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

[Mark Pearse]

Hi Carl,

 

the thin rings were soldered using standard solder, but I used the pre-mixed paste & wiped some of the paste onto the underside edge of the ring & lowered the ring onto the base part of the porthole; then lightly weighted the ring so that when the solder melted the ring wouldn't move. I used paste to reduce cleaning up. Perhaps there is a better way, but I'm not experienced at this fine soldering work.

[Omega1234]

Hi Mark

 

Beautiful workmanship!

 

Cheers. 

 

Patrick

[cog]

Just curious Mark, as it looks rather good. It will always be a matter of ones prowes and what is best suited I presume

[Mark Pearse]

thank you for the feedback & visits

 

Main sheet setup & cockpit block finished, or possibly. I might move the forward thumb cleats on the boom a little further forward, & might redo the lashing to make it a bit shorter. 

 

Some recent Sunday fun below, a lovely shot. The sky colour is interesting, they call it a black nor-easter. It happens when the usual sea breeze is reinforced by an approaching low pressure system & you get stronger breezes & this grey effect in a clear sky. 

 

All the best for Christmas, I'm off to Tasmania (by aeroplane...)

 

[Jim Lad]

What?  Not sailing to Tassie on Boxing Day, Mark? 

 

John

[vaddoc]

Dear Mark

 

I really enjoy your work, it is a source of information as well as inspiration. Very very nice!

 

I was badly defeated trying to make portholes and had to buy them, curious to see how yours will turn out.

 

Have a very happy new year

 

Regards

Vaddoc

[michael mott]

lovely work on the snatch block in the cockpit Mark The rest of the rigging looks great too. it doesn't loot like there is too much weather helm on the boat even with that much heel. Must be very nicely balanced.

 

Michael

[Mark Pearse]

Thanks & best wishes everyone. 

 

Hi John I have mixed feelings about blue water racing, & I’m not sure about how much I’d enjoy a Hobart; but maybe one day. 

 

Vaddoc, thank you. I have made a bit more progress on the ports & they’re are going ok from low tech techniques. When back I’ll post some info on what seemed to work. 

 

Michael thanks also. The weather helm isn’t a lot if you judge by the angle of the tiller/rudder, but everyone agrees they have a heavy helm.

[Mark Pearse]

The portholes commenced in post #278 are almost done now, & in this case I'll show the technique. They are fabricated from brass washers & thin slices off a brass tube. The insides of the ports needed cleaning up, below shows finished & not finished:

 

The overall diameter is too large, below are the forward portholes which are smaller.  I marked the final size with pencil & scribed the circle of the final size.

 

Next the tender mercies of the handheld bandsaw.....& try to sand to the line.

 

Then to the high-tech linisher:

 

Below there's 5 reduced in size, & one has also been linished. 

 

Close up

 

They looked like they needed something more, so I drilled shallow marks to replicate fixings. They have also been coated with one coat of Humbrol satin clear coat. The designer - Cliff Gale - apparently always had his portholes to a high polish, so out of respect for that I'll replicate that with the clear coat on the brass. That's why I was being fussy about the visible finish. The drilled marks look a bit crude, & I'm hoping that the effect will be better when they are mounted. 

 

I'm not sure about the glass, but I recall in another post CD case plastic was suggested.

 

thanks

 

 

 

Edited January 5, 2019 by Mark Pearse

[michael mott]

Mark great solution, it is always great to see how others solve how to do something with alternative tooling.

 

Happy new year to you and your family.

 

Michael

[vaddoc]

Nice!

 

[CapnMac82]

17 hours ago, Mark Pearse said:

'm not sure about the glass, but I recall in another post CD case plastic was suggested.

Hard to argue with the expense of jewel cases, but they can be a tad thick.

 

Now, for 2¢, cutting the portholes can be a simple as taking a bit of tube the same size as the interior bit, drilling 6 or 8 holes across the tube, then cut the tube through the center of the drilled holes.   Which leaves the tube with a set of semi-circular "teeth."  Solder this to a mandrel of solid stock, and use as a coring drill for the clear stock.   Taking a file to the teeth to give them a bit of a "set" biased to the longitudinal axis might be wanted.

 

Now, all of the clear plastics "want" a very slow cutting speed, and the ad hoc brass cutter will suffice for a half dozen or so. 

 

For 10 or more, you probably want a different answer.  Like casting in clear resin in an RTV mould.  Or turning from lucite rod stock which seems spendy until you realize a meter's worth of 15mm is near a lifetime's worth 2-3mm at a time.  Needing an acrylic polishing set with grit down to 2400 usually winds up costing more, really.

[KeithAug]

Just been enjoying catching up Mark. Lovely work as ever.

[Mark Pearse]

thanks everyone, & thanks for the advice Capt Mac. 

 

In the last photos the brass is quite shiny (& in that light they are probably too bright), so I did some photos in natural light rather than the workshop bright lights. The effect is closer to what I was after (to look like polished brass), but I'm still wondering about the way the 'fixings' get a glint of shine. The cause is just the side light catching the angle of the dent. I might experiment with putting something into them like a small brass nail, to look like a counter sunk head fixing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mnl]

Why not use glass for the port lights, or at least try to? Get some microscope cover slips, glue one down to a piece of very smooth ply or wood with some shellac, CA, or whatever you find easy to dissolve away. Chuck up a piece of your brass tube in a slow speed drill press, and using some abrasive paste or Clover compound core your way through the glass. Once through, dissolve the adhesive away and there is your glass disk. 

 

I have never done this with a cover slip, but have done it successfully on slightly thicker pieces of glass. It will take a bit of fiddling to get the parameters straight, but it should work. 

[Mark Pearse]

Thanks for the input MNL, that's a good idea.

 

On this forum there's many magnificent models that are a full replica to scale, so each part is made. I haven't taken this approach, I want to show the last (& unbuilt) design by a little known amateur designer &, so giving the impression of an actual yacht is more important to me than making each piece. Part real scale work & part "if it looks right, it is right". By this measure, in some cases to show something that would exist could be wrong; my own rule was to imagine that I was standing say 10m from the actual yacht, & what would I see?

 

So I was reconciled to perhaps not having glass - I was concerned that the reflection would be too visible. My observation from the actual is that you see the dark circle & perhaps a bit of reflection.

 

Leaving the decision as late as possible, I painted a dark muddy brown spot in gloss enamel paint as a backdrop for the porthole "holes". To my eye, the effect is really good & I'm happy with it. Also, the darker paint does show reflection more than the cream colour, you can see that effect below.

 

A bit on colour: I am very much against using black unless it is a black painted object, & even then I'd consider backing it off a little to achieve the scale effect of black - the further away you are from a black object, the black is affected by surrounding light & is very slightly taken away from black. For a hole, I think black would be too severe & not look right. I'll show a sample of the actual colour I came up with, compared to a piece of real black.

 

The detail photo is poor because of the natural light conditions, low level of light. 

 

 

I've been considering the sails for a while, & after seeing how silkspan can be shaped to a curve in multiple directions, layered, coloured etc I'm going to try this material. My thought is that the sails should be 'set' as if with wind in them. The stand might need to be able to hold the model at a heel angle (as well as vertical), but that's for the future.

 

This boat would have been built in the mid 1960s & I had a chat with a sailmaker Ian 'Macca' MacDiarmid, who's skilled at gaff sails. He said that by 1967 dacron (or terylene in UK & something else in Japan) was good quality & was used quite widely. The cutting of the sails for a boat of that era, & how the size & setout the seams is shown on the sketches below, which Macca explained. One thing not noted in the drawings is that the battens would be shorter than today, & for this mainsail he said 4 would be correct for the period & size of sail. I did the drawings because the information is straight from the horses mouth & might be useful to others. The setout for the headsail mitre is important (& is not by a perpendicular line to the luff), so the seams meet each other at the mitre - see the "EQ" (equal) setouts from the clew. Hope it's clear. Also: it's assumed the main is a loose foot, I'm guessing the foot round would be less (or zero) with a laced foot.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 9, 2019 by Mark Pearse

[druxey]

I agree that, on a model, black is too stark. Your model is looking very nice, Mark.

[vaddoc]

You could also use adhesive film for the portholes, sand blasted glass effect. You can get levels of transparency or not at all transparent. This is used for windows/large glass doors.

[Mark Pearse]

This is the porthole 'hole' colour, with black as a comparison:

 

 

I've been thinking about how to do the sails, which are planned to be rigged & with the wind in them. So, my plan is to first make the mould to form the sails on & to use Silkspan. I considered balsa as a form but the cost would be very high, other cheaper timbers perhaps ok in cost but difficult to work. I'm thinking of fabric, set to a shape - at this stage I'm thinking of supporting & coaxing the fabric into a form & then saturating it with epoxy glue to set the shape. If it still needs to be stronger I'll add more layers on the back.

