HM Schooner Ballahoo by egkb - FINISHED - Caldercraft - 1:64 Scale - First Proper Wood Build

[Edwardkenway]

Hi again Eamonn, your fair cracking on now!😉

How's the new shipyard now that you've had a bit of time to settle in??

I'm looking forward to seeing Ballahoo in all her glory.

Cheers 😁👍

[Mr. Hornblower]

I have been reading through this build from the beginning and must say that you have done a wonderful job so far!  She definitely appears an elegant vessel.

I too, am looking forward to seeing her in commission.  Go Ballahoos!

 

Cheerio,

Caleb

[egkb]

Hi Ed & Caleb .. Thanks for looking in (and all ye Likes Folks too) always appreciated ..

 

Ed.. The Shipyard is brilliant (still a bit of a tip I'm afraid.. think of it as organised chaos ) I don't yet have a natural home for everything but I kinda now know where everything I need for Rigging is located (Karen looks at it all in despair ☺️) so the days of hunting around for a clamp or No.11 Blade etc., are over (famous last words right there) 😐😉  I might actually take and post a photo of it later, just to give ye all a laugh ☺️

 

Caleb .. Yea, I do like her lines (even though I understand the 'real' vessel in her day was liable to Gripe.. think I read that somewhere a while back, so possible a tad over powered in the fore part in certain conditions, else her shape didn't lend itself to easy handling on the tiller.)  Kinda looking forward to seeing her commissioned myself too 😂

 

Take Care Folks And Thanks Again For The Comments & Likes

 

Eamonn

 

P.S.  Still no Anchor Stock Banding Material from Delivery Dudes .. Fingers Crossed For Next Week ..   E

[egkb]

Ed.. This is for you (prepare yourself 😁 )  'Warts 'n All' as they say ..  Ballahoo is hiding (in shame, under A4 copies of her Plans.. To keep dust off) in the window, open on my desk is my current research material The Global Schooner, to the right is my Epson Scanner and Computer set up ( used for Photo Shop 'proper ' work 🙄 ) on the scanner is my Serving Machine which saw a lot of action this past few days .. As you can see it is very cluttered due to basic stuff not having a proper home yet and if I store them in boxes I'll forget about them.. sooo I leave everything in view .. Excuse Excuse 😇 

 

Oh.. as a matter of interest to some folks, in the Purple paper bag, top right on shelf, are Original pieces of timber from Asgard (very historic yacht over here in Ireland) Tarragona (Local sailing ship broken up in 1940's) and timber from Asgard II (Arklow Built Irish Sail Training Vessel lost in Bay Of Biscay a short time ago)  I may incorporate some pieces into my builds.

 

All The Very Best

 

Eamonn @ Untidy Shipyards Ltd.,  😷

 

[bruce d]

On 3/7/2020 at 5:46 PM, egkb said:

One of the main things I learned here is to just get stuck into a build and not to over-think it toooo much (by all means research what you are trying to achieve but don't let doubts bog you down or stop you from making the first cut ) 

Have you been looking through my windows?

 

[egkb]

Hey Bruce ..  Yup, tis easy to over think the first cut ... kinda easy to over think all the other stuff too to be honest 🙄 how many years am I doing Ballahoo ?? 😉

 

E

[Edwardkenway]

Eamonn that is a very nice shipyard, I'm very jealous  oh well I'll just go back to my tiny corner of the spare room 😥😂

I expect great things to come out of @ untidyshipyards😁😁

You and yours stay safe👍

[Mr. Hornblower]

23 hours ago, egkb said:

Yea, I do like her lines (even though I understand the 'real' vessel in her day was liable to Gripe.. think I read that somewhere a while back, so possible a tad over powered in the fore part in certain conditions, else her shape didn't lend itself to easy handling on the tiller.)

Eamonn, you are right about the Ballahoo's handling.  The extra weight of the carronades on deck also attributed greatly to their terrible balance and often had to be stowed below.  

