Bob Cleek

Yes, well, it may not matter if it won't be seen, but any drain located below the waterline which discharges through a through-hull fitting located below the waterline needs a vented loop between the fixture (usually a sink or head) which runs inside the vessel to a height sufficiently above the waterline to prevent the water from simply pouring into the boat up through the head or sink drain that is also below the waterline. Modernly, check valves are also employed, but reliance solely on a check valve which can fail simply by a some obstruction in the valve preventing its closing isn't considered prudent.
 
Here's what it looks like on a head installation:
 

 
The Bristol cutters and similar types are fairly deep drafted and it's not uncommon for their head and galley sink drains to be well below the heeled waterline. Head outlets are almost always below the waterline in small craft. The vented loop on your model's sink wouldn't necessarily be visible, being concealed behind the joinerwork, but any sink below the waterline at any angle of heel will require at least two pumps, one for the fresh water supply and one for emptying the sink, since the water isn't going to flow uphill. (On older well-found classic vessels, a third pump or faucet may have been present to supply salt water supply for washing dishes, etc.) Of course, modernly, where a pressurized electrical pump water system is installed, the sink faucet will look no different than a residential or recreational vehicle installation.

At the risk of precipitating a complete nervous breakdown at this point... 
 
I'm just curious. Is that sink's drain well above the waterline at maximum heeling angle or no? If not, you'll have to equip the sink drain with a check valve, siphon breaking loop, and a pump to empty it out after use. Will the pump be manual or electric?

I think the decision as to a stove is going in large measure to depend upon the date at which the model is portrayed. She's definitely going to be "finestkind" on all fittings and equipment, so you need to know the "when" of it all. If earlier, an iron solid fuel wood and coal stove would be called for. Later, an alcohol or kerosene stove might be appropriate. Modernly, a propane gas stove would be found on such a fine yacht. She would seem too small to carry a separate generator capable of powering an electric stove. 
 
Just my two cents' worth.

Especially when working with powered drills and saws than can cause burning! Been there, done that, got the tee shirt!  

My comment about "wipe-on poly" was for the benefit of modelers outside of the US who repeatedly search for it to no avail as it is apparently not marketed in Europe. I didn't want them to think they were unfairly deprived of some magic elixir.
 
I don't have any active build logs and don't anticipate starting any. I don't have anything to add to what the master modelers post nor do I have the time to maintain a build log in any event. Frustratingly, the impact of the pandemic on my business has left me with very little free time at all these days. I presently have four builds planned, a "generic" Connemara hooker, USS Boxer (1905), a scratch-built Charles W. Morgan "as launched" in 1841, and perhaps RMS Lucania (1893.)  I'll post a few pictures of these in the "gallery" section if and when finished... if I live so long.   

Michael, I have to explain that I agonized about posting this comment. Your work on this model is nothing short of spectacular and a joy to behold. i realize the time it takes to maintain a log of this type and build a model at the same time. It probably nearly doubles the time involved, I'm sure. That said, because the level of your work is so high and your interest in accuracy so admirable, I dared post my thoughts, knowing that you may well have sound reasons for the subject of my comment. 
 
As lovely as the cabin sole you've glued up may be, in my not insignificant experience (I once worked for a yacht brokerage specializing in classic wooden vessels,) a cabin sole on a vessel such as yours would invariably be constructed of loose planks of perhaps six or eight inches in width, laid on top of the sole beams with their ends butting over a sole beam. The planks would usually have a finger hole drilled at each end and would be fitted loosely enough that they would not swell tightly and become difficult to lift. Sometimes, if there were a saloon table amidships, the plank or planks upon which the table rested were fastened to the sole beams with unplugged flush screws and the table screwed to those fastened planks. The purpose of leaving the sole planks loose was to afford easy access to the bilges below the sole to permit cleaning and to access the area for stowage. It was not uncommon, particularly in blue water cruising vessels, to take advantage of the bilge spaces to store canned provisions and other gear that didn't need to be immediately available.  The unplugged screws fastening the planks upon which a table was fastened were to permit the easy removal of the screw fastened sole plank to permit repainting the bilge on occasion. 
 
Additionally, one maxim of naval architecture is that the interior of vessels should to the greatest extent possible provide for ready access to the inside of the planking. If a serious leak develops, it is essential that the leak can be located and accessed quickly to control the damage, if possible. 
 
Again, thanks for sharing your build. It's one of the real gems of this forum!
 
 

Those options are also available. It's a matter of preference. I prefer a mechanical transfer of measurements because there is less opportunity for error and less thinking that has to go into it. With a mechanical measurement, any error is immediately apparent by a simple visual comparison, as well. At the end of the day, though, it boils down to what one is used to doing. Manual drafting is a skill I picked up when I was a kid in high school and, while I'm not anything near a professional draftsman, it's always been a quick and comfortable way to do the job for me. I've amassed a considerable collection of drafting instruments over the years just for the enjoyment of it. I have complete sets of Copenhagen ships curves, French curves, engineering curves, and "railroad" and "highway" curves (which have fixed radii.) I use the railroad curves for drawing deck and cabin top cambers conveniently, not often, but I've got them when I do. Similarly, I have an Omicron ellipsograph, which draws elipses to measured dimensions. I've only used it once or twice, but if I ever have to draw an elliptical stern, I'm good to go.  
 

https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_904482
 
I have a couple of different "dotting pens," which will draw inked dotted and dashed lines in a variety of configurations. One can draw dots and dashes along a rule easily enough, but the elegance of the tools devised a century or more ago to do the job is fascinating.
 

https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_904301
 
 
I've also got a compensating polar planimeter which measures the area of irregular planes. A planimeter is used to calculate hull displacement, sail area, wetted surface, and things like that from lines drawings. Not something the average modeler would ever need to have, but it's another fun old instrument rendered obsolete by CAD these days which can be picked up for fifty bucks or less on eBay if one is so inclined. 
 

https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_1214998
 
If one is a kit builder, or limits their scratch-building to plans drawn for modeling, most of this stuff is probably of little interest, but for anyone who finds it necessary to draw their own plans for modeling purposes, some of it can be very handy, albeit on rare occasions. For myself, it's mainly just an affordable outlet for my innate acquisitiveness... just another thing to collect. 

No reason not to. There's more than one way to skin a cat. The handiest use I get out of proportional dividers is scaling drawings up and down. That, too, can be done with a copier, but often it's only small sections of a drawing that need to be redrawn which don't justify copying the often very large drawings encountered at 1:48 scale. 

The procedure is very simple  using a "tick strip." You take a strip of paper... (teletype "punch tape" or "ticker tape" used to be great for the purpose, but it's gone the way of the button hook these days) ... and lay it against the curved frame and mark ("make a tick") the lowest and highest points of the planking section on the tape. Then lay the tape flat and with your proportional dividers set to yield the number of plank seam divisions you require, you take up the overall length of the frame face from the tick strip with the "long legs" of your dividers. The opposite "short legs" of your dividers will yield the distance of equal plank widths on that frame length. Mark the frame lengths on your tick strip. Then take the tick strip and again position it on the frame face with the tick marks at the ends at the ends of the section of frame you want to lay out plank spacing for and transfer the rest of the tick marks to the frame face. Repeat for as many frames as you wish to divide. It's much faster than using a calculator and there's less opportunity for error because the proportional dividers require no calculation and the accuracy of the divisions yielded are easily checked by simply "walking" the points down the length of the distance to be divided. If the number of "steps" on the line ends with the point right on the last "tick" after taking the number of "steps" you desired, you know you haven't made any mistake in taking the original overall measurement.
 
 

That's the beauty of modeling: You're never too old to have fun doing it! 

"Wipe on polyurethane" is nothing more than thinned polyurethane varnish. Only in America do people pay exorbitant prices for polyurethane varnish that is already diluted 50/50 with inexpensive thinner. It's the "instant everything" mentality. Minwax is laughing all the way to the bank.  
 
As barkeater wisely advises, always test any coating on scrap wood first to see how well it works. Always test and experiment before committing to coating the final work piece!
 

Search 'Byrnes' on this site and you will find a lot of hits and an overwhelming mass of positive feedback.
I used to have a Proxxon FET, now I have a Byrnes. The Byrnes is the best saw for modelmaking in the world. However, I have to say that the FET is a good saw and was more than adequate for every job I threw at it. Also, it has a tilting blade feature. If you are able to get a Byrnes saw and want the best, go for it. The FET is cheaper and a lot of very good models have been made using it. I may get another FET one day if the price is right just to get the tilting blade feature.
You can PM Jim Byrnes from this forum. His username will come up in some of the hits when you search 'Byrnes'.
 
I am sure some of the more experienced members will add their endorsement of the Byrnes, but the FET should not be ignored.
Hope this helps,
Bruce

Hi Kronvold,
I purchased the Byrnes Table saw plus accessories  directly from Jim in the USA mid last year.  They packed all items expertly for save shipment with lots of
well fitting foam parts in a big carton box and shipped by FEDEX Int'l.  It took approx. 4 weeks until the shipment was finally released from German Customs and delivered to me. I would recommend to order all spares and relevant accessories with this first lot due to economising on shipment and import costs.
 Technically seen it is a wonderful machine in high end manufacture. I love it.
Just inquire on their homepage and they will send you an offer including FEDEX delivery cost to your place.
Best Greetings to Denmark
 

"Wipe on polyurethane" is nothing more than thinned polyurethane varnish. Only in America do people pay exorbitant prices for polyurethane varnish that is already diluted 50/50 with inexpensive thinner. It's the "instant everything" mentality. Minwax is laughing all the way to the bank.  
 
As barkeater wisely advises, always test any coating on scrap wood first to see how well it works. Always test and experiment before committing to coating the final work piece!
 

Those options are also available. It's a matter of preference. I prefer a mechanical transfer of measurements because there is less opportunity for error and less thinking that has to go into it. With a mechanical measurement, any error is immediately apparent by a simple visual comparison, as well. At the end of the day, though, it boils down to what one is used to doing. Manual drafting is a skill I picked up when I was a kid in high school and, while I'm not anything near a professional draftsman, it's always been a quick and comfortable way to do the job for me. I've amassed a considerable collection of drafting instruments over the years just for the enjoyment of it. I have complete sets of Copenhagen ships curves, French curves, engineering curves, and "railroad" and "highway" curves (which have fixed radii.) I use the railroad curves for drawing deck and cabin top cambers conveniently, not often, but I've got them when I do. Similarly, I have an Omicron ellipsograph, which draws elipses to measured dimensions. I've only used it once or twice, but if I ever have to draw an elliptical stern, I'm good to go.  
 

https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_904482
 
I have a couple of different "dotting pens," which will draw inked dotted and dashed lines in a variety of configurations. One can draw dots and dashes along a rule easily enough, but the elegance of the tools devised a century or more ago to do the job is fascinating.
 

https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_904301
 
 
I've also got a compensating polar planimeter which measures the area of irregular planes. A planimeter is used to calculate hull displacement, sail area, wetted surface, and things like that from lines drawings. Not something the average modeler would ever need to have, but it's another fun old instrument rendered obsolete by CAD these days which can be picked up for fifty bucks or less on eBay if one is so inclined. 
 

https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_1214998
 
If one is a kit builder, or limits their scratch-building to plans drawn for modeling, most of this stuff is probably of little interest, but for anyone who finds it necessary to draw their own plans for modeling purposes, some of it can be very handy, albeit on rare occasions. For myself, it's mainly just an affordable outlet for my innate acquisitiveness... just another thing to collect. 

No reason not to. There's more than one way to skin a cat. The handiest use I get out of proportional dividers is scaling drawings up and down. That, too, can be done with a copier, but often it's only small sections of a drawing that need to be redrawn which don't justify copying the often very large drawings encountered at 1:48 scale. 

That's the beauty of modeling: You're never too old to have fun doing it! 

That's the beauty of modeling: You're never too old to have fun doing it! 

