USS Cape (MSI-2) by Dr PR - 1:48 - Inshore Minesweeper

[Dr PR]

That's only because I didn't show you a close-up! It is mostly going according to plan, but I had a problem on the port bow. I broke the sheer strake with too much pressure trying to get it to conform to the curvature of the hull. I glued it in place anyway, but it had a bit of an upward bow between bulkheads 1 and 3. That threw off the following planking, and I ended up with a "smile" between a couple of strakes. I cut a filler piece and glued it in place and now the strakes run fair. However, the taper was a bit off and now I am having to cut the port strakes a bit narrow between frames 5 and 1 to make up the difference. It won't show after the hull is sanded and painted.

 

I have also had problems with plank thickness. I am checking plank width carefully and beveling the high side of each plank to fit snugly against the strake above it. But some of the planks are too narrow at the end, as if they were pulled out of a thickness sander too early causing the end to be too thin. I only discovered this after gluing a plank into place and then realizing that the plank that butted against the thin end was quite a bit thicker. Again, I cut a filler piece and glued it in place. Then after sanding the hull is smooth at that joint. Now I check the thickness as well as the width.

 

I am using a 1 in 3 planking scheme. The planking butt joints are at bulkheads 5, 10 and 15, repeating every third strake.

Edited November 22 by Dr PR

[KeithAug]

Phil

 

Thanks for the detail on your planking trials, tribulations and successes. I'm sure that a lot of us are greatful of the learning points.

 

I was interested in the photos of the present day vessel. The picture of the planks at the bow shows rather short lengths running at a different angle to the main hull planks. What is the reason for this odd arrangement. is this something that was done to effect a repair later in life?

[Dr PR]

Keith,

 

Those planks are the anchor lining to prevent the anchor from chafing or cutting into the hull planking. The ship also had these linings on each side aft of midships. The port lining was where the ship's boat was put over the side, and the starboard lining was where the large float (or "pig") for the acoustic mine sweep sounder went over the side. There were two more linings on the port and starboard side at the stern where the minesweeping cable floats went over the side.

 

I can see these planks better in some of the higher resolution photos I have of the ship, but I don't know the actual dimensions. I haven't found these in any of the blueprints. They may have been added after the ship was built. These linings were found on all the minesweepers I saw while I was in the service.

 

One problem I faced was trying to figure out how low on the hull the linings went. In the photos they go down to the water line - but then what? Fortunately, Austin Cox (the current owner) sent me a photo of the ship in the slings when it was in the shipyard, and it shows these lining planks go all the way down to the keel! End of problem! The same photo showed how that thick garboard strake faired out at the bow - another thing the blueprints don't show.

 

As you know from your Cangarda build, photos of the real thing are a treasure!

Edited November 23 by Dr PR

[Dr PR]

The hull planking is about half done. The top down view gives a pretty good idea of how the hull is shaped. The planks are tapered at the bow, but I have left them straight at the stern. The 1 in 3 pattern creates a butt seam at every fifth bulkhead from the bow. The latest planks are long running from bulkhead 5 to the stern. The short planks from bulkhead 5 to the bow will be added next.

 

 

The planks are running pretty true to the planking plan. Because the planks I ordered vary quite a bit in width I divided them into two batches, those wider than 0.180 inch (4.5 mm) and those that are narrower. I started with the widest planks in order to keep the  planking run about the same on both port and starboard sides. This did cause the planking to creep ahead a bit in some places from the nominal spacing I have marked on the bulkheads. I have used all of the widest planks and now I expect the narrower batch to cause the planking to creep back to the marks. Any differences will be corrected with the last planks outboard of the garboard planks.

 

Here are some more views.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The planks are lying nicely with the curve of the bulkheads at the stern. They should come together just about at the top of the aft edge of the skeg where the stern frame fits. I plan to place a center plank along the keel piece that the other planks will join. The bow has been more of a problem. The outward concave flair of the hull requires careful planning and cutting of the planks to maintain even spacing. They must also be fitted into the rabbet behind the keel extension piece. This hasn't gone as smoothly as the planking at the stern.

 

The biggest problem at the bow and elsewhere is that the planks i bought do not have a uniform thickness. Some are significantly thicker than others, and if these are placed side by side the thicker one rise above the neighbors. Adding to this, the ends of many of the planks are only half the nominal thickness. Apparently they were pulled from the thickness sander while still being sanded, causing extra wood to be ground off the ends. I didn't notice this until I had quite a few planks glued in place, and the butt joints where the ends come together have significant discrepancies in thickness. In a couple of cases I have glued a second plank piece on the thinnest parts and then planed, filed and sanded it away until I had a smooth joint. I have had this problem with the wood in some kits, but I expected better quality control from model wood suppliers!

