Vigilance of Brixham (BM 76) by FlyingFish - 1:32

[FlyingFish]

Thanks Keith and Dave - congrats on the Sharpie build - very clean job!

[FriedClams]

Nice update Andy and great progress.  Using wood harvested from your own property makes the model a more personal endeavor and provides a sense-of-place authenticity.  And it's an old-time craftsmanship touch as well.   I like the backbone jig and your thickness sander is pretty nifty.  Thanks for sharing the images of the full-scale backbone swap out.  What a task and it leaves a strong impression those boys know what they're about.

 

Great stuff. 

 

Gary

 

 

 

[FlyingFish]

Thanks Gary, yes they certainly do. I visited yesterday to survey the geometry of the counter timbers which they are currently installing. I'll post some pictures of this when I get to it. Meanwhile I am beginning the framing, but limited due to the temperature of the shop which is a bit 'nippy' at the moment.

Edited January 21 by FlyingFish

[FlyingFish]

Framing

The weather has warmed a little, so on with the work. The frame templates have been drawn and printed. It has taken many days of happy work and sticky fingers.

There is a set for aft, centre and fore to enable the double frame to be assembled.

I learnt how to set up the CAD to print more efficiently and produced a second set without needing to paste into an A1 sheet. Then the job of cutting these into floors and futtocks to lay out onto the stock timber was straight forward.

A corner of the shop has been turned into a frame assembly factory. There are ten frame pairs in this shot:

Trying to make the best use of the grain and material:

Once happy with the layout, its ‘Pritstick’ time! Next job after this is to stock up on scroll saw blades.

 

[KeithAug]

On 1/24/2024 at 4:33 PM, FlyingFish said:

The weather has warmed a little

Same here Andy - the workshop broke the 10c barrier this week.

That looks like a hell of a lot of scrolling - plenty of opportunity for eye strain. I am look forward to seeing how it all goes.

 

[FlyingFish]

6 hours ago, KeithAug said:

a hell of a lot of scrolling

Indeed. The Admiral remarked at lunch that I was covered in a fine dust. I find the noise and wearing a mask a bit of a pain, but actually it's going alright so far. 

[FlyingFish]

After cutting out on the scroll saw, each futtock is sanded down to within 0.5mm of the line – this should be enough for the bevel. The ends were squared on the disc sander. The tweezers are for retrieving futtocks that go down the pipe into the shop vac and end in the pre-Cambrian layers of dust.

Frame pairs 15- 25 ready for assembly. Only another 28 pairs to go. It’s been a productive day. And England won the first test match against India.

 

[kees de mol]

Beautifull boat you are building! I am happy to follow your progress.

[KeithAug]

1 hour ago, FlyingFish said:

The tweezers are for retrieving futtocks that go down the pipe into the shop vac and end in the pre-Cambrian layers of dust.

You made me laugh!

[FlyingFish]

When I said 'it's going alright so far'...  I spoke too soon.

Well, despite knowing that the foreword frames will need a wider bevel I went ahead a stuck the templates on the wood too close together. A silly mistake, and costly in time. At least I didn’t cut the wood yet. It’s an example of one of those repetitive tasks, cutting out and sticking down multiple templates (whilst listening to a podcast) that allows the mind to slip into neutral. In my case neutral never seems far away…

This photo below illustrates the bevel required on the first 4 frame pairs, and that 6° rake makes it even more pronounced of course, as well as adding twist into the frame.

So ‘two steps back’ as they say, and this time I printed a framing plan-view to act as a visual check when setting out.

Final cut-outs of frame pairs 1-25 in aft and fore versions, waiting assembly.

 

All for now.

 

 

[wefalck]

Is this an optical illusion, or are the frames kind of inclined backward on the first image? I would have thought they would oriented just in the opposite direction, if anything, to be more perpendicular to the outside of the hull (more like cant-frames). This would also reduce the amount of bevel needed - bevel means more wood to cut away, which the shipbuilders would have avoide being wasteful in both, material and labour.

[FlyingFish]

5 minutes ago, wefalck said:

are the frames kind of inclined backward

No illusion - and well spotted! Yes, 6 degrees aft.

See post #13 - and I'd welcome any thoughts you may have on its purpose!

[wefalck]

Oh yes, now I remember having read about the 6° oddity.

 

No idea for what rational might have been behind this added complication. If the angle pointed forward, I might have said that it would resulted in less chamfering and perhaps actually a stiffer hull - when the bow pounds into waves there would be less of a tendency that the hull is pushed in as the frames are pushed back.

 

On the other hand, the reverse logic may also apply, meaning that frames inclined backward might make the hull a bit more flexible and therefore more resilient (a principle that has been dicovered by the Vikings actually).

[FriedClams]

 

On 1/28/2024 at 12:27 PM, FlyingFish said:

Frame pairs 15- 25 ready for assembly. Only another 28 pairs to go.

 

A daunting amount of framing components, Andy.  I look forward to seeing this framing being pieced together.  Nice progress.

 

Gary  

[FlyingFish]

On 2/3/2024 at 10:33 AM, wefalck said:

less of a tendency that the hull is pushed in as the frames are pushed back

Its a good point, Wefalck. We shall probably never know for sure.

