The Ship Model Forum

Hi Guys ,

I need for my 1/100 Zinnia two 27 feet whalers .

I've found a plan on the net , available here :
http://www.wappingwhalers.org/2.html

If you can afford boats from Quaycraft ( at 22US$ a piece ) , don't do it my way , as it costs nothing ( less than 1US$ a piece ) , but it is a time consuming task , count 2 to 4 hours to do one boat

So , hereby my way of doing stuff , the scale may vary , from 1/192 to 1/48 if you wish ...

Don't attempt to succeed at the first time , I got some "misfires" at the beginning , four boats ended in the garbage can ...

Avoid coffie before you begin with such a task either ...

When you'll have finished , you'll be good to take a shower and have a booze ...

The materials used :

Wood to make the mold ( basswood , ply or something else )
cardboard , 03 mm thick
white glue
polyurethane resin ( or CA glue ) to impregnate the cardboard
paint

The tools :

cutting board
cutter
toothpicks
fine sandpaper

the boat :

The 27ft Whaler was a common feature on board Royal Navy ships , they were built in numbers , and were used for more than 60 years , aboard almost all RN vessels , the first ones being row & sail boats , the latter being motorized .

those whalers were clinker built , with a center board , the planking consisting of 12 planks on each side .

First of all , the building will be done on a pattern . This pattern is made out of wood , and will be used as an inner mold , the planks being assembled around it .

Here under the pattern , the lines were taken from the plan above , the two flat surface on the top do not coincide with the boat’s sheer line , not really necessary to go down to that level , as the mold has to be retrieved when you glue a following plank , and you need some grip …

That mold will have to be impregnated with resin before use , to avoid any sticking of the planks on it , the mold will also have to remain “free” when you’re putting the planks around it ( as said just above )

For more information about clinker built boats :
http://www.gartsideboats.com/136rb.php/

I won't write too much blablah , just follow the pictures ,

first step : the mold :







Next step , once the mold is done : the keel , stem and stern pieces , in one piece .

to make a knik in carboard , forget about just folding it between your fingers , you will have to make a little , very light cut , with a cutter & a ruler , but that cut may not go through the cardboard , just enough to fold it , like this :



Once your cardboard is cut like above , glue the under part , which will become the keel , then cut the two parts which becomes the stem & stern part , all the glueing on those boats will happen with white glue :



glue the stern & stem part with the mold in betwen , to get the right shape :


be sure the mold won't stick to the keel assembly , pull it out and fit it in again

Once the glue has set , here are your keel , stem & stern pieces


This method seems strange , but this is the only way I found to get an even and straight keel



The planking :

The most important part of it , the most trickiest part either

cut for each side twelve "planks" in card , with the shape like here under , those strake have to be a little longer than the boat :



hereby the sequence of glueing the "planks , from the keel up to the upper ( 12th ) plank which is the washstrake , on top of that washstrake will come the gunwale :

the 1st plank :



the 2nd plank :


and keeping going further up :






view at the stem :


one side completely planked , the uppermost plank ( 12th ) is a straight one , no "special" cutting in it :




view at the stem :


View from inside :


All right , I won't show you pictures for the other side , the working up is just the same .

I have to admit that the paper looks a little rough . It still has to be resinated in & out , but we wil do this one the frames ( ribs ) are glued into the hull , but this will be for the next episode .

Stay tuned ,

Laurent

_________________
Scared of Nothing , Always Thirsty

Just call me the "Cereals Box Killer" , I guess

Excellent Laurent.....I've been scratching my head wondering how to do boats for my clyde steamer!!!....

Hi Laurent,

First, let me say that's a truly lovely piece of work.

Second, that's not the way that I do it at all!!!

I am very impressed at the use of your keel-garboard-cardboard-starter piece: that makes absolute sense to me.

Well done!!

Andy

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Nice idea!

For a very good mould of the boat, you can try to build it from blocks like so:



and sand away abit, putty and and again until no "putty" can be seen. This is a no-brainer approach, as you'll be left with the correct shape after sanding. Note that the small boat is also a 27ft whaler, but I don't know how to make a clinker built hull 3.5 times smaller. Perhaps it works with thin strip???

