Captain John Smith's Shallop by Richard44 - FINISHED - Pavel Nitikin - 1:32

[Richard44]

After seeing JamesH's review of this kit (here) I decided it would be a good one for me to build. Small, as I have limited space, only one mast and no rat lines 😁. I then found the videos by Olha Batchvarov (here), and she made it look so easy. There are a few members on MSW who have mentioned the shallop, but as far as I am aware, there is no actual build log.

 

There are three main jigs to be used at various times, all of which were easy enough to assemble, though some easing of slots was required. 

 

The first jig is used to build the 20 main frames, plus there are five cant frames (each with its own jig), three at the bow and two at the stern. The latter consist of two futtocks (I assume that’s what they're called) joined by a cross piece (chock), while the former have two futtocks and a floor that overlaps them. All pieces have laser etch marks to show how much fairing is required to allow a fair run of the planks. The boat is clinker-built, so all frames are notched for the planks.

 

The illustrations on how to assemble the main frames were somewhat confusing (there are no written instructions), but after some thinking and doing a couple of dry fits, it became obvious that frames 3-12  (towards the stern) had to have the futtocks and the floor placed with the etch marks downwards, while the other frames (towards the bow) needed to be placed with etch marks upwards. The floors were always placed on top of the futtocks. The frames in the jig, and a close-up of frame 21, showing the fairing. I faired the futtocks and the floors before assembly. 

The cant frames were difficult as some fairly precise sanding of angles was required to get the three pieces of each frame assembled correctly in its little jig. Again, thinking before glueing was definitely needed. The parts for the cant frames and their jigs….

….and assembled.

The keel, stem and sternpost were glued together, let dry, and placed in jig 2. As there was a small amount of sideplay, four completed frames were carefully glued in position, making sure that they and the keel were correctly centred on each other and in the jig. By doing this, the keel was kept firmly in place. All other frames were then glued to the keel.

Two stringers were soaked, bent, then glued to the frames. The keelson and some other pieces were added.

Next up, planking.

 

Cheers

 

[JacquesCousteau]

Great start!

[Pitan]

Going to follow with interest Richard, I have the same kit.

[Richard44]

Other activities are taking a fair bit of my time, so this post will be primarily photos.

 

The first two strakes in place. All the planks are spiled and laser-cut and only clean up of the char was needed.

The boat is generally clinker-built, except for the two upper strakes which are carvel. There is one strake which abuts the nextmost upper strake in carvel fashion, but overlaps the strake below in clinker fashion. As there was no guidance as to how much overlap was required, I decided to work down from the top and add this hybrid strake last. There was a risk otherwise of the topmost strake being either too high or too low against the frames. This photo shows the topmost strake in place.

The planking complete.

 

Some minor trimming of the notches in the frames was occasionally necessary. Of more concern though, the upper planks were all slightly short, and short (a few mm) lengths of suitable scrap had to be inserted to close the gaps against the stern post. These aren't obvious from normal viewing distance. It's possible that I didn't fair the frames enough.

 

The parts for the fore and aft decks; parts 47 an 48 have their numbers transposed though this was obvious enough.

The thwarts and decks added to the hull.

 

Cheers.

[Pitan]

Good to see your progress.
 

5 hours ago, Richard44 said:

Of more concern though, the upper planks were all slightly short, and short (a few mm) lengths of suitable scrap had to be inserted to close the gaps against the stern post. These aren't obvious from normal viewing distance. It's possible that I didn't fair the frames enough.

I had similar issues with the 15th C wooden boat, and will watch for this on my own shallop build.

[allanyed]

Having spiled planks is fantastic.    

 

Based on the frames it looks like the hull is planked lapstrake but there does not appear to be any gain at the bow which is unusual. The only contemporary models of English shallops I could find are carvel built, not lapstrake.  Was this one of those things that depending on where they were built the style could vary?   There were contracts for boat yards and after studying a couple from the 17th century there is no mention of the style of planking in any of them and W.E. May does not mention anything in his description of shallops so who knows for sure?  Interesting, one way or the other, and looks to be a nice kit overall.   

Allan

Edited December 4, 2023 by allanyed

[Pitan]

@allanyed, there is a drawing on some educational material (link: https://silo.tips/download/captain-john-smith-s-shallop) that appears to show overlapping planks on the hull.
I believe this was based on early designs for (what I call) the Chesapeake Bay Shallop.  I'd agree, this boat was carvel built by the time she hit the water.

[allanyed]

3 hours ago, Pitan said:

there is a drawing on some educational material (link: https://silo.tips/download/captain-john-smith-s-shallop) that appears to show overlapping planks on the hull.

