However, B&B hulls do have their place. They are quick to construct, and are often the best choice for a painted model. They are not necessarily suitable for open (undecked) or cut-away models.
A B&B hull is constructed from a series of "lifts" — thin planks that correspond to successive "waterlines". Each is sawn to the corresponding waterline profile, and then the lifts are stacked in order and glued together. the outside "steps" are faired off, and the inside is hollowed to complete the construction.
In this article I will take you through the construction of a B&B hull, and show you some of the "tricks" that help speed up construction — you'll end up spending most of your time waiting for glue to dry! I'll also describe the laying of the deck, and various deck structures.
The bugeyes were oyster boats, and initially appeared in the 1860's. They were apparently derived from the Chesapeake log canoe, which were built from several huge logs bolted together, hewn to shape, and hollowed out. When the use of the oyster dredge was legalized, a bigger, shallow-draft boat was needed. The bugeye was the result. Like the canoe, this craft was sharp-ended, bow and stern. The hull was decked over, and hatches and cabins were added. The two-masted rig of the canoe was adopted, but owing to its increased size some changes and modifications were necessary. Both masts were permanently stepped and supported with stays and shrouds. Booms were introduced to extend the feet of the sails. A feature of the rig is the extremely heavy bowsprit, which appears "hogged". In reality, the top line of the spar follows a natural taper, while the underside is cut on a curve, and the spar appears to bend downward toward the outboard end.
| The Todd measured: | |
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| Length overall | 64' 3" |
| Beam, extreme | 18' 2" |
| Draught | 4' 6" |
| figure 1: Section lines used, actual size. |
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It will also be useful to make copies of four other key areas as well — the side view of the bow, stern, and the area around each mast. Since we're scaling up the drawing by a factor of exactly two, you could get by without these (making the necessary measurements directly from the original drawing), but they will be convenient.
I use pine for the lifts. Pine is light, relatively inexpensive, and easy to work (mahogany is another wood used traditionally, but I frankly question the value of going to the extra expense of using mahogany). We'll need pieces that are 16 inches long and 4 1/2 inches wide. These should be straight-grained and free from knots (although a small knot in the center or at the corners will be acceptable). Because the length is only 16 inches, you don't need to get perfect (i.e., #1 grade) pine; you can look through the pile of knotty pine (i.e., #3 grade) for pieces where the knots are more than 16 inches apart — it will cost one third as much as the #1 pine (but you can expect to waste 25% as scrap containing knots). Other possibilities are described below.
According to the section drawing, we'll need 1 lift 3/16 inch thick, 4 lifts 1/4 inch thick, and one lift 3/4 inch thick (the "shear" lift). The latter will be needed no matter which method you use to produce the other lifts.
If you have the ability to re-saw and thickness 5" wide boards, go ahead and make the lift stock.
| figure 2: Forming the lifts. |
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If you don't (and few modelers do), there is another alternative (which I used). At the lumberyard, I found some pine "lath", 1/4 inch thick by 2 1/4 inches wide and of arbitrary length. Get 14 feet of this (one 6 ft. and one 8 ft. length are convenient). Saw into 16 inch lengths (this will yield 10 pieces; I was able to thickness two of these to 3/16 inch, but don't worry if you don't have the capability to do this). Edge glue (use either white or yellow glue) these in pairs (figure 2.) to produce 5 boards, 1/ 4 inch thick, 5 1/2 wide and 16 inches long (in my case 4 board this size, and a fifth 3/16 inch thick). Use clamps and wipe off any "extruded" glue before it sets. Once set, unclamp and scrape off any glue on the surface that might prevent the lifts from fitting closely together.
This handy trick has the advantage that the resulting glue joint produces a handy center "line" for future reference! And, you don't really need the bottom lift to be 3/16 inch thick....you can make do with 1/4 inch thick. Simply raise all of the waterlines on the section lines drawing by 1/16 inch to compensate.
| Figure 3: Stacking the lifts. |
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No matter how you produced them, take the individual lift "planks" and stack
them in order, keeping the sides aligned (figure 3.).
| figure 4: Drilling and doweling the block. |
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Now for a second trick. Clamp the stack together into a "block" 2 inches thick,
4 1/2 inches wide, and 16 inches long. Now drill a 1/4 inch hole through the
block at each corner. Cut four 2 inch lengths of 1/4 inch dowel and drive them
(no glue!) into the holes so the block is held together by the dowels when you
remove the clamps (figure 4.).
| figure 5: Drawing the center line. |
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Scribe the center line around the whole block (using the glue joints as a
reference if you used the first trick) (figure 5.).
| figure 6: Locating the stations. |
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Lay out the locations of the station lines; for the 1:48 Todd, these are at
positions: 0, 5/8, 1 5/8, 2 5/8, 3 5/8, 4 5/8, 5 5/8, 6 5/8, 8 5/8, 9 5/8, 11
1/8, 12 1/8, 13 1/8, 14 1/8, 14 3/4, and 15 1/2 inches from the bow. Label them
"B", 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, and "S", respectively.
