Model Boat Mayhem

Masterclasses => DRIFTER/TRAWLER FREDERICK SPASHETT => Topic started by: John W E on November 12, 2008, 08:47:23 pm

Title: PLAN BUILD NUMBER 4: DRIFTER/TRAWLER FREDERICK SPASHETT
Post by: John W E on November 12, 2008, 08:47:23 pm

FREDERICK SPASHETT – THE DRIFTER TRAWLER BUILD

Have you ever thought what makes us contemplate building a certain model?   Those who are new to the hobby will be drawn into the pastime for one reason or another albeit for pure relaxation or whatever reason.

We will find, once we are established in this hobby, that we have a preference – some prefer modelling Warships, some prefer tugs, some prefer liners etc.

I would personally consider myself, as, what they say a Military Naval builder – as the majority of my models consist of some form of Military vessel.  Every now and then; we as modellers see either a photograph or a plan/actual model of a particular vessel which is not in our chosen field and it triggers something off inside of us – which either brings back memories or we say ‘Oh that is a nice boat’.   This is how the plan for this trawler triggered me – it brought back memories of standing on the quayside of the River Tyne watching the activities on the North side of the River – at the Fish Quay – in my younger days there were lots of boats there, and it was a hive of activity – the sounds and certain smells never go away from the memory  so this is why I have chosen this plan as a build plan.   Because, it holds very special fondness for the past-times and happy memories….

For those who have some experience in building from plans; I suggest you may skip this next part – as this section is dedicated to those who are new to the plan building, but, not new to the field of modelling.

We are going to have a look at the Plans and we are going to have a little insight of the Person who drew the plans.

We will begin with the draftsman, James Pottinger Esquire; James was the draftsman for this particular model plan.  To date James must have drawn approximately 150 plans and he has been doing so for over 30 + years.  Amongst his plans, he has plans for cargo ships, tugs, fishing boats, yachts and other various types.  So, from his selection of plans there is a wide variety to choose from.     There is not a complete list of all of James’ plans – you have to be a bit of a Sherlock Holmes. Do a little bit of digging in the Marine Modelling Magazine and also plans published via the Model Boats Plans Services, there are also several plans published in the Model Shipwright magazine.   So, if you are unable to find what you are actually seeking from the above list; you can contact James Pottinger via email or post details nearer the end of this build thread.

James Pottinger is an engineer by trade and has worked in several fields of the offshore industry and also, sea-going industry – and this shines through in the plans he prepares for us.

So, we know we are going to build from a good accurate set of plans here – at this stage then let us take a look at the plans, to which I have included a scan of a set of plans which can be obtained from the Model Boats Magazine.    This scan, along with the article, comes from the Model Boats Magazine – September 1977 – to which James Pottinger presented an article for the magazine.

Title: Re: PLAN BUILD NUMBER 4: DRIFTER/TRAWLER FREDERICK SPASHETT
Post by: John W E on November 12, 2008, 09:05:30 pm

There are three main views on the plans of the vessel; the main one is the side profile or elevation as it is named on the plan.

Below it there is what is called the deck plan; and, to the left hand side, is the body plan.   Scattered around there are other small sketches of the Captain, bridge, wheelhouse top and there is also a view of the front of the wheel house & scattered around the rest of the plan are various other items such as the typical deck section and also a suggested method for gaining access to the hull for modelling purposes.

We will concentrate firstly on the 3 main items which concern us on the plan.

The Body Plan

This shows us the shapes of the frames, at certain sections on the elevation plan.  You will see they are numbered; they go from zero to 9½, and, if we look along the side elevation of the plan, you will see the numbers repeated there.   These numbers show the positions of the frames on the side plan.   You will also notice that the deck plan is also in line with the elevation plan.  The numbers can be transposed straight across to the deck plan, giving us the desired total widths of the frames.

If we revert back and have a look at our body plan, you can notice that there are horizontal lines drawn through the frames; and these go from number 1-17 and these horizontal lines are what are known as the water lines.

These lines are of some use to some modellers – to help check the trueness of profiles of the frames.   However, you will notice that these lines have not been repeated on the elevation plan so they won’t be of as much interest to us in this build.

Title: Re: PLAN BUILD NUMBER 4: DRIFTER/TRAWLER FREDERICK SPASHETT
Post by: John W E on November 12, 2008, 09:10:29 pm

We need to know now what frames and what positions we are going to trace off.   So, first of all, you will see the baseline – Number 1 on the body plan, does not actually start at the very base of the keel.   It actually starts at the plating rebate line, which is where the actual plating on the life-size vessel meets the keel.  So, we take all our vertical measurements from this rebate line.   

We draw in/draw over the centre line of the frames, this is the line which divides the forward looking frames which is on your right-hand side/starboard side as you look at them, and, on your left-hand side/port side are the rear facing frames as though you are standing in the dock looking at the rear of the life-sized vessel.

We have therefore drawn over our centre-line which will go beyond the height of the total frames; to this we then draw a horizontal line 90° to our centre-line.   This will become our building board line.
On my particular model, I drew this line ½ inch above waterline number 17.   

Now have a look at Scan A and this is of the body lines.   I have marked on various items; which we will be concerned with.

We will start off with the very base line; at the bottom of the frames.   This will be called the plate rebate line.   This is where we take all of our sizes from for vertical heights (this particular line).  Then, when we look at the centre of the frames, we will see that there is a centre line drawn vertically and at 90° to the plate rebate line.    Either side of this centre line there are six frames drawn – on the right hand side – numbered from 9 ½ to 6   and on the left hand side of the centre line there are eight frames drawn numbered 0 all the way through to number 5.   

Don’t forget left hand side – PORTSIDE – as though we are standing in the dry dock looking at the vessel from the stern – these would be the frames we would see.

On the right hand side – STARBOARD – side – if we were standing in the dry dock we would be looking at the front of the vessel and we would see the starboard/front frames of the vessel.

Also on scan A you will see we have marked on the building board line, which is – as I have mentioned before – on my particular build is approx ½ inch above waterline 17.   This building board line is parallel to the plate rebate line.

Next we have marked on the bulwark top edge and this is the line which represents the very top edge of the bulwark.   Below that, we will see a deck edge line; which is ‘arrowed’ in – this line represents the level of the deck but only at the edge of the frame.   So, where this line intersects the frame line, this is the height the deck is at that particular frame.   This line takes in no account of the level of the deck at the centre line of the hull; this is only the level at the edge where the line intersects the frame.

Now, if we look at Scan B you will see the same body plan but, only with 2 arrows drawn parallel to the centre line.   This is to aid – determining the height of the deck and also it aids us for when we come to trace.

You will see at the outer edge of the frames, there is a vertical arrow marked as A – now, I have taken frame 7 as an example.   You will see there is a line drawn parallel to the base line through to the centre line.  Where the deck edge intercepts frame 7 that height is transferred to the centre line.   This gives us the height of the deck; however, it doesn’t take into account for camber.

This is as far as we will talk about this particular scan for the time being.

Title: Re: PLAN BUILD NUMBER 4: DRIFTER/TRAWLER FREDERICK SPASHETT
Post by: John W E on November 12, 2008, 09:13:56 pm

I think at this stage now, we will begin to look into the actual build of the model and we will start with some requirements – such as:
What shall we make the vessel out of?
What motor shall we put in it?
What electrics do we require to go along with the motor?
Are there any special hardware/fittings which we need to purchase?

Materials we are going to construct the model from:    Plywood; some GRP (glass reinforced plastic); some Obechi strips; and, also, for the planking we are going to use Lime strip – plus some maple for the deck planking.

Some side notes about plywood – there are various types of plywood on the market – for home DIY use and also there is marine ply which is used in ‘real’ boat construction:  Modelling ply; as in light-ply and all these ply’s do have some uses.   Some of the plywoods have limited use to us modellers – such as – DIY plywood which is sold in a lot of stores.  This tends to be of little use to us, because, the inner material of the plywood tends to be of a poorer quality then the exterior veneers of the ply – they tend to peel off and split (when it is cut into narrow strips/profiles).

The marine ply as used in the life sized boat building – tends to be on the heavy side for modelling use.  Therefore, this leaves us with the plywood which we purchase from modelling shops/shops which will order in multi-veneer plywood.    I use a birch ply which is made up of 5 veneers – it is a lot more expensive than normal ply – but, this extra price does pay dividends – and the quality stands out when you are actually working with it. 

Now, what about the material we are going to plank the hull in, if we are making the frames from plywood; normally, my preference is to use Obechi planking.   This can be bought in a variety of widths and thicknesses.   I normally use 1.5 mm thick planks, but the width of the planks depend solely on
a) Size of the hull we are building as in length and

b) Shape and the width of the hull

If we are building a hull with very few radius’ in the width of it; as in a vessel with a hard chine construction; we can use relatively broad/wide planks; going up to something like 1 inch in width.   But, if we are building a ‘round’ sectioned hull or in correct terms a displacement hull  where we encounter radius’ on the sides.   This is where we need to reduce the width of the plank to fit the average radius of the hull.  If we try to plank a ‘rounded sectioned’ hull with broad planks – we would tend to end up with a hexagonal affect or a 50 pence piece affect.   So, what we must do is reduce the width of our planks – and we can then faithfully follow the radius in the framework of the hull.

On this particular build I decided to move away from Obechi and try using a relatively new material to me – I am going to use LIME strip planking this time. And the thickness of this Lime strip is on average 1mm to 0.8 mm thickness; and is of 0.8 mm width.    Before I actually used this, I cut a short section off to experiment with it.   To some extent it is slightly better than Obechi to work with – I found when I had put it in boiling water to soak – it actually became more flexible – hey a lot more flexible than Obechi – and it didn’t split either – sometimes Obechi splits across the grain.     Another plus point for the Lime strip is that the majority of the material I had, the grain runs true to the length of the plank – when I have been working with Obechi sometimes, I have had one or two strips of Obechi where the grain has ran diagonally through the width of the plank; rendering it almost useless to use.

I am using 1/8 square Obechi for the stringers.    I have used a /¼square of Obechi for planking support either side of the keel.

The other piece of material I am going to use a lot later on in the build, this is maple and this is going to be used for deck planking it is 0.5 mm thick x 6mm wide – and this material will be discussed later on in the build.

This then, takes care of the wood materials.   Glue – I am going to use a ‘new to the building’ – it is TITEBOND II – basically it has the same characteristics as Evostik Resin W which is what is classed as ‘weatherproof’ and, the only difference between it – I can see – is it is yellow coloured and not white.    It actually does dry yellow too.

We now move on from the glue to the materials we are using for the fibreglass work; the resin was purchased from an Auto shop – in the case of UK – Halfords store.    The manufacturers of the resin are DAVIDSON’S and this is just a standard ‘lay up’ polyester resin and along with this resin is the appropriate hardener, which is a ‘pinky’ coloured paste which comes in a foil tube.

Tissue matting – I have is what is called a ‘Finish tissue matting’ which resembles toilet paper to look at  .

The above listed materials are basically what are required to manufacture the hull.   We now need to move on to the hardware materials.   :-

The propeller shaft propeller shaft I decided to use this time was a standard one I purchased – 4mm shaft diameter x 200 mm long.

The rudder will be built from the plan and made up of 1/8 brass rod; 2 lengths of 1/8 ID (internal diameter) brass tubing.      Also, 2 small pieces of 1/8 ply the same size as the rudder.

The motors; when we discuss motors for particular models we could end up having a long discussion of to’s and fro’s of the size you require for the model; some people do have preferences as in they like to use motors which come from automobile seats from the scrap yard; also there is to take into consideration the power which is required and whether it should in fact be direct drive or through a gearbox.    Bearing this in mind, what I have done in this build is built in a provision, for those who wish to use direct drive – they may with their choice of motor.   This is my choice of motor which I am now going to describe.

The motor I have chosen is a Graupner Speed 500 – along with this, there is an MFA Olympic belt drive gearbox and which has a ratio of 2 to 1 – meaning for every 2 revolutions the small cog on the motor makes  -  it turns the large cog (which is connected to the propeller shaft) once.  Giving us that 2 – 1 ratio.  The reason I have chosen to include a gearbox is that the brushed electric motors of DC current have their best efficiency at the top end of the RPM and operating voltage.    In other words it is most efficient when it is running at 6 volts and approx 17,000 RPM. 

We will be driving a 45mm three bladed propeller; and if we were to direct drive this propeller at 17,000 RPM we would be looking at astronomical amperage.   Somewhere in the region of about 15 – 18 amps; 

This is not very good when one considers using this set up for a 6 volt 4.5 amp battery – it isn’t going to last very long and the battery etc., is going to get very hot.   However if we are going to use the same motor and put the drive through a gearbox of 2-1 ratio – it means the motor may still run at 17,000 RPM, but the prop shaft will only turn at 8,500 RPM which is acceptable for the propeller that we propose to drive.  Doing this will also bring our amperage down and therefore making our duration on the water a lot longer.

We will go into greater detail of choosing speed controllers later on in the build – so – we have now outlined some of our requirements; and the next thing is to commence and actually start the build.

We have spread the plan out and familiarised ourselves with it and we are quite happy – so first of all what we need to do is somehow transfer the outline of the frames; from the body plan to our building material.   This can be done in several ways; we can trace each individual frame off using tracing paper – we can photocopy the body plan, cut out the individual frames from photocopied images and stick them onto our building material – we can use an old method which is still used quite regularly by some builders and it is called the pin and prick method.  This is where you use a dressmaker’s pin to pinprick the image through the plan onto the building material.   You then remove the plan and you go over the pinpricks with a pencil.   I suppose it does have some advantages, but, as yet I cannot find one.  But, let’s not knock it – it is still a method.      The other method is a carbon copy method similar to what typists sometimes use; where you place carbon paper on top of the building material – place your body plan over the top of the carbon paper and you draw around your frames with a pencil and this in turn reproduces the image from the carbon paper onto the building material – and – as they say – THE CHOICE IS YOURS.   

My preferred method is the tracing method – and what I do is photocopy the body plan; pin the photocopy to a piece of plywood ½ inch thick – approx A4 in size for dimensions and this gives me a drawing board type of affair – and I pin the tracing paper over the top.   

The first thing I draw in is the centre line of the frames; followed by the building board line which is in my case ½ inch above the waterline number 17.   If you have a look at the body plan you will notice that there are horizontal lines drawn through the frames and they go from 1 to 17 – now these lines are parallel.

You will notice that waterline number 1 does not begin right at the base of the keel; it actually begins at the plate rebate line.   This is where, on the life sized vessel, the outside steel plating is joined to the keel.   This rebate line, on this particular build, is used throughout the plan as the base line.   So, when you look at the side elevation do not become confused with the line which is drawn underneath the vessel with the numbers on.   It is the 2nd line up from the base of the keel where all of our measurements are taken from.

We get back to what we are doing – we are going to trace our first frame.   We have traced the centre line and we are going to trace the building board line above water line number 17 – DO NOT FORGET the building board line is parallel to all of the waterlines.

So, the next thing is to do – to determine the height of our first frame, which is going to be frame 9 ½ - now as we look at the body plan and I have put 2 scans on to show this – we have running round the top edge of the frames our bulwark line.   This line represents the very top edge of the bulwark which runs right around the vessel.   Below this line we will see another line which runs basically parallel to the bulwark line and this is the deck edge line.   This is the line which represents the very edge of the deck and also represents the height of the deck, where it actually crosses the frame – so if we take frame 9 ½ first to trace – we trace our frame up to the deck edge line.  We then take this height where the frame reaches the deck edge line and transfer this total height from the rebate line over to our centre line.  This gives us our height of the first frame – bear in mind it doesn’t take into account for the camber of the deck.   This gives us a flat deck.     We will come back to the camber later on in the build – I am not going to include cambers onto the frames because it has caused certain confusion and problems in the past – so all of the frames are going to be ‘flat decked’.   We have traced frame 9 off and what I personally do is take the tracing paper off turn it over – reposition it back onto the body plan – realigning the centre line and the building board line along with the body plan line.   I then redraw the frame and in this case it would be frame 9 ½.   So, when you look at the tracing, which you have done, you have traced a full image of the frame albeit that one part of the tracing is on the opposite side of the tracing paper.   I then draw in my support legs which are going to support the frames on the building board.  These normally represent 2 parallel lines, approximately 1 inch apart; which go from the deck of the frame to the building board line.

Now, I have learnt in the past through experience to draw each frame individually on a separate piece of tracing paper, which I did do in this build.  All 14 frames – so at the end of the day I had 14 pieces of tracing paper with full frames drawn on them along with building support legs.

