Yet another Waverley build - LNER 1947

[Mercury]

Not that we need another one but I thought I'd have a go at documenting my Waverley build. Don't expect it to be quick - I typically take about 3 years to build a boat. This will be my second Paddler, I previously built a 1:48 scale LMS Mercury about 15 years ago. In between times I've built a variety of models including the Sirmar hunt type 2 destroyer, a Talacre and the Maid of Argyll and Arran from the Clyde.

My Waverley will be 1:48 scale based upon a fibreglass hull. The hull is scale draft and was moulded for me by Aberdeen Glass Fibre from a mould I got through the Model Steamer Club. Unfortunately this isn't available comercially (sorry guys!). Cost was £45 so I'd recommend them to anyone living in the North East of Scotland. Plans are from Waverley Excursions with a lot of checks against photo's from 1947. There are considerable changes between then and now with regards to the wheelhouse, vents, hull windows, lifeboats the list goes on and on. Checking this has proved to me how much you need to pick a particular era for modelling a ship as even if they haven't been rebuilt the number of day to day changes are considerable.

So the starting point is the hull - photo attached below. I've also attached some pictures of the Waverley hull with the Jeanie Deans hull alongside. Both are accurate at 1:48 so it shows well the differences in lines between the two. The Jeanie is a much finer vessel - on weight testing trials the Waverley is quite stable but the Jeanie is comparably more tender. The reason for the 1947 era is so that eventually I can have both ships sailing together in LNER colours. That's the plan at the moment anyway but I may convince myself to do Jeanie in 1935 condition. I'd better admit that I'm a grade A spotter at the start so appologies to anyone who is struggling to work out what I'm talking about when I talk about companies, colour schemes and specific ships.

[Tug--Kenny]

Hi Mercury

We shall look forward to following your build with interest. Please post regularly, with plenty of pictures, as this is very popular ship.

I notice your hull has the windows marked out ready. What a blessing.  It looks a fine manufacture of a hull, so you've got a good starting point.  If you want any details of certain areas, I have a few pictures I could send, as it was reported the Waverley is the most photographed ship in the world and I must have a few hundred of em!

All the best

Ken

[djcf]

Hi Mercury,
looks like a couple of fine hulls you have there, both of the models completed & sailing together would be some sight   
Looking forward to hearing your progress

regards
Clark

[Eddy Matthews]

We're always happy to see more builds Richard, even if they are paddlers that have been done before. The fact is that we can all learn from others, so every one helps!

I only wish that more people would post detailed build logs for us all to follow...

Regards
Eddy

[sandystrone]

I found from both my WAVERLEY and JEANIE DEANS models, that the JEANIE was the more stable of the two, but there again I built them at 5/16" to the foot.          Sandy

[Mercury]

Thanks for the kind comments guys. I only hope this build doesn't become one of my rather extended ones! My Arran ended up taking five years but in my defence I did spend three of them in an ex-soviet republic!

I've had a day of glass fibre dust and have managed to get all the windows down one side cut out. I've used my usual method - 2mm drill bit in a small black and decker tool - bit like a big dremmel - then burr file in the drill to smooth the edges and final finishing with a small flat file. About 3 hrs to cut out 20 odd windows. I'm sure someone must have a quicker way to do this? Definitely a job for the summer outside. I hope to get all the hull cutting and glass fibre work done by the end of September as it'll be dark by 7pm in deepest darkest Aberdeenshire by then and building will have to move inside for the winter.

Interesting comment from Sandy on the relative tenderness of the Jeanie and the Waverley. The original Jeanie built from the mould I have was quite tender and eventually was fitted with a false keel. I know of a couple of scale draft Waverley at 48th scale which seem to work reasonably well. I'll have to work to the paddler mantra - keep the topsides weight down!

Anyway - enough for today - the dog is due his regular weekly trip to the pub - sorry evening walk!!

I'll post some more progress pictures tomorrow.

