Peerless 1893 by Cathead - 1:87 - sternwheel Missouri River steamboat

[Keith Black]

 Eric, you're holding true to the photographs and it looks amazing. 

[John Ruy]

Eric, I like the canvas decking made with masking tape. Looks great. 👍 

[mbp521]

Very nice progress Eric! I agree with Keith and John, she is truly beginning to look like the photos of her and your work on the canvas looks great. As for your paddlewheel, that is one of my favorite parts to build. Just the details that go into them add to the beauty of these boats. 
 

-Brian 

[Cathead]

A few shots of carefully working the masking-tape "canvas" around the rest of the boiler deck:

Lots of fiddly cutting and fitting here. But another benefit to masking tape is that it holds its shape stiffly and is easier to shape and fit than something floppier like silkspan or tissue. And it's just sticky enough on its own to stay put when you're trying to draw or cut a careful line, while still being easy to move when you want.

 

I finally reached the point where a bunch of these overlapping mini-projects all came together. So here she is with cabins and pilot house attached, deck fully canvassed and painted, hog chain posts installed, and stern planking applied.

Careful eyes will notice that I haven't yet installed the support posts for the rear cabin roof overhang, but it's plenty stable for now. I'm not worried about the messy appearance of the boiler deck's edge because that will get wrapped in a thin plank veneer.

 

On Sunday, I'll be giving a talk on the evolution of steamboat design along the Missouri River, at a regional cultural center that specializes in supporting educational and artistic programming. I initially developed this talk back in 2021 as an online lecture for a regional non-profit that works along the Missouri River (you can view the talk recording here if interested), but this will be the first time I've given it to an in-person audience. As a bonus, I'll be displaying three of my steamboat models, the first time any of them have been presented to the public. Here they are all lined up and ready to go:

 

In the back is Arabia (1:64), in the middle is Bertrand (1:87), and of course in the foreground is Peerless (1:87). All three operated on the Missouri River, from 1853-1856, 1864-1865, and 1893-1903, respectively.

 

Model size is misleading, as Arabia is at a larger scale though she's actually very close in size to Bertrand. On the other hand, Bertrand and Peerless are the same scale, so you can really see how tiny the latter was in comparison to her ancestors.

 

This talk has been scheduled for a long time, and I'd originally hoped to have Peerless done for this talk, but when it became clear that wouldn't happen, I aimed to at least reach a clearly presentable and semi-complete stage, which I just barely did!

 

Thanks as always for following along, and helping me get to this point.

[wefalck]

I quite like the look of the 'painted canvas' decks. My concern, however, would be how long it stays attached to the decks. These masking tapes are designed to be not too tacky and I know that ordinary painters' masking tape becomes quite brittle with time.

 

Good luck with your lecture and make sure that the audience watches with their eyes and not their fingers 😉 

[Cathead]

Wefalck, I absolutely agree that tape on its own would not be a good idea, but recall that earlier I described how the masking tape is attached with a layer of carpenter's glue once it's cut to fit. The glue soaks into the tape and not only holds it quite solidly once dry, but stiffens it so that it's easier to trim. The paint provides another round of stiffener. The same method used on my Arabia has shown no signs of alteration in ~4 years of the highly variable environmental conditions within my house (from bone-dry firewood-heated air in winter to humid summer air only partly buffered by air conditioning, and temperature variations from the 50s-80s F). So I'm pretty comfortable with the method.

 

The venue is setting up large square tables, one for each model, so people can view them from all sides but they're not easily reachable (especially by little hands). Still a little nerve-wracking but worth it, I think.

[wefalck]

Sorry, I indeed missed the point with the carpenters' glue. So once trimmed to shape, you lift off the assembly, apply the glue and put it back, right?

 

[Keith Black]

Eric, I seal my masking tape with polyurethane which is essentially doing the same thing as your use of carpenter's glue, just a little less messy. Do love the way Peerless is taking shape. 

[Cathead]

I apply each strip separately. Cut to fit as needed, smear wood glue on the tacky surface, apply, use a strip of wood or my finger to rub smooth and flat (sometimes bubbles get trapped), then move on to the next one.

 

Another benefit to doing it that way is that the tape itself is just tacky enough that sliding it into an exact position is tricky because it catches. A film of wood glue on the bottom means it slides effortlessly and can be adjusted to exactly where you want it, then snugged down with some gentle pressure.

[Canute]

The boat's coming along nicely, Eric. Good luck with your presentation tomorrow.