 

After all the planking is finished the stem will be cut down to come to a moderately sharp cutwater. The angle at the bow varies from garboard strake to the sheer strake. It should follow the angle of the planks to create a smooth surface at the rabbet. That is to be seen! However, it doesn't matter if the surface doesn't come out perfectly smooth because the entire leading edge of the bow will be covered by a very thin (0.003 or 0.005 inch, 0.076 or 0.127 mm) brass stem band and chafing plate that extends back some distance beyond the rabbet.

 

I have been using my quilting iron/plank bending/sail making tool to pre-shape the planks where they wrap around the curvature of the hull.

 

 

In my opinion this is a must do thing when you have planks that have to conform to significant curvature in the hull. I have sometimes gotten by with just gluing the planks and holding them with every clamp and rubber band I can find. The planks will glue down and then eventually conform to the curvature. But some edges will try to rise above the neighboring planks if you don't have enough clamps.

 

If I clamp just the ends of the plank in place and then heat the plank over its length, after a few passes with the plank bender the plank retains the proper twist without the clamps. Then it glues into place easily and requires very little clamping to get it to fit tight to the bulkheads. The little modified paper clips shown here are almost useless. They will not hold down the edge of a plank that is trying to twist back flat. But if you use enough of them after the plank has been bent into shape to conform to the hull curvature they will hold it in place until the glue dries. The larger clamps are holding the edges of the neighboring planks together so neither rises above the other and they form a smooth surface.

 

 

I wet the planks with water before heating. The water turns to steam, carrying the heat into the plank. Usually the plank takes the shape after a single pass, but I wet and heat the planks three times to be sure they conform tightly  to the shape of the bulkheads.

 

I also discovered something else. When I heat a plank any remaining glue (SIG-Bond aliphatic resin) on the bulkheads or neighboring planks melts, and when it cools it sticks to the new plank. Another post on the Forum describes using heat to melt Titebond Original Wood Glue and glue planks in place. Apparently you can do this with SIG-Bond. However, I am careful to wipe away any excess glue before clamping the planks in place. Any excess glue remaining on the bulkheads will cause a new neighboring plank to ride high, and glue on the edges of a plank will cause the seam to be wide between it and a new neighboring plank.

 

CAUTION: I have the plank bender set to the highest heat level and it works nicely at this temperature. But if you look closely at the photo above you will see some scorch marks where the tool has browned the planks. It happens when I hold the iron in one place too long. This is especially noticeable on a couple of the planks at the stern. I don't know how deep you would have to sand the wood to remove this "stain." For this build it is not a problem - the hull will be painted. But if you are building a model where the wood will be visible you probably should use the medium or low heat setting to avoid discoloring the wood.

Edited November 25 by Dr PR

[Jim Lad]

Coming along nicely, Phil.

 

John

[TBlack]

I guess you won’t be ordering planks from the same source again. But nice job so far.

[Dr PR]

Actually, I have had this problem before, especially with the wood in older kits, so I am prepared to deal with it. In this case, since the hull will be painted, varying dimensions in the planks is only a nuisance.

 

But for an Admiralty model intended to showcase the structure of the ship, I would want much greater uniformity in the planks.

[Dr PR]

More planking done. Now about 2/3 finished.

 

The planking has come together at the stern so I can start thinking about work on the transom.

 

 

I have sanded the ends of the planks to about 3/16 inch (4.8 mm) aft of the transom. Around the edge of the transom is a "guard" (what it is called in the blueprints), that should be 1/8 inch (2.3 mm) high off the transom.

 

Here is a photo of the current day Cape stern (thanks to the owner Austin Cox). You can see this guard around the stern.

 

 

Here is another photo showing the guard on the model.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The guard should be 1/8 inch (2.3 mm) wide. The planks are 1/16 inch (1.6 mm) thick, so I needed to add another 1/16 inch to the inside. To do this I glued five successive layers of basswood shavings around the inside of the planking. The shavings are about 0.008 inch (0.2 mm) thick. The glue adds to the thickness to build up to slightly more than the needed thickness.

