Bedford

Dear all
 
Thank you all for your comments and likes!
I ve been working on the boat, walking a thin line between the Admiral's wrath and getting a few things actually done, so time for another update.
 
Rob Ross used to say that there are no mistakes, only happy accidents. There sure have been many happy accidents so far with this boat! Usually my CAD drafts are pretty accurate but as I move on, I am scratching my head as 1+1 does not always make 2, I cannot figure out what I was actually drafting. But so far I managed to more or less fix things.
 
So planking is finished! You will see that the sheer strake, or rather half of it, is missing. The reason is that Hercules has a tall bulwark and it would be difficult to securely fix it in place so I thought it made sense to merge the sheer strake with the bulwark. Now Hercules is 150 feet long and made of steel so the planks are completely unrealistic but they do make a nice hull!



The card templates (there were even more than these) show how much work actually planking involves with spilling and everything - still I had only 2 half planks that I had to re do as they came out very wrong.

One of the many happy accidents is in the following photos. I did not really want to buy new wood so I had just enough pear for the planking. I managed to snap the very last length I had left, with just a half plank left to do! I managed to fix this by making it in two parts, narrow escape!

Then lots of Osmo filler and lots of sanding. Of course I did not read the instructions that state to thin the filler with 15% water and I struggled wasting a lot of the expensive filler. Prior to that, all the hundreds of screws were replaced by tree nails.



Much more filling and sanding will be needed but a big chunk of the hull preparation has been done.
 
Then I made the bulwarks but only after I managed to snap the little stem extension not once but twice. I had a sheet of maple and three sheets of mahogany left so I used maple - what a nice wood it is! It will all be primed and painted black.


 



But something felt wrong. I went back to my CAD drafts and the plans and indeed, the bulwark/planks were a couple of centimeters short. The happy accidents are piling up!
Now, Hercules has this little feature at the stern where there is a small flat vertical segment, this has to be made by laminating thin strips which gives the opportunity to correct the mistake above.
So I used some thin beech strips I had. I dislike beech due to its huge movement in service but it is so nice to bend, just with water it can be tied in a knot.


I just used PVA to laminate the strips, if I had used epoxy it would have been very messy.

Then rough cut to shape and screwed in place.



I know it looks rough, I had trouble with the stern drafting in CAD and did not really spend time on it, I hope I ll fix it with a bit of filler, bit of sanding, paint on top.
 
I am enjoying this boat, it is very different from anything I have built so fat.
 
On another note, the postman dropped a cardboard tube with some plans which are currently being processed. There will be a new log starting, this time for a far more complex boat that will take a long time to build, a boat that from the first time I saw it I new I just have to make! 
 
Take care all
 
Vaddoc

In spite of a week's travel for business, I managed to get done a part:
 
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The Main Hatch
 
The main hatch will be shown closed, so I could revert to my usual technique of milling it from a solid piece of acrylic glass. In fact, the piece forms a core and as sharp corners for the recess into which the hatch covers fit is needed, around it strips of 1 mm acrylic glass were cemented. This arrangement was milled to size and shape as shown previously. To make it visually more interesting a quarter-round cove was milled into the outer edge with a 0.5 mm ball-burr. In real life, this would also prevent the wood from splintering, when hit by something during loading.

Milling a quarter-round cove into the coaming of the main-hatch
 
The cover was assumed to be in three parts, each planked with short lengths of plank. The cover is made from a tight-fitting piece of bakelite paper into which the planks were engraved, as was done for the deck-planks. Making hatch and cover in separate pieces allows to paint it with sharp edges. The cover will be simulated to be natural wood.

The main-hatch with the cover inserted
 
Eventually, the hatch will be fitted with clamps for the battens to tie-down the canvas cover. That will be done at a later stage to avoid damage during fitting the part into the deck.
 
To be continued …

Magnificent work Mark

Since the last post, the cockpit sole was given the weathering treatment. The seat backrests are made but won't go on yet as they will restrict access for other pieces.

 
A feature of these yachts is the varnished removable hatches either side of the companionway storm boards, & other varnished details. They are a really nice part of the cockpit area & of course will draw the eye to them on the model. So, with some hesitation I started fitting these pieces, after varnishing them (shellac, to a satin finish). The deck also got painted, matt blue with gloss white edges. On the photo below, cover strips & edge details are still to be added.