William James wrote rather scathingly of their sailing characteristics.... "Their very appearance as "men of war" raised a laugh at the expense of the projector.  Many officers refused to take the command of them.  Others gave a decided preference to some vessels built at the same yard, to be employed as water-tanks at Jamaica. Moreover, when sent forth to cruise against the enemies of England....these "king's schooners" were found to sail wretchedly, and proved so crank and unseaworthy, that almost every one of them that escaped capture went to the bottom with the unfortunate men on board." 

A most sad conclusion for such a fine looking vessel.  Still the Ballahoo makes a brilliant model  

 

Cheerio, 

Caleb

Edited April 5, 2020 by Mr. Hornblower

[egkb]

Hey There Caleb, what a brilliant post!  Tis great to hear a bit more history of these wee craft,  recently I happened on a print of one (Google Images I think) which shows her as more of a Topsail Schooner w/t Jib-Boom and an overall look more akin to Pickle !  I'll post it below if I can find it .. 

If you have any further info re these craft I would love to read it !  I haven't seen that William James piece before ..

 

I'll go take a looksie for that image..

 

All The Best

 

Eamonn

 

P.S. .. Found it ..  She looks significantly different (Masting/Spars wise) to the Ballahoo build as per Caldercraft (which may have been simplified in fairness) and may explain why they were difficult to handle.. sure is a lot of canvas in a short & wide boat,  modern racing boats would be proud of that lot 😉

 

Edit .. Title of Print : The 18 gun Sloop Of War HMS Bermuda (1805) escorted by Ballahoo class schooner HMS Mullet (1807) of 4 guns Both Bermuda built of Bermuda Cedar by Derick Foster

Edited April 5, 2020 by egkb
Title Of Print

[Mr. Hornblower]

Eamonn,

Great piece of art, thanks.

The Ballahoo class was an attempt by the Admiralty to harness the expertise of the Burmudian shipbuilders, who were renowned for their fast sailing craft, the Burmuda sloops in particular.  The Admiralty ordered twelve vessels on June 23, 1804 and a further six on December 11, 1805.  They were all constructed from Bermuda cedar, which was durable and light and it did not require seasoning.  It was highly resistant to rot and marine borers, giving the ships a potential lifespan of twenty years, even in the worm infested waters of the Caribbean and Chesapeake.  

Ballahoo herself was launched in January 1804, by Goodrich & Co. Bermuda, and commissioned under Lieutenant William Shepheard.  On August 4, 1807, Ballahoo, under the command of Lieutenant Murray, with the schooner Laura (10), captured the French letter of marque Le Rhone of six 6 pounder guns and twenty-six men.

Ballahoo, now under Lieutenant Norfolk King, was captured by the 5 gun American privateer Perry on April 29, 1814.  The chase took about an hour and the fight lasted ten minutes.  At the time of capture, Ballahoo had two of her carronades stowed below and a reduced crew of thirteen.  

There, some brief information on Ballahoo and her service.  I hope it is useful, and if not, interesting at least  

 

Cheerio,

Caleb

 

P.S. Sorry to highjack the thread!

Edited April 6, 2020 by Mr. Hornblower

[egkb]

And another brilliant Post Caleb, great to have our boat 'fleshed out' some more.. never a worry re Hi-Jacking this Ballahoo Build Log with info on the 'wee beastie' herself ☺️

Keep it coming.. 😉

 

All The Best Mate

 

Eamonn

[Mr. Hornblower]

I'm glad to keep it coming.... just a little more, eh?

I don't know if you have seen these before, but here are the original plans for the Ballahoo class, in particular the HM Schooner Haddock (1805).

When, may I ask, was that painting completed?  As far as I was aware, the Ballahoo's were not tops'l schooners, but then I don't think there are any original illustrations showing the masts, so it is a matter open for debate

I think all the relevant specifications of the vessel are on the plans, but let me know if they are difficult to read and I will post them.

 

Cheerio,

Caleb

 

 

Edited April 6, 2020 by Mr. Hornblower

[JayCub]

nice work Eamonn, and great rapport...really nice workshop you have going on also, i like the print you posted along with some really tidy work on the Ballahoo..