[Mercury]

Posting some pictures of the window cut outs and markings for the holes at the paddle sponson and the portholes. The openings on the sponsons have changed quite a bit over time and this is really my best guess from photo's.

I'm drilling and filing out all portholes. The ones at the bow are fairly easy to mark out although the last one of the top five at the bow is larger and offset. I am struggling a bit with the exact run of the windows under the stern knuckle. Does anyone have a picture of these lower deck windows - being in the lower deck bar is a bit like being in a washing machines as these ports are underwater as soon as the paddles start up. On the Jeanie after her rebuild the hull was so much deeper in the water some of the equivalent ports were almost permanently underwater!

The red hull above the Waverley in the attached pictures is a 1:48 Isle of Man Standard. Rather large and probably won't get built until I retire..........

[Ian McGhie]

Hi Richard,

Good luck with the build, will be watching the build with interest.

All the best
Ian

[djcf]

Hi Mercury
Hull coming to life with the windows & ports cut out      Regarding the lower ports, aft under the knuckle...Looking at your pics, the knuckle line on the hull looks like it gets lower slightly as it goes forward towards the sponsons (maybe its a photographic illusion)...it should be near enough level with the bottom of the windows & the top edge of hull...maybe thats throwing your measurements off?
On my Wav. I put the ports nearest the sponson an equal distance between the knuckle & the white painted waterline (see photo of Wav getting steelwork done), then, as I worked my way aft, and the flare of the hull becomes more extreme, I kept to that process, (1/2 way between knuckle & line). its awkward because of hull shape, I had a few goes marking out, before I was happy with them.
Also hard to get photos of this area   
regards
Clark

[Mercury]

Thanks Clark - that's exactly the info I needed.

Off to do some marking out.......

[djcf]

Regarding your other hull (sorry this is a bit off subject as its a wav build  )

I've always fancied the "Jeanie" in this condition...a racer!!!

[Mercury]

Clark,

I just remember those pictures in the underpass of the Greenock shopping centre car park. I lived in Inverkip until I was five and those pictures must have been my first introduction to Clyde Steamers in the late 70's, early 80's as a toddler.

Yes - the thought of building Jeanie in this condition is very tempting - I have a colour shot from Phil Thomas of the Jeanie in 1932-35 condition - will dig it out and scan it for posting.

However - need to finish Waverley first. I think I've managed to sort the run of the aft windows and I've drilled all the portholes - 1.5 mm, followed by 2mm, 2.5mm and finally 3mm drill bits. Above this size I find the gel coat cracks so I use a needle file followed by a round file to open out the holes. Completing all of the portholes will take me the rest of the week I suspect.

[Mercury]

I've managed to get one side of the windows and portholes finished this week - pictures below. I've also attached a photo showing the tools I use for cutting - drill, attachments, files and face mask. The mask is a 3M which I got a few years ago while working offshore and was used for protection against Benzene so should be fine for fibreglass dust. I've also got a powerful extractor fan in the workshop to keep the particles down and stop the smell perculating the rest of the house - garunteed to annoy my wife if I don't put it on.

The run of the aft portholes looks to be OK but I'm not sure on the large porthole at the end of the run at the bow.

For windows what have other people tried? the hull is about 3mm think so I don't fancy just putting acetate behind. On my Mercury I painted the hull and then put tape over the openings and poured clear casting resing in the holes. I then took the tape off and, as the resin remainded sticky for a few weeks, I was able to put 0.5mm plastic strip into the resin to frame out the windows. Does anyone else have better ideas?

[Talisman]

Hi,
I made a plug of my windows using plasticard and then moulded them in rvt silicon then cast them in clearcast.
The result was acceptable and much easier to produce in the quantities your looking for. Unfortunately i have no photos and the photos i posted on Ken's Waverley build have vanished but I'm sure you get the idea.
Looking good and lookforward to seeing her take shape
Regards
Kim

[mjt60a]

...Looking good and lookforward to seeing her take shape...

Yes, me too, it'll be interesting to see how the same ship is built my another modeller and compare the methods used to achieve similar results...