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

[jbshan]

Jerry, instead of interslotting two layers of your notched strips, make the top layer of strip wood.  That's the way they were done, you save on the notched strips, you run less risk of damaging notched strips, and the grain is proper.  You can use two of the notched strips to align the gratings while you do the strips, then when the glue dries you can take them out and use plain strips to finish off.

[JerryTodd]

You're saying to put un-notched 1/8" x 1/16" strips in the notches instead of using notched 1/4" wide strips?  Yeah, I'll give that a go.  I could make those 28  main hatch gratings all one unit easier that way.

 

I've seen real ones made that way, but the one time I actually made full sized ones they wanted them flat on both sides, so we used the interlocking method.  They became tables in a bar, with bottle caps in the holes and epoxy poured over them.

[yancovitch]

now that's a great idea...why didn't i think of it thanks!

[jbshan]

Strips to fill the notches.  Only as deep as the notches.

[JerryTodd]

Sized the ammo hatch grates and stained them.  I'm not sure I'm going to paint them black.  All the photos where they can be seen (more often than now there's hatch covers over them; they look more like the deck, not the hatch coaming.  In Civil War period photos of other ships, they are often painted black, but I have no way of knowing what was on Constellation five years before the war.  On the restored ship they're painted black, but they say she restored to her Civil War appearance.  I like them "natural" and it's one of those things where I can fix it easily enough later if I find out differently, whereas it would be harder to "unpaint" them.

 

 

 

The real ship's main hatch had removable beams running athwart-ship dividing the gratings into 7 rows, so I'm going to make 7 gratings, one for each row of 4.

 

Taking jbshan's advice above, I made 32 notched pieces for the short sides and in-between, and two long notched pieces for the long sides.  All the notches were filled with 1/8" x 1/16" strips running the width of the combined hatch grating.

 

It's not sized yet, till I make the other 6.  Here it is with the galley and ammo hatch gratings.

 

 

This is the underside where you can see the long runs (other than the outside two) don't notch down to the bottom.

 

Using strips instead of notched pieces does indeed save time and effort, but it also requires some planning on which way you're going to run the strips

[jbshan]

You wrote:

"Using strips instead of notched pieces does indeed save time and effort, but it also requires some planning on which way you're going to run the strips"

 

That is the seven 'Ps', or however many are required.  'Proper prior planning...'

[JerryTodd]

Made two more grating sections for the main hatch, four more to do.  I also glued the other three gratings, two ammo hatch, and galley hatch, in place.

 

 

 

Edited September 2, 2016 by JerryTodd

[JerryTodd]

The launch and a pair of cutters stacked, sit atop the main hatch; so I've been trying to discover how these boats were chocked.  If you want to find out how little information there is on something - go looking for it.

 

I've looked at photos of Civil War period ships and found very few stowing boats on deck - they're almost all on davits, and a few seem to just sit on deck, lashed to the rail, with davits to left them overboard.

 

Models seem to have gone with simple panels cut to the lines of the boat they support at that position, mounted right on a beam, or mounted on a separate short beam, I guess to be portable.  Sometimes instead of shaped panels, there are posts set on end and leaning inward with their tops cut to fit the shape of the boat, like blocking in a dry-dock.

 

 

In the attached photo of Constellation's deck taken in the 1890's, her boat chocks are visible on the main hatch, but it's hard to make out any real details.  They seem to have an iron plat with a loop handle and a bowling pin shaped leg to hold it at an angle.  A shaped wood block is bound to this plate, with what appears to be webbing.  On this is what is probably padding, like a bit of fire hose or some-such.  There's a lot of mops leaning against the chocks that are no part of the chocks, so watch out.  I tried to approximate what I think I'm seeing in the doodle above.  Where the question mark is I'm guessing there was something that held the thing in place so it wouldn't slip out from under the boat.  A pin maybe, or some nail-like spikes that would dig into the beam?

