Alexandra by Jason Builder - Krick - RADIO - live steam

[Jason Builder]

Hi Everyone,

 

I set some pieces , including the steam-plant, in place to get an idea of how she’ll look.   I’m happy with how snug the roof frame sets into the cabin sides.  
 

Jason

 

[Jason Builder]

Ahoy,

 

This weekend, I am planking the inside of the hull.  The plans call for leaving the plastic exposed here, except some vertical ribs.   I got some 1/64" x 1/4" mahagony strips from Northeastern Scale Lumber Co. and used this to plank the inside of the hull.  Got a good coating of CA on myself also today.

 

-Jason

 

[Jason Builder]

Hope you are all enjoying the holidays.  I havent made much progress lately, other than cleaning up my workshop, which was nice.   I made progress today trimming out the interior, and the seats are all installed.  Note that the port side seat top is held in place with wooden cleats and is not glued in place; it is removeable to allow access to electronics below.  Soon I will varnish the cabin, prior to installing windows.  I ahve also begun spray painting the roof sections.

 

-Jason

[Jason Builder]

Happy New Year!   

 

Progress continues on the Alexandra.  I installed the coaming in the open bow area.  Teh coaming is made of two pieces which are thin in thickness, which makes a strong coaming and which also makes the bending of the wood easier.  I found that I did not need to steam the coaming itself into order to make the curve, but I did need to steam the little 1mmx1mm trim piece at that goes where the coaming meets the deck.   This curved coaming is a striking element of the look of the boat, I think.  I also have installed the rub rail which can be seen below.  Now need to move to to finish sanding, varnishing, and painting.

 

 

[Jason Builder]

Dia duit, agus Bliain Nua Shona!

 

1st day of the year and I am accelerating as I near the finish line on the Alexandra.  Calling it a day in the workshop, after applying the first coat of varnish to the woodwork.  It's always rewarding to see the finish bring out the warmth in the wood.

 

I finished the rubrail, and made the brackets and posts that will support the aft end of my custom extended cabintop.  I also made and installed the fore and aft flagpole base-blocks.

 

-Jason

 

[Jason Builder]

Apologies, just submitted the post above and I think I clicked it twice, as it posted twice, and I didn't know how to delete the duplicated post, so I just deleted the content....it wouldn't let me submit an empty post, so I wrote this sentence.  Cheers!

Edited January 1, 2020 by Jason Builder

[Jason Builder]

Today's update:  Building simple mahagony stand for the Alexandra.  The stock base works, but it's pretty short in length vs the length of the boat.  The result is a big cantilever for and aft of the stand.  Any downward force on the bow or stern send it tilting.  I have built a stand that is a big longer along the length of the boat.

 

 

[Jason Builder]

Hi Everyone!

 

Spar varnishing away over here.  I also formed the brass rod parts.  In the photo are the compass and lanterns from Krick (note that these are sold as a separate accessories kit).

 

-Jason

 

 

[BobG]

This is just a really wonderful build of a beautiful and interesting steamboat! I have looked at several of these type of models online and the Alexandra by Krick is my favorite. I didn't realize it was so big. It will certainly be an impressive model when you're finished building her. Thanks for sharing your excellent craftsmanship with us.

 

BTW, I also took a look at your wonderful website. It's very interesting and you've done a great job with it. I live in Sacramento, CA, and my brother and sister-in-law live in Wisconsin. Wisconsin is a beautiful state and my wife and I visit them each year. They have a house on a lake near Minocqua and we love it up there. I'll stick with our winters though! 

 

Bob  

 

 

Edited January 11, 2020 by BobG

[Jason Builder]

Thank you for the kind comments Bob.    Minocqua is a lovely spot; we have a place northwest of there in Hayward.  As I sit in this blizzard, Sacramento doesn’t sound too bad.  
 

Thanks also for the comment on the website, it started as a documentation of my building of an actual sailboat, and then I decided to document my hobbies on it for fun. 

I have probably another 2 coats of spar varnish to go on the Alexandra, then installing the windows and subsequent interior window trim, then painting the hull, then installing the steam plant, then completing servo linkages, then making some flags for the bow and stern. Then figuring out how radio controlled things even work (1st time with that).   All that will take me some time.  Then I need to find a non-windy place to launch this thing. 
 

All the best,

 

Jason

 

[BobG]

I've never built anything that was RC. How are the instructions that came with the Alexandra? Do they cover the installation of the RC components? 

 

My in-laws house is on Lake Shishabogama. I love those Native American names for many of the lakes up North. I'm an avid road cyclist and I ship my bike to their place so I can ride with them when we visit. Wonderful roads with little traffic and tons of lakes to visit. It's just great. 

 

We got down to 34 last week and that's cold for us! So I can ride my bike a lot during our winter when it's not raining and we can drive an hour east and be in the Sierra snow when we want to. I grew up in Indiana and I have to say I don't miss digging out the driveway and driving on ice!

 

Bob

[Jason Builder]

Hi!

 

The instructions from Krick do not cover the RC components , though the drawing show recommended locations for the throttle and rudder servos.  The drawing and kit are also based on a steam plant from Krick which I did not go with.  I’m not sure if it’s even available.  So I had to modify the sole where the steam plants mounts also.  Haven’t put much work in on the Alexandra since the holidays.   
 

