Elia

Hi Patrick,
 
Thank you much for the wishes. It has been a fine day, some time with my new book (Ed T's Young America 1853), some time coordinating a home renovation projecy, a nice dinner and cake...
 
Cheers,
 
Elia

Jersey City Frankie
 
Thank you very much. I lean towards trying my utmost towards scale and detail (though sometimes I find I need to say enough is enough and move along or no progress is made) ... Sometimes that is a double edge sword...having to repeat my work several times.
 
The Thalo blue was on a set of pigment recommendations.. Fortunately I've work out the colors and hews and don't have to struggle with that any longer.
 
Cheers,
 
Elia

Hi Patrick,
 
Thank you much for the wishes. It has been a fine day, some time with my new book (Ed T's Young America 1853), some time coordinating a home renovation projecy, a nice dinner and cake...
 
Cheers,
 
Elia

Jersey City Frankie
 
Thank you very much. I lean towards trying my utmost towards scale and detail (though sometimes I find I need to say enough is enough and move along or no progress is made) ... Sometimes that is a double edge sword...having to repeat my work several times.
 
The Thalo blue was on a set of pigment recommendations.. Fortunately I've work out the colors and hews and don't have to struggle with that any longer.
 
Cheers,
 
Elia

It has been some time since my last update and with a little time off of my feet I've been able to do little things here and there on Arethusa.
 
I have begun making masts....first time in oh, about 5 years!  I'm following my method I wrote about in the downloads section some years ago.
 
Here are some photos showing the major steps.  My only process change has been to use a plane to remove material instead of the rasp/file originally shown.




 
On the hull - I touched up the anti-fouling paint and hull sides, made some little scroll art at the bow names, and applied Dullcoat over the outer hull.  It is the first time I've used Dullcoat and I am happy with the results.  The shininess of the acrylic paint is gone and hull details are more clearly visible.  One odd and funny (to me!) aspect of the photos - you may see what looks like scupper run-off 'weathering'.  It isn't.  What you are seeing are reflections from clear, highly glossily packing tape I used to seal the 'work stand' box. 



 
On the deck I finished painting the checker boards.  I've deviated from my 'pristine' modeling approach by applying a semi-transparent paint layer to those details and the deck battens.  I think it gives appearance of worn painted boards and battens.  Also worked on were attached the windlass brakes and connecting links.  Luckily I hadn't glued those down yet - I found one of my soldered joints to have broken.




 
And a final photo showing the two lower masts.  The masts have been tapered and cut to length, only requiring flats and rebates where a host of spar related hardware goes.

 
Cheers,
 
Elia
 

Shipwrights - it has been a long time since I last posted progress on Arethusa.  I have been working away on her, in little snippets of time here and there.  Springtime turned to summer, when my modeling usually all but ceases, replaced by outdoor activities.  Autumn typically welcomes the shipwright (me!) back to his work shop.  This year my wife and I decided to embark on a large home improvement project and it has taken far more time and energy than initially estimated.  That resulted in less model time than I had hoped for.  I am now getting a little modeling time in and following are some progress photos.

 

The saga of the yellow cove stripe is almost over.  I had removed the offending strip of wood, per my previous postings, glued in the repair strip, and spackled, sanded and faired it.  I then painted the yellow stripe region.  After the painted dried for a couple of days I applied the 1/64” wide masking tape.  It was surprisingly difficult for me to get it to run straight and true along the new piece of wood.  ?!  Once in place I painted a light coat of the yellow over the masking tape to seal its edges for bleed under by the black topcoat, which followed.  The resulting stripe looks thin and yellow, as desired, though it wanders a wee bit. I think I’ll live with it.  As you can see if the accompanying photo I’ve added some white to the scuppers.  All of my remediation work had filled in the scuppers with spackle, sanding dust, primer, and paint.  I cleaned out the scuppers and applied some of my white paint as touch-up.  Once the chainplates are attached I’ll apply black topcoat and it should look tidy (at least that is the plan).



 

Speaking of chainplates - I have been working away on those details.  First off was making the deadeyes.  Ron (Oneida build) was very helpful in providing me a direction in which to proceed regarding making my deadeyes.  I followed his lead, similar to Harold Underhill, in making a jig to locate the lanyard holes and setting the height of the deadeye.  

