vaddoc

Dear friends
 
One knows it's been a very long time since his last post, when he needs to search for his log! But here I am, so time for an update and a few photos as there is definitely progress made.
 
Allow me to shout a word of caution: DO NOT USE BEECH FOR PLANKING! I did read on wood database that it has a lot of movement in service, but the reality is just ridiculous. Any more movement and the wood would grow feet and run out of the shipyard.
 
First of all the planks shrunk. Initially there was no gap at all as I took pains to make them perfect. Then huge gaps appeared. I filled these in and then the planks shrunk more, with gaps opening once again. Then the boat kept changing shape, sometimes the two sides wanted to come together but others wanted to get away from each other.
 
The biggest problem was that some planks pulled out of the ribs, as shown in the photo bellow.

I had no idea how to fix it but in the end, the boat just changed shape again and the gaps closed. Magic!
 
So, next I finished the floor boards and also the small deck aft. 


I replaced all the screws with treenails and then, it was time for the thwarts. I used the original drawings which kind of hint where the thwarts should go. The benches aft however took an awful lot of head scratching to understand how they could be arranged, without massive wood work. I used the internet and some common sense and I think I came up with a reasonable solution.


 
I then made the legs, they came out alright I think.

Then, I made the knees to hold the thwarts. This took a long time as each knee has each individual shape and then had to be drilled, sanded and get a coat of Tung oil.

Then all were assembled, using 30 min Zpoxy which I am certain was the way it was done back in 1750.



Now the boat is structurally solid and complete. Now however it is time to think about painting the hull.
 
It really needs to be painted but with this cracks between the planks, it is not going to work. So they had to be filled.
 
I used again Osmo filler which I really like. This is how the hull looked afterwards.
 
The sanding that followed will be sang by bards for centuries. I went down to 320 grid, I really wanted 400 but I run out of sand paper.


Now, I am sure the cracks will reopen but this is the best I can do! Now, this is a hull that absolutely must be sealed. I never liked shellac and I ve been using for years a water based sealer (Decoart Americana). A coat went on, then sanded to 320 grid. Again, I really wanted 400 but I could not find even a small piece in the shipyard. Then another coat went on, sanded to 600 grid (I found a sheet somewhere)





The hull is as good as it will ever be. When I find time I ll put a coat of primer and paint the hull - Ivory and Prussian blue I think.
 
A last photo, till next time
 
Vaddoc

Just finished going through your inspiring log, fantastic work! I hope all is well Drazen.

Ok, time to put the oar issue right.
 
I lengthened the oars and they do look more proportionate. The following photo shows the three different stages in the oar construction - it is truly a lengthy process. 



I have not found a way to stain the oars so I think I ll just paint them white. I would much prefer though a dark yellowish shade.
 
Vaddoc

Thanks Greg! I guess this settles it then, although the drawing shows less brackets and probably removable thwarts - Alan is right. 

Which is a copy of HIL210 from the RMG.
 
This is a drawing by a shipbuilder not the Admiralty which might explain some differences.
 
 

Thanks Hakan.  My very first modeling book the Ship model builders assistant" by Charles G Davis.   
 
Gregory and Craig
Yep that drawing shows double knees on the center thwart .   My fault for missing this as I have the book.  I wonder if the same could be said for launches and long boats et al.   No matter, this is interesting and a help.  Thanks guys
Allan

I think vaddoc's model is a fine representation of the subject.
 
It is my understanding that many ships boats were farmed out to 'private' builders.
I have never seen a 'contract' drawing or instructions, the experienced small yards were probably given the basic size of the type of boat required.
Each yard would have its individual idosyncracies, which would include detail variations.
 
All the boat drawings I've seen are of a particular finished examples.
My humble opinion is that no two boats were ever the same in this period, so detail differences should be allowed.
The important thing would have been the work should be reliably functional.
Just seems logical to me.

@allanyed  Allan, you are probably very correct, and I say probably because I simply do not know; I had the lines of the boat but I could not find any plans or info how these boat were actually put together. I searched the net and the few books I have but I did not come up with anything helpful, apart from some dimensions in May's book. So, I improvised and decided to have fun and make it look "busy" to the ignorant eye, knowing it is very probably not historically accurate.
Now, as for the grating, the answer is very simple: I really wanted to try and make grating just for the fun of it, I originally intended to put it in the floor but then surfing the net I saw the photo bellow and changed my mind.