Square each of these lines around the block (figure 6. — figure 6. is
schematic; a drawing showing all of the sections to scale would be too big and
cluttered).
| figure 7: Extending the center line and section lines on all lifts. |
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Next, pull out the dowel pins (you did remember to mark each lift as to position and orientation, didn't you?), and separate the lifts. Using the marks you just made on the edges, square those lines around the individual lift planks (figure 7.).
| figure 8: Reproduction of the area around the main mast; projecting the center of the mast onto the bottom lift. |
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| Photo 1: The stack of lifts showing the locating dowels, all lines drawn, and the "mast step" holes drilled. A small knot in the center of the top lift won't make any difference. |
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You have just completed not only the mast step, but also provided a pair of alternate dowel-pin locating holes for the next step (when we remove the holes at the corners). Using the section drawing and a pair of dividers, start transferring the plan to the lifts. First, using the waterline corresponding to the top of a particular lift, use the bow and stern profiles to locate the ends of the lift (where the hull contacts the stem and stern), and mark the width of the stem and stern on these lines.
Next, set the divider to the distance between the centerline and the intersection of a particular section line with that water line. Transfer this dimension to the lift at the corresponding section line (and remember to put it on both sides of the centerline). Repeat this for all of the intersections with that water line.
| Photo 2: Fairing the lift curves using common pins and a batten. |
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Repeat this for each of the lifts, using the appropriate waterline for each. For the top (shear) lift, simply use the widest part of the hull at each station.
Saw out the individual lifts, using a band saw, jig saw, coping saw, or what ever else you have available (saw just outside the lines). Clean up the edges so they follow the drawn line and are square to the top surface.
On the top lift (only), restore the section lines on the sides where they've been cut off. The section drawing shows a pair of lines at the "shear", 5/32 inch (7 1/2 inch full-size) apart. These correspond to the "log rail" which is applied on top of the deck. You can cut the shear to the upper line, thus having to carve the rail into the hull, or to the lower line; then you'll have to apply the rail after the deck is completed. I chose the latter approach. Using the dividers, transfer the points for the shear to the lift (or lifts — if you chose the lower line, the curve actually dips below the top waterline), measuring from the highest waterline and the bottom of the lift. Draw a shear curve to fair these points.
Re-assemble the block, using the dowel pins in those "mast-step" holes we drilled earlier. The "block" is now boat-shaped, although severely "stepped".
Run a pencil around each lift, drawing a line onto the next lift (this will normally be "above" that lift, but may be on the lift "below" if your hull has an area with "tumble home"). Disassemble (again!) and draw a second line on each lift, inside the first line, and the intended thickness of the finished hull away (say, 1/2 inch. You may want to increase this distance slightly in those areas where there is significant curvature to the hull, such as at the turn of the bilge.) The area between these two lines will become the glue joint between the lifts, and the area inside the inner line will be sawn out. However, before you do that, draw a pair of lines across the hull at each of the mast holes, say 1/2 inches before and behind those holes.
Each lift should now be "boat-shaped", with a more-or-less square area designated between the masts, and triangular areas between the masts and the bow and stern. Saw out these areas (using a coping saw), leaving an outer "rim" with two "bridges" across the hull surrounding the mast holes.
Before gluing the lifts together, take a knife and make a shallow "nick" (say, 1/16th inch deep) at the top edge of each lift at every section line. Once the lifts are glued together, these marks will be useful to locate the section lines (especially once we've begun to remove the "corners").
| Photo 3: The stack of lifts glued together. |
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| Photo 4: The upper lift "bridge" removed and the shear formed. |
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If your vessel has significant "deadrise", you might first want to project the deadrise onto the side of the lifts at each station, and then remove the wood below that "plane" — since deadrise is likely to occur entirely within a single lift, the curves you've cut into the lifts won't help much in locating it within a single lift, so you might as well get it out of the way first.
The Todd doesn't have significant deadrise, but the bottom is rounded. Draw a line 1 inch away from the center line on the bottom, and a line 1/8th inch "up" from the bottom of the lowest lift. Plane off this "wedge" to produce the basis of this rounding. Repeat on the other side.
Remove the "corners" from the hull. Begin by beveling the profile to match the correct bow and stern profiles. Next mark the "land" for the keel, stem, and sternpost, using the longitudinal center line. When removing the "steps", you don't want to cut into the area where these attach, or else you'll end up with gaps that you'll have to fill.
If there were "hollows" in the hull (say, at the stern), you'd have to get in there using gouges and rasps to make that area concave.
| Photo 5: The hull with the "corners" removed and the hull faired. |
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You can now verify the hull form using templates (hint — since we've only removed the bridge in the top lift, placing the hull upside down on the bench with a couple of 3/4 inch thick blocks under the bridges will effectively restore the top surface so that templates can be referenced off the keel and bench-top). Those nicks we made on the edges will show where the templates should go. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at how close the hull already is to the final form. Sanding it smooth may be all that you need to do. CAUTION — If you rush this stage the wood at the glue joints will still be swollen from the water absorbed from the glue. If you fair the hull before the water has a chance to evaporate the wood will later shrink leaving a slight depression which will "telegraph" through the paint. It is better to wait a day or so before doing the final sanding in order to avoid this.
Once the outside is finished, give it a light coat of primer. It's amazing how a coat of paint will show up "dings" that are not obvious on the raw wood. If you do have dings to fill, "spackle" works well. And, of course, any "bulges" that show up can simply be sanded off.
