Young America 1853 by EdT - FINISHED - extreme clipper

[EdT]

Thank you, all, for the comments and all the "likes" on the last post.

 

Frank, I have both books.  the content is very similar and in many cases duplicated.  If your ship fits more into the packet mold, there is no need to have both.  Good luck with your project.

 

Daniel, I'm very flattered y your offer.  I am afraid that you would find my workshop floor very messy.

 

I should have the next installment posted shortly.

 

Thanks, again, for the support.

 

Ed

[EdT]

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 37 – Stern Timbering 1

 

I have been looking forward to the stern timbering for some time – in fact since first deciding on the subject ship.  At first glance it looks a bit daunting, but the plan view template and accurately lofted patterns turned the assembly into a pretty easy task.  Most of the work was in the lofting, so I included a picture of the pattern sheet for the eight timbers.

 

 

The pattern lofting was a bit complex.  The timbers are angled off of the last cant frame, which is itself at an angle.  Some mental gymnastics were needed to find enough points on the drawings to plot the four curves for each timber.  I did one for a trial and its fit encouraged me to go on and add the scores for the horizontal chocks to the patterns.  Those chocks will be added in Part 38.

 

In the next picture a new version of one of the central timbers shown earlier is set temporarily in place and the bevel against the aft cant frame is being marked.

 

 

The pattern is still on at this stage.  In the next picture, after installing the one shown above, its opposite counterpart is being glued on.  These were made before I decided to loft the scores on the patterns so these will be cut later, in place. The two timbers will later be bolted through the sternpost.

 

 

In the above picture, the vertical scores for the stern timbers can be seen on the cant frames.  The next picture was taken at this stage but from above.

 

 

In the next picture, the first of the angled timbers has been fit into place.  Note the horizontal scores for the filling chocks at the knuckle.

 

 

In the next picture its opposite counterpart is being fit.

 

 

The joint face angles for all these were measured from the plan drawing, printed on the pattern sheet and faced off on the disk sander with the table set at an angle.  Only slight trimming of the sides of the scores was needed and all fit very well as can be seen in the last picture.

 

 

Following this work, the template was removed to allow a final check of the heights of each timber at the top – the “fancy rail” height – before going on to the filling chocks between the timbers.

 

Ed

Edited March 17, 2014 by EdT

[Sailor1234567890]

Beautiful work.

[aykutansin]

Excellent working

[dvm27]

Brilliant work, Ed. The time taken to make and install your jig really shows up well here. I can't imagine raising those timbers without it.

[Bugra]

Really serious and excellent work !

[EdT]

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 38 – Stern Timbering 2

 

After setting the eight stern timbers, chocks were installed between them in scores at the “knuckle” where the timbers change direction upwards.

 

 

This knuckle gradually smoothes out into a curve in the cant frames section.  The assembly has not been sanded at this stage.  Some sanding has been done in the next picture, which shows all of chocks installed.

 

 

With this work complete, the cant framing was continued forward.  The next picture shows the method used for final beveling the frames before setting.

 

 

The first step in this process was to rough shape the frames on the disk and spindle sander.  Fine cut rasps and a #0 cut half round file were used to trim the frames right back to the lines on each face of the patterns on each side.  All this work could be done by hand, but the power tools save time.

 

In the next picture frame 47 has been installed on the starboard side and its port counterpart is being fitted on the port side using a template.

 

 

These templates were very easy to make by creating a view of the three profiles on the CAD worksheet for the cant frame.  They were then printed on heavy presentation paper and cut out with a knife.  This eliminated pasting to heavier stock and cutting on the scroll saw.  That was the method I had used previously.

 

The next picture shows the gluing up of the above frame.

 

 

The stern template and two clamps hold the frame in position.  In the next picture the next frame, #46 is clamped and glued on the starboard side. 

 

 

The next picture shows a closeup of the foot of the frame and the clamping.

 

 

The wet areas on the wood are from washing off the excess glue. 

 

In the next picture a knuckle chock has been installed between frames 48 and 47 on the starboard side and its counterpart is being glued in on the port side.

 

 

And so it goes.

 

 Ed

Edited March 17, 2014 by EdT

[Sailor1234567890]

It goes very well by the looks of things. Look forward to all the remaining updates on this build.

[Maury S]

Ed, How do you remove and replace the jig?  Seems you can't just slide it back.

