Model Boat Mayhem
The Shipyard ( Dry Dock ): Builds & Questions => Pleasure boats, Sports, Race, Power and Leisure Boats: => Topic started by: CyberBOB on June 18, 2014, 12:11:59 am
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Where to begin?
When I was about 11 years old, I was looking at building a new model boat. I had a few, and the bug had bit me hard. I noticed during a trip to the local plastic shop with my Dad sheets of HIPS, High Impact PolyStyrene (I believe the rest of the world calls this plasticard). I figured that looked much easier to bend and finish than wood, so I parted with a significant portion of my allowance to by a sheet. I decided to make a freelance model of a trawler style yacht, as I liked the lines – something about the good looks of a boat based on a working craft spoke to me. I started in the traditional way, with a keel and frames, and covered it with styrene. It bent so nicely, and glued together so well with the tubes of model cement I had kicking around from putting together kits. Not sure what to use as a filler on this, I used a product called Marine Tex, an epoxy based filler used on full size boats. I scribed some mahogany ply, and stained it for the transom. I used more scribed and stained mahogany for the deck. Styrene was used for the superstructure and bridge, with some blue cellophane for the wind dodger. The hull was light weight and solid, but I ended up with some serious print through from the internal frames. Yachts shouldn’t have the “starved dog” look of old, battered steel hull vessels.
I ended up building several boats almost entirely from styrene as a kid, and learned a few things on the way.
When I got older, cars and girls distracted me from model boating. It wasn’t until I was married with children, and looking for a quiet hobby while my wife recovered from surgery that I took up model boats again. I dug out my trawler. The hull was still reasonably solid, but the decades in between didn’t do anything to improve the “starved dog” look. The cabin was made from some really thin styrene, and had spent the time shoved in a cardboard box, so needless to say was in rough shape.
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I decided to rebuild the boat. I disassembled the hull, and used the pieces as a template to make a template out of cardstock. After adjusting the lines a little, I cut them out of some new styrene I had just purchased. I believe the hull was made of .060”, and glued together with model cement. Clamping pressure was a combination of masking tape and “stitch and glue”. Stitch and Glue is a term used in the construction of plywood boats with no internal framing, and consists of a series of small holes drilled near the edge of mating sheets. Copper wire/electrical ties are used then to pull the sheets together to hold the correct curves while the glue dried. No internal frames were used, the hull is quite small, and a monocoque style construction works well. Once the glue was dried, I reinforced the seams on the inside with epoxy thickened with WEST System 404 High Strength additive. The solvents in polyester resin can melt the styrene sheets, so when I need resin, I only use epoxy. After building multiple hulls as a kid, this is my preferred method of making a small hull, as the reinforced corners add a lot of stability and strength. If some minor plastic creep does occur, it has a tendency of concaving the sides and bottoms slightly, which doesn’t detract from the looks.
The outside was faired with more epoxy, this time thickened with WEST System 410 Light Weight additive added, as this sands very nicely. The subdeck uses two sheets of .060” styrene laminated together, with the lower sheet fitting snugly inside of the hull, and the top sheet sitting on top. The transom is made up of some mahogany strips I ripped on the table saw. The mahogany is scrounged from a reception counter that Mrs. CyberBOB’s Grandfather worked at, and is about 90 years old, so has a deep, rich colour, and a tight grain pattern, making it ideal for scale planks. No stain was added to this wood, it is finished with an oil based polyurethane used for hard wood floors.
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The cabin was traced directly from the surviving port side of the original. I had to redesign the front and boat deck of the cabin, as the original was too far gone. I used .040” styrene for this, with the inside corners reinforced with thickened epoxy.
The bridge is the original bridge. As it was constructed with I think .015” styrene, I added a second layer. This thin stuff I have had kicking around for 30 years, and most of it is still good (outside sheets in the stack were yellowed and brittle, the rest of the stack was good). I did add inner sides to the bridge, and a dash, as the original was just an empty shell. Blue cellophane fits snugly between the bridge front and dash, were it will eventually be glued in place.
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The deck is a piece of .060” styrene. It was cut to fit, with the opening under the cabin cut into it. I then added the lip the cabin fits over. I scrounged up some teak from a broken Danish Modern chair that was on its way to the dump. This was ripped into strips. I cut some curved pieces for around the outside. I then proceeded to plank the deck, using .015” styrene as spacer. Teak was glued down with crazy glue. I then used some seam deck compound to fill the gaps between the planks. This is the stuff they use to caulk teak decks on full size boats. Once dry, I sanded it down. Bulwarks were cut and glued on. I masked the teak, painted the bulwarks, and glued the rub strake on right at the bottom of the bulwark. There is no shear or camber to the deck, I decided to keep it simple. Once I have my running gear installed, the deck will get glued down to the sub deck. I am thinking of using something like SikaFlex, which is a marine adhesive/caulking compound. It grips tenaciously, however I should still be able to force a blade into it and slice it off should my boat ever need major repairs. Most things should be able to be accessed through the deck opening under the cabin, but this is just a belt and suspenders approach.
