New England Stonington Dragger by FriedClams - FINISHED - 1:48 POB

[KeithAug]

Gary - masterful - as we all have come to expect. 

[mtaylor]

Like the others, I wasn't sure what I was seeing.. real or model.   Your work boggles the mind.

[Kevin]

same here. i realy thought the build was a lot better, it makes it even more stunning

[JpR62]

What else to add ? Just exceptional !

Thank you for brightening up this day !

[KenW]

Congrats on a superb model.  I can only echo what many others have said.

Cheers.

[Roger Pellett]

Very nice, Gary!

 

Roger

[michael mott]

On 7/19/2020 at 2:12 PM, wefalck said:

I imagined the model to b much bigger ...

Gary I had the same impression, I am amazed at the small size of the detail work that you have put into this model, superb work all round.

 

Michael

[FriedClams]

Hello folks. Earlier in the week, I noticed that the title of my log had been edited to say “FINISHED” and also a tag had been added to indicate the same. I don't know how long it had been like that or how it got that way, but the model isn't done and I've since deleted FINSHED from the title. Not a big deal and probably no one even noticed. So just to let you know - you are not rid of me yet.

 

 

And thanks to everyone for the “likes” and all the wonderful comments.   It's great to share this hobby with fellow modelers.

 

On 7/19/2020 at 4:10 PM, Thistle17 said:

I have spent hours dockside in New England taking in the fishing fleet work craft. I have a special reverence for them.

Thanks Joe. I too have an admiration for working boats. I was born in New Bedford, Mass in 54 and my parents' house was about a mile from the harbor. As a young boy the wharves were an irresistible attraction. I loved the sights and sounds of the place and it felt exotic and a little dangerous. Fishing boats of many types and sizes crowded the piers, from offshore Eastern-rig and scallop draggers to stern trawlers and onshore boats. Many of the local fisherman were Portuguese and they were a hard working, tough and no nonsense group of men. Mostly they were good-natured and quick with a smile, but occasionally someone would give me the stink eye and tell me to get lost – which I would do without hesitation. And that summer smell of humid salt air and fresh fish mixed together with a tinge of diesel. I haven't lived in New Bedford for decades and today there are restaurants, shops and pubs down at the waterfront, but the place retains its authentic feel and remains the No.1 fishing port in the U.S. based on the value of its landings. Long live working waterfronts everywhere.

 

I apologize for typing out-loud. Thanks again.

 

On 7/19/2020 at 4:12 PM, wefalck said:

Thanks for the hand on the last picture - I imagined the model to b much bigger ...

Hello Wefalck. In that photo, I'm holding the model with the bow pointed slightly downward so the view is somewhat foreshortened, but yes it is rather small - 11.25” (28.5 cm) LOA.

 

Thanks

 

On 7/19/2020 at 6:04 PM, gsdpic said:

You must be getting close to done?  I've thought that before and you keep adding more incredible details.

Thanks for visiting and the comment gsdpic. Not done yet but getting closer. I still have the prop and rudder, a bilge pump, an anchor, the hull coloring of course, some kind of base stand or mini diorama and . . . I better get going.

 

 

Boom and Stays

 

Here is a short update on the dragger.

 

The boom and the remainder of the stays/rigging have been placed on the boat. The boom was cut and profiled earlier when the mast was made up, so all that needed to be done was installing the banding, eyes and the base collar where it attaches to the mast.

 

First the eye bands and collar. The bands are bottle neck foil and the base is brass and tin.

 

 

Injection molded eyes are painted and inserted into the boom.

 

A bolt head is added to the base collar and then colored.

 

The stem bracket and plate that receives the mast stays are made up of two pieces of tin.

 

These are then glued onto the stem, bolts holes drilled, placed and colored. What is the proper name for this piece of hardware?

 

Two additional stays supporting the boom are run down to chainplates. The port side runs aft, and the starboard stay attaches to a chainplate just forward of the gallows. Not the easiest thing to show, but they are visible in the image below leading off the lower set of eyes on the boom.

 

Slings are used for the stays at the spreader rather than attaching to eyes.

 

 

 

Thanks for stopping by.

 

Gary

 

 

[vaddoc]

1 minute ago, FriedClams said:

What is the proper name for this piece of hardware?

Crance Iron? Love the rusty look. Gary, it is such a pleasure to follow your log.

[Roger Pellett]

My wife and I visited New Bedford last October to attend the NRG Conference and we both loved the place.  There was a great restaurant across the street from the hotel.  In addition to having great food (lobster) it overlooked the fishing fleet.  Lots of authentic working craft.  A pleasant and unexpected highlight was the speaker at the dinner discussed the port’s diverse and rich cultural heritage.

