Kevin

I added the remaining planking down to the wales on the port side and was about to do the wales when Sam informed me that he would have previously omitted material on the wales ready soon, so I decided to wait. That brought about the end of my procrastination on the treenails. Probably to the surprise of no one, I decided to go ahead and do them.
 
After marking and drilling what seemed like an endless number of holes, I filled them with Elmers walnut filler.This is probably a little dark, but I liked the look better than using golden oak, which I have used in the past. Considerations of the small scale, and aging eyes and hands, led me to use an arrangement of the treenails which is more stylized than accurate, but which I think (hope?) gives the right impression overall. After filling and sanding, I applied a coat of Wipe On Poly for protection. Now, I can do it all over again on the other side.
 
Bob

Hi Kevin....Just now joining your Vic build.....my favorite, having built her twice. I go to bed each night looking at her in her glass case beside my bed.
You are doing a beautiful job, and I have enjoyed browsing through your build log. Very nice photography as well.
Dave

I'm with wq regarding the absence of gun port lids - at least on frigates.
 
We've had a healthy discussion of this topic in my Constitution build log.
 
I have a copy of The Sailing Frigate - A history in ship models by Robert Gardiner. Page 59 includes a study of the beautiful and highly detailed model of the frigate Lowestoffe of 1760:



Gardiner notes: "With around 7ft of freeboard, gunport lids are unnecessary except where the ports open into cabins or other enclosed spaces..."

It seems to be the case that Frigates had generally higher freeboard than other rates AND did not use the "gun deck" as living space. Frigates had the advantage of dedicated berth decks below for the crew. I put gun deck in quotes because until the early 19th century, the deck with armament was referred to as the "upper deck" in the Royal navy - which acknowledges the exposure to the elements - and the berth deck still retained the old "gun deck" label dating back to the days when these rates had lower deck gun ports. I personally believe that this goes to the heart of why the gun port lids were usually not there (with the understanding that there were some exceptions) - in the late 18th century and into the 19th the 5th and 6th rates generally had higher freeboard than other classes and had dry berth decks for the crew. 
 
In the case of USS Constitution, however, we have several sources to illuminate the use of half port lids to keep out heavy seas.  Margherita Desy is the official historian of the USS Constitution attached to the Naval History &Heritage command and she studied the issue in preparation for the next refit.  
 
Definition of half port used by Ms. Desy from John Fincham, An Introductory Outline of the Practice of Ship-Building... (Portsea, UK: William Woodard, 1825), 200.:
 
HALF-PORT..., shifting shutters fixed in the stops of those ports, which have no hanging lids. Those to the quarter-deck and forecastle ports are in general in one, and made of two thicknesses of slit deals, and to the ports for the long guns have holes in them for the gun to run out; and those to the upper deck, In two parts called buckler half-ports; for long guns, the lower part is to the center of the gun, when run out and levelled, as they have a hole in them that fits close round the guns ; and to carronades, to the under side of the gun, if not too low, that they may be fixed over them. The lower piece of these half-ports is of fir, and in one piece, to fill up the stops; with a rabbet taken out of its upper edge, to receive the upper part, and with two strengthening bolts driven up and down through it. This piece is in general hung with hinges at the lower part, and kept in its place by sliding bolts. The upper part is made commonly of whole and slit deal, the whole deal up and down, and the slit deal, to cross it, fore and aft.” 2

This indicates that the permanent full lids seen in so many contemporary models up forward and along the quarterdeck is likely accurate. The rest of the ports would either not have any lids fitted or would have the removable half-lid "stoppers" - at least as commonly practiced by American captains. Ms. Desy seems to confirm that the ports as represented by the Hull model are accurate. Here are some quotes from her study:
 
 
The oldest recorded model of USS Constitution is the one built in 1812 by the ship’s crew for Capt. Isaac Hull. He, in turn, donated the model to the East India Marine Society (now part of the present-day Peabody Essex Museum/PEM) not long after the model was constructed. Hull claimed that it was quite an accurate depiction of the ship as she looked around the period of her battle with HMS Guerriere. There are no port lids on the gun deck, with the exception of the two single-door lids on the two forwardmost gun ports 
 
 
The PEM model depicts single doors on the two forward ports on both sides of the ship. It is very likely that Constitution had single doors on these two ports because of their vulnerability to being stove in during storms or when sailing in heavy seas.
 

 
Confirming this supposition that the two forward-most ports carried single doors is the well-known Boston image of USS Constitution from the War of 1812 period, engraved by Abel Bowen.
 