[FriedClams]

Wonderful progress on Peerless, Eric.  I too agree - very convincing results from your canvas method.  

 

Gary

[KeithAug]

A lovely little fleet there Eric - although Arabia is still my favourite.

 

 

[Cathead]

Thanks, all, and Keith - I agree. I think that's one the best model I've ever built. Guess I'm going downhill now!

[mbp521]

1 hour ago, Cathead said:

Guess I'm going downhill now!

Hardly Eric.
 

Each boat you build is beautiful tribute to some of the lesser known vessels of the Western rivers. I love the fact that the subject of each of your scratch builds are some of the more obscure boats rather than one that tends to be overbuilt. Add in the fact that you try your best to mill your own lumber sourced from your property whenever possible. I say nothing downhill about that. In my eyes they are all works of art. 
 

-Brian

[John Ruy]

Eric it just keeps getting better. 👍
 

Edited April 18 by John Ruy

[Cathead]

Sorry for lack of progress, haven't touched the model since my last update. But I did have a pretty cool model-viewing experience recently, getting to see a fantastic scratchbuilt Missouri River rail ferry from ~1870 at a model railroad convention. I wrote a full post about it in the Steamboats and Other Rivercraft General Discussion thread so as not to clog up this one, but here's a teaser image to encourage you to go over there and check the whole thing out. This is at the same scale as my Peerless (1:87).

 

 

Hoping to get back to Peerless soon, but other commitments have had to take priority lately. Thanks for your patience!

Edited April 30 by Cathead

[KeithAug]

On 4/30/2024 at 2:26 PM, Cathead said:

at a model railroad convention.

Hmmm! That's the sort of thing I attend Eric - but am never brave enough to publicise.

[Cathead]

I was a model railroader long before I discovered wooden ship building, and once I did, railroad modeling went dormant, but it's quietly stirring again like a quiescent volcano muttering its way back to life.

[mbp521]

I’ve always loved model railroading, I just never had the time or funds to really enjoy its offerings early on. Now I have way too many other hobbies to get into and still not enough time, so I live vicariously through those that do. Thanks for posting your article Eric, those are some beautiful models. 

My great-grandfather worked for Missouri Pacific way back when. He was In charge of loading and unloading the rail cars from the ferry that went between Baton Rouge and Port Allen, La. before the Huey P. Long/O.K. Allen bridge was built in 1937.
 

This is a picture that I have hanging in my house of his train and ferry. I wish I could find more information on it and other pictures, it would truly make an interesting build one day. 

 

-Brian

[Canute]

Interesting shot. That's some kind of "reacher" car to pull cars from the ferry without getting the engine onto the ferry. Next car is a baggage mail combine. Then two or three coaches, maybe unairconditioned, since there are no extensions off the clerestory roof. next to last car could be a food service car aka diner. Last car is first class, since it does show airconditioning ducts. And the shot is probably mid 30s or later, since that was when Pullman first installed airconditioning systems into passenger cars. I'm another model railroader who wanders into other aspects of modeling.

[Cathead]

Just a small amount of progress to report. May is not cooperating in terms of free time to work on models. 

 

I added the longitudinal hog chains based on some blurry historical image details and logical assumptions about their natural location. I used thin wire, which I couldn't get perfectly straight, but it's another quirk that the camera captures but the eye doesn't really see.

Then I got to work on the...not quite sure what to call them, but the timber frames on the bow used to push tows. You can see them pretty clearly here:

 

This is where I found I hadn't thought ahead enough. Those are pretty widely spaced across the bow, which means the bow has very little curvature. When I went to install mine after making them, I found that my bow curves away more sharply than I thought when I first laid it out, so now if I placed them that far apart their fronts fell well behind the bow and wouldn't be able to push anything. 

 

So I had the choice of either placing them accurately far apart, but too far back from the point of the bow, or too close together, but accurately forward enough to extend just beyond the bow. For better or worse, I chose the latter, though now I'm wondering if it was the wrong decision because they're more noticeably "wrong" compared to the original photos than if they were properly spaced but a bit too far back. Anyway, see what you think (compare to same photo angle in background):

Another view, with comparable angle in background and separate photo below:

 

Changing them would mean popping them off the deck and hopefully not leaving too much glue stain; I could always cover those with a few random timbers or something. Thoughts?

 

In the above photos, you'll also notice I built a version of the capstan that sits just behind those whatever-they're-called braces.

