Elia

Thanks for your comments Wally and Dave, these are the drawings from LB Jenson book the Bluenose 11 (these are to help with my build if not allowed please delete)
He shows a drawing of the Bluenose which I have used for stove and chimney and the other two show the inside of the Schooner Caroline Rose.
 

 

 

 
This is part of the Captain cabin
 
 
 
This is where I am now and will paint it white inside.
 

 

 
Will be adding some curtains where their beds go
 
Also got the cove painted and also the bowsprit painted and installed 
 

 

 

 
Until next time
 
Regards
Richard
 

Jim,
 
It is good to see your modeling again.  I remember your Latham build well, including this seine boat and the dory .  Wonderful work.
 
Elia

Jim,
 
It is good to see your modeling again.  I remember your Latham build well, including this seine boat and the dory .  Wonderful work.
 
Elia

Several years ago, I built the Model Shipways Benjamin Latham and really enjoyed the project. I’m even fairly proud of my results (see link at the end of the article).
I’ve noticed a number of Latham projects underway elsewhere on the site and that got me wondering if I could be of any help to other modelers.
Since many of the Latham projects appear to be at least as good and some much better than mine I’m not sure what help I can provide.
One thing I remember about building the kit was the instructions and materials provided for the ship’s boats were either below the standard set by the remainder of the kit or simply nonexistent. The plans for these boats included in the kit, on the other hand, were excellent.
I had a lot of fun, basically scratching the ships boats so perhaps someone could benefit from my experience and discoveries.

The Latham’s plans depict very typical boats that were used to work the purse seine net used in the mackerel fishery, a dory and a seine boat.
The image above shows my Latham model with the dory aboard in the waist and the seine boat as it might have been towed. The kit instructions indicate that while bigger fishermen carried the seine boat aboard, the Latham was too small and her seine boat would have been towed to sea.
A small error occurs here, the tow rope is too long for one used when offloading the days catch, the boat should be towed even with the roller on the rail, and too short for towing.
 
The two following images come from a wonderful old book, The Fishery Industries of the United States, U.S. Commission of Fish and Fisheries, Government Printing Office, 1887.
If you can find this book, it’s filled, with drawings of the fishing industry ranging from native Americans in canoes to whale ships. It includes drawings of ships fishermen, equipment, fish, maps and a good deal more. This is how fish were pulled from water in the U.S.at the end of the Nineteenth Century.
The first image depicts the general form of a seine boat along with some of its characteristic equipment.

The second image shows a seine boat and dory at work. Having rowed the purse sine net around a school of mackerel, the crew is putting their backs into drawing in the purse line, hopefully closing the bottom of the net under the soon to be helpless school.

So, here’s how I made my little model.
I started out by copying and cutting out the seine boat plans. The plans were glued to a 12” plywood plank. I then cut out the half breadth sections. Since the half breadth lines are truly half breadth, I needed to make additional mirror image copies to create the full bulkhead profile. The paired sections were glued to scrap wood, trimmed to shape and these bulkheads glued onto the plan.
I think the stem and stern pieces were the only kit pieces I used. They were glued between the first and last bulkhead and the plank. The bottom portion of these bulkheads, between the keel and the end platforms, will remain in place as the model is completed. A keel was fashioned and spanning the bulkheads, was glued to the ends.

Next, I bent the top strake or plank, sitting next to the rail, to the bulkheads. It’s only glued at the stem and stern.

As I started the planking, you will note that scrap wood blocks have been added to the bulkheads below the first strake in order to keep it from slipping out of place.
 
I applied the planking, using 1/32 thick strip stock working from the keel down and the railing up, working on both sides in parallel.
Planks are edge glued, avoiding as much as possible the bulkhead formers and held in place using a variety of clamps, wedges, rubber bands, etc. as required.

Planking was finished in a couple days.

With the glue set and largely dry, I cut the model off the plywood. With a double ended boat it’s hard to tell but here the stern is to the left and the bow to the right.

Three of the formers simply fell out as the model was lifted free. The remining formers would prove easy to snap free.
 
Next were the boat’s ribs. I made these slender pieces by plaining them off the edge of a 1/16” sheet of basswood.
Looking ahead to a fully ceiled boat, the practically minded modeler might suggest that the ribs could just as well have been left off.
I enjoyed adding them and think they contributed to getting the hull thickness more nearly correct, besides they add cross grain strength binding the planking together.

