ERGENSTRASSE by Mirabell61 - FINISHED - 1:87 - steamship

[Mirabell61]

2 hours ago, FlyingFish said:

A movie boat! I'm in! Great start Nils.

Thank you for looking in Andy

 

Nils

[Mirabell61]

I an a bit confused about the arrangement of the masts (it is probably not representive for a Laker steamer) and the previous mounted four masts had been removed anyhow.

Acc. to the movie pic below the first mast may be between the two front welldeck hatches, thats OK.

Acc. to the same movie pic the aft mast is directly aft of the superstructure, with the load beams serving both aft welldeck hatches, why not also between the hatches?

Does anyone know why this is so ?

 

 Nils

strange arrangement of the masts, but it seems to be perticular for the Ergenstrasse

 

[realworkingsailor]

I’ve seen many different arrangements of masts on these types of ships. They were built in many different yards, and many had long service lives (those that survived WW2), with many different owners. As you said, the mast arrangement was altered at some point, probably due to different service needs or owners requirements. What’s sometimes hard to really gauge is how small these ships were. It’s possible they left the after mast in that position in order to accommodate a longer derrick boom (albeit one that would look perfectly normal if fitted to something like a Liberty ship). It would be more convenient to flat stow a longer boom over the entire well deck, rather than have the end of the boom(s) protruding over the stern (or into the accommodation) had the mast be positioned between the two hatches.

 

Andy

[Mirabell61]

11 minutes ago, realworkingsailor said:

 

 

 

Many thanks Andy, good answer,

yes I think youre right, compared with the Corsicana pic only mast # 3 was left standing and the aft derrick booms reach over the entire aft welldeck. Having this in mind I found another movie pic (looking aft) wich proves that. It can be seen that the derrick booms are being supported just before the poop. It also shows 2 extra lifeboats upside down on hatch # 4 

 

Nils

 

[Roger Pellett]

Nils,  I have a book about the freighters built by the Manitowac Shipbuilding Co. ( the company that built the Corsicana).  Manitowoc built 38 Lake class three Island tramp steamships. 

 

 The photos that I found all show the same arrangement of the cargo handling gear;  Two tall masts, one in the center of the forecastle and one on the poop.  Each of these has a long boom that reaches clear to the island structure.  There are also four short King posts each with a short boom; one at each corner of the island.

 

A surprising number of these sailed into the 1960’s and subsequent owners would have modified the cargo gear to suit the various trades involved.

[Mirabell61]

6 hours ago, Roger Pellett said:

Nils,  I have a book about the freighters built by the Manitowac Shipbuilding Co. ( the company that built the Corsicana).  Manitowoc built 38 Lake class three Island tramp steamships. 

 

 Hi Roger,

thank you so much for your input here. I googled "freighters built by the Manitowac Shipbuilding Co." and found the two pics that show what you and also Andy had mentioned in the post before. 

 

Both about the same tonnage and looking like the Ergenstrasse before the changes. This surely will help to get the masting right on my model

This is the "Norna"

 

and the "Rio Pastaza"

[realworkingsailor]

Coincidentally, in todays Great Lakes history page on Boatnerd there’s a picture of the Fred W Green, another ship of the same family, with an interesting mast arrangement:

 

(A brief history of the ship can be found in the link above)

 

Andy

[Mirabell61]

Thanks Andy,

amazing what feedback I`m getting here ......, much appreciated

 

meanwhile the port side frames together with the stringers are sanded over, one the bilge keels glued in, a solution for the prop / Rudder area, and the begin of the  aft rounding vertically planked

 

Nils

 

 

[Mirabell61]

Today I started with the planking (one layer only, 2 mm thick planks) in 8 and 10 mm width, I`m waiting for the ordered 50 mm dia. brass propellor to arrive per mail, for adequate fitting into the aft area prior to continuing wit the underwater planking.

The bulwarks in the welldeck areas will be made later on from 1,5 mm thick 3 layer beechwood ply, and the frames will be cut away there flush with the well-decks in those places.

After planking the starboard side to the same degree I think I`ll remove the raw-hull from the building base for better handling. The hull will be stiff enough then to avoid any twisting during planking.

 

Nils

 

the fine trimming will be done by scraping the outer skin and with a light sanding

all the frame contours are straking very well with the skin planking

planking the midship island sides is also part of this sequence as well as forecastle-  and poop sides.

The stringers are a great help for attaching the preliminary holding clamps during glueing

 

 

 

Edited June 2, 2023 by Mirabell61

[Valeriy V]

Hi Nils!
 I'm glad to see more steam ship models on this forum.
I will follow your progress with interest.