 

I don’t know if you shipwrights ever see a detail on the full size ship that just sticks with you and you find you need to model it, but that happened to me on the deadeyes.  The large Gloucester schooners had deadeyes which were iron stropped to the chainplates.  That in itself isn’t unusual.  What is unique (in my mind at least) was that the strops were double wire loops.  Not one, but two iron strops restrain the deadeye to the chainplate.  I had purchased britannia deadeyes from Blue Jacket Shipcrafters for Arethusa but upon inspection I found I could not easily make the purchased deadeyes accept the double iron strop arrangement.  Thus I set off on making the lower deadeyes.  I used boxwood as it is hard, has little grain direction, and cuts and sands cleanly.

 

The larger deadeyes on the larger schooners were 7” to 7 1/2” in diameter and the width was about 5”.  On my model the ones I’ve made are 0.160” diameter (4mm) and 0.10” thick.  The smaller lower deadeyes were 5 1/5” in diameter, and my model ones are 0.115” diameter (3mm).  Interestingly these double stropped deadeyes are essentially flat faced, making fabrication a little easier.

 

My deadeye fabrication process was as follows:

 

Shape wooden rod from square stock using chisels to form first an octagon, chuck it in a hand drill, and use progressively fine grits of sandpaper to sand to the final deadeye diameter.



 

Using the little jig and a pin vise drill the three lanyard holes.



 

Chuck the dowel in my benchtop drill press.  Use the jig to mark the final width/cut of the deadeye with a fine kerf saw (on the drill press).



 

Use a triangular section file to create the strop grooves (on the drill press).  This was the most inconsistent part of my process as I didn’t have (or use/implement) some ‘tool rest’ with which to steady the file.  Remove the deadeye from the drill press and saw off the deadeye at the previously marked line.



 

Finish drilling through the lanyard holes.



 

I eased the holes with a micro “V” shaped gouge, followed by using the lanyard hole drill bit in the pin vise, rotated slowly, and angled to create a shallow groove.  All edges were then lightly sanded.



 

I have made the chainplates, both (16) longer ones for the lower shrouds and (4) shorter ones for the upper shrouds.  I used a jig to locate the chainplates for drilling the bolt holes.  The upper loops are soldered.  A few extras were made as I typically lose or mess up some when working through the fabrication steps.



 

I have fabricated the jumbo, jib, and flying jib stay ironwork from brass sheet stock.



 

I have made some cleats:



 

And some chocks:



 

And for the deadeyes I have begun making the double iron strops.  Here is a photo of my jig for forming the strop from 26 gauge brass wire.  I solder the one loop end, trim off the excess wire, and file it to resemble a hoop end.  I then use a larger drill bit shank to wrap the double strop around and straighten the hoop ends.





 

Once the strops are complete I'll proceed with assembling the deadeyes to the chainplates.  I intend to stain the deadeyes black and paint the strops (before attaching them to the deadeyes) dull silver (for they were galvanized).  I'm scheming now on how to solder the bolt and nut hardware, joining the iron strops to the chainplate.

 

Hopefully it won't been almost a year before I post further progress!

 

Cheers,

 

Elia

I've spent the past few weeks preparing for, and painting, the rails and hull.  For the most part it was turned quite acceptable to me.  There is one glaring exception, and I'll focus on that later.
 
Once the Monkey Rails were completed I proceeded to apply a sealer/primer to the rails, perform a light sanding, and then apply two coats of my white mix.  The only masking done was to protect previously painted deck and bulwarks.
 
A while ago, when planking the hull, I built an inverted stand for Arethusa, one that located the hull by the two mast holes and a number of contact points on the deck.  The stand allowed the inverted hull to located such that the waterline as horizontal, parallel to the surface it was placed upon.  This stand, very crude compared to some of the tools and stand folks here build for their models, came in quite useful a number of times.
 
I used the stand to mark the waterline with a pencil, a light line, on the hull.  I then applied two coats of the anti-fouling red/brown lower hull paint.  I purposefully carried the red paint up above the waterline mark.
 
After painting all of the rails white and the hull red, and allowing a couple of days for full drying, I masked the edges of the rails where the hull black and rail white meet.  I also remarked the waterline with my handy dandy stand, and then masked the edge of the black paint at the waterline.
 
