HMS Terror by Erebus and Terror - FINISHED - Scale 1:48 - POB - as fitted for polar service in 1845

[Jim Lad]

Ah!  The keel laid - and very nicely worked scarphs, too!

 

John

[AnobiumPunctatum]

Really interesting start of your project.

[Erebus and Terror]

Many thanks for the encouraging words. They are really appreciated. More soon (I hope)!

[Erebus and Terror]

Can I have copies of your plans?

 

 

Hello Folks,

 

 

Over the past six months I've had great feedback on my topic here on MSW and on my blog. The chance to interact with modelers of such ability is a real privilege.

 

 

I've also received a lot of requests for high resolution copies of my plans. I’m extremely happy that people want to build the Terror, which I consider to be one of the world’s greatest exploration vessels. She deserves the attention.

 

 

I do plan to release copies of the plans at some point (and yes, I do intend to make full masting and rigging plans for her). However, I'm still at the beginning of my project, and my plans are not proven by construction. I know they will require some modification as I build. I don't want to send them out with errors, as that would just make more work for people.

 

 

When I'm finished my build and the plans are complete, I'll make them available as a set. And I'll post it here on these boards so you are the first to know.

 

 

Does that sound reasonable? I hope everyone understands!

 

E&T

Edited January 5, 2014 by E&T

[druxey]

It's a nice compliment to your research and drafting that you are getting these requests, E&T. Do I also sniff a book in the making?

[aliluke]

Hi

Although I have only skip read your log it is amazing and this build is one I'll follow. Your research is incredible and I'll re-read all in time.

 

I guess you have read "Barrow's Boys" by Fergus Fleming? It is no doubt fluff compared to your references but a great read telling the story of the post Napoleonic period at the Admiralty when Barrow commissioned a programme of massive exploration - the NW passage, the North Pole, the source of the Niger River and Antarctica. So it picks up on the voyage of Erebus and Terror in its text. Some of the plates in your log are included. Both the madness and sheer courage of these explorations is well painted in Flemings text. Anyway if you haven't read it, which I doubt, do so. Would also recommend to other followers here too. (Please excuse me if I didn't find a reference to it in your log).

 

Cheers

Alistair

[Erebus and Terror]

It's a nice compliment to your research and drafting that you are getting these requests, E&T. Do I also sniff a book in the making?

 

Thanks Druxey, that means a lot coming from someone as knowledgeable as you.

 

A book? It's early days for that yet.   

[Erebus and Terror]

Hi

Although I have only skip read your log it is amazing and this build is one I'll follow. Your research is incredible and I'll re-read all in time.

 

I guess you have read "Barrow's Boys" by Fergus Fleming? It is no doubt fluff compared to your references but a great read telling the story of the post Napoleonic period at the Admiralty when Barrow commissioned a programme of massive exploration - the NW passage, the North Pole, the source of the Niger River and Antarctica. So it picks up on the voyage of Erebus and Terror in its text. Some of the plates in your log are included. Both the madness and sheer courage of these explorations is well painted in Flemings text. Anyway if you haven't read it, which I doubt, do so. Would also recommend to other followers here too. (Please excuse me if I didn't find a reference to it in your log).

 

Cheers

Alistair

 

Hi Alistair, 

 

Thanks for the nice comment. I have read Barrow's Boys. It's a very good book and he does an excellent job of describing the context of the program of exploration. I haven't referenced it yet because my focus is really on the ship and her systems and not directly on the expeditions it was involved in. But it is a great read and certainly anyone interested should look at it. In fact, I recommend they read it prior to any of the first-hand accounts by the expedition commanders themselves!

 

Regards, 

E&T

[Erebus and Terror]

BOXING SCARPH

 

This section represents the final piece of the keel for my model and was the most difficult to make. I temporarily glued a paper template to the swiss pear blank, then I cut it out with a mini table saw and scroll saw. I sanded the piece to the precise dimensions using a spindle sander and modeler’s files. The box scarph was carved by hand using a small chisel, and then scraped flat with a razor blade. Like the rest of the keel, I lined the boxing with vellum to simulate tarred flannel. 

 

Cutting the aft part of the keel section. 

 

Chiseling out the box scarph.

 

Finished scarph compared to plans. 

 

Plain scarph at aft of keel section. 

 

Gluing the vellum in place. 

 

Vellum trimmed to fit. 

 

Finished box scarph. 

 

Section glued to the rest of keel. 

[Sailor1234567890]

Very cool, very detailed log. I love it.

[Erebus and Terror]

TERROR’S STURDY STEM

 

Completed bow timbers compared to sheet plans (note that the fore edge hasn't yet been trimmed).

 

Nowhere is the strength of HMS Terror’s frame more evident than in her bow architecture. Already stoutly built as a bomb vessel, Terror’s 1836/1837 plans indicate that the bow was significantly altered for conversion to polar service. The 1836 deck plans show that her stem was sided 12 and ½ inches, the same as her keel, but it was much thicker/deeper than normal. In fact, its moulded depth was greater than a vessel three times her tonnage (see scantlings below). This robustness was also transferred to her apron, which was consistent in size with that used on a 36 gun frigate.

 

Terror’s external bow timbers were also modified in 1836; all ornamentation pieces were removed, as were the cheeks, forefoot, bobstay piece, gammoning, and lacing. In their place, a very robust and simplified architecture was installed which consisted of a gripe, stem piece, main piece, and a short chock to support the bowsprit. Again, these pieces were very robustly built, and were sided the same as the keel, diminishing to only 10 inches at the fore edge.

 

Aft of these bow timbers, the stemson was similarly solid, sided the same as the stem and just as thick. However, in 1836, the stemson itself was reinforced by massive oak chocks the same width as the stem, but this time up to 16 inches thick. At the position of the third waterline, this effectively created a single massive block of wood, 12 and ½ inches wide and extending from the stem piece more than eight feet aft.  Indeed, it was strengthening like this that permitted Crozier to use the Terror as an icebreaker during the Antarctic voyage of 1839 (Ross 1847:147). 

 

Scantlings for Terror’s Stem and Apron:

 

Stem

 

Sided:

At Head (same as the keel) = 12 and ½ inches

At the Heel = 12 and ½ inches (larger than vessels of her size)

 

Number of pieces = 2

 

Moulded Depth = 16 inches (larger than 36 gun frigate)

 

Scarphs in length = 3 feet 9 inches (boxing) and 3 feet (upper)

 

Lips of the scarphs = 3 inches (consistent with standards for a 12 and ½ inch sided keel)

 

Bolts = 8 (consistent with 76 gun vessel, standard for bomb vessels)

 

Bolt diameters = 1 and 1/8 inches (consistent with 36 and 74 gun vessels, standard for bomb vessels)

 

 

Apron (false stem)

 

Sided (same as the stem) = 12 and ½ inches

 

Moulded depth = 9 inches (consistent with 36 gun frigate)

 

Moulded depth diminishing to the head = 7 inches

 

 

Scantlings for Terror’s Knee of the Head:

 

Sided (all pieces):

Aft part of knee (same as the stem) = 12 and ½ inches

Diminishing to the fore = 10 inches

       

Lower scarph in length = 2 feet and 1 inch

 

Upper scarph in length = 4 feet 2 inches

 

 

References:

 

Ross, Sir James Clark

1847    A Voyage of Discovery and Research in the Southern and Antarctic Regions, During the Years 1839-1843: Volume I. John Murray, London.

 

Sanding the lower stem piece to size.

 

Shaping the upper stem piece.

 

Finished stem and gripe (vellum simulates tarred flannel used on a real ship).

 

Finished main piece and chock to support bowsprit.

 

Detail of scarph joints.

 

Main piece joined to stem piece.

 

Port side view (note that the fore edge has not yet been shaped).

Edited February 5, 2014 by E&T

[mtaylor]

Very well done, E&T.  Your scarfs look fantastic.

[michael mott]

E&T I am enjoying seeing you care and attention to the joinery they do look fine indeed.

 

Michael

[Erebus and Terror]

Mark, Michael-

 

Thanks for the words of encouragement. Much appreciated!

[Erebus and Terror]

OLIVER LANG’S STERN

 

In February 1845, Oliver Lang, Master Shipwright at Woolwich, faced a daunting challenge. The Admiralty, under pressure from Parry, had decided to outfit HMS Erebus and Terror for auxiliary screw propulsion, powered by small passenger locomotives.

 

Screw propulsion was in its infancy and contemporary designs, based on patents filed by Francis Pettit Smith and others, called for the placement of the propeller opening in the deadwood of a steam powered vessel (Bourne 1855:28). However, applying such a modification to polar vessels would critically weaken the stern, and Lang knew from the Terror’s first arctic expedition that even the most robust sternpost was severely vulnerable when overwintering in sea ice. How could he protect the ship’s stern from the pack when a gaping hole had to be cut in the deadwood for the propeller?

 

His solution appears in a plan dated March 17th, 1845, which was subsequently transcribed onto the 1836/37 profile plan for HMS Terror. Instead of altering the ship’s existing stern, Lang simply extended the stern of the ship aft by adding a new keel section, onto which a new rudderpost and aperture for the propeller were attached. The 1836/37 plans seem to show that Terror’s original sternpost had been modified for Back’s voyage,  but the 1845 annotations clearly indicate that Lang reconstructed it to the same configuration used in Terror’s original design (alternately, it is possible that Terror’s stern was not modified in 1836 as planned).

 

Lang’s 1845 design called for a triangular piece of wood to be bolted to the original sternpost, creating a vertical face for the propeller aperture. The new rudderpost and the angled fitting were both tenoned into the keel extension, as indicated by the presence of horizontal bolts on a contemporary model of the design. The entire structure was then bolted to a massive u-shaped “staple knee”, made from 3.5 inch thick iron, which was the same length as the propeller opening.

 

Lang next turned to the problem of protecting the new rudderpost and propeller aperture from ice damage. He settled on a well system which could be used to ship and unship the propeller, similar to a design patented by Joseph Taylor in 1838 (Bourne 1855:32). However, Lang’s system included a new innovation; when the propeller was unshipped, the well would be filled with a series of stacking wooden and steel chocks. The chocks were shaped to match the dimensions of the new rudder post and deadwood and would completely fill the well, thus reinforcing the rudderpost against forces exerted by the ice.

 

Taylor’s patent described that the propeller could be shipped via “vertical grooves cut in the true and false stern posts … in which frame the propeller is placed” (Bourne 1855:32). However, the use of reinforcing chocks required that this system be modified. Lang replaced the grooves in the stern and false stern with robust iron rails which themselves had a vertical slot running much of their length. The protruding rails were necessary to secure the chocks in the propeller well and needed to be very strong to endure the pressures of pack ice (I’ll present more on the configuration of this rail system and the propeller in a subsequent post).

 

While we may never know how Lang’s chock system faired after two years in the grinding pack off King William Island, we can surmise that it must have worked relatively well because the Terror survived its first winter at Beechey Island in sailing condition. Further, we know that the same chock system was installed on the Intrepid and Pioneer (Anonymous 1850:8), steam tenders used in the Franklin search effort, and that both ships survived multiple winters in sea ice before being abandoned in relatively seaworthy condition.

 

Scantlings for Terror’s Sternpost and Rudderpost

 

Sternpost

Sided              

            At Head = 13 and ½ inches

            At Heel = 10 and ¾ inches

 

Moulded depth = 17 and ½ inches

 

Rudderpost

Sided

At Head = 13 and ½ inches

            At Heel = 10 and ¾ inches

 

Moulded depth = 13 and ½ inches

 

 

References:

Anonymous

1850       Naval Intelligence — The Arctic Expedition. The Times.  Monday , 6^th May, pg 8.

 

Bourne, John

1855       A Treatise on the Screw Propeller with Various Suggestions for Improvement. Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, London. 

 

 

Cut stern pieces prior to assembly.

 

Assembled stern architecture (significant iron work has yet to be installed, and  

the temporary basswood piece is to provide rigidity until the propeller well is completed).

 

Detail of keel piece and opening for the staple knee. 

 

Aft view of the unique rudderpost joint with the keel. 

 

Another view of Lang's design.

 

Sanding two of the sternpost bolsters to match the aft station

(the bolsters provide width needed for the propeller well).

 

Detail after sanding. 

 

Comparing the bolster to the body plan.

 

Completed rudderpost and sternpost bolsters.

 

Two of the bolsters in place, showing how they add width to the stern to accommodate

the propeller well (these aren't glued and cannot be until the bulkhead is attached). 

 

 

Current progress on the stern, keel, and stem. 

Edited February 28, 2014 by E&T

[AntonyUK]

Hi E&T.

Major progress since I last looked in.

As always your jointing is perfect and precise.

It always amasses me the endless research that you do and attention to the smallest details.

Looking forward to the next update already

 

Regards Antony.

[dgbot]

Your scarf joint looks great.  And the use of a spindle grinder mkes the job much easier.  Keep up the good work.

David B

[Jim Lad]

Great progress, mate!

 

John

[Erebus and Terror]

Thanks Antony, David, and John!

[druxey]

It's always nice to see something different on this site, and this stern post arrangement is different. Beautiful joinery - can't wait to see the metalwork!

