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

[TBlack]

I got an idea! If no one knew what you were looking for, you could have found anything on the bottom and claimed victory. Sort of like my Naval experience. But that’s another story!

[Dr PR]

While many of my fellow Americans are having nachos and beer while watching dumjoks chase rubber balls (which I find boring) on New Years Day I have been working on the fiddly bits on the hull while waiting for some boxwood to arrive to make the stern frame around the propeller and rudder.

 

Older wooden sailing ships rarely had deliberate openings in the hulls below the waterline, so there is nothing there to model. But steam and diesel powered vessels have a variety of hull openings, or seachests, that do give us something to model. The original MSI hull had 13 openings (Austin Cox told me he added another for new accommodations). Some were intakes for taking in sea water and the others were various overboard discharges.

 

The intakes for engine cooling water and fire pumps are the most interesting.

 

 

The openings were surrounded by 3 5/8 inch (92 mm) thick wooden "plows" that were tapered fore and aft to facilitate water flow. An odd thing about these is that they were beveled around the edges with the widest dimensions on the surface away from the hull planking, and not mating to the planking. They were "upside down" trapezoids with the narrow side against the hull plating (see Section "3-BI" above). I'm sure there was some reason for this, but it just seems odd to me.

 

Here is how I made these seachests (see photo below). The plows should be 0.078 inch (1.98 mm) thick at 1:48 scale. I don't have any stock that thick (but some a lot thicker) so they were made of 1/16 inch (1.59 mm) thick basswood with 1/32 inch 0.79 mm) thick plywood glued to the back side. That comes out to 0.94 inch (2.38 mm) thick, so I will have to sand them down a bit.

 

The plywood serves a double purpose. The smaller plow has a large hole for the seachest grating that comes close to the sides. While trying to cut out the opening the basswood piece broke. But with the plywood glued to the back the pieces came together again and I was able to finish the opening.

 

The gratings were cut from very fine HO scale (1:87) brass vent screens for the sides of a GMC F3 diesel engine that I just happened to have in my scrap box. As you can see from the blueprint the grating actually had a series of long, narrow parallel openings, but at 1:48 they would be difficult to create with photo etch.

 

The grating was spot soldered to the end of a 9/32 inch (7.14 mm) outside diameter brass tube ring, and that was soldered into a short piece of 5/16 inch (7.94 mm) OD brass tube. These assemblies were pressed into the holes in the wood.

 

 

I drilled small holes into the hull about equal to the scale inside diameter of the piping in the original ships, and then used a counter sink bit to make the openings conical, as shown in the blueprints.

 

After the plows were glued in place on the hull I painted the inside if the recess black, and then glued the grating assemblies into the holes in the plows. I used Duco Cement because I have found it adheres to both wood and metal.

 

If you look closely you will see that I did not bevel the edges of the plows undercut as shown in the blueprints. I think this would make the exposed edges of the basswood vulnerable to damage. And in most circumstances these seachests won't even be visible! Why ask for trouble?

 

 

The remaining 10 seachests were ordinary pipes with flanges attached to the outside of the hull planking.

 

There were six different sizes on the ships, but I don't have a wide enough variety of brass tubing to make them all. Using commercial "telescoping" brass tubing I could make four sizes that are close to scale to the originals.

 

For some I soldered two concentric rings around the end of the center tube to make wide flanges, and some had just one ring for narrower flanges. These were then turned in an electric drill and ground down with files to a flange thickness of about 0.020 - 0.023 inches (0.51 - 0.58 mm).

 

Some of this tubing has been in my junk box for decades and is heavily oxidized and scratched. However, this doesn't matter because only the outer face of the flange will be visible after the seachests are in place.

 

 

Here are some photos of these seachests mounted in the hull.

 

 

There is a bit of dust in the openings - I will need to clear that before the hull is painted. But before that the flanges will be filed/sanded a bit thinner to a scale thickness of 1/2 inch (12.7 mm), or 0.01 inch (0.26 mm) at 1:48. All of the seachests will be painted when I get around to that.

 

That is about all of the hull detail below the main deck except for the stern frame. I won't have the boxwood for that for a week or two. So I guess now I will have to guzzle beer and munch nachos while watching a movie.

 

And I will have to start planning the deck house and all of the minesweeping gear that crowds the after deck.

Edited January 7 by Dr PR

[Jim Lad]

Very nice, Phil!

