Swan 42 by shipmodel - FINISHED - one-design racing yacht

[shipmodel]

Hi all -

 

Thanks for the compliments.  I hope that you will continue to enjoy the journey as I work my way up the learning curve for a model like this one.

 

This post takes me to the companionway and its various components and materials.  Here is what it looks like.  The vertical side is composed of three plexiglass panels of diminishing size.  They slide down in a channel behind the chrome strips to either side  The top is one panel with a teak handle and three non-slip areas etched into it.  It slides into the channel under the roof.  To either side are chrome handholds next to the line brake ramps. 

 

 

 

Here is my completed companionway.  The panels are clear plastic with the reverse painted flat black.  The panel lines are scribed, the anti-skid areas are paper appliques.  The retaining strips and handholds are chrome plated brass. Almost nothing is permanently mounted at this point, since I may want to remove them and replace them with better efforts.

 

 

Most of the time since my last post has been taken up with learning how to electroplate.  Here is the kit from Caswell that I used.  It should be perfect for the amount of electroplating that I will be doing on this model.  There are only three components - the plating wand with its fabric cover, the chrome plating solution, and the power supply.

 

 

In this setup I am not using the wand as a brush, but as an electrode dipped into a plastic container of the solution.  The other electrode is clipped to a brass piece to be plated.  The clothes pins support both and keep them off the floor of the container.  Once this is set up, the power supply is plugged in and the plating begins.  It is no more difficult than that.

 

 

Here is the process for plating some brass rod to make the handholds.  First the rod is bent to the shape that I wanted.  Both handholds will be cut from this one piece.  The rod is polished with a wire wheel in the Dremel, and not touched after polishing.

 

 

Here it is after 5 minutes of plating.  There is some buildup on one section of the rod, but that piece will not be used.

 

 

Now the rod is polished with the wire wheel and the handhold section cut off.  I leave one leg longer to be inserted in a hole in the model.  The other end will simply rest on the surface.  This make it very easy to install, without worrying about getting two holes spaced perfectly, but still gives a positive mechanical connection for the piece.

 

 

For contrast, here is the plated handhold with an unplated brass rod.  The difference is clear.

 

 

And, again, here are the handholds temporarily installed on the model.  With this magnification I can see that there has to be a bit more cleanup on the line brake ramps and tunnels.  But I am closing in on 'acceptable' and working my way up to 'good.'  

 

 

Comments and suggestions always welcome.  It is much easier to change things now, and many eyes are always better than one somewhat biased pair.

 

Dan

 

 

[druxey]

Lovely work, Dan. However, to my eye the handholds on the prototype are of smaller diameter than your model ones. What do you think? The companion cover, however, looks terrific.

[TBlack]

Dan, I'd echo Druxey's comment. Also, when I look at the photo of the actual boat it looks like the forward part of the handhold is even with the forward edge of the short skid pad. So maybe your holds need to be longer? Or it may just be the perspective that is throwing me off.

 

Also, and this is not about the model, but on the boat, the lines coming through those jam cleats look awfully small for that size rig, and would be hard to haul on?

 

Tom

[shipmodel]

David, Tom -

 

That was my thought too.  You pushed me past the tipping point and the handholds will be replaced.

 

The lines that are in the jam cleats (is that the proper term?  I have been calling them line brakes) are just to hold the place and as leaders when the actual lines are run.  They are much smaller than the working lines will be.  Compare them to those in the photos of the actual boats.

 

Thanks

 

Dan

[shipmodel]

Here's the replacement pair.  OD down from 0.045" to 0.030".  Better?

 

[gjdale]

The first set was good Dan; the replacements are excellent! Well done.

[TBlack]

Dan, Whoa! huge improvement! lookin' good!

 

Yes, they probably are line brakes; I'm a dinosaur and used to cleats.

 

See you Sat.

 

Tom

[druxey]

Nailed it this time, Dan. Thanks for taking my criticism constructively!

[SailorGreg]

 

 

The lines that are in the jam cleats (is that the proper term?  I have been calling them line brakes)  

 

I believe the correct term is clutch (at least in the UK) - google "rope clutch" and you'll get the picture.

 

Greg

[yvesvidal]

In the USA, the term "cleats" is widely used on Sailboats.

 

Yves

[shipmodel]

The more I looked at the last photo the more the handholds looked like steel, not chrome.  Replating over the last layer, with polishing with a soft fabric wheel made a big difference.  Compare the new starboard handhold to the old port one.  Now I think I nailed it. 

 

Dan

 

[gjdale]

That makes a big difference Dan. Looks like you've got this plating thing covered (pun intended!)

[shipmodel]

Hi again -

 

Progress since my last posting includes the cabin roof handholds formed and electroplated, the several raised and flush hatches, cabin and cockpit windows, and the socket for the spinnaker pole.  I just bit the bullet and glued the upper hull to the lower, which is curing as I write this.  Now I can sand the hull to final shape and smoothness, then paint it with gloss blue.  Look for it next time.

 

Here is the overall upper hull.  The cabin windows were masked and the tapered streak hand painted with the gloss blue lacquer decanted from the spray can. 

