Dallas by RichardG - Artesania Latina - Scale 1:50 - Early 19th Century US Revenue Cutter

[RichardG]

Phil,

 

I have to say this is source of frustration, the lack of clear information available. Still, unless I do something totally outrageous, nobody can tell me I'm wrong! 

 

The Track

I'm assuming the pivot and ropes provided most of resistance to the gun carriage coming off the tracks during firing. The track was mostly there to stop damage to the deck and to help stop sideways movement when turning the gun. In early railroads the track was sometimes flanged and used non-flanged wheels. I'm embarrassed to say I'd not even realized there was a diagram in Chappelle's book 😧.

 

This picture looks like the track may be a U-shape. 

While in this one, it is clearly "flat".

 

Both of these are later the 1815 of course. I'm going with the "early" U-shape.

 

The Aft Companionway

The hinged arrangement is as shown on the kit plans. I have also seen the sliding arrangement (for example on the cutter Alert). I have not seen the hinged arrangement elsewhere that I can remember. On the French schooner La Jacinthe (1825) which is almost exactly the same size, the picture of the model shows:

I.e. open with just a ladder. The plans show:

Which is described as "Sliding hatch giving access to the ladderway leading down to the wardroom". Where it's going to slide to with the skylight in the way I don't know.

 

The Binnicle

Now there's something else I'd completely forgotten about! I'm assuming this would have been on a small column or table to the side of the companion way. I'll have to do some research. This will be nice additional item to make - so thank you.

 

I look forward to seeing your build progress - I'm copper plating at the moment.

 

All the best,

Richard

 

Edited December 31, 2018 by RichardG

[RichardG]

Coppering the hull

 

I decided a while ago to see if I could add copper to the hull. The original planking was not great. I had 2 concerns, the most important was if I could get it looking reasonably realistic and also, given that I don't like the bright copper, could I get an aged brown color without waiting forever.

 

This is how she looks with the port side about 60% done:

This is a close-up

Each plate is 1/4" x 1". 

 

For the nailing pattern I created a jig. This was very tedious given that there are 29 nails in the top edge and 71 in total. In the close-up they are a little too obvious but from the final viewing distance I think they'll look fine.

 

This is a picture of the coppering from the USS Constitution done in 2017:

The other question was color. The rest of the ship is not weathered but even so I don't want the copper bright and shiny. Just to be inconsistent, I also don't want the patina it would actually take when it's been exposed to salt water. I want that "old penny" look. I know this should happen naturally even under the coating that copper tape generally has. I wasn't sure how long this would take and I want to clean and put on a coat of lacquer to protect it prior to starting masts and rigging. 

 

I purchased a Birchwood Casey Antique Brown gel patina, and tried it out:

It work very well. Was easily washed off with water and didn't effect either wood or paint. However, the natural patina already seems to be occurring within a couple of weeks, so I may not need it.

 

I hope everyone has a great 2019!

 

Richard.

 

[RichardG]

Starboard side is complete. I promised myself to get at least this far over my Christmas break. I'm back to work tomorrow so I'm good.

The jig for the port side plates is already made, so I'm starting that today. Now I've got the hang of it, it should go fairly quickly.

 

New Year's Resolutions:

1. Get more done - this is taking forever!
2. Post more often (see 1.)

All the best,

Richard.

[Dr PR]

Here is another puzzle.

 

I see you have made anchors for your cutter, and it looks like you have pieces for cat heads. But how were the anchors raised, and where was the anchor cable stored?

 

Chapelle's drawings of the Doughty designs show no anchors or cat heads for the 31, 51 or 80 ton cutters - they also had no bulwarks above the main deck. But the 77 ton Morris did have bulwarks with cat heads and apparently anchors and tackles. But no windlass is shown to raise the anchor.

 

The Mantua Albatross kit includes nice anchors and chain, and cat heads. But it has a capstan aft of the main mast, and shows the anchor chains running far back to holes in the main deck midships. Chapelle's drawings of the American privateer Lynx/HMS Musquidobit and HMS Alban show capstans aft of the main mast, and cat heads forward. But they don't show where the anchor cable ran. I'm pretty sure the Mantua kit is modeled after the British schooners.

 

I have read that the revenue cutters were to remain at sea as much as possible and not anchor in port. So maybe they didn't have anchors, but I think I would not be comfortable without having anchors to help ride out storms or to drop hook in port while taking on supplies. You can't always count on finding a berth along side a pier!

 

I have also read that on some of the Baltimore schooners the anchors were raised using tackle rigged to the main spar on the fore mast. One account said the anchors were stowed below decks through a midships hatch.

 

So what do we do with the anchors?