Inside the hull, remove the rest of the bridges. Since the hull is decked over, you may just leave the internal "steps", but I find that I am more satisfied if I fair these off as well, using a gouge (work from the ends toward the center to avoid the grain causing the wood to split). Don't carve away any of the bottom lift — it has all of these lovely center and station lines that will be such useful references when laying out other fittings.
Since the deck will be finished a natural wood color (rather than being painted), it will really look better planked. In order to do that, we need to install deck beams, and the plans appear to give no indication where they should go.
However, think it through. There are a number of places where there have to be beams — the masts, hatches and other deck structures need support, as do the centerboard case and the sheet travelers. So, let's decide where beams are reasonable.
First, we need a beam under each end of each hatch, the "cabin", and the cuddy. These need to be under the structure, and extend beyond the edge so that deck planks have some place to "land". Likewise, the Samson post that supports the windless and the bowsprit heel will need support.
I made my beams of 1/8th inch cherry (any hardwood will do). I cut eighteen pieces of 1/8 by 1/4 by 4 1/2 inch beam stock. These now need to be cambered. Assuming the "standard" camber of 1/4 inch per fool of length, the center needs to be about 3/64th inch higher than each end. I made a template, drew the curve on each beam, and sanded to the line. I didn't bother to produce the corresponding camber on the bottom of the beams, since these will be hidden.
| figure 9: "Slot" and "Pocket" mortises. |
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There are two ways you can install the beams. You can make a slot completely across the "gunnel" to hold the beam, or you can cut a "pocket" mortise (see figure 9.). We can get away using the slot since we'll eventually apply a "bend" timber (bend is the name used on bugeyes; it's basically a wale) 1/4 inch wide around the top of the hull, which will hide the ends of the beams, provided that the slot is less than 1/4 inch deep. However, using the slot will not position the beams as accurately as will the use of pockets, which constrain the ends of the beams. I ended up using both methods.
Draw a line around the inside of the hull 3/16th inch down from the shear, and another 1/8 inch from the outside of the hull on the top of the shear. These will define the extent of the pockets and slots. Now, pick a beam to install; say, the one at the front of the main hatch. The center of this beam should be 3/8 inch aft of station 6 (you did remember to mark and nick the stations on top of the shear, didn't you?) With a 1/8 inch wide beam, this will provide 1/16th inch support for the hatch, and 1/16th inch for trunneling the deck planks. Mark the edges of the beam on the top of the shear (hint: a knife makes a sharper line than a pencil, and leaves a "nick" that helps insure the saw cuts at the correct position). With a razor saw, make a pair of diagonal cuts running from the line 1/8th inch inboard to the second line 3/16th down at each edge of the beam, and "pop" out the resulting triangular "wedge". The pine is soft enough so that it is now an easy matter to "plunge" your knife down at each side and pop out another wedge of scrap resulting in a rectangular pocket to hold the end of the beam.
Centering the beam over the hull and the pockets, mark the ends of the beam and cut it to length. It should now slide into the pair of pockets with no end or side play. If you've done it right, the beam will be standing slightly "proud" of the line of the shear. Mark the bottom of the beam at the inside of the hull, and remove a slight step from the bottom of the beam, allowing it to "snuggle" down into the pocket. Repeat this as necessary until the top of the beam is flush with the shear. "Notching" the beam make it easier to fit it to the pocket, compared with trying to make the pocket exactly the correct depth — remember, working on the bottom of the pocket is a cross-grain operation, while working on the bottom of the beam is working with the grain. Do not glue at this time!
Repeat the previous operation for the rest of the beams under the hatches, cabin, and cuddy, with the exception of the beam at the aft end of the cabin. The cabin here is so wide that this beam should be fitted to a slot. To make a slot, repeat as though making a pocket, but, instead of sawing diagonally, saw straight across the hull on each side of the beam, and pop out the rectangular block of scrap. Again saw the beam to length and fit it as before, remembering that if you cut to the edge of the hull, the ends of the beam need to be beveled in two directions to fair with the outside of the hull. Temporarily pin this beam to he hull to prevent transverse movement.
| Photo 6: Deck beams installed. |
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You'll notice some "gaps", between the two hatches and at the bow and stern. I divided the space between the hatches into three "spaces" and installed two more beams to fill this space. Even though I used pockets here, in hindsight I'd use simple slots instead of pockets. Another short beam can be fitted half-way between the stern and the beam at the back of the cabin. At the bow, install one beam (pocket ends) with it's aft edge 7/16th inch before station 2 to support the mast and fore traveler, and another (slot ends) with its aft edge 1/4 inch before station 1 to support the windless post; A third (slotted) goes with it's aft edge 3/8 inch behind station 0 to fill the gap there. These are shown in photo 6.
Draw a center line crossing the top of the beams from the bow to the stern.
