APA project

[BB62vet]

Tom,
Your rigging work is really turning out quit exquisite!! The amount of detail is really making this model impressive!!

Hank

[Fliger747]

Thank You Hank! Just look at one of those photos wartime of a DD dockside at the yard, the one's having some new director or some such highlighted in a white circle. Those decks are so crowded with some useful items covering every foot of deck or bulkhead! Definitely not "cruise ships".

Cheers: Tom

[Fliger747]

Progress moving forward with rigging. (Muffled screams).

8 stars of gold// Alaska's Flag. Brass couplings for four more fueling hoses. The ship had a number of hoses such that she could act for at least minor replenishment of the Amphibious group. Very versatile ships!

[Fliger747]

A few of the oil hoses, made from 14 gauge insulated wire with turned couplings at the ends.

[Fliger747]

Yesterday I finally attached the fwd Whelan Davits. Getting proper alignment on these is surprisingly fussy. When not attached to the deck they tend to have the dimensional integrity of cooked spaghetti. These ships had some sort of setup to support a second boat on top but I don't have any good info on that yet. To be really covered in boats they would then have a third boat hanging from the davit outboard. Bet that was fun in a seaway! After a major operation the ARL's were busy, wonder what the replacement pipeline for LCVP's looked like?

The small dowels are sized to hold the proper dimensions, held in place by the tension of the rubber band.

T

[Fliger747]

Small progress! The Whelan Davits are permanently attached and rigged to the boat winches (also attached). The boat chocks for the Whelan Davits had to be re made as they were too tall to allow two boats to stack. It is rather amazing on how tightly they arranged these ships. Even scale inches of size and placement of items are critical or there isn't room for something else!

Having fun scouring plans and photos to find more stuff to add, as there are several square inches (not together) without some item, a void abhors a vacuum! Hank Strub sent me some APA photos (not Haskell) but they did give me some further ideas of rigging and tackle practice and fleshed out how the boats were stacked. In addition there were lines faked out on deck, for instance in readiness for mooring or some other evolution. He also suggested a method to do this for a model as a result of his rigging his "Peacock". So I have done a couple of these faked lines and even more fun, discovered two 12" searchlights on the bridge deck, always a fun detail to make.

The boats can't be affixed or stacked till I get them numbered. Each boat has both the identifying APA and boat number on each side in large lettering.

Cheers: Tom

[Fliger747]

I did add the 12" searchlights to the bridge deck, these and also added tall vent pipes attached to the front of the midships superstructure. Randall did not have these items in the early 50's, but certainly had the vents in 1944. Postwar there seems a significant effort to unload Navy Vessels of now superfluous equipment. In some cases this was engendered by need for weight and space for increasing electronics (RADAR etc).

A major PITA item to consider would be the disembarking nets. These would have to be hand tied, almost as fun as ratlines. At least it would successfully extend the construction time considerably once I run out of hardware to add.

[raggs]

Tom,

For help on arrangements for the davits take a look at Navsource pics APA 49-50. You'll see how the outer boats stacked.
Looks like the bracing for the outboard upper boat either "swung away" or was removed to clear the lower outboard boat.
I could'a swore I had an overhead shot of the inside set up for the triple, though not really crisp. I'll have to look.

I'm sure there were other arrangements of the bracing, see APD 102. The bracing is different but it's only two boats and a smaller davit.

Congrats on a sweet technical build.

Paul

[Fliger747]

Thanks Paul!:

I'll check those out. Hank sent me some yard photos of some pre Haskell APA's which showed the Davits. It appears that there were numerous arrangements. Though the Davits can hold three boats, with the third one swung outboard and hanging from the davit transverse bar. I will probably do a two boats stack. It is not currently clear how the upper boat bracing was set up in this instance. Some ships (earlier) may have hinged the rack outboard. some others either have the upper bar rotate to lift upwards or removed. At a minimum the bar might have lifted upwards for removal and the boat raised out of the verticals before being swung overboard.