I had previously used a draw plate/template to form the very narrow cove along the edge of the waist plank.  In full scale the cove is something like 3/8” wide, so one can image how narrow it is for a 1/48 scale model.  I was able to carve a fairly narrow cove into the plank, but it wasn’t very even.  In the process of scraping it into the plank I felt it wander, almost catching on the wood grain as it went.  I’ve looked at this detail for quite some time and had mixed feelings about it.  I was proud of having made such a narrow cove, but unhappy that is wasn’t straight and perfectly parallel to the plank edge. Herein lies the problem I encountered.  I painted the yellow of the cove, two coats, extending the paint above and below the cove to ensure the cove was fully painted.  Once that paint had cured I applied masking tape to the cove.  I had found 1/64” wide masking tape from an on-line modeling supplier and purchased it.  This stuff is rather amazing in it’s narrowness.  When I tried to apply the tape to the cove I found it very difficult to get the tape to nest down into the cove - it wanted to wander about in the cove...reminiscent of when I scraped the cove some time ago.  
 
I applied tape edge sealing coats of each of the three paint colors - white along the edge of the rails, red/brown along waterline, and yellow at the cove.  This was done to seal the edge of the tape and not allow the over-coat color to bleed under the tape.
 
Once those had dried I was clear to apply the upper hull black paint.  Two coats were applied.  The white/black edge along the rails worked quite well, as did the red/black edge at the waterline.  There were one or two very minor bleed spots, but all in all I think a good success.
 
Now....back to that yellow cove.  Once the black paint had dried I peeled back that 1/64” tape...and....not good.  The thinness of the yellow was excellent.  But, the masked sections wandered along the wandering cove.  And there was appreciable black paint bleed beneath the tape.  I am very disappointed in this and am stewing over ways to correct it. 
 
Following are a few photos of the painted hull, without and with deck furniture.  The quarterdeck of these schooners had a unique deck planking run - the planks were set parallel to the cabin, as that was a large cutout in the deck (a strength issue), to provide as much continuous planking strength as possible.  Thus, there is some unique nibbing of the outboard planks along the margin plank/waterway.  
 
The fish pens and dory skids are shown also.  The bait gurry isn't located quite properly, either.
 

Cheers,

Rusty, Robert, Druxey, Mark,
 
Many thanks for popping in here and for the kind words.
 
Dick (rhcronan),
 
While I've been puttering along with my rails I took a little side excursion and snapped some pictures of (a) Eric Ronnberg Jr.'s Arethusa model photo reproductions he had provided to me, and (b )some of the sketches I had made early one in my Arethusa build.  Here are forum sized images of them.  I think they should help illustrate the stem ironwork on a knockabout...at least Arethusa.  I did the sketches based on H.I. Chapelle's book appendix of American Fishing Schooners, and much of those sketches agree with Eric Ronnberg Jr.'s model quite well.  I've included the sketches for both the standing and rugging rigging at the stem (along with the jumbo stay on a post forward of the Samson post).  I hope these help you on your Helen B. Thomas model.  If you are so interested PM me and we can arrange for my sending you higher resolution images.
 
Cheers,
 
Elia

...more....

continued....

Just a quick update with some rough photos of the current state of play.
 
The mast bands are made and fitted, although those on the mizzen need a paint touch-up at the moment - and I even managed to remember to make and fit the mast hoops before I put the bands on permanently.  The bowsprit rigging has also been done.  The two circles of wood sitting on the deckhouse will be the lifebuoys that are triced up in the mizzen rigging.
 
The Pritt will now come to a grinding halt for a while as I have another urgent modelling project that's going to take all of my attention for a while.
 
John
 

 

 

 

Hello all,
 
Here is a review that appeared in my club's newsletter.  I thought I'd share it with you.  This is a remarkable book!
 
BobF
 
Young America
1853
Volume I: Hull Construction
Text, Photos, Plans & CD by Edward J. Tosti
 
Distributed by: Sea Watch Books, LLC, Florence, Oregon
www.seawatchbooks.com, seawatchbooks@gmail.com
 
In his opening remarks, Edward Tosti, states that the drafting and construction of a fully framed extreme clipper ship can be a daunting endeavor.  Unlike the meticulous documentation available for Royal Navy vessels, the short-lived period of the extreme clipper ship provides very limited technical information.  This is reflected in the scarcity of model making books dealing with this period, and the nonexistence of publications describing framed structural models.  Tosti sites the works of William L. Crothers, and a number of other references listed in the bibliography, as the primary sources for Young America 1853.
   Although the primary focus of this book is the construction of a 1:72 scale, fully framed up model, the author has made an effort to appeal to a broader range of modelers.  The latter portion of Volume 1 deals with building a 1:96 scale, plank on bulkhead model of the Young America.  Even at this smaller scale, the hull measures a very impressive 40” in length.

