T78 Norden by popeye the Sailor - FINISHED - Billing Boats - 1:30

[Old Collingwood]

Us builders do so suffer the same fate  - "Its going well - going well  - Damn why cant I do that bit,   thats it I give up"   but somehow we find that secomd wind and manage it,   those little spring clips are so usefull and can be turned around to use the bendy bits aswel,     did you get the tiny clips or larger ones?

 

OC.

[popeye the sailor]

thanks OC......and those who hit the like button    I bought a bag of each.......the smaller ones were easier to change over than the larger ones {I have to cut off the bent ends}.   I'm not the best planker in the world.....my little hiatus left me a bit rusty.  awwww,  what the heck......a little filler,  a lot of sanding.......no problemo!      I've set up the other table in my son's old bedroom,  so I can work on plastic projects in there,  and the table here in the computer room can be for the wood builds.  this new table is long enough.....it might not be so hard to work on another project,  if an idea comes to mind.  here's to 2018......may it be more productive   

[Piet]

Nice progress Denis and a happy, safe and healthy 2018 to you all.

 

Cheers.

[popeye the sailor]

thanks Piet     I was ready for the ball to drop......we ordered Chinese food.....I got some of my favorite spirits.   our youngest son and his fiancee came over and we played cards.  had a couple beers,  but never touched the spirits  ....don't drink like I used to.   when I was younger........'party' at the drop of a hat......but not now.   ended up watch'in a movie with Gibbs and never saw the ball drop.   I hope you and Gwen had a great holiday season,  and that 2018 is good to you folks as well.   to one and all........a Happy new year as well.....I hope you are all equally as prosperous!  

 

I did get further with the Norden,  although I'm making a sow's ear of it.   as mentioned,  paint will hide a lot of sin     I didn't hold the line very well,  and it got away from me really quick.   not one to back track,  I did the best with what I had done.   I will add that this hull is a carbon copy of the Cux and the Mary Ann....if you put all three side by side,  you'd see the similarity.   the 'zipper started at the bow and worked it's way back to the stern.

this model does the stern cap differently........Billing supplies two blocks of balsa,  that fit into the cavities,  to be carved and sanded to shape.   the new table's maiden voyage is going along smoothly.   it's nice to have the two drawers,  allowing my 'most used' tools to be at the ready....just wish the pick ax would've fit in there     off to the side,  you can see that the admiral got her way.....although I went with a three shelf bookcase,  rather that the  bohemouth she wanted me to get.   I forget what year it was.........I had seen the plans for a wall bookcase....I tore them out and kept them.   I found them the other day,  tucked in my old yearbook..........I'll save it till we get our own place again {although if I built it here,  it would be an improvement}.  here is how the Wharf now stands.....

up top,  you can see the crown jewel of Christmas......the Nordkap.  I'm hard on the trail to find the fitting kit for her.   contacted Billing/Danmark.....but no reply,  so I sent an inquiry to Roger @ Age of Sail,  to see if he can help.   if that falls through,  I'll either have to keep my eye on E-Bay or continue to do,  what I started to compile already.......go piecemeal.   I'd be pleased to post another log on this vessel.......she was so much fun to build  

Pictured here in 2011,  waiting for her last two pieces.   you can be sure that another hull will be cloned from her    the only drawback to this configuration,  is that I have to keep all my wood in the spare room.  that will change though,  once I unseat the Thermopylae from the top of the bookcase      while I was in my muse state.....I continued to cut out the margins.  as mentioned,  it's proving not as easy,  as I would have liked.   due to the width,  they are a bit fragile....I will have to do some piece fitting when it gets cemented in place on the deck.  it will make deck planking easier though,  not having to fit pieces in along the bulwarks.

 the planking went further back on one side of the Norden......almost to the point of closure.  I'm determined to get at least one side done today.

