Irish Royal Mail Steamer Connaught build

[Eddy Matthews]

Of course the good news is that with all the hull lines and the side view etc, we could ALL build a model of the Connaught

Just scale them up to whatever size you want on the computer and away you go....

I have a feeling that may just pee Stuart off a little though, as he wouldn't have a unique model anymore

Eddy

[Stuart Badger]

there you go you see. You try and share things and what happens - ah well.(walks off muttering).

Stuart

[Eddy Matthews]

there you go you see. You try and share things and what happens - ah well.(walks off muttering).

Stuart

You've known me long enough now Stuart to realise that I have a slightly tongue in cheek (some would say sarcastic!) sense of humour!

Anyway, lets get down to the important stuff...... My curry has arrived, and once I've eaten that it's time for bed!

Eddy

[derekwarner_decoy]

Hi PD's...& Stuart says.......I've seen that sort of Alpha/numeric annotation of frames before always pre 1870ish

In modern engineering layout terms we sometimes eliminate errors by not using O for orange...or was it meant to be  a numeral representing ZERO  ....same applies to I for indigo...or  ...was that a numeral for one

It is not that the Connaught is so slender....maybe just the length to beam ratio?  ....Derek

[Talisman]

 
Stuart you can relax, there wont be a Connaught coming off my bench any time soon ....
Have you seen how difficult the wheels look to make....

Joking apart she will be a cracking looking model and would be superb if there was a way of getting her over for the Paddler Day.

A thought i had was ...

When i was into canoeing we used to use 'J' bars on a roof rack to carry the hulls, maybe the hull could go on the 'Han's Van' roof?

http://www.jackson-sports.com/Models.aspx?PartnerID=23&ModelID=6609

Keep up the good work!
Kim

[Stuart Badger]

Hi PDs
Today I managed to build the keel and make a start on the bulkheads having decided on my construction method.
Where the bulkheads or frames are full depth a simple shallow keel with cross halving joints is more than sufficient. It’s at the bow and stern that a little thought needs to be put in!

Most ships of Connaught’s vintage have a lot of ‘Dead Wood’ at the stern. Dead Wood is the area of the hull where the stern counter rises almost to the level of the deck – if you like the ‘overhang’ that you see on older ships. This means that the bulkheads are very slim or non-existent in these areas so the keel must be deepened here. I have put a series of steps in the keel, gradually increasing its depth towards the stern. The same applies at the bow where the hull is very slim and narrows dramatically towards the water line.

I made a bow and a stern section and joined them to the main keel using two reinforcing plates and polyurethane adhesive, I also slotted the keel for the bulkheads - 9mm ply at the centre section and all the others at 6mm.

I have decided to make the keel a ‘T’ section. This will provide a very low floor in the model, locate the bulkheads widthwise and make the hull structure really rigid in preparation for the planking.

To cut the bulkheads (more correctly frames as they are not solid) I first decided on the waterway material – 6mm ply (the thinnest I can get on the island!) I took each of the section drawings in turn and first trimmed it to deck height. Then using a piece of the waterway material I positioned it across the top of the section drawing, lined my rule up against it and cut the drawing down to the correct height. I then used spray adhesive to lay the drawing onto the plywood for the bulkheads, carefully lining up the edge I had just cut with the edge of the ply. If you can avoid measurement at any stage it is always a good idea, transferring measurements is where inaccuracies creep in. This is why I used the ACTUAL material to cut down the drawing rather than measuring.

I then cut out the outer profile of the frame on the bandsaw . The next step was to use a pair of compasses to mark the width of the frame. Using one of the existing lines on the section drawing I marked off the floor cutout and finally the slot to locate the frame on the keel. I will leave the drawings stuck to the ply as they will provide a datum for planking, lining up the hull before gluing and will give me height references for various other components that I can simply read off of the drawings.

I have positioned the frames I have made so far to give an idea of the shape. None of the frames will be glued in place until the hardback is jigged to ensure that every frame is square to the keel, level and vertical – I’ll explain how I do this later. Some of the frames will need to have small sections removed for components that need to be added at the next stage.
I have another 25 frames to make so back to the workshop!

I'd love to take her to the next paddler day (if she's finished) - We'll have to see what I can do - it's a 5 day minimum drive!.

All the best

Stuart

[Tug--Kenny]

Hi Stuart,

This could not have come at a better time.
 
I have always wanted to make a plank on frame model, and was planning my next build to be this method. If it failed miserably, then I could resort to turning it in to a mould for fibre glassing.

You have here one 'avid' watcher (and I'm sure, many others) to your latest project. I do admire your approach to detail and hope to use your methods for my own model. I promise not to bombard you with questions, but sit back and soak it all in.

ps.  how do manage to photograph both of your hands ?     (last of the silly questions)

ken

[Stuart Badger]

The reason I manage to photograph both hands is Ken - OK I'll come clean and explain why I tend to build fairly quickly - I actually have three hands!

To be honest my wife Ros loves the models and does all the photography that leaves me with my hands full!

