vaddoc

Indeed, great rope! My experience with polyester thread is that it produces quite stiff rope, especially if multistrand but yours looks fine.

Do consider having a look at the Dark Side! It can be great fun.

Yes please!

Just wonderful Gary!

An absolutely amazing read Eberhard, just finished going through the log. True work of a master, thank you for sharing this journey. Wonderful!

Ok, so I have been playing a bit with the lines on CAD and first impression is that this is not going to be straight forward. First we need to define the sheer. This is the first line according to the table of offsets: It looks fair but it is not. With a bit of attention, we get a fair line Same for the second view And combining the two we get a sheer (not THE sheer - this will come later) We can create a bit of surface, just for fun Now, this is incomplete as the stern is missing, it does not reach the stem and is not clear how wide the keel is but it is a start. Then, we get the waterlines and buttocks - All needed a bit of work to become fair Combining everything we get an idea of the hull. This is not the actual hull - A lot more work will be needed to get there. I also added the keel which is not given in the offsets. Next I actually used the plans to draw the frames and all other lines by putting the image sized appropriately as background and drawing lines on top. I combined all and this is what came out It actually seems pretty close, it even gave a smooth hull. But it is not ready yet. After a lot of work, the hull and lines were getting tighter but far from true. A lot of eyeballing was used, moving lines were it seemed they wanted to be. Now that I had an idea of the shape, it was time to start again. I first faired the diagonals which I had not used at all so far. Then I rearranged the buttocks to reach the keel where they were supposed to. Finally, I tweaked all these lines to make sure they were fair and interacted at all intersections. This took a lot of work. But when I added a couple of waterlines, these diagonals and buttocks had to be adjusted again to interact with the waterlines and with each other. Only the upper waterline is completed. There are 7 more and incorporating these into the hull will certainly need revisiting every other line. There are also a few areas in the hull that are of concern, the first frame near the bow where so far the hull is taking a bit of an acute turn, the cut out for the propeller, the curve at the bow but these bridges will be crossed at a later time. This is all I ve managed to do but so far it looks promising. Till next time Vaddoc

Dear all The Launch is not far off completion so I have been thinking what might be the next project. I really wanted to embark on a long journey, 10 years or more, and built something with many masts and frames etc. Certain funding issues though came about so this journey will have to wait. That same day though I came across a lovely boat in the gallery by @Kevin. I 've always liked Tug boats and looking at this wonderful model I was immediately sold. I would build Hercules! Now, there of course the kit by Occre but I should be able to scratch build it, shamelessly guided by the images on their website. This would be my first POB boat. But of course, some lines would be necessary so off to the internet to get any boat lines that would be close enough. To my surprise, google returned a wealth of information - a specific site https://www.themodelshipwright.com/high-resolution-ship-plans/cargo-ships/steam-tug-hercules/ was of great help. This site had everything - offsets, info, photos and lines. Apparently the boat was in dry dock for repairs and they took the opportunity to lift some lines. Indeed a wealth of info but of course serious lofting would be needed. First thing to do was to get everything onto CAD (I am hopeless in drawing with a pencil) and see whether I could get a hull out of this ocean of numbers. So a brief hibernation period for the Launch to get this project under way. I am not sure how it will work, what scale or the level of detail but we ll figure it out along the way, at my usual snail pace. I hope you ll join me on this new journey and thank you for visiting. Best wishes Vaddoc

To all that visited and hit the like button, much appreciated! @KeithAug All in good time Keith! Many thanks @Bedford Thanks for the good words Bedford, please have a look at the photo bellow. The note writes "1/2" rod". I simply cannot figure it out. The lines cannot go straight to the gunwales as this would be pretty inconvenient. Getting the lines towards the floor does not provide enough leverage as tilting the tiller will only pull the rope so much, not enough to turn the short tiller at the stern all the way.

Dear all Time flies - it's been two months since my last post! I have not been idle, there is progress and I do have a few pictures to share. To start with, the hull has had two coats of humbrol enamel satin varnish. I had forgotten how good this is - very tough varnish, very easy to go on, no brush marks. I am done with water based varnishes. Then the gunwales went in which was a fiddly job, more difficult than I expected. I also installed the two bits of decking fore and aft. Everything is held in place with treenails. I decided that my boat will have canvas covered decks, not sure whether this was actually used in America back then. It did not come out as nice as in the Deben, not sure why, I suspect the fabric I used being synthetic did not glue down as well as the cotton I used last time. Edges trimmed, then the canvas was painted with ivory acrylic paint and then got two coats of Humbrol enamel Varnish. Then the gunwales went back in and were epoxied in place. Some trim pieces were also added. Those scratch marks were later removed. I ve used a few thousand tree nails on this boat, I have a couple thousand left but I need to sit down at some point and make a few. I got a small log that seems a nice dense wood. The cherry log I had was nicer but unfortunately I ve used it all. All done! Now time to fit in the rub rails. They had to be hollowed to fit nicely. My V chisel was very useful but needed constant sharpening. Screws exchanged for tree nails I added a strip at the top of the transom but forgot to take a photo. Next the fish well. It was fiddly to make! I had some very old mahogany strips, bought about 15 years which I thought would be nice to use. Finished with Tung oil, it looks absolutely stunning! And epoxied in place Next was the engine cover, I again used mahogany but this was a recent purchase so very different. I again forgot to take a photo of the finished article but again, Tung oil really brings out such beauty! I am now struggling with the vertical tiller. Chapelle mentions that the ropes would go round under the gunwales but I am struggling to figure out how this arrangement would work. Also, the plans bellow show a metal rod through the tiller - no idea what purpose this serves. If anyone has any thoughts, please do share - I am a bit stuck! Note to myself: I need to remember to buy a propeller. A final note re: future build. I have an ambitious plan but the investment in money and time will be very substantial and due to unfavorable current financial circumstances, I decided to postpone it a bit. However, I have kind of started working on something else, quite unusual project for me - If it shows potential, I ll go public with it! Many thanks for taking the time to visit! Vaddoc

Welcome Max! The "bad result" bit made me smile. Nothing some filler cannot fix!

Very nice EG. Now, this is a beefy speedometer mechanism!

What a nice subject Nils and truly enjoyable to follow, although your pace is lightning fast! Never heard of a mushroom anchor.

As long as it is under the Admiral's radar, it is ok. And as per you logo: “Τα πάντα ρει, μηδέποτε κατά τ’αυτό μένειν“ Everything is in motion, alas also money.

So the paint has settled further and it actually looks pretty good! Especially the red and Turquoise are really nice. Some photos bellow in natural light. The hull of course is rough despite so many cycles of filling and sanding. Never use Beech! But look what the postman dropped, all the way from the colonies across the pond! Till next time Vaddoc

Dear Friends Another quick update to share some photos! Mark, it is Valejo matt acrylic paint, it is just that the photo was taken immediately after the coat went on so still wet. @64Pacific Thanks Scott, welcome! @KeithAug Keith, I do not think Humbrol enamels will be arround for long so if you use enamels, stock up. I bought some of the enamel varnish. So I carried on with painting. The white paint has exceptionally poor coverage. I must have put on 15 coats, not with the greatest of care I must admit. But it came out alright - modern paints are so forgiving. I am not sure what the shiny areas are but it does not matter, these should disappear after varnishing. I then masked again and added the red waterline. The red color has much better coverage I could have sanded the paint but I decided not to bother. Also, I should have first painted the red zone, mask and then paint over. I did not really pay much attention but in the end it came out fine, I just had to mask and remask again and again. Then, I added the turquoise - very nice color, excellent coverage. I was more careful this time and came out much better. There is a masking line that shows, I masked without thinking. I could have sanded it off but did not bother, it actually looks ok. I will now give it a couple more days for the paint to cure and then I will protect the paint with enamel Humbrol varnish. I am dissapointed with the water based ones - Poor adhesion and not as hard. So next I started work on the rudder. In the plans it is only 1.5 inch thick - that is 4 mm in the model. So I made a card template and cut three pieces to laminate Waiting for epoxy to cure - then the rudder will be painted in same colors. Take care all Vaddoc

Now, this is impressive. Its one thing to design a hull on CAD, but these complex shapes like brake handle and gear selector or the gearbox, this is on another level! Hope all go well with your health. Vaddoc

You are very right Wefalck, enamels have a much better self leveling potential as they take a long time to dry. But this is counterbalanced by the hair and dust particles they attract. Still, modern acrylics with a bit of retarder can have fantastic self leveling when applied by brush but they need speed, extra care and the margin for error is small. Their coverage is appalling - I am already at coat number 9 and still needs more. Because of the above, I was determined to use enamels on this boat. I rushed to buy some of the Humbrol enamels before they are pulled out of the market - apparently one of the ingredients is now banned in Europe. I decided on the colors. And then I used acrylics! I must admit I am not giving this boat my full attention due to work and life commitments so I expect a bit sloppier results - We ll see how it turns out!

