Well, we've got there! - This is the final part.
‘Natterer’ – A shipbuilding Odyssey? – Part 16
I think this is the point where all the articles in the magazines say ‘on the water’.
Natterer was finally launched in 2010, some 33 years after the idea germinated. She sailed beautifully, and exactly on her marks, with no ballast required. Just as well, really, as by calculation at the start she was supposed to carry about 5lbs of ballast – remember what I said about the weight creeping up? Actually, I was very pleased, as 5lbs on a displacement of 80 lbs is only just over 6%.
She looks absolutely ‘right’ on the water, at a scale speed of about 6mph – the sort of speed at which these boats were normally sailed. She can sail much faster, but it doesn’t look right for the type of boat she is. Handling is impeccable; she turns well, and has a very steady attitude in the water, being very little affected by the wash from other boats, and cutting through waves rather than lifting excessively as a smaller boat does. Altogether very happy!
I’m delighted to say ‘Natterer’ took first in class on two successive years at the Northern Model Boat Show, and was given a ‘highly commended’ at Harrogate.
Although she looks absolutely ‘right’ with the crew on board when on the water, I wasn’t so sure she still looked correct when on display, so a spin-off project followed on in the winter of 2010, when I thought she might look rather good displayed on a timber carriage.
The carriage is a typical timber wagon of about 1900. When moving the Windermere steamboats on land, the usual recourse was to derrick the boats onto whatever transport was available, usually belonging to the local timber contractor, and hitch up a team of horses or a traction engine. It must have been a frightening sight to see a boat such as ‘Dolly’ coming down the Kirkstone pass, as happened at one stage.
The wagon was going to be rather large, with a distance of 2’ 5” (725mm) between axles. A set of drawings was obtained taken from an actual wagon, and a friend arranged for a set of four steel ‘tires’ to be rolled and welded where he works. The tires are 9” diameter, so big!
I won’t bore you with the details of making the carriage, as obviously building a wagon is a different discipline to that of building a boat. Suffice to say it used up just about all my stock of beech, saved from a skip in about 1970, and I managed to file my way through several sheets of steel producing the fittings.
People have asked me from time to time what it costs to build a launch like this. I've kept a record of everything I bought for her over the years. If I adjust the costs for bits I've bought over the last 30+ years into present day prices; include every valve, pipe, nut and bolt; and also add in present day commercial costs for items which I obtained cheaply such as the boiler and the wood (Remember I obtained the boiler for very little money, and a lot of the timber was free - courtesy of Granny) then the cost comes out at a staggering £5000+ !!!
In practice, if I was to build her again, then I think I would still be looking at half that at least. Makes you gulp, but If I think of it as an average cost over 33 years of building pleasure, then £76 a year doesn't sound nearly as bad! (or even £152, as the chancellor has just pointed out)
So to finish. 33 years and a lot of enjoyment, balanced by moments when I just wanted to heave her on to the bonfire.
Am I happy with her now she’s built? – Very much so!
Would I build another? – I haven’t enough time left!
Thank you for following the build, and in particular all those of you who have put finger to keyboard with comments and discussion. I shall now retire to my workshop and stop bothering you. All the very best to you, and keep modelling!
Ted
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Topic: Natterer - A shipbuilding Odyssey? (Read 26983 times)