The next stage is, to go to your side elevation plan.  What we require to do is to trace a section of the keel from say….frame 8 all the way up to the full height of the bow.   Don’t forget, we trace the rebate line.   We then need to trace a stern section from say frame 1 ½ all the way around – and all the way up the stern of the vessel the full height – and even tracing the propeller opening.   You may, if you wish, even trace the rudder.   However, on this tracing also trace the centre line of the propeller shaft and also the centre line of the rudder shaft.

Title: Re: PLAN BUILD NUMBER 4: DRIFTER/TRAWLER FREDERICK SPASHETT
Post by: John W E on November 12, 2008, 09:19:48 pm

We now move on and we require our building material now – which we are going to cut our frames and keel from. As I have already stated, I am using 6mm 5 ply.   

First procedure – pick the long side of the plywood ensure that it is true with a straight edge – the very edge of this plywood.   Then say, 6 inches from one edge of the plywood that is the short edge, put a pencil mark and draw a line half way across the plywood at 90° to the long edge.   What we are actually going to do is draw the frame positions out along the edge of the plywood. 

So, we start off at the mark we have already put and we call that Zero.    We take the distance from our plan for the first frame which is frame ½ and from position 0 we mark this frame position – with a line going at right angles to the long edge.

We carry on until we have marked all of the positions of our frames along the edge of the plywood.  The next stage we do is we take the tracing we have made for the bow of the vessel – we align this tracing up with the frame markings along the edge of the plywood.   So, if you have marked off on your bow from frame 8 – you should align frame 8 on your tracing with frame 8 which you have marked on the plywood and then transfer the bow shape onto the plywood – through the tracing paper.   Repeat this procedure for the stern and don’t forget to mark in the propeller aperture and also the propeller shaft and rudder centre line.  Tip here – when we have finished doing our tracings in pencil on the plywood – go over them with a biro – this prevents the pencil marks fading into the plywood.

Now the next stage I do is to take all the tracings of the frames which I have made and I lay them around and on the plywood so I can achieve the best positions for all of the frames on the plywood., making sure that I don’t overlap the images – when we are happy we have achieved the best positions for all of the frames, we then transfer the images from the tracing paper onto the plywood/building material ensuring that we trace the full image – and not leaving anything off.

This is the advantage of tracing the full frames onto the tracing paper, in the beginning. 

Title: Re: PLAN BUILD NUMBER 4: DRIFTER/TRAWLER FREDERICK SPASHETT
Post by: John W E on November 12, 2008, 09:27:23 pm

The next stage we move onto is to mark in the centre line of the propeller shaft on our keel drawing which we had drawn previously on our building material.   Along with the centre line we need to draw in the length of the propeller shaft and also the width.   This will give an indication of how much material has to be moved from the keel when we actually fit the propeller shaft.

We need to add a height to our keel; normally I make the keel/s for the majority of my models about ¾ inches high for its length.   As I come towards the bow, starting at say frame 8 ½ I begin to increase in steps – so at frame 8 it will be ¾ inch high at 8½ it will go up to say 1½ high and when it reaches frame 9 it will be 2 inches.

As it reaches frame 9½ it will have gone up say 2½ inches and then as the keel goes beyond frame 9 the height is solid to the deck level.   The same approach is done at the stern of the vessel, beginning roughly at say frame 2 gradually increasing in step; to give continuous increase in heights to the keel.

If you have a look at the photographs, where I have laid the frames and keel out, this will give a better explanation.   We need to move on now then to find out what frames need the centres removing and how much of the centres to remove.    On average, if I have made the keel ¾ inch thick, I must leave the base of the frame of the equivalent thickness, which I did do on all of them.  The only one I left solid was frame 9½ - frames 0 and ½ I cut small ovals in – for to allow access for the steering mechanism of the rudder.   Frames 1 and 1½ need to have the centre line of the propeller shaft also marked in, because the propeller shaft will pass through the base of these frames.   The size of hole that we produce in these frames should be slightly larger than the propeller shaft – to allow for movement when we are in the process of alignment when we are assembling the frames.     Once we have marked out the centres of all the frames, we need then to mark all the notches out in the keel and also in the base of the frames where they locate onto the keel.

The way I did this was I took half the height of the keel which is ⅜ and made the notches ⅜ of an inch deep from the top of the keel.   On the corresponding frames, the notches were ⅜ deep up over from the baseline.   Obviously, certain frames such 8½, 9 and 9½ the depth of the notches correspond with the height of that position on the keel.   Once we are happy and have drawn in all of the notches for the assembly to the keel, we need to draw in the notches for the deck stringer.   On this particular build I manufactured the deck stringers from 2 pieces of Obechi ¼ x ⅛ laminated together to produce a ¼ inch square stringer.  Therefore the notches in the frames have to be drawn out at ¼ inch square at the edge of the deck level.

The next stage in our building is to go and ensure that we have copied onto our building material all of the parts, checked they are correct to our plan & once we are happy we can actually move on to cutting the parts out.    How you cut these out is entirely up to you, there are many ways of cutting materials which have been discussed many a time.  My particular chosen method is to use a fretsaw and this is how I cut all of the frames out and all of the keel, and I cut the frames out in manageable sections first - not cutting to the lines of the frames, then I proceeded to cut the frames out to the lines – leaving about 1/16 clear of the lines.    I do not cut out any notches or the middles out at this stage – I do not cut out the opening for the propeller shaft at the stage.

Once I have all the frames cut out; I move on then to sanding the edges square of the frames, using a flat sanding block.   Happy with sanding the frames, I then move on to sand the keel.   Then, I remove the centres of the frames – and once I have removed the centres I sand the inside of the frames.

I move on now to remove the notches in the frame which locates in the keel.   The first procedure is to remove the notch in the frame and then remove the corresponding notch in the keel – to ensure that it is a neat, but not tight, fit.

When I have completed the sequence of cutting out the notches I move on to removing the material out of the keel which the prop shaft locates in along with the propeller aperture.   

The next stage in the build is to actually fit the propeller shaft in the keel; which is epoxied into the correct position in the keel, ensuring you have approximately ⅛ inch of the end of the propeller shaft sticking into the propeller aperture.

You will also see from the photographs that I have added two small side cheeks which help support the propeller shaft and keep it in line with the keel.    Once the epoxy has set, we can now move on to assembling the frames onto a building board.    The material I normally use for the building board is either ½ - ¾ inch thick stable chip board, which has been checked to ensure it is reasonably level and flat.   The size of the baseboard I try to make 2-3 inches longer than the overall length of the model and 2-3 inches wider than the actual model.

On one side of the building board, I will secure 2 strips of wood roughly 2 inch square soft timber, just to strengthen the building board – and these 2 lengths of timber will be set approximately 2 inches in - down the long side of the building board.   One each side.  :}

Now before we move on to the actual assembly of the frames there are one or two things we must point out, if you have a look at the photograph of the keel; you will see there is a notch which has been cut out just in front of the propeller shaft – this is marked with 2 arrows.  The reason for this cut out is to facilitate, if needs be, a direct drive motor.   It just gives a bit more clearance and what I did was reduced the overall height of the frame in that area by ¼ of an inch.

The next photograph you will see are the frames which have been ‘arrowed’ and this is where I have added a ‘flat area’ inside of the frame.  This is to accommodate the batteries and it gives them a flat area to lie on.   Now that clears that bit up and we will move on to the assembly.

Title: Re: PLAN BUILD NUMBER 4: DRIFTER/TRAWLER FREDERICK SPASHETT
Post by: John W E on November 12, 2008, 09:34:11 pm

ASSEMBLY OF THE KEEL AND FRAMES

The first stage is to draw a centre line down the full length down the centre of the building board.  This line is then divided up into equal spaces which each space is equal to the spacings of the frames.  What I normally do, is, lay the keel along the centre line of the building board and transfer off the positions of the frames onto the centre line.  Bearing in mind, from frame 5 going forward the frames face forwards and as from frame 5 facing aft the frames face aft.    (Frame 5 is roughly the centre frame).

Once we have marked off the positions of our frames, we can begin to assemble them onto the building board.   The first thing to do is level the support legs of the frames off – using a flat board with sandpaper stuck to it and this ensures that the centre line of the frame is vertical – best check this with a set-square.   Once I am happy that the frame and the legs are square and vertical, I attach a piece of soft-square timber to the support legs of the frame.  This supporting piece of square timber is roughly the width of the building board and it has 2 holes drilled into it, to which I can secure this timber on the correct position on the building board after I have secured the frame to it.

As I say, I start at frame 5 roughly at the centre and work out to the ends – going one forward/one aft.   With this build you will also notice that frame 0 and frame 2 have to be mounted to the keel first of all, rather than to the building board.  This is because frame 2 has a hole in it to accommodate the prop shaft and also frame 0 slots into the deck beam, which is part of the keel.

So, when we have all of our frames set square and vertical on the building board from frames 0 and 2; which are located on to the keel, we fit the keel.  First of all we do a dry run to test and make sure that the keel fits into the notches of all of the frames; and also that we do not have any frames which are misaligned.   When we are happy with our setup we apply the glue to the notches and then fit the keel permanently.   Whist the glue is drying we secure frames 0 and 2 to the building board.

When the glue has dried on the keel, the next stage is to fair the frames in with a block of wood and sandpaper.    You will see the photograph where I have placed a steel ruler against the edge of the frames to show the angle which is created whilst fairing in and sanding of the frames – towards the bow.

Once we have faired the frames in, the next stage is to fit our deck edge stringers.   Now then, to ease the build of this model, I have incorporated what I like to call ‘false decks’ at the bow and stern.   These are blocks of plywood which have been cut to the correct shape of the deck from frame 0 to the stern.   This is a very tight radius to try and bend timber round, and, this is why we fit these pieces in.    The same procedure is repeated from frame 9½ to the bow.

Title: Re: PLAN BUILD NUMBER 4: DRIFTER/TRAWLER FREDERICK SPASHETT
Post by: John W E on November 12, 2008, 09:41:44 pm

So, we fit our deck stringers.    These are laminated, on this particular model, out of 2 pieces of Obechi ¼ x ⅛ and this gives us a total ¼ inch thick stringer.   After we have fitted these; we then move on to fitting ¼ inch square Obechi either side of the keel between the frames and this increases the width of the keel so that when we begin to plank it gives the plank more gluing area.  This is sometimes referred to as the garboard strake & when we have finished fitting these either side of the keel, we then move on and fit the side stringers.   On the size of model I am building, the stringers only need to be ¼ inch square.

If you have chosen to double the size of the original plan, giving a model of some 42 inches long, you will find, that you will have to increase the size of stringer from ⅛ to approx ¼ inch and also, the amount of stringers per side you will need to increase from 5 to say approx 7.

How I determined the position of the stringers per side is I took frame 5 again and from the keel to the deck edge I measured this length on the outside of the frame 5.   This length I divided into half; then I went to frame 9 took the overall length of frame 9 from keel to deck stringer and divided that into half.   I did exactly the same at frame 0 at the stern.    I then placed a stringer on all 3 marks; that is the centre mark on 0, frame 5 and frame 9.   I clamped the stringer into position temporarily and with a very sharp pencil marked either side of the stringer where it came into contact with every frame edge.

Once I had marked the stringer position on all of the frames, I removed the stringer and commencing at the centre frame again number 5 – with a      saw I cut the inside of the marks down to a depth of ⅛ and then with the aid of a small file I removed the centre of the notch.   I repeated this procedure on all of the frames; and once I had all the notches cut out, I glued the centre stringer in place.    I did one side first and then I moved over and did the opposite side exactly the same.

I repeated this procedure – total of 10 times.    This gave me 5 stringers per side.

If you have a look at the photographs, you will see how the stringers are set in.

Once all the stringers have been attached to the frame work it is set aside and then allowed to dry.    When the whole frame assembly has dried, we lightly sand down the exterior of the framework and the stringers.

Title: Re: PLAN BUILD NUMBER 4: DRIFTER/TRAWLER FREDERICK SPASHETT
Post by: John W E on November 12, 2008, 09:47:24 pm

......... pictures of the keel and frame assembly on the building board  :-))

Title: Re: PLAN BUILD NUMBER 4: DRIFTER/TRAWLER FREDERICK SPASHETT
Post by: John W E on November 12, 2008, 09:53:42 pm

and more pictures of planking support either side of the keel and also fairing the frames in with a sanding block:-  :-)

Title: Re: PLAN BUILD NUMBER 4: DRIFTER/TRAWLER FREDERICK SPASHETT
Post by: John W E on November 12, 2008, 09:59:23 pm

and .... this is the marking off of positioning of the position of the stringers and actually fitting them....

Title: Re: PLAN BUILD NUMBER 4: DRIFTER/TRAWLER FREDERICK SPASHETT
Post by: John W E on November 12, 2008, 10:06:56 pm

Now we move on to the planking stage.   For this particular model we are going to diagonally plank – in one piece planks – where the plank runs from the keel all the way around at approximately 45° until it meets the deck stringer.  The material I used is (as I have mentioned before) Lime Strip material 1mm thick and 8mm wide.

Commencing to mark out the location of the first plank – and every boat builder has his own preferred way of planking hulls – some prefer to commence at the bow/stern and then    you get me – I prefer to start in the middle  :-) the reason I commence in the middle is, as we work towards the ends, we try to achieve a full width plank on our last set of planks.  By commencing in the middle then, as we work towards the ends, we can alter the widths of the planks to accommodate our desired finish with a full-width plank.

My procedure …. I roughly pick out the centre of the hull – in this case it is roughly frame numbered 5.

I mark the centre on the keel and with a 45° setsquare I mark off with a pencil on the stringers, this angle.   I then use a scrap piece of planking material bent over the framework the same way as the first plank is going to be placed and I then mark the length of the first plank onto the scrap piece of planking and this is a reference – I cut my first plank to the approximate length leaving approx 10 mm overall length.

I then lay it in the approximate position over the stringers, gently bending it and making sure it is lying flat across the stringers and frames.  Sometimes the plank will not follow the 45° reference marks which you have put on …. This is due to the fact of the radius of the hull.   As long as it is not too far away from your reference marks – it should be okay – i.e. within ½ inch of your reference marks.

When happy with this first plank’s position, we lightly clamp it in place and either side of the plank we mark the stringers with a pencil.   This gives us a reference of where to put the glue – so – once we have removed the plank we apply the glue to the areas between the marks on the stringers.  The first clamp goes on at the keel – followed by the next clamp on the next stringer down.   Making sure that the plank is lying flat on all of the stringers as you proceed down towards the deck stringers clamping.  Wipe off excess glue either side of the plank – because – if the glue hardens, it will prevent you from putting your next plank’s edge up against the edge of your first plank and so on.

Whilst the first plank is drying – turn the hull around and apply the first plank on the opposite side using the same procedure as you did for the first plank on the other side.   Remember that the plank goes in the opposite direction to the plank on the other side – so when you view the two planks from above, they create a V shape.

Allow these two planks to dry thoroughly and when they have, remove the clamps and move on to fit your next plank.   Same procedure but there is no need to mark the plank; you know where the glue goes on the stringers and don’t forget to put glue on the edge of the plank which is going to mate with the plank which is already on the framework.

As this plank is drying and if you have sufficient clamps to allow; you may clamp the next plank on the opposite side of the plank that you glued on first – so in actual fact you have 3 planks on one side and 1 plank on the opposite side – on the hull.  This is a slow process take your time and do not try and rush this job  on average I have only applied 5 planks per side, per day  ;) Rome wasn’t built in a day.

Title: Re: PLAN BUILD NUMBER 4: DRIFTER/TRAWLER FREDERICK SPASHETT
Post by: John W E on November 12, 2008, 10:16:25 pm

We work towards the bow and stern planking – and about 3-4 days down the line.

We may find that the planks become difficult to bend around the radiuses especially at the stern.  We have several options here; we can place the plank into boiling water and allow the plank to soften.

Or, you could do this which I found worked quite well pull the plank over a piece of 1¼ inch plastic tubing. Gently bending it around the tube.   Be careful now, if you are too rough you will snap the plank says he who had 3 scrap bits of planks.   

If you choose to wet the planks – DON’T FORGET – you must clamp them first without glue, and allow them to dry.   When the plank has dried out sufficiently – apply the glue and then refit the plank.

As we are planking towards the bow and stern planking, we will notice that the planks which we are fitting tend to try and lift off the stringers, even though we are clamping them.   One reason for this is, the radius on the hull, as in from keel to deck radius is changing.   The other thing to consider is that the hull is actually beginning to narrow.   To overcome this problem, we fit, was as known as a spiller plank.  This plank is a tapered plank which corrects the un-evenness of the planking from this plank onwards.  How do we achieve this tapered plank?  The first stage is to cut a normal length plank – and approximately one plank’s width away from your next glued plank on the model, we dry fit this plank – so that it sits level on all of its stringers.   It will not be at the same angle as the rest of the planks – it will be either slightly more/slightly less.   We move this plank towards our last plank which we have glued and then applied to the model & the glue has set, so that one edge of the plank touches, whether it is the top edge or the bottom edge.  Ensuring that the plank we are going to mark our reference marks on is still sitting squarely and flush on all of the stringers, we clamp it to the stringers.

