Young America by EdT - FINISHED - extreme clipper 1853

[rwiederrich]

Outstanding Ed  Skillfully executed.

 

Rob

[gjdale]

Beautiful to watch Ed. I particularly like the way you have incorporated the sweeping lines into the bolt pattern.

[EdT]

Thank you all for these kind words.

 

The lines are indeed sweet, Druxey, a fact that I can take little credit for.  The beauty of the full forward hull shape will become more apparent in the next post as the remaining forward frames are placed.

 

I really appreciate the comments on the bolt pattern.  This is one case where the bolts actually compliment some of the attractive structural lines.  The top row parallels the cutting down line and the lower row the bearding line.  This is structurally correct and aesthetic at the same time.  Unfortunately this is not always the case as many authentic bolt patterns appear quite random - and often, on models, sloppy.  I am sure there will be plenty of such cases on this model.  On Naiad I learned that while this effect of realism cannot be eliminated, with care it can be moderated.  There is always something to learn.

 

Thanks again.

 

Ed

[EdT]

Frank, I neglected to respond to your comment on the string line.  This, combined with centermarks on the upper cross-spales may be the single most important tool in maintaining alignment in models built upright.  I had previously used thin wire wrapped taut between two pins, but found it always in the way and a pain to move and replace.  Thread held taut with a hanging weight is a simple and easy to apply solution that can be moved without bother when necessary.  These features help assure that it will be used.  Highly recommended. 

 

Ed

[EdT]

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 26 – Forward Half Frames/Ribbands

 

To provide space for work on the forward cant frames, I deferred setting of the remaining half frames.  In the first picture that work is proceeding.

 

 

The next picture shows all of the forward frames installed.

 

 

The sleek forward hull shape is really visible at this stage.  The next picture shows a different perspective.

 

 

And another view.

 

 

At this stage the alignment and spacing of the frames are set by the softwood spacers between each frame about midway between the keel and topside.  More strength is needed for final fairing of the lower hull.  Also, as the above photo shows, there is some irregularity in the line of the toptimbers that needs to be corrected before final fairing.

 

I decided to fair the forward hull before proceeding to the aft frames.  To provide additional strength and align the frame tops I installed temporary “ribbands” on both sides at the height of the planksheer.  I found this a very useful device in constructing Naiad.

 

The next picture shows the starboard ribband being fitted.

 

 

These were made from single 3/16” strips of clear white pine.  One end was boiled to set the curvature and in the above picture is being clamped for drying.  In the next picture installation is proceeding.

 

 

The strips are secured to every frame by short pins through drilled holes.  These are bent over on the inside to pull every frame tightly into the fair line of the ribband.  I cut off the points of the pins before bending to avoid all the scratches I got from these while working inside Naiad.  The holes in the frames will later be used for sheer strake bolts.  The tops of the strips are set at the height of the bottom of the planksheer rail, so these can be used to trim off the tops of the aft upper futtocks.

 

The next picture was taken from above after the strips were installed.

 

 

The center marks on the cross-spales cannot be seen under the thread line.  This is a good thing.  In addition to this centering check, the outside of the ribband was also checked by squaring up from the base drawing.

 

In the next picture I cleared all the clutter from the shipway to focus on the lines of the very sharp forward entry.

 

 

At this stage the frames have only been given the bevel described earlier before they were set.  Some additional sanding to refine the fairness is needed.

 

The model can now be removed from the base and upended for sanding and also for installation of quite a few bolts, especially those holding the half-frames to the deadwood.  These joints are quite weak so the model bolts will have to provide strength.  I will cover this in the next post.

 

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

 

 

Ed

Edited November 30, 2013 by EdT

[Alexi]

Wow, Ed - that last picture really shows the sharpness of the bow, and the grace of her lines.  I am struck with how shipwrights through the centuries gradually realized that sharper bows led to more speed.  The evolution from a 18th century ship like Naiad or Constitution with Young America is striking.  For an additional comparison from about another 100 years later, look at this shot of the USS Cassin Young - a WWII era destroyer:

 

 

She sits in the Charlestown Navy Yard next to USS Constitution and the difference in hull shapes could not be more striking.

