28' Ranger-type Yacht by Mark Pearse - FINISHED - 1:12

[Jim Lad]

Very neatly done, Mark.

 

John

[druxey]

Those details are lovely, and the subtle curve in the horse looks just right!

[michael mott]

Mark super work on the horse, These details are really bringing this beautiful model of this boat to life.

 

Michael

[Mark Pearse]

Some details on the rigging done recently. The throat halyard & gaff jaws:

 

 

Peak halyard setup, gaff bridle & the sliding thing.  For this size of boat a 1:1 peak halyard is fine. The running backstays here are temporarily done as thread (Guttermans top stitch), but I think I'll make the main part in wire with the tackles in rope.

 

gaff bridle is swaged:

 

Plus some pad eyes that will be mounted on the quarters, they would take blocks for the spinnaker brace & sheets, still a bit of cleaning up to do. The tails below the pads are to increase the glued strength.

[Mark Pearse]

Back to timberwork, I'm trying to finish off the cockpit details. For some time I'd been wondering about the way the outside face of the cockpit seats met the side decks, in some way it looked incomplete so I made up some pieces of quad timber beading about 2x2mm, or maybe slightly under (between 20x20mm & 25x25mm scale). It does look right in some way now, & if the deck was canvas covered, which was probably still done in the 1960s, a bead would help tack down the edge of the canvas. I didn't bead everywhere, but I'll ask someone about it to check details.

 

The bright brasswork is still unglued.

 

 

I'm considering putting a quad beading strip right across the forward side of the front cockpit thwart, or perhaps a strip each side leaving out the companionway...see below the piece just sitting there. I'm still unsure about that one.

 

Also I put a timber bead edge on the cockpit seating, it's a finishing detail & also separates the paint colours, For that I tried a thin cut strip of Queensland Maple but it proved too brittle to take the curves (using the cylindrical shaft of the butane torch, heated up). I had a nice piece of Queensland Myrtle veneer - I believe 0.65mm thick, so about 8mm scale thickness - & that was able to do the curves, especially after some wetting. 

 

 

 

And a nice overall stern view, trying to remove distortion from the lens by standing further away & zooming in. The lines show more accurately.

[michael mott]

Wow Mark you really are doing a fantastic job on the model.

 

Michael

[druxey]

Sweet! Love those details, Mark.

[Mark Pearse]

many thanks for the support everyone

 

I've completed the cockpit sole, which was done fairly simply. I admire the effort of the lapped duckboarding, but I just feel that something plainer would be more likely in this case. Fine details such as teak decks were quite rarely done here, as far as I can see most details were plain - not that it couldn't be done, more likely it was a matter of cost. So, I settled on fore & aft planks, not tapered either. I cut small rebates on one side of each plank to replicate a gap between planks & still allow the planks to be glued together as a sheet. The rebate is about 0.5mm wide by 1.25mm (half the plank thickness), but ended up a bit wider in some cases. The timber is some leftover Huon Pine from the planking stock. The plane of the grain in these pieces is parallel to the face of these planks, & if you look very carefully you can see on the plank edges how fine the grain of the timber is - on the edge of the nearest plank there seems to be around 6 or 7 growth rings in 2.5mm distance. The trees can live to 3,000 years & grow slowly.

 

 

 

the back face was rubbed with Titebond glue

 

Face up & glued. The aperture is for a painted timber block which will take a U bolt for the main sheet block.

 

I gave it a light paint with diluted black water based paint to try & replicate unfinished used timber (which would have been Queensland White Beech). Possibly a bit dark, but happy with the result.

 

I decided to have a go at the portholes as I haven't seen any that look quite right for this scale. The basic parts are some brass washers & thin walled brass tube. I sanded the face & edges of the washer flat & smooth, & then soldered a thin ring from the tube on. I think it looks ok, possibly some subtle drilled holes to replicate fixings might help.

[Bedford]

Very nice work as usual Mark and yeah, I'd be happy with the "staining" too!

[michael mott]

That floor looks very nice Mark.

 

Michael

[Omega1234]

Hi Mark. 

 

I’m just catching up...my, oh my...damn that’s nice work!

 

Love it.

 

Cheers. 

 

Patrick

[Mark Pearse]

thanks everyone

 

A small update, but I've completed a few minor details that had being lying fallow & unresolved. The semi-circular heads for the headsail track fixings were sanded down for the port side tracks - which hadn't already been installed - but the starboard ones had been installed & couldn't be sanded in situ. I got them out after heating them to soften the glue. It possibly helps that I don't generally use much glue. Definitely looks better.

 

 

I had been wondering for ages about the winches, & if I was going to make some, just how? I found some nice small solid brass knobs that I possibly could have reshaped by putting the thread into the drill - but it just seemed a better choice to buy some. I had looked high & low & found some nice simple ones from Float-a-Boat, appropriate to the 1960s. I cleaned them up a bit & coloured them to tone down the glare. I didn't want the visual highlight of bright brass to be a distraction from the yacht's overall lines.

I was also keen to get a number of details sorted because this coming Sunday the model goes on show at the sailing club, the owners of the 24 footers are having a get together.  A kind of launching but the interest will be high as the 24 footers are 1930s designs & this is the final word on the design being 4 feet longer & some 30 years later. Looks similar but the underwater lines are a refinement.

 

 

 

One last thing, there has been a launching of a newly built 24 footer, in the Tweed River northern NSW, home built.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[druxey]

She looks terrific, Mark! All the best for Sunday's unveiling.