We than get a scrap piece of planking, which is the same width as the planking we are using and place it against the edge of our glued plank.  So that it overlaps our clamped plank.  We mark a reference mark on our clamped plank.   This reference mark is equal to the width of our scrap piece of plank.   We carry on moving down from the keel to our deck edge transferring and marking the width of our plank – until we have a reasonable set of marks – thereupon which we remove our plank which was marked with the marks on and then join these marks up.   This will produce either a tapered/slightly curved line.

We then, with a sharp scalpel, on the waste side of the line that we have drawn on the plank, remove the waste material.    Now, when we offer this plank back onto the model next to our last glued plank, you will see that it sits snuggly on all of the stringers.   When we are happy with the fit, we then glue this plank into place.

As luck would have it, I didn’t take any photographs when I was doing this procedure – on this model – but I do have photographs taken of this procedure during the building of another model which I will include.  We carry on planking as per normal but we will find that this may happen to us once or twice where the planks will not fit snuggly onto the stringers and we may have to repeat the procedure 2-3 times.   This is quite common, also depending on the hull which we are building.    So, as we worked towards the bow, & we are about 8 planks off finishing the hull we want to determine whether the last plank we fit is going to be a full width plank.  The reason being, to fit a little triangle in the corner, which would easily be knocked off is not really acceptable – WE NEED A FULL PLANK TO FINISH WITH – so we do what is known as a good guestimate  :-) we lay sufficient scrap pieces of planking along the hull to find out if we are going to need to thin one or two planks down.

If we do need to thin planks down, it is best to do it now (by thin down I mean reduce the width).   So, we finish planking, we allow the glue on the planking to dry for at least 12 hours.   

When the glue is dry, we then have to sand the hull.  We also have to fill any indentations etc., any gaps with car body filler.   Once we are quite happy we can move on to the next procedure.  However, a warning here and especially a warning for Bluebird – these planks are thin and sanding planks with very coarse sandpaper takes no time to sand through  - have a look at the photographs and you may see a large area towards the stern of filler, this is evidence of heavy-handed sanding.

So take heed  ok2 ….. Now for decision time:

Title: Re: PLAN BUILD NUMBER 4: DRIFTER/TRAWLER FREDERICK SPASHETT
Post by: John W E on November 12, 2008, 10:29:02 pm

............... more pics - you will see in the last pics that the planking does not run all the way to the stern - there is a balsa block glued in place; and when you have finished planking - you sand this balsa block to the shape of the planking and the stern  :-))

Title: Re: PLAN BUILD NUMBER 4: DRIFTER/TRAWLER FREDERICK SPASHETT
Post by: John W E on November 12, 2008, 10:32:23 pm

We have (in this particular build) a few options with regard to planking.  For those who wish to have a plain hull e.g. with no plating; if you have built a hull the same size as mine 31 inches i.e. to the scale of ⅜ to the foot.  I would recommend giving the hull at least 2 coats of polyester resin with hardener added; with a layer of tissue matt followed by 2 top coats of polyester resin and then sanded to the desired finish for the painting process.  If you have enlarged the original plans to ½ inch to the foot; I would recommend putting another laying of planking on using the same method as described previously, only planking to go 45° in the opposite direction to the first layer of planking.   This new outer layer of planking could then be sanded smooth, filled & may just require a layer of epoxy resin.   The reason for the double diagonal is that it gives the hull added strength for its overall size.   
However, if you are following this build; this is the next procedure are we have sanded the planks, filled them and we now come to fibreglassing the hull on the outside.

I do realise that this topic may be read by anyone at any place around the world, so, any products/items I mention are readily available products in the UK and no doubt, with a bit of web search, you will be able to find equivalent product/s in whichever country you are based.

Polyester resin which I am going to use on the hull is manufactured by a Company by the name of David’s.  This resin comes in small tins approx 500 mls and along with this, you purchase a paste hardener which comes in a foil based tube and the hardener is actually pink in colour.  The tissue matt comes in a plastic pack and it is known as a finishing tissue – it is very lightweight and when you look at it – it does resemble toilet paper.  So, these are the three items we are going to use on our next stage.

The tools we require, if you have them, are, a couple of old paint brushes – say about 1 inch and if you have the privilege to own a small ring roller/washer roller this can become very useful.  The other thing which is useful – but not necessary – is Acetone.  There are substitutes for Acetone which you can purchase or, if you are like me and a bit allergic to the stuff and tend not to use it remember it can affect your skin and chest/breathing severely I don’t bother – I throw my brushes away after using them – purchase the cheaper sort of brushes  :-)) .

So, let us commence; first of all we require a nice dry, warm area to work in with a temperature of say 15-20 degrees Celsius – well ventilated remember – and make sure you have adequate room to move around – covering all areas which may be splashed/or if you are like Bluebird promise the Mrs you will fit a new  kitchen 3 years ago – if you are allowed to fibreglass in the kitchen…….still not done – I must remember to make time for that one day……… ;)

Anyway, one of the things we have to do is get the hardener to resin ratio pretty right – for the resin to cure and harden correctly.   One of the small aids I do is get a scrap piece of wood and draw out various lengths in centimeters for equivalent mixes.  Now you will see in the photograph what I am referring to – bit of wood with various sizes drawn on and you can see the small plastic tumbler I used - it is marked in mls – I don’t mix resin in this small tumbler – but I do measure the quantity of resin required and I then pour it into a plastic cap from a spray can i.e. polish or something like that.    I then measure out the required hardener and with the brush I am going to use; I scoop this hardener off the bit of wood and mix it thoroughly into the resin.   In normal working conditions, you roughly should get approx 20 mins working time, with this particular resin and hardener mix.

The first procedural stage with the resin is coat the bare hull first off with just pure resin and hardener mix.   This you work well into the planking all of your joints to give a good seal to the planking.  You will note that you will need a less quantity of resin for the basic coating of the hull.

Once we have ensured that the hull is completely covered with an even coating of resin, working the resin all the way down to the deck edge and ensuring that we don’t have too many runs in the resin – we set it aside to harden off.    As a side note – if you find that during working with the resin it begins to ‘go off’ or cure, it is no good now – it must be disregarded.

So the resin on the hull has now been allowed to harden.   We now need to apply the tissue matting – first of all we have to cut the matting to size and on this particular model I cut it into four sections approximately – and the first section was a triangular shape which was for the bow – the second two shapes were from the bow into the centre and then the last was from the centre to the stern.   Now, if you have a look at photographs you will see I have show the overlap of matting I have allowed.  The trick with working with any type of matting is, do not try and fold it upon itself, but always cut the fold and overlap it.   Matting does not like to be folded upon itself – so you need to cut and overlap it.

Now we have cut enough matting – for both sides of the hull – and there should be approximately 8 pieces (4 per side).

Just for reference the overlap I leave on the keel is roughly ¼ inch.   Under normal circumstances, if we had been working with heavy duty chopped strand matting, to calculate the amount of resin we require for the matting is relatively easy to calculate there is normally 2.5 times the weight of the matting.   So if we have 1lb of matting to use, we require 2.5 lb in weight of resin to saturate this matt.

With tissue matt; it is a different scale.   Normally it is about ¾ of the weight to ½ the weight in tissue matting.   However, tissue matting is that light in weight – we very rarely weigh it – unless we are using large quantities – so we use a bit of the old guestimate – and, to give you an idea, I used about 60 ml per side but I didn’t mix the 60 ml all in one go.  I did about 30 ml mix first – and began at the middle and painted the resin onto the hull first – and, working towards the bow, when I had sufficient resin on – I laid the first 2 sections of matting on one side.   I then stippled the resin through the matting; this has the advantage of removing unwanted air bubbles.   If we also have the facility of a small roller, this will aid the removal of air bubbles from the resin and matting mix.

Now we have completed laying the matting on the first half of one side, we move on and do the rear end of the matting.  Same thing, mix your resin with the hardener, apply it to the hull first and then lay your matting on – then stipple the resin through the matting.   Whilst one side is drying, we can move on and do the other side, exactly the same procedure – starting at the front or the back.

Once we have completed the above stage, we must allow the full drying time.  When it is completely dry, and the resin isn’t tacky to touch, we can apply several top coatings of Just Pure resin nothing added /apart from hardener to the resin.   I normally give this 2 coats of resin and then allow it to dry for a good 24 hours to harden off.

Title: Re: PLAN BUILD NUMBER 4: DRIFTER/TRAWLER FREDERICK SPASHETT
Post by: John W E on November 12, 2008, 10:39:56 pm

These next set of pictures show the tools and materials we require for fibre glassing the hull; also, shows the positions of the over-lap joints in the tissue matt.

Title: Re: PLAN BUILD NUMBER 4: DRIFTER/TRAWLER FREDERICK SPASHETT
Post by: John W E on November 12, 2008, 10:41:52 pm

Now the resin on the hull has hardened, we come to the next stage which is to sand the hull.   I normally start off with a very coarse wet ‘n dry paper.   For our friends abroad, the wet ‘n dry paper is a sandpaper which can be immersed in water and, as you use it, you wash the area you are working on – with water – and you also wash your sandpaper out in water.   As I say, along with the wet ‘n dry I normally use a nice flat and curved couple of sanding blocks.   I work on the hull until the majority of unevenness and lumps have been removed from the resin.   TAKE CARE – DO NOT RUB TOO HARD – and go all the way through to the wood!!!!!   Once we are happy we move on to a finer grade of wet ‘n dry – I normally work down from a medium grit of 60 to a fine grit of 80.   This is the final stage of the fibreglassing and for those who wish to leave the hull there and move on to actually painting the hull, this is the stage I would normally take it off the building board and fit it onto the building stand.   I haven’t done that for this particular hull, it is remaining on the building board just that little bit longer.   A good tip here is if you have being doing this outside – before you bring it indoors and upset the better half – VACUUM ALL THE DUST OFF  :-).

So, the next stage is to fit the keel – this is made up from 2mm thick x 5mm Plasticard strips laminated together to a 4 mm x 5mm piece keel.  The first stage is starting at the stern of the vessel where the rudder is, lay the first strip along the length of the keel, glue this into position with Super glue and then take your 2nd length of Plastic strip butt it up to the edge of the first strip that you put on and glue that to the keel but that piece doesn’t go all the way up to the bow – it stops about 4 inches short – so, we need the 2nd layer of Plasticard, but, before we glue this 2nd layer on top we pin with brass pins the first layer in place.  We then glue the 2nd layer over the top.   This 2nd layer stops approx 1-1½ inches at the bow to form a step in the keel.   The rest of the keel section at the bow will be finished off at a later stage.  :-)

Next stage then – we are going to plate this particular hull – well I am doing this.   This assimilates the steel plating.   The plating I am going to use is 10 thou thick Plasticard, glued to the hull – in approximately scale sized plates.

On some plans the draftsman supplies what is known as a Plating Plan  :-) this plan actually gives you the shapes and sizes of particular plates which were on this particular vessel.   We don’t have that facility on this plan, so what we have to do, is, look for photographs of similar vessels.  The photographs will show how the plates run/are applied on the vessel and believe it not finding photographs of this particular vessel was extremely difficult.  Two or three photographs yes when she was out at sea – but on land – very difficult to locate no doubt someone will say they have loads of pictures of this vessel – sod’s law  :-) .   I have found 1-2 photographs of a vessel – much similar to this particular build.

The one thing that we also had to find out was, was this a riveted hull or was it an ‘all-welded hull’ what we have to consider was that the original vessel was built roughly in 1949 by Richards Ironworks Limited in Lowestoft – 1949 – at that time certain practices were being expanded upon and improved upon as in welding.  Also there were a lot of practices which some particular manufacturers wished to hang on to – for certain reasons – and one of those reasons was riveting.   This particular hull could have either been riveted or welded.   But, for this particular scale of model you wouldn’t see much riveting detail on the hull; the other thing was, the way the plates were put on the hull – we have 4 types of plating; obviously we aren’t going to discuss each individual plate system but the system which was used on this particular vessel was called ‘Joggled Plate’.  Basically a joggled plate is 1 plate overlaps the next one but there is a rolled seam in the plate joint, where it overlaps.  So, where do we start and how do we start.

Like everything else in the modelling world – there are more than one way of doing plating.  This is the way I proceeded to do this particular hull.   Out of Plasticard ¼ inch x 1/16 x 7 inches long I made a marker stick which was flexible and would bend round the shape of the hull.   From one edge of the marker stick, I measured out the width of the plates that I was going to use.   I then used this marker to transfer the width of the plate onto the hull from the keel down over to the deck – at 3 or 4 positions along the length of the hull – one both sides of the hull.   With these marks on the hull, I then joined them up using a flexible baton – the flexible baton was a straight piece of planking material which I had left over.   This gave me the width and position of the first row of plates; now, for the width – I worked it out that the plates were roughly between 3 and 4 foot wide x about 9 – 12 foot long.  So, I made my scale plates 4 inches x 1 inch.   I cut the first plates from Plasticard – I glued them to the hull using Superglue – some people cannot use Superglue because of the vapors – I use 2 fans to blow the fumes away – there are new impact glues coming on the market – and I do have one which I have yet to fully try.   There is also a product Evostik impact glue which is said to have good results, but, I have yet to try this.   So, that is the glue we are using – so where do we commence.

I commenced at the middle of the hull for the middle plate butted against the keel long ways on for my first plate.

The 2nd plate to glue on butted up against the keel as well and also butted up against the short edge of the first plate and this 2nd plate was put on, going towards the bow.   The 3rd plate was exactly the same but instead of going towards the bow, I went towards the stern.  So the way the procedure is, one plate going forward towards the bow and one plate going towards the stern.   I plated all the way up to the bow, and when I came to the radius, I used the writing point of an old biro that had ran dry – to indent the radius of the bow into the Plasticard.   This radius which was transferred onto Plasticard was then cut with a craft knife.   It was then dry fitted to ensure that it fitted snuggly into the keel at the bow.  When I was happy I then glued it into position.   The same procedure was done at the stern where the plates meet the propeller aperture.   Once I had one run of plates along one side of the hull, I turned the hull around and repeated the procedure on the opposite side of the hull.

Now for the 2nd row of plates – with my plastic marking stick, I marked off the 2nd row of plates – but, instead of marking them off 2 plates widths, I reduced it by the width of the overlap of the plates – in my case this was about 1/8 of an inch.    I then marked the hull, as before, in several positions at the bow, middle and stern of the vessel and then joined these marks up again and this gave me my 2nd line for the 2nd run of plates.

The first plate I put on – on the 2nd run – one edge must be in approximately the middle of the first plate that I put on- on the first run (I do hope you can understand that).   See the photographs.

Title: Re: PLAN BUILD NUMBER 4: DRIFTER/TRAWLER FREDERICK SPASHETT
Post by: John W E on November 12, 2008, 10:47:38 pm

................ these photographs show, first of all, the fitting and securing of the plastic keel on the outside of the hull, the 2nd set of photographs show the marking of the position of the first run of plates on either side of the hull

Title: Re: PLAN BUILD NUMBER 4: DRIFTER/TRAWLER FREDERICK SPASHETT
Post by: John W E on November 12, 2008, 10:50:28 pm

Same procedure for laying the 2nd row of plates as the 1st – we carry on this procedure until we have actually plated the full hull.  We will also notice when we are plating that the plates do in fact taper, as the plates approach the bow and stern.   When I say ‘taper’ I mean the width of the plate will gradually decrease along the length of the plate.   This is normal and may be seen in life size plated vessels.  The last thing is, we must ensure that our last run of plates, overhang our planking.   Once we have finished plate, go over all the seams with poly liquid glue.

The next thing I did was actually construct bilge keels.   Although there are none of these on the drawing, of all the photographs I have seen of fishing vessels they have all had them – so I decided this particular vessel would have bilge keels as well.   They were constructed out of 1mm thick Plasticard and 2mm right angled Evergreen strut.   As you can see on the photographs you will see how and where I positioned them and I glued them onto the hull using liquid poly glue, I didn’t pin them – I am just relying purely on the glue.   I then gave the hull a sanding with very, very fine sand paper.  Just removed the bits of ragged edges off the Plasticard plating – so this should be the finishing stage for the bottom plating and there is a little more plating to do a little later on in the build.

Title: Re: PLAN BUILD NUMBER 4: DRIFTER/TRAWLER FREDERICK SPASHETT
Post by: John W E on November 12, 2008, 10:54:56 pm

The next stage IS THE GOOD STAGE – REMOVING FROM THE BUILDING BOARD  :-))  :-))and this can be done by either unscrewing the screws which hold the building blocks onto the building board or carefully cutting through the building legs which are mounted on the frames.   Either way, you choose.