The sides of the hatches, etc. also need support. These longitudinal timbers are called "carlings"; they also provide support for the deck planks at the edge of the structures. Lay out the position of these on the appropriate beams, remembering that you want each timber centered under the edge of the deck structure.
| figure 10: "Beveled" mortises. |
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Again, you have several choices for connecting the ends of the carlings with the beams. Your could cut slots half way through each beam and notch the carling, but this will significantly weaken the beams. A better method is to use a "beveled" pocket to hold the ends of the carlings (figure 10.). To make a beveled pocket. draw a center line on the top of the beam, and make a saw cut at each side of the carling, diagonally from this line to the "carling side" bottom edge, and remove a triangular wedge of wood. Using 1/8th by 1/4 stock for the carling, cut a bevel on each end at the same slope as that on the pocket. A little filing/sanding on the ends of the carling will allow it to drop into the pockets with the top edges flush with the top of the beams. Repeat for all of the deck structures. (Note: you'll probably have to carve away a wedge of inner hull at the rear of the cabin to avoid interference between the hull and cabin carling.) Again, don't glue yet!
| Photo 7: Carlings added. |
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| Photo 8: "Ledges" added. |
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Now, with everything assembled and in the proper place, begin by gluing the ledges to the carlings (but not to the hull). When the glue is dry, remove the assembly, drill holes (through the carling and into the end of the ledge), dowel them together, and re-install. Also glue and then dowel the aft edges of the mast supports to their beams, and the aft ends of the aft hatch carling to their beam. (These joints are done first because of the difficulty of drilling the holes later.) DO NOT GLUE ANYTHING TO THE HULL!
Next, finish the cabin assembly, and glue and dowel the main mast support to the aft hatch beam. The main hatch can also be glued and doweled, as well as the frame for the cuddy. Do not, as yet, glue the front beams of the rear hatch or the front mast support. Only after all of these joints have been doweled, can you glue and dowel the fore mast support to its fore beam, and finish the aft hatch.
You should have insured that all of the joints were flush with one another, but it wouldn't hurt to go over the top with sandpaper to remove any glue beads or other projections. Once done, redraw the centerline the length of the deck beam.
| Photo 9: Centerboard case installed. The cabin-hatch assembly has been removed to show its pockets and slots, and general structure. |
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While you're at it, you might also make the centerboard. The original would have been made up of edge-fastened planks to get the full width. We might as well do the same. Take 5 strips of 1/4 by 1/16th by 5 inch hardwood, and glue them together edge-to-edge. Sand the sides of the resulting sheet to insure that it's an easy sliding fit to the centerboard case, but try to avoid removing all traces of the glue joints — it will look better if these joints telegraph through the paint. Trace the profile onto the sheet, and cut it out. Now we have a minor problem. The plans show that the centerboard pivot is only about 3 inches (full size; 1/16th inch in our scale) above the bottom of the hull, and our bottom is much thicker than that. We could make a recess for the pin in the inside bottom of the hull, but that's not going to be a very good joint. Instead, move the pin up the thickness of the bottom, and about half as far back — that should put the pin through the centerboard case about 1/16th inch from it's bottom (assuming you used a 3/16th inch bottom lift; if you used 1/4 inch, go up 1/4 inch; still at 1/16th inch above the bottom of the case, but slightly farther back). The bottom of the raised centerboard is at the same level as the keel (3/32th inch below the bottom of the hull); insert the centerboard into the case with the bottom edge parallel to the bottom of the case, and extending the thickness of the keel plus the thickness of the bottom lift outside the case. Put a drill through the case and centerboard, and insert a temporary straight pin to hold them together.
You should now be able to hold the case in place, and verify that the centerboard will drop into the correct position (the top back corner of the board does not extend below the hull). If it looks OK, verify that you can remove the pin when the board is in place. At this point it wouldn't hurt to paint the board the same color as you will paint the bottom, and verify that the board still will pivot even with the coat of paint. Also practice removing the pin and re-inserting it. Once you're comfortable with the procedure, glue the case into the hull.
PaintingGrimwood says:Nowadays it is the practice to paint the hull, deck houses, rails, and stanchions pure white. The underbody is generally red copper paint, while the decks and hatch covers are slate gray or a grayish blue. Mastheads, boom jaws, and bowsprit are all white, while the rest of the spars are unpainted.I chose to paint my model in a scheme intermediate between the extremes Grimwood describes. I chose "antique white" for the hull, bends, and fixed deck structures, "caboose red" for the bottom, and "dark green" for the hatch covers and cabin tops. Odd bits of iron work are "grimy black". All of these are from Floquil's "railroad color" series. Note: Grimwood makes recurring reference to "Indian Red"; a color name which is no longer in common usage. In reality, this is generally a locally-produced paint, commonly used for barns. Being mineral-based (iron oxide), the exact shade of color varied from region to region, depending upon the impurities in the ore used for production. A reasonable approximation is Floquil's "boxcar" color; the railroads also used cheap local sources of paint.In general, it is better, whenever possible, to paint the individual parts before attaching them to the model. This is especially true when the glued edge also marks a change of color, such as between the hatch and the deck, and the hatch and hatch covers. Prepainting each component produces a nice sharp boundary; trying to paint this boundary after assembly is just a nuisance! |
Now, we're ready to plank the deck. There's no need to be concerned with scale thickness planking since the edges of the planks won't be seen; I used strips of 1/32th by 1/8th inch wood. The original deck would likely be hard long-leaf pine, and either sort of a "knotty-pine" orange color if varnished, or "driftwood" gray if not. I happened to have an old knotty-pine plank (the residue of a remodel project — never throw anything away, right?) I ripped a number of strips from the edge and thicknessed them to 1/8th inch. It was now a simple matter to resaw the strips into "planks" 1/32 inch thick. Take the first plank and glue it to the beams (but not to the hull — we'll later want to remove the planked deck to work on it at the bench), from one end of the deck to the other, so that the edge of the plank falls exactly on the center line. Take all of the remaining planks and darken one edge with a pencil. Take one of these planks and glue it to the first plank and beams so that the joint defines the center line. For now, don't worry about the ends of the planks; they'll be trimmed off later. These two planks tie all of the beams together. Next, add more short sections of planking at the ends of the deck and between the various openings. When the edge of an opening (such as that for the cuddy) is reached, continue with longer planks spanning the space between openings (hint: it's easier to leave the planks slightly longer than necessary and then trim the ends flush with the edge of the beam; it's also easier to trim the ends as you go, rather than wait until the opening is entirely closed).