 

I can see that the anchors may have been rigged on the bulwarks and cat heads. Dropping would entail swinging them from the cat head and then releasing them. They could be retrieved with block and tackle rigged from the lowest spar on the fore mast. The cable/chain could have been hoisted lengths at a time until the anchor was raised, and then it could have been stowed again on the railing an cat head.

 

Any thoughts?

 

Phil

Edited February 20, 2019 by Dr PR

[RichardG]

Phil,

Sorry it’s taken a while for me to respond. I wanted to wait until I could find time to reply properly.

 

The reason I have anchors is that they came with the kit! I did redo the stocks though. I don’t have catheads (yet). I would agree that the ship must have had anchors.

 

I find Chapelle’s drawings frustrating in their lack of detail. I’m 100% sure the deck had more stuff! Similarly the plans that came with the kit are missing details. They do have rigging shown but it’s too simple and neat. I’m not a sailor but I do know the lines are not all a perfect length with absolutely no excess. 

 

As to where the anchor rope was stored and if there was a windlass are questions I’ve had but have found no definite answers. 

 

I did start a windlass question thread here Windlass on 1815 Revenue cutter  (almost 3 years ago! I now need to go back and re-read). 

 

I’ve also been using the plans of the French Schooner La Jacinthe of 1825 as another reference. She has catheads and the anchors rigged to them and the bulwarks but no windlass. 

 

With no bulwarks, I’m not sure if you have enough room to store the anchor on the ships side; when the ship heeled over, it would be in the water.

 

The issue of storage raises a long standing worry for me. Where did they put stuff? Rope, anchors, food, water, a stove, hammocks, materials and tools for minor repairs, gunpowder, shot, etc. etc. The space under the deck was between around 5 feet at the bow up to a maximum of about 7 1/2 feet. I know these were not luxury yachts but their time away from port must have been limited.

 

From the history of the Dallas:

 
Where on earth did they get two boats from?

 

Also, I have seen it mentioned that captains sometimes supplemented the main pivot gun with additional small cannon. It’s just more stuff!

 

So I know I haven’t answered any questions but have given you my thoughts 😀.

 

I've just got the rudder left to copper and then I'll be ready to turn the ship over and get back to the rest of the work. So I'm going to have to start making some decisions.

 

Thanks,
Richard
 

Edited February 28, 2019 by RichardG

[Dr PR]

Richard,

 

I have been researching anchors on Baltimore schooners and revenue cutters. I am pretty sure they carried anchors. They were lashed to the ship's side, usually near the bow and cat heads. The anchor cable (rope) was removed and stowed below decks. When they needed to drop the anchor the cable was brought up and attached, presumably with the free end attached to something for the drop.

 

I am also pretty sure most of the smaller ships (about 100 tons or less) did not have winches or capstans. I have found several references to raising the anchor using block and tackle rigged to the fore mast or the lower spar on the mast. Line from the lower block was attached to the anchor cable and then the cable was hauled in section by section.

 

For ships with a capstan a continuous messenger loop was run around the capstan and lead forward where it was fastened to the anchor cable. The messenger was then pulled in with the capstan and the loop returned to the fo'c'sle. As the cable came in the messenger loop was spliced to it again and again as the loop was pulled around the capstan. In this manner they managed a fairly continuous pull on the cable.

 

When the anchor broke the surface the block and tackle rigged to the cathead was used to hoist the anchor to the cathead. Then the anchor cable was unattached and stowed.

 

A portable boom was rigged to the base of the fore mast or some other sturdy foundation. Another block and tackle was rigged to the end of the boom. When the anchor reached the cathead I think they first used the boom to raise the anchor flukes to the rail or deck, and then a line was wrapped around the anchor stock or flukes to secure the fluke end to the deck/rail. Then the tackle from the boom was attached to the top of the anchor and used to release the anchor from the cathead, or at least to take the strain off the cathead tackle. After this the top end of the anchor was lashed in place.

 

Apparently the cathead was not used to support the anchor in it's stowed position, at least on some ships. When they wanted to drop anchor the tackle from the cathead was attached to the anchor. I guess they used the anchor boom again to release the anchor/flukes from the rail and lower it beneath the cathead. The anchor cable was then attached.

 

My guess is that this method was used because it was cheaper than providing a winch or capstan, and it did not take up deck space when the anchor wasn't being handled. Also, the smaller ships carried smaller anchors that could be hoisted with ordinary tackle.

 

Lots of guesses there, but it is based upon some early shiphandling texts that I found, especially the midshipmen's guides to ship handling from the 19th century.

