carlosgf

This placement is provisional. It is neccesary to complete the bowsprit before the final placement.
 
Another element is the steering wheel. It is put on the deck attached by two supports:
 




It is all at the moment. Very sloooowly,

This placement is provisional. It is neccesary to complete the bowsprit before the final placement.
 
Another element is the steering wheel. It is put on the deck attached by two supports:
 




It is all at the moment. Very sloooowly,

Hi!!! Thanks for the 'likes' 
 
The next step is to make the anchors. Doing some calculations, I found that the weight of the main anchors should be 5,24 cwt. Caldercraft sells anchors that are equivalent to 6 cwt (length of the shank = 8 feet, 6 inches).
It is necessary some work to make anchors more real. I've made from scratch the stock due to I think the ones provides by Caldercraft are incorrect.
 





 
 
 

Thanks for the 'likes' 
 
The fish davit and its cleat. Plans doesn't give any information about these pieces but I think it is possible that they were in the Mediator.
 
 
 
 
 


 

 
 

THE SHIP BOAT. I've taken as model the 18 feet cutter form the Euryalus monography, but I've omitted the wash-strake.
 
The book "The Greenwich Hospital barge of 1832" og David Antscherl was very useful. It shows several interesting techniques.
 














 






 

Hi all.
 
Previously to finishing the painting of the Mediator, there are several things to do. Guns and its carriages, swivel guns, etc...
 
The gun matter is interesting. Begining frrom Chapelle's writings in his book "The story of the American Sailing Navy" (page 89), it seems that the guns in the Colonial America where smaller than in British Navy:
 

 
I've found a threat in our forum that talks abour guns and proportions according a book of Harold M Hahn.
 
http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/2065-what-were-the-lengths-of-cannons-gun-barrels/
 

 
 
In Mediator sloop I've considered that the "Lenght of caliber ratio" is 16; the guns are 4 punders guns.
 

 
Note that in the Chapelle's book the Lenght of caliber ratio is 15, therefore my guns ara a bit greater than in the rescalate page of the book to 1:48.
 

 
The carriage parts are taken from the David Antscherl's Swann Class books.
 

 
And the proportions are a bit greater than Harold M. Hahn shows his is book "Colonial Shooner" (sizes adjusted to the height of the gunport) . As you can see, the guns are virtually the same as Hahn's plans form Hannah.
 

 
 

 

 

 
I've have to do 10 carriage guns. They are very small (like an euro coin).
 

 
See you!!!!

Hi all some progress:
- a breast hook
- adding somoe color (unfinished)
- the pedestal
- channels
- range cleats
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

And the rudder:
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi all. A few progress:
- fixed blocks in bulwark
- reinforcement in the deck order to put the hatchways, scuttle and companionway.
- holes fot the pumps (note that pumps are inclined, nor vertical)
- hatchway, main hatchway and scuttle
- begining og the deck
- hawse holes
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bulkheads are glued to the false keel. This is made in two pieces because size considerations. Chocks (?) are glued between bulkeads to ensure the stiffness of the ship. The edges of the bulkheads are beveled order to facilitate the settlement of the strakes. These edges are drawn but the inner line is only valid if the thickness of the bulkheads is 5 mm (in other case, sand by eye).
 

 

 

 

My idea was to make a plank-on-bulkhead ship model. The bulkheads and false keel were designed with Autocad. The drawings of Chapelle needed a lot of correctios because the small size of the drawing in the book, distortions of the paper, etc...
 
I put the plans in the first post and I will to update them if any change occurs. Please, feel free to use them, if You are interested in this model.
 
Some points:
- The bulkhead and false keel are designed to have a thickness of 5 mm (5 millimeters).
- Under the tramson, there is a rounded stern. I'v seem models wirh plain (square) stern.
 

 

 

 

 
 
 

Can I point you to the post I made earlier today about not turning this into a Wishlist?
 
The problem is that a topic about new releases and products is becoming swamped with members asking for their own wishes. 
 
Cheers.
 
 

Thanks for your coments!!!
 
The planking of the hull begins with the wale. The main wale (the lower wale) dominates the position of the planking. I put strakes alternatively up and down, joinning in the center.
 
In the forum you can find manuals of how to make the planking of the hull. I strongly recommend you to read these manuals, The final look is better than the suggestions of some kits... and the time spent in this process is the same (more or less).
 
There is a reduction of distances fore an aft. The strakes should be reducted in the joining with the stem and stern. There are several methods (i've used both):
- to reduce the width of the strakes
- to make that a strake ends into another one or in the junction of two strakes.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi,
 
The sheet belongs to the plans of Hayling hoy.
 
 
 
 

Hi,
 
The sheet belongs to the plans of Hayling hoy.
 
 
 
 

Hi,
 
The sheet belongs to the plans of Hayling hoy.
 
 
 
 

I have been working on a model of a topsail schooner, and had a number of questions about how the anchors were handled. Looking through the literature, and at some of the schooner models on the Forum, it seems that there are several different methods. So which was right for the model I am building?
 
I have a 1980s Mantua Albatros "Goletta Typpica de Baltimora" kit. The kit contains a lot of the "standard" parts the company threw into many kits, regardless of scale and many of these were not well made. When I compare the kit to drawings in Chapelle's The Baltimore Clipper I see a lot of questionable details. The kit includes a capstan, and some topsail schooners used capstans for weighing anchor. But many kits and drawings have windlasses, and some show nothing for handling the anchor.
 
There are other discussions on the Forum about anchor handling in small craft, with lots of opinions. What I present here is a compilation of these discussions and material from several references. What I am interested in is how smaller ships that had no windlass or capstan handled the anchor.
 
Anchor Tackle

The anchor tackle on smaller vessels consists of two assemblies used for dropping and raising the anchor. Larger ships may have permanent fish davits and a different arrangement for handling the anchor. Small ships often used a version of what is shown here.
 
The crown or fluke end of the anchor is typically secured to the side of the ship with a shank painter of rope or chain secured to bitts or timberheads to support the fluke end. A stopper rope to support the stock of the anchor is secured to the cathead on one end, looped through the anchor ring and then the free end is looped around a cleat and secured to a timberhead.
 
To drop the anchor the anchor cable is brought up from the cable tier, run through the hawse hole and secured to the ring on the anchor (on some ships the cable is always attached to the anchor ring). Then the cat block and hook are attached to the anchor ring.
 
The fish davit is rigged with it resting on the cap rail and the inboard end resting against some firm object like the mast or knight head. The davit may be positioned over the anchor flukes using fore and after guys. The fish pendant runs over a sheave in the end of the fish davit. It has a large fish hook on the lower end and the upper end is tied around a thimble. The fore tackle is hooked into the thimble and provides the lifting force to raise and lower the anchor. I have also seen drawings where the fish tackle was rigged to the fore course spar and a fish davit was not used.
 
With the fish pendant and cat tackle pulled tight the shank painter securing the anchor to the ship is removed. The anchor is then lowered along the ship's side with the fore tackle and fish pendant until it is hanging beneath the cathead on the cat tackle. Then the fish hook is unhooked and taken in. The cat tackle is slacked to allow the stopper to carry the weight of the anchor, and then the tackle is tied back to clear the anchor. To drop the anchor the stopper is released from the timberhead and allowed to slip over the cleat, allowing the anchor to fall.
 
To weigh (raise) the anchor the anchor cable is hauled in using tackles (smaller vessels), a windless or a capstan and messenger line (larger ships). Smaller schooners often did not have a capstan or windlass so one or two luff tackles were used to pull a messenger line that was lashed to the anchor cable. If one tackle was used when it became two blocked (both blocks come together) the anchor cable was secured to the bitts and the messenger was run out again and tied to the cable. When two tackles were used and one tackle was two blocked the other tackle was tied to the cable to continue pulling while the first was run out again. The messenger line might be a loop with one side tied to the anchor cable to haul it in and the other returning forward. When the anchor broke the surface the cat hook was attached to the anchor ring. Then the anchor was “catted” by raising it to the cathead with the cat tackle.
 
The fish davit and pendant were rigged and the fish hook was hooked to the anchor stock at the flukes. The anchor was “fished” using the fore tackle to hoist the flukes up to the cap rail where the shank painter ropes or chains were passed around the anchor and secured to timber heads or cleats to support the anchor. Then the fish pendant was unhooked. A wooden fender or "shoe" was placed between the anchor flukes and the side of the ship to protect the hull as the anchor was being fished.
 
On some ships the anchor head remained suspended by the cat tackle. On other vessels the head of the anchor was secured with stopper lines to cleats or timberheads. The cat tackle was usually left hooked to the anchor ring. The anchor cable may have been removed and stowed in the cable tier.
 
One reference said two hefty seamen could hoist a relatively light anchor with a simple tackle. By increasing the number of sheaves in the tackle greater lifting power could be achieved, but at the expense of having to pull more line through the tackle and a much slower process. But with heavier anchors this system was not practical.
 
Instead of the luff tackles a capstan could be used to pull a messenger loop wound around the capstan and running around the fore deck and back to the capstan. The messenger was tied to the anchor cable and hauled back until the lashings reached the cable tier. Then new lashings would be tied around the cable and messenger up forward and the hauling would be continued until the anchor was catted.
 
With a windlass on the fo'c'sle the anchor cable would be wound around the  barrel or warping drum. For dropping the anchor the winch would be allowed to rotate freely. When weighing the anchor the windlass ratchet mechanism would allow men with poles to turn the barrel to haul in the cable. The cable could be secured with stopper lines to bitts.
 