I do agree with you that she was likely carvel built.  This sketch is of a boat built in recent years by the Sultana group but I cannot find anything in their writings that indicate this design is anything more than their best guess.   Perhaps they have contemporary evidence of such and that would really be worthwhile to see such information.  

Allan

[allanyed]

I reached out to Chris Cerino of the Sultana Education Foundation and he concurs that the John Smith shallop would most likely have been carvel built.  To that end when they built the replica (below photo) it was carvel built.  How the kit came to be lapstrake is a mystery and based on what has come up so far, may not be right.   

 

Further, some interesting things from the Sultana group, 

1. the shape of the vessel was inferred largely from the small shallop shown on John Smith's 1612 map of Virginia, which shows an open, double-ended vessel with one mast, one spar, and some simple shrouds (two on each side)

2 it is a two-pieced design based on an account from Captain Bartholomw Gosnold, who led an expedition to Cape Cod in 1602 where he mentions that, upon sighting land and setting anchor, the crew "launched the one half of our shallop."  After rowing this "half shallop" to shore and exploring for the day, he notes that "the other part was rowed to shore and set together"

 

Lots of guess work but interesting none-the-less

Allan

Edited December 6, 2023 by allanyed

[Richard44]

15 minutes ago, allanyed said:

How the kit came to be lapstrake is a mystery and based on what has come up so far, probably not be right.   

Hi Allan,

 

Thanks for that info. The kit will still build up to a neat little model, but maybe I'll omit the nameplate that says "Captain Smith's Shallop". 🙂

 

Cheers

[Chuck Seiler]

16 hours ago, allanyed said:

it is a two-pieced design based on an account from Captain Bartholomw Gosnold

I have read similar info about the Mayflower shallop.  It seems to me that the only way they could do this is have a pointy end and a flat end for each half.  When bolted together there would be a double bulkhead athwartship (athwartboat?)

 

At any rate, Richard's model looks top notch.

[Richard44]

12 hours ago, Chuck Seiler said:

At any rate, Richard's model looks top notch

Thanks for that Chuck.

 

Cheers

[Richard44]

Thanks for all the comments and the likes.  In particular the discussion about whether or not Smith’s shallop was clinker (lapstrake) or carvel built was interesting. However, the kit is clinker so that's what this shallop shall be. 🙂🥴

 

The caprail has been added. This is in three pieces and the instructions suggest that it be glued together before fitting to the hull. I didn't like this idea so decided that I would fit it piece-by-piece on the hull. I did a dry fit and found, not unexpectedly, that the rail needed a little bending to conform to my hull. Otherwise the fit was near perfect. So the central piece was soaked then bent against a template formed by tracing the outline of the hull, with nails (in a board) to hold the rail in place until it dried. The forward piece of the rail was first glued in place, then the centre piece and finally the aft piece.

Cheers

[Chuck Seiler]

I look at your build with great envy.  I had a number of problems, mostly due to my own foibles.  I started the model while working at our club's shipmodeling booth at the county fair.  Somewhere along the line some things got separated and misplaced.  I never did find the upper strakes.  I couldn't even find them on the part sheet.  😞

 

I was able to put the caprails on fine. but later realized I had them backwards (DOH!)

 

At any rate, I will start rigging after Christmas and will post finish pic when done.  I did not do a build log because I realized awhile ago that I can build the model or I can document it, but not both.  I hope mine compares well with yours.

[Richard44]

On 12/8/2023 at 10:34 AM, Chuck Seiler said:

I look at your build with great envy. 

 

Thanks for that Chuck. Much appreciated.

 

I was able to put the caprails on fine. but later realized I had them backwards (DOH!)

 

I had seen somewhere that someone had put the caprails on backwards, so I was very careful, and checked at least twice before committing glue to them.

 

 I hope mine compares well with yours.

 

I'm sure it will.

 

[Richard44]

Thanks for all the views, likes and comments.

 

The basic hull is now finished. And I should have mentioned before that I'm using Tung oil on the model. Splashboards (I think that’s what they are), thole pins, belaying pins around the mast position and the supports and sheaves for the leeboards are all in place.

 

The supports (no idea what they're actually called) for the leeboards, one clean, one not, and two of the four sheaves that are yet to be assembled. Simply a matter of sliding the "wheel" into the housing.

There are more belaying pins that go through the knees on the thwarts, but they're not really visible - they are only tiny. They all needed cleaning to get rid of left over bits from the laser cutting. The larger pin on the left goes into the thwart next to the mast.

One thing I forgot to do was clean out the lasercut holes in the knees before gluing them in place, so they were now cleaned very carefully with a partly disassembled pin-vise.