 

 

The window frames are built up from 0.010" x 0.030" plastic strip.  The corners are chamfered and they are painted a metallic silver.  On the boat they have a satin finish, which the paint replicates quite well.  The windows themselves are gloss black paint, since they are set flush with the surface of the cabin and plastic sheet could not be inset.

 

 

The cockpit windows are built up in a similar fashion.  The hatch in the seat back is built up from unpainted strip with the 1/16" latch punched out from a chrome plated foil sheet.

 

 

 

At the bow is a trapezoidal hatch set flush into the deck.  The size and shape were taken from the plans, a template made from shim brass, then scribed around.  The hinges, latch, and lock were cut from the chrome foil.

 

 

There are several raised hatches with coamings on the cabin roof and forward deck.   These were built up from three layers of plastic, the top one being clear with black paint on the reverse side.  The chrome edging is brass rod bent and fitted to the hatch, then electroplated and glued in place.  Like the companionway hatch, the non-skid areas are art paper appliques.  The lock is chrome foil.  There will be two grey plastic latches fitted as well.  The first set of these did not make the cut. 

 

 

The last piece of major machining for the upper hull was the socket for the spinnaker pole on the port side.  The pole slides into the hull when not in use, and then slides out at an angle so the forward end lies on the centerline of the boat.  This was carefully drilled with an undersized bitt, then slowly and carefully expanded to final size and angle.  As you can imagine, this was High Anxiety without Mel Brooks' humor to lighten the mood.  One slip and I might be forced to discard the entire upper hull.  Fortunately, it came out well, but will be further refined once the hull pieces are joined.

 

 

Before the upper and lower hull pieces were joined a perimeter trench was routed and chiseled into the lower hull to give any wood movement in the lifts a place to go other than outward to crack the surface of the model.

 

 

Here are the two hull sections joined together.  I use a conservator's neutral pH PVA glue from Lineco.  I find that it cures faster than the usual white glues and seems a bit stronger as well.

 

 

And here are all the pieces mounted on the stand, including the rudder which was machined from 1/8" basswood sheet and secured with a brass rod into a socket in the hull.  The rudder and keel are still removable and will remain so until almost the final moments of construction so they do not get damaged by my clumsy handling. 

 

Till next time - be well.

 

Dan

 

 

 

[yvesvidal]

Wonderful. I love sailing and seeing a model of a Swan is always a treat, as you do not meet the real thing very often on the sea (at least on the East Coast).

 

Yves

Edited May 2, 2013 by yvesvidal

[druxey]

Very nice progress, Dan. I thought that the non-skid areas were fine wet-and-dry carborundum paper!

[shipmodel]

No, the sandpaper was thin enough but it was too grey and stood out from the black of the hatch, which does not happen on the boat.  The non-skid areas of the cabin roof and deck are lighter than the sandpaper, so I am still experimenting.  It has to mold to compound curves without a seam or wrinkle.  The leading candidate is a heavy tissue paper that is misted with water.  I've been looking for silkspan, but haven't found any in my art supply store.

 

Dan

[gjdale]

Very nice Dan! Love the detail you've worked into this.

[druxey]

Have you tried masking film and acrylic paint to simulate the non-skid areas?

[shipmodel]

No, masking is not my strong suit so it did not occur to me.  I am satisfied with the art paper.  It is raised rather than etched, but that cannot be seen except with magnification and in glancing light.

 

Dan

[allanyed]

Dan,

 

Many years ago a friend and  I made a set of glass and gel coat molds used to make  a couple fiberglass models of Islander 30 sail boats.  To get  scale non-skid surface areas  I masked of the area that was not to be textured. The uncovered area then received a thin coat of resin.  Last I used an old fashioned dust sprayer (remember the scene in the Godfather One where Don Corleone is spraying tomato plants with his grand son) and sprayed glass micro beads which actually looked and flowed like a powder. The texture was perfect and of course glass lasts and can take a paint over it as well.

Allan

[shipmodel]

Allan -

 

I am working in 1:32 scale, so the micro-beads are probably not necessary, but I will experiment with matte acrylic paint for the large non-skid areas.  I find that it is almost impossibly difficult to get the edges of any covering (tissue, silk, etc) as straight and narrow as I need them.  See below.  I can mask the white with Chartpak tape.  I ordered some that is 1/32" wide.  Now I have to solve the inside curve problem.  Maybe I will just be careful when I paint.

 

Dan

 

 

[dgbot]

Great work.  To bad you do not own the real thing.

David B

[mort stoll]

I do not care what the real thing looks like. The model is nicer.

 

Mort

[Nirvana]

Dan, I really love the progress you have accomplished so far.

I did a quick search for Swan 42 for sale, got three of them located in different areas around the world,

A 1985 located in Newport, Rhode Island goes for USD 200.000.00 while another

2008 model located in France runs USD 364.000.00

I like the model better. Someday I will build a modern yacht model of some kind.

[mtaylor]

Dan,

Silkspan is usually readily available at hobby shops that cater to the RC crowd.

 

For nonskid... paint with finish color. While the paint is wet, sprinkle with baby powder and blow off excess before it dries.  Then paint over it.  I use to do this with Tamiya armor models.