I did some sanding.........I do believe there's redemption for the hull after all     finally done.........with more sanding to the stern........a little filler should smooth her out quite nicely.

the stern bulwarks however,  did not fair well,  after the initial crunch from that clamp.  more had crumbled by this time.   I cut it out and removed it......A piece will be made to fill in the gap.   I never did like these thin plywood bands........I think,  on the Mary Ann,  I simply planked from the top of the posts on down,  and never used them.  in this case,  it might have been good not to use them......the band is only 0.5 mm,  although the parts list says that it's 1 mm,  and the planking looks to be about 1.5 mm......rather than the 1 mm strip the list says.  there is a dramatic thickness deficit here,  none the less.  I'll take care of that later.....right now,  I'm geared to get the other side planked and sanded.....take care of the stern,  then  I can deal with the bulwark band when I fix the stern.

thanks for look'in in   

 

[zappto]

Wonderful looking boat, what year model it is?

[Jim Lad]

She's coming along very nicely, mate.  Hope you people aren't too cold over there!!

 

John

[BANYAN]

Nice progress Denis; more incentive to unseat the "T"   Hope you guys escaped the worst of the weather?

 

cheers

 

Pat

[Old Collingwood]

Thank goodness for our site - gives us something to take our minds off normal life/weather and health,  I can understand your pain with the ribs - I broke my rear transom framework  some time back,   the hull planking has come together nicely,  its one of the  "hold your breath"  stages I think.

 

Keep up the good work  she is coming on great.

 

OC.

[popeye the sailor]

thanks for the kind comments folks     I can count on one hand,  the hulls where planking went well for me.....it's not my strong point.  but by the time paint or stain goes on,  they look good......and I'm happy with it     I didn't get much done yesterday.....things to do around here.  we visited a new gaming store that the admiral found {my other major hobby}.  I talked to the owner for quite some time.......if I ever wanted a part time job,  I'd be a good contender for a position   I used to play a lot with my younger son,  and we've owned just about every system out there.  even though modeling wasn't our biggest draw,  my sons and I are still very close  

 

thanks Zappo....I know I did a boo boo putting a picture of the Nordkap here......I'm not sure which one you mean.  the Norden is a fairly up to date kit of a 1930's coaster.  it's laser cut with the usual hieroglyphic Billings instructions.  I've built so many Billing kits, that it's not a huge problem for me though,  I get the jist of the instructions from the pictures     the Nordkap is an old kit.  the one pictured above had to come from a very early production period.  it was not laser cut and featured printed basswood part sheets and planking.  the one I got for Christmas is even older than the first one....I would be pretty safe to say it's very close to a first production kit.  it isn't laser cut,  but instead of basswood,  it features printed mahogany part sheets and planking.  I'll be using the printed parts sheets {of course},  but the planking I will save for a sailing ship,  or a model that I won't feature paint on {I want that wood grain to shine}.  on the Nordkap pictured above, I used about 90% of the original wood......something that I'm very proud of.  I believe other pictures of her is in the gallery.

 

thanks John and Pat........I'm absolutely froze up here!   it's hardly ever been this cold so early in the season.  today we have a major snowstorm going on....they are saying 8 - 10 for us........I feel bad for the folks down around the cape.  they are bracing for almost 2 feet!.......coastal areas will be hardest hit {praying for you folks!}.   I was toggling between Mass. news channels last night.  now that the kitchen table is open again,  I'll be able to spread the huge instruction sheets out for the Thermopylae without fear of wrath.  there's still some deck work,  but as John said,  I need to get to the masts    as mentioned.......the new table is long enough.........I'm sure there's enough elbow room      I'm hoping that 2018 is a more productive year.

 

thanks OC......funny you should mention ribs.   yesterday I dropped the hull on the floor.   where I had a pin in one of the stern ribs,  it had cracked the rib in half lengthwise.   since I'm so far along with the planking,  this won't be an issue.......glue will fill in the void and will still be solid    that's a good way to look at the site and what it means to us.......but I have one better.   since I have been coming here {2009},  I have met and made so many friends.  I've always wanted the ability to 'pen pal' folks in other countries,  back in the days when I did it in letters.   I recall a fellow in Belgium I used to write to....named Jean {I forget his last name}...a fellow modeler.....I recall some really long letters.  a few months later,  the letters dwindled and then they were gone.  thanks to the internet,  we can all meet in these 'hubs',  and we can show, share,  and compare what we do,  and help each other to enjoy our hobby more.......and most of all,  learn and expand our knowledge and abilities.   it's an unstable world out there........and so is our beloved internet........when things go sour and the site goes down,  it saddens me the most when I lose touch with my friends.   this site is remarkable.......kudos to all of you that keep the gears moving here...this is by far,  the best site I have ever been a member of    I appreciate every day I can come in here,  to show you all the crazy stuff i've done   