We can now build a stand for the model to sit in – whilst we commence the next stages.   This I made from ¾ inch thick plywood.  Just a little side note here – what I normally do is call into my local DIY shop for an off-cut /scrap piece of plywood – which I manage to obtain a lot cheaper than having a piece cut from a full sheet.   

From this plywood we make a decent stand for the model.   For the profile of the stand which the hull sits in, I use the tracings I did for the frames and for this particular one I used the tracings for frames 3 and 7 to do this.   I then lined the inner edges of the supporting frame with sponge rubber.   This gives the hull a nice and secure seating – without any worries of the exterior being damaged.

The next stage in our build is to remove the supporting legs which we have attached onto our frames.  This I normally do with a small razor saw or a broken piece of junior hacksaw blade.    I try to leave on approximately 1/16 inch of the building legs left on top of the frames, so that I may sand off with a sanding block – that is the next procedure.   It is to level all the frames and the sides of the hull – if you look at the photographs; you will see that I am sanding from the outside of the hull in towards the centre of the hull.  Be very careful – don’t forget we have Plasticard plating on the outside (perhaps).   So, we now level the frames plus the outside of the hull; and, at this stage we have to consider do we want to add camber to this deck?   All life size vessels have camber i.e. there is a radius on the deck from side to side.

The way I achieve the camber on this particular hull, is to add Obechi strip of the required thickness to the very tops of the frames.  When the glue has dried, holding these strips to the frames, I then sand them to the correct radius for the profile of the camber.

The next stage of the build is back to mixing polyester resin with hardener of the correct quantity – to coat the entire INSIDE of the hull.  This serves the purpose of sealing the inner planks.

When doing this, make sure you work the resin into all the nooks and crannies – i.e. sides, at the keel, around the stringers, and so forth – anywhere you feel water may lie/lodge make sure you coat that part with a good coating of resin.

Once the resin has dried, we can move on to a new stage of our build.

Title: Re: PLAN BUILD NUMBER 4: DRIFTER/TRAWLER FREDERICK SPASHETT
Post by: John W E on November 12, 2008, 10:58:56 pm

We now fit a bit of hardware.   There are several schools of thought here:

As far as I can tell, each school has its own correct merits.   Some people prefer to leave fitting of the electric motor for the propulsion of the vessel and also the servos and speed controllers – until later on or the very last thing in the build.   The reason for this (which is a valid reason) you want to know and you can get the motor and associate electrical equipment out without having to dismantle half of the model to achieve this.  ;)

I prefer to fit the motor and certain items beforehand.  The reason being – we can get in and ensure that things are lined up and are working perfectly and if we have to do any major alternations – e.g. to alter the inner framework to take a different set up/ motor etc., and it is far easier to do it at this stage.

So, the first thing I do –

I fit the propeller shaft into the propeller tube  and I hope you remembered to take it out before you did the fibreglassing on the inside.   But, before I fit the propeller shaft I add a little bit of grease and light machine oil (mixed together) and force this with the aid of a syringe into the tube of the propeller shaft.   As for quantity it is a very small amount – I don’t try and pack the prop tube solid with oil or grease.   If the tube is 8½ inches long I only force about 1½ inches of grease mix into the propeller tube.    The thing I do is place the index finger over the exterior hole of the prop tube – then begin to replace the propeller shaft into the tube.    You will find that this will force the grease through the tube, as long as you keep your finger over the end – to seal the hole.

Once the prop shaft emerges from the outside – I put the small brass washer and then the lock nut, onto the prop shaft, and, then return to the inside of the hull where the prop shaft sticks out from the tube and there should be a threaded end of your propeller shaft.   On this end I place the other brass washer and the nut, but, I don’t lock the nut right up – I leave it a few turns slack – enabling me to be able to freely turn the prop shaft.   I then locate and screw on the brass insert, which locates into the plastic universal joint of the coupling – onto the prop shaft.    I screw this all the way on until it butts up to the lock nut on the propeller shaft.   I then lock the small lock nut against the brass insert tightly with the aid of two spanners, ensuring that I have movement both rotary and back and forth of the propeller shaft.   The back and forth movement should be no more than 1/16 of an inch and no less than 1/32 of an inch.

Title: Re: PLAN BUILD NUMBER 4: DRIFTER/TRAWLER FREDERICK SPASHETT
Post by: John W E on November 12, 2008, 11:02:06 pm

Now for the next stage; this side of modelling sometimes scares a lot of people off the magical mystery of electronics - How many times have we heard – ‘Oh I know nothing about electronics – too complicated’.   Well electronics are as complicated as you wish to make them.

We have now come to the stage where we are going to fit the motor in/propulsion unit.   I suppose we could stick the motor straight into the model, connect it to the propeller shaft and off we go.

Hang on a minute though, we need to do something first  :-).  We need to fit suppressers.   What are suppressers you may ask and what are they used for.

Let us think - …..  If we go back in time and think of Marconi – Marconi was the guy who gave us all the joy and all the grief – when he sent his first radio signals.  What were they – a spark/flash of electricity and this flash radiates a signal.  To those in the electronics field this is a dirty signal which interferes with any electrical receiving appliances.  These are the basics of all of our communications, radio control model and so forth.

If we wired up our motor to the battery directly and as the motor was running we look through the slots at the back of the motor, we would see there would be arcs and flashes.  (Sparks generating arcs) (Arcs of sparks)  .  This is actually sending ‘dirty’ radio signals out and will interfere electronically with any receiving appliances within the vicinity of it.   You turn the television on and run your electric motor – try watching the picture.  You will see there will be lines etc. and a lot of interference – same with a radio – the interference is coming from your electric motor.

If we have this interference in the model, what is going to be within the same vicinity of the model – our radio control receiver?

So, somehow, we have to get rid of these unwanted signals.   One method is to fit small devices known as capacitors.   They are normally a small round disc with two wire legs sticking out of them.   But, where do we fit them then?   Where do we get them from in the first place and what size do we need.

Well, you can purchase these from the same people who supply the radio speed controllers, switchers, you know there is a guy called Dave – he is the ACTion man – if there is a shop such as Maplins (electronics components shop) do a web search and source out where you wish to purchase your electronic components.

What do we ask for? Polyester Capacitors – 100n – this n after the 100 is pronounced nan or 100 nannies as I once asked for.

Where do we fit these capacitors?    The terminals on the back of the motor that we connect the wires from our battery to; the capacitors are connected there and to the casing of the electric motor.   How do we go about this and what do we require?

Solder
Hefty 25 watt or larger watt soldering iron
Flux
Emery paper/sand paper/fine file

First stage with this :

If we look at the back of the motor where the terminals are and have the terminals so one is at 3 o’clock and one at 9 o’clock at 12 o’clock on the motor casing we want to clean a small area there – with either the emery paper or the file.

Next we smear a tiny little bit of flux over the area we have just cleaned with a file; and make sure we don’t stick our fingers back over this cleaned area.   We then mount the motor securely in either a vice or some sort of support on the work bench – to prevent the motor from rolling all over the place.

With the aid of the electric soldering iron (remember to switch it on)   :-) we heat the area that we have cleaned and applied the flux too on the electric motor casing – with the soldering iron.  We then apply solder to the heated area.   The solder should melt and run freely.  If it doesn’t then it means that there is not enough heat there yet.   When we have a small area covered with solder approx 1/8 of an inch, we remove the solder and the iron and allow it to cool slightly.    The next stage is to take one of our 3 capacitors; these are not polarized they can be fitted anywhere around.    In fact it doesn’t matter which leg is soldered to the motor casing or which leg is soldered to the motor terminal.   What I like to do now is use some small insulation off either telephone or bell wire – to cover the legs of the capacitor.  We only apply enough insulation so that there is at least ¼ inch of free leg endings of the wires sticking out of the end of the insulation.

We take one leg of the capacitor; and, we attach this to the area that we have applied the solder too on the casing – by re-heating the solder and allowing the leg to become attached to the fluid solder.

The other end of the capacitor / opposite leg is now soldered to the motor terminal – either the positive one or the negative one (sometimes the positive connection on the motor is marked with a red dot beside it).  Now we repeat this and the only difference is – we have already tinned the place on the top of the motor where the last connection was made and, so, therefore we just solder the leg of the new capacitor over the top of the previous soldered leg.

We then solder the opposite leg of the capacitor, as we said, to the negative terminal of the motor and don’t forget PUT YOUR INSULATION ON.

Now for the 3rd capacitor, which is of the same capacitance value as the 2 already soldered to the motor.  This 3rd capacitor is soldered between the 2 motor terminals; the terminals which we have already soldered the other capacitors too.  Now this capacitor is the one which must have insulation covering its legs, we don’t want a short between the motor terminal and the body.  Whilst we have the soldering iron out, we may as well solder the 2 power wires to the motor.  What size wire? We will be asking, well, the most we can expect (on a bad day  ok2) is for this motor to require 15-20 amps in what they call a surge and anything above that we are going to have a fuse to take care of it.   

So, if we say, we will use 15 amp wiring; it would be well on the safe side. 

As for the actual wire or cable, I tend to use the flexible household stuff, the 3 core mains cable which we can purchase from the DIY shop.   What I normally do, is the outer plastic sheathing – I strip that off.  This reveals the 3 individual cables and this is the cable which I use.

So, first of all, what I normally do is cut the cable to the desired length – roughly twice as long as we are going to require – say some nine inches for this particular model.  Then I remove the insulation from the first ¼ inch of one end of the wire; and tin this, with a soldering iron and solder.

I then solder the wire to the motor terminals; so we have done the little bit of electrics now and we go on to fitting the motor into the actual model.

Now, this motor is going to drive through an Olympic belt drive Gear Box so we must assemble this part first.  One tip with these gear boxes, if you look you will see the 2 slots for allowing the bolts to pass through and secure the motor to the gear box framework.  I open these 2 slots up with a file so that the screw/bolt will pass through really freely.   The next thing I do, is, disregard the 3mm Philips head screw which is supplied with the gear box, and replace these screws with 3mm diameter Allenhead bolts.

The next thing I do is place a larger washer over the 3mm bolts when I am securing the motor to the gearbox.  The reason for the larger diameter washer is it prevents the head being drawn into the soft plastic of the gearbox.

The first procedure then is to assemble the small cog on the end of the motor first – followed by placing the belt over the larger cog and then mounting the motor into place ensuring that the drive belt isn’t over tight.   It is always wise to connect the motor up to the battery; and give the motor a spin under power to ensure that the belt doesn’t run off the small pulley.   If it does, you may have to have a slight adjustment by adding very small pieces of packing between the gearbox frame and the motor mating face.

So that takes care of the motor gearbox assembly and the next thing we must do is actually make the base plate which actually holds the motor gear box assembly into the model.  (Motor bed plate).    This is made from ¼ plywood and if you have a look at the photograph, you can see it has a slot in the middle – this is to facilitate the main drive shaft of the gearbox, as this is slightly proud.

The next thing is the rear support which is a V shape and which locates onto the keel and also underneath the bed plate and helps support.   So, we have these 3 bits of assembly – we secure the motor gear box to the bed plate and we must align it with the propeller shaft.

To do this, we get the mating brass bush; which fits the end of the gear box drive shaft and I do believe this is a ¼ unf thread or possibly metric.   So, we locate the brass insert on the end of the shaft, locking it up to the lock nut.   The next stage is to align the propeller and gearbox up, now I have a piece of brass tubing which actually fits over neatly, the splines of the brass inserts.  It is the same length as the plastic coupling; so, I push this brass aligner onto the coupling on the propeller shaft and also mate the gearbox coupling bush to it.  This brings the gearbox and propeller shaft in line with each other.

So, the next stage then, is to ensure that the plywood motor bed sits correctly on the frames and also on the V support block.  What we do to ensure is – if the frame in the model are a little too high – we can sand a little bit off or if there is a little gap we can put a little piece of plywood as a packing piece in.

Before we secure everything down, the propeller shaft and the motor must turn freely.    One of the tips which I learned many years ago was, if you connect a 1 ½ volt pencil-sized battery up to the motor and this turns the motor and propeller shaft freely, the alignment is near enough spot on.  So, this is what I did, when I was really happy with it, I epoxied the plywood bed plate to the framework and the V support, I also epoxied the V support to the keel.   I used the 5 minute epoxy.   Whilst the epoxy was setting, I kept the motor running using the 1 ½ volt battery.   

I then removed the brass alignment piece from between the 2 brass inserts and then replaced it with the plastic universal coupling.   Then I connected the motor up to the 6 volt battery and allowed the motor and gearbox run for about quarter of an hour to bed-in – checking that there were no ‘HOT’ areas on the motor, gearbox or prop shaft.

Also, during this RUNNING IN period – I clipped in an Amp meter – just to check the amps.   Started off at 2 amps and rapidly dropped down to 1 ½ - 1 amp.   As everything bedding in.  :D

Title: Re: PLAN BUILD NUMBER 4: DRIFTER/TRAWLER FREDERICK SPASHETT
Post by: John W E on November 12, 2008, 11:06:06 pm

and these 2 pics show the capacitors fitted to the rear of the main motor;

Title: Re: PLAN BUILD NUMBER 4: DRIFTER/TRAWLER FREDERICK SPASHETT
Post by: John W E on November 12, 2008, 11:09:46 pm

Now for the next stage – We have to have something to steer our model with.   We have her moving along, but – now to turn her left and right (port and starboard)

We now come to one of those times – where we need to make a decision – on this particular plan, on close inspection, you will see that the rudder post comes all the way through the main deck.   Whereupon there is a doubled armed tiller; connected to the end of each tiller arm there is a chain which runs alongside the superstructure up to the bridge to where it connects up to the steering wheel.   The really clever ones amongst us – could actually connect a servo to the ends of the chain – so the actual servo operates the chains which operate the rudder – just like on the real vessel.   I have seen some really lovely models built this way and perform really well.   

For this particular model though, I am going to try and keep it – SIMPLE AND BASIC – so, I am going to assimilate the chains and tiller later on in the build and actually put the true tiller linkage below the decks.  So, this is the procedure which I have adopted.

First of all, go back to the plans, and, scrutinize the area of the rudder.   We will see that the rudder post – this is the bit which goes through the hull – actually enters the hull a fraction aft of frame zero.   So, this is where our rudder tube has got to be placed.   From the plan & on our model then, we can locate frame zero - & - we will see that just aft of frame zero we have fitted 2 plywood false decks or cheek pieces to aid us with our build.  We must remove part of this structure along with the top half of frame zero.

What I did was I got a pair of compasses and I marked a semi-circle which was slightly larger in radius than the total length of a servo operating arm.   This semi-circle don’t forget – its centre is in the centre of frame zero.

The next stage then is to remove this semi-circle along with some of the balsa wood material underneath.   To do this we use a process called ‘chain drilling’ – it is roughly that you drill a series of holes inside the semi-circle to a set depth & then cut between the drilled holes with a scalpel and then remove the inner area.

To prevent us from drilling down and right through the bottom of your hull; make a very expensive jig up  :-) very complicated  :embarrassed: piece of wood with a hole drilled through it the same size as I was going to drill.  What I did was drill through the scrap bit of wood first, place it over the drill so it is hard up against the drill chuck jaws; then measured the distance between the end of the drill and piece of wood – this distance (in my case) was just under ¾ of an inch – and this gave me an adequate safety margin between the outside of the hull and the depth I was working at.

So, I proceeded to chain-drill the set of holes inside the semi-circle, using a ¼ drill and my Dremel drill – I joined the holes up with the aid of a scalpel and removed some of the plywood and the balsa wood underneath.  I then cleaned this area up, using a small sanding drum attachment, which Dremel do.

The next stage now is to drill a hole through the bottom of the hull in the correct place to take the rudder tube.  Now, I normally drill through first, with a small pilot drill and using a watchmaker’s drill.  The reason I prefer using a hand drill is that you have more control of it – i.e. you can ensure that it is vertical in all directions.  Because, if you do make a mistake drilling the hole true, it is a difficult job to put it right.

So, when we have drilled through with a pilot drill, I normally slide a piece of brass rod (the same diameter as the drill I have used to drill the pilot hole) through the hole to ensure that it is running ‘true’ with the rudder post.

When I am happy with the above; I drill through with the same size drill as I am going to use for my rudder tube.

Now we come to the next stage in the building of the rudder.

