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Author Topic: Clara May ketch - 1/20 scale and RC  (Read 8248 times)

FrankM

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Clara May ketch - 1/20 scale and RC
« on: May 25, 2009, 10:49:34 am »

Why did I do this.............................

My wife has always liked old wooden ships - her father used to build wooden yachts up to 40'.  About 3 years ago as a present, I bought her the Artesania Latina kit, Clara May.  Now being a weekend sailor of model yachts, I thought this particular kit (at 1/50 scale) would look good on the water and a lot bigger.  Sooooo, taking the ply etched frames, I scanned them on the old PC and increased the size by 2.5 to give me a set of frames at 1/20 scale.  Then to cut a long story short, I scratch built the whole boat.  The hull is cedar planks on the frame and glassed inside only.  I think the only things I bought were the deadeyes and the wheel.  This ship now has almost 12Kgs of lead inside plus a detachable false keel to add a little stability.  A little more cheating in the form of a detachable rudder extension - it wouldn't turn on the normal rudder.  I had to use a little artistic licence here and there but essentially, it is as per the kit - just bigger.

I run three channels - rudder, two mainsales and main jib and the third for the flying jibs.  It sails surprisingly well and control of the flying jibs is relatively easy on the water but I must admit, it was a bit of a struggle getting the working design right - a lot of trial and error.

This ship is probably unique - no one else would be silly enough to build a sailing version of an 1890's ketch.  Anyway, for those interested, here are some pics.

Frank
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dougal99

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Re: Clara May ketch - 1/20 scale and RC
« Reply #1 on: May 25, 2009, 12:31:44 pm »

What a lovely boat and a nice big water to sail her on. Congratulations  :-))


Doug
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ronkh

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Re: Clara May ketch - 1/20 scale and RC
« Reply #2 on: May 25, 2009, 02:14:31 pm »

Very  interesting and an extremely nice boat. Well done.
Any photos and details of when you were building her??

Ron.
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tigertiger

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Re: Clara May ketch - 1/20 scale and RC
« Reply #3 on: May 25, 2009, 02:50:26 pm »

Nice model, very nice.

What are her dimensions, would I be right in guessing about 6 feet (2m)?

What are you using for sail winches?
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tigertiger

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Re: Clara May ketch - 1/20 scale and RC
« Reply #4 on: May 25, 2009, 03:03:29 pm »

.

This ship is approx 1150mm hull length plus around 330mm on the boom - total `1480mm


Then I am gobsmacked by the 12kg of lead :o :o. I thought she would be bigger  {-) {-)
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John C

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Re: Clara May ketch - 1/20 scale and RC
« Reply #5 on: May 25, 2009, 09:08:45 pm »

Hi Frank
Really nice ship, hope mine looks as good on the water as yours does when she's finished. Must add ketch to list of ships to build.

TT
With regard to the weight, my Bawley although shorter hull length at 38" the same overall length as Franks at 58"including the bowsprit, is about the limit I can manhandle on my own now it's ballasted. don't know how much it weighs, I'll have to put it on the scales but it's heavy!!

John C
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FrankM

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Re: Clara May ketch - 1/20 scale and RC
« Reply #6 on: May 25, 2009, 10:54:08 pm »

I don't know what's happened here.  I sent a reply to Ron re his request for build details and I attached the pics of my other boats.  The pics made it but the text has gone to cyberspacejavascript:void(0);  It happened about the time the post was moved by Tiger............????

Anyway, Ron, sorry but there are no build pics.  The best I can say is that I buy the timber, normally 4" x 2", cut it into 8mm slabs on my table saw and then using a VERY fine blade (0.003"), cut 2mm planks.  Then I put an adjustable height guide (scrap wood clamped on) over my belt sander and run all the planks through.  This gives me a consistent thickness of about 1.8mm in the set of planks.  Next step is the normal plank on frame process which took a while as it is such a large model and there are some complex / compound curves to deal with.  I finished the inside with fibreglass and some carbon fibre tape where I needed strength.  Then it was a matter of time to build up from there - deck, bulwarks, fittings, masts and sails.  The masts are actually carbon fibre - old fishing rods.  These are great for strength and I use them on my yachts as well. 

Essentially, the build is standard process as per my scratch built yachts.  I buy the timber, cut it up and glue it back together in a different shape - simple.

I've attached pics of my other boats, Spinifex and its sister ship that I built for a mate whose yacht was stolen, Southern Run and my plastic Banckert.

Now what happened to the text I sent with my yacht pics.....

Frank



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tigertiger

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Re: Clara May ketch - 1/20 scale and RC
« Reply #7 on: May 26, 2009, 01:43:38 am »

I don't know what happened there Frank

Emails and posts  do get 'lost in the ether', on occassion.
It may have happened as a result of moving the thread while you were simultaneously posting. If it is bacuase of that I appologise for the inconvenience, but I think they are somewhere in cyberspace and they won't re-surface.
But at least the ketch is recieving more attention, now it is the sail section.

Regards
Mark
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Jimmy James

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Re: Clara May ketch - 1/20 scale and RC
« Reply #8 on: May 26, 2009, 07:14:57 pm »

Very nice little ship ...Reminds me of a 120 foot North Sea Trading Ketch "Zela" I sailed on back in the 1980's

Freebooter
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FrankM

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Re: Clara May ketch - 1/20 scale and RC
« Reply #9 on: June 15, 2009, 12:44:09 am »

OK - I did the big version - now I'm finishing the original 1/50 kit

I am sure this has been discussed previously but I can't find exactly what I'm looking for on the forum.

I have completed the AL Clara May including all rigging.  Yeah, I know I should have defurred all the rigging prior to installation but for some reason, I just went ahead and installed it all.  Now it all looks too furry.

I attempted to defur with a small flame and that works well UNTIL I burn right through.  That's happened twice and it's NOT going to happen again  !!!!!! :censored:

What's the BEST way to defur the cotton when it's actually on the boat.

Frank
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tigertiger

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Re: Clara May ketch - 1/20 scale and RC
« Reply #10 on: June 15, 2009, 02:10:59 am »

OK - I did the big version - now I'm finishing the original 1/50 kit

I am sure this has been discussed previously but I can't find exactly what I'm looking for on the forum.

I have completed the AL Clara May including all rigging.  Yeah, I know I should have defurred all the rigging prior to installation but for some reason, I just went ahead and installed it all.  Now it all looks too furry.

I attempted to defur with a small flame and that works well UNTIL I burn right through.  That's happened twice and it's NOT going to happen again  !!!!!! :censored:

What's the BEST way to defur the cotton when it's actually on the boat.

Frank

Beeswax is used by the static model chaps. It makes the fibres lie flat. It should work for a working model as well, although it may need re-doing more often.

One thing I would be careful of is the old 'shrinks when wet' for natural fibres. If you have used it on static rigging this will cause problems. On one of my boats I have used Dacron that has been stained with shoe polish for all the rigging.
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ronkh

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Re: Clara May ketch - 1/20 scale and RC
« Reply #11 on: June 15, 2009, 09:06:43 am »

Many thanks for your reply Frank.

Ron.
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