Swift 1805 by PopJack - FINISHED - Artesania Latina - Virginia Pilot Boat - Older version

[PopJack]

Worked on her a bit tonight.  I have done a bit of research on the vessels of the period and made some discoveries of recreations on the water.  I don't know how accurate the paint and other features of the modern recreations are, but they look nice to a modern eye and I plan on using some of their ideas.

 

Again, this boat is for me to learn on.  Sad, but true.

 

First of all, I finished the deck.  It came out Okay, but not great.  I have been debating making treenails, but so far I haven't decided.  Since the seams are not in line, I am concerned that the nails would make this error more obvious.  So, that continues to cook in my mind.

 

 

The edges of the cabins are unfinished plywood at this point.  I was going to simply glue on a veneer, but I found where in some of the modern recreations of the boats, the natural wood of the roof of these structures remained varnished, but the edges were painted.  I had some walnut laying around, so I made a jig for my bandsaw and made a few pieces of edging.

 

 

I am going to paint these black.  So I made a quick mock up to see what she looked like.

 

 

I think this will make a nice little edge piece.  Later, I may make a scraper and shape the edge a bit, we'll see.  Also, I have to look at how everything goes together so I can determine where I need to use a veneer edge- probably under the hatch.

 

I also surfed the site and saw some real masterpiece work today- which makes me cringe a bit about posting my limited progress- but hey.... one day, some day.... maybe I'll be good enough to at least understand how that fancy stuff is done.

 

 

[PopJack]

Well, the good post first.  I added three more drawers to my little wooden tool cabinet.  I post a few photos in case they are inspiration for someone else- not as an example of good work.

 

This little project was for my own use and I did not even bother to sand the wood.  Everything except the full extension slides and the melomine was scrap.

[PopJack]

NOW THE SCREWUP.

 

I'm trying to figure out what to do about this- if anything.  I recall that although I am giving this little boat away, I was building it to build skills- simple as that.

 

I decided to try painting it to get used to working with small areas.  Boy- what a pain.  The minor painting I have done has taken nearly as much time as the woodwork.  Amaizing- but I'm learning.

 

The plans call for the slides to be edged glued to the bottom of the hatch.  This hit me as extremely flimsy so I added a brace to add glue area.  The brace is not as thick as the slides themselves, so I knew they couldn't get in the way.  They work great.

 

 

 

I also like the paint scheme I have picked out.  It is a very dark sea blue with white.  The deck structures were the first place I tried it out- and I thought it looked good.  RIGHT UP TO THE MOMENT I REALIZED I HAD GLUED THE SLIDE RAILS ON BACKWARDS!

 

 

I'm not sure what to do about this.  If I try and remove them, I will undoubtedly at least mess up the decking.  Probably break the slides as well.  I know they are backwards..... but I keep thinking.... practice boat... practice boat.  I guess I could practice taking something apart.  (or not).  Thoughts appreciated.

 

 

 

[themadchemist]

Are the deck houses glued to the deck? What type of glue, I think PVA can be softened with alcohol , or water but that may lift the decking also. If its CA they make debonder but I don't know how that may effect the wood.

Is the back deckhouse backwards on purpose. The kit shows them with both hatches facing back.

Personally I plan on removing the back deckhose and adding a binnacle and wheel, I haven't yet determined whether to try and patch the hole in the deck Or make it a grating or compainionway or skylight or..... So my answer is do what feels right.

Like you said its a learning exercise, so there is no wrong answer. After all she's a custom just

 

By the way I'm still throwing wood together, using different wrist angles and still no cool little cart....  Nice work. BTW, those carving knives in the top draw on the right, are those made from steak knifes or did you get them some where? I like them alot.

 

I really like colours of the deckhouses also.

[PopJack]

Thanks for the thoughts.  The deck-houses are just sitting there.  It's only the sliders that are glued on backwards.   THe glue is funny, I use CA as a "clamp" and PVA to hold it forever.  So...

