tug boat ALVA B

[bill schwartz]

out of boredom I thought I would get started on the pilot house again using the diamond saw for the support posts which makes something fairly difficult looking got fabricated fairly easy,

 

[bill schwartz]

The cabin was covered with 1/64 inch plywood and the outer wall will be covered with 1/32 inch planking, the inside of the wheel house walls were done in 1/16 inch scribed decking. I carved the seat out of a block trying to make it look upholstered (saw it in nautical research on a sailboat blog) Next we have to line the windows and doorways with something thin,, next to come. also had to relieve some of the doorways and windows in the framing to allow me to box them in,

 

[bill schwartz]

The rub rail was started with a 1/8 x 1/4 basswood strip that had to be sectioned and added in 4 pieces and then layered with 1/16 x 3/16 inch strip and I will add 1/16 x 1/8 which should build it up, worked on planking the cabin, goes quick with CA

 

[bill schwartz]

wow technology! and to think I hate it, but it could bring back some color to this project, my wife's genealogy program has helped me Included are some typical pictures of tugs from union dry docks in the years surrounding the construction of the alva b This will give me some direction,, oh by the way the one thing I've realized in the ship modeling hobby is that you need to pick up the glue,, doesn't matter what you glue as long as it is something,

 

[bill schwartz]

alot has gone on and we are moving toward the christmas deadline so next was to plank the engine house and wheel house and begin to create the openings , I framed the doors and windows, and linned the wheel house in scale paneling

 

[bill schwartz]

The colorized pictures at least gave me a reasonable starting point for the paint scheme, I grew up in lorain ohio which became the home of the american ship yard [owned by george steinbrenner {new york yankees owner} which was derived from the union dry docks from buffalo ny] as the tugs were all green and red, the smoke stack and other cabin structures were made from plastic coin tubes , scrap K & S brass tubing bag, orthodontic acrylic, I used wood glue dots to simulater rivet patterns on some of the structures, I think it gives them a nice touch,

 

[Stevedownunder]

wow technology! and to think I hate it, but it could bring back some color to this project, my wife's genealogy program has helped me Included are some typical pictures of tugs from union dry docks in the years surrounding the construction of the alva b This will give me some direction,, oh by the way the one thing I've realized in the ship modeling hobby is that you need to pick up the glue,, doesn't matter what you glue as long as it is something,

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That's incredible Bill, love the coloured images, I wonder how accurate they are, although they look about right.

Cheers,
stephen.

 

[Stevedownunder]

The colorized pictures at least gave me a reasonable starting point for the paint scheme, I grew up in lorain ohio which became the home of the american ship yard [owned by george steinbrenner {new york yankees owner} which was derived from the union dry docks from buffalo ny] as the tugs were all green and red, the smoke stack and other cabin structures were made from plastic coin tubes , scrap K & S brass tubing bag, orthodontic acrylic, I used wood glue dots to simulater rivet patterns on some of the structures, I think it gives them a nice touch,

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That's a lot of progress Bill, great work.

Cheers,
Stephen.

 

[bill schwartz]

nothing glued yet to the deck because I was waiting to finish the hull and waterways and bulwarks , I had cut a few spaced notches in the hull as a guide for the side pieces, then linned them inside and out with some 1/32"before placing the stanchions, the stern sides were wrapped aroung the stern form with ammonia soaked strips and dried before attaching them to the hull

 

[bill schwartz]

and that's where we're at need to finish the inside painting, mark the water line recoat the hull and rub rail, add the rudder and propeller and so on till next time,, "pick up the Glue" and we will all get done.. bill s.

 

[bill schwartz]

I added some cabin furniture and used window acetate from bluejackets along with moulding for the cabin , great to deal with, always glad to speak with a human on the phone,,

 

[Dave Stevens (Lumberyard)]

fantastic work Bill

interesting story the family and i went to the Christmas show at the IX center (the old tank plant) anyhow there was a booth for a local dive club offering diving lessons. I approached the booth and told the guy i am not interested in learning how to dive, i can not even swim let alone dive. But i said i was interested in finding a diver to dive on a wreck. One thing lead to another and days later i get a phone call from a driver who teaches wreck diving. I told him i was interested to find out if the steam engine was still there, he said he knows the boiler is there because it is just below the surface. He said chances are the hull itself it most likly broken up being so close to shore and in shallow water but if the engine was not salvaged it should still be there. Jim said he has all the underwater cameras and equipment all he needed was a boat to get to the site. It is to late in the year but he said come spring he can do the dive. The wreck may be incrusted with mussel an details obscured.

a diorama model of the engine and engine room would be an interesting project. There is a drawing of the engine on the plans but lacks detail. With more detail a 3D model can be done of the engine.

 

[Stevedownunder]

fantastic work Bill

interesting story the family and i went to the Christmas show at the IX center (the old tank plant) anyhow there was a booth for a local dive club offering diving lessons. I approached the booth and told the guy i am not interested in learning how to dive, i can not even swim let alone dive. But i said i was interested in finding a diver to dive on a wreck. One thing lead to another and days later i get a phone call from a driver who teaches wreck diving. I told him i was interested to find out if the steam engine was still there, he said he knows the boiler is there because it is just below the surface. He said chances are the hull itself it most likly broken up being so close to shore and in shallow water but if the engine was not salvaged it should still be there. Jim said he has all the underwater cameras and equipment all he needed was a boat to get to the site. It is to late in the year but he said come spring he can do the dive. The wreck may be incrusted with mussel an details obscured.

a diorama model of the engine and engine room would be an interesting project. There is a drawing of the engine on the plans but lacks detail. With more detail a 3D model can be done of the engine.

That's a great solution and resalt Dave, I eagerly wait for your spring.

Cheers,
Stephen.

 

[bill schwartz]

got some more modeling time with the weather getting colder, was able to finish the bullarks, and the sides finished, used 3/32 basswood for the cap rail, over cut it and sanded them in place, back deck also finished, added dry transfer letters but still will have to touch them up,

 

[bill schwartz]

The earlier photo show a dark cap rail so I used the same color as the hull, starting to see the end , hard to believe already had the propeller and rudder finished so I added those to the ship as the hull is now finished, drilled two small holes in the brass rudder support and nailed it to the keel,
Working on the last parts of the pilot house and other deck furniture (tow bitts or bollards??) directions would have been helpful at least I would know what to write, Next should be nearly done,

 

[bill schwartz]

okay; able to get this ship done, glued the pilot house and stack fixed and chain supports this has been a great project thanks for watching , the plans that dave stevens havd drawn from the original prints have proved very reliable, as with any scratch build just got to figure out what are you going to "make this out of" is usually the only burning question for the day. this was pretty much done out of basswood except the keel (oak) and frame (1/4 plywood) the colors were taken from the colorized pictures which is the way the real great lakes tugs were painted in and around the american ship building co in Lorain Ohioican ship building co in Lorain Ohio

 

[Uwek]

hello dave, I live near the wreck of the alva b and floated over it while fishing 2 weeks ago, it comes up fairly close to the surface and was marked on the gps map as such, I was looking for information on a possible build of the model living in avon lake, ohio , I was looking for some do-able plans, I would like to make this my winter project, Bill S.
Looking for just this ship plans

Hallo @bill schwartz
we wish you all the BEST and a HAPPY BIRTHDAY