HM Cutter Sherbourne by jonny.amy - FINISHED - Caldercraft - Scale 1:64 - Kit Bash

[jonny.amy]

Hi All,

 

This is my thrid kit build on MSW, and I'm taking on the HM Cutter Sherbourne from Jokita/Caldercraft. This will be my second "proper kit buid" on here as I started the Mantura/Sergal HMS President kit, and gave up on it due to the lack of decent intsructions and plans included in with the kit.

 

My darling girlfriend (known as the Admiral) exceeded all expectations and bought me this kit for our anniversary in March. As you can all imagine, I was very very happy with this, and ended up maxing out the credit card on designer handbag(s) for her!

 

 

So why start now?! In the last month or so, I have finished my build of HM Mortar Vessel Convulsion from Caldercraft, and was planning on joining a few other members on here to start a goup build of Sherbourne, but the Tennancy on my flat is up at the begining of August, so I was feeling a bit dubious about transporting the kit if we (the Admiral) decided we should move on to another property. Fingers crossed that won't be the case, but this is almost a preemptive strike to ensure the model is as safe as possible IF we do decide to move. Fingers crossed that we don't - I like our little flat!

 

If you're interested in my Convulsion build, then click the link below.

 

http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/8593-hm-mortor-vessel-convulsion-by-jonnyamy-caldercraft/page-1

 

So a kit bash? Because this is a special kit for me, I'd decided to make it is a little different! The main differences in the build from the kit will be:

• Replace Walnut planking layer with Basswood
• Replace Wales with Ebony Strips (if available)
• Treenailing of outer hull planking (to water line)
• Treenailing the Deck & Edge Planks
• Addition of Fife Rail around the Mast
• Rigging of sails (including all running rigging)
• Addition of Ships Boat
• Crew Figures (5 sailors max. 3 officers max.)
• Possible rebuild of the windless
• Replace White Metal cannon stock with Brass (white metal castings are terrible).

So I'm about to buy the Basswood from Hobbycarft here in the UK, as they seem to be the cheapest source of Basswood strips I could find online.

 

I will be using the book "Super - Detailing the Cutter Sherbourne: a guide to building the Caldercraft kit" by George Bandurek as my guide for the Kit Bash.

 

I hope you all enjoy my journey in to the unkown of Kit Bashing, and tag along if you fancy it!

 

Cheers

Jonny

[Canute]

Jonny, I'll pull up a seat and follow along. I like these cutters.

[jonny.amy]

Thanks Ken,

 

I've made quite a lot of progress so far - before this weekend, I had been dipping in and out of the kit for a few weeks, and had done things like cut the rabet line, buid up and fit the false keel, and faired the bulkheads to the required andgles. 

 

This past weekend I got the topside formers on the model and the false deck and decided to "put the first few planks on"...... I got the hull planked by 8pm last night! The size of the model means it's an absolute joy to work on.

 

Any way I'll do a photo update tomorrow as I've got a bit of sanding to do tonight!

 

Cheers

Jonny

[mikeaidanh]

Looking forward to this one and will follow with interest and may put this model on my "to do" list.

 

Good building,

 

Mike.

[mcpwilk]

Will you clinker build the hull like cutters of the period?

 

Mike

[jonny.amy]

Mikeaidanh (Mike),

 

Thanks for stopping by. I hope my build inspires you to get get cracking with you Sherbourne.

 

Mcpwilk (other Mike),

 

I hadn't considered the clinker hull (because I was sure I would be able to get thin enoung Basswood), but due to the fact I can only buy 2mm thick basswood, I will think about it! If I went down the easier Carvel planking route I would want to thin the basswood strips by 1mm, but the model does lend itself to a Clinker hull.

 

Any Ideas of how I can rabet each plank to make the clinker/shiplap shape?

 

Cheers

Jonny

[jonny.amy]

These are the profiles of the planking that I would have to achieve....

 

Shiplap Lapstrake

 

Clinker lapstrake

 

 

 

Anybody have a suggestion on how to get that profile without the use of large power tools (as mentioned earlier, I'm in a large 1 bedroom flat with my girlfriend, but there is little space for useful power tools like routers).

 

Cheers

Jonny

Edited May 18, 2015 by jonny.amy

[tkay11]

Great to see another Sherbourne build! And, like you, I've just decided on adding sails, so I'm more than interested in your progress.

 

There was a long discussion on MSW1.0 as to whether the Sherbourne might have been clinker built. The consensus at the time was that it might well have been not, but it was agreed that either way would fit the period. It's really up to you -- but no doubt others more knowledgeable than I will chip in with their opinions!

