introduction

[Dave Stevens (Lumberyard)]

what is a Pilot boat?
For centuries, pilot boats have been the unsung heroes of maritime commerce. These specialized vessels meet deep-sea ships at sea, transferring local pilots who guide vessels safely through harbors, rivers, and channels. The job demands vessels that are fast, seaworthy, rugged, and above all, safe.
Pilots and the work functions of the maritime pilot go back to Ancient Greece and Roman times, when incoming ships' captains employed locally experienced harbor captains, mainly local fishermen, to bring their vessels safely into port. Eventually, in light of the need to regulate the act of pilotage and ensure pilots had adequate insurance, the harbors themselves licensed pilots for each harbor.

Taking all types of commercial schooners into consideration, the pilot boat most closely approaches the yacht in her requirements, since she carries no cargo and has to be fast and seaworthy. The reputations of individual schooners of the pilot boat class have been of the highest, not only for speed and weatherliness but also for beauty.
It is commonly supposed that New York's bid for nautical fame durning the days of sailing ships rest on her grand packets and swift clipper ships. It was the clean lined pilot schooners that brought recognition at home and abroad to the shipbuilders of New York.
Howard Chapelle

In this classroom we will be using the Gracie S as the example, but the class will venture into a generic discussion that can be applied to any project. The classroom will be divided into subtopics as we go along.

 

[Jim Fortnam]

Can’t wait!
J

 

[Dave Stevens (Lumberyard)]

There is an ongoing discussion in the "teachers' lounge" on the GRACIE S 20 pages with 381 posts. So what we are doing here is organizing and presenting projects and ideas in a classroom setting. Moving forward we would like to know what you are interested in learning so post questions and get involved. This is NOT a school for scratch builders it is a school for model ship building so all forms of the hobby are welcome.

 

[Kurt Konrath]

So time wise, how would the "Phantom" pilot boat be compared to Gracie S?

I have the old Phantom Pilot Boat kit waiting on mast repairs, and the new POB Phantom to build.

Your information could help in the new build for what details are needed or not needed on the ship.

 

[Greg Davis]

So time wise, how would the "Phantom" pilot boat be compared to Gracie S?

I have the old Phantom Pilot Boat kit waiting on mast repairs, and the new POB Phantom to build.

Your information could help in the new build for what details are needed or not needed on the ship.

Kurt -

The Gracie S will most likely be modeled in various ways in the school - based on a solid (lift) hull; based on the plank on bulkhead / mold method; perhaps even a plank on frame version. The plank on bulkhead version should be most similar to the new Phantom kit in terms of construction method; however, the Gracie S. will likely be a much finer and less common model when finished. Here every attempt will be made to produce historically accurate models as best possible.

Personally, given the skill set that is needed to complete the Phantom kit, I feel that the new model kit has some design shortcomings that makes it difficult to produce as accurate of a model of Phantom as could be done at that level the model is being marketed to. I've noted what I believe to be shortcomings in a build log for the model on the MSW site. There you can also see what I have done to attempt to rectify some of the issues - currently the hull is complete, deck is planked, and over the winter it will be time for deck furniture, masting, and rigging. I think you view what I have done more as kit-bashing in hopes of getting a better representation of Phantom. Whether or not you build Gracie S., I believe that you will garner a great deal of helpful knowledge that can be put to good use when building Phantom, or any model for that matter.

If you do choose to put the time into Phantom, consider getting a copy of the book 'Working techniques for model shipbuilding' by Robert Volk and Peter Davies-Garner. I have an eBook version through Kobo. There project was done prior to Model Shipways releasing the 1:48 scale model. It nicely describes a scratch built of Phantom that was done due to issues with the plans / presentation in the older 1:96 version of the model. It appears that they started with the 1:96 Model Shipway plans by Campbell together with the Chapelle drawings and enhanced them using information from a few publications noted in the books bibliography. The redrawn plans are not part of the book; however, looking at the book a number of changes (from the Campbell plans) can be seen. For example, a curved instead of flat transom, deck doublings, and a dropped cockpit.

Greg

 

[Joel US Army (Ret)]

I would love to find a book on ship building.
there is so much to learn and I'm already making mistakes with the small beginner's kits. I have completed the
dingy and I'm now working on the 18th Century Long Boat. I thought it would have been a bit bigger because my 79-year-old fingers aren't what they use to be.

 

[Kurt Konrath]

I would love to find a book on ship building.
there is so much to learn and I'm already making mistakes with the small beginner's kits. I have completed the
dingy and I'm now working on the 18th Century Long Boat. I thought it would have been a bit bigger because my 79-year-old fingers aren't what they use to be.