 

We unfortunately had to leave on Saturday afternoon to travel to Brooklyn to attend a Sunday birthday party for our. 4 year old grand daughter.  I much preferred New Bedford to a bunch of screaming toddlers.

 

Roger

 

 

 

[Tim Murphy]

Gary, I really am hoping that we will see your model at next April’s North East Conference in New London, Conn.

I would be very sad if COVID cancels this meeting again.

Your ship is so well done and realistic. The wood is so well weathered and sea worned.

This build is art unto its self. You have shown me so much that I hope I can use it my models. The best thing about these projects is that they are teaching tools.

Thank You 

Tim Murphy

[FriedClams]

On 7/26/2020 at 4:06 PM, vaddoc said:

Crance Iron? Love the rusty look.

You're probably right Vaddoc, though I usually think of a crance iron in association with a bowsprit. Thanks for the nice comment.

 

On 7/26/2020 at 7:44 PM, Roger Pellett said:

My wife and I visited New Bedford last October to attend the NRG Conference and we both loved the place.  There was a great restaurant across the street from the hotel.  In addition to having great food (lobster) it overlooked the fishing fleet.

Sounds like the two of you had a good time Roger. There are a lot of good eats down there – Merrill's and The Black Whale on the wharves, and Moby Dick Brewing and the Whalers Tavern in the historic district are a few of my favorites. Hope they all survive this darned virus.

 

On 7/26/2020 at 7:58 PM, Tim Murphy said:

I really am hoping that we will see your model at next April’s North East Conference in New London, Conn.

Hi Tim. It is my intention to be there.

On 7/26/2020 at 7:58 PM, Tim Murphy said:

You have shown me so much that I hope I can use it my models.

It is good to think something in my log might be useful to you in your own modeling.  Thanks for the great comment Tim.

  

And thanks to everyone looking in and for the "likes".

 

 

Bilge Pump

 

The Edson model #2 pump is being used as a prototype (more-or-less) for this model. I used it as a general guide for the overall dimensions and construction. However, the Edson #2 can be operated from three positions whereas mine will be operable from only two.

 

 

This construction is a real hodgepodge of brass, paper, styrene, steel and plastic because I'm using whatever I have on hand.  It is 9/32” (7.14mm) wide by 1/4” (6.35mm) tall.

 

I begin with the brass center throat and the base which is wrapped paper.

 

 

 

Once I have enough wraps of paper giving me the base width needed, I saturate it with very thin CA (like water) which effectively turns it into a piece of plastic. I then jam it onto a drywall bit and spin it in a drill to get it round and smooth.  I use a drill motor instead of a Dremel because I can run the drill at very low RPM.

 

 

 

The lower pump flange is made from a steel flat washer. The washer is used simply because it was the exact thickness I needed. The center is drilled out to size and then pushed onto a tapered burr and placed into the drill chuck. The outer diameter is then reduced to size with a diamond grit file.

 

 

 

The washer is epoxied on and the spout opening is filed out.

 

 

 

The upper flange and spout are made from styrene. Holes are drilled for the connecting rods.

 

 

 

Brass wire is inserted for the connecting rods and injection molded nut/bolts are glued on top and nut heads on the bottom. The simplified inner pump thingy is a slide fit brass tube topped with styrene and bent wire. The handle is brass wire. The handle on a real pump is a more complicated item consisting of a rod that screws into a cast socket with a hook and fulcrum seats – but I'm just not going there.

 

 

 

The image below shows two small pieces of half round styrene which are placed on the upper flange and serve as the fulcrum point for the pump handle.

 

 

 

It was painted a base mixture of Testors “steel” and “rust” enamel. There is also some silver and black to help accentuate details. A few metal looking pigments and pencil graphite were used for highlighting. 

 

 

 

 

These pumps were positioned in a number of different places on deck and I chose between the winch and pilothouse for this model.

 

 

Thanks for stopping by.

 

Gary

 

 

[druxey]

What simple, innovative and effective techniques, Gary! Great result.

[Keith Black]

Gary, your ability to cram that much detail into that small amount of space is amazing. And for it to also be realistic and beautiful at the same time makes it even that much more amazing. 

[pwog]

Gary, I’m new here and I’m slowly working my way around the site. I tend to be draw to work boats, fishing boats and commercial ships. This model is amazing! Great job! 

[Bedford]

Congrats on Last Dollar being made the cover girl on the facebook page

 

[FriedClams]

 

Thank you so much Druxey and Keith for the fine comments and your continuing support.  It is greatly appreciated.  And thanks to all for the likes and looking in.

