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[Capt Podge]

In 1997 I started my first kit build - Billings "Smit Nederland" - 5 years later, yes 5 years, she took her maiden voyage.
 
At the time of purchase I didn't realise that this was an experienced builders kit (perhaps the guy in the model shop could have advised me of this). Anyway, I was torn between "Neddy" and the Bugsier 3 so went for Neddy just because she was the bigger of the two.
 
So, off we went, full of enthusiasm. That's when my lack of experience kicked in.
 
A number of mistakes were made and had to be put right.
For example: Having installed the Becker rudders I then painted them with undiluted Humbrol Enamel "to protect the brass"
 
When the time came to fit the main deck I noted there were 2 sets of dotted lines (which, as it turns out, is the marking for the installation of the bulwarks) which I, in my ignorance, thought were cutting lines. Yep, I went at it with the Stanley knife.
 
Fortunately, I hadn't got very far before deciding to offer up the deck to the hull to test for fit. Another look at the plans (there were no building instructions) indicated where I'd gone wrong.
 
These are just a couple of examples to show just how much of a novice I was 
 
So, after years of frustration, she finally went on her maiden voyage. One of the lads took a photo for me thus:-
 

underway.jpg
 
Now to the reason for the rebuild......
 
I'd been sailing the model on a Sunday morning at the lake, was asked to attend a meeting, so took the boat out of the water and sat her on one of the display tables outside the clubhouse. (You can probably guess what's coming...)
 
I came out to find my boat on the deck with bits & pieces scattered about and one of the rudders broken away from the hull.
One of our own club members claimed to have accidently caught his clothing on the boat and dragged her off the table
 
So, rather than make the situation worse, I just gathered it all up and returned home.
I tried to make repairs but it was never going to be the same again so the boat was put away in a dark corner and a start made on my next model.
 
Some months later, I was told what had really happened that day........needless to say that guy left the club and hasn't been around since.
 
Well, that's the background out of the way.
 
11 models later, I've dug Neddy out of the mire and she's in the workshop now.
 
Here's a couple of photos of her just before I stripped her down...
 

dust01.jpg
 

dust02.jpg
 
So, the top hamper was removed, dusted off and washed, dried off, then placed in shallow trays until needed - this included mast & rigging, funnels, radar, binnacle, aerials, guard rails and access ladders. The whole of the bridge was then dismantled. The parts will be used as templates for replacement.
Next came the main superstructure, followed by all the fittings, then the bulwarks, main deck and finally the running gear.
 
Some bits I'll be able to reuse, others will have to be remade.
 
I actually started this about a week ago and initially wasn't going to bother putting it on the Forum but I thought that perhaps it may be of interest to anyone else rebuilding this type of vessel.
 
Here's what I was faced with once the strip down was completed....
 

filthy.jpg
 

damage01.jpg
 

damage02.jpg
 

damage03.jpg
 
Now the clean up could begin...
 
More to follow later on today
 
Regards,
 
Ray.
 

[Martin (Admin)]

We feel your pain Ray! 

How are you going to 'beef up' the hull around the rudders and shafts?

[Capt Podge]

Spent the next five days rubbing down the hull (and my finger ends )
 

stripping01.jpg
 

stripping02.jpg
 
This next photo shows the extent of the damaged where the rudder broke away...
 

damage04.jpg
 
The inside of the hull was given a cursory wipe down and will be sprayed with a coat of primer later, just to tidy it up a bit.
 

cleanup.jpg
 
As can be seen from this next one, the hull has been stripped right back to the bare plastic.
 

clean.jpg
 

We feel your pain Ray! 

How are you going to 'beef up' the hull around the rudders and shafts?

Martin, I think this answers your question
 
Next up, the repairing of the gaping hole.
 