[Mirabell61]

Good morning Valeriy, and welcome aboard,

I also love steamships and so I just could`t skip to dig into the Ergenstrasse as a model.

 

Nils

[Mirabell61]

Update

it could go swifter with the planking, but the glue takes its time to cure out well

 

Nils

 

around the bilge bend the planking will be more tricky

 

prop, -sleeve- and shaft are fitted in

[FriedClams]

You're moving along quickly, Nils.  Looking good.

 

Gary

[Mirabell61]

Thank you Gary,

its a long and weary deal with the rather thin planking, and I`m looking for a suitable light filler ......

 

Nils

[Mirabell61]

Update

She is 87 cm long and the shape is that of an good old heritage steamer of 1918

The planking is going on quite well, I`m down to and already around the bilge bend on both sides ....

My small model building room, for the more rough work,  needs some tidying up afterwards

 

Nils

 

I started a bit of scraping job with hardened scraping plates, it works well when carefully taking off wee  "flakes" of the thin planking, and still it may take a bit of one-component filler to smoothen out in certain places only

[druxey]

Steaming right along there, Nils.... Not much space to turn her around in, though! Anything much larger would have to be a half-model.

Edited June 9, 2023 by druxey

[Ian_Grant]

Looks great Nils!  And you're putting me to shame with your rapid progress.... 😉

[Omega1234]

Hi Nils
 

It looks like this is going to be another one of your amazing creations. Superbly crafted with precision, skill and talent. 
 

I look forward to following along. 
 

Cheers

 

Patrick

[Mirabell61]

Many thanks for your kind comments Druxey, Ian and Patrik

 

Nils

[Mirabell61]

Update

 

I`ve taken her off the building base today, to preliminary fit the stand, pedestals and spindles and have a first look at the inside. All looks OK so far. The raw hull is very light, and now easier to handle

 

Nils

 

the planking throughout is only 1,5 mm thick, here after scraping job

 

for the bow section shape I do need some filler, here prior to sanding

 

the fine tuning of the aft heel area is still to be done

 

the first look at the inside shows all is properly in place

 

the standplate

 

and its fastening per M5 stainless steel spindles

[Mirabell61]

I have a question to my MSW fellow-builders.....

does anyone know what these strange looking steel pillars (see pics) on the boats deck are meant to be for ?

Perhaps its only a support for something when doing the movie

 

Nils

 

 

[realworkingsailor]

56 minutes ago, Mirabell61 said:

 

Perhaps it’s only a support for something when doing the movie

 

I don’t think you’re too far off in your guess. I looked back at the photos you posted at the start of your log, and those truss masts are not there on the ship. Your recent photos look more like they were taken on a movie set. Everything looks a little too clean for a working ship, and the angles a little too perfect, (aside from the fact that it looks almost utterly impossible to launch that lifeboat). It’s probably either a lighting rig or for weather effects (rain tower). 
 

Andy

[Mirabell61]

Andy, thanks very much for your comment,

I also thought already that these truss-masts have no relevance with the ships function and shall leave them away on the model ...

Here also a quick shot of the prop, the raw rudder, heel arrangement

 

Nils

 

 

 

 

 

a bit of brass square bar 5 x 5 mm takes the end of the rudder shaft and gives good reinforcement during further handling

 

the upper downholder device prevents the shaft from slipping out of the socket in the heel

 

 

 

 

 

[Mirabell61]

Update

 

Started with the raw deck stringers and made a card template for the Stb. aft welldeck bulwark. the bulwarks will be made from 1,5 mm thick beechwood ply

 

Nils

 

 

 

 

[GrandpaPhil]

Very cool build!

[Jim Lad]

Catching up after being away, mate. She's coming along beautifully.

 

John

[Mirabell61]

Phil and John,

many thanks for your kind comments, much appreciated....

 

Update

before doing the fore- and aft welldecks, I need to position the hatch-sides of the 4 holds. The bulwarks will be attached after these decks are on and trimmed to fit the inner bulwark sides

 

Nils

 

 

 

the waterline is marked...., the depth of the original is 23 foot, that makes 7 cm here on the 1:87 scale

 

aft the waterline  is at the same level as th top of the prop outcut

the foremast will fit in downwards to the keel socket between the two front hatch covers

 

[LEFEBVRE]

Hello Niels. What a pleasure to hear from you. This model is superb. Thank you for continuing to share your progress with us. Sincerely STEPHANE

[Mirabell61]

many thanks Stephane,

 

Nils

[Mirabell61]

Update

 

As a workship she is getting a a plain steel-metal deck on forecastle, poop and both welldecks instead of  planking decks

 

Nils