 

I'll finish the hull today.....I have a great incentive.  the snow has picked up in intensity......it's REALLY coming down NOW!    other than taking Gibbs out,  I have no plans to go out there.  I hope folks stay off the roads and stay safe.!

[clearway]

Sorry for delay in reply to your question about winch detail- having comp probs grr!- i didn't bother adding detail to the version i built out of the box. I think the deck mounted winch will be an upgrade that was carried out to make it easier to bring lines/ nets in. In Europe a lot of smaller fishing boats like this just had the warping drums to help bring nets in hence the weird looking set up on the engine cover infront of the wheelhouse.

 

Keith

[Old Collingwood]

7 hours ago, popeye the sailor said:

thanks for the kind comments folks     I can count on one hand,  the hulls where planking went well for me.....it's not my strong point.  but by the time paint or stain goes on,  they look good......and I'm happy with it     I didn't get much done yesterday.....things to do around here.  we visited a new gaming store that the admiral found {my other major hobby}.  I talked to the owner for quite some time.......if I ever wanted a part time job,  I'd be a good contender for a position   I used to play a lot with my younger son,  and we've owned just about every system out there.  even though modeling wasn't our biggest draw,  my sons and I are still very close  

 

thanks Zappo....I know I did a boo boo putting a picture of the Nordkap here......I'm not sure which one you mean.  the Norden is a fairly up to date kit of a 1930's coaster.  it's laser cut with the usual hieroglyphic Billings instructions.  I've built so many Billing kits, that it's not a huge problem for me though,  I get the jist of the instructions from the pictures     the Nordkap is an old kit.  the one pictured above had to come from a very early production period.  it was not laser cut and featured printed basswood part sheets and planking.  the one I got for Christmas is even older than the first one....I would be pretty safe to say it's very close to a first production kit.  it isn't laser cut,  but instead of basswood,  it features printed mahogany part sheets and planking.  I'll be using the printed parts sheets {of course},  but the planking I will save for a sailing ship,  or a model that I won't feature paint on {I want that wood grain to shine}.  on the Nordkap pictured above, I used about 90% of the original wood......something that I'm very proud of.  I believe other pictures of her is in the gallery.

 

thanks John and Pat........I'm absolutely froze up here!   it's hardly ever been this cold so early in the season.  today we have a major snowstorm going on....they are saying 8 - 10 for us........I feel bad for the folks down around the cape.  they are bracing for almost 2 feet!.......coastal areas will be hardest hit {praying for you folks!}.   I was toggling between Mass. news channels last night.  now that the kitchen table is open again,  I'll be able to spread the huge instruction sheets out for the Thermopylae without fear of wrath.  there's still some deck work,  but as John said,  I need to get to the masts    as mentioned.......the new table is long enough.........I'm sure there's enough elbow room      I'm hoping that 2018 is a more productive year.

 

thanks OC......funny you should mention ribs.   yesterday I dropped the hull on the floor.   where I had a pin in one of the stern ribs,  it had cracked the rib in half lengthwise.   since I'm so far along with the planking,  this won't be an issue.......glue will fill in the void and will still be solid    that's a good way to look at the site and what it means to us.......but I have one better.   since I have been coming here {2009},  I have met and made so many friends.  I've always wanted the ability to 'pen pal' folks in other countries,  back in the days when I did it in letters.   I recall a fellow in Belgium I used to write to....named Jean {I forget his last name}...a fellow modeler.....I recall some really long letters.  a few months later,  the letters dwindled and then they were gone.  thanks to the internet,  we can all meet in these 'hubs',  and we can show, share,  and compare what we do,  and help each other to enjoy our hobby more.......and most of all,  learn and expand our knowledge and abilities.   it's an unstable world out there........and so is our beloved internet........when things go sour and the site goes down,  it saddens me the most when I lose touch with my friends.   this site is remarkable.......kudos to all of you that keep the gears moving here...this is by far,  the best site I have ever been a member of    I appreciate every day I can come in here,  to show you all the crazy stuff i've done   

