Young America 1853 by EdT - FINISHED - extreme clipper

[GLakie]

Very nice Ed! Thanks for sharing! 

 

Cheers

[SJSoane]

 

Thanks Ed and Richard, very instructive!

 

Mark

[druxey]

I'm smiling as I look and read your log, Ed - yet again.

[dvm27]

We all knew you'd nail those plates (literally). It was just a question of time. Your work inspires us all! 

[EdT]

Thank you all.  Greg, this is a case where some input from others, encouraged more effort on my part.  I am much happier with the last result.

 

Thanks.

 

Ed

[EdT]

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 109 – Pin rails/Hawse holes/paint

 

Since the last post, the four long pin rails were made and installed.  The first picture shows one being pinned in position.

 

 

These fit up under the main rail and are glued and bolted to the toptimbers.  Paint was filed off these first.  The rails are cherry.  Most of the main deck natural wood structures will be of this species - slightly darker than pear.  The pin hole drilling was aided by the right angle drill in the picture.  The wood blocks help keep the rail up until the pins are in.  In the next picture the rail is ready for glue.

 

 

Before the hull could be painted, scuppers and hawse holes needed to be fitted.  In the next picture the hole for the smaller of the two hawse openings is being drilled out.

 

 

These openings are parallel to the keel on the lines from the chain tube openings on the main deck.  They slant down to emerge at the correct position on the outside.  Small pilot holes were drilled then enlarged to fit metal tubes.  The tubes are shown in the next picture.

  

 

After fitting, they were epoxied in, sanded off flush and rounded off.  They will eventually get painted red.

 

All of this was in preparation for painting the hull below the planksheer.  This consumed most of the time since the last post – reminding me why I prefer not to paint models.  My father used to say painting covers a multitude of sins – until it dries.  He was right as usual.  This is especially true with gloss finishes.  The next picture shows the finished starboard side.

 

 

The paint is fluid artist’s acrylic, thinned and applied in several coats over acrylic sanding sealer, then rubbed out when dry between coats.   Why gloss?  I may be wrong, but I do not think flatting agents for paints were invented until the 20^th century.  I am sure in 1853 the paints were linseed oil and lampblack – or white lead for the white. Definitely gloss but probably not this smooth.   In any event, the hulls of these clippers were usually finished as smooth as practical given their size.

 

The last picture shows the view from the stern.

 

 

The planked area below the black on this side will be metal sheathed – once I get comfortable with the paint finish.  The planking on the port side extends only a few strakes below the channels – no sheathing required.

 

 

Ed

[GLakie]

Very nice Ed! Thanks for posting.

 

Cheers

[BenF89]

This is an awesome project - in every sense of the word!

 

I actually attended Webb Institute for my NavArch degree - so this post is very interesting to me, given that it is a unique insight into the design and construction of one of Webb's ships.

 

I would highly recommend contacting the school regarding your project (if you haven't done so already.) Even if it is a little late for trying to compile any research on the ship that they may be in a unique position to offer, they would at a minimum be interested (and likely inspired!) by your dedication to re-constructing the ship in miniature ('building a model' does not seem to carry enough weight!) and would love to see it! If you like, I can fish out the contact for the person that kind of heads up the volunteer group that focuses on the history of Webb and his projects. 

 

There was a model of Young America at the school (of course) but it didn't stand out as anything other than a model of the ship. Had something of your caliber been there, it would have engaged me for hours inspecting the details of the construction! I'm not at all suggesting yours should be there; just contrasting the caliber and attention to detail of the only other model of YA I am personally familiar with.

 

This is a great project I am really looking forward to following your progress, even if I am showing up to the project a little late.

 

Regards - Ben

[SawdustDave]

Still humbled and speechless here. I come to this build every single day just to get my fix of re-inspiration. Like going to church on Sunday.

[druxey]

Bee-ootiful, Ed!

 

Your comments on 19th century paint are interesting. I agree that oil based paints dry to a glossy finish, but the addition of turpentine as drying agent will tend to flatten the finish somewhat. Without drying agents in the paint, the film would take weeks if not months to polymerize, i.e. 'dry'. I imagine that the shipyard would have used some turpentine in their paint mix.

[Elia]

Ed,

 

Beautiful.

 

Elia

[PeterK]

Hi Ed,

whenever I read your newest post, the lines of an old Beatles song hums through my head:

It's getting better all the time..

[EdT]

Thank you all for the comments and likes.  It is great reinforcement, especially at this time.  Covering painstaking woodwork with paint can be a traumatic experience - more below.

 

Ben, thank you weighing in and for your offer.  I will send you a PM on that.

 

Druxey, a very interesting point. I'm glad you raised it.   I confess to having little insight on the finishes used originally or on the evolution of finishes in those times.  It would be interesting to research this - if only time permitted!  You may be correct on the use of turpentine.  Solvent thinning would be one way to shorten drying time - at the expense of reducing film thickness or requiring more coats.  Another approach that may have been more common would be to boil - today we say partially polymerize - the linseed or other oil as has been done for a long time to reduce drying time.  This is typical in oil based paints and may go back to that era.   In fact, as you say, raw linseed oil almost never dies - at least that is my experience with it.   Even today, oils like linseed, Tung and maybe soya, are available in various states from raw to highly polymerized.  There are also products adulterated with dryers.  So, who knows?  Not me.

