KenW

Every time I look at your log, I am more impressed.
Amazing skill!

Every time I look at your log, I am more impressed.
Amazing skill!

Every time I look at your log, I am more impressed.
Amazing skill!

Every time I look at your log, I am more impressed.
Amazing skill!

Thank you, Keith A, Paul, Jacques, and Keith B, for your comments and support!  And thanks to all for the "thumbs up".
 
 
I’ve begun work on the Pelicans’ four gallows frames and this post describes some of the preliminary work.
 
The purpose of these frames is to hang the heavy tow blocks slightly over the side of the boat at about 4 to 5 feet above the main rail. The blocks function as tow points for the trawl and are also used to deploy and retrieve the gear with the main winch.
 
The screenshot below shows one of the frames outlined in blue. The green lines point out three braces that structurally secures the frame to the boat.
 

 
 
 
There are no details of these frames provided on the plans, so I drew up my own from a few basic dimensions I pulled from the plans and from photos of period boats.

 
 
I took the drawing apart to provide cutting templates for the individual components. The main legs are Evergreen styrene “H” columns, and the top plates were cut from .010”(.25mm) styrene sheet.

 
 
The pieces were arranged on the assembly templates and solvent cemented together.
 

 

 

 
 
There are several different types of brackets required for each frame and I made them all from brass. After drawing them in CAD, I began by slicing brass sheet into strips of the required widths. In the past I’ve made strips using shears (which curls and deforms them), or by scoring and bending until it fatigue breaks. I’ve even used a guillotine style paper cutter that in certain situations works fairly well. But these methods are not very precise and with some of these strips being quite narrow (.073”(1.8mm)), I wanted to try something a little different.
 
I used a stainless steel sheet (cutting surface), a carpet knife, a stout straight edge, and 2” wide double sided masking tape (sticky on both sides.)
 
The secret sauce is the heavy duty masking tape. One piece of tape holds the brass to the stainless and a second piece holds the straight edge to the brass. The tape holds everything very tightly in place to the extent that the straight edge is quite difficult to remove and reposition for the next cut. One could easily bend and ruin a thin metal straight edge doing this.
 
The setup below is ready for slicing off a quarter inch strip, and as you see from the score marks in the stainless, I’ve already cut several strips of various widths.
 

 
 
The carpet knife is sharp, hard and stands up to abuse like this far better than a hobby knife blade. And due to its geometry, the blade is less likely to chip off, but needless to say I wore proper eye protection. I found repeated light cuts produces a better edge than trying to blast through it with only a few. The brass here is .008” (.2mm) thick, so it only took about seven passes to free the strip from the sheet. The passes feel sticky until the stainless is reached at which time the blade glides easily through. This does leave a bur along the cut edge, but a few swipes with a fine flat diamond file licks them right off.
 

 
 
First to be made are the six bracket pairs (12 total) that secure the gallows frame bracing to the whaleback or pilothouse structures.

 
The strip is stuck to the template with two-sided cellophane tape and the fold and cut lines are scratched on.

 
 
The bracket is clipped from the strip with flush-cut diagonals and the edges are eased with a diamond file.

 
 
A bolt hole is drilled through with a pin vise.

 
 
The piece is placed into a photo etch bender.

 
 
Positioned and squared up.

 
 
Then bent.

 

 
 
The gallows have brackets at their feet to allow them to tilt out over the rail.

 
 
Eight pairs (16 total) of these will be needed.  Holes for the bolt shanks will be drilled later.

 
 
A pair of brace brackets on the back side of the frame.

 
 
A total of eight brackets are needed. 

 
 
Each frame gets two chain cleats.  Soldered phosphor bronze.

 
 
The rod that extends from the center of the cleat will be clipped to length once installed.

 
 
And the rod loop which the tow blocks will hang from.

 
More prep work to be done on these frames, but that's it for now.
 
Thanks for looking.  Stay well.
 
Gary
 
 
 

Haha Keith... no not nearly as tedious and mundane as those treenails. The frame construction sounds a lot worse than it really is. It's actually pretty easy. I do two sets of frames, after work each day. Maybe I'll bang out 6 or 8 sets Saturday and the rest Sunday. As for the treenail thing, the bottom of the bottom is complete. I still need to treenail the top (interior) of the bottom timbers. I'll do that as I inch along the bottom installing frames. 