When you reach the outside of the hatches, the run of plank will exceed about 20-24 feet (full-size; about 5-6 inches on the model). Cut the plank so that the ends fall over the center of the nearest beam, and continue with a second strip. These joints should be staggered, so that at least two beams separate joints on neighboring plank runs. That means that, at times, you should have short planks at the ends, rather than starting each run with a full-length (5-6 inch) strip. You also don't want a short plank at the ends — an end-plank should span at least 1 1/2 beams. When you reach the ends of the beams in the middle of the hull, you may find it easier to glue several planks together edge-to-edge before applying the assembly to the deck — that way, the set of planks can fit onto a beam and still hang out to the edge of the hull.
Now, trim the planks to the edge of the hull, and mark the station positions onto the edge of the deck, using the station marks on the top of the hull for reference.
CAREFULLY pry the deck with the attached beams out of the hull. You can now put the entire deck/beam assembly onto the bench and work on it there (easier than working on the hull itself). You'll probably find that the deck is not level; some planks will probably be higher than others. This may be the result of variations in plank thickness, or the result of a glue squeeze-out from one plank causing the next plank to be raised slightly. In any event, scrape off all instances of glue beads and raised planks, and sand smooth. Now is a good time to give the deck the first coat of finish. I used Watco natural Danish Oil finish, which wipes on and dries within a few hours.
The finish serves several purposes: It will darken the wood and highlight any places where there is still glue on the surface (these can be rescraped and refinished). It will also prevent the deck from getting dirty from handling. You'll even be able to draw light pencil lines for layout purposes, and remove them later without harm to the appearance. Now is a good time to locate a variety of the smaller deck items, while the deck is still clear and uncluttered. Using the plank center line and the station marks on the edge, you can locate the centers of the holes for the masts, the position of the traveler before the main mast, the hole for the line to hoist the centerboard, as well as the pump, smokestack, and the Samson post in the bow to which the windless and bowsprit connect. You don't have to actually form these holes yet, but a small drill will serve to mark them for later reference.
Now, draw light pencil lines across the deck centered on each of the beams. Drill trunnel holes along these lines, at least one in each plank. Then trunnel (I used trunnels split out of bamboo, salvaged from bamboo cooking skewers and chopsticks) the entire deck at one go! It now looks like a mess, but a sharp knife or chisel will remove the "forest" of trunnel "stumps", and a light sanding will make everything flush once again. This is the second reason for putting the first coat of finish onto the deck before trunneling — the glue on the trunnels won't stick to the surface finish, and will instead pop off as the trunnels are flattened. A second coat of finish will darken the trunnels nicely, and repair any scratches that might have occurred in leveling the trunnels.
| Photo 10: The hull with the keel, stern-post and (temporarily mounted) stem-post and cutwater, "duck-tail" and bends. Also shown is the deck assembly; the aft third has the trunnels trimmed, the middle third has been scraped, and the fore third has another coat of finish to enhance the trunnels. The rudder and center-board also appear. |
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Take two 1/8th square strips for the log rails. A light touch with sandpaper will remove any "fuzz". Paint three sides of each strip white (hint: strips sometimes prefer to bend more easily in one plane than the other; if your strips do, select the "bendy" direction for the inside of the rail). When dry, remove any runs of paint from the bottom of the rails. Also scrape the finish off the edge of the deck so subsequent glue will hold. With the deck in place, carefully fit the strips (unpainted side to the deck) to the edge of the deck so that their outside edge is exactly above the inner edge of the bends, pinning them as you go. At the bow, leave a gap for the bowsprit. At the stern, there will be a short transverse section of rail. When satisfied as to the fit, remove the rails and deck, and — on the bench — glue and clamp the rails to the edge of the deck, again using the pins to locate the position of the rails onto the deck planks. (By painting before installing, you end up with a nice crisp edge to the paint; if you wait until it is glued, it becomes a nuisance to paint the rail without getting paint on the deck.)
| figure 11: A reproduction of a page from the U. S. Patent Office of October 27, 1908, showing Patent number 902,452. Davit Supporting Means for Sharp Stern Boats. Joseph E. Robbins, Cambridge, MD. |
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Another odd feature is the Platform at the stern. This was patented (see figure 11.), and consists of a transverse beam resting on the ducktail and stern-post, and a couple of timbers extending forward from the ends of the beam to the log railing. Originally intended to simply support the davits for the boat, it was quickly found that decking the platform provided some much needed working space around the wheel, to the extent that these platforms were retrofitted to almost all bugeyes, including the Todd. This feature is not at all clear from the drawings in Grimwood, nor from the single picture in Brewington's book.
