Shenandoah by @macbride - Corel - first build

[@macbride]

Scale 1:50, 1864 (my first wooden boat kit!)

[@macbride]

With excitement & trepidation... here I go! So thankful for this site as a resource!

 

First thing is that the keel is not perfectly straight. Not terrible but not perfect. As the keel & hull come together will this get straightened out during the process, or is there something I can do now to straighten it?

 

I got this kit on eBay & it looks & smells like it's been in an attic neglected for a few decades...

 

Thanks!

 

Andy

[@macbride]

Better view of keel

[@macbride]

Doing some prep work: shaped the bow fillers w my Dremel. The instructions had me puzzled but thankfully Steve's build log shows how it's done- thanks Steve!

 

http://modelshipworld.com/index.php?/topic/5319-shenandoah-by-sgraham-corel-scale-150-american-civil-war-era-cutter-1864/

 

Broke one of the extensions (the left one), but a little glue put things right! Lesson learned!!

[SGraham]

Hi Andy, I'm really glad to see you got your build log up and running.  I'll definitely be following along. If we can get one more member to post a Shenandoah log, we'll have a fleet.

 

The false keel in my kit was warped too. I have a luthier's bending iron. It's basically an aluminum pipe that gets hot. I didn't get the keel wet or anything. I just held it up to the iron where the keel was curved and applied pressure in the opposite direction of the warp. It didn't take long at all for it to straighten out. You could probably get the same effect with a curling iron set on high and clamped to your workbench. I've bent relatively thick pieces of wood before with a propane torch clamped to the bench, blowing into a length of copper pipe. I've also seen people use a soldering iron with steel wool wraped around the tip, stuffed inside a copper pipe. When you drop water onto the pipe and it dances right off, then it's hot enough to bend.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Steve

[dgbot]

Another thing I have tried is a good oldfashioned steam iron and a couple of c clamps not as fancy but a little less hurting on the pocket book

David B

[SGraham]

Even better!

 

Steve

[@macbride]

Steve, can you enlighten me on this: (from Framework section)

 

"Then "taper" frames No. 3-6 toward bow & No. 7-10 toward stern, and shape elements No. 13 with care as illustrated

using the contours of frame No. 10 and the deck No. 12 as reference."

 

I am having a hard time understanding what to taper & where...

 

Also: can u comment on the hieroglyphs on plate 5???

 

Thank you in advance!

 

Andy

[dgbot]

Basically what you are doing is fairing the hull and prepping  it for planking.  Take strip of wood and place it across the bulkheads and bend it aroun three to four of them.  If the edge of the bulkheads.  Then take a thin strip of wood and put some sandpaper on and proceed to sand down the edges doing 3 to 4 bulkheads at a time.  Use the plank to check your progress.  When you are finshed the plank and the bulkheads should stay in contact through out the hull. be careful and do not take off too much you could potentially make the hull asymerical. a little at a time.

David B

[SGraham]

Andy, I'll just add a little to David's explanation. The frames intersect with the false keel at right angles, right? The outside edges of the frames are square in shape. The planking has to curve nicely with the shape of the hull. It can't do that if it's attached to squared-off frame ends. You'd end up with big ugly lumps under the planking. The contour of the hull sides doesn'trun parallel with the false keel. If it did, the boat would be shaped like a box. That's why you have to sand the outside edges of the frames so that their angle matches the curve of the hull at that point.

 

Look at post #21 in my build log. That's where I'm trying to follow the same directions David gave you. Use a flexible stick so it can bend around 3-4 frames at a time.

 

I'll answer your question about the directions later--gotta run and teach a class.

 

Steve

[@macbride]

David & Steve,

Thanks so much! That makes sense!!!

 

Andy

[SGraham]

Andy, which letter section on Plate 5 are you wondering about?

 

Steve

[@macbride]

Steve,

Both A and the 2 bits below it, which in my pic are on top center & right.

 

Andy

[@macbride]

Moving ahead cautiously....

[@macbride]

Not sure why the pics I add get rotated sometimes...

:-(

[SGraham]

Looking great, Andy. How's the kink in the keel?

 

Steve

[SGraham]

Hi again Andy. Figure A on Plate 5 is showing you the way Corel recommends that you fair the outer edges of the frames. I think David's idea of a flexible batten with sandpaper glued to it is more effective. I tried it and it went very quickly. Like he says, though, watch out not to take off too much. I did and had to replace it in places.

