Constellation 1856 by JerryTodd - 1:36 scale - RADIO - First Class Sloop of War

[JerryTodd]

So, I stuck some pins in the aft hatch cover, and that seems like it'll do the job...

 

and the forward hatch is framed out.   This is a bit more complicated than it appears because of the blocking I installed for the through-deck fairleads that the hatches cut into to some degree and though incorporated into the hatch framing, still leave odd-shapes places that I need to fill in.  What's interesting is, in the case of Constellation at least, I really could have waited to have the deck on and planked before installing the fairleads - there's none of them I can't get at through all these hatches.

 

While the deck has some camber in it at the hatches, the framework underneath is flat, as is the ledge around it's opening.  I could have framed this all out before laying the subdeck and it would have been more structurally sound and looked a lot less like Frankenstien's monster.  I started down that road a long time ago when I intended to use PVC pipe caps for access hatches (these pics from 2009):

   

 

I didn't got with that because the opening was too small for me to get at anything through it.

Macedonian will benefit from this experience at least 

Edited December 10, 2014 by JerryTodd

[captainbob]

I'm going to use some soft closed-cell foam on the ledge for the hatch to sit on.  It should conform to any imperfections in my workmanship.

The fellow in the RC club I was in just put petroleum jelly on the two surfaces.  It kept out the water just fine.

 

Bob

[JerryTodd]

"Janniary was some cold hon!" said someone from Baltimore back when February started - I'll wager they've forgotten January now.  It didn't get above freezing for more than 3 days this month past, and they weren't three days together.  The average high for the month was 26° f and the average low was 19° - the coldest February for this region in recorded history.  Today it's 26° f with rain, snow, and sleet, with more coming and a forecast low of 19° f - ie: an average day.

My garage workshop doesn't have heat, so I've brought things I'd rather not have freezing into the house; glue, paint, batteries, etc.  Hopefully it'll be warmer sooner than later and I can get back to work laying Constellation's deck - along with making a Civil War field desk, a folding table for the desk, a Rev War folding cot and stool, another sea chest, and three hanging shelves to go in the loo.  I'm also extending a duct from an upstairs bath into the garage ceiling to blow in heat and AC so I can bear the summer and not be froze-out next winter.

 

The real ship is back in the water hoping the ice will clear enough for her to be moved to where her rig will be set back up, and she'll go home.

Feb 28, 2015 at Coast Guard Station Curtis Bay, Maryland.

[Timmo]

Hi Jerry, just been enjoying both your constellation and Macedonian builds. They are great builds and very informative. I'd love to do something similar one day.

What are your ballasting/keel plans?

[JerryTodd]

Here at the end of March and it's still cold.  We got one day that peeked at 70°f but it rained and rained and the next day it dropped to the 30's again.  I gotta get some heat (and AC) into that garage.   They say it's supposed to get into the 60's during the week, so maybe I can finally get back to work.

 

Timmo;

 

Constellation's ballasted with a 2" id PVC pipe filled with lead bird shot and weighing about 42 pounds.  This is attached to the hull via two ss threaded rods through aluminum tubes in the hull.  The tops of these rods are hidden by the stove-pipe forward and the cabin skylight aft.  She'll also get about 15 pounds in lead-shot "bean-bags" inside the hull to bring her down to her lines and trim her.  My drawing of the model at the beginning of this log shows the pipe at the bottom of the hull.  This gets the weight as low as possible and being detachable, makes the model lighter and a bit easier to handle out of the water.

 

Macedonian will be getting the same basic treatment though I might use a steel pipe instead of PVC to get the same weight in a shorter pipe.

Edited November 8, 2016 by JerryTodd

[JerryTodd]

Finally Spring has arrived and I got into the shop to get some work done - most of it Civil War stuff for an upcoming event, but I at least got started on Constellation's deck!

 

I'm using CA to glue the planks down to the fiberglass over plywood subdeck, and permanent marker for the plank seams.  Once I get the area around this hatch done, it'll go pretty quick until I get to the forward such hatch.

 

The aft pivot gun will be mounted on this hatch, and I'm thinking I'll make it so that twisting the gun carriage latches the hatch shut.

 

 

[JerryTodd]

Making some progress.  The aft access hatch requires fitting nearly every piece and makes it a bit tedious, but it's going along...

 

  Monday

 

  Tuesday

[michael mott]

Gerry, great that you are able to get back to the garage to continue your work on the model. I had to do the same thing and move anything that would freeze when we went away for a week in February.

 

michael

[JerryTodd]

About 60 pieces laid down so far.  Painted the hatches and hatch wells...

 

 

 

[Omega1234]

Hi Jerry

 

Nice job! I must admit that I didn't realise how thick the deck planking was until I saw your first photo above. Is the thickness to allow for the sanding, or just for overall structural rigidty?

 

Either way, I'm just curious, because the deck's shaping up to be a beauty.

