18th Century Longboat by Dan Vadas - FINISHED - 1:100 scale - BOTTLE - using most of Chuck's Practicum

[Dan Vadas]

Hi all,

 

A while ago I'd intended to build a Real de France in a bottle, but I've changed my mind on that as it's going to be a present for my girlfriend and she wasn't keen on the ship. I've since deleted the topic I'd started.

 

So I've gone with her preference, which is a model of Chuck Passaro's 18th Century Longboat in a much smaller scale (1:100). It might be just a tad easier than the R de F . Here's a pic of the finished article (Chuck's, not mine) :

 

 

I have a very nice (empty ) bottle of Dimple Scotch Whiskey which will be suitable, as I'm intending to build with a lofted mast and oars. The triangular shape of the bottle will accommodate both these features nicely. The bottle is 200mm long (including the neck) by 90mm wide/high

 

Here's a pic of a scale pic of the boat in the bottle, just to make sure it fits . These two pics are about the same size as the real thing will be :

 

 

  Danny

[Jack12477]

Pulling up a chair to watch. This sounds intriguing !

 

BTW I like the finished model in the first photo

[SawdustDave]

Talk about challenges! GOT'S to see this Danny.

Dave

[gjdale]

You don't believe in making things easy do you Danny? This I've just got to see!

[Sonofagun]

I have every confidence that you will do a brilliant job (as usual)'

I would advise not to partake of whisky to calm your nerves during your build as you may

end up emptying another bottle and have a compulsion to build another (ship in  a bottle) and end up in a

vicious cycle!  Just kidding. I am looking forward to you facing the challenges of this build!

Good luck, Danny!

Bryan

[GLakie]

Think I'll pull up a barrel as well!   

[Canute]

Me three! get in on the ground floor of a master work.

[Dan Vadas]

Thank you to the Peanut Gallery for your support - this should be fun .

 

Here's the first step. I carved a Plug for the hull, which I'll plank the same way I did the Cutter for Vulture.

 

I'm assuming that a 26' Longboat will be proportionally thinner amidships than a 18' Cutter (i.e. they would both be about the same width) - there would be no need for extra width, as one man per thwart would still apply. I've made the hull as wide as will be possible to fit into the neck of the bottle, but still wanted the hull to be as long as possible.

 

Final dimensions of the hull are 72mm long, 20mm wide and 12mm deep :

 

 

 

  Danny

[Dan Vadas]

The Keel is made from English Box in three pieces. I've cut in the rabbet, and also glued on the Apron :

 

 

 

 

 

To give you an idea of how small this boat is, here's a pic with a standard size needle threader for comparison :

 

 

  Danny

[mtaylor]

[GLakie]

Very nice work Danny. Especially on a scale so small.  I'll bet building the little cutter for Vulture came in handy for keeping those "miniature tooling skills" honed. 

[Canute]

Kowabunga, dude. That's small.

[Dan Vadas]

Thanks Mark, George, John and Canute .

 

I'll bet building the little cutter for Vulture came in handy for keeping those "miniature tooling skills" honed.

 

 

Sure did George, I'm building this one using virtually the same techniques.

 

I've started the planking of the hull, using 0.4mm thick Castello. If you think that making a longboat less than 1/2 the size of the one I built for Vulture would be easier - think again .

 

Those "12 inch" nails I'm using to wedge the planks in place are actually only 12mm long :

 

 

While waiting for glue to dry on the planking I've made the Mast and Booms. The mast tapers from 2.0mm to 1.0mm, and the small boom is 0.8mm in diameter :

 

 

I also cut the shoulders into the ends of each boom :

 

 

  Danny

[Chuck]

Such a neat little project.!!!!      

[Dan Vadas]

Thanks Chuck .

 

And now for something SMALL - the Deadeyes.

 

These are 1.6mm in diameter, and each has three #80 (0.25mm) holes. I turned them on the lathe in sections of 4 or 5, held them in a Pinvise to drill them and then turned them around in the vise, cut them off the section and sanded the "sprue" off :

 

 

 

 

Two down, six to go.

 

  Danny

[mtaylor]

Just "wow" Danny.  So tiny.  I guess whatever you work on next will be huge by comparison.   

[DSiemens]

Great choice in bottles Dan.  Dimples are some of the best.  Your work even at this scale is outstanding.  She's going to look great.

[dgbot]

I cannot wait to see to done Danny, WOW!

David B

[Dan Vadas]

Thank you Mark, Daniel and David.

 

Great choice in bottles Dan.  Dimples are some of the best.

 

 

The idea is to fit a mast and oars Daniel. The shape lends itself really well for this. BTW - I'm glad I didn't have to buy the bottle - I saw one in a liquor shop last week for $70.00. Though it WAS full .

 

The first pic shows how I held the deadeyes for drilling:

 

 

Nine deadeyes (1 spare which I've already needed) next to a couple of Chuck's 1/8" (smallest) blocks :

 

 

A bit more work while waiting for the last of the planks to dry - I've made the four Chains. I used 0.25mm brass wire (the bottle was "wrapped" in it) which I silver soldered and blackened. I also drilled a 0.25mm (#80) hole in the end of each for the "bolt".

 

 

 

  Danny

[GLakie]

Amazing what you're doing on such a small scale Danny! 

 

BTW - I'm glad I didn't have to buy the bottle - I saw one in a liquor shop last week for $70.00. Though it WAS full .

I don't think you'd have any problem recruiting help to drain it. 

[Dan Vadas]

Thanks George, and no I don't need any help with drinking the contents .

 

I've finished the planking. It turned out even better than my 1:48 scale cutter :

 

 

There were no problems at all when I pulled it off the plug. Nothing   needed cleaning up inside :

 

 

 

  Danny

[DSiemens]

On the dead eyes did you cut and drill them one by one or drill three deep holes into a dowel and then cut it into slices? Either way your method us giving me ideas.

[Dan Vadas]

I drilled them one at a time Daniel, any more and the drill runs off line.

 

However, I kept them all on the stock I'd turned to make fitting them into the pin-vise and parting them easier. The last one was a bit of a pain to clamp.

 

  Danny

[_SalD_]

Dan, great work so far.  I was wondering how do you keep the planking from sticking to the wooden plug while gluing it in place?

[captainbob]

Nice hull.  This should be a fun build. 

 

Bob

[Nirvana]

Dan,

That hull looks so fragile, this is so beautiful done!

[Dan Vadas]

Thanks Sal, Bob and Per.

 

I was wondering how do you keep the planking from sticking to the wooden plug while gluing it in place?

 

 

I used furniture wax on the wooden plug, and glued each plank by wiping the glue over the seam instead of trying to glue the edge.

 

To prevent the hull from spreading while fitting the ribs I made a jig. I had that problem with my Cutter - this will do the job nicely :

 

 

 

Here's a tip for edge sanding very small or thin planks - another jig :

 

 

  Danny

[gjdale]

Love that last jig Danny - brilliant in its simplicity and clearly works very well.

[IgorSky]

WOW Danny!!! I just now saw your log.

I am delighted, and I look forward to the continuation!

 

Best Regards!

Igor.

[Dan Vadas]

Thank you Grant and Igor.

 

The ribs are made from 1mm x 0.45mm Castello. I wet-bent them all before fitting, and used hair clips to keep them in place until they dried. The tops will be trimmed later.

 

 

 

 

I've also made the fore platform :

 

 

  Danny