 
...The aftermost gun ports may have had slightly different gun port covers for captains’ cabins ports. We’ll begin with another definition of “port-lids”:
“PORT-LIDS, a sort of hanging doors, to shut the ports at sea. They are fastened by hinges to the edges of the upper sill, so as to let them down when the cannon are drawn into the ship, whereby the water is prevented entering the lower decks.
Upon the main deck, and particularly in ships carrying only one tier of cannon, half ports are used: they are a kind of shutters with a circular hole in the centre, large enough to go over the muzzle of the gun, and furnished with a piece of canvas, which is nailed round its edge to tie upon the gun, whereby the water is prevented entering at the port, although the gun remains run out.” 
 
There are [several contemporary paintings that show] canvas covers in the gun ports farthest aft on the vessels – the location of the captain’s great or forward cabin. The canvas covers in the captain’s great/forward cabin gun ports would have kept out some water when sailing in general or light weather, but more important, would have allowed diffused light to enter the cabin during all daylight hours, no matter the weather. If the weather was really inclement, likely half ports could have been fitted into the ports to secure them from heavy seas.
 
Conclusion of findings and recommendations for restoration:
In conclusion, in compliance with the mission of the Naval History & Heritage Command Detachment Boston which includes in part, “ensur[ing] material compliance and documentation with the historic requirements of [Constitution], maintaining [the ship] as close to its 1812 configuration as possible,” 19 [emphasis added by author] the gun port lids of USS Constitution should be as follows:
1. Adapt the half ports presently found on Constitution: A. Retrofit the upper half port so that the lid is completely removable, but so
that it can be secured in the port with bolts.B. Retrofit the lower half port lid so that the lid drops to 90° and projects outward from the hull of the ship
2. Substitute two single gun port doors on each of the two forward-most ports in the bows of Constitution
3. Retrofit the two aftermost ports, at the captain’s great/forward cabin with canvas, as per the sail plans and artwork depicting such configurations on Constitution, Congress, and President
 
 
There does not seem to be any indication of hinged lower half lids in place during the Guerriere fight. The receipts presented in Ms. Desy's essay suggest that those were installed afterwards. It may well be, however, that Captain Hull followed what appears to be the common American practice of having removable half lid stoppers on board. They would've (obviously) been removed for the battle with Guerriere. It may be that the lower half ids were not hinged and permanently mounted until later in the war - or at least not until sometime after the Guerriere battle. The research around the canvas covers along the captain cabin ports is extremely interesting. 
 
Fun stuff.
 
Evan

Goos afternoon, torn between lots of things today, F1 Race test match and Victory, so i have delayed watching the Race so that i can listen to the Cricket, Brilliant game
 
anyway - LOL subject to change the Gun-ports are finished, that for me is a big milestone, i have a couple of lanyards still to put away but the quarterdeck decoration still needs to be finished
 
so these might be the last few outside photo to be taken as she is going to be a handful to move outside as i start soon on the deck decoration, thank you all for likes and comments which have kept me going
 

not quite as much work done today, lost another of our wabbits so feel quite miserable but did make a start on the stbd side 

stbd side gunports
 
All lids removed apart from two - they dont want to play my game, some de bonder needed, or bigger gun-port removal tool
old lanyard pins removed, by drilling out
About 1/3 of new lanyards made, 
1.5mm holes drilled into hull to take the uplift tubes
will touch up paintwork before i start to put it all back
 
good to be back
 

the copper tiles took me 140+ hours - to be in a position where i was happy with them, I made lots of mistakes and found ways to correct them
 
few things i learnt
 
i used superglue,, but there are different formula's - i found the medium jel worked for me in the end,
ensure you have a good waterline
from the waterline i worked down about 14 rows and found from there i had a continual run of tiles which hit the waterline forward and aft, then worked from the keel up this ensured that that the gore line was hidden under the belly of the build
the stern up to the rudder post was a pain to get - so that it looked the same when viewed from there looking forward, this was because both side were not exactly the same
 
i used a thin strip of plastic on the waterline to tidy the tiles up
 
copper tape always was an option - i decided against this
i required to purchase more tiles
i would change the glue type next time to something light something like evostick - something that gives you time to move the tile around, and easier to get any residue off
 
hope this makes sense

sept 2011-280 hours into build, all gun ports middle and lower have been lined.
 
