Clotilda by popeye the sailor - Steingraeber - 1:60 scale - slave ship - modified Agilis kit

[jct]

THX

[popeye the sailor]

thanks gents.......one more cut out  ....three more to go.   I'll have to see how the bulwarks are arranged as far as height goes......some of the bulkheads have no slots at the keel end.   I may also trace out and cut another keel,  in case there's a problem >evil grin<   sure J........the list doesn't have any quantity though.   I think this is the wood your talking about

 

I think this is pine......lovely grain.   I think I'll use it for the deck of the Progress....unstained and sealed,  I think it will look really nice.  see those parts to the right in the second picture.......feels like leather or textured plastic?

    they are for the cabin roof and the skylight.......probably won't use it either.  here is the parts list in the booklet:

  

just so you don't need to squint........

  

I was going to mention last night that I sent a PM {on the ETSY site} to Kal,  the person that was selling the kit.   I let him know what's going on........it was of no fault of his......and that I expected to see some anomaly with the kit.  I asked him the age of the kit.......earlier he mentioned that it had been in his family for a long time.   his mother used to work at a shop and she bought it for the father about 50 years ago.  it remained untouched all this time.  he didn't mention,  but I sense that one or both of his parents has passed on.  I let him know what I was doing....he's still gonna get a five star review from me.  I can't complain........old kits like this are a 50 / 50 kind of thing........good kit / bad kit.  I've had such good luck with these kits in the past.......sad not to try and resurrect this one.

 

well....as of a couple of moments ago,  all ten bulkheads are cut out.  I still need to clean them up.  I will trace out the keel and use it instead of the one supplied........might as well work with all fresh wood  

[popeye the sailor]

I did have to laugh.......as I pulled them apart,  the outer layer came off with it in places........re-laminate them.........sure why not!!   perhaps I can get a second hull out of this.....ka-ching!  

 

 I can actually FEEL the gears turning 

[jct]

51 minutes ago, popeye the sailor said:

thanks gents.......one more cut out  ....three more to go.   I'll have to see how the bulwarks are arranged as far as height goes......some of the bulkheads have no slots at the keel end. 

Hey Denis...those just mount on top of the keel assembly...per the plans, Thx for the pics, Yep that's the stuff...mine is really orange...thinking it's going to be used for decking on this here boat...after a ride through the saw to reduce them to a more realistic width...everything on this boat is jumbo size

Edited February 7, 2020 by jct

[popeye the sailor]

yepper........seems to be the rule with this kit.   whether or not they will need to be slotted at the keel.......only your build slip will know for sure    #1 does.......found that much out.   as for that planking......sounds like a bit more work,  although 3 to 4 mm should put the deck planking to scale.  sanding may take some of the color out of it for ya.......likely got that color with age.  if it's really is pine,  than likely it's the pitch.

 

I should wait,  but I have to let glue dry for the moment,  so I have time to kill.  I'm not really pleased with the new scroll saw.........there is a plastic plug that acts as a collar where the blade is.  darn thing isn't flush with the table......needs around 1/32 or so.  I'm gonna make one out of wood to replace it.   likely this is the reason behind the chipping issue.  another issue is that I don't have it on a stable table....just a board on top of milk crates

   I have a shelf {cabinet} that I made a while ago.......I use it now to store my junk box and assorted stuff,  out in the hallway.  it's big enough to lay on it's side.....I can still use it as a junk bin holder,  and has enough surface space that I can actually fasten the saw to it,  to hold it in place {future task}.  it works fine for a while,  but when the board goes off center with the milk crates,  it tend to vibrate more....that's when the scroll saw starts to walk.  but at any rate.......the cutting is done for the most part  

I even got the second keel cut......

  

I did some of the squaring up.....cleaning up the keel part.......now all we need is a build slip.   I knew I had the old one still around ......I set up a couple slips on it.......one might work .   I can't use the spare one I made,  from the odd parts I got when BB closed down on Wisconsin........the slot is too wide for the keel too  

...and I can't use the one I bought,  'cuz it's in use right now.......

