Wintergreen

Time for another update.
 
I've reach what is, for me, a real milestone - the last planking batten is ready to be removed, which will leave the hull clear for the final strakes of planking to be laid.
 
John
 

 

 

 
 

yes but just barely...
 
no just kidding it looks great
 
Remco

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 106 – Painting
 
I’ve always preferred to leave models in natural wood, but some of Young America will be painted.  After painting the hull planking above the planksheer, the stern decoration could be painted.  The first phase of that is shown in the first picture.
 

 
All the paints and the sealer being used so far are various types of artist’s acrylics.  The final coats will have some gloss.  Most of the gold stern decoration was painted first upside down – so I could see it and steady my hand.  The lines at the top were finished in the upright position as shown in the next picture.  Then several more inversions to nitpick.
 

 
This was a multi-multi step process – before everything looked reasonably presentable as shown in the next picture.
 

 
The planking below the painted part will also be black – down to the top of the brass sheathing.  I will paint that after completing treenailing.  In the next picture the white main main rail around the stern is being fitted.  Also one of the brass portholes is being test fit.
 

 
In the next picture the stern section of the main rail is being glued in.
 

 
The planking on this side is complete – just enough to anchor the deadeye chains below the lower rail.  The next picture shows the completed planking on the starboard side.
 

 
The planking on this side will be sheathed in “yellow metal” below the waterline.  The unpainted area at the bow is left unpainted to allow gluing of the decoration carvings.  The last picture shows the main deck during painting of the inboard bulwarks - the blue is masking tape to keep paint out of the structural work.
 

 
The sanding and painting of this complex woodwork is real fun – several coats worth.  The paint  accentuates every rough area and crack.  I am not too concerned about the area forward of the large vertical samson post.  It will be covered with the forecastle.  Also, the rack rails – pin rails – that run the full length of the deck will fit up under the upper rail - hiding some of the inboard planking.  The waterway – painted blue – will fit in under the lower rail.  There will be a white cap rail all along the top.
  
Ed

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 105 – Planking and Wales continued
 
The exterior planking is now finished – except for treenails.  The next phase of work will involve a lot of disparate tasks to prepare for the work on the main deck.  There is much to be done before that can start.
 
In the last post, I showed the cabin lights being drilled through the outside planking.  The first picture shows the inboard planking on the cabin deck with the holes and two temporary brass ports fitted for size.
 

 
The cabin deck will house 19 cabins, two WC’s and an open central area – plus a staircase from the main deck.  All of this is speculative but very typical of the class.  Cabin finishes were usually quite ornate – no holds barred on fancy woods, gilt, carvings, etc.  I don’t intend to go overboard on this, especially without any historical data, but I expect to panel the partitions, fit built in bedsteads and some cabinetwork.  This will come later but I wanted to make a choice on wood.  I am assuming mahogany and intend to represent it with black walnut as shown above.  It has the look of old Cuban mahogany – to me at least.  except for the above, this will all come later.
 
While the model was upright, the waterways were made and fitted.  In the next picture a forward segment has been boiled for bending and is drying.  These will be pre-fitted with scarphs, but cannot be installed until the bulwark interiors are painted.
 

 
The next picture shows the starboard forward section after drying – just prior to making its joint with the next segment.
 

 
The painting order is dictating events at this stage.  First the outboard planking above the planksheer will be painted black, The white main rail will then be installed, allowing the inboard bulwarks to be painted white.  The blue waterways can then be installed and work can proceed on the main deck – a lot of complications to avoid painting different colors on adjacent areas after assembly.
 
The next picture shows work that is necessary before painting the waist planking.
 

 
The eagle and the vinery on either side are made with epoxy sculpting material.  (I could never manage this in wood.) When cured, the material is very hard, but brittle - so the work is done in two steps.  In the first step the rough sculpting shown above was done on a curved form so the parts could be removed and fit on to the stern without bending. The next picture shows the carving work glued to the starboard side. 
 

 
Once glued down the carvings could then be further refined with small tools as shown below.
 

 
This work mostly involved thinning the greenery to be more delicate.  All of this relief carving will be gilded.
 
The next picture shows the finished planking on the port side.
 

 
The planking to be painted first is above the lower channels.  At this stage those areas are being sealed for final sanding.  Masking tape will keep the paint confined above the planksheer for now.  The stern carvings have been primed with black to make sure the black acrylic adheres to the epoxy.
 
