Schooner Germania (Nova) by KeithAug - FINISHED - Scale 1:36 - 1908 / 2011

[vossiewulf]

10 hours ago, KeithAug said:

Dan - whenever I suggest I might paint the hull the mahogany zealots threaten to take a contract out on me.

That reminds me, I need to threaten to take out a contract on Keith if he paints that mahogany. 

[KeithAug]

13 hours ago, Roger Pellett said:

This has worked for me:

Hi Roger. Yes i can see that would work. With so many options I think we could collectively write a book on "how to make a hole in  piece of wood.

[KeithAug]

16 hours ago, BANYAN said:

I prefer to paint

Hello Pat - for realism painting is clearly the way to go. What I am going to do is see how the wood looks when varnished. If the grain is nice I will minimise the paint.

[KeithAug]

12 hours ago, vossiewulf said:

I need to threaten to take out a contract on Keith

Please select an amateur.

[KeithAug]

Planker's Progress 12 - Day 26.

 

This I think will curtail the hole drilling debate - to be continued when I get to drilling the bulwarks.

 

To position the portholes I transferred their axial position to a plank of MDF which I positioned alongside the hull. I also put a piece of masking tape on the hull with top edge laid on the top edge of the shear plank (upside down in the photo). On the plan all portholes are a fixed distance from the top edge of the shear plank with the exception of aft most two which are further away. The position of the portholes was ruled on to the masking tape using an engineers square. The vertical position was then marked with callipers.

I then drilled using my pilot hole / multiple reamer method, up to 7mm. As previously explained the final size will be created using a conical sander. It worked but I am sure some of the suggested methods are better.

I am wondering whether to give her a broadside armament!!!!!!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[michael mott]

1 hour ago, KeithAug said:

I am wondering whether to give her a broadside armament!!!!!!!!!

No don't!

 

Michael

[KeithAug]

2 hours ago, michael mott said:

No don't!

Spoil sport.

[paulsutcliffe]

3 hours ago, KeithAug said:

 

 I am wondering whether to give her a broadside armament!!!!!!!!!

I agree with Michael no don't, but paint yes 😁😁

[Chasseur]

Hi Keith,

things are looking awesome nice job on the port holes. I am assuming Germania has a fibreglass Hull? If so what about a thin poured layer of liquid resin epoxy like the stuff the furniture guys use. That way no risk of planking lines showing after paint and smooth as a baby’s bottom!

Edited April 6, 2019 by Chasseur

[BANYAN]

Very nice job on the portholes Keith; they came out very 'smooth' with not a sign of chipping I could see.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[FriedClams]

She’s looking sweet Keith.  The hull is gorgeous and drilling all those portholes must have been nerve wracking.  Your control pedestal also turned out extremely nice.  Well done.

 

Gary

[druxey]

Well done!

[KeithAug]

12 hours ago, Chasseur said:

I am assuming Germania has a fibreglass Hull?

Chasseur - she has a steel hull but that aside your comments are still valid - thank you for your interest and comments. I am not sure about poured on epoxy as I don't have any experience of it. My current thoughts are multiple layers of wipe on poly which I have used before. It needs lots of layers and takes many days.

[KeithAug]

Paul, Pat, Gary, Druxey. Thank you, sometimes things work out when they could have gone badly wrong.

[John Allen]

Keith,

 

Nice on portholes, I would have had to get a teen video gamer to drill holes. (My hands would be shaking like Don Knotts skit whos nervous I'm not nervous) be terrified of screwing up a perfect planking. Well done again.

[Roger Pellett]

A friend of mine has been restoring a very large steel hulled motor yacht originally built by Berger in Manitowoc, WI.  The boat is now located in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.  As the hull plating is welded to the frames by fillet welds as these welds cool from welding temperature they cause dimpling of the plating known as “oil canning.”  While this is noticeable on some Naval and commercial vessels it is unacceptable on a luxury yacht.

 

The solution is to cover the hull in marine grade “Bondo” and then fair the entire hull by sanding with longboards.  This cosmetic coating lasts about 10 years after which it must be renewed.  A lot of backbreaking labor .which is apparently available in South Florida.

 

Perhaps Germania’s builders somehow avoided this problem and the Bondo but on the other hand, the poured epoxy finish might be closer than we realize.

 

Roger

 

 

[wefalck]

I don't know what kind of putty they used then, probably some kind of lineseed-oil based one, but some extravagant yacht-owner were known to have their boats repeatedly docked, to be puttied and sanded smooth in order to get the last fraction of knot out of them.

 

The original GERMANY was most likely not welded, as this technique became only really available in the 1930s and then it would have been acetylene and not electro-arc welding. If the plating is thick enough, the oil-canning is less likely to occur. Also close-spaced frames make it less visible.

[KeithAug]

4 hours ago, John Allen said:

I would have had to get a teen video gamer to drill holes

Hi John,

Yes its a key skill these days. While training as a surgeon my son published a technical paper on the benefits of video gaming when learning the skills of key hole surgery. Apparently his seniors were quite impressed how quickly he picked it up. He explained that the trick was to forget your hands exist and "connect your brain" directly to the video screen. If I tried it I would probably get it wrong and connect the drill to my brain.