We require is the following for the first stage of the rudder build:-

Some plywood to make the rudder blade with

An adequate length of 1/8 brass rod

Some 1/8 brass tubing

Some more brass tubing of the diameter which slips over the outside of the 1/8 brass tube, neatly, to form a sleeve

We also need some 1/16 brass rod


The Tools we require:

Dremel/equivalent drill machine

1/16 drill bit; small round jeweller’s file

Small centre pop

Small hammer

25 watt electric soldering iron

Some solder; flux; epoxy resin & hardener;

Small file and rule; also, if we can get our hands on one – a Modeller’s pipe cutter; if not, we will have to do this with a small razor saw.

The first stage:   We measure through the hole we have drilled through our hull, to get the measurement from the outside of the hull to the top of the frame or keel on the inside of the hull.   To this measurement we must add approximately ¼ inch – in my case, on this particular model, it worked out at about 1 ⅛ of an inch; so, the largest diameter tube is the one we use first.   We cut this to 1 ⅛ of an inch in length; then we remove the burrs from the inside.   We do this with the aid of a round file.

We then take the smaller diameter brass tube and we cut 2 lengths off – roughly about ⅜ of an inch long.  We remove the burrs from the inside and the outside of these pieces.   Clean the outside of the small tubes and apply a small amount of flux.  Try to avoid handling the outside of these tubes from now on.

So…we place one piece of small tube inside the larger diameter tube, so there is roughly about 1/16 of an inch sticking out.   Then, with the soldering iron, which has been connected and switched on, we heat this area of the tube.  We then apply solder to the end, to allow it to run right around the tube – therefore soldering the inner tube to the outer tube.

When it has cooled; we turn it around and repeat the procedure on the opposite end, soldering the last piece of small tube in place – inside the larger tube.

Now – when you think about it – there is now a gap inside the larger tube – where the 2 smaller tubes don’t meet – the reason for this is – it will become a grease trap to prevent water from entering the hull.   :-)

We clean it all up, removing all of the flux and set it to one side.

That is our rudder tube made.

We now move on to produce our rudder and rudder post.  We require our drawing here to either trace from or copy from – the shape of the rudder – onto a suitable piece of plywood.   I used 1/8 thick plywood – some of you may prefer to use a thicker plywood and sand it down later on – it is entirely up to you.

So I have the shape of the rudder plate and now I must make the post.

If we drop the rudder post through the hole we have drilled in the hull; so that the post hangs below the keel of the model by about 1/8 of an inch.   Then, on the inside, mark off the length – just below where the deck is – then remove the post from the hull and cut this length – remembering to remove the burrs – and now if we offer the rudder post to the long flat edge of the rudder plate, so that there is 1/8 inch sticking below the bottom of the rudder – then – proceed to mark onto the brass post the centre of the length of the rudder plate.  Either side of this centre mark which you have marked on the rudder post – about ¾ inch – put 2 more marks.  These marks are where there are going to be 3 pins fastened to the rudder post.  What I normally do here, is hold the rudder post in a vice, flat with the jaws of the vice and file 3 small flats – where the marks are. (The ones I have put on the rudder post).   In this flattened area I centre pop the centre – so I now have 3 centre pops perfectly in line down the centre of the rudder post.

The next stage is to very carefully drill through the rudder post, using a 1/16 drill and the Dremel electric drill.   Make sure that these holes are true.

The next stage is then to cut 3 lengths of 1/16 brass bar; roughly the length of the brass bar must be half the width of the rudder plate.   Once we have cut the brass bar to the right lengths – we place the 3 pieces into the holes we have drilled in the rudder post – so that they are all sticking out in the same direction flush with the back of the rudder post.

To the area which the 1/16 brass rod goes through the 1/8 brass post; we apply some flux – and solder it in place.  We do this with all three pins.

When it has cooled, we clean up the back end of the rudder post, the opposite end to where the 1/16 brass pins stick through.

What we must do now is; place our rudder plate in a vice so that the long edge is sticking vertical and is level with the vice jaws.   We slide our rudder post level with the edge of the rudder plate, ensuring that there is 1/8 of the rudder post sticking below the rudder plate.   We mark off the pin locations on the edge of the rudder plate; where we marked on the edge, we now drill with a 1/16 drill to the same depth as the length as our brass pins – ensure that the drill doesn’t come through the side of the rudder plate.   So, we have drilled 3 holes to the correct depth – we give a trial fit of the rudder plate to the rudder post – by locating the 1/16 brass pins into the holes which we have just drilled.

When we are happy with this fit, and, the rudder plate is in line with the rudder post, vertically – we can now epoxy the rudder post in place.   The way we do this, we mix a small amount of epoxy and, with a toothpick, force the epoxy into the 1/16 holes which we have drilled in the edge of the rudder plate and smear a bit of epoxy along the longer edge.   We then fit/locate the pins into the holes and push truly home so that the rudder plate is truly home against the rudder post.

What we may have to do (as I did) is temporarily clamp the rudder post into position – because of forcing the pins into the holes we are forcing the epoxy out  ok2 and it has a piston effect – i.e. it tries to force the pins back out – so, we must hold it in place whilst the epoxy sets.

When the epoxy has set, we dress the rudder up, using sand paper and file – and what I did was  - I gently tapered the rudder plate, to an aerofoil section, but I didn’t take the trailing edge of the rudder to a fine point – I left it blunted by about 1/16.

So, that is the rudder and rudder post both made.  :-)

The next stage is to epoxy the rudder tube into the hull; a tip here – when epoxying tubes/rudder tube into the hull – after we have cleaned the outside of the tube and roughed it up a little – very carefully apply a small amount of grease inside the tube – without getting any grease whatsoever on the outside.  Then, mix our quantity of epoxy required with a cocktail stick – apply the epoxy on the inside of the hole in the hull.  Very carefully then making sure that it is the end with the grease in, goes through the hole first, push our rudder tube into position.   Making sure there is at least 1/8 of an inch sticking out of the bottom of the hull.    We may have to hold this into position, by applying a small amount of cellotape to the outside of the hull; this prevents the rudder tube falling all the way through.   The grease on the inside of the tube prevents any epoxy entering the tube and therefore bunging it up.  So, that is the rudder tube fixed into the hull.   

Now, there is one last thing which we need to do, before this part of the rudder is complete and that is to make the bottom bearing into which the bottom part of the rudder post locates.   I made this from some 1/8 x ¼ strip flat brass.  The total length of the bottom bearing was approximately 1 ¼ inches long.   

So, to proceed making the bottom bearing, first off, lay the piece of flat brass on a secure surface, so that the broad edge face of the brass is facing upwards.   Divide the width which is ¼ inch into two equal parts and draw a centre line parallel with one of the edges of the brass.  Take one edge (doesn’t matter which edge you take) and put a mark ¼ inch from that edge on the centre line.  Then centre pop the mark you have made.    Another ¼ inch on the centre line put another pop mark, and, then approximately ½ inch from your last centre pop mark put another mark on the centre line; and centre pop that.  So, in actual fact we have 3 centre pops all in a line, down the centre line.   

The first centre pop mark which is ¼ inch from the edge – we drill a hole here of 1/8 diameter.  The next two marks we mark with the drill 1/32 of inch holes.  We need a flat file now; and, the edge we have drilled the 1/8 inch hole nearest too, we radius it, with the file.   This is basically the set up for the bottom bearing.  We remove all of the burrs and the best way I have found of removing the burrs, is, to take a drill larger than the 1/8 hole – and by hand twist the drill into the hole and this will remove the burrs – then do the same again on the smaller hole.

Title: Re: PLAN BUILD NUMBER 4: DRIFTER/TRAWLER FREDERICK SPASHETT
Post by: John W E on November 12, 2008, 11:15:22 pm

and these pics show the assembly of the rudder fittings....

Title: Re: PLAN BUILD NUMBER 4: DRIFTER/TRAWLER FREDERICK SPASHETT
Post by: John W E on November 12, 2008, 11:16:56 pm

We are at the stage now where we are going to fit the rudder and the bottom bearing.  So, if we turn the hull over onto a secure surface and then support it so that it doesn’t move around;  we need to remove a section from the plastic keel on the bottom of the hull to accommodate our new brass bush, but, before we do that we insert the rudder and the rudder post through the rudder tube.  We then fix the bottom bush bearing in place on the pin which sticks out on the bottom of the rudder.    If we move the bottom bearing in line with the keel that will give us an indication of how much keel we need to remove so we can insert the new brass bottom bush.

So, we mark the keel and cut it with a fine tooth saw or a scalpel and then we place the bush over for a trial fit to make sure that it lines up true with the rest of the keel.  We then make sure that the rudder moves freely without any restriction.   Then, when I was happy I epoxied the bush in place on the bottom of the hull.   Whilst the epoxy was setting; I secured the brass bush with 10mm long brass building pins, through the 1/32 holes which I had drilled.     This holds the whole assembly into place, whilst the epoxy cures.

We may as well just leave the brass pins in place, because they aren’t doing any harm.

That is that part of the rudder finished and now we have to make the next piece – the tiller 

The tiller is made up from 2mm thick brass x 10 mm wide – the length of the brass is slightly longer than the servo arm which you are going to use on your servo.   You also need an old ‘dead 3-pin’ electrical plug. We are going to utilize one of the pin connectors of the plug into our build.

If you have a look, I actually used the live connection which has the fuse clip secured to it.  The tools we require are:

Our small electric drill
Soldering iron (25 watt)
Couple of small flat files
Centre popping small hammer
Junior hacksaw
Two drills:  a) 1/8
                    b) 1/16

First of all we clamp our plug connector in the vice and remove the unwanted bit of fuse holder and file the remaining block nice and square.

We then file a chamfer on the 4 edges of the face which has the large hole in it, the one which used to take the cable.  We put that to one side, nice and secure and don’t drop it on the floor and lose it  

We now require brass strip and servo arm.   I use ‘Futaba’ servos and their corresponding attachments.  So, everybody has a preference of what radio gear they use so all servos will have different size and different shaped servo arms.   I tend to use the star shaped servo arm – the one representing the X.

First of all, with the servo arm; I measure right across the arm to the exterior of the 2 linkage holes.   I take this measurement and jot this measurement down; now I turn to the piece of brass the 2mm x 10mm – lying the piece of brass on a flat surface, I take the measurement which I have taken from the servo arm and then add 5mm to it.   I mark this length off on the piece of brass and then cut the brass to this length.    I then divide the width of the brass in half i.e. 5mm either side of the centre line.  The total length of the brass I then divide into half – where the two lines cross I centre pop this position.    Then, I take my initial length from the servo arm divide it into half and from the centre pop I mark this measurement either side of this position.   The two corresponding marks I centre pop, so, now I should have 3 marks on the piece of brass (all in line) which if I placed the servo over the top of the brass, all 3 should line up with the holes in the servo arm.  The centre hole of the servo arm and the 2 outer holes of the linkage arm.

First procedure, drill the centre hole in the brass – this must be a 1/8 hole.  Then drill the outer holes which will be 1/16.  Remove the burrs from the holes both sides, ensuring that you remove all of the burrs from the 2 outer holes.

Now we put a radius on either end of the brass strip with a flat file.

We clean the brass strip up; with some fine emery paper or fine wet’n dry and try to avoid putting our fingers on it because we are going to put flux around our centre hole.    NOW CAN YOU REMEMBER WHERE YOU PUT THAT LITTLE SQUARE block you made first off – go on – find it – you know where you put it   What we really need is a 1/8 nut and bolt here.   So, we have applied a little bit of flux around the hole on the brass plate and we push the bolt through the 1/8 hole in the brass plate, and then we slide over the little square block over the bolt so that it mates with the brass plate.   If you have a look at the square block, there should be a tapped hole which in its former life used to hold a little screw that locked the cable in place, this hole must be at 90° to one long side of the brass plate.   

The chamfer we filed on the brass block previously must be mated with the brass plate, so that these two faces are in contact with each other.

Now, over the top of the bolt, we put the nut and screw it down so that it holds the little brass square block in place on top of the plate.   Not too tight – but tight enough to stop the little brass block from moving around. 

We have to have a secure place for soldering; i.e. there is going to be a little more heat involved than we have been using so far.   So, don’t solder it on top of the new dining table!    Maybe a scrap piece of plywood or better still a piece of fire brick – sit our brass assembly securely on our chosen surface –and then with the soldering iron switched on, place the tip of the soldering iron on top or into the corner of where the square block meets the brass plate.   Leave it there, and, then let the heat build up into the work. 

On the opposite side to where your soldering iron is, feed your solder in and watch the solder flow around the joint and into the V shape we have filed in the little square block – don’t move the solder, just let the solder run  -  it will run to the soldering iron.   If it doesn’t THE WORK PIECE ISNT HOT ENOUGH!  Once the solder has flowed all the way round the brass square block in the little V – remove the soldering iron and the solder stick and allow the job to cool down without it from being disturbed.

When it has cooled down, remove all traces of flux and flash from the solder.  We pass a 1/8 drill through the centre hole, to ensure that it is clear of all obstructions.  There is one little job which I do, and that is, the original screw which was used to clamp the cable in the little square block – I disregard this.   I replace it with an Allen head screw of the same size.   First of all, I modify the end of the screw – I put a point on it.  I then get a 3mm nut to act as a lock nut, so I screw this 3mm nut onto the bolt and then I screw the bolt into the small brass block.

Now, for the assembly – clamp your rudder with some G clamps and bits of scraps of wood, so that it is in line with the centre line of the hull and it doesn’t move.   Then, we require 2 brass washers to place over the rudder shaft on the inside of the hole, so that they sit on top of the rudder tube.   Then, locate the tiller assembly on top of the rudder post, so that the rudder post goes through the 1/8 hole in the centre.   The tiller arm must be at 90° to the rudder – TAKE YOUR TIME WITH THIS   double check it.   If you have used the small alnbolt with the point on the way I, you will get only one crack at this.   So, when you are satisfied that the tiller arm is at 90° to the rudder you can do as I do – and where the rudder post comes through the tiller arm, put a little bit of Superglue on the rudder post – where it actually comes through the tiller arm, let it harden and double check and ensure it is square with the rudder again – within  90° to the rudder  & then proceed to tighten the small 3mm alnbolt up, what happens is the point on the end of the alnbolt  digs into the brass rudder post and locks into place.   Then when we have alnbolt tightened up; as tight as we dare without stripping the threads; we then lock up the little 3mm nut which is on the alnbolt to the face of the little brass block.    Then, if you wish, you can put a dab of superglue on the threads of the 3mm bolt to stop the nut from shaking loose.

We then remove the clamping arrangement from the rudder, which we have put on to hold the rudder in place.  Then we check & remove the rudder – fully over to one side and then fully over in the opposite direction – to ensure that nothing snags/fouls.

This is our rudder assembly completed.

Title: Re: PLAN BUILD NUMBER 4: DRIFTER/TRAWLER FREDERICK SPASHETT
Post by: John W E on November 12, 2008, 11:22:21 pm

more pictures showing the rudder assembly  :-))

Title: Re: PLAN BUILD NUMBER 4: DRIFTER/TRAWLER FREDERICK SPASHETT
Post by: John W E on November 12, 2008, 11:26:42 pm

We move on now to fit the servo, which actually drives the rudder.   As a side note; there are many different sizes of servos – as well as different makes.   On normal models which I have built, varying from 8 foot down to the smallest one - I have always used the standard servos, which  comes with the radio set.  I have never had the need the use metal gear/hi-talk servos on rudder linkages.   Like everything else in life, everyone has their preference.

For this build I am using a bog standard Futaba S3003 standard servo.   Now, along with this I have also been asked, do I use the little rubber insulation pads which comes with the servos – do you need to use them.  Well, yes I do use them, because they are there to be used, but, do we need to really use them – well, in this particular model we are not using an I.C. engine (internal combustion engine) so, therefore there is no vibration.   I cannot see any shock loads being applied to the servo.   So, therefore no we don’t really need them -  and sometimes it can be a bit of a pain to fit them  I have actually done a web search to see – because to me the way the little pads are fitted is wrong due to the fact they sit on top of the servo rather than underneath on the locating face.

Okay – I have put a couple of photographs on here which show how you fit them – how you fit the pads on top of the servo – then you place the steel grommets from below – through the pads and this is how they fit.   The servo on this particular model is actually mounted between frames 1.5 and 2.    The tray which holds the servo is made from ¼ thick ply; with the correct size hole cut in it to take the servo.    Now the size of hole, mustn’t be too tight – so as to distort the sides of the servo.   It mustn’t be too slack so the body of the servo moves around freely! When we have fitted the servo into the tray, if we drill 4 small pilot holes  through the locating holes in the servo; and, then we can use the supplied screws to secured the servo in place – BUT, DON’T OVERTIGHTEN THE SCREWS.