   In order to accommodate this sizable amount of information, and to avoid repetition, Tosti, on occasion, makes reference to his earlier work, the Naiad Frigate.  Although not absolutely necessary, he suggests that having these additional books may compliment the process descriptions needed to construct either scale model of the Young America.
   The book starts out with a brief history of how the extreme clippers evolved, the innovative methods used to construct them, and the men who actually designed and built them.  Finally, a short description of the Young America’s career is provided.
   The second chapter, “Planning for Construction,” is unique in many ways, and exemplifies the author’s attention to detail in guiding the model builder.  Mr. Tosti discusses the many facets of planning your project.  Some of these include scope (what to build), the level of quality desired, detection and correction of errors, machine, hand and specialty tools, what species of woods to use, and of course safety.
   Actual construction begins with the keel structure.  The author goes into great detail, and includes obscure fittings such as keelson joint wedges and water stops.  The use of dark glue is also described for enhancing the visibility of glue joints.  Scrapers play a prominent part in creating rabbets, and patterns are provided for fabricating the correct shapes.
   The author goes on to describe his design for a model shipway or building board.  Although, later in the book, additional information is provided for a smaller, simpler, less costly design for the POB model, the more complex device can actually be used for both versions. 
   You might say that the three chapters dealing with the framing of the model are the heart of this book.  They begin with the square frames. Although less complex than the examples found on 17th and 18th century Royal Navy vessels, the shear number that need to be constructed on this large model present a challenge.
   The author outlines an innovative process he calls “Pin-indexed Frame Assembly.”  Tosti states that this procedure is simpler, faster, more accurate, eliminates the need for elaborate clamping fixtures, and allows the modeler to bevel the frames before erecting.  It is at this point that the author reminds the reader about the need for accuracy.  The smallest error in each frame can result in a cumulative variance that will cause major problems.

   A detailed description for mounting all the frames ensues.  This includes the square frames, keelson, fore and aft deadwoods, and half and full cant frames,.  Patterns for all these challenging components are supplied in the CD that comes with the book.  The innovative materials used for simulating iron and copper bolts are also discussed.
   One of the most intriguing aspects of the chapter that deals with the hold ceiling and deck clamps, involves the installation of a lattice of simulated iron bands that were used during the nineteenth century to prevent hogging in wooden hulls.  Tosti outlines his method for cutting, blackening, and installing the 1/16” wide copper strips on the inner hull surface.  Since the bands will be barely visible when the model is completed, the author admits to simplifying the installation.  However, he does describe how his method deviates from actual practice.

   With the hull framing completed, decks preparation is next.  This topic includes beams, hooks, knees, carlings, and pillars.  In every case, multiple pieces are required, and the author offers some helpful hints, which will expedite their construction.  Mindful that not everyone’s workshop has the same equipment, Tosti offers six different options for creating the round-up on the deck beams.
   One daunting revelation involves the fact that Young America possessed approximately 1000 knees.  Diagrams are provided in the CD for the various types, and the author offers a  solution for mass-producing them.
   With the array of different parts that have to be installed, a 23-step outline is provided that culminates with the installation of the hatchways, central deck facilities, and decking.  Tosti states that for this phase of the model, adhering to this guide is not absolutely necessary.  However, for the next sequence that deals with the topside planking and rails,  following the steps,  as listed, is highly recommended.
   This is primarily due to the fact that Ed advocates pre-painting parts before mounting them permanently.  A small bit of advice, but no less valuable than his extensive explanation for creating the model’s decorative carvings, which is worth the cost of the book by itself.

   The next segment is devoted to lower hull detailing, and is loaded with numerous hints and tips.  Procedures are outlined for fabricating waterways, binding strakes, limber channels, scuppers, hawse holes, metal sheathing, gudgeons and pintles.  Tosti’s method for mass-producing these last two items is especially innovative.
   The final chapter in Volume I that deals with information applicable to both versions of the Young America discusses work on the upper decks, and includes the poop, main deck, and forecastle.  Details for the pin rails, mast partners, hatch and cabin coamings, pump suction pipes, decking, chain pipes, mooring bits, boomkins and catheads are just a few of the items outlined.  How the aft cabins looked is not known, and Ed does an admirable job designing a typical interior for his model.  Drawings for this layout are included in the CD.

