Hi all I have some pictures of my scratchbuilt Sterling 63' in progress. I started this project in September of last year and this is the progress so far. As the project moves along I will have more pictures. I know that I will need and welcome suggestions from more expirenced builders. Thanks for looking
Doug

Shoot! That looks awesome so far! Looks like you have a lot of military ships as well.

Since you are a tinknocker, are you going to fabricate the air vents?

I'm very much looking forward to seeing more of your build. I am particularly interested in seeing how you power her. Thanks for sharing her and your efforts with us.

Originally Posted by Kmot

Shoot! That looks awesome so far! Looks like you have a lot of military ships as well.

Since you are a tinknocker, are you going to fabricate the air vents?

Thanks for the good words. I have built several Navy ships but the one you see in the background is DDG 2 Charles Adams. She is also scratch built in wood. The second one is a WWII DE. It was the first attempt at scratch building. I have used fiberglass in the past but really prefer and enjoy working with wood. As for the vents probably not but I did make heat and AC duct work for my daughters doll house. I'm afraid these are a little smaller than I'm used to.
Doug

Originally Posted by jeepers1940

I'm very much looking forward to seeing more of your build. I am particularly interested in seeing how you power her. Thanks for sharing her and your efforts with us.

Right now she is set up to run 2 Johnson motors on 6 volts direct drive. If that's too much they will get geared down or replaced with Speed 400's belt drive.The battery box is built for a 6 volt gel cell. It gives a decent run time and simpifies the wiring. Thanks for the interest, I will post more pictures as it comes together.
Doug

Hey Tinknocker;
Found my 63' plans and instructions. Here's a picture that you may like and others may too. Pete

Thanks Pete great picture with lots of good information. It will come in handy when I get to that point. Now that you found your plans, maybe it is time to build another new scratch built 63' eh what? I just started building the lower cabin, not much to look at right now though.
Doug

This is the latest progress on my 63' . It is starting to like a boat now. I have also included some pictures of my Charles Adams DDG 2. She has been in the water a few times but not finished. Right now it just sits on the bench gathering sanding dust from the other projects waiting for me to get back . to finish the detail work. Please forgive the dust. Thanks for looking.
Doug

tinknocker, the orginal kit called for the use of alot of balsa, I was wondering if you replaced that with basswood? On my "to do" list, I have a scratchbuild 50'CC Catalina in basswood and mahogany. I think by replacing the balsa with basswood would produce a heavier, more substancial model.

Predredadnut you are right about the balsa. I did replace some of the balsa with basswood. The chines and and the sheers are bass. All