MV Stability (1949) – F T Everard & Sons

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Hi All,

Mid July and another great is damp building weekend ! constant weather warnings of it's going to be too wet or Hot

Something of a race going on between Stability & a Piper Cherokee in the latest update of progress, deck progressing towards the stern, hull glass clothed, I think the aeroplane may win as it has less decking fittings

Regards Ray

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Hi All,

All the decks in place and hatch opening upstands, the poop deck has some planks drawn on and stained light oak, now the superstructure commences

Have a good weekend .

Regards Ray

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Hi All,

Progress is plodding along with the superstructure & hatch covers, I really like the walkways along the sides of the fore hatch Only the bridge/wheel house to go now and we will be into the fiddly bits !!

Regards Ray

[Eddie LancasterParticipant @eddielancaster]

Hi. Ray,That is looking good, is that 25 percent of the build done with 75 percent to go into the finishing details?

I am having a break from boat building at the moment, I am building an e glider????

Eddie.

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Hi Eddie,

Good to hear from you, I thought you were away somewhere exotic ?? yes maybe 60% complete, variety is the spice of life are you a flyer ?? took me 18 months to become competent and not crash too often

Just bought an Airfix kit for a Triumph Herald only tiny 1/32nd scale but one of the first cars I drove.

Regards Ray

[Eddie LancasterParticipant @eddielancaster]

Hi. Ray, I don’t do exotic these days, Costa Del Wollaston is enough for me now.

I haven’t flown a model for more than sixty years now, when I had to make my own radio gear, using a rubber drive escapement, or free flight towline gliders and small, 30” wingspan rubber powered, I did get up to a 48” span control line Spitfire and a SE 2 biplane, I then got into boats and then steam, so I am regressing, I am back to my late teens at the moment.

I am just off to Northampton now to pick up a small, less than 250 grams, e flight Cub to practice with before I have to go through the rigmarole of CAA registration to fly the glider,

Regards.

Eddie.

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Hi Eddie,

That's a good idea anybody can fly away from themselves, but it's the coming back catch's most people out

I had single channel radio and an Elmic conquest rubber powered escapement in a Veron Deacon when I was 14 Happy Days.

I'm a BMFA member for the insurance and with the A cert they do the CAA for you as part of the membership fee for an extra £9.00. (the whole things a bit of a con really, but it's easier to follow the rules in my view)

Good luck with the Cub

Regards Ray

 

Edited By Ray Wood 2 on 17/08/2021 11:08:40

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Hi All,

Well it must be a Bank Holiday ! as we haven't seen the sun all day Stability is progressing with some basic painting before the detailed fittings are required, she maybe my last build for a while as I have a couple of boats to rig, then back to steam engine building in the autumn

Regards Ray

[Eddie LancasterParticipant @eddielancaster]

Hi. Ray, the loco looks good, building steam engines takes much more time to build than boats or planes.
I’m getting on well with the Cub, but then it does have gyro stabilisation, my first glider, a two meter electric powered Red Eagle is ready for it’s first test flight, maybe today if the wind isn’t too strong.

Sailing has helped with orientation, it’s just the up and down that I have to get used to!

Regards.

Eddie.

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Hi Eddie,

Your right about the extra time engineering takes , but I spend more time figuring how I'm going to do something

With all the rules & regs these days I'm happy running in the garden.

Glad your flying is going well we all need a change and variety, be glad when the grass stops growing !! not been good year for the tomatoes either.

Regards Ray

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Hi All,

Progress on Stability has been slow in the paint shop but we are getting there now, plenty of advice from members of the Facebook group for F T Everard & Sons from folk who had the pleasure? of working aboard the fleet over the years The colours are not as bright as the photo appears !!

Regards Ray

[Richard SimpsonParticipant @richardsimpson88330]

Very smart Ray, the white accommodation looks good with the orange deck and coamings.

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Hi Richard

It's actually all red oxide, but the flash makes it look orange

Your steam launch is looking great ! but the crew don't look too happy !!

Regards Ray

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Hi All,

Well after a couple of month's break building aeroplanes, I'm back on with ship building the details of Stability's bridge, with the stanchions on the roof and binnacle, nav lights and portlights, which ended up being applied with a piece of 1/8" dowel dipped in gloss paint

OMG a BR Diesel passing !!

Regards

[Bob WilsonParticipant @bobwilson59101]

Looking very smart now the portholes are in!

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Hi Bob,

Technical question, should there be a second ships wheel up on the roof of the bridge with the binnacle ? or is it better up there for the compass ?

I thought you would be bound to know, Its not on JP's drawing.

Kind Regards Ray

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

It would just be the compass up on the Monkey Island Ray.

Colin

[Richard SimpsonParticipant @richardsimpson88330]

I'm sure Bob knows more than me Ray but I always believed that the compass on the Monkey Island had to be a magnetic compass completely independent of any of the vessel's power supplies and the disc was viewable via a periscope at the steering position.

This may well have changed now but, as Solas is such a difficult document to navigate I'm not going to try!

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Thanks Chaps,

Well that's a new term for my memory bank I'm sure it would be a small primate island in these PC days !!

I wouldn't want to upset any Monkey's 

Regards Ray

Edited By Ray Wood 2 on 15/12/2021 12:41:58

[Richard SimpsonParticipant @richardsimpson88330]

The top of the bridge has always been the Monkey Island for me. On my first trip to sea the captain's wife used to sunbathe on the monkey island. It was assumed that she thought she was completely secluded there and beyond any prying eyes. It was also assumed that what she didn't realise, of course, was that the engineers could go out on the top of the funnel and peer over the forward edge, which looked down on the Monkey Island.

Despite my tender years and levels of innocence I often wondered if she did actually know!

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Hi Richard,

Being a Site Engineer in London's West End during the 1970's we had some similar experience's from high rise buildings looking down on the surrounding townscape Nuff Said

Regards Ray

[Bob WilsonParticipant @bobwilson59101]

On the Frederick T Everard, all that was on the Monkey Island was the magnetic compass and the direction finder loop. Even in the wheelhouse, we did not stretch to a gyro compass, but had another magnetic compass used for hand steering. Neither did we have radar. The Monkey Island compass was used for taking bearings, as our bridge wings were too small to have their own. So if the officer of the watch wanted a bearing, he had to go up a vertical ladder, take the bearings and remember them, and keep the time in seconds until he got back into the chart room to write them down.

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Hi All,

What great building weather !! Grey sky & drizzle

Must get Stability finished now as a new Thames Sailing Barge project has arrived via Jeff at New Maldon, my Veronica was built by Peter Simmonds so it's time for an own build

I'm hoping the masts are actually vertical and it's an optical illusion in the photo !!

Regards Ray

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Hi All,

Just a quick update on Stability, many thanks to Bob Wilson for his tutorial on wire rigging, I learned so many things to make standing rigging and lines easier, Thanks Bob

Well only simple stuff so far but thin gauge copper wire used for the mast stays and derricks, I try for a good standoff scale appearance, say 10 feet !!

Sorry about the poor picture quality I need a new camera !!

The link would be on Bob's Facebook site, it's well worth a look

Regards Ray

[Bob WilsonParticipant @bobwilson59101]

Looks like you have got the hang of wire rigging OK – Looking good – Bob

[Author]

Posts