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A Baltimore Clipper Build, this will take awhile..

Tim A.

Tim A.

Well-known member
A fellow asked if I could build this for him. It's an ancient (1960's) Model Shipways 5/32 scale kit of a Topsail Schooner privateer from the early 19th century. The kit is terrible for what he wants as he wants it "right". this kit does not provide the materials to build into a "right" model but I commited myself to the task :pinch:
There will be a huge amount of scratch building and hopefully by the rough deadline of 6 months the pile of wood will transform into a believable ship. Luckily this ship, named the "Dapper Tom", never existed in real life so some liberty's can be taken.

Soooooo here we go...well mabey tommorrow anyway :lol:
Clipper_1.jpg

Clipper_2.jpg
 
I've got confidence in ya man , ......... but that hull looks like it was carved with a butter knife ..........
 
Thanks Moon pup for fixing the post :notworthy

Thats (no pun intended) cutting edge technology for the time. The hull is roughly to shape out of the box. First step will be to get it to final shape by making "go or no go" station templets. The bulwarks will be removed and new ones made. It's easier than trying to carve them down to 3/32's thick.
The hull will be planked above the waterline with copper plating below. The deck will also be planked.
The belaying pins seem to be the best parts of the kit haha.
I am going to attempt to fully rig the 8 cannons, they are not terrible castings.
Like I metioned this is basically a scratchbuilding project. There is not enough provided in the kit to create the busy looking deck of a 19th century warship that I like.
6 months is pushing it but if I supply the owner with a steady flow of WIP pics I think he'll understand.

Tim
 
Hey Tim,

I've always thought about building a wooden ship. I have built many of the plastic ones.

This will be interesting to follow!

Good luck!

Bob
 
Ok.... well after making some station templets to fair the hull to it's final shape i found there was quite a bit of work to do with most of it taking place at the stern. I could see no way to shape the transom properly from the hull block so I cut the rear-end completely off and will build a new transom. The bulwarks had to be thinned to 1/32 thick, which was a very tricky operation.
I've planked the deck by making a sub-deck from 1/32 basswood then cutting the plank strips (about 5" full scale width) and glueing them to the sub-deck then gluing the whole thing to the hull. At the stern of the deck there is what is called a counter on this ship. It follows the shape of the underside of the hull. I've planked this area perpendicular to the actual deck planking. It will be painted like the bulwarks. The rudder will protrude through a hole and attach to the tillar here.
One major problem a dodged was a test fit of the cannons revieled the cannons were taller than the bulwarks!...not good so I had to add a strip to the top of them, disaster avoided. It's about time to start planking the hull at this point.

Tim

hull_3.jpg


hull_1.jpg


hull_2.jpg


hull_4.jpg
 
Looking good. I'm always amazed that someone can take a block of wood, even a pre shaped one, and turn it into a boat. I tried once and built a very fine collection of tooth picks and sawdust. This is something to watch. (y) (y)
James
 
Thanks Bob, James and Randy (y)

There is alot of dust for sure and everything in the workroom has a fine layer of it. Basically it's cut...sand...cut and sand so far. I'm just scratching the surface on the build and to tell the truth most of the time is spent thinking about which move to make next and how it's going to effect the following one. By far the hardest part will be planking the hull and the copper plating below the waterline. Not having alot of experience with wood ship building I'm taking things slow. There is a big learning curve.

Tim
 
Looking mighty fine. I am watching this as I have 2 in the stash to do, one is a solid hull like yours, the other is plank on ribs.
 
hood said:
Thanks Bob, James and Randy (y)

There is alot of dust for sure and everything in the workroom has a fine layer of it. Basically it's cut...sand...cut and sand so far. I'm just scratching the surface on the build and to tell the truth most of the time is spent thinking about which move to make next and how it's going to effect the following one. By far the hardest part will be planking the hull and the copper plating below the waterline. Not having alot of experience with wood ship building I'm taking things slow. There is a big learning curve.

Tim
Click to expand...

We used to soak the planking in a warm bathtub. Makes it more pliable and bendable.
James
 
jknaus said:
hood said:
Thanks Bob, James and Randy (y)

There is alot of dust for sure and everything in the workroom has a fine layer of it. Basically it's cut...sand...cut and sand so far. I'm just scratching the surface on the build and to tell the truth most of the time is spent thinking about which move to make next and how it's going to effect the following one. By far the hardest part will be planking the hull and the copper plating below the waterline. Not having alot of experience with wood ship building I'm taking things slow. There is a big learning curve.

Tim
Click to expand...

We used to soak the planking in a warm bathtub. Makes it more pliable and bendable.
James
Click to expand...

That works on older guys like me too James :laugh: :laugh: I will have to do this once the planking starts to curve up under the counter.

tim
 
Hi J.S.,

Not sure what kits you have but these older ones are very crude. There is a re-release of the Dapper Tom with upgraded laser cut parts and more deck hardware but the the hull appears to be the same block from the pics I've seen. Theres alot of great kits out there though and I would like to get my hands on one of those.

The solid hull kit was not designed with planking it in mind so there is extra "fudging" to do. I was hoping to get away with only planking above the waterline. I may use balsa (easier to work with) below as it won't be seen under the copper and all I need is to bring this area to the same thickness of the upper planking.

I have been looking at other modelers attempts at the kit and it's interesting to see the different techniques used to build it. No two seem to be alike. I have also noticed that there is a visual difference in the way the rigging appears from one to another. I'm guessing some have used the kit supplied line which looks ok but seems to bulky compared to some that I'm assuming have used a finer, more in scale line and the difference is dramatic.
I am using a reference book by Ben Lankford. It as tons of detailed drawings of how the ships where built and rigged. You could go insane trying to duplicate all the rigging that went into on of these ships but it makes for very interesting reading. The bowsprit drawings are amazing and am looking forward to the rigging stage of the build.
 
Hey Tim I was thinking about this build and something twigged way back in the cobwebs of my mind. We used to get a self adhesive copper tape for electronics, to make runs etc. So I googled and found the stuff. Here is one place that has it.
http://angela.com/selfadhesivecopperfoilshieldingtape12inchperfoot.aspx

Just in case you are looking.
James
 
Moon pup, I'm learning alot myself just wish it wasn't on someone else's model :laugh: I was dreading starting this project but am starting to feel that magical thing (y) I'm also discovering the craftsmanship and know how it must have took to build and sail these ships. If anything comes from this at least I should be able to visit one preserved and know the names of the parts that make one up... it's a language all it's own :lol:

James I'm always looking (y) Thanks I'll check it out. I have a roll of very thin copper but can't figure out how to get the protective backing off :hmmm it's old and don't peel off anymore.

Tim
 
I've started planking the hull with whats called the sheer strake. Top most plank on the bulwarks. It's critical this plank is perfectly layed as all the other ones follow it's curve. So far so good. In one of the pics of the bow there are pencil hash marks. This is where I noticed the hull in this area did not fair into the cut water, (stem post) smoothly so I'll have to sand more or it will cause problems with the planks here. The stern area is coming out better than I thought and so far haven't needed to soak the planks. I'm cutting them from 1/32 thick basswood. Thick enough to sand but not thick enough to make the hull seem weird.

Tim

plank_1.jpg


plank_2.jpg


plank_3.jpg


plank_5.jpg


plank_4.jpg
 
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