The supports for the leeboards were a bit of a problem, my fault for not examining the plans closely enough. I initially glued them so their tops were in line with the top of the sheave that is next to them on top of the rail.  This can be seen in the above photo. Wrong. Their tops have to be slightly higher as the chain that passes through the support to the leeboard has to clear the top of the sheave (this will be clear once the leeboards are in place). They were therefore de-glued and repositioned. The supports are glued to the frame and notched to go over the stringer that the thwarts rest on. Or, as I did,  notch the stringer rather than the support as this was easier.

 

There are also metal wear plates, I'd guess you'd call them, on the rail next to the thole pins, presumably to protect the rail from the oars. These were copper PE and went into position easily except for the two that are next to the leeboard support/sheave. Not enough space, short by a few mm. Can't move the thole pin and can't move the sheave/support, so had to trim the plate.

The next stage will be the masting, leeboards, rudder etc etc.

 

Cheers 

[Pitan]

That looks elegant Richard, very nice.

[Chuck Seiler]

    I am curious to see how you manage the lee-boards.  It seems to me that there is nothing holding them in place except for that chain running over the gunn'l to the support. 

 

    I am also perplexed by how it is rigged.  The lines, blocks and sheaves appear to be used to retract the lee-boards, but there is nothing to deploy them or keep them from being forced up by the water flow.  Perhaps I am missing something(s).

[Richard44]

1 hour ago, Chuck Seiler said:

    I am curious to see how you manage the lee-boards.  It seems to me that there is nothing holding them in place except for that chain running over the gunn'l to the support. 

 

    I am also perplexed by how it is rigged.  The lines, blocks and sheaves appear to be used to retract the lee-boards, but there is nothing to deploy them or keep them from being forced up by the water flow.  Perhaps I am missing something(s).

Hi Chuck,

 

You've just managed to comment on exactly the same concerns I have about the leeboards. I don’t think you've missed  anything that's shown on the plans. I've been puzzling over them for the last day or two (Olha's video doesn't help at all). I may have them rigged today or tomorrow.

 

Cheers

Edited December 11, 2023 by Richard44

[Pitan]

7 hours ago, Chuck Seiler said:

The lines, blocks and sheaves appear to be used to retract the lee-boards, but there is nothing to deploy them or keep them from being forced up by the water flow.

So far as I can tell, the leeboards are held down by gravity, and can ride up.
The advantage in shallow waters is that this reduces the risk of getting stuck if the boat runs aground.

Have a look at some Thames barges.  While carrying more sail, they have some similarities to this shallop, notably the main sail is a spirit sail, and they use leeboards.

[Chuck Seiler]

Understood, but I would think the water pressure from the boat moving through the water would press it up and back.

[Pitan]

Interesting discussion about using different styles of leeboard

 

Somewhere around 3:38 he discusses, on the other side, a leeboard "that can swing out in the normal fashion".

[Richard44]

9 hours ago, Pitan said:

Somewhere around 3:38 he discusses, on the other side, a leeboard "that can swing out in the normal fashion".

Hi Robert,

 

Interesting video. Thanks for that.

 

Not sure of the difference between his two types of leeboards - "normal" and "other". Though it seems from what he was saying his "other" only swings fore-and-aft, whereas his "normal" is free to swing fore-and-aft and also pivot so that it rises near horizontal.

 

The method of rigging the leeboards on the model (and presumably the replica), using a chain that is only fastened to the hull in-board, suggests that this would allow the leeboards to swing in the guy’s "normal" fashion. The chain would be flexible enough to allow this.

 

Cheers

[Richard44]

Thanks guys,  for the discussion about the leeboards. I'm going to go with what the kit suggests, and hang them from chains.

 

The leeboards themselves were easy enough to assemble,  all the parts were pre-cut. The iron reinforcing bands needed a little care to position them, but no dramas.

 

The chains though. These are supposed to be made up using the supplied PE. And these bits are tiny!

I didn’t like my chances. Sure enough, "ping" and one piece headed into the clutter on the table - found it though. But, a few minutes later "PING" and this time the piece flew off probably with enough speed to embed itself in the wall - never did find it. I had some chain that was close to the size required, except the links were round not flat, but this was what was going to be used. I had managed not to lose the tiny end plates that go through the leeboard and the inboard support, so got those onto short lengths of chain. Before fitting the assemblage onto the boat, I thought that putting the tackle for raising the leeboards in place would be useful to do now. The photo shows the tackle loosely in place and the leeboards with the chains lying on them.