My initial attempt was to make a copy of the Stbd rudder seat, using P38, so I brushed vaseline in and around the area, mixed the P38 and this was the result...
 

plug01.jpg
 
Unfortunately, the rudder seats are "handed" so all I ended up with was a copy of the Stbd seat
 
Then I came up with the idea of using a piece of shaped balsa, epoxied in placed both inside and out to seal it - here's the result...
 

plug02.jpg
 

plug03.jpg
 
Before applying the epoxy I marked, in pencil, the position for drilling. This shows through the glue for when I reach that stage.
 
I think that should be satisfactory.
 
Regards,
 
Ray.
 

[Capt Podge]

And now to bring it up to date...
 
First task was to make and fit the deck edge supports.
A 69cm strip of wood, 6mm x 3.5mm, was clamped in place 3mm below the edge of the hull. The replacement deck will be 3mm thickness and therefore should sit flush with the top of the hull - I hope...
 
These supports also help to give the hull a bit of rigidity.
 
Once happy with the position of the supports they were glued in place with Cyano, using the capillary method to ensure the whole strip is secured to the hull.
 

deck_supports.jpg
 
The hull was then set aside to dry off.
 
In the meantime, the main deck was sanded back to bare wood. This also assisted in the removal of the bulwark support locating lugs which, due to the dismantling process, had snapped off flush with the deck.
 
So, here's a few more shots, with brief notes....
 

deckoff.jpg
 
That's the deck as it was when I removed it...


decksanded.jpg
 
That's the deck sanded down on both sides....


deckdamage.jpg
 
...and that's the result of my butchery from when I first built the model
 
Regards,
 
Ray.
 

[Capt Podge]

Forgot to add these other photos of the bits and pieces, some of which will be ok, others not so...
 

bulwark_supports.jpg
 
That's all 69 bulwark supports - they will all have to be renewed.
 

ruddersetc.jpg
 
The rudders, props etc will be cleaned up and reused - I hope.
 

bitsandpieces.jpg
 
...back to the rebuild then:-
 
Incidentally, the sanding of the deck has removed approx half of the thickness i.e. 1.5mm.
 
Now that the locating lugs have been removed, it's time to make a new deck.
 
A sheet of 3mm ply was selected and the old deck taped down firmly onto this, as a template.
 

template.jpg
 
The result isn't too bad and will be trimmed down gradually to achieve a good fit.
 

newone.jpg
 
...that's where we're at now.
 
Regards,
 
Ray.

 
 

[hama]

Wow, you're really ambitious! Interesting to follow your progress.
Hama

[Capt Podge]

Thanks Hama - nothing done today though, been a bit busy with other things 
 
Regards,
 
Ray.
 

[Capt Podge]

Did a little bit of thinking about the deck again. The template for the deck has some damage, as noted previously, so this was laid onto the original plan and marks made to indicate starting point for making a tracing (from the plan) and transferring same onto the new deck.
 

tracing.jpg
 

txtrace.jpg
 
With that done, it was time to start cutting.
So, the ply was trimmed, close to the lines, with the Stanley knife and an 'M' shaped metal ruler.
Sanding down was a bit of trial and error however, we got there in the end.
The cross member that supports the rearmost portion of the foredeck was glued in place. This also has the added function of keeping that portion of the hull at it's correct breadth.
Happy that the deck is a good fit so it was taped in place (dry fit for now).
 

decktaped.jpg
 
Next came the hole for the Port rudder.
Used a number of drill bits to gradually open the hole and I'll ream it to size when I get to the rudder fitting stage.
 
For now, while the deck is in place, I can work out where the running gear is going to go.
 
The original 10mm x 9mm hardwood strip which carries the platform for the motors etc, needed sanding back to bare wood and a new platform had to be made due to the old one being damp and carrying a black mildew (or something horrid like that).
 
 

newforold.jpg
 
 
yuck.jpg
 
So now I'm ready to hit the bits of wood with sanding sealer, probably 3 coats, sanding down between coats.
As a back-up 110 pilot holes were drilled through the main deck, to identify the location of all the bulwark supports and some fittings. This was done just in case the pencil marks disappear when sanding down between coats of sealer.
 
Hoping to complete that small task tomorrow...
 
 
Regards,
 
Ray.
 

