Colin Archer 1:15 scale

[Richard SimpsonParticipant @richardsimpson88330]

Windlass looks very neat and tidy. A little dry brushing would break up the solid black look if you are concerned about it but then that would be the only item with any form of weathering so maybe you would rather leave it.

Just a question, did the CA have plain link chain rather than studded? Studded is more normal when used with a windlass and I wondered if that was just kit supplied chain.

[geconParticipant @gecon]

Hi Richard, as you have noticed earlier, I don't have the skills or patience for realistic weathering. However the cog wheels are in fact matt black and have received a tiny bit 'wear marking' on the cogs in the form of titanium for bare metal and even a smidgeon of satin brown -'rust'. The chain I'm afraid is going to stay brass for the time being -apologies to all you proper scale modellers.

The chain on the full size CA in Oslo looks like plain link, from the few photos I can find.

George

 

 

Edited By gecon on 29/05/2022 15:57:18

[Richard SimpsonParticipant @richardsimpson88330]

Hi George, it was just a thought. Your winch looks spot on and the little bit of dry brushing you have done around the gear teeth is all that it needs to bring it to life a little.

Interestingly it looks like the warping ends could be wooden on the real one, I don't remember seeing that before.

[geconParticipant @gecon]

On another matter, the unthinkable has happened. The admiralty bought me a large kit in the form of an enormous amount of white-stained oak planking. 76 sq metres of oak flooring. . Luckily the bedrooms have carpet and the bathhrooms have tiles….so it could have been even worse!

We already have oak flooring, but it now looks like it came from the original Colin Archer.

So up with the old deck planks, and down with the new. Starting on Monday. This will take a while, so won't be much to report in during the next month.

George

[geconParticipant @gecon]

Oh yes… gear teeth, that's what I meant when I called them "cog wheels". I suppose the gear teeth are on the cog wheels? This forum will surely improve my rehab' of my native lingo.

Re' warping drums….They probably ran out of cast iron and wipped up a couple from the nearest tree! Lots of wood here in those days. I believe that Colin Archer's family were in the lumber trade when they emigrated from Scotland to Norway.

I'll be logging off for about a week to win some brownie points on the floor-replacing lark.

Cheers, George

[Chris FellowsParticipant @chrisfellows72943]

Your hopes of the rising cost of flooring putting paid to that project have been dashed then George.

Many brownie points will hopefully be earned though.

Chris

[Richard SimpsonParticipant @richardsimpson88330]

Look at it this way, it will get the boss used to the smell of varnish so you can carry on with the CA upstairs again!

[geconParticipant @gecon]

Admiralty is very pleased with the new light oak 'deck' in the flat. Yesterday saw the finishing touches to the skirting boards etc. There's still a bit of sawdust raining down, but this can easily be located on all the black-topped surfaces we have in the sittingroom!

In true workman-like fashion I will restart the yacht-building by taking a day off!

Have a good week end

[Chris FellowsParticipant @chrisfellows72943]

Good to hear George.

I've also been earning brownie points as my wife has been away for a few days with her sisters enjoying the sunshine, walking and various alcoholic beverages whilst I've been jet-washing the drive in the beating sun which my wife has been nagging me about asking me to do for sometime. That will give me some time to play with my big boys toys until the dreaded DIY is mentioned again!

Chris

[geconParticipant @gecon]

Well done Chris, a clean driveway always impresses!

Starting up again at the 'boatyard'. Hatches have been temporarily battened down. They will be lifted off again and the edges will be smeared with zipper wax to aid a good seal. the screws and washers will be sanded a bit and painted Humbrol brass.

The underside of the steering well has been fitted/sealed to the deck opening using silicone sealer and the RW2 clingfilm method. I want the well to be removeable just in case I have to do major surgery on the aft mounted servos or prop-shaft.

The dinghy can rest on deck but it is slightly larger (about 2.5cm) than the correct scale. I opted for this to give a decent chance to tow the dighy as the full size.

George.

[geconParticipant @gecon]

There's a lot of small detail to be done now and I'm a bit hesitant about the correct order. Still got dozens of blocks to make.

I have had a go at staining synthetic sheets for the mainsail and foresail. Have tested all sorts of stain but have heard that this 'panel line accent colour' does not stiffen the cord so much. I want the sheets to remain plyable so they wind nicely around the winch drums.

The flathead screws and washers have been painted in 'poisonous' Humbrol brass. It is hoped thet they will resemble brass deck fittings when viewed from a suitable distance….stand-off scale? These will secure the hatches which should not have to be removed often. Caldercraft 'hatch latches' will be used to hold down the large main hatch which needs to be removed to switch the R/C on/off.

George

[geconParticipant @gecon]

There's been lots going on recently but not much to warrant a photo. I've none-the-less managed to find an excuse to post something!

Decks are cluttered with partly prepared spars. Cleats, sheaves and brass pins all over the place.

The pinrail (for now without the 'pins' in place) and flue for the main cabin stove have been added. The mast foot has been lagged with plumber's silicone tape.