.......slots are too wide on that one too............still can't find the old one.......I guess I'll have to make one for it.   taking my old board,  to build balsa airplanes on,  two lengths of 1/8 strip was laid down.   a piece of the plywood was used for the spacing.  at one end,  a plug was fitted in,  closing off the slot.

the plug will act as a stop........but I really didn't need to do it,  because to keep the keel vertically straight,  I added a wide stop and braced it with a wedge {the wedge could have filled the slot just as effectively}.

  

  

next time....think before I act......will me?!?!???

Edited February 7, 2020 by popeye the sailor

[Jim Lad]

All proceeding at your usual breakneck speed, Popeye!

 

John

[jct]

Your way ahead of me...I probably have a good couple hours of sanding to shape the bulkheads/keel

[popeye the sailor]

I'm doing that as I go along J........perhaps it will save time....dunno    I'm finding info in the strangest of places..... took the admiral to her doctor's appointment.  I picked up a magazine to read while I was waiting,  and what do I see....an article about the clotilda and the last slave ship.  it's in this month's National Geographic...I'm going to stop at the drug store near my house tomorrow and pick up a copy.  it has a pretty good picture of what she looked like........relatively flatish deck,  all the way to the bow,  a windlass instead of a capstan,  two gratings instead of the one supplied in the kit.  so this tells me that all of the bulkheads need to be brought up without much of a curvature......probably a slight camber side to side.  schooner rigging.........then again,  that's what the Clotilda was.

 

hi John.......yea.....but I'll be slowing down.  I gotta go back to work    glad your following along  

 

but hey........while I'm here,  I'll share what I did after I last posted.   so,  with the stern in a position where it won't move,  I added a couple strips to hold the frame vertical.

to hold up the bow was the next step......taking the piece of the plywood used to space the base strips,  a slot the width of the keel was cut in the middle of the piece.   it was then cemented into place at the bow,  making sure it would hold it perfectly straight.

two pieces of strip was added to the base of the holder to strengthen it.   now the frame won't move,  and I can proceed.  I pushed it up to my vise to hold it in place for the time being.

the line will follow from bow stem to stern stem....all should be flush.  to be safe,  a slight curvature fore to aft wouldn't be incorrect.  this frame also could be assembled upside down to insure the bulwark posts don't show this curvature......according to the picture,  the cap rails are relatively flat.  I found that I did need to slot the bottom of the #1 bulkhead,  to achieve being flush with the bow stem {deck platform surface}.

I was going to cut another one due to that chigger in the post,  but I can patch it before planking {not to mention I still need to fare the frame afterwards}.  you might see the mark I made in the center of the deck platform flat.........that is my center.  all bulkheads need to be marked for proper location.  it was cemented in place.

at this time,  it was off to the doctors and grocery shopping....so far,  I haven't gotten back to her.  the article I read is pretty good.....talks a lot about the slaves that were brought over on that last voyage,  and the town that was created,  when they were freed after the war.  there are two pictures...doesn't show the complete rigging though......bummer.  

[mtaylor]

Denis, when you make your new insert for the saw, try to get the hole for blade as small as possible without interferring.  It helps when trying to cut thin wood and/or small pieces.   Also, if you have different (I'll call it width) blades due to tooth count, make different sized inserts.  

[popeye the sailor]

I thought about that Mark........I wish I could make it out of metal.  the blade runs though around a 1/2 inch hole...you can actually see the blade shift side to side as your passing the wood though.  having it run through a narrow slot might deter that from happening.  it won't have the slotting that this one has.......

you can see the depth problem in this picture........shy about 1/32 from being flush with the table.  the blade has all kinds of room to shift when cutting.  it won't deter it if the replacement has a narrow slot.  I will mark it in a way so that the slot is directly in front of the blade,  so it still can be removed to change the blade.  the pressure fork is another Achilles heel.....the darn thing isn't straight....the adjustment is poorly designed,  so that it causes it to sit a bit off.  if I do it right,  I should only need to make one insert.

on my old Craftsman,  I removed it because it put too much pressure on the wood....very hard to maneuver.   the adjustment knob tightens against a flat along the height rod,  the when loosened,  becomes very flimsy.

    I'll show you what I come up with  

[mtaylor]

If the blade is moving from side to side it sounds like something is out of alignment.  You could also clamp a sheet of wood to the top with smaller diameter hole for the blade.  Might be faster and easier to do that.

