Sloop from Roslagen by bolin - FINISHED - 1:50

[bolin]

I would be really nice to see you start a build of this little gem yourself 😉.

 

 

[bolin]

Before I start the framing I have a bit more research to do, or at least some decisions to make based on the research I have done.

 

As I have mentioned the plans I'm building from does not have any information about the inner structure of the hull.

 

There are to my knowledge no plans preserved for any of these boats. Mainly since they where (with a few exceptions) not built on shipyards, but by traditional methods and with more rules of thumb than plans.

 

So when it comes to the frames I need to figure out how many they should be, what space there should be between them, how thick should they be? I have found a number of sources, and will need to use my own judgment on the most likely look.

 

There is one sloop for which there is a reasonable amount of information available. The original was called Greta Linnea and was built in 1921, as the last sloop of this kind. There was a model built in 1931, which was commissioned by the maritime history museum in Stockholm as a documentation of a type of ship that was quickly disappearing. Therefore I can assume it is quite accurate.

The model gives some idea of the thickness and spacing of the frames. In the 1980s a reconstruction of the same ship was built, named Sofia Linnea. The reconstruction plans gives the frame spacing as 450 mm center to center. The frame construction looks like this:

I'm not sure how faithful the reconstruction is to the original.

 

Another source are the photos of the renovation och the sloop Helmi that I have mentioned earlier. This ship is more equal in size to the one I'm building my model of. It is also more authentic in that it is a renovation of an original, not a reconstruction.

 

From the pictures below I can count the number of frames (there seem to be 22 full frames an 3 cant frames). Disregarding the bow and aft, the "framed" length looks to be about 14.5 m which gives a center to center distance of about 600 mm.  Measuring in the picture indicates that the frames are about 40% of that, i.e. about 240 mm wide.

 

The frames also looks to be "double", i.e. made from two joined halves. The wood looks to be new in the photos, so I'm uncertain if the original had such frames. Its possible though that the aft frames are actually original (the wood is greyer). These looks to to be double as well.

I have one further source. Some photos from the sloop Adalia taken in 1950 when she was no longer a sailing vessel. The following is the best of the framing. If I where to guess, the frames are single frames made out of single logs rather than sawed planks. The frame thickness and spacing looks to be similar to that of Helmi.

 

[bolin]

I have decided to make the frames 5 mm wide, with a frame every 12 mm. This correspond to 25 cm wide frames every 60 cm.

 

Here I have installed the first frame.

There will be 14 full frames and 3 cant frames in the bow and rear. The first frame was more of a test on a method to build them. For the rest I will make several at the same time.

[wefalck]

On 11/22/2020 at 9:32 PM, bolin said:

 

 

I noted something interesting on above picture: first I thought they didn't fit the floors/frames very well - but then I realised they left a gap between the floors/frames and the upper edge of the strakes so that no water collects in these corners and causes rotting ...

Nice progresss !

Edited November 28, 2020 by wefalck

[bolin]

The small gap is in Swedish called våghål, which translates to wave hole, and its purpose its to let the water flow freely.

 

I have continued with the frames. First I have made templates by interpolating the body plan between the stations, and then adjusted against the actual form och the hull.

 

Then I have cut the pieces for the frames. I have decided to make each frame from two pieces. I don't have any firm evidence of how many pieces there would have been. I have made the assumption that the frames where made of naturally bent timber that where joined somehow.

 

The pieces joints are asymmetrical, and I plan to place them alternately on port and starboard side. I have reinforced the joints with tree nail.

[Nirvana]

I like the progress, very nicely done.

[Wintergreen]

Nice subject bolin 🙂

Just had to pick a seat at the front row since you actually referred to my (stalled) build log in the beginning. 

The space/void between frames and planks are called limber holes (I think, can be wrong and that limber hole is only on carvel builds).

Anyway, nice going.

[bolin]

You are most welcome to the show Håkan. I hope that you will find the inspiration and opportunity to continue your Kågen. This build has slowed down a bit as well lately, as I have focused more on my medieval long ship. But some progress has been made and it’s time for an update. 

[bolin]

As promised, a bit of an update of the progress.

I have glued in the first and last full frames, and have started to fit in the rest. I will wait with gluing them in until I have the full set, and can use some small distance pieces between to get the spacing evenly distributed.

 

 

[wefalck]

The frames look pretty massive ... they must cut down some decent trees for them.

[bolin]

Yes, they are quite sturdy.  My research has led me to 25 cm wide and a 30 - 35cm thick. I am a bit uncertain if they where made as single or double frames. As discussed earlier the evidence is scarce and therefore inconclusive.

[bolin]

This build has been somewhat neglected lately in favor of my medieval long-ship. But today I found the inspiration to continue with fitting the frames. 

My method includes a lot of filing, checking the fit an file some more. It both helps and is a problem that I use Lime wood for this model. It is soft and filing goes quickly, but it is as quick when doing a mistake.
 

Only the first an last frames are glued yet. I will wait with gluing the rest until I have them all and can check that they are spaced evenly.

 

[Wintergreen]

Looks good.

