U.S. Shipping Board Design #1001: "Ferris" Troop Ship ca. 1918-1919 by Harvey Golden

[Harvey Golden]

Hello all! First build log here.  This is a type that was built in several yards around my hometown Portland, Oregon (among other places around the U.S.).  They were built in wood 'round these parts, and came in single- and twin-screw versions, each being 281'6" long. I'll be building a single-screw version. I've actually been aboard one of these, though I didn't know it at the time.  There's one embedded at the lower end of an Island on the Columbia River, and I used to visit it fairly often via kayak. I always wondered what it used to be, and with the ruler tool on Google Earth, it's measurements (LxW) are pretty darned close to a Ferris ship's. . . not that I recommend measuring ships from outer space.  Here's some pics of the derelict:

Bow of the ship, at the downriver end of Caterpillar Island, due West of Vancouver, WA.

Two survivors still aboard, at the bow.

The rudder, cocked to port, and the rudder post, and screw aperture and stuffing box(?)

And here she is, courtesy of Google Earth.

 

My source for the build will primarily be Richard M. Van Gaasbeek's 1918 "A Practical Course in Wooden Boat and Ship Building."  The book has complete lines (though rendered rather tiny) as well as offsets, profiles, and detailed deck plans. Many of the photographs are from Peninsula Shipbuilding Co., just 10 miles from the site of this wreck.   Here's some sample pages from the book that show the Ferris type in better condition: 

 

 

Lastly, here is an exceptional image of a completed one (S.S. Calala) on the Willamette just below Forest Park.  Image is Public Domain, courtesy Oregon Historical Society. 

 

The model will be strip-planked on bulkhead at 1/16"=1'.  Here's where I am today:

 

 

Edited March 1, 2021 by Harvey Golden
extra pic. & LOA correction.

[steamschooner]

Harvey, There were a few built up my way( Willapa Bay ) and in Grays harbor as well.  Will follow your build as I have a interest in steam ships.

[Harvey Golden]

Moulds are all set up, and are fair.  I'll use solid pieces for the stem and fantail, so the planking will be from stn. 2 to 22.  Station spacing is a little quaint at 13'(!)  I'll drop in a few more moulds amidships in due course. Nothing fancy here-- just pine scraps milled to a touch above 1/16" thick by random widths around 1/8" or so.  

 

Here's a close-up of the forward moulds-- mirrored via. photo editing, and scaled on MS. Word.  No scanner here, so just took the image with my phone camera. From here, I just print 'em off, cut 'em out, and glue 'em to plywood.  They are ground to the lines on a bench sander. 

 

[Jim Lad]

harvey, long ago someone who knew of my interest in things maritime gave me a copy of that little book.  I've thought I'd like to build one of those interesting looking shios, so now I can do it virtually through your build.

 

john

[Harvey Golden]

Planking the hull.  A rough job, for sure, but after puttying, it'll sand out nicely.  Before I turned the bilge with planks, I removed the strong- back.  Last photos show the solid block ends in place, and rough-ground to shape.  I work a little 'backwards,' in that the stem, deadwood and keel will be added after the planking. 

 

 

[Jim Lad]

A very good start.  That should clean up to a lovely looking hull.

 

John

[Harvey Golden]

It's always nice to have a drawing the same size as the model one is building.  With the rough hull I ended up with, it's especially handy, as I need to get the 'castles' and bulwarks built up correctly.  Here is the heights lofting, made from tables of offsets. Van Gaasbeek includes complete elevations, but they are greatly reduced, and some of the numbers are rendered illegible. Still very helpful though, as it provides many details the offsets do not have. 

Elevations in Van Gaasbeek: (The dashed lines in the stern view are for the twin-screw version).  Note the 13' station distances, and the commission of 4 identical center stations. 

 

[Harvey Golden]

The hull is now cleaned up a bit and primed. Also, the decks are on, along with the keel and stem. Next step is to build up the bulwarks and center island's sides. 

[lmagna]

Nice start Harvey

 

Some time ago I bought the Lindberg "Q" ship with the idea of using it much the same way and taking the lines from the plastic model and build a bigger model from it.

[Harvey Golden]

2 hours ago, lmagna said:

Nice start Harvey

 

Some time ago I bought the Lindberg "Q" ship with the idea of using it much the same way and taking the lines from the plastic model and build a bigger model from it.

Thank you.  That's a lovely job there!  I usually build small craft or later freighter types, so this is my first vessel with ratlines.  Your model's ratlines look very nicely done.

[Jim Lad]

She's coming along well, Harvey.

 

John

[lmagna]

2 hours ago, Harvey Golden said:

Your model's ratlines look very nicely done.

Sorry for the misunderstanding Harvey. The picture is not my build. My Lindberg kit is still in the box. I just posted an internet picture of a built Lindberg Q ship model to show what the kit looked like built. It is a pretty small model but looks very similar to yours. 

