Gwenfra by Piet - FINISHED - 1:25 scale - self-designed Friendship Sloop

[Piet]

Hello everyone,

 

This will be a reposting of my build log for the Friendship sloop “Gwenfra” that I started in January 2010 and completed April 2011.  The reason for this repost is not only to add my old build log to MSW 2 but to entice those in the kit build section or “newbie’s” to try their hand at scratch building a ship model.

If an aircraft mechanic, engineer and pilot type (among other trades) can scratch build a wooden model of a ship or a boat then most can.  One must obviously be familiar with using woodworking tools, whether power tools or hand tools and it would also be desirable to have some of these in your workplace.

 

First a little background history behind this particular project.  When I was approaching retirement from Federal service my wife Gwen and I choose Palm Coast Florida to settle down and enjoy the warm climate over remaining in the Pittsburgh, PA area.  Both of us also love sailing and have done so when living in the Netherlands after WW II and this part of Florida has great sailing opportunities.

Instead of buying a sailboat (cost prohibitive, etc.) we decided to build one ourselves that suited our needs and likes.  We settled in a simplified Friendship sloop,  the Stevenson’s Project Del Mar 1981 “Vacationer.”

 

With my skills and the help of an equally handy wife this would be a perfect two-year project.  However, when we moved to Florida it became apparent that building a 25-foot boat was out of the question due to the lack of a suitable building place and problems with my wife’s back.

 

So, the next best thing is to build a model of a real Friendship sloop, as they are currently sailing as pleasure craft.  Another reason was to use this project as a practice piece for when I could finally build a model of a long time dream, a mid 17^th century VOC ship.  This doesn’t mean that I am unfamiliar with working with wood.

 

In doing a lot of research and checking for drawings to purchase I found that I could not afford the prices asked.  However, the design is quite straight forward and to a simple formula of 3:2:1.

The beam is 1/3 of the LOD (length on deck), and the draft is ½ of the beam, with slight variations.  The length of the single mast is usually LOD plus the draft.   It also has quite a “drag” to the keel (7⁰), which seems rather deep but it should accommodate the needed lead ballast.  This is what makes these boats so seaworthy and stable sailors. 

The rigging is also straightforward using one mast stepped rather forward in the hull and gaff rigged with one main sail, a staysail and a jib.  Some have added a main topsail and a flying jib.   It usually has a square wooden bowsprit to accommodate the jibs.

 

I knew what I wanted in the boat if I was going to build it, a comfortable cruiser for several weeks, so, I decided to draw up my own plans.  I opted for 30 feet LOD with a 10 ft beam and 4.5 ft draft.  This configuration could get me most everywhere on the St. John’s River, the Intercoastal Waterway and even venture out on the Atlantic ocean.

 

In general terms she was going to have four bunks, a full galley, a dry chem. toilet and washroom.  She was going to be fully electric with a 5 HP diesel powered generator to supply 24 volts DC and 110 volts AC.  She was not going to have a build-in engine to drive a propeller for calm wind conditions or docking.  Instead I would use an electric outboard motor.  The electric loadbank would be 2 heavy-duty truck batteries to supply 24-volt DC power and 110 volt AC.

 

The diesel and generator assembly would be located in the forward sail locker in a stainless steel enclosure with a fire detection and extinguishing system as is used on aircraft auxiliary power units (APU).  The batteries would also be in the sail locker.  The keel would be made in three pieces, tapering in thickness from the widest frame forward and aft.  It would have deadwood knees holding the sternpost and cutwater to the keel.   The frames would be 4 X 8 inches and the planking 1½  X 4 and 1½ X 6 inches as required.

I’ll leave out details of the masting, rigging and the various systems.

 

The wood for the boat would be yellow cedar from Georgia except for the planking, which would be oak and birch for the deck.  

 

The model

Among the many very handsome boats I found on the Internet I used “Banshee” and an unnamed sloop as examples to emulate (pics below).

The scale of the model is 1:25 and I have used poplar throughout.  I used ¼ inch poplar sheet stock, a rather soft wood.  If I would do it again I’d use a better quality hard wood.  The keel is ¼ inch wide and tapered towards the bow stern.

All frames are ¼ X 3/8 inch and close to room and space, there are 24 frames overall not counting the counter.  The three keel pieces are scarfed, glued and pinned with bamboo pins as are most frames.

For de deck, cabin roof, hatch covers, interior bulkheads and finishing I made my own plywood from cherry veneer to 1/16 inch thickness.  I could have bought 2 mm plywood at Hobby Lobby but I wanted to see if I could make my own plywood.  I even managed to make some of the interior plywood 1 mm thick.  There is no part on this build that is “store bought,” everything is made from stock material, including the hardware.  Well, okay, I bought the rope for the rigging from Model Expo.