 

Deciding on the level of gloss put my brain on overtime, so I will drone on.

 

It is interesting to note that with the acrylics that I used, increased dilution gave a flatter finish - to the point where I had to mix enough to do the full job or there would be differences.  In any event, I did not rely on the dried finish per se.  The final appearance was developed by rubbing - 0000 steel wool, then white grade Scotchbrite, then rottenstone with water.  This dulled the initial paint gloss - my father used to call it "cheap gloss" - to a deeper, less shiny look.  This also helps remove dust particles and other imperfections - although there are still many left, especially in the moldings and in crevices that cannot be rubbed much. These made me long for a flat paint.   I'm not completely satisfied, but I am finished.  It probably looks more like a model than the original ship.

 

Today I'm going to start plating the bottom.

 

Thanks, again for all the comments.

 

Ed

[Remcohe]

Ed,

 

Even though the original had a glos finish, I would prefer a flat or in this case satin finish on a model to overcome the scaled effect. It's probably personal taste.

 

Remco

[Mahuna]

Hi Ed

 

When looking at these views of Young America the word 'elegant' comes to mind.  Beautiful and inspiring work.

 

Frank

[amateur]

Although you don't prefer your models painted, I very much like the black and whiye contrast of these painted clipper hulls. To me, it definitely adds to your outstanding model.

 

Jan

[rwiederrich]

Fantastic Job Ed........I am nobodies critic...and I have no box to stand on when making judgments concerning your built of YA.  I, however, prefer to weather my models..even the  new ones.  Every image of YA and all of my prototype builds...demonstrate heavy wear and weathering.  Do to the severity to which these ships were mastered...and to the hardships of making the Cape run.  It was every clipper captains duty to push his ship to near breaking. Therefore that is in of itself part of the tale.  Clippers were working vessels of commerce....so I am moved to attempt to depict that in the least offensive way as I can...with weathering.

 

Your YA is a mastery of your skillful efforts...she must be built as the model shipwright sees fit. I too am not at all that certain of YA true final finish..other than that she was Black...a typical Clipper color.

[SJSoane]

 

HI Ed,

 

I don't know the ins and outs of the historical evolution of paint, so I defer to other's insights on this. Having said that, the gloss look is very striking, and helps convey the feeling of a sleek greyhound of a hull. Nicely done!

 

Mark

[michael mott]

 

 I'm not completely satisfied, but I am finished.  It probably looks more like a model than the original ship.

I appreciate your candid comment Ed. I was a bit surprised by the gloss, perhaps most by the degree of it more than the fact that it is glossy. I can also appreciate your need to not dally over these things too long when dead lines loom. I think that we come up against the whole issue again of scaling nature with regard to the finishes we impart on our models. sort of reminds me in a way of the old comment about if we scaled the earth down to the size of a billiard ball it would be much smoother than a billiard ball.

 

I hope that you will not be upset later that you are not completely satisfied now, later.

 

Regards Michael

[GMO2]

Scale effect can be a really troublesome thing to deal with. I spent a lot of time with aircraft,large and small. Mostly you had to get to a scale ratio of about 1~3 before the behavior approached that of the full size. Even then we had the problems associated with not having a scale atmoshere. Agentle ten knot breeze became a stiff 30 knots at 1~3 scale. We are not trying to sail at 1~48 to 1~96,but we are confronted with a complete lack of scale materials to work with. This has to be the case with even the finely ground paints such as the late lamented Floquil. Trying to get any surface texture of any paint mixture to scale down accurately is probably not possible.

[EdT]

I am happy to see that the subject of finishes has generated comments.  All are appreciated.  When it comes to personal taste, there is no best answer.  Its hard to measure aesthetics on a common scale, so I won't go there.  Also, I am a major critic when it comes to finishes - especially my own - so I am never really satisfied.   For me the paint issue has less to do with sheen than with the effect of paint on detail - moldings, planking lines, treenails, wood joints, etc.  Because it obscures these things, it is not something I generally favor, however, I feel strongly that this model needs to be painted - at least partially - to convey its character.  I trust that the final overall product will do that.  We shall see.

 

Ed

[GMO2]

It has long been my,perhaps peculiar, personal opinion that the singlemost beautiful and majestic thing ever created by the hand of man was the clipper ship. The nearest Ihave come to the real thing was going aboard the stell hulled barque ~ Star of India ~ back in the 70 s.That gave me an appreciation for the incredible fund of knowledge and experience required to build one of these,especially entirely of wood. Then there comes the vaat accumulation of skill required to issue,and carry out, the instructions necessary to take it from N.Y. to Frisco. Our problem is that none of has ever seen one fresh off the ways. It would be interesting to knw just how finely dressed and finished the hull planking was done. The incredibly short time that elapsed between laying the keel and launch leads me to think that exterior smoothness was largely the uniformity of the planking used.