[Mark Pearse]

I've started on the running rigging & have been looking around at various  ready made blocks, & also considering what I could do from scratch. The final call was to buy some off the shelf but improve their appearance. These are the blocks, the shape is ok but the flanged axle looks a bit crude.

So I decided to sand off the flanges, & solder the axles in position. They immediately look better.

 

 

These are for the running backstay tackles & I want 2 single blocks with beckets plus 2 doubles. The beckets came up well & look realistic. Originally I was going to laminate a thin piece of timber on both sides of the blocks but it wasn't looking good - too bulky - & I believe that full metal blocks were popular the 1960s, so no timber facings, at least on these blocks.

 

The doubles are two blocks soldered together, with a square U bracket for fixing to the chainplate.

 

The tackle set temporarily up to see how well it leads, & I'm happy that the double block loads the chainplate vertically as I'd hoped. The line from the double block to the winch will need another small leading block (I'm holding a rod to show the necessary deflection in rope angle) otherwise the winch would get riding turns every time.

 

 

 

Thanks all, 

[druxey]

Very nicely done!

[Thistle17]

Mark I just discovered your work. The subjects, both of them are a treat to the senses. Experiencing both "worlds" is better yet. Your work is exceptional!

Joe

[michael mott]

Clever solution on the double blocks Mark. The winches do look very nice.

 

Michael

[Mark Pearse]

thanks all, & good to meet you Joe

[Jim Lad]

Just catching up after an enforced absence, Mark.  She really looks first class, mate!

 

John

[vaddoc]

Your work is inspiring Mark, you keep things simple and produce very elegant results. The boat is coming out mighty nice! The cockpit sole looks great.

Following your build I ve been encouraged to try on some metalwork myself. (Not as easy as you make it look)

 

Vaddoc

[Mark Pearse]

Hi John, best wishes to you & good to hear from you.

 

Hi Vaddoc, the issue of simplicity is an interesting one for me: I've tried to imagine the person who commissioned this yacht to be built as having some money but not enough to go mad, so in my imagination some details would be done to save money here & there. Also I feel that more complex fittings don't always add to a boat's beauty, the Herreshoff Buzzards Bay 25 is a particular example of severe simplicity & beauty.

Edited October 2, 2018 by Mark Pearse

[Bedford]

I love seeing updates on this build, you never fail to impress.

 

[Mark Pearse]

I've been working on the running backstays, doing the backstays themselves. The backstays are made from 1mm braided rope from Harbor Models (US), it replicates braided modern rope. Initially I tried some clear heat shrink tube for simplicity at the mast head end but it looked too bulky. 

 

 

Access is tight so I thought it might be ok, but then changed direction & also came up with a simple method that helped the process & used the heat shrink tube. Firstly, heat on a small piece of tube well below the whipping.

 

 

Start the whipping, secure with a couple of hitches & put some dilute glue on to hold.

 

Remove the tube & cut the tails off, with a tapered end; Then finish off the whipping.

 

My whipping is a bit rough, definitely more agricultural that sophisticated but it's a better result than the tube. This process helped a lot because temporarily holding the rope while you start it off made it easier.

 

thanks, Mark

[Mark Pearse]

HI everyone, I've been doing some work on the model yacht, slowly moving along.

 

The main sheet block in the cockpit sole is a snatch block, a popular detail for smaller gaffers here is the photo below - & it's not a very good shot, but the main sheet goes below the sheave & the wraps around the side of the block body & is held by a cam cleat. This is so you can quickly let out a lot of mainsheet, & it's easier to bring the main sheet on by pulling downwards (rather than upwards) & then to secure the sheet at this block as the last thing.  The mess of black stuff at the bottom is a bundle of shock cord that's to make it a stand-up block. I'm sure this doesn't at first strike anyone as a good setup, but you can't bear away at all on a breezy day without easing the main, & if you need to do it quickly you have to dump a lot of it fast.

 

 

I selected a strip of Spotted Gum that is the same thickness as a brass sheave, & made the ship from cut strips.

 

Then roughly shaped. The parts for a cam cleat are there, the eccentrics on the cams were soldered blobs on a solid rod, then sanded to shape. Some more shaping on the timber required. I plan to make it a stand-up block with some spring from a plastic pen.

 

 

Other minor details underway are: the small lead blocks for the running backstay tackles are installed; & the mainsheet setup is underway. The smallest blocks are tiny etched ones & the main sheet is scale braided poly rope about 1mm diameter - a bit thin but but looks right.

 

thanks

 

 

Edited December 6, 2018 by Mark Pearse
word correction, thanks Druxey

[druxey]

Interesting set-up for the main sheet that you have there, Mark. A snap block is called a snatch block here. Beautiful work, as usual!

[Jim Lad]

It's called a snatch block here too, Druxey (but maybe not if you're a yachty 😄).

 

Very nice setup, Mark!

 

John

[Bedford]

Interesting detail there and it may be useful for me too

[michael mott]

Lovely work on the rigging hardware Mark.

 

Michael

[Mark Pearse]

The cockpit snatch block is now done, & waiting for the mounting block to be finished. The spring without load pushes the block on an angle but I'm expecting it to sit in line when a bit of sheet tension is there. The sheet will need to squeeze into the cam cleat, & a bit of sanding might be needed. The layers of timber are visible, but it doesn't bother me.

 

 

 

I'm getting the portholes done as well. The earlier sample & raw materials (brass washer & tube) are one the left & the latest ones are the others. The forward ones are slightly smaller overall diameter, & I'll just reduce the size with sanding blocks.

 

 

 

thanks

[cog]

nice details. Do you use silver solder on the rings, or the standard one