 

The stern also had the vertical "guard" boards shown in the ship's photo, but in a bit different configuration. It has been modified a few times since it was a Navy vessel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This picture shows the layers of shavings glued around the inside of the planking. After the glue has set a few days I will sand the ends of the planks down to the proper height. Then I will sand the shavings to a better shape and add a plank across the bottom as is shown in the photo of the ship's stern. I suspect a bit of putty will be necessary to finish the job.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I made the shavings with my trusty 3 1/2 inch (89 mm) Stanley 12-101 plane. I have had it for decades (it has U. S. A. stamped on the side) so it is probably an antique by now. I selected a 1/8 x 1/8 inch basswood stick and shaved several strips from it. The laminated shavings are the right height for the guard.

 

 

Edited November 28 by Dr PR

[Jim Lad]

Looking good, Phil!

 

John

[Dr PR]

Yesterday (Thanksgiving in the United States) a local radio station played Arlo Guthrie's "Alice's Restaurant" a couple of times - it being a Thanksgiving song. And it reminded me of another sea tale, although it is only indirectly related to the USS Cape. But it does tell how/why I ended up in the Navy and on the Cape.

 

I graduated from The University of Arkansas in 1968 with a Bachelor's degree in microbiology. If you recall your American history, the little fracus in Vietnam was at it's height in 1968. While I was in college I had a 1S Student Deferment from the draft, but that was about to end. Our local Draft Board was dead set to allow all eligible young men to have a chance to spill their guts for their country, and had already drafted two of my friends out of college and into the Army. I guess you could say the handwriting was on the wall.

 

So I started looking around for other opportunities. The Air Force had more personnel that they needed, and plenty waiting in line ahead of me. I had already taken two years of compulsory Army ROTC (Reserve Officer's Training Corps) and that was enough of that. I didn't want to be a grenade catcher sleeping in a muddy foxhole. The National Guard was booked up.

 

So that left the Navy. I took the Naval Officer Candidate School (NAVOCS) entrance exam and passed with flying colors. I went to the Navy Recruiter Office in Little Rock, Arkansas, and signed up for Officer Candidate School. But before they would take me I had to have a physical exam at the induction center where the recruiter's office was. I was the only person going through the medical facility that afternoon, and they gave me a long and thorough exam. For example, they took my blood pressure five times (walking, laying down, after 30 pushups, sitting and standing). I passed the physical and went down to the Recruiter's office to sign the papers. I was in the Navy, although I had never seen a ship or an ocean.

 

A couple days later I received my draft notice from the Army! I called the Navy Recruiter and asked "Interrogative Whisky Tango Foxtrot, over?" He said not to worry, the paperwork had just passed each other in the mail (this was before the Internet, cell phones and video games). But he said it would cause them a lot of paperwork to try to cancel my appointment for the pre-induction physical, so he asked me to just go through it again. "They can't have you" he said, "You're our boy!"

 

If you have ever seen the Alice's Restaurant movie, or if you were drafted, you probably recall the induction physical. "Turn your head and cough." And like Arlo said, we were inspected, detected and selected, and they were leaving no part untouched. This was the same place, and the same people who gave me the Navy OCS physical. But this time I was in a line with hundreds of other guys shuffling along in my skivies. When we went into the office where they took our blood pressure the line didn't stop moving. It was one quick check and we were on our way. The Army would take anyone with one good arm, one good leg, one good eye and still breathing.

 

After the physical we had to take the Army entrance exam (on the cold benches like in the movie). We had an hour to answer 100 questions. I had just finished five years of intensive test taking and I breezed through the test in 15 minutes. I looked around and everyone else was scratching their heads in intense concentration. This was a bad sign - I learned in college if a test seemed too easy I was missing something. But I rechecked my answers and went up to the sergeant at the desk up front (I swear it was the same guy in the movie - or maybe all sergeants just look alike).

 

"What do you want" he asked?

 

"I'm finished" I said.

 

He took the test and checked my answers. Then he looked up in surprise and said "Yours is the highest grade anyone has ever made on this test!"

 

He said I could leave, so I got dressed and started out of the building. Well, the Navy Recruiter's office was on my way out, and had a large window facing into the hallway. I waved at the recruiter as I passed and then it hit me! I realized what I was missing and almost doubled over with laughter.

 

I am probably the only guy who ever tried to pass the draft test!

 

And that is how I dodged the draft. I graduated from Naval Officer Candidates School and was assigned to the Cape by the Bureau of Personnel (BUPERS).

 

****

 

I hope you all had a happy Thanksgiving (or whatever day you had where you live)!

