Norwegian Sailing Pram by Dan Poirier - FINISHED - Model Shipways - 1:12

[Dan Poirier]

I recently completed my first ship model, the Model Shipways' Lowell Grand Banks Dory. Yesterday I started my second, the Model Shipways' Norwegian Sailing Pram.

 

 

I thought the boat diagram on page 3 of the instructions was awfully small for my old eyes, so I made an enlarged copy. (I might need to blow it up even more. We'll see.)

 

 

I started by cutting out the transom knees and sanding off the char, trying to keep the edges square.

 

 

 

 

I cut out the bow transom and carefully drew center lines on it.

 

 

Then I looked closer at the instructions, and realized I was supposed to draw the lines on the other side. Oops!

 

 

 

Next, I cut out the lower stern transom. Given my previous error, I followed the instructions scrupulously for sanding a bevel on the upper edge, "Turn the transom so that the bevel marks are facing away from you." So I sanded the bevel with the marks away from the bevel guide.  (I took the following picture looking at the side that was away from me when I was sanding, for a better view.)

 

 

 

Now, looking closer at the pictures in the instructions, and reading some other build logs of this model, I believe the bevel was supposed to be sanded in the opposite orientation than I did. Oh well. I'll figure out a way to transfer the markings to the other side, and carry on as if they were there all the time.

 

Next to do: some gluing. The instructions recommended white glue, not yellow wood glue, so I've got some Elmer's Glue-all on order.
 

Edited July 29 by Dan Poirier
Update title upon finishing the model

[Jim Lad]

A good start, Dan.

 

John

[robert952]

Hopping on board this log.  

Following logs on this one as it is in my stash.

[Dan Poirier]

Yesterday, I continued working on the transoms, and began on the planking.

 

I'm using smaller photos in this post because I thought the extreme closeups of my fingernails in the previous post were probably not needed 🙂

 

On the bow transom, I glued on the knee, sanded the transom's bottom edge parallel to the knee, and drilled a tiny hole.

 

    

 

Since I sanded the lower stern transom bevel the wrong way, I had to copy the markings to its other side. I did that by sketching the original lines, measuring everything with calipers and adding the dimensions to my sketch, then using caliper and straight-edge to draw lines on the back side.

 

  

 

I then glued the stern transom knee to the lower stern transom, and glued the upper and lower stern transoms together.

 

 

 

Now it was time to put together the building board and put the transoms into it. The bow transom wouldn't stay put until I added a paper wedge.

 

   

 

Time to start planking! I cut out the keel plank and two bottom planks, sanded off the char, and bent them using a travel clothing steamer. Finally, I glued the bottom planks to the bow transom. 

 

   

 

Next: finish gluing the bottom planks to the stern transom, and install the keel plank down the middle on top of the bottom planks.

[Jim Lad]

Always good to get those first planks on!

 

John

[SiriusVoyager]

Nice job making the transom work backwards.  It looks like your pram is on its way to turning out quite nicely.

[druxey]

Good save on the transom!

[Dan Poirier]

It's been largely a week of planking.  I also skipped ahead and did some work on the mast rudder, and dagger board while various planks' glue was drying, but forgot to take pictures.

 

I was annoyed at how wobbly the stern transom was on the build board, so I tried to stop it wobbling.

 

 

Then I added the bottom planks.

 

 

and the garboard planks

 

 

 

and I'm working on the second strake. That couldn't be clamped while on the build board, but the boat is pretty rigid now on its own, so I think the build board has finished its usefulness.

 

 

[Jim Lad]

She's coming along nicely.

 

John

[MBerg]

Hoping aboard. Looking good so far, and great safe on the transom! I also noted the instructions were misleading and had I just followed the words would have made the same mistake.

 

I've just started my pram so will be right behind you. However, knowing my pace from the dory, you'll be done well before I.

[Dan Poirier]

The last pair of planks are giving me problems. I have to cut gains, and my chisel-tip knife blade keeps going all the way through the plank.

 

I think I'm going to try to repair the bad cuts with glue, and tomorrow when it's good and dry, see if I can't make the gains by sanding instead of cutting. I seem to do better with sanding.

[druxey]

If sanding, use sandpaper glued to a flat stick to keep the bevel flat at a constant angle.

[Dan Poirier]

@druxey using a tiny sanding stick was indeed my plan.

 

I've now tried to finish these gains by sanding. I'm not sure if I accomplished a whole lot. But I think I removed enough material for the ends of the planks to lie flat, and my sloppy craftsmanship will be hidden under the plank anyway.

[robert952]

I sometimes use the process our QA manager used (back in the days I had a job):  File to hit; hammer to adjust; paint to hide. 

BTW - the manager was always top notch and a stickler for details. He prefaced the above line with "When I was in the Army the process was:..."  

 

When it is all done, only you will see the "flaw" (or even know it's there).  

 

The pram is looking very nice.  

[Dan Poirier]

Well, I've ruined my sail and will probably need to start it over.

 

It's completely my own fault. I traced over the paper pattern with a black gel pen so I could more easily trace it onto the fabric. Then I forgot to remove the paper before starting to glue things to the fabric, and the ink bled onto the sail.  D'oh!

