ianmajor

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 107 – Lower Hull Work
 
I finally finished the hull planking this week and got some other tasks well along.  The first picture shows the full extent of the planking on the port side – as yet unpainted..
 

 
The deck is still masked for painting the white inside bulwarks.  That work is now also finished and the installation of the painted waterways can proceed.
 
The next picture shows some of the seemingly endless task of treenailing the planking.
 

 
This work, too, is now complete on both sides of the hull.  The picture also shows work on the rudder gudgeons.  These were made by first silver soldering a tube into a groove in a sheet of .032” brass.  The rough gudgeons were then ripped off on the circular saw as shown below.
 

 
The .032” brass – about 2 ½” at 1:72 – is too thick for the straps, but allowed the thick area at the hinge to be shaped.  The 6” wide straps were then bent and filed back to about 1” thick.  The next picture shows the bottom four installed using small brass nails.
 

 
The 16” aft face or the stern post is notched to receive the 6” wide gudgeons.  These were aligned when being fitted by a stiff, straight rod through the holes.  The end of the rod will mark the final center of the round helm opening – which must be on the hinge centerline.
 
The next picture shows the gudgeons on the starboard side. 
 

 
The top one will be installed after this side is painted.  Some of the lowest rows of “yellow metal” sheathing have been installed around the gudgeon.  This will be the only gudgeon requiring this, since this is the lowest of the planking at the stern.  The top of sheathing line – parallel and slightly above the load waterline - can be seen in this picture.  There will be several rows of sheathing.  The top row will be on the straight, horizontal sheathing line.  The strakes below will follow the planking shear and “gore” into this top strake. 
 
The brass plates were cut from .002” brass.  The nailing pattern was embossed into the plates used an embossing device.  The picture below shows the nail pattern being drilled in a wood block to make this.
 

 
The thickness of the block was sized carefully to allow small steel nails to be inserted from the underside.  The tips protrude just enough to impart the pattern when stamped as shown below.
 

 
Stamping these plates is almost as thrilling as treenailing.  Fortunately there are only about a half-dozen rows. A close up of the first few stamped plates is shown in the last photo.
 

 
After the pine stamping block “breaks in” the dimples become more regular.  These are like little cheese graters.  They are fastened with contact cement – another enjoyable task.  After making and installing 3700 of these my Victory model, I swore I wouldn’t do this again – but that was in 1978.
  
Ed

Sure Bob,
 
I can Show all the parts, in fact I am curious myself to see how they did, (wear, tolerances, etc, and condition of the Pistons and cylinders and glide bearings)
 
For the crankhousing, cylinderhead, and anchor bolts of a number larger engine housing, here is a sample in advance, (same principle as the smaller engine).
this one was I started for a even more powerful Motor, but its on hold. For weight reasons it is made from Aluminium (six cylinders from 18 x 1,5 mm tube, 15 mm boring and 20 mm strokelength)
 
Nils
 
 
 
 

Thanks very much guys.  Well, I was able to get outside to do most of the sanding on the starboard side.  Thankfully temps hit 50 this afternoon, so I didn't need to wear mittens or glue sandpaper to my hands  The starboard side came out pretty well, almost identically to the port side.
 

 
Still need some filler in a couple of areas and need to fix the gunport patterns at the jigsaw connection and bow, but I'm really happy with how the first planking went.  I have to figure out the stern area with the stern counter, as well as the rabbets.  But like Martin said, it's nice to see the actual shape of the hull take form.  
 
 

Mike,
 
You will have to glue some sandpaper to the palms of your old mittens. Then you will get a nice smooth curve on your hull - though your nose and ears will still freeze and drop off whilst you are doing it.    

Mike,
 
You will have to glue some sandpaper to the palms of your old mittens. Then you will get a nice smooth curve on your hull - though your nose and ears will still freeze and drop off whilst you are doing it.    

Mike,
 
You will have to glue some sandpaper to the palms of your old mittens. Then you will get a nice smooth curve on your hull - though your nose and ears will still freeze and drop off whilst you are doing it.    