Joel, as a fellow veteran, I want to thank you for your service to the country!

MSgt USAF Retired.

 

[AllanKP69]

I would love to find a book on ship building.

Hi Joel,

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE!!!

Regarding your post, there are many books. There are tutorials, articles, and books on everything from terminology to building ship's boats, to planking to rigging. What is it exactly that you are looking for?

Allan

 

[KAYA61]

Actually, as someone living in Turkey, it seems impossible for me to buy these books because even the shipping costs can be very high. However, it would be really nice if there were paid PDF versions of these books that we could buy for a fee.

 

[DAWarden-(Jaager)]

a curved instead of flat transom

I am imagining gluing a series of curved frame "tops" to the flat carved hull stern and "planking" over them. Even strips cut from a 3x5 card might be good enough planking. First coating one side of the card with several layers of Shellac might be something not too different from wood veneer. Wood veneer that is rotary cut instead of plane cut is always going to want to curl back to its tree trunk shape. The same treated card might be a good small scale decking.

I seem to remember there being a carved hull 1:48 and a carved hull 1:96. I saw them as being attractive and elegant. The 1:48 carved was probably a good choice for a first project. Especially if the builder is willing to do a little creative input. To me, 1:96 is getting into miniature scale. Miniature requires other skills - doing some illusion instead of straight replication for details. Going that small for masting and rigging - matching scale - presents something of a challenge. Since the eye tends to see rigging lines as being thicker than they are, going with line that is a step under exact scale circumference looks better. A small vessel at 1:96 presents a problem with finding material to even do it. Some of the blocks may need to be made from the right size plant seeds -

The current PoB version or anything PoB would never be my recommendation for a beginner project.

 

[RussF]

Actually, as someone living in Turkey, it seems impossible for me to buy these books because even the shipping costs can be very high. However, it would be really nice if there were paid PDF versions of these books that we could buy for a fee.

There are quite a number of ship building and modelling books available on Kindle from Amazon. I know both are available in Turkey, although I've heard there are some limitations (by Turkish government) on what can be viewed/downloaded.

 

[KAYA61]

@RussF You are right, there are many restrictions on this subject. For this reason, it is not possible to access the resources. I am trying to find paid pdf dumps on some sites.

 

[RussF]

@RussF You are right, there are many restrictions on this subject. For this reason, it is not possible to access the resources. I am trying to find paid pdf dumps on some sites.

That's too bad. There are some books on G00gle Play, but you may run into the same issues. It's unlikely that you will find too many books in PDF because it then becomes impossible to control the digital rights, meaning you could easily copy the work and give it to anyone.

 

[KAYA61]

@RussF You are very right.

 

[DAWarden-(Jaager)]

The original plans et al. are usually publicly owned and the old text books past their time of intellectual protection so often there is digital there.
The model How-to books have living authors or inheritors owning their intellectual rights or publishing corporations who own the rights: no free digital.
Three of the most significant ship modeling "journals" in the US are for sale on USB sticks at the NRG store. The most significant journal: UK: Model Shipwright is controlled by a management that lacks the intellectual ability to get that digital reissue can make them money.

 

[Dave Stevens (Lumberyard)]

Actually, while I strongly endorse the concept of a school for scratch building, An apprehension regarding the use of Gracie S. as the exemplar for the contemplated course because of I consider its build, as contemplated in its various versions, to be unnecessarily complex and challenging for the purpose of an instructional subject, not to mention that the record as to some of the details is unclear.

I don't want to throw the baby out with the bathwater, but I do believe that an instructional scratch building subject should first and foremost be chosen on the basis of its ability to facilitate the instruction of basic scratch building skills beginning with developing modeling plans based on sound historical research and the basic technical skills necessary to translate such originally developed plans into a investment quality model. It seems to me that the exemplar subject for such a course should be a model that, which while presenting all the basic scratch-building evolutions, is nonetheless as simple as possible.

To that end, recognizing that most all modelers acquire experience building kits before tackling scratch building, I don't think much primary emphasis needs to be placed on the subjects to which one would be expected to have been exposed, if not fully mastered, in the course of their assembling kit models. Rather, a course in scratch-building should primarily emphasize the knowledge and skills necessary to build from scratch, beginning with simple examples and graduating to more complex builds as basic skills are acquired and mastered.