This was achieved using a simple built jig that allowed the linings to be put into the cut-out at a depth of 1mm from the outside of the hull, without constantly loosing then into the hull
 

Goos afternoon, torn between lots of things today, F1 Race test match and Victory, so i have delayed watching the Race so that i can listen to the Cricket, Brilliant game
 
anyway - LOL subject to change the Gun-ports are finished, that for me is a big milestone, i have a couple of lanyards still to put away but the quarterdeck decoration still needs to be finished
 
so these might be the last few outside photo to be taken as she is going to be a handful to move outside as i start soon on the deck decoration, thank you all for likes and comments which have kept me going
 

not quite as much work done today, lost another of our wabbits so feel quite miserable but did make a start on the stbd side 

Hello everybody and my thanks to all who visited and clicked on like, it's much appreciated.
 
Was not able to accomplish much today.  This thing, the deck torpedo launcher, is slow going, because of the painstaking detail work.
I soldered the tube section flanges and cleaned the little excess solder off with a small file.  So far I'm happy with them.
 
Next I had to fashion flanges for the aft and the front of the tubes.  I used some round brass rod of 0.3 mm instead of the square rod.  After I dressed them down they looked square as well.  I'm happy with them as well.  I didn't need a thick flange because the aft end is only for solderen the end plates to it.  The front flange is for a seal of the tube doors.
 
Talking about tube doors, I made two and used my oak mandrill to press them into a dome shape.  This is the same tool I used for the crew hatches and torpedo loading tubes, way back when.
 
Another reason why I didn't accomplish as much as I wanted to is that I was pondering on how to make the hinges for the tube doors.  Just sitting there and looking at the launcher and thinking.  I think that I have to make a few brackets from brass sheet stock for the stationary hinge tubes and solder them to the front ends of the tubes.  I would like to finish the front end first before tackling the aft end.
 
Also still pondering the deck side openings.  May have to buy another large sheet of 0.5 mm plywood or make my own plywood.  I don't need much if it's only for the doors.  That in itself doesn't bother me, I have made plywood before and it won't set me back much and besides, it's kinda fun.
 
Okay, I made a few pics for my own archive and like to show yuns what has been accomplished today.  It first look there doesn't seem any difference with the previous post but believe me there are about 5 hours of work involved.
 

This shows all the flanges soldered to the tubes with the two doors in front of the launcher assemblyThe small piece of tubing and the wooden dowel is what I used to bend the brass rods around for the flanges.
 

This shows the launcher assembly with the domed doors laid loosely on top of the tubes.
 

This shows the launcher assembly with the aft end closed off.
 
Cheers, 

Didn't spend much time in the shipyard today    Had to do some domestic chores, mow the back yard and trimmed a few shrubs.  Then some needed correspondence but was able to spend a few hours in the shipyard 
 
I'm still pondering the rework of the deck structure sides though but I started by removing the doors and cut down the lower side of the opening on the starboard side and removed some wood on the forward and aft ends.  Like I mentioned in a previous post this'll have to be an as I go project, slow and carefully trying not having to remove a large portion of the side plates.
Making the hinges for the doors will also be a REAL challenge now that I have very little access to the inside with the top deck closed.  All yuns please keep your fingers crossed for me.
 
I found that I couldn't install the pivot pin so had to drill a 1.7 mm hole through the top deck where the inboard rails meet to allow me to insert the pivot pin.  Well, I lucked out - again - in that the hole lined up perfectly with the hole in the hull
 
Next I started making the tube flanges.  The launch tubes are made up of four separate pieces that are bolted together, which is a rather obvious part of the launcher and can't be missed.
I had been thinking for days how to make these flanges but then I remembered I have some 0.4 mm brass square rods.  So, I bend them around a scrap piece of 10 mm tubing and finalized them on a wooden dowel to make them fit snug on the launcher tubes.  Lucked out again and am ready to tack solder them to the tubes.  This I'll do tomorrow afternoon after I have done some shopping for hardware and a set of earphones and a microphone.  I may have a problem with my iMac build in mic and can't talk with our kids via Skype.  So I'll try an external mic and see if that works.
 
After these flanges are soldered on I may have to dress them a little as well as cleaning up some of the solder.  I need to make two more flanges at one of the ends for the tube doors, I ran out of time and besides my eyes were getting tired.  He, they are also 80 years old, so what can you expect 
 
I took only two pics for my archive and sorry to say, I didn't make a running series on how I made these flanges, I figured y'all know how to do that.  Perhaps tomorrow, when I make the next two, if I don't forget.  
 
Okay, here are the pics and don't forget that they are still not soldered on yet but just loosely stuck on for the pics.
 

This shows all 8 flanges loosely placed on the tubes at their desired locations.
 

This is another view of the flanges stuck on the tubes.  Here you can also see part of the square brass rod at the top of the picture.
 
Cheers,

Thanks to everyone for visiting and your likes.
 
@ Michael: Thanks Michael, interesting indeed and a real challenge too.
 
