Lettie G. Howard schooner by Cap'n'Bob - 1:48 POB - Finished

[themadchemist]

As I struggle with the deadeye wrap and chain connection I have grown a whole new appreciation for yours and others. What thickness of brass is your strap and what gauge of wire? I think I may have to do some re-engineering in my construct.

 

My graduate advisor on day told me while I was griping about my effort leading to dead ends - "That's why they call it RE-search, know one gets it on the first search.... so you re-search, then re-research......."  Joe was the master of sarcasm and motivation.

 

I never am so amazed as by the tasks that look easy in pictures, but in practice are not so easy to achieve. So far my scrap bin is now 2 scrap bins and I'm still working on figuring out metal work. The soldering of metal work is so different from my prior experience of wiring where appearance isn't as important as function.

[captainbob]

Thanks Elia. The old saying, “Try, try again.” does finally work.

 

Keith, yes it looks good but I’m not sure it’s right.  This is what I did.  I start by making my own deadeyes which I think are too thick at 2 mm (my lathe is calibrated in mm) and have flat faces.  This allowed me to use the .020”, or 1” scale, brass that I had on hand.  I don’t know how thick the edge groove is in purchased deadeyes. You might have to go down to .015” or even .010” brass which would be more to scale.

 

Bob

[pete48]

It was nice to get caught up on this build log. Beautiful work Bob Hats off

[JesseLee]

Your chain plate work has got me thinking too. I will soon be at that stage of my build & I'm not so sure I want to do it the way my kit shows to do it.

[captainbob]

Thanks Pete.  Nice to have you around.

 

Jesse, that’s why I like this forum, I’m always picking up ideas for my boats.

 

Bob

[captainbob]

Michael you asked, way back in #170 <, if I was going to be adding any support at the edges where the planks but up to the cover board.  The answer turned out to be yes and no.  In most cases the deck beams were sufficient support but at the master beam the planks were so short I had to put in little pieces for support. 

 

Anyway now the deck is finished and I can move on to deck furniture, masting and rigging. 

 

Bob

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[russ]

Very nice. I like the deck planking and the paint work. I think the master beam looks fine.

 

Russ

[Jim Lad]

That looks really good, Bob!

 

John

[Elia]

Bob,

 

Your Lettie decking and rails look great. I really like the inner transom planking, the deck planking, the sweep of the main and monkey rails around the transom, the buffalo chocks, and the grub beam. Did you scrape or sand the deck planking? It looks very smooth.

 

Nicely done! I look forward to seeing the deck furniture take shape.

 

Elia

 

PS this build log is one of my few 'first stops' when catching up at MSW - I always enjoy seeing your progress.

[michael mott]

Bob thanks for the update, things are looking very shipshape.

 

Michael

[pete48]

looks great Bob, Fantastic work , she's comming together nicely. Beautifull hull and deck

 

Pete

[popeye the sailor]

she looks good Bob.....the deck looks very clean

[captainbob]

Russ, John, Elia, Michael, Pete, Popeye, Thanks to all of you and to the likes.

 

In my attempt to get the deck as smooth I planed, scraped, and sanded, probably no special order, I did them all several times.  I think sanding was the last.

 

Bob

[russ]

Bob:

I scraped the deck on my schooner. It came out so well, I did not anything else. Very lucky that.

 

Russ

[themadchemist]

I agree, you can't beat a nicely rolled scraper. I just invested in a burnisher  as previously I just used a round file neck to burnish my scrapers. A sharp freshly burnished scraper and no sand paper required.

 

I also like the decking. Its clean and sharp and adds a lot. Its always amazing to me how each major step changes the look of the build so much. She will look completely different with deck furniture in place. As I struggle through each new step of my DSotM build, I have come to appreciate the speed and hand-made quality of a Cap'n'Bob original. You make everything look so easy, seems experience away causes that illusion to the learner.

[captainbob]

Russ, Keith,

 

Thanks for looking in and for the help.  If I used harder wood scraping alone would probably work, but the deck is bass wood and the scraper occasionally grabs the grain and tears out chunks.  Or maybe it is just that the scraper is not sharp enough.

 

Bob

[russ]

I use a single edged razor blade. Keep the blade just at a slight angle to the surface and let the cutting edge do the work.

