The Shipyard ( Dry Dock ): Builds & Questions > Yachts and Sail
A Baltimore Clipper schooner
JerryTodd:
I started a thread on the Macedonian here, but that models has been set aside for the moment as I try to complete another. The other, being a schooner, and therefore simpler in rig and it's amount of detail than a frigate, I hope I would have a chance to complete - and sail. I also live near Baltimore and it's the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812 in which Baltimore played a prominent role. In consideration of the readership here, I won't dwell on that unfortunate spat between cousins.
This model is of a boat whose construction I worked on in late 1976, then crewed on in 1981. For the bicentennial of the Battle of Yorktown I was specifically hired because I had square rig experience and black powder cannon experience. I acquired a copy of the plans in 1982 from the designer, and started a 1:32 scale model back then, but that was destroyed in one of many moves. This model began in earnest in September of 2011, actually started before Macedonian. It is 1:20 scale giving it the following dimensions:
* Hull length: 54" (137.16cm)
* Length on deck: 48" (121.9cm)
* Length on waterline w/o rudder: 46.75" (118.75cm)
* Length over the rig: 81.5" (207cm)
* Beam: 13.625" (34.6cm)
* Draft without ballast keel: 5.875" (14.9cm)
* Total height (top of jack-yard to bottom of keel): 61.6" (156.5cm)
* Total Sail area: 2,049.13 square inches in 7 sails as shown above, 2,205.13 with the flying jib.
The real vessel was lost in a squall North of Puerto Rico in May of 1986 taking her captain and three of her crew with her. This model is something of a memorial to them. I can't see it without remembering them, and I hope that will be true for others that knew them and the boat.
November 2010: The plans were scaled up to 1:20. The patterns were drawn in Paintshop Pro v.7 and printed on the plotter. These were pasted to 3/16" plywood and stood on the build-board.
October 2011:: After letting the forms season for a year, ok2 a keel was cut and planking began. The model is planked in 1/8" thick white pine.
November 2011:: The planking was completed by Halloween. An attempt to take a glass hull off this one as a male-mold was botch. The forms were removed and the inside coated with resin. Then the outside got a layer of 3oz glass cloth.
March 2012:: The prop notch was cut in sternpost and a daggerboard trunk for fin keel was installed. The fin is 1/8" aluminum sheet that will get a lead bulb of about 12-15 pounds attached.
April 2012: Installed the wales. Made the motor mount bulkhead. Installed the deck beams and the inner cabin trunk. Put on the fashion pieces on the quaters and then the stern's "fancy pieces." Some paint. The rudder was made of 5/16" Plexiglass with a 3/16 brass rod rudder post drifted to the rudder with 1/16" rods. A copper heel plate is threaded to receive 2 screws that hold the gudgeon plate to the keel. A brass tube goes through the counter to make the top bearing for the rudder post. The lid portion of the cabin trunk was made.
May 2012: Four sets of bitts were made along with hatch coamings, the period bilge pumps, and the bowsprit. A mount was made for the rudder servo and speed control in the cabin.
The masts were made of white cedar using the Bird's Mouth method. They got fitted with cross-trees, caps, topmasts, and mast hoops.
The tiller will be used to steer the model as there's no room for linkages, etc, below. A heavy copper tiller was soldered to a collar that attached to the rudder post. The scale wooden tiller covers the copper tiller.
June 2012: The rudder fairleads that will guide the rudder cables through the sud-deck were installed.
The sails were cut from Dupont Supplex, marked with panel lines, patches, cloths, and tabling glued on with fabric glue; bolt-ropes sewn on, and reef points made.
The gaffs, boom, and other spars were made. "Iron" work for stuns'l booms, ringtail, and the clew iron of the mains'l were made.
Two spools of Dacron sailthread were bought and used to make rope in three diameters to be used on the model.
July 2012: Began making and installing blocks and other rigging such as foot-ropes on the yards.