 

I kind of like the idea of a skylight- interesting!  Honestly, since the doors don't open, I'm not sure why the hatch should slide.  Maybe I'll just try and break it off an glue on a solid piece. 

 

 

I took a class on chip carving many years ago and the carving knives are from them.  The people who ran the class had the Moor knives.  I see on that page the rosewood handles have given way to plastic.  You can also get the plastic ones from lee valley.  They are great knives  (cheap too ).  I sharpen them with ceramic stones for a razor sharp finish.  They are tough enough for chip carving, so I find use for them on the boat as well.

Edited May 12, 2013 by PopJack

[Azzoun]

If it makes you feel any better, I'd be impressed with myself if my ship looked as good as yours at this point.  Further, if it makes you feel any better, this vessel is my next build and I'm definitely noting your mistake to try to avoid on my attempt so I think alot was gained.  You learned and so will I with less pain.  Remember the next one will always be better. 

[themadchemist]

I've been wanting a set of good carving knive and was wondering if I could make some. As a ex-butcher I have so many knifes and I'm sure I have something I could grind down. I see theres still room on the cart are you going to drawer that last bottom space with a bit deeper shelf. I love the shallow drawers. Looks like that last bit of space is just about right for paint and bottles of stuff.

 

So are the hatch lids glued, or just the rails to the roof? I'd think you could soften them with water, maybe water soaked paper towels rolled up and layed along the glued edge, then see it a #11 blade can free it softened glue and CA. That is if you even want to bother. The real question is how will the shorter front effect the door, they are pretty small to begin with.  

 

Welcome to MSW Azzoun.. There are a few connys being built. and IIRC Texxn5 just finished his Revell Conny and is starting a Morgan. http://modelshipworld.com/index.php?/topic/1796-uss-constitution-by-texxn5-johnf-revell-plastic-196-kit/

[PopJack]

I was laying in bed last night, got irritated with myself and got up and broke them off.  The sliders are ruined and the roofs where they were glued  will take some sanding and patching, but I'm sure it will turn out fine.  I know you can make knives and such- I've just never done it.  One of the best tools I ever had was made form a broken hack saw blade though, a scaper I may bring out on this build.

 

Azzoun: Welcome to the discussion.  I did one thing you might find interesting last night.  I was having trouble having the front of the bulwarks fit together nicely.  I tried tape as a clamp, but it didn't work well.  So, I drilled a couple of tiny hole and threaded some heavy thread through and pulled it together.   I tied it off and then coated with glue.  Assuming that it works like I imagine, I should be able to sand the thread off.  We'll see and I'll post.

 

I keep thinking I ought to be able to steam and bend the bulwarks so they aren't under stress, but I never have figured out how to do it with the compound bends involved.

[themadchemist]

I cut my bulwarks from solid basswood sheet, I found them much easier to form then the plywood the kit supplies.

[Lucius Molchany]

Basswood is easier to work with,fine grained too!Do you plan to add bulwark stiffeners?    

[PopJack]

Nice looking boat.  I have never really worked bass wood at all- just carved it a bit.  I'll see about getting a few sheets and see how it works.

 

Yes, I plan on adding the stiffiners (if I know what you are talking about). 

Being Mother's Day, I'm having a bit of trouble getting to work on the little boat. Oh well (shrug).

[Lucius Molchany]

Yeah!tough to work on it on a holiday.

[PopJack]

Okay, the stitch and glue for the bow worked great. 

 

As a review, I couldn't get the bow to close nicely, so I drilled hole and then threaded sewing thread through them.  I tightened the thread and tied it and then applied glue.  After a couple of days, I sanded off the thread.  That was today.  It came off fine- no problems.

 

I also have the cabins rebuilt properly.  They look pretty good.

 

As noted, I did not install what I will call the waterways before I put on the bulwarks.  I did that because I wasn't sure I could get a good fit between the bulwark and the deck.  This also turned out to be a pretty good idea for me.  The waterways are primed and will be painted and installed tomorrow (with any luck).