 

Wonderful work as always, Ed.

[rwiederrich]

Happy  Thanksgiving Ed.  Excellent progress.

[dvm27]

Beautiful lines, Ed. Can't wait to see her faired. Thanks also for the larger photos!

[Jim Lad]

She's really showing off her lines now , Ed - beautiful.

 

John

[Elia]

Sweet.

 

Cheers,

 

Elia

[harvey1847]

Hello Ed and Happy Thanks Giving to all there in the New Continent!

 

 

Also, as the above photo shows, there is some irregularity

 

The term "irregularity" just made me smile while reading the post. Your skills are far beyond than the average of the rest of the world,,, hahaha

 

beautiful as always.

 

 

Daniel.

[EdT]

So, on Thanksgiving morning, I just have time to say thanks for these compliments and to everyone who has made comments and watched Young America as she emerges from that large slab of swiss pear in my workshop.  Your following is very much appreciated.  Now, time for real work.  Where is that vacuum cleaner?

 

Ed

[Sailor1234567890]

Can't wait to see what's next. Your work is awe inspiring.

[michael mott]

Yes thanks for the larger pictures Ed, the last one clearly demonstrates your skill and the dedication that you put into the research to build a model that will have significance to future researchers.

 

Michael

[newbuilder101]

What beautiful symmetry you have managed to achieve, which is beautifully shown on that last photo from the 'head on' perspective!

[EdT]

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 27 – Forward Hull Sanding/Bolting

 

 

First, thanks everyone for the recent comments.  I hope all those who celebrate Thanksgiving Day had a good holiday.

 

The view from directly forward in the last post seemed popular so here is another from a slight angle.

 

 

All those unsightly wood spacers between frames are temporary and will be coming out at some point.

 

After this picture was taken the model was inverted for fairing and sanding.  There is not much to say about this, since it turned out to be less work than anticipated.  Below is a picture of part of the bottom after sanding.

 

 

Not much fairing was needed – nothing like the work I had to do on Naiad, where very little pre-beveling of frames was done.  On this model almost all of the beveling was done before the frames were set, so the sanding was mostly for cleanup and finishing.

 

The next picture shows an area slightly forward.

 

 

This picture shows some of the bolts – inserted after sanding – to secure the half frames to the keelson/deadwood.  These are copper wire, epoxied deep into the holes to give strength to the model joints.  These frames are end-grain glued to the keelson/deadwood, so the joints are not strong.  These bolts were iron so they will be blackened before the lower hull is finished.

 

I am considering installing the garboard strakes – at least – later on both sides.  On these ships the garboards had an important structural role.  They were quite thick (7”) and were edge bolted through the keel and face bolted to the frames.   This reinforced the attachment of the frames to the keel and will serve that purpose on the model as well.  You will recall that the frame floors are merely glued and pinned to the top of the keel – not notched to fit over a rising wood as in 18C ships – and some clippers.  This is not a strong joint.

 

While the model was inverted the remaining forward bolts were installed.  The bolts through the stem can be seen in the next picture.  These were long copper bolts.

 

 

Eventually, the forward side of the stem – actually the false stem – will be tapered down to about 4 or 6 inches in `breadth.

 

The last picture shows the iron bolts securing the hawse timbers to the stem/apron.  Like the cant frame bolts, these are black monofilament.  All these bolts were riveted flush.

 

 

The model has now been re-aligned on the shipway so the afterbody framing can begin.

 

 

Ed

 

 

 

[rwiederrich]

Sweet.

[WackoWolf]

Now that is a beauty for the eyes to see. excellent work Ed. Keep the pictures coming.

[Trussben]

Beautiful Ed,

 

Did these ships have the fillings between the frames from keel to the head of the floor timbers as in 18C RN ships?