In the last picture the main rail around the stern has been painted as a test and is being fitted into its slot – just temporarily until the surrounding black is painted.
 

 
So – a lot of niggling little tasks to break up the monotony of treenailing – but progress nonetheless.
  
Ed

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 104 – Planking and Wales continued
 
In the first picture the model has be uprighted and plumbed so the load waterline could be marked.
 

 
I needed to do this to set the extent of planking on each side.  The wood block is my gauge. 
 
This was also a good opportunity to mark out and bore the holes for the cabin lights as shown in the next photo.
 

 
The inboard finish planking was also installed and bored out.  I will show this later.  Brass tubes through to the interior will be added later.  The next picture shows the five openings on the starboard side.
 

 
Planking has progressed downward in this picture – below the bottom of the wale – but there is still more to be added. In the next picture the hull has again been inverted to complete the planking.
 

 
In this picture the aft planking is being stepped back with two strakes at each step on the starboard side.   This will permit several strakes of brass sheathing – each two planks wide to be wide to be installed later.  The sheathing band will extend to the edge of the lowest planks.  The top strake of sheathing will be on the waterline, with the strakes below parallel to the run of the planks and gored into the top strake.
 
On the port side there will be no sheathing and the planking will end higher to leave the framing exposed. 
 

 
This planking is stepped back higher up as shown again roughly parallel to the LWL – in single strake steps on this side.  Some planking is needed on this side so the deadeye chains can be fixed and also to provide a nicer view of the finished stern – at least from the starboard quarter.
 
In the next picture the hull has been uprighted again.
 

 
The planking of the starboard side shown is complete. The strakes below the 20 wale strakes diminish down from the wale thickness of 6” to the 4” thickness of the common bottom plank.  This transition is barely perceptible.  The top of the sheathing line can just be made out in this picture. 
 
I can’t explain why, but seeing this expanse of planking makes one realize just how large this ship was.  This was not as pronounced when the hull was in frame.
  
Ed

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 103 – Planking and Wales continued
 
The work proceeds apace.  Post-holiday lull and the winter weather helps.  Work on the lower hull requires either some gymnastics or some other support for the model.  The first picture shows the simple setup that allows the model to be tilted as needed – a very un-shipyard-like look.
 

 
The wale on this side is about one-half planked in this picture.  The next picture shows the wale planks converging at the lowest perimeter strake at the stern.
 

 
The brass rod is the diameter of the gudgeon eyes and is being used to mark the center of the helm port by laying it on the sternpost.  In the next picture a hole for the port has been roughed out.
 

 
The rudder head was round and was encased at the port in a sleeve – wood or iron – to prevent ingress of water.  The diameter of the rudder shaft was 16” – matching the sternpost.  With the sleeve the opening will take up much of the area as yet unplanked.  I decided to fill the area with a single chock as shown in the next picture.
 

 
A circular opening for the sleeve and rudder head will be cut through this later.  In the next picture the hole has been centered.
 

 
Additional wale strakes are being added in this picture.  In the next picture the final piece on the port side has been boiled and is being fitted to dry.
 

 
The planks on this side are being stepped back at each frame to allow the stern area to be completed without adding more strakes on this unplanked side.  Hence these last two pieces are very short – the lowest will be half the length shown.
 
The next picture shows the final wale strake in place at the stern on the starboard side.
 

 
This side will be planked down below the waterline so there are more strakes to be fitted at the stern.  These will diminish down to the thickness of the common lower planking.
 
I don’t want to use this forum to pitch the forthcoming book, but I feel that a few words are in order, since several people have asked about it. 
 
Bob Friedman of Seawatchbooks and I were both quite enthused about a book on American clipper ship modeling.  We both felt this was a neglected area.  However, I had some concerns about another “full framing” methodology book that would be a rehash of previous material.  I was also concerned about writing a book about a large, fairly advanced structural model that would probably appeal mainly to a small slice of experienced modelers.
 
 It took some time for me to resolve these issues and decide to write the book – two books hopefully – the first on modeling the hull and the second on masting and rigging. 
 
Like the Naiad books – and unlike this build log – the books will be very heavy on methods – I like the word processes.  As work on YA progressed, the processes used were both different enough and in some ways unique and this allayed some of my concerns about redundancy. 
 