@ Dave: Good to see you again and thanks for your kind words.  Well, yes, this is actual living history that goes with this build.  I was actually on this submarine in 1940 when my father took me on board for a visit.  Sweet memories.  Not too many people can add their own personal involvement with the models they are building.  Although EdT who's building a model of Webb's extreme clipper "Young America" gives us also a very detailed description of the ship, although not from personal experience - - - is that not so Ed  .
 
@ Popeye:  Thank you - thank you 
 
@ Pete48:  You are too kind - but thank you very much for your kind words.  I can say the same for your work, amazing!   I'll try my best to make it look as realistic as possible.  Just somewhat concerned about the deck rework though 
 
Cheers to all,

Well, as all yuns may have surmised - I decided to tackle the deck launched torpedo launcher.  I did make some progress today, at least I got the swivel or rotation plate with the swivel pin tube soldered and both the torpedo tubes soldered to it.  
 
Next will be all the other hardware that belongs on the launcher made and soldered to the tubes.  There is a lot that's associated with launching torpedoes as can be seen in the original photo.  
 
I think though that the biggest headache will be reworking the openings and doors in the deck structure.  It'll be a head scratcher for sure.  I may even have to remove some of the side plates and remake them.  But, such is the ways of scratch building with a lot of afterthoughts - - - of - oh, that'll be nice to incorporate - - - without first having the drawings or photos that came to me at a much later date.  But so what, I'm not shying away from a challenge and we'll overcome this one too.
 
But it still beats a total rebuild like Mark Taylor did and this too will end up looking good.  At least I'll do my best to work it in such a way that all this rework will be invisible, like it has always been there.  This area has been taken apart several time.    
 
Now for a few pics.
 

This is a copy of one of the several original photos from the Dutch builder I have on file.  Here we can see how much work is involved to make my model come close to looking like that.
 

This is a crude soldering jig for soldering the rotation table / base plate as the base of the launcher unit.  I still need to add a wooden disc blow it to allow the tubes swiveling outside the deck side.
 

Here I have clamped both tubes to the rotation table or base plate and centered, ready to be soldered to the swivel tube and the base plate.  
 

This is a heat-sink for when I have to solder all the parts to the tubes without having to worry that it'll fall apart.  I may not need it but just in case, better to be safe then sorry.
 

The tubes are now soldered to the base plate and put inside the deck structure for a look-see.  Hmmm, beginning to look like something 
 

Here I rotated the launcher to hit the forward and aft sides of the openings to see how much I have to widen the openings.  Fortunately not much, I'm lucking out here.  I also need to take into account that the closing doors of the tubes will add to the lengths. 
From here on in it'll be mostly trial and error with the rework.
 
Cheers,

Thanks everyone for visiting and your likes.
 
Hey Andy, thanks for the link and yes, I was aware of the anniversary and had plans to go but more important doctor visits prevented that.  Hopefully next year.  I did visit the USS Cod last year with my grandson and had a private tour by Paul Farace, the curator.  He was thrilled meeting the son of the Dutch Navy guy who was the official Quality Control officer on the O19 when she was build in Schiedam, the Netherlands.  Sjors and Anja live nearby.  My father sailed on her on all the proving runs and also to the Netherlands east Indies in 1939.
I'll add a few pics below for anyone who's interested in the story of the rescue of the crew of the O19 by the USS Cod back in July 1945.  
There is also a video on YouTube about the rescue operation. 
 
Sorry to be a little slow in spooling up to productivity after our visit at our daughter's in Moon Township, PA.  A lot of stuff to catch up with, like doctor visits, lawn and etc.
Today I mowed the front yard - - - again and after lunch helped Gwen put her office chair together.  She tried doing it herself and followed the instructions but had "massive" problems, her words  Sooooh, as a "good" husband I offered my assistance and the first thing I did was throw the instructions aside.  Men don't need no stink'n instructions - - -            I did it my way, which worked, of course - - - well, a little more muscle helped.     Gwen is rather limited in that department due to her carpel tunnel issue, poor girl.
 
Okay, so back to work on the O19.  I dug up a few pics of the deck torpedo launcher thingy and will do that next, wish me luck, it's all brass work.
 
Here are a few pics related to the USS Cod rescue operation of the O19 as Andy so kindly pointed out.
 

The USS Cod in the background with the O19 stuck on Ladd reef in foreground, in process of transferring the O19 crew.  btw,that's the O19 dingy you see.  It had to be abandoned.
 

A nice pic of the USS Cod.
 

This photo was taken just after the war ended when both crews threw a party, long to be remembered and cherished by them.  Both crews posed for their picture.
 

