Niagara 1813 by Don Quixote - Model Shipways - 1:64 - First build

[rfolsom]

Yes, I rebuilt my '64 Olds 394 (The last year for that size) when I was 15.  Pulled an old Rochester 4 bbl carb and manifold off a junked vehicle to rebuild.  Not alot of custom parts available for that engine in 1983. (No Eldelbrock manifolds), even the Rochester was an old 4gc(?) completely different profile from the quadrajet, so no Holly plate adapters. Had to have a hi-perf cam custom ground  by Chet Herbert.  Sent valve covers into Lincoln Plating to have them chromed, plus the stock thermostat housing (aluminum) for polishing.  Nothing was available for this engine.

 

Anyhow, I don't follow that hobby anymore, (My Jeep is sitting waiting for a fuel pump, and I just do not want to work on it).

 

But, as hard as it was to find parts for the 394, I think a ship build is 10+ times harder than rebuilding an engine!

[Laxet]

The reason I used battens was since this was my first ship, I figured I would use them as a guide I could follow to keep me from straying too far from the plan. It's basically breaking a big project & breaking it down into smaller tasks. It's not so overwhelming that way.

[Don Quixote]

 

I think a ship build is 10+ times harder than rebuilding an engine!

Amen! 3 months tops to build that engine. I got this ship for Christmas.

[Don Quixote]

I agree. On a ship like this with so many different sizes of the planking and as a novice, it not only breaks it down to a manageable project, but helped me identify fairing issues I thought I had dealt with. Later when I get bigger ball-"bearing"s I might take more liberties.

[Don Quixote]

I sure do appreciate the support around here. It's interesting to see my log build, but it's also gratifying to see the interest grow. Not sure what I love more, building the ship or the camaraderie. HA! Building the ship, don't flatter yourselves.

[Laxet]

Well! I'll just take my ball & go home.

[Don Quixote]

 

Well! I'll just take my ball & go home

LOL!

[Don Quixote]

I like this better!

[Don Quixote]

See page one to see how bad I trashed the transoms. They were WAY off outta the kit and I didn't think of adding/subtracting to make them work, so thinking I could resurrect my balsa wood talents of my youth, I made my own. bad idea, BAD idea!

 

So all things considered, I'm happy with the way things turned out here.

Edited August 16, 2014 by JustBlowinInTheWind

[Laxet]

Beautiful job on the battens! They look perfect now.that should make your planking much easier now.

[Don Quixote]

Thank you very much. I have a little fairing to do yet, but I'm looking forward to planking. I understand it can be tedious. I can't imagine that. Challenging, yes, it seems to me that each plank must be a project unto itself. 

 

But I gotta tell ya'. Flower Mound Texas? I think of Dallas, cowboys, cattle, BEEF! Flowers? Flower Mound? I live in Central California and even MY neighborhood is called Bridle Ridge! 

[Laxet]

We moved here a year ago from Orange County, Calif (Cypress). 3 miles from Knotts Berry Farm & 7 miles from Disneyland. We even have a mound the flowers grow on here, that gave the town its name. Wifey picked it. We are just outside of Dallas. We live on a golf course called Bridlewood. And we don't even golf!

 

Yeehaw!

[Don Quixote]

 

They look perfect now.that should make your planking much easier now.

Sometimes I manage to learn from others mistakes. Other time I learn from a good illustration.

[Don Quixote]

These planks are only 3/32" and over (various) distances I have to half that. I can't hold nor can I figure out how to clamp the straight edge. Took a couple of larger strips of bass wood I found at the hobby store and some strips I thought good for this job and made the jig. Problem, I need 12 planks, total and the're all different lenghts. So my jig is much longer than needed. I place plank one, the end that needs to be the smallest is to the far left of the jig. This piece is the shortest. I can set the plank tight in the jig and the taper in size runs the correct distance.

