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[Yarpie]

Great work on the re-shaped bow!

Will you be creating Renowns destinctive torpedo bulges?

Thanks for that Eric.

You've probably jumped the gun a bit, as that is the next consideration in the conversion. We actually did set about the distinctive anti-torpedo bulges and the armour plate (which, incidentally, added 4,000 tons to the actual ship).

More on that later.

Yarpie and Robbie.

[Yarpie]

i know what you mean , the model i cut in two belongs to my girlfreinds brother , which was a very sad looking coaster bought from fratton , which ive cut in half to enable him to transport it , just need to sort some form of seal between the two sections ? ?  you bow conversion is looking good  jon

Thanks Jon,

I'm sure that member of the local display team (especially Alan) would give you good advice on how to achieve the seal between both hull sections.  There are various methods of achieving this, but central in all of them is a pair of very strong transverse bulkheads where both sections join. These should be substantial enough to take the various loads placed on them.

RENOWN; RODNEY and SS OHIO all have slightly differing methods of watertight coupling and each has its own merits.

Yarpie.

[Yarpie]

Once the sanding is completed, it's time to add some grey primer to identify the slightest imperfections.

The bows are not completed yet as there is one more vital step to be carried out.

Yarpie and Robbie.

[Yarpie]

The next vital step is to reinforce the bow longitudinally.

The four aluminium battens that were secured to the bow plate and extended aft are instrumental in this.

Once the outer skin of the bow had set, some fibreglass cloth was ripped into small patches and stuffed in the inner bow section and carefully rammed home around the aluminium battens.

Then a one pint mix of resin and hardener was poured into the upturned forward section so that it levelled-off around the battens. This was then tamped down, eliminating any air pockets.

Another one pint mix was prepared, poured and tamped down in the same fashion. The whole forward section was positioned bow downwards for the resin mix to set (48 hours) before any further movement.

We now have a new profiled bow which extends 6" back from the stem as a solid lump. Hopefully this will turn out to be as strong and resilient as the original moulding.

However, time will tell ................. 

Yarpie and Robbie.

[Yarpie]

The bow reprofiling is fully completed, and if we jump forward by about eight months ..... this is how it looks at present.

Neither of us had attempted remedial work such as this before, so we just got our heads together and came up with a plan. To our benefit was the fact that there weren't too many brain cells interfering with each other, so we kept it simple.

Hope you like .

Yarpie and Robbie.

[Stormbringer]

looking good 
any more pics of her ?

[Yarpie]

Thank you for that Stormbringer.

Yes, there are plenty more images, but for the next phase, we'll have to go back to December last year and the construction of the anti-torpedo bulges and the armour plating.

Yarpie and Robbie.

[unbuiltnautilus]

Blimey, are you sure you didn't just photoshop half of the real ship into your back garden?

[Yarpie]

Blimey, are you sure you didn't just photoshop half of the real ship into your back garden?

You don't think I'm computer savvy enough to do that do you, unbuiltnautilus?

No, the image is just to show how the stem looks now after it's rearrangement.

Soon to follow will be our amateurish attempts to create the anti torpedo bulges and armour plating.

Again, we came up with a cunning plan (Baldric), and followed it through.

The proof of the pudding will be whether it holds or not when first lowering the hull into the water. We anticipate some very odd stresses and strains on the assembly, even some we didn't cater for.

But more of that in the next posting.

Yarpie and Robbie.

[triumphjon]

is that the short version ?

[Yarpie]

Yes Jon, this is her as a result of the Washington Treaty which limited all battleships to a certain tonnage.

Much easier for parking and she had the biggest transom in the world.

Yarpie and Robbie.

[Yarpie]

Work on the anti torpedo bulges and armour belt.

As can be seen from the image, the model of BARHAM had some rudimentary armour plating fitted. This had to be rmoved as close inspection of the armour belt revealed that over the course of 20 years water had crept in and the dreaded rot had set into the wood.

A whole new bulge had to be created, not only down the proscribed length of the hull, but separated where both sections of hull joined together.

Firstly we fixed some planking in position slightly shy of the final depth of the bulges and short of the extreme length. These were screwed and glued to the hull sides.

 Then down to th local DIY depot and get some 5/16" quarter round wood lengths.

This would be firmly fixed to the underside of the bulge outline and extend to the leading edge of the armour belt. It would be 1/8" proud of the existing woodwork where the lower edge of a sheet of pre-shaped laminate would locate. This was glued and pinned. Later it was spray varnished to protect against decay.

Once set, the laminate was bent over the bulge outline and the upper edge was glued and tacked along the edge of the armour belt......... leaving enough spare to trim off...........

Note that at this stage the new shelter deck forward had been modified and fixed in place.

Yarpie and Robbie.

[Yarpie]

The bulge on the starboard side, forward section nearly completed.

All that neeeds to be done now is to extend the bulge by another three inches or so in order to fair-in the addition properly.

The new shelter deck is shown, which was built around, and supported by, the old casement gun arrangement from the BARHAM. This helps to bolster the new vertical extension to the ships side by means of dummy internal bulkheads.

Thanks for your interest in this project and do feel free to comment at any stage.

Yarpie and Robbie.

[triumphjon]

so much easier to work on one half at a time ! the conversion is looking good

[Yarpie]

The bulges are now being created for the aft section. The method is exactly the same but care has to be taken to get the lining-up exactly right.

First image shows the Admirable Robbie posing by his "Command".

The second image shows the outer "skin" flapping at the deck level. The upper edge is left unsecure until the lower edge is completely set, then it will be bent over ensuring it follows exactly the contour of the forward section then glued and pinned in place.

Image #3 shows the skin pinned at the lower edge (just above the two yellow handles).

Image four is a close-up of how its done.

Yarpie and Robbie.

[unbuiltnautilus]

http://www.portsmouthnews.tv/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7230:ships-renown-and-rodney-set-sail-once-again&catid=34:front-page-news

You cannot hide the maiden voyage from us
Excellent finish, looks great on the water and apologies for spoiling the surprise for everyone else

[Yarpie]

Thanks for posting the link u-b-n.

It wasn't until I created a new thread that I noticed you'd beaten me to it. (Oh what I'd give to be your age again).

C'est la vie.

Yarpie.

[Stormbringer]

awesome