This is a composite pic of both crews with their ladies at the party to celebrate the war ending and rescue just after the war with Japan ended.
 

The reunion in 1997 at the USS Cod Memorial and Museum in Cleveland, OH.  These are the few men of the O19 crew still living in 1997.  They have now all passed away. 
 

This is a picture I took last year of the USS Cod conning tower with her war record on it.  You can see the number O19 on the con and a martini glass.  The martini glass is to commemorate that infamous party with both crews and their ladies. 
 

A picture of the USS Cod's battle flag.  Here too you can see the martini glass with the number O19.  The word below the double dolphins is in the Netherlands language and means "Submarine Service."
 
Cheers,

Hello all,
 
We are back home from a very nice visit with our daughter and grandson.  Obviously we had many domestic chores do do after the two weeks being gone but today I had the chance of actually doing some work on the O19 in the morning 
 
I finished the port propeller except for the final clear cote to protect the shiny copper blades.
 
I'm now contemplating the next project on the boat.  The biggest will be the deck torpedo launcher and the rework on the opening and doors.  The dingy will have to wait till the launcher installation is completed.   It's either that or work both at the same time, which is not really desirable though.  I like to work only on one thing at a time but we'll see.
 
Okay, here is a picture of the stern end showing both propellers on the shafts and they rotate when blowing on them.
 

 
Cheers,

Well - - - surprise, surprise, surprise - - - I did manage to get some work done after all.  
 
I remade the port propeller and salvaged only three blades, which is okay.  So, I remade the hub and cemented the three blades in it, all before lunch.  This gave the epoxy time to cure enough so I could repaint the hub and started polishing the blades.  It looks okay for me, they all track but still need to be balanced - - - you read John Lad??  
 
I also finished the three blades for the starboard propeller and cut the grooves in it for the blades.  They are actually ready to be cemented into the hub but - - -  Being busy tomorrow gathering "stuff" to bring with us to PIT, packing and still mowing the lawn I may not have time to log on to MSW.  But all yuns can do without me for a while    I'll be reading a lot of build logs while with the kids   
 
Okay, here are the pics of the three bladed propeller and again my thanks to Jan for this good catch, bravo!
 

This is the photo of the O19 on the ways and close to launch with the three bladed prop clearly visible.  It could have spit me in the eye, that close.
 

This shows the remade port propeller with THREE blades this time, looking forward and above.  It took me 2 hours to so 
 

Another shot looking aft.  
 

Taken from the side.
 
Cheers,

Hi Piet,
 
Very nice propellor.
As it is so beautifull, it is with great hesitation that I ask the question: are you sure that the props were 4-bladed props?
Some of the pictures suggest 3-bladed ones....
 
Jan
 
PS Perhaps I already gave this link before, but here are some nice pics of the loading of the mines. The number of peaople standing around suggest that loading was not completely trivial ...
http://www.dutchsubmarines.com/pictures/pictures_o19_loading_mines.htm

I continued with the port propeller today but didn't quite finish it.  I managed fitting all the blades to the hub in relative good position as far as all being at the same distance to the hub and fitting inside the space behind the prop bearing housing.  
 
It was now time to cement the blades to the hub.  I used the slow cure two part epoxy cement giving me the time to position the blades equally spaced, and being at the same distance to the hub and all tracking the same.
 
For that I used a small steel machinist square and a piece of wood.  Hey, sorry but no fancy equipment here and one has to do what one has available that works   Of course now Jud expects me to balance them too!
 
I put a small piece of ⅛ tubing in a piece of wood so I can set the prop hub on it.  As the cement was curing I performed the final adjustments to the blades and went inside the house to have lunch.
 
After lunch I started cutting out the blades for the starboard prop and scribed the outlines on each peace of copper using the blades from the port prop as templet.  I used my tinsnips to cut the material away on the outside of the scribe lines and then sandwiched all them together and clamped them at the root end with a small pair of vicegrip pliers.   This way I could see the scribe marks and the contour of the blade ensuring that all will be the same.
The rest has to be done on an individual base.
 
It's putting the twist and camber in that's critical.   The first thing I do is bend the root into a slight curve as a start for the camber profile.  Then I work my way up bending the blade into a slight curve mimicking the camber profile.   I then put the blade into my bench vice at the root end end, between two pieces of plastic to not mar the blades, and with a pair of duckbill pliers I bend a twist into the blades.  Right now all this is just guesswork by eye.  The final shaping comes when I start fitting the blades into the hub.  
 
