Skipjack by Kevin from Hampton Roads "Terminated" – Scratch Build 1:24

[KevinR]

OK, after sleeping on it. I plan on re-centering the mast blocks and continue. The forward cabin will help hide the mistake in the planking. I believe there are 2 -1 ft king planks running from the stem to the cabin. I don't remember where I read that, have to find it again. I will shave the planks on the port side so the number of planks will be the same as the starboard. I will see how it looks after I reposition the mast.

[Omega1234]

Hi Kevin

 

That sounds like good solution.  Amazing how sometimes things workout better after sleeping on it....although, sometimes, I wish I'd slept on a few things more than I had in the past!

 

Good luck and look forward to seeing how it all works out.

 

Cheers

 

Patrick

[captainbob]

Leave the mast on center at deck level and move the mast step to make the mast vertical.

 

Bob

[KevinR]

Cap'n'Bob,

To late, I already repositioned the mast. I think the route that I am taking will work out. The mast is now straight. With the forward cabin, I believe I can hide the alignment problem with the deck. If I had move the mast step, the planks would not have lined up with the stem. I have moved the fwd port side of the cabin out by 3 inches. I still will have to trim 3 inches from the port side planks to get the alignment correct. (I Hope ). The tricky part is around the cabin. How ever it turns out, I guess I will have to make do.

 

It does not appear to be as bad as it looked yesterday afternoon. I remember reading about a fishing schooner with a twisted keel from when it was built. It had a long life despite the imperfection. On the survey of the EC Collier, I believe, It was noted that nothing was square or true. Maybe this just makes it more realistic.

[KevinR]

Hi everyone!

Thank you for stopping by and all of your advice and help. The problem is that the angle of the starboard side planks is greater than the port side. The distance from center line on the starboard is grater than the port. I was able to realign the mast blocks with the stem and keelson. I also moved the forward port side the the forward cabin 3 inches closer to the side. I will have to trim some of the planks on the foc's'le to try and hide the difference. I have only 1 deck beam to complete on the foc's'le. That is the very first one. I placed a stub mast and a temporary sampson post to get an idea of how it will go together. I have not glued in any of the deck beams. The are a couple of additional tasks to complete on the hull before I can glue them in place.

Disassembling the mast blocking.

Making sure the mast is straight this time.

It looks straight this time.

My current status.

 

Thanks again everyone.

[KevinR]

I received the following books today

"Notes on Chesapeake Bay Skipjacks" by Howard I. Chapelle $9.95

"Chesapeake Bay Crabbing Skiffs" by Howard I. Chapelle - $5

 

[gerty]

Very Nice work - I look forward to following along !

[thibaultron]

I'll be following this build also! I'm presently building the old Pyro model of the skipjack "Carrie Price", and have both the Midwest and Model Shipways kits waiting, in the wings. In the future I pland to scratch build the Carrie Price in 1/32nd scale to match the MS Willie Bennet.

[acdblujns]

Looking good Kevin!

I have the same books, nice little bits of info there. One of the Crab Scrape Bateau in the skiff book I'm planning on a future scratch build. One question, How did you determine the slope / cant of the deck? 

Thanks,

Pat

[KevinR]

Welcome aboard Gerty, Ron and Pat! Always room for more. Thank you everyone for the likes.

I have read about half of the H.I. Chapelle's book on the Skipjacks. There is a lot of information on their construction. There are also 14 plans of Two-Sail and Three-Sail Bateau. Chapelle talks about the origin of the name Skipjack, but always uses the terms Two-Sail and Three-Sail Bateau when referring to the boats. The plans are small, but may have enough detail when enlarged to use for a scratch build.

 

I do not have any updates to post. If nothing comes up this weekend I will get some more done and post pictures on Sunday.

 

Catch Yall later.

Edited February 6, 2015 by Kevin from Hampton Roads

[KevinR]

Pat,

The deck camber or crown on my build is 6 inches midship at the aft end of the centerboard case. The plans for the Willie Bennett I believe, show 4 inches. I am not sure if it is correct but Chapelle stated "The deck beams were made with a great deal of crown as this was considered necessary for seaworthiness." I am not sure if I have to little or to much. You can read more on how I arrived are 6 inches in this Post.