Dear all Paint has been splashed onto wood, so time for another update. Also, as this boat is approaching completion (in my time, this means less than a year), I ve been thinking about the next one. I have some thoughts involving multiple masts, we ll see... In any case, I decided to do some caulking on the deck. I do not think it needs it and almost certainly it is historically inaccurate but this boat from the beginning was about having fun and cutting (some) corners for speed. I ll use Osmo filler mixed with black acrylic paint. This needs Tung oil to shine black but maple does not take well to Tung oil, needs to be sealed first or will come out very blotchy. So floors came out again and were sealed with my favorite Americana Decoart water based sealer (I dislike Shellac) Of course the hull needed some more attention again. The floors were covered with masking tape. Then put back in place, all screws replaced with wood nails, sanded smooth Then the mixture was slapped on! Wait until dry Then sanded off Tape off, Tung oil on - done! It is not perfect by any stretch but it is done! And now it is time to paint the hull! Lots of masking done (which immediately failed) Then I sprayed some Humbrol grey primer. The photo really did not get the color well! Then the waterline was marked and the hull masked further I used grey primer because I intended to use Humbrol enamels. At the last moment I decided to use acrylics, completely different colors. This is why enamels are dead. So first coat of Valejo Ivory is brushed on. It looks dreadful: And yes as expected, the hull is moving again! And after 5 more coats, still looks terrible! It will get better. Maybe I should have used enamels! I am almost certain the waterline will mess up the whole paint job. I will try and tuck the masking tape down well but I am sure the red paint will find a way underneath. We ll see Till next time, take care all Vaddoc

Lots and lots of info on MSW, some dedicated threads as well, a wealth of info. Test on scrap wood, not the model! I would however suggest to buy good brushes straight away - System 3 if still around are great Modern paints are so good that with a bit of practice and attention you ll have excellent results Vaddoc

@allanyed This is it pretty much Allan. Actually the hole left when the screw is removed is smaller and can even be filled with a smaller 0.7 mm wood nail dipped in PVA (or copper or brass wire dipped in CA which is a much faster process).

In my experience, there is a world of difference between cheap and higher end CA glue. An issue to consider with any glue is the degree of contact between the mating surfaces. PVA needs excellent contact and pressure, not always possible with planks. CA just a bit of contact as it is incredibly strong. Thickened epoxy will bridge any gap but is very messy. Expanding glues like the amber Gorilla one are even messier. I would not trust contact cement for this task. Hide glue I have no experience with. If I was gluing planks to frames I d probably go for CA. Have debonder at hand though to detach your finger from your eyelid!

I use 1 mm screws which I then replace with wooden nails. In the past I ve used brass wire dipped in CA glue. All planks in all of my models are fastened this way - no plank is glued. Once I thought of threading brass wire and using it without glue but the amount of work needed would be far too huge.

Dear all A bit of progress but a also a bit of a milestone: The deck is done! Still needs lots of work, treenails, sanding, caulking etc but the arrangement seems ok - I hope in the end it will look more tidy. The wood is maple but has a different color than the maple used for the inner planking. One of the planks aft stands out as, not sure where I cut it from but it needs to be replaced. Take care all Vaddoc

Thank you John and Nils @Mark Pearse Mark, the wood is already sealed inside and out! It has reduced the movement but not completely. Maple that I ve used in the past, does not move at all. Isn't boat building fun! Vaddoc

Dear all Many thanks for your comments and likes. @Dr PR You are right re: epoxy Phil, but I ve used beech wood - couldn't have made a worse choice! I ve lost count how many times I have had to go back to the hull. It keeps on changing shape, new cracks appearing, planks shifting, it follows the change of seasons and when it reaches equilibrium with the ambient moisture the planks go walkabout. I am waiting for the weather to get warmer so I can paint and varnish it and then leave it to cycle through its moods. For now, I ve just used some more filler - Ill sand it smooth tomorrow. I am using Osmo filler which is wonderfull stuff, run out of beech colour so using colourless but I ll prime the hull so it does not matter. I finished the inner planking and sand it smooth - ish. I ve been scratching my head for some time now, not sure how the floorboards should be arranged. There is a substantial curve at the sides where the floor meets the side planking. Not sure how this would have been made In the meantime, I made another model with my 7 year old daughter - a school project. The photos are terrible but you may just make out the cotton at the top of the chimneys. We really enjoyed the juice previously contained in the hull. Till next time Vaddoc