Edited Saturday at 12:02 AM by Dr PR

[Jim Lad]

Great story, Phil!

 

Over here, our Government was in the process of instituting a lottery system to call up people for the army (1 in three were "lucky" if I remember) for Vietnam when I came ashore to study for my second mate's exam. I was 10 days too old for the first draft - which I considered fortunate as they were taking people out of navigation school for the army. The only was out of being in the P.B.I. (poor b..... infantry) was to join the army water transport section prior to being selected in the lottery. At least they were offering instant commissions for anyone with a second mate's ticket!

 

John

 

[mtaylor]

The Alice's Restaurant sets the tone for that period, Phil.   I guess I was even dumber.... right out high school in '66, I joined the Marines.  Day after signing up, I got the draft notice.   Talked to the recruiter and they took care of it.   Luckily, I went for "aviation guarantee" and was accepted.  

[Dr PR]

Funny how fortune smiled on some people. The two guys I went to grade, middle, high school and college with that were drafted out of college were assigned to a radar site in Sausalito, California, across the Golden Gate from San Francisco! Really choice duty!

[Canute]

I was #5, based on birthdays, in the 1969 draft lottery, but since I was in AF ROTC, I took the money in our house pot and bought a keg. Well, I graduated in June '70 and went off to get my wings, forgetting the old lottery. I was in the midst of checking out in the Phantom and had already been promoted to real Lieutenant. My dad called one night, laughing and said you've been drafted, Lieutenant. I had him send me the paperwork to see what this silliness was. After I got that letter, I roamed around the base with my front-seater Clay, one day and filled out some form and Clay signed it. Clay was already a Captain. Never heard from them again.

[Dr PR]

THE LAST PLANK!

 

 

 

Here is another view of the planked hull.

 

 

I have been doing a rough smoothing job with files and scrapers while the glue was setting for the latest planks. I haven't done this for the last two or three planks near the keel so you can see some plank edges standing proud.

 

Now I can get on with a few other tasks to prepare the hull for installing the sub deck. I mentioned earlier that I had a few spots where some of the planks were noticeably thinner than the others, especially at the plank ends. This created some low spots at the butt joints.

 

 

To solve this problem I used a plane to shave off thin strips of basswood from scrap planks. These I glued into the low spots in the planking (left). After the glue set overnight these patches were sanded/filed down smooth with the surrounding planking (right).

 

Next I will coat the inside of the hull with thin clear epoxy that will soak into the wood and fill gaps between planks and between the planks and the bulkheads. This will produce a rock solid hull that will not gain cracks between the planks over time. After the epoxy sets I will sand the hull smooth and put on a sealer.

 

****

 

I know many of you celebrate the last plank with your favorite cordial. Well, it's a bit early for tea time here (unless you are still on Daylight Savings Time). But I am celebrating with an orsenek. For those of you who don't speak British that translates into (American) English as "horse neck." It's something I picked up from the Brits in Hong Kong. When the Okie City steamed into HK they would berth us at the pier at HMS Tamar, the British naval station. They tied us up with our Officer's Brow aligned with the door into the base Officers Bar. That was very convenient and friendly of them! The British officers threw a cocktail party in their bar for the OK City officers, and we reciprocated with a dinner in our Wardroom for them.

 

I have always liked ginger ale since I was a kid, and they served horse necks - brandy and ginger ale with a slice (not twist!) of lemon (and no ice!). I had never had one before, and it was delicious - really good ginger ale! I have tried ordering a horse neck at bars here in the US and they have no idea what I am talking about. One bartender thought it was some form of rum and coke or some other awful concoction! But I make a proper orsenek in my house!

 

Cheers! 

Edited Sunday at 11:39 PM by Dr PR

[TBlack]

Horse neck…sounds delicious. Can you give us the proper proportions?

[Dr PR]

Measurements? Proportions?? I just squeeze a slice of lemon into a cocktail glass or tumbler, put the lemon in the bottom, add "some" Brandy, and fill with ginger ale. After a few of these you won't care about measurements!

 

OK, I measured the glass and it is 250 ml or 1 cup. The shot glass is 1 oz (29 ml).

 

I use a relatively cheap French VSOP brandy for mixing, and save the good Cognac for drinking straight.

[Jim Lad]

Always a big moment when the hull planking is finally completed, Phil!

 

John

[Dr PR]

John,

 

It is almost like making sails or rigging ratlines - it seems to just go on and on ...

 

Today I coated the interior with epoxy to seal all the cracks and bond everything together securely.