That's the beauty of modeling: You're never too old to have fun doing it! 

Odd that somebody would only be selling a single volume. (The volumes each address a specific geographic area.) The seven volume set was printed in a very limited edition and originally was sold for around $3,500.00 for the set. I've recently seen an unopened set for sale at $1,2500. https://www.abebooks.com/9780881430066/Historic-American-Merchant-Marine-Survey-0881430064/plp
 
 

The "metal spools" this chain comes on appear to be standard sewing machine bobbins. They're sort of like clamps... you can't have too many of them if you sew or have a planetary rope making machine. Handy little buggars. They make them in plastic and metal with the metal costing more than the plastic.
 
For those who may have the need, I recently learned that chain like this be annealed and drawn through a hardwood draw plate to reduce its size somewhat within limits. I came across "wooden draw plates" in a commercial jewelers' supply house catalog and had never heard of them before, which sent me searching for what they are for. I learn something new every day on the internet! The wooden chain draw plates are used to make the links oval-shaped and of uniform size after round rings are formed on a mandrel, cut and joined to make round-link chain. Reducing the diameter can make the oval shape of chain links longer which may result in more realistic chain for certain periods. 

At the risk of precipitating a complete nervous breakdown at this point... 
 
I'm just curious. Is that sink's drain well above the waterline at maximum heeling angle or no? If not, you'll have to equip the sink drain with a check valve, siphon breaking loop, and a pump to empty it out after use. Will the pump be manual or electric?

Yes, well, it may not matter if it won't be seen, but any drain located below the waterline which discharges through a through-hull fitting located below the waterline needs a vented loop between the fixture (usually a sink or head) which runs inside the vessel to a height sufficiently above the waterline to prevent the water from simply pouring into the boat up through the head or sink drain that is also below the waterline. Modernly, check valves are also employed, but reliance solely on a check valve which can fail simply by a some obstruction in the valve preventing its closing isn't considered prudent.
 
Here's what it looks like on a head installation:
 

 
The Bristol cutters and similar types are fairly deep drafted and it's not uncommon for their head and galley sink drains to be well below the heeled waterline. Head outlets are almost always below the waterline in small craft. The vented loop on your model's sink wouldn't necessarily be visible, being concealed behind the joinerwork, but any sink below the waterline at any angle of heel will require at least two pumps, one for the fresh water supply and one for emptying the sink, since the water isn't going to flow uphill. (On older well-found classic vessels, a third pump or faucet may have been present to supply salt water supply for washing dishes, etc.) Of course, modernly, where a pressurized electrical pump water system is installed, the sink faucet will look no different than a residential or recreational vehicle installation.

Yes, well, it may not matter if it won't be seen, but any drain located below the waterline which discharges through a through-hull fitting located below the waterline needs a vented loop between the fixture (usually a sink or head) which runs inside the vessel to a height sufficiently above the waterline to prevent the water from simply pouring into the boat up through the head or sink drain that is also below the waterline. Modernly, check valves are also employed, but reliance solely on a check valve which can fail simply by a some obstruction in the valve preventing its closing isn't considered prudent.
 
Here's what it looks like on a head installation:
 

 
The Bristol cutters and similar types are fairly deep drafted and it's not uncommon for their head and galley sink drains to be well below the heeled waterline. Head outlets are almost always below the waterline in small craft. The vented loop on your model's sink wouldn't necessarily be visible, being concealed behind the joinerwork, but any sink below the waterline at any angle of heel will require at least two pumps, one for the fresh water supply and one for emptying the sink, since the water isn't going to flow uphill. (On older well-found classic vessels, a third pump or faucet may have been present to supply salt water supply for washing dishes, etc.) Of course, modernly, where a pressurized electrical pump water system is installed, the sink faucet will look no different than a residential or recreational vehicle installation.

At the risk of precipitating a complete nervous breakdown at this point... 
 
I'm just curious. Is that sink's drain well above the waterline at maximum heeling angle or no? If not, you'll have to equip the sink drain with a check valve, siphon breaking loop, and a pump to empty it out after use. Will the pump be manual or electric?