 

John

[KeithAug]

Nice work on all those hull penetrations Phil. It's very nice when the junk box gives up its treasures, somehow it makes all the years of hoarding worthwhile.

[Dr PR]

Oops! Wrong again! I thought there was nothing more to do on the hull until the wood for the stern frame arrived. But I forgot about the bronze stem chafing plate and those wooden lining boards on the hull to protect it from anchors, pigs and such.

 

 

The stem chafing piece is shown in green. I will make it from thin brass sheet. I have several thicknesses in stock, but I think I'll use some 0.005 inch (0.127 mm) pieces in my scrap box. It is pretty easy to work with.

 

The lining boards were a problem. They are not mentioned in the blueprints, so I guess they were added later after wear was appearing on the hull planks. Fortunately I have quite a few photos of the USS Cape MSI-2 and I can see where the linings were located. There was a lot more than I originally thought. The lining planks are shown in red in the drawing above. Note: there seem to be some differences from the linings visible in USS Cove MSI-1 photos.

 

At the bow the linings extended down to the keel - this is evident in the photos Austin Cox sent of the current Cape on blocks. The anchor could bang against the hull here as it was being lowered and raised.

 

From photos of the Cape afloat I can only see the other linings extending down to the boot topping. I am guessing the linings didn't extend much lower because the hull sides curve under at these places and the pigs (floats) wouldn't go very deep. The kites and acoustic sounder could be lowered deeper but would be hanging out over the side. The entire hull did have a thin third outer planking of red oak below the water line and this would provide some protection.

 

I counted the planks in several photos, especially the bow photos, and determined them to be about 4 inches (104 mm) wide. That would be 0.085 inches (2.16 mm) at 1:48 scale. The closest commercially available wood is 3/32 inch (0.094 inch or 2.38 mm) wide. Fortunately, I just ordered 28 feet (8.5 meters) of 3/32 x 1/32 inch boxwood strips. I will need a few feet for trim on the deck house, and the rest was just to replenish stock. Looks like I will have enough for the lining planks!

 

And while looking for drawings of the chafing piece and linings I found one showing 12" x 6" x 1 1/4" (304.8 x 152.4 x 31.75 mm) zinc bars at places on the hull. I knew about the zincs on the stern frame and rudder. But there are two zincs on the "plow" for the engine and fire water intakes! A bit more detail to add.

Edited January 2 by Dr PR

[Dr PR]

I cut the stem bands from some 0.003 inch (0.76 mm) brass sheet. The metal can be cut with scissors and is easy to shape. But first I needed to decide what the shape would be.

 

 

 

 

 

Here is the blueprint showing the outline of the stem bands. There are side pieces on either side of the stem. You can follow the vertical left side from the top outline down through the planking detail (red line) to where this edge meets the curvature of the stem.

 

From there it only shows a dashed line down to the keel foot. It shows a curved top end where it turns down to the foot.

 

Notice also the upper stem band, the narrow stem band along the forward edge of the stem, and the lower stem band at the bottom. I have already installed the narrow band along the front of the stem. I will need to add the upper and lower pieces after the side bands have been shaped.

 

One other thing to notice is the cross section "V" shapes of the stem. This will become relevant in the discussion below.

 

 

 

The first problem was the shape of the lower end. Austin Cox's photos show a squared off aft end of the side bands. He thinks these bronze pieces are original material.

 

I decided to go with what is shown in the photo of the real hull and put a squared off aft end to the side bands. The drawing (below) shows the dimensions (in inches) of the side pieces. However, when I cut out the pieces I left some extra material on the forward edges. This makes the exact positioning while gluing less precise. The extra will be removed after the side bands are glued in place.

 

 

First I cut out a paper test piece and fitted it to the hull. I expected to have to make some adjustments to fit the model hull, but the paper part fit perfectly!

 

I scratched the inner surfaces of the brass with number 80 sand paper to provide some "tooth" for the glue to adhere to. Then I shaped the pieces to fit the form of the hull (above).

 

I used Duco Cement (a solution of nitrocellulose in acetone) to attach the brass pieces to the hull.  That was a mistake! I have used this glue to attach small brass pieces to wood and it works nicely. But these larger parts had problems.

 

But first I had to hold the parts in place while the glue set - that takes several minutes. When I tried to apply the clamps shown in the photo that "V" shaped front of the stem caused the clamps to slip on the smooth brass surface and pop off the front edge. And they also squeezed the strip, causing it to slip on the wet glue and slide out of place.

