HM Cutter Cheerful 1806 by Blue Ensign - FINISHED - Syren Ship Model Company - 1:48 scale

[Blue Ensign]

Post 52

 Decking continues.

With a little help from my friends 👍 issues with getting the curve right for the bandings are resolved and I can move on.

The way my centre line planks worked out there is a requirement for  a wider plank with tabs and cut outs immediately adjacent either side.

4724

These were tricky to form as there are double tabs and cut outs on each of the two planks that form the run. A two plank run falls within the overall acceptable scale lengths and avoids a butt joint at an inconvenient point.

4759

These planks were formed first without any consideration of tapering or bending.

4771

The inner band of planking now defined by an adjusted and less acute tape line, and the individual plank lines re-marked.

4776

The two plank lines adjacent to the centre section are now glued into place and braced during the gluing process.

The next thing to work out is the shift pattern.

On British ships  a three or four plank spacing is usual between any butts across a single beam

On the Cheerful plan a four butt shift is shown.

I couldn't follow the deck plan layout exactly as I opted to use just two planks for the run immediately outside the centre planks, with the first butt just aft of the main hatch.

4781LI

 I tweaked the plan arrangement to take into account the butt joint of these first planks.

Using a photo of the model I take the precaution of marking these out on the plan before I start.

Planking of the inner belt then becomes simply a matter of length and taper matched to the tick marks laid out on the false deck.

For caulking I use a Pilot broad chisel point waterproof marker which dries instantly and doesn't run. This is applied to one plank edge only.

4786

4789

4791

The inner belt completed, minimal cleaning up at this stage as I prefer to wait until the deck is completed.

Moving onto the outer belt with its four strakes and interesting hooded planks.

 

B.E.

05/12/2018

[Gahm]

Great work, B.E.! Wonderful craftsmanship!

 

Thomas

[Blue Ensign]

Thanks Thomas🙂

 

Post 53

Completing the decking.

The last four strakes include hooded planks where otherwise the planks would taper too narrowly.

I rather enjoy making hooded planks and they make for an interesting feature, a change from the more familiar 'joggled' arrangement.

7/32" and 9/32" wide strips were used to form the hoods, a fairly painless process.

The final strakes against the margin plank also require 9/32" strips.

To form these I use a Tamiya tape pattern to form a template to produce these final planks.

4807

The final plank marked for spiling.

4826

Completion!

A process of scraping the decks now ensues, I don't sand decks. I will use Admiralty Flat Matt Varnish to seal the surface.

Some photo's to record the twelve month point of this build so far.

4838

4832

4837

4836

The eagle eyed will notice that I have cut out holes in the Main hatch grating to allow passage of the anchor cables.

4834

This marks  completion of this major milestone in the build.

Fitting the rudder beckons....

 

B.E.

07/12/2018

 

[Chuck]

It looks very good indeed!!!  You finished all the pain in the butt stuff.  Its all fun stuff from here on out.   Also a lot quicker.  

[Seventynet]

Looks great B.E. !

[davyboy]

Hi BE,that's an excellent job you have made of your deck planking. Very nice indeed 

 

Dave 

[MEDDO]

As usual BE your work is exceptional.  

 

Here is a ridiculous question.  Were the hoked planks always "hooked" toward the outside as you have them?  I think  the way you have done this looks correct but for some reason I think I remember someone here on the site having the outboard plank hooked to the inside.  Probably faulty memory/early onset dementia on my part but just wondering.

[jwvolz]

Very sharp looking B.E. 

[Blue Ensign]

Cheers Guys for your support.

@ Michael

An interesting question Michael that I can't really answer.

I had used this arrangement on my Pegasus build as indicated in the Swan series books, and also it was the arrangement Chuck used on his Cheerful build.

I can't find any clear examples of the curved /hooded planks layouts in any of my modelling books, apart from mentioned above, they all seem to show the 'joggled' arrangement.

I wonder if you have in your mind the strakes of top and butt planking that were commonly placed against the margin for four strakes or so, certainly on larger vessels of the time.

Regards,

B.E.

 

[Martin W]

That planking is utterly fascinating, BE.  And your anniversary photos show a handsome build -- so if it's all fun stuff here on out, as Chuck says, I hope it has results as compelling as what you've done so far.

 

Cheers,

Martin

[Blue Ensign]

Kind words, thank you Wallace and Martin. 🙂

Post 54

A question lavatorial

I now turn my attention to the stern area to fit the platform containing the 'seats of ease'

Chuck has used 1/32" sheet to form the construction parts, as have I.