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The doors are made up from more of the mahogany strip wood I cut. I built it like a full size raised panel door. First, 3 strips were edge glued up. I then cut to size, and beveled the edges. More strip wood was used for rails and stiles, which were grooved with saw and file. Rails had tenons carefully cut into the ends.
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Window frames were next. I cut some of the mahogany on a scroll saw my Dad set up for cutting strip wood (he’s a model railroader). It has a fence, and if you are careful, it can be cut so thin you can almost see through it. I then used my combination bench hook/shooting board to cut the strips to the correct length/angle. The ends were then filed smooth. I then laid out a piece of tape, sticky side up, and laid out my 4 pieces. Then new strips were cut, but with the overlap going in the other direction, so when I laminated them together, half lap joints were created at the corners. This made them quite strong for their size.
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I started with the hub of the propeller. A chunk of brass rod was drilled on the drill press, and tapped out. A section of threaded rod was then screwed and loctited into the hole. This was then turned on the lathe, to achieve the correct shape, and true it up so the hole was in the exact center of the hub. Blades were cut out of brass, and bent slightly. I soldered the blades onto the hub, and started filing to get the right shape. Propellor still needs a little more work, sharpening and statically balancing.
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A plough anchor was made, but after looking at the Delta Fast Set by gribeauval, and CQR made by bluebird, I’ve been inspired to make a new one (thanks guys)!
original print size enlarged, except this one
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Super thread Bob. :-))
Could I ask that you increase the print size please as it's difficult to read. :}
Cheers
ken
now modified
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Sorry about that Kenny. I typed it in Word and cut and pasted it into posts, forgot to change font size. Doesn't look like I can edit it anymore.
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Don't apologise. It's no problem. You can only alter your posts for only 20 mins after posting (if it happens again). Rather than using Word it might be best to type directly into here.
In the meantime, I will alter your size print to make it larger for everyone to read.
Cheers
ken
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Normally I do on Forums, but it took a while to organize my thoughts, so used Word.
Thanks for adjusting the font for me.
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I've almost finished the rudder. A little more work with some fine emery cloth and it should be good.
I started by cutting a piece of brass shim stock the height I wanted, and just over twice the length. I bent the shim stock around the brass shaft that will become my rudder post. The whole thing was wiped down, and mating surface cleaned with fine emery cloth. The shaft was tinned a little higher than the height of the rudder, and inserted back into the bent brass. The trailing edge was soldered shut, and the sides heated up where the shaft passes through to solder the rudder to the shaft. The top and bottom were filed flat.
I cut two pieces of shim stock to the approximate size and shape of the cross section. These will become the top and bottom. The top was drilled to slide down the shaft and mate up with the top of the rudder.
The hardest part of brass work (to me, anyway) is coming up with creative ways of clamping parts together while soldering, especially if you are soldering multiple parts on at different times. I clamped the top and bottom on with a C clamp backed with wood, to prevent me from soldering my rudder to the clamp. The trailing edge was held together with two clothes pegs.
Excess solder and overhangs were filed off, and the trailing edge was flattened slightly. Some fine emery cloth was used to shine things up a bit.
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The top is the side view of the rudder, the middle is the propellor that I made, and the bottom is the propellor from the original boat. The original propellor is included for scale. It is a 30mm plastic prop that has seen better days (30 years bouncing around in a cardboard box).
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Hullo Bob........heat sinks ....can assist :o
I use 4 pieces of 3/8"square HSS blanks in a 3"machine vice.......these blanks do not mark the surface of the component being soldered
Wet paper tissue is also a great heat retardant way of minimising heat transfer to a close fitting pre soldered joint
The image below confirms 3 joins in reasonably close proximity ....the tube size is 5/32" OD & the bolts are M2
Full sized pipework practice or procedures applied to our miniature work is also a useful consideration :-)) Derek
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Thank you Derek. I did try the damp tissue trick on a similar rudder I made for my nephew, but the problem was keeping the trailing edge cool enough not to spring, yet getting the top and bottom hot enough for the solder to flow. The C clamps and clothes pins did the trick. I'll have to remember the HSS blanks trick, I think my Dad might have a bunch of them stashed behind his lathe. :-))
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I wasn't happy with the first anchor I made. Flukes were on the wrong angle, and the flat spot on top of the flukes bothered me. I initially wasn't too worried about it as I figured it would be installed on the pulpit, and you wouldn't really see it. But I saw some very nice scratch built anchors on this site, and decided to change it.
Original anchor:
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Rebuilt anchor:
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I also started working on the chain locker and pulpit. They are temporarily set in place for taking the picture.
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This shows how the anchor will be stored.
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I like the Anchor :-))
Would the bowsprit type mounting not have some sort
of metal protection to stop the chain wearing it away?
Also the slot needs to be wide enough to let the shackle
between chain and anchor pass through.