We then locate and secure with 4 screws the plywood servo plywood plate in place to the frames; now the next stage is to make up the linkage arms, but, before we do anything else – we need to centralise the servo and if you are lucky enough to have one of those little gadgets called a Servo Checker, we can plug the servo lead into this, switch on, and then centralise our servo this way.  If not, the alternative way is – the radio receiver we are going to use for this particular model – we need this along with the receiver battery and also, our transmitter.  We connect the rudder servo to the appropriate channel on our receiver & in my case this was channel 1.  We then go to our transmitter & the stick which controls channel 1 we ensure that it is truly centralised, and, also the trim tab is centralised as well NOW, MAKE SURE!  We then switch the transmitter on and our receiver on also.  This will automatically centralise the servo.  Now, if you are using a Futaba servo with the cross-arm, you will find there are several positions that you can fit the cross arms on the splines of the servo, to ensure that the arm is at a true 90° to the servo body.   When this is correct, we lock down the servo arm with the screws provided; now…the rudder tiller arm must be directly parallel to the servo arm – and, if we measure the distance between the holes in the tiller arm and the outer holes of the servo arm and jot that distance down….we can then switch the receiver off first followed by the transmitter ensuring that the servo arm doesn’t move.  Now we have to make up the linkage rods.   If you like, you can purchase the little servo clips which go on the end of the push rods and locate onto the end of the servo arms.   I prefer these myself, because, I don’t like not having any adjustment on the linkage arms, and with these little clips you do get a certain amount of adjustment.

Also, you can buy threaded rods – which make up linkage arms.  But, if you are like me, I go and purchase the thin 1/16 welding rods (the plain ones without any flux) and I use them for linkage rods.   What I do, is, I calculate the length I require and don’t forget to add on the length for the little locating clips – and then when I have the linkage rods cut to the correct length, I rough up either end of the linkage rods.   I then mix a small amount of epoxy resin up and coat the ends of the steel linkage rod and locate it into the end of the plastic clips.   But, I do – do only one rod at a time.

I then connect up the tiller arm to the servo arm, with that one rod, and, then what I do is check the distance is equal on the other side of the tiller arm and servo arm.   When I am happy that the two distances are equal, I assemble the 2nd linkage rod and put it into place.

Once this is all done, I remove the two spare arms off the servo arm; replace it, reset everything back up and either re-connect the servo checker or the radio gear and give it a good try to ensure you have full movement of the rudder in both directions from the servo.

One tip is, move the stick on the transmitter full over and listen for the servo juddering/struggling.  This is an indication that there is something fouling.   If there is no indication of any noise or any restriction on the servo, move the trim tab which is for that particular channel, over in the same direction as you have moved the stick.   This will increase the throw of the rudder a little bit more, and watch for any restrictions.   

When you are happy that you have no restrictions to the rudder; in both directions; then we are finished with the assembly of the rudder.

Now are have done our electrics and installation of a bit of hardware – move on to another stage of building – and another few choices  ok2

We are now going to fit the deck.    :-)) :-))

Title: Re: PLAN BUILD NUMBER 4: DRIFTER/TRAWLER FREDERICK SPASHETT
Post by: John W E on November 12, 2008, 11:37:12 pm

............. these pictures show the assembly of rudder & servo components into the hull

Title: Re: PLAN BUILD NUMBER 4: DRIFTER/TRAWLER FREDERICK SPASHETT
Post by: John W E on November 12, 2008, 11:42:42 pm

Before we do fit the deck though – who is itching – go on stick it in the test tank – what harm will that do?   Make sure all of the edges of the plastic plates which we put on the outside are sealed with Liquid Poly!

What can we do with the model in the test tank – apart from play with model for 1 ½ we need an amp meter – something like 10 amps capability.    We then require some extension leads to clip on, because, how many times have we done something and it hasn’t turned out right – like trying to balance the amp meter on the model and its fallen off – right into the water  :-) so, we connect the amp meter between the positive side of the battery and the motor.  The negative side of the battery is connected directly to the motor.    There is no speed controller in the circuit at this stage and this is what we want to find out – how many amps the motor is going to draw under full load?  So, with the weight of the battery and perhaps a few heavy bits and pieces to bring the model to around about the correct water line – when the motor is running, we observe what the amperage is.   This is the running amperage of the motor at full speed.

This is the important bit; this is what we want to know, so we can make some calculations from this measurement of what size speed controller we require.   We can now lift the boat out of the water, dust it down and do a bit of calculation.   The actual motor was running at 4.2 amps; at full speed.   So, if we double that amperage for safety that would be approximately 8.4 amps – a 10 amp speed controller would be quite adequate to drive this motor.   What we must also do, is, when we fit the speed controller, fit a fuse of 8 amps in theory.  However, we cannot get an 8amp spade fuse – the commercial one is a 10 amp fuse.  So, if we put a 10 amp fuse in, that will give us a safety margin.  That, if the propeller was to stop/stall completely the motor amps would go up, if allowed, to somewhere in the region of say 60 amps – but with us having a 10 amp fuse in, it would blow the fuse long before it reached that amperage and therefore in theory protecting our speed controller.   That is that little bit of theory – and – now we have to make some choices with regard to the deck.  More construction work – as I say we have a few choices now.   On this particular model, the main deck is planked – and now we can assimilate this planking if we desire by purchasing some nice thin mahogany faced plywood or we can use birch plywood.   There are numerous veneered plys we can use and what we can do is cut the plywood to shape to fit the deck and then once we have glued the plywood onto the deck of the boat, we could draw on the lines to represent the planks.   I have seen one or two high class models done this way, and, if the time is taken and it is done correctly it can look lovely.  The only draw back with it is the grain of the plywood follows on between plank to plank.  That grain doesn’t look natural.  Have you ever seen a real boat where the grain flows from plank to plank?   There is a ‘newish’ product on the market – which I haven’t personally had my hands on yet, to have a good look at it.   But, I have seen several photographs of it, on the web and in magazines.    It looks to me like a form of ‘sticky on’ plastic which has already got the planks embossed in it.  So, literally, you stick it onto your deck after cutting it to shape; and that is it apart from drawing your butt lines in of the plank.   The pictures I have seen of this used, looks very impressed – how difficult it is to use, I have no idea yet.

Title: Re: PLAN BUILD NUMBER 4: DRIFTER/TRAWLER FREDERICK SPASHETT
Post by: John W E on November 12, 2008, 11:45:31 pm

Now we come to the third option and this is the option I used and that was to plank the deck with individual planks.   I kid you not, it is not a job you do in 5 minutes!   Also, like everything else in modelling there are more ways than one in which to do it.   So this is my way of how I planked this model.

I began by laying a sub-deck made from light ply 2mm thick.   This light ply bends easily, so, it could take the shape of the camber of the deck as well as the curvature from bow to stern.   What I did was cut a piece of light ply slightly longer than the hull and slightly wider – laid the light ply on a soft surface, don’t tell the Mrs it was on top of the bed pillar – the Mrs wasn’t in bed at the time!    I then laid placed the light ply on top of the pillar and placed the hull on the light ply upside down.   I pressed the hull firmly into the light ply and then drew round the outside of the hull, giving me the shape of the deck.    Then, I cut around the mark which I had drawn on the plywood leaving about 1/16 in size.    I then sat the hull firmly in its building cradle and then I spread the yellow PVA glue onto all of the frame tops; and around the edge on the top of the deck stringer.   Centrally, I then placed the plywood on top ensuring that there was an even overlap all the way round.    I then weighted the plywood down to press it firmly onto the hull with various heavy objects.   I used batteries etc., anything heavy I could lay my hands on, I fitted it on, to press the deck firmly onto the hull.    I left it overnight for the glue to dry.   Once the glue had dried in the morning, I removed all of the weights.

With a sanding block I gently sanded the edges of the plywood flush with the side of the hull.   Be careful when doing this; don’t forget we have plastic plating on the side.   Once I had finished doing this, I then drew a centre line down the centre of the deck from bow to stern.   

I then referred back to my plan and on the plan I picked an item off the deck to use a reference i.e. to form a reference mark on the hull and this was the front of the bridge where it meets the deck.  So, I took a measurement form the stern of the vessel to the front of the bridge.   Now, from now on, all measurements I make on this deck or off the plan will be made from this central mark The reason I do this is, if your hull is slightly bigger/smaller than the plan, it is a lot easier to adjust the measurements and correct your mistakes working from a central mark.

I have marked the position of the bridge front and now I need to transfer positions of every item which is on the deck of the vessel.   When I say Items I mean the positions of the fish hold, forward hatch, companion way and I need to draw in the bridge superstructure the little cabin at the aft; and the small circular fish holds, the position of the bollards – everything must be drawn onto the deck.

Last but not least, we must draw in the edge of the deck planking, where it meets the side of the vessel.   Now, if you notice, the deck planking doesn’t go right up to the edge of the side of the vessel.   It stops short.   It does on 99% of large vessels.  This gap around is where the water gathers when water is running off the deck of the vessel.   It runs to this part and then from here, it will either run down through drains overboard, or, through scuppers overboard.  We must mark this border line around the deck.

The next stage, we must decide on what lengths of plank/planking we are going to use.

I decided that the scale length of the planks I was going to use were going to be 12 foot, giving an actual length of plank of 4.5 inches long.  Now, the other thing we have to take into consideration is, what they call, the butt line.   Don’t panic – WHATS THE BUTT LINE – this is where the 2 planks butt together.   If we have a look at any deck planking we will see that none of the planks butt together and align across the deck.  They are all staggered.   There are two common butt patterns as they call them – a 4 butt pattern and a 3 butt pattern.   Imagine us then standing on the deck of a real ship and looking down at the deck – we are looking at the planking.   We will pick a joint on the first plank we are looking at; we will count 1 plank in front of the first plank and we will see that the joint is further down the vessel.    We will count 2 planks away – so that is 2 planks from where we are standing and the next joint will be further down the plank again.    We will count a 3rd plank from where we are standing and we will find that the plank joint on that particular row is further down again.    Yet, when we could the 4th plank – the joint we are standing on is directly in line with us.   If we look back, we will see that the joints are like a set of stairs, working their way down.   The same will happen and we are standing on a deck and it had what is known as a 4 butt deck.   The only difference is - it would be the 5th plank that would be in line with us that would be for a 4th butt joint. How do we achieve this?   First thing we must do, decide if we are going to have a 3 butt deck or a 4 butt deck.   I picked a 3 butt deck.

So, what I had to do first of all was to take a scale length of plank which I was going to use and divide equally into 4 segments.   This works out at 1⅛ for my particular model.   Now, on the centre line of the deck which we have drawn previously, remember where I have said – we put a reference mark on – well, from this reference mark we mark off the length of equivalent to one of the portions of the plank as referred to above.   We repeat this dividing of the centre line all the way up to the bow and from our reference mark all the way to the stern.   So, now we have divided the full centre line into small segments which is equal to one portion that our scale plank has been divided into.

Now, at each mark, on the centre line we draw a line at right angles to the centre line – right across the deck – we repeat this operation all the way up to the bow ensuring that the lines that we are drawing are at right angles to the centre line.    Now, the lines we have drawn on now are our plank butt spacing lines.

Okay – so now we are near enough ready to begin planking our deck.   Now, the material I used was 1mm x 6mm maple.   The glue I used to secure the planks to the deck was just pure white PVA – I didn’t use the yellow PVA because it tends to stain the timber.    I also had a permanent black-felt tipped marker – it has a broad tip to it & used that – so first of all I cut about 5 planks to my scale length 4.5 inches long; on the very edge of the plank – you know where the plank is 1mm thick; I drew on here with the black felt tip marker.   One long edge and actually did the 2 short ends too with the marker.    This will eventually represent the black caulking which is in between the planks.

Now, where to start the planking – we must first of all put the marginal planks in which run all the way around the outside of the deck.   These planks are the ones which run next to the waterway which runs around the deck.    So, the first end of the plank – or the first butt must coincide with the reference mark which we originally first put on and it must coincide with the butt line which runs across the deck.

So, it is really up to you which way you plank – either towards the bow or the stern when you are putting the margin planks on.

We have now completed our outer planking, putting our outer deck marginal planks on.   If we have a look at pictures of decks on life size decks, we will see that the planks do not run straight up and butt against a hatch or a bollard or even the side of the cabins.   There is another marginal plank around all of these fixtures and fittings on a deck so, we must reproduce this marginal planking on our scale deck.    This is where time must be spent because when we put marginal planking around the likes of a hatch or a bollard the planks have a neat 45° angle on them.    When we come to round objects such as a capstan or a round fish hatch – or a coal scuttle, this also has marginal planking which is in a circular form but it is put in – in sections.   It is always good to try and have to use real size decks as a reference so you get it as true to life as possible.    It is the end result which matters and it is worth the extra effort.  REMEMBER NOW – KEEP THE MARGINAL PLANKS TO SCALE LENGTH & remember also if there is a butt in the length – it must coincide with the butt joint which you have drawn on the deck.  Once we have all the marginal planks in position and secured, we can then begin to do the main deck planking.  Normal tradition of laying a deck is to start with the very centre plank – also known as the King Plank.   This plank runs all the way up the centre of the vessel on the deck.   We can start by laying this plank first from the centre line so half the width of the plank is either side of the centre line which we have drawn on the deck.   I began at the reference mark which I had drawn on the deck – just in front of the bridge.

This turns out to be a very short plank, due to the fact that there is a winch in front of the bridge.  The actual end of the plank would finish somewhere in the middle of the hatch, if it were a full length one.   So, what we do is, we go along to find where this plank would end and there should be a butt line drawn across the deck.   What we do is we carry on and find out where the next plank ends after the hatch – we start to plank from the marginal plank which butts up against the hatch, to the next butt line.   We carry on with this procedure until we come up to the marginal planks at the bow.

Now, this is where we have to do a sequence called plank-jogging or nibbling  what it is you actually take half the width of the plank which is square to the inner edge and from the half way mark, it is angled to coincide with the angle of the marginal plank.   When we have cut this angle on the end of our plank – we cut the corresponding angle into the marginal plank.   So, we have our first run of King Plank from the front of the bridge superstructure to the bow and we repeat the process from the rear of the superstructure to the stern.   It is always handy to have some dressmaker’s pins handy and some heavy weights to put on top of the planks to keep them in place while the glue sets.   I then moved on and began to plank the next plank to the king plank and don’t forget – the butt moves up towards the bow – it is not in line – before we lay this plank in place, we mark 3 edges of the plank with a black felt tipped pen.   Those who would like to try the method of using electrician’s tape or black card – now is the time to try it.   To use the electrician’s tape cut 5-6 planks, clamp them all together and lay them edge down on the sticky side of the electrician’s tape.   Rub the electrician’s tape firmly so that it bonds with the edges of the planks and then trim off the edges to suit.   

Carefully then, with a scalpel blade, cut down the length of the plank through the electrician’s tape – so – you are left with a very thin strip of electrician’s tape on one edge.   The same procedure is done with the black card, but, you use PVA glue to bond the black card to the edge of the planks.

I did originally begin cutting all of my planks to the scale of 4.5 inches.    However, I found, when I was working around all the hatched and the bollards and so forth, I was left with a lot of waste pieces of planking.  I therefore opted to actually keep the full plank in its full length and just cut off the required length; this I found was less wasteful and easier to do. It took me 3 days to plank & in some cases re-plank this deck – so, be prepared – it is not a job to do in 5 minutes.

Finally, as we are planking towards the deck edge-  we will find that our jogged planks – the taper becomes excessively long and care then must be taken whilst doing this. One of the best methods I found was to cut the angle on the plank to be laid first – and then lay this plank over in position and lightly score with a scalpel blade the outline of the plank onto the margin plank.

I had one or two planks which did split down the length – so – finished the deck, we allow the glue to dry – what is the next stage.

Title: Re: PLAN BUILD NUMBER 4: DRIFTER/TRAWLER FREDERICK SPASHETT
Post by: John W E on November 12, 2008, 11:51:12 pm

and here are some further pictures - they show the process of planking the deck  :-)

Title: Re: PLAN BUILD NUMBER 4: DRIFTER/TRAWLER FREDERICK SPASHETT
Post by: John W E on November 12, 2008, 11:53:56 pm

Well, we sand the deck with some medium sandpaper.   Then with a blade from a Stanley knife - held vertically and 90° to the deck plank – I drew the blade down the length of the deck (going with the grain of the planks) scraping the deck – this levels the planks properly.   After I had finished this, I gave the deck 2 coats of sand ‘n sealer – and this is the stuff – don’t get it on your wife’s draining board – I DID  :-) making coffee for the rest of the week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  %% %%

That finishes the deck – for the time being

Title: Re: PLAN BUILD NUMBER 4: DRIFTER/TRAWLER FREDERICK SPASHETT
Post by: John W E on November 12, 2008, 11:55:38 pm

– so, what is the next thing we do.

