Dirty Dozen Abalone Fishing Boat by xken - Finished

[xken]

I finally decided to saw out the letters for the name after being unable to locate a suitable alternative for both "DIRTY DOZEN" and home port "CAYUCOS". First I printed a paper pattern via the plans and spray glued it to .012" brass sheet. Following is a long sequence of cutting them out. This is where a bench pin, magnification and thinking ahead to cut the letters out. I used a 0000 size saw blade and drilled holes when needed.

 

 

This shows the hardest letter to cut out and using the parent material and drilled hole to your advantage to be able to hold and rotate while sawing.

 

 

 

Once the letters are cut out each must have all the edges cleaned up with a file.

 

 

Once the paper is removed the front face and edges need to be cleaned up with the files again.

 

 

Here they are primed and painted ready to apply to the transom.

 

 

I used 1/4" tape lightly tacked to the plans and added tick marks on the tape for each letter. I then applied the marked up tape correctly located on the transom at the proper dimension down and centered left to right.

 

 

Here the home port letters were cut from .005" aluminum that was spray glued to 1/64" plywood for support while sawing out. These letters are 1/4" high.

 

 

Here is the finished names in place. They came out much better than I was anticipating.

 

 

I hope this helps others when they get into a situation like I did not being able to find letters with a little thickness. The bow names and fire extinguishers will be done with decals once I get the paper.

 

Next to do the instrument gauge faces.

 

 

 

 

 

[Jim Lad]

That lettering really looks first class, Ken.

 

John

[Omega1234]

Hi Ken

 

Those letters - seriously nice!!!!

 

Chers

 

Patrick

[captainbob]

Nice job cutting the brass letters, but since they are painted, why not make them from plastic sheet?

 

Bob

[kurtvd19]

Because the man is Mr. Brass.

 

Kurt

[xken]

I downloaded images of gauges and in Photoshop re-sized them to 600 DPI and then reduced to the sizes needed. I then printed them out on Photo paper the cut a group of gauges and skived the paper in half to have thinner material to work with once the wet coats of Matte Finish dryed. I then cut and fitted each gauge image to a bezel. I then added white paint very carefully to the bezel and used the wet paint as an adhesive to hold the gauge image in place. The image was pressed into the paint once placed with tweezers using a damp Q-tip and pressing straight down making sure all edges were flat and in place.

 

 

 

Here is a close up.

 

 

Once the gauges were set I added 5 minute epoxy to form lenses as I did with the compass. Just a little twinkle for the eyes.

 

 

 

She really looks first class, Ken.  At 1" to the foot, is it worth trying for labels on the extinguishers?

John

 

 

John, here are the fire extinguisher labels for you. With a magnifying glass you can read the instructions. The artwork was made as described above.

 

 

 

I received 4 beautiful abalone shells for the base so I will order some decal material to make the names for the bow and work on the base until it arrives. Soon I will be splitting my time between building and book writing. 

[Tigersteve]

All I can say is wow! You are not going to want to give this one up! :-)

Steve

[Jack12477]

WOW ! Does that ever look real! Fantastic job, Ken!

[CaptainSteve]

Ken. We've all seen the real boat. How about posting some pics of your build, instead !!

 

[Jim Lad]

Absolutely top drawer work on the gauges and extinguishers, Ken!

 

John

[Omega1234]

Hi Ken

 

Outstanding work!

 

Cheers

 

Patrick

[xken]

Nice job cutting the brass letters, but since they are painted, why not make them from plastic sheet?

 

Bob

 

 

Bob, the issue was one of strength, I was concerned about the web in the center of the "E" breaking with another material. If you look close the width of the web is very near the same width as the saw blade. As for the aluminum I initially was going to use polished aluminum; but after cutting out the letters I could not get an even finish so I just ended up painting them. Even with the softer aluminum I had to glue the sheet material to plywood for extra strength when sawing.

[captainbob]

Thanks Ken.  Did you anneal the brass before sawing the letters?

 

Bob

[xken]

Bob, no annealing would make it softer and more difficult to cut. It is cleaner cutting when left half hard and also easier filing the edges as well.

[captainbob]

Thanks again.

 

Bob

[xken]

Bob, I just got back from having a chat with the owner of the WindWalker, his last name Gillespie. He shared that it was a Grand Banks Schooner modeled after the Merganser; not sure if that is a name of a schooner or a class. He suggested a book by Chappel about schooners with a great deal of drawings. Her length on deck is 66' 6"; width is 18' with 9' draught. She is now an albacore fishing boat and will be heading out when the season opens. He said it is a dream to sail on the open ocean; "you can walk away from the wheel come back in fifteen minutes and only need a very slight adjustment to be back on course." 

 

Could not spend a whole lot of time since he was having breakfast; but he did inquire if I was the guy that took a lot of pictures a while back and I replied that I probably was. Apparently, the Harbor Master showed him security camera footage of me in action.

 

Let me know if you need anything else. 

[captainbob]

Thanks, Ken.

 

  I thought she had been a sloop but at 66' a schooner makes more sense.  I have Chapelle's book and will have to look for the Merganser.  The problem is that with my present build schedule it will be at least three years before I can get to laying the keel.  But this will go into the file for the Wind Walker.

 

Thanks again.

 

Bob

[xken]

Sounds Great just glad I could be of some help. I know what schedules are all about; have a great day! Ken

[xken]

I received only one of the two figures I ordered today. I also wanted a sitting figure which I guess is out of stock. Communicating with the company now for options. Anyway here is the standing figure which will need a little scruffing up to make a fisherman but it now gives the boat a sense of scale. He is painted good colors to go with the boat but needs a salty hat.