However, I still wanted to reach a broader range of modelers – specifically potential or less-experienced scratchbuilders looking for a foothold and some help on methods.  To this end the book will also include methods, drawings, text and pictures for construction of a smaller, simpler POB version of the model.  The processes developed for this model are designed to provide a basis for advancement to fully-framed modeling using the upright, shipyard-like, methods that many of us favor.  The planned volume on rigging – if we get that far – will apply to both versions. Simpler tools, fewer fancy devices and readily available materials will also be used for the POB model.
 
To support this important content, a second, 1:96 POB model is being constructed.  Until making the book decision, I have been careful to exclude this from posted pictures but that precaution is now no longer necessary so I will show one picture of the current work area with both models in progress.
 

 
Although having two models in the shop has exponentially increased the clutter, the biggest problems are keeping the two scales straight and using the right drawings – and getting all  the work done on schedule.
  
Ed

OK, Druxey, here is my step by step.
 
I am no artist and the results will probably reflect that but so far the results don't look too bad.  I made the first trial section of frieze only to discover that I painted it upside down and without enough background aft to run out to the hance of the forecastle.  So I used this "opportunity" to document a step by step method for painting the friezes.  For my technique I used the instructions given in Vol II of TFFM.  I also had the pleasure of sitting in on a demonstration of frieze painting by David Antscherl at the most recent NRG national meeting.  
 
The first step is to have a background of the correct color.  I chose a blue background although there is a contemporary model of Atalanta in the NMM holdings that has a red background. The next step I found to be the most difficult.  David says to moisten bond paper (aka printer paper), stretch it gently, tape it to a flat surface and allow it to dry.  Then the background is painted.  The prestretching is supposed to prevent the paper from wrinkling when the acrylic paint is applied.  Well...  I tried three different types of paper, different moisture levels, different tape and weighting the paper under a sheet of glass.  I occasionally ended up with a strip of paper that looked passable.  After that I painted the paper with artist acrylics and ended up with wrinkled paper!  I could not find any blue archival markers.  Ink would cause the same problem.  Regular blue marker would bleed when I apply my solvent based finish.  I seriously thought about printing a sheet of blue paper but was concerned about the lifespan of inkjet pigments.  My solution was to use enamel spray paint without prestretching.  Three coats with a quick sanding of 600 grit between coats gave me good depth of color while smoothing out any imperfections in the paper.  It is still flexible and accepted acrylic paints well.
 

 
Although there is no freize shown on Atalanta's plans, there is one for Fly.  I used these for my design.  I traced the design on to regular bond paper.
 

 

 
The plan shows the starboard side but I am putting the frieze on the port side.  So I turned the paper around and traced the sketch on to the back of the paper, giving me a mirror image.  The drawing was placed on the painted paper and transfer paper was used to transfer the outline.  Transfer paper is found at any craft store and is used for stenciling and applying patterns onto cloth.  It comes in several colors.  White is best for this application.
 

 

 
The images were painted with two coats of ochre.  All the paints used were Liquitex artist acrylic.  
 

 
The highlights were applied with a mixture of ochre and white.  
 
 
 
The lowlights were applied with a mixture of ochre and burnt sienna.  Finally details such as the stems and leaf veins were added with a mixture of burnt sienna and burnt umber.
 

 
I used a pencil eraser to remove any white lines and powder from the transfer paper.
 

 
At these extreme magnifications, the detail work is a little heavy.  At normal viewing it looks much better; definitely better than I thought I could do.  

I have proclaimed the lower hull planking finished!  In the end I applied three coats of sanding sealer and one coat of flat finish.  This was sanded to 1200 grit.  The finish coat adds luster without shine and is a harder finish than the sanding sealer.  The upper planking will be finished with Watco's to match the rest of the Costello after the channels, moldings, etc. have been installed.  I repainted the wale and put her back in the cradle.  
 

 

 

 

 

I have decided to use a finish that will not yellow the holly.  In TFFM David mentions a solvent-based sealer for his finish.  For those of you who own his Comet book or have seen the photos, that is the look I am trying to achieve.  The bottle of solvent-based sanding sealer I have was quite a few years old so I purchased some from Midwest Models, as well as a bottle of flat finish.  I have not decided whether to stick with just the sealer or put a coat of finish on as well.  The pictures are taken after two coats of sealer, the first sanded down to 320 grit and the second sanded to 400.  Later this week I will test applying a coat of the finish on some scrap wood.  One of the nice things about the sealer is that the drying time is very fast but as this is solvent based the smell is pretty strong.  Unlike a oil based finish, the odor dissipates quickly.
 

 

 

 

 

 

I am not sure which is more tedious, treenailing a hull or tying ratlines.  At this point I am over halfway done with an estimated time so far of 15 hours.  This includes marking the locations for the treenails, drilling the holes (#75 bit), drawing the treenails (hole 20 on the Byrnes drawplate) and finally inserting the treenails.  I have used bamboo for these to give me the least color contrast with the holly.  I usually dry-fit treenails but for extra strength these are all dipped in dilute yellow glue.  I hope to finish them up next weekend and then start sanding the hull.  Right now it is pretty ugly, covered in lines and holes and little bumps which make it look more like a plucked chicken than a ship.
 

 

 

Hello and thanks marsalv for warm words!
 
not much to show, only a little update: have worked on chain pump handles, so there the result. The images show main steps from alignment to installing. The axle is from 1mm brass rod, the crank handles from 0,8mm rod, all soldered together.
 

 

 

 

 
Alex

Hello guys and many thanks for warm words!
It's time for update. Have prepared my Unimat to turn and mill the spindle for capstan. The images show the proces.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Have also turned the stantions, as they served also to hold the pump handle, I will complette the pumps as next.
 

 

 
Alex

I have not done an update for a while, the truth is that I got side tracked on the Herreshoff 12 1/2 . I decided to try out the Keel revisions that I had done. ( after building the proto type ) I will have an update on the Buzzards Bay in the next day or so . Here are a few pics of what I have been working on, with the Buzzards Bay 14 in the foreground in photo #1

Another update on the planking.  I've had a bit of extra time at the museum over the New Year period so have been able to get ahead with the planking.
 
The photo show the current state of the model.
 
We're just about to leave for a week long conference up in the Blue Mountains, so I'll see you all again next weekend!
 
John
 

Log 29 – lower standing rigging
 
Two weeks ago there were no masts or rigging set up.  The channels weren’t even on.
 
1
 
Today, with the invaluable help of JerseyCityFrankie, the lower standing rigging is done and the upper rigging well on its way.
 
2
 
Here is how it was done. 
 
First came the channels.  They are all situated in the line of the second molding, just under the blue painted bulwarks and above the gunports.  In typical fashion they are stylishly curved at each end, with a cap strip that captures the deadeye “chains”.  They are located such that the foremost deadeye lines up with the center of the mast.  In the photo you can see how I miscalculated this and the main channels had to move aft about half an inch, leaving a gap in the molding that had to be filled later.  Unlike English practice which usually had the supports under the channel, French practice at the time was for wooden knees above the platform.
 
3
 
For the lower masts, the rule of thumb is that deadeyes are half the diameter of the mast, while for upper masts they are more closely the size of the mast.  For this 17mm main mast the deadeyes are 9mm boxwood ones purchased from Model Shipways and stained.  Each hole was opened a little and a lanyard groove cut for each hole on an angle to ease the bend in the lanyard line.  In my restoration work it is almost invariably true that the rigging line fails at these sharp corners in deadeyes and blocks, so wherever possible I will be preparing the rigging fittings this way.
 
The deadeye “chains” are not the three links that are seen on later ships, but solid iron straps that are bolted through the hull at the bottom.  At the top there is a loop that hooks through a raised section of the deadeye strop.  This setup has been seen in contemporary drawings and confirmed by artifacts discovered in the excavation of La Belle, LaSalle’s ship when he explored Texas in 1674.  La Belle is a little early and about half the size of the QAR, but the rigging fittings should be similar so I have decided to go with this.  I will be taking many cues from the La Belle excavation as reported by Glenn Greico in his Master’s dissertation, available here: http://nautarch.tamu.edu/Theses/pdf-files/Grieco-MA2003.pdf
 
My deadeye straps were made from brass strip, with a narrow section ground and bent to a hook, then chemically blackened.  They are pinned to the hull with half inch roundhead steel nails that are glued into holes that angle upward slightly to counteract what will be some pretty high stresses as the shrouds are tensioned.
 