 

 

 
This photo to show the finish, & the nice glow of the timber (Queensland Maple on the model, Teak on the yacht).

 
And the fore hatch also:

 

A little more progress on the 'Duchess'.
 
All six yards are now crossed on the mainmast, so that leaves only six more square sails to rig. When I look at the model now, I sometimes think that she's getting towards completion; then I remember ratlines, braces, staysail sheets and deck details to complete and go back to wondering whether she'll ever get there! 😉
 
John
 

In between business-related absences from home, I managed to progress a little bit ...
 
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Cabin Skylight
 
As noted previously, the cabin skylight is a somewhat perilous position, but nevertheless contemporary drawings and some old models indicated, that they were of relatively lightweight construction. The actual construction is somewhat conjectural, but it seems that the hatch was covered by frame into which glass-panes were insert. Over this, there is a shallow roof-like structure with protective iron bars. In this arrangement, the glass-panes are not actually insert into the roof-like structure, but are at some distance below. The effect is, that even in the event that the iron bars are bent, the glass would not be touched. It also conceivable, that in the Baltic not real glass was used, but rather muscovite, which would be obtained by trade from Russia. In the event of very bad weather, the roof-like grille presumably could be replaced by a plain hatch cover.

Milling to shape of the acrylic glass core for the cabin skylight
 
This structure was built up in my preferred way, that is around a core of acrylic glass. It was milled to size from scrap piece of acrylic glass. For the ‘glass’ surface, I was able to use one of the original - as manufactured - surfaces, so no polishing was required. The high-speed milling with a fly-cutter a low feed-rate left almost transparent surfaces.

Milling to shape of the acrylic glass core for the cabin skylight

Milling of the recesses for the laser-cut frame parts
 
The parts for the roof-like structure were produced again with the laser-cutter from Canson paper. The structure was to be designed in two parts, namely the frame attached to acrylic core and the two roof halves with the grilles, to allow painting. During painting the horizontal pane will be masked off and the roof halves painted separately.
 
In order to ensure equal spacing of the ‘bars’, the roof was built up from three layers with the middle layers having notches. This layer was lacquered onto one of the outer layers and the ‘bars’ attached with drops of varnish – quite a fiddly bit of work and I am not entirely satisfied with the result. In the past, I made such parts from surface-etched brass and this seems to have worked better, but I didn’t want to set up everything for etching just a couple of small parts.

Basic structure of the skylight, waiting to be painted and finally assembled
 
I prefer to defer painting to the late stages of the building process in order to avoid handling the painted parts as much as possible, so construction of the skylight stops here for the moment.
 
To be continued …

General view of the hull.

Thank you very much, gentlemen, for your kind words!
 
@JacquesCousteau I have been trawling various museum image databases and national meta-databases in Denmark, Sweden and Norway with keywords such as jacht, jagt, jægt, schlup, slup, sloop etc. Unfortunately, German museums are not so advanced in digitising their holding, though there are meta-databases at Länder level in Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Vorpommern, Swedish Pomerania until the Vienna Congress in 1815, is now in Germany, while Hinterpommern, originally Prussian, is now part of Poland. I didn't have access to Polish database in this respect, though they do a good job in digitising their archival holdings it seems.
The problem is also, that both parts of Pomerania were rather marginal areas with comparatively little industry and trade and thus wealth, so they did not attract that many painters or later photographers. In consequence, the pictorial records until the late 19th century are quite limited - at least judging by what is available in books and on the internet.
@Bedford Such gratings do not appear on any builders drawings at that time. This may be a weak argument though, as they are not structural parts of a ship. My anecdotical feeling is, that they only appear, when wheel-steering became more common, even in smaller vessels. I could imagine, that they would not support much sideway pressure, as would be needed when handling a tiller (though relief tackles were common). They also do not appear on any contemporary models of small merchant vessels. Later photographic evidence supports arrangements as seen on the Norwegian jægt above. Many of such small vessels had a quarterdeck raised by a foot or so (a 'roof') with the skylight inserted into this and the tiller just clearing it. The helmsman would stand in front of the raised quarterdeck. However, these Pomeranian Rahschlups were characterised by a flush deck.
 