Fit and pin the beam to the ducktail. Fit the timbers to the rail and pin them there. Now fit the ends of the timbers to the beam with a half-lap joint, and glue. I assumed that the platform's deck was flush with the top of the rails and beam, and had made a simple rabbet in the beam; I glued a narrow strip to the side of the rails (forming another rabbet) so that the planks would land on these timbers and be flush with the top. Paint these timbers too, except where the deck will land.
At the bow, we need to apply the rails to the cutwater. I did this the hard way (fitting the rails and then fitting the trailboard into the gap); I'll tell you the easy way instead. Take a strip of pine (or basswood) 1/4 by 1/4 by 4 inches long; glue another 1/8th inch thick block on each side on one end to bring the thickness there to 1/2 inch. Carve and sand this strip to the profile of the trailboard; the thick part is at the aft end. The top surface follows the curve of the top of the cutwater, and the bottom is a similar curve widening from 3/32th inch at the front to 1/4 inch at the rear. Cut the strip in half, so you have a matching trailboard blank for each side. With the stem and cutwater pinned to the hull, fit each blank to the hull, and cut the rear to a slant parallel to the slant of the cutwater. Thin the bow end of each blank to 1/64th inch, all the way back to the front of the stem. Now carve a smooth curve from there to the slanted edge, leaving the wood here about 1/16th inch thick. Glue to each side of the cutwater and stem, making sure that the top of each blank is 1/32th inch below the top of the cutwater, and that the two sides are aligned. Wait for the glue to dry, and give the trailboard a light sanding. Glue a couple of strips of 1/32th thick wood to the top and bottom edge of each trailboard and the cutwater, forming a "channel". this can now be pared off to stand about 1/32th inch proud of the trailboard. Also pare off the strip ends at the back, and fit the whole thing to the hull.
| figure 12: Three alternate methods of attaching pedestals to a model and baseboard. |
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Before we actually glue the stem on, now is a good time to first fit the hull to pedestals and a temporary baseboard. The pedestals should each be about 1 1/4 inch high, so that the centerboard can be displayed in the down position. Each pedestal needs a 1/8th by 1/8th slot in the top so it can "clasp" the keel and provide firm contact with the hull. You can buy a couple of pedestals; I chose to machine mine from some 5/16th AF (Across Flats) hexagonal brass stock I happened to have handy. There are a number of ways to attach the pedestal to the model and baseboard (see figure 12.). My preference is to drill a hole all the way through the pedestal and tap it from each end for screws. That way I have one screw holding the model to the pedestal, and a second holding the pedestal to the baseboard...either screw can be removed as necessary without the subsequent hassle of re-aligning everything.
| Photo 11: The stem, cutwater, knees, and trailboard are attached, and the hull painted; the centerboard is pinned in place, and the model is shown on the pedestals and temporary mounting board. |
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Make the hatch covers of a series of 1/32th thick wood strips edge-glued together, and fit them to the opening. reinforce the inside with a couple of scraps of wood. Make a depression at opposite corners for the lifting rings, 3/32th inch in diameter and 1/64th inch deep. Now paint the hatches white, and the covers your choice of color. When dry, drill a small hole at the inner edge of each depression. Form a loop of wire around a 1/16th drill-bit, and twist the tails of wire together. Bend these to 90 degrees, and insert through the holes — the ring becomes the lifting ring, and the twisted end which shows looks like the staple which would have held the ring. A touch of CA glue on the inside and the excess tail can be snipped off. The hatch covers can now be spot-glued to the hatches, and the assembly plugged into the deck to verify it still fits.
The cabin and cuddy are similar plywood boxes of appropriate height, the main difference between them and the hatches being that we want to reinforce the inside corners with a scrap of wood, and plank the outside. With the box clipped into the opening and aligned, glue a pair of thin strips outside at each corner; first a narrow one flush with the side, and a second, wider one overlapping it to be flush on the outside with the first. Fit strips between these corners and tight to the deck (I used scrap strips left over from the deck planking). Once the first row of strips is on, the box can be removed from the deck and the strip-planked sides completed. Sand the result lightly (you don't want to make it so smooth that the individual strips disappear — just smooth it for painting). Fit the Cabin door and ports (I used short lengths of thin-walled brass tubing for these). Paint it white...the planks should still "telegraph" their individuality through the paint.
The cabin roof is most easily made using a sheet of 1/64th plywood (look in the model airplane section of the hobby store) bent to the required profile and cut to the required outline. Paint the underside within 1/16th inch from the edge with your roof color (again, so you won't have to try and paint an edge later), and glue to the box. If necessary, small scrap-wood glue blocks can be glued inside to firmly attach the roof to the sides. Add the other details, such as the hatch and smokestack. Don't forget there are hinges on the door, and a pair of cleats on the back wall of the cabin. Repaint as necessary (but, by having already painted the underside of the roof, at least you won't have to paint a straight-line change of color between the roof and sides).