So, the next stage in the build – we must finish off the side bulwarks and the plating.  The bulwarks are made from 1/16 ply and in hindsight I think I should have made the bulwarks from 0.8 mm ply.    For the ease of bending around the stern the thinner ply would have been a lot better.    I started the procedure off by marking a line 1/16 in from the side of the hull, all the way around the outer edge of the deck.    According to the plan, there is an angle stiffening piece / bulwark support every 36 inches – so I scaled this down to the scale I was using and divided the line I had drawn around the deck – so that it gave me equal spacings equivalent to 36 inches in scale.

Inboard of this line, I drew a 2nd line, which was 3/32 from the edge.   This gave me the centre of the 1/16 brass pins I was going to use to support the bulwarks.

I started off at roughly at the centre of the hull and worked drilling a hole with a 1/16 drill to take the brass pin.   I also made a jig up to give me a height for to set the brass pins too.  This height was roughly ¼ inch below the overall height of the bulwark.

As I drilled one hole, I fitted one pin; this is the procedure which I adopted throughout and also, I checked that the pin was in line vertically up and down, but, it had the same angle as the exterior of the hull.  Once I had completed fitting all of the brass pins (also I was using superglue to glue the brass pins in) – I then began at the stern and made a cardboard template up of the shape of the stern bulwark.

I then traced this onto the 1/16 ply ensuring that the grain on the outside was vertical to the height of the bulwark.   Once I had traced this shape on, I cut it out.  Now the next procedure I used for those who are reading this UNDER THE AGE OF 12-15 – ensure that an adult is there with you.     I half filled a large saucepan with water – I boiled the water up one the water was boiling I placed the stern section of plywood, for the bulwark into the boiling water.   I allowed it to boil for approximately 15 minutes.

After the 15 minutes was up I removed the plywood from the boiling water with a set of tongues, and, I quickly wrapped it around the stern section of the vessel – where the brass pins are.   I also clamped it in place, using clamps and clothes pegs.    I allowed it to cool down and dry out.

With us using 1/16 ply I actually had 2 attempts at this – as the first time I tried it didn’t bend properly to shape.  So when it had cooled down – I removed it from the model – I then repeated the procedure and the 2nd time it did conform to the shape of the vessel much better  .

When the stern section bulwark had dried out, I then glued it into place using PVA for the joint between the deck and the bulwark and super glued between the glass pins in the bulwark.  Once this had set securely I moved on to produce the side bulwarks up towards the bow in as large as possible sections.   The other thing would add is the overall height I was producing the bulwarks at – were approximately 1/8 taller than they should be.    I followed the procedure the same as using PVA between the deck joint and the bottom of the bulwark – and super glued between the brass pins and the sides of the bulwark.,  I managed to do the bulwarks in 3 sections.   Once the glue on the bulwarks had completely dried out, I then drew on with the aid of a pencil and guideline, the overall height from the deck of the bulwark.    I then sanded carefully down to this line – ensuring that I had a smooth curvature from bow to stern of the bulwarks.   That was this stage completed and now the next stage is to finish off the side planking.

Title: Re: PLAN BUILD NUMBER 4: DRIFTER/TRAWLER FREDERICK SPASHETT
Post by: John W E on November 13, 2008, 12:03:03 am

and these pictures show the fixing of the bulwarks around the side of the hull.....

Title: Re: PLAN BUILD NUMBER 4: DRIFTER/TRAWLER FREDERICK SPASHETT
Post by: John W E on November 13, 2008, 12:08:31 am

The first thing we do is the exterior joint where the bulwark meets the deck on the outside of the hull – we must fill in any gaps and unevenness with car body filler; which I did do – and I very carefully with wet ’n dry  sanded this flush with the exterior of the hull.   

The next stage is to complete the plating on the exterior and this is done, again with Plasticard, cut to the correct scale of the plates, but slightly higher so they overlap the top of the bulwarks.

You will see, on one of the photographs, where I am using a flat piece of plywood to push out any air bubbles in the superglue which is trapped between the plate and the hull.

Once we have completed this, we must also complete fitting the bow post which is done with two strips of Plasticard – glued and pinned as we did with the main keel; once we are happy and the glue has set on the plates, we can move on to fitting the exterior rubbing half rounds.   There is a piece which runs at the same level as the deck joint and you will see I made a jig up which was a piece of plywood with a piece of softwood glued at one edge to form a hook – which hooks on the top of the bulwark and there is a hole in the plywood at the correct distance for the level of the deck.  So, I place a pencil through the hole and place a hook in the bulwark and draw a perfect line all the way round the outside of the vessel on both sides.    This is where I glue my first strip of Evergreen Plastistrip half round – the size I used was 125 thou wide.   This was glued straight on the hull side using poly-cement.  Below this rubbing rib, there are two more rubbing ribs – to be positioned and glued on in the same way  - but they do not run all the way up to the bow and stern – like the deck rubbing straight – they stop short at the bow and stern.   

Title: Re: PLAN BUILD NUMBER 4: DRIFTER/TRAWLER FREDERICK SPASHETT
Post by: John W E on November 13, 2008, 12:14:30 am

The next thing we must do (doing this now also makes life easier) is putting the wash ports in /where the water runs out from the deck overboard / holes in the side  :-) of the boat.   To do these; it is a simple operation of actually just drilling 3 holes; opening the holes up with a scalpel and then filing the hole even with the aid of a round and flat file.   Now, there are one or two problems here – on the plans; it shows a scupper or wash port – a drawing of one and also a drawing of where it is located but this is ‘end view’ and it doesn’t state the positions along the hull of these wash ports.   So, this is where we do require some more illustrative photographs for this type of vessel.   Although when we look at photographs, the position of these scuppers is not immediate.   What we have to look for are rust/water marks down the side of the hull to locate the position.   The photographs I have, which although are not many, I could only find the position of approximately 8 – even one of these scuppers was a bit ‘iffy’ – so, I knew there was rough position of 7 of the scuppers for definite – so I opted to make 7 holes per side.

The other thing to make life easier is, I made another plywood jig up (see photographs) which hooks up over the side of the bulwark and this gives me the position from the top of the bulwark - & where to drill the first hole.   Once I have the first hole – from this hole I can work out and mark off the location of the 2nd hole to be drilled.   This gives me the overall length of the scupper.  I then mark the centre between the 2 outer holes and this gives me the position to drill the 3rd hole between the 2.   As I have said - it is just a simple procedure to open the holes up and file them to shape.   

Now, what I did, to make life a bit easier, was fit the angled supports on the inside of the bulwarks which made from Evergreen angled strip 100 thou x 100 thou – cut to the correct length and then super glued so that they were hard up against the brass pins;  Once I had completed all sixty-odd of these  :-) I did the next thing, which was to add the stay bars, which glue onto these angles and go down at an angle to the deck.   This was made from 100 thou x 40 thou flat strip Plasticard – there were another sixty-odd of these to make – and these were glued into place but the top of this angled piece comes flush with the top of the bulwark.    Once all of these have dried out, I then painted the inside of the bulwarks to make life a little easier  :-) once I had had 2-3 coats of red paint on – which it says in the plans – I put the bulwark top capping piece on and these pieces were made from Plasticard as well 40 thou thick x 125 wide.  The reason I used Plasticard is it is easy to achieve the tight radius at the stern.

Title: Re: PLAN BUILD NUMBER 4: DRIFTER/TRAWLER FREDERICK SPASHETT
Post by: John W E on November 13, 2008, 12:21:45 am

Now this top capping is flush on the outside of the plating – because there is another half round section to go on the outside yet again; this half round section was glued on with liquid poly & goes from bow to stern.   Now, if you wish, like me, you can begin to do a little bit of painting – and – the techniques of painting & finishing are well covered elsewhere in this forum, but, what I have posted a picture of is the height gauge and how I use it for marking the water line.

As you will see from the picture, it is 2 pieces of plywood glued at right angles to one another – and using a G clamp to clamp a soft tipped pencil to the vertical piece of plywood.   The trick is with water lines; is to mark from a known position, normally the bottom of your keel of the water line at the bow and at the stern.  If we turn the hull upside down and support it so that when we set the height at the bow with the pencil on our gauge, we can move our gauge to the stern and the pencil will line up with the mark on the stern – we achieve this by using packing pieces to either lift the bow up or the stern up which ever is the case.

I was lucky with this model, because a 6 volt battery - just forward of where the main hatch is produced the correct height and angle for me to mark the water line.

Once we have the two marks to correspond with the height of the gauge it is a simple matter of drawing a line all the way round.

Title: Re: PLAN BUILD NUMBER 4: DRIFTER/TRAWLER FREDERICK SPASHETT
Post by: John W E on November 13, 2008, 12:24:31 am

couple of pictures showing how the washports were cut in the side of the hull  :-) ....

Title: Re: PLAN BUILD NUMBER 4: DRIFTER/TRAWLER FREDERICK SPASHETT
Post by: John W E on November 13, 2008, 12:30:16 am

The next stage:  Well, I think it is about time we gained access to the inside of the hull, so we can open up the area under the main super structure and we can open up the area of the fish hold.    This is easily done with a sharp scalpel and a razor saw.

If we cut with the scalpel around on the inside of the marginal planks, we can easily cut through the layer of ply.  Where we require the use of the razor saw is when we reach the tops of the ribs underneath the decking, we must carefully use the razor saw to cut through these.   Once this has all been done, this allows us to remove the centre sections – we then – need to clean the edges up, where we have sawn through with a medium piece of sandpaper.   Next stage – re-enforce underneath the deck; with suitable material.   I use ¼ square Obechi.  This is glued between the frames – with one edge of the timber flush with the opening of the hatch; and the adjacent face pressed hard underneath the deck.    The next stage is to actually add the combing; these are the pieces which stick up from the deck and prevent water from flowing in the hatch/hole.   If you look, you will see that the combing I have fitted around the superstructure opening is in actual fact the same height as the bulwarks.   This is because I am going to try and seal this model virtually water-tight to enable me to sail her in some unforgiving weather  :-)) ;) ;   The fish-hold combing what I actually have done there is build the inner combing up using 1/32 ply for the inside and around the outside flush with the deck I wrap the combing in 1/16 ply.   This is 1/8 inch taller than the inner combing.  This forms a rebate on the inside of the combing to allow the hatch to locate into.   The hatch lid is made up from plywood and Obechi strips.   The plywood was first cut, so that it sat neatly inside of the combing.   The underside of the hatch – there was a ¼ square edging put underneath, and, this locates on the inner walls of the combing.

The top of the deck where we have to assimilate the hatch boards, this is divided down the centre and a spar glued into place.  This spar is where the edge of the hatch boards butt against.   I then divided the length of the hatch, into 6 equal portions, per side of the centre spar.    In between these portions, I glued 10mm Obechi strips; 2 at a time.    Every 2nd strip I glued 3 sheets of black paper between them, this represents a joint between the boards, very similar to when we did the decking.

When all the hatch boards have been fitted into place (all 12 of them) I sanded it down with medium sandpaper.   I then marked off the positions of the hand holds and with a small drill I drilled through the Obechi planking to the plywood.   All 24 positions  :-) .

Then with a rounded milling bit I opened up the drilled holes to produce a cup shape into the Obechi.    Once I had finished all of the holes; producing a cup shape in all of them; I then gave the hatch top 4 coats of sand ‘n sealer.

Title: Re: PLAN BUILD NUMBER 4: DRIFTER/TRAWLER FREDERICK SPASHETT
Post by: John W E on November 13, 2008, 12:36:01 am

and these pictures show fitting combing around the openings on the deck....

Title: Re: PLAN BUILD NUMBER 4: DRIFTER/TRAWLER FREDERICK SPASHETT
Post by: John W E on November 13, 2008, 12:37:24 am

The next stage was to make the hand grabs – this is the rod which goes across the hole – enabling the little sailors to lift the hatch boards out  :-) .

It was basically a piece of very thin copper wire, bent in a square U shape which fitted across the holes.  So 2 small holes were drilled either side of the large hole 3 o’clock and 9 o’clock positions.   The handle was inserted in and glued from underneath with Superglue.  This then takes care of the hatch, apart from the last thing, a rubber band, glued on the lip to form a water tight seal.

Title: Re: PLAN BUILD NUMBER 4: DRIFTER/TRAWLER FREDERICK SPASHETT
Post by: John W E on November 13, 2008, 12:45:25 am

Now we move on to the superstructure; in the past I know that this has caused a lot of people some problems  :-) defining shapes and so forth.   So, let us have a little think about superstructures – if we go back to the earlier days of steam powered ships, we will see that the superstructure basically consisted of a wooden square box and sometimes you would have platforms either side of the box for lookouts to stand on.    This was possibly paneled with various woods to decorate it – as we move forward in time we see the superstructures becoming larger and incorporating the exhaust funnels of the vessels – sometimes the superstructures would be in the middle of the ship or at the stern of the ship.   Also incorporated an area on top of the superstructure for steering wheel and compass – in the early days the steering positions were open to the environments – but, they were basically still the same, square boxes.   If we come to the late Victorian times, especially in the passenger liners – you will see elegance creeping in as far as the design of the ship /superstructure and curves coming in as far as the area of the bridge front is concerned.   Then, you will see also angles coming in – have a look at how the funnels are beginning to slope slightly towards the stern.

So, this trend normally carried on up until the early 1950s, apart from the war years – when then they were built to replace lost vessels – so there was a building time-element in it.   Designs seemed to go out of the window.

As we move on from the 1950s we see we are moving back to the squareness now, look at the modern liners, more like a square box on its side with large windows in the side.

Have a look closely at the superstructures and we see we can break them down – in our mind’s eye – into square boxes / boxes with rounded edges on /semi-circles or some form of cone shape for angles.

This is the principle we use – we look at the plan and see where the actual superstructure resembles either a square or an oblong box.   

If we look at our particular plan and look at the superstructure and the bridge area, we will see it is basically an oblong box – with a radius on the bridge front.

Now look at the wheelhouse top and this is 2 semi-circles, back-to-back – when looking at the bird’s eye view.    So, what we shall do – we will begin with the bridge front first – the most difficult part to construct -because of the radius and angle in that area.

From the plan we can take the front angle; from the side elevation drawing; from the deck level just underneath the wheelhouse area.   This height & angle is then transferred to a suitable piece of plywood.  Now we look at the deck plan; where we can trace off the radius of the front of the bridge.   Also, along with the radius, we can obtain the width of the superstructure – these two dimensions which have been traced, are now transferred to a suitable piece of plywood and we mark the bottom radius along with a section of the side length (which will give us the width of the superstructure). Then what we do is we draw the front angle of the superstructure on – this will of course give us the angle of the superstructure and also the height.   We then cut these out from our plywood; and then glue our vertical angled piece at the centre of our bottom radius piece of plywood and this gives us an inverted T shape and if we look down on it from above – you will see it gives us our radius from the front and if we look at it from the side view – it gives us our side angle.

We must now construct the top of our former which we are making; which comes from the bridge deck area plan.   You will see that the radius there is smaller than the radius on our main deck plan.    So, we trace this section off and this becomes a sub-floor for the bridge deck.   We have to then beef it up with square bits of wood; approximately either ¼ or ⅛ square.   This is how we produce our former to manufacture the front of our superstructure.

Have a look at the photographs; and, you will see exactly how I did it.   :-)   

Title: Re: PLAN BUILD NUMBER 4: DRIFTER/TRAWLER FREDERICK SPASHETT
Post by: John W E on November 13, 2008, 12:52:43 am

The next piece I did was to construct a lid which would fit over the combing where the superstructure sits on, and, this in turn was glued to the back of the former which we had made.    Also, you will see how I strengthened the joint using gussets.    Once this had been glued and securely set, the next stage was to fabricate the superstructure sides.   When they were cut and shaped to the correct profile – they were then glued either side of the lid which I had built.   Again, these were supported by using ¼ square softwood timber along with plywood gussets.   
The next stage was to apply the plywood which goes around the bridge front; first of all there was a cardboard template made (by bending cardboard around the former which we had made) and then drawing around to give us the approximate shape and this was then transferred to a piece of 1/64 plywood.    The plywood was then glued and clamped in place around the former and allowed to dry – when completely dried – it was sanded to shape and blended in with the sides of the superstructure.

The bridge top deck is the next thing – this is simple enough – the actual bridge itself is actually wider than the superstructure.   We then repeated the process in a similar way – by building a former – from plywood and square Obechi to produce the wheel house front.    When we apply the plywood to the front, we do not go all the way up to the actual wheel house roof, we go just below/or just to the level of the windows.   Where the windows are, there is another piece of plywood applied separately - to which we draw on and then cut out the window openings.   

