You know how little things please little minds?
Well I was reading E.J.M's book last night for the millionth time but because I was focused on stern frames etc. I spotted something on the last descriptive page in the Master Hand survey section at the back of the book, and I noticed E.J.M had very kindly measured each plank that made up the transom, they go (from taff rail to knuckle) 11" wide, 10", 9", 10" & 10", and below the knuckle 4 planks 12" wide.
After spending the wee small hours converting my workshop into something resembling a kitchen again, I sloped off to bed tired but wondering why Master Hand's stern was that particular curve and shape, and also pondering on the shape of the piece of timber that the upper boards were hewn from.
I figured the Master Shipwright/Yard owner would have been a shrewd and wiley character, always looking for ways to kill a ton of birds with one stone. . . . . . . . .
Which is why I found myself back in my kitchen . . erm workshop Sunday morning at 7am!
You see the stern design is very buoyant, but it goes deeper (scuse pun!) than that, because Mr. Shipwright would have had to stand or fall by his buying of materials and the quality that he and his work force produced. Prospective owners would have had to be confident that the ship they bought from the shipyard would carry them safe across the waves and do its designated job well.
I've mentioned earlier in a recent post that the upper stern board would have to have come from the same curved oak log and I think I've proved it. Which is why I was bevering away so early this morning!
The oak log in question, I'm sure would have been about 16" to 20" in diameter and on a curve about 10 feet radius and 13 feet end to end.
I've always wondered why the Taffrail Rail is on a tighter curve than the outer edge of the arch boards? Why not have them on the same curve and make the job of building easier?
Well I think I've found the reason, and it's in the shape of the 5 boards that make up the upper stern and it goes back to our wiley Master Shipwright.
I'll let my photos explain . . . . . .
Since finding this new information I re-cut the stern templates plotting the planks accurately.
Here are the individual upper transom plank templates.
And here's what's interesting . . . . . .
My little 7am on a Sunday morning experiment supports the idea that all 5 planks could have come from the same curved oak log which is why I think Mr. Shipwright was a clever chappy in designing Master Hands rear end - economy of timber.
I discovered that with the planks being 2 1/2" thick and allowing for 1/2" for cutting planks from log and planing out saw marks - say 1/2" wasted between planks, they could all have been cut from a log of section 16" x 18"
After all, when the jobs done and the ship is handed over for a stack of money you'd think he'd like to walk away with a few coppers in his pocket!
I'm fascinated by these little tricks and techniques that these old boys have taken to their graves, sadly the knowledge is all but lost but for the works of Edgar J March and my fellow model boat builders that keep these ships alive.
Another reason for doing the stern templates again is that the ones I did before turned out to be skew-wiffy i.e. not a mirror image on the centre line - my fault!
I was being lazy! In the photo above you can just make out a red cotton string line running from the heel of the keel down past the stern to the centre line of the building board. I know I tent to go to the far end of a jam tart
but I do like things to be as accurate as I can make them.
E.J.M. helps me with this with all the tons of measurements bless him!
Master Hand was a beefy ship and my model of her is no less so! To scale those 12" wide by 2 1/2" thick boards on the lower stern equate to 19mm wide by 4mm thick!
P.S. All my templates will be made available to those wishing to build this model to take some of the pain of scratch building a ship like this.