 

On the the Crab Scapper you plan to build, where are you getting the internal detals? I have not had a chance to read Chapelle's book on the Crabbing Skiffs yet. Does he provide enough detail to do the scratch build?

[KevinR]

Lawrence, Welcome, I am glad to have you along for the show and thank you for you kind works. Thanks everyone for the comments and the likes.

 

Well not much of an update. I thinned out my sampson post. I don't know what I was thinking, I originally made it 6x12 inches. It should have been 3-1/2 to 4 inches thick. In stead of remaking the blocking I just shimmed it. I figured the deck planking will hide my mistake. I made 4 deck beams, and promptly lost one in the clutter on the workbench. I am not sure what would be faster, clean up the workbench or just make a new one. The Admiral votes for cleaning the workbench.

 

Well until next time, Catch Yall Later

[garywatt]

Hello Kevin i,ve just started to follow your log, well i,ve found the model i wont to build and it,s a skipjack so now i,m going to be scouring the internet for the plans to download iv,e already book marked the ext link,s.If there are any fixture or fitting,s you can,t find i know a man who,s machining skill,s are second to non and that,s Micheal in Canada, your craftsmanship is superb keep it up, by trade i,m a cabinet maker so i hope i can remember how to make a model it,s been quite a few year,s since i made one the last ship i made was the Victory so here,s hoping dont you just love the ext link,s who need,s a passport library   the internet is a wondrous thing.John thank you for your site,s iv,e bookmark them as well

[KevinR]

Gary,

Welcome aboard. The Library of congress plans for the Skipjacks EC Collier and Kathryn are quite complete. I have seriously considered starting over using one of those plans, but, I have to much tied up in my current build just to throw it all away. I recommend getting Ben Lankford's  book “Modeling Guide for Model Shipways Kit willie L. Bennett”. I started off using Steve Rogers, Patricia Staby-Rogers  book “Model Boat Building: The Skipjack”, but have found that Ben Lankford's book more useful. As for as fittings, My build is at 1/2 inch scale (1:24). I wouldn't know where to look for them. I am looking forward to trying my hand at creating some of them. The plans for EC Collier and Kathryn are 3/8 inch scale (1:32) the same scale as the Willie Bennett. You may be able to get fittings from Model Shipways if you use the 3/8 inch scale. I hope this information helps you.

 

Catch Yall later.

Edited February 14, 2015 by Kevin from Hampton Roads

[allanyed]

Kevin

 

It is probably a bit late, but I have a pretty nice piece of keel from one of the skipjacks that was rebuilt at St. Michaels about 10 years ago or so.  If you or anyone else interested would like a chunk to cut up for pieces of a future "Jack"  model, PM me.  

 

Allan

[Omega1234]

Hi Kevin

 

Just checking in for an up date but alas it looks like I am just a bit to early, will return again in a few days, ENJOY.

 

Regards Lawrence

 

 

Hi Kevin

 

I, too, have also been patiently hanging out to see where you're at.

 

Hope all's well.

 

See you when you're next ready for an update.

 

Cheers

 

Patrick

[KevinR]

Hi Everyone,

I am sorry to keep everyone waiting on an update. I really appreciate all of the comments and advise over past couple of months.

 

Lawrence and Patrick, Thank you for checking up on me and not giving up. All is well I just have run into some issues as I will describe below.

 

Allen, Thank you for your offer. I would love to take that piece of wood and turn it into a model of a skipjack, unfortunately I do not have the proper tools to mill my own lumber at this time. Maybe on a future project. Do you know which skipjack the piece is from?

 

As you may remember, I ran into a problem with the hull shape. When I was building the hull, I made sure that the chin log was correctly shaped, but I just assumed that when I added the side strakes they would follow the chin log with the correct shape. That is not the case. The port side strakes are not flared out as much as the starboard strakes. The difference in dimensions is that the bow area is 6 (scale) inches wider on the starboard side. 6 inches would be hard to hide in the deck planking, but I thought I could joggle a couple planks and hide it with the forward cabin. When I started framing the hold hatch, I realized that the discrepancy  ran all the way back to the midship area. At this point I decided that I would never be happy with how my skipjack would look. I am not ready to through in the towel just yet though. I have learned a lot in the past 10 months, and plan to use what I have learned and start a new scratch build.

