Norwegian Whale Boat by G.L. - FINISHED - scale 1/10 - SMALL

[G.L.]

21 hours ago, vaddoc said:

What a wonderful model! Regrettably I ve only been able to visit GL. Excellent job with the planking and rabets. Actually, top job with everything. Clearly you 're having a lot of fun!

Could you explain how you stained the wood? It came out very good.

Merry Christmas and a happy new Year!

 

Vaddoc

Thank you Vaddoc.

The model is made with cherry wood. The finish is with two coats of clear matt furniture varnisch on water base, softly sanded after the first coat.

The dark parts (thwarts and gratings) are first colored with woodstain color 'dark oak' and afterwards varnished.

The shafts of the harpoons and lances are colored with the 'pepper color' and varnished afterwards.

These are the stains that I use. Dark oak to the right and pepper color th the left.

[G.L.]

8.2 The line tubs.

According to Erik Ronnberg whaleboats carried some 300 fathoms of harpoon line in two tubs. A tub with 200 fathoms of line and a reserve tub with 100 fathoms.

I start to make two wooden circles, one of them is the tub bottom and the other with a slight larger diameter. Between the two slices, I glue a small wooden block to separate them a bit.

I saw also the side planks of the tub, small planks of which the long sides are a little slanted. In the planks are two grooves which fit into the two circles.

The tub is made by simply gluing the planks around the two disks.

 

The tub is held together by two metal hoops. As the tub is conical the metal strip which has to come round it cannot be straight. To determine its curve, I glue short strips of duck tape round the tub and mark the level of the hoop.

 

When the tape is removed from the tub and folded open, I obtain a nice shape of the curve. I glue it on a piece of tin.

I draw the outline of the hoop and my template is ready to cut the tin strip which will form the hoop. The hoop is then folded around the tub and the ends are soldered together.

 

Here are the two finished line tubs. The hoops are blackened. The harpoon line is twisted and glued on the top disk of the tub.

The harpoon lines in their tubs in the boat.

[G.L.]

8.3 Water keg
Each boat was equipped with a water keg.  I suppose that when the boat got far from the mother ship during a long hunt in tropical waters, the crew could appreciate a drink of fresh water.
To make the barrel I glue a series of wooden beams with slanted sides around a cylindrical piece of wood.

Then I turn it in barrel shape on the lathe.

 

The hoops are made as described in paragraph 8.2 for the line tubs. The excess of the cylindrical stock is sawn of and drilled out a bit. Finally a small hole in the side and a stopper complete the kater keg.

[G.L.]

8.4 Bucket and piggin

The production of a bucket and a piggin is very simular of that of the water keg. They are also turned into shape on the lathe and everything that is too much is sawn off and they are drilled hollow.
Both the bucket and the piggin are also provided with two hoops each.

 

 

That is the boat as it is now with the finished stuff in it.

 

Thank you very much for reading this log, for your likes and for your encouraging comments.

 

 

Till next week and Happy and Healthy Newyear for you all!

Edited December 30, 2020 by G.L.

[G.L.]

8.5. The boat hook
The boat hook is made by plying the hook in a brass rod.

The hook is soldered in a brass tube...

... which is soldered in two gradually larger tubes.

The telescopically protruding particles are filed conically ...

The hook is placed on a wooden stock and the boat hook is ready.

[G.L.]

8.6. Marker flags

Sometimes it was not possible to bring the killed whale immediately to the mother ship. The whale was then marked with a flag on a pole which was planted in the blowhole.

My flags are found and tied around the pole and fixed in this shape by soaking them with textile glue. Each pole has a point and two nicks in it to permit a good grip in the blowhole.

[G.L.]

8.7. Boat compass

The magnetic compass is mainly composed of some pieces of copper and brass tubes which are sawn into rings.

The most right ring will be the compass bowl. A thin round slice of brass is soldered at the bottom to form the bowl. Then I drill two holes at the topside opposite to each other.

The two holes will hold the inner gimbal pivots. The largest ring of two pictures ago is the gimbal ring. In that ring I drill also two holes and two brass nails from the outer gimbal pivots.

The compass card is a scale photocopy of an image of a compass card.

To make the top glass, I punch a round slice out of a piece of food packaging.

My assembled magnetic compass. The compass card is glued at some distance of the top of the compass bowl, the compass glass is glued at the top of the compass bowl and on top of that all a brass ring is glued. Everything still has to be cleaned up a bit.

he compass wil hang in its outer gimbal pivots in a wooden box, ...

... which can be pulled out like a drawer drawer below the helmsman thwart.

 

Thank you very much for reading this log and for your likes.

 

 

Till next week!

[Wintergreen]

Small boat x large scale = handy sized model

 

Excellent job on the planking and details GL. I especially like the rope coils and the compass 🙂 

[G.L.]

8.8. Grapnel

The grapnel is made of two pieces of brass rod. They are first plied like described by Erik Ronnberg ...

Then they are soldered together.