 

I started with a piece of scrap cotton (or perhaps a polyester cotton blend), ironed it & roughly drew the mainsail profile.

 

 

I cut some timber battens, then glued & clamped them to the edges for the mast & gaff spar - they will be the only straight sail edges. Note that the battens are about 100mm longer than that edge of the sail, I think it's going to help to have the sail mould be larger than the sail. 

 

The rough plan is to suspend it all, weight the fabric into the shape I want with sand & wet the fabric with water from a spray. I'm hoping this wetting will help the fabric to get a soft & curved form as it dries. When I'm satisfied I'll then apply epoxy, probably by delicately brushing from underneath.

 

Seen from above, the gaff will be a different angle than the boom, by perhaps around 20º, the other parts will all be curved in various shapes & profiles. If this works I'm going to buy a lottery ticket.

[Bedford]

That's an interesting challenge Mark

 

Just a thought, perhaps set the sails in front of a fan and spray with dilute PVA or perhaps even spray starch, I know it's available, not sure if it would hold.

[KeithAug]

I will be interested to see how you get on with shaping the sail Mark. I have tried suspending a horizontal frame, attaching fine cotton cloth at the edges and wetting with dilute PVA. The result never seemed to be stiff enough to counter the stresses induced by rigging. I did lay up some cloth once with 2 part epoxy mixed and then painted on (used to repair a radio control car body). This was wonderfully stiff but i did need the car body as a former to lay it up on.

I was thinking about moulds for forming snails a while ago and came up with a plan to create a frame the shape of the sail and then tacking styrene sheet on to it. Then with the frame horizontal softening the styrene by pouring boiling water on it. hopefully once the belly starts to form the "bowl" will collect the boiling water and add to the shaping effect. I haven't however tried it yet so it may be a rubbish plan.

[Mark Pearse]

Thanks for the comments, all discussion will help me. PVA is strong but the form is large at around 800-900mm tall so I think it's going to be soft at that scale, & there's the problem of wet Silkspan on a PVA based form. You can dilute epoxy with acetone, but I'll use the one that's already mixed thinner, as it might be stronger than a home-made version - called Evidure here, I think it's International Paints (Azko Nobel). If I do get a good shape, I'll just keep laying in sheets with epoxy until I'm sure it'll be stiff.

 

All thoughts would be very welcome.

 

Below is a plan view of the curvatures I'm trying to get. The leech line isn't quite right but gives a fair impression.

 

[cog]

Can you get the curvature when you "stretch" it wet and horizontally between multiple attachment points kind of a sloppy streched painters canvas ... (by the way, it's "Akzo Nobel" a Dutch chemical company)

Edited January 14, 2019 by cog

[Mark Pearse]

Hi Carl,

 

yes that's what I was thinking, & in addition using sand to weight it as required. I think the hard part will be to be the balance between baggy shaped curves in one area & a flat curve in another - hence using sand, almost like being able to locally increase gravity.

[Bob Cleek]

I have found that light cotton material or the equivalent is quite suitable for sails at as small as 3/4" to the foot. At this scale, a fine stitch in thin thread on a sewing machine is properly scaled for representing the sailcloth panels. It's tedious hand-stitching, but boltropes, reinforcing patches, and other "real-life" sail details are all possible.  Actually cutting and sewing panels cut to shape the sail, as in full-size practice is a level of sophistication I have yet to attempt, but this also is theoretically possible. However, once a sail is bent onto the model, it tends to take the same shape as a real sail, and can be "filled" and shaped with a hair dryer in one hand and a can of spray starch in the other, right on the model. (Masking all but the sail before spraying the starch is advised, of course.) The below photos are of a yet-to-be-starched machine-stitched and hand-worked gaff sail of cotton in 3/4" to the foot scale. The photos weren't taken for the purpose of showing the sail work and the sail wasn't made with the lightest fabric available, but should provide some idea of what real cloth sails look like in larger scale models.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Mark Pearse]

thanks Bob,

 

that's very helpful & a lovely model. It does change my thinking on cotton, but for now I'll press on as is. If I'm not happy, I have a 1940's cotton sail that's no good as a sail any longer, the fabric has a very tight weave & might work ok. 

 

Did you use glue to stabilise the rope rigging?