 

 

This doesn't mean this is how she was fitted out in 1856, and what she had then could even be a version of the three at the top of the doodle.  I'm just not sure how to figure out which.  I'm inclined to go with a sort-of stylized version of the ones in the photo, though it bothers me that I can't see anything in the photo for lashing the boats down, unless they tie to the handle on the chocks.

Edited September 4, 2016 by JerryTodd

[yancovitch]

hmmmm...maybe there's a hinge at the bottom to accomodate different shaped boats...maybe the bowling pin is adjustable too........somehow....someway....ha......like i know what i'm saying..haha.............

[mtaylor]

Jerry,

 

The far two of those chocks on the right shows that "handle" as ring.  Judging from the shadows, I'd guess they were made out of iron though you could be right about the wood.  I'd almost bet they're bolted to the beam between the grates....  Maybe not the farm, but I bet something.

 

For some reason, I thought they used a mix of cradles and davits as built...   But then I chickened out and did build them.   

[JerryTodd]

Oh, I'm pretty sure the handles are Jews Harp shaped iron rod and riveted to the iron plate.   They also could actually be bolted or screwed to the beam not only to keep them from slipping from under the boat, but they look narrow and would fall over if not held down somehow.

 

I worked on a boat back in the Flintstones days, that had very similar chocks for it's lifeboats.  They had a plate with rectangular holes in it, set on risers to hold it maybe an inch off the deck and the tip of the chock had a sort of Z bend to it, like shelving clips.  You held up the outboard end and stuck the nose into a hole and lowering it down locked it in place.  You couldn't take one out with the boat sitting on it.  There was a sort of turnbuckle adjustment to fine tune the angle to the boat.

 

The folks at the restoration told me, a few years ago now, that the Washington Navy Yard has a book from the 1850's-ish that details everything about ship's boats; metal work, fittings, oars, chocks, davits, all with the manufacture of said gear in mind.  I inquired of WNY about this book and hardly more than an hour later they replied that they have no such item.  I'm inclined to think they didn't want to be bothered.

Edited September 4, 2016 by JerryTodd

[jbshan]

Adjustable legs, to change the angle of the chock to fit different boats.  The 'bowling pins' are the legs, probably with threaded section at the top.

Edited September 4, 2016 by jbshan

[JerryTodd]

Constellation like many ships with pivot guns, had section of bulwark the could fold down, or even be removed to clear the gun's field of fire.  I opted to model these six panels on either side as single units in a fixed upright position as mine is a working model and as much as I'd have loved to make then operate, that's just asking for jib sheets and tacks, and who knows what to snag on them, or some ham-fisted oaf (like me) to grab the model and bend or break one or more, you get the idea.

 

In this image you're near the bowsprit looking starboard and aft.

 

The hinges are custom shaped cast bronze strap hinges which I facsimiled with card-stock, the smallest brass eyes I could find, and prop-rods who's eyes I bent in myself.  The bottoms of the actual rods were flattened and slipped over an eye like a lock hasp.  I'm not sure how I'll represent that detail, but I'll try to drill a hole and put an eye-spike through it into the cap-rail.

 

 

This isn't triggering your Post Traumatic Folding Bulwark Syndrome, is it Mark?

Edited September 5, 2016 by JerryTodd

[mtaylor]

I'm over it with proper mental health care assistance.           But I do remember the headache I got from it.

 

Your's are looking great, Jerry.  i'm assuming that they all will be in the up position?

Edited September 5, 2016 by mtaylor

[JerryTodd]

As much as I'd love to make them functional, I have visions of spending all my time repairing them - so yeah, they'll all be in the "up" position.

 

So, I made a couple more main hatch gratings and have two more of the seven left to do.  They'll get mounted to a plywood base so the hatch cover, gratings, boats; will all be a single removable unit.

I installed a narrow ledge for the cover to sit on so the gratings with be flush with the top of the coaming; and framed the cover so it matches the sheer and has a lip forward to hook under the ledge and hold that end down.  I'll probably put a magnet or two aft to hold that end, or a patch of Velcro.

 

 

 

 

All of that got painted and I glued on the first of the hatch gratings.