 

I took that darned fork off very soon after getting my scroll saw.   Was too big and in the way for what I was cutting.   Just have to make sure to put a bit of pressure on the wood being cut, a sharp blade and a slow and easy feed.  

[popeye the sailor]

that what I did with the Craftsman.....I don't recall if it had a pressure adjustment.  the side to side motion is normal,  since there is nothing that prevents it.......there is a tension adjustment {I can play a musical tune  }

 

dunno......I'll do something with it before I use it again   

[mtaylor]

Other than blade tension, I don't know of any other adjustments.  I did have older saw early one that wore out the bearings and blade wobble was very bad.  See if the top blade holder wobbles and same for the lower.  If they're wobbling, that's not good.

[popeye the sailor]

after seeing what J went through to assemble his frame,  I might change it up a little.   I still want to give the deck a little camber fore and aft....I think that's typical,  especially with these ships.  taking a straight 1/16 X 1/16 length of strip stock,  I laid it bow to stern,  pressing it against the tops.  #9 and #8 were cemented in place....some shimming was need to bring them up to the line

blocks were added to give them more bonding area

this went on all the way til I got to #4, making sure that the wood strip was pressed against the stem tops.  I saw that #6 was still a bit low........instead of ripping it out and doing it again,  I just added a shim across the deck area.

others are shimmed to bring them up to the line.   all of the bulkheads,  except #10 are in place now.  at this time,  I loosened the strip to reveal how much camber I gave it

note at the bow stem...the tip of the bow is higher.  pressed down in the center {around #5} it can be seen that the bow and stern are higher than the center of the deck.  it's not much camber,  but it's enough.   #6 and #7 got the most shimming.

as well as #2

looking down the barrel of the frame,  I notices #3 was a bit off.   that one I did remove and reposition....no way to shim my way out of that one  

judging what J said about the deck platform,  I wonder if the supplied platform is even salvageable?!   some how,  it doesn't seem correct that there should be so much stern overhang,  or that the deck so far back at the bow.   I'll do a bit more to strengthen the frame,  and then we'll check out the platform.   it sounds like it will be instrumental in adding the transom.

 

[popeye the sailor]

is it morning...........I feel like I got run over by a truck    ....really gotta change jobs one of these days.   I always feel sort of laggy after a work week........but that didn't stop me last night though     after a bout of falling asleep at the computer,  like I always seem to do,  I got productive.   ....it actually felt good to be at the table    after the last bulkhead was put in place,  I shut off the light and called it a day.  even with how I felt this morning,  I took a look at the frame.  everything looks fine.  for chucks and grins,  I dry fitted the deck platform........it went on unbelievably well,  only needing a few adjustments of the bulwark posts.

the deck isn't pushed down all the way.   I did a few trims here and there and fitted it again.......a lot better this time    so at this point,  I threw caution to the wind and cemented the deck down.   

gotta go for a haircut........I'll see later when it has dried.   I still haven't found the magazine.....I hope I see it at the barbers  

[jct]

Lookin good Denis

[Jim Lad]

Looks like a ship, mate! 

 

John

[popeye the sailor]

thanks J and John.......happy to see the assembly so far look'in alright.   I'm still thinking that the platform is too far back........the tiller hole is not in line with the stern stem.   I will need to drill another hole,  or do something in an attempt to fake it.  the bow gives me the creeps too............I still think it's too far back.  the diagram shows a bow stem that protrudes the hull,  but planked I think it will reveal gaps on both sides.  I'll just have to do it and see for myself.  I've got an idea about those two extra slots........I could simply plank over them and be done with it,  but I'm thinking the counter will need some help with support.   the stern is still in the thought mode.....the deck platform has a curved transom,   but the transom piece is flat.........could also use some bulwark posts to cap it off........thinking out loud  

 

after our hair appointments,  we stopped at grocery store we used to frequent when we lived in the area.  they didn't have the National Geographic either.  we're having lunch........after which,  we're going to go to the local Barnes & Nobel to see if they might have it.  got some more cutting to do when I get back

[Shotlocker]

Denis,

 

The plans I have for the Steingraeber kit of the "Marie Celeste" are remarkably similar to those of the Agilis...your kit is the only other one by that manufacturer

that I've ever seen; bought mine in '75. Looking at your photos definitely remind me of what I had to go through building mine!