I modified my molding form and it works much better now.
This is the process that I'm using to form the frames...
 
 I cut the 1/32" strips to an oversized length and loosely bundle them together with wire ties. I give them a 15-minute soak in really hot tap water while weighing the bundles down with a knife. 

I then remove the wire ties and lay the strips atop my form, centering them via eyeball. The strips are well oversized so there is room for error when centering. The fixture will hold two sets of frames at one time. No glue has been added to the strips. That comes later. I'm bending nothing but loose, wet wood.

I then add the follower atop the strip bundles and center it up via eyeball. With everything centered, I start working the follower down by hand until I can't move it any further... then I use a vise grip to finish the job and compress the strips tightly between the two forms.




I then bake the form and wood in the oven @ 210 degrees for a while, until mostly dry, then let everything come down to room temperature.

When cool, this is what I have. I tape the bundles together and put them aside. I won't do anything else to them until I have all of the boat's mid-sections of 18 sets of frames bent. I'll then return these bent frames to the form and start gluing them up. 

I now have three sets of frames bent and two more sets in the oven. I'll be back after I get the remaining 13 sets of frames bent and ready for glue.
 
 
 

I added some CA and kept it clamped for a bit. There was about .060" of spring back on each side after un-molding. I'll make a new mold to account for this spring back and then bang out the rest of the frames for stations #13-#30.
 

Keith B, Paul, Chris, Druxey, Bowwild, Glen, Keith A, Andy, Marc and Rick - I thank you very much for the compliments and support.  And thanks for all the "thumbs up" and to those watching quietly. 
 
A brief update.
 
The wave break diverter that I installed in the last post has been removed and replaced with one of a different design.  The original one is something that might have been installed on a metal hull boat, but never on a wooden fishing vessel of this era.  The Pelican’s plan set shows a side view of the diverter, but no details or even a top view and what I ended up building was simply wrong.  Further research showed the wave breaks on these wooden draggers were built directly onto the deck and not constructed in a shop and then bolted on.
 
The images below show the before and after.
 

 

 
Creating the new wave break was the easy part.  Fixing the deck after tearing off the old one was the hard part because chunks of the “rubber membrane” tissue came off with it.  Heavy sigh.
 
Moving on, I built the galley stove stack and the only info I have on it is the outboard profile.  I lifted dimensions from the drawing but placed an alternative cap on top instead of the conical diamond shaped one shown on the drawing.  The lower half of the stack has a double wall which allows hot air to travel up between the two pipes and exit at the beveled cap where the outer wall terminates.  This helps protect the crew from burns when brushing against it.

 
 
It's made from brass and two modified plastic pieces from a Grandt Line boiler stack.

 
 
Solder and glue.

 
 
Once I knew how it would stand above the deck, I soldered on a deck collar.  Then blackened, oil paints and pigment powders.

 
 
A hole was cut through the deck and the stack inserted.  It still needs a support bracket off the doghouse and some butyl or tar at the deck.  But deck wear patterns around it and deck weathering in general will be done after all other objects and details are in place.  Meaning, not for a while.
 

 

 
Thanks for stopping and take care.
 
Gary

Greetings Fellow Modelers,
 
Thank you Valeriy for your kind words, and thanks to all for the "likes."
 
 
Here’s an update on the Pelican’s whaleback.  First, the toerails along the P/S edges of the deck are cut to shape then heat bent.
 

 

 
 
Next, the ventilator and its mounting/rotation flange got some color.  I used a product on the cowl from AK Interactive that I’ve not tried before called True Metal.  This paint was recommended to me by @TOM G and it works great although I haven’t yet mastered how to apply and polish it for best results.  It’s a wax based colorant similar to Rub’n Buff, but whereas that product is more of an architectural hardware restorer, True Metal paint is produced for the model hobby and comes in a dozen or so colors that modelers can use.  An interesting product that so far, I like – thanks Tom.
 
The cowl below is a mixture of TM “steel” and “iron” applied with a colour shaper.  Almost looks galvanized.