[PopJack]

An update as to where I am.

 

First, the waterways.  The instructions indicate that what I call the waterways (that is the board on top of the deck at the intersection of the bullwark and the deck) should be installed before the bullwarks.  While this would give more glue surface, I was afraid I wouldn't get a nice closed fit. 

 

So I first installed the bullwarks, then shaped the waterways to fit up against them and then test fit.

 

 

 

I thought they came out OK, so I painted them and installed.

 

Next, the plans do not seem to indicate that the inside of the bullwark gets planked.  I didn't like this, so I painted some extra wood and installed.  I wanted the fact that this was planked wood to show.  Since it will be hard to see, I left the final coat of paint rather light and didn't do a lot of sanding.

 

I think that the Chemist did a better job than I did on this,  Post 349 shows his excellent work.

 

In any event, I did not want to try and force the wood to the full shape, so I allowed it to follow its natural bend.  I then added pieces as fillers.

 

 

Finnally, I guess that I was right to be worried, as the provided bow didn't fit well at all.  I ended up making a new one and then reshaping.

 

 

Note the patch where I had t crisis that resulted from a broken plank.  The patch should be fine once I put a bit of putty and do some sanding.

 

I have a couple of tricks up my sleeves for the next day or so.  Remember, for me this boat has two purposes:

 

1) For me to learn.

2) As a gift for a non-modeler

 

Next I'll finish the inside the bullwark and then add the vertical supports.

 

 

[PopJack]

I need some advice on how to avoid "puckering" or "buckling" of the finish planks.

 

As you can tell from the photos above, I clamped the fool out of the final wood, but still got puckers.  I suspect I can use a hypdermic to inject glue into each buckle and clamp them individually, but I must be doing something wrong for them to show up in the first place.

 

Advise would really be appreciated.

 

 

BTW, the need for filling in the hull is obvious- I will be doing that before I do any planking lower on.

 

 

[jarero]

I need some advice on how to avoid "puckering" or "buckling" of the finish planks.

 

As you can tell from the photos above, I clamped the fool out of the final wood, but still got puckers.  I suspect I can use a hypdermic to inject glue into each buckle and clamp them individually, but I must be doing something wrong for them to show up in the first place.

 

Advise would really be appreciated.

 

pucker.jpg

 

BTW, the need for filling in the hull is obvious- I will be doing that before I do any planking lower on.

Good to see that you are moving along!

 

I might have said it before that I am far from an expert but I suspect that you might be forcing too much longitudinal curvature to the planks thus causing the buckling.  If that is the case then if you fix the ones you put on already then you will have to force the additional planks to fit which will likely continue the buckling issue.  You might have to remove them and start again (fortunately you don't have many to remove).  I hope someone with more experience can chime in and validate my suspicion or help you with another suggestion.

 

Jared

[PopJack]

I want to discuss what I did on the planks.  I am only a beginner and it may be all wrong.  I understand that such a small kit is of little interest to experienced builders, but if anyone ever reads this who knows the negative consequences of my actions, I hope they will let me know.

 

First, a lot of the ripples that were evident in the above photographs were apparently due to the moisture in the wood.  I don't know if it was from the glue or the damp rag that I used to clean up the glue.  After a couple of days, the boards were nearly flat by themselves. To complete the process, I used a fine blade to open up the cavity between the board and the hull and squirted some glue in with a syringe and clamped.

 

For the remaining planks, I developed a technique that appears to work.  Note that I want these particular planks to follow the shape of the hull.  I plan on making the planks visible through the finish- and I want the flowing lines.

 

First, I applied glue heavily, more heavily that normal, concentrating on the edge of the previous board.

 

 

Then I clamped one end of the plank and rough positioned the board, working out where it would want to buckle on its own.

 

Once I understood what the board wanted to do, I clamped the other end.

 

 

I took a scrap of stiff wood about 3cm X 1.5 cm and wrapped it in wax paper.  The scrap was as stiff as I felt I could use that wouldn't acturally break when forced into the curve.  I clamped it carefully to make sure that it covered the seam.