 

So I was constantly picking up clamps and putting them back on, while I also pushed the brass strips back into position. As fast as I replaced one clamp another popped off. It was like the Whack-A-Mole game!

 

I eventually found a set of positions where the clamps would stay in place and could relax. I let the glue set overnight, and then removed the clamps. But when I tried shaping the leading edge to remove the extra material the brass strips pulled loose! To make matters worse, one of the brass pieces was damaged while trying to hold things together!!

 

Arrrggghhhhh!

 

To be honest, I thought there was a "small" chance of this happening. I wasn't certain that the Duco Cement was the best choice. So had thought about another option.

 

Plan B

 

When in doubt, use Epoxy! I scraped the glue from the brass pieces and the wooden hull. Then I made another brass piece, and it actually came out better than the first after forming it to fit the hull. They say practice makes perfect.

 

Then mixed up some 15 minute Epoxy. I coated the inner surface of one piece and the mating surface on the hull with thin coats of epoxy and stuck them together. The epoxy was thick enough to hold the brass piece in place while I tried to attach the clamps. The camp at the top - where the hull surfaces are parallel - went on easily. The same is true at the bottom aft end of the piece. But once again it was Whack-A-Mole with the remaining clamps.

 

But this time it was easier. The epoxy was quite messy and I got some on the outer surface of the brass piece when it squeezed out between the parts. The epoxy was much stickier than the Duco Cement, and it actually retarded the slipping of the clamps. The longer it set the stickier it got, and it was trying to glue the clamps to the brass. They still slipped slowly, and I could watch them slipping closer and closer to the leading edge of the stem. So I could catch them when they snapped off and reposition them immediately. After 10-15 minutes they were all holding in place. A couple hours later I repeated the process with the other side.

 

 

 

Persistence pays off and I now have brass stem bands on the model. The epoxy did a much better job of gluing brass to wood and the parts do not want to pull apart!

 

I did have to scrape, file and sand off quite a bit of the epoxy that had squeezed from between the pieces. Then I used files to smooth some small wrinkles and bumps in the brass. That was followed by fine grit sandpaper and #0000 steel wool.

 

I will allow it to set over night, and then I will file back the extra material on the leading edge to match the narrow brass strip on the front edge of the stem.

 

I'll add the top and bottom stem band pieces after that and it will be ready for the anchor lining strips at the bow.

 

There is a very complex shape for the bow chock that fits on top of the stem. Right now I don't know how I will make that. But if carving the the stern frame from boxwood turns out OK I may also carve the bow chock and the other chocks from boxwood.

 

If all else fails I can make a 3D CAD model and 3D print them. But I am really trying to avoid using 3D printed materials because I do not know how stable they will be in the long run.

Edited January 6 by Dr PR

[Jim Lad]

Epoxy is always my fall back option when i have something difficult to glue!

 

That bow is looking good, Phil.

 

John

[Dr PR]

John,

 

Thanks.

 

I have relearned that lesson!

 

Epoxy is a bit more trouble to mix, and certainly less spontaneous than just grabbing a tube of whatever happens to be lying around. But it would have been quicker to use the epoxy in the first place!

Edited January 15 by Dr PR

[Dr PR]

I think the stem bands are finally done! These things took a lot longer than I thought they would (primarily because I used the wrong glue)!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I originally planned to install the strip that runs down the front of the stem as three pieces, as shown in the blueprints. But I decided to make it a single piece.

 

I had already glued on the narrow strip between the top and bottom pieces. It served as a guide when I was removing wood to create the "V" shaped stem. I pulled it off and then shaped the stem a bit to accept a single piece.

 

The new piece was wider at the bottom where the stem tapers from the wider keel to the narrow "V" shape at the bow. It is also wider at the top where the stem is rectangular in cross section. Between these sections it is a narrow strip of constant width.

 

I don't know how many hours I fiddled with this piece! I had to file it down a bit, try to install it so see if it fit, file some more, etc. But it did come out quite nice. Not perfect, but nice. I didn't get it shaped perfectly where the top rectangular part tapers to the narrow strip. You can see the epoxy that fills the gaps here. But it will eventually be painted something like haze gray so it doesn't matter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While I was waiting for the epoxy to harden on the stem bands I installed the hull zincs at the engine cooling and fire system water intakes. After the hull is painted I will paint these something like a zinc color.