I am afraid the depth of my knowledge is skin-deep being a landsman that strangely happens to love boats!
 
Best wishes
Vaddoc

@allanyed  Allan, you are probably very correct, and I say probably because I simply do not know; I had the lines of the boat but I could not find any plans or info how these boat were actually put together. I searched the net and the few books I have but I did not come up with anything helpful, apart from some dimensions in May's book. So, I improvised and decided to have fun and make it look "busy" to the ignorant eye, knowing it is very probably not historically accurate.
Now, as for the grating, the answer is very simple: I really wanted to try and make grating just for the fun of it, I originally intended to put it in the floor but then surfing the net I saw the photo bellow and changed my mind.

I am afraid the depth of my knowledge is skin-deep being a landsman that strangely happens to love boats!
 
Best wishes
Vaddoc

Here is a drawing from Lavery's 'Arming & Fitting -etc.. '
 

Ok, time to put the oar issue right.
 
I lengthened the oars and they do look more proportionate. The following photo shows the three different stages in the oar construction - it is truly a lengthy process. 



I have not found a way to stain the oars so I think I ll just paint them white. I would much prefer though a dark yellowish shade.
 
Vaddoc

Looks good Vaddoc! 
Colouring is a challenge, to say the least. White is good choice, never really wrong (and maybe not right every time either).
 
@allanyed I don't know if that detail shows on Chapmans Architectura Navalis, but there is a plate with ships boats in there.
 
Keep it up!

Your build is exemplary!   
I do wonder about two things.  I cannot find any contemporary drawings or models that have gratings or double knees on the thwarts.  The thwarts were usually set up with several fixed with a knee on each end and others that were loose with no knees so the could be removed to have room for stowage of various items.  Do you, or anyone following your build, know of contemporary models or plans that show gratings and all thwarts fixed with single or double knees.  I am fooling around with a long boat model right now and these items are of specific interest.
Thank you very much.
Allan

Apologies to Vaddoc for temporarily hi-jacking his thread.
Chapmans Architectura Navalis don't show that level of detail. But I found a couple of other leads.
1. Underhills "Plank on frame models" vol 2, plate 3, shows a ships boat (probably from a merchant man from the looks of it) and it has double knees on every thwart.
2. Short story first. A long while ago my wife saw a brown book about model ship building and thought "well that is a brown meager looking book, lets buy it for hubby". As it turns out it was a joy to read. Lovely language and descriptions. The book in question is "Ship model builders assistant" by Charles G Davis. First edition was 1926. Anyway, in chapter 17 "Boats" Davis refers to a publication from US Gvt called "Standard Boats of the US Navy" and he describes it as details as down to the last nail and screw. Then Davis goes on to refer to a French publication as "In one of the six volumes of ship's plans, published in France and compiled by Admiral de Paris, there is a set of plans showing the shape of each sized boat used in the French navy at the time". Unfortunately there is no reference list in the book so I don't have any more information about that publication.
 
If not exactly what you are looking for it is at least something. Glad to help 🙂 

Ok, time to put the oar issue right.
 
I lengthened the oars and they do look more proportionate. The following photo shows the three different stages in the oar construction - it is truly a lengthy process. 



I have not found a way to stain the oars so I think I ll just paint them white. I would much prefer though a dark yellowish shade.
 
Vaddoc

(sigh) Craig, you are of course right. I checked May's book and it does give oar lengths. For a 21 foot boat, oars would be 13 feet length or 396 mm in the model, my oars are 255 mm long. Alright then, back to the drawing board it is! Thankfully, I have plenty of maple.
 
Vaddoc

Ok, time to put the oar issue right.
 
I lengthened the oars and they do look more proportionate. The following photo shows the three different stages in the oar construction - it is truly a lengthy process. 



I have not found a way to stain the oars so I think I ll just paint them white. I would much prefer though a dark yellowish shade.
 
Vaddoc

Dear friends
 
One knows it's been a very long time since his last post, when he needs to search for his log! But here I am, so time for an update and a few photos as there is definitely progress made.
 