 

Do that again for the other side. Next piece is longer but the taper needs to be the same. Now I don't know how much wood I've taken off by sanding on the jig. Is it even straight any more? So I take a layer of skin off using the table saw and move the plank farther to the right to get my width back. I use a clamp to hold the right most of the plank at the height I need to mantain my taper.

 

Dunno if you can see the vertical taper. I heard it help with the "klinker" effect. Certainly doesn't do a thing for my 99 GMC Sierra "klunker".

[Don Quixote]

Oh yeah... The piece that goes at an agle to get the taper I need? I sanded that a little so the planks can be "pinched" in the vice.

[Laxet]

I'll tell you how I did this. I drew the line on the plank. Then I carved/shaved the plank with an Xacto knife. When it was close, I used a file to smooth it out & bring it to the line. I did all of this under a 5 diopter Luxo magnifier light. I tried doing just what you're doing, but it was just way to hard to do so I gave up & went back to my way, which isn't really so bad. It took me five minutes to ten minutes (depending on the plank) to lay out, carve, finish & attach a plank. I averaged two complete strakes a day working about two hours.

[Laxet]

I will reiterate I did not taper the plank top to bottom, but it would have just taken a swipe of the file to finish.

[Don Quixote]

Just how did you hold the plank in place? At 3/32", it's so bloody flexible.That's where my mind is stuck at. Or should I say I can't get past?

 

Planking so far...

[Don Quixote]

 

I welcome change. But I prefer bills.

I think there's something kinky going on in my mail box. I get 1 or 2 bills, a couple magazines I never asked for, and suddenly I have more bills than I can afford.

 

And so far the hull is fare. Fair? Some of the planks just didn't lay down right. Perhaps because I'm tapering vertically. Nothing a little wood filler won't cure.

[rfolsom]

You really don't need a jig, because each pair of planks are different.  The best you can hope for is fabricating one pair at a time (port and starboard) and even these are different because they are mirror images of one another.  I would taper the twins first, then bevel them to form a trapezoidal cross-section.  This square to trapezoid deviation becomes more pronounced when the radius of curvature of the hull decreases.

[Laxet]

I didn't even do mine in pairs because they were so different. Says a lot about my skill, huh? One at a time. I just held the plank, but not exactly where I was filing. Back a little. And the files I used were jewelers files in case I didn't mention that before. I found the plank to be quite rigid.

[Don Quixote]

Thanks. I'm doing one strake on one side, then the same strake on the other. I think for the next band, I'll do the whole band on one side and see if I learn anything that I can use on the other.

 

I'm enjoying this. Just think. I expect rigging will make planking look like childs play.

[Don Quixote]

 

I would taper the twins first, then bevel them to form a trapezoidal cross-section.  This square to trapezoid deviation becomes more pronounced when the radius of curvature of the hull decreases.

So THAT'S what they mean by "over my head". I thought you said tap, not taper, which I did during their overpass. I be-deviled the sextants with a booby trap to sit the twins a head of the foremast, but we had a lot of fun on the trapezoid, until their boring old dad found out I'm a deviant, and pronounced me come - not within a radius of the dangerous and hairy cross-sections, lest the curviture of my ever expanding belly suddenly decrease... At the expense of my life span.

 

I seriously appreciate the support, but I'm still trying to remember which side they store the port on.

Edited September 5, 2014 by JustBlowinInTheWind

[rfolsom]

I'm not as experienced with this as many; but one thing I know, is "do one side, then turn it around, and do the other";  I do this with with deck planking, hull planking, coppering...

 

It's a hell of an SOB to spend two months planking and coppering one side of the ship happily, and turn it around to find your work pulled the keel out of whack...

Edited September 4, 2014 by rfolsom

[Don Quixote]

Since it's my first ship, I'm sure I'm not up to getting too technical. I'll be happy if their are no major bumps or bulges, and I have enough wood to finish the job. There is a HELL of a lot of information here and out there that is just too much for this "old" man to take in. A little at a time, please, 'ya know?

 

Thanks!

