).
 
 

Hi Brett
I may have been a little bit alarmist and misread your photo - I was seeing something different. Do not worry about the stern frames yet. Loose laid is good. You need those fragile little window frames to position them. The stern fillers leading up to the counter need to be heavily sanded and his needs to be coordinated with the pain of shimming and sanding all the misaligned bulkheads along the entire hull. This is the nature of this kit - the bulkheads are never right and the misalignment is a kit problem not yours. The shimming and sanding takes a bit of time and is back and forth but should be done before you go any further and should be combined with bow and stern fillers. Leave off the stern frames until you have sorted this. These in turn need a lot of shaping but once you are past this it really starts to work out. You need a lot of shims by the look of your kit. If you take the time to get the planking flow right you'll be away.
 
If you have Bob Hunt's practicum follow it to the letter, it will get you there in all aspects of the build and any other guide is redundant and dangerous. Bob's way of sequencing things and getting the relationships right is the best part of his practicum and will stand you in good stead for future builds.
 
I'll keep following and if I can assist, I will.
 
Cheers
Alistair

Thanks again Nigel, a photo will be making its way to MSW tomorrow.
 
All the Best
 
Eamonn

Hi Ollie, thanks for popping over from your build.. The rulers were in work! and the differences were amazing (we have a load of them at various places and I was getting some odd results, that's when I spotted the differences, not so much of a problem if you are just using the same one all the time.. but when you take a measurement and take that measurement someplace else then you have issues)
 
I have just come downstairs from fitting and gluing the deck in place, no photos yet as the whole thing looks like a Hedgehog with pins and clamps holding the athwartships camber in place against the natural curve of the deck in the Fore & Aft (it looks like a Saddle  )
 
Will let the glue set then tomorrow will see how the Bulwarks work out, there seemed to be some strange stuff going on at the very tip of the bow when I dry-Fitted them, I refer to where the Port & Starboard Bulwarks meet up, doesn't seem to be much room for the Bow Timber piece and even less room for the Bowsprit to poke through (I offered one of the 6mm Dowels up to the hole and no chance of it fitting, even though it will have a taper! I rather suspect that the 2 bulwarks DO NOT actually meet up but leave a slight gap, which will be planked later on (the Plan seems to have them meeting though)
If anyone has any thoughts or if the other Ballahooers out there have seen this then do please let me know what you think.
 
Cheers For Now
 
 
Eamonn
 
Oh and thanks for the like Nigel, and to all the others who have taken a wee looksee at my build.

Well there is only about 30 odd of them  Lets start with the 'A's'.. just kiddin, was trying to find particularly distinguishing features compared to the 'norm (and using your 3 photos) and I keep coming back to that Radar antenna
 
Eamonn
 
I'll have to let somebody else follow up as it's bed time over here (just past 2 in the morning) so good night Kevin, and have a great rest of the day. If it is still there in the morning (or thereabouts) I'll have a dig around again.
 
All the best from sleepy Ireland.
 
 
Eamonn

that is a good question Eamonn.

Hi Kip, just thought I'd pop in and follow your build along, it must feel great to be back, though having to relocate all the bits must be a hassle
 
Take Care
 
Eamonn

Thanks a lot for that Eamonn
 
I am just about to start work for the day
Thinking about those life boat thingeys
I cannot find a photo with them on   
Therefore they are not going on
Right, couple more minutes of looking at photos to get a colour scheme going, then on with the work   

Should make for a fascinating talk Bug.  I agree that we shouldn't judge these people from the moral standpoint of today, how will we be regarded by the morals of 500 years time?  They were people of their time.
 
Kids can ask darned awkward questions though..
 
 
Take Care Mate.
 
Eamonn

Hi Mick, I did a little research on the Engine question and found this..  The Bold Text and Underlining are done by me.
History Completed in 1925 as theWILL EVERARD by J H Fellows & Co, Great Yarmouth, for F T Everard and Sons Ltd, of Greenhithe, this vessel was one of four sister steel-hulled spritsail barges built between 1925 and 1926 at the same yard for this owner. They were large coasting barges able to load 280 More
Completed in 1925 as theWILL EVERARD by J H Fellows & Co, Great Yarmouth, for F T Everard and Sons Ltd, of Greenhithe, this vessel was one of four sister steel-hulled spritsail barges built between 1925 and 1926 at the same yard for this owner. They were large coasting barges able to load 280 tons of cargo and boasting the largest set of canvas of all the sailing barges – some 5,600 sq ft, not including the balloon foresail. She was mulie rigged, with a gaff mizzen. Everard’s used her in the coasting trade for over 40 years, often within the Thames and Medway estuaries but also to a variety of ports on the south and east coasts from Poole to Goole. They secured the contract to supply coal from Keadby on the Humber to the gasworks at Margate, and WILL EVERARD once made this passage in 30 hours.  Her other cargoes included cement, china clay, oil cake and rice. She was also a frequent competitor in barge matches, when her normal crew of three was augmented by extra hands, but was not a very successful racing barge. In trade WILL EVERARDhad a grey hull with pink bottom, black rails and a gold sheer line. She traded under sail alone until 1950 when an auxiliary engine was fitted. The loss of space reduced her cargo load to 240 tons of grain.
 
The original piece is at this web address: http://www.nationalhistoricships.org.uk/register/234/will   Just click on it and hopefully it will take you to the article.
 
 
Best of Luck Mick
 
Eamonn
 
PS there is another nice bit about Will here too: http://www.thamesbarge.org.uk/barges/barges/will.html
 
E

Latest Hot off the Press...
 
- Have painted the areas that may be visible beneath the various gratings black.
 
- Have glued the 2 Stern pieces (Fascia  & Transom) in place.
 
- Have 'bulked-up' the top of Bulkhead No 3, it didn't meet up with the Bulwarks when I dry fitted them after overnight bending around the mug.
- I also 'bulked-up- the bottom of Bulkhead No 2 where it came up short to the base of the false keel, it now has a more satisfactory 'run'
 
- Sanded and generally tided up the last 2 above points above.
 
 
Next Bulletin soon... cue 'busy & important' music.. fade out. 
 
Eamonn