[EdT]

I'm sure I had read somewhere that the planking of the sides on these ships were planed smooth before painting, but I have not yet been able to find the reference.  However, in searching, I did come across the following related to paint used to blacken wales - in Crothers:

 

"Combine one pound lamp black mixed for paint, one pound red lead, one gallon paint oil, half pound litharge(?), and half an ounce of indigo, boiled for half an hour, and stirred at intervals.  Care should be taken that the composition boils that length of time.  After it has cooled a little, add one pint of spirits of turpentine; apply when warm and it will dry in a short time with a beautiful gloss, and be perfectly limber."

 

Ed

[Mahuna]

The Crothers books are great references for this period. I'm glad you mentioned them - I refer to mine often.

 

Frank

[cog]

For litharge (lead oxide) have a look here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Litharge

 

couldn't stand 'not knowing'

[druxey]

Nice description you hunted down, Ed.

 

So, turpentine was part of the paint formula, but not enough to flatten the finish. Boiling assisted in polymerizing the 'paint oil', which I assume was linseed oil.

[Sailor1234567890]

I know in Cutty Sark's building contract they talk of planing her hull smooth. Nothing about sanding or fairing as we would think of fairing a hull with torture boards etc today. A ship of the size we're talking about with small tool marks from a plane..... you'd never notice it I don't think. Your work here is incredible. I'm in awe.

[Lou van Wijhe]

I'm sure I had read somewhere that the planking of the sides on these ships were planed smooth before painting, but I have not yet been able to find the reference. ...

 

Hello Ed,

 

George F. Campbell in China Tea Clippers (ISBN 0-679-20207-2) wrote on page 96:

 

Externally the hulls on American clippers were frequently described as being glass smooth with an enamel-like finish. The seams of such planking would be finished off with a putty compound over the caulking. This would last until the ship started straining, when the seams would inevitably show again. No doubt many British clippers had a similarly high quality finish also, but in some cases the adze was the finishing tool. The Cutty Sark when seen with light reflecting on the hull shows these adze marks quite distinctly, but possibly in her case the finishing touches were rather hasty, owing to financial trouble during her building.

 

 

This might be the reference you were looking for.

 

Lou

Edited February 10, 2015 by Lou van Wijhe

[EdT]

Thank you, Lou.  That is the paragraph I remember reading.  I suspected it was in Campbell but have not had a chance to find it yet.

 

And thank you Cog.  I wondered why white lead was missing from the "recipe."

 

Frank, this project would be nowhere without Bill Crothers and his books.

 

Ed

[EdT]

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 110 – Cabin Deck

 

Anything to avoid metal sheathing.  Actually, not much can proceed on the main deck until the framing of the poop and forecastle has at least begun, so this week I have been working on the cabin deck facilities.  The poop beams cannot be installed until all of that work is finished.  In the first picture the poop deck beams have been made, cut to length and pinned in place.

 

 

The cabin deck partitions have to be cut out around these beams so having them pinned in place is a prerequisite for the partition work. 

 

The next picture shows the first steps on the partitions.

 

 

The breast beam has been glued in with pillars on either side of what will be the "grand entrance" to the cabin deck level. The central section of this beam will later be cut out so people don't have to crawl into the cabin deck.  The beginning of the paneled partition shown is the forward bulkhead of the captain's day cabin with his bookcase cabinet pre-installed – but paneled doors not yet carved.

 

We do not know what all these facilities looked like on Young America, so this is all creative design on my part – but typical of the period and the class.  Some of these ships were very elegant in décor, because the few passengers carried were probably quite wealthy.  I am using black walnut to simulate old mahogany for all the paneling and furnishings.  Otherwise it is all going to be fairly Spartan.

 

The first semi-indulgence in elegance is the double, curved entrance staircase from the main deck.  The starting block is shown in the next picture.

 

 

The panels to the right are representative of the final paneling finish.  The next picture shows the perimeter walls of the cabin areas at the sides. 

 

 

The central "salon area" was open with tables and places to sit.  Modeling of this will be limited to preserve the view into the lower regions.

 

In the next picture the bannister of the staircase is being sanded to size after the treads, the balusters and the lower part of the rail were fitted. 

 

 

There will be a cap rail to cover the mortise holes for the balusters. 

 

The next picture shows the paneling of the fore and aft partitions in progress.

 

 

The panels are built up using thin strips on an underlying thin sheet of walnut. The port panels are incomplete in this picture. 

 

 In the next picture the capping rail on the staircase has been fitted but not yet trimmed, the paneling of the starboard wall completed and door hardware installed.

 

 

The captain's cabin was traditionally on the starboard side, close to the exit to the main deck.  In this arrangement his day cabin doorway is right outside the stairs.  The last picture shows the inside of the captain's cabins from above.

 

 

The day cabin in the center of the photo has a table, built-in bench and the book cabinet.  It is quite small.  A doorway to the left leads to his sleeping quarters.  Only his dresser is in place as yet.  In addition to the captain's palatial space, there are six other cabins for passengers and the mate.  All are quite small.  There will also be two small cubicles aft – a toilet and a storage space.

 

The crew space on these ships was a large cabin on the main deck – to be constructed much later.

 

Metal sheathing has begun, but has been held up waiting for some .002" brass.

 

Ed