A Port Dredger 1750 by Greg Davis - FINISHED - Scale 1:36

[Jim Lad]

Greg, that is just looking SO good!

 

John

[Greg Davis]

thank you very much!

[Greg Davis]

Its been a few days and a few tasks have been completed.

 

I just finished the big wheel structure; so all of the planking fasteners are in place, and after a bit of thought and work the axle doubling is done.

 

At first I was not sure how I was going to make the axle doubling - eight planks evenly spaced about the axle. Then I recalled how I had previously seen capstans and barrels made from built up blanks. This led me to cutting a bunch of wood to a 45 degree angle and then using 8 pieces a blank was produced.

 

Next I drilled out the middle of the blank in a series of steps, the last being with a 3/8" bit - this was the closest I had (but smaller) to the axle diameter. I then passed a 3/8" dowel thru the hole before using a lathe to fashion the outside diameter of the doubling.

Once the lathe work was done, two lengths of the resulting cylinder were parted off and removed from the dowel. To finish, I used a tapered dowel covered in sandpaper, spun on a hand held drill, to open the cylinder's hole just enough to slip the doubling onto the axle. A spot of glue and job done!

 

Now it is time to oil the structure and place it onto the superstructure. 

 

 

 

 

[Greg Davis]

I also completed most of the work for the scoop guides and their associated axles (with washers). The hourglass shaped guides still need to be oiled and the axles need to be shorted to their final length. But all of the turning is done and the axles have already been drilled for fasteners.

This work did get slowed down when the drive belt on my lathe decided it had reached its life expectancy. While I have backup belts for my Byrnes table saw and thickness sander; I found that I had committed an oversight by not having backup belts for my Sherline lathe and mill. The drive belt failure led me to nearly two days of belt searching. After finding out what type of belt it was, I thought this can't be to hard to obtain for less than Sherline charges! They want $9.95 for a belt and for 3-5 day shipping another $10. So, I found the exact belts MB330's on Amazon - 2 for $7.99 with free delivery. At first they were suppose to arrive by 2 May; now maybe by 8 May - who knows as they are being shipped from China. So I ordered a generic 13 in belt for a few dollars and it came a day later. Not a great fit for the lathe, but it is functional with the lathe motor pushed as far from the drive pully as possible. It worked (big axle doubler) but will be replaced with a MB330 when one arrives - maybe tomorrow; yep I sucked up the $10 Sheline delivery fee for an item that weighs an ounce or two. 

[Jim Lad]

All looking first class, Greg!

 

John

[Greg Davis]

The last couple of days have been dedicated to the scoop arms and the scoops themselves.

 

I've formed one of the scoop arms. It has an interesting contour, the lower part changing shape in a convex nature, whereas the upper part is more conical. The scoop arms are near 40cm long, 8mm diameter at the base, and tapering to 3mm at the top. It took me nearly two days to turn the first scoop arm. I found it difficult due to do the turning because of the large length to diameter ratio. I have a steady rest rest for my lathe but it seemed to offer just limited help. I've ordered a follower rest in hopes that this accessory will help in forming the second scoop arm.

I believe that I have cut enough brass stock for the sides of the scoops and also stock for the straps. I have started to assemble the first scoop and have made the first couple of solder joints. I have essentially no background in successful soldering so this is really a learn as you go part of the build! I am following the basic scoop assembly order and method that is shown in the Ancre monograph. 

[Greg Davis]

Very sorry about the lack of updates. During the past two weeks I have been doing a lot of 'little things' - nothing that really seemed worth reporting, yet all together the job is done!

 

I did order and receive a follower rest for my lathe and this accessory helped me fashion the second scoop arm in approximately one-third the time the first took. So I feel the follower was definitely worth the money. When ordering the follower, I convinced myself that a rotary table would be a great addition to obtain. That's a pricey one, but it really made slotting the davit (chain) rollers a pleasant task. Each roller, that is about 13mm in diameter, required 20 parallel slots for metal reinforcing strips. The rotary table let, together with a slitting saw, let me make the slots an even 18 degrees apart all around the roller.

 

Work on the scoops continued. Here is a picture of the port side scoop before drilling holes for fasteners (which require a whole slew of drill bits as they quickly dulled)

 

To keep with the 'open' starboard presentation, I decided present the starboard scoop in a skeletal fashion. Here is a picture of that scoop that was taken after connecting to the vessel:

 

 

As I was approaching the final setup it was time to build a display case. Here the case is approaching completion and I am adjusting the location of the dredger inside the confines.

Once the case was painted black, the hull was mounted via bolts going up thru the arches into the nuts imbedded in the keel. Then the scoops were setup with their chains and return ropes. Finally, the scoop brails were added. Here is the result:

That picture was taken Thursday evening. Friday morning and into the early afternoon, the glass was added to the case. The finished product was loaded up into my truck and driven down to the 46th Annual Midwestern Model Ships and Boats Contest held at the Wisconsin Maritime Museum. At this contest all entries are placed in group types (kit, scratch, etc.) as well as by experience (novice, intermediate, advanced).  Models are then judged individually against a rubric. Based on the number of points received, each model is then placed in an award category (bronze, silver, gold). If a modeler receives a gold in the novice category, next time they must advance a class. Similarly if a gold is received in the intermediate class, then in future years entries need to be placed in the advanced level. Last year I had received gold in the intermediate category with a kit build model of the fishing sloop Emma C. Berry. So although the dredger was to be my first scratch built entry, Kurt Van Dahm kindly directed my entry to the advanced level.