Allow me to shout a word of caution: DO NOT USE BEECH FOR PLANKING! I did read on wood database that it has a lot of movement in service, but the reality is just ridiculous. Any more movement and the wood would grow feet and run out of the shipyard.
 
First of all the planks shrunk. Initially there was no gap at all as I took pains to make them perfect. Then huge gaps appeared. I filled these in and then the planks shrunk more, with gaps opening once again. Then the boat kept changing shape, sometimes the two sides wanted to come together but others wanted to get away from each other.
 
The biggest problem was that some planks pulled out of the ribs, as shown in the photo bellow.

I had no idea how to fix it but in the end, the boat just changed shape again and the gaps closed. Magic!
 
So, next I finished the floor boards and also the small deck aft. 


I replaced all the screws with treenails and then, it was time for the thwarts. I used the original drawings which kind of hint where the thwarts should go. The benches aft however took an awful lot of head scratching to understand how they could be arranged, without massive wood work. I used the internet and some common sense and I think I came up with a reasonable solution.


 
I then made the legs, they came out alright I think.

Then, I made the knees to hold the thwarts. This took a long time as each knee has each individual shape and then had to be drilled, sanded and get a coat of Tung oil.

Then all were assembled, using 30 min Zpoxy which I am certain was the way it was done back in 1750.



Now the boat is structurally solid and complete. Now however it is time to think about painting the hull.
 
It really needs to be painted but with this cracks between the planks, it is not going to work. So they had to be filled.
 
I used again Osmo filler which I really like. This is how the hull looked afterwards.
 
The sanding that followed will be sang by bards for centuries. I went down to 320 grid, I really wanted 400 but I run out of sand paper.


Now, I am sure the cracks will reopen but this is the best I can do! Now, this is a hull that absolutely must be sealed. I never liked shellac and I ve been using for years a water based sealer (Decoart Americana). A coat went on, then sanded to 320 grid. Again, I really wanted 400 but I could not find even a small piece in the shipyard. Then another coat went on, sanded to 600 grid (I found a sheet somewhere)





The hull is as good as it will ever be. When I find time I ll put a coat of primer and paint the hull - Ivory and Prussian blue I think.
 
A last photo, till next time
 
Vaddoc

Dear all
 
I had a bit of annual leave so I worked a lot on the boat and I have a few more pics to share.
 
@allanyed Unfortunately Allan, my poor choice of wood means painting the hull is necessary!
 
Ok, so I made the gunwales which went smoother than I expected. Secured with many screws, later changed to wooden nails. I also installed the two knees at the transom.


So next is the rudder. It will be a basic one based on the dimensions given in May's book and pictures I found on the net. The rudder is now receiving the very many coats of paint needed due to the acrylics' poor coverage. 

So while this is cooking, on to the oars it is. 
 
I sat in the computer and made a template. I wanted to use a lighter colour wood like boxwood but I only have maple which is very light colour but also a wonderful wood for modelling. I experimented with a bit of dyes and oils but did not like the outcome. So these oars will be painted.
 
So first glue the template onto wood. I switched from Pritt to 3M stick glue - difference is day and night, so much better. Then I cut the templates.

Then I laminated them with PVA glue and many many clamps.

The end result

Then lots of brutal sanding with not so miniature tools.

I think it went ok! 4 more to go.


Till next time
 
Vaddoc
 

Dear all
 
A lot of work done, time for an update!
 
Done Craig! Not with Shellac which I dislike but with a water based sealer. Went well and should help
 
Done!
 
Yes, the hull is now painted. It sent reasonably well but I have to admit it has been my worst paint job. Poor surface preparation, hasty and a bit sloppy paintjob, near disaster varnishing. So here it goes:
 
I used grey primer which is supposed to be permanent when dry. Well it is not. I tried to clean the surface with Isopropyl alcohol and immediately started lifting it. Still, no harm done.
 
Then I masked and taped off the hull using frog tape. I actually forgot I had a large supply of various Tamiya tapes - stupid me. In any case, again no harm done - a bit of bleeding which was covered with the next layer.

Acrylic paint is pretty horrible. It took 20 coats of ivory to cover the grey primer and still did not completely do it. However, being water based means I can work in house which is a huge advantage. I always swear I ll use enamels next time and always seem to end up using acrylics. 