The cuddy roof is also a strip of 1/64th plywood, wrapped around the curved top of the cuddy.
| Photo 12: The underside of the deck is shown, along with the method of clipping the plywood box to the beams and carlings when making a deck structure, in this case the cuddy. Lined up in front of the up-side-down deck are the other structures, ready to be plugged in. |
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| Photo 13: The deck is (finally!) fixed in place, as is the structure for the stern platform. |
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Next, plank the platform. The planks are slightly wider than those on the deck, and are parallel with the outer sides of the platform. Seal and trunnel as necessary just like we did for the deck; the main difference is that there are no beam under the planks, and each plank is a full run from the rail to the traverse beam at the stern.
A simple solution is to take a strip 1/8th by 3/16th, bend it, and then saw off the 1/16th thick rails. Simply soak the strip in water for a few hours, bend it around the outside of the log rails, and clip it in place to dry overnight. You'll also need a couple of straight pieces for the rails around the platform. Before sawing, mark the center of the rail, and drill a series of tiny holes at 5/16th inch spacing, beginning 1 inch from the bow, into the curved stock. Repeat with one of the straight pieces. On the second straight piece, drill the holes 5/8th inch apart. Saw the pair of rails, 1/16th inch thick, from the curved stock and the first (lower-rail) straight stock. Cut out the upper-rail blanks from the second straight piece, but only 3/64th inch thick. Before proceeding, ready a piece of stock 1/8th inch wide and the thickness of the gap between the rail and the log-rail, for the filler piece at the bow. With the saw at the same setting, saw out a jig the same thickness, 1/4 inch wide and a couple of inches long. Saw a notch in one end, and cut the other end wedge-shaped. Saw out a second jig corresponding to the gap between the lower- and upper-rail at the platform.
Sand the rails, and clip one of the curved pieces on top of the log-rail. Using the holes already drilled as pilots, run a #66 drill (.033 inch diameter) vertically, 1/4 inch deep through the rail and into the log-rail and hull. Insert a length of 1/32 inch brass rod into the hole and, using the notched end of the jig around the rod as a reference, clip the rod to length. You'll now have a line of stanchions running the length of the rail, protruding approximately 1/8th inch. Next fit one of the lower-rail straight pieces to the curved piece at the side of the platform, taking care that one of the pilot holes is centered over the corner of the platform. Take an upper rail straight piece and drill a #66 hole 5/32th inch behind the aft-most hole. Drill a similar hole through the lower rail and the platform at the corner. Put a temporary pin through the hole just drilled in the upper rail and pin it to the hole at the corner, so you have a stack consisting of the upper-rail above the lower-rail, both above the platform timber. Drill through the rails and into the timber using a #75 drill (.021) at all of the pilot holes in the upper-rail.
Remove the upper-rail, and repeat the clip / drill (#66) / stanchion process for the lower-rail. Repeat on the other side. At the stern, fit a piece of (lower) rail between the sides, with the holes symmetrically placed around the center; the goal is to have the gap between the corner stanchion and the first stanchion on the stern rail about the same as the gap between the rest of the stanchions — this may require one stanchion to be placed on the center line, or the center of a gap to be located there...whatever looks best.
Using the wedge-end of the (small) jig, carefully pry the rail upward on the stanchions. Insert and glue the filler strip at the bow. Using tweezers, carefully grab each stanchion at the bottom of the gap and slide it upward. Put a small spot of CA on the side of the stanchion, and push it back down — the CA will wick into the hole in the log-rail and fasten the stanchion securely. DO NOT GLUE THE LAST STANCHION AT THE CORNER OF THE PLATFORM YET! Again using the jig, adjust the gap between the rail and log-rail, and apply a touch of CA to the top of the stanchion to fix it in place. Also glue the joints in the railing at the break and at the stern. Trim off any unevenness in the rail, and clip off any protruding stanchion ends. A file will now quickly bring the ends of the stanchions flush with the top of the rail.
| Photo 14: The platform is planked, the rails and stanchions applied, and the deck structures in place. The rail "jig" is shown in place. |
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Again pin the upper-rail to the lower-rail/timber, using the hole at the platform corner. This time insert .020 brass rod through the holes, using the second jig to determine the height of the rods. Again slide the rail upward, and glue the stanchions as before; trim these thin stanchions and smooth the top of the upper rail. You should have the lower rail with thick stanchions every 5/16th inch; centered between every other pair of thick stanchions will be a thin stanchion passing through both rails and the log-rail.
Take a piece of 1/32th rod and flatten about 3/16th inch of the length. Heat the flattened portion to red heat to anneal it (flattening will have hardened it). Carefully form the flat portion into a loop around a piece of 1/16th brass rod. Insert this through the corner holes — let the excess protrude from the bottom of the platform. Repeat for the second side. Take a piece of .015 thick brass sheet and cut a 1/8th inch wide strip from it. Drill a pair of 1/16th inch holes into this strip, and then trim around the holes to leave pieces 1/4 inch long, with the hole centered 1/16th inch from one end. Thread these plates onto a pair of 6 inch long pieces of 1/16th brass rod, so that about 1/16th inch of the rod protrudes through the hole, and solder a plate to each of the rods. While you're at it, also anneal about 2 inches of the rod near the plate. Carefully bend each rod to the profile of the davits (the plate will mount to the deck). It's more important that the two davits are bent alike, rather than matching the curves exactly. Drill a pair of shallow 1/16th holes in the deck, to locate the foot of each davit. Thread the straight portions of the davit through the loop in the top of the corner stanchion, and use the 1/16th holes to locate the foot of the davit (via those short lengths of rod protruding through the plate). Adjust both stanchions so that the davit is about 15/16 inch above the top of the log-rail. When everything is aligned, the corner stanchions can finally be glued, and the bottoms trimmed off. After making sure that the plate is flush on the deck, the plate can be glued (use epoxy here) to the deck, and a bit of CA used to fasten the davit to the loop in the stanchion.