4
 
The metal strops were formed from stiff iron wire.  (Yes, there are straps, strips, and strops.  Sorry about that, but I’ll try to keep them straight).  Here is the jig that I used.  It is for the deadeyes in the tops which have long legs to go through the top, but the principle is the same.
 
5
 
A length of wire is bent around the middle pin, which is there to keep the loop open for the later hook.  The legs pass between the pair of larger pins and are then bent out in a straight line.  A deadeye is held hard against the center point and the legs are bent by hand into the groove till they cross at the top.  Using the legs as handles the strop is spread apart until the deadeye can be popped out.  A bit of epoxy is laid into the strop groove and the deadeye is put back into the strop and rotated as needed to line up properly.  The legs of the strop are clipped short and the ends bent down into the groove with pliers.  When the epoxy dries they are ready for use.  Although the gap in the strop used to worry me, I have never had one open up.  Besides, if the stresses are that great, I would rather that the strop open up than have the entire channel pulled up.
 
With the deadeyes all strapped and stropped to the channels the rigging could begin.  I did this from aft to forward, with one exception.  The very first piece of rigging was the gammoning around the bowsprit.  This is important because all of the stresses and tensions of the standing rigging are anchored here.  You can see the way the lines cross as they wrap from aft to forward on top of the bowsprit, but from forward to aft within the gammon hole in the stem.  The gammoning is finished with a few round turns just above the grating in the head.
 
6
 
You can also see in the photo that the seat of ease has been lined with lead like the scuppers.  I would not otherwise show this feature, but the excavation of the QAR has turned one up, so it has been added.
 
7
 
Beginning with the mizzen mast the deadeyes were turned into the shrouds and given three seizings.  The shrouds were made from linen line sourced from a pool cue manufacturer who uses the line to make non-slip grips.  The line comes in unbleached white, which was dyed with RIT liquid black dye according to the package instructions. 
 
8
 
As was consistent for almost all ships of this period, whatever their origin, the deadeyes were laced with oiled line.  The lacing had to be protected from salt water, but could not be tarred since it must have been adjusted fairly often as the shrouds stretched from the strains of sailing and weather.  This has been represented with a dark brown line rather than the darker black of the tarred shrouds.
 
9   
 
At the mizzen top the shrouds are served as they go over the trestletrees and around the masthead.  Under the top are several blocks for the running rigging and for the crojack yard halyard.  The mizzen stay is served and an eye worked into the end.  A mouse is raised on the stay to form the loop that drops over the masthead and the heads of the shrouds.  The mouse is shaped with the bulbous end down, in the French fashion, so the bulb jams against the eye.  English practice is to have the tapered “tail” of the mouse slide through the eye until it has no more space to run.  I don’t know why there is this difference, or whether one or the other conveys any kind of advantage.
 
10
 
At the lower end I ran into a problem.  Although never detailed, it is clear that the mizzen stay has to set up to a collar on the main mast.  However, if the stay is centered it interferes with the ramshead block and tie for the main spar.  I decided to offset the collar to starboard with a bullseye seized into it.  A set of double blocks were seized into the lower end of the stay and the upper end of the collar, then joined with a lanyard.  The lower end of the collar is belayed to one of the large mast cleats.
 
11
 
The shrouds for the main mast are set up much like those of the mizzen.  There are five heavy shrouds with large deadeyes, and two more on the aft end of the channel for the topmast shrouds. 
 
12
 
For the main shrouds the forward one is served its whole length to protect it from chafing by the mainyard sail.  The other shrouds are served only where they go around the masthead and then for a short distance below the top where they are seized to each other in pairs.  The three futtock shrouds have been hooked into the strops of the upper deadeyes then turned around a futtock stave that is seized across the shrouds.  You can also see the pendants that hang below the top, which are served all over with an eye worked into the end.  They were used as anchor points for hauling up the ship’s boat, supplies, etc. 
 
12a
 
Here in a later photo they are shown with a double block hooked into the eye, the running line goes down to a corresponding block at the deck which is hooked into an eyebolt near the base of the mast.
 
13
 
These hooks were made up in my usual way, by turning an eye into appropriately sized iron wire using orthodontic wire bending pliers.  The wire is then turned back over the pliers and clipped off.  For the larger hooks used for the pendants the clipped end was further tapered with a grinding drum, then the tip was recurved as in full sized practice.
 
14
 
Aft of the mast a set of catharpins are laced to the futtock staves and pull them inward against the strain of the futtock shrouds.  According to R.C. Andersen this diagonal pattern was used by the French, probably to leave space immediately behind the mast for the main yard ties and other rigging lines.  They were installed on all three masts as they were rigged.
 
15
 
The main stay is set up with an eye and mouse, just as the mizzen stay was.  Although this is the largest of the rigging lines on the ship I decided not to worm it, nor to have a preventer stay.  I reasoned that a small ship that had been a slaver for several years and was now in the hands of pirates would not have the spare manpower to maintain lines that would not be called on except in battle, which the pirates avoided at all costs.  The collar is set up in the French fashion, served all over and anchored around the base of the bowsprit.  The two legs are seized together at the bow and then on both sides of the foremast.  Large triple blocks are seized into the ends of the stay and collar and laced together.
 
16
 
In this close-up you can see the blocks, which the French used rather than hearts favored by the English.  You can also see the thumb cleats that secure the collar to the mast on either side.
 
17
 
The standing rigging to the foremast is identical to that of the main mast, except that the stay goes to a collar on the bowsprit.  You can see most of what has been discussed in this one photo.
 
18
 
The fore and main masts had crowsfeet laced from the top to the stay to prevent the lower edge of the topsails from curling under the top and fouling all the lines and blocks that live there.  These were made by first shaping the euphroes out of pear.  They are about ¾” long, with a strop groove cut in all around the edges.  Since there are 16 holes in the forward edges of the tops, the euphroe has 8 corresponding holes.  A strop was seized into the groove with the tails left on which were used to attach the euphroe to the stay.
 
19
 
The crowsfoot was formed by lacing the line up through the hole in the top closest to the center cleat on the starboard side.  A stopper knot under the top prevented it from pulling through, much like the deadeye lanyards.  The line laced down and through the top hole in the euphroe, up and over the lip of the top on the port side, down through the first port side hole, and up the second port side hole.  It continued down and through the second euphroe hole, up over and down the second starboard hole, and up the third starboard hole.  The lacing continued loosely back and forth in this manner until the line reached the outermost starboard hole.  All the lines were tightened and a knot was worked close under the top and the excess line snipped off.  To strengthen it all the lines were painted with dilute PVA glue.
 
20
 
The final element for the lower standing rigging is the ratlines.  The line itself was selected to scale out to ¾” diameter, suitable for the weight of a man, and spaced 10mm apart, which converts to 15” in real space.  As for tying them, many others have gone over the lacing of ratlines, so I will not repeat that here.  Suffice to say that they are attached to the outermost shrouds of each gang with an overhand loop, which makes the smallest bulge around the shroud, and secured to the inner shrouds with clove hitches.  This is not nearly as daunting as it may seem.  Once a rhythm is established it goes rather quickly, like knitting.  Frank and I tied all the ratlines for all the lower shrouds in just four hours.  No special effort was made to have the ratlines sag between the shrouds, but they naturally take on a mild curve as the tying proceeds.  This can be increased or reduced by gently tugging on the appropriate knots until the desired look is achieved.  Once I was happy with the overall look the entire shroud gang was painted with dilute glue and, when the glue was dry, the tails were clipped as close to the shrouds as could be managed.
 
21
 
I hope to have another report out before Christmas, with the completion of the standing rigging and the beginning of hanging the spars and sails. 
 
If not, a very Happy Holiday Season to all and I will be back in the New Year.
 
Dan

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 101 – Planking and Wales
 
To conveniently work on the planking below the channels, the hull was inverted as shown in the first picture
 

 
The toptimbers are no longer as vulnerable with the planking installed up to the top so there is minimal risk of damage.  I still use carpet padding as a precaution and have tied the hull down to keep from pushing it off the bench.
 
The next picture shows some of the planking installed at the bow.
 

 
The hull is marked with pencil lines to show the extent of the wale and the load waterline.  I have highlighted the lower edge of the wale in red and the lwl in blue.
 
The wale is 6” thick and there are roughly 20 strakes of 6” wide planks from top to bottom.  The top strake transitions from the 4” common  to the 6” wale planking two strakes below the lower channels.  That break in thickness can be seen in these pictures.  The next picture is a close-up of the “hooding ends.”
 