 

I'm sure you'll have noticed Gregor's, Dirk's and Kester's outstanding Sherbourne builds on this forum -- they have lots of good discussion, demonstration, advice and hints.

 

I too have used George Bandurek's book, and found it very helpful indeed -- although my build has differed from his in a few respects. I'll be interested to see what you decide about the topmast and the windlass.

 

I left out the fife rail on mine because of the clutter fore of the mast, but Kester says there are very good reasons for it! I'm not at all a sailor, so I'm probably wrong in that decision!

 

You might want to look at the pictures I took of contemporary cutter models at the NMM at Chatham on this forum as they provide some very interesting details.

 

I'll be travelling for the next three weeks, so may not be able to follow your build until I return. So in the interim, have a good bash!

 

Tony

[jonny.amy]

Tony,

 

I have read, and I'm following yours, Gregor's, Dirk's, and Kester's build logs, and each build has it's own twist on Sherbourne which is very interesting.

 

I won't be following George Bandureks book religiously, I'm using it as a spring board for kit bashing idea's!! Haha

 

I hadn't considered what to do with the topmast, but having scanned through your topic, I'll consider changing it to match the contemporary models. Certainly look in to changing the direction of the Topmast - this is in fact in keeping with pilot cutters and smaller vessels of the period and later. From my quick internet search, these images popped up showing the forward facing top mast.

 

 

 

The Fife rail is pretty much an additional rack of belaying pins for halyards, sheets and topping lifts. Looking at Pilot Cutters (circa 1890 onwards) the belaying pins are moved inboard from the cap rails to the Fife Rail to ensure a clear path around the deck, to centralise all halyards/sheets/lifts to the "mast base", and subsequently (from a structural mechanics point of view - by the way I'm Civil & Structural Design Engineer) send all of the loadings from the various ropes to the strongest part of the ship.

 

It also means all sail handling is conducted from the mast, and the "roller winch" you build on your model would be used to assist in the manual handling of the sails/spars as well as pre-tensioning and aiding release of the ropes whilst loaded.

 

So I'll build the Fife Rail and Roller on the model, but might have to be creative with the positioning of them as the deck will be quite busy! I'm miles off these sorts of decisions at the moment, so I need to focus on planking for now.

 

Keep up to date whenever you can.

 

Cheers

Jonny

[ccoyle]

Sherbourne was also the first kit for which I took a crack at super-detailing.  I built it before MSW 1.0 even existed, so I don't have a build log posted, but there are photos in the gallery here.  I used the Anatomy of the Ship volume on HM Cutter Alert as the basis for much of my work.  I chose to replace the kit rig with a period-correct rig that included an extra spar used to spread the foot of the topsail.  I think you will find that stepping the topmast abaft of the mainmast is also correct for the period.  I was pretty darn pleased with my completed model, but I have to admit that there are some superb examples here on MSW that make me wish I had done some things better and/or differently.

 

Good luck!

[jonny.amy]

Ccoyle, your Sherbourne is beautiful! You've done a fantastic job there!

 

I'm looking in to the topmost arrangement, and I'll make the decision when I get closer to the time.

 

I've had a go at clinker planking on a quick frame I've knocked up tonight. It's going to make tree nailing a bit difficult, but I'm up for the challenge.

 

Cheers guys,

Jonny

[jonny.amy]

 

[egkb]

Alright Mate.. Am lookin' forward to this.. !

 

You seem to be fairly advanced already    just remember what the guys were saying about locating the Gun Port Pattern (bulwark template ) thingy at the right height for the Aft Most Guns, especially if your planking (deck) is a bit thicker than the stuff supplied with the kit..

 

I reckon you'll be finished before I even lay the keel   

 

All The Very Beat Bud

 

Eamonn

[jonny.amy]

Eamonn,

 

I'll be using the kit supplied wood for the deck planking - purely to save a few pennies here and there. I built up a test gun for the aft most gun port (which I'll add photo's of later on), and theres plenty of room around the barrel for the 0.5mm increase of height for the deck. I'll be adding an edge beam/waterway out of the 2mm thick stuff, but it will be sanded to match the thickness of the deck planking.

 

Haha I'd hope not, but having had the Caldercraft experience with Convulsion, I've learnt from the all the mistakes I made on her to "refine" this build process! Also getting in 'the zone' and spending a few coffee fueled hours working away really helps. For me, this is the easy part, the Kit Bashing bit is going to be a challenge, and has already proven to be!!! But more on that later!

 

I'll post my photo's of progress later on, but for now it's back to designing Steelwork Connections for external platforms on a Oil and Gas Production module.