 

Tom

[egkb]

Hi Again Caleb.. Not sure when the painting was done (must do a wee bit of Googling) I have a copy of the Plans (the bottom one in your post above) from NMM in Greenwich, when The Ballier is complete I'm going to display her with the plan framed behind .. I have seen some nice displays where the other kind of plan (your top one) was incorporated into the display itself (scaled to the model size and the model 'sitting' on it, so to speak) and very snazzy it looked !

 

Welcome Back Tom .. Thanks for dropping by and fibbing about my Workshop   I really do need to clean it up (LOL) 

 

All The Best Guys (And Thanks For The Likes Folks)

 

Eamonn

[egkb]

+++++++ Newsflash +++++++

 

The Anchor Stock Banding Material finally arrived    in short is is Heat Shrink ! (Got the idea from Blue Ensign on his Alert Build ) so out with the knife, heat gun and away I went..  am kinda pleased with the result !

I also blackened some copper wire (also gave them a domed head by rolling a blunt knife along the wire to cut it ) and drilled holes for them in the stocks ..  Stocks got a light coat of Wipe On Poly too.. 

 

Next up - Anchor Rings !

 

All The Best Folks

 

Eamonn

[egkb]

Further ..  I'm currently getting on with the Anchor Rings, Pudding and the Seizing ..  Both Rings are done and installed, and waiting for the glue to dry (gave the first one a coat of Dilute PVA to set things) ..  I have 2 more lots of Seizing to do (near the Anchor Shank) on this one.. Then attach the Anchor Cable ..  Hopefully tomorrow should see both finished  

The pudding Rope looks slightly overscale but I'm happy with it (Rope is 0.4mm)..I tried the next Rope size down (0.3mm) but it looked way too light ..  In context of the whole Anchor it looks fine ! Honest .. 😇

 

Thanks For Dropping In Folks and for the Likes .. 

 

Eamonn 

 

[egkb]

And One Down One To Go ..

 

All The Best Folks

 

Eamonn

 

 

[Edwardkenway]

Very nice Eamonn, looks great😁👍

[jwvolz]

The anchor looks very nice Eamonn. 

[egkb]

Hi Edward & Joe ..  Thanks for stopping by and taking a looksie, I have only just completed the 2nd anchor a few moments ago (Not that I broke the Ring whilst applying too much pressure to the puddning ,or anything.. If that's what you think ... ... 😇🙄😉 am waaay tooo careful to let that happen..  ahem ahem cough cough)   

 

Am away now to nip over to both your Build Logs (Can't believe I missed both Benjamin & Winchelsea ! )

 

Thanks Again Guys and Thanks also the all the Likes!

 

Eamonn

PS Didn't think I needed to post a photo of the 2nd Anchor cos, you know, it kinda looks like the first one... 🙃

[Retired guy]

Wow very nice work Eamonn would not have thought of using heat shrink, rope work looks brilliant too 👍

 

Regards

Richard

[Dr PR]

In response to Caleb's question about the topsail schooner rig, I have been investigating schooner rigs for a while now. There was a lot of experimentation in the early 1800s with different rigs. I have found mention (and drawings/paintings) of a few vessels that had simple fore/aft rigs at one time and topsail rigs at another. Some just had the topsail, and some had topgallants, and some had lower and upper topsails. Some of the larger schooners had royals.

 

Although the "typical" topsail schooner had square sails on the fore mast only, some carried spars for a topsail, topgallant and/or royal on the main mast.  Ships designed for square sails on the fore mast only typically - but not always - had a foremast that was larger diameter than the main mast. Gaff topsails were common on the main (aftermost) mast, but not always raised - it depended upon the winds and seas. Some had a gaff topsail on the fore mast and some had staysails between the masts. And there were bonnets, drubblers, studding sails and ringtails that were occasionally hung on to "standard" rigs.

 

To further complicate things, the "typical" topsail schooners often carried a main sail that was only rigged when conditions were right - as in the painting in post #766. The same is true for topsail schooners with square sails on the main mast. So, if a two mast topsail schooner was carrying a full square sail rig on both masts, why wasn't it a brig? And if a brig wasn't flying the fore-course and main-course square sails was it a topsail schooner?

 

So the same hull might show quite different sail rigs from time to time, depending upon the whim of the captain/master/owner, the job to be done, and the size and abilities of the crew.