With most of the ribs in place, I’ve started on the “oarsman’s soul, the flat floor below the forward thwarts, presumably where the oarsmen placed their feet while rowing.
In the bow you see a remaining part of a bulkhead. At this point with all side-to-side support gone, the hull was showing a tendency to squeeze together at the bow. For the same reason, part of the bow and stern bulkheads have been left in place where they will eventually be covered.

In this view you see the remaining ribs added at the bow and stern, the oarsman’s soul has been completed and steersman’s platform has been added at the stern.
In this view you can also see the rub rail, two planks below the yet to be installed rail.
Here you see our boat after the bulk of the ceiling has been added (yes, the ribs are now nearly invisible).
A thwart stringer and thwarts have been also been added.
The gap between the thwarts amidships is the space where the purse net was carried as the boat was rowed in a large circle, hopefully around a school of mackerel, while the net was paid out. One end pulled by the seine boat, the other by the dory.

In this view the ceiling is completed (the ribs are now completely covered) and I’ve started installing bits meant to resemble thwart knees.
You can also see the small platform in the bow.

Now the hull has been primed with white paint, Rails have been added, the thwart knees completed and a cuddy installed in the stern where misc. equipment can be stored (note the door and toggle to keep it closed).
In this view the first coat of paint has been applied. Apparently, it was common to paint seine boats completely white and several references indicate the red(ish) stripe and green bottom.
I’ve added a pump log and fabricated seven rowing oars and one steering oar.

Here the first hardware has been installed, a davit to work the net purse lines, a pair of lifting eyes (passing though the thwart and on to the keel), towing eyes stem and stern and along the port side a set of eyes to which the net tackle could be attached.
The pump has been equipped with a handle but the spout which carried the pumped water overboard is not shown as when it was not in use, it was commonly carried in the cuddy aft.
Here I’ve fabricated the oar rests. These racks or rests allowed the crew to work the net without tripping over a boat load of loose oars. I suspect the oars were not stowed in this location, as I have modeled them, while the boat was unoccupied and under tow.

Finally, here she is complete and with the Latham’s other boat, a humble dory. Both were used to draw the seine net around the school and the dory served as a tender while the catch was brought aboard the schooner.
At 1:48 scale, the seine boat is about 9 1/2“s long and the dory 3 ½” long. I really enjoyed these little projects and I hope you enjoy my story as well.

Thanks for looking, I hope my thoughts will be useful.
 
Jim
 
 

So, I finished my Benjamin W. Latham back last December, and resumed working on Hesper. I realized I did not make pictures of the planking in progress, so I have a couple pictures of the planking completed. After planking and sanding, I applied several layers of Gesso, sanding between layers, to provide a good basis for painting and also coppering. Starting this fall, I'll work on planking the deck, bullwarks, stanchions, railing etc..
 

Hey guys - Finally completed the Smuggler - posting the remaining pics
 
  

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 

I essentially followed the Ben Latham plans, though as a scratch build I had improvise a little. The steps I took were:
 
1. Using two views (side elevation and plan view) of the transom develop both a true edge view and a true projected view. The true edge view is essentially a view taken as if your eye is in the buttock line 0 plane (i.e. The ship's fore-aft vertical center plane), above and aft of the transome. The transom has a very gentle curve of bow to it. The Ben Latham plans already include these on sheet 1 of 2 of the plank on bulkhead plans - far left side, mid top-to-bottom of the sheet. The curve of the transom bow is shown as a single curve. Below it is the true projected view of the transom plug.
 
2. I made a simple shaped jig which followed the arc of the transom.
 
3. I wet soaked two sheets of (I think) 1/16" thick stock and rubber band clamped them to the jig.
 
4. Once dry I glued the two pieces together, also clamped onto the jig. I took care to mark the buttock line 0 marks on the upper and lower edges of the blanks.
 
5. Once that dried I transfered the true projected view to the transom and cut it out of the laminated blank. I think I only cut around its periphery. My memory is a little foggy on this step. I may have done a little pre-beveling....I don't recall.
 
6. I then had an 'almost finished' transom core (meaning I made it thin enough that I could apply exterior and interior planking once it was sanded to shape).
 
