Young America by EdT - FINISHED - extreme clipper 1853

[EdT]

Walt, this iron lattice-work extended only from the floor heads up to the planksheer.  Also, the iron used was ductile enough to be cold formed either over the outer frames or into the concave inboard frames.  In both cases these were scored so the plates would lie flush with the face of the frame.  They were then bolted through the frames and through each other at the intersections.

 

Hope this helps clarify.

 

Ed

[EdT]

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 20 – Keelson/Forward Deadwood
 
 
American Clipper Note:  In the last part I mentioned Flying Cloud’s record on her 6 passages around Cape Horn from New York to San Francisco before she was retired from that service.  These averaged 116 days - 102 days if the last 185 day trip, during which she was dismasted, is discounted.  In her long career Young America made the passage 20 times from New York, three times from Liverpool and once from Antwerp, with an average of 118 days per trip – her best from New York being 102 days – her worst, 142 days from Antwerp against persistent headwinds.  Her best from Liverpool was 99 days.  This was a stunning 30 year performance.
 
So, back to the model.
 
The remaining frames forward consist of half-frames and cant frames that bolt through the keelson and deadwood.  Since the keelson is bolted atop the square frames, they must be installed first.  So, with all of the forward square frames installed, the forward part of the keelson and the forward deadwood can be constructed.
 
In the last part I showed a picture with two strips representing the two tiers of the keelson.  The forward section of the lower tier – the keelson proper – houses the forward model mounting bolt.  In the first picture a 4-40 nut has been filed down to fit a mortise in the keelson and is being epoxied in place.
 

 
The next picture shows the mounting bolt screwed up through the keel, filler and into the nut in the keelson.  It is protected from screwing in further by of the larger diameter shoulder butting against the bottom of the keel.
 

 

The above picture was taken after installing the first section of the keelson.  Before that could be done it had to be fitted to the apron at its forward end.  At its aft end there is a large scarph joint with the next segment.  Both halves of this joint were made before setting the forward segment.  The joint is shown below.
 

 
In all keel and keelson joints the face of the joint slanted downward in the aft direction.  This is one good reason for installing the keelson from fore to aft.
 
The next picture shows the lower keelson being glued over the filler and the forward square frames.  The picture shows the joint with the second lower segment, but that piece is still loose in the picture.  The wet spots are from washing off excess glue.
 

 
The installed piece was then “bolted” down into the keel with copper wire bolts.  That process is described below.  The bolts have been filed off flush in the next picture.
 

 
The next picture shows the first section of the forward deadwood being fitted.  The pattern is still attached.  The keelson and the deadwood is sided the same as the keel – 16”.
 

 
The last picture shows the insertion of the copper bolts to secure the piece of deadwood.
 

 
This piece has already been glued in, but the process being used for the bolts will also add strength to the model joint.  First holes are drilled at a size that will allow a slip fit for the 22-gauge wire being used.  This wire is pre-stretched to stress harden it.  The holes in this case are about 1” deep, so the bolts are about a scale 6 feet long.  The bolts are dipped in 5-minute epoxy and pushed into the hole.  They are then moved in and out, removed and dipped in epoxy again, reinserted and again moved in and out.  This distributes epoxy throughout the hole.  These bolts will not come out.  When the epoxy hardens the bolts are clipped and filed off flush.
 
As additional members are added, they are bolted in a similar way with bolts as long as my drill bits permit.  Later, additional bolts will be driven like this, through the forward part of the stem into the apron and deadwood.  The keelson bolts are installed in like manner.
 
In the next part, the forward upper tier of the keelson and the remaining forward deadwood will be constructed.
 
Ed

Edited August 18, 2014 by EdT

[pollex]

Regarding Diagonal Frame Strapping;

It is my understanding that British clippers were composite built, as illustrated in

George Campbell's book "China Tea Clippers", eg. "Cutty Sark" and "Thermopylae";

whereas most of American clippers had fully Wooden construction. More suitable

wood sources were available in America and Canada, and American clippers were

larger by 1-1/2 or double the British tonnage. Diagonal (iron) strapping would have

been introduced when larger wooden timbers became scarce.  Regards,  pollex

[rwiederrich]

Ed....I posted the CS image to demonstrate it too had lattice cross members....comparing it to wooden American clippers was not my goal....Thanks for the clarification. 