 

****

 

Two boats?! I know that some ships carried a boat slung over the stern on davits. The Mantua Albatross kit has these davits and a horrible example of a boat pressed out of sawdust or something, that is badly warped. I get to build a new boat from scratch.  I guess two boats could be nested on the davits.

 

Also, I have seen drawings of boats slung over the side on davits, similar to whaling ship boat stowage. These davits could be portable, so they wouldn't show on ship's plans. I guess if you worked on one of those ships back then you knew how things were done so there was no need to put everything on the plans.

 

Edited February 28, 2019 by Dr PR

[RichardG]

I thought it was time for an update. I was embarrassed to see how long it is since I posted in my build log.  I'm not sure if I'm the worlds slowest builder but I'm definitely up there.

 

I joined our local ship modelling club last year, Midwest Model Shipwrights (Link). They are a really friendly and helpful bunch. Of course we're meeting via Zoom now.

 

I completed the copper on the hull a couple of months ago and was able to turn her the right way up.

 

 

I embedded threaded rod into the keel and then used brass tube which I tapped to match to mount her to a piece of hickory.

 

Richard.

 

[Dr PR]

Richard,

 

I am glad you are making progress! You aren't the only slow builder. I haven't posted anything on my revenue cutter build log for a long time either. But I have been doing a lot of research on masting, rigging and sails.

 

I have been giving some thought to the anchor handling. I suspect merchant schooners may have used some form of windlass to raise the anchor because they had small crews and plenty of deck space. But naval vessels had larger crews, and a lot more clutter on deck (cannons, etc.) so there wasn't much room for a windlass.

 

Larger naval schooners seem to have used a capstan mounted aft. A continuous loop messenger line ran from the windlass forward to the fore mast and back to the windlass. The messenger was tied to the anchor cable. Turning the windlass pulled the messenger and cable aft, where the cable was lowered into the cable tiers. The cable was lashed to the messenger forward again and the capstan continued to pull it back, hauling in more cable.

 

On smaller schooners, with lighter anchors, a pair of block and tackle rigs attached to strong points on the deck aft served as messengers. One rig would be used to drag the anchor cable aft until it was two blocked. Then the second would be lashed to the cable to continue the pull, while the first tackle was run back out. Using these alternate tackles the anchor was hoisted. For small vessels this didn't require deck space for a capstan or windlass.

 

The cathead tackle was used to raise the anchor, and tackle on a portable fishing boom was used to raise (fish) the flukes to the deck or rail. Then the cable could be released from the anchor and stowed below deck in the cable tier. I am planning on modeling the fishing boom raising the anchor on my model.

 

 

[RichardG]

Some demolition going on today.

 

[Dr PR]

OK. I thought your doors looked pretty good.

[RichardG]

Thank you.

 

The doors were not bad but the grain of the walnut used was too obvious. Since I now have some small strips of swiss pear, I'm redoing this area. I've already re-done the skylight and started re-cladding the sides. The roof is remaining as-is.

 

Richard.

 

[RichardG]

Demolition clean up is completed. 

Since this is not a real ship I didn't feel it necessary to remove that low beam or the one at deck level. 

 

Now to build a new set of doors.

 

[RichardG]

Working on other bits. I decided to replace the cannon with one from Chuck. Soldered in the trunnion and then blackened it. However instead of black, I've used a dark brown patina to give it the look of bronze.

 

  

 

 

[Rik Thistle]

Richard,

 

I'm also building the Dallas. Still working on the masts etc.

 

But I've noticed (for quite a while) a piece of wood lurking in the box that I have no idea what it is for.

 

It looks like it is walnut, 460mm long. At one end it is 5mm x 5mm square and then neatly tapers down to the far end where it is 5mm x 1.3mm.

 

It kinda matches the length of the hull but I see no mention of it in the Parts list or on the drawings.

 

Any ideas?

 

Thanks and regards,

 

Richard

[RichardG]

Sorry I have no idea. I don't remember seeing that in my kit. I looked at the material list, there's some 5x5 used for the gun carriage but only a few inches.

 

I can't even think of a use for a tapered piece that long. 

 

Maybe just a piece of scrap that ended up in the box?

 

 

 

[Rik Thistle]

OK, thanks Richard.

 

Yes, probably a stray piece of wood that might have been meant for another kit.

 

Since it's been with me for 25yrs + I feel duty bound to find somewhere on the ship to use it 😉 ...maybe make it into  a hatch, or something.

 

Regards,

 

Richard

 

 

[RichardG]

After a little over a month the new doors are ready to be fitted.

 

 

The side frames will be trimmed once they're in place.

 

[Dr PR]

Very nice.

[RichardG]

Thanks Phil.