Annie by altalena18 - FINISHED - Sandbagger Sloop

[altalena18]

Hi everyone! I am about to embark on my first scratch building project. Having completed the MS Fair American kit, I decided to look for an interesting yet manageable project to try out for my first scratch build. So about a year ago, browsing this site, I came across pictures sandbagger models from the Mystic museum. It was love at first sight. Sandbaggers were originally oyster dredging vessels from New York, and later evolved into racing craft with huge sail areas. Their unusual wedge shaped catboat-type hull and their enormous sails supported by a graceful curving bowsprit and boom outrigger seemed unlike any rig I have ever seen. I did some research, and found out that the sandbagger Annie was part of the Mystic Seaport collection, and was indeed the collection's first vessel! So after many phone calls and much hard work on the part of the lovely folks at their visitors' center, I managed to get the plans to the Annie. I scanned them, and proceeded to spend the last few months planning and tracing out the shapes of the bulkheads and other parts in Adobe Illustrator. Just yesterday I finally went to the laser cutter and got the parts cut in plywood. I am now ready to begin! I have dry-fitted the bulkheads to the keel, and although they mostly fit perfectly, I am discovering loads of mistakes and things I forgot to plan for. So here's to a happy build, and I would love for y'all to follow along as this build progresses.

 

Eitan

[altalena18]

I have started by carving the keel. It is made of walnut. I carved out the correct shape by gluing a pattern from my Illustrator plan, and carving it with a miniature plane. This is an amazing tool and I cannot recommend it enough. 

[SawdustDave]

Hi Eitan....welcome to the world of scratch building, although, I'm not sure your approach to having your use of laser cut parts would completely stand up to the pure definition of "scratch building". Most of us scratch builders actually shape virtually all of our parts with a Swiss pocket knife....ha ha ha

Looks like you're off and running.

Found this pic of what I assume she will eventually look like.

Cheers mate

Edited August 27, 2014 by SawdustDave

[altalena18]

Thanks for the warm welcome! Honestly the lase cutter is an amazing tool, and it was a really interesting process to loft all the bulkheads in Illustrator- It gave me a real understanding of how everything fits together,

[Jim Lad]

Welcome to the 'dark side', Eitan.  This looks like it will make a very pretty little model.

 

John

[altalena18]

Thanks!

[ccoyle]

Yes, sandbaggers were interesting small craft.  Did you take your drawings to a laser-cutting service?  If so, perhaps you will tell us who did the work and how were the results?

[altalena18]

So I live in Tel Aviv (I'm originally from the States) and there was a carpentry shop with a laser cutter run by a very nice girl. She did a few tests and got the settings right, and honestly the parts came out beautifully and the resolution was very good. I cut both 1mm and 3 mm plywoods, and even had some delicate decorative moulding for the daggerboard housing that came out very beautifully. So far the only problems were from boneheaded mistakes I made! 

[michael mott]

An interesting build Eitan, I will follow along.

 

Michael

[Mirabell61]

Eitan,

 

thats a lovely and interesting Project you are undertaking, I also love These NY bay sandbaggers with their fine lines and large sail areas for skimming the waves.

Also very interesting that you went to to a lasercutting Service shop with your own scaned in Framework drawings. Can imagine that its not so easy for the lasercutter to determine if its inside- or outline cut on the drawn line

 

Nils

[altalena18]

Well I was a bit concerned about the resolution and whether the laser would cut too much, but luckily it seems that the line was fine enough to not be too much of an issue. And Michael- I've been following your pilot cutter for ages and it's one of the most beautiful projects on the site! I definitely thought of it when I decided to build Annie.

[Omega1234]

Hi Eitan.  Welcome on board _{and sharing yor build with us!  Your Annie looks like a beautiful ship.  I will definitely be following along!}

[altalena18]

Oh, lofting isn't as hard as it looks! 

[Mahuna]

Hi Eitan:

 

I'm looking forward to following your build log.

 

Frank

[captainbob]

The sandbagger is a lovely boat.  I have it on my "to build" list but I have to finish my schooner first.  I'll be watching for ideas.

 

Bob

[michael mott]

Found this link Etian to another model of Annie if you have not already seen it., and thanks for the comment about my pilot cutter, I will be back working on her soon enough.

 

Michael

[altalena18]

Yeah, I came across that model in my research, and it will definitely help show some of the rigging and metalwork that you can't see from the plans.

[egkb]

Snazzy looking build you have going on there Eitan of another beautiful American boat,  Some wonderful small boats designed & built on the other side of the pond, both recently and in the past.

 

Mind if I follow along?

 

Cheers

 

Eamonn

 

By The Way is that the 'miniature plane' that you refer to, in your photo? post #2  .,  I've not seen such a beasty (a David Plane yes but not one that looks like yours, you'll probably tell me that that's a pencil or some such that's in the photo..     if so then much Red Face over here   )

 

E

[altalena18]

Eamonn, here is a picture of my plane. It's like a normal wood plane, but small. I made some mistakes in my lofting- small things that are obvious once you see the thing actually cut and put together.

[johncole]

I LOVE these boats, Annie made a big impression on me when I got to see her first hand at Mystic.

 

I too plan to make this my first scratch-build someday.

Nice work.

 

John

[altalena18]

So today I started gluing and fairing the forward bulkheads. I put in some wood supports to align and strengthen them. These supports are going to be important once I continue to put in the rest of the bulkheads in, because I'll need to drill out the original keel in order to have room for the daggerboard to slide through. I've also worked on the daggerboard itself, so that I can gauge how much room I'll need when I drill out the keel.

[Omega1234]

Hi Altalena.  Great progress.  You hull's coming along very nicely.

 

Well done and all the best!

[altalena18]

Omega, complements on your Hereshoff sloop! I'm thinking to start making smaller models after I finish Annie, and your stuff id definitely an inspiration. Do you know of any good books with techniques for working on small scale stuff like you do?

[Omega1234]

Hi Altalena

 

Many thanks for your thoughts.  It's greatly appreciated!

 

Here are links to at least three books that are invaluable.  The McNarry book is a treasure, which I've never been able to obtain.  I have browsed it in the library in the past, though.  The other books by Phil Reed are ones that I do have, and they are absolutely indispensable in my view.  Phil Reed is an true master craftsman and I have learned heaps from his books.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Ship-models-miniature-Donald-McNarry/dp/0275224902

http://www.amazon.com/Period-Ship-Modelmaking-Illustrated-Masterclass/dp/1591146755

http://www.amazon.com/Building-Miniature-Navy-Board-Model/dp/1591140927/ref=pd_sim_b_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=06CVP68RR2Y2ESWAYFR4

 

Good luck and I look forward to seeing your build progress.

 

All the best!

[altalena18]

I've heard of the McNarry book and have tried to buy it. That guy would sell his models for a hundred thousand dollars! 

[Omega1234]

Yep.  That's money that you and I could only dream of!!!

[altalena18]

So I've worked on the keel. It was really hard to cut really exact scarphs- I don't know how all those folks building plank-on-frame build things like this by the hundred! My keel fits together fine but it is by no means perfectly accurate, and makes me appreciate all the more a lot of the more sophisticated builds I've seen on this site. 

[altalena18]

I drilled out a slot in the keel for the daggerboard. I was really nervous about this step, because it is pretty delicate work, but I maaged to make a pretty even slot without breaking anything. And the daggerboard fits with room to spare!

[druxey]

Looking good so far, Altalena!

[Jim Lad]

A very nice start!

 

John