Maury

[EdT]

Maury, the jig actually slips very easily over the timbers from below.  I do not need the height settings anymore, so I can just slip it on and off the set the frame spacing and beadth, but I am mostly relying on templates now that the aft timbers are in place.

 

Ed

[druxey]

Fancy rail? More like fancy framing, Ed! Lovely work.

[EdT]

Thank you, druxey.

 

I thought the term "fancy rail" might provoke comment.  I have only seen this term used on Webb's tables of offsets.  Others use the term "monkey rail."

 

Perhaps I will include some explanation of these rails in the next part, since the naming is different than our more usual RN 18C.

 

Ed

[allanyed]

Ed,

 

I don't which I like more, the home made clamps or the stern framing.  Great work all around!

 

Allan

[clloyd]

A beautiful job of stern framing Ed.

Colin

[michael mott]

Ed I have to echo the comments about the great work on the stern Framing.

 

Michael

[EdT]

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 39 – Aft Cant Frames

 

Clipper Ship Note:  The longitudinal hull lines on the American clippers introduced some new terms and redefined some old ones.  Furthermore, the names of some these lines differed between builders.  Young America’s table of offsets was generally similar to most of the breed.  It included the following longitudinal lines.

 

The wale delineated the top of the band of thick planking also called the wale.  As in earlier ships, the curve of this line defined the sweeping fore and aft sheer of the ship.  In clippers, unlike RN 18C ships, the line was higher forward and lower at the stern.  In Young America’s case the band of heavy wale planking extended downward about ten feet almost to the turn of the bilge.  The wale line was high - usually two feet or so below the line above – the planksheer.

 

The planksheer defined the underside of the rail that capped and sealed off the main inboard and outboard planking.  It was essentially parallel and at the level of the top of the main weatherdeck waterway.  The planksheer rail was penetrated by toptimbers of the frames that ran up to a higher level at the tops of the sides.

 

The main rail line defined the underside of the main rail.  It was about three feet above the planksheer and about 18 inches below the rail that capped the tops of the toptimbers.

 

This last line was called, in the case of Young America, the fancy rail.  In other ships it was known as the monkey rail.  It defined the top of the side from stem to stern.  Young America’s fancy rail is at the level of the poop deck aft and slightly higher than the topgallant forecastle deck at the bow. 

 

Another open rail was constructed above the fancy rail along the poop deck to help keep the crew out of the drink.  On Young America this was a wood rail on turned brass stanchions.

 

All of these rail lines were, for the most part, parallel curves.  Below is a body plan with the lines marked.

 

 

So, back to the model.

 

The first picture shows cant frames 48 forward to 45 installed.   The square is positioned for checking the cant of frame 45 on the port side – from the base drawing.

 

 

The next picture shows a different view of the assembly at the same stage. 

 

 

The “feet” of the cant frames were left a bit on the heavy side and will be sanded back fair to the bearding line later – probably before bolting.  Otherwise the frames are pretty well beveled to their final shapes.  Two more pairs to go.

 

In the next picture the template has been placed over the tops of the frames at this stage to check position.

 

 

The next picture is a view from under the stern at the same stage.

 

 

The space between the two central stern timbers will later be fitted with a chock shaped to the helm port.  In the next picture, frame 44 on the port side is being held in place during fitting.

 

 

In the next picture this frame has been installed and frame 43 on the starboard side is being glued in place.

 

 

The last picture shows all of the aft cant frames installed before the clamps on the last were removed.

 

 

The 12 aft half-frames - 42 to 31 - will now be made and installed to complete the frame installation.

 

 Ed

[newbuilder101]

Beautiful workmanship and symmetry, as usual! Thanks for the bit of history in the prelude as well - always learning something here.

[rwiederrich]

Magnificent work.........

[Elia]

Ed,

 

Beautiful work.

 

Elia

[dvm27]

Very informative text and beautiful work, as always. Your next to the last photo made me cringe just a bit though. Notice the position of your sweater relative to the stern timbers. I once took out  a counter timber and associated fillers with my long sleeve shirt. That's why I only wear short sleeves in my workshop, no matter how cold it is!

[Walter Biles]

Ed,
Could you please show a cross section drawing showing the planking and framing, if possible. I am interested in how the transitions were effected from the frames to the outer planking.
Walter Biles

Edited January 28, 2014 by Walter Biles

[harvey1847]

Nice explanation Ed!

 

I have been reading it like four or five times... looking the plan and going back to the literature again and again. Nice to learn always. Thanks for that.

 

Best wishes,

 

 

daniel.