No brush marks, Valejo paints are wonderful but surface underneath far from perfect


Acrylic paint is also so easy to scratch, needs a varnish. Again, paint is supposed to dry permanent but trying to clean with IPO started melting the paint. Still, no major harm done.
I used the Valejo polyurethane varnish that previously gave me good results. Not this time! In all honesty though, this varnish is now 6 years old. In any case, it did not brush well although left no brush marks, took ages to dry, and did not seem to have adhered well to the paint as it started lifting in an area I rubbed to remove a drop of PVA glue. I managed to fix this by brushing a bit more varnish but overall, I know this top coat is a bit rubish.
Then, I added the two strips of wood - sanded and coated with Tung oil.
 






Not long now! Still have to make oars though
 
Best wishes
Vaddoc

Dear friends
 
One knows it's been a very long time since his last post, when he needs to search for his log! But here I am, so time for an update and a few photos as there is definitely progress made.
 
Allow me to shout a word of caution: DO NOT USE BEECH FOR PLANKING! I did read on wood database that it has a lot of movement in service, but the reality is just ridiculous. Any more movement and the wood would grow feet and run out of the shipyard.
 
First of all the planks shrunk. Initially there was no gap at all as I took pains to make them perfect. Then huge gaps appeared. I filled these in and then the planks shrunk more, with gaps opening once again. Then the boat kept changing shape, sometimes the two sides wanted to come together but others wanted to get away from each other.
 
The biggest problem was that some planks pulled out of the ribs, as shown in the photo bellow.

I had no idea how to fix it but in the end, the boat just changed shape again and the gaps closed. Magic!
 
So, next I finished the floor boards and also the small deck aft. 


I replaced all the screws with treenails and then, it was time for the thwarts. I used the original drawings which kind of hint where the thwarts should go. The benches aft however took an awful lot of head scratching to understand how they could be arranged, without massive wood work. I used the internet and some common sense and I think I came up with a reasonable solution.


 
I then made the legs, they came out alright I think.

Then, I made the knees to hold the thwarts. This took a long time as each knee has each individual shape and then had to be drilled, sanded and get a coat of Tung oil.

Then all were assembled, using 30 min Zpoxy which I am certain was the way it was done back in 1750.



Now the boat is structurally solid and complete. Now however it is time to think about painting the hull.
 
It really needs to be painted but with this cracks between the planks, it is not going to work. So they had to be filled.
 
I used again Osmo filler which I really like. This is how the hull looked afterwards.
 
The sanding that followed will be sang by bards for centuries. I went down to 320 grid, I really wanted 400 but I run out of sand paper.


Now, I am sure the cracks will reopen but this is the best I can do! Now, this is a hull that absolutely must be sealed. I never liked shellac and I ve been using for years a water based sealer (Decoart Americana). A coat went on, then sanded to 320 grid. Again, I really wanted 400 but I could not find even a small piece in the shipyard. Then another coat went on, sanded to 600 grid (I found a sheet somewhere)





The hull is as good as it will ever be. When I find time I ll put a coat of primer and paint the hull - Ivory and Prussian blue I think.
 
A last photo, till next time
 
Vaddoc

Ok, time to put the oar issue right.
 
I lengthened the oars and they do look more proportionate. The following photo shows the three different stages in the oar construction - it is truly a lengthy process. 



I have not found a way to stain the oars so I think I ll just paint them white. I would much prefer though a dark yellowish shade.
 
Vaddoc

Ok, time to put the oar issue right.
 
I lengthened the oars and they do look more proportionate. The following photo shows the three different stages in the oar construction - it is truly a lengthy process. 



I have not found a way to stain the oars so I think I ll just paint them white. I would much prefer though a dark yellowish shade.
 
Vaddoc

Ok, time to put the oar issue right.
 
I lengthened the oars and they do look more proportionate. The following photo shows the three different stages in the oar construction - it is truly a lengthy process. 



I have not found a way to stain the oars so I think I ll just paint them white. I would much prefer though a dark yellowish shade.
 
Vaddoc

Well, they might reach the water when fully loaded Hmm, I thought I did a similar cheat on my 16ft cutter but now I'm not sure. I think I dislike oars.