Shipbuilder

Nearly finished now, but I am getting quite tired of it.  It has been dragging on since November - far too long!  
Bob
 

This is the inside of the Fleetwing.    They had cut the stern down to the waterline, and removed or broken off the clipper bow.    There were a few spars lying about as well.    I boarded all the wrecks I could, including iron barque Lady Elizabeth, barque Jhelum, Yankee clipper Snowsquall, American barque Jennie S Barker at Grytviken, South Georgia, Canadian barque Egeria.     Got close to American packet ship Charles Cooper, but couldn't board her, also saw barques Capricorn, William Shand, Margaret  and Actaeon.      We didn't go to Goose Green, so I missed out on the Vicar of Bray.      Neither did we go to Leith, South Georgia, where the British full-rigged ship Sierra Pedrosa was beached.  Our Welsh ship's surgeon, John Jones, gave me the book Porthmadog Ships by Emrys Hughes and Aled Eames, and I later purchased Immortal Sails by Henry Hughes.    John managed to get appointed to my ship at Ascension Island for one relieving voyage, just to get down to Port Stanly and see the Fleetwing.   But the day after he joined, we got demobbed, and sent home to the UK, so he missed out.    I drew up the plan using dimesnions etc from the Lloyds Register and the two known paintings of the ship.   
Bob
 

Here is my drawing of the Welsh brig Fleetwing - Bob

Semi Automatic "Bug" Morse Key Feeling like a change from ship models, a few days ago, I decided to try and build a semi-automatic bug key.      This type of  morse key was first developed in the United States.    Conventional morse keys move up and down, and both dots and dashes have to be made manually.     When I first went into passenger liners as a junior radio officer in 1965, I found it very hard going sending large numbers of messages, often containing hundreds of words.     My wrist was quickly in danger of seizing up, so I obtained a cheap Japanese bug key in Cape Town.     The bug key works horizontally, and the side of the palm can be rested on the desk.   Pushing the paddle to the right with the thumb, produces a string of dots by vibrating a piece of weighted steel spring with electrical contacts fitted.     Pushing it to the left with the forefinger, the dashes have to be made individually.    I found this a great help, and was soon able to send for considerable  lengths of time without getting tired.    In the next twelve years, I got through two Japanese bug keys, the first being accidentally dropped by the third radio officer when it was only a few weeks old.   That broke the paddle arm off, and I had to effect a temporary repair until I could replace it again in Cape Town.    Despite being quite cheap, I had no complaints about the Japanese keys, they were really good.   But I had heard that the American Vibroplex keys were the best of the best.    Eventually, I was able to purchase on in Houston, Texas, for about £50.     I used that one regularly from 1977 until leaving the sea in late 1992, and still have it today.   The key illustrated is purely my own design based on trial and error, and it took almost a week to get it working correctly.    I have compared it with my Vibroplex, and although I am a bit "rusty" at morse after 25 years, can still produce perfectly readable code, and cannot tell any difference in handling between mine and the Vibroplex, I incorporated small ball races for the top and bottom bearings that gave a very smooth action.    The spring steel is a piece of a junior hacksaw blade with the teeth ground off.     The vertical pillars are all old rifle shells cut off to the correct length, and bolted to the acrylic base via holes drilled through ends.   The dent caused by the firing pins was a great guide for the drill.    The open tops were fitted with home-made caps made from brass, with a fancy brass bolt in the top for purely aesthetic reasons.     Solving the spring problem was beyond me, as I could nor find any springs small enough, or of the correct strength.    I got round this by using powerful neodymium magnets instead of springs, and they work really smoothly.    The tension can be easily adjusted by moving the magnets further apart, or closer together.     Neither could I get the dot contacts correct, so I used a small magnetic reed switch.   It is actuated by a magnet fixed the vibrating arm.    The speed of the dots can be adjusted by moving the brass weight along the vibrating arm.    The closer it is moved to the front of the key, the faster the dots.     Most of the construction is in brass.    The base and paddle are acrylic sheet and the finger knob is a small "button knob" normaly used for glass cabinets. Bob  

I also do a fair amount of plan drawing.    Merchant ships only, so they are not very popular amongst model shipbuilders.
Bob
 