 

I sure hope you enjoy this build and find the encouragement to try your hand at a scratch build yourself.

 

 

This is Banshee, a very handsome little sloop.  You'll see similarities with my model when it;s completed.

 

Another very nice looking sloop.  I made my cockpit a little smaller to allow more cabin space for four bunks.

 

Cheers,

[capnharv2]

Piet,

 

It's great to see another person interested in Friendship Sloops. Beside the 17 year "restoration" project on our sloop Amie, I've build one from a kit, finished another that was given to me, and have 2 more kits waiting in the wings. I also have about 5 sets of plans of different Friendship Sloops.

 

If you haven't been there already, you can get more info from www.fss.org. There are also several books out on Friendship Sloops, and the Society is putting together another one that shows the history and current status of all those registered with the FSS.

 

While I recognize that you and your wife are experienced sailors, please be very mindful of the size and amount of effort to handle one of these boats. Ours is 25' on deck (a Pemaquid model) and the mainsail is 310 square feet. We also have no winches, so gybing the gaff main in a blow can be a challenge (I've worn people out people handling the main in a race). They say a Friendship Sloop handles like a big boat-I'd say is handles like a semi with no power steering.

 

All that aside, I wouldn't have anything else. The boat is so stable and the motion so nice-Amie is the perfect boat for us.

 

I look forward to your build log. One day I'd like to make models of the 22', 25' and 31' sloops in 1:64 scale. But I have a few other projects to finish first. . . .

 

Thanks!

 

Harvey

[captainbob]

Ah the Friendship Sloop is such a beautiful boat.  I'm pulling up a chair to watch this build.

 

Bob

[michael mott]

 

I'm pulling up a chair to watch this build.

Me too.

 

Michael

[Piet]

Thank you all for the likes and stopping buy this repost.

 

@ Harvey:  I have been visiting your project and am jealous    Oh how I would like to get myself a Friendship Sloop, but alas I'll have to do with a model    

No, I wasn't aware of fss.org but I did visit their website yesterday.  Very interesting.  If I had known their existence and now you having drawings I could have saved myself a lot of time drawing up my own.  However, It was a fun exercise seeing how my lines would come out.  I am familiar with aircraft design and figured it wouldn't be too difficult.

Re the sailing of these sloops, well, I don't have to worry about that now    but I did sail a Navy sloop once.  That's the size of a life boat and can have a crew of 16 oar's men.  You must indeed have some biceps and leg muscles to handle those brutes.    

Way back on the back-burner may be a chance to make another model of a Friendship sloop but a little bigger and larger scale.

 

Bob and Michael, yes, they are lovely boats and a pleasure to sail.

 

Cheers,

[Piet]

Hello all,

 

As mentioned in my intro I made numerous sketches of the hull shape as I envisioned it in my mind and came to this final shape.  As it turned out I made a few changes as I went along with the build.  The lines drawing shown below shows some of the changes but I have omitted a few others.  As you can see I have made several notes on it and this picture is as it appears right now taped to my garage wall.

The most notable change was making the sternpost knee a little smaller.  It shows red on the drawing but it wound up between the original knee and the red colored knee.

Another change was the cabin and galley deck.  I made it on one level.   Later on in the build you’ll see that I lowered the cabin height, it just looked out of proportion but I figured that my wife and I are rather short that it would be okay.  Originally it was to have been six feet headroom in the cabin.

That funky looking character that looks like an O with a vertical line through the middle and wabbit ears and legs indicates the beam of the boat.

I indicated the frames on the sheer and half breadth plans in dashed red for visibility and the solid red lines on half breadth plan indicate the shape of the cabin and cockpit.

 

Well, I don’t know off hand what else to add for explanatory notes to the drawing.  Each successive post will have its own story to tell.

 

 

Cheers,

[capnharv2]

Hi Crackers,

 

Sorry, I think that's an Eastport Pinky. I'll double check the BlueJacket site because I know they make kits of Friendship Sloops (I've built both the large and small one, and have 2 more small ones around the house).

 

Some of the features of the Friendship Sloop (I hope I don't repeat what Piet said too much) are a Clipper bow, Elliptic stern, strong sheer, and lots of drag to the keel. That said, I've got a set of plans of a FS from the 1950's with a spoon bow.

 

Piet, those are nice lines. I see you've put a lot of work into them. I'm glad you've reduced the cabintop height. I've seen a Friendship "schooner" up here (essentially a FS with a schooner rig) and it had a lot of curvature to the cabintop to get standing headroom. It's hard to get standing HR on these boats because the bow is so shallow and the stern is so deep (relative to the bow). Our boat (25' on deck) has 4 1/2 feet of headroom, and I believe the Dictator models (31' on deck) have about 6 feet.