 

 

 

 

[yancovitch]

neat......any idea how much she weighs right now?

[JerryTodd]

<snark>About 35-40 pounds</snark>  She's just a hull on the worktable at the moment.

 

I'm getting her ready to go to the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum the first weekend in October (barring storms and flooding again) so when I have her rigged up and ready, I'll hang her in the slings and see if I can get a real number.  Till then, I'm guessing fully loaded and ready to sail she'll weigh in between 100 & 110 pounds (45-50 kilos?)

[JerryTodd]

Finished the main hatch gratings yesterday.  Not the best photos, but when I get the boat chocks made I'll do better, I hope.

 

 

[albert]

Great beautiful work Jerry.

[yancovitch]

yes isn't it?....and its so nice to see so much information available to make a relatively accurate replica

[Timmo]

Those gratings on the hatch look really effective Jerry. She's coming along well.

[JerryTodd]

I've been pecking away at jury rigging the old girl to go sailing again, but I don't know if I'm gonna make it.  The big problem is the pool they set up is too shallow for her to really sail properly, so I want to sail her in the creek (Miles River), which is what she's meant to do anyway.  Getting her to, in, and out of the creek is the problem, and I have a week to solve it.  There's also a small-craft festival running concurrently on the site, so I'm a little worried about small boat traffic in the creek while I'm trying to sail this model - then again there'll be no shortage of chase-boats.

 

[mtaylor]

I wish you good luck on getting her ready and in the water Jerry.   Chase boats can be good, right?   

[Timmo]

Good luck Jerry. She's looking the business. Any current there to worry about? I'm thinking it'll be only still water for me when I'm at that stage.

[JerryTodd]

I think the current is maybe 2-3 knots, but it's forecast to rain that Friday so it may be a little stronger.  We have like a foot-and-a-half tide here which will ebb about noon both days.  The Miles runs North-West past St Michaels which is in something of a cove, so I don't think the current's going to be an issue.  The weather forecast is partly cloudy, low 70's F, and NNE-NE winds of about 9 mph.  All told, it should be pretty darn perfect actually.

 

[dgbot]

I have a question Jerry.  I do not see a weighted keel so I am wondering how She will stay upright without tipping over in a light breeze.  

David B

[JerryTodd]

At the top of this page there's a Search feature which usually defaults to the topic you're currently in, and if not, you can click on it and make it so.  A search for "ballast" turned up several places it was referenced in this thread, the most recent mention and the earliest reference in this log.

 

There may be a little more detail on my site, click on the signal flags below to get there...

 

Just for giggles...

The first time the model sailed she carried 1,149 square inches, or 7.98 square feet of sail (7,413 sq cm) in jib, spanker, and three tops'ls.

The last time she sailed she carried 1,677 square inches, or 11.65 square feet of sail (10,819 sq cm) with the addition of the t'gallants and two more heads'ls.

I intend to sail her with the coarses brailed up until I can work out operating tacks/sheets for them, and royals.  That configuration amounts to 1,836 square inches, or 12.75 square feet of sail (11,845 sq cm).

Edited September 26, 2016 by JerryTodd

[JerryTodd]

Well, I give up.  The Transmitter battery won't hold a charge anymore; it's $35+shipping for a new one, and if I could afford it, it still wouldn't get here in time.

I have a rough plan for a cart so I could move the model from the car to the creek and back - but I don't have the materials to make it; some angle iron from a used bed frame and a couple of spoked wheels from a tricycle or a cart, an axle, and a bag of nuts and bolts - not hard to find stuff, but not likely to happen inside of 3 days.

 

So, with my tail tucked neatly between my legs - I'm bailing out of the weekend.

[Timmo]

That's a shame to hear Jerry. Would have been good to see a pic of her on the water.

[6ohiocav]

Jerry,

 

Seeing your beautiful ship take the water was going to rid me of the urge to put my Niagara in the bath tub to see if it actually floats.

 

I hope you get another chance soon, and I can't wait to see the results.

 

Garryowen!