Elia

Sewing progresses very slowly.  I’m still learning how to handle the sewing machine.  You would think this would be fairly simple, but no!  I’m finding that the most difficult part of sewing the seams in the sails is starting a line to stitching.
 

 
If you don’t control the top and bottom threads, keeping them taught with a finger as you begin the stitch, the bottom thread will sometimes snag the top thread and pull it under the cloth.  This causes it to be tangled into the stitching.  Of course you don’t discover this until after you’ve finished the entire line of stitching.  Sometimes I can very carefully pull the thread out and tighten the stitching.  Sometimes I can’t and then it requires taking out the entire line of stitching and doing it over again.  I’m learning!
 
Once I have the seams sewn into the sail pattern it leaves “Irish Pennants” along the hem line.  Using a regular sewing needle I bring the top thread back through the cloth and tie it to the bottom thread with a square knot.
 


 
Once all the seams are sewn in I dampened the sail cloth and ironed all the wrinkles out.  Now it’s time to start cutting out the patterns.
 

 
I’ve used Fray Check along all the sail pattern outlines to prevent the cloth from unraveling after it’s cut.  I also painted a thin solution of white glue to all the outside areas that will be folded to form the hems.  I’m hoping this will add just enough stiffness to allow for a nice crisp fold.
 
As I said; slow progress, but, “softly, softly, catchee monkey.”
 

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 21 – Keelson/Forward Deadwood continued
 
 
American Clipper Note:  When Young America was launched in the spring of 1853, her builder, William Webb, incensed by some critical press, issued a challenge to the owners of the fast McKay clipper Sovereign of the Seas to a two-ship, head-to-head race from New York to San Francisco.  Excitement and bookmaking activity ran high.  Unfortunately Sovereign sailed for China.  Major disappointment all around.
 
Work on the forward sections of the keelson and the deadwood continues.  The first picture shows the second section of the lower tier of the deadwood being glued to the frames – held in place by pins with wood chocks buffers.
 

 
Below is a lower view of this from aft.
 

 
This view shows the pronounced v-shape of the most forward frames and illustrates the issue of securing timber to make the floor members of these.
 
Before these keelson sections could be installed, the insides of the floor and lower futtock timbers had to be faired – at least up the the floor heads.  The next picture shows this finish-work more clearly.
 

 
Apart from the issue of flatness across the centers of the frames, it is difficult to do this work with the keelson in place.
 
The next picture shows anoth piece of the deadwood being fitted over the forward end of the lower keelson.
 

 
This picture also shows the mounting nut that is about to be covered forever by the upper tier of the keelson.
 
In the next picture the forward section of the upper keelson tier is installed and anoth piece of the deadwood jigsaw puzzle being fitted.
 

 
In the next picture that piece is being glued in place.
 

 
Again, the dark discoloration on the wood is from washing off the excess glue.
 
Finally, as shown below, the last piece of the deadwood has been installed.  The sun has shown through the window and lightened this picture to help me celebrate the event.
 

 
In the next part, I will cover the risky task of cutting large scores in both sides of the deadwood to seat the cant frames.
 
Ed

Yes we will!

Wooden ship kit manufacturers seldom show a painted completed model on the kits box art. I think this practice has instilled the idea in some people’s heads that the finished kit should be left unpainted. I think the kit manufacturers actual intentions though are only to clearly depict the different materials provided in the kit and a painted model would disguise the different species of wood or white metal or brass parts the kit features. This aside, there is a lot to be said for the practice of leaving a model unpainted that has nothing to do with how kits are marketed. Demonstrating to the viewer a models true nature is best done without covering anything with paint. For instance it would make no sense at all to paint a bone model.  On the other hand I don’t think any serious plastic kit model builders ever leave any part of a finished plastic kit unpainted, their goal is to produce something that “looks like the real thing”, not to “demonstrate the true nature” of the styrene plastic the kit was made of. So I think the intentions of the builder dictate weather or not to use paint. I will point out though that there were no unpainted ships sailing the world’s oceans. Every exterior surface on a wooden ship was painted tarred oiled or varnished in one way or another in order to protect the ship from the elements and any wooden vessel that didn’t get some sort of surface coating would quickly be reduced to driftwood by the marine environment.

Hello Shlhawk,
 
That's a very good question and the funny thing is that I have been actually faced with exactly the same issue regarding HMS Victory and paint. I am building a model for someone and I'm trying to figure out a way to build it without paint. But, I don't like the way the ship looks without paint. Or at least the way the completed kit might look if I build it without paint.
 
Personally, I think the bias for no paint on a model is just a bias. It's all personal opinion and my own is that paint can frame a model quite nicely and create a contrast that can make the wood on a model stand out. Most ships never looked the way an all wood finish model looks, but that's fine if that's what you like. I'm thinking I'd like to build the Victory with natural wood tone for the yellow bands and for the area that would normally be coppered and then where it's black, I'd like to paint it. Then, that makes it easier to paint the stern galleries which might look a bit odd unpainted while using the kit supplied parts, at least to me.
 
In my experience, when someone asks what people think about a topic, they usually have something in mind and are looking for some encouragement to follow their own ideas. If you feel your model should be all natural, then that's the way you should build it, and if you think it needs some paint, then don't worry about it and go ahead and paint. There should be plenty of examples of both on MSW.
 
As for my case, I need to figure out a way to convince the owner that we'll have a great looking model with my limited paint scheme plan. So, unfortunately, I can't follow my own advice and just do it the way I want. 
 
But, good luck and regardless of what you decide, I'll be looking forward to seeing your build here on MWS,
 
Clare

Greetings to Elia, Popeye, Banyan, Sjors, Anthony, Ian and Boris and thank you all for dropping in.  Did you get enough beer and popcorn?  Sjors was buying   
 
@ Ian, you know, our daughter is still talking about it and planning to build that railroad.  She and I designed a nice little mining and lumbering layout, with a small river loading dock! 
As far as the mine issue goes, it's really tempting but let me get my head wrapped around drawing up the plans for the con first, then we;ll see - - - - or sooner 
 
@ Boris, yes, thanks for sending these, they are great and add to my collection.  I have send you also a few pics I found in my files and the digital pics Remco send me from the Navy Archive.  You could machine them from copper or wood or sculpt them from Sculpy.  I'm waiting for the copper that Paul mailed to me and will try to use that.
 
@ Popeye, thanks for looking.  Remco also came up with an idea and we are looking into that as well.  Fortunately there are only a few letters and numbers I need    The small ones at the bow for the load levels are the ones that can be gotten from model railroad places.
 
Well, today was also a day away from the shipyard.  Went to our monthly colored pencil society chapter meeting and then mowed our backyard lawn.  
Besides the mine issue I am also in a dilemma about the bow side anchor.  Remco went to the Navy Archive and could find nothing on that anchor but according to three photos I have there seem to have been a small standard anchor.  I'll show the pics below.  I won't cut into the side of the deck structure until I have something more positive on the anchor.  I think that this will also be guesswork but as long as it looks similar to what I see on the photo then I'll be happy.
 
I'll also add a few pics of mines being loaded.  These are training mines by the way.  This too was not a simple procedure.
 
 
This shows the O 19 surfacing after a test dive in Scotland after she was overhauled in 1944.  When you enlarge the picture you should be able to see the bottom of a small anchor.
 

This is what I think this anchor could look like.
 

This is another example of the type anchor they could have used, much smaller of course.
 

 

 
Cheers, 
 
 
 

The sixth beam set is relatively straight forward.  The aft bulkhead for the boatswain's cabin was temporarily removed to make installation easier.  The pillar is supposed to go through the hatch coaming.  I cheated and it is simply glued to the surface of the coaming.  There is a tenon on the superior aspect of the pillar with a mortise on the under surface of the beam.
 

 

 

 

The bitt standards are knees that extend anteriorly from the bitt pin.  They are let into the deck beams and ledges by 1".  I rough-cut the standard and then cut in the notches using the Preac saw with the blade elevated 1" above the table.  To make things more interesting, the round-up of the deck needs to be taken into consideration.  Also, the deck slopes upward towards the bow but the bitt pin is perpendicular to the water line.  That angle had to be cut on the aft side of the standard so it would fit snuggly against the pin.  Once I was happy with the fit, I transferred the shape of the standard onto the rough piece and cut it to the correct shape.  The edges are beveled.
 

 

 
After the starboard standard was fabricated, the port one was made.  The pictures show the port standard before and after final shaping.
 

 

 

 
The standards are bolted to the underlying frames.  The cable stopper hole is drilled near the intersection of the pin and the floor height.  It is 2.75" in diameter.  I used a #60 drill bit and then enlarged and rounded over the hole with Swiss needle files.  The hole is barely visible in the last photo.  The color difference betweeen the pin and the standard is because I put finish on the pin but will be delaying putting any finish on the standard until after the deck has been installed.
 