 

Ben

[druxey]

Sweet, Ed! Of course there would be less fairing required, as the hull form means less extreme bevels. Yet another reason to choose the 19th over 18th century framed models!

[EdT]

Thank you all for your comments.

Ben, it is never good to generalize, but I believe that it was not common on American clippers to fill the gaps between frames below the floor heads as was done in 18C RN ships like Naiad.  Because the clippers used suction pumps that could reach to the inboard face of the garboard strake at the bottom outboard face of the frames, the spaces between frames along the keel could be drained.  This could not be done with the chain type pumps used earlier so there would always be stagnant water between frames.  On the clippers a roughly 3-4" limber channel was cut on the bottom of every frame near the keel to allow water to flow to the pump under the frames.  These were normally fitted with chains so the debris could be cleared out as necessary.  So-called "hogging chocks" were used on some ships between frames but these did not extend to the keel.  These were wedged between the frames to put the  hull structure into compression that would help resist hogging.  Evidently these were used all the way up the frame, but I cannot see how any but those at the bottom would be useful.  So, simple answer: no.

 

Druxey, interesting point.  You are quite right that the long sleek hull form would apparently reduce frame bevels.  Your observation perked my interest because I have been struck by how few cant frames were used on YA as opposed to Naiad.  YA has only six pair forward and the same number aft (19% of hull length).  Naiad had the equivalent of 11 and 9 pair fore and aft respectively (34% of hull length).  So, on YA the square frames  (full or half) were taken much closer to the ends of the hull.  On older ships much more of the hull curvature was taken up by cant frames - at least on Naiad, which I beleive is representative. 

 

Recognizing that ships differed, I looked at Naiad's most beveled frame, which turned out to be 24a, the last square frame aft.  The maximum bevel on that frame was just under 20 degrees.  On YA the most beveled frame is forward (surprisingly), frame Zf.  The maximum bevel angle on this frame  is just over 23 degrees.  So, in fact, the frame beveling on YA is comparable, at least, perhaps slightly more and due entirely to using fewer cant frames.

 

I really do not like the idea of beveling the frames by sanding the final hull shape.  I did some pre-beveling of frames on Naiad, but it had to be limited because after frame assembly there was a pattern on only one side.  With the assembly method used on YA, patterns remain on both sides and they are more accurately placed. This should permit beveling to be completed before frame erection - at least theoretically.  I have been working up to that slowly - gaining confifence in the method.  I have just started frames aft of 0 and I am beveling those right to the line.  We'll see how that works out. 

 

Thanks for raising this interesting point.

 

Ed

Edited December 1, 2013 by EdT

[druxey]

Thanks for your comments and beveling measurements, Ed. Pre-beveling frames before erection is, as you say, theoretical. For people like yourself who work to a high degree of accuracy, it will work out beautifully, provided that the lofting and cutting is correct. For lesser mortals this is maybe not such a good idea!

[EdT]

Perhaps you are right, Druxey.  I may be overly optimistic about this.  As with most of this work, my attittude is: With the right process, even I can do it.

[Jim Lad]

Interesting discussion.  Harold Underhill pre-bevelled his frames, and recommends it in his book 'Plank on Frame Models'.

 

John

[gjdale]

Perhaps you are right, Druxey.  I may be overly optimistic about this.  As with most of this work, my attittude is: With the right process, even I can do it.

Love your approach Ed. And some of we "lesser mortals" are watching your process with great interest in the hope of one day emulating it!

[EdT]

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 28 – "Pin-Indexing"

 

Next on the agenda is a long slog of repetitive work – making and setting the 29 full frames of the afterbody.  This will be followed by 13 pairs of half frames and 6 pairs of cants – then the eagerly anticipated circular stern

 

Essentially, this framing will be a repeat of the installation in the forebody.  I previously showed pictures and described the frame assembly using pin-indexed pieces.  This has greatly improved efficiency and accuracy in assembling the 13 pieces of each full frame pair.  This process can only be used if indexed bolt/pin holes are provided on the pattern sheets.  I thought it might be interesting to give a short overview of how that step in the lofting process was done.

