Todays Boating

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Why do you think I am building the Sans Pareil !!!!!! The Victoria seems to be in pretty good condition still.

​The glue is still drying and I am trying to resist temptation and fiddle with it. It is in the sun outside, the garden having suddenly warmed up, and there is a ply patch being held down with weights underneath (covering that oval cutout.

​The shape is not bad and will improve after a bit on sanding. Trouble with the thin ply is…you cant sand it or it simply rubs through. A bit of a bulge at the bow, (we are talking a couple of mm) but underwater.

​Ashley

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Glue dry. First faux-pas realised: The rear cut up is not deep enough for a horizontal prop tube. I have cut another bit of 1/2 balsa and stuck it in at the rear, when it is dry I will cut the existing bit off and this will give me the rudder/prop clearance I need.

​Sticking bits of strip balsa on top of the forward section of the main deck to glue the forward deck to. There will have to be anchor bed cutouts as well but will cut once the deck is on and dry.

Boat currently on top of the large fish tank letting the glue dry (the lights heat up the top).

​Looks a bit crude so far, but will improve with sanding!! Next job will be to flat off the forward strips and attach a deck. I have to do this next as the hull is too flimsy to handle a bit of sanding. Boxing up the front will make a huge difference. Then combing at the rear. I plan to make the turret from Styrofoam on the lathe so it is nice and round and has the (not sure what it is actually) sort of combing or water seal or something at its base. It is very small.

Ashley

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Sans Pareil apparently means "without equal" or "unequalled" or unparalleled" so there, but you all knew that.

Why use a French name??? must be a historical thing?

Ashley

[Malcolm FraryParticipant @malcolmfrary95515]

Posted by ashley needham on 25/07/2017 08:55:37:

Sans Pareil apparently means "without equal" or "unequalled" or unparalleled" so there, but you all knew that.

Why use a French name??? must be a historical thing?

Ashley

The first RN ship with that name was captured from the French, when it was about 1 year old. Obviously RN liked the name, and carried on using it on that and for later ships. Finders keepers.

Apart from Wiki, http://www.ageofnelson.org/MichaelPhillips/info.php?ref=1964 is a good site for Napoleonic era wooden walls. Some fascinating reading.

[Ian JopsonParticipant @ianjopson21383]

You don't half work fast! I've been building a bread and butter hull for an 18 inch project for a couple of months now, nearly time to start on the upperworks. I'm off to Lithuania to attend our son's wedding for a couple of weeks now, so I expect your ship will be finished and on the water by the time I get back.

Ian

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Balsa takes no time to shape. The hull is very simple. It is a nice warm day so all the STUFF dries quickly.

​Foredeck has been cut, glued and now sanded to shape. As usual despite measuring twice AN ITEM is 2mm out of line with the centre, not a lot I suppose but the model is titchy. Turret turned from MDF (2nd turret was too big and upon closer inspection the first one made was a better size). It is 1/2" tall, so just a slice of MDF, and about 56mm diameter on the base….construction time…oooo….20 mins. Have yet to drill holes for gun barrels or put a top hatch on of course.

​Stern shape now better with the additional 1/2" bit of balsa in place and the underneath bit sliced off, and now the shaft can be horizontal as it should be. Rudder also made (yesterday). Not as fancy as one Bob would make.

Ram side supports glued on and looking good, bits of 1.5mm ply, 25mm long and about 4mm deep!!!

Hull basking in the sun while the Eze-Kote dries.

Ashley

 

 

Edited By ashley needham on 25/07/2017 15:55:13

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

 

Snaps. fore deck in place, turret and podium (for want of a better word). Gun barrels simply BBQ sticks, will be brass tube really. Ram bow stiffeners in. An issue with the sanding….PVA does not sand very well and the material is either thin or soft, so there will be some lines showing, but at the bottom of the hull, should not be noticeable.

​The entire opening has to have a combing fitted now..at least, tomorrow afternoon probly.

Ashley

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Edited By Colin Bishop, Website Editor on 26/07/2017 10:58:15

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Hi Ashley

Talk about making Silk Purses out of Sow's Ears……….You take the Biscuit!

What an excellent transformation from yesterday's chop up?

Is it not on the small side though………No, not the Puss……..The model!

Bob

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Thank you Bob. All my builds look a bit rough to start with. In this case there was a decent thickness of balsa underneath to sand away and get some shape. It looks really nice close up covered in Eze-Kote, it has a nice varnished sheen to it. Several things I have built look really good in just their wood construction finish, and then I paint them.

​It is 20 inches by 4. Not small per-se, and if it was a cabin cruiser, no problem, but this is a battleship, and all the detail is very small. Also bear in mind it will only have about 15mm of freeboard!!

