THE FULLY FRAMED MODEL, BUILDING THE SWAN CLASS SLOOP PEGASUS 1777 Volume III
Greg Herbert
Greg is a small animal veterinarian who practices in Baltimore, Maryland, where he lives with Susi, his wife of thirty-three years. He can be found in his workshop most evenings with Callie, his faithful Golden Retriever, asleep at his feet and covered in a thin layer of sawdust.
19 Sea Watch Place, Florence, OR 97439 USA Phone (541) 997-4439 • Fax (541) 997-1282 E-mail: seawatchbooks@gmail.com • Web: www.seawatchbooks.com
VOLUME III
found he preferred to make his models from
GREG HERBERT started to build ship models in his teens but, like so many others, left the hobby when career, family and children took precedence. In his forties he rediscovered the hobby and
scratch rather than build from kits. Greg's ultimate goal was to build a model in the style of the beautiful contemporary Navy Board models he had seen during his many visits to the Naval Academy Museum years before. A chance meeting with renowned ship modeler David Antscherl at a nautical conference led to a friendship and mentoring that ultimately resulted in the realization of his dream. Together they have collaborated on
GREG HERBERT
SEAWATCHBOOKS LLC
The Fully Framed Model, BUILDING THE SWAN CLASS SLOOP PEGASUS 1777
The Fully Framed Model, BUILDING THE SWAN CLASS SLOOP PEGASUS 1777 VOLUME III
the Swan class practicum which introduced numerous others to the joys of scratch building, and have held workshops in the United States and Canada to further improve the ship modeling
SEAWATCHBOOKS LLC
Greg Herbert
skills of others. (Continued on back flap)
The Fully Framed Model Building the Swan class Sloop Pegasus 1777 VOLUME THREE by Greg Herbert, DVM
SeaWatchBooks LLC
The Fully Framed Model Building the Swan class Sloop Pegasus, 1777 VOLUME THREE by Greg Herbert, DVM
PUBLISHED BY SEAWATCHBOOKS LLC
To Susi, my wife, who has always recognized the peace and joy I derive from hobbies, and without whose love and support this book would never have been written.
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© Greg Herbert 2009. All Rights Reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission of the publishers.
Published and distributed by SeaWatch Books LLC
2040 Milburn Ave., Suite 102 #109 Maplewood, NJ 07040 Web: www.seawatchbooks.com Email: info@seawatchbooks.com Tel: 201 292 4262 ISBN 978-0-9820579-4-0
Manufactured in The United States of America
CONTENTS
Forward by David Antscherl Acknowledgements and thanks Introduction
9 11 13
CHAPTER ONE Building board Keel Boxing joint False keel Lower stem Upper stem Lower apron (false stem) Upper apron Fore deadwood Finishing the stem and apron Stern deadwood and knee Stern post and inner post Mortising the inner post Rabbet Wing transom Completing the building board Keel bolts Filling transoms Metal fittings of the keel
15 15 16 17 17 18 19 20 24 24 25 27 31 31 36 37 39 39 41 43
CHAPTER TWO Aft fashion piece Fillers below transoms Aftermost cant frame Scarphed futtock joints Aft cants Bollard timbers and knightheads Foremost fore cant frame Hawse pieces Hawse holes Filler piece Fore cant frames Progressive fairing Aft cant frames Side counter timbers Finishing the aft side framing
45 45 45 46 47 48 49 50 50 51 52 55 56 57 58 60
CHAPTER THREE Knee of the head Square body frame construction Aft floors and chocks Shifted toptimber construction Chocked joints Cast toptimber construction Fixed double block Sills Installing the square body frames Spacer blocks Fully framed hull
61 61 62 63 64 64 66 67 68 69 70 71
CHAPTER FOUR Keelson Stemson Ribbands and harpins Limber strakes Inner planking Lower deck clamp Remaining clamps, string in the waist Main mast step Foremast step Breast hooks and crutch of mizzen mast Transom knees
73 73 73 74 75 77 79 81 82 83 84 85
CHAPTER FIVE Barrels Aft platform Lower deck beams Well and shot locker Fore platforms Palleting beams and carlings Magazine lantern and bulkheads Cartridge racks Magazine passageways and doors Fore platform bulkheads
85 86 87 88 89 91 91 92 93 94 96
CHAPTER SIX Lower deck hook and ekeing Lower deck beams, continued Lower deck beam arms Iron lodging knees Fore mast partners Hatch coamings (lower deck) Gratings
97 97 98 98 98 99 101 102
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THE FULLY FRAMED MODEL, BUILDING THE SWAN CLASS SLOOP PEGASUS, 1777 VOLUME THREE
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Riding bitts Main topsail sheet bitt pins Main jeer bitts Chain pump tubes Pump intake chambers Upper well Lower deck cabin bulkheads Cabin bedplaces Stowed sails Sail locker
103 104 105 106 106 108 109 111 111 111
CHAPTER SEVEN Quarter deck transom Counter timbers Helm port Wales Top and butt planking Rudder Rudderhead hoops and straps
113 113 114 116 117 118 121 122
CHAPTER EIGHT Lower deck breast hook Upper deck hook, ekeing and deck beams Upper deck beam arms Crossed lodging knee Hanging and lodging knees Framing the upper deck Main mast partners Fore, mizzen mast partners Bowsprit step Port inner planking Hawse holes finishing Bolsters, manger Riding bitt standards, bitt crosspiece Upper deck bulkhead construction Galley stove Galley cowl Cisterns Pump sprocket wheels and chains Pump dales
123 123 123 124 125 126 126 127 128 128 129 130 130 131 132 133 136 137 138 141