 

Now I think the hull is pretty complete except for the stern frame and painting. I am waiting for the boxwood to arrive for the stern frame.

Edited January 7 by Dr PR

[Jim Lad]

That stem band was well worth the time and trouble, Phil.

 

John

[Dr PR]

John,

 

Thanks.

[Rick310]

Really looks good!

Rick

[Dr PR]

I want to make many of the parts for this build out of brass. I like working with brass and I have been soldering things since I was a kid.  I plan to make many of the pieces with photo etching. Here are some of the parts that I needed to use 3D CAD to design.

 

 

 

 

 

This is a "visor" or sun shade that fits above the front windows of the pilot house.

 

Because of the multiple angles involved the three major surfaces are trapezoids. The two smaller pieces are the supports that fit under the upper surfaces.

 

I wouldn't be too much trouble to make these by trial and error since I have the blueprints for the visor. But 3D CAD lets me determine the exact shapes, and photo etch will produce parts that will fit together precisely.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This "venturi" is a much more complicated structure. It catches air blowing against the bulwark around the open bridge and literally funnels it up between the inner and outer surfaces. The openings at the bottom are larger than the openings at the top, so the air is compressed, and therefore accelerated. The resulting stream of air is forced upward over the bulwark. This rising column of air intersects the wind blowing from ahead and deflects it upward.

 

I was amazed to see this really work!  I have stood on the open bridge in a driving rain storm and for a few feet behind the bulwark no rain blew on me - it was all blown up and over by the blast of air from the venturi!

 

The three different front surfaces are shown in red after they have been flattened. These are the pieces that will be photo etched. There also are 15 of the support pieces like the one shown in dark grey. All I will have to do is figure out how to solder all of these things together into a complete venturi!

 

The  most complex part so far is the funnel. The lower part is a truncated elliptical cone. The funnel cap is another truncated elliptical cone with skewed axes.

 

 

The actual shapes of the funnel and cap are shown at left in grey. The unfolded flat surfaces are shown in red. There is no way I could ever have figured this out by trial and error! There are a few more flat pieces that are not shown, and I will modify the unfolded funnel piece to include some vent openings in the aft side.

 

I love 3D geometry and figuring out all of these things is one of the reason I wanted to make this model. This isn't the first funnel that I have "flattened" in 3D to determine the surfaces. I did this many years ago for the funnels on my USS Oklahoma City CLG-5 model. That was the initial learning curve.

 

I photo etched the 1:96 scale CLG parts at home - with mixed results that I am not satisfied with. I don't want to mess with it this time. Now I just need to find a photo etch supplier to make the parts. 

Edited January 12 by Dr PR

[Jim Lad]

This looks like it's going to be a fun part of the build.

 

John

[Dr PR]

I realized that there were a few tweaks I needed to make to the visor and venturi to account for some odd angles in the superstructure. I started modelling the superstructure in 3D CAD so I could adjust the venturi.

 

 

The visor fit without modification, but I had to angle the side pieces of the venturi to match the tops of the bulwark. The angles are non-intuitive. The blueprint doesn't give any dimensions for the heights of the side bulwarks, but just says the angle of the tops matches the sheer of the main deck. The bulwark section between the front and sides is angled at 30 degrees, and the outboard end determines the height of the bulwark side piece. The top of the bulwark side is parallel to the sheer of the main deck at the centerline. Try figuring that out on paper!

 

After taking all of this into account the height and shape of the after side bulwarks, with the circular and elliptical curved top edges, came out just as the blueprints show them. I must have done something right!

 

 

Another reason for the CAD model is determining the sizes of the wooden pieces I will use to build the model. I don't have a thickness sander or milling machine, so I must use parts that are available commercially. When I scale the dimensions shown on the blueprints to 1:48 the dimensions do not match anything I can buy. What you see in the CAD model is made up of pieces sized to commercially available parts that are the closest I can get to the scale pieces. Generally the differences between the scale dimensions and what I can buy are in the range of 0.010 to 0.015 inch (0.25 to 0.38 mm). That won't be noticeable on a 28 inch (711.2 mm) long model.

 

By the time I get all of the minesweeping gear and other deck fittings figured out I will just about have a complete CAD model of the ship.

Edited January 14 by Dr PR

[Jim Lad]

You're doing some great work on those design elements, Phil.