[EdT]

Thank you all for these comments.  I don't know, Greg.  Sounds extreme.  Walt, I do not have any planking cross sections, at least not yet.  I work on sort of a just-in-time approach with the drawings and have not yet gotten to the planking.  there are some cross sections in Crothers book, but I try (usually) not to post copyrighted material.

 

Ed

[SJSoane]

 

Hi Ed,

 

I only rarely get a chance to look in lately, and your project is coming along nicely!

 

Best wishes,

 

Mark

[Walter Biles]

Ed,

Thanks for your response, I respect that rule too.  I was mainly trying to think if the outer surface had a taper into the thinner planking or did it step down from the thicker planks to the thinner ones at each edge.  I believe that from about the deckline to over the bulge of the hull probably added greater strength against hogging and bowing of the hull.  I haven't seen much picturing of clippers, but had an impression of smooth outer surface going downward.

 

Walt

[Rudolf]

Thank you all for these comments.  I don't know, Greg.  Sounds extreme.  Walt, I do not have any planking cross sections, at least not yet.  I work on sort of a just-in-time approach with the drawings and have not yet gotten to the planking.  there are some cross sections in Crothers book, but I try (usually) not to post copyrighted material.

 

Ed

Hello EdT,

I think the round stern of a clipper is a highlight in shipbuilding, both in elegance and difficulty. I have tried (in vane) to get this right in a solid hull, your construction looks  so easy in its perfection, marveous!

 

Rudolf

[EdT]

Thanks, Mark, Walt, Rudolf and all those who "liked" the last post. 

 

Walt, I think practices on clippers varied.  I believe below the wale it was general practice to install diminishing strakes that would blend the plank thicknesses.  At the top of the wale, I believe it was common to chamfer the top strake of the wale down to the thinner waist planking below the planksheer raIL.  I have a bit more research to do before making a drawing, but when I have a cross section I will post it.

 

Ed

[Sailor1234567890]

I look forward to seeing that cross section. I am in awe over  your build so far.

[EdT]

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 40 – Aft Half Frames 1

 

As in the forward section, the aft half frames lie between the cant frames and the aftermost of the full square frames.  They bolt to the vertical side of the deadwood and are square to the line of the keel.  When installed they will be hard to distinguish from the full frames that rest on the keel.  However when the horizontal bolts are installed the difference will be more obvious.

 

I installed the first of these following the method used on the forward frames.  As shown in the first picture these, although separate, were fabricated as a single assembly held together with temporary cross-spalls.  This assembly would then be slipped over the deadwood at the correct height.  The breadth at the top is held by the spalls and alignment set using the center string line.

 

 

The next picture shows the erection method.

 

 

The sides are contained by the two clamped squares located at the line on the base drawing.  The center of the spall is marked and aligned with the string.  The height on both sides is set using the vertical caliper based on heights taken from the drawing.  This worked well except that gluing and accurately clamping at the deadwood was a bit involved.  I soon adopted the simpler method shown in the next picture.

 

 

In this method the two frame halves are installed separately.  The ribbands at the planksheer were extended back into the cant frames.  These ribbands are then used to set the height and breadth of the frames at the top, where they are pinned tightly through the ribband as was done for the full frames.  This method roughly mimics actual shipyard practice.

 

 

This turned out to be a very much simpler method with equal accuracy.  In the next picture a half frame has been lightly clamped at the bottom and the frame is held so the top of the aft top member is at the top of the ribband. The ribband has been marked with the joint line of the frame for fore and aft alignment.  A pin hole is being drilled through in the picture.

 

 

Once pinned at the top it is an easy matter to rotate the frame to apply glue to the face, then position and clamp it in place by one of the methods shown above.  This process is almost too simple.  However, it does depend on an accurate ribband line.

 

To help assure this, a spreader was inserted and pinned at frame 33, about midway in the remaining open space.  Sized from the pattern for 33, this helps maintain the correct curve of the ribband breadth.  This spreader and two measured strips are shown in the next picture.

 

 

The strips are loose and were merely used to check the breadth at the last full frame and the last installed half frame.

 

The last picture shows the hull at present.  The remaining gap in the framing should soon be filled.

 

 

Apart from the clutter of my workshop in the background, this picture gives an idea of the length of this hull – and of the L/B ratio.  This is one long slim ship -  roughly 240 feet long by about 43 feet broad – about 6/1.  Naiad:  3.7/1.

 

 

 Ed

[Sailor1234567890]

Beautiful.