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 106 – Painting
 
I’ve always preferred to leave models in natural wood, but some of Young America will be painted.  After painting the hull planking above the planksheer, the stern decoration could be painted.  The first phase of that is shown in the first picture.
 

 
All the paints and the sealer being used so far are various types of artist’s acrylics.  The final coats will have some gloss.  Most of the gold stern decoration was painted first upside down – so I could see it and steady my hand.  The lines at the top were finished in the upright position as shown in the next picture.  Then several more inversions to nitpick.
 

 
This was a multi-multi step process – before everything looked reasonably presentable as shown in the next picture.
 

 
The planking below the painted part will also be black – down to the top of the brass sheathing.  I will paint that after completing treenailing.  In the next picture the white main main rail around the stern is being fitted.  Also one of the brass portholes is being test fit.
 

 
In the next picture the stern section of the main rail is being glued in.
 

 
The planking on this side is complete – just enough to anchor the deadeye chains below the lower rail.  The next picture shows the completed planking on the starboard side.
 

 
The planking on this side will be sheathed in “yellow metal” below the waterline.  The unpainted area at the bow is left unpainted to allow gluing of the decoration carvings.  The last picture shows the main deck during painting of the inboard bulwarks - the blue is masking tape to keep paint out of the structural work.
 

 
The sanding and painting of this complex woodwork is real fun – several coats worth.  The paint  accentuates every rough area and crack.  I am not too concerned about the area forward of the large vertical samson post.  It will be covered with the forecastle.  Also, the rack rails – pin rails – that run the full length of the deck will fit up under the upper rail - hiding some of the inboard planking.  The waterway – painted blue – will fit in under the lower rail.  There will be a white cap rail all along the top.
  
Ed

Update.. we ain't dead in the water yet..!!!
 
After milling my wood, I spent a fair amount of time sorting out how to put this together.. the wales.  There's 12 strakes that start off a 3/32" thick and as they go down to the main hull planking, they thin to 1/16" which is the "normal" planking thickness.  Above the main wales, the upper works planking is 1/32" thick. 
 
After much experimentation and sorting things out, my approach is below. 
 
First two pics are how I clamp things down...

 
This one shows the actual planking...  hang with me, there's issues that I know have to be resolved due to some gaps.
 
1) is the second strake of wales. Solid swiss pear.
2) is the underlayment of 1/32" thick Swiss Pear. This is for the top strake of wales.
3) is the first of the planking for the upper works.  Forward of the first port will be heavier planking going from the wales upward
(last photo which is from Karl's build of Bohomme Richard.)
4) Ebony for the top wale.  It's 1/16" thick to make it easier to bend than the full thickness of the strake. 
 

 
The issues are the end of the ebony needs adjusting. For some reason it drooped while getting it into place.  And there's piece near the stem on the second wale where pear split.   I'm not overly concerned about it as the bolster for the hawse pipes goes over that.  The whole thing will need sanding and smoothing but for now, I'm going to continue on and finish running these to the stern and then get the other side done.  I'm also still sorting out clamps. Seems I broke two frames in the process of getting things glue up.  I have to not put so much force on those clamps.
 
As always, feel free to click on the pics to enlarge and criticism, different ideas, etc. are always welcome.  I'm still learning this stuff.

Well, the first planking is complete!  Here are the pictures before sanding:
 

 

 

 
 
Looks pretty rough, but things got much better after some sanding.  I spent about an hour sanding the port side this afternoon sitting on my porch steps, but at 40 degrees (F) outside, it started getting hard to feel my fingers at the end (the Admiral just shook her head at me, but I reminded her that it was better than having the dust inside the house).  Hopefully the weather will be nice enough tomorrow so I can get some work in on the starboard side.
 

 

 
 
Spending the time I did in fairing the bulkheads seemed to pay off, as I don't think I'll need much filler.  I mostly need some to close the gaps between the gunport patterns and the first plank, and a bit at the bow and stern.  I cheated a bit on the garboard plank by simplifying it, so I'll also need some filler in the area that feeds into the gripe.  
 