 

John

[TBlack]

Phil,

I'm in awe of your ability to do 3-D CAD. I can see where it greatly simplifies manufacture. I imagine that after having modelled the cruiser, this is duck soup.

Tom

[Dr PR]

Tom,

 

Yes and no. It has been a while (2018?) since I last did any 3D CAD modeling. I think that was the gun carriages for the schooner build. So at first when I started  working on the venturi drawings I had to think a bit to get going. But then I realized that I didn't have to think about how to use the CAD program. I have been using the same program since 1988, and my hands are programmed - like a professional typist or a violinist. I just had to think about what I wanted to do and it happened!

 

Of course, sometimes what I wanted to do wasn't right and I had to start over. But at least the mistakes came naturally!

[Dr PR]

I have received the boxwood sheet that I needed for the stern frame. Here are the first steps for creating this piece.

 

 

The piece cut from the 5/16 inch (7.9 mm) boxwood sheet nicely with the scroll saw. Now I will finish the carving with knives and files. This will take a while!

[Dr PR]

This is part of the blueprint for the stern frame.
 

 

 

 

The original piece was an aluminum bronze casting. I would have liked to make it of brass, but I don't have the tools to do a good job. I have the tools and a fair amount of experience carving wood so I decided to give that a try.

 

The nice thing about this drawing is it shows a lot of the cross sections, and that tells how to remove material from the piece.

 

The casting had  a "foot" projecting forward of the base that fit into a cutout in the keel. I have omitted this foot and cut the piece straight on the forward edge.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have never worked with Castello boxwood before so this was a learning experience. It is a relatively hard wood with fine grain. Growth rings are evident, but there was no noticeable difference in carving the darker and lighter parts. It carved easily with no chipping or splinters, and holds a fine edge.

 

The first thing to do was clean up the rough cut piece and trim to near the lines. I also glued paper outlines of the top, bottom and ends to show where wood needed to be removed. Then I used rasps and files to cut away the unwanted wood until I had  a piece of the approximate shape.

 

I completed most of the work in an afternoon. The part shown here is still a bit oversized on all surfaces. I will wait until it is installed on the hull to file and sand the part down to be flush with surfaces on the keel/deadwood.

 

The rudder pivots on the cylindrical part at the end of the long arm. The wide upper part will be shaped to fit flush with the hull planking.

 

 

 

I took the advice of bdgiantman2 and got the five blade propeller from Bluejacket Shipcrafters.  It is slightly oversized but fits easily in the opening formed by the stern frame. That was a LOT easier than designing a propeller in CAD and then 3D printing it!

 

I plan to use a 1/8 inch (3.175 mm) wooden dowel as the propeller shaft. Epoxy will glue the prop to the shaft.

 

I will use the hole in the stern frame as a template to drill a hole into the keel/deadwood of the hull. The wooden prop shaft will also serve as a pin to help hold the stern frame in place.

 

Now I need to fit the piece to he hull.

Edited February 4 by Dr PR

[Jim Lad]

Lovely job, Phil!

 

John

[Dr PR]

Thanks John! But here is something lovelier ...

 

 

I have been test fitting the stern frame and I drilled the hole for the prop shaft. I started with a small diameter drill and carefully made the hole through the piece. Then I used successively larger drills to expand the hole to 1/8 inch (3.175 mm). Then I clamped the frame onto the hull and drilled the hole for the prop shaft into the keel/piece. To do this I made short pieces of  0.0925 inch (2.34 mm) and  0.125 inch (3.175 mm) diameter brass tubing. The one slips inside the other, and they fit inside the 1/8 inch diameter hole for the prop shaft in the stern frame. Then I used a 1/16 inch (1.59 mm) drill to start the hole - it just fits inside the smaller diameter brass tube. This produced a pilot hole in the keel piece aligned with the prop shaft axis. Then I removed the smaller piece of brass tubing and used a used 3/32 inch (2.38 mm) drill to enlarge the hole. Then the larger piece of brass tube was removed and the hole in the stern frame guided a 1/8 inch drill to finish the hole for the prop shaft.

 

The photo on the right above shows the stern frame fitted over the prop shaft. The prop shaft is a 1/8 inch wood dowel, and it will serve as a peg to align the stern frame to the keel piece and strengthen the bond between the two. The hole in the hull below the arm on the stern frame is for the rudder shaft. The lower end of the rudder shaft will pivot on the arm of the stern frame.