7. I then could glue this onto the keel. At this pount the aftmost surface edges stand proud of the loft and need to be faired in along with the frames (bulkheads) just forward of it.
 
8. Once it was sanded and faired it takes a rather odd look - the bevels along the sides and bottom are extremely long due the fact that the transom sits 'almost' (but not quite) with the counter and horn timber. Using a batten or plank you should see the strip lay fair to the bulkheads forward of the transom and lay across those very shallow beveled edges of the transom.
 
I hope this wasn't too much, nor too difficult to follow, and hopefully helpful.
 
Cheers,
 
Elia

Another quick update on Bluenose. At this point, I've completed the cabin, adding binnacle, skylight and stove pipe - the latter made from some old dowelling I had lying around. 
 
I had thought to integrate the cabin, hatches and skylight/companionway into the deck planking, but in the end, I decided only to do this with the hatches and fit the other deck superstructures on top of the deck planking - planking around the cabin aft would have been pretty tricky given that the planking does not run parallel to the centre line on the quarterdeck, which the forward companionway and skylight are so small and close together, that (again) the finickiness of the planking was a deterrent. So I put together the hatches, fixed them loosely to the deck to begin the planking process and will fit them permanently once the deck planking has been finished fore and aft of them (this is to ensure that the planking runs evenly around them.
 
I still have not found a good replace for the now unavailable blacken-it product, with which I always had decent results. With the product I'm using now I feel like parts either don't really blacken at all (likely there is a lacquer or some other coating on the brass that needs to be chemically removed first) or they get really flakey, indicating a very loose chemical bond.....I've read through a couple of threads on blackening and will try some experiments with different ideas/products I've read about here....but I miss blacken-it! So simple.....
 
Anyways, After getting the hatches together I began on the main deck planking. The photos below show only the two centre strips but at this point I've laid down eight strakes of deck planking, which pushes the planks to the outside edges of the hatches. Now the hatches can be more permanently fixed and the deck planking will continue with the winch pads up in the bows, the nibbing strake run agains the waterways and the remainder of the forward deck planking. It looks a little rough (some bleeding of the simulated caulking seams through the action of the CA...Sanding has minimised this effect and the volume of forward deck features will likely make a lot of the little blemishes fade into the background as building continues....
 
Enjoy!

Another update on Bluenose - finished the hull. I first applied a few coats of yellow paint to the bulwarks for the cove and a few coats of white along the hull's waterline region, then masked off where the white waterline stripe and the cove (yellow) are located using 1/16" masking tape. The 1/16" strip is too wide for the cove, but....
 
I then used a mix of two slightly different shades of red applied one after the other in four coats to get a slightly weathered look to the hull below the waterline and used Bone Black (a slightly bluish black) on the hull above the waterline (three coats here were sufficient). The test for me is always having the patience to wait to remove the masking and reveal the full finished effect. The waterline stripe worked out very well, but the cove needs touching up here and there - the port side is a bit better than starboard and I think a bit of fine knife work will help to clean this up to a decent standard. 
 
Next steps - finishing the mounting and adding framing strips for cabin and hatches on deck....nice to be moving on to more superstructural work! Bye for now and enjoy!
hamilton

Thanks for all the kind comments.
 
HH - the transom planking is indeed let into the aft fashion piece. The side planking is also let into the fore end of the this fashion piece. Needless to say it is a beast to make with two rebates and rolling bevels! But when done this way the end grain of the transom and side planks are both protected from seawater. Some contemporary models show it done this way and some don't but the NMM model we based this on did.
 
BE - that is indeed a pisdale which seems a bit unusual but is a feature of the contemporary model. It has a molded feature that is a continuation of the molding of the inner planking.
 
Wintergreen - I'm sure David would love to collaborate with every single member of this forum...when his plate is empty (estimate 2032).
 
Trussben - haven't rigged a model in 25 years so looking forward to that. I'm studying the work of Archjofo and hope to emulate his work.

It's been almost a year since my last update. The reason is that Speedwell has been landlocked in Canada since last November. My very talented collaborator David Antscherl had made and applied all the carvings and I was going to pick her up to rig her just when Covid struck and the border was closed. I have all the blocks, ropes, masts and spars ready but no model. I'm hoping to get her this summer but who knows at this point. At any rate here are some photos of her sporting her wonderful carvings. 