 
The wale planks are pared down to match the depth of the rabbet.  The treenails are hard bamboo (old garden stakes) – very hard and very dark.  The grain flecks and the color variation in the maple planks is a bit distracting, but all of this planking will be painted.
 
The planking around the stern was done concurrently with that shown above. In the next picture the second strake below the planksheer rail has been curved and is clamped to dry.
 

 
Each of these is boiled for over an hour, clamped as shown below and left overnight to dry.  It can then be glued with a similar clamping arrangement.  This is really a one-step-per-day process.
 
The last picture shows the three strakes below the rail – levelled off but not yet finish sanded.
 

 
 
The next strake will be the transition strake to the wale thickness.  There may be one more circumferential strake  - at the "knuckle" - but the planks below will butt into the last of these.  The ends of the the planks below will bolt into the supporting chocks between the stern timbers.  The chock around the helm port has not yet been fitted.
 
Space is left for the main rail.   The area between this and the lower rail will be decorated with a bas-relief eagle and some s-curved vines.  The words “Young America” then “New York” will be lettered below the lower rail on these lower three planks..
 
  
Ed

Hit a big milestone...  framing is complete and ready for planking.  Well, one minor tweak to the transoms to get smooth run to the counter but that's not going to be a stopper.
 
Right now, I'm having second thoughts about the bulk of the planking in Swiss Pear and am considering cherry.   I'll ponder a bit more.....
 

I am happy to see the end of 2014, as it was a year of health drama in the family and not a lot of building work at all, but there has been a little bit of progress in making the forward magazine and platform.
 
I intended to build this in the same way as the aft magazine and platform, by building the both off the model to make it easier to work on them. I think it went ok, however I got seriously confused with my measuring and the platform was way too high at the bow, Some sanding of the platform and the clamps remedied that, and the magazine fits comfortably under it in place.
 
Next for these will be completing and fitting out the magazine and adding the filling room, light boxes and structure that surrounds the foremast step before fixing the platform in place over it. I think I will have to fit the bitt pins in place as well.
 
The first few pictures show the magazine being formed by first laying out the beams then the planking. It currently finishes where the light boxes will go and will later be extended forward.
 



 
As I mentioned above, the platform was built mainly off the model. There are still a few ledges to be fitted, but it is mostly complete apart from planking and a couple of timbers forward.
 



 
Finally, where would I be without my toys. Making the knees has been relatively easy since I fitted some CNC gear to the Proxxon mill 

 

Dito everyone else
Just so you know I'm still around...

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

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

Thanks for the likes and comments. 
 
Finally... happy dance time again.  At least a small one..
 
It took me several tries but the top transom is done and in place along with the stern timbers.   I used some pen blanks as I didn't have any stock of cherry, boxwood, or pear thick enough.  The final ended up in yellowheart.  Thankfully, it will hidden by the planking. 
 
I cut the curve (which doesn't quite match the deck camber per the plans) on the top and bottom.  Spot glued the waste back on and then the cut the curve of the stern.   A soak in alcohol and the piece emierged.   Notches were cut into the timber for the deadwood and frame timbers.  Everything was then finessed into postion per the plans.  The photos I contrast corrected helped a lot.  Then the stern timbers were cut and matched to size and finessed into position.   The further outboard the timbers go, the longer they get.     I've checked and rechecked as these two bits are critical to the stern being right. 
 
I still have a lot more work in this area, but at least I know I won't be scrapping this one out because the stern was a hopeless cause.  Just a small amount of fairing needs to be done before planking but I feel the rest of the framework should be added first to give it some strength.  Those timbers are bit fragile as they are now.
 
Here's the pics.   Sorry, I forgot to take pictures of the process.  As always, you click on them for enlargement.  
 

 

 
 

Hi again, and thanks for the likes and compliments.  
 
It is going well, I think.  I am trying to create the look of a working ship, rather than one fresh off the building ways.  
 
Now that the foredeck is installed, I turned to the waist.  With the cannon rigged out they can be covered by the gangways.  But first I decided to put in the ropes that go through the hull and belay below the gangways.  It would have been much harder to do them with the gangways in place.  These are the main course tack that goes through the chesstree, and the two sheets that go through the sheaves in the hull.
 