 

Cheers

Jonny

[Stockholm tar]

High Jonny,

 

Good to see another 'Sherbourner'.   My log won't help you much, I'm afraid, with the early stages of the build – since I didn't begin it until after the hull was finished.

 

As regards the clinker v. carvel question Chris Watton, the kit's designer, has stated that she was carvel built, which may have been true since she was designed and built for the navy, where carvel building was the norm. She was actually designed by Sir Thomas Slade – who had, just a few years earlier, designed the Victory no less. You may have noticed however, that I decided to go with clinker planking and of which there are a few shots in my log. I did this since that was the way most cutters were apparently built, albeit in civilian yards, until around the early 1800's – and I was also curious as to how it would work out.

 

It is actually nowhere as difficult as it looks, if you want to go that route, and looks really good when done. Basically, I used the walnut planking supplied (although I guess you might want to change it for something else) and starting at the keel overlapped the planks by about a third, working up the model to the wale. You'll have to taper the planks of course, particularly at the bow, and I sanded the inner lower edge of each to make a good fit with the plank beneath. I also used scale plank lengths, which would be about twenty five feet on the actual vessel, and staggered the joints for historical accuracy. The shorter lengths were also easier to handle and keep straight. A reasonable amount of glue was used in the gap behind the overlapping planks, making sure of course that it didn't leak out onto the outer surface. You may have to use a few 'stealers' at the stern end – and you certainly won't need any power tools!

 

Historically, the topmast being aft of the lower mast is correct for the period, and I believe it was not until the 1780's that it was fitted on the fore side. Being aft of it apparently obviated the need for backstays. There were differences with the yards too, there being four, and their hoisting methods were different. Chris Coyle has already pointed to the Anatomy of the Ship series book on the cutter Alert of 1777, which I also found of great use, and which contains info on these differences. Of course what you decide to do, fitting wise, is up to you.

 

Eamonn has alredy mentioned the neccessity in getting the gunport strip dead straight, and making up one of the guns. My larboard side one was slightly too low at the aft end, and I had the devil of a job to get the two aftermost guns to fit through the ports! One other thing I would mention, is that it's a good tip to cut through the frame tops at deck level, by about a third, before you plank the bulwarks. These are supposed to be removed later using pliers (ouch!) and this operation will make it that much easier – besides being a lot less stressful on the nerves!

 

Anyway good luck – and I'm sure we'll all help where we can.

[jonny.amy]

Kester,

 

Thanks for the really useful information you have provided. I will keep the Topmast in the original orientation, especially as it is accurate for the period.

 

I have made the decision to go down the Clinker route as it looks beautiful, and I've seen your build and I was very impressed with the aesthetics of the clinker hull. I started clinker planking on the starboard side of hull last night (5 planks in total) - gave it a go by pinning the planks down with a 1mm overlap. They've been tacked down with small spots of CA glue for now, so they will be easy to remove if necessary. It was a lot easier than I was expecting, but stealer's will be the next challenge. I spoke with my Grandfather last night (he was a boat builder for most of his life) and he gave me a few tips for planking the hull.

 

I fitted the gunport strip with the test gun I built up from the kit, and everything seems to be straight and true, and fitting nicely. Which is huge sigh of relief! I also used my Dremel to cut the bulhead uprights, leaving about 0.5mm of plywood to support it. I'll break these off tonight when I get home from work!

 

Cheers

Jonny

[DavidM]

When 'in the zone' you really make rapid and excellent progress Jonny.  Sorry to hear you aren't able to wait for me and Eamonn to start our Sherbourne build but I'm really looking forward to watching, and learning from, your progress.

All the best,

David

[jonny.amy]

Retrospective Photo Update No. 1

 

I don't have many pictures of the keel assembly, or the bulkhead assembly, as it was done over a few weeks as "sneaky" little bits to work on whilst waiting to kick off the build. The photo's below show the false keel, bulkheads, false deck, and the plywood keel all assembled.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next I built up the Test Cannon for the gunport strip. This was much antisipated, but proved to be bit of an anticlimax, as most of white metal castings were of terrible quality, one cannon iscompletely disjointed with a 1.5mm overlap between cannon halves (a photo will come in due course). I will email Jokita in the week and ask for new set of guns to be sent through - preferably brass.

I had an idea to drill out the centre of the gun to a depth of 10mm, which worked up to about the depth of 8mm before the gun got too hot to work with in my fingers. I think it looks better like this, but I'll look to replace the cannon barrels later on.