Well thank you Tom but really, most of the credit goes to David Antscherl. He's the true talent behind all of this. I just prove his work. I've been blessed to have him both as mentor and business partner for twenty years now and it's been a fantastic partnership. I take pride in knowing we have advanced this wonderful hobby to some small degree.
 
For those not familiar with the actual Speedwell build log it may be viewed at https://modelshipworld.com/topic/370-speedwell-by-dvm27-greg-herbert-ketch-rigged-sloop-1752/
 
 

This model at 1:48 scale and the subject of two volumes, is progressing well. Greg Herbert has almost completed the hull and fittings, while David Antscherl has provided the decorative carved works. Masts and spars are also currently under construction by Greg. Woods used in the model are Castello boxwood and holly. The model will be on display at the North-East Ship Model Conference, New London, at the end of April.

So 4 years later after completition she looks better as the wood finish has deepend and aged.  I know I should put her in a case - but she looks great as is.  

The coppering on the starboard side is now finished.  You can see the difference between the port side with a finish applied and the starboard with none.  I have decided to delay applying the finish until the wale has been redone.




While doing research for another project, I discovered that the coamings were built several inches too short (8 inches instead of 13).  You can see the difference in the picture below.  Time to rebuild them all.
 

The Smithsonian plans were all drawn by Howard Chapelle, who had traced the builder’s plans and half model which was then in the hands of the builder’s son.
In The American Fishing Schooner Chapelle reports that the Dove, a pinky schooner, was designed and built by Sylvester S. Baltzer in 1875 at Preaux Minus Basin Nova Scotia for Captain James George a pilot operating in the Bay of Fundy. She was 42’-11” between perpendiculars, 13’-0” beam molded, the depth was 6’-0 ¼” and she drew 6’-3” at the post.  The Dove was noted for her sailing qualities and for being unusually yacht like. I wonder if the provenance may be important in ways that could affect the accuracy of my model.  Per Chapelle’s report, the builder’s son who had held onto the plans was himself an accomplished boat builder. He retained the half model and construction plans because he intended to build a copy for himself. While the Dove was a late design of the type I believe it’s possible the son may have updated the plans even more with modern schooner fittings as he thought about building it another time.
 
Chapelle tells us that while intended as a pilot’s vessel, she had the general arrangement and rig of a fisherman. I’m assuming that her use as a pilot allows me to show a finer finish that typical for a fisherman. For example, noting the inscription “Copper Line” on the plans, I decided to use copper plate rather than the typical red anti-fouling paint.
 
The plans come as four large sheets each featuring half inch to the foot scale drawings all executed in Chapelle’s typical clean descriptive style. The sheets I received were black line copies made from originals that showed some wear presumably from repeated examination and copying. Also probably resulting from the copying process, two of the sheets had minor scale issues.
 
As  the site hosts have noted at the bottom of this post my original images were in violation of a copyright and appropriately removed. It was also pointed out that if I post an extract from the image it would be acceptable under "Fair Use" rules. This is what I now do. (if you wish to see the full images you can refer to Chapelle's The American Fishing Schooners where they are included).
 
Hull Plan
The plans included a hull plan featuring all the lines you would expect along with dimensional information. The lines of the rail and bow treatment are indicated and a scantling Section with helpful framing dimensions is included.

Figure 2‑1 - Dove Lines
 
Framing Plan
A framing plan with considerable detail about the frame layout and member sizes, Cabin and other below deck features are included and two small sections describe the construction of the Dove’s pinked stern rail.

Figure 2‑2 - Dove Framing Plan
 
Sail Plan
A larger sheet with a sail plan (still at 1:24 scale), a table indicating spar dimensions and limited indication of the rigging arrangement. The Dove appears to have many of the rigging features of later fishing schooners. There are also color and finish hints as well as an indication of bow decoration.

Figure 2‑3 - Dove Sail Plan
 
Table of Offsets
And finally, a sheet featuring the profiles of the bow and stern and most interesting a complete table of offsets. A legend on this sheet indicates that the offsets were taken off “the half model”.