Now I file more of the profile into the blades on the convex side and after I have one blade pretty close to being to my satisfaction I use it as the standard, marked, and place the next blade in top to check the shape of that blade.  It may need more or less twist or more or less curve.  Adjustments are done with a piece of ¾ inch dowel and a small hammer and the duckbill pliers.
As y'all can imagine this takes a lot of time and it doesn't matter wether I have done one already that came out okay, this is a new model to shape.
When I'm happy with the twist and curve I use a few fine files to do the final shaping for the blade profile.  Polishing will come after the hub is painted and then we can cement the props to the shafts. 
 
Well, that's about how I did the port prop and expect the starboard one to work out okay as well, keep fingers crossed.
 
Okay, here are a few pics from today's efforts, hope you enjoy.
 

Here you see the propeller mounted to a small piece of ⅛ inch tubing in a block of wood.  I placed a small machinist square next to a blade and rotated the prop to see which blade needs to be adjusted.  I lucked out again and all were very close 
 

Here I used a small wood strip from the junk pile that was just the right thickness and tracked each blade for their correct tracking position.  I already determined that they were all shaped the same so checking in just one location for my purposes was sufficient.  Here too I lucked out
 

After the epoxy cement had cured enough I started to clean the blades and made a beginning of polishing the blades and painting the hub red.  After the paint had dried I had to put it on the boat - - - of course.   I am thrilled at how nice it looks, just like the real boat!  Final polishing will be done after the prop is balanced and then given a coat of lacquer to keep the copper bright.
 

This is a cloe-up, using flash.
 

Another close-up without flash.  It shows a little more detail.
 

Here is a shot looking alongside the hull aft, using flash.
 
Cheers,

The going is slow making the propeller blades.  I can't use a grinder because it clogs up and they get hot is a second holding with my fingers.  No, can't use clamps either, can't see the scribe marks and loose sight of the shape.  They are egg shaped and equal on each side of the centerline, the slightest deviation shows up like a sore thumb.  But that's okay, I have the time.  Nobody is standing behind me with a whip and I get paid by the hour 
 
Okay, I re-routed the dingy boom cables first thing this morning.  Thanks again Amateur Jan, good catch!! 
 
I managed 2 more blades for one of the propellers but they need more work.  I purposely made them larger then called for.  I'd rather file away metal then having to start over when they turn out too small.  You can take away but can't add on metal 
I also added ⅛ of an inch of wood to the hub to bring the blade field a little more aft.  That way I can have slightly longer blades and they won't interfere with the hull and outer dive plane supports.  Even so I had to grind away some material on the latter ones.
 
Hopefully I'll have one prop finished by the end of tomorrow.
 
Well, here are a few pics for yuns to view and don't be shy with your constructive criticism 
 

This is for Amateur Jan.  It shows the corrected rigging of the dingy boom.  Now, the load cable is still not running the same as on the drawing because I did not put a pulley below deck in the dingy compartment as it's supposed to be.  I had to run it through a hole in the deck on the starboard side of the aft con.  I could have put a 3 mm pulley down below but then I would have a problem demonstrating the works because the string would pull with a too large an angle.  Remember that this was also an afterthought.  If I had planned this from the get go I would have certainly done so.
 

This shows the four semi finished propeller blades loosely stuck in the hub. 
 

Here is another shot taken from the front and slightly above.  Here we can see just a hint of the profile.  The metal was not thick enough to machine the profile in the blades.  That would have been a devil of a task to do by hand.  For this model's purpose I think this should suffice.  
 

Here is another view but more from straight above.
 
Cheers,

Well, let's see - - - what did I do today, oh yeah, drove to the eye doctor for my annual check but it was a no show and had to reschedule it for after the 4th of july.  Gwen and I will be in Coraopolis, PA visiting our daughter and grandson for two weeks - - - yippeeee.      We are leaving next week Tuesday.  Gwen suggested that I bring my big-screen iMac with me then I'll have all the pictures in my archive to show Troy, our grandson.  He's totally impressed with his great grandfather and what he's done. 
 
I had plenty of time before lunch and started with the propellers.  I first made a card dummy prop blade to use as a template.  Transferred the outline to my 0.6 mm copper plate with a steel scribe.  Then, using my jeweler's coping saw with a metal cutting blade, cut them out.  Yep, it's a slow process but using tinsnips would curl the metal too much and I want the curl to be my way, not what the tinsnips give me.
 
After I had the rough pieces in my hand then I used the tinsnips to cut away the parts outside the scribed lines.   Then I used a file to file it to the scribed line and cut a small "pins" into the bottom of the blade to assist it in cementing the blades to the hub.
 