 

I'll stop throwing out bones......It appears I don't know what the h3ll I'm talking about.

 

I'll quietly watch.

 

Rob

[harvey1847]

Beautyful Ed.

 

Looking your log so clean and neat makes me laugh and cry when I see mine with two wood boards, nuts, iron bolts, annotations...

 

One thing that has help me a lot is to clean the PVA glue usig water like you an others do. How you clean the epoxi one? If I use brass instead of copper, how can I blackened? Because the L.O.S won´t work, will it?

 

Best wishes!

 

 

Daniel.

[EdT]

Not a problem, Rob. Its a great picture.

 

Daniel,  I do not have a solution for cleaning off epoxy, but I am looking for one, if anyone has a suggestion.

 

Liver of sulfur does not blacken brass in my experience.  This is the reason I use copper for metalwork that needs to be blackened after installation - and wherever else I can for that matter.  I like LOS better than the blue solution which is generally used for brass. This will stain wood.  I avoid using this whenever I can.  For iron bolts I ussually use black monofilament, but on bolts to hold iron knees on Naiad I sused copper wire the LOS to blacken.

 

Ed

[druxey]

Epoxy, before it sets up, can be removed using isopropanol or methanol.

[EdT]

Great.  Thanks, Druxey.  That will save me trying out a lot of other things.

 

Ed

[EdT]

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 21 – Keelson/Forward Deadwood continued

 

 

American Clipper Note:  When Young America was launched in the spring of 1853, her builder, William Webb, incensed by some critical press, issued a challenge to the owners of the fast McKay clipper Sovereign of the Seas to a two-ship, head-to-head race from New York to San Francisco.  Excitement and bookmaking activity ran high.  Unfortunately Sovereign sailed for China.  Major disappointment all around.

 

Work on the forward sections of the keelson and the deadwood continues.  The first picture shows the second section of the lower tier of the deadwood being glued to the frames – held in place by pins with wood chocks buffers.

 

 

Below is a lower view of this from aft.

 

 

This view shows the pronounced v-shape of the most forward frames and illustrates the issue of securing timber to make the floor members of these.

 

Before these keelson sections could be installed, the insides of the floor and lower futtock timbers had to be faired – at least up the the floor heads.  The next picture shows this finish-work more clearly.

 

 

Apart from the issue of flatness across the centers of the frames, it is difficult to do this work with the keelson in place.

 

The next picture shows anoth piece of the deadwood being fitted over the forward end of the lower keelson.

 

 

This picture also shows the mounting nut that is about to be covered forever by the upper tier of the keelson.

 

In the next picture the forward section of the upper keelson tier is installed and anoth piece of the deadwood jigsaw puzzle being fitted.

 

 

In the next picture that piece is being glued in place.

 

 

Again, the dark discoloration on the wood is from washing off the excess glue.

 

Finally, as shown below, the last piece of the deadwood has been installed.  The sun has shown through the window and lightened this picture to help me celebrate the event.

 

 

In the next part, I will cover the risky task of cutting large scores in both sides of the deadwood to seat the cant frames.

 

Ed

[druxey]

Oops: I meant to write 'methyl hydrate', not methanol!

Edited November 12, 2013 by druxey

[EdT]

I think they are the same.  In any event, I tried isopropanol as you suggested and it works fine.  Thanks, again.

 

Ed

[lagrayjr]

Attack can be used to dissolve cured epoxy .http://www.ottofrei.com/Attack-Glue-Dissolving-Compound-.html and does not discolor wood. Laman

[EdT]

Thanks, Laman. Good to know.