 

Oh, one other thing-I've had a lot of people call our Friendship Sloop a Cutter. It's not-the mast is too far forward, the main too big and the headsails too small. I believe the FSS calls for the mast to be 20% of the LOD aft of the stempost. That's why it's called a twin headsail sloop.

 

I'm going to enjoy watching this build too! Who brought popcorn?

 

Harvey

[Piet]

@ Anthony: That's a cute little sailer!  If I would build it (in my next life    I would extend the cabin aft a little and make the cockpit smaller.  Too cramped for a weekender.  It looks like good for a day sailer though.

 

@ Harvey:  Thanks for the extra info on the Friendship sloop, not many people know about this magnificent boat.  I opted for the clipper bow, real sexy looking 

I guess it all depends on who's mast formula one uses, LOD + 20% or LOD + draft, it comes out about the same.  One might say that my model is a custom designed boat just for my wife and I 

But with a 5 ft headroom in the cabin it would serve many others quite well, I guess.

 

BTW, pop corn and good Belgian beer are on the house!  Everyone is welcome!

 

Cheers, 

[Piet]

For today's episode I'll show the layout of one set of frames and the build dock.

 

As the lines drawing shows there are no specific lines for each frame.  I had to plot each one individually using the sheer and half-breadth plans and hoping that the final shape of the hull would be as I wanted it.  The cardboard mockup seemed to indicate it would but the final test would still be in wood.  As it turned out there were a few frames that did not quite work out but I found the source to be - - - me    It was inaccurate lofting on my part but easily corrected.  

 

But I'm jumping the gun and looking way ahead in the build.  As I mentioned in my intro, I'll sow and tell all the details in the build.  

 

Here are the two pics for this episode:

 

I don't remember why I didn't number each frame successively from 1 to 24 instead of 1, 1a; 2, 2a; etc.  Another thing I want to mention is that the kind if wood I used, poplar, was too soft and split easily.  I added a red arrow to indicate where my biggest problem was, these nice sharp edges where the frame straddles the keel, broke away too easily, no matter how careful I was in cutting and positioning the grain.  Again, if I would build another FS I'll be using a better wood.  I had to make most frames in two parts because of that problem, which increased the build time but it was a fun project though 

Unfortunately I did not make a copy of all the frames I lofted and only one photo of half of them.  

 

This is my build dock.  It follows the usual method with a copy of the half breadth plan cemented to the dock.  Fortunately by home made work bench is level both ways so I can use it for checking the alignment of the frames, etc.  The dock plank is set at 7 degrees and iI used a protractor to set the frames at 90 degrees to the waterline.  I don't have a picture to show, sorry, but all of us should know how that's done 

I placed a cross piece on the dock at the stern post position to ensure that the boat would always get back in the right position when removed.  The angle irons are set to a perfect 90 degrees to the waterline or vertical and holds the keel nice and snug.  This is all rather eliminatory but perhaps helpful for someone brave enough to tackle a scratch build    

 

Cheers,

[mtaylor]

Here... set this up somewhere convienent. I got it from Sjors so I know it will make plenty for everyone.  

[capnharv2]

Mark,

 

Do you have something like that for the beer?

 

Oh, wait

 

 

Harvey

[mtaylor]

Ask... and ye' shall recieve...

 

Now that that's settled.. I'm going to watch the build...

[Piet]

You guys are awesome, great stuff. 

 

Well, now that we have all the frames on paper they can now be tacked to the 1/4 inch poplar boards.  However, as mentioned before, I had to keep the run of the grain in mind so that the grain would favor the long part of the frame.

 

But before I can cut the frames I had to make the keel.  I made the keel in three pieces with hooked scarf joints and pinned with two or three bamboo pins.  At this point I don't remember exactly if there were two or three pins, but that doesn't matter right now.  The point is that I pinned all glue joints, including the frames. All three pieces are made into 1/2 inch wide by gluing up two 1/4 inch pieces.  These too were pinned together.

 

I also marked and cut the rabbet.  This may not be clearly visible in the photo and I didn't make a close up at the time.

 

I then cut flat spots into the keel, where the frames are going to be, parallel to the waterline.  I figured this to be the safest method for the model to ensure a nice and flat surface without having to cut the frames to a fit the sloping keel.  I will also pin each frame to the keel when ready to be permanently glued on.  I actually spend a lot of time in this process.

 

Okay, the pictures can fill in on the story.