 

 
 
A beveled coaming/plinth is added.

 
 
The “wave break” is a diverter whose purpose is to keep water coming over the bow from flowing aft onto the main deck. It’s made from .03” (.76mm) sheet styrene which scales to about 1.4” (36mm) thickness.

 
 
It’s dirtied up a bit and holes were drilled at each bolt-down location. The unit was temporarily located on the whaleback and selected bolt-down holes were drilled through into the deck.

 
 
Leaving some of the bolt shanks provided a foolproof way to affix it without concern of getting glue smear on the deck surface.  Bolts are Grandt Line 5113.
 

 
 
The stemhead fitting is brass with a scale thickness of about .5” (13mm) and the eyes are flattened wire.  One of the wires will be clipped flush on the backside and the other will penetrate the wood stem.

 
 
A port side deck ladder is made of .035” (.9mm) brass rod and finished with Jax Flemish Gray.

 
 
The ladder receives two styrene mounting brackets and weathering pigment.

 
 
Two 40” (102cm) tie off cleats will be primed then painted with True Metal on top.  I drilled into the bottoms and glued in stubs of brass wire for deck attachment.

 
 
Then all of the above was glued to the model.

 

 

 

 
 
Trim pieces were added here and there.  All of it is basswood except for the half-round styrene on the right.

 
 
A wider strip of half-round styrene was added as a rub rail just below the deck surface.  This strip also secures the rubber membrane flap that folds over the deck edge.

 
Thanks for stopping by for a look.
 
Be safe and stay well.
 
Gary

Enjoy your vacation and rest up.
Cheers.

Sorry - I can't fine the capsquares on the HMS Winchester page or the Ship Model Cannon page.
Cheers.

I vote "yea" for 1:48 capsquares!
They look amazing.
 

Gary, some of the things you do are beyond my comprehension! Especially when it comes to technologies that bring details closer to reality.
Excellent continuation of excellent work!

Hi, a small update on this thursday…
Frank.

Paul, Keith, John and Dan, thank you for your kind and generous comments and to all for the "likes".
 
 
3D modeling seems to be popping up everywhere in scale model building so it’s time to give a try. I’ve always enjoyed the process of hand scratching detail parts, and I have no intention of giving that up. But I’m also aware of my limitations and previous projects have suffered from some ham-handed constructions and 3D modeling will help solve this problem.  So, the Pelican will be a mix of printed and handmade details.  I designed all the printed parts used in this model specifically for the Pelican.  It is solid modeling done with FreeCAD.
 
I created the files but didn’t do the actual printing myself. I don’t see myself using a 3D printer enough to justify owning one, but that could change as consumer units continue to improve and drop in price. Anyway, I uploaded all my STL files to a commercial printer (Print a Thing) and the parts were delivered in less than a week. The total cost for these printings was around $33 US including shipping, tax and setup fees. I ordered extra copies of each part thinking some might be deformed due to their tiny size and fragility, but this was unnecessary. These are likely all the parts I’ll be printing for this model unless I run into trouble scratching something.
 
So here they are and just as I received them. No cleanup has been done to them.  Stereolithography (SLA), opaque white resin.
 
Below are the deck mounted winch cable guides. It would have been an effort to scratch one of these from styrene let alone four of them identically. I left off the bolt-down washers and hex heads because they wouldn’t have printed well in this scale. Instead, I’ll place injection molded bolt heads from either Grandt Line or Tichy Train.
 

 
 
Here they are on an actual dragger (circled on the right).
 

 
Above on the left is a different cable guide under one of the four gallows frames.
 

 
 
There are three different warping/gypsy heads. 
 

 
 
I have about 14 cleats of several different sizes. The two largest shown here are monsters (40” (102cm)) that bolt to the deck on top of the whaleback. I didn’t realize cleats were made that large. This is another example where making two precisely the same would be a challenge – as least for me it would.
 

 
 
The main winch cable drums, brake drums, pinion and bull gears. I only need one each of the gears, but I created different width versions because I haven’t thought through the details of the winch yet. The spooling drum diameter is very large in relation to its flanges, and I did this to reduce the amount of cable I’ll have to wind.
 