 

 

 

This is what is worth celebrating! I have glued the stern frame onto the hull.

 

I have been dreading this because there are so many opportunities for screwing up! But actually it hasn't been all that bad. The Castello boxwood carved easily and it didn't take as long as I thought it would. And drilling the properly aligned hole for the prop shaft was fairly easy. The biggest hassle was filing down the "foot" of the stern frame that rests on the hull planks. I made it about double thickness and spent a couple hours filing it down to get the right fit on the hull. I guess that was the "worst" part of it all.

 

 

 

The boxwood is pretty strong, but I worry about that long arm of the stern frame hanging out there just waiting for me to drop the hull or bang it against something to break that part. After I have finished shaping the stern frame piece I will clamp some strong pieces of wood along the sides to protect it.

 

Brass would have been a better material for the stern frame but I just don't have the tools to do it correctly and in a reasonable amount of time.

Edited February 13 by Dr PR

[Dr PR]

I have been working on the rudder. It is pretty simple but did require some careful work.

 

 

 

First I cut and glued short pieces of 3/32 inch (2.38 mm) brass tubing into the hole in the hull planks and the hole in the end of the stern frame arm. These serve as bushings for the rudder shaft, and also as reinforcement for the wood in the stern frame arm.

 

The 1/16 inch (1.59 mm) brass rod slip fits into the brass tubing. The rod is the shaft for the rudder to rotate on. After all the work is finished the part at the end that is wrapped in blue tape will be cut off.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The rudder shaft passed through two concentric fairing plates where the shaft opening entered the hull. I cut the two pieces from 0.005 inch (0.127 mm) brass sheet. These were soldered together to make the assembly. The hole in the fairing slipped over the 3/32 inch brass tube and was glued in place with Duco Cement.

 

A thin stainless sheet with a hole slightly larger than the tubing was slipped over the tube. This served as a shield to protect the fairing and hull as the tube was sawed off and the end filed smooth.

 

 

 

 

The rudder was next. Two pieces of 3/32 inch basswood were cut and a groove was filed into each where the rudder shaft should be. They were glued together (Duco Cement) and the glue allowed to harden. Then a series of successively larger drill bits were used to drill out a 3/32 inch hole through the piece.

 

I used a template with the outline of the cross section of the rudder on it to guide sanding the wood into the proper hydrodynamic shape.

 

Then a longer piece of 3/32 inch brass tubing was cut to length to slip fit between the brass bushings in the hull and stern frame. This tube fits through the hole in the rudder and serves as the rudder shaft. But actually the tube just rotates around the 1/16 inch brass rod.

 

 

The tube through the rudder also serves another purpose. It is a tight fit between the bushings in the hull and on the stern frame arm. It will prevent the arm from being bent up and breaking off if it is bumped. Just a bit of insurance!

 

The 3/32 (0.094) inch diameter tube is actually a bit undersized for the scale rudder shaft. It really should be about 0.110 inch (2.79 mm) diameter.  The next larger size brass tubing is 1/8 inch (3.18 mm) and that is a bit oversize. But I think I will cut a short piece to fit over the top end of the rudder shaft and fill the space between the wood and the fairings on the hull.

 

Edited February 8 by Dr PR

[Jim Lad]

Looking good, Phil!

 

John

[Coyote_6]

Very neat metal work.  Nice!

[Dr PR]

I ran into a snag today. The last details on the hull - before I start on the deck and deck house - are the lining boards. I posted this image earlier. It shows the lining boards in red.

 

 

These were to prevent chafing and damage to the hull planking when heavy objects were being lowered or raised over the sides. I could see them in photos, but couldn't find them in the blueprints. I have estimated the width from photos but had no idea what the thickness was. I was planning to use 1/32 x 5/32 inch (0.79 x 4 mm) boxwood strips.

 

But today I was looking through the blueprints once more and found this little detail.

 

The small print at the upper right says" Extend sheathing from worm shoe to  11"-0" above the Base Line throughout ship's length. Extend to Mn. Dk. Guard at following locations ..." And those locations are the areas shown in red in the drawing above!