When I came to the stage of cutting the window openings out, I actually made them 1/16 larger than the window itself; this is because when we come to apply the window frames, there is a framework which goes on the exterior holding the glazing in – the window aperture is then cut to the correct size on the exterior window frame.

The area aft of the wheelhouse (or the funnel casing area) is made in a similar manner to which we have produced the wheelhouse.    The funnel is yet again constructed from 2 ovals, but, instead of using plywood to cover the funnel – I blocked it in using balsa wood – and then sanded it to the correct shape.   
I did not at this stage; try to manufacture the top of the funnel, which is the angled piece.    To finish off the exterior of the funnel I wrapped it in 0.5 Plasticard, gluing the Plasticard onto the balsa wood with Superglue and then cutting and sanding that with wet ‘n dry.
We now come to making the cone which fits on the top of the funnel; I made this through trial and error making paper cones. :-)   Once I had the correct cone shape in paper, I transferred this to 1/64 plywood.   I cut the shape out and tried it without gluing it, to ensure that it fitted.   Once I was happy with the fit, I placed this shaped piece of plywood into boiling water and then allowed it to boil for approx 10 minutes and then, I wrapped it around the top of the funnel and held it in place with various clamps and cellotape – I then allowed it to cool off and dry.    I then glued it into place once it had cooled/dried and then sanded it with a piece of very smooth sandpaper – to bring it to its correct shape or near enough correct shape.
When I had finished this stage, I went on to making the window frames, which I have already mentioned and also you will see I also had to produce bent timbers to form the windowsills and drip rails which go to top and bottom of the windows.   Three of these timbers were made from 1/16 square Obechi – I had to boil these in boiling water so I could bend them and you  will see in the photograph how I have clamped them to the top of the bridge (temporarily) to form the bends in them.   Once these were dry, 2 of them were laminated together, to form the broad windowsill for the bottom of the window frames and the single bent piece goes on the top of the window to form the drip rail.   Above this rail there is a 3rd rail which has a half round on it, this goes round the edge of the roof of the wheelhouse – this bit – I cheated and made it out of Plasticard.  :-)

Title: Re: PLAN BUILD NUMBER 4: DRIFTER/TRAWLER FREDERICK SPASHETT
Post by: John W E on November 13, 2008, 12:56:42 am

When happy and we have finished sanding the superstructure; I gave it several coats of sand ‘n sealer.   BE CAREFUL HERE DON’T GET SAND AND SEALER ON YOUR WINDOWS.   The other thing I will mention is, I didn’t put any interiors (such as steering wheel, instruments, etc.,) inside the bridge – I feel this is the preference of the builder.   There is adequate information on the plan if someone wishes to do this.
After that, we give the superstructure a couple of coats of the appropriate paint.
That is the basic superstructure made.
Obviously there are sub-superstructures to make, which fit the main superstructure, such as engine room skylight, water tanks and so forth – and doors to be made which I have made for the bridge as well.  Whilst on this point, I would mention, on the photographs you can see I have drilled the positions for the portholes as well.   The portholes were purchase - the actual port lights themselves – which are going to be inserted into the holes, when I have finished painting the model – I intend to leave them as brass – but with a coating of clear varnish over the top of the brass.
We now have to make another small superstructure which is literally a small square box, and that is the aft deck house.  :-)   5 bits of plywood  :-) …. The same goes for the forward hatch  :-) ….

Title: Re: PLAN BUILD NUMBER 4: DRIFTER/TRAWLER FREDERICK SPASHETT
Post by: John W E on November 13, 2008, 01:05:08 am

These are some pictures of the construction of the wheelhouse ....  :-))

Title: Re: PLAN BUILD NUMBER 4: DRIFTER/TRAWLER FREDERICK SPASHETT
Post by: John W E on November 13, 2008, 01:14:24 am

The same goes for the forward hatch  :-) …. THESE are made from 1/16 ply – which have little angle strips on the inside to keep them square.   The forward hatch is made in an identical way to the way we make the main fish hatch, but, we do not cut through the main deck – we leave the main deck solid underneath.   Think about this – I made the mistake here of gluing the hatch boards in on top of the small hatch and in hindsight I wish I hadn’t – because this area here (underneath this little hatch) is a perfect place for concealing a switch for our main electrics.   Whilst we are on making the small hatch for the forward end; we can also manufacture the small forecastle companion way.   This is that ‘segment of cake shape’ stood on its end  .  The basic shape was made from 1/64 plywood first of all; then I covered it with mahogany strips – 4mm x 0.5mm this represents the planking; if you have a look on the plans, you will see this particular companion way doesn’t have doors on it – it has boards which locate into slots at the front.  When I had finished manufacturing this item; I gave it 3 coats of sand n sealer.  This in turn has brought it up to look as though it has been varnished; I then moved on to the rears of the main superstructure, where we make 2 access doors.   These are made from Plasticard; first piece of Plasticard is 0.5 thou thick and this makes the backing framework of the door and it is cut to the same shape as the door – only 1mm larger than the actual door.   The door is then manufactured from 1.5 mm  cut to the same shape as the framework, but, obviously 1mm smaller all the way round.
The door was then glued on top of the frame centrally – so that the 1mm gap was evenly spaced all the way round – the next thing is – make 2 small hinges/assimilated the hinges – these were made from 2 small pieces of brass rod 1mm thick x 5mm long; glued on the framework between the framework and the door at the correct height.   The hinge strap was made out of the 0.5mm Plasticard cut into a thin strip 2mm wide x 12mm long.   This was glued across the door in positions, opposite the brass rod we had glued on.  Finally, I drilled a small hole opposite side to the 2 hinges; which in turn takes a small brass pin which represents the door handle.   These 2 doors were then glued into the correct position at the rear of the main superstructure.

Title: Re: PLAN BUILD NUMBER 4: DRIFTER/TRAWLER FREDERICK SPASHETT
Post by: John W E on November 13, 2008, 01:25:03 am

and some more pictures to show fittings on the hull......and deck too.

Title: Re: PLAN BUILD NUMBER 4: DRIFTER/TRAWLER FREDERICK SPASHETT
Post by: John W E on November 13, 2008, 01:27:44 am

The next thing I made was the duck board which runs behind the main superstructure on the deck.  This basically was 2 pieces of Obechi 1.5 thick x 75mm long x 8mm wide; these 2 pieces of Obechi were set apart standing on their edge – and there were the laths which go across the duck board – they were all cut to 20 mm long and they were manufactured from 1.5 mm x 4mm Obechi.
This was all then assembled and glued together with white PVA glue and set aside to dry – it was all then sanded down very carefully – it had 3 coats of sand n sealer on it to protect it.   Once the sand n sealer had dried – the duck board was set in place – and glued at the rear of the main superstructure where the 2 rear doors are located.

The next thing I made was the steering chains and steering linkages; for this we need 6 small rollers of approx ¼ inch diameter x approximately 1/8 inch thick.   Now I had these manufactured from brass; but, I have since found (in an old scrap box containing parts of a plastic kit) in actual fact its an old old Airfix Sherman or Churchill tank – and the track wheels just happen to be of the exact size for these rollers.     Also, along with these rollers we need a tiller arm, small housings to hold the deck rollers and also the housings to hold the guide rollers in place on the side of the superstructure.   Also, we require some very fine chain – plus some plastic tubing of about 2mm diameter.   So first off, I made the tiller arm; which is really just a long arm with 3 holes in it – supported in the centre by a fake rudder shaft.   This arm I glued to the deck and slightly bent it in an arc shape.   
The deck roller housings were the next thing I made, from Plasticard and they are just an ‘open ended box’ with a shelf on it where the roller sits in.   

I made the supports for the rollers which are located on the side of the superstructure next and these supports I made similar to a ‘U’ shape – I made them from brass but, you could as well make them easily from Plasticard.

I superglued the 4 rollers either side of the main superstructure; the 2 go at the aft of the superstructure (either side) the 2 forward ones go at the front end of the superstructure but they are in line with the steering wheel and the bridge inside the wheelhouse.   With the Plastic tubing I made the chain guards – these are the guards which go around the chain to protect the sailors from being caught up in amongst the chain!   2 lengths run between the two pulleys either side of the main superstructure and there are 2 shorter lengths run after the superstructure and terminate at the deck roller supports.

So the next stage basically is to add a bit of fine chain from the tiller arm – through your deck guide roller; into the end of the chain guide tube.   
The next bit of chain comes from the end of the long bit of guide tube which runs along the sides of the main superstructure.   It then goes around the end roller and goes up underneath the wheelhouse.
This is how I assimilated the chain steering for the model; there are two pieces of mesh to glue in place, which assimilate the checker plate covering.   This goes over the tubing at the aft of the vessel where the duck board is.

The next part of the build; I purchased a commercially available item to do this with – it is the grating which covers the tiller arm at the stern of the vessel.   This grating can be purchased from a good model shop; it is easy to assembly – because one piece locks into the next to form a grate.  They look a lot like the ramparts of a castle.  As I say, I built up sufficient grating to cover the tiller arm.   See the main drawing.   
The trawling capstan was next on the agenda to be made.   One thing when building a model; is to try and equip yourself with as many photographs as possible of the vessel plus items on the vessel (such as fittings & etc., anything you can lay your hands on).    Some vessels you will find there are very few photographs, and, you may possibly get a distance photograph of that vessel.   As far as I have found, it is the same with this particular vessel – so, I had to do some Sherlock Holmes’ style detective work – i.e. looking in books etc., the web – you name it.   As it happens, I found one or two good photographs on the web & actually on Mayhem Model Boat forum; Grebuval (Mike) when he built his capstan for his fishing vessel – you tend to download a lot of photographs of different vessels with similar equipment and this is what I had to do for the capstan.

With the aid of photographs & plans  we are working from – we can begin to plan out how we are going to make this and what materials we are going to make it from.

I opted for Plasticard, balsa wood – some brass building pins – so, first of all, what I did was cut a circular base unit out from Plasticard – 1mm thick – then I made the stand for the support which fits on top of the base unit and forms part of the base unit – out of two smaller circles cut from 1mm Plasticard.   Also, a circle cut from 5mm thick balsa wood – of the same diameter.

I glued the 2 plastic circles (one each side) of the balsa wood and therefore sandwiching the balsa wood between them.  Then ‘trued’ the outside diameter up – using a bolt for a mandrel through the middle of the base and the whole assembly was then clamped in a Dremel drill and with a piece of course emery/sandpaper – the outside diameter was ‘trued’ up.  It was then removed from the Dremel and the mandrel was removed.

I then wrapped the outside diameter in 5mm Plasticard – then – what I did was glued the larger diameter circle on the bottom of the base; creating a top hat shape.  This is the base unit.

Next to construct is the actual capstan itself, which sits on top of the base.

Title: Re: PLAN BUILD NUMBER 4: DRIFTER/TRAWLER FREDERICK SPASHETT
Post by: John W E on November 13, 2008, 01:34:08 am

and here are some more pictures .....

Title: Re: PLAN BUILD NUMBER 4: DRIFTER/TRAWLER FREDERICK SPASHETT
Post by: John W E on November 13, 2008, 08:37:36 pm

So, the construction of the Capstan.    We first have to construct the base unit; which is constructed from 3 circles of 1mm Plasticard and some 6mm balsa wood.   The larger of the circles forms the actual seating face and the 2 smaller circles sandwich the balsa wood.   We then true the circles up and wrap Plasticard around the edge of the balsa wood thus creating a 'top hat' affair.

We next have to construct the capstan itself (the part which actually revolves) and this is made from Plasticard as well - only we use tubing for the main body of it.   A circle on both bottom and top of the tube, thus forming a drum shape.

This was then all glued together liquid poly - the next stage is then to divide the circumference of the tube into 8 equal segments.    Then, we require 8 pieces of timber; which length is equal to the inside measurement of the drum from top to bottom.

We then glue the 8 pieces of timber evenly spaced around the inside tube - when the glue has dried (I used Superglue for this).  When the Superglue has dried, I then make up a mandrel from a nut and bolt and then fit this through the capstan drum I have made.   The whole assembly is then fitted into the chuck of the Dremel drill which I have, and, then with the aid of half round file and some sandpaper, I form the concave radius in the timber around the drum; carefully to avoid knocking off the bits of wood.   When I had finished this, I removed it from the mandrel and then searched through the odds and ends drawer for a Plastic cog which would fit around the base of the drum, to represent the locking ratchet.  This whole assembly ‘top hat and cog and capstan drum’ were given an undercoat of green paint.   Then, I constructed the drive mechanism which sits on the top of the drum; this again, was made from Plasticard and balsa wood – with balsa strips glued on the top to represent folds in casings.  Bits of old Airfix kits were used to represent pulleys and shafts which are located on the side of the casing; this then again was given a coat of paint and set to one side.  Sometime in the future, I will put a drawing on to help with the explanation of the making of this.

The next thing to make is the winch unit for the nets.

Title: Re: PLAN BUILD NUMBER 4: DRIFTER/TRAWLER FREDERICK SPASHETT
Post by: John W E on November 19, 2008, 07:49:19 pm

Just before we carry on – there are a few pictures of the capstan in its bare state and also a diagram showing how it was made.  The reason I don’t put sizes on, is, that folk may wish to make this to a different scale than I have and therefore if I put dimensions on they may be confusing.
   
Whilst we are off the topic, it may be good to broach on the electrics – as in a speed controller.  Like everything else in life, some people do have their favourite electrical stuff  & in today’s market there isn’t a great deal of difference in the majority of them; which are available for marine use.   I can hear people shouting AH BUT THERE IS!

When I say there isn’t a great difference – what I mean is – they all work on a similar principle of switching the main power off and on rapidly and therefore increasing/decreasing the speed.  To me, the big difference is, when it comes to the manufacturers – I have had and do use several speed controllers.  These come from the ‘land of the rising sun’ and other places around that area.   Yes, they are very ‘inexpensive’ and they do – do the job.   The only drawback is though, the human error, which is the largest problem in electronics.   Do you realise if it wasn’t for human input/tampering the majority of electronics components would last for years and years – doing their job quite merrily for what they were designed for.   It is only when we stick the ex-factor in that things do start to go wrong - the ex-factor being the human element.
 
If we have one of these sealed units from abroad/home company/i.e. well known Company who imports them – and they go wrong – there is very little which can be done.   Some times you may get them repaired at a price, but, very rarely – sometimes it is just as inexpensive to purchase a new one – but how many times do we do this?

This is the main reason I tend to lean towards the manufacturers who we can speak to  - either face to face or on the telephone – if we do make mistakes WHICH WE ALL DO right from the very experienced person…to the newcomer to the hobby.   It is so nice to speak to the person on the end of the phone – who actually made the speed controller and they normally will guide you through all the pitfalls – so then we make less mistakes wiring these things up.

The speed controller for this model, then, the one I purchased was an ACTion P80 Condor.  This comes either readily-made up or you may do a kit yourself which I enjoy doing.   It adds that little extra bit to your build.   Now this P80 Condor is rated at 20 amps which, is a lot of overkill and a big mistake on my behalf.   Not that it isn’t any good for the motor/model but it is just that it will put a large margin of safety in; meaning, if I fit a 15 amp fuse in on the positive side between the battery and the speed controller and the propeller becomes jammed with weeds /obstructed in some form whilst sailing….the stall current of the motor must reach 15 amps before the fuse will blow.    This is well within the capabilities of the speed controller, but, my poor little motor is going to get rather HOT – so I am still going to use this speed controller, but, only going to put a 10 amp fuse in.   Pictures of the speed controller installation will come at the end; because, at this stage, I have just finished making the kit up and then testing it.

If we actually wish to fit the speed controller into the model now, at this stage of build, it has more advantages; because we will not be prone to knocking bits of fittings (which we have fitted) off the build.

Now finished that bit waffle – and back on to making the winch.  :-))

On the plan there are only 2 views of the winch, being the side view and the top view; so, yet again – we have to literally trawl through books and on the Web for pictures, not of fish, but of a winch which is similar to the one on this vessel.   The winch I came across on the web, comes from and this will sort us all out  - can you remember where Tony Blackburn did his first radio show from – remember Radio Caroline – well apparently the vessel is under restoration and I found a picture of the winch on the web.  Apart from being side tracked.and that is the picture I used to base my winch on.    The winch itself is all made from Plasticard and plastic tubing – with a couple of bits of brass wire and 2 bits of wood which have been turned to represent the end cable drums.
 
Instead of trying to explain how I made this winch, what I will do is put some photographs & a drawing here on this thread.

I would if it would be possible to keep the questions and answers to this build until the very end - and I will answer you all then   :-))  thank you one and all

Title: Re: PLAN BUILD NUMBER 4: DRIFTER/TRAWLER FREDERICK SPASHETT
Post by: John W E on December 06, 2008, 08:40:39 pm

All finished

AUF WIEDERSEHEN PET


John