Then the closed loop at the bottom is cut open and plied in the shape of the arms of the grapnel. The grapnel is then finished by filing it in shape and soldering flukes at the four arms.

 

[G.L.]

8.9. Lantern

The lantern is made of some pieces of brass and copper tubes and a broken bicycle lamp.

First I disassemble the lamp by sawing off the bulb.

Cutting the hat of the lantern.

 

The components of the lantern.

Assembling the lantern

The lantern

[G.L.]

8.10. Boat hatchet

Sometimes it was necessary to cut the harpoon line in a hurry to prevent the whale from capsizing or pulling the boat down. An ax is very handy to cut the line.
I make the hatchet blade out of a piece of aluminium plate.

The sawn piece and my example.

The hatchet blade is now filed into shape.

With the stem in it.

The finished hatchet.

The hatchet gets its place in the boat.

[G.L.]

Erik Ronnberg describes a lot more equipment for the boat, but I think that I have made the most essential things to send my crew at whale hunt.
Here is a view of the aft side of the boat

And here a total picture.

I started this project with a lot of expectations but I am a bit disappointed. Jules Van Beylen, the drawer of the plan, calls it a Norwegian whaleboat. The Maritime Museum calls the original model a model of an American whaleboat. I suspect it is neither. The museum purchased the model in 1943. Probably it was built during the interwar period when modelers did not yet have access to that wealth of information as we have now. I think that the maker of the original model made a kind of a generic whale boat based on what he thought that was a whaleboat without making a an in-depth study of it.
I suspect also that Mr Jules Van Beylen never built himself the model of which he drew the plan and wrote the construction hand-out. In his construction instructions he sometimes remains very vague in comparison to his explanation of building the gaff sailboat in the same handout. Sometimes his prescribed method is not that practical in implementation. If he had made the model himself, the error of the wrong mast thwart on the plan would probably had been corrected.
So, I am left with a bit of an unfulfilled feeling.
To compensate for this, I will expand this project a bit. More on this next week.

 

Thank you very much for reading this log, for your likes and for your encouraging comments.

 

 

Till next week!

[Wintergreen]

What you show above is just pure excellency! 

It is really telling when you snap the pictures holding the objects in your hand. Then it is possible to appreciate their sizes 😮 

 

Keep it up!

 

Edit:

Didn't see the last post until after I submitted my response. 

Well, the cure for our uneasiness you've already found. Looking forward to the expansion 🙂 

Edited January 14, 2021 by Wintergreen

[mtaylor]

Your finishing details are incredible.  That lamp is beyond anything I've seen.

[Baker]

Norwegian or American. That doesn't matter to me.
It is a very beautiful and detailed model. And the construction method is very clearly explained.

 

Great work Geert

[G.L.]

On 1/15/2021 at 1:32 AM, mtaylor said:

Your finishing details are incredible.  That lamp is beyond anything I've seen.

 Thank you very much, Marc.

 

On 1/15/2021 at 10:59 AM, Backer said:

Norwegian or American. That doesn't matter to me.
It is a very beautiful and detailed model. And the construction method is very clearly explained.

 

Great work Geert

I would have preferred a little more certainty that it is a Norwegian whale-boat. Maybe a Norwegian reader can give more clarity on this.
Thanks anyway for your reaction, Patrick.

[G.L.]

9. Davits and cranes

I still have the feeling that something is missing in this project so I will not consider it as finished for the time being and continue to work on it. In the book 'Guide 'To build a whaleboat' by Erik Ronnberg you can find a detailed drawing of the davits and the cranes on a whaler.

I decide to make davits and cranes as a display stand for my whale boat. It will be a somewhat didactic diorama-style display stand to remain in the style of previous models that I built (Shrimper model with an open side, Triton Cross section, Fishery smack cross section, Anatomy of a boat).
The whale boat is made of cherry wood. To have some distinction I will make the display stand in pear. I have a small stock of it, hopefully I will have enough because at a scale 1/10 the davits and cranes will be quite big.

 

[G.L.]

9.1 The base plate
The base is a plate of MDF which I cover with oak veneer. The reason that I use oak veneer is simply because I have some.
Here you see the plate upside down while gluing the veneer. I use some weights to give some pressure while the glue is drying.

The base plate. In the front there are notches for the frames.

The frames and deck clamps into place.

On top of the beam clamps will come the deck beams. This davits model will be only a small section of the whaler so the deck beams will be cut off and hang in the air. For the stability of the model I will support each of them with a small brass pole.
Making the poles.

 

Gluing the deck beams into position. Putting some pressure on it with weights while the glue dries.

On the deck beams comes the water way.

Planking a part of the hull at the outside.

The plank sheer has to come over the frames. Drilling holes on the corners of the openings for the frames before sawing them out with the fretsaw.

The plank sheer is placed.

A view of the outside.

Fitting the main rail. In the meantime the wales have been placed and dowelled

Gluing the main rail,

The area between plank sheer and main rail is planked. On the right side at the top, two supports for the fancy rail are already placed.

This was all fairly fast-moving work. Next week we will continue with more detailed work.