Ned
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Hi Ned,
Inspiration for remaking the anchor goes to this thread:
http://www.modelboatmayhem.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,12211.msg115655.html#msg115655 (http://www.modelboatmayhem.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,12211.msg115655.html#msg115655)
The anchor platform is not complete yet. I have some mylar tape to use for the protection. I am just sealing the wood with some poly first. I will then clearcoat the platform to keep the tape from peeling. A roller will be added to the slot. I designed the slot to fit the chain and shackle, but after reding your post, I decided to double check. It still fits!
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Hi Bob,
Sounds a good system :-))
The photo makes the anchor stock look
as if it is a close fit.
You have it all under control .
Ned
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The gap isn't huge, but it is a small shackle and chain.
I'll need to make a tiny windlass as well. I am really enjoying the scratchbuilding of all these little bits.
The forum is amazing. Seems anytime I am making something, the search function bring up a post or thread, which gives me some ideas I haven't even considered. A wealth of knowledge on here.
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A quick update while waiting for paint to dry.
After making the anchor platform, I started on the bow roller. I started by snipping the end off of one of the tubes that comes with a can of compressed air. I then wrapped two pieces of copper around the tube.
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Next I covered the roller with heat shrink tubing, and heated it. Unfortunately, this didn't quite look right. As the heat shrink decreases in diameter, the tube thickness increases. This made the diameter too large, and obscured the detail too much. Although this didn't work in this instance, I think it would work beautifully on a larger roller.
So, back to the drawing board - I recreated the tube wrapped in copper wire. I then trimmed the edges flush with the copper wire. I placed the roller on some wire. I painted the roller with a fine artists brush and some black acrylic paint.
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Using a pin vise, I drilled a hole through the side of the anchor platform, put the roller in place, and inserted a pin to hold the roller in place. A drop on super glue was used to hold the pin in place.
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The windlass was built up by using 4 pieces of Plasticard. The two middle pieces are cut out of .060" plasticard. They were rough cut, glued together, and filed to achieve the right shape. The two outer pieces are cut out of .040" plasticard, filed to shape and glued on.
The drum and gypsy were turned on a drill, as the diameter is too small to fit in the chuck of my dad's lathe. I could have turned a larger rod down, but my dad lives across town, and it seemed like a lot of effort for two such small pieces.
A hole was drilled through the windlass, and then I painted it. The drum and gypsy were glued into the hole, and the whole works received multiple coats of clear coat.
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I glued the chain locker in place. I filed 2 limber holes on the bottom, so any water making its way down the naval pipe can run out. The deck and outer side of the bulwarks was masked, and the inside/chain locker painted white.
The cap rails are made of mahogany. There is a groove running the length of them on the bottom to fit over the bulwarks. The curve at the step up was achieved by steam bending. Some assistance was used in the form of Mrs. CyberBOB's curling iron (with her permission of course O0 ). This worked great, as I took the steamed plank, and put it in the curling iron. The spring loaded bit that normally holds hair kept the plank in place, and applied gentle pressure to the plank to achieve the tight curve. The curling iron has some type of nonstick coating on it, so was easily wiped clean when I was done.
The curved caps around the bows were sawn. Everything was glued on, and filed/sanded smooth.
The anchor platform is just resting in place, and won't get glued into position until I have finished laying the polyurethane on the mahogany.
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After filing/sanding was complete, I tacked the dust off with a tack cloth. I then proceeded to mask it. I just used cheap painters masking tape, but cut new edges with a ruler and exacto knife, and burnished the edges down. Only the first coat of poly has been applied here.
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Once the cap rails were done, I started on the handrails. I've always liked the rails on the Island Gypsy trawler. They are a little different, and I thought they would be a nice change. They use bronze stanchions with teak caps around the aft half of the boat, with a bit of a reverse angle and curlicue. Forward of that is polished stainless steel.
(http://newimages.yachtworld.com/resize/1/94/73/3489473_0_230320111644_3.jpg?f=/1/94/73/3489473_0_230320111644_3.jpg&w=606&h=467&t=1357310992000)
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I started by cutting a small piece of mahogany in a Z shape. I then glued thin strip on top. The Z shape was carved, scraped and sanded into the reverse angle and curlicue. It still needs a little work.
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To get the length, I used a little double sided tape under the curlicue, taped it into position, and using a square and pencil, marked the length at the transom.
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The half-lap joints I used on the window frames made such a solid joint, and not having any bracing under the handrails (apart from the stanchions), I decided to use them in the aft corners. Of course hindsight is 20/20, and I should have used them at the aft end of the caprails as well, just for uniformity.
I cut these ones, as opposed to building them up like the window frames. I thought about this for a long time before I did it, but decided this was the best way. Turns out they were surprisingly easy. I used a miter box and razor saw to make the shoulder cut, then used the razor saw freehand to make the cheek cut. The cheek cut was the part I was worried about, but was surprisingly easy. I then cleaned it up with a nail file.
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The joints were glued up. Once the glue dried, it was just a matter of cleaning things up with a file and some sandpaper.