USS Constellation Slope of War

Taubman plans is a site that offers detailed building plans for 100's of tall ships. The constellation is listed in their set of plans. I don't know if you have seen these before?
 
Jerry do you still have those Drawings? and Are you going to Fleet Week? I'll be down there this weekend. I am still very much looking forward to come video your ship. have you figured on a date for that yet? I can fly up till temps start getting around 40deg then the Lithium Batteries the drone flies on doesn't like the cold so they become unpredictable in flight times. My weekend calendar is open all the way up till Thanksgiving after that I hunt every weekend till the end of January on Saturdays and some Sundays.
 
Thanx Dave I'll go have a look. Ill Head down to College Park Md. to the National Archives next week to see if I can have a look at the plans they have. I sent them an email to see if I need an appointment, Its crazy I have done work on Lifts in the building and the Library of congress I was able to Download a few plans from the site that I don't have already. I think with what I have already I could Build her POB, But I don't want to go that way I want to build it POF and I have a few surprises planned I don't want to let out of the bag yet
 
Just be sure which plans you are working with - if you want her as she is now, ignore any pre-1853 drawings. They are a completely different ship in form and structure.
 
I would like to build it the way it launched in the 1700s, but I have been told those plans cant be had. I would settle for what she looked like when I was a kid I remember what it looked like vividly, but if I absolutely had to I'd build it as it sits today. if I can find plans for different stages I may be inclined to build it more then once. I could probably figure out a scratch build for it if I had some drawings of the ships lines but I don't want to do it that way I want the plans it was built from I want an accurate frame exactly as it was built. I could easily build it POB just from what I have right now, but again I don't want to do that. I'm probably chasing a ghost, but I'm up for the chase till I exhaust every resource I can at the end of my current builds if I haven't found the information I want with no other hope Ill build from what I have and do the best I can. This will be my first scratch built ship and Id really like to have plans to help me out on the first one.
 
For the as-designed, the drafts of the Congress are fairly accurate - same design with only minor changes during construction. There are no known frame disposition plans. There is some info to be found in archival letters (including enumeration of timber required) at Papers of War Department web site. Fox's papers (Peabody museum) had some documentation on dimensions, frames &c. as well if memory serves
 
Awesome I now have some new leads to follow Thank you Wayne. I think most of the framing should be standard framing practice but I have read there are several ways to frame in the Bow and Stern and that's what I'd really like to have a look at. I an reading a great Book right now by Charles Davis called the Build Up ship Model. Its been a big help with understanding why things were done a certain way. I have built a couple POF models but nothing like what I want to build here. So I figures some reading is in order and since this book is written on a scratch build its all the better. Like I said I'm a 120% type mentality. Sometimes I'm forced to settle for something less then what I'd like, but all life is that way and as long as I put in the effort I can live with it. I'm not getting any younger so I need to make a decision this build will take a lot of time and I want to make sure I can get it done. You never know when your last plank will be laid. Again Thank you, You have been a big help
 
Got a book today called the Constellation Question by Howard Chapelle and Leon Pollard there are there are fold out plan sheets from 1853 on hull contours at multiple stages along the hull a plan showing Frame locations, Keel components and construction, Deck layout and a host of other useful information. I also got a magazine called wooden boat that shows the rebuilding of the Constellation She was in terrible condition her hull hogged out it shows muck of the old timbers and new timbers going in as well as the planking and epoxy lamination of the new hull structure. I'm waiting on one more Book and then I'm headed to the National Archive to see what I can dig up for a 1/32 scale build. I did find plans for sale from another site that claim to be the plans in 1/48 scale from the archives so I will order those if I cant get them from the archives in the 1/32 scale I want or if the 1/48 plans at the archive cant be purchased or given for free. This is the state of Maryland so I expect nothing free here ever as they were taxing me on rain water just a couple years ago yet weren't allowing me to collect that water. I'm willing to Pay anyhow so hopefully I can get what I want.
 
Maryland Silver Company has some good copies, although some do suffer from distortion.

I wouldn't get my hopes up on the scale - 1:48 was the standard in the day, and if that is what is in the book that is what there is. Do not despair, though, as you can (with effort) convert them. Also, don't expect free from the archive - there is a charge (it costs them to copy a fragile document, and they need to recoup a portion of the cost) although it should not be exhorbitant.

Make sure you arrive prepared with specific catalogue numbers for the itmes you want, and that you visit the right location.
 
Maryland Silver Company has some good copies, although some do suffer from distortion.

I wouldn't get my hopes up on the scale - 1:48 was the standard in the day, and if that is what is in the book that is what there is. Do not despair, though, as you can (with effort) convert them. Also, don't expect free from the archive - there is a charge (it costs them to copy a fragile document, and they need to recoup a portion of the cost) although it should not be exhorbitant.

Make sure you arrive prepared with specific catalogue numbers for the itmes you want, and that you visit the right location.
Yeah I expected to pay for them so I'm definitely ok with that. The plan set I found online is $40 so not to expensive for the plans if they are POF which the guy who sells the plans is assuming they are my guess is he doesn't know for sure or doesn't know much about ship building to know the difference. I will wait on his plans till I visit the archive as he says that's where they are from. for a good set of plans POF Id happily pay $100 for them. I am fairly good at scaling I have a lot of experience doing it on Airplanes. 1/48 would be a nice size project for my first scratch POF build so If I cant find the plans in 1/32 it wont hurt my feelings to do the 1/48 and since all the framing will be Oak and I want to make sure its grained properly for the frames the smaller scale would be a bit cheaper.
 
The plans won't be POF or POB, but rather (probably) the 1853 builders plans, as there are none from 1798. MSC has made copies of many plans from the archives, at a reasonable price. They do need ti work on their product descriptions, though, as some are a bit vague.
 
yeah I looked at them price is right but some of the plans are in all different scales not that big a deal. What I need to see is how they framed the bow and stern in the rest is fairly straight forward seen one seen um all construction for that line of ship. the plan I have showing the frames doesn't show bow or stern framing, but does show placement and spacing of the frames. I can figure out the bow and stern but I really want to do it exactly as the ship was done.
 
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