One other detail I came across is that the anchor might be hauled inboard after the cable was detached and stored below decks in the cable tier.
 
Here are a couple of useful references:
 
The Young Sea Officer's Sheet Anchor by Darcy Lever in 1808 (reprinted by Algrove Publishing Ltd., Ottowa, Ontario, Canada, 2000) tells the novice officer or seaman how to rig a ship - every detail of how to put all the pieces of the masts and rigging together. It is essentially an illustrated glossary of nautical terms and a how-to book. It has a discussion of anchors and anchor handling.
 
The Art of Rigging by George Biddlecombe  in 1925 (reprinted by Echo Point Books & Media, LLC., Brattleboro, Vermont, USA, 2016) is based upon David Steel's 1794 The Elements and Practice of Rigging and Seamanship. It has an excellent glossary and many illustrations. I think you can find Steel's original book on line as a PDF file.
 

Hi all,
 
Additional plans (frames, etc...) are in the CD.
 
Volume 2 includes addendum to Volume 1.

Hi all,
 
Additional plans (frames, etc...) are in the CD.
 
Volume 2 includes addendum to Volume 1.

Hi all,
 
Additional plans (frames, etc...) are in the CD.
 
Volume 2 includes addendum to Volume 1.

Hi all,
 
Additional plans (frames, etc...) are in the CD.
 
Volume 2 includes addendum to Volume 1.

With Sea Watch books no longer selling plans for the Swan class we have decided to provide them as a free download from our website
http://admiraltymodels.homestead.com/Plans.html. Feel free to take use this set of plans if building a Swan class ship model in the future. Be aware, however, that the sheet with the sheer, half breadth and body plans need to be printed commercially due to their size. I have had no end of problems getting these plans printed to spec in the past even though there are scales printed on it. Therefore, we are now providing them as a free download with the caveat to check them very carefully after printing. The best advice I can give is to make sure the distance between perpendiculars is 96' 7" (scale) or 24.15" full size.
 
For those who have purchased Mylar plans in the past from us there should be no problems as they were checked and dimensionally stable.  But David and I feel that we can no longer charge for plans for which we have no control over the final product. With so many of our Swan  books having been sold over the years we didn't want to leave you without any options for producing plans so this is the best we could come up with. Thank you for all your support over the twenty years we have tried to provide the best product possible.
 
We are hopeful that we may be able to conduct a workshop late next year but, like everything else in this strange time, we shall have to wait and see.
 
Stay healthy and best wishes from David and I for a better 2021!

Thanks for the kind words. I try not to think of how immaculate your cutter looked at this stage compared to my build.
I started with a plan and the issues I have had so far all stem from my choices of materials. I will tread carefully from now on.
There is still a quarterdeck and cabin roof to do for Mediator and I have been playing around with some materials, dummy-ing up the parts in card to see if I can predict any issues with different thicknesses of materials.
Heaven forbid I actually have to buy something.

Mediator is fighting me. I am winning, but it is important that I do not underestimate the ability of Mediator to lay an ambush.
 
The new sub-deck pieces (see last post) have to bend in two planes to sit properly. They were made of an inferior plywood that appeared easily bent. A test run revealed splits in the surface and de-lamination after being bent and left overnight, so it was the end of the line for these bits.
Fortunately I still had the original sub-deck pieces made of superior plywood. To get them to bend over the bulkheads (which was the reason I had rejected them) I cut a series of grooves in the underside to allow the stiff ply to bend. For some reason I imagined that the grooves were not needed right up to the edge where the two halves would meet. Stay tuned…
 

 

 
 

 
 
 
To hold the two halves in their new shape while the Titebond worked required clamping. Due to the compound curves I needed to improvise something that would hold the centre edges straight, pull the width onto the curve of the deck across the tops of the bulkheads and keep whole kaboodle true to the sheer. These are the clamps I made from the type of small screw-in eyes used in picture hanging and 2.5mm eyelets:
 

 
 
Pilot holes were pre-drilled in the deck pieces but not into the bulkheads in order to get the most out of the gripping power of the self-tapping threads.
 
 

 
They were screwed in with fingertips.
 
 

 
Started in the centre on the hull centre line and worked towards each end. Once that was done I improvised a hold-down clamp like this …
 

 
… on the centre line until the whole line was tightened down. Then, a bit of force to pull the outer edge down. Lots of glue, worked quickly …
 
 

 
 

 
 
… and let it sit for a day before unscrewing.
 
 

 
 
The whole thing worked and was as solid as I could have hoped for, but the centre join line was proud where the ply had resisted bending.
 
 

 
This was due to my bright idea of not cutting the grooves near that join. To be safe drove a few pins in before about half an hour with 80 grit sandpaper wrapped around a sanding sponge to fair the join.
 
 

 
 

 
 
That's all for now.
 
 
 

Thanks, Greg. I suposse Vollume II includes plans. Web page doesn't indicate it.