I then bend the curved profile in the blades by hand and eyeball.  Remco send me a few drawings of the blades and their profile but by using thin copper I cannot actually carve blades to match those on the real boat.  However, I think they are shaping up quite nice.  I did some extra filing to at least give it some of the profile.
 
I carved four small diagonal grooves in the hub to receive the blades and drilled the holes for the "pins." The hubs are oak and quite hard so I used a small broken drill bit as a router in my Proxxon hand tool which worked great.  I try-fitted two blades and it seems to look okay.  
So far I only made two blades for one propeller, six more to go.  
The filing left quite a few marks on the copper so I'll have to do some serious dressing and polishing but that's all part of the process and fun.
 
I still need to reduce the length of the blades so there is still a lot of filing yet to do before they fit. 
 
Here are a few pics I put for my archive.  Enjoy.
 

Here is one of the hubs with two blades.  They are already pre-bend into their pitch, there is still some bending and twisting to be done before I'm happy.  This gives you an idea of what I am talking about above.  I still need to drill the pin holes though.
 

Here I have propped up the hub on a piece of copper tubing and pressed one of the blades in a groove.
 
Cheers.

What I should have added yesterday is one more reason for me having the gantry boom hanging kinda low is that I need to run antenna wires over the top of the gantry.  Normally, when loading a torpedo the boom is pulled up to a higher angle, of course, to get a good loading angle on the torpedo.  I don't know yet if I'll change things later on to show the torp actually being in the process of sliding into the loading tube below deck.  That would really be the cat's meow but then I would also need a bunch of characters on deck handling the operation and that's not in the plans - - - so far    But one never knows - - - - - -
 
Today has been very slow in the dockyard.  I have been mulling things over to what project / model I should tackle next.  I have been procrastinating the propellers for many months now and think it's time to cut the mustard - grab the bull by the horns - and make the props.  I'm really a little apprehensive tackling this difficult project.  But then again, I have enough copper sheet so I can botch-up a lot of blades.  
 
As I was thinking and thinking I made a proto shell for the deck gun.  I wanted to see what was involved making a bunch to fight off those large and heavy guns from Sjors and Mobbsy and perhaps a few others who want to do battle             
I know, they need to be a little smaller and the grenade more pointy but the idea is there.  At least I don't have to make powder bags, water mops, stampers and steel balls 
I have not filled the shell with black powder (yet) so it's still a dummy ((like me  ))
 
One thing I see is that I really should use brass for the shell casing, copper won't do.  But it's just a prototype.
 
Thanks everyone for visiting and your likes, it's really very encouraging.
 

Here is the prototype deck gun shell standing on the deck next to the loading breech.  I still need to add the outlines of that on the gun.
 

This is a plastic boat from my Thermopile clipper kit to hang it temporarily on it's boom.  I was tired of seeing a socket wrench hanging off the hook.
 
Cheers,

Thanks everyone for visiting, your comments and likes 
 
@ Remco:  Quote - "Is the little diagonal support arm installed on the wrong side? Now the load pulls on the arm instead of compressing it, putting a lot of tension on the bolts keeping it in place."
 
Yes, it's in tension.  It's welded to the "skinny" post and bolted to the deck structure below the deck surface.  Bolts in sheer are very strong and should pose no problems.  From an engineering point of view I'd rather have it in sheer anyhow.  This is also in accordance with the drawings.  Thus your suggestion is not what I was asking.  No price for you.    
 
@ Jan:  Quote -  "The lower 'winch' is rewired in the last pic, compared to previous ones (the cable does not return to the point it started from) .
I still don' t quite understand how the systemn works: the upper 'wire has two fixed endpoints, and two fixed points were it connects to that thing in the middle.
IN thepic the line is straight, so the boom can't go any lower than now depicted. However, the amount of cable that can 'remocved, by tensioning the lower pulley is very limited, so the upward movement of the boom is also very, very limited. When upward and downward movembet are som limited, what' the use of this constructioj over a rigid boom?
 
Hmmm, rewired or wound differently, could be.  That would not alter the operation of the "come-along" ratcheting winch though.  Looking at the pics again, the feed cable coming from the "come-along" runs through the small pulley that's Bolted to the lower attach point of that triangular piece and then goes back to the aft side of the "come-along" , which is hooked into that swivel bracket on the top of the post.  This allows the boom to move up or down through the action of the "come-along."  The cable or chain that runs from the top attach point of the triangular thingy is hooked to the top of the swivel plate that's attached to the top of the post.  It's supposed to be a safety cable or most likely a chain.  The cable that runs from the triangular gizmo through the large pulley is attached to the top of the post.  As we crank the "come-along" or ratcheting crank, one way or the other it allows the boom to move up or down BUT we must first disconnect that "safety" cable or chain.  I used a cord for that but it should be a chain so its length can be changed by linking the links at their appropriate position.  Y'all know how that can be done with chains, right?
Yes, it was very difficult modeling all this to its proper scale and it's indeed impossible to make the movements exactly the same as the original.  However, it does not require much up and down movement of the boom.  My model of the ratcheting winch is way over scale and that throws everything off.  
Once the torpedoes were loaded they just unhooked everything and stowed the parts inside the con.  The boom itself was secured to a bracket on the deck.
 