What is apparent that the crews had to be highly trained to pull off a launch and recovery with any aplomb!

Cheers: Tom

[Fliger747]

Very minor progress today, biggest advancement was replacing some halogen small floods with LED's, much brighter work area. Otherwise experimenting with producing cargo nets. Made a small wooden jig and stretched thread across it. The first line across I tied overhand knots at each cross thread. I like the look, though I think the tall ship guys favor clove hitches. If I continue along this line it will be as occupying as granny's knitting for the whole Winter. My mom made everyone in the family a queen sized Afgan, how the "hell" did those take. But I think these are a little more attention requiring. Perhaps more like the whole families that hand knot Persian Carpets. I have several that must have taken years!

[Fliger747]

As to the disembarkation nets, knotting a row or two requires a recovery period. We will see if this is a productive avenue! I did search Haskell Class in Nav Source and looked through their collection of APA photos and found many relevant images. I did find some good photos including parts of the upper boat racks. The ones awarthship the midships superstructure have the top chocks swing out of the way and store just outboard of the lifelines on the O2 level. So I get to redo the ones that I have made. Also got a peek at some fan units on the O1 just in front of the bridge.

Cheers: Tom

[Fliger747]

Disembarkment net... Well I got one done, Perhaps I can suffer through a couple more. Lozza knots!

[Fliger747]

A different method, cross weaving and applying lacquer and UV cement at the joints to secure the nets together. Easier but maybe a little too starched dress inspection?

[Fliger747]

Rainy cool day. So doing a little work. Downdraft ventilators, not 100% complete. In sand able primer for final finishing. These go in the # 2-3 hold area ahead of the bridge superstructure.

[BB62vet]

Tom,
Your nets look fine - good job on those. Also, the vent fans - very good job!!! Those things can kind of be tricky - they tend to be offset from the center of the motor depending on where the direction of air flow is going. There are downdraft, side draft, updraft models - but, I think you've gotten these done quite well!

Hank

[Fliger747]

Hank:

What I don't know is what the "Far Side" looks like. Did these suck in air via ducts from somewhere else or is there is a large opening on the opposite side? I imagine a somewhat venturi shaped inlet where I can't see it.

Tom

[BB62vet]

Hank:
What I don't know is what the "Far Side" looks like. Did these suck in air via ducts from somewhere else or is there is a large opening on the opposite side? I imagine a somewhat venturi shaped inlet where I can't see it.
Tom

The fans that we're dealing with are fresh air fans to blow air into the hold, so they would appear to be downdraft fans - they require an air intake opening which is in this case the "far side" which we can't see. I'll see if I can't round up a typ. one that I have in my CAD drawing directory and post it later this evening. This is simply a maritime version of an industrial fan or blower, doesn't appear to be anything more than that. Except painted deck gray!!!

Hank

[Fliger747]

Right below this area was the troop officers mess... The first thing Halsey did taking command in the South Pacific was get rid of ties. Looks like a RHIP design.

[Fliger747]

Weather is too nice? So not too much accomplished, made four outboard posts to support the boat stacks amidships. I also have mostly made an air compressor which in one photo I have is on the boat deck, between the davits and the bridge superstructure. These were apparently moveable (barely) and one such unit features in the final damage control episode in "Away All Boats". So far un solved is producing the coiled air hose on the side, not as easy as one might guess!

Cheers to all, hope you weather is as nice as mine! Tom

[Fliger747]

Hank:

Thanks for the drawings! Interesting pieces of equipment (for ship nerds). Another micro project to keep me busy for a while. From some dimly revealed "lumps" on photos I think your curved duct on the aft of the fan is correct. I found another photo of the air compressor firmly in place on a decommissioned (and rusty) ship.

Placing the boat chocks to support the upper boats will have to wait till the boats wear their assigned numbers.

Cheers: Tom