 

 

I also finally connected with the actual boat builder who built the boat in 1967. We had a great conversation about the boat and it's details and he really enjoyed it. He is also a wealth of information on the local history and boat building. He related that be built 12 abalone fishing boats and that this was one of the last ones built. I have arranged that he and the president of the maritime museum meet and have him relate the oral history for the museum before all the information is lost. He moved here in 1948 and his father and he built fishing boats. No plans were ever used started only with length, width and height and purpose of the boat. They used 2 layers of 1/4" marine grade plywood glued together with staggered joints that were glued and nailed with copper nails peened like rivets to secure the joints. The hull was laid up upside down and covered with Fiberglas then turned over and inner hull built up. No two boats were ever the same but a few were similar in design. 

 

I think we both had a great time talking about the boat and boat building in general. It also turns out his sister married a guy named Dick Foran from Oregon which is where they live. My last name is Foran, what are the odds? He also lives only three streets away from me in the same housing track only down the hill from me.

 

Here is a picture of him with the model.

 

 

 

[Jim Lad]

What a great experience, Ken - and an excellent idea to record some oral history while the information is still available.

 

John

[dvm27]

Good stuff, Ken!

 

That figure looks like he'd be more at ease on a yacht, holding a martini.

 

What's next for you...back to autos?

[xken]

Greg, next I need to update my book with a chapter on using brass in ship building and then after that back to the Constitution.

[xken]

I took a break from writing and decided to start on the dive helmet and go the extra mile for the Maritime Museum adding the two figures but I am still waiting for the sitting one to arrive along with window glass for the boat. The sitting figure will have the suit on with the helmet perhaps sitting beside him.

 

I studying pictures of the helmet shape and details it finally hit me where I had seen the kind of shape before; the end of file handles. I found an old file handle that was the perfect size and cut it to length after milling a 1/4" hole in the end to receive a 1/4" aluminum bar as a work handle for holding.

 

Once the bar glue set I chucked it in the lathe and stated to core the inside out down to the end of the aluminum bar. I then located all the window holes drilled and sanded them to each size and then finished the coring process using the window edge thicknesses for reference. The wood shape was then finished up smooth with sanding and filing.

 

 

I then turned the helmet ring and shoulder ring to index into each other and test fitted them over the standing figure I have.

 

 

Next I cut all the window frames with an inside shoulder to hold the window glass.

 

 

Next I added the exhaust valve device with turned and formed parts.

 

 

Next I painted the helmet with Copper Foil paint having masked off all the brass elements.

 

 

Next came the faceplate again turned with a shoulder to receive glass like the windows and offset hinge drilled for a 1/32" pin and locking receiver. Here the hinge half is test fitted into window frame. 

 

 

Following is a series on fabricating the wing nut to lock the faceplate against the frame.

 

 

 

 

Here is the helmet finished to this point and awaiting the glass to show up as well as the sitting figure. Then to try my hand at working Sculpty over the resin figure with a dive suit. 

 

 

Now back to writing.

[Jim Lad]

Excellent 'hard hat' diving helmet, mate!

 

John

[Omega1234]

Hi Ken

 

Unbelievable!

 

Cheers

 

Patrick 

[michael mott]

Ken, not sure how I missed this thread, All I can say is Wow. Love all the little details and sequences for fabrication, the gauges and the fire extinguishers are exquisite. The divers helmet is amazing, the copper foil paint is new to me, looks like a pretty impressive surface.

Great picture at the end and brings the size back into perspective, because half the pictures lead me to think this was a much bigger model than it is.

 

Very nice work.

 

Michael

[xken]

Michael, yes the Foil paints are great for metal finishes. Here is a link to there selections.

 

http://www.krylon.com/products/premium-metallic/

 

I checked your build out and what a big model, I could not build anything that size in my workshop now. Great job and keep up the great work you are doing on it.

 

I heard form the company and the sitting figure will not be here until the 14th so I am moving ahead on the breastplate for the helmet. Unlike the helmet the breastplate will be all metal both brass and copper per the original.

 

First I developed a card stock pattern using the figure and then I formed the copper with a hole cut to match the shoulder ring and soldered them together. Once cooled and cleaned I final formed the copper shape to fit the figure. Next I used the card stock pattern and traced the outline to match the copper onto a 1/32" thick brass sheet and sawed out the shape. Using a small divider I traced the 3/32" inside edge and sawed it out. The brass ring was then annealed to soften and it was form fitted to match the copper and soldered in place. I turned and drilled the lead weight holders and soldered them to the front of the breastplate.

 

 

 

 

 

Next came the more challenging parts, the small wing nuts to hold the breast plate to the suit. I cut a V groove into a scrap piece of wood, set a 1/16" tube with two strips to either side and soldered them in place. Once cleaned with acetone the excess solder was removed form the joints. The edges of the side strips were held in a vise and filed down to 1/32". Then while held in the vise one side was sawed into 1/16" sections then turned over in the vise and the other side sawed to release each wing nut. Next I drilled 1/32" holes where needed and added 1/32" rods, slipped the nuts on and soldered them in place from the underside. Trimmed the rod ends and cleaned the entire breastplate.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now back to more writing.

 

 

 

 

 

[Jack12477]

WOW! So realistic. Beautiful, Ken.

[Omega1234]

Hi Ken

 

Marvellous workmanship. Will you be doing the full diving suit as well?

 

Cheers

 

Patrick

[xken]

Jack, Patrick, thanks, and yes I plan to try and do a complete suit on the sitting figure I have ordered. It is amazing how much one learns when researching a subject to model. I have learned that there are many different styles of both helmets and suits. Here is a photograph that I will use a a guide. I have never used Sculpty Clay before so it looks like I will get to add another skill to the tool bag.

 

 

Research and writing continues.