Here is my drawing of the Welsh brig Fleetwing - Bob

Thanks, finally fitted in the sea - Bob 

Thanks,  
It took just under 50 hours to build, spread out over four months.   But I only worked on it for 39 days of that time.   That included making the display case and carrying case.   
Bob

Thanks, finally fitted in the sea - Bob 

Thanks, finally fitted in the sea - Bob 

Thanks, finally fitted in the sea - Bob 

Thanks, finally fitted in the sea - Bob 

Thanks, finally fitted in the sea - Bob 

Small steel barquentine.   20 feet to 1 inch.   White-hulled ships are not very photogenic.
Bob
 

Small steel barquentine.   20 feet to 1 inch.   White-hulled ships are not very photogenic.
Bob
 

Small steel barquentine.   20 feet to 1 inch.   White-hulled ships are not very photogenic.
Bob
 

Small steel barquentine.   20 feet to 1 inch.   White-hulled ships are not very photogenic.
Bob
 

Small steel barquentine.   20 feet to 1 inch.   White-hulled ships are not very photogenic.
Bob
 

Small steel barquentine.   20 feet to 1 inch.   White-hulled ships are not very photogenic.
Bob
 

This thirty-page download has been written following requests for plans and photographs of the RMS St. Helena from a number of ship model builders, ex crew members, and passengers who sailed in the ship during her time on the UK – St. Helena – Cape Town between the years 1978 and 1989. The download has 2,398 words, 52 illustrations, including 9 plans. During my time in the vessel, from 1979 to 1989, I took a large number of photographs, and took copious notes that enabled me to draw up an authentic set of plans for the ship. It is only concerned with the ship herself, and does not contain any reference to the many adventures that we had over those eventful years, or life aboard! It contains profile, general arrangement deck plans and a lines plan for the hull. By clicking the link, you can read the synopsis. Then, if you wish to purchase a download, a Paypal button for £2.99 is provided.
http://payhip.com/b/hmx2

Small steel barquentine.   20 feet to 1 inch.   White-hulled ships are not very photogenic.
Bob
 

Nearly finished now, but I am getting quite tired of it.  It has been dragging on since November - far too long!  
Bob
 

This thirty-page download has been written following requests for plans and photographs of the RMS St. Helena from a number of ship model builders, ex crew members, and passengers who sailed in the ship during her time on the UK – St. Helena – Cape Town between the years 1978 and 1989. The download has 2,398 words, 52 illustrations, including 9 plans. During my time in the vessel, from 1979 to 1989, I took a large number of photographs, and took copious notes that enabled me to draw up an authentic set of plans for the ship. It is only concerned with the ship herself, and does not contain any reference to the many adventures that we had over those eventful years, or life aboard! It contains profile, general arrangement deck plans and a lines plan for the hull. By clicking the link, you can read the synopsis. Then, if you wish to purchase a download, a Paypal button for £2.99 is provided.
http://payhip.com/b/hmx2

This thirty-page download has been written following requests for plans and photographs of the RMS St. Helena from a number of ship model builders, ex crew members, and passengers who sailed in the ship during her time on the UK – St. Helena – Cape Town between the years 1978 and 1989. The download has 2,398 words, 52 illustrations, including 9 plans. During my time in the vessel, from 1979 to 1989, I took a large number of photographs, and took copious notes that enabled me to draw up an authentic set of plans for the ship. It is only concerned with the ship herself, and does not contain any reference to the many adventures that we had over those eventful years, or life aboard! It contains profile, general arrangement deck plans and a lines plan for the hull. By clicking the link, you can read the synopsis. Then, if you wish to purchase a download, a Paypal button for £2.99 is provided.
http://payhip.com/b/hmx2

I thought I'd upload these. My daughter has just graduated from university with a BA (Hons) in Model Design and Special Effects, trying for a career in the film industry.
The first 3 photos are of a 'medieval book' prop she made.



The next ones are of a Tug she made. The brief was; a stop motion child's TV series about a Tug Boat Skipper, the Tug being able to go anywhere in space or another film. It is about 2 feet long, and except for the LEDs, tyres, and rope, is entirely scratch built. The engines and lights were designed in CAD and 3D printed, the hull is glass fibre produced from a carved form. I know I'm her dad, but I'm still impressed.
 






The next is a 1 quarter scale ships gun made by one of her class friends. Glass fibre barrel, wooden carriage, and elm trucks.

All the best
Alan