Do I need to loft frames?

[bandk]

Hello all,

 

For my first post I'll ask a silly question!

 

I have started work on scratchbuilding a 19th century sailing trawler. The keel is 23 inches in length to a scale of round about 1/46th (nothing in my world is perfect!) Now the conumdrum I have concerns building on bulkheads. My plan that I have scaled up from a tiny drawing only has 10 bulkheads, clearly I need more especially at the 'pointy ends' to allow the planking to follow lines correctly.

 

By the way did I mention this will only be close to scale? Reason for this is because it will also be r/c for actual sailing purposes. So while I will be including as much scale appearance as possible, this does become secondary to its ability to actually be sailed.

 

So back to my question. how do I get the correct lines for extra bulkheads? does this require the dreaded lofting from my line drawings? Then if so, is there a very (idiots guide) simple explanation on how to do  this. I have read 5 different articles on lofting so far and I am still non the wiser as to what they are explaining!

 

many thanks,

Brian.

Edited July 28, 2013 by bandk

[S.Coleman]

Is there anyway you can use filler blocks instead of extra bulkheads? Just a suggestion. The Bow at the front of the ship and the stern at the back of the ship are the pointy ends

[tarbrush]

Brian, my brother in hating drafting,  I too try to avoid the dreaded frame drafting, First can you post a photo of where you are at in construction and also a photo of your lines drawing?

[terryoneill]

Brian, the download here by Bodner on scratch building is very good. If you really want to understand it you have too plot the points in his example. By doing it a couple of everthing will snap into place.

 

Terry

[bandk]

Thank you for the replies. I have attached a line drawing, this was published in A4 format, so everything was on that one sheet! I scaled it up to my size, that was a job in itself. Since then I have managed to get a set of workable detail drawings on A0 size paper from a Scottish company- Brown, Son and Ferguson.

 

As I said in the first post I have only got as far as doing the keel, this is in 5mm thick oak, bulkheads will be in ply, with the centres cut out. I can't use solid blocks to build up any that are missing, there needs to be room inside for a battery pack, a rudder and a sail servo and their receiver.

 

This takes a lot of pre-planning and thinking, even down to ballasting it for sailing conditions, ideally ballast inside the hull but there won't be enough room. It will therefore have a detachable bulb keel (like a pond yacht) I am going to use its stand mounting points to double up as attachment points for this bulb keel, So when its not sailing it can take up room in our lounge and look like the real thing!

[terryoneill]

I am looking foreward to your build log, I hope you will start one!

[druxey]

Think of lofting as plotting a graph, and it gets less daunting. Each bulkhead is like a slice of bread from a loaf. The waterlines and buttock lines cross each 'slice' at defined points. Join up the points, plotted at the correct heights or distances out from the centreline and, ta da!

[dgbot]

What do you plan to make the hull out of.  Make a plug out of a soft wood ot structural foam and either plank over that and remove the plug or you can use fiberglass.  This would be the easier way to do it.

David B

[tarbrush]

Hi Brian

Dave's reply above is what I was going to suggest to you.