 

I'll finish the hull today.....I have a great incentive.  the snow has picked up in intensity......it's REALLY coming down NOW!    other than taking Gibbs out,  I have no plans to go out there.  I hope folks stay off the roads and stay safe.!

What a lovely reply - it really brings home how important this site is to so many of us,  it re injects that warmth and good feeling we have for our fello folks.

 

OC.

[popeye the sailor]

thanks Keith.....I would think then that there might be some other type of drum mechanism working in conjunction with the winch on the pilot house base.  the depiction of the winch itself seems a little bare....just the drum without the reel guides on either side of it.  there would also need to be a pulley to change the direction of the line over the side of the boat..   now.....in one of the pictures I saw,  I thought I saw some tell tail netting in the larger drum of the starboard side winch.   I will check into this further to see if I'm correct.   I'll try and draw something......I'm no good with the fancy stuff on the computer, that I see others do.

if anything else comes to mind......please let me know.  it might give me an idea......you never know   

 

thanks OC    the internet has given us so much freedom.......wonderful if used correctly    we have so many fine folk here......they deserve to be bragged about   

 

well I didn't get to finish......having too much fun watching Gibbs in the deep snow     I got one drift that's well over my waist!  clean up tomorrow!

[popeye the sailor]

took me about two hours to clear the driveway......good thing it was light fluffy snow.   the bad thing is when I blew it in the air,  it created such a white out across the road,  I had to be extra vigilant for oncoming cars.  I did make a little progress yesterday on the Norden.......closed the starboard side up some more.

while it dried,  I did a few things to the structures.   the two front corners of the pilot house,  I cleaned it out and cemented in some 1/4 round Plastruct stock.  the two inner ones will be sealed with filler.  I have a mind to do mahogany siding,  but I will need to install the windows first.

I started to flesh out the companionway on the forward structure.  I likely created a painting nightmare in the process.....but I'll work it out.

I got a bit further on the hull........hopefully I can close it up today.

the admiral was making her sauce for Lasagna during the day yesterday........I managed to get a taste in here and there     sheer heaven!

yes......it has sausage in it   

tried it again when I got in from snow blowing.........1 taste and I had to get away..........if I didn't,  who knows what I 'd a been do'in     

[Old Collingwood]

Should have ran away with all the sauce  - could imagine you out in the snow with that boul of sauce and your admiral  shouting  "come here with that  - you you snowy sauce stealing person" lol.

 

OC.

[popeye the sailor]

nawwwww....I'd just break out the sub rolls and have at it     now if I go in the kitchen,  she'll follow me    we need to go to the store and get more Recotta.....I suggested getting two when we picked everything up.......drat!   

 

the great Ricotta caper........

 

got another length of planking on........it will give it time to dry    zipper ready to close

[clearway]

You cant get anything past the boss! Back to the winch/ net set up- on a danish seiner my dad worked on for years the winch was controlled by a handwheel in the wheelhouse (pilot house to you guys over the pond) and the ropes were guided over the side by rollers mounted on the starboard capping rail- hope this helps

 

Keith

 

[popeye the sailor]

thanks for getting back to me Keith.   I agree that there must have been a pulley affixed to the cap rail,  acting as a form of sheave.  but for a line to come from the winch pulley on the pilot house base,  there must have been a pulley gallow set up yo redirect the line to the sheave pulley.  I made a crude drawing using the parts diagram sheet.

the deck ........from this I drew the pilot house,  the proposed gallow with the pulley,  and the sheave on the cap rail.   I do admit,  the winch pulley on the pilot house base is crude......all that is supplied is a drum with no guide plates on either side.  I might try and do something with it,  to make it look more like a spool.