[Harvey Golden]

10 hours ago, lmagna said:

Sorry for the misunderstanding Harvey. The picture is not my build. My Lindberg kit is still in the box. I just posted an internet picture of a built Lindberg Q ship model to show what the kit looked like built. It is a pretty small model but looks very similar to yours. 

Ah-- no matter.  I appreciate the photo, as it sent me down the rabbit hole on Q-ships (and Lindberg models). Thank you!  

[Harvey Golden]

Coming along . . . I'll be putting LEDs in this model, so two white all 'rounds, red and green side lights, cabin lights, and probably a red wheelhouse light. Takes a lot of advance planning to do this, and entails having annoying wires sticking out for most of the process. (LEDs from Evan Design-- a sponsor on the MSW sidebar). 

 

A peek into the hold reveals a substantial number of 70-inch non-explosive artillery shells . . . or is that just ballast for the model? 😉

[lmagna]

I think I like 70-inch non-explosive artillery shells better! Looking more and more like a cargo ship!

Edited March 13, 2021 by lmagna

[Harvey Golden]

Getting a little color on the hull, and some of the deck furnishings. The scheme is based on the USS Banago, ID3810 (http://www.navsource.org/archives/12/173810.htm).  I prefer the scheme of the Calala, depicted in my first post, but I haven't been able to find a depiction of it's opposite side. The fittings are a mix of scratch-built and Bluejacket. 

[Jim Lad]

Harvey, might I suggest that you go back over the bow and try a little more sanding there.  A smoother hull will result in a far better finished model.

 

John

[Harvey Golden]

3 hours ago, Jim Lad said:

Harvey, might I suggest that you go back over the bow and try a little more sanding there.  A smoother hull will result in a far better finished model.

Thanks Jim. It sure could use more sanding. I think part of the problem I've been having is the hardness difference between the pine and the fillers I'm using.  Also, the filler seems to shrink a bit with drying, so it often takes several fills. 

Best, 

Harvey

[Roger Pellett]

Harvey,

 

Paint does that.  It makes us ship model builders humble!

 

Roger

[Harvey Golden]

Electrical systems check.  More details in place, and more detailing needed.  Quite the festive barge at this stage. . .  

And naturally I've long since broken off the tail end of the keel . . . 

[lmagna]

21 minutes ago, Harvey Golden said:

Quite the festive barge at this stage.

Looks like fireworks!

[Jim Lad]

All working well.  The keel will be easy to repair when the rudder post goes on.

 

John

[Harvey Golden]

A little more progress: Bridge deck and boat deck are in place. The screw showed up, so the rudder post is in place with the screw aperture refined. One photo shows how the light from the LEDs is diffused inside the deck houses:  The LEDs are dropped down white-painted plastic straws. The last three 'midships lights are the port and starboard running lights and a red wheelhouse light.

[lmagna]

Using inexpensive straws as diffusers is pretty good. I will have to file that one away for possible future use.

 

You are really coming along nicely with your build. Makes me think of pulling down my Q-Ship down from the shelf and doing  it as well. 

[Jim Lad]

She's coming along very nicely.

 

John

[Wintergreen]

On 3/18/2021 at 7:14 PM, Harvey Golden said:

Electrical systems check.  More details in place, and more detailing needed.  Quite the festive barge at this stage. . .  

And naturally I've long since broken off the tail end of the keel . . . 

And I thought that the holiday season was well over? How wrong was I?

A perfectionist may dislike the exterior hull with all the creases and unevenness, but to my eye that looks quite perfect. It looks like the ship has been in commission for quite some time and that the hull has been painted and repainted due to wear and tear. Great look actually!

Keep it up!

[Harvey Golden]

A bit more progress lately.  Also, here's some little details that might be of interest . . . Book-cloth for lifeboat covers and grommet punches to make life rings.  I've also used these punches to make portholes when using heavy paper for cabin walls-- they leave a nice raised ring on the opposite side (I used grommets and plywood for the walls on this model). 

1918 was a very good year for cowl ventilator salesmen . . . 

[lmagna]

It is almost a shame to see most of the lighting installed Harvey. She really looked like the Forth of July for a while. Now she just looks like they are shooting off flairs! I really do like the Ugly Duckling looks of these ships.

[Jim Lad]

She's really coming along very nicely, Harvey!

 

John

[Harvey Golden]

Stays in place and ratlines in progress. Chainplates in place (made of paper with glue 'bolt-heads').  A couple errors fixed, such as the height of the forward rifle platform. Many more details ahead and clean-up here and there. I do believe I'll be making a rudder in the not-too-distant future.  Oh-- a crew was scrounged up, as well! (Trumpeter 1/200).