Hi all ,

thanks for the comments ...

To EJ ,

I'd try with paper & white glue , tricky at 1/350 , but it is feasible

At Andy G

Would you explain how you build your boats ?



Meanwhile , I saw that the 1st sample I built , the one you can see above on the pictures , was not quite right , the two sides differed too much --> heading garbage bin

another one has been built this evening , I'll take some pictures tomorrow , much better , both sides were built at the same time ...

Regards ,

Laurent

_________________
Scared of Nothing , Always Thirsty

Just call me the "Cereals Box Killer" , I guess

Tip-Top!!

I shall not be doing it in 1/700...!!...

Really great methodology--nice and sharp!

JIM B

_________________
....I buy them at three times the speed I build 'em.... will I live long enough to empty my stash...?
http://www.modelshipgallery.com/gallery ... index.html

IPMS UK SIG (special interest group) www.finewaterline.com

Hello Laurent,
a great project! What type of Resin did you use on the master to keep the paper from sticking to it?

_________________
The merchant shipyard

Hi Neptune ,

I use a mono-component polyurethane resin , called "G4" , sold by "Vosschemie"

that resin is primarly used as a bonding agent before the apply of fibreglass & polyester resin on wood ...

G4 polymerises with the moisture in the air , it costs about 17 € for a 1 litre can , this is also what I use to impregnate my scratchbuilt wooden hulls inside & outside ,

I use G4 to seal the cardboard used on the superstructures , hull plating , boats , everything becomes watertight





Regards ,

Laurent

_________________
Scared of Nothing , Always Thirsty

Just call me the "Cereals Box Killer" , I guess

Hi Laurent!

I think I promised an extensive write-up of boat-making a while ago, but I haven't got around to it yet. Here's the (almost) text-only version...

1/ Make the hull of the boat you require in balsa. Do not include the keel or stem pieces, but do include any deadwood towards the transom, for those boats that aren't double-enders (like your whaler). I found a plan, elevation and example sections of the boats good enough to make recognisable boats for my dreadnought. Whittle, carve and then sand smooth.

2/ Wrap the hull in one layer of clingfilm (Saran wrap), pinning the film to the top of the boat so that the "skin" of the boat is all backed by plastic.

3/ Cut a pile of strakes the right width to allow for overlap, and a few centimetres longer than the longest one you'll need. I use ~200 to ~250 gsm cartridge paper, about 0.25 to 0.30 mm thick.

4/ Get a dish/saucer of slightly watered down PVA, some pins, a wet cloth (to wipe glue off your fingers - this can be messy), and - for those old enough to remember the 60's and Prog Rock - a cloud of calm and peaceful karma floating about your head doesn't go amiss. Breath deeply. Ready? Ring the Tibetan Bells and then set to!

5/ Lay the false keel using one strip of paper along the keel of the boat. Lightly pin it through the wrap to the wood beneath. At the sharp end (or ends for whalers) bend the corners together and glue. PVA on good cartridge paper will grab in under a minute or so - fingers are fine for this.

6/ Garboard strakes next. Soak a strake in the glue, wipe off the excess, and lay the first garboard, overlapping the false keel - this overlap being slightly more at the sharp ends. I sometimes pin against or through strakes as I go, depending on the curve required by the strake. Once dry, lay the other garboard. Where they meet at a sharp end, glue the faces to each other. Hold with fingers or a paperclip until dry. At the transom, bend the paper around the corner and pin in place.

7/ This first section is fiddly, but as strakes progress (and I alternate sides as I move up the hull) you'll realise that you're making a Thing Of Beauty. Keep at it! You'll quickly get an eye for the amount of overlap you need at the middle, fore and aft in order to get the strakes looking "boat like".

8/ The gunwale! Got here at last? (As Laurent said, this can be an hour or so after starting) Apply the gunwales and stand back. After ten minutes or so, the glue will be hard on the outside. Remove any pins and g-e-n-t-l-y slide the structure off the wooden core. It'll come off with the clingfilm. EVEN MORE GENTLY, peel out the clingfilm from the inside of the boat, and let the insides - now exposed to air - dry.