 

Finally, I added the two thick diagonal braces that lead aft from the chimneys to the pilot house:

 

I think I'm getting close to done with the basic details. There are some more thin guy wires supporting the chimneys, though they're very hard to see in the historical photos. I need to figure out where I'm going to get that big locomotive headlight that's so prominent on the front edge of the boiler deck.

 

The biggest single project remaining is the paddlewheel, which I'm going to need some quiet focused time to concentrate on designing. Not going to happen in the next week, that's for sure. But I started this log on June 17, 2023, and there's an outside chance I'll have her done one year later. Thanks for sticking with me!

[gsdpic]

Excellent progress, as always.

 

To me, in the two historical photos, the "push bars" look different.  In the first, lower-angle photo they appear attached to the front of the boat like you have modeled but in the second higher-angle photo, there looks to me to be more structure supporting them and they project forward of the front edge more than they appear to in the first photo.

 

[Cathead]

Huh...I'd never noticed that despite staring at those photos over and over as I designed my version. You're right, that second photo looks like they extend quite a bit out. Which would give me leave to do the same and help with my problem.

 

Did the whole forward deck change shape at some point? Both versions look to me to have a similar spacing between them, but one version looks like it's snug against the deck curve and the other extends outward by a noticeable amount.

 

Shouldn't have gotten ahead of myself and glued them on before asking for ideas. Not the first time eagerness has bitten me! Shouldn't be a big deal to pop them off.

 

Thanks for that observant insight!

[steamschooner]

Eric, Good progress on your project. Looking at the first photo I see two built in roller chocks. One on each side of the stem. There is a gap in the cap rail? for a line to drop though and two rollers per chock. Looks like they are still there in the later photo. You may have already noted them so I hope I am not repeating known details.

Steve

[LJP]

Cathead, Great Work!

 

In re your hog chains,  I put wire in a vise and then pull the other end with a pliers.  It will stretch slightly and  will straighten the wire out.

 

LJP

[KeithAug]

On 5/20/2024 at 3:44 AM, Cathead said:

You're right, that second photo looks like they extend quite a bit out. Which would give me leave to do the same and help with my problem.

Yes - that would seem to be the way to go Eric.

[mbp521]

Jumping on the bandwagon here as well. From the looks of the second photo the pusher bars, they are called Tow Knees on modern day boats, not sure they were called that back in the day. But the entire structure looks like it is built out to flatten the front of the bow to maximize contact with the barges or whatever she was pushing at the time. I hate seeing anyone have to rework part of the build, but I think you are on track to making it right. 
 

-Brian

[Cathead]

@mbp521 Tow knees, thank you! Driving me crazy to not have a proper name. Yes, they're definitely there to provide maximum stable contact with a tow.

 

@steamschooner The first time, I decided to ignore the roller chocks since I thought they'd be barely visible between the narrowly spaced tow knees; they're not always visible even in photos (for example, look at the second vertical one I showed above where they're covered by the tow knee bracing).

 

@LJP I tried something like that and got the wire as straight as I could before installing. I also mounted it on the model in such a way that I could put a fair amount of tension on each section as I glued it in. Doing this actually demonstrated the engineering integrity of the hog chain system because those angled posts took all the strain without flinching! The result is the best I could do with that I had on hand and I'm fine with it.

 

And to everyone else, I'm convinced of the need to pop the tow knees off and start over, but it'll be a few weeks due to schedule overload. I can easily hide any slight scarring from the removal with ropes or something. I'd say this will teach me a lesson not to get ahead of myself, but if this build shows anything, it's that I don't learn that lesson easily. This time I'll demonstrate the new assembly before gluing it to the model.

 

Also, to hold your interest during the next interlude, here are a couple recent views of the Missouri River just downstream of Rocheport, the upriver home port for Peerless. You're looking upriver in both shots, with Rocheport tucked into the bend at right. First one is from a bluff a couple hundred feet above the river, second one is nearby but riverside. Peerless would have traveled this stretch regularly. When these were taken the river was as high it's been in several years and you can see that the surface looks turbulent with woody debris in the water.

 

[Keith Black]

7 minutes ago, Cathead said:

I can easily hide any slight scarring from the removal with ropes or something.

 Eric, slight/constant scarring would have been part of Peerless's life, is it really necessary to remove the scars? You're doing a great job of building an honest boat. 

[Cathead]

Keith, fair question. We'll see what it looks like when I pop them off but my instinct is that there'll be two long thin glue scars where the base timbers were glued down that won't look quite natural.