CHAPTER NINE Capstan barrel Lower capstan whelps and chocks Trundle head and drum head Upper and lower capstan assembly Aft cabin bulkheads Rudder head trunk Framing for the cabin lights Internal counter planking, locker Stern light frames
143 143 144 145 147 148 149 151 151 152
CHAPTER TEN Moldings Forecastle half hooks Forecastle deck beams Forecastle framing Forecastle coamings, cowl base Belfry Forecastle breastwork Quarter deck beams Rudderhead framing Curved hanging knee Quarter deck transom knee Quarter deck framing Companion top Steering Wheel Tiller Quarter deck capstan partners Upper capstan Ladderway railings Quarter deck breastwork
153 153 154 154 155 156 158 158 159 159 160 161 161 162 163 166 166 166 167 168
CHAPTER ELEVEN Fixed gangways Planksheer in the waist Gangboards Breast hook over the bowsprit Forecastle planksheer Figurehead
169 169 170 171 171 172 173
CHAPTER TWELVE Fixed gangway newel post & railing Entry steps Timberheads Rudderhead cover Tafferel Necking Pilasters Arched coves Quarter rail iron stanchion Quarter rail Stern lantern
175 175 177 178 180 183 183 184 185 185 186 187
SOURCES
191
BIBLIOGRAPHY
192
PEGASUS DISPLAY
193
APPENDIXES
202
Foreword to Volume III
I
t is a privilege and pleasure to be asked to write this foreword to this, the third volume on building fully framed ship models. The plot was set in motion in the Fall of 2000 by a chance meeting
between Greg Herbert and myself in a Newport News hotel elevator. Greg was carrying his model of Druid up to his room, and we struck up a conversation. Neither of us realised at the time that this would lead to not only a lasting friendship but also to a beautiful framed model of Pegasus, a small Internet business and, now, a third volume on eighteenth century ship models.
In this book you will see a step-by-step photographic essay on the construction of Pegasus, one of the Swan class of ship-rigged sloops of 1767-1780. Greg Herbert and I have corresponded on an almost daily basis for the past eight years while he has been building this fine model. Greg has recounted the development of the writing project in his foreword to Volume I. Now, in 2009, his model is complete, and it is time for him to show and tell the balance of this story.
Greg has been, in a sense, the guinea pig for the writing of the first two volumes. It was he who asked the questions, sought clarification and discussed problem-solving ideas with me throughout the years of work involved in the building of Pegasus. You will see for yourself how, with only two previous models to his credit, Greg struggled with, and succeeded in building, one of the finest modern fully framed ship models. His determination and development of his skills will, I hope, be an inspiration and encouragement to others to also attempt what at first seems almost impossible: build a ship piece by piece in miniature in the same way as the old-time shipwrights did.
It would be chary of me not to also acknowledge the patience and encouragement of Bob Friedman in prodding us towards publication of this third volume. Greg’s photographic skills
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THE FULLY FRAMED MODEL, BUILDING THE SWAN CLASS SLOOP PEGASUS, 1777 VOLUME THREE
should also be acknowledged and enjoyed. Thank you, Greg, for keeping me honest in the first two books and for suggesting various other projects. Now it’s my turn to lean on you. Last, but not least, grateful thanks also to our families for their indulgence towards us with our strange obsession!
David Antscherl
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Acknowledgements To David Antscherl, my mentor, partner in the Swan series, business associate and most importantly, my good friend. A chance meeting at a nautical conference almost a decade ago started a friendship that ultimately resulted in the publication of this book. David’s craftsmanship, artistic ability and teaching excellence have made him a truly great mentor, and I have hopefully passed on some of these skills to other modelers. To Norm, my father, for instilling in me a love of hobbies at a very early age. He is also a veterinarian and I learned, growing up, the value of hobbies in relieving the everyday stress of our profession. To Rita, my late mother, for introducing me to ship modeling at the tender age of five. Having never built a model before, she purchased and constructed Revell’s Cutty Sark. It’s one of my earliest memories, and the model was part of my bedroom décor for as long as I can remember. To Grant Walker, Naval Historian at the United States Naval Academy, for allowing me to study and photograph Model no. 43, of the Swan class, as well as sharing his extensive knowledge of the use of sloops of war in the Royal Navy. To Jeremy Michell, of the National Maritime Museum, who assisted in the procurement of Swan class plans for our practicum. To Bob Friedman, of SeaWatch Books, for his support and encouragement in the writing of this book. To Cathy DuPont, for editing the work of this first-time author. To Janice Pfeiffer, for turning my jumbled draft into a beautiful book. To Harold Hahn, renowned modeler, whose unique “upside-down” framing system opened the door for many a fledgling scratch modeler. And to my sons Corey and Jarod. It couldn’t have been easy growing up with a dad who built ship models, collected stamps and loved butterflies. To their credit they never seemed to be embarrassed of their Dad when friends came over and some of them even thought the models were cool.