 
 
And finally, the air intake cowls. The forward cowl has an integral mounting and rotation flange, but for the engine room intake I created the flange separately so I can adjust the height as need be. It’s the same cowl with a longer duct pipe. I added hex bolts to these flanges and with the naked eye they look alright, but under magnification look more like rivets.
 

 

 

 
My initiation into 3D modeling design was a positive experience and only left a few minor scars.  It is rewarding to create parts unique to a project that could have been a real pain to make or at least to make well.  There is certainly a learning curve with 3D modeling and at times I was perplexed.  But eventually all the loose marbles in my head found holes to drop into and the light bulb turned on.  It’s easier than you might think.
 
Now back to the boat model.
 
Thanks for looking.
 
Gary
 

Just  a small update.
 Today I redesigned the cant frames and installed them, I’m pretty happy with the results, although more sanding is required, the initial sanding just revealed it’s not a complete disaster and I can move on lol.
 
now I’ll continue aft towards the stern where the real fun begins. 
 

Hi All, I haven’t posted any updates in awhile, I’ve moved, had a job change and the whole ball of wax. In that time I’ve made some major modifications to the original design of Portland which includes frames as seen in the painting. I’ve decided to move forward with building that prototype alongside the current POB version of Portland as I plan to offer both versions of the model, one for those who don’t like sanding tons of char and the other for those who don’t like planking.
The two models are very similar above the main wales but that’s where it ends. Below the main wale the structure is completely different made up of many more parts. I’m currently testing the framing and the support structure that holds it, results are good so far, I plan to move to the forward frames tomorrow where things get a little more tricky with multiple angles involved.
 
Below you can see the support structure going together along with the test frames. 
I’ve blacked out the MDF support structure so it will not be seen once the lower frames are all in place, or at least harder to see. I’m currently building the frames out of Swiss pear with the keel, knee and any planking AYC. The deck structure will be the same where the beams are pear and all planking a lighter AYC. 
more updates to come soon. 
JJ
 

Sounds to me like you have to get your son(s) involved.
My boys are extremely strong and work really fast.
Nothing like youth.
 

Thank you, Keith, Glen, John, Paul and Druxey for your kind comments and to everyone for hitting the "like" button.  It is great to have your support!
 
 
A quick update.
 
Before continuing on with the whaleback, I backtracked and completed some basic boat work aft of midships that I should have done earlier.  This work includes the covering boards, the main rail and deck planking.  My process is not explained here because I’ve bored you with all that in a previous post when doing the forward deck.
 
One item worth mentioning is the rail around the stern that I laminated from eight thin strips and a significant amount of PVA.
 

 
 
The deck has been rough sanded but will need additional smoothing, scraping and coloring in due course.  A scale 26” (66cm) diameter brass ring frame has been installed to receive a lazarette cover and also a 12” (30.5cm) ring frame for the access plate above the rudder stock.

 
 
The break deck sits 8” (20.3cm) higher than the forward deck and will eventually be fitted with an 8” extension cap.

 

 
And a couple of overall photos.

 

 
So, with that done and off my mind, I’ll be returning to the whaleback for detailing.
 
Be safe and stay well.
 
Gary

After reviewing the height and placement of the gun ports, I finally decided to create the location of the keel.  This keel is only for planking purposes.  Once the hull is planked, this keel will be sanded down and the proper keel attached.  It is not yet glued on to the hull. It’s amazing how a photo shows where more sanding is needed.  Also one of the counters broke and needs to be fixed.
 
 

After a (too) long period of absense because of long hours work and family (again), here a small update of spirketing / bulwark planking portside. Nothing special, but to let you all know I am at it again for of a much longer period of activity from my side hopefully!
Frank.

Greetings friends.  Thanks to all for your visits, the kind comments and the "likes".  It is great to be able to share a hobby with such folks as you and I hope you all have a great 2025.
 
@Keith Black - please forgive my negligence in thanking you for your holiday wishes.  You are very thoughtful, and I sincerely wish you and Maggie a happy and healthy new year. 
 
 
Whaleback Continued
 
Well, I haven’t accomplished a great deal on the Pelican since the last posting a month ago, but here’s what I have got done.
 