the round circle on the cap rail is the sheave.  without a pulley to redirect the line,  the line would not gather properly on the spool,  having constant pull to the right......all of the line would gather to the right.  now for the winch near the starboard bulwark....in front is a large spool......in the back is a small spool.   I think the large spool is a net spool,  ans the smaller one is a line spool.  the two on the top act as tensioner spools,  which aide in keeping the slack off of the line spool.  at first I thought the winch on the pilot house base was the line that was used to drag the boat onto the beach.....but it seems unlikely,  given where the line origination is starting from,  then having to travel almost the full length of the deck...to a possible sheave at the bow.  it would be super to see either one of these winches in action,  so I could wrap my head around it better.   I'm probably over thinking things,  trying to give them some sort of functionality.   I think it would add quite a bit to the model if i could.

Edited January 6, 2018 by popeye the sailor

[popeye the sailor]

I was home today.........I was up most of the night taking care of a sick admiral.  she's OK now........but not getting too much sleep,  didn't do much for my morale,  nor going to work.....so I didn't.   just as well.......it's turned into such a hateful place.   I figured that since I was home....I'd put the finish to the hull planking.  it's almost closed now anyway,  after making a little more progress from the last picture I showed of it.   I did a little sanding after the hull was done......even began to add filler over some of the imperfections {I'll coat it completely later}.

before I got too carried away with the sanding,  I should take care of the outer bulwarks.   as mentioned,  these panels are not the same thickness,  as the planking,  leaving the two surfaces not flush with each other.   I have some 0.5 mm thin strips that I will add to the bulwark panels,  to make it so.

looking like this may be the cure-all,  I cut a piece of 1/32 flat stock,  making sure the grain was going in the direction for flex,  and soaked it for about 20 mins.

cut down to a more applicable size,  the open area at the stern was repaired

later it was sanded to conform to the shape of the bulwark.   once done,  I was able to go all the way around with the thin strips,  thickening the bulwarks.  the top of the bulwark has to be trimmed,  because it's 5 mm wide.......it took two and partial one to get to the top.   I did the port bow area......after sanding it smooth,  I see that it took care of the problem quite well

 

[BANYAN]

A good base for the second layer or paint Denis

 

cheers

 

Pat

[Old Collingwood]

Coming along really nicely, its amazing the transformation from putting our first few lengths of planks, to closing up the hull,  a real sense of achievemnet I think.

 

OC.

[mtaylor]

Sorry about the Admiral, Denis.  I know how that goes.   But, you've done some very nice work (and a great fix on the stern).

[clearway]

Hope the admiral is up and better soon. as the model stands i think it is a drift netter- found this diagram and hope it helps explain better

 

Keith

Edited January 8, 2018 by clearway
mistaken grammer

[popeye the sailor]

thanks for the kind comments.......even more the folks who came to look in......thanks as well     I finished planking over the bulwark panels.........once sanded,  will put that tiny problem to rest.   I'm pleased the way it turned out.  at the moment,  it still looks like this:

as soon s I remove the clothes pins,  trim it and do a little sanding on the top,  I'll know better.   I'll save the rest of the hull sanding till I get the two stern plugs in place.

 

thanks Pat.......yea, it will be paint.  still in the raw stage at the moment.   I've been itching to get the margins along the bulwarks on the deck...perhaps I can get that done too.   it will make deck planking a lot easier  

 

thanks OC.......now I can get creative with the hull.......glad it done too  

 

thanks Lawrence......the Lasagna was great!   the admiral wasn't too upset with my taste testing.....I'm her best barometer as to how good it is.   I had a picture of the finished product......thought it best not to post it.  nothing worse than food envy      I'm halfway though with the worst part.....fleshing out the hull.   I'll really be happy when I can get some paint on her   

 

thanks Mark.....the admiral is fine.........she gave me a hard time when I got home tonight......that's a good sign     work wasn't too upset with me.....I got a write up {so what}.   thanks for the good word.