Figure 2‑4 - Dove Table of Offsets
 
Nice as they are, these plans are not complete. Missing information includes: complete rigging details, a deck plan and a plan showing the rigging line terminations at the miscellaneous pins and cleats. There is also very little on deck furnishings and detailing of the masts and rigging. I believed I would be able to approximate the missing information using Chapelle’s The American Fishing Schooners where the Dove’s plans had originally been published.
 
As I studied the freshly delivered plans, I started to plan my adventure. Several early decisions would do a lot to shape the following years of effort. They included:
·         While the plans were 1:24 scale, I would make my model 1:48 scale matching the Latham’s scale and allowing comparison between the models.
·         Since I had easy access to fairly powerful CAD (AutoCAD) I would use that software and the Table of Offsets to develop my model rather than tracing and scaling the lines off the drawings.
·         Since this would be an exploration of scratch-built modeling techniques, I would explore more than one technique. Initially I thought I would look at “plank on bulkhead,” “Plank on frame” and solid hull “bread and butter” modeling techniques.
·         As near as possible, the models would be 100% scratch work.
 
Eventually a measure of sanity wedged its way into my thinking. I had already built two plank-on-bulkhead models and wasn’t all that crazy about the method. I decided I’d do the Dove twice, two models in parallel, one model using the plank on frame method, and the other bread and butter methods to create a solid hull.
 
So, I had a plan and it was time to begin, I was on my way. I had no idea of how long it would take me to get anywhere close to finished. I’m still on the way.
 
Jim
 
EDIT:  Jim, those plans have been pulled due to copyright and may not be reproduced.   Here's the text from the Smithsonian:   The catalogs and plans belonging to the Smithsonian Institution are copyrighted and may not be reproduced in any form without prior written permission.  

Basically the plans available from the Smithsonian are the plans prepared for Chapelle's books. They are typically his drawings at the scale he prepared them (not as printed). For example the Dove is presented in four 1:24 scale sheets three of which appear in Fishing Schooners and an unpublished table of offsets. I think the draftsmanship is more than acceptable but the originals are a bit worn. 
 
I believe in most cases the plans available are those that appear in one of Chapelle's books so checking out a specific ship in his books is a good way to know what you will get. Generally if it's not in the book, it's not in the plans.
 
Jim

In 2008 I decided it was time to make my first expedition into scratch-built ship modeling. This log will follow my progress both past and future as work continues.
Some of you may recognize this project. As I started and progressed through my models, I posted progress photos and discussions of my work on several model ship internet sites including the predecessor to “Model Ship World”. All of those sites and posts are now gone.
 
Starting in 2008 I made steady progress on the Dove up until 2012 when my progress came to a rather abrupt halt. I stopped for a variety of personal reasons without ever losing interest in the project and now have resumed my work. I hope to complete the work in the next year. So, this build log will include a lot that’s old and with a little luck something new.
 
Previous to this project, I had completed two somewhat challenging kits: Model Shipways Prince de Neufchatel and Model Shipways Benjamin Latham (both now posted in the gallery). As many of you may know, like many commercial kits, each of these kits fail to include the full range of details a modeler may want to represent and also include features which are distinctly out of scale or crude. In both cases I sought and found (largely in Howard Chapelle’s works) supplementary modeling data and I spent a fair amount of time on each adding to or correcting elements of the models.
 

 
Two Doves, well underway
 
With two completed kits below my belt, I began searching for a new project. It would be a scratch build. I decided that the project should be challenging but not too challenging, should be not too big and should generally follow along the lines of my previous work. In Chapelle’s The American Fishing Schooners I came across the Dove plans and decided that in addition to being fairly complete plans, the ship itself met my criteria fairly well, somewhat challenging, not too big and like the Prince and the Latham an American built schooner. I purchased a set of plans from the Smithsonian and I was off.
 
Jim
 
 

Mark,
 
Here is another camper happy to see your fantastic Bellona build continuing.  Thank you for starting the log again.
 
Cheers,
 
Elia

Hi,
 
While waiting to get back at my Kingfisher I got back into plastic modeling. I never was interested in motorcycles, but from a modeling perspective they are very interesting. The painting is challanging and putting the thing together is not easy. On top of the kit I used tamiya's Detail-up frontfork set  set for this bike and Topstudio's Detail-up set to replace the brakediscs and add some nuts and bolts. Both additions are recommended especially the frontfork set. For painting I used Tamiya's laquer paint, excellent paint especially for the metal colors. Alle the body panels were polished using Infini sanding and polising sticks to remove the orange peel. I'm sorry that the pictures are not of the best quality, but this was the best I could do in my temporary shop with my phone.
 