 

[jct]

Hey Denis...I wouldn't drill a new hole just yet...been lockin at Jumbo and there is no stern post provided or mentioned, if you add one ( I plan to) it may well fall in the right spot

[Retired guy]

Nice start Denis will follow along 👍

 

Regards

Richard

 

[jct]

The transom curve wasn't that difficult, just sanded it in after building up the layers,an idea what your gonna do for belaying pins?

Edited February 12, 2020 by jct

[popeye the sailor]

hello shotlocker,  I read an old thread made back in 2013.......may have pertained to this very model.  I'm sure there were other kits...likely these two were the most popular.  thanks for showing us the plans  

 

that's true J......although I think when planked,  there may not be a need for a keel board....in fact,  if there is too much showing,  extra material may need to be removed.   a stern post might not be a bad idea though...it would be a good termination stop for the planking    as for belaying pins......I may have more than enough....may even have a windlass handy.  I will check on the belaying pin situation.

 

hello Richard......welcome to the asylum.......  be sure to follow J's as well for more entertainment than you can stand     

 

just got back from Barnes & Nobel.......I have the magazine!  

Edited February 12, 2020 by popeye the sailor

[jct]

I'm thinking of fancy toothpicks

[popeye the sailor]

if I have enough......your more than welcome to some  

[jct]

Thx much, I’ll let u know

[popeye the sailor]

I concentrated on 'Wulfie" to day as I pondered the problem with the scroll saw.  I still need to cut a few things.....it would be good to be able to use it without the splintering.  I was going to make another center plug out of wood,  but I have nothing that thick.  I tried to make up a shim for the plug,  but that fell through.....it's just a matter of 1/32.......    then I got an idea........add it to the original plug.   hmmmmmm......sounds like something I'd do.........BRILLIANT!!!  so....using CA,  I glued sheet wood to the plug.  I only have 4 inch stuff,  so it doesn't go the entire circumference.

  

the notches were cut out and sanded round....well....half round    then the blade notch was cut out.......I wish I could have gotten away from the wide opening,  but at this point,   I'll be happy if it's an improvement.

I didn't bother with that silly center circle.

in place,  the table is now totally flat  

 

[popeye the sailor]

I cut some of the plywood to try it out........not the old stuff.......I'll be attempting it later.  here's a before and after comparison of how the splintering looks:

before and after 

four copies of the #9 bulkhead was traced out......no need to do the glue and split method {as can be seen in the above pictures}.  I did get some cuts that were ragged,  but the wood behaved better on the table {I didn't use the pressure fork either}.

it's not as bad though,,,,it looks more like a grain issue now...ripping across the grain that along it.  the Craftsman did it too.

the hull frame now stands without all the weights and clamps.  the deck looks good....I do need to adjust the bow though {it's a bit off}.

port side at #3 has a slight rise,  but I'm not going to worry about it { a coil of rope will cover it  }.

it looks worse in the picture...once the hull's planked.   I began to fare the frame,  but without #10 in place,  I'll be doing a second sanding.  #10 is the transom bulkhead.......it was cemented in place at an angle;  not as much as the stern stem,  but enough to give the transom a slanted look.

the extra slots intrigued me......I could just plank them over,  but that's quite a span to cover.   with one of the extra #9 bulkheads I cut out,  one was sliced in half and will fill in the slots.   

I still need to add the braces for the transom.  the deck platform is rounded and can be seen protruding above the #10 transom bulkhead.  there is a cover that goes over this bulkhead and will give it a curved appearance when cemented in place.  likely,  this should be done after the hull is planked.  I need to dry fit it to see if this is the case.  more to come soon  

[Old Collingwood]

Denis  could you not have taped the area you wanted to cut first  with the line you wanted to cut marked on the tape (would that not have helped also)?

 

OC.

[jct]

Nice fix...how much did you cut 9 down to make the 9.5?   The faring looks good, may try tomorrow but I think the ply is gonna give me grief, are you planing to add bow blocks? I been thinking about them