DO NOT WORRY THAT YOUR BOAT HAS CHANGED SHAPE!

Without the core under it, the paper will try to straighten slightly, and this will mean that the sides will pull in, and the stem will poke forwards. This is expected, and gets fixed shortly. But do be amazed at the strength you've produced using just a few dozen bits of paper and glue. Word of the day is - obviously - monocoque. 1923, the Lancia Lambda... Back to the build:

9/ Once all dry, slide the clinker hull back onto the balsa. Mark the stem on the sides of the hull (and the stern for double-enders). Take it off, and cut through the glued strakes at this mark. Cut off those excess strips at the transom. Be careful - your clinker hull will have lost much of its rigidity doing this, and it's time to put it back.

10/ Cut a stempiece and transom out of thin balsa, card or other suitable material. Stick them in place, using fingers to hold them while they set. Then stick on the keel. Once thoroughly dry, the hull will be stable, but still too narrow. Time to fix this!

11/ Cut a thin strip of balsa and glue a pair of stringers into the hull - these will support the thwarts later. Clothes pegs are good for holding the stringers in place. Once dry, and using the plan as a guide, cut and insert thwarts on top of the stringers to force the hull back to the shape it ought be.

12/ Add sternsheets, centreboard case, rudder, bottom boards, etc. to the hull, along with the rubbing strake, and you'll end up with something like this:


To sum up. It sounds fiddly, but it's the most fun you can have with a few pence worth of materials, and you're only an evening away from making any clinker boats you like. Well, as long as the scale isn't too ridiculous!

Andy

A very good subject, here,s a few that were built 15 - 20 years ago, just took some pictures of them, when painted they last a long time.

_________________
Simple but effective.

Hi Andy & dear Admiral ,

I see we use almost the same manner to build our boats

Admiral , at which scale is the model on the first picture you've posted ? looks nice !

And as Andy says , a lot of fun , indeed ...

I should begin with the "ribs" tomorrow ...

Cheers

Laurent

_________________
Scared of Nothing , Always Thirsty

Just call me the "Cereals Box Killer" , I guess

HMT Resolve is 1/40 scale, the second one is Moonlight my son,s model is 1/24.

_________________
Simple but effective.

Hi all ,

to ARH ,

is the "Resolve" completely scratchbuilt or is that kit available somewhere ( don't remember the firm's name ) ?

So , as I wasn't happy with my first whaler , I built another one , better built , I've put the frames yesterday ...











hereby a picture of the whaler where it will come , hanging on two Welin davits , another one has to come on the starboard side either ...


The main problem when you work at this scale is that putting all the frames , as in the real boat , is almost impossible , there are more than 60 frames in such a 27ft whaler

the next step is to put a inner keel , the seats , masts , floor planks & some gratings

Stay tuned !

Laurent

_________________
Scared of Nothing , Always Thirsty

Just call me the "Cereals Box Killer" , I guess

Hi, Yes, fully scratch built AT 1/40 SCALE, Jotica brought there,s out after I had built mine, there,s is 1/48 scale, the difference in scale does not seem much, but overall there,s looks like a toy compered to mine, taller, wider, longer,

_________________
Simple but effective.

Hi Laurent - it's that old trade-off. Do you represent the style of these details, by adding some frames, or deem them inaccurate and not include them?

I'd have to say that the human eye at a metre or so can see frames (among the wealth of other detail) and yet not be worried about the actual number present. They're largely obscured by thwarts anyway. So, as long as they seem "in-keeping" - and the above ones do - I think you've made the right decision.

Andy

Hi Andy ,

I think so either , but still , the next one , I'll try with brass wire , or maybe easier , with fishing line ...

But , as you say , better to put the half of the members than none ...

Regards ,

Laurent

_________________
Scared of Nothing , Always Thirsty

Just call me the "Cereals Box Killer" , I guess