 

To keep up with the build..I thought I'd show you what the composite masts look like on these American made clippers.
 
Here is a simple drawing of how they were put together.
 
I built these masts for my version of Glory of the Seas.

I'm putting on the mizzen shrouds. Donald McKay used a sort of extra mast top, or preventer top a bit below the mast tpps on some of his ships. It must of help negate the twisting forces. It must have added a lot of strength. There are so many things like this about some of his clippers. One other is that some of Lightnings biggest sails had an "X"shaped canvas bracing on them going from corner to corner.
 
She had an unusual  mast/yard set up, she was very wide rather than lofty. I believe that he was trying to gain power this way hoping it would keep her from heeling overly much, making her a drier ship for the passengers.  It was regarded as A very dry ship, so maybe it worked, even though the James Baines company of Liverpool added to her height. Their messing with McKay's design really irks me,. No wonder they were called wood butchers.
 
I left each shroud piece with plenty of extra length. The back halves of the preventer tops should have been put on later as they interfered with making the shrouds top eyes as tight as I wanted. I had to test each one to see that it cleared.
 
I used #80 Egyptian cotton for the seizings. They were started by passing a needle through to top of the eye. The needle had to be made sharper and with a longer taper. I then seized the shroud pair to their deadeyes. I put enough tension in the line to just see my mast starting to pull out of line. After all the shrouds were on I put on the mizzen forestay. Same type of tension.
 
Shown are some of my rigging tools. A paint brush handle with  1/2 of a safety razor blade glued in cut the thread like it's not there.
The flush cutters cut the finest thread cleanly, better than scissors. They are Lundstrum brand. After wearing out several Xuron flush cutters I sprung for the good ones. Expensive but worth it seeing how fast the others wear out.
 
As you see the main shrouds going in you can realize why I'm working stern to bow. You can't get the foresays in otherwise.
 
Bruce
 
 

Jeronimo,
 
I saw your log and the photos of the finished boat - fantastic work. I hope mine is somewhere near as good (although I have my doubts… we'll see).
 
Aykutansin,
 
Thanks for the encouragement - do you have a build log of your own?
 
Here are some more photos of progress to date. I've set the keelson in its recess in the mould and started adding the frames. The instructions suggest pinning through the frames. I decided to use push-pins. A big benefit is that they can be removed more easily once the frames are finished (you don't want to miss a pin after adding the planking - removing the shell from the mould would be a bit difficult…). Another advantage is that lifting a pin slightly allows the frame to be adjusted laterally until its position is perfect.
 
 
 
I'm using apple for the frames as well as the keelson. Slicing it up into 2 x 2 mm pieces results in incredibly smooth faces straight from the saw. I give them a rub-down with 400 grit wet and dry used dry then soak them overnight. The first picture above shows all the pieces cut up: there are 30 of them, corresponding to 30 frames, each strip is 300 mm long. The second picture shows a set of timbers for a typical frame - a long piece for the floor and two shorter pieces for the futtocks.
 
The following pictures show steps in adding the frames to the mould with the keelson in place. Interestingly nothing is glued yet. The keelson is intended to remain loose until the hull is removed from the mould, at which time it will be pinned and glued in place. Initially I soaked the wood in hot water, but I found I broke quite a few pieces trying to bend them round the sharp curve between the floor and the sides, so I added some household ammonia to the water. I am now having more success, but this may be because a] I'm getting better at forming the bends or b] I've left the wood to soak for longer or c] I tried microwaving the container with the ammonia solution before taking the wood out. Anyway it seems to be going OK!
 
     
 
In the first three images the floors are being added; in the last three I am starting to add the futtocks. The darker pieces have been added later and are still wet.
 
 
Rob

Done!
 
In a marathon late night session last night, I finished my longboat. I tied the last of the rope coils into place, glued the handles on and officially declared victory. I just couldn't go one more day saying that it should be finished by tomorrow.
 
I'll post a full set of pics in the gallery shortly.
 
I ended up not including the grappling anchor as the casting seemed too big for the model, especially after looking at Chuck's prototype which has an anchor I really like. Perhaps in the future I'll fashion one that's smaller, but it seemed unnecessary, so I left it out. Also, I did flub the location of the flag halliards and put them on the port side instead of the starboard side as given in the instructions. That didn't seem like it was critical, so I left that as well. 
 
Here's a final pic with more to be posted in the gallery shortly.
 