 

The keel has been made.  The left and right red arrows show where the splices are.  They came out quite well, the one at the bow end can hardly be seen.  The dark line is the rabbet.  I also tapered the keel width wise going forward and to the rear.  This is also quite visible on this photo. 

 

Here is the keel set in the dock fixture.  The two keel splices are also visible.

We are now ready to start cutting the frames but we'll reserve that for the next episode.

 

Cheers  

[Piet]

Thanks Mark and Anthony for your likes!

 

Anthony, It's really not difficult to have several irons in the fire.  I admit though that I'm slacking off with my picture painting and drawing    I have about five started but it seems that my models, specially the O 19, takes preference.

I get up at seven in the morning at at eight I'm rearing to go, stop for a break with coffee, then lunch and at it again till seven in the pm.  The admiral cooks dinner most of the time so I can get stuff done.  I do all the house maintenance and yard work, including my koi pond.  I am most fortunate being able to do all the things I do.  My admiral helps though with keeping "order in my life" 

 

Old?  Yeah, I understand that some people are not as spry as others.  Most folks guess me at 60 or 65 years old, which I take as a compliment, being 79 and some.  Other then a few physical setbacks I feel just great and keep on moving like the proverbial pink wabbit.   

And then to think that I actually stared death in the face several times, some violent and some being felled by deadly diseases as POW with the Japs.

 

Anthony when you wake up and see green grass it's a good day, then set one foot in front of the other and keep moving.  keep the body and mind active my friend.

 

The Friendship Sloop is a reposting from MSW 1 so all I need to do is write the stories behind the pictures and yes, that also takes time and I hope that some folks may be enticed enough to try their hand at scratch building   

 

 Y'all have a great weekend and

 

Cheers 

 

 

[mtaylor]

Piet,

You rock, my friend. 

[Piet]

Hey Mark, thanks for the kudos!  Actually my birth name given by my father is Pertus Wilhelmus and Petrus is the Latin version of the Greek Petros, which is after the apostle Peter.  Petros means - - - rock, go figure 

I have been accused by an elder in our Church as being true to my name and namesake, the apostle Peter 

which was not meant as a compliment but I liked it and told him so, there - - -         We remained good friends anyhow.

 

Wilhelmus?  I'm glad you asked.  It's the Latin version for William and means "the trustworthy one."  Yeah, my father's family was Catholic and liked Latin names for their kids.  I like Piet though, nice and short.

 

Cheers, 

 

 

[Piet]

Next episode are making and placing the frames.  I have not bothered making photos of each individual frame being made.  I cutout the paper form and tack glued them to the wood, keeping the grain in mind.

 

Then I rough cut each one slightly larger then the fairing line.  Only when all the frames were cut and temporarily fastened to the keel did I begin to check for fairness.  I have also not made any pics of this process but I remember making a batten at the gunnel location.  

I glued strips of paper across the top of each frame with a centerline marked on it so that each frame would be located at the center line of the hull using a sting from bow to stern and with 90 degree angles and protractors on the sides of each frame.

 

As mentioned before, most frames are made up of two pieces, spiced, glued and pinned to keep the wood grain in line of the frame.  Each frame was reinforced crosswise at the keel, then glued and pinned to the keel.  The pins were installed diagonally to aid strength.  The cross pieces was an afterthought because poplar wood is not very strong at each grain line and splits easily.  All would be hidden by the cabin deck and interior furnishings.

 

I won't bore you with a bunch of photos of the placing individual frames till all are made, permanently secured to the keel and faired.

 

Below are just a few of the first frames.  

 

 

 

 

 

Cheers, 

[captainbob]

Piet,

 

Given a choice, what wood would you have used instead of Poplar?

 

I've always worked in poplar or bass wood but I'm thinking of trying some other woods.

 

Bob

[Piet]

Ahoi, Cap'n Bob,  great question.  It would either be Swiss pear, cherry or boxwood.  At the time it was a matter of economics, even is today.  The Friendship sloop was going to be a practice project for my actual build of the VOC ship but with my nature of wanting to do things right I ran into some aggravating issues with poplar.  In retrospect I should have bought the cherry and start over again but I stubbornly continued to work with it.  Several of the issues are buried under the planking and interior finishing.  Now you can see why I would like to rebuild the sloop but in a larger scale.  

The end result was satisfactory to me though, not perfect, but nice enough.

 

I think that poplar or bass wood works okay for a first planking but not for the final planking or frames.

 

I used cherry for the VOC ship planking, which I did as a single planking job.  Worked just great.  The deck planking is maple, worked fine as well.  This was recommended by Hobby Mill to fit my budget.