Overall, I'm very pleased with how it's coming out.  The Swan class hulls are very shapely, which are borne out in the Amati models.

Minor status update. Not so much going on - building frames when I have a time. Just around half of the work is done for a mere 10 frames in that batch



The keel structure is roughly cut and shaped, but waiting for TFFM books to arrive before I will fine-fit and assemble it - want to make sure that it would be done correctly, at least on the parts that would be visible.

Thanks guys! The latest progress is a little more visually impressive; I've added the first 9 lower deck beam/support assemblies, as well as the rowing bench and footrest supports on the starboard side. This gives a much better impression of what the size and shape of the finished hull will be. 
 

 

 

The preventer stay was made in a similar way to the fore stay, except that it is of smaller circumference and employs a pair of hearts at its lower end. I used 0.7 black thread for the stay, and 0.25 black thread for the serving. As with the forestay, the stay was served above the mouse (a smaller piece of wood than that for the forestay, and painted black) where it passes around the mast. The measurements were again fairly critical to get all parts of it in the correct position, with the mouse sitting just above the larger one on the forestay.
 
  
 
I was unable to find hearts of the right size – or at least what I thought looked right to the eye, and according to the AOTS Alert book. The smallest I could find were 7mm, which were to my mind too large. I then thought to drill out two of the 3mm deadeyes that I had, which looked to be about right for the job, and stained them. I think they look acceptable. The lower of them was seized to a strop attached to an eyebolt on the stemhead, whilst the other was seized into the lower end of the preventer stay. The lower of the two hearts just clears the large deadeye on the lower stay.
 
There is no ‘snaking’ line between the forestay and preventer stay, as this would have prevented the staysail from being hoisted and lowered on the former.
 

 
I had hoped to include the rigging of the topgallant stay with this posting, but one or two problems have arisen which will be explained next time.
 

Main Topmast Stays
 
There is a preventer stay as well as a main stay for the topmast. These were made in similar fashion to the mizzen topmast stay. There is a Violin block attached to the lower end. I made these from one piece of stock the same way I make the Sister blocks :
 

 

 

 
The stays are served where they go around the mast head and for a few scale feet below the mouse. A Collar is used to hold a lead block to the mast. The preventer stay block is fitted just below the foremast hounds. This would have been considerably easier to fit on the bench before I'd fitted the mast top :
 

 
Here are a few pics of the main topmast stay ready for fitting :
 

 

 

 

 
And some more of both stays fitted. The preventer stay goes on first :
 

 

 
The lead block for the main topmast stay has a collar which could be slipped over the fore mast head. This pic was taken well after I'd fitted the stay - the fore topmast and shrouds had been fitted when I took the pic :
 

 
The sister blocks and their tackle at the foot of the fore mast. Hooks are used to attach the lower blocks to the eyebolts in the deck :
 

 

 
  Danny

Thanks for the comments John, Shaun, Juergen and Ray .
 
Main Topmast Shrouds
 
Before fitting any of the shrouds the topmast Burton Pendants needed to be made and fitted. These are served all over  I turned the thimbles on the lathe :
 

 
The four sets of shrouds were made up and fitted the same as the mizzen topmast shrouds. Once again the foremost ones are served for their entire length and the others for the uppermost parts :
 

 

 

 
The Backstay is separate from the shrouds and terminates on the aft section of the channel :
 

 
A Sister Block is lashed between the two foremost shrouds. I made these from a single piece of stock in the same way I make "normal" blocks. After first cutting the basic shape on the table saw most of the finish shaping work was done with an Xacto knife :
 

 

 

 

 
  Danny

I've managed to get some planking time in, and have 12 rows in per side.  The ship probably needs about 16 per side when all is said and done.  The kit lime strips are very good to work with.  They are straight, and take bends well.  The only tricky thing is that it can split if you try and pin it towards the ends, as you can see in the bow and stern shots.  Man, the close-ups make things look really rough and messy, so it's a good thing that this will get covered up
 

 

 

 

 
 
It's been a while since I planked my Badger, but a few things from that build are coming back to me.  This time around, I decided not to use CA, as it just made a mess and sometimes it seemed to adhere, and most times, not.  For this build I am only using PVA with pins, the planking screws I showed earlier, and clamps.  That has gone much better.  It also reminded me to lay the planks as naturally as possible - but, with the upturn into the stern counter, I forced the planks a bit leading to a bit of a sharper edge and clinker effect.  The lime is 1.5mm thick, so plenty of material to sand back to a nice curve.
 