[Bob Cleek]

1 hour ago, Mark Pearse said:

Did you use glue to stabilise the rope rigging?

Thanks for the compliment on the boat!  I was a bit embarrassed to post it, particularly the unflattering "close-ups" of the rigging line. I sort of backed into the model. Someone gave me a very limited plan of a seventeen foot hard-chine catboat and I modified the design, the cabin and the rig primarily, and starting futzing around with it to see what it would look like. One thing led to another and the next thing I knew, I was taking the model seriously. I did rush through certain aspects, though. I would have spent more time cleaning up the metalwork and if I'd been harder on myself, I'd have laid up my own rope. I didn't even "flame" the thread to get rid of the fuzz! It was a cute boat in the end, so I built a case for it.

 

Anyway, where it's necessary I did apply clear ("white") shellac to the lines in order to shape them. This is particularly evident in the coiled halyards hanging over the cabin bulkhead. It isn't natural to have scale lines coiled like a cowboy's lariat, as is often seen. Working lines on real vessels are limp and, when coiled and hung, don't lay in "circles," but rather hang down and conform to whatever they are draped over.

 

Shellac is soluble in alcohol, which allows for changes and forming. The alcohol dries quickly and as it does, it permits forming the thread to pretty much whatever shape one desires. It's invisible, provided only enough is applied to wet the thread (one coat.) Adding further coats on top of dried coats builds up a glossy finish that isn't desirable. If "softening" for further shaping is desired, it only takes an application of alcohol to return the shellac already applied to a soft state again.

 

I use shellac a lot, no only for treating lines to create catenaries or to seal knots (which are easily "unsealed" with alcohol, if required... there are always "do-overs," it seems,) but I also use it as a sealer on wood parts. Alcohol is quite water-impermeable and keeps wood stable. Depending upon the wood species, changes in ambient humidity can cause wood to move a lot, weakening the structure over time and causing glued parts to let go. I also use it when I want to leave wood natural. Repeated coats can depict varnished brightwork well, and when not overdone (i.e. not overly glossy,) can look quite realistic. All the unpainted wood on the model has shellac applied to it.

 

Lastly, shellac is dirt cheap and brushes are easily cleaned in alcohol. Get your alcohol by the quart or gallon at the hardware store. That's the least expensive source. Get "clear" or "white" shellac. The "orange" shellac has an orange cast which will build up to a dark brown with repeated coats. I don't find much use for it on models. If your shellac thickens in the can, or if you wish to apply it in lighter coats than "out of the can," just add alcohol and stir. The solvent in shellac is only alcohol, so for those who are concerned about vapors, there are none to worry about.

 

I seriously doubt that a "1940's cotton sail" from a full-size boat will work at your scale, if I understand your comment correctly. I've sailed with cotton sails of various weights, including very light spinnakers. All would have been much to heavy for model work. What you want is very light, tightly woven fabric. Something around the weight of handkerchief cloth.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Your model looks very nice, by the way! It demonstrates good, clean and crisp work. I'll keep an eye on how it goes.

Edited January 15, 2019 by Bob Cleek

[Mark Pearse]

thanks Bob

 

I have some clear shellac. I actually used the orange/brown quite a bit in the model on the timberwork, with a finishing wipe with satin polyurethane.

[cog]

Mark watch out for sand build up in a single spot as it will definitely turn against you, and misform the sail

[Mark Pearse]

some progress on the sail mould, & Heath Robinson would be pleased...lots of string with knots, pegs & dodgy fixings 

 

Below shows the fabric suspended & tensioned here & there, the grey blotches are from water spray to soften the fabric, & hopefully will reshape a little as it dries; a hefty bucket of Bronte sand awaits. The good news is that the shape is about right - aerofoil shape towards the mast & gaff, & flatter towards the leech; with maximum belly in the upper part of the sail (in the photo the close timber is the gaff, next is the mast & the loose one below a timber strip furthest away is the boom).

 

as it turns out, only a very small amount of sand was required; the shape looks quite good & my earlier estimate of the difference angle between boom & gaff was quite a lot more than here, but I will probably ease than suspension line a little more so the gaff lays out a little more

 

 

After it's all dry the next step is to put some mixed Everdure epoxy resin into a spray bottle & spray it all, make small adjustments to the tension, add sand etc. When that's hardened a bit I'll lay some more fabric on the top with more epoxy, perhaps even 3 or 4 layers.