What I find concerning is the manner in which, to my eye, at least, the engineering of the model has been seemingly glossed over with complex lofting done for the student instead of teaching the student to master such scratch building essential skills themselves. This isn't to say that Gracie S./Wanderer wouldn't make a beautiful model, but it seems the initial scratch-building concept has dropped down a rabbit hole into the realm of providing drafted individual "pre-lofted" frames and plans which do nothing at all to teach a modeler to truly start "from scratch" by evaluating a subject to model, researching the subject in sufficient depth to develop accurate plans, and translating those plans into an engineered accurate scale model. I suppose the threshold question in my mind is whether the curriculum as contemplated will best equip the student to build a unique model of a ship that has never been modeled before truly from scratch. It is the ability to do this which sets the modeler entirely free to build a model of any ship he desires without the limitations of sourcing the work of others to do so.

Ideally, I believe the task of teaching scratch building should be divided into two phases: theory and practice. Theory is prerequisite to practice. Theory requires teaching the student how to identify, evaluate, and select appropriate subjects for modeling and to research and develop accurate engineering plans for the construction of a model of any ship they might select. Note that this phase must be covered in depth well before any sawdust is created, save that required to sharpen a pencil. "Model engineering" is a fairly large area of theoretical learning. It is in this phase that an understanding of the various options for the structural design of a model hull as the basic structure of any model should be acquired, but in theory only. This is the phase of building a model from scratch that replaces simply "buying a kit." This is where the scratch modeler "writes his own instructions and assembles his own kit."

Putting those scratch-building theories into practice, the second phase, should be a graduated learning process. It is far easier, in my experience, at least, to build a good model hull using the various lift and solid block methods. While I see no advantages at all to plank on bulkhead or plank on frame hull construction, save to the manufacturers' bottom lines, partially planked "as built" and even "stylized" (e.g., Navy Board and Hahn methods) open frame hull construction methods do have their place in limited circumstances. That said, I believe open frame construction should be reserved for students who have completed "prerequisite courses" in "model engineering" and mastered the more basic solid and lift hull construction techniques.

Once a student has mastered the scratch building skills required to develop their own model plans, including engineering the structural design of the model, they can spend all the time they want in various "elective" courses addressing the finer points of modeling technique, such as woodworking, metalworking, finishing, rigging, sail-making, and case-making.

On the other hand, to provide a student with "modeling plans" and patterns for a plank on bulkhead or plank on frame build isn't all that far removed from buying a kit when compared to true scratch building. That said, it's all good, but are they really going to learn how to build from scratch, or just how to build from practicums? Will much ado about frame shaping, beveling, and tapering right out of the gate only serve to scare the students off? Teaching skills is as much about teaching confidence as it is anything else.

Is it just me, or does anybody else notice that the first question every kit builder who has "gone over to the dark side" and is looking to build a model from scratch always asks is, "Where do you find plans?"

quoted from Bob Creek

 

[DAWarden-(Jaager)]

An apprehension regarding the use of Gracie S. as the exemplar for the contemplated course because of I consider its build, as contemplated in its various versions, to be unnecessarily complex and challenging for the purpose of an instructional subject, not to mention that the record as to some of the details is unclear.

GracieS may be a excellent choice because of the faults. "More is learned from mistakes than from success" is a saying that sort of applies. The questions about which of several iterations, options of what to do about questionable details, seeing multiple options for hull construction methods in action .......

Not a practicum - this should not be a practicum. The WHAT/WHICH should be an individual student's choice. The multiple HOWS are what should be the focus. If each student as their own vessel and when a problem or ambiguity with it -- a question about it is brought up in class - everyone can learn from it. Broad boundaries make for something more generally relevant.

A student who is determined to make an ill advised choice - an overly complex choice - can demonstrate in real time what is intended by that advise or if successful that such advice is not always correct. But by showing what they have to go thru to succeed also become "an exception that proves the rule".

Is it just me, or does anybody else notice that the first question every kit builder who has "gone over to the dark side" and is looking to build a model from scratch always asks is, "Where do you find plans?"

For most what to do with a sheet of lines plans XY XZ YZ to get frame patterns is completely foreign language. This is a shame, because it is not at all the situation. Tedious, time consuming, boring it is that - unless you cheat.

We have gotten away from the days of a drawing board and a Mylar sheet. Plotting points - not missing it either. The general consensus seems to have it that - the only alternative is CAD. This is not at all the true situation. An adequate drawing program PS, GIMP, for me Painter will work just as well. CAD computer-aided design - but I am not interested in designing a vessel. I wish to replicate something that has already been designed. It takes some Kentucky windage to get the sweet curves, but a computer curve equation function will not do so well at replicating what was done on a very large table using a very large compass or lead ducks and a wooden batten.