Remco
 
 

Thanks, Alan, you make me feel a little better!
 
I have worked periodically through the holiday, making more standards for the gundeck. Only 8 out of 22 to go.
 

 
As I approach the end of this,  I am thinking ahead to another challenge, explained in Rob Napier's Legacy of a Ship Model book as the "Chinese Puzzle Effect". You have to do A before B, but A cannot be done until B is completed.
 
I am getting to the point where the guns have to be installed, before I can eventually proceed to the upper decks. But the cannon barrels sticking out are clearly going to get in the way of further outboard work, including planking to the top and painting the wales and friezes. The outer work needs to be done first. Also, cutting all of the mortises in the clamps for the upper decks will make a mess of dust falling into the cannon on the gundeck. So these need to be cut before installing the cannon.
 
Indeed, just about everything following is in danger of knocking about or dislodging altogether any cannon sticking out of a gunport. I am beginning to wonder if I should install the carriages now, and only towards the end of the project slide the gun barrels in through the ports and then fasten them down. I can't imagine how I bolt the carriage capsquares down onto the barrel trunnions, when I no longer have access from the inside; working entirely through the gunport. And the breech ropes would have been installed along with the carriages (because the rope goes through a ring on the carriage) long before I try to slide a barrel through a gunport; how would I get that rope to fit nicely onto the barrel cascabels, working from outside and not from within?
 
By the way, I have decided not to plank the outboard edges of the gundeck as a platform for the guns. I really like seeing the lodging knees. So I will make a little 4" base under each gun, which will allow me to pin from underneath into the trucks of the carriage, and then pin the platform down to the beams. I am worried about these coming adrift over time, especially with the vulnerability of the barrels sticking out. So some major anchoring is needed.
 
Hmmmm......complex problems, these ship models!
 

 

 

 
 
 

I have finally finished installing the rivets on the port side.  As these would have been hand forged, I used square copper wire fit into a size 77 hole.  After all the wires were inserted, the hull looked like a porcupine on a bad hair day.  In the photos, I have started to flatten the heads using a flat file and rotary sanding disc on the Dremel.  Once all the heads were flattened, I finished up with 400 grit sandpaper.
 



Once the sanding and filing was completed, I put a coat of Watco's on the finished side.  After both sides are completed I will add a second coat and then paint the wale.  Over time, as the pear darkens, there will be more of a contrast between the castello above the wale and the hull below.
 

The Christmas tree I built to my wife's design....

 
Now on to the real stuff. I started on the standards on the gun deck, which I remember Gary saying was really tedious. Now I know why.
 
It was a full week, making the patterns of individual pieces taped together--thanks Greg and druxey, I think this was your idea originally. Then siding and rough cutting the blanks, then measuring the angles of the deck sheer and the curving in of the hull side at each point.
 
And finally, shaping the first standard. It only took me about 4 hours, and just 21 still to go! I am sure it will get faster--won't it?
 
I was thinking about leaving them and the breasthook natural wood rather than staining red, but now I am not so sure. I will put in a few more, along with the gun carriages, to see the overall effect.
 
Mark
 
 
 
 

 
 

So a little sign of life. In the past two years a lot has happened that has nothing to do with shipbuilding unfortunately.  So in a nutshell this is what happened. A year and a half after I had moved to Sweden I got redundant and I have been searching for a new job since. Understandably not an easy task under the current economic circumstances. To cut costs I moved back to The Netherlands and moved in with my dad. All my stuff including the things from my workshop are in storage and I'm praying my Kingfisher will survive this mothball experience.
 
To keep my hands busy between the times I'm job hunting I am building some off topic plastic kits as they don't require so much tools. I found out that Tamiya's 1/12 motor cycle kits are the best painting challenge I can find and they kept me busy.
 
After I have found myself a new job and a new place to stay I can get my workshop up and hopefully have time to get some progress done on Kingfisher.
 
For now I wish you all a safe and healthy holiday season and a good 2021 for the hobby.
 
Remco

Hi Greg, when I started looking at the finish joinery and bulkheads, it began looking like more familiar territory for me. Besides the human factor, I realized that much of the detail was inspired by Classical architectural design, in the columns and pilasters on the bulkheads particularly. Some contemporary models and drawings I looked at were pretty fanciful in their interpretations of the traditional Classical orders (like Tuscan, Corinthian, Doric, Ionic), while others were pretty accurate. The rules in architecture are very precise in proportions and shapes of mouldings. I suppose the officers came from an upper class used to living in Classical houses, and wanted something like that in their own quarters.
 
So finally moving on from drawing, I fabricated more beams while the garage is not too cold to work on the router table. I refined my jig, and it worked like a charm to crank out all of the upper deck, forecastle and quarterdeck beams. 
 
The jig has to do several things: 1) cut a smooth arc on the upper surface; 2) cut a smooth arc on the lower surface concentric to the upper surface; and 3) cut these surfaces with the correct angle at every beam location, which gets increasingly steeper towards the bow and stern due to the sheer.
 
Getting the right curvature for the beams on each deck level starts with finding the rise at the center of the beams at their widest point on the given deck. This comes from the drawings or specifications. I then drew this curve on blocks of wood. I was fortunate to obtain an old set of drafting curves, which makes this simple; but arcs can also be constructed by traditional means.
 

 
I then cut the curves on the bandsaw, and rubber cemented sandpaper to one side. I used this to smooth the opposite side, then put sandpaper on the smooth block to clean up the first block. When this is complete, you have a set of convex and concave blocks at the correct radius, which are very accurate and smooth arcs because rubbing one lengthwise against the other cleans up any irregularities and forms a perfect arc of a circle. I use these all the time for sanding edges of planking, leveling decks, etc.

 
 
For the deck beam jig, I used these to form a convex and concave edge on a piece of plywood, I did this by attaching them to the plywood with double sided tape, and then running them against a piloted router bit on a router table. I then installed spacers, first one with a straight edge for cutting the initial convex edge, and then a curved one for cutting the concave edge (because the beam now has a convex edge after the first cut, which is placed against the concave stop for the second cut). You see below that I also rubber cemented sandpaper onto the jig, to provide more holding power so the blanks don't slide around when they are being cut.
 

 
I then hinged this template to another piece of plywood, also cut with the concave and convex edges, but recessed well enough away from the template above so it would not run into the nut on the router. Its job is primarily to provide a smooth and stable surface for sliding on the router table.
 
 
 

 
Two nylon screws allow me to adjust the angle of the template relative to the router table, thereby creating the angle needed for each beam due to the sheer. I used to use an angle gauge held against the drawings and then against the jig, but now I can get the angle off the CAD drawings, and use a digital angle gauge to measure as I turn the nylon screws.
 

 
And then finally, a third piece of plywood is screwed down with the black plastic knobs, to provide a clamp to the workpiece (a scrap strip of wood the same thickness as the beams is put in the clamp at the opposite side to keep the upper plywood piece parallel to the template). We see it set up here with the first cut ready to go.
 

 
And then the template is run against a piloted router bit in the router table.
 

 
It took a bit of work to get all of the jig parts to work, but once set up, it allows a very rapid and precise cutting of beams, each one tailored to its unique location in the sheer, and with parallel surfaces of the correct radius. Here are (from top to bottom) the beams for the forecastle, the quarterdeck, and the upper deck, including the half beams at the aft end of the upper deck.
 

 
I took extra care in marking out on each beam which edge should be convex, and also the direction of the angle on the end. The danger of a jig is that you automatically cut, remove, add next, cut, remove, etc. and it is so easy to get things turned around if you are not scrupulous about keeping everything in the same order. Having a visual clue to the correct orientation when putting in a blank helps keep things straight.
 
Once each set of beams for a given deck was complete, I took the jig apart, recut the concave and convex edges with the radiuses required for the next deck, and then put it all back together again.
 
Those with a mathematical outlook will realize that my upper and lower surfaces are not exactly concentric, since they are the same radius but the moulded distance of the beam apart. I decided at this scale that it would not be significant.
 
 
So my only remaining challenge is how to store all of these beams so they don't warp. How does one sticker so many small pieces?🙂
 
Mark