The planks at the bow need to be tapered starting with the second plank, and probably the first.  I probably didn't taper them enough in the beginning rows, so the planks started to turn upwards at the second or third bulkhead without forcing and clinking them.  Since I'm trying to get the planks to lay as naturally as possible, I am going to have to add a drop plank/joggle plank as you can see in the picture below.  
 

 
 
I'm a little confused as to whether stealers and drop planks are "permissible" in models.  I might try to spile the second planking, but I need to sit down and try to understand exactly how that technique works.  Since the the bottom of the hull will be coppered, I might try it out since it will be covered up 
 

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 105 – Planking and Wales continued
 
The exterior planking is now finished – except for treenails.  The next phase of work will involve a lot of disparate tasks to prepare for the work on the main deck.  There is much to be done before that can start.
 
In the last post, I showed the cabin lights being drilled through the outside planking.  The first picture shows the inboard planking on the cabin deck with the holes and two temporary brass ports fitted for size.
 

 
The cabin deck will house 19 cabins, two WC’s and an open central area – plus a staircase from the main deck.  All of this is speculative but very typical of the class.  Cabin finishes were usually quite ornate – no holds barred on fancy woods, gilt, carvings, etc.  I don’t intend to go overboard on this, especially without any historical data, but I expect to panel the partitions, fit built in bedsteads and some cabinetwork.  This will come later but I wanted to make a choice on wood.  I am assuming mahogany and intend to represent it with black walnut as shown above.  It has the look of old Cuban mahogany – to me at least.  except for the above, this will all come later.
 
While the model was upright, the waterways were made and fitted.  In the next picture a forward segment has been boiled for bending and is drying.  These will be pre-fitted with scarphs, but cannot be installed until the bulwark interiors are painted.
 

 
The next picture shows the starboard forward section after drying – just prior to making its joint with the next segment.
 

 
The painting order is dictating events at this stage.  First the outboard planking above the planksheer will be painted black, The white main rail will then be installed, allowing the inboard bulwarks to be painted white.  The blue waterways can then be installed and work can proceed on the main deck – a lot of complications to avoid painting different colors on adjacent areas after assembly.
 
The next picture shows work that is necessary before painting the waist planking.
 

 
The eagle and the vinery on either side are made with epoxy sculpting material.  (I could never manage this in wood.) When cured, the material is very hard, but brittle - so the work is done in two steps.  In the first step the rough sculpting shown above was done on a curved form so the parts could be removed and fit on to the stern without bending. The next picture shows the carving work glued to the starboard side. 
 

 
Once glued down the carvings could then be further refined with small tools as shown below.
 

 
This work mostly involved thinning the greenery to be more delicate.  All of this relief carving will be gilded.
 
The next picture shows the finished planking on the port side.
 

 
The planking to be painted first is above the lower channels.  At this stage those areas are being sealed for final sanding.  Masking tape will keep the paint confined above the planksheer for now.  The stern carvings have been primed with black to make sure the black acrylic adheres to the epoxy.
 
In the last picture the main rail around the stern has been painted as a test and is being fitted into its slot – just temporarily until the surrounding black is painted.
 

 
So – a lot of niggling little tasks to break up the monotony of treenailing – but progress nonetheless.
  
Ed

I started the first planking, and got four rows completed per side.  It's going pretty well so far.  There are some areas between the gunport pattern and first plank that will need to be fixed with filler and sanding, but overall, the time I spent fairing the bulkheads to get a smooth run seems to have been well worth it. The nice thing about this kit is that the lime planks are 1.5mm thick, giving you plenty of material to work with when it comes to sanding.  The lime takes soaking pretty well, and even at this thickness, the planks do bend and twist pretty nicely.
 