[shipmodel]

Hi again to those following this log -

 

Progress has been a bit slow the past two weeks.  Actually, it went OK, but last week I got to do another site visit to two boats still in the marina, one with the rig set up, and the other fully uncovered.  It turned out that a significant amount of work had to be redone because of the new information.  More on this later.

 

The greatest progress was on the hull.  With the pieces together, as they were last time, the surface could be smoothed, hardened, and smoothed again.  Sanding continued down to 600 grit before the first of what turned out to be 6 layers of primer was applied and sanded down to 1000 grit.  The waterline for the color separation had been marked with a simple pencil holding jig before the upper and lower hull pieces were glued together, and this line was preserved and redrawn as needed during the priming process.  The lower hull was masked at this line with tape, starting with 1/16" width at the line, then wider to cover the lower hull.  The deck was similarly masked, starting with thin tape, but then switching to paper toweling held in place by tape.  Once everything was set the color coat, a deep blue, was sprayed from a rattle can.  Several light coats were applied, given a final sanding, and the final color coats applied.

 

After drying for a full day two white stripes were applied just above the color separation line.  These were 1/16" wide striping tape from a company called "Sig" and ordered from a hobby supply house.  They are quite opaque, are self-adhesive, and paper backed.  Once the paper was removed the stripes were carefully applied as straight as possible.  Then they were checked repeatedly and adjusted.  There is a small window of open time when the stripes can be adjusted up or down as needed.  I used pencil erasers to do this so as not to mar the hull paint.  Similarly, a 1/32" wide stripe was applied near the top of the hull following the sheer.  This is the logo of the Swan boats, with the arrowhead and tail cut from the wider tape.  The arrowhead appears on only the starboard side.  On the port side the hole for the spinnaker pole gets in the way.  Once in place the hull was given several coats of clear gloss finish to protect it and secure the stripes.  Here is how they came out -

 

 

Once the hull had dried completely I turned to the cockpit.  The first technique to master was the non-skid surface.  I tried some silkspan which a fellow modeler sent me, as well as tissue papers and other films, but none would adhere to the compound curves necessary.  I finally went with acrylic matte paint, as several of you suggested.  I got a series of 1/32" masking tapes and laid them out on the white background.  Then the non-skid areas could be painted.  This worked reasonably well, but some of the paint came up when I went to remove the tape,  Ultimately, it became necessary to carefully cut along the edges of the tapes before removing them.  Then I repainted the edges of the non-skid areas.  This looked fine, until I went to see the boats and found that the color was wrong.  I matched what I saw in my photos, but had not counted on the differences in light and how the color came through in the photos.  Using a "color preview" set from Benjamin Moore I was able to identify the actual tone and hue.  This was made up in a small sample, and the non-skid areas were overpainted the correct shade.  On the deck the hinges and latches for the hatches are cut from chrome foil and outlined in white. 

 

 

The boat designers chose to make a small nod to earlier ship construction with bench surfaces in the cockpit made up from wooden strips with 'caulking' lines between them.  These were replicated from a product called "Micro-wood" which is a very thin paper-backed veneer.  It is so thin that it can go through a common ink-jet printer.  I first laid out the design of the benches in the computer and tested size and shape by printing out the design on a sheet of paper.  When it was finally correct I taped a piece of the micro-wood over the spot where it printed out, then ran it through again, printing out the design onto the wood. The inked caulking lines were incised into the wood with the back of the tip of a #10 blade guided by a metal straightedge.  This essentially tatoos the ink into the wood while scribing grooves that can be felt.  Here is the setup -

 

 

Next on the construction list were the winches that sit in rebates in the bench backs.  The dimensions were taken from the catalog of the Harker company, whose products are specified for use on the boats.  They were turned from clear acrylic rod to match the catalog images and photos taken on the boats.  There are three pair, and none are alike.  All are made from black carbon fiber, but the ones furthest aft are somewhat thin with chrome self-tailing tops.  The middle ones are thicker, and have no self-tailing feature, just a chrome socket for the hand crank.  The ones furthest forward are thinner, self-tailing ones, but have not been turned yet.

 

 

Another surprise during the site visit was learning that the forestay furling fitting sits in a well at the extreme nose of the boat.  This is easy to do when the actual boat is hollow, but not so easy in the solid hull of the model after a lot of work has already happened around it.  The well was drilled very carefully, painted, then a plastic plate drilled with seven holes was glued in place to represent the fitting.

 

 

So, until next time, here I am, contemplating the work done and the work yet to do.  The figure is properly to scale, so the size of the boat can be better judged. 

 

 

Aloha

 

Dan

 

 

 

 

 

[gjdale]

Wow! That sure is some impressive work there Dan. The addition of the scale figure really helps us to appreciate the scale too.

[druxey]

Good going, Dan. The non-skid areas came out very nicely in the end. Well done!

[TBlack]

Dan,

This is fabulous. Your artistic skills and patience are phenomenal. I particularly love the winches, but how do you make that self-tailing fixture on top...it's pretty small.

Tom

[michael mott]

Dan, great work sorting out the non skid paint area. the overall look of the boat is really sharp.

 

Michael