SY Aurora (1876) by Techo - 1:80 scale - diorama

[Tecko]

I am not aware of any detailed plans for this ship, except for the information provided below.

Stem to stern (s-s) length is 50m (165'). A good scale for me is 1:80, making the s-s length 625mm.

Other than these plans, the rest of the ship's dimensions will have to be transposed from photographs.

 

This will be my first scratch build ship. It would be easier if I had more detailed plans and cross-sections.

However, I can avoid a lot of guesswork by not including the hull below the water line _ hence the diorama. Having the ship in water.

The idea came to me when I saw this small photo of the SY Aurora. I was instantly mesmerised by it. At first, not quite sure why. Then I realised the reflection of the ship in the water.

 Here is an ideal use for a mirror and a grey (cold) backdrop for a display case.

I am still working on the Hms Beagle, and later, the SS Endurance. However, the SY Aurora is invisibly tied to the Endurance. I could not build the Endurance without the Aurora.

So, in saying this, this scratch build will more likely start much further down the track. But in the meantime, I will be adding bits of information to this thread in preparation for the actual build.

[Tecko]

A book arrived today, The Home of the Blizzard.  I found the above (top) plans in here, as well as this one...

This book also covers the history of the ship (Chapter 18: The Ship's Story from Captain Davis's Narratives), which I have not yet read.

Edited January 24 by Tecko

[Tecko]

According to resources, the ship was built in Scotland, and they would have been using imperial measurements. So, instead of a 50m base, I am going to use the 165 feet (stem to stern) by 30 feet (beam) as the base measurement. 165' = 50292mm, and 30' = 9144mm

 

The plans I do have are slightly different from one another. I scaled both plans to 2500 px = 165 feet. In this case, the beam ought to be (2500px/165') x 30'=454.5 px. Both plans fall short, or in other words, both beams are too narrow. I am going to widen the beam to 455 px (114mm). So, the plan is to build a ship to 1:80 scale, or (165' x 12 x 25.4) / 80 = 628.65mm. Since the whole thing is an estimation, I will make it 630mm (stem to stern). The waterline to the stem deck is about 230px (58mm). Hence, I need to carve a ship from a 630 x 144 x 58mm block/sandwich of wood.

 

Other deck items have different sizes. I have trouble understanding how plans of the late 19th century can be out of whack. 

Anyway, I will do what I can without going overboard and drowning in my own confusion. 

[Tecko]

I resized the deck width to 455 px. These are the master plans I will be using for building the ship. All the following scale conversions will be based on these plans.