Maine three-masted schooner by Bedford - 1:54 - RADIO

[fnkershner]

I am going to suggest that the real reason you took these pictures outside was to tease us northerners that it is just coming into summer down under!

 

Very nice looking work by the way

[popeye the sailor]

sturdy looking frame Steve.......very well done!

[Bedford]

I am going to suggest that the real reason you took these pictures outside was to tease us northerners that it is just coming into summer down under!

 

Very nice looking work by the way

You got me !

 

It is a great time of year to sit outside with a nice cold drink and a handful of sandpaper and frame parts.

 

Popeye, I am going for strong because I am from the old school of thinking where it is better to over engineer than under.

 

Steve

[Bedford]

Not much to see after hours and hours working on it but I have now got all the ribs seated properly and by marking the centre line on the deck section of the ribs and laying a plank along the deck I am able to make sure all the ribs are vertical, centred and the line of the deck flows properly.

 

 

This is my home made building stand. It was never intended for ships of this size.

 

 

It should suffice !!

 

 

Only problem is the clamping screws and stop screws which keep the jaws vertical are only 25mm long which is normally more than enough but they are just long enought to hold the bare keel but I am going to create a rabbet by attaching 1.5mm planks onto the keel, this will make it 13mm wide so it's off the the hardware store AGAIN !!

 

[Jim Lad]

Looking good, mate!  Buy some extra long screws in case the next one is even bigger.

 

John

[augie]

Looking good and straight from here !

[Shazmira]

More, more, more Steve!!!

[Bedford]

Steady on girl, I'm human and do have other things to do

There is so much thought going into every step because I have to be sure I do everything I need to before continuing, ie I have to work out where and how the prop shafts and sailing keel will mount before I do any planking. These ribs are 10mm thick too so fairing them is going to take quite a bit of effort and time.

Besides, this weekend I am getting away from 1:54 scale and taking on 1:1 I am going to Sydney to sail on the "James Craig"

 

She is a Barque so fore and main are square rigged and the mizzen is gaff rigged, I will be paying particular attention to how they employ the mizzen sails so I can learn how to sail this when it is finished.

 

That's not the only reason for going though 

 

Here is a link to pics I have posted of the James Craig, check again after the weekend, there should be a few more interesting ones

 

http://modelshipworld.com/index.php?/topic/4078-james-craig-sydney-australia/#entry115816

Edited November 14, 2013 by Bedford

[mtaylor]

Steve,

 

Have a great trip!  It sound like a great adventure!

[Jim Lad]

A days sailing on the Craig!  Lucky you!

 

John

[michael mott]

Steve, the frames and keel  look really solid.

 

Michael

[Bedford]

The next step is to fit stringers along each side, one low and one for the deck to sit on. They will stiffen her up quite well I think.

 

I am in Sydney, staying at Darling Harbour so I just have a walk to the James Craig in the morning and I went and had a look at her tonight. She is uplit through the masts and rigging and looks beautiful. Sorry, no camera.

 

I paced her out and she is about 55 - 56 metres along the deck and my schooner is about the same in scale. I had a feeling they were the same size ships. This means tomorrows voyage should be very helpfull from what size the anchors are to the size of the shrouds, dead eyes and everything. I wish I had a note pad to take with me.

 

Steve

[augie]

Have a great adventure!

[Shazmira]

Steve, look for a notepad in the drawers at the hotel room...rooms in the states usually have one.

[Bedford]

Yeah Robbyn I thought of that and I found one and put it where I wouldn't forget it.............and went without it

 

I did get a fair bit of stuff to use and because I understand it I remember it.

 

A little side point. They were talking about the names of the sails as you go up the mast. No-one knew what the one above the t'gallant is called, except for me, "Royal"

 

It is too late at night for me to post the pics but I will soon I promise.

 

Steve

[Bedford]

I have had my voyage and made my way home. It was a great experience and my inner thighs are still sore from trying to walk on the surging deck!

 

Lessons have been learned inspite of the fact that the mizzen sails were not used at all.

 

I now know that I need smaller anchors and the correct style is readily available, that's good news.

 

I learned how to tie things off in a later style especially the shroud lanyards. I also learned the lay of the running rigging, ie which ropes go where. I guess you could say I learned the ropes as it were.

 

However I also learned that I have to re-think how I was plannning to operate the sails. The topsails and stay sails on the model will stay as I had planned because it is reasonably correct given practical considerations. The main sails however need a 90 degree rethink, literally. I was planing on lowering the jibs and sails as I have seen on tv and in pictures over the years, this had it's own set of problems I was going to have to overcome. The mizzen sail on the James Craig is retracted like a curtain, ie the jib stays at its set height and the sail is drawn in towards the mast rather than down towards the boom.