 

 

 

 
 
The planking at the stern is always the tricky part.  The first plank seems to run relatively vertically, and then the next plank starts the horizontal twist up to the stern counter.  I don't know that I faired the last bulkhead appropriately, but I figured I would get the planks on and then use filler to get the proper transition between the two planks.  I think there is a slight rounded curve to the bottom corners of the stern counter, but once I get the planks on and start fitting the stern counter, I'll have a better idea of what work needs to be done.
 

 
 
It's great to get the planks on and see the nice curves of this class of ship come together.  The planking screws have been very helpful to get the ends of the planks to sit at the bow and the last bulkhead.  Otherwise, I have only been using PVA and two nails at each bulkhead to fix the planks to each bulkhead - I have flashbacks of trying to use CA on my Badger, which was a real pain.
 
I just wanted to share one thing I'm using that has made the pin work very easy.  It's the pin insertion plier from Micromark, which is model number 85282.  On my Badger, I used the Amati pin pusher (which only lasted that build), but these pliers work much much better. I forget whose log recommended these, but they are fantastic.  You have much more control, and you don't need much force to push them through the lime planks and into the MDF bulkheads (no starter hole in the MDF is necessary).  A picture of them is below.
 

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 104 – Planking and Wales continued
 
In the first picture the model has be uprighted and plumbed so the load waterline could be marked.
 

 
I needed to do this to set the extent of planking on each side.  The wood block is my gauge. 
 
This was also a good opportunity to mark out and bore the holes for the cabin lights as shown in the next photo.
 

 
The inboard finish planking was also installed and bored out.  I will show this later.  Brass tubes through to the interior will be added later.  The next picture shows the five openings on the starboard side.
 

 
Planking has progressed downward in this picture – below the bottom of the wale – but there is still more to be added. In the next picture the hull has again been inverted to complete the planking.
 

 
In this picture the aft planking is being stepped back with two strakes at each step on the starboard side.   This will permit several strakes of brass sheathing – each two planks wide to be wide to be installed later.  The sheathing band will extend to the edge of the lowest planks.  The top strake of sheathing will be on the waterline, with the strakes below parallel to the run of the planks and gored into the top strake.
 
On the port side there will be no sheathing and the planking will end higher to leave the framing exposed. 
 

 
This planking is stepped back higher up as shown again roughly parallel to the LWL – in single strake steps on this side.  Some planking is needed on this side so the deadeye chains can be fixed and also to provide a nicer view of the finished stern – at least from the starboard quarter.
 
In the next picture the hull has been uprighted again.
 

 
The planking of the starboard side shown is complete. The strakes below the 20 wale strakes diminish down from the wale thickness of 6” to the 4” thickness of the common bottom plank.  This transition is barely perceptible.  The top of the sheathing line can just be made out in this picture. 
 
I can’t explain why, but seeing this expanse of planking makes one realize just how large this ship was.  This was not as pronounced when the hull was in frame.
  
Ed

Mark,
 
I turned the rope itself, using the oil of its own design.
 
 
 

 

 

 
 

 
 

 
 
 

 
 

 
 
 
 
 
Paul

The first attempt at shooting a 7mm thick rope. I'll need more than 20 m the rope.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
Paul

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 103 – Planking and Wales continued
 
The work proceeds apace.  Post-holiday lull and the winter weather helps.  Work on the lower hull requires either some gymnastics or some other support for the model.  The first picture shows the simple setup that allows the model to be tilted as needed – a very un-shipyard-like look.
 

 
The wale on this side is about one-half planked in this picture.  The next picture shows the wale planks converging at the lowest perimeter strake at the stern.
 

 
The brass rod is the diameter of the gudgeon eyes and is being used to mark the center of the helm port by laying it on the sternpost.  In the next picture a hole for the port has been roughed out.
 