All the best

Stuart

[steamboatmodel]

The reason I manage to photograph both hands is Ken - OK I'll come clean and explain why I tend to build fairly quickly - I actually have three hands!
To be honest my wife Ros loves the models and does all the photography that leaves me with my hands full!
All the best
Stuart

Now the real secret is out, your wife Ros is your supervisor and prevents you from making all the dumb mistakes the rest of us do. You are one lucky fellow.
Regards,
Gerald.

[Stuart Badger]

Hi PDs
Now it's funny you should say that Gerald! I spent an hour or so undoing a dumb mistake! Derek Warner had commented at how unusual it was to use Alpha/Numeric numbering for the sections - it isn't normally done because of the possible confusion between i and one, Zero and o etc. I spent a long time today looking for bulkhead 'J' which I had faithfully included on my keel. Well there isn't one! It would seem that Victorian engineers got really confused with the letter J! So I spent a happy time shortening the keel by one bulkhed spacing (still at least I spotted it before I planked it!)

Anyway - I spent most of today cutting out bulkheads and will complete the task tomorrow. I've temporarily fitted the frames I have made and also slotted in the floor to check for fit. I have also made the frame alignment jig and I will explain how to use this in a later post (I'm sure most of you can guess!). At the end of the photos is a set of lines - if you copy this to your computer this will give you the important bit if you need to make your own jig and save you drawing it yourself - just enlarge it to A4.
All the best

Stuart

[derekwarner_decoy]

Hi PD's.......I think all of the 'lofters' were out on the town    the evening after they created the Connaught frame number I for Indigo.........

Then one of the senior lofters may have been lucky enough to meet up with the pretty barmaid called 'Juliet'....needless to say he did not want any any knowledge of this to get back to his wife so next day back @ work....all thoughts of J were TABOO & so they proceded on with the full size pattern of frame K for kilo
I too now see that Juliet is missing........... ................Derek

[Stuart Badger]

Hi PDs!

The hull for RMS Connaught is now framed. I love this stage of the build when all those 2 dimensional shapes come together and it starts looking just a bit like a ship.

Here’s how I framed the hull. The first thing was to clamp the keel onto the hardback to make sure it was absolutely vertical. I made up 4 MDF right angled braces and screwed them to the hardback with their vertical faces tight against the bow and stern sections of the keel. This ensures that the keel can’t ‘rock’ in the hardback.

When building a plank on frame hull the frames MUST be vertical to the keel, the face must be at 90 degrees to the keel and they must all be level to the hardback and each other. You simply CAN NOT do this by eye! The jig to achieve these 3 requirements is very simple. It is just a piece of MDF that is perfectly rectangular. In the middle is a vertical slot that fits snugly – but not tightly over the portion of the keel that projects up from the hardback. Either side of the keel slot are two more slots which have two ‘feet’ glued into them – they fit exactly against the side of the hardback and stop the jig twisting relative to the keel. The feet are arranged so that they project away from the working face of the jig so that the front face of the jig is flush. Onto the front face I mounted a piece of thick Plasticard which had the drawing of the lines I posted last time attached to it. This drawing has a couple of Vs cut out of it so that the lines can be aligned exactly with the top edge of the jig.
By placing this jig over the hardback at the slot to position a frame you can glue the frame in place using the lines to ensure that the frame is horizontal. With the jig in the correct position the frame sits flush against it and is automatically vertical and at 90 degrees to the keel.
I cut my slots so that the frames are a loose fit in the keel – I can then use small strips of wood in the slots to adjust the final position of each frame – I also use polyurethane adhesive which has a long cure time for adjustment and expands to fill any small voids – but is rock solid and waterproof
when set.
When you are satisfied with one frame you simply slide the jig down the hardback to the next position.

The bow and stern frames can be lined up by eye and with an engineer’s square as they have deep cross halving joints accurately cut – on most hulls without so much dead wood you could use the jig for ALL the frames.

After all the frames were glued in place I mounted the floor for added rigidity and having rebated the centre four frames mounted a brace either side at the  position where the paddle wheels will be.

Before I can plank the hull I will need to fit the waterway and fair all of the bulkheads so that the planking fits flush to the frames.

If anything’s not clear – please ask!

All the best

Stuart

[djcf]

Hi Stuart,
I can tell that this hull has lovely lines, as you say its nice when it becomes 3D.
 I like the jig for keeping the framing true.
 Are you having a solid block at the bows, forward of "Q" ?

[Stuart Badger]

Thanks Clark!

Yes - I will be using my last piece of precious balsa block for the extreme bow and stern.

All the best

Stuart

[Eddy Matthews]

On every planked hull I've ever done, I've extended the frames so their tops form a parallel line with the keel, and then mounted them to a building board so the hull is built upside-down - ie. Keel uppermost. Otherwise it's impossible to get at the bottom of the hull to plank it.

The deckline is marked on each frame, and I start planking there and gradually work my way towards the keel,  cutting and shaping the planks to fit as I go...

Once the hull is complete and removed from the building board, it's a simple matter to trim the excess height off the frames with a razor saw.

Is there a reason the you appear[/b] to be building the hull the correct way up Stuart? Or am I jumping the gun a little?

Regards
Eddy