 

Needless to say, when the awards dinner came around last evening, I was hoping that my work would at least have earned a silver award - so I was extremely pleased when the dredge and my name was called for a gold award. But the evening was not over, and still unbelievable to me - the judges had determined that this model would be awarded Best of Show!!! Kurt suggested that I let you know last evening and I would have, but for some reason I was not able to access the MSW website last evening (or this morning).

 

I cannot thank you enough for the kind words and encouragement that all of you have provided me over the past 10 months. The journey has been supremely rewarding. I'm going to consider this model 'done' for now and am starting to think about my next building adventure. Again thank you and I hope that you have found some enjoyment following this build. 

 

 

[Keith Black]

 Congratulations, Greg! Not only congratulations for completing a beautiful model of a mundane work boat but also congratulations for the Gold and Best of Show awards. Well deserved indeed. 

Edited May 22, 2023 by Keith Black

[druxey]

Hearty congratulations for an excellent model that I'm glad has received the recognition it deserves! You've done a beautiful job on her. (Hard to call such an ugly duckling 'her'!) We look forward to your next building adventure.

[Jim Lad]

Brilliant, Greg!  Not only does your completed model look absolutely amazing, but you scooped the pool with the competition awards as well!

 

John

[Greg Davis]

I do have a question - 

 

Do any of you know of documentation / plans any other interesting service boats (short of anchor hoys)? 

 

I found this dredger to be fascinating, and I think that many should be indebted to G. Delacroix for bringing his study to us, but now I am interested in whether or not there is a logical / related follow up project!

 

If not, then I may make a seemingly irrational decision to dive into either L'Egyptienne or L'Invention - both that interest me greatly .

[GrandpaPhil]

Congratulations, Greg!  Well done!

[G. Delacroix]

Hello,

 

Congratulations on obtaining these awards, they demonstrate the quality of your model's execution as well as the application and value of your work.
For your next model, I take the liberty of recommending L'Invention, which will be much simpler than L'Egyptienne. This beautiful frigate is truly a big ship with all the complexity of the work of carpentry, artillery and decoration that this implies.

The Invention is structurally simpler without being easy but, to my taste, it has the advantage of novelty both in the world of model making and in the innovations it brings for the time of its construction. Moreover, it is an opening towards the clippers which will succeed it fifty years later.
Whatever you decide, I have no doubt that your project will succeed.

And thank you for the citation and the compliments.

 

GD

[James G]

Congratulations Greg! She looks so good! A unique build that I’ve certainly enjoyed following. Thank you for sharing such a fine, detailed build and congratulations on your award. Looking forward to what you’ll take on next. Cheers 🍻!

[ccoyle]

Wow, best of show! That's a fine achievement, Greg!

[AnobiumPunctatum]

Congratulations for finishing this beautyful model and for reaching the awards. 
I only know the Le Rochefort and the Hayling Hoy, which David Antscherl has reconstructed as other examples of harbour vessels.

[mtaylor]

Congatulatoins and applause....   Well done and well deserved.

[Greg Davis]

On 5/22/2023 at 2:28 AM, G. Delacroix said:

Hello,

 

Congratulations on obtaining these awards, they demonstrate the quality of your model's execution as well as the application and value of your work.
For your next model, I take the liberty of recommending L'Invention, which will be much simpler than L'Egyptienne. This beautiful frigate is truly a big ship with all the complexity of the work of carpentry, artillery and decoration that this implies.

The Invention is structurally simpler without being easy but, to my taste, it has the advantage of novelty both in the world of model making and in the innovations it brings for the time of its construction. Moreover, it is an opening towards the clippers which will succeed it fifty years later.
Whatever you decide, I have no doubt that your project will succeed.

And thank you for the citation and the compliments.

 

GD

Mr. Delacroix:

 

Thank you for your input; I've spent more time exploring plan sets for both of these ships, and have now decided that in the near future I will open a build log for L'Invention. I am also fairly sure that the model will be made primarily with pear wood. As with the dredger, I will do my best to make an honest and high quality representation of your work.

 

Greg

[druxey]

We look forward to seeing your rendering of this vessel, Greg!

[G. Delacroix]

8 hours ago, Greg Davis said:

Mr. Delacroix:

 

Thank you for your input; I've spent more time exploring plan sets for both of these ships, and have now decided that in the near future I will open a build log for L'Invention. I am also fairly sure that the model will be made primarily with pear wood. As with the dredger, I will do my best to make an honest and high quality representation of your work.

 

Greg

Hello,

 

Very good choice, I can't wait to discover this yard that is, for the moment, unpublished.

All my encouragement goes with you

 

GD