Sea of Galilee Boat by Chuck Seiler - S.E. Miller Kit - 1:24 scale - 1st Century

[Chuck Seiler]

    Welcome to my build log of the “Sea of Galilee Boat”, sometimes referred to as “the Jesus Boat”.  I was in the midst of a crisis of creativity with my Hanseatic cog when I came across LyleK1’s build log of the SoG boat.  I was interested and jumped in.  Lyle’s build log can be found at:

https://modelshipworld.com/topic/29007-sea-of-galilee-boat-by-lylek1-se-miller-120-scale/#comments

 

   This is a kit by Scott Miller, model builder and guitar maker.  Lyle provides info on the kit.   The kit is based on the excavation of a boat on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee in 1986.  This is documented in the book “The Sea of Galilee Boat: A 2000 Year Old Discovery From the Sea of Legends by Shelly Wachsmann“ and excavation report “The Excavations of an Ancient Boat from the Sea of Galilee by Shelly Wachsmann, 1990”.  The book I purchased and the report I downloaded for free.  They contain similar info but there are some differences.

 

 

 

 

    It all began in January 1986 when 2 Israeli fishermen/amateur archeologists stumbled upon some artifacts along the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee (which is actually a freshwater lake…who knew?)  Israel had been experiencing 2 years of drought and the SoG had receded drastically.  What the fishermen found was due to the surface of the ground being dug up by spinning wheels of a tractor.  When officials were notified of the find, they thought it was a hoax-no wrecks that old had ever been found in the SoG because the warm fresh water is not conducive preservation.  While a “land site”, the wreck had to be excavated quickly-the drought had ended and the sea was rising.

 

    The above listed sources give much info on the wreck.  Some I will be mentioning throughout the build. 

 

    The boat is 8.8 meters/28.9 feet long at the caprail, had a breadth of 2.5 meters/8.2 feet and depth of 1.25 meters/4.1 feet.

 

    Dating the wreck is difficult.  Carbon dating of the wood, artifacts in and around the wreck, boat building techniques used and historical data of the area led them to estimate 100BCE to 75CE.  They are certain that the boat was constructed of parts from older boats and it had been repaired often.  Some of the wood is 100 years older than other parts.

 

 

 

    I am better at building than I am documenting the build, and I am not all that great at building.  I get distracted easily.  My plan is to provide some early documentation, then get down to building.  I need to get out of my slump.  There will be large gaps between updates but I will respond to any questions or issues.

 

  On to the build.

 

[Louie da fly]

Nice one, Chuck. I look forward to following the build.

 

Steven

[Chuck Seiler]

Many thanks.  Hopefully it will be a fun, relatively fast build.

[Chuck Seiler]

    Not so fast…

                                                                             

        The model is built ‘shell first’ on a strong back, then framed.  The locations of the strongback frames are marked on the provided baseboard.  Marking the centerlines of each frame, I was able to easily assemble the strongback.  The sternpiece and keel are already assembled and the center marking of the frames allowed me to install the sternpiece/keel.  These are NOT glued to the frames.  I did not see any specific locations for the stem, but it was easy to figure out.

 

 

    A NOTE ON WOOD:  Scott says most of the wood used for the model is mahogany.  While I am not a wood expert, this does not appear to be any mahogany I have worked with.  It is soft and coarse grain.  Despite soaking and taking care, I snapped the first plank I tried to bend.  I decided to go with Alaskan Yellow Cedar (AYC) I had from SYREN.  I have worked with that wood before and like it, although it is also soft.  UNFORTUNATELY, my AYC is 14 inches long and I need about 16 inches.  :- (

 

 

    I came up with a scheme to laminate the planks so there would be 2 joints and it would hopefully survive the rigors of severe bending.  Remember, the planks are not affixed to the frames.

 

 

    The downside to this is (1) it is very time consuming and (b) the finished product cannot be soaked.  Joe Volpe at MODELER’S SAWMILL to the rescue!!!!  His wood is also normally 14 inches, but he was able to cut me some sheets 18 inches. 

 

 

 

[LyleK1]

Hi Chuck,

Appreciate the references and am looking forward to watching your build log.

I corresponded with Scott via email a few times and although he didn't come right out and acknowledge it, I believe the wood to be Spanish Cedar. Overall, I've found it fairly easy to work. But I am super curious to see the AYC. I have never worked with it and am hoping to get some insight for my next build (after the Bounty... still in the wings and waiting!)

Good luck and have fun! It's a really fun build!

[Chuck Seiler]

Lyle,

 

    Many thanks.  I was not originally wild about AYC.  I prefer boxwood, but I have not won the lottery yet, so....  It bends well and edge bends well.  My major complaint is that it dents easily, so I need to be careful with the clamps.  It smells great too.

 

    Chuck at SYREN and Joe at MODELER'S SAWMILL both carry it.

[LyleK1]

5 hours ago, Chuck Seiler said:

Lyle,

 

   My major complaint is that it dents easily, so I need to be careful with the clamps.