 

This should solve a lot of the problems that I saw coming however I have to recalculate the rope movements etc. Must get onto that.

 

This shows the top corner of the sail in the retracted position and how it is drawn out.

 

 

This shows one of the lines that are attached to the sail horizontally and the pulley it runs through to draw the sail in to the mast.

 

 

 

 

 

[Bedford]

Some progress, not a lot to look at though.

 

First, I hooked up my dremel to the prop shaft to see how much water she will push. At about 5000 rpm there was not a lot of thrust but at 15 it was like a speed boat. I am thinking that my reduction gearbox motors are going to be way too slow so I will try removing the gearboxes or something once I have the hull sealed and can float her.

 

 

Upper and lower stringers fitted and veneer to outside edge of keel attached. Next step is to add the veneers to the sides of the keel to create the rabbet.

 

 

[Yambo]

Right, my first request for input.

 

We all know what the inside is going to look like, a keel down the middle and ribs spaced along it, when planked there will be a void between each rib either side of the keel which I will need to be able to drain bilge water from.

 

If I drill holes in each rib to allow flow I then have to go to great lengths to make sure they are sealed completely to stop water getting into the ply and it will weaken the structure, if they are right at the bottom to allow all water to drain out then there will be nothing solid for the bottom planks to attach to.

 

 

 

 

From my own experience of working on full size boats, the best way to deal with any hole is to 'drill, fill and drill again'. That is, drill a hole, fill it with thickened epoxy and then drill through that (when it's set!) for the fixing. Done properly you'll leave a thin coating of epoxy around the circumference of the hole which seals the wood.

[Bedford]

Thanks Yambo !

Simple, effective. Brilliant !

 

Steve

[Shazmira]

Sorry Steve, much beyond my expertise to even offer a thought on a fix, but I am glad you found someone who knows. Looking forward to more pics of progress, I don't have to fully understand the concept of an RV boat to appreciate the beauty of an exceptional build.

[Bedford]

Love that link, thanks.

If I am not mistaken they are under power for at least some of the clip so I am glad I decided to put power in mine.

 

I had a slight mishap with one of the prop shafts today, I was running it in the sink with the dremmel and forgot it was on a high speed, when I turned it on I didn't have hold of the shaft very well and now I have a bent prop shaft. Only a little but enough to cause vibration so I will order another one when I order my new anchors.

Edited November 25, 2013 by Bedford

[Jim Lad]

Steve,

 

Good to hear that you had a great day on the 'Craig'.  The only problem with your 'revelation' on the 'Craig's' mizzen, is that schooners generally didn't have standing gaffs like most barques, but hoisting gaffs.

 

John

[Bedford]

Ah so you are saying that I was right in the first place?

I hate when I second guess myself.

[Jim Lad]

Don't worry, Steve, I do that all the time!

 

John

[Bedford]

Be vewy vewy quiet, we are hunting wabets !

 

I have finally done the rabets by planking the outside of the keel. This brings the keel thickness to 13mm which the plan calls for but there will also be a thin layer of fibreglass over it.

 

I have been agonising over where to mount the prop shafts etc but have decided that while it is unplanked I won't be able to see where they need to go and will focus too much on how they will sit with the ribs so I have decided to plank first and then see exactly where they need to go and then deal with the ribs. I do need to build mast seats and sailing keel mounts before planking though.

 

 

 

 

This is the result of a mishap while swinging it around to work on the other side. The stringer hit a small vice and broke. Note to self, LOOK FIRST.

 

 

 

 

 

[Jim Lad]

Follow the advice of the notice on the 'Vampire's' bridge, Steve - "Look astern before you turn".

 

John

[Bedford]

Yeah, good words those, it was astern too, that is the mizzen mast section.

 

Working on simple mast seats now but I have to stop because there is grass to be mown.

[popeye the sailor]

looking very nice Steve......those rabbits are really cool!   once planked,  hopefully you won't have to drill through a rib structure to do the prop tubes.......there isn't much room to work with.

[captainbob]

As an ex RC sailor I'm enjoying your build.  She's looking fine.

 

Bob

[Bedford]

Popeye I have a long 6mm drill bit so I should be able to handle the ribs where ever the tubes need to run. I may need to make some infill blocks to fill areas that might be hard to drill because of angles and proximity to edges but between the drill bit and the dremel I shouldn't have too much trouble.

 

There might be an interesting pic later today......