So that's where I am so far. The model is to be displayed at a visitor's center in Baltimore on July 22nd as part of those War of 1812 festivities. July 22nd, it seems, is when the first 7 letter-of-marque boats sailed from Baltimore. She won't be completed by then, but I'm working on getting her somewhat presentable.
The RC side of this is a little in the air. I planned on a continuous loop trolly sort of set up as found in models like Robbe's Valdivia, but I have two notions for handing all this over lapping sail I want to experiment with. Besides that, there's running back-stays on both masts, and running fore-stays on the main mast I want to be operational; plus yard bracing - and there's not really much room inside this hull, which is why I made her 1:20 scale. I wanted her to be 1:36 to fit in with Constellation and Macedonian, but there just wasn't enough room in her at that scale.
rmaddock:
Absolutely super Jerry! I'll even forgive you mentioning the war. :embarrassed:
JerryTodd:
I thought I'd post some photos of the real boat this one's modeled after.
One of my babies. First thing I did was toss the waterproof fuse and make up some slow match and linstocks.
I tried to get proper rigging installed, but they would have no such thing - so there were no breechings, retrieving tackle, etc.
Leaving Baltimore for Chestertown, October 1981.
On the sail over to Chestertown Maryland.
On the sail over to Chestertown Maryland.
While becalmed on the Chester River in Maryland, the engineer and I took the Zodiac out and I snapped this last picture on my roll.
Note the mian tops'l is not set, and you won't see it set very often till 82 because it was a pain in the tucas to set with it's jack-yard.
Eventually they left the jack yard aloft and ran a cable down to deck; then ran the sail up hanked onto this cable so it looked like it was set on the jack-yard.
Hauling a$$ into the York River on the way to Yorktown, October 1981. We had just taken in the fore tops'l. The lee rail was under and the gun muzzles in the water up till then.
Me (upper right) and "Sugar" (far left in the skilt) are the only crew, the rest are reenactor friends of mine from shore.
We fired the guns so much they though we were on fire and sent a fire engine down to the dock. Sugar was a survivor of the wreck in 86.
A lovely shot of Pride in the Pacific in 1982.
JerryTodd:
The model is basically getting jury-rigged so it can be displayed on the 22nd, but some of this is permanent work. The bolt-ropes have been sewn on all the sail, so they are complete. Footropes on the yards, sails lashed to their gaffs, jack-yard, etc. I got some brass belaying pins for Constellation but they were too big - it turns out they're perfect for Pride.
JerryTodd:
Well, the event of the 22nd was moved to the 21st, and I was out of town, getting back in time to do the 22nd, but couldn't get back earlier - so - no go.
Anyway, I found the news paper was selling a lot of photos on ebay, many of which were of the Pride of Baltimore, and many of which showed details not on the plans, or visible in what photos I have.
Several images were of the boat when she was hauled in 1979 after suffering damage to her rudder in a storm in the Delaware Bay. One thing I noticed was that the wale didn't fair into the stem the way I did it, but ended somewhat abruptly. There was also a plank covering the seam between the hawse bolster and the wale that I hadn't noticed before - but apparently had been there since she was built..
I bounced all over trying to figure out the pumps, which are not even alluded to in the plans. One photo on ebay taken during the boat's construction showed yard foreman, Fred Hecklinger working on the pumps. I could see the 'V' shaped iron strap that I though was part of the iron straps wrapping the pump heads, was actually separate and attached to the cabin front. I thought the post that held the pump handle attached to this, but it actually it's braced by the 'V' strap and sits on the deck.
The plans do include drawings for Pride's armament - which bear almost no resemblance to what was actually on the boat. The main battery consisted of four 6 pounders carriage pieces. These were basically scaled down 18 pounders in shape and proportion. I've done scale drawings and now I'm trying to get a wooden gun barrel turned to make a mold from to cast the rest in resin.
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
Go to full version