 

This time I will be working from a set of plans. I will also be using forms (just like the Willie Bennett kit) to ensure the correct shape of the hull.  I thought about building the Kathyrn or the E.C. Collier, since I already have their plans. The Kathyrn is fore and aft planked and is a framed hull. I would have had to loft the frames and I decided that I was not ready for that just yet. The E.C. Collier I got as for as cutting the keelson and decided that there was just to much uncertainty in the plans.  When the Collier was surveyed, she was suffering from some severe hogging and had spent a lifetime of hard work and make-do repairs. As the notes on the plans stated there was nothing square on the whole boat. I felt that to do it justice I would need to get more information on the E.C. Collier and with the boat still existing there would be no end of the research to get it correct.

 

So what other plans were available? I have Howard Chapelle's "Notes on Chesapeake Bay Skipjacks" which has some additional plans and information.  (Great book and can be ordered from the publisher here http://www.tillerbooks.com/Notes_on_Chesapeake_Bay_Skipjacks.php.)

 

I first selected the Hand Dredger Louise. The Louise was only 32' and I wanted something a little larger.

 

There were a couple of Three Sail Bateaus that caught my eye, but I had started on building a Two Sail Bateau and figured I needed to stay with that.

 

So I finally settled on the Skipjack Albatross. Albatross also has a Counter-Stern which adds a twist to the build. There is limited information on the Albatross. In some ways this is great. What is not in the plans and notes I will just have to make do and do my best. There is less wondering about whether I did it correctly since there is no surviving boat to compare it to.

 

Length bet. perps....44'-2"

Beam .....................15'-10"

Draft........................2'-9"

 

What made me choose the Albatross was that there are two versions. The As she was built (1899) and the after being modified for gas powered winders and push boat (1911~). I was looking forward to building the gas powered winders and the push boat, but she looks so much cleaner as she was built. I also like the more historical aspect of the as built plan.  I have chosen to build the As Built version of the albatross.

 

I ordered the plans for Albatross and Louise from the Smithsonian Institute and currently waiting for the delivery. Once they arrive I will be closing this build log and starting a new one.

 

 

[captainbob]

The Albatross Looks like a fine boat.  I'll be waiting to see it built.

 

Bob

[KevinR]

Hello Everyone,

Sorry for the big delay on updating. It seems summer conspires to keep me away from the shipyard. Well I am back at it again, hopefully with out any major interruptions, at least until next summer. Well here is were I stand. I have scrapped my previous attempt at building a Skipjack due to some issues with the shape of the bow. (1/4" difference from center-line)

 

My current project is the Skipjack Albatross as she was originally built in 1899. Based off of drawings found in "Notes On Chesapeake Bay Skipjacks" by Howard Chapelle. This go around I am working at a smaller scale (3/8" = 1') and using forms to ensure the correct shape and no gaffs.

 

The Plans.

 

Gluing the forms down.

 

The Forms glued and the keel laid.

 

The Bow Stem tapered

 

The Rudder Housing/Sleeve

 

Centerboard slot.
 

I will be starting a new build log and post the link here shortly.

[Omega1234]

HinKevin

 

You're back!!! I was wondering what had happened to you. I'm sorry to hear that you've scrapped your original Skipjack. It must've been a hard decision, but I wish you every success with this new ship.

 

All the best!

 

Patrick

[KevinR]

Thanks Patrick,

I have had a busy summer. Vacation in June, Sick the month of July and moving my daughter and son-in-law in August and all of the usual summer chores.

 

I have added a new build log for Skipjack Albatross.

Skipjack Albatross by Kevin from Hampton Roads

Please go check it out.

 

Catch yall later,

Kevin

[mtaylor]

Kevin,

 

Since you're terminating this build.. go back the very first post and edit it.  Add the word "Terminated" to the title.