Take a 1 1/4 inch length of 1/32th brass rod, flatten 1/4 inch of each end, and anneal. Bend into a hoop (as in croquet "hoop") for the Main Traveler, and fasten the flats on each side of the ducktail structure. I first drilled the flats and made tiny nails to fasten the traveler to the ducktail. Note: if you do this, this step should really have been done before fitting the rails and davits; just to give you more room to work in.
Another box structure forms the wheel-box, again planked with thin, narrow boards. A hole is drilled in the front for the wheel-shaft, and a pair of #75 holes in the rear for the rudder push-rods. A short section of brass tubing is sliced off and fitted over the rudder-head, and a #75 hole drill in each side. The push rods are just two lengths of .020 brass rod, bent into a "L" shape. The long leg is inserted into the wheel-box, and the short legs into the tubing on the rudder.
| Photo 15: Detail of the completed stern. |
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The first step in completing the bow is to fit a pair of hoops for the bob-stays; these are made like the hoop at the ducktail from 1 inch lengths of 1/32th brass rod with 3/16th inch flats formed on the ends. Also drill the 3/16th holes through the rails for the hawse (I forgot, and it was a bear to do these after fitting the bow!)
Make the bowsprit from a 6 inch length of 1/4 inch square wood. This is square inboard, octagonal between the central band and bow, and round outboard of that band; fit the square end to the Samson post. Form the windless handle "platform" from another scrap of 1/4 inch square timber, and fit it to the top of the bowsprit just forward of the Samson post; drill a couple of holes through the piece into the bowsprit, and pin it in place using a couple of scraps of 1/32th brass rod — this allows you to remove it to work on it and restore it to its exact position again. Fit the band at the tip with 4 "lugs" for attaching lines, and the central band. Make the "gammoning clamp" and fit it to the bowsprit and stem. You should be able to remove the Samson post and cuddy in order to slide the bowsprit aft through the clamp in order to free the bow for further work. Add a ring or staple to tack the sail to.
Before going any further, it's time to decorate the trailboard. Frankly, I don't trust myself to try to paint fine details directly onto the hull — I find that, by the time I've gotten steady enough to apply the paint, it's already dried onto the brush! Instead, I use another trick. The thinnest paper I've ever found is "cigarette paper", sold for rolling your own cigarettes. This paper is .001 inch thick — comparable to a layer of paint. I tape a sheet of this paper onto a flat work surface, and lay out and paint the various designs here. I can then cut out the design (I find I can cut a straighter line than I can paint) and glue it in place; if I painted "outside the lines", I can cut off the excess. On the trailboard, we need the words "EDITH F TODD" (actual size) in the center within a square panel, a pair of sinuous lines before, and a pair of furled flags with a shield behind. Since I had no information as to the figurehead, I simply formed a scroll.
Fit the head-rails and their support and brace. The rails are tapered toward the bow; from 7/64th to 1/16th in profile, and from 1/16th to 1/32th in plan. Also fit an eye for the bowsprit shrouds into the log rail aft of the end of the head-rail. It's easier to paint the head-rail before re-installing the bowsprit.
Install the bowsprit and fasten (but leave the Samson post free for now — we still have to make the windless). A couple of 1/32th square battens are fastened to the top of the bowsprit, running from the gammoning to just aft of the sail tack. Fit the knee over the bowsprit inside the rails, and add the "knight-head timber" projections on top of the rail. I bent the windless handle socket from 1/16th square hollow brass tubing. The "saddle" holding it was made from the next size up of square tubing; I filed opposite sides down to form a pair of flanges that held the handle. A hole was drilled through, and a scrap of .020 brass rod inserted and riveted over for a pivot. This could now be fastened to the "platform", after inserting a short length of 1/16th rod into the top of the platform to act as a "stub" that the saddle could be fitted over and glued to — glue on the bottom of the saddle has just too little area to hold.
| Photo 16: Detail of the completed bow. |
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I will, instead, list some of the mistakes I made, in hopes that these will call your attention to potential problems. Most of these resulted from either misinterpretation of the plans, or from lack of planning:
| Photo 17: Detail view of stern of completed model. |
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| Photo 18: Detail view of bow of completed model. |
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| Photo 19: Bow view of completed model. |
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| Photo 20: Stern quarter view of completed model. |
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The main purpose of this article has been to re-introduce bread-and-butter hull construction, which seems to have fallen into disfavor. It really is a much quicker way to get the basic hull formed, even if one then goes through the trouble of a planked deck.
Chesapeake Bay, A Pictorial Maritime History, M. V. Brewington, Bonanza Books.