[KeithAug]

Roger - Im not sure what they did with Germania but none of the photos show any sort of oil canning. 

 

 

[Mark Pearse]

Hi Keith

 

lot's of lively discussions, very interesting. At the risk of adding another duck to the swamp, on the paint/varnish question I've noticed that a darker colour changes the apparent proportion of a hull. A longer elegant hull painted black will look shorter & slightly boxier. I don't know if this still applies at scale. 

 

all the best from from the galleries,

[Roger Pellett]

With the money spent on Germania Nova I’ll bet that her hull has been faired too.  I have always wondered what happens to the Bondo if the boat hits a dock.  Wefalck is correct that high class riveted yachts were built by backing joints between plates with backing strips thus substituting butt joints for lapped ones.  Of course, a good bit of cosmetic finishing would still be required.

 

Roger

[KeithAug]

19 hours ago, Mark Pearse said:

a darker colour changes the apparent proportion of a hull

Mark - it makes sense to me.

18 hours ago, Roger Pellett said:

I have always wondered what happens to the Bondo if the boat hits a dock

The Bondo and the responsible crew member permanently part company.

[KeithAug]

Planker's Progress 13 - Day 27

 

And so planking (as all good things) must end.

 

I finished the rough sanding with 60 grit paper before spending a couple of hours with 120 grit.

I then wet the hull with water to lift the nap.

Once dry I moved on to 180 grit paper and repeated the wetting and sanding process twice more. I then moved on to wire wool for a final buffing before varnishing.

[Keith Black]

 I like paint as it adds realism to a ship but this hull is so very beautiful that painting it would give me a sad.  

[Jim Lad]

That really is very nice indeed, Keith.  As the original has a steel hull, I really don't see any alternative to painting - beautiful as the timber finish is.

 

John

[BANYAN]

Beautiful hull form that looks absolutely perfect in symmetry and finish - ditto John's comment though (opinion only as this is your model and your choice of finish) - she will look stunning whichever way you go.

 

cheers

 

Pat 

[KeithAug]

Today I applied the first coat of wipe on polyurethane and took a couple of shots while still wet. In the past I have had trouble with the first few coats drying. Not sure why but I find the poly is tacky to the touch well beyond its stated 4 hours drying time. The workshop toady was sitting comfortably at 12 centigrade and humidity was low, never the less 8 hours after application and the hull is still much too tacky to contemplate another coat. I'll leave it overnight and see how it is in the morning.

I am expecting to have to apply upward of 10 coats so progress on the hull is going to slow and I am going to have to find something else to do - either deck fittings or sorting out the garden. I am hoping for rain!!!!

 

I am reading with interest the postings on painting recommendations but I think I had better narrow down the debate.

 

Below the water line Germainia is painted a rather unattractive black. Above the waterline is white with the exception of decoration which is in gold.

Some time ago I made the decision to finish the hull below the waterline with clear polyurethane. I know this won't be consistent with the steel hull but its the penalty I have to pay to get it on display in the inhabited area of the house. My original plan was to paint above the waterline white with the decoration in gold - as per the original. However a number of comments posted here and from daughter have raised doubts. I have to remember that my daughter plans to house my efforts when she consigns me to a care home. Apparently doing what she wants earns me points which I can trade in for a better quality home when the time comes. I feel I have to paint a waterline band in white whatever happens so this decision is made. The only question really outstanding is whether I repeat the same paintwork scheme I used on Altair or stick with my original plan to paint above the waterline white. 

 

Thank you Keith, Pat and John for your comments and thank you to everyone else who has visited.

 

[wefalck]

Isn't 12°C a bit on the low side ? I would be freezing to death in such conditions and most varnishes and lacquers seem to be set for a tempature range between 15°C and 25°C.

 

Apart from that, the hull is looking just gorgeous  👍👍👍   Wouldn't want to keep it as a kind of sculpture and make another one for the real boat ? 😏

 

Otherwise, I think she will also look very elegant in white above the waterline ...

[KeithAug]

1 hour ago, wefalck said:

Isn't 12°C a bit on the low side

Eberhard - the paint can does not quote a temperature and to be fair it says dry to the touch in 4 hours - repaint 16 to 24 hours. If it does not dry overnight I will move it into the boiler room. I start getting reluctant to go into the workshop when the thermometer reaches about 8 deg and below that I take a fan heater with me, by 12 deg I am comfortable enough not to notice the temperature. I suppose we are all comfortable in  what you are used to, a certain Canadian gentleman tells me he only thinks about changing out of his T shirt and shorts once the temperature gets down to a couple of degrees.

[wefalck]

Well, my Canadian friends roll out the barbecue, when the temperature rises above freezing  . We central and northern Europeans are used to well-heated places in winter - strangely enough the southern Europeans don't seem to mind the cold in their houses, although it can get pretty cold during winter nights - uncomfortably cold actually. Chacun a son gout ...