 

On 8/3/2020 at 4:28 PM, pwog said:

I’m new here and I’m slowly working my way around the site. I tend to be draw to work boats, fishing boats and commercial ships.

Welcome and thanks for checking out my build and the kind words.

 

On 8/16/2020 at 12:12 AM, Bedford said:

Congrats on Last Dollar being made the cover girl on the facebook page

Thanks - I always wanted to be a cover girl.

 

 

 

Some Rope and an Anchor

 

The bitt on the fore deck needs some rope wrapped around it.

 

I'm using miniature rope that scales to around 1-1/8” in diameter. The rope has a nice light brown color, but it looks too clean and new for this old boat, so I bleached it back to natural then added color of my own. I want something more salty gray and sun bleached. I use dry chalk liquefied with alcohol and then applied with a brush. I randomly apply three different colors to give it some variation. Where it's too heavy and dark or needs additional blending, I liberally brush on straight clean alcohol.

 

 

 

This color and weathering business requires a lot of trial and error because often what looks great on the work bench looks ludicrous when placed on the model. Color and texture read differently based on what surrounds it. So after too gray, too brown, too dark, too light, I finally surrendered to the color shown below.  The image shows the progression of original, bleached and final.

 

 

 

I saturate the rope with a wet-water and PVA mix and arrange it on a mock-up.

 

 

 

Enough PVA was added so it holds its shape, but no so much that it can't be pulled apart and straightened.

 

 

 

I then worked it over the bitt and any coils that didn't lay flat were glued down.

 

 

 

Looking through photos for an anchor type, I was surprised by how few of them I actually saw on the boats. When I did see one, they were commonly the Danforth type. But those weren't invented until 1939 and this model predates that, so I can't use one of those. I did see folding stock/admiralty anchors on a few boats and I guess a couple of fit men could pull a small one back up by hand when needed.  No windlass on these boats.

 

Below is the anchor I'm making. I traced an internet photo in CAD and scaled it down to an appropriate size. This would weight in the 110 to 140 lbs. range depending on the source of info..

 

The drawing is printed on cellophane tape and affixed to styrene.

 

 

 

It is cut out large and filed back to the outline. Flukes are cut, glued on and filed. The stock is blackened phosphor bronze and the balls are dressmaker pin heads. The chocks are slices of aluminum tube.

 

 

 

Everything was painted flat black enamel and poked at with the end of a firm brush to achieve a rough textured surface. (I let the paint firm up a bit before I start to poke at it – a cosmetic sponge also works great.) Once completely dry, a rust colored pigment is washed on and quickly wiped off with a finger leaving color down in the recesses. I used pigment and alcohol here, but thinned acrylic or other color wash works just as well. Finally, pencil graphite is rubbed on where I want to show seafloor abrasion.

 

 

 

Glued to the boat along with some hold-downs.

 

 

 

I'm not really sure what it is, but I'm not happy with how these two items look on the boat and I haven't determined what needs to be done to fix it.  Something just doesn't look right and it bugs me every time I look at it.  For now I'll just give it some time to stew.  Any and all observations and criticisms are always welcomed.

 

 

Thanks for stopping in.  Stay well.

 

Gary

 

[wefalck]

Some more clutter and dirt around it ?

[Ekis]

Just a lesson in model making...

[druxey]

Beautifully executed. I think what is bugging you is the size of the ball on the end of the anchor stock. It only needs to be large enough so that the stock won't slip through the shank. Otherwise, it looks very, very convincing.

[Keith Black]

 Gary, maybe it's because they look like they've always been there and after all the work you put into them, for you, they aren't making the visual impact you thought they should?

 The rope and anchor are in no way ho-hum details, they've joined the other bits bringing life to the boat, well thought out and beautifully made. 

[ccoyle]

4 hours ago, wefalck said:

Some more clutter and dirt around it ?

That was my first thought, too. An anchor and hawse were bound to bring a little dreck aboard when hoisted in and stowed.

[Valeriy V]

Gary , my eyes refuse to believe that this anchor is made of plastic, it's amazing!

I continue to enjoy watching your wonderful work.

[wefalck]

OK, the fishermen were/are tough guys, but how would they have man-handled a 140 lb anchor, an anchor of almost the weight of a man ?

[Cathead]

15 hours ago, wefalck said:

Some more clutter and dirt around it ?

I agree. The deck is crisp and clean around those nicely weathered details; no sign of the anchor or rope ever having been dragged around, abrading the deck and leaving marks/gunk behind. I think it creates too sharp a contrast between the details and the deck. I think if it were me I'd trying using pastels to add just some hints of localized use on the deck.