 

I also noted how small the 3 or 4 pounder guns were, and can be seen in the photo's below. The scale figure is 25mm (without hat) and the barrel isn't even at waist height of an average sized man.... Must have been shorter back then?!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With the cannon built, I soaked the gunport strip in water for 1 hour and bent the former around my pot of pins and pegged it down over night. Having left the formers overnight, I pulled them off the pin pot and lined them up with the cannon at the stern gunport. Pegging them in place, I dabbed them with CA glue on the bulkheads and left them to dry for an hour.

 

 

 

 

The gun ports line up nicely in the bow and stern, and hopefully will be strong enough when I cut out the supporting bulkhead uprights.

 

Round 2 of the Retrospective Photo Updates to come later!!

 

Cheers

Jonny

[jonny.amy]

David,

 

I was looking forward to the Group Build, but I wanted to ensure the model was safe if we have move house. To be honest, I'm doubting we will move house when the tennancy is up, but it's our Landlord decision - we live 40 minutes outside London by train, so if the Landlord has another tennant in mind who is willing to pay more then we are then he/she can ask us to leave. That is the situation I'd like to avoid, so fingers crossed that will not happen!

 

Haha yeah I get in to the zone fairly quickly. I grab a drink (beer, cider, wine or coffee), put on some music (usually Rock and Classic Rock), and settle down to a few hours work. Although since my back operation, I've not been able to do stints on the model that are too long, my back starts cramping and I need to stretch it out and walk around.  

 

Cheers

Jonny

[jonny.amy]

Retrospective Photo Update No. 2

 

First Layer of planking...... All of you who have build a Caldercraft kit before know that the first layer of planking is done with 1mm thick Lime planks.

 

When I started building President (late 2013) I bought a big rectangular decorators bucket capable of holding 15 litres of paint/water (approx 4 Gallons), which I use in the early stages of my build as my plank soaking tub. The bucket is about 70mm shorter then the planks supplied with the kit, meaning a natural bend is forced in to the planks when submerged in the water. The planks are soaked for 24 hours (plus) until they are pliable. After this soak, I can bend them through 180 degrees and the planks won't split. The planks never leave the water until they are needed! It makes planking very easy.

 

 

So I decided to paint the areas around the deck opening's matt black so the Plywood keel and bulkheads wouldn't show through after the build was complete. At this point Lucy (the Admiral) asked me "if this would be my last kit for a while"? To which I replied, "I don't know darling, I would like to build another kit...", pulling out my iPhone I show her Steve Priskie's build of HMS Snake on YouTube, telling her I'd like to a similar thing (basically meaning I want to build HMS Snake next)! At which point we discussed the pro's and con's of building another model, and also discussed the aspects of the model Steve Priskie had included in his HMS Snake build, such as Spar Deck/Hold under the false deck. To which Lucy suggested I do the same. I told her it was too much work to completely remodel the interior of Sherbourne, but it was possible to add false decking under the hatches to simulate the decking below. The following photo's show the false Spar deck.

 

 

 

The support block was made from some rough cut Balsa block (10mm thick) cut to a 45x45mm square and split down the middle. The planks were some 4mm wide Basswood I found lying around, and the caulking was represented with the tried and tested (and sworn by) method of permentant marker on the edge of the plank.

 

The next series of photo's show the planking of the hull. I've not been terribly neat with the first layer of planking because it will never be seen, and any gaps can filled with wood filler!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

First Layer done, it was time to scrape on a load of filler, wait for it to dry over night, get up, go to work, come home, take the bins out, wash dishes from previous night, cook dinner, eat, wash up, sand down the hull, go for a cigarette, wash the hull off with damp cloth, mock up clinker hull, sand down the hull, wash off again, sand down again to get nice and smooth, wash off, cigarette, put the washing on, watch a bit of tv, sand a bit more.

 

After that I decided to try the clinker planking for real (by this time it's 10.30pm and I should be in bed), and cut the first 5 clinker planks (from the keel upwards) to the correct sizes and pinned them in place thinking I would leave it at that..... But my excitement got the better of me, and I glued the planks in planks.

 

I'll post the Clinker Planking photo's tomorrow aft I've matched the planking on the Port side of the hull to Starboard.

 

Cheers,

Jonny

 

[DavidM]

Having seen photo update 1 and 2, I totally agree with Eamonn in that you will have finished your Sherbourne (and probably started HMS Snake) long before we've completed our Ballahoos!!  Having said that, you've inspired me to get a move on with my current build so I can start my Sherbourne before too long!

Kind Regards,

David 

[jonny.amy]

David, I had the day off on Friday, and spent most of the last weekend working on Sherbourne! I've clocked about 32 to 40 hours in the last 4 days on the model!!! Doh!!!! 