 

 

Once I knew I had it positioned correctly, I put all the clamps I could fit on it.

 

 

I let this set for about ten minutes- enough time for the glue to grab, but not until everything was dry.  Then I removed it and found that there were a couple of small ripples where the board didn't extend far enough. 

 

 

I clamped these in a similar manner, but because I had cleaned up the glue thoroughly, I did not bother with the wax paper.  Note that the wood was quite damp from all the wiping.

 

 

After about five minutes I removed these clamps and it looks Okay.  Note this is with NO sanding at all.

 

 

I ran over it with some rough paper and as you can see, it should clean up quite well and the boat progresses.

 

 

[PopJack]

My wonderful clamping technique doesn't work when you can't reach with the clamps.  SO, I decided to use an iron to steam and heat the planks.  The iron worked well and I finished the second planking.  Not great, but I am going to paint.

 

 

 

[jarero]

Done with the second planking already? You work fast! Do you have any more pictures of the finished planking?

 

I am happy to hear that you found a solution to the problem and that you were able to keep the planks in place that you already installed. Keep up the good work.

 

Jared

[PopJack]

I started working on my scuppers today.  I didn't like the way the plans indicate the scuppers were on top of the waterways- it looks like it would never drain.  So, I cut into the waterways to make troughs for the water to drain out.

 

 

From the outside, the scuppers (not square up as of yet) look good and are in a reasonable position.

After doing as much work as I planned, I masked and then repainted the remaining waterway. The result is rather not worth the trouble.  At least painted.

 

 

I added the main "bumper" strakes (for lack of a better word at present) and everything appears to fit well together.  I'm more or less pleased, but really don't think it was worth the effort.

 

 

 

 

EDIT: LONG AFTER THIS WAS DONE:

I visited Mystic Sea Port and looked at the Morgan, which was getting ready to be launched after a re-build.  I was surprised to see that her spar deck contained waterways that were above the level of the scuppers- just like this kit showed. 

 

To prevent water from standing a series of 1 inch or so drains were drilled in the waterway that drain to the outside.  In essence, heavy water (like waves) go through the large scuppers, but minor water and pools go through the small holes. 

 

SO, I don't know that I did this right at all.  I am still happy with what I did, but can no longer say that the water would not drain off the deck as shown- unless I wanted some VERY Tiny water drains.

Edited July 19, 2013 by PopJack

[michael mott]

Looks like a good solution.

 

Michael

[PopJack]

Well, on with the learning. 

 

I decided early on to paint this boat and to give it a copper bottom.  Although the kit says nothing about it, and pilot boats themselves were probably not given copper bottoms, I did find evidence that high end boats (in addition to war ships, of course) were given copper bottoms by their owners during the time period this boat was in use.  If they operated in cold water this might well have been only a sign of status- I don't know.

 

In any event, I wanted to practice several things on this small boat before trying a bigger one and copper and painting are two of them. 

 

To that end I shot the boat today with my little air brush.  First with primer and then with a flat white overcoat basically along the water line.  Since this wasn't marked, I made a wide swath.  I also hit the bumpers- which I plan on leaving white, although the rest of the boat will be a dark sea blue.  After it was dry, I sanded it lightly, wiped it down and then tried applying the copper tape.

 

My copper tape was left over from a project some years ago, and it will not stick.  I guess the glue has cured or dried out.  So, Il be ordering more.

 

I did mark the water line, and although this was easy to do, it emphasized to me just how shallow the draft of these little boats really was.  I know they had to operate in waters near the pilot's homes, but it must have really taken courage to take these out on the open water.

 

By the way, I hate painting wood- it shows every flaw.  That is certainly true in this case.  Since I am using flat paint, repairs should be easy.  I will be doing quite a bit of filling and sanding to give me a distraction while I wait from more tape.

 

[Lucius Molchany]

Looking real good!