4857

A trial and error (mostly error) job this with multiple tweaks to get it anywhere near right.

4876

Fitting these surely does mess up the paintwork at the stern, re-finishing will be required.

4877

Chuck has included two 'seats of ease'  at the stern of Cheerful; seems quite generous considering that a first rate only had six for the whole crew, excluding officers.

I had wondered about the prominent position of these  'facilities' at the stern as modelled, but these items as shown on the Upper deck plan of Cheerful, appear to be 'seats of ease'

Upper deck of Cheerful.

 

The holes on the model plan initially looked quite large to my eye, but they are only  a scale 7.5" diameter. As for position on the platform I requested the Commander to check that their location provided a practical seating position.

4879

He seems quite at ease.

Apparently in naval circles  it was considered  good manners to use the Lee side seat of easement if at all possible.

Anyway I digress,

I wonder if in reality  these small platforms would have been planked rather than solid sheet?

I also wonder if in practice they would really have been painted, presumably being scrubbed down and also used for access to the Taffrail, or a height advantage point on the cutter.

All speculation of course , but examples of cutters I have seen with small aft platforms all were planked and in some cases used to mount Stern chasers.

4888

Purely for my own amusement I planked over the card template I used to make the platform using thin boxwood strip, to see what it looked like before I committed to the real thing.

Once again obsessing over minutiae, to paint or not to paint, to plank or not to plank, one hole or two.

There is such scant information on the subject, particularly for small vessels.

 

B.E.

15/12/2018

 

[paulsutcliffe]

Hi BE

I read somewhere that there was only one seat and the other side was a locker as in a longboat, I can't remember where though, I suppose your model so you can do as you like I guess, Nice work as usual 

Regards

Paul 

[davyboy]

Good evening BE,

 

One interesting point re the "facilities" comes to mind. There are no discharge pipes/chutes for them shown on the plan as I'm sure there must have been. I missed this earlier so I will now run a small drill down the "hole" and through the lower counter planking. Can then open it out to a suitable size for a piece of tubing.

 

I would imagine that the area below each "facility" compartment must have been lead lined to prevent rotting of the lower counter planks. Not that we need to bother about that though. On the other hand,maybe only buckets were there and "naughty" sailors were given "latrine detail" instead of the cat  Sorry,couldn't resist saying that.

 

Regards,and keep up your excellent work.

 

Dave 

 

[Chuck]

I would agree that the two heads are a bit much but if you take a look at the contemporary model for Surly it does show two heads at the stern.  This is what I used for my model.  Its not a locker because it has a hole just like the Starboard side which would make for messy stuff keep in there if it was meant to be a locker.  Those two other features you highlighted on the plan were also a mystery to me.   But they are not the heads.  I originally thought they might be for a portable mast that could be set up on either side of the boom.  That they were wooden crutches with iron straps to hold the mast back there in position.....But thats just my guess.  They would stretch across the two stern frames adjacent to the heads.  I opted to just not show this feature.  But they are also visible on the inboard sheer draft.  There are quite a few unidentifiable weird things going on and depicted at the stern on this draft.  I chose instead to duplicate the Surly contemporary model rather than guess what is going on back there.  Check ot the other features........some crazy stuff.

 

 

[SardonicMeow]

I went looking through pictures I took of the Cheerful / Surly model in the Rogers Collection at the US Naval Academy museum, hoping to find something helpful.  However, on that model there are no lockers or heads or anything in the stern.  Oh well.

[Chuck]

Nope!!

[Blue Ensign]

Thanks Guys for your input.

@ Paul, Yes I have read that, I think it was a comment in one of other Cheerful logs. The arrangement of one seat of ease and one locker makes sense to me, somewhere to store ready to use small items, but I'm 200 years down the road, so what do I know🤔

@ jnugid, On examples I have seen including the small platform across the counter on the Cutter Alert, the boards run athwartships. The areas on Cheerful are not that large, around 4' 9" x 2' 6" but I don't know whether a solid sheet or boards would have been used.

@ Dave, I will also add a discharge chute, purely for my own amusement. I think this would taper, with the exit thro' the counter planking somewhat smaller than the top opening.

@ Chuck, Two heads for a crew of around fifty does seem very generous in 18th century terms. I haven't actually seen a detailed photo of the Surly arrangement, but to duplicate it on Cheerful would be the logical thing to do, in the absence of more compelling evidence.