 

 

You can see the shine of the hardened epoxy in the photo at left. I applied a heavy coat to be sure all the seams are glued tight. Since it is a two-part epoxy mix with a limited working time (15-25 minutes) I slopped it on pretty quickly. It is a bit messy, but it is on the inside where it won't be seen. In the photo at the right you can see how the thin epoxy flowed into the cracks between the planks and absorbed into the wood. Where the planks were glued to the bulkheads with SIG Bond glue the epoxy didn't flow. At at the very stern, aft of the last bulkhead, the space between that bulkhead and the transom did not get any epoxy. This shows clearly how the epoxy fills the cracks where it is applied. Keep in mind that I beveled all of the planks to fit the neighboring planks and jammed them together pretty hard while installing the planks. Even so the thin epoxy flowed into and through the joints. They are all glued together securely now!

 

I spent a day or two filling all the noticeable gaps between planks (there were some about 0.010 inch (0.25 mm) wide in a few places and I filled them with wood shavings and cement. But there were a couple I had missed and a bit of epoxy flowed through. I was counting on that. There are no unfilled gaps between planks on the hull now! It will be rock solid!

 

I'll give it a day or two before I start sanding the hull smooth. With all the planks bonded together with the epoxy I don't have to worry about any planks flexing under the pressure of sanding and causing problems getting a smooth hull.

 

I also have to shape the stem to match the curve of the planks so there is a fairly sharp cutwater on the bow.

 

I think any thin clear epoxy will do for sealing the interior of a hull. I used a product intended for covering counter tops, tables and such. For those applications you pour it on and allow it to flow into a flat film 1/8 to 1/4 inch (3.2 to 6.4 mm) thick. After it was mixed I used a small spatula to "spoon" the epoxy on the the planks and then spread it around. It was about as runny as maple syrup at first so it flowed evenly over the planks. I pushed some up onto the bulkheads to get a bond between the planks and bulkheads (in addition to the wood glue use when installing the planks). The thickness of the epoxy is only about half a millimeter thick (0.020 inch) since I don't need a nice smooth surface. I occasionally rotated the hull back and forth to get the epoxy to flow over the planks and not pool in the bottom along the keel. After about 20-25 minutes it had thickened so it didn't run and I could just leave the hull upright.

 

I did have one concern before I started. I have used many different two-part epoxy and urethane mixtures, and some generate a lot of heat. I mixed up at least half a cup (120 ml) and with some epoxies that amount would get quite warm. Since the aliphatic resin glue I used when installing the planks will soften when heated, I worried that the heat from the epoxy would unglue everything! But there was no problem - the container I mixed the epoxy in just barely got warm.

 

Edited yesterday at 12:33 AM by Dr PR

[mtaylor]

Good looking hull, Phil.   As for the "horses neck"... depending on the barkeep and location, sometimes it's as you say and other times it's non-alcoholic.   My late father was a teetotaler and that's what he drank during social events.  He did get surprised often when had an adult beverage in it.

[Dr PR]

MArk,

 

Did your father (or anyone else) call it a horse neck?

[Jsk]

On 12/1/2024 at 6:31 PM, Dr PR said:

orsenek

Sounds delicious. I'm going to have to try that.

On 12/1/2024 at 6:31 PM, Dr PR said:

THE LAST PLANK!

Sounds like a Netflix series about pirates.

 

That interior coating of epoxy is an interesting technique. This is a static model, right? Not built for actual use on water?

[Dr PR]

Jeff,

 

It is a static model.

 

The first plank on bulkhead kit I built (Santa Maria, 1969) developed cracks between the planks a few years later. I spent a lot of time getting that hull perfectly smooth and the cracks really annoyed me! I suspect this was the result of the wood swelling and shrinking as a result of changes in humidity. With dry wood the change isn't much - just a percent or two if I recall correctly - but enough to crack the paint on the hull.

 

On the next hull I built I painted the interior with a clear epoxy "paint" that flying model builders used to seal balsa engine mounts to prevent the wood from absorbing fuel. Now, 35 years later, that hull has no cracks.

 

The epoxy also acts something like the inner layer on a double planked hull. It provides support for the planks between bulkheads. On earlier models I had some problems with planks bending between bulkheads when under pressure from sanding. This can make it difficult to get a really smooth surface without edges of one plank rising above the neighbor a bit. With the epoxy gluing everything together this cannot happen.

Edited yesterday at 03:57 PM by Dr PR