 

Eberhard, while I have no knowledge of the vessel type you're building I have sailed on Bark Endeavour which has a skylight in the deck just forward of the wheel and while it doesn't interfere with the operation of the wheel it does have a wooden grate over it. I know a lot of ships had wooden grates for the helmsman to stand on to give better grip on a drier surface so maybe that's the answer.

I hear you John but as I often say, "It's not the mistake that matters, it's how you deal with it"
On my Royal Caroline build I swung around with the vacuum cleaner and broke the shrouds away from 2 dead eyes on the port mizzen shrouds. Walked away for over a year while I built my full size sail boat but recently decided the best fix was to completely remake that whole shroud assembly.

This might be useless info in this case since you don't want to buy new stock but something to keep in mind. When I made the 1:8 scale Tammie Norrie I used 0.8mm birch ply for the strakes. You can cut it with a decent pair of scissors and get perfect edges.
That model suffered a warped backbone too but it's the fix that matters.

Eberhard, while I have no knowledge of the vessel type you're building I have sailed on Bark Endeavour which has a skylight in the deck just forward of the wheel and while it doesn't interfere with the operation of the wheel it does have a wooden grate over it. I know a lot of ships had wooden grates for the helmsman to stand on to give better grip on a drier surface so maybe that's the answer.

Consider it storm-damage ... sailors were good at fixing things while under way ...

I hear you John but as I often say, "It's not the mistake that matters, it's how you deal with it"
On my Royal Caroline build I swung around with the vacuum cleaner and broke the shrouds away from 2 dead eyes on the port mizzen shrouds. Walked away for over a year while I built my full size sail boat but recently decided the best fix was to completely remake that whole shroud assembly.

It's been a little while since the last update, but the 'Duchess' continues to grow.
 
The main upper topgallant is crossed and partly rigged, and the royal is sitting on the base waiting its turn. I had a minor panic at the museum yesterday when I allowed myself to be distracted by a visitor when I was in the middle of trying to thread a buntline through a lead block with the result that I brushed the mast heavily, carrying away a couple of buntline blocks and snapping a buntline. After I finished swearing (under my breath as there were visitors there) I spent some time repairing the damage. I sometimes think that the true skill facing us is the ability to repair the damage we cause to our own models during construction! 😀
 
John
 

 
 

Coming along nicely, mate! I think we'd all agree with you about the beauty of boats!
 
John

Thanks Mark and Jim and all that hit the like button.
 
A bit too early for an update but It's exciting seeing the shape of the hull slowly emerging.
Boats are such beautiful things!
 
Vaddoc

Time for a wee update!
 
I did lots of work but have little to show, planking is a slow, labour intensive process. I need to cut the plank patterns for each side separately as the port and starboard planks are very close but not identical. I try to fit the edges reasonably close but I am not too fussed, with a bit of sanding and filler it will be fine. Also, I really should have hollowed the planks where they meet the frames at the turn of the bilge but it will be fine. The plank scarfing is a bit wonky but this will also be ok with some sanding.
 
I realised that to progress further I had to mark all the remaining planks. One of the aft frames looked (and still looks) a bit wrong so I cut some of it off and overall I am not sure how the stern will end up, so some head scratching  there is needed. Also, the sheer plank will continue as gunwales so this also needs some more thought.
 
I am not sure I have enough pear to finish the planking, I ve managed so far not to waste any wood but today I made two wrong planks - this is a lot of waste!
 
5 planks are in and the run of all the remaining planks marked. Of course the width of the planks is all way off scale but Hercules had a metal hull and I just want to plank the hull - there is no reason though not to do it nicely! 

I think the planks so far run reasonably fair. The sheer also looks ok. 



Please do excuse the huge mess in the yard!
Now, I may have a £200 gift card to spend and some money to add to it - I may get a milling machine! (Proxxon MF-70?)
 
Best wishes to all
Vaddoc

Yes, the adaptability of English is an enjoyable part of the language. There's some really nice colourful language in the book I'm currently reading: "The Shipping News", I'm not sure how close to you it's set. A v enjoyable book.
 