On reflection those fittings shown on the plan of Cheerful, do look more like as you describe. On checking I see that on the Cutter Alert plans  (Peter Goodwin) similar fittings are shown; they are described as a step block and bracket to hold a Mizen mast.

@ Peter, thanks for checking out your photo's and for providing that very clear photo of the stern area.

 

For the time being I think I will leave the seat tops as removeable items, no need for a decision at this point.

Regards,

 

B.E

[paulsutcliffe]

On the plan that chuck has shown there, it looks as if the seats are extended upwards and are on the same level as the caprail, or am I misreading it?

They would have taken some sitting on in a wind😀😀

And have you noticed the second cathead further back on the starboard side

Edited December 16, 2018 by paulsutcliffe

[Chuck]

Yupp!!!  But this is all stuff that just wouldnt look right on a model in my opinion.  I m sure it was all used, but its just as important for a model builder to decide what not to include in order to make a better model.  It would just look very odd indeed.  As I have mentioned several times previously...the "kitchen sink" method of model building is not my thing.   But it does open up possibilities for others if they like that sort of thing. Especially when there is so much primary evidence of this stuff.  

 

The hard part would be getting enough details of how these items looked to be able to model them properly however.   

[Blue Ensign]

11 minutes ago, paulsutcliffe said:

On the plan that chuck has shown there, it looks as if the seats are extended upwards and are on the same level as the caprail, or am I misreading it?

They would have taken some sitting on in a wind😀😀

And have you noticed the second cathead further back on the starboard side

 Hi Paul, if you're referring to the official inboard profile plan, I don't see either the cap rail level seats or the second cathead, perhaps ignorance is bliss😉

 

B.E.

[Martin W]

Ah, BE -- It seems that your easeful speculation has induced a bit of a strain. 

[Blue Ensign]

Ha Ha Martin, I find myself in a constant state of decision constipation on this build, but I’ve gained some temporary relief by kicking the decision into the long grass for the time being. 😀

 

B.E.

 

[Blue Ensign]

Post 55

 Shipping the Rudder

Following Chuck's lead the rudder is shaped to allow fitting of the 'false' stern post head. I had much earlier cut out the rudder port.

4846

Temporarily fitted to assist fitting the false stern post head.

4850

Sternpost head fitted.

 

Earlier in the build than indicated I carried on to complete the rudder 'ironwork' and straps to reach the point of shipping it into its proper place.

4892

I am using Chuck's mini fitting kit for the purpose; the Boxwood straps and brackets. This is another ingenious  offering from Chuck, saving a lot of hassle and fiddling around with brass strip, silver soldering, and metal blackening.

Not that I don't enjoy those aspects of a build, but where I can  obtain a simpler option with comparable or better results, it's a no brainer for me, and I'm happy to take advantage of such offerings with all the enthusiasm of a rat spotting  an unguarded hawse line.

4904

In this photo the Pintle braces have been applied and the bolts represented by wire.

 

Fitting rudders can be a tricky business, aligning the pintles and gudgeons whilst ensuring that the gap between the rudder edge and stern post is minimal.

On too many models the gap between rudder and post is far too wide.

On the kit plan the gap is a mere 0.5mm which equates to just shy of 1" at full scale.

Chuck's little kit takes much of the guesswork out of the issue by providing the brackets for both pintles and gudgeons along with their respective straps.

4910(2)

With the pintles in place on the rudder, the gudgeon brackets can be slipped onto the pintles and the rudder placed in position against the stern post.

The position of the gudgeon brackets to be fixed to the stern post can then be marked, and the gap be adjusted. I did add thin strips to bulk out the depth of the gudgeon brackets to produce  a workable gap between rudder and post.

4920

I then used pva to stick the brackets to the stern post, using a length of wire to maintain their line.

4924

Once set the rudder pintles should slot cleanly into the gudgeons at the correct level, always a satisfying moment.

4928

The final job is to attach the gudgeon straps to the hull at the correct angle, which is easy with the rudder in place. The straps were thinned down a little towards the inboard end,  pre-painted, and secured with pva plus the 'wire' bolts coated with ca.

4929

A needle file is used to take the roughness off the wire ends before masking and repainting.

4938

The completed rudder assembly; the pale marks are where the rudder was masked for final painting of the straps.

 

I will return to the rudder to fit the tiller a little later in the build.