The leeboards were fitted in place with the chains passing through them and the inner ends passing through the inboard supports. Tiny retaining pins (supplied PE) were pushed through the end plates to keep everything in place. Now, as the leeboards are basically just hanging off the chains, they are very vulnerable to damage - don't ask 😖 - and the chains are the weakest link 🥴. Sometime later, when repairs had been made and calm restored, I completed rigging the tackle. It looked good. Then I thought I should put the boat onto the display base and promptly found that I hadn't tightened the tackle enough, as a result of which the leeboards hung too low and fouled the base 😬. The tackle would have to be redone. Not a big deal, but a nuisance anyway, and after a few deep breaths, I tackled the tackle to get it right.

Cheers

 

[Chuck Seiler]

Richard,

    Could you post a close up, top down picture of the leeboard/chain connection?  I still don't see how being connected only to the interior support post keeps it from flopping around.

 

    Did you paint or chemically darken your leeboard iron work?

 

[Richard44]

4 hours ago, Chuck Seiler said:

Richard,

    Could you post a close up, top down picture of the leeboard/chain connection?  I still don't see how being connected only to the interior support post keeps it from flopping around.

 

    Did you paint or chemically darken your leeboard iron work?

 

Chuck,

 

Here's the close-up. You can see the chain, and if you look carefully, you can see the retaining pins at each end. The leeboard doesn't flap around as much as you might think as the lifting tackle restricts it somewhat. Still, it's definitely not fixed and moves easily if touched.

I used paint on the iron work - I've never had much luck with using chemical blackeners.

 

Cheers

Edited December 19, 2023 by Richard44

[allanyed]

Happy holidays Richard!

If you use copper instead of brass, a little diluted liver of sulfur can be done off the model, or on, as it does not stain the wood and is instantaneous if the metal is clean.  Biggest problem is that some do not bother to clean the metal first so there are problems.   A little time in an acid bath followed by a water rinse, or even a soak in acetone to get off any oils from touching the parts works wonders.   

Allan

 

 

[Richard44]

And happy holidays to you too Allan!

 

I've used Casey Brass Black in the past with mixed success. I've cleaned the brass etc etc, used the solution diluted, but it doesn't always seem to work. I suspect the composition of the brass has something to do with it. Perhaps too much zinc relative to copper.

 

Cheers

[Pitan]

Thanks, Richard, for some interesting posts.
Looking at the kit's leeboard chains, with their open ends, I think that sourcing a different type of chain was the right move.

[Richard44]

So, onto the final stretch. Firstly the rudder. The rudder itself is two pre-cut pieces, plus the pre-cut tiller. All needed cleaning up but otherwise no issues. There were brass PE straps provided but no actual pintles or gudgeons. I broke one of the straps while bending it into shape, so decided that straps made from black paper would serve and would be indistinguishable from the supplied brass straps at any reasonable viewing distance. Styrene rod was used for the pintles. I also decided that the rudder would need to be pinned to the sternpost as I didn’t think the paper straps would be sufficiently strong to hold it. When the assembled rudder etc was held up to the hull, it looked terrible. There was a large gap between the rudder and the sternpost. So I got rid of the styrene rod and just used the paper straps and the pinned rudder - certainly not prototypical but the end result is fine.

And now for the rigging. One mast, one yard, two shrouds, one stay and some running rigging. Can't be too hard. The mast, yard and various blocks ready for installing.

The mast and the yard came ready tapered and needed to be rounded and cleaned of char. A file and sandpaper took care of this. The mast was set in place ready for the shrouds. The manual and plans are quite detailed with every line identified but there is a considerable amount of careful perusal required as some things are a little obscure. The supplied cord for the shrouds was wrapped around one of the triangular blocks and seized with thin thread. The excess cord was cut and instant disaster 😬. The cord promptly unravelled.🥴

Not happy ☹️. I tried to seal the cord where I planned to cut it, but no glue that I have would stick to the polyester (I assume that’s what it is). I had some cord left over from another build, slightly undersized (1.0mm) compared to the supplied cord (1.2mm), but close enough.  This cord was then used for the shrouds and the forestay.

Again, cord I already had was used for the running rigging. No particular issues with this. However once I had most of the rigging done, the yard sort of flopped around with apparently nothing to hold it in place. I found one of Olha's videos that I hadn’t seen before and it showed her lashing the yard to the mast. A careful check of the plans showed on one of them, three thin lines where the yard crossed the mast - the lashing.

 

The shallop is now finished. The extras in the boat, oars, water barrel etc have all been added.

 

A fairly enjoyable build, some headaches on the way, but nothing to kill the build.

 

Thanks to all who looked in, the likes and the comments.

 

Cheers