 

Hahaha I don't know about that!!! Bu don't rush to finish your Ballahoo, enjoy it! I enjoy working on these models, and the Admiral can't pull me away from them!! Whilst I was building Convulsion I stayed up well past my bed time (to about 2.30am) just doing odds and sods on the model! I got in a fair bit of trouble for doing that!! Haha I just get so engrossed in it! I'd sell my soul to do this for a living!

 

Cheers,

Jonny

[jonny.amy]

Well I completely over estimated the number of Basswood planks I would need for this model! I ordered sixty 600mm lengths thinking I'd need that many.

But I forgot the hull is under 300mm so I've got more than enough Basswood to build another 5 Sherbourne's!!

 

Oh well! I've evened up the planking on the starboard side of the hull, and have got planks 6 and 7 on each side. They are following the lines of the hull nicely, but as I'm coming around the waist and the stern the planks will need some spiling to fit nicely.

Overall it's looking pretty good so far!

 

Cheers

Jonny

[tkay11]

Just arrived in Bangalore and have a short spell of internet available. Great to see the progress. Re the 3-pounders, there is a set of drawings for the Armstrong 3 pounders in the armaments section of the ship modelling resources pages on this site.

 

I'll see if I can pop in again later this week.

 

Tony

[jonny.amy]

Morning All,

 

Clinker Planking Update......

 

I recieved my basswood package yesterday, and realised (as stated above) I had bought far too much of the stuff for this model, so I have a surplus of basswood for the next few models I'll work on, if I can get the Admiral around the idea of another build! Might sratch something up? Who knows?!

 

I also realised the stock I bought was 1mm wider than the original 5mm wide planks I started planking with, so I picked up the phone, spoke with my Grandfather (the ex boat builder) and discussed the implication of the of the wider planks. He told me it wouldn't be a problem and the boats he has built in the past have always had thinner planks towards the keel to accomodate the shape of the stern. Mini heart attack over! The next time I am ordering stock at work I'll have the sizes of the materials scribbled down somewhere for reference.

 

So last night I evened up the planking on the starboard side of the model to match that on the side. I then soaked the lengths of basswood to make them pliable. I noticed that they take in the water very well, and become flexible enough for use in about 10 minutes. The wood that has been soaking for longer gets very springy, and doesn't hold its shape very well unless it is given a bit of persuasion!

 

The following photo's show the progress I've made so far.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My next step will be planking round the counter and evening up the planks so they are not so 'rounded' at the waist of the ship as can be seen in the 11th photo. I've attached a pdf of the two planks I need to cut to even up the 'dip' along the waist of the hull (fattest part). I'm assuming it will be a case of inventive spiling and maybe the use of a few stealers, but I couldn't fingue it out last night, and scrapped 2 planks by trying to make them fit!

 

Clinker_011.pdf

 

Any suggestions?

 

Cheers for now.

Jonny

 

 

 

[jonny.amy]

Morning All,

 

I have a question on fixing's of the Clinker planks. Would the planks be pinned in place with tree nails, or would they use Iron or Copper nails to hold the planks down?

 

If the planks are treenailed, are they nailed with one treenail, or more at the frame? The same question goes for the iron or copper nails.

 

And last question, if I decided to use Iron or Copper what would be the best method and material to use? I'd like to show the head of the nail like shown below in the photo!

 

 

Cheers

Jonny

[jonny.amy]

Hi All,

 

I will post a photo update tomorrow. I got planks 8 & 9 on both sides last night, with plank 8 being a spiled plank. I'll hopefully get a few more on this evening before I have to go out.

 

Cheers,

Jonny

[jonny.amy]

Another thought - Wales on a clinker planked ship..... Are they required? How do they fit on the ship in relation to the clinker planking?

 

I'll be getting to that stage soon guys, so a quick responce would be greatful!  

 

Cheers

Jonny

[mcpwilk]

Looking very good so far. I built my cutter with a clinker hull out of basswood (http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/gallery/album/668-hm-cutter-andromeda/). Personally I find clinker building easier than carvel. Good luck with your build.

 

Happy modelling,

 

Mike

[jonny.amy]

Mike,

 

Thanks for the kind words! I've never clinker planked a model boat before, so it's a steep learning curve for me! My method of doing 2 planks a night seems to be working well, but I had to spend my night doing other things last night!

 

I see in your photo's that you clinkered up to the wale and then carvel planked the topsides. Am I correct in thinking that is the way to do it?

 

Cheers

Jonny