 

Ed

[rwiederrich]

Ed do you know who build the Golden State..was that Webb or a California builder?  There wasn't too many of them if I'm not mistaken(which it appears I am frequently)

 

Rob

Edited November 12, 2013 by rwiederrich

[trippwj]

Ed do you know who build the Golden State..was that Webb or a California builder?  There wasn't too many of them if I'm not mistaken(which it appears I am frequently)

 

Rob

According to Howe & Matthews, the Golden State was built in 1852 by Jacob Westervelt in New York.

[rwiederrich]

Thanks Wayne...further study revealed that Carl Cutler's book *Greyhounds of the Sea* contains that very information...not to mention the building/final outcome data on hundreds of clippers.

 

Again..thanks.

 

Rob

Edited November 12, 2013 by rwiederrich

[EdT]

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 22 – Cant Frame Scores

 

 

American Clipper Note:  In a departure from the historical notes on the stirring adventures of these ships in service, I thought it would be a good idea to comment on some construction aspects as well.  Since the forward framing is set to begin on the model, some description of that might be appropriate. 

 

The bulk of the transverse hull framing on these ships – and most ships – consisted of full breadth “square frames” whose lower timbers rested on and were bolted through the keel.  As the forward (or aft) end of the ship was approached and the v-shape of the floor timbers that crossed the keel became more acute, a point would be reached where naturally grown “compass timber” could not be found to make these pieces.  At that point – on these ships – “half frames” were installed.  These were still square to the keel, but were made in separate assemblies for each side of the ship and were bolted horizontally through each other and the vertical deadwood/keelson structure – the backbone of the hull.  Further forward, as the bevels on these frames became more pronounced, it would no longer be possible to bolt the sections of each half frame pair together with bolts “normal” or at a right angle to the face of the frame, without the bolt being exposed through the beveled side.  At this point “cant frames” were used to complete the bow (or stern) framing.  These were also bolted to the deadwood but were angled – canted – forward to reduce their bevel and allow the pairs to be bolted together securely.  Since every ship had a different shape and since timber availability varied, it seems likely that these break points were set for each ship in the mold loft as the frame patterns were drawn out and timber supplies known. 

 

I applied this assumption in lofting the frames for the Young America model.

 

Before starting work on the next frames to be installed – the forward half-frames – the “scores” for the cant frames needed to be cut while there was still enough room to do this.  These scores provided important support to the angled cant frames by allowing them to be inset into the keelson/deadwood – rather than depending on bolts alone.

 

The vertical joint faces of each half-frame and the cant frame extend up from the bearding line to the cutting down line.  The bearding line defines the point at each frame where the frame profile narrows down to the face of the 16” wide  keelson/deadwood.  The cutting down line defines the upper edge of the inboard faces of the frames at the keelson/deadwood.

 

The first picture shows a template - made from the drawing - being used to trace the bearding line on the model.

 

 

A similar template was used to trace the cutting down line above this.  The next picture shows the vertical lines of the scores being marked using a Plexiglas square made to slide clear of the keel retaining strips on the base board.

 

 

These lines define the extent of each of the five cant frame joint faces – the area to be inset.  The next picture shows the first score on the starboard side cut out.

 

 

Since I plan to plank the starboard side of the model, I started this risky chiseling process on that side for practice.  Planking is a great way to hide framing mistakes.

 

I will not describe the full process here, but the next few pictures show it generally.  In the first picture the vertical lines are being scored with a knife using very light cuts.

 

 

In the next picture, a chisel is being used to cut into the deadwood at the bottom – just above the bearding line.  The line just above the chisel is the joint line between the apron and the deadwood.

 

 

The score itself was then pared out with various small chisels.  The next picture shows some of that work in progress. 

 

 

The last picture shows three of the five cant frame scores essentially finished.  Two more to go – on this side.

 

 

Although it was more difficult to manage this work in place, I did it this way because the overall hull assembly is still quite weak and I did not want to risk setting it up on the workbench for that reason.

 

Next: on to the half frames.

 

 

Ed

[dvm27]

Great job on a nerve wracking process, Ed. Failure is definitely not an option here!

[EdT]

Thanks, Greg. 