​I shall be looking forward to sailing this with the Nelson, at same scale. I thing the difference will be very interesting. ​It looks a bit Nelson-y at the moment with the long empty foredeck?

​Ashley

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Thank you, Ashley

Don`t suppose I need to warn you about the dangers of Balsa Dust……..Really nasty stuff

A proper face mask is essential

I had forgotten the background story to the scale………..Could you post a picture of the Nelson, as a quick ref?

It`s quite a novelty, viewing one of your builds for a change, as normally it`s all hush hush

Looking forward to your next post

BTW……..When did the ramming style of attack, go out of fashion?

Can you imagine the order………" Brace yourself for ramming "

Followed by the " Unstoppable Force colliding with the Immoveable Object "

Hearts of Oak sailors in those days, eh?

Bob

[harry smith 1Participant @harrysmith1]

Hi Bob and Ashley

This not a hush, hush project but a rush, rush project, but, the look of paw plans and a catastrophic ending!!!

But Ashley being Ashley he is ramming home the project with all guns blazing!!!

WHY DOES HE DO IT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SIR( Senior-In-Retirement) LARRIKIN

[Trevor HollowayParticipant @trevorholloway99134]

The "Why does he do it" is easy – because it is satisfying building things from obscure photos (or artists renditions) and making them work.

Sometimes the less information there is the more satisfying it is when they do work or look "right".

[harry smith 1Participant @harrysmith1]

Hi Trevor

Ashley thinks out side of the square of building to a plan, but, because he likes the look of the boat.

It's easy to build a kit boat, but, if you only have a few poor photos of a boat.

That is a totally different ball game!!!

We in the modelling world are in a golden area of better radios, brushless electric motors, Lipo batteries, 3d printing, photocopies(what size you require sir), internet(forum sites) etc.

This site has contacted to people who have given me and my fellow model boaters info that years ago we could only dream of!!!

I think of the great model boaters of the past and only think we are so lucky.

Electric motors equal to or better than IC motors!!!!

Radios that you can switch from scale speed to over speed, show revs, power and voltage from your boat, on board camera and drive the boat like you are on board !!!

But the down side is we are loosing hobby shops to internet web sites because of price, members because of the lack of interest and with this silly dying thing, we have too many boats to build and sail ( bumper boats, crash bang water football or make it interesting for the younger ones).

We may not like it, but, once a model boater it's in your blood, it's a disease, but, we like it !!.

I will trade or give plans and info to the pubic to save the hobby.

We have lost another great model boat mag which had really good free plans in it to lack of interest, so we all require to step up to the plate and give a bit back into this lovely world of model boating!!

Sorry for getting on bike a bit, but, help us save this hobby!!!

Sir (Senior-in-Retirement) Larrikin

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Bob. Picture as below of the Nelson. The ramming attack was seen by a lot of people as a valid method of offence as it appeared that the guns/armour race at the time was at a stalemate, and the ships would get so close that a ramming may well achieve a sinking, which the guns would not. By the same token, the smaller guns on the battleships ( 6 inch) were seen as providing a "hail of fire" and destroying all the upper-works and command and control, including the driving position etc due to the close fighting ranges, leaving the big 12 inch guns (or whatever) to do the big ship killing damage.

​I think ships had ram-bows almost up until the Dreadnought, which had a rounded ram bow, but for hydrodynamic reasons rather than combat…so saying I believe the Dreadnought sunk a U boat by ramming.. (will check on that)

​Unfortunately there were very few actual actions, and the technology was changing such that by the time a new ship was built, it had been made obsolete by new guns/armour/engines and so on.

​Yes, building stuff from little info amuses me. In this case , the Sans is just a bit of fun, and there is sufficient info out there to give it a proper go if I wanted to.

​Motor mount, propshaft in place, one side of the rear combing drying on the fish tank now. I need to make a hawse pipe plate and attach and then I could splosh some paint on the hull!!

Ashley

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Well. Motor mount in, speed 280 motor, chosen for size mainly plus they are quite pokey. Shaft tube in.

STrips stuck around side wot are the combing, they stick up 7mm above the hull edge.

​Last snap, superstructure sides taped on to the combing, braced a bit by some strips (not particuylarly parallel…I don't care), some blocks around the top edge and the strips have been superglued at the joins VERY CAREFULLY so they don't stick to the combing. As we are talking about 0.8mm ply here, its a bit fraught. Lastly, not pictured, a deck will be laid on top of this lot after some glue has been applied to the blocks and struts and held firmly in place with a flat bit of wood (MDF in this case) and small weights.

​When dry, this should release and be a perfect fit on the combing. More balsa strip will be applied to the corners and then the whole lot trimmed. THEN we sill try and fathom out the rest of the superstructure.