[Keith Black]

5 hours ago, Cathead said:

The deck is crisp and clean around those nicely weathered details

Maybe they took some water over the bow as the captain made his way back to port in heavy seas or maybe the deckhand washed down the deck with that port side leaky hose. 

[Cathead]

Sure, you can always explain a given situation or appearance. You can have, say, a model railroad locomotive that's all shiny. The narrative may be that it's just out of the paint shop, but the eye will likely still see it as "wrong" if its surroundings are more weathered. Or a cannon that's too shiny because it was just replaced, but it'll still look out of place among grimier ones. The point it, if there's a concern that the anchor somehow feels "wrong", it could be because the eye unconciously sees it as standing out from the deck. Just a theory.

[Keith Black]

On 2/24/2019 at 3:48 PM, FriedClams said:

All features and details will depict what would have been found on actual boats – nothing will be added for the sake of visual interest.

 

This model will be weathered to show honest wear.  It will not be a wreck, but I have never seen a pristine commercial fishing vessel.  Hard working fisherman worked these boats hard.  I hope to capture that feel without making a caricature out of it.

 The above is from the first post of this build log.

 I think the anchor is in keeping with the rest of the build and remains true to Gary's mission statement, but I have to agree with Wefalck, "OK, the fishermen were/are tough guys, but how would they have man-handled a 140 lb anchor, an anchor of almost the weight of a man ?"

 Maybe what's bugging Gary is the lack of any means to hoist the anchor other than by brute strength? 

[Kevin]

i hope you find what it is that troubling you, but more clutter, like fenders or fish boxes would not go amiss, lovely work

 

[FriedClams]

Hello everyone and thanks for the comments, suggestions and moral support.  It is great to have the fresh eyes and experience of fellow modelers.

 

19 hours ago, Keith Black said:

for you, they aren't making the visual impact you thought they should?

Hello Keith.  Thanks for your wonderful comments.  You're right about the visual impact thing.  As I creep closer to the end of this build, I find myself becoming more critical of my modeling.  It's so easy to rush to the finish line only to trip and fall over your own shoelaces before you get there.  I'm at the point in this model where I'm trying not to add anything that negatively impacts the whole.  Thanks again.

 

19 hours ago, druxey said:

I think what is bugging you is the size of the ball on the end of the anchor stock. It only needs to be large enough so that the stock won't slip through the shank.

You are correct Druxey – the stock ball is too large.  It is amazing how many times I looked right at it and never saw it,  Good catch and thank you – I will be changing it.

 

22 hours ago, wefalck said:

Some more clutter and dirt around it ?

17 hours ago, ccoyle said:

That was my first thought, too. An anchor and hawse were bound to bring a little dreck aboard when hoisted in and stowed

6 hours ago, Cathead said:

I agree. The deck is crisp and clean around those nicely weathered details; no sign of the anchor or rope ever having been dragged around, abrading the deck and leaving marks/gunk behind. I think it creates too sharp a contrast between the details and the deck. I think if it were me I'd trying using pastels to add just some hints of localized use on the deck.

Wefalck, Chris and Eric - thanks for your observations and suggestions.  Yes, the area around the anchor needs some tough love to pull it together and to look as though it has been used a few times.  I'm going to take some time to consider exactly what to do, because if I hose up the deck, it's going to be a bear to fix.  Thank you for your helpful input. 

 

11 hours ago, wefalck said:

OK, the fishermen were/are tough guys, but how would they have man-handled a 140 lb anchor, an anchor of almost the weight of a man ?

That's easy – just pick it up one handed and throw it over your shoulder.  In my dreams I can do stuff like that, but seriously - I agree, that is a chunk of iron.  I wondered about this myself and it's hard to envision two men pulling up an anchor that weighs 140 lbs. standing on a pitching deck with no rail.  Maybe they weren't as heavy as that and two men could easily handle it – I don't know.  Something I have noticed, and it may be just coincidental, is that the anchors were typically stowed on the starboard side of the forward deck, the same side as the gallows frame.  Obviously they would never be dragging a net and dropping an anchor at the same time, so I wonder if they utilized the winch or one of the gypsy heads to pull up the anchor.  Once on board two men could easily carry it the 15 feet to its stow point on the forward deck, out of the way of the business of fishing.  Thinking out-loud.  And my guess is they didn't drop anchor very often.

 

Good observation and thanks for the comment.

 

22 hours ago, Ekis said:

Just a lesson in model making...

Thank you Ekis

 

13 hours ago, Valeriy V said:

Gary , my eyes refuse to believe that this anchor is made of plastic, it's amazing!

I continue to enjoy watching your wonderful work.

Thank you Valeriy _  your nice comment is much appreciated.

 

Gary