On 2/13/2024 at 8:22 PM, FriedClams said:

A daunting amount of framing

Too right, Gary; it's taking a long time. finished cutting out the last of the components today, and making steady progress on assembly.

[FlyingFish]

Framing – assembly.

Vigilance has 10” paired frames from # 1 – 34. Each consists of two 5” frames, with a 21” ‘room’ between pairs. Five further 6” single perpendicular frames #35 to #39 before the cant counter timbers in the stern.

There is no datum shared by all frames. Because of the rake, Waterline #0; top of the frame foot and the sheer/centerline datum for this frame is about 0.6” different fore to aft, at 1:32^nd scale which is less than 0.5mm and is lost in the final sanding to attach the keel, keelson and covering board, so can be ignored. I just lean them a tad aft to get that tiny offset required.

In the centre of the boat the differences are minimal, so this only really becomes obvious at each end where the bevel is much more pronounced. I have found that in practice you just need to eye it carefully to make sure the two halves look aligned. It’s a bit hit and miss to be honest.

Frame pair #3 templates, 

 

Framing Jig (After Ed Tosti)

As you can see the Yard are laying out frames on a lofting floor using plywood templates. Note the bevels and the shape made more complex by that 6.5 degree rake. The frame is fore-face up, the floor timber being aft. It’s very skilled work, although they make it look easy!

I’m using the Ed Tosti-style jig.  The only adaptation is the addition of a removeable mini go-bar press (familiar to luthiers) which is useful to hold down any parts of the frames that need keeping still.

 

 

 

The futtocks have previously been roughly sanded to the line for bevelling thus: from stem to centreline, the fore frames outer edge is sanded, and aft frames inner edge. The opposite from centerline to stern, if that makes sense.

Wider of the two frames in the pair (aft in this example) is assembled first, by laying onto its template in the framing jig. This keeps everything aligned. The joints between futtocks are wiped with superglue set with kicker.

The second frame in the pair (fore) is assembled in the same way.

When dry the paper backing is removed. I thought of then gluing it onto the centre template and rough sanding to the line, but its really not necessary other than for the very offset pairs near the stem.

The frames are carefully aligned one on top of each other, using fresh aft template as a guide, matching the waterline, sheer and keel line together. When all is lined up the frames are glued with titebond and held down using the clamps.

The next pair are prepared on the right, and some sort of flow established. So far I can produce three or four frames in a session.

The frames are then carefully bevelled by hand. Holly and field maple being very hard timbers produce superfine dust which simply floats about the shop, so I sand into an extractor funnel which seems to help, and run the extractor throughout.

 

Body plans for fore and aft frames printed on transparencies and laminated serve as a quality check to ensure the sheers match, and the beam is correct. These will be used for erecting the frames later.

Frames will later be pinned in scale bolts (5/8^th = 0.5mm), and the wood was chosen to give a variation in colour, and grain to help see the separate parts.

 

I'm grateful to the Friends of Vigilance CIO for continued access to the boat, plans and information. A great collection of photographs of their restoration can be found here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 14 by FlyingFish

[KeithAug]

Interesting jig Andy. I haven't seen its like before.

[FlyingFish]

3 hours ago, KeithAug said:

I haven't seen its like before.

If you mean to go-bar press, here's a proper one in action. My son and I are making a guitar episodically when he visits. the ash bars are flexible and hold down the struts on the inside of the concave surface guitar body whilst the glue sets.

[FriedClams]

 

On 2/14/2024 at 4:00 PM, FlyingFish said:

Note the bevels and the shape made more complex by that 6.5 degree rake . . . . . It’s very skilled work, although they make it look easy!

 

Indeed!  I think a common misimpression about wooden boat/ship building is that the work is rudimentary, imprecise and maybe even a bit crude, when in fact the exact opposite is true.  I much respect these folks that have the knowledge and skill to build, re-build and repair these vessels.

 

Thanks for the details in how you're assembling the frames.  I'll reference this if I ever summon the courage to build a fully framed model of my own.

 

That go-bar press is clever and like Keith, I had never seen it before.  I can see why it would be just the ticket for stringed instrument makers.

 

Coming along nicely, Andy.

 

Gary

[wefalck]

Watched last night the latest episode on the restoration of TALLY HO on YouTube and the precision of those woodworkers is just amazing always ....

[druxey]

Lovely work so far, Andy. I was wondering why you have chosen to use cyano glue rather than PVA or yellow glues.

[Rik Thistle]

TALLY HO on YouTube

 

Yes, excellent bunch. And they cover the age spectrum, seem very happy at what they do and have a very good project manager (and owner) in Leo.

 

It's one heck of a project.

 

Richard

[FlyingFish]

Thanks Keith, Gary, Welfalk  Druxey and Rik and all for the likes. 

On 2/18/2024 at 8:49 PM, FriedClams said:

courage to build a fully framed model of my own.

It feels more like stupidity sometimes! The reason for framing this way will become clear later inthe build; normally I'd have gone for sectional framing in ply. With your level of skill it would be child's play!

