sy endurance advice

[ian robert]

Dear Sirs,

                 I am a complete tyro as far as wooden model ships are concerned, my main hobby being building 5" gauge live steam. However, since my wife and I visited the antartic and sub antartic islands 5 years ago , I have been bitten by the antartic virus. We were incredibly lucky to land on elephant island and stand on the rocky spit where the crew sheltered , our guide had visited 5 times before and never been able to land!

    When I chanced upon the Occre kit, well it was a " no brainer".

  I am now doing as much research both into techniques and the vessel as I can before commencing the kit.

   My first question is , I believe the decking planks supplied are too wide . What wood is best to replace the kit items and is 3mm width acceptable in 1:70? Second question is how long were each individual plank and ,I have seen generic decking plans , how realistic are they ?

            kind regards Ian

[Morgan]

Hello Ian,

 

Welcome to MSW.  I would search the forum first for other Endurance builds and see what, if any, original research others have done.  Secondly, if you can’t find what you are looking for have a look at the photographs of Frank Hurley, you may be able to estimate plank widths from features on board, his photos have excellent definition. You can’t beat your own research, it can be as rewarding as the build.  Thirdly, to get a feel for the period I’d recommend a visit to RSS Discovery at Dundee, obviously a different ship, but of the same era and function.

 

These ships were built for a specific narrow purpose to operate in Arctic and Antarctic waters, built for strength, not to look pretty, so I would avoid getting side tracked by some of the dandified planking finishes you will see here, they would not be appropriate.

 

Gary

[ian robert]

Thank you, Discovery has been on to do list for a while , everytime I go hill walking in southern highlands intend to visit but something else always turns up to take precedence. Thanks again Ian

[USCGDave]

As you get started, you should check out this guy’s Occre Endurance diorama work on Instagram. I tried searching to see if he was a member here or had a build log here, but didn’t see anything. His handle on Instagram is plus47s_ageofsail

I could stare at his model for days and still find amazing little details. It is still a work in progress and he posts regular updates.
 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 20, 2022 by USCGDave

[Tim Moore]

That’s a wonderful rendition of the ice bound Endurance.

Ian: these photos from endurance archive give a good idea of the width of deck boards. Looks like 6 or 8 inches, which I think is about 2 to 3mm at 1:70 scale. 

[ian robert]

Thank you gentlemen. The ice bound endurance is stunning. What a piece of art.

  As for the planks, just need to find the average shoesize ( male), 1912, to calculate size! Thank you again for your help,  Ian

 Seriously, what is fascinating is the staining/ discolouration of the deck planks.

[ian robert]

A Happy and Healthy New Year to you all, gentlemen and thank you for your advice last year.I have sought refuge at times from the festive "Hullabaloo" doing more research both into the vessel and modelling techniques. A few tentative attempts at splitting the kits supplied deck planks in two lengthwise to try and make more scale deck planks have convinced this parsimonious Scot to part with some pennies.I intend to purchase replacement 2.5mm stripwood from probably Cornwall model boats. Despite much reading and perusing of pictures I am still a little unsure of the best wood to purchase. I think the least visible grained the better but pictures do lie so advice would be appreciated. 

    On a more cheering note for a Scot of parsimonious persuasion, I obtained a second hand copy of "South With Endurance" from a well known internet book dealer for the princely sum of £1.54. Hours of pleasure and such detail. If life was long enough I would be seeking a source of scale linoleum for the 'Ritz"

   Once again thank you and may 2023 be kind to you and yours.

       Ian

 

[Morgan]

Glad your research and enthusiasm is gaining momentum Ian.  I never cease to be amazed by the detail and atmosphere contained in Frank Hurley’s works, I have a couple of his prints hanging on the walls. For ostensibly ship pictures even my wife likes them. They are truly inspirational in my view.

 

Keep up the research and I look forward to a forthcoming build log.

 

Gary

[ian robert]

Good evening gentlemen, I have spent more time reading about deck planking plans and scale representations of such . Some might call it research but in truth I think I am procrastinating for fear of making a mistake! Is the deck planking plan in the kit realistic or should I aim for a repeat every four or five planks, also I am sure I have seen a technique of laying and glueing the planks on tracing paper and then glueing it all onto the false deck.It seems an almost 'get out of jail free card' in case of mistakes. Does anyone have experience of this technique. I have almost decided to take Snug Harbour Jonny's suggestion and make new bulk heads to conform to the outlines he has supplied. I downloaded and printed them and then on comparing the print to the actual kit bulkheads reduced the size by 62% to give me full sized templates for the new bulkheads. I have sourced some ply of appropriate thickness from my stash and as an insurance made a copy drawing of all the kit parts on it. The keel and frames are 'dry assembled' as well as the replacement frames fretted out.  The new narrower deck planks have arrived.

    So all I need is to actually 'screw my courage to the sticking post' and start glueing. Just one thing is holding me back. Jonny says in passing that the new bulkhead shape may make the hull planking 'more' difficult. As a complete novice who will have to learn this black art, just how much is this quantity ' more'    Am I pushing my luck?

     Kind regards Ian

[mtaylor]

Good questions, Ian.  I think most, if not all of us, had our doubts doing our first few kits.   I would suggest you open a log and show us where you are and what you're thinking.   It probably the best way to get help and encouragement.  

[B-Ram]

Hello Ian,

After doing some research, I went with a 2.5mm plank. This was based on a plank about 6 - 7 inches. As far as the length of the plank, I found that to be a mystery. In all of my pictures, I could never see any planks butted together. Also, I was never able to see any nails. That leads me ( and it’s just my theory) to think that the deck was painted at one time. I don’t understand the concern with the bulkheads. The biggest concern that I had was getting them in place correctly before gluing into place. I didn’t do this very well and it required me to add some filler wood.

 

Bill

[Joe100]

I wish I’d seen this earlier. I have a copy of the builders plans for S/Y Polaris, or “dampyacht” Polaris as the builders, Sanderfjord Framness shipyard called her originally. They state the planks are 2.5in thick and 5” wide. Length not given sadly. This is taken directly from the plans used to build Polaris/Endurance, and not later re-drawings. 

Edited February 11, 2023 by Joe100