 
 
This started out as a kit that I thought was "nice" and ended up being a really fun and challenging build that tested my skills, taught me a few things, and turned out to be a pretty sweet looking model. Chuck did a wonderful job on this kit design I have to say.
 
I'll be building a case for it in the near future, but at least it's under a dust cover now. 
 
Clare
 

I'm determined to finish this model up in the next week or so. During the week, I finished the gudgeons and pintles, and finished making the windlass and handles. Yesterday, I added the thole pins.
 
The windlass is made from square stock basswood. I considered making this from boxwood but the basswood worked well enough. The hardest part was creating the holes for the handles. I drilled, poked with a pointy #11 X-Acto knife and got them about the right size. Finally, I just pushed the handle into each hole. The square section of the handle kind of evened out the square opening. It's not perfect, but I think it's about the best I'm going to do, at least this time.
 
The thole pins were kind of interesting. I'm not much of a jig maker, but this time, I ended up taking a piece of brass and making a drill pattern so that all the thole pins are spaced a consistent distance apart. 
 

 

 
 
Last thing on the rudder were the decorations. Again, mine were printed on decal paper. I realized at some point that I had used clear decal paper instead of white decal paper. The problem with this was that if the decals are placed directly on wood, the color are very subdued. This wasn't a problem with the friezes at the gunwales as I had already painted these areas white. For the rudder, I found that I had to paint white ovals where the decals were to be located. After these dried, I added the decals, which looked fine.
 

 

 
 
For the handles for the rudder and the windlass, I gave up trying to make a decent looking set out of basswood. Instead, I just took some boxwood strips and made these. They are the only use of wood on the model that is not basswood.
 
 
Clare

Thank you Bob, it's good to be here... finally! 
 
I have to say, I originally thought the kit was just okay. But, over the course of working on it, and yes I took the long slow route, I've really come to love the way this model looks. You know, I'm tempted to do another one. If I did, at minimum, I'd try adding nails at the frames or at least simulate it. Of course, I'd better finish this one... and maybe some of those other projects that are just sitting around waiting for attention.
 
Here's one more photo taken at the Good Sam Showcase of Miniatures in San Jose, CA a couple weekends ago. The South Bay Model Shipwrights club was given 1/2 a table to set up a display, so I brought my Mary Taylor model and this "in-progress" model. I'd made a simple base and stand for it in time for the show. I think that little bit of work on it made me realize I need to get it done.
 
Here's the longboat displayed next to a couple 1:350 models done by Patrick Moloney, one of the other members of the group.
 
 
And, the in-progress longboat up close. I made the base from a piece of cherry wood I had. I seldom use the router table I bought a couple years ago, so it was nice to have a quick job to do here.
 
 
The posts are actually brass tubing over a thinner brass rod. The inner rod actually stops about 1/2" from the top of the tubing and small brass rods were fit into the keel of the longboat that fit snugly into the tubes. Works well and allows me to remove the model to work on it. I have other models where there is a fixed rod that fits into holes in the keel, but it is too easy to miss the holes when mounting the hull. The result is small dings to the keel or hull. This way, the model keeps clear of the stand until the ends of the fixed rods in the keel are fit into the tubing of the stands.
 
 
 
 
 
Clare

With this installment, I'm about up to where I was on my other build log. I've done some work since then, but I'll leave it for another time to update the log here.
 







 
As you can see in these photos, I've added the floorboards, risers, platforms and stern seats. I used Chuck's technique for scribing the moldings and was really happy with how they turned out. The wood is all treated with a 50/50 mix of Golden Oak and Natural stains. The paint was my own mix of acrylics. I know the brighter red is more authentic, so I chalk up the darker color mix to artistic license.
 
In the fourth photo, if you look carefully, you can see the light shining through the thin planking above the waterline. 
 
Finally, I did start the metal work here, shaping the kit provided brass and using the "Brass Black" solution that Bluejacket sells. I find that I get better results using their product than with A-West's "Blacken-It" product. Anyway, the blackened brass was then given a clear coat and glued into place.
 
Clare

Here are the photos from my second installment of the build, following up the planking with trimming the framing.
 


 
Now we jump ahead a little because I didn't take any photos of the process of painting and applying the friezes.
 




 
As with others, I found the printed friezes in the kit didn't fit my model. Chuck was nice enough to provide reduced size friezes, but I found that even then they were still too big. But, with the files that Chuck provided, I could simply reduce them myself to get something that would fit nicely. In my case, I reduced the art to 95% and it fit great. 
 
The next problem I encountered with the art was that my printer wasn't producing something that I found satisfactory. It's a good printer, a Canon 780, but adjusting the color just didn't work well enough to suit me. I also tried different kinds of paper, but still not happy. Finally, I remembered I had some Testors brand decal paper and I tried that. Worked like a charm and I was very happy with the results. The color looks good, though different from the original art, and the decals are nice and thin. 
 
Clare

Guys, thanks for the comments.
 
Build update:
 
Finished adding pieces to complete this phase of the build, except for items that will be added after rigging phase is complete.  I sure if I added the stern lanterns they would be knocked off many times.  Figurehead isn't added yet either.  The one that came with the casting package has a bowed left leg (won't seat flush with stem).  These items don't bend, so I made a mold of the leg out of clay.  Would like to get a replacement from Amati.
 
Things that were done since last update are:
Did all the hammock netting and stanchions.  
Added fire buckets, but didn't order enough of them.
Made and added the additional ladders required.
Made and added the channels, supports, eyelets, chainplates and deadeyes.
Rigged the four guns on the FC.
Completed the catheads, headrails and associated pieces.
Added ship boats and tied down.
 
Next step making the masts.  
 

Hello again friends,
 
Today was more exploration of the conning tower.  Instead of just building the con without any working detail I "conned" myself into going hog wild.  That's why I am now taking my time to draw up the basic build as "plank on frame".  I must be sure about where all the detail stuff is placed and the measurements.  I'll have to go back to my drafting table and lay things out for this build.  It's like Remco's mantra, treat each part as a model.
 
In addition to more thinking and sketching I painted both the stern and bow torpedo loading wells and tubes.  I also made the stern well hatch doors.  Then, in my sketching the conning tower I determined that I had to remake the dingy loading boom, which is also the center support for the hatch covers.  
I have no detail drawings for this thing but have a fair idea how it could have been done.  For the model it'll be attached to a rotating pin at the aft end of the conning tower and can also be rotated out of the dingy compartment with a bolt through the rotating pin assembly.  The other end will have a place for a sheave and tackle and a latching hook for the lift cable.
 
I also made two of the stern mooring thingies.
 
Well, that's about it and below are a few pics of today's progress.
 

This is the stern torpedo loading tube installed and painted.  The entire well is painted dark grey.
 

This is the bow torpedo loading tube installed and painted with the pressure door closed, as well as the entire well area.
 

This is the bow torpedo loading tube installed and painted with the pressure door open.
 

Here are the two mooring gismos at the stern.
 

Just for doing something else I made the lid for the mine tube bins.  Still tempting to actually cut a hole in the poor boat and install a tube with a model of a mine.  Just too much work, the area inside was not build with that in mind and it'll require a lot of very difficult work to make it look right.  It's like doing an appendectomy through your nose.   But then again, who knows, I love a challenge.  Don't get your hopes up too high John   
 

This is a copy of a photo I have of the O 19 with all the mine bins open.  I modeled my lid after this picture.  My question is this, if anyone can lead me to a place that sells letter and number decals that look like these I'll be mighty obliged.  I also need Roman numerals for the draft markings.
 
Cheers, 

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 20 – Keelson/Forward Deadwood
 
 
American Clipper Note:  In the last part I mentioned Flying Cloud’s record on her 6 passages around Cape Horn from New York to San Francisco before she was retired from that service.  These averaged 116 days - 102 days if the last 185 day trip, during which she was dismasted, is discounted.  In her long career Young America made the passage 20 times from New York, three times from Liverpool and once from Antwerp, with an average of 118 days per trip – her best from New York being 102 days – her worst, 142 days from Antwerp against persistent headwinds.  Her best from Liverpool was 99 days.  This was a stunning 30 year performance.
 
So, back to the model.
 
The remaining frames forward consist of half-frames and cant frames that bolt through the keelson and deadwood.  Since the keelson is bolted atop the square frames, they must be installed first.  So, with all of the forward square frames installed, the forward part of the keelson and the forward deadwood can be constructed.
 
In the last part I showed a picture with two strips representing the two tiers of the keelson.  The forward section of the lower tier – the keelson proper – houses the forward model mounting bolt.  In the first picture a 4-40 nut has been filed down to fit a mortise in the keelson and is being epoxied in place.
 

 
The next picture shows the mounting bolt screwed up through the keel, filler and into the nut in the keelson.  It is protected from screwing in further by of the larger diameter shoulder butting against the bottom of the keel.
 

 
The above picture was taken after installing the first section of the keelson.  Before that could be done it had to be fitted to the apron at its forward end.  At its aft end there is a large scarph joint with the next segment.  Both halves of this joint were made before setting the forward segment.  The joint is shown below.
 

 
In all keel and keelson joints the face of the joint slanted downward in the aft direction.  This is one good reason for installing the keelson from fore to aft.
 
The next picture shows the lower keelson being glued over the filler and the forward square frames.  The picture shows the joint with the second lower segment, but that piece is still loose in the picture.  The wet spots are from washing off excess glue.
 

 
The installed piece was then “bolted” down into the keel with copper wire bolts.  That process is described below.  The bolts have been filed off flush in the next picture.
 

 
The next picture shows the first section of the forward deadwood being fitted.  The pattern is still attached.  The keelson and the deadwood is sided the same as the keel – 16”.
 

 
The last picture shows the insertion of the copper bolts to secure the piece of deadwood.
 

 
This piece has already been glued in, but the process being used for the bolts will also add strength to the model joint.  First holes are drilled at a size that will allow a slip fit for the 22-gauge wire being used.  This wire is pre-stretched to stress harden it.  The holes in this case are about 1” deep, so the bolts are about a scale 6 feet long.  The bolts are dipped in 5-minute epoxy and pushed into the hole.  They are then moved in and out, removed and dipped in epoxy again, reinserted and again moved in and out.  This distributes epoxy throughout the hole.  These bolts will not come out.  When the epoxy hardens the bolts are clipped and filed off flush.
 
As additional members are added, they are bolted in a similar way with bolts as long as my drill bits permit.  Later, additional bolts will be driven like this, through the forward part of the stem into the apron and deadwood.  The keelson bolts are installed in like manner.
 
In the next part, the forward upper tier of the keelson and the remaining forward deadwood will be constructed.
 
Ed

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 19 – Framing Continued
 
 
American Clipper Note:  On her fourth voyage, still under Cressy, Flying Cloud left New York for San Francisco in January 1854 and set a new record of 89 days, 8 hours, just under her 1851 performance.  This record would eventually fall to Andrew Jackson in 1859 with a passage of 89 days, 4 hours.  This new record would be in dispute for years.  These matters were taken quite seriously.  Given the vagaries of wind, weather and seasonal variations, one wonders what all this recordkeeping really means.  Between 1851 and her last Cape Horn voyage in 1856 Flying Cloud's record to San Francisco included passages of 89, 113, 106, 89, 112 and 185 days.
 
I am getting close to wrapping up the forward square frames.  The remainder of these frames – P through U are shown below after beveling as described earlier.  The narrowing of the lower hull forward can clearly be seen.
 

 
The next picture shows the frames with cross-spales being fitted to U and P.
 

 
The next step was to reduce the sidings of the upper futtocks and toptimbers.  This was described earlier.  The last step before erection is to install the framebolts.  These were 1” iron, unheaded, cut off flush.  They are simulated with 30 lb. test black monofilament.
 

 
After dipping in CA the filament is slipped through the pin holes used for assembly.  There were 3 to 4 of these bolts per timber.  There are two through the rail stanchions as shown above.
 
After gluing in, the excess ends are easily sliced off with a razor blade as shown below.
 

 
The next picture shows the remaining forward square frames installed.
 

 
Starting with frame R going forward the sidings are reduced and the frame spacing increased.  For example the floors go from 14” to 12” and the frame spacing from 32” to 34”.  Webb used this method to reduce hogging by lightening the forward structure where the hull buoyancy was less due to the fine entry.  This design feature was able to reduce the weight of the forward structure by as much as 25 tons in Webb's ships.
 
On the model the spacers have suddenly gotten larger due to the increased separation.  The last two are being fitted above.
 
Next, another picture of the framing at this stage.
 

 
The next picture shows the connection of the last frame, Q, at the keel.
 

 
There are two points of interest here.  First, there is the filler on the keel forward of the last full frame.  Frames forward of this one will bolt to the sides of this filler and the keelson/deadwood – soon to be added.  Second, notches in the tops of the frames at the keel can be seen.  This is to provide additional bolting height for the next few frames which would otherwise have to be bolted only at the lower 17” of their feet – not enough – in my opinion.  Additional bolting space can only be added by raising the cutting down line aft of this first half frame.  If this were done suddenly at frame V there would be a step up in the inboard planking, so to provide a fair bed for the planks, I started raising the cutting down line four frames aft, adding additional bolting height of about 7" for the first half-frame.
 