[Capt Podge]

Now then, where was I ?
 
...oh, yes. Obviously, with applying sanding sealer to the deck and sanding down, the holes I had drilled filled up again however, with a mini hand-drill the holes were cleared easily enough.
 
Back to the hull.
After a cursory clean up of the inside, masking tape applied over all the holes (from the outside) ready to spray with white primer, just to tidy things up a bit.
 
Once dried off, the position for the false keel / RGP was ascertained and marked, in pencil, ready for fitting. The RGP was then pinned and glued to the false keel. (RGP is just my way of saying "running gear platform")
 
While that was drying off attention was given to the brass fittings: Rudders, props and anchors. These were stripped of paint using caustic soda crystals then rinsed in clean water and left to dry.
This had the added benefit of softening the residue of old glue, in this instance Stablit Express, making it fairly simple to remove.
 
The plastic fittings: Kort nozzles, sole plate and 'P' brackets were also thrown into the solution, along with the brassware.
The solution had no effect whatsoever, on the paint, so this was removed with wet 'n dry, used wet.
 
Now, the hull was turned over and the bilge keels glued back in position, faired in with P38.
 
The RGP is now epoxy glued in the hull.
During this little operation I managed to "spring" the cross-member off and so used the remainder of the mixed epoxy to reglue that as well.
 
Here's a few photo's:-
 
 

[Capt Podge]

OOPS ! I'll try that again...
 
 
 

[Capt Podge]

That last lot of photos were submitted using the direct attachments method - I don't seem to be able to do some writing, followed by 1 photo then some more writing then another photo etc..
 
So, for the next update, I'll revert to using an image hosting website. 
 
Regards,
 
Ray.
 

[Unsinkable 2]

Nice work there Capt .


It may have taken 5 years but you did it justice. It just shows that experience comes with time, well done.


You didn't mention what really happened at the club......... Not the green eyed monster that knocked it off was it?        U2

[carlmt]

Damn good 'restoration'    - Looks like you are building a new kit!!!!!
 
Enjoying this

[Martin (Admin)]

I hate to admit this but try Picasa & Google+     
 Bit of a steep learning curve and a few of  'gotcha's'  but once 'sussed',  very quick!


PS. Topic renamed.   

[Capt Podge]

PS. Topic renamed.   
 
Thanks Martin

Looks like you are building a new kit!!!!!

You're spot on there Carl - Fortunately I was able to save some of the fittings, so that should speed things up a little later on in the rebuild.
 

Not the green eyed monster that knocked it off was it?        U2

 
 

 
Despite my best efforts, couldn't make it into the workshop today. 
 
We'll see what tomorrow brings.....
 
Regards,
 
Ray.
 

[Unsinkable 2]

Wow the JPEG 494 is probably the biggest optical illusion I've seen. I couldn't work out if the two rectangular pieces were recessed or protruding and how on earth did you get that bar clamped across the keel? Then realised we were looking into the hull and not from underneath. Never mind new glasses I need new eyes!   U2

[Capt Podge]

Wow the JPEG 494 is probably the biggest optical illusion I've seen.  U2

 
 
Now that you've pointed it out, I can see what you mean....the old Mk1 eyeballs ain't what they used to be. 
 
....just a little update coming up.
 
 
The 'P' brackets, being plastic mouldings, come in 2 halves which needed gluing together c/w captive bolt. This then enters the hull and is secured with a single nut. These were temporarily fitted to aid alignment of the prop tubes.
 
Next, there's a Kort centralising rod which passes through the keel horizontally and into each side spacer of the Kort's.
My original effort was so out of line that it was abandoned altogether in favour of loads of glue.
This time I made sure I got it right.
That said, I still managed to drill 2 erroneous holes in the keel ! - However, these were covered up with epoxy, at the same time as the rod was glued in place.
 
Now we could tackle the Kort nozzles and rudders.
 
The rudders are fairly easy to fit but, to get them hanging vertically and square, the bottom of the rudder shaft has to locate in a ferule, which is embedded in a piece of wood, which is part of the skeg, which has to be attached to the Kort nozzle.
 