 

Fortunately these recesses will be covered and don't have to be perfectly finished inside - just flat.  Fine finishing would have required the work to be moved to the bench to get chisel clearance on all sides.  I expect there may be some moinor adjustments needed when the cant frames are fit.

 

Ed

Edited November 14, 2013 by EdT

[druxey]

Very tricky, Ed! I'd have been tempted to do all this flat on the bench as a sub-assembly, but you are obviously a braver man than I. Well done.

[EdT]

Thanks, Druxey.

 

I would have definately prefered to do this at the bench, but the order of construction got in the way. On these ships the keelson ran straight to the stem with the deadwood built on top. So the deadwood had to wait for the keelson and the keelson for the forward square frames. The assembly at this stage is pretty awkward on the loose. I considered dispensing with the scores, but I keep saying this is a structural model, so....

[michael mott]

Ed if I have understood this process correctly you are in fact doing the work of preparing the keel for the cant frames as the builders would have on the full size ship.

 

As I looked at the sequence of pictures the thought crossed my mind that I would have as others have said preferred to do this work flat on the bench.  Smile I can just imagine the foreman on the ways "OK lads lay that keel over so we can cut those scores"

 

Michael

[Elia]

Ed,

 

Excellent presenation on preparing the keel for the cant frame internfaces.  Thank you for these - they are very much appreciated.

 

When you developed the width of the scores did you take into account the width of the cant frame foot (?) overlaying keel surface and the inset surface?  More specifically - since the cant frame is angled relative to the keel, did you compensate along the forward edge of the scores, adding a little extra width?

 

Cheers,

 

Elia

[Jim Lad]

Ed,

 

looks like a case of fortune favouring the brave (and the very skilful).  Lovely job done under difficult circumstances.

 

John

[EdT]

Again,thank you all for the generous comments.

 

Again, its always easier to do this kind of work when it is held down flat at the workbench with good overhead light. I could have done this but it would have required some fancy support due to all the frames that are already installed - and needed to be installed before constructing the deadwood. Actuually this work turned out to be less difficult than I expected. I did have to remove the stem support bracket on one side at a time to get room for the chisel forward.

 

Elia. the locaton of the sides of the scores were squared up from the points on the base drawing where the cant frames intersect the surface of the deadwood. The width of the score is therefore based on the width of the beveled "foot" of he frame pair. I did not attempt to slant the side of the score to match the cant of the frame. I expect there may need to be some adjustments needed to fit the frames neatly whe the time comes. The most canted frame - the forward one - is only angled about 17 degrees forward.

 

I do like to mimic the shipyard when I can.

 

Ed

[Elia]

Ed,

 

Thank you for more points on your process. At that forward most cant frame I see that it's forward cant of 17 degrees doesn't result in much "sine" effect adding to the width of the score.

 

Cheers,

 

Elia

[EdT]

Elia, I hope you are right on the angle effect, but in any event that edge will be easy to pare back when fitting the frame. The forward frame edge will be squared off. I have just about decided to proceed with the cant frames next starting at the front. This will provide more space for the fitting work and will also allow the frames to be bolted up as they are installed. There is some lofting work needed to do that.

 

Thanks for your interest.

 

Ed

[Maury S]

Ed, A bit off topic and maybe mentioned before...What cement do you use to hold the patterns to the piece you're working on?  Rubber or contact cement?

Maury

[EdT]

H Maury,

 

I use ordinary Elmer's school paste sticks available in every supermarket or drugstore. Applied to the back of the pattern only, the patterns adhere well and they are easily removed by wetting with water, waiting 15 seconds then rubbing or scraping them off They come off very easily when wetted - almost fall off. Any remaining glue residue - usually minimum at most - can be wiped off with a damp paper towel.

 

Ed

[trippwj]

Ed -

 

Thought you may be interested in how the New York Register of Shipping showed the framing of ships in 1857 & 1858.  No specific ship named.  Mystic Seaport has many of the volumes scanned and available to view at http://library.mysticseaport.org/initiative/ShipRegisterList.cfm

 

This is from the inaugural 1857 issue.

 

 

These are from 1858