The last picture - showing some strips representing the two tiers of the keelson - will help illustrate the above issue and also show the huge size of the keelson.
 

 
These two 16”w x 24”h tiers ran in a straight line from stem to sternpost, bolted heavily through the frame floors to the keel.  I have placed a pencil mark on the lower keelson to show the raised cutting down height.  This additional height will allow one of the horizontal bolts for the first half frame to be driven through the lower keelson. 
 
The model mounting bolt and nut is about to be set into the actual lower keelson once the forward end of that that is fitted to the apron and marked for length.
 
 
 
 
Ed

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 1 - Decisions 
I took most of the summer deciding whether I would undertake another ship model and if so, what the scope and subject would be.  I had a lot of time to think about this while catching up on neglected home maintenance and repair projects.  After deciding that I needed the challenge of another ambitious project, the decisions on scope and subject kept me busy through July.  I also had to decide whether I could commit to another Naiad-like build log.  We shall see.
 
I received a number of suggestions on subjects and that input is most appreciated.  Since I expect this project to span a number of years, the decision was a big one.  I have enjoyed wrestling through the process of deciding.  I had a number of criteria:  1) significant design/drafting content, 2) fully-framed construction to further explore my interest in structures, 3) a change from the well-trod path of fully-framed 18th Century Royal Navy subjects, 4) avoiding commonly modeled ships, and 5), I thought it was time to do an American ship. 
 
Before focusing on the extreme American clippers, I considered, among many other possibilities, a 19th Century American warship, perhaps steam-sail, and looked seriously at some of the ships by John Lenthall, built locally at the Philadelphia Navy Yard – examples: Germantown (sail), Princeton (screw/sail), Susquehanna (paddle/sail).  
 
In the end, the idea of the extreme clipper was too attractive to dismiss.  To me, this type represents an apex of achievement in wooden sailing ship design and construction – in terms of sleek hull lines, sailing performance, structural development and sheer beauty.  In the design of the extreme clippers, minimum tradeoffs were made to the one paramount design parameter  - achieving the shortest sailing times between far-flung ports.  Speed meant not only sleek hull lines and a spread of canvas, but also the strength to withstand continuous hard driving, day-in, day-out. 
 
After deciding on the clipper – and an American (meaning all wood) clipper - I chose the work of William H. Webb of New York.  It would have been easier to select something from his more popular competitor, Donald McKay, but McKay’s ships built at East Boston, have long been widely modeled – Staghound, Flying Cloud, Lightning and others. McKay’s papers do include substantial structural detail – very tempting.  Webb, too, has left papers, and these have been explored, with information published in the secondary sources I have used.  There are many gaps, but there is a family resemblance in details to all these ships and many practices and scantlings were commonly adopted.  Webb presented more of a challenge – in more ways than one – as I will describe later. 
 
Of Webb’s ships, I chose Young America, built in 1853, his last extreme clipper.  Less is known about her construction than some of his others, so the task of piecing her structure together is more interesting.  I will discuss this, the ship, and the extreme clipper era in the next posts.
 
Below is a photo of Young America, docked at San Francisco, a frequent port of call for her.  She was built mainly for the East Coast to California trade.  In the picture she is rigged with double topsails - a modification from her original single topsail rig.  There are also some paintings of her.  She was considered Webb’s masterpiece – one of his twelve clippers in a list that included renowned ships like Challenge, Comet, Invincible, Flying Dutchman – all of these examples being 200 to 240 feet in length. YA enjoyed a thirty-year career that included fifty passages around Cape Horn.  She set a number of sailing records and earned a ton of money for her various owners – and for those who made money betting on passage times.  In 1883 she left Philadelphia carrying 9200 barrels of Pennsylvania case oil, cleared Delaware Bay and was never heard from again.
 

 
The model may be fully rigged.  I will decide later.  With the hull length involved (240’) the scale is likely to be 1:72, but that is not yet cast in stone.
 
Structural drawings are well along and I expect to start construction later in September.
 
I hope these posts will be of interest and perhaps draw some attention to this somewhat neglected modeling genre.
 
Ed
 
 
 
 

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 18 – Framing Continued
 
 
American Clipper Note:  Flying Cloud was launched from Donald McKay’s yard at East Boston a month before Challenge.  She was of comparable size, and like Challenge, bound for California from New York on her maiden voyage.  Inevitably she was drawn into the great “challenge” surrounding the ship Challenge.  She left New York in early June 1851 under command of Josiah Cressy. Three days later she lost her main and mizzen topgallant masts, but reached the line (equator) in 21 days.  She arrived in San Francisco in 89 days 21 hours, beating the previous record of 97 days, set by Sea Witch the year before – and 18 days under the Challenge’s ill-fated maiden voyage performance.
 