[rfolsom]

What you do to one side, do to the other, in small increments, and remember each plank is a project unto itself... ( You can't torque the lower bolts of a Chevy head and then tighten the upper ones, right?.. warped head...  Same principle with these models....

[Laxet]

Better too much info than too too little, which is where I was for years & years. At least you have the option to select which info you want to glean, a little at a time to suit your skill building. It's an enviable dilemma.

[Don Quixote]

 

LOL! It's a double edged sword, for me... Truth be told, I survived the 80's. Well, actually, I did some serious brain cell population control from the late 70's to 01/01/1999. Rather a variety of substances can be abused, too.
 

Now I'm on a whole new set of drugs for manic depression. Think maybe there's a relationship there, somewhere? I stole my dads favorite saying. Of all the things I've lost, I miss my mind the most. A while back, for a reason I can't remember, I decided to do some long division. Or try at least. I failed. I then asked google. It had the answer, but I still couldn't figure it out. I'm a retired network engineer. I retired because I can't keep up with all the changes anymore. I'm only 51.
 

Watch this. Stuff I've used for 30 years... 10111011.10011010.0010111.01100000 is binary for an Internet Protocol address of 187.154.23.96. This I can do in my head. Base 16 math. Ffec48 = 16,722,168. That I can do on paper. And takes me a while:) 768 / 3? long division on paper? forget it. Like I say. Even after googling. Brain is no longer absorbent.

 

I SERIOUSLY appreciate the advice and suggestions and yep, I pick and choose. And screw it up and enjoy it.

[Don Quixote]

Another fine mess I've gotten myself into

[Don Quixote]

 

So, here's the current state. LOT more filler than I'd have liked but I learned a lot. Going to sand it next. Start with 150, then 220, 320, 400, then 600. I think I'll sand it with 400 and 600 between coats of paint too.

 

Any suggestions on whether or not I should put some kind of coating over the paint to protect it? Urethane or something?

 

How does one know where the water line should be? I'm not seeing it on the plans.

 

Like what the Admiral made me? No, their not riveted into the refrigerator, the rivets hold the Velcro to the material. Too heavy otherwise.

 

I bet you thought I gave up! Nope. MAJOR remodel project. Complete renovation of the kitchen, made it larger went from tile counters to granite, new counter and cupboards... Major problems with a broken water pipe THE DAY after I finished putting in the laminate floor. Wasn't going to do the 800 sq' of floor again, so I hired a contractor with the insurance money. (Came out $3500 ahead on it) MAJOR problem with him. I found something called Luxury Vinyl Tile. Long strips and looks exactly like wood. Impervious to water, REAL hard to scratch, It's only been out a couple years, but the contractor said he'd installed it many a times.

 

It was a nice day here in California so I had all the windows open in the house and was in the garage, when I heard the apprentice telling his boss, “you KNOW that's not how it's done! You KNOW you start in a corner!” Uh oh... Even I know that... I go inside and the apprentice (herein known as “the kid”) is laying on his belly over the counter, trying to lay a strip next to the counter. The entire living room floor was covered with glue. The pieces were not straight and there were gaps in the strips. I used some 4 letter words, grabbed a set of instructions that had been tossed aside and read out loud, “This is a floating floor, it is not meant to be glued down. Start in a corner at your left and lay the boards going right” ...etc.

 

We argued a bit, me telling him he's fired, him telling me he needs to be paid for what he'd done so far, me telling him he'd pay the cost of clean up and any difference if the next contractor cost more, me telling him I intended to report him to the licensing board. Which I did. His quote was for $4500. The kid said he'd do it for $2000. I figured I could supervise, it's not rocket science and he obviously knew what he was about.

 

He did a fantastic job! Even did a great job on the baseboard which can be a bear here in California because all the corners are rounded. Another $2500 in our pocket. The kid is smart. I've had him cleaning gutters, fixing our privacy fence, staining our deck... We have a neighborhood web site I mentioned him on, saying he's qualified to do a lot of different projects. He's been hired several times by neighbors.

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