HMS Discovery 1789 scratch build in 1:48

Don Case

Don Case

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I started this scratch build in January of this year(2021). I have built a few RC IOMs, the Cicely(a 1903 schooner), a gaff rigged clinker built skiff and a Chris Craft barrelback but this was the first POF from actual drawings. All were just out of my head except for the Cicely. I decided to build the Discovery because I live on Discovery Passage and about 220 years ago I could have seen her from the beach in front of my house. There are very few drawings available of the Discovery but there are enough to get the lines and a few general ideas off how she was fitted out. I also have a few drawings by John McKay That help me make better educated guesses as to what went where. It may not turn out to be an excellent rendition but I hope to think that if George Vancouver saw her he would he would recognize his old ship. I have read Vancouver's journal about three times(a very boring read by the way) looking for any info. All I really found was was how many and what kind of ships boats she carried. I started a log on MSW but that got stopped. You can see the earlier stages over there. As time goes by I may add some earlier photos into this post if I can figure out how.

So, I just finished planking the lower deck and that seemed like a good place to start the log. Nice clean slate with all the previous mistakes buried under the deck planking. I have been following Dan Vada's and Kevin Kenney's Swan builds just to get the general idea of how these things went together. I would have followed Stuglo's build more but I'm a little ahead of him. I like all the detail he includes, it helps me check my work. With the Swan class being a military ship and the Discovery being something else (she was purchased by the Navy just before launch) there are probably many slight differences but I figured that if the Navy accepted her she must have been close to their specs.

Anyway this is where she is now and I am messing with the forward cabins.


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Here is where I am. Nothing is glued in. It took two or three days of fiddling around trying to get the notches for the beams in the top of the bulkheads and still have everything line up. I cut cardboard templates and pieced it all out before I actually cut any wood. Now I have to take it out and cut the door openings and add a few more stanchions.


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I am working on the aft cabins of the lower deck and wondering about how the bulkheads and the tiller interacted. Looking at the drawings I saw something I'd not noticed before. There is a radius scribed on the floor of the aft cabin(Gun room?) Do you suppose this is the outer radius of the tiller? If it is and according to Goodwin the tiller should sweep 45 degrees each side then the top of the bulkhead on the side cabins would have to be lowered to allow room for the tiller to swing through.

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Don Case said:
I am working on the aft cabins of the lower deck and wondering about how the bulkheads and the tiller interacted. Looking at the drawings I saw something I'd not noticed before. There is a radius scribed on the floor of the aft cabin(Gun room?) Do you suppose this is the outer radius of the tiller? If it is and according to Goodwin the tiller should sweep 45 degrees each side then the top of the bulkhead on the side cabins would have to be lowered to allow room for the tiller to swing through.

View attachment 260118
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I have my doubts, that this is the tiller outer radius - because it is not centered but seems to be more starboard
So I think this curved line was done once later on - or maybe there was a glas of red wine standing once on the original drawing
 
I can see your point but it's a strange coincidence that it's so close to being in the right spot. No matter, the tiller will go where it goes.

Right now I'm fighting with the counter timbers. I want to kind of finalize the shape of the stern so I know where and how the cabins end. I'm trying to build the stern in place with shaky old hands and it's probably the hardest section I've had so far. I try and use the "hold the piece in place and mark it" method but nothing is solid enough especially my handsDSC04425.JPG. This has got to be accurate or the stern light are going to be a dog's breakfast. I think I'm going to have to cobble it all together with bits and pieces until I get it right and then tear it all apart and use the pieces as patterns for the final parts. Nothing is held in place properly in the picture so it's all wonky.
 
Don Case said:
If at any time you see something that doesn't seem right please mention it. I\m not t pro by any means.
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Check the height of the left side compared to the right side. It can be that this is an optical problem with the photo, but it could be that the distance left is higher than right
DSC04426.JPG
 
Don Case said:
I started this scratch build in January of this year(2021). I have built a few RC IOMs, the Cicely(a 1903 schooner), a gaff rigged clinker built skiff and a Chris Craft barrelback but this was the first POF from actual drawings. All were just out of my head except for the Cicely. I decided to build the Discovery because I live on Discovery Passage and about 220 years ago I could have seen her from the beach in front of my house. There are very few drawings available of the Discovery but there are enough to get the lines and a few general ideas off how she was fitted out. I also have a few drawings by John McKay That help me make better educated guesses as to what went where. It may not turn out to be an excellent rendition but I hope to think that if George Vancouver saw her he would he would recognize his old ship. I have read Vancouver's journal about three times(a very boring read by the way) looking for any info. All I really found was was how many and what kind of ships boats she carried. I started a log on MSW but that got stopped. You can see the earlier stages over there. As time goes by I may add some earlier photos into this post if I can figure out how.

So, I just finished planking the lower deck and that seemed like a good place to start the log. Nice clean slate with all the previous mistakes buried under the deck planking. I have been following Dan Vada's and Kevin Kenney's Swan builds just to get the general idea of how these things went together. I would have followed Stuglo's build more but I'm a little ahead of him. I like all the detail he includes, it helps me check my work. With the Swan class being a military ship and the Discovery being something else (she was purchased by the Navy just before launch) there are probably many slight differences but I figured that if the Navy accepted her she must have been close to their specs.

Anyway this is where she is now and I am messing with the forward cabins.


View attachment 259312
Click to expand...
Hi Don,

This is an amazing amount of work to do in less than a year, at least for me it would be, looking forward to seeing more.

Cheers,
Stephen.
 
Looking at the dates the one in Dundee was the replacement for the one you are building. It's all very interesting.
 
Don, impressive work. I'm struggling to get the exterior of my build to look remotely correct. I don't think I will ever have either the patience or skill to do a detailed plank on frame interior hull.
 
DD 708 said:
Don, impressive work. I'm struggling to get the exterior of my build to look remotely correct. I don't think I will ever have either the patience or skill to do a detailed plank on frame interior hull.
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One nice thing about all the interior stuff is that if it doesn't turn out great you can bury it in planking. Even if you leave it partially exposed it doesn't actually show up that well through the framing.
 
After a week off for Thanksgiving I got to work on the ship again. I think I got the stern all straight and even. I now just have to double check everything and then glue it together.

DSC04430.JPG


Sure wish I had some drawings of the stern. The best I have is this painting done in 2012. The artist claims that he got the details from a painting that is, apparently, in Whitby. I have contacted a couple of museums there with no luck.


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And a cropped pic of the stern. There is some difference of opinion about the stern davits(apparently a few years to soon) and the name on the stern(not allowed by the Navy during this period).

Stern.jpg
 
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