These lines will be some of the larger running rigging ropes and, because of their locations, some of the more visually prominent ones.  They have to be good quality and look like miniature rope.  I could have laid them up on my ropewalk, but I have a few spools of treasured Cuttyhunk Irish linen line (which is no longer available for any price).   The Zane Grey and Natural colors are too white, but a quick run through Minwax wood stain in Ipswitch Pine color makes them look the right shade.
 
1
 
Even examined closely this gives them the look of miniature rope.
 
2
 
I fed the line through the hull openings.  The larger line (C-21) was used for the tacks which belayed to cleats, while the smaller one (C-12) was for the sheets.which belayed to the staghorn kevil.
 
3
 
Although each line is tied off properly, they were all further secured with dilute white glue.  When dry the ends were nipped off and hidden by separate rope coils.  I make these on a simple jig.  A block of soft wood - basswood in this case, but it could be balsa - has several holes drilled in the top face and one or two holes in the front face in the same line.  Removable brass pegs fit into the holes and everything is given several coats of clear finish to keep glue from sticking to it.  Then matching lines are wrapped around the pegs with the ends friction fit into notches in the jig.
 
4
 
As I wrap I randomly make larger and smaller loops and even the occasional figure eight.  When I have the look that I want, the coils are painted with dilute white glue.  Actually, they are first wet down with water, which helps the dilute glue to penetrate the line rather than having it sit on the surface.  When the glue is dry the top peg is removed and the coil peeled up from the jig and trimmed.  Using dilute glue means that the coils are flexible while still holding their shape.
 
5
 
The coils are hung over the belaying points, teased into position where they look like they are hanging with the force of gravity, and secured with white glue.
 
6
 
7
 
In the photos you can see the supporting knees for the gangways.  These were made as before by cutting and shaping a stick and then parting off individual ones.  After locating and installing the forward and aft ones, the gangways were glued in, then the middle two knees for each gangway were installed.  In the photo you can see the ropes that feed through the hull.  I left what I hope is more than enough to reach to the sails, but we will see when the rigging is installed.
 
8
 
The final fittings in the waist were the four ladders from the gun deck up to the gangways.  They were wider at the base than at the top, and were built up as has been detailed before as a stack, then parted off.
 
9
 
After individual ladders were parted off they were cleaned up, stained and installed.
 
10
 
Now that the waist was complete, I turned to the quarterdeck.  The railing that was built up last time was installed, then the whipstaff.  For those not familiar, this is an obsolete steering device that predated the wheel.  It consisted of a rotating fitting called a rowel set into the deck through which a staff passed before it hooked into the end of the tiller arm.  Moving the staff port or starboard turned the rudder.  It was not very efficient, but then most steering was done with the sails during this time.
 
10a
 
A hole was drilled in the deck and a piece of pear cut and sanded to fit.  The fore/aft slot for the rowel was carved into the pear piece, as were indentations for the staff clearance athwartships.  The rowel was turned from maple, and the hole drilled to allow the staff to have a sliding fit.  I set the staff at an offset angle and glued it in place.
 
11
 
You can also see the ladders from the quarterdeck to the poop deck on the roof of the captain's cabin.  These were made up as before, just a little taller than the gangway ladders.  Similarly, the post with sheaves for the lateen halyard was made like the fore and mainyard halyard fittings.  Along the bulwarks are staghorns and pinrails as drawn by Budriot.  I am not completely sold on the pinrails, which do not appear anywhere else on the ship, but they are certainly needed for belaying points.
 
The four 4-pounder cannon were rigged and installed like the 6-pounders on the gun deck.
 
12
 
 Now the deck fittings that were made up almost a year ago could be installed.  These were the companionway house, the officers' bench in front of it, and the two small binnacles.
 
13
 
The ship is now ready for rigging, which will start next month.
 
14
 
Until then, happy Thanksgiving to all and to your families.
 
Dan
 
 
 
 

Now that we've been back from holidays a couple of weeks I thought it was about time I posted an update on the 'Francis'.
 
All the deck beams are now in place , so the next job will be to give the frames a final external fairing and then I can start work on the planking battens.
 
I hope to be getting a bit of extra time at the museum over the next few weeks, so hopefully there'll be a bit more progress before long.
 
John
 

 

 

 

After having finished about one third of my belaying pins I needed a little break and built the fife rail. The building process and the result is shown in images 1 – 5.
 
Thomas
 
 

Image 1
 
 

Image 2
 
 

Image 3
 
 

Image 4
 
 

Image 5