If that is the proper distance apart, there will be a lot of frames to make...

[bolin]

Yes, there will be 14 full frames, and 3 cant frames in the fore and aft. These where working crafts built for transporting heavy loads, so they needed to be sturdy.

Edited January 11, 2021 by bolin

[Nirvana]

The yacht club signa of Trälhavets Båtklubb, that I belong to.

Only as a passive supporting member.

 

[KeithAug]

Very nice work on the clinker planking. looks very ship shape.

[bolin]

Thanks Keith!

 

Per, maybe I should put that at the top of the mast?

 

I have continued with the frames. It's getting closer now. I'm still not totally satisfied, there are still to much gap between the hull and some of the frames.

 

 

 

[Wintergreen]

Yes, it's a tedious job to get a good fit towards the planking.

Ask me how I know 😆

[bolin]

Practice makes perfect... or at least improvements. I have now finished fitting all the full frames and glued them in place. Maybe I could have made them fit even better, but my patience ran out...

I have continued with the cant frames in the fore and aft. These are easier to make, as one can work on one side at a time. I have also become better at seeing how much I need to file to get the desired angle after all the practice with the other frames.

 

[Wintergreen]

Good progress Bolin!

One thought crossed my mind and that is about the bulwarks. I guess they will come on later and be carvel planked?

One reason I only manage one or maybe two frame pieces a day is patience as well 😉 

 

Keep it up!

[bolin]

Yes, the bulwarks will be the next step, I think. I need to make a plan for the following steps. Until now it has been rather straight forward, but from now I risk put things in that will be in the way for other steps.

[bolin]

And so all the frames are installed!

The next step will be the bulwark supports. I have thought through the plan for the rest of the build and made a list of some 30 steps, from bulwark supports to rigging.

 

However there is one detail in the plans that I'm (kind of) following that I need to think about. According to the plan, the chain plates should go in between the hull planking and the bulwark so that the dead eyes are sitting on the inside of the bulwark.

On almost every photo I can find the chain plates sits on the outside of the bulwark and the dead eyes are sitting on top of the hand rails, for example this one:

However, I have found one photo from digitalt museum that seem to show shrouds ending on the inside of the bulwarks.

In response to @Wintergreen, the bulwark are cravel planked:

The bulwarks also need to be completely water tight. These vessels where regularly overloaded in a way that by today's standard is not advisable. The cargo in the picture below is firewood, one of the most common ones.

 

 

 

[Wintergreen]

Nice frames.

But a bit odd with shrouds inside of the bulwarks. One would think that they'd interfere with the cargo that way.

Would be interesting to know why.

[wefalck]

Perhaps the bulwark was too weak to take the pull from the shrouds ?

[bolin]

Yes, that is my best guess now. On pictures where the shrouds end on top of the bulwarks there seem to be extra bulwark supports in that area. The plan above shows rather few supports compared to real photos.

 

Maybe the practice of overloading the ship only came later or for the slightly larger ones that usually carried firewood. When overloading the shrouds would get in the way if they where on the inside.

 

[wefalck]

When there is a deck-load of (sawn) wood, the shrouds would also be points to secure the load. On such quite small boats they probably would not have transported the kind of long logs and planks that came from Sweden and Finland on old barks, brigs and schoners to ports in Germany, the Netherlands, the British Islands and other European ports.

[bolin]

I decided to follow the plans and put the chain plates so that the shrouds end on the inside of the bulwark. So I have switch to some metal working. I thought I had some left over brass strips, but discovered that it was not enough. So instead of ordering some more and wait for it to arrive, I took the copper wire from a piece of electric cable. I worked it flat with a hammer and filed it to shape.

 

While I was at it I also made the metal pieces for the rudder. The pins are soldered to the bands.

 

 

 

[bolin]

I have continued with the bulwark supports. After looking at several pictures, in particular the ones from the renovation of Helmi (some of which I have shown earlier), I have decided to put a support for every other frame. This is slightly more than what the plans indicate. But it seems more authentic (and will also make it easier to plank).

 

Getting the correct angle for the supports is tricky. I have tried to make them so that they are flat with the upper plank. However when I raise them all, and wedge them in place, they point ever which way and do not form a nice curve. I will need a better method of checking the angles.

 

My current idea is to ensure that the hull is level and then use movable jig to check that the angles are symmetrical on either side. I will work from midship and glue the supports pair by pair and check that each new pair still forms a nice curve for the bulwark.

It might have been easier to plank the bulwark while the hull was on the mold. That is before the frames where installed. However, since the bulwark is carvel planked it would only have been edge glued while the frames where installed. That would have required a building slip with more supports and would also have made the installation of the frames slightly harder.

 

[wefalck]

I think (without me knowing the actual practice), that you follow the sequence of the prototype: shaping the hull with the clinker planks, fitting the frames including the raisers/bulwark stanchions, and finally planking the bulwark.

[bolin]

I have access to a report from Sjöhitsoriska museet (Maritime history museum) in Stockholm documenting the build of the last ship of this type. The sequence I'm following is thus far the one that was actually used.