Here is the start of my topic for the HMS Winchelsea. She was launched in 1764 and is a Niger clas frigate. I am mideling her as she appeared during teh American Revolution. The plans were drafted from the originals in the NMM. I am also using a contemporary model to reconstruct the carvings and other details missing in the drafts. There is also a wealth of primary source correspondence from the desighner, captain and shipyards. She was designed by Sir Thomas Slade.


Here are some photos to date including those of the NMM model to show what she will look like. I am building her POB much like the Confederacy although I plan on adding even more detail. The model will be fully rigged at 3/16" scale. I am using boxwood for the entore model except for the bulkheads and false keel and hull fillers. Those are ply or basswood. The port side will not be framed like the NMM model and there wont be a cut-away like Confederacy. This will be fully planked although I will leave half of the qdeck and fcastle open to show the deck framing.

To save time I have sent the bulkheads and false keel out to be laser cut. That should save three weeks time. I designed her with a large number of bulkheads. More than any other kit including the ones I designed. The head knee is completed and attached to the false keel. The false keel or "bulkhead former" is in two pieces. The head knee is built up much like the actual ship. Next I will add the actual keel pieces and then bulkheads. My earlier test of the bulkheads dry fit are shown next to the Confederacy about six months ago for a size comparison. They are the same scale. This catches up my progress to this point. I have a long way to go....

Chuck

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I don't think there is any comparison of your work to other kit designs out there Chuck. Simply amazing.

How do you plan on showing the whole port side as a frame depiction with bulkheads in the way?

Dave

Thank you very much...both sides will be fully planked on this one. No exposed frames. Its goind to be fully rigged most likely and the exposed frames is not a good choice for that type of display. At least in my opinion. Tat makes the design much easier too. I do however plan on leaving some areas of the quarterdeck and forecastle unplanked to show the gun deck below.

Chuck

WOW! These pictures make me feel totally inadequate.
It is great to view such masterful work.
Alan

I have finally completed the skeleton for the HMS Winchelsea model. It is very similar to the design concept I used on the Confederacy and Syren. Now that it is completed I can start planking the hull. While doing that I will continue to draft the inboard details. Its moving along well although it is going slowly. But at least you can get a sense of the hull shape on this 1770's 32 gun frigate now.

I will be using Boxwood for the hull planking. Next up is painting the gun port openings and then planking will start, followed by treenailing.

Any questions or comments are welcome as always...

Chuck

http://modelshipworld.com/phpBB2/files/firsttwosternframes_149.jpg
http://modelshipworld.com/phpBB2/files/sternframesdonewtemplate_119.jpg
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Chuck, fantastic work! You make it all look so easy.

I've always wondered, since you laser cut the bulk heads would it be possible to fair the frame with the laser? Potentially adding the angles to the frames so that sanding is minimized? Or at the very least mark with the laser the depth of sanding needed on each frame. I know I spent allot of time sanding/checking/sanding and then still end up with too sharp an angle or too shallow frame requiring a shim.
This would go for the rabbit as well.

Dave

Thanks

The laser can only cut at a right angle or scribe and etched line on the surface. It cant crete angled cuts or complex beveled cuts at all. That would be a good thing to have though. At best, a reference line can be etched on one side of the wood to indicate the approximate bevel required. I did this on Syren's bulkheads. But on this project I am just doing it the old fashioned way. I rarely fair my bulkheads before gluing them into position. If anything, I will just give it a slight bevel to get rid of the obvious material but I never try and get close to the actual bevel required.

I always use battens incrementally at different levels to periodically check the fairing so I don't take it too far. In most cases I see the opposit is true however, most folks dont fair the hull enough.

Chuck

It's beautiful Chuck. Your photos are great. A little off subject but I was admiring the backdrop and lighting. Do you have an all white backdrop or off white and what kind of lighting?

Thanks Don...

Believe it or not, thats a white bed sheet on an old wooden table. The wall behind the table is simply painted white with house paint from Home depot. The lighting is directly above the table. Two fluorescent bulbs 36" long. No flash on the camera...its a simple point and shoot.

A simple setup indeed. What will her dimensions be when you are done Chuck?

Thanks

Yes its a pretty simplistic design. The hull will be 28" long unrigged. Rigged it will be close to 40" long I suppose. Its considerably smaller than Confederacy which was 36" long unrigged.

Chuck

My god, Chuck... How am I supposed to work on my projects while I'm busy drooling over your projects???

And, when I'm not drooling, I'm busy wiping up the puddles...

Clare

Thank you Clare

I get the same way when I look at your projects. I have been building frigates for a while now and would love to switch it up and do a schooner. Your projects inspire me because of the high quality and craftsmanship. I tell you what...you do a frigate next and I will try a schooner. Thank you for teh kind words. So far it doesnt look like much I am hoping to start planking today.

Chuck

Chuck: Now that I am taking a little break from building along with you, I can take the time to admire your beautiful work as you post your updates. Looks like this one's going to be another real beauty. Puts me in the mood to go back to work.

Thanks Chuck.

I don't know about my craftsmanship at times. But, okay, maybe by the time you finish Winchelsea, I'll be ready to start a frigate. But, it won't look as good as yours.

Since you're rigging this one, maybe that'll give me a little more time to work up to the project.

Clare

Thanks

Didnt have much time to make a lot of progress but managed to start the planking. I am off next week so I hope to get a lot more done.

I planked the lower counter first as is the usual practice.

Then I painted the port openings red since the bulwarks will eventualy be painted too. The planking will be carefully cut around each port opening leaving a "lip" on the bottom and two sides. This will create the rabbet of the port lining.