The dingy boom I had to rerun the cables because I routed them in the wrong holes in the deck.  I didn't retake the pics.  Eagle eye John hit that one on the nose but that was not what I was referring to.  So, no price for Jan either   
 
@ Pete48:  Thank you but you didn't take a shot at finding my error   
 
@ Jud:  Thank you very much.
 
Okay, what I was looking at after the gantry was all completed and tried to load a torpedo I found that the gantry was too far away from the loading tube below deck.  I placed the gentry at a position as indicated on the drawings but forgot that I had to extend the access hatches further aft then the drawings show.  I installed the loading tube at a to slight of an angle.  Therefor my error.  
 
So this afternoon I managed to pry the gantry gently loose from the deck without doing any damage   
I moved it to where the drawings tell me to put it and now I can load torpedoes.  As Jan pointed out there is very little movement possible the way my model shows but, as I explained, my "come-along" ratcheting winch is way over scale making my arrangement really not workable.  That's the problem with trying to make things workable at this scale.  If I had made this ratcheting winch to scale it would have to be a static gizmo of perhaps only 2 mm but then the entire gantry assembly would be static with no movement at all.  So, this is the best I could do under the circumstances.
 

This shows the forward gantry in it's now location.  I'll have to readjust the winch a little to tighten everything up.  I might try making a sling for the torpedo so I hang it on the boom in a loading position.  There may have to be some additional rework to the rigging but that'll have to wait till later.
 
Cheers,

Thank, you, thank you, thank you for your likes and visiting my dockyard.  All yuns are in my thoughts.
 
Hoi Remco and thank you for that big compliment, I'm overwhelmed and     I just wish that all you folks could actually visit and see the real McCoy.  Most of the times photos can make errors stand glaringly out and at other times they can make a model look pretty good but I'm thrilled with the way she's taking shape.  Even Gwen, with her VERY critical eye, can't find much to critique about, other then some paint touch-ups,she just ask questions on what all those gizmos are and do.  
 
The dockyard was closed Friday and Saturday.  Yesterday I did a lot of necessary research, some on health and some on other issues.  However, I opened the dockyard this morning and felt all your presence so I had to be extra careful in doing things correctly   
 
I actually attempted to install all the forward gantry parts and complete it.  The attempt was successful, even after having to mow the front yard!       And write our daughter a happy daughter's day letter.
 
After everything was completed and tested and admired my handywork, I noticed a grave error!!               I won't tell yuns what it is but like to open it as a quiz.  The first one who can point it out winds a BIG prize 
 
Here are a few pics I took for my archive and add them to this post for your viewing pleasure.
 

This shows most of the parts in a state of assembly to the port-side forward gantry post.  The boom elevation "come-along" has a "cable" wound around its drum and that long "cable" end dangling down is the fixed cable for the "come-along" and is fastened to the fwd part where the hook is.  The small clothe pin is holding one of the thimbles that is actually in process of being whipped.  It'll hook into the swivel plate aft and on up on the gantry post.  The "come-along" is also hooked to that swivel plate.   The "cable" thats being held by the large clothe pin will be rapped around another thimble with a hook that'll be hooked to that canted part right above the swivel plate brackets.  The pics below will show the completed gantry.
 

Here we see the upper "cable" thimble being whipped.
 

A side view of the completed gantry installation.  There is a little slack in the come-along but that can be taken out by winding the cable a little bit more on the drum.
Okay, I might as well post the question here, can anyone tell what's wrong with this installation?  The torpedo is just stuck into the loading tube below deck and may guid you into finding the problem.  
I had to hang some weight on the boom tackle to keep everything taught.
The black line coming out of the deck torpedo opening is to lower and raise torpedoes.  In real life this cable goes to an electrically driven drum.
 

Another shot looking aft.  
 

Looking forward.
 

Looking straight aft.  Don't look at the mess on the build board, just too lazy to keep cleaning things up and still needing some of the stuff.  Hey Remco, busier yet!!
 
Cheers, 

This is such a great build! Take it from a guy who spent 20+ years riding submarines and writes books about them. Just a real bit of fine craftsmanship.