 

the Norden is a coaster of the 1930's.   they mentioned seine netting,  but that's not to say that it wasn't used for gill netting.   the practice of gill netting goes back pretty far in history......and met with a lot of regulation through the years.   gill netting was introduced in the US,  as early as the twenties.   a friend of mine, who is a driver for Wal Mart,  is a relative of Albert Arnold,  a fellow who gill netted all his life.   he and his family came from Norway,  bringing the art with them.  they settled in the great lakes.......he and a group of others came to be known as the Michigan bears.  later they migrated all the way to Gloucester Mass.   Ken gave me a lot of information on the Plyllis A,  Capt Arnold's boat  {named after his daughter}.   he wanted to see if I could make a model of her,  but I needed more pictures to do a good replica.   I haven't gotten the pictures yet    the boat is supposed to be up in Kennybunkport,  Maine,  but I believe due to cost,  it  has since been moved to Gloucester Mass,  as a sort of museum.   one of these days perhaps   

   I'll look into this some more.......perhaps I'll find something    really appreciate your help...thanks!   

[popeye the sailor]

.......to further along what I did with the bulwarks.....yea, for a little while,  the hull looked like a clamp holder.   the top strip narrowed at mid ship,  and I wanted to make sure I didn't have any areas that bowed outward.  the 5 mm strips didn't take the curvature of the bulwarks very well.

when I removed them all,  the excess needed to be removed.....it was trimmed close and then sanded flush.  this also trimmed off all of the posts,  so that was a win / win.

once completely trimmed down.  it looked a lot better,  although the stern still wanted to flatten.  if there were a couple of extra posts,  it might have taken the curvature better,  but once the cap rails are on,  I think it will pass muster.

I haven't checked the cap rails for fit yet....I'll deal with it next.   all around where the bulwarks met the hull was sanded to bring the 'fault line' flush......it came out very well.

now to get the rest of the hull straightened out,  to improve the overall looks of the hull.   perhaps even get a coat of primer on her,,,we'll see   

[rafine]

Looking very nice and ship-shape Denis. On it's way to being another of your terrific builds.

 

Bob

[mobbsie]

Hey Denis,

 

You got enough sauce without nicking it, serves you right if you got your knuckles rapped.

 

Just found you my friend and your making some rapid progress, it's not been without it's problems so far and I have to say you've mastered them very well.

 

Gonna follow you now if I may, you don't get rid of me that easily mate.

 

Be Good

 

mobbsie

[popeye the sailor]

thanks Bob......this is the part of the build that I tend to feel more critical about.   I've always said that the time before the model sees paint,  they always look terrible and a bit ugly.   then it's getting rid of all the imperfections........I wonder if the hull will survive.   I'm confident that I can turn 'er around   

 

I'm glad you found me Mobbsie......now I can truthfully say ALL my friends are look'in in     talk about troubles.......jeeze,  the planking splintered like it was brittle........and I just took another look at the other assorted strips {after knocking them on the floor with a wipe rag},  some of them aren't cut too good.   not a problem though......I have plenty of wood in inventory.   the main part of the boat is assembled now,  so I'm past that stage.   I had to run out to take the admiral to her doctor's appointment....but when we got back,  I cemented the stern blocks in place.  when they are dry I can trim them to shape.   I hope to have another update soon.......I hope to have them done.  happy to have you following along     what's the hold up with your project?   dying to see more   

[Piet]

Great progress Denis and the stern looks good from here.

Glad to hear the Admiral is back to her "old" self again.

 

Cheers,

[BANYAN]

Another rapid build Denis, if you go any faster you'll set fire to the thing!   Looking good with the bulwark in place.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[popeye the sailor]

thanks Piet and Pat     I hope your right about the rapid build.....it would be nice to call a few builds done this year.   it's been a few years since I've had a finished one {outside of the Jeanne D'Arc}.  I've got four in the stash now....one I can't touch because I have to find the fitting kit for it.   my resolution this year is to stick to my active projects and get 'em done.....the Nordkap,  the King of the mississippi,  the Marina II, and the Marie Jeanne  will just have to wait.  keen to note though.... the latter three are all Artesania Latina kits......I seem to be turning a corner regarding Billing kits.   

 

thanks to all who hit the like button