 

I have been pondering whether a Rudder coat would have been used on a small vessel such as this, where the rudder head is not passing betwixt decks but only onto the open deck. None of the photo's of contemporary models I have show this feature, but then even models of larger vessels mostly don't show a Rudder coat. Another question without an obvious answer.

 

B.E.

18/12/2018

 

[davyboy]

Very nice BE, may I suggest not hanging the rudder until later in your build. It is quite vulnerable,don't ask me how I know. I've made my "waste product pipes" and their location holes in the planking. Drilled a small hole then filed them out as I didn't wish to risk any splintering. 

 

Best wishes for the festive season,

 

Dave 

[Blue Ensign]

Thank you Wallace,  I'm pleased the log is of help to you.

Rudder coats would have been  applied on any ship where the head passes thro' an internal deck, and because they can be tricky little beggars to fit, how to attach them to the counter  needs to be considered at a stage where the model can be easily handled.

This is the coat on my Pegasus build, not the prettiest of fittings but one that should be there.

One other thing that may be of interest to you on this photo are the Pintle and Gudgeon straps. Note they are coloured to represent the cuprous alloy from which they were made. Iron over copper does not work, as our 18th c shipwrights found out.

 

Cheers Dave, the rudder will be unshipped for later, I too have had  accidents with rudders, once fitted I now use a small bulldog clip along the keel to hold them  rigid whilst I'm still working on the model.

Glad you've got your toilet facilities sorted, the crew will no doubt be relieved.

On that note I wish you and yours  a Happy Christmas and pain free progress on your Cheerful 😊

 

B.E.

 

 

 

[Blue Ensign]

Post 56

Inboard Fittings

With the deck laid there are areas requiring re-touching, and the treenails to be added.

I pondered a little about doing the treenails, as I don't think Chuck added them. In the end I decided to add them.

I mixed a fresh batch of filler tinted with a paler tone to fill the around 600 0.6mm holes.

4893

The deck is then re-scraped for a final time before sealing. I use 'Admiralty' brand Flat Matt Varnish. A water based varnish which I don't particularly like, but it does give an unvarnished look to the deck whilst at the same time sealing it.

4897

The treenails are barely visible, which is the effect I was after.

4899

With completion of the deck it's all about fittings from this point on.

Windlass

This is the most prominent and interesting deck fitting on Cheerful, and I am using Chuck's beautifully thought out mini-kit for the purpose.

4865

I have decided to leave the barrel of the windlass natural but paint the standards red.

Associated with the windlass is the Bowsprit Step and pawls Bitt; these are assembled next. Again I have used a Chuck mini kit; it fits together with very little adjustment and very nice it is too.

4862

4863

Not completed at this point, these two items along with the Bowsprit will be considered together a little later in the build.

Elm Tree Pumps

Once again I avail myself of Chuck's little mini kit.

The provided square stock for the body does need converting into the traditional octagonal shape, and for this I bring a little 'V' jig into use, last used on my Pegasus build.

4944

The body parts are only 20mm long so it helps to have a method of securing them whilst the octagons are formed.

4952

A busy day in the workshop, and Cheerful has to make way on the bench.

The body does need drilling out and the centres were marked prior to shaping.

4948

The hollow centres were drilled out on my mill using a 3mm bit.

A little bit of fettlin' of pump handle and brackets and they're ready to assemble.

4970

For the iron bands around the body I use slices of heat shrink tubing, a thing I favour for this type of feature.

4966

Undecided as yet whether to leave the Brake handles and discharge pipes natural.

 

There is still the Winch to do but Shock, horror, 😲 I find there is no comforting little mini kit from Chuck which means I must shake myself out of complacency and do a bit of scratching.

So this seems to be a good point to end the posts for 2018 and thank all my fellow builders for their interest, support, and help over the past twelve months.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from me and my stalwart Shipyard Assistant, William.

 

B.E

21/12/2018

 

 

[Dowmer]

BE, beautiful work and a Merry Christmas from the other side of the pond. 

 

Personal preference, I like the natural wood handles on the Elm Tree Pumps.  It makes them stand out a little instead of the detail being lost if it was all black.  The discharge could be red however.  I figure it would need some preservation.

 

cheers

[MEDDO]

Wonderful BE you continue to amaze me.  Happy Holidays.

[Seventynet]

Nice work BE. Have a great Christmas.

Ian

[kirill4]

jewelry work!!! Merry christmas and a happy new year!!!