Irish Royal Mail Steamer Connaught build

[Eddy Matthews]

Nicely done image Andy!

Sailing at Balloch at the end of Loch Lomond is a wonderful area, it's generally fairly well sheltered.... Just be prepared for the admiring looks and the inevitable questions!

I've often thought it would make a great spot for a get together....

Eddy

[Stuart Badger]

I just LOVE that photo!

Stuart

[Talisman]

Hi All,
Congratulations Andy! Many days of fun ahead of you!

Nicely done image Andy!

Sailing at Balloch at the end of Loch Lomond is a wonderful area, it's generally fairly well sheltered.... Just be prepared for the admiring looks and the inevitable questions!

I've often thought it would make a great spot for a get together....

Eddy

There is a cracking bay in the narrows. There is a speed restriction so no jet bikers or huge wash to contend with. Also a great site for a picnic.
If you ever did plan a meet and fancied getting out to the islands for a sail I'd be happy to help.

Is Hans planning a tour of Scotland this year??

Regards,
Kim

[marinemole]

Nicely done image Andy!

Sailing at Balloch at the end of Loch Lomond is a wonderful area, it's generally fairly well sheltered.... Just be prepared for the admiring looks and the inevitable questions!

I've often thought it would make a great spot for a get together....

Eddy

There is a cracking bay in the narrows. There is a speed restriction so no jet bikers or huge wash to contend with. Also a great site for a picnic.
If you ever did plan a meet and fancied getting out to the islands for a sail I'd be happy to help.

Regards,
Kim

Guys

The thought of a meet at Lomond Shores is beginning to gestate. Will speak to Lachie to whom I defer in all things model boating. That said  he is a computer illiterate hence all of my pronouncements.

I agree the Southern end is sheltered BUUUUt it can get a bit rough if the wind is up, a not uncommon occurrence in  the West of Scotland. Lachie is a confirmed rough water sailor  and I attach a URL to his HMS Repulse to confirm. Apologies for introducing a grey pointy thing but I must confess to an eclectic, some might say haphazard, taste in model boats.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h56qZhYZkOc

In the meantime I will hopefully be inspired by Stuart's endeavours to get up, off my a*!*e and produce something, be it paddler. grey pointy thing or flying abomination.

Andy

[Stuart Badger]

Hi PDs!

I am now on to the jobs I like best - making the fittings. First up is the davits. Connaught carries 6 boats and the davits are, as was common in the 19th century simple tubular crane type davits secured to the outside of the hull with straps and anchored to the top of the bulwarks with a metal plate/pivot.
The davits required NO machine work (apart from an electric hand mini drill) and are made from easily obtainable materials. The davit itself is a piece of 2.5 mm brazing rod bent to shape, the mounting plate is cut and drilled from thin brass sheet and the swivel collar is simply a short length of brass tube. At the 'business' end a small piece of copper tube forms the attachment for the pully block. This is simply soldered in place, flattened in the vice and filed to profile and drilled for the block attachment. Finally the cleat is just a thin piece of brass wire bent to shape. The whole thing was assembled using a hand held soldering iron - nothing fancy.

After soldering the assembled davit was cleaned up and sprayed satin black. Only another 11 to make! I hope the pictures are self explanatory - if not ASK!

All the best

stuart

[Stuart Badger]

Hi PDs

I have now finished the davits and fitted them in place. The blocks are hung ready for the boats and the two anchor davits are in place. Tomorrow I should be able to rig the anchors, anchor bits and anchor chain and make a start on the ship's boats. And I suppose I should tidy the work bench!

More later!

All the best

Stuart

[Eddy Matthews]

You've certainly been busy Stuart, Once the lifeboats are fitted it will change the look of the ship entirely!

I was wondering about the number of lifeboats on Connaught, and at what point did the floatation seating that was common on so many of the later paddlers, come into use?

Regards
Eddy

[Stuart Badger]

That's an interesting question Eddy - I don't know!
Certainly Conaught's boats would only have provided accomodation for about a quarter or less of those aboard, and she carried NO flotation devices at all - not even lifebelts.
One point with Paddlers (or excursion steamers) is that the passanger loads were enormously in excess of other passanger carrying ships in terms of number of people compared to the size of the vessel. I doubt that the average excursion steamer physically had ROOM  for enough boats. When the board of trade regs came in in 1913 stating that there should be flotation devices for EVERY passanger I guess the floating seats were the only way to go - lifejackets for passangers weren't introduced till much later I believe - perhaps Alistair D could help with an answer?.

all the best

Stuart

[Stuart Badger]

Hi PDs!

As some of you will be aware Mick (Mjt60) very kindly photographed the bow of the Laird model of Connaught in the Science museum. This was an absolute boon as it was one of the areas I was having to guess at. The photo revealed that the Anchor bitts have decorative Lions heads on the end - so here is how I reproduced them.
I first carved the heads in relief onto a piece of 3/16 pear wood having first roughly penciled the design on the face of the wood. Once I was happy with the result and had two the same! - I glued these in place onto the end of the anchor bitts. I then gave them two coats of varnish to seal the wood. Next I applied a thin layer of gum arabic and let it dry till it was JUST tacky. I then gilded the heads using imitation gold leaf (the real stuff is not expensive but is VERY difficult to work with) and finally gave the heads a coat of varnish and the Bitts a coat of matt black paint (the paintis still wet in the photo!). I shall mount them on the bow as soon as the paint's dry! then I can hang the anchors and finish the bow section hardware - which just leaves the bow decoration to do.
All the best

Stuart

[marinemole]

Stuart
That must be a good pair of spectacles lying on the bench!

I thought that I was doing well trying to make 25mm guns in 1:100 scale for my Japanese grey pointy thing project but this is miniaturisation run riot. Very nice job.

Regards

Andy

[Talisman]

I don't know what to say... I would have been happy with the faces carved and a thin coat of gold paint ....
Roll on September ....
Cheers,
Kim

[Stuart Badger]

Hi PDs!

and thanks for the comments! I managed to get the bow of Connaught rigged this afternoon and fitted the Cat Heads and anchors.

All the best

Stuart

[Eddy Matthews]

Hi PDs!

and thanks for the comments! I managed to get the bow of Connaught rigged this afternoon and fitted the Cat Heads and anchors.

All the best

Stuart

And not a granny knot in sight! Doesn't it make you sick! 

Regards
Eddy

[Stuart Badger]

Hi PDs!

Today I spent most of the morning working out how to add the bow detail and filigree work to Connaught. I had a few abortive attempts but finally settled for a combination of gilded wood and brass. I printed the design onto thin card and built the detail on the card over the printed image fixing the wood and brass with superglue.
Once this was all in place I sprayed the whole thing black, rubbed back the paint to expose the design and then gilded it. I then cut the design free of the paper and glued it in place. I made the nameplate using brass shim and etched letters from Scalelink. I like the way that gilding gives a 'worn' effect. It looks a little ragged under the glare of photography but seems fine to me using the mark 1 eyeball! hope you like it.

More later

All the best

stuart

[Eddy Matthews]

Absolutely superb Stuart! I really don't know how you manage to do such fine detail so well.... I would lose the will to live if I tried, and to be honest I think I'd probably just use a bit of poetic license and forget that the scrollwork was on the ship!

Brilliant....

Eddy