 

Russ

[captainbob]

Thanks, Russ.

 

Bob

[themadchemist]

Burnishing a scraper is an art-form and I'm still a novice at getting a nicely rolled edge. Granted some woods don't scrap as well as others, but like using a plane, scraping works best with the grain. With the grain on a planked deck isn't always something that is possible due to the many planks of varying grain.

Pre-burnishing also required filing all 3 sides square for a good start. The burnisher is then  pushed down the edge so the edge slightly rolls. even pressure is important so that an even bur forms. That's probably the hardest part to master.

 

We used scrapers back in my butcher shop days for scraping cutting blocks. It was always my job to put an edge on them. For most cases a single blade razor works well and makes a great substitute. I do like the Ogee or schmoo scrapers as their convex shape make scraping ship hulls fun.

 

I got my set at Lee Valley and love them.

The curved set - http://www.leevalley.com/US/Wood/page.aspx?p=32639&cat=1,310,41069&ap=1

the mini set - http://www.leevalley.com/US/Wood/page.aspx?p=32672&cat=1,310,41069&ap=1

[captainbob]

Thanks Keith, now I have something else to learn. 

 

Bob

[dgbot]

Razors work great. I havealso used the little paint scraper by Red Devil.

David B

[captainbob]

David thanks for the information.

 

Lawrence I think I’d be after them too at least to find out what the hold-up is.  I also want to see that schooner come together.

 

Bob

[captainbob]

I need help.

 

For most of her life the Lettie G. Howard sailed in the Gulf of Mexico fishing for mackerel.  She would have had a seine boat with her to set the nets.  I would like to build a seine boat to mount with her, but so far I have not been able to find plans.  Any help would be appreciated.  

 

Bob

[russ]

Bob:

Whereabouts was she homeported in the Gulf? That city might have a local archives where you can get some help.

 

The only seine boat in American Small Sailing Craft is an Albemarle seine boat from North Carolina.

 

Russ

[captainbob]

Russ,

 

When HAER got the boat they took a lot of pictures of its condition at that time and they made very detailed drawings, again in the condition at that time.  But they are an engineering group and did not say anything about its history.  What history I have found is very limited.  I had forgotten about “American Small Sailing Craft”.  I was going to get a copy years ago and the other things got in the way and I never did.  I guess I’ll get it now.  

 

Bob

[themadchemist]

I've been slowly acquiring Chapelle's collection of books and they are really worth the price. The American fishing Schooners has been a VERY handy purchase.

 

If your not in a hurry ebay is a great source to set up auto searches with email alerts. I've acquired 6 of his 9 that way and paid from 0.99 cent to $12.99, which happened to be American Small Sailing Craft. Amazon in the used section sometimes has pretty decent pricing also and standard S&H.

 

Looks like $22.29 plus S&H is cheapest on amazon ATM

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0393031438/ref=tmm_other_meta_binding_used_olp_sr?ie=UTF8&condition=used&sr=8-2&qid=1399655466

 

for the ebay search, if your registered with them go to the below search link and click the follow this search button at the top. Check mark the box for emails and you will get emails when new sales go up, especially the cheap buy it now purchases before someone else does. This is how I've picked up most of my books and affordable prices. It's kind like fishing, patience is required, but its fun when a book on my list comes along at just the right price.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trksid=p2047675.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.XAmerican+Small+Sailing+Craft+-+Chapelle&_nkw=American+Small+Sailing+Craft+-+Chapelle&_sacat=0&_from=R40

[russ]

Bob:

Let me do some looking this afternoon. I can come up with a few things to help your search.

 

Russ

[Dee_Dee]

Bob, 

 

I'll rescan this in higher detail and send to you.  

 

 

Dee Dee

Edited May 9, 2014 by Dee_Dee

[russ]

Bob:
The Lettie G. Howard, official number 141261, was listed as homeported at Pensacola as early as 1904. She was recorded abandoned in that vicinity in 1923.

 

Russ

Edited May 9, 2014 by russ

[captainbob]

Keith got it coming. This will make six of his books that I have and I agree they’re very useful.

 

Dee Dee and Keith your research is great. Thanks.

 

Bob