The straight stock on the anchor has been lagged with brown stained cord and the chain has been shackled to the head.

The anchor support on the stbd bow is not often seen on model Colin Archers. It is however a prominent feature on the full size version.

Perhaps the learned members can inform me why only the straight part of the stock is often seen lagged with rope – and not both ends of the stock?

George

 

 

Edited By gecon on 29/06/2022 19:34:52

[Richard SimpsonParticipant @richardsimpson88330]

My question as well George! I've never seen such a thing before.

[geconParticipant @gecon]

Oh dear, I was hoping the answer was going to come from precisely your good self.

George

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Hi George,

The rope on a fisherman's anchor really only provides a collar to stop the stock going through, the stock only needs to slide one way to be stowed flat on the deck

Regards Ray

[geconParticipant @gecon]

Hi Ray,

Many thanks….a bit strange though, that some form of mechanical stop was not used. I suppose that a pin or similar would soon corrode in place and permanently lock-the-stock!

George

[geconParticipant @gecon]

25*C today. Visited my daughter's yacht testing facility. As expected, my work with interior detail has added a bit of displacement. I marked and painted on the waterline a bit higher up than standard…..as far as I can remember. At that time I had not planned for a semi-scale interior. I expect that weighs about 1kg. It won't sink much more when the spars and sails are added but perhaps an added red boot top would be a good idea?

I motored around the pool for about 15 minutes. On inspection, a tiny amount of water had maged to work it's way up the stern tube. And I mean a tiny drop, about what you would get from an eye-drop pippette. I'm not sure if I can get the shaft out again to re-grease it, and I have not fitted a stern tube greaser as on the Fisher and Comtesse. Stupid lad. I may just have to have a syringe and rubber tube and check the stern-tube bilge via the engine room.

George

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Hi George,

That looks a lovely job It wouldn't be a proper boat if it didn't leak a bit !!

So now you have done the easy part lets see her rigged

All the best

Ray

[geconParticipant @gecon]

Working on it Ray,

The fine weather here at the moment hinders boatbuilding in my closet 'boatyard'. Work on spars will begin after my application to use the kitchen table has been granted by the Admiralty.

George

[neil hpParticipant @neilhp]

Posted by gecon on 29/06/2022 19:34:02:

Oh dear, I was hoping the answer was going to come from precisely your good self.

George

they were never rope lashed on lifeboats ans even up to 19 years ago when the new shannon lifeboat dispensed with the "fishermans" type anchor they wee ublashes byt sowed on brackets on the outside of the stanchion rails they were stowed colapst abd tied, like in my 12th scale anchor about to go onto mt lifeboat.

[geconParticipant @gecon]

Thanks for that Neil, very nice anchor you have there! Looks much better that my plastic affair. I note that yours has a mechanical stop on the stock.

I understand from my Colin Archer RS1 historical reference book, that the anchor was stowed, lashed over the deck-edge, ready for immediate deployment. ie, NOT collapsed.

Looked a bit exposed to me, but I suppose they must have lashed it on the foredeck sometimes -in really heavy weather. These rescue vessels often operated close to the rocky western coastline and the anchor was often a life-saver in strong westerly winds.

George

[Richard SimpsonParticipant @richardsimpson88330]

She looks absolutely superb on the water George.

Just one to make you smile, I built a model, started over 20 years ago and did carefull ballast trials to get her bang on the marks. I then spent 20 years adding detail and large amounts of weight without realising until the point where I had almost finished and decided to do another test. She sat so low and the initial ballast was so well secured and unmovable that it is now in a glass case never to see water again!

[geconParticipant @gecon]

Hmmm…food for thought there Richard. I deffinately don't want a 'glass-case-job'

I expect there'll be about 2Kg more to add. ie. Spars, sails, cleats, fairleads, rigging and lots of blocks with brass sheaves.

I reckon that adding 1cm to the anti-fouling line will make it look OK. I may just cheat a bit and add a bright red boot top. Don't really want all the hassel of spraying the whole underwater hull agian. I don't think I can accept the white of the hull just dissappearing below the water-line, so I will have to do something.

George

[geconParticipant @gecon]

To my surprise, it was possible (but only just) to remove the prop and withdraw the propshaft. Blew some canned air up the stern tube to clear it out and then and regreased it. This time i used a syringe and squeezed until grease came out into the bilge. Photo of bilge shows that it is build to scale…looks very 'bilgey'. The compas is not in the bilge! its built into the aft bulkhead of the aft cabin

Fitted both 'horses' as well as the tiller. Tiller is a bit higher than it should be but I did not notice this until I uploaded the photos! Too late to fix without making a dogs dinner of it.

Did not manage to post the photos in the right order

George

[geconParticipant @gecon]

Bowsprit and associated fittings attached. The 'pinrail' has been assembled too. Also stanchion support brackets, goosenecks, main and mizzen boom, rowlocks and a few on-deck eyebolts.

George

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