 

  

Have you tried raising dents with a little water?

Usually, a minor dent will pop out with a fingertip of water rubbed into it.

Of course, if fibers are broken or crushed that trick doesn't work.

I had several dents working with this wood but most came right out.

[Chuck Seiler]

I have not gotten that far yet.  I will give it a try.  Thanks

[Chuck Seiler]

    And now we begin, for real.

 

 

    This kit has us planking from the gunwale (gunn’l) to the keel.  Each strake is a single plank.  In real life there would be mortise and tenon joints but…  Once the planking is complete, I will mark the butt joints.

    The first two strakes on each side are untapered planks.  After that, we use pre-tapered planks supplied with the kit.  See Lyle’s build log for specifics. 

 

 

 

    The location of the first plank is pretty easy.  The frames are set up with a notched ledge to take the first strake.

 

 

 

 

    The plank meets the sternpost right on the edge.  There is a slight thickness on this end.  The plank meets the stempost as if it is rabbeted.  Here I have the plank come to a point.  I will eventually strengthen these joints by pegging them with 1mm bamboo pegs.

 

                                                                                  

 

 

    Once the first 2 strakes were in, I taped the edges of the frames and attempted to line off the hull to get numbers so I could taper.  I doesn’t show up well on camera, so I enhanced.  IIRC the references say there are 14 strakes.

 

 

 

    Scott recommended a clamp with sandpaper glued to the jaws to assist in holding the stern planks in place.  Not sure why he did not do the same for the bow.

 

 

 

 

    Soak the plank and clamp in place until dry.

 

 

 

    Now the edge is beveled so it mates properly with the plank below (above). 

 

 

 

    If all goes well, I will see you at the turn of the bilge.

Edited July 24, 2021 by Chuck Seiler

[LyleK1]

Off to a great start!

I wonder how the tape will work?

Never crossed my mind to try it!

The AYC looks awesome!

Edited July 24, 2021 by LyleK1

[Chuck Seiler]

    I have reached the turn of the bilge.

    Wow, this looks a lot worse in the full light of day than it does with inside lighting.  I didn’t get the edge to edge alignment I was hoping for so some of the strakes stand out prouder than others.  It should look fine once sanded down (and I should be rich and handsome too, but not holding my breath). 

 

    There appears to be many gaps in the planking, but that is merely the shadows cast from the proud planks.

 

 

    If you compare my planking to Lyle’s, you see I have it tapered at both ends while the kit supplied wood is only tapered at one.

 

 

 

 

    Planking gets more interesting from here.  Not only do I have to do a horizontal bends and vertical edge bend, I now need to start adding a twist.  The green arrows show where no twist is required.  The red arrows show where a twist is required to follow the turn of the bilge.  THEN we untwist.  That will be an interesting feat.  The Alaskan Yellow Cedar is pliable enough, when wet, to do the vertical and horizontal bends with no problem.  I am sure it will handle the twist as well.  Going into a twist and back out should prove interesting.  I need to check Lyle’s build log to see how his went. 

 

    The other problem is that up until now, I was able to use a 4 inch bar clamp (several of them) to clamp the strake because the pressure is straight down.  With the twist, I am unable to do that.  Scott and Lyle both used CA glue so the old 5 fingered clamps were good enough.  I must ruminate.

 

 

Edited August 8, 2021 by Chuck Seiler

[LyleK1]

Chuck,

Looking good! I like the AYC too.

With the taper at both ends, you have a much more pronounced "arch" at the center of the boat. So, I'm wondering, will the center of the planks meet the keel sooner than either end? And if so, how will you reconcile it?

The light can be so unforgiving but as you stated, it will look great once sanded!

Hate to say it, because I wasn't a fan of CA glue before this build, but you're gonna need to use it with all the twisting and bending! I have a new found respect for the glue if used in the right situations. It can make life easier. You just need to be aware that it does stain the wood... easily covered with the right products though!

Let the fun begin! You are at the toughest part of the build... at least it was for me!

Good luck!

Edited August 9, 2021 by LyleK1

[Chuck Seiler]

Lyle,

 

    So far so good with the dual tapers.  I remeasured after strake 6 and I will have to make some modifications on my future tapers, but not much.  I will use the old tapers for #7 and maybe #8, then re-calibrate.

[Chuck Seiler]

    You can never have too many clamps...or rubber bands.

 

    After a basic bevel of some edges, I soaked the plank and clamped it into position to dry.  I checked Kyle's build log to see what methods he used and planned accordingly.  I have some larger clamps but wanted to keep them small if I could.  So far so good.  We'll see what happens when I unclamp.

 

    The result was not bad.

 

    A close examination shows the bevel needs to be touched up a little, but nothing dramatic.  Tomorrow I will don magnification and get to work.

[LyleK1]

9 hours ago, Chuck Seiler said:

    You can never have too many clamps...or rubber bands.

So true!

And you're using them very well!