 

I have known all along that the hull was triple planked with red oak sheathing from just above the waterline to the keel. It was only 3/4 inch (19 mm) thick, and that comes out to be 0.016 inch (0.4 mm) at 1:48 scale. I do have 1/64 inch plywood, but I definitely do not want to try to cut several dozen strips 0.151 inch (3.8 mm) from the plywood!  I haven't been able to find any 1/64 inch wood strips so I decided to omit this detail.

 

This is an example of a problem working with blueprints. That one short bit of text is on a large drawing sheet with dozens of other details. This is the only place in hundreds of MSI blueprints that the extended sheathing (lining boards) is mentioned.

 

Now what do I do?

 

If I put the lining boards on the hull I really should plank the hull again all the way down to the worm shoe! That would cover just about all of the hull that I have spent weeks filing, scraping and sanding nice and smooth! If I leave the lining boards off it won't be a very accurate model, and I will know it!

 

And just to make it interesting the blueprints say to leave a 1/4 inch (5 mm) gap between the sheathing boards. This gap wasn't filled, and that is why the linings look like corduroy cloth in the photos. The gaps between the boards were very visible! The gaps would be 0.005 inch (0.127 mm) at 1:48. I could use 0.005 inch brass strips as spacers while I am gluing the boards in place. But where will I find 1/64 x 5/32 inch wood strips?

 

Arrrgghhhh! I thought I was almost finished with the hull! This is getting to be like McHale's Navy again, and that brings us to another

 

                                                                                                                  Dr Pr's Story Time

 

On one occasion the Cape was sent out ahead of a squadron mine sweeping operation to mark the sweep area. We were pretty much worthless for sweeping mines but we could at least plant a buoy to mark the sweep area.

 

Here you see the crew preparing to drop a Dan Buoy (the orange float around the pole). It had a long pole though the buoy, with a heavy weight suspended on a line from the bottom of the pole. At the top of the pole was a radar corner reflector and a red and yellow "ball."

 

This buoy wasn't made up by the Cape's crew, but was assembled by the Mine Squadron on shore, complete with the anchor line and weight. I suspect they didn't trust us to get it right.

 

I do remember some discussion about the length of the anchor cable, and someone saying that the people who made it knew the water depth, range of the tides and such, and had calculated the necessary length of cable so the buoy wouldn't drift too far away from the anchor point.

 

So we arrived at the sweep area and did multiple visual sightings and radar bearing and ranges to known points on land to be sure we were in the drop spot.

 

The Captain gave the order and the fellows pushed the buoy over the side. It flopped over and floated with the radar reflector in the water! But after a minute or so the buoy suddenly jerked upright in the correct position - and then disappeared under the waves!!

 

The water was pretty clear and we could see the reflector and ball about eight to ten feet (3 meters) below the surface.

 

I may have been a boot ensign with no seafaring experience, but I immediately knew this wasn't right! That reflector wasn't going to be any use because most minesweepers didn't have a sonar.

 

 

The Cape was indeed a special ship, complete with its 3/4 x 7-1/4 inch red oak sheathing planks spaced 1/4 inch apart just to make building a model more difficult!

Edited February 13 by Dr PR

[Jim Lad]

Just how visible would that extra sheathing be at your scale, Phil?  Is is a detail worth tearing your hair out over?

 

John

[Coyote_6]

Phil - whatever you do it will be the right decision.   Based on the accuracy of your Albatros details, I have an inkling of where you might go with this.  Just an awesome project - your stories are investing us all in Cape!  

[FriedClams]

13 hours ago, Dr PR said:

But where will I find 1/64 x 5/32 inch wood strips?

 

 

Phil - S scale is 1:64 so an S scale 1" x 10" is equivalent to 1/64 x 5/32.  Mt Albert Scale Lumber in Canada sells S scale lumber in 16" lengths and is available in bulk pricing (minimum of 50) if you need a bunch.  Scroll down at the link below to see dimensions.

 

https://handlaidtrack.com/product/stb-s-1x10-16/?v=0b3b97fa6688

 

They also sell packages of 6 if you need just a few.

 

https://handlaidtrack.com/product/st-s-1x10-16/?v=0b3b97fa6688

 

Gary

[bdgiantman2]

Phil, glad to hear that my suggestion about the Blue Jacket propeller worked out better than expected.  Your progress on Cape is looking great and this has been fun to follow. As for these strips to make the sheathing, would polystyrene be an acceptable material?? This comes in a variety of thicknesses and widths, so I would think easier to work with than cutting plywood like you were mentioning.

 

Brian D