   The last two chapters are devoted entirely to building the 1:96 scale POB model.  Although this version was referred to often in previous chapters, this segment begins with basics, the constructing of the model shipway and accessories.  Going forward from there, the author’s concise style of writing, and excellent photos, provide the reader with a clear understanding of how to build this type of hull.  There’s no doubt that Tosti’s methods could apply to any scratch-built POB model.
   In addition to the CD, this book comes with a packet of eight drawings.  Six are devoted to the 1:72 scale model, and two feature the smaller 1:96 version.  This review has barely scratched the surface as to what this book has to offer, but there’s no doubt that Young America 1853 will become a classic reference for modelers and clipper ship history buffs.  SeaWatch states that Volume II is a year away, which, for many of us, can’t come soon enough!
 
 
 
 
 

Ed - I just received my copy - thank you!  The only problem is - I'll be reading your book instead of finishing my current build.  Oh well, life is a series of choices.  
 
                     

If you're building models, Clare, you don't need cable. I've been without it for some years now and don't miss it! On the other hand, I need to buy more book shelves....

Blue Pilot, I am very glad to learn that you like my work, thanks for the nice words. Building the Blue Jacket Smuggler kit is a pleasure, you made an excellent choise. There are very few pre cut parts in the kit, when I think of it, the only part that comes shaped (rough) is the hull itself. So the possibilites to apply your own touch to the model are wast. The supplied wood is of excellent qulity, as are the drawings.
 
You might want to consider not using the supplied deck veneers, as you perhaps have seen in my log, I tared the sheets to pieces and rebuilt the deck with the correct curvature. The result turned out quite OK, the only thing I regret is not having created the planing butts.
 
Sadly, my Schooner i tucked away in a box since some time, we moved to our new house a year ago and I still havent set up my working bench. Family life is also taking its time. But I will be back, trust you me!
 
I am looking forward to following your bulid log!
 
/Alfons

Beautiful work Bruce.

My wife rescued me. Here are pictures showing the hinged parrel, and a yard going up. Note that I attached the rigging to the yard before putting the yard up. At this stage I found the work the hardest part of the build yet. I have the whole mizzen complete, part of the main, and the fore royal up. I'll post this work soon.
 
For now I'd like to include some detail shots of other parts of the ship also. Some related to rigging, some not. Some show fairleads
 
Bruce.
 
 

Work in progress. It did not start well, as the paint was still too thick and was clogging my airbrush. I tried a mix 50/50 with rubbing alcohol and that seems the right mix.
The deck furniture are just placed in place, not glued.
I still need to do a bit of a touch-up as some paint bled under the tape, but I  am relatively satisfied with the results so far.

This weekend I was able to complete the hatches, bilge pumps and bitts. There is a typo in the instructions: the bitt stanchions are part LRC18 not 16. I also shaped the tiller, which like the hatch hinges, was "feel as you go". I used a vice and pair of needle nose pliers. The holes in the deck are for the life rail stanchions.

Aft deckhouse was the project this weekend. I did not paint the styrene black per the instructions. I thought it looked better shwoing a little wood through the "glass". Basswood is really delicate

Here is an update with the toe rails and some of the deck hardware. Instructions were straight forward, except ensure you leave a 3/16" gap at the bow centerline for the bowsprit. The plans were not very clear on this, but the photos in the manual show a gap.

Looks good! The lowest one that attaches to the hull appears not to be fully attached. Was this a dry fit? Again, nice painting!

Finished the painting of the hull using a plank from scrap basswood to trace the waterline. When paintingbthe rudder, I recommend sanding it with 200 grain paper and fit it prior to painting. Trace the waterline and leave the post a natural wood clor. The instructions say to paint the rudder black early on and one might mistakenly paint the post. Bluejacket left a lot of room on the pintle and gudgeon straps. I found this very useful as I began to trim and fit each piece to the rudder and hull. This is very dependent on individual sanding, so it will not be a uniform, but more custom sort of fit. Bluejacket gives you plenty of room to work with. It took quite a bit of dry fitting and I had to bore the holes a little bit wider in the gudgeon with a #67 drill as well as trim the pintles with a chisel.

This is with two coats of gloss black paint for the hull above the waterline. I want to give a "plug" for the included paint kit that bluejacket provides as an option. The brushes are better than the average hobby store brushes and the model master paint spreads well. The black takes quite a while to dry on the basswood, though. I haveen giving it a day between coats.

So, surfing through MSW blogs, I ran across a great idea for waterline tracing. I took measurements at about four points on the hull, then took a thin piece of scrap basswood from the wales template and used it as a "plank". I then traced along the plank from point to point.