 

Cheers

 

Patrick

[JerryTodd]

Sometime during the Cretaceous period (2009 to be precise), when I designed and installed the deck beams, I got it into my head to make it all this thick.  The plywood was what I had on hand, so that's easy, but I can't for the life of me recall why I opted to make the deck planking this thick.  Not just the deck, but the deck beams as well, there's no need for them to be as large as I've made them.  Pride is done the same way, but set up to use 1/16" (1mm?) planking.  In her case the planking, while thinner, is about twice as wide, and using CA to glue it down may be an issue.  Macedonian is going to use 1/8" luan plywood (door-skin) for a sub-deck and 1/16" thick planking over that.  A 4' x 8' sheet of door-skin sells for about the same as a 1' x 2' sheet of 1/16" aircraft ply, so I'll get thicker decks, but I get fo'c's'le, quarter deck, and gundeck with a good bit of ply left over for a whole lot cheaper.

Edited April 12, 2015 by JerryTodd

[JerryTodd]

I was on a roll until I ran out of glue...

 

 

Edited April 12, 2015 by JerryTodd

[JerryTodd]

Got TWO bottles of gel CA and continued with a few more strakes up the port side, and got down a lot of the foredeck area.

 

 

[dgbot]

Since this is on operational model I did not see what you used as a water tight seal with the deck and the hatches.

David B

[JerryTodd]

There will be a bit of gasket material in there - there's some card stuck there now to take up the space while I fit the decking.  I'm not going for "water-tight" more like "water-resistant."

 

Today I hope to get the aft end planked and work up the port side.  I'm thinking it'll all be down by Wednesday.  There's a cap that goes all around the edge of the deck, it's more like a log.  I have to piece that together around the bow and stern, the sides are simply a nice long piece that springs on.  I got a bag of bamboo skewers I'm going to use as tren'ls to anchor that down.  While she won't be "finished" at that point, she'll look more like she is. 

 

I need to turn the spokes for the wheel and those bowling pin stanchions, but none of the wood I have handy is working out for that.  I had a little boxwood which I think will do great, but I haven't been able to find it.

 

[captainbob]

She's looking good.  I like the layout.  We used to smear the gaskets with petroleum jelly to help with the water resistance.

 

Bob

[JerryTodd]

I ain't touching that till there's a sealant of some sort on the deck 

[JerryTodd]

I got a bit more done.  The forward access hatch is nearly covered and that will finish all those fiddly bits dealing with it's seams.  The aft hatch is done and there's decking from stem to stern, now it's filling in the bow quarters.

 

 

If the glue and the wood hold out, I should have it done tomorrow.

[JerryTodd]

Got the port side planked up except for some "corners" to fill in.  Didn't get to finish the whole deck - such are the best laid plans of mice and men.  But then, there's tomorrow.

 

[mtaylor]

Looks like you're still having fun...  at least I hope you are.  I find the RC ships fascinating for some reason even though I'd never build one myself.  Bad memories from my aircraft days, I guess.

[JerryTodd]

I'm not too concerned with it falling a hundred feet and shattering.  To me it's sailing a boat with a really long invisible tiller. 

[captainbob]

Looks like you're still having fun...  at least I hope you are.  I find the RC ships fascinating for some reason even though I'd never build one myself.  Bad memories from my aircraft days, I guess.

The ex RC flyers in the RC boat club used to say they switched because when/if it crashed it was a lot cheaper to fix.

 

Bob

[Jim Lad]

G'day Jerry, just catching up after a long absence from your log.  Looks like she's really coming together.

 

John

[JerryTodd]

The deck is down, even scraped, sanded, and given a wipe of satin poly...

 

   

 

 

[Omega1234]

Hi Jerry

 

I gotta say "My gawd, that looks nice! ". The photos with the deck and masts really highlight the size of the model as well as its beauty.

 

She's going to look great on the water.

 

Well done

 

Cheers

 

Patrick

[Jparsley]

Splendidly done can't wait to see her sail

[JerryTodd]

I installed the cap rail, or cap log as I call it.  It covers the perimeter of the whole deck.  An angled piece will go inside of it as the waterway, but we're not that far along yet.

Here a fellow's setting a hammock iron on the real cap rail.

 

I got 4 3/8" x 1/4" x 48" bass strips and two of them were simply spring into place port and starboard.  Tren'led every 6" with round toothpicks, and since I couldn't clamp it down very well, I put in copper nails between each tren'l.

I wiped a little cherry stain on the strips before fastening them down.

 

I cut one of the remaining 2 strips into 3-1/2" lengths and glued them up side-by-side to make 6 1/4" x 3/4" x 3-1/2" blocks

 

A made a card stock template of the stern and used that to shape the blocks and piece together the cap rail around the stern.

 

 

[JerryTodd]

Started on the hatch coamings before finally calling it a day

 

 

[JerryTodd]

Ah spring time.  The air is full of fumes from glue, paint, and mineral spirits.... not to mention the neighbor's lovely smelling fertilizer.

 

Today I continued on the hatch coamings; trimming, fitting, and building the battery hatch cover.  Everything, and the hull got some paint to spiff things up a bit.  I really need to figure out making hatch gratings with what I have.

 

   

[JerryTodd]

Only got a couple of hours in the shop today and managed to turn out this little item: