Big Marie S
The first model I will be building in 2019 of boats that were in the Belmar Marina will be the Big Marie S. The Big Marie S was built in Atlantic City by Deebold Boatworks in 1965 according to Mike’s Maritime Memorabilia (http://www.mels-place.com/mmm/Party-Boats/Party-Boats-Page-21/index.html#img=1725-big-marie-s-1976.jpgweb site. She was originally built as the JO ANN IV then became the Big Marie S, and then the American Eagle after being purchase by Hank Leonard. In 2004 she lost steering entering Manasquan Inlet, took on water and sank. She was then dismantled. I spoke with Richard Deebold, he said there never were plans for building the boats that they built. The frames were just lofted and built from memory. As of August 2019 I am currently working on creating plans and hull lines from these three pictures which is all I have to reference. I’m not using a CAD program like Delftship. I will be manually drawing the plans the old fashion way on vellum paper. Some day I may recreate the hull lines in a drawing program on my MacBook Pro. While looking for pictures of any wooden party boats I came across this thread on this message board of pictures of boats that may help in the design of the models since plans are not available and I need to create them. Thanks to the web admin, Steve for pinning this post on his forum. For anyone reading this, if you have any pictures of some of these older boats, please contact me here. Any pictures of the deck area, upper cabin deck or pilot house area are needed. Lots of info can be obtained from info in the background.
http://www.mels-place.com/mmm/Party-Boats/Party-Boats-Page-21/index.html#img=1725-big-marie-s-1976.jpg
Table of Contents
Click on the link to take you to the section of interest. This is page 1 of 3 pages.
1 Creating the plans
2 Rough cutout of the frames
3 The keel
4 Trial fit of the frames and keel
5 Build board
6 Assembling the bulwark
7 Stem area
8 Keel sheathing mount points
9 Frame center-line transfer
10 Frame patch
11 Cutouts for stuffing tubes
12 Transom
13 Sealing the interior
14 Gluing frames to the keel and build board
15 Adding the chine
16 Shaping the chine
17 Chine problem and resolution
18 How the bottom will be clamped to frames
19 Clamping bottom sheathing to frames
20 Planking the bow
21 Keel extension
22 Transom and bottom sheathing
23 Bulwark sub-cap rail
24 Adding forward side sheathing
25 Adding aft side sheathing
26 Trimming sides
27 Shaping the bow (stem), keel and chine area
28 Filling in the gaps
29 Removal from the build board
30 Removing mounting studs
31 Bow deck sheer modification
32 Total Boat High Performance Epoxy Resin
33 Transom
34 Aft rub rails
35 Bowsprit for anchor
36 Inverted hull support
37 Hull glassing
38 Scribing lines to simulate planks
GO TO PAGE TWO
GO TO PAGE THREE
Creating the plans
August 2019. My drafting table is my old teak dining room table. It measures 70″ without inserts. I have two inserts that are 20″ each. I have one insert in so I have a 90″ table. I bought both sets of curves on Amazon. Some of the other drafting tools I already had.
Links for both sets of curves, Alvin ships curves, Alvin french curves
Creating the plans
August-September 2019. How will I be creating hull lines from a picture? I know the real boat is 85 feet long and 20 feet wide. If I use the scale of 1/24th or 1/2 inch = 1 foot then I will have a model 42.5 inches long. (85 feet x 12 inches / 24 = 42.5 inches) The boat in the picture is 9.5 inches long. If I divide 9.5 into 42.5 I get 4.47. So whatever I measure on the picture, if I multiply it by 4.47 I will have dimension that I can use on the plans. 4.47 is my multiplier. First thing to do is draw a reference line which is the waterline. Then I draw vertical lines 1/4 inch apart starting from the stern. The 1/4 inch on the picture times the multiplier 4.47 gives me a spacing of 1.12 inches on the plans. Next I measure the height from the waterline to the deck edge and gunwale and I do this for each 1/4 inch station. I measured as close as I can to 1/64 of an inch. Once I have the measurements I need, I enter those numbers into Excel and create an offset table using the 4.47 multiplier. Now I have the measurements to strike the deck edge and gunwale on the plans. Using the waterline as a reference I measured whatever else I need from the picture and plugged the measurements into Excel. As the lines were drawn, I compared to the picture checking for accuracy to make sure that the lines resembled what I was seeing. Any adjustments where made as I progressed. Since I cannot see below the waterline I just have to guess where things are below the water. I have enough pictures from online to make an assumption how the hull will appear under water. I then added the chine, the cabin and pilot house using the same procedure. The sweep of the chine was important to give me the shape of the hull. To strike lines that are over 40 inches long I made a flexible straight edge. A friend of mine cut 1/8 thick inch acrylic 1/2 inch wide. I then glued cleats on one side. The cleats allow me to use lead weights to hold the acrylic in place while I strike a curve. Have to be gentle with the acrylic as it’s pretty fragile. So I now have a 48 inch flexible curve.
Creating the plans
October-November 2019. Once I created the hull lines mentioned above I started another sheet redrawing the profile. I then chose a point at the stern which will be the aft most frame. I then drew vertical lines every three inches moving forward. These will be the individual frames. Near the bow I brought the frame distance down to two and one and a half inches. I ended up with 15 frames. I then created an overhead view and added the chine. All of this is difficult to show in pictures as the sheets are over 40 inches long and 30 inches wide. On each individual frame I added cutouts for the deck sheer, chine, bulwark supports and keel. I also added openings in the deck where the cabin will sit and allow access to the interior. Some of the frames are solid, some have cutouts for hull access. Each frame has a T shaped support which will allow the frame to be mounted inverted to the build board. This support will eventually be cut away once the hull is removed from the build board. Here are a few sample frames.
Rough cutout of the frames
October-November 2019. Once the plans were somewhat finalized I copied the frames, cut them out and glued them to birch plywood. I used a repositional spray adhesive to glue the frame profile to the plywood hoping that the paper will remove easily. The birch plywood is 1/4″ plywood but measures more closely to 3/16″ thick. The frames were cut close to the line on my Grizzly bandsaw then sanded down to the line on the Grizzly sander. All of the cutouts were also rough cut nearly to the line then filed down the to line. I also started to sand a bevel to the forward frames so the sheathing will have maximum contact to the frames. Besides the Grizzly bandsaw and oscillating sander I also have a Grizzly air filter for dust that ads up floating around the shop.
To see the ongoing materials cost, click this link… BigMarieS_cost
The keel
October-November 2019. The keel is made of the previously mentioned poplar board. The keel was assembled in two pieces at the bow, see the last picture. An overlap joint was made between the two pieces so the grain was running in the longer stronger direction. In order to transfer the keel shape to the wood, I placed the poplar board under the plans and used two nails to hold the plans in place on the board. I sharpened a nail tip on the grinder so I have a sharp point. I then tapped the nail on certain points on the plans and this transferred that point to the keel. Once you remove the plans, use a straight edge or curve to connect the points. I also made a template of the bow from card stock using the same method.
Trial fit of the frames and keel
October-November 2019. At this point I started fitting the frames into the keel. Doing so allowed me to see which frames need to be beveled and how much so the sheathing would have maximum contact with the frame when it is glued. I also made a change to frames one thru nine. When I drew the plans I had the hull sides slightly indented at the chine. Looking at photos I decided to have the hull sides vertical so the hull sides run straight up into the bulwark. So I had to add meat to frames one to nine on the sides to accommodate this change.
Build board
October-November 2019. The boat will be assembled upside down on a build board. I looked at various boards at Home Depot where I work and decided on this stair tread. It’s a laminated pine board. Stairs should have minimal flexing and it feels pretty solid so I went with it. I drew a center line down the center so frames can be aligned. I then cut some pine into 3/4″ x 3/4″ cleats. I used two of them as templates, one to drill holes in the build board and the other to drill holes in the cleats. This way I can use any cleat in any position. If other boat frames don’t line up I’ll just drill more holes in the stair tread. The cleats were attached to the build board in the spots according to my plans.
Assembling the bulwark
October-November 2019. While drawing the plans and determining where the frames will be going I figured that I could not extend frames one thru nine above the deck level as where these would go the scuppers are located. For frames ten thru fifteen, there are no scuppers so those frames can be extended above the deckline for the bulwark. For one thru nine I will incorporate posts in the sheer board that fall between the scuppers and extend above the deck level. Pictures one and two show the sheer boards before any of the cutouts were made. Pictures three and four show how the sheer boards align on the frames. Five and six show a slotted pine board I precision cut on the table saw then sanded to remove saw blade marks. A slot was also cut into the length of the board. Then 1/2″ sections were cut on the bandsaw, these are the posts. These posts fit into cutouts in the sheer board. Since the bulwark is 90 degrees to the deck all I had to do was glue and clamp the posts to the sheer boards as can be seen in the pictures. You will see how this works out in a future section.
Stem area
October-November 2019. The sheathing needs something to adhere to near the keel-bow area. Sheathing will butt up against the keel and the keel will be faired into the sheathing once it is attached to the hull. The sheathing needs something more substantial to attach to next to the keel. I shaped some cleats (for the lack of a better word) and glued them to the keel.
Keel sheathing mount points
October-November 2019. This series of pictures show how and where the bottom sheathing will attach to the keel.
All wood parts so far
December 2019. Over time you realize you need to create lots of parts to build a model boat. Here are all of the parts that I have cut so far. All of these parts required precision cutting, filing and sanding. Some required adding wood back on due to mistakes or changes to the design. It takes time to have all of these parts fit together in a precise manor. As you scroll through the frames, you will be able to see how the hull lines will flow from bow to stern.
Frame center-line transfer
December 2019. It would be useful to have the center-line of each frame marked on both sides. On the front of the frame through the paper template I scored a line into the wood with an Exacto knife so I have the center marked once the paper is removed. I then made a slight cut into the bottom and top of the frame. Then the frame was flipped over and a line was scored between the two points.
Frame patch
December 2019. In order to cut out the center area of the frames, I had to cut through the frame to get to the center. On most frames this cut was made on a portion of the frame that will eventually be removed and discarded. Frames 11 and 12 will require a patch. For the patch I used CA glue to glue a wood shim in the slot. Then a patched was placed on both sides of the joint to stiffen the joint.
Cutouts for stuffing tubes
January 2019. Frames 4 and 5 need to have cutouts for the propeller shaft stuffing tubes. From the plans I located where the cutouts should be. I used the Dremel to roughly grind out the wood then used a round file to fine tune the shape for the tubes. The cutouts where filed to the approximate angle. At this time I do not know what size the stuffing tubes will be as I’m still shopping for props and shafts. I can enlarge these cutouts once I’m ready.
Transom
December 2019. The aft-most side of the first frame will be the transom. Since the transom is curved and is angled going down to the keel some support is need for the sheathing. Some vertical and horizontal supports were added and all was sanded smooth. I cut the keel too short so I added a block of wood to the transom to close up the gap. After all this was added to one side of the frame, it caused the frame to warp by about 1/16 inch on either end. I clamped the frame to the workbench with a piece of wood under the center and used c-clamps to ‘crack’ the frame. The frame itself did not crack, the center support cracked just about dead center. I then clamped the frame flat to the workbench and CA glued the crack. Once set the frame was flat as it should be. Next I added wood at the top of the frame so the deck line was even with the frame. Finally I added blocks of wood which will support the bulwark. I’ll leave two pieces off until later on.
Sealing the interior
December 2019. There has been debate about sealing the interior of model boats. My option is to seal the wood from any possible moisture. I’d rather have the wood protected than not. I used water based Minwax Helmsman Spar Urethane. There is no odor with this product unlike other sealers. If you check the third picture you can see water drops on the frame. I then wiped the drops off with a paper towel. On the forth picture there was no sign of water on the treated wood and you can see water was absorbed on the untreated wood. I don’t expect any water in the boat, but I feel better about sealing the interior. Prior to gluing the frames together I applied the Urethane to all surfaces trying to avoid surfaces that will be in contact with glue. Once the Urethane dried I went back and filed any spots where glue joints will be. The tolerances on the frame joints before applying the Urethane was tight. Any Urethane had to be removed in order for the joints to join properly so that I was gluing wood to wood, not sealer to sealer.
Gluing frames to the keel and build board
December 2019. With all of the frames clamped to the build board with spring clamps I began gluing five frames at a time to the keel. I started with 11-15. Once the glue was dry I removed the keel with frames 11-15 attached so that I could apply glue to the next five. Frames 6-10 were then glued to the keel then everything was clamped back to the board until the glue was dry. This was repeated for frames 2-5 leaving frame 1 off for further work. At this point all of the frames are glued to the keel and everything is clamped to the board. Then with a brush, I added two dabs of glue on each frame to glue the frames to the build board blocks. The next day I removed the spring clamps and now the keel and frames are glued to the build board. All of this gluing was done by adding glue to a cup and using a brush to apply the glue where it was needed. The brush was then cleaned by rinsing in warm water.
Adding the chine
January 2020. The chine strap is 1/4″ by 1/4″ balsa wood. This was glued to each frame. Looking at these pictures the flow of the chine looks pretty good. The last section of the chine will be added once the transom board is added.
Shaping the chine
January 2020. I used spray on adhesive on the back of 220 grit sandpaper and a T shaped section of plywood. Since all of the frames are flat, I used this sanding board to sand the chine flat and even with the frame. It did not work on the frames up by the bow as they each do not fall flat to one other. There I used a flat Emory board to conform the chine to the bottom and sides of the frames. Between frames 12 and 15, due to the angles at the bow, I added scrap pieces between the frames to add a gluing surface for the bottom sheathing. These were also sanded even to the frame bottoms. The sanding block very well for this purpose.
Chine problem and resolution
January 2020. After sanding the chine to shape I noticed a dip in the chine on the port side between frames 10 and 12. This dip does not appear on the starboard side. Something is wrong. To remedy this I added a shim to frame 11 and shaped it from the keel to chine. I then added balsa between frames 10 and 12. Once this balsa was sanded to shape, the flow of the chine in this area looked like it should. But, now the chine did not look right between frames 12 and 14. I did the same as before, added shims to frames 12 and 13 and balsa from frames 11 to 14. After all this work, the chine on both sides of the hull looked uniform.
How the bottom will be clamped to frames
February 2020. I cut two types of clamping blocks on the table saw that will assist clamping the bottom sheathing. One type has a slot that will fit over the frame on the inside of the hull. The second will be on the outside. Using both blocks will provide a surface for the c-clamps. Since the frames are flat, the outside clamp will make sure the sheathing comes in complete contact with the frame. The c-clamps cost $3 each from Harbor Freight and work great for this purpose.
All around look before sheathing begins
February 2020. This is just some all around pictures before the sheathing goes on. Once the bottom and sides are on it will begin to look more like a boat and the frames will no longer be that visible.
Clamping bottom sheathing to frames
February 2020. The bottom and sides will be covered with 3/32″ basswood. My intention was to cover the entire bottom of the hull with one sheet. I determined this would not work well due to the heavy twist at the bow. I created a rough template of the bottom from cardboard. This shape was transferred to the basswood sheet and then was cut on the bandsaw. It was then filed and shaped to fit the hull from frames 1 to 12. Once both sides were ready they were glued and clamped to the hull, one side at a time and allowed to set overnight. I used Titebond III glue. Using Titebond allowed sufficient time to work the basswood into position and time to set all of the clamps.
Planking the bow
February 2020. Due to the curvature of the hull bottom at the bow this area will need to be planked. I added a cleat for a glue surface by frame 12 and shaped it to the frame and chine. Since the planks have a twist to them I wet both sides of the plank to soften the fibers and placed the plank in the Microwave for 45 seconds. Once removed I twisted the plank to somewhat match the twist it will need. The plank was then glued to the hull. The first plank was wide since up at the bow it was relatively straight. Subsequent planks will be narrower so they conform to the curve at the stem of the hull. I used CA glue to glue each plank in place. Note how the planks conform to the line I previously drew on the keel. The last triangular plank did not need any bending. The planks will eventually be sanded smooth and body filler will be used to fill any irregularities in this planked area.
Keel extension
February 2020. After gluing the planks on I noticed I trimmed too much off of the keel. To remedy this I traced the profile of the keel onto another piece of wood and rough cut it on the band saw then sanded it closer to shape on the sander. I then used an Emory board to get the keel and keel extension down to the same shape. It was then glued and clamped to the keel. Next day it was rough sanded down to the general shape. Once the side sheathing is on the keel will be further shaped to conform to the final profile. Along the length of the boat the bottom sheathing was filed and sanded down to the chine batten. At the bow area the bottom twists to meet the stem. Due to the angle there the shape is strange. Once the side sheathing is added and shaped the chine will flow from bow to stern as you can see in the original pictures of the boat. I’m looking for uniformity of the two sides of the hull. Uniformity is a good thing.
Transom and bottom sheathing
February 2020. The bottom sheathing was filed and sanded down to the transom.
Bulwark sub-cap rail
February 2020. The hull sides are extending past the deck line and will form into the bulwark. A sub cap rail was added along the perimeter of the hull. This sub cap rail needs to be as perfect as I can get it as further wood will be added to this and will define the edge of the railing. It needs to have a nice sweep from bow to stern. Later on brass railings will be fabricated and the will attached into the cap rail.
Adding forward side sheathing
February 2020. I cut notches in scrap wood which will aid as clamping blocks from inside the hull. The side sheathing requires a heavy bend in order to conform around the bow area of the hull. So I don’t have to fight the spring of the wood I clamped the sheathing to the workbench and applied water to both sides. After a while it was released and it maintained a curve which will now allow it to conform to the hull shape with less of a fight. To hold the sheathing against the keel at the bow I fashioned two blocks with bevels to match the joint from the keel to sheathing. Titebond III glue was applied to the required surfaces and spread with a brush where needed. With my girlfriends assistance we clamped the side sheathing to the hull as you can see in the pictures. After a few hours the clamps were removed and the other side was glued in the same manner. One problem on the port side the sheathing was not clamped enough and there is a gap at the extreme bow. I might reconsider using that method of clamping the bow on future boats. I’ll have to go over the entire hull anyway with body filler so there are no imperfections for fiber-glassing. The joints where the side sheathing meets the chine all look good, no noticeable gaps at all.
Adding aft side sheathing
February 2020. The two aft side sheets were flat so no prebending was needed. First was the port side. I adhered the clamping block to the interior of the frames with plain silicone. Once Titebond III was applied to the frames the side sheet was added and clamped. The glue was spread with a small brush. After the clamps were removed the clamping block was pulled out and more silicone was added and it was put on the starboard side interior frames. The process was repeated for the starboard side. All looks good for to begin trimming the sides.
Trimming sides
March 2020. Starting aft and moving forward the excess was carefully removed with a utility knife. You need to be cautious the wood grain does not guide the blade where it should not go. Then a rasp file was used to further trim close to the bottom sheathing. Finally a sanding block was used to finish off the edges. I stopped a few inches from the bow on both sides since the bow portion needs careful attention to trimming and sanding.
Shaping the bow (stem), keel and chine area
March 2020. This area took some time. The Dremel with the drum sander was used to rough trim close down to the desired shape. Then an Emory board (180/240 grit) and a 220 sanding block was used to sand the area to the final shape. Being right handed, one side always seems comfortable to work on and the other side seems awkward. I flipped the hull on its side in order to alleviate this problem. I also used a COB LED work light to cast a shadow on the hull so there is a good visual as to where sanding needs to take place. On the port side chine I added filler pieces as adjustments to get the sharp edge I needed there. Somehow that area was rounded or was sanded more than it should have been. In the end you can see the similarity in the sides of the hull. Some of the planked area will need body filler in order to correct some dips in those locations.
Filling in the gaps
March 2020. Some spots required a touch of body filler, some of which I opened up with a file. My go to filler is Evercoat Euro-Soft. It was old and had thickened up over time so I added some de-natured alcohol to get it back to peanut butter consistency. I then tested a small batch with hardener to verify if it was still good. It did not fully cure so either too much alcohol was added or it was old. I had some Hobbylite filler on hand which I used. After letting it dry I had to use course sandpaper to bypass it clogging the 220 paper and Emory board I was using. The clogs could be flicked off with a screwdriver tip but this tended to be a pain in the ass so I went with the course paper and the spongy sanding block. I’ll have to find a better filler for next time. I used the red Bondo filler on a previous model, was not thrilled with that one either. At least now the hull is ready for resin and cloth.
Removal from the build board and removing frame pieces
March 2020. Once most of the hull work was done the screws were removed from the mounting blocks that held the model down to the build board. The model was then placed in a stand right side up. The studs attaching the frames to the blocks were then cut with a Dremel cutoff blade. I went through about ten Emory blades since they are susceptible to easy breakage.
Cleanup time
March 2020. What was left of the frames glued to the mounting blocks, the frames were removed with a chisel and the mounting blocks were cleaned up, put away and ready for use on the next model. The hull was weighed on a scale. Two pounds six ounces.
Overall pctures
March 2020. With all of the frames removed the clamping block that was in before can now be removed. All these pictures show the interior of the hull which really has not been seen much until now. Next step is to remove the studs that were left from cutting off the frame mounts.
Removing mounting studs
March 2020. After rough cutting off the frame mounts, the studs that were left had to be removed. They were cut down with a Dremel cutoff saw then sanded down with a Dremel drum sander, and finally trimmed to shape with a rasp.
Bow deck sheer modification
April 2020. While designing the hull lines on paper, one thing that stuck in my mind at that time was getting the deck sheer profile to my liking. At this point of building the model I was comparing the pictures I was working from and the model profile. I thought the rise of the bow was too shallow. My girlfriend agreed with me. I layered 3/32 basswood up the bow on the bulwark. The sides of this were then faired into the sides of the hull. The Dremel drum sander was used to rough shape the layers on the top side.
Bow deck sheer modification
April 2020. The interior of this extension now has to be faired into the the lines of the existing bulwark. After this was done the deck had to be raised so that it was 3/4″ below the top of the bulwark. The stringer cutouts in the existing frames where filled in. Deck extensions where cut from the same wood the frames where from. These were then fitted to the existing frames. Then some final fairing was done to ensure the deck flowed properly.
Bow rise comparison
April 2020. Here you can see the difference between the old and new bow rise. It might be subtle, but it does look better.
Total Boat High Performance Epoxy Resin
April 2020. I’ll be using Total Boat High Performance Epoxy Resin with slow hardener on the hull. According to Total Boat, the slow hardener will provide the clearest finish and you have 30-40 minutes of working time before it starts setting up. One thing I did years ago with polyester resin was to create a polyester sheet on a piece of waxed glass. I’ll do the same while getting use to working with epoxy resin. I researched what resin would not stick to and for now will be using a melamine board. I applied three coats of Carnuba car wax to help release the epoxy sheet. A worth while article about what resin doesn’t stick to can be found here. After mixing the epoxy I added a few drops of white pigment, you don’t need much pigment. Applied the epoxy to the melamine board then laid down the cloth. A second coat can be applied within 6-12 hours without sanding. After the second coat I applied a third coat with another layer of cloth, then one last layer of epoxy. The sheet was easily removed from the board by slipping a razor blade along the edge then a thin sheet of styrene to pop the rest of the sheet off. Both sides were wet sanded with 120 and 220 grit wet/dry sandpaper. I now have a 1/16 thick sheet of epoxy which can be used for various things on the model. I also tested planks of stained wood with the clear epoxy to see how that would come out. I was very satisfied with the results. This test piece was not sanded at all.
Transom
April 2020. Since I don’t have pictures of the transom, I’ll duplicate what another boat looks like from around the same time period. I have many pictures of the Norma K II that are proving helpful. Here you can see the planked transom of the Norma K II which I will be replicating on the Big Marie S. I stained all of the planks with Minwax Dark Walnut. To begin I needed to ad a glue block which the bulwark covering board (the topmost board) will be glue to. After this was added the remaining boards were glue into position. A light sanding was done then epoxy and cloth was applied. Two additional coats of epoxy were applied then the transom was wet sanded with 120, 220, 400 and 1000 grit sandpaper. The surface is very smooth and has a dull look to it. Later on, the name will be added then the entire transom will be cover with Spar Urathane for UV protection.
Aft rub rails
April 2020. On the sides near the stern below the scuppers are rub rails. The rub rail wraps around the transom as can be seen on the stern of the Norma K II. I used some 1/16 basswood cut roughly to shape. The rail that will be on the transom I stained with Dark Walnut. I then wrapped some fine cloth around each piece and applied epoxy and pressed each piece onto the melamine board. They were separated from the board with a razor blade. The excess epoxy was easily removed from the board with a chisel-scraper and wire brush. Since the melamine board was textured I had to apply an additional coat of epoxy to eliminate the texture and build up the thickness for sanding smooth. I’ll have to find a smoother board to give me better results. What I did was put lengths of packing tape on the melamine board and a piece of plywood. The packing tape was waxed with the car wax. I applied epoxy to both sides of each rub rail then sandwiched them between the boards with packing tape. Once separated, both sides of the rub rails were pretty smooth, much smoother than the melamine board. They were then wet sanded and set aside for later. They ended up being 3/32 inches thick from the original 1/16 inch.
Bowsprit for anchor
April 2020. Most if not all party boats have the anchor mounted on the bow with a roller and capstan mechanism to release it. A 1/4 x 1/4 inch slot was cut in the bow for for a piece of wood which will be the bowsprit. A bowsprit is really a spar that sticks out from the bow that the forward sails attach to but we don’t see that much today.
Inverted hull support
April 2020. In order to fiberglass the hull and do other bottom work I need to invert the hull and have it stay in position. Before the frames were assembled I drilled holes in most of the frames to accommodate supports. First a cross piece is bolted to the frames, then a support slides over the cross piece and is held in position by one bolt. I can already see I’ll have to modify the cross piece but will do for now. I hope to use this in other models that I will be building in the future.
Hull glassing part 1
April 2020. I will be using Total Boat High Performance Epoxy Resin. I’ve seen Total Boat products being used on two YouTube channels I’ve been following. They are Acorn to Arabella and Tally Ho. I’m also adding white pigment after the resin and hardener have been mixed. Total Boat Epoxy is pumped out like West System Epoxy. This is my first time using epoxy. Previously I used polyester resin on the SS Miss Belmar. To begin I used 1.45 oz cloth on the centerline with a mixture of epoxy. After the epoxy was set, I wiped down with a sponge and water then rough sanded with course sandpaper.
Hull glassing part 2
April 2020. The main cloth is 3.08 oz cloth from Aircraftspruce. On one side I applied cloth to the bottom, trimmed the edge at the chine then applied cloth-epoxy to the side. On the other side I applied the cloth-epoxy from the keel to the gunwale. I wanted to see if the cloth will conform to the curve at the chine. After this I determined that it’s best to apply the bottom, trim at the chine, then apply the side. Again the epoxy was wiped down with water then sanded with course paper. The bow required special attention when sanding. Drum sanders worked great at getting into the delicate areas of the bow. I used a course and fine drum to tackle this.
Hull glassing part 3
May 2020. No pictures of the second coat of epoxy. After the second coat was applied it was wiped down with water then sanded again with course. There were some shallow spots that would not sand so I applied Total Boat fairing compound. You mix part A and B and mix until it turns green. For me this is harder to sand than the Evercoat Euro-Soft that I’m use to and like very much. Next time I’ll try the Evercoat product which is polyester based on the well sanded epoxy. The High Performance epoxy tends to run some so it accumulates at the chine as can be seen in the pictures. You can see the ‘bubble’ at the chine.
Hull glassing part 4
May 2020. Lots of sanding. The majority of the hull was sanded with a course sandpaper on a sanding block. The bottom of the bow was sanded with the drum sander drums. Once it it looked good with course sandpaper I went to 120 then 220 grit paper. In order to be sure the chine and keel were straight, I used a flashlight at the right angle to put a shadow along the line. Then I could determine where sanding was needed. The chine at the bow required special attention in order to get the chine true and to meet the stem at the proper points on both sides.
Hull glassing part 5
May 2020. Once the sides and bottom were smooth, the cloth at the gunwale needed to be trimmed. I used the Dremel drum sander to take most of it dowm then used 120 grit sandpaper to bring it down even with the wood gunwale. The hull still had grooves from the course sandpaper so I applied a 3M glazing product to the entire hull and sanded smooth. Up close I can see many sanding grooves that have been filled in.
Hull glassing part 6
June 2020. With a white hull it is difficult to see any imperfections. The hull was sprayed with gray primer in order to check for flowing of the hull lines and to see if there are scratches or other imperfections that need additional attention. Even after using the 3M glazing putty that I thought would fill the scratches, they are still there. The gray primer was removed by wiping the hull down with acetone. I then applied a very very thin coat of the polyester Evercoat Eurosoft glazing putty on just about the whole hull. It was then wet sanded with 220 grit sandpaper. In some spots I applied a second coat and wet sanded. At this point all of te sanding scratches are gone.
Scribing lines to simulate planks
June 2020. My first foray into scribing was on the sail on the USS Marlin model. I was encouraged by David Merriman to attempt this. After looking at what he did and trying it on the Marlin, I thought I did a pretty good job. Here I used a 12×36 inch epoxy sheet I made which will be used later on in the model build. I’m using this sheet as a test on how well the lines will scribe before I attempt this on the model. I used a metal straight edge, an Exacto knife and a pick I have. I marked three lines about 1/4 inch apart. I used the back side of the Exacto blade to score a line and break the surface. I then used the pick and made a few passes along the straight edge. The depth and width of the lines came out what I was looking for. The pick is a hard durable metal which happens to have a quirky bend at the tip which worked to my advantage. If you try scribing, test with different picks and on a sample material and practice, practice, practice. I did pick up some other picks that I used on the Marlin from Harbor Freight.