 
The rudder head was round and was encased at the port in a sleeve – wood or iron – to prevent ingress of water.  The diameter of the rudder shaft was 16” – matching the sternpost.  With the sleeve the opening will take up much of the area as yet unplanked.  I decided to fill the area with a single chock as shown in the next picture.
 

 
A circular opening for the sleeve and rudder head will be cut through this later.  In the next picture the hole has been centered.
 

 
Additional wale strakes are being added in this picture.  In the next picture the final piece on the port side has been boiled and is being fitted to dry.
 

 
The planks on this side are being stepped back at each frame to allow the stern area to be completed without adding more strakes on this unplanked side.  Hence these last two pieces are very short – the lowest will be half the length shown.
 
The next picture shows the final wale strake in place at the stern on the starboard side.
 

 
This side will be planked down below the waterline so there are more strakes to be fitted at the stern.  These will diminish down to the thickness of the common lower planking.
 
I don’t want to use this forum to pitch the forthcoming book, but I feel that a few words are in order, since several people have asked about it. 
 
Bob Friedman of Seawatchbooks and I were both quite enthused about a book on American clipper ship modeling.  We both felt this was a neglected area.  However, I had some concerns about another “full framing” methodology book that would be a rehash of previous material.  I was also concerned about writing a book about a large, fairly advanced structural model that would probably appeal mainly to a small slice of experienced modelers.
 
 It took some time for me to resolve these issues and decide to write the book – two books hopefully – the first on modeling the hull and the second on masting and rigging. 
 
Like the Naiad books – and unlike this build log – the books will be very heavy on methods – I like the word processes.  As work on YA progressed, the processes used were both different enough and in some ways unique and this allayed some of my concerns about redundancy. 
 
However, I still wanted to reach a broader range of modelers – specifically potential or less-experienced scratchbuilders looking for a foothold and some help on methods.  To this end the book will also include methods, drawings, text and pictures for construction of a smaller, simpler POB version of the model.  The processes developed for this model are designed to provide a basis for advancement to fully-framed modeling using the upright, shipyard-like, methods that many of us favor.  The planned volume on rigging – if we get that far – will apply to both versions. Simpler tools, fewer fancy devices and readily available materials will also be used for the POB model.
 
To support this important content, a second, 1:96 POB model is being constructed.  Until making the book decision, I have been careful to exclude this from posted pictures but that precaution is now no longer necessary so I will show one picture of the current work area with both models in progress.
 

 
Although having two models in the shop has exponentially increased the clutter, the biggest problems are keeping the two scales straight and using the right drawings – and getting all  the work done on schedule.
  
Ed

Greetings all,
 
Thanks for the replies and likes.
 
I went back over the photos from the NMM last night and have decided on open railings on the quarter deck. I will plank the bulwarks up to the level of the outer (black) planks,this will give the top of this a height of 8mm from the deck,which is an approximate scale height of 2 feet.This will be capped by the plank-sheer. From there up will be stanchion and railing construction. This should allow enough clearance for the muzzles of the guns to clear the plank-sheer,if not,at the most,a very shallow cut-out radius will be needed on the plank-sheer. I also want to fit swivel gun pedestals on the quarter deck.
 
Peter brought up the idea of hammock cranes and whether they were appropriate for this time period. Some of the models from this period in the NMM do show having them on the quarter deck,so I will add them.
 
Regards, John

Mizzen Topmast Stay
 
First thing to make for the stay was the mouse. I turned it on my lathe the same as the previous ones for the lower stays :
 

 
The stay fits around the mizzen topmast in a similar fashion to the lower stay :
 

 
A lead block is served and stropped to the main mast head :
 

 
The lower end of the stay has a block seized to it. Another block is attached to an eyebolt adjacent to the foot of the mast via a pendant. A lanyard joins the two blocks :
 

 

 
  Danny

Mizzen Topmast Shrouds
 
There are three pairs of shrouds on the mizzen topmast and one backstay which is the 2nd "leg" of the aftmost pair of shrouds. These are fitted around the mast top in similar fashion to the lower shrouds :
 

 

 
The backstay is fitted to a small stool aft of the mizzen channel :
 

 
  Danny