​I will pop to Halfords tomorrow for some red oxide spray for the hull to see what needs doing, if anything. Actually, the anchor flats and hawse pipe plate need attention first as its a bit of a dogs dinner there. I have taken a bit of a liberty with the anchor plate which should be flush on deck but I have not been able to do this due to a lack or foresight in not gluing sufficient balsa blocks under this area. As the hull will be matt or satin black, it will go unnoticed…. The anchor plate is about 25mm by 10 or thereabouts!!

​Ashley

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

leaving the Sans aside, Trevor and I popped to the pond for a photographic session with the three S`s…actually, an S,S and a D, Result, good useable pictures.

​Popped back for a cup of tea to see Trevor's latest project. Great shape. We spent a fair while pondering on the size of figure suitable for this….craft.

​THEN we discussed the re-vamping of Trevor`s old Police boat, which may become a fire-boat!! using bits in the "come in handy" box.

Project W was discussed and some useful ideas regarding the hull construction were mulled over.

​All good stuff and what retirement was made for!!

Ashley

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

The superstructure has dried and removed no probs. I have run some PVA around the edge inside to glue the sides to the top all round. That's at 7.20 am. Ask me how I build so fast again…

​I have run out of knifing putty and need to get some more to tidy up the anchor area. Speaking of which, I shall need some anchors. About 20mm is size. More importantly later on I shall want a number of cowl vents and these I think I will have to buy, as making 1/2 inch or 3/4 inch vents is a bit beyond me and hardly worth it. I am missing some tiny tiny cleats from the Nelson and something else, so I might stock up on those sorts of things, you know, the thinks that get knocked off easily!

Ashley

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Ah, the fun begins now. What at first looks like a superstructure on the rear is in fact NOT a superstructure at all. There is the (armoured?) conning position at the front, and something at the rear, however the space in between is actually just deck, at the level of the top of my lift off bit. The ships boats are on a frame of sorts, with a walkway around them ABOVE the deck. It is this that gives the appearance of a full tin superstructure.

​Could be tricky. The support for the boats is via an iron (presumably) space frame affair, the sides come down flush with the side gun bulwark and are curved at the top.

​I will I think use plastic rod bent appropriately for this, and actually support these struts with the walkway which is anchored either end. it can be 0.8 ply stiffened with balsa underneath.

​Ships boats will have to be shaped solid balsa. I had better think about masting as well.

​It is coffee time, and I am going to sit down with the two-view print, pictures and a ruler and make some calculations.,

​Ashley

[Paul TParticipant @pault84577]

Hi Ashley

Ruler??

CALCULATIONS??????

These are words that I never associated with you,I thought that you just gathered a load of hardboard, elastic bands and glue together and 'created' on the hop.

Paul

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

OK, I MAY have overstated my strategy….

Ashley

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Further surfing has revealed stunning pictures of Brian King`s Victoria ship model. All the detail one could possibly want. Fantastic.

​Hull painted in red oxide, bow area tidied.
Todays task…deck ephemera, funnels, bridge. A rub down and second Red oxide coat. The side walls of the superstructure are castellated for (presumably) 12 pdr guns. It would have been nice to make the sides in one, but too tricky to do considering I wanted a tight fitting top. I should get away with sticking separate pieces on.

Ashley

[NoelParticipant @noel26080]

 

This is very impressive progress.

For myself I have managed to add some portholes to the tug boat, which I think really enhance it:

That's about it!

Edited By Noel on 29/07/2017 09:29:07

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Noel. Very nice. Few more??or is less more

Trevor and I went to the pond Thursday and saw a man wading through the ooze in his underpants!!!!
I thought…can it be..?? But it wasn't this time. A.N.Other gent rescuing a go-fast. Should I have lent him my 10m pole??? of course not.

​Fiddled about today making several small bits and bobs to go on the superstructure deck. Decided about 18mm high was good for the boat deck and so I have cut a number of boxes out of 18mm MDF (gosh, what a coincidence!!), made funnels, repainted hull.

Ashley|

​disclaimer; I did not have my pole on the day or of COURSE I would have lent it to the man

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Edited By ashley needham on 29/07/2017 15:32:24

[Trevor HollowayParticipant @trevorholloway99134]

So the long black pole looking thing in the back of the car wasn't the rescue pole !

The guy and son were impressed by the speed of their RTR boat – I did not get my MTB out to test the new motor.

[NoelParticipant @noel26080]

I thought two each side was enough as its only the engine room down there! Getting two holes lined up is easier than there anyway.

Just wants a hatch in the roof and it's done I think.

Unfortunate that someone else had to go wading. Next time I am packing my dry suit just in case.

[Author]

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