 

Cheers,

[Piet]

With the inherent weakness of poplar with regards to the grain I now tried to make the front frames in two halves, glued and pinned at the bottom.  So, I cut each half rather generously to be trimmed after they are put together.

Where the frames became wider I made the frames in two or even three parts, much like having floor timbers and futtocks.

After they were assembled and sanded to the desired width I tack glued a copy of the frame drawing on it, allowing enough for fairing later, both on the inside and outside.  I marked the frames with the estimated fairing lines.  This method worked okay for me.

 

Another issue I had with poplar is that it has a tendency to warp easily, which became a source of aggravation but learned to un-warp it before it was too late.

 

This shows frame 2a glued and pinned at the bottom.  You can clearly see that the grain runs nicely through the center of the frame halves.  All frames are still in need of sanding them to desired thickness as well as further shaping to hull form.

 

Frame 3 has been glued and pinned at the bottom.  Yes, it looks rough but as mentioned above this is just the beginning stage.

 

I used my number drill index for shaving the bamboo pins.  I forgot what drill number hole the final diameter was.  The pic shows it in the number 33 hole.

 

Frame 3a is ready to be glued and pinned.  I used a piece of plastic material on top of the frame drawing to locate the frame halves.  The pin holes were drilled after the glue had set for at least 12 hours.  I learned to drill the pin holes at least one number drill size larger otherwise the pins would not get all the way through and lock themselves up tight.  There was no budging them and the only way was to re-dril the holes a little larger.  It was a learning cure alright.

 

Frame 3a glued together and ready for the pins.

 

Cheers, 

[terryoneill]

I will be following this build. I built the kit from bluejacket a few years ago. I like your scale much better.

[Piet]

Hi Terry,  thanks for following this build I did a year or so ago.  If I ever would build another model of the friendship sloop it'll be double the size then this one, like 1:12.  Even at 1:25 things got pretty small to make with a tendency to get out of scale.  I wanted to make everything work and it did but - - -

Even with my slender fingers I had to spend a lot of time and patience to make the detail parts I incorporated in the build.  I'll also use better wood!

 

Cheers,

[captainbob]

Thanks, Piet,

 

I understand the matter of economics.  Swiss pear, cherry, maple or boxwood, I’ll have to see about getting some.

 

I also like to make all things on the boat work but it gets more difficult as the scale gets smaller.  You’re doing great.

 

Bob

[Piet]

Hi Bob,

 

Maple is probably most economical in the better woods.  It van be used for most everything and really not that expensive to make it prohibitive.  Try Jeff ate Hobby Mill, he's a real prince to work with and has plenty of advice.

 

Yes, It's nice if everything works but making pulley blocks even in 1:25 gets tedious to say the least.  My VOC ship is at 1:80 scale and the small single sheaf pulley blocks are just 1 mm and I need hundreds of them.  I'll have to settle with 2 mm.  Fortunately I have very slim fingers and after my cataract operation my eye sight is back to 20 - 20.

Oh well, we'll struggle along with the scale chosen, no space to display the model.

 

Cheers,  

[Piet]

Following up on the previous frame build-up post, I like to show how I made the larger, curved frames.  I decided to continue with making the frames in two halves but splice each half at the bilge curve.  I also reinforced the center glue and pin joint with a block or some plywood as later posts will show.Here is a demonstration of frame 7a.  The rest of the frames follow the same procedure. 

 

I again started out with more width and thickness then needed to be dressed to size after all the splices and center joints are completed.  Then I paste the paper frame drawing on to the wood to sand then down to size.

 

As shown I used Gorilla glue throughout this build, which worked fine for me.

 

All the parts needed to assemble the frame.

 

First both splices are in clamps being glued.

 

The holes for the bamboo pins are next to be bored.

 

The pins are now ready to be glued. 

 

Both spliced halves are now ready to be joined, they are also pinned.

 

This is the completed frame all dressed up nice.  The splice is clearly visible.

 

 

Cheers, 

 

 

[capnharv2]

Very nice!

[mtaylor]

Great looking scarf joint, Piet.  Your framing is coming out very well.

[captainbob]

Nice frame.

 

Bob

[Piet]

Thank you fellows for your kind comments.  All the frames were done in the same method and came out quite nice.  I cheated though by making them first larger then needed and then cutting them to within a couple mm to the lines of each frame drawing.  I wanted some extra wood for the final shaping.  It gave me extra work with the fairing but I wanted to be on the safe side.

 

Cheers, 

 

[mtaylor]

Piet,

 

I don't think that's "cheating"... it's thinking things out and not making problems for yourself.  Always better to be safe than sorry and tossing something into the trash because you went too close in cutting.