The original skegs disintegrated during the dismantling process so new ones had to be made.
So, these were made with 0.5mm & 1.0mm plasticard.
Next, the wooden block, which carries the ferule, was made with laminations of strip wood as I had nothing of the correct thickness in stock.
The block was then cyanoed in place.
 
 
 

[Capt Podge]

Now I needed to know exactly where to drill the hole for the bottom of the rudder shaft.
 
OK then. Fitted the korts first, so now the skeg could be attached and a mark made on the sidewall of the skeg, showing where to drill.
Because I've already fitted the skeg, how to get the hole made for the ferule ?
 
Went off for a brew to think it over....
 
On returning to the workshop I removed the rudder, turned the hull the right way up and found a suitable size drill bit however, I only had a 6cm gap between the workpiece and b ottom of the hull and my smallest hand drill is 12cm
 
Then I remembered I had bought a set of hollow hole punches (toolzone) at the Harrogate show back in early May. The smallest in the set is 3mm cut - just the right size. (I only bought them to change a £10 note so I'd have change for the Tyne Tunnel)
 
So, the punch was lowered through the hull opening and set on the required location. This left just 10 - 12mm proud inside the hull and this was given several strokes with a light hammer until the required depth was achieved.
 
The ferule was then fitted, utilising the same punch, to ensure it went in evenly.
The rudder was then refitted and checked - spot on. 
 
Right - that's the Stbd rudder sorted, now for the Port side....
 
Here's a few pics...
 
Regards,
 
Ray.
 
 

[mermod]

Dammit, now you've got me thinking about re-furbing my old girl, It's no easy task stripping back and starting over and old kit but your'e doing a very nice job of it.


Phill

[Capt Podge]

Thanks Phill - it's actually quite frustrating in these early stages, in fact I've just spent 3hrs trying to get the Port rudder to hang vertical. Every time I tighten it up it skews across toward the centre. I know what the problem is: Where I've carried out the repair there's no hollow (as there should be) on the inside and I'm removing just a little at a time. Last thing I want is to remove too much and end up having to fill it again .
 
The hollow needs to be sufficiently deep to accommodate a nut & spacer...
 
I'll have another crack at it tomorrow.
 
In the meantime, I'll be looking out for your "old girl" entering dry dock. 
 
Regards,
 
Ray.
 

[carlmt]

Nice Becker rudders!!! 
 
Are / were they standard with this model or were they 'extras'?
 
Enjoying this refurb..........

[Capt Podge]

Nice Becker rudders!!! 
 
Are / were they standard with this model or were they 'extras'?
 
Enjoying this refurb..........

Thanks Carl. The Becker rudders were part of the "extras" fittings kit - there wasn't any alternative really.
 
The fittings kit contained mainly brass items: Rudders, propellers, propshafts, proptubes, anchors, plus other smaller items.
 
 

[essex2visuvesi]

They're part of the std Smit Kit now

[Capt Podge]

They're part of the std Smit Kit now

Yep. Thanks for the info e2v. Just did a google (out of curiosity) and all advertising shows rudders, props etc.. included. 
 
They weren't when I bought it in 1997 though...
 
Regards,
 
Ray.
 

[Capt Podge]

...back to the Port Rudder.
 
After several efforts at removing tiny amounts of material, followed by trial fittings of the rudder, I finally got it positioned correctly however, every time I tried operating it (by hand-operating the tiller arm) the whole thing was turning and the securing nuts were backing off each time.
 
Now then, a couple of days ago I wrote out a little note on a "post-it", telling myself "don't forget to lubricate the shaft" - guess who forgot to lubricate the shaft...
 
So, once I'd realised that, I stripped the rudder down again, lubricated the shaft, put it back together, fitted to the boat and - Bingo - it works !
 
Total time taken, to fit 1 Becker Rudder = 6 hours !
 
What a numpty. 
 
Didn't take any photos this time round - I'll include one or two in the next update. 
 
Regards,
 
Ray.