 

Thank you very much for reading this log, for your likes and for your encouraging comments.

 

 

Till next week!

 

 

 

[Wintergreen]

Yay, it's not finished yet 😉

More delightful work.

A side note, what brand is your mini table saw I see in the background?

[G.L.]

On 1/22/2021 at 12:49 PM, Wintergreen said:

Yay, it's not finished yet 😉

More delightful work.

A side note, what brand is your mini table saw I see in the background?

Thank you, Hakan.

The table saw is a Proxxon FET. I am very satisfied with it.

[turangi]

Beautiful boat and outstanding work on the model! I built the Model Shipways New Bedford whaleboat kit recently and am struck by the similarities between the two. Perhaps form follows function or some sharing of design? Great work!

Edited January 26, 2021 by turangi

[G.L.]

On 1/26/2021 at 2:11 AM, turangi said:

Beautiful boat and outstanding work on the model! I built the Model Shipways New Bedford whaleboat kit recently and am struck by the similarities between the two. Perhaps form follows function or some sharing of design? Great work!

Tank you very much, Turangi.
I am still in doubt whether this is really a Norwegian whale-boat or the interpretation of an American whale-boat as a model builder here in Europe had a long time ago.

[G.L.]

9.2 Dead eyes and chain plates
Making the dead eyes. I need eight of them in three different sizes. I make some more of each size (you never know).

 

Gluing the channels (in this case the upper channel).

I make the chain plates of copper wire. Fitting the chain plates and the dead eyes.

 

Soldering the chain plates.

 

Fitting all the chain plates and dead eyes. I have labeled them because at this point they will be removed again to be blackened. I will place them definitively during a later stage of the build.

 

 

Thank you very much for reading this log, for your likes and for your encouraging comments.

 

 

Till next week!

[G.L.]

9.3 The bearer posts and the cranes
Between the two davits stand two square bearer posts. They serve to support the cranes on which stands the boot while it is hoisted and hanging outboard in the davits.
Fitting the bearer posts.

Making the cranes:

 

 

The cranes can swing in and out. Therefore they are placed in hinges. As you can see on the picture there are four pins and six gudgeons. Three gudgeons per crane allow to place the crane in a lower position in which the boat was rigged when cruising in whaling grounds. The crane can also be placed some half a meter higher during the passage to whaling grounds or in heavy seas.

 

 

The crane swung out.

The crane turned in to enable to hoist or to lower the boat.

Placing the bearer posts definitively.

 

Thank you very much for reading this log and for your likes.

 

 

Till next week!

[Wintergreen]

Nice work!

At that scale it's more like carpentry than scale model boat building 😉 

[G.L.]

On 2/4/2021 at 9:44 PM, Wintergreen said:

Nice work!

At that scale it's more like carpentry than scale model boat building 😉 

Yes indeed. And it also takes a lot of wood. I think I'll have just enough pear to finish this.

Thanks for your comment.

[G.L.]

9.4. The davits and boat slide

I laminate the two davits with four layers of 4mm thick pear planks. Therefore I saw a wooden laminating mold.

To reduce the risk of cracking my planks (my pear stock is limited), I pre bend them above the heat of an air gun.

Gluing the first pair of planks.

When the glue is dry I add a plank up to the four needed.

When I take them from the jig, they keep their curved shape.

The two davits, cut to size and sanded and one of the cranes.

I have neither the right tools nor the skills to make the three slots for the sheaves in both davits, so I try another approach.
I will make one hole for the three slots and separate the slots with wooden wedges. I hope that the pictures make clear what I mean.
Making the holes:

 

 

 

The three slots are made by gluing two wedges in the hole at equal intervals.

 

 

When the excesses of the wedges are sawn off and sanded the davits can be fitted. My slots are not perfect, but I can live with it.

The davits are reinforced with bolts. I simulate the bolts by nailing brass nails in the davits.

Some cleats have to be made for the davits. A small cleat above.

And a horn cleat a bit lower. Making the horn cleat:

 

 

The davits rest in brass heel straps just like the bearer posts.

Between the bearer posts lay two curved metal gliders over the channels, the boat slides. They have to prevent the rub rail of the boat from interfering with the channels of the ship while hoisting or lowering.
The strips are sawn from a piece of aluminum. It was done by my son, at his work they have better tools to cut metal than I have.

 

 

Now I can finally glue the davits into place.

At this stage I decide also to varnish the front of the model because once the boat slides and the chain plates are in place that will be more difficult.

 

Thank you very much for reading this log, for your likes and for your encouraging comments.

 

 

Till next week!

[Baker]

Great work  👍

Congrats 

[G.L.]

On 2/10/2021 at 11:33 AM, Backer said:

Great work  👍

Congrats 

Thanks, Patrick.

[vaddoc]

GL, the boat came out fantastic, lovely details! Your confidence working with metal and wood, both large chunks and tiny pieces, is impressive. A very enjoyable log apart from the "sticking a pole to the whale's blow hole" part!