 

I put this post together a few days ago thinking I might post it.  The discussion on pre-beveling of frames prompted me to do so, since the lofting described is one of the enablers for that. 

 

This is an overview only of the pin/bolt hole placement on the patterns. I will not describe the entire frame lofting process here, except to say that profiles for the true fore and aft faces of each frame must added to the normal body plan and used for lofting beveled frames.  Using profiles from the next frame forward and aft does not provide sufficient accuracy for bolt placement in beveled frames. 

 

The first image shows the fore and aft half-pattern objects for forward frame R, created from the enhanced body plan. 

 

In each pattern green is used to show the forward profiles and red for the aft profiles.

 

 

Every frame “bend” on Young America is constructed with offset, sistered fore and aft timber segments. The segments are delineated by the cut lines on each pattern.  In this image no pin holes have yet been placed on either pattern, but the objects for the hole marks are scattered to the left of the forward pattern.

 

 

The two patterns are then aligned to their final relative positions as shown below.

 

 

This is a highly beveled frame pair, as can be seen in this image.

 

With the patterns aligned, the pin/bolt hole objects are placed on the combined patterns between the line for the forward outboard profile and the aft inboard profile.  This assures that they will not break through either the inboard or outboard faces – hence the need for accurate profiles.  The placement of some of these near the top of the frame is shown below.

 

 

In this highly beveled frame, these hole objects just fit between the lines.  The actual pin/bolt holes will be smaller than these objects.  Note that the top of the forward frame is higher since it includes the stanchion for the main rail.

 

With the holes placed, the aft frame pattern object is selected along with all of the hole objects.  This combination is then copied and pasted to the right in the next image.  The aft pattern is then deleted from its position atop the forward pattern leaving just the forward frame and the original hole objects in place.  The two pattern halves now have precisely indexed pin/bolt hole marks.

 

 

The two objects in this image are then mirrored and combined to form the full frame patterns shown below.  This same basic process is also used for the half and cant frames.

 

 

After cutting out the timber segments, the patterns can then be used to drill indexing pin holes to locate the timbers on a pattern sheet for assembly and later for insertion of model bolts.  This was described in previous posts.

 

Assembly accuracy is very dependent on accurate drilling, but that is another topic.  Besides the advantages in assembly time, the final frame emerges with patterns on both fore and aft faces – one of the important enablers for pre-beveling before erection.

 

I believe this process has reduced the frame assembly time to half of what I expected so far.  The above description is, of course, simply an overview, hardly a tutorial.

 

The jury is still out on whether this and the other process features will enable frames to be completely beveled before erection.

 

Sorry, no photos.  Next time.

 

Ed

 

[ianmajor]

Ed,

 

As you say - no photos but excellent explanatory diagrams. What more could we want?

 

A fascinating read.

[Elia]

Ed,

 

Excellent presentation.  I've thought about highly beveled, sistered frames and the challenge of installing bolts or treenails perpendicular to the frame face - while getting both bolt ends on the frame flat surfaces.  Your pictures present that very, very well. 

 

Cheers,

 

Elia

[EdT]

Sources I am using say that frame bolts were drilled and driven "normal" - perpendicalar- to the face and that is the rule I am following. So bolt placement becomes critical as the bevels increase - to the point where canting of the frames is required.

 

Here is a photo taken probably 50 years or more after YA, showing that the rules had either changed or these guys were doing their own thing. I love these old shipyard photos.

 

 

Also, the team in he center of the photo appear to be pneumatically driving treenails not bolts, but I could be wrong.

 

Ed

[rwiederrich]

Looks like steam drills and drivers are being employed.....were those utilized during the 1850's?

 

Great image by the way.

 

Rob