 

The two hieroglyphs below letter A  are a bird's eye view of the frame ends bearing the numbers next to them. "16" is a bird's eye view of the planking that goes below the bulwark (2 strakes only) (see figure B, #16). Look carefully at the dotted lines on the ends of the frames in the figure. They are showing you the approximate angle you'll need to bevel the frame ends at to get the planking to run smoothly against them.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Steve

[@macbride]

Steve,

Yes - that makes sense & helps a ton!  I got the keel straightened out with some

pressure & a good old clothes iron.  Still not perfect but improved.

 

Thank you again for the help!!

 

TGIF!

 

Andy

[dgbot]

One of the things you can do to finish straightening out your keel is to put it in a keel clamp and then put in the bulkheads.  Once the bulkheads are squared up fill in the space with a wood like bass ,aspen or pine. Insuring that everything si square and your keel will not warp.

David B

[@macbride]

Help! I've got the deck tentatively attached, but I'm doubting what to do.

Several of the frames curve lower as they go from the center to the lateral

edge. If I secure the deck to those frames it will definitely not be level.

Note the gap between what looks to me to be a level deck and a curved

frame...

Do I put a bit of filler wood in these gaps, or do I follow the frames?

 

Thanks!!!

 

Andy

[SGraham]

Hi Andy, What you're noticing is the camber in the deck. It's supposed to be like that. The tops of the frames are radiused--high in the middle to lower at the edges. This is to simulate the deck beams--the crossways pieces that hold up the deck. They are radiused like this to direct water to the edges where the scuppers are so it can drain off the deck rather keep sloshing around. It's the same reason they put a crown in the middle of a road to shed rainwater. Go ahead and glue the deck to the frame tops.

 

Keep at it; you're ship is looking great.

 

Steve

[@macbride]

Thanks once again, Steve!! My lack of boat knowledge is no doubt showing big time, but I'm learning a lot as I go!

Did you use the tiny nails in the kit? If so, what instrument(s) do you use to place said tiny nails?

 

Meanwhile, I finally got the standup paddle board kit I ordered last month!!! I hope to have it ready for my teenage

kids to use this summer, so I will be dividing my time between the Shenandoah & the "Kaholo"!!!

 

http://www.clcboats.com/shop/boats/surf_boats/kaholo-stand-up-paddleboard.html

 

It wont be long before winter turns into a beautiful Iowa summer!!!

Edited February 23, 2014 by @macbride

[SGraham]

The paddleboard sounds like a lot of fun to build. Your kids will have a blast with it I'm sure. I love paddling, but I do mine in an old folbot. Do you live on that lake?

 

Yes, use the little brass nails to nail down the deck--with glue too, of course. I use a tweezers to hold them and a small tack hammer to pound them in. Holding the nails with needlenose pliers works too. When your deck is installed, you'll like the look of the cambered deck.

 

Steve

[dgbot]

To make things easier for score the back of the false deck a few time and this will make it rasier to lay the deck down

David B

[@macbride]

Steve & David,

Thanks once again! Without MSW & your input, this would be a total turkey...

 

Andy

[@macbride]

Progress!!

 

After holding the deck in place with pins

 

 

I removed them & used a surgical "tissue pick-up" to insert the tiny nails. No hammering was necessary thanks to the hole the pins had made.

 

 

This successfully brought the deck into contact with the frames!

 

 

After the deck was secured with nails I glued all of the seams. A very satisfying bit o progress!

 

Now I'm reading up on planking & feeling very intimidated...

 

Andy

[@macbride]

Baby steps: transom now attached after much more reshaping of #13 deck supports than I'd have guessed.

 

 

 

Also experimenting with plank bender with some success:

 

 

 

So nice to see progress!!! Very satisfying.

 

Andy

[dgbot]

Keep up the good work.    Something I have done when I am bending I wou;d just  multple planks is to make a fixture and after soaking put the planks in it.  The next day they would be ready to go.

David B

[SGraham]

Hi Andy, Did you bring that surgical tissue pick up home from work? The cutter is looking real good. I especially like how you've beveled the frames. That from-above shot of the bulwark bent along the frames shows the beveling nicely. Your ship is really coming along.

 

Steve

[@macbride]

Second bulwark now adapted & drying!

 

(note snow falling outside!!!)

 

Found a cool set of 12 mini files at garretwade.com

 

. $30 including standard shipping. I will comment on quality when I get them.

 

Meanwhile, also progressing with standup paddle board!!!

 

 

Fiberglass fabric applied to okoume plywood deck with epoxy...

 

 

This is actually far easier than the model boat!! Mainly, the quality of the instructions is far, far better.

 

 

 

Andy