Scribing lines to simulate planks
June 2020. I needed an edge to scribe against. Since the boat has many curves to it I could not use a straight edge. I worked at Home Depot at this time and we had an old display sign that was outdated which I brought home. This is a very solid plastic sign which would work out great as a scribing edge. I’m going to scribe the hull sides first then the hull bottom. Two strips from the sign were cut. I shaped one edge to coincide with the gunwale edge and the other edge to the chine edge. This was done due to the gunwale and chine having different curves. Using only one would cause the plastic to kink when it was bent too much to accommodate a severe bend.
Starting at the stern I made vertical marks every seven inches with the stern labeled 0 and the foremost one labeled 42. A line was drawn 90 degrees from the gunwale edge down to the chine. The distance from the gunwale to the chine was measured and recorded in a spreadsheet (column B, see pic). In cell D1 I entered a number and this gave me the width of each plank at each of the vertical sections. This was then expanded out to give me measurements I could use to create hash marks in a drawing program. The distance between each mark for each plank was different due to the height for each station being different. Once completed you can barely notice the difference in plank thickness along the hull. I guess this can be considered spiling. What this gives me is marks at each location the length of the model.
The hash marks were then taped to their respective positions with clear tape. I placed double sided tape in between each of these hash marks. The shaped scribing edging was then placed on the double sided tape lining up with the hash marks. All ready now for scribing the planks.
Scribing lines to simulate planks, hull sides
June 2020. With the plastic edging secure it was time to scribe. I used the backside of an Exacto knife to make the first score. I then used a pick to go over the scribe line a few times to make sure the line was consistent the entire length. Once the entire side of the hull is done it will get a light sanding with 400 grit sandpaper.
Scribing lines to simulate planks, hull bottom
June 2020. Over time you figure better ways of doing something. On the hull sides at each station the distances for each plank were different due to the height from the chine to the gunwale. On the hull bottom I used a fixed distance for all locations. For the gardboard planks next to the keel I made those wider. I used one scribing sheet for the bottom. Both edges conformed to the shape of the chine. I started with the outside of the scribing sheet at the chine and worked my way inwards towards the keel. As I moved inwards I had to flex the scribing sheet to conform to the ever changing curve. About the halfway point I switched to using the inside edge of the scribing sheet so the keel did not interfere. When I was close to the keel I switched to a straight edge to finish the gardboard sections.
Two things I did different from the sides. Before I placed the double sided tape on the hull I tapped my fingers on the tape to remove the full tackiness of the adhesive. I did not do this on the side against the scribing sheet. This way when I peel the scribing sheet off of the hull it came easier and the tape stayed on the scribing sheet. The other thing I did was trim the hash marks off before I scribed the line.
Scribing lines to simulate planks, problem
June 2020. A problem I encountered with this plastic sheet was splitting. Most of the splitting occurred where some of the graphics changed. As the sheet was moved for the next scribe the curve changed and I had to force the plastic sheet to accommodate the change in the curve. This is what helped the plastic split. To combat this I taped the side that was not being taped to the hull.
Scribing lines to simulate planks, tips or tricks
June 2020. Here’s the process again that I used on the hull bottom. Captions say it all. Applied the double faced tape to the plastic sheet. I have this block of pine with rounded corners. I’ve used this before when I applied veneer to plywood. Used it here to make sure the tape was stuck to the plastic very well. After removing the paper, applied my fingers to the hull side of the tape to remove some of the tackiness. Once the edging sheet was in position I used the Exacto knife to score the paper hash marks then scored the hull. Then I went to the pick to complete scoring the line. Once scoring was complete, removed the edging sheet, then removed the hash mark which was cut from the beginning.
Scribing lines to simulate planks, finishing up
July 2020. Once all of the fore and aft lines have been scribed the ends of each plank need to be established. I decided each plank would be twenty feet long, this equates to ten inches on the model. Each plank was staggered so the plank ends did not line up with any other plank. Plank ends were marked on the hull. I then applied double faced tape to a metal ruler and tapped my fingers on the hull side of the tape to make the tape less tacky. Applied the ruler to the hull at each of the marks and scribed the line. I used a piece of masking tape with an arrow on it to make sure I’m scribing the right spot.
Scribing lines to simulate planks, done
July 2020. There are a few spots that I need to go back to for cleanup and corrections. Here are some pictures of the final results. Once primer and paint is applied these planked lines should fill in nicely. Now on to the next part of this project.
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