And, the gratings did turn out better than I had hoped, not having done them before.
Thanks,

The cruiser's hull after applying the preliminary primer.

The hull of a cruiser with openings for portholes.

A landmark day (of sorts) on Monday, with half the square sails now rigged (apart from their braces, of course). I should get the main lower topgallant crossed either Friday or Monday, so she's looking more and more like a sailing ship and less like an abandoned wreck!
 
John
 

Crew companionway
 
The deck of the Rahschlup was flush, no raised quarterdeck or any deckhouses as such. Only companionways gave access to the crew quarters and the after cabin respectively. All in all, a very spartanic arrangement.

Companionway on the reconstruction project for the galeas FÖRLIG WIND, Skeppsholmen, Stockholm (https://www.arbeitskreis-historischer-schiffbau.de/mitglieder/ontour/bootsbauplatz-skeppsholmen/)
 
The length of the companionways and of the hatches can be taken from the side elevation drawing, but their width has to be inferred from common practice of the time. Likewise, their construction had to be inspired by photographs of appropriate restoration projects. A typical construction method seems to have been panelled sides. Other examples include simple vertical or horizontal staves that fill the space between the corner posts. Two narrow doors give access, together with a sliding roof section. The rails on which this cover slides seems to have been of varying degrees of complexity.

I usually built such companionways around a core in Plexiglas that has been milled to shape. For this project, however, I wanted to show them open with some interior details, so that a construction method somewhat closer to the prototype had to be chosen.
 
The different parts were drawn and cut out with the laser-cutter from 0.1 thick Canson paper. Each side was laminated from three layers for the actual companionway and two more layers for the coamings using Zapon varnish. The roof and the sliding cover were built up from two layers. The sliding rails were constructed from narrow laser-cut strips. The doors are also built up from three layers.
 
Unlike on the prototype, the companionways and ‘coamings’ reach down to a horizontal layer in the hull in order to provide a reference for their height above the deck, when installed.
 
As with all such parts, they may look a bit rough in the close-up pictures, but once painted and from a normal viewing distance they look very good (hopefully …).
 
To be continued …

thank you all,
 
I've started on the cockpit seating & some other details that on the actual boat are unfinished teak, ie: greyed from natural weathering. I was dreading this work, it's got a lot of detail & also getting the weathering right. A few weeks ago I started researching weathering techniques on this forum & the web generally, some techniques are fairly simple but for one reason or another I remained unconvinced that it would be straightforward. The tests I did included rough sanding & scuffing the surface of the timber; dipping in diluted black paint, then with white added, then with beige added; wiping the surface of the timber strips with undiluted paints, diluted paints, on scuffed surfaces....The good news is that the most simple of the techniques seemed to work the best - essentially just wiping unscuffed timber with black or grey undiluted paint. Now that I was confident there could be a reasonable result I started working on the cockpit seating.
 
The technique was to build it on the model, but not yet gluing it on. The loose strip at the forwards edge is a border strip, to be fitted later.


And from the underside, you can see the downturned edge to the cockpit footwell, the edge piece is an L for the visible edge thickness:

 
And the lazarette hatch underway. You can see a piece of plain plastic sheet underneath, that's how I've been able to glue in situ. I think it's easier to make something accurately to size when you're building off assembled pieces rather than guessing from loose pieces.

 
A shot of the actual cockpit, when you look carefully the colour still has some natural warmth, it's not a pure grey. Below that are some of the weathering samples. Most of them are too heavy & too dark. Most also obscure too much of the timber colour, the best ones allow that natural colour through a bit.

 
The single strip 2nd from the right is getting close, needs a little more tweaking but I'm happy that I can do something satisfactory. The caulking will be done with an artist grade 0.5mm ink felt tip pen.

 
 
 
 

So we continue. As you will see from the images, i now have two yards crossed on the main. The main yard is fully rigged whilst the lower topsails till needs a little more work on in. The starboard lower fore ratlines are
also close to completion, needing just a few more battens near the top to finish off. while hard to see in the image, the battens are quite visible on the model itself, but not jarringly so. After all, they're are a minor detail.
 
I'll finish of the lower topsail yard tomorrow and prepare the mast for the upper topsail and then continue with the ratlines on the fore.
 
John