I created the fixed hull blocks just like I did for Confederacy. I created a small sheave slot in a 1/16" thick piece of boxwood. Then I held it against the hull where it would be located. I used a sharp awl to mark the locations of the two holes that would simulate the sheave. After drilling them through the hull framing, I glued the fixed vlock into position. It is the same thickness as the hull planking that will butt against it. To finish it up, I shaped a small piece of boxwood to simulate the actual sheave. That was glued into the slot to complete the fixed block on the outboard side of the hull. The process will be repeated inboard before it is planked.

Before I started planking, I ran a batten strip along the hull. The top of this strip represents the BOTTOM edge of the wales. There were laser etched reference marks on each bulkhead so this was pretty straight forward. fter tweaking the batten a bit to get a smooth run I used a pencil to mark each bulkhead on the outside edge.

The batten was placed on both sides of the hull so it could viewed at multiple angles. I wanted to check and double check that the battens were mirror images. It is pretty crucial that the run of the planking be consistent on both sides of the hull. I used tick strips to make sure the distance from the batten to the shear line was the same port and starboard.

The first strake was then placed on the hull. It represents the first strake below the wales. Then I worked my way up from there. The wales and black strake will be completed later with a second layer of boxwood. Its the same process used for the Confederacy as well. I dis decide to plank the hull above the wales more accurately than the Confederacy. I am planking around the ports as they would have in actual practice. If a strake under a port became too thin, they would have used a thicker plank below it and shaped it to suit. A TAB of sorts was shaped into the plank making it wider in that area. Had a really thin piece been used it would not have been strong and would have been prone to rot quicker.

Hopefully this will be made clear in the photos as it is hard to explain. The shape of those planks directly below a port require some careful carving and filing. You can see one of them pictured before it was glued onto the model. I have only ligtly sanded the planking up to this point and no finish has been applied yet. Once thats done it should look cleaner with less scratches and very smooth. Its a little rough in its current state. I will snad with 220 grit initially and then switch to a fine wet/dry to finish it off. Then some wipe-on poly will be applied. A pencil was run across one edge of each plank to simulate the caulking. That should also become more clea and uniform after the finish is applied. There will also be the inevitable touch up fo rthe red paint on each port opening too. It should be a productive weekend I hope.

Chuck

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A beautiful job as always Chuck; it's very sharp and clean. Will you be treenailing?

Thanks Don...Yes I will be treenailing but probably not until the entire side is done above the wales. Even though the contemporary model is not treenailed I like the look and will be adding that detail to this model.

Chuck

Hi Chuck,

I admire your workmanship. It gives the rest of us something to aim for. I've told my wife that I'm saving up for a laser machine (yeah right!)

I personally enjoy fighting ships built between 1750 and 1800. That's why I'm currently building a 40 gun frigate circa 1790 from Harold Underhill's plans. I'm doing myself no favours by building it in oak so precision is difficult - Don't ask me why. I suspect that there is a bit of masochist lurking in me.

I'll post pics of the build on the forum when I'm nearer completion. Currently, I'm building the yards. I decided to add furled sails to my model because (a) I've never tried it before and (b) I'm trying for more realism. I'm not sure I am succeeding. I would be interested to know whether or not you have considered adding sails to your frigate?

Regards,

Rudeau

Thank you

I have thought about it from time to time. But thats as far as it went. Having never tried it before I always chicken out. If I were going to try adding sails it would probably be on a smaller ship. At some point I will prbably give it a go....

Chuck

Its going slowly now that the holidays are upon us. Planking continues and I have been messing around with the cannon. Planking is all in Boxwood as well as the carriages for the cannon. The cannon are turned brass. I did not turn them and instead ordered them custom made through Master-Model. They were blackened using the stuff sold by Model Expo.

Chuck
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Nice job Chuck. The cannons look great.

Chuck,
On the wedge under the ports, it looks as if the plank was initially wider and then narrowed everywhere except under the port. Or is there a seam that I can't see.

It seems that there would be allot of extra work narrowing most of the plank rather than just cutting a notch out under the port and fitting a short piece.

Dave

You have a good eye...

Yes that tab or extension could apear at the top or the bottom of a port opening. This is true for sweep ports as well. It is much more work but is more historically accurate. It isnt any more difficukt though. It just takes longer to cut these. Having seen this drafted on contemporary planking expansion drafts and read about it, I thought to raise the bar a little bit.

You see, the planking would never have been simply notched out if the plank was to be reduced to less than 25% of its width under or over a port. The plank would be more prone to rot there and very weak generally. This was common practice. It is a detail not usually seen on contemporary models although there are a few good examples around.

The wales would have been planked top and butt style and there would have been a band under the wales planked that way as well. These two features wont be shown on my model because after painting the wales black it wouldnt be seen and I may be plating the hull in copper below the water line. The details wouldnt be seen.

Hope that helps. I will see if I can post a picture of a planking expansion that shows these details. I worry about copyrights but may be able to link to one if I can find a good example on the NMM site. I also posted a picture of David Antscherl's Resolution of 1772 which shows these details above the port openings. This shows

Chuck

http://modelshipworld.com/phpBB2/files/gunportplank1_130.jpg
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Automerged Post:
Here is a great contemporary draft that shows this planking feature. Be sure to enlarge it so you acn see the deatils. Although the wales dont show the topp and butt planking feature I was talking about.

http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/81960.html

Chuck

Chuck,
You stated "and I may be plating the hull in copper below the water line. The details wouldnt be seen."
If you plate the hull will you be putting those dimples on the plates. I started to do that on my Kate Cory and to my eye they looked so out of scale I stopped and just used the copper as it came off the roll. Do you really think that the simulated nails are not a distraction.
Fred