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THE FULLY FRAMED MODEL, BUILDING THE SWAN CLASS SLOOP PEGASUS, 1777 VOLUME THREE
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Introduction In the course of building my Swan class ship model Pegasus I documented virtually every step of construction with photographs. I had originally intended the photos to be included in the first two volumes of The Fully Framed Ship Model by David Antscherl. Unfortunately only a fraction of them were included in his books. The primary reason for this was simply that David wrote a lot faster than I could build! Also, lack of space in the books made it impractical to include more than a few photographs per chapter. Now, almost seven years after I laid the keel, the project is finally completed and over 1000 photographs have been taken. Interest in the Swan class has been extraordinary and many other builders have expressed an interest in viewing more photographs of my model during its construction. For this reason we felt a third volume of this series would be welcomed. I started Pegasus in 2002 after David drafted the plans for me. I had originally intended to build a model in the fashion of Harold Hahn who had made plank on frame modeling a possibility for virtually any ship modeler with his innovative upside-down method of construction. But to my amusement (and horror) David had other plans for me. He convinced me not only could I build a ship model upright but I would do it following contemporary framing practices. He had lofted each frame with chocks, scarphs, and diminishing futtocks. Some of the top timbers were shifted or cast to mirror real ship building practice. With this knowledge I decided that my Swan class model would be left in frame with a minimum of exterior planking. After going through all the trouble of building a fully framed ship model, I had no intention of obscuring those details. Thus my “finished” model has been left in frame and is displayed on the building slip in a quasi-diorama. I have added many more interior details than I had originally intended, but only because David illustrated them in such exquisite detail that I felt obliged to model them. Therefore the model as displayed includes some details that would have been added later during construction of the actual ship. Call it artistic license. I have arranged this book into twelve chapters to mirror the organization of Volumes I and II of The Fully Framed Ship Model. Readers may easily refer back to David’s text after viewing the photographs. The chapters are not all equal in size for reasons stated above. Building a fully framed ship model has not been well described in available books on ship modeling so I have devoted particular attention to the earliest chapters. Thus one will find that the first volume of David’s book is well represented in photographs while the later chapters in Volume II (covering many details of the external hull) have far less coverage. I make no apologies for this. The beauty of a project such as this is that each Swan class modeler may offer his or her own unique interpretation of David’s books. After seven years, I am well satisfied that I have achieved my goal of constructing a fully framed ship model reflecting actual practice. All measurements given in the text are full size. I found that thinking in actual dimensions helps one better visualize the relationships of the individual scantlings to each other. I use an architect’s scale ruler, available at any art or office supply store, when marking out timbers or
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THE FULLY FRAMED MODEL, BUILDING THE SWAN CLASS SLOOP PEGASUS, 1777 VOLUME THREE
taking measurements off the plans. It is imperative that every frame is in its correct location on the keel and that it is properly oriented to the building board. My first effort at framing was sabotaged by cumulative errors and, after the first year of construction, I decide to scrap the model and start anew. The decision was not made lightly, but I realized that, like a house, a bad foundation will cause major problems down the road. For the most part I have followed David’s instructions very carefully. While he is not dogmatic in his approach, his “suggestions” are based on decades of ship modeling experience, I assume he has made his own errors in the past, and he has refined his techniques to the point where they guarantee the best chance of success. Sometimes I used other methods that made more sense to me, but more often than not, I had to grudgingly redo the items his way. One area where we differ significantly in modeling technique is with regards to power tools. I never met a power tool that I didn’t like and use them frequently. In fact David and I once had a “chockoff ” where we simultaneously produced a chocked joint. He employed his trusty, well honed chisel while I machined my chock on the Sherline mill. I can’t remember who finished first, but it’s my recollection that I won the contest. I suspect that his recollection is somewhat different from mine.
Pegasus was built at Chatham Dockyard by Master Shipwright George White. Her keel was laid in January, 1776, and she was launched September 14, 1776. She was built at a cost of £8,688.4d (including fitting out). She was commissioned in December, 1776, under Commander John Hamilton Gore and sailed for Newfoundland on April 3, 1777. She was lost with all hands (presumed foundered) in a storm of Newfoundland in October, 1777.1
1
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1. Winfield, Rif, "British Warships in the Age of Sail 1714-1792", (Minnesota: Seaforth Publishing, 2007).
CHAPTER
ONE
The completed building board has been covered with two coats of flat white paint. The centerline has been scribed, fore and aft perpendiculars drawn in and holes drilled for the keel securing bolts. The two vertical support legs (underneath) are attached with drywall screws (1.11).
A copy of the half-breadth plan is secured to the building board making sure the perpendiculars are aligned. The station lines and cant positions are scribed onto the building board with a utility knife blade. Also included are the half-breadth and toptimber lines.
15