Continuing on with the bow whaleback, I’ve enclosed the structure with side planking and roofing. But before I was able to do that, I first needed to install the main rail for it to sit on. The rail is made of two wood strips laminated together which together scale to 9” in width by 3”. Even though this lamination creates a seam down the rail’s center, it will eventually be covered buy additional rail, caps or in the case of the whaleback, planking.
 
I cut profiles of the forward rails from corrugated cardboard and glued them to a larger flat piece of corrugated. The wood strips were glued together with PVA and pinned against the cardboard profiles.
 

 
 
They were then attached to the boat.  In the photo below the aft wall of the whaleback is already in place but getting it in there was an unanticipated fight.
 

 
 
Before the rail, the section simply dropped straight down in.
 

 
 
After the rail was attached, one end of the wall had to be fitted around it and then the other end swung into place.
 

 
 
But the opposite end could not swing into place because it couldn’t clear the bulwark stanchions no matter how I tried to bend and wedge the wall past it.  I ended up breaking the wall into two pieces, fitting the opposite end in and then gluing it back together. The break can be seen below in the vertical siding.
 

 
 
Next, the P/S side planking.
 

 
 
Each was made of three individual planks edge glued together, then cut to shape and finally heat bent.
 

 
 
Four roof/deck beams were bent and cut.  I added gussets to the longest two so the bend can’t relax.
 

 

 
 
The roof is outlined in red in the drawing below.  Note that it overhangs the front of the companionway doghouse and extends to (and partially surrounds) the forward mast.
 

 
 
This roofing structure was made off the model and in two pieces. The main section of roof/deck is scale 3” x 2” boards glued to paper but not to each other.
 

 
 
The doghouse section is made of thinner material of the same width. The flat overhanging portion is edge glued and will eventually have visible underside structure.
 

 
 
The sections are glued to the boat with generous amounts of PVA and the main roof is trimmed and sanded flush to the side planking. Wood that was bent to match the slight arc of the roof was attached to the square cut boards to extend the overhang and provide structure for the fascia and other trim that will be added in the future. Below, the ends are still untrimmed.
 

 

 
In the era this boat was built, there were three ways wooden boat roofs were typically waterproofed. One was to mop hot tar or pitch on it. A second method was a covering of canvas tarps treated with oil-based paints. And finally with sheets of thin rubber membrane. I don’t know for certain how the Pelican’s roofs were done, but I’m going with rubber for its durable and also because the other two methods seem antiquated this late in the period.  But what do I know?
 
I began by painting everything flat black. Once that was dry, I smeared a 50/50 water/PVA mix on and then laid down three strips of tissue paper (gift wrapping type) before it had a chance to dry. To be accurate, I actually did this in three sections. I painted on glue to the port side and then laid a single tissue strip over it. Then I did the starboard side and finally a strip down the middle and over the doghouse. I might have been able to lay it all in one go, but this process gave me the time to fuss with the tissue paper and obtain the consistency of wrinkle I was after.
 

 
Letting it sit overnight, I then painted the tissue a charcoal black acrylic followed by a faint and heavily diluted wash of dirty white pigments. The waist edges were then trimmed off with a razor blade. Some of the roof boards telegraph through the tissue and the overlapping seams are obvious yet don’t look out of scale to my eye. This image also shows the quarter circle roof corners that I didn’t think to photograph when I installed them earlier.
 

 

 
There is much more to do on this whaleback - many details and finishes - lots more.
 
Thanks for taking a look.  Be safe and stay well.
 
Gary
 
 
 

After reviewing the height and placement of the gun ports, I finally decided to create the location of the keel.  This keel is only for planking purposes.  Once the hull is planked, this keel will be sanded down and the proper keel attached.  It is not yet glued on to the hull. It’s amazing how a photo shows where more sanding is needed.  Also one of the counters broke and needs to be fixed.
 
 

After reviewing the height and placement of the gun ports, I finally decided to create the location of the keel.  This keel is only for planking purposes.  Once the hull is planked, this keel will be sanded down and the proper keel attached.  It is not yet glued on to the hull. It’s amazing how a photo shows where more sanding is needed.  Also one of the counters broke and needs to be fixed.