 

I haven't yet figured out exactly what defined the "types" of these chameleon ships, other than what the original sail/spar rig was when the ships were built.

Edited April 24, 2020 by Dr PR

[egkb]

Hi Phil .. Thanks for dropping by and for the info .. Sure was a lot of sail/spar combos available to the intrepid Master in those days..   Re what defined the chameleon ships, your guess is as good as mine as various 'Hermaphrodite' rigs were evident at times but they were still either Schooners or Brigs or Brigantines etc   For Instance the Irish National Sail Training vessel Asgard II was called a Brigantine, but was more accurately a Hermaphrodite Brig (This was first pointed out to me by my Father, who sailed on working local Schooners as a very young man, I guess Brigantine was easier in the tongue) even the Builders (about 100 Mtrs from me) called her a Brigantine ..  We can't even say it depended on Mast Height's as some Brigs have very tall single spar Mizzen Masts, so the location of Square Sails may give some clue .. But even then !!   Yup Confusing For Sure    Could be similar to the case of difference between a Ship and a Boat, which weirdly I never had a problem with, until I heard someone a while back call his very small yacht a 'Ship' ! ..  yet the best difference I can come up with is You Can Put A Boat Onto A Ship But Not A Ship Onto A Boat .. in other words perhaps it's as simple as You would Know One When You Saw One..  Helpful eh?  

 

Holy Moly the more I think about this the less clear it becomes lol ..   

 

All The Very Best Phil & Thanks to all the Likes for taking the time to drop by too !

 

Eamonn  ..  at Ship/Boat/Floaty Thing or Whatever Builders .. (Have to go for a lie-down now)

 

 

[SardonicMeow]

14 hours ago, Dr PR said:

So the same hull might show quite different sail rigs from time to time, depending upon the whim of the captain/master/owner, the job to be done, and the size and abilities of the crew.

That's my understanding too.  The exact arrangement of sails at any particular time would depend on what the Captain (or, more accurately for a schooner, the Lieutenant) would feel appropriate for the conditions.  Topmasts and topsails with their associated yards would be raised and used, or lowered and stored as needed.

 

[egkb]

Hey There Peter, welcome to my wee Ballahoo Build ...

 

Agreed, and wouldn't it make for some interesting times, rousing out various spars and sails only to strike them soon after weather depending, finding space in so small a hull would only add to the 'enjoyment' I'm sure 😐 😉

 

Thanks Again For Popping By

 

All The Very Best

 

Eamonn

[egkb]

Hi Folks ..  Well I have the Anchors pretty much completed (possibly only a bit of tidying up to do)

 

I did some research on the proper 'Knot/Bend/Hitch' to use and went with the Anchor Hitch/Bend (also called in some places The Fisherman's Bend amongst other names)  which is used on smaller Anchors (which of course Ballahoo's is)

 

Next up I shall put the Anchors in place and make up an Anchor Buoy and it's line ..

 

All The Best Folks

 

Eamonn

[Dowmer]

Nice job with the anchors Eamonn!  You're whole build is beautifully executed. 

[Beef Wellington]

They look great Eamonn, well done.  How did you do the puddening around the anchor loop (esp. starting and finishing), need to get to that myself but can't quite get my head around it....everyone else seems to get it done without a problem.

[egkb]

Hey There Dowmer & Jason..  Many thanks for the kind words ! 

 

Jason the Puddening was started off by Threading the 'rope' through a needle  (approx 18'' worth) I didn't make a knot at the ring (feared it may leave a 'lump', and as there was seizing going there I didn't want it being too prominent) so I laid the rope on the ring, at the shank, and fixed with a dab of CA, then proceeded to wrap the rest around and around, stopping every 2 or 3 turns to tighten and make sure of neatness.  The last turn was also CA'd in place, then onto the seizing, a light coat of Dilute PVA over all and that was it !  Simples    (what could possibly go wrong lol)

 

All The Best

 

Eamonn

 

Thanks for all the Likes too folks  

[Mr. Hornblower]

A fine pair of anchors, indeed, Eamonn!  The detail is incredible, just like the real thing, eh?

Keep up the excellent work.

 

Cheerio,

Caleb