 

I think I have some thin woven white fabric somewhere that I can try out as a sail. Maybe I'll experiment with dying it first. That should be fun.

 

I'm just glad I'm not trying to make a living building boats!

 

[druxey]

Well, that's one mistake you'll never make again! Hope the re-do goes without a hitch.

[SiriusVoyager]

You could paint the sails black. It would probably be the most unique pram sails on the forums

[Dan Poirier]

In the last week, I finished planking. The build board seemed unnecessary to hold the boat's shape by this point, so I didn't use it for the last few planks. 

 

 

I used a travel clothes steamer to shape the planks, which worked great.

 

 

Skipping ahead while waiting for glue to dry, I made the rowlock pads.

 

 

I also installed the skeg, first shaping it to match the hull's curve by rubber gluing sandpaper temporarily to the bottom.

 

 

No pictures (I forgot, sorry), but I've installed the frames. My hull was a bit wider than it was supposed to be, maybe due to skipping the build molds for the last few planks, so they didn't fit very well at first. I misted the inside of the hull and used a couple of clamps to pull in the sides a bit, which seemed to help. The frames still weren't quite wide enough and I'm currently relying on glue to pull in the hull enough to stick to them. Fingers crossed.

 

Now I've started on the inwales. I clamped them to the outside of the hull to dry and cool after shaping them, as suggested by another build log. Then I used a piece of scrap wood to mark the stern transom angle on the stern ends of the inwales, cut them to fit, and glued the stern ends in.

 

 

 

[Dan Poirier]

I picked up a bunch of cheap plastic clamps at Harbor Freight. Unlike the metal clamps with rubber-coated tips that came with my first kit, these shouldn't mar the wood. They have little adjustable soft plastic jaws.

 

Here are the clamps at work, as I glue the frames in.  Then I added the floor cleats. 

 

 

To attach the metal straps that hold the back stays, I was supposed to drill tiny holes, then use a tiny saw to make slots on each side. Lacking a tiny saw, I just made a row of tiny holes and removed the material with a hobby knife. I think it'll be fine.

 

 

And here are the rub rails freshly glued on. If you were really looking close, you might have noticed one more set of frames in the boat in this picture than the earlier one, as I missed one in the first go-round. No harm done though.

 

[MBerg]

Looking great, really starting to come together. I need some sort of lighter duty clamps like that. Clothes pins are super helpful, but a little to small for some things. Need a nice medium. 

[SiriusVoyager]

I notice a lot of those clamps here. I have some as well. They work pretty well. Another good option for soft clamping is clothes pins. You can get more than you need at Walmart for less than $3.  You just have to be careful with glue since they are wood. 
 

The pram is looking good

[Dan Poirier]

In the last few days, I've painted the hull and put in floorboards and seats.

 

I chose a Carolina blue for the outside, and a light gray for the inside.

 

 

I used thin pieces of scrap wood to evenly space the floorboards.

 

 

And finally put in the seats.

 

 

Still to come: some fittings, mast, sail, etc.

[SiriusVoyager]

The paint job looks great and nice choice of colors. 

[Wawona59]

The Pram is really coming along.  Nice choice of colors.  Did you brush paint it or use an airbrush?  A while back I purchased a tub of a smaller version of those shown on post #19.  I got 100 for under $30.  They are okay but I prefer the spring-loaded wooden clothes pins where you can adjust the jaws to different shapes.

 

Nice Job!  I assume you will be doing the Lobster Smack.

[Dan Poirier]

I just used a small brush to paint. Investing in an airbrush doesn't seem worthwhile for what little use I'd make of it. Although I bet it'd be a lot easier to get all those nooks and crannies on the inside painted.

 

The lobster smack is on the shelf, just waiting for me to finish the pram.

[Wawona59]

Dan, I've been following your build log on the Pram.  She's really coming along and so are you as a builder. I really like the photo of you holding the Dory, your first model.  You really have a nice smile of pride holding the finished model.  I'll be following along on your lobster smack model.  After that you'll have graduated from the 3-part ship modeling course and will be ready to tackle another, perhaps more challenging, sailing ship kit.

 

[Dan Poirier]

The rudder gave me headaches.

 

First, the brass pintle straps provided seemed too short, definitely shorter than those in the photos in the instructions. Unfortunately the instructions didn't identify which parts in the photo-etched brass were which, but I could not find any other way to assign roles to the parts.  Here's the photo from the instructions, next to my pintles:

 

 

I ended up using some scrap brass from the photo etched sheet to make my own pintles.

 

 

My other frustration was that the instructions called for CA glue to fasten metal parts to the painted wood. Using original superglue, it ran everywhere and glued together parts that were supposed to move. I ended up having to remake some of the hinge parts, and then went back to white glue to fasten those parts together.

[Dan Poirier]

I added the oarlocks

 

 

And finally it was time to hoist the sail!  A forestay and two backstays hold up the mast.

 

 

The sail is laced onto the gaff.

 

 

And the traveler and main sheet control the swing of the boom.

 

 

And that's the Norwegian Sailing Pram!

 

 

Next: the Muscongus Bay lobster smack.

[JacquesCousteau]

Congratulations on a job well done!

[Ryland Craze]

Congratulations Dan on finishing your Pram.  I look forward to seeing your build log on your Lobster Smack.