[Erebus and Terror]

Thank you, Druxey. Much appreciated. 

[Mirabell61]

Very nice and thorrow Research on history, plans and fate of that ship E&T,

also your introduction to this interesting and very promissing build I like,

shall Keep tuned...

 

Nils

[Erebus and Terror]

MODELING THE "IRON STAPLE KNEE”

 

In my last post, I described Oliver Lang’s unique modifications to HMS Terror’s stern to accommodate the screw propeller. A primary component of this modification was a massive 3.5 inch thick “iron staple knee”, which securely bound the keel, original sternpost, and rudderpost together.

 

To model this part, I originally attempted to bend and hammer a 1.85 mm thick piece of brass into the correct shape, but try as I might, I could not create the appropriate angles accurately and only produced a mangled mess. Finally, I resigned myself to the fact that I would need to cut three separate pieces and then silver solder them together. I had never attempted this before, but I found a great deal of information on Model Ship World, and decided to give it a try.  

 

 

Brass stock cut to match the dimensions of the three sides of the knee.

 

Preparing to drill the holes for the bolts.

 

The drilled pieces.

 

A rough jig necessary to hold the pieces in place while soldering.

 

My new pen torch and other soldering equipment.

 

Clamping the pieces to the jig. It was a tricky task not to burn the jig, but

thankfully the joints were small and the brass heated rapidly.

 

The knee after soldering. The joints are much stronger than I hoped they would be.

 

The final part filed to shape and compared to the plans.

 

An alternate view of the finished part.

 

The knee dry-fitted to the stern piece.

 

 

 

Edited February 28, 2014 by E&T

[druxey]

If that was your first silver soldering job, well done! You won't want to go back to soft solder now you've found out how strong the joint is, if properly made.

Edited February 28, 2014 by druxey

[mtaylor]

A very well done on the staple.  If you hadn't told us this was your first silver solder job, I wouldn't have guessed it. 

[michael mott]

Yes a great job on the soldering, nicely cleaned up too.

 

Michael

[Erebus and Terror]

Druxey, Mark, and Michael thanks for positive the comments.

 

Yes, the joint is incredibly strong. Still being a novice, I used far too much solder initially and had a lot of clean up to do on the piece. The pictures were far too ugly to post here! 

[druxey]

Yes a small dab will do you: it's not like soft solder at all!

[Erebus and Terror]

IRON WORK

Oliver Lang’s 1845 modifications to Terror’s stern involved a significant amount of iron reinforcement. In my last post, I documented the design of the iron staple knee, which was central to the construction of the propeller well and new rudderpost. However, Lang also added four large iron straps to reinforce the joints between the keel, the rudderpost and the sternpost. These straps were u-shaped and passed between the false keel and the keel, permitting the former to break free in the case of the stern running aground. According to Lang’s notes, the straps appear to have been bolted entirely through the width of the stern to provide extra rigidity. This created an exceptionally strong iron-laced structure, a design which exposed Lang's worry about the ice pressure to be exerted on the Terror’s stern.  

 

The 1845 stern modification plan reveals that the straps were 4 and 1/2 inches wide, with bolts approximately 1 and 1/8th inches in diameter. I estimate, based on bracing and strapping shown on cross section plans of HMS Erebus/Terror and HMS Investigator, that they were ca. 1 to 1.5 inches thick.

 

All of the parts shown below are made from larger brass strips, which were cut, filed, and drilled by hand. The bolts are made from brass straight pins; the heads were filed by hand to scale (2 inches) and soldered into place.  The brass was then blackened to simulate iron. 

 

The foremost strap prior to adding the bolts. 

 

 

The staple knee and remaining straps with bolts soldered in place. The three aft straps would normally look similar to the one on the right, but I've decided only to model the visible portions of the straps (i.e. the portions not buried between the keel and false keel). Each is composed of two parts to be glued on opposite sides of the model. 

 

 

Detail of the newly added bolts.

 

 

 

 

Brass parts soaking in the Blacken-it diluted to 6:1. 

 

 

The finished parts.

 

 

The iron reinforcements in place (dry fit only until the propeller rails are completed).

 

 

Again, just a test to see how they will look when finally installed. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[druxey]

Lovely work. I do notice, however, that in the photos the blackened surfaces look a bit blotchy. Try buffing with a soft cloth or Q-tip and you should get a nice, even low-sheen finish. Do protect the wood, though, now that the metal is in place.