[PopJack]

Big news!  I actually found a photo of a pilot boat similar to the "Swift" that had a copper bottom.  The photo is black and white, so you can't tell anything about the color debate, but - and this is important to me- the plates were not well installed.  Even given the scale, I'm thinking that no matter how bad a job I do, it won't be much worse than the one in the photo.

 

The photo is located in the book:

Tidewater Triumph: The Development and Worldwide Success of the Chesapeake Bay Pilot Schooner. 

 

If interested you can view parts of it on Google Books.

 

Anyhow, some days you don't get much done.

 

 

The little piece of wood that looks like a splinter is actually lying behind the knightshead on the work surface.

[PopJack]

I spent a few minutes tonight masking off some of the bumpers.  I'm painting the majority of the upper boat dark blue (nearly black), but wanted the bumpers to be white.

 

This is historically not a bad choice based on the photos and paintings I have seen.  The only problem is, after I trimmed the tape, YELLOW looks pretty good.

 

I can just imagine her black with yellow highlights now.

 

[Salty Sea Dog]

Just read your build log. Your boat is looking great! Yellow would look good with black or the dark blue too.

 

Sweet tool cart!

[themadchemist]

Cant wait to see the coppering. I considered it but haven't committed to anything. Probably depends on how my second planking goes. I love your paint scheme. Its interesting how one kit can be so many different boats. I like that yellow also, funny how something like masking changes your mind.

I like the way your scuppers/water-ways are cut into the deck stringer. It makes good physics sense for deck water clearing. Thats something thats caused me to rethink my water-ways/scuppers. By the way do you have a pic of the finished work after the masking tape is removed and the water ways were painted black?

 

I'm also looking at trying your iron method of second planking. I recently bought one of those small sealing irons. By the way did you dampen the planks before gluing any or preshape? Dont you just love those pre-planking jitters. I hope to start today.

 

I really like the way your swift is coming together, Nice work my friend.

[captainbob]

I've enjoyed reading your build log.  Well done on both the boat and the tool cabinet.

 

Bob

[PopJack]

Started playing with the copper tonight.  Got a little done.

 

Regarding questions:Yes, I soaked the planks for 10 minutes before the ironing.  The scuppers are masked right now to prevent paint from the hull from hitting the deck.  I'll post a few photos when I get the masking tape off.

 

First, I made up some copper "plates" from tape.  I just made up a pattern that pleased me- since I've only seen one photo and I couldn't tell much from it.

 

 

Then I just started.  I don't really have a plan, I want to see how it lays in.  The only thing I'm really worried about it how I'm going to accurately cut and shape the copper at the water line.  I've been looking around for advice on this- if anyone knows where to look, I would appreciate a link.

 

 

 

I had planned to letting it dull naturally over time, but frankly, I didn't realize how BRIGHT it was going to be.  I'm thinking I may think about finding a way to start the natural oxidation process slowly.  IF only I could find a CHEMIST that I could ask.....

 

 

[PopJack]

Copper coating is continuing.  I have one side finished and am about two thirds through the other.

 

For the top edge, I saw one good solution which was to put a plank for the copper to butt up against.  I didn't want to do that- primarily because I'm lazy and didn't want to go through the painting process (since it wasn't already on, I would have started with primer, etc).

 

Instead, I used a piece of tracing paper to copy both the edge of the copper and the water line.  I then taped the individual pieces of copper to the tracing paper and cut it out with scissors.  The results were fair, although there is one error which is bothering me.

 

Since boats were coppered from the bottom up and from the stern forward (to eliminate any joint where water would be forced in by the boat moving forward), to fix this I would have to redo most of a row.  As of yet, it doesn't bother me enough.  Besides, the boat's hull has a funny curve right were the error occured, and I'd hate to find out that its going to happen everytime.  We'll see.

 

A couple of photos.  The abnormality can be clearly seen on the first photo.

 

I'm liking the pattern I put on the copper- kind of a nice effect for the fish to admire.