On 2/18/2024 at 9:54 PM, wefalck said:

those woodworkers is just amazing

Indeed, and watching the local shipwrights putting Vigilance together is very educational. The scale of the timbers even on this relatively small vessel are impressive.

On 2/19/2024 at 12:59 AM, druxey said:

why you have chosen to use cyano glue rather than PVA

I tack the butt ends of the frames with CA and use kicker for speed, as I have over 350 frame parts to assemble, then use Titebond PVA to glue the two frames together as a pair. 

 

Edited February 20 by FlyingFish

[Roger Pellett]

Andy,  A remarkable project; duplicating in miniature at more or less the same time that the full sized vessel Is being rebuilt near by.

 

I have a question about the two photos that you posted.  Old shipbuilding texts, both for wooden and iron/steel construction mention the use of a “shrieve board” for assembling frames.  This was apparently a large portable floor with all frame shapes scribed on.  Your guys appear to be using a similar but different system.  I see the waterlines and buttock lines forming a grid (red lines) on the floor.  I also see the plywood template.  Are the actual frame shapes marked directly on the floor as with the shreive board?  I can’t see from the photo.  Was the template used to mark the shape on the floor or is it used somewhere else in the assembly process.

 

Roger

[Roger Pellett]

Ok, I think that I can see what’s going on.  It would appear that the red orthogonal lines on the floor are permanent, representing the waterlines and buttocks in the end (body plan) view of the hull.  Vertical markers are then set on the floor at strategic locations at offset locations known from the lofting.  The framing segments are set against these markers.  The templates can then be used as a final check and for marking additional information as needed.  A clever system.

 

Roger

[FlyingFish]

20 hours ago, Roger Pellett said:

I think that I can see what’s going on.

Yes Roger it's an unusual opportunity to learn from the actual rebuild- from what I've seen, you are correct in that the red tapes mark waterlines and buttocks although these do not correspond to the waterlines from the original surveyed linesplan. the architect appears to have reoriginated these when abandoning the stations to draw in the frames.

The stock was marked directly from the templates, and cut out on the ship saw.

The templates were supplied from the naval architect with all waterlines marked, including the DWL allowing each floor and futtock to be laid onto the grid accurately, and thanks to the powers of CAD grouped in 8' by 4' ply sheet format for best use of materials. Because I did not have these waterlines on my plans I had to re-originate my frames using my own waterlines which took a great deal of time.

The compound curves caused by the 6 degree offset required the frames to be chocked on the assembly floor, this also allowing access for the clamps. The bevel allowance was presumably marked by putting the fore and aft templates on top of one another and the resulting difference written on the template, as shown below where frame 29 port aft and fore sections are being assembled. 

The Friends of Vigilance facebook site  has a great week by week chronology of photogtaphs and commentry which shows all this in more detail here.

 

[FlyingFish]

Well, a but of a delay in progressing..... caused by self-inflicted sillyiness with the No. 11.  Is it just me but this always happens just after I think 'now don't put your finger there....'!

Anyway, back to work - and next is:

Keel Preparation for Framing.

Rebates for floor location:

 

 

The keel and the base of the floor are both notched ¾” making a 1/12” housing.

At scale this is 1.2mm, or 0.6mm each. I could ignore this if the frame was perpendicular to the keel, but as the rake needs setting I’ll have to create a means of doing this without driving me potty.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The above diagram shows the relationship of keel to keelson. The rabbet is at 8” above the base of the keel (6.35mm at scale) from stem to skeg, and the dimensions are based on a plank thickness of 2 5/8” (1.88mm at scale).

The bearding line is 1.5”(1.2mm at scale)  from the top of the keel at the centerline, but varies as the garboard angle changes.

I’ve knocked up a crude little router plane for the keel notch, using a blade 6mm wide (pinched from my Quangsheng Plane) and set at the correct depth. Its reversible left and right to get into the ends of the keel, as I didn’t think ahead to do this before assembling the centerline.

 

 

 

 

 

 

For the 6.5° angle on the base of the frame floor a simple little jig for running a sanding strip in the centre of the frame heel makes quick work of them. The dimensions are so small it only takes seconds.

Then a run through the thicknesser ro remove the paper template and set final size to scale:

...and finally finished frames ready for assembly.

A comparison shot for fun! I am pleased with the way the wood matches the oak at scale,

Next post (finally) will be cutting rabbets and setting up the frames on the keel. All for now!

 

The Friends of Vigilance facebook site has a great week by week chronology of photographs and commentry here which currently shows the planking - they are well ahead of me! 

 

[Keith Black]

 Andy, Andy, Andy. You're gonna have to reinstall the guard on that # 11.    The frames are looking spiffy.

[FlyingFish]

23 hours ago, Keith Black said:

You're gonna have to reinstall the guard

I could lock it in a safe and it would still get me!

[KeithAug]

On 2/27/2024 at 7:28 PM, FlyingFish said:

caused by self-inflicted sillyiness with the No. 11.

Yep - I did the same thing aged 9. Still got the scar to prove it. Great looking frames Andy. They look just like the real thing.

 

P.S. Blood seeping through the bandage would have looked more manly.🙂