I’ve never worked with RC components either.  I have the servos installed but not connected with any linkages yet.  Other components that I have purchased include the battery, a battery disconnect switch, a receiver, and the transmitter/remote control.  I am thinking that the remote control will allow me to program travel limits for the servos to prevent them from over-actuating the rudder or throttle valve.  The remote looks pretty complicatedX though I’m sure it would be simple for someone who knows what they are doing.  
 

something new to learn. 
 

Jason

 

[Jason Builder]

Merhaba!

 

I have been plugging away with more coats of varnish.  After the last coat I'm calling it quits with varnish, not sure how many coats I did but I think it was 6.  Could keep going but I'm done with it.   Installed brass deck fittings this evening which was fun.  Probably should have painted the hull first, but I wanted to have some fun with the little trinkets.  Aside from attaching the fun deck hardware, I am also finishing the keel.  I have sanded and now am now applying fairing compound (epoxy compound) to the keel and also making a nice curved fillet transition between keel and hull.

 

-Jason

 

[Jason Builder]

Sawubona,

 

These little finishing touches are fun.  Recent activity has included:

• make and varnish flagpoles
• install cleats along the deck
• install the brass handrail for the ladder/steps
• Install the window panes (note: these all needed to be trimmed to fit)
• painting the brass smoke stack (looks like this will take about 6 coats to get a nice gloss yellow opaque finish)
• Installed the door (I used very nice little brass hinges that I bought from MicroMark, they are functioning hinges and the door opens/closes.  Also installed the brass doorknob from the kit)

Beautiful snowy morning here in Wisconsin.

 

-Jason

[Jason Builder]

Witaj,

 

Cutting curtains from fabric; not my area of expertise, but I think this will turn out nice.  I mounted the curtains on compression-fit curtain rods made from a hardwood dowel.

[Jason Builder]

Sveiki!

 

More fabric work.  Making bow and stern flags.

[Jason Builder]

Bonjour,

 

Flemish coil for the dock-line at the bow.  I didn't glue this to the deck, but I did use superglue to glue the coils together so that the flemish coil will stay tight.  I can never remember if these are supposed to go clockwise or counter clockwise, I will have to look that up again so that I place it on the deck with the coil going the right way.

 

-Jason

 

[Jason Builder]

Salve,

 

Well I can see the finish line!  Here is the boat as she sits now.  I got the fenders from Krick.  They only needed the ends cut, tied and whipped.  Remaining work is to mark the waterline, paint the hull, install the prop and prop-shaft, which I will do over the coming days or weeks.  Then when it warms up (many months from now), I will see if she floats.

 

-Jason

[BobG]

Fantastic job, Jason! It's a beautiful boat. The quality of the deck fittings look great. Are those the stock fittings that come with the kit? 

 

Bob

[Jason Builder]

Hi Bob,

 

The cleats and chocks are from the kit and are cast metal.  This is the first Krick kit I’ve built and I would say it is a high quality kit.  The fittings, hardware, hull, and wood were of good quality.  Nice machined and cast fittings, detailed wooden ships wheel, high quality accessories kit.  What I added above and beyond the kit was all the non standard Wooden planking, trim work, and stronger servo bases.  I also did not use the flags from the kit or the display stand.  Door hinges did not come with the kit so I bought functional brass ones. 
 

Jason

 

[Ian B]

wow, lovely build--- tempted to do this myself

[Jason Builder]

Thanks for all the kind encouragement through this project!  This evening I cobbled together a support stand to rest the ship on when painting the hull, from some scrap pine with felt on top.  Sanded the hull with 330grit and applied a coat of rustoleum primer.

[Jason Builder]

Buenos Dias Amigos!

 

Sanded the primer with 400 grit.  I decided to go with a varnished transom, so I planked the transom with Mahagony.  2nd coat primer applied this morning.

[Jason Builder]

Hallo skipsbyggere!

 

I'm applying multiple coats of spar varnish to the transom.  I used my surface gauge to mark the waterline on the hull (after making sure the hull was level starboard to port, and stem to stern).  Now the hull is masked and the first coat of finish paint applied.

 

-Jason

 

[Jason Builder]

Ahoy,

 

The red was to red for my liking as a bottom paint, so I mixed in some brown to achieve a color I liked better.  Re-masked and painted the green.  Many coats and much sanding later, I was done and then I attached the rudder.

[Jason Builder]

Hi Everyone,

 

Installed the prop shaft and propeller, then mounted the steam-plant and attached the prop to engine drive pin which is mounted on the end of the prop shaft.  Big day over at the ole model ship yard, as the Alexandra is done for the time being (until the ice melts off the lakes and I can launch her).

 

-Jason

 

[Jason Builder]

Some photos of the completed model.

[BobG]

Wow...stunningly beautiful...perfection! Be sure to post some video when she makes her first voyage.

 

I would love to build a steam powered boat at some point. Did you get the steam engine from Krick? Also, did the Krick instructions give you the necessary information for setting your boat up with RC capability?

 

Bob

[Jason Builder]

Hi Bob,

 

Thank you for the kind comments.  The steam engine and steam plant is a kit from MSM (Miniature Steam Models) in Australia.  The instructions do not provide instruction in setting the boat up for RC, other than recommended location for servos.  
 

Cheers!

 

Jason

 

[BobG]

36 minutes ago, Jason Builder said:

The instructions do not provide instruction in setting the boat up for RC, other than recommended location for servos.  

Did you find a good source for information about setting your boat up for RC or did you just figure it out on your own?

 

Bob