After the last post, there was a question about the dark glue that I use to highlight structural joint lines.  The 8 oz. bottle I mixed up for Naiad was just about empty, so when replacing it I took some pictures to help answer the question.
 
The first picture shows the starting point, plus two bottles of ready made dark Titebond glue.  The new bottle to the right is the currently available dark Titebond II.  I find it a bit light for pear.  The old – quite old actually – bottle in the center is the old Titebond dark glue – just about the right shade but no longer available.  T the left is an 8 oz. bottle of the standard yellow.  (The first thing I do with a new bottle of Titebond is pull off and toss the sliding top, cut off the closing nib and insert a length of plastic rod that is easy to remove and replace and does not clog up.)
 

 
At the front right is a jar of raw umber artist grade pigment that will be used to darken the glue.  This bottle is several lifetimes’ supply.
 
 
In the next picture, about a teaspoon of dry pigment was added to about a tablespoon of water and is being thoroughly mixed with the pestle-like Teflon rod until there is no sign of powder or lumps.
 

 
The entire 8 oz. of glue is then added a bit at a time and mixed in.  The next picture showsthe final appearance.
 

 
In the next picture the empty bottle has been thoroughly washed out with hot water and is being refilled with the darkened glue.
 

 
I expect this will be enough to finish the model.
 
The next picture shows the last of the full forward square frames.  The rail stanchios are about to be installed.
 

 
The frame is now ready for beveling.  In the next picture the forward face of the pair is being trimmed back to the forward profile line on the disk sander.
 
 

 
The aft outer profile was previously trimmed back.  The disk is kept away from that line in this step.  This leaves a hump or ridge between the two profiles.  The next picture shows this being removed by hand with a flat Rasp.
 

 
The last picture shows the resulting bevel.
 

 
The insides are only roughly beveled – mostly using a spindle sander.  They could be hand finished as well, but I intend to do that after the hull is assembled.
 
The final bevel will be refined when the hull is finished sanded.  Beveling these pairs before assembly saves tedious sanding work later, makes frame erection easier and yields a more accurate hull profile.
 
There is still some work to do on these frames before erection.
 
Ed
 
 
 

Just finished about an hours worth of work on the hull with the chisel and wood rasp.  
 
Cheers,
Tim
 

 

 

 

 

 
 

John I'm retired
 
This evening after supper I finished off the rough fitting of the grating in the bottom of the cockpit. it still needs the edge wood and I'm not sure yet whether to use a contrasting wood or to go with some more of the Yellow Cedar that the grating is made of.
 
I cut a slab of 3/4 x 3 1/2" yellow cedar from a 4x4 of it that i have had for a while now.
 

 
Then stripped it up into some scale 1 1/4 inch thick boards and made a couple of passes to create the square stock and the wider stock was milled with a "19 modified twist drill into an end mill The drill is .166" diameter this gave a nice snug fit to the square stock when it was assembled.
 

 
checking the size to mark out for sanding.
 

 
next the assembly was rough sanded to fit into the cockpit on the disk sander.
 

 
Michael
 
 
 

Here are some pics of the yards being built. I made the cradle to help hold them still as I worked on them. Also, here are some details of the tops and crosstrees.
 
My methods are the standard ones. The masts were shaped from square blanks of lemonwood taken from bow staves. Yards too. It was a lot of shaping. Timely, but really not too difficult. It gave me a lot of control.
 
The deadeyes and bullseyes were made using standard jig techniques.
 
There is a lot of metal work involved. There will be a lot of chain rigging too. I've measured a need for about 9 feet. I've made some chain, but decided to use some 40 link per inch stuff I've found. Making this much was just too much for me. So far this is the only thing I've bought ready made except for thread.
 
I'm making the 11 1/2 inch and 8 inch standing rigging size line right now on my rope walk. This is for the lower shrouds and stays. I'll need a lot of the 11 1/2 as the Lightning had this huge stuff all they up to her topgallant back and forstays! It may look a bit heavy, but McKay really layed on the strong stuff for some of his ships. Especially the ones for the Australian emigrant ships like Lightning.
 
By the way, I have a list all of the laws layed down by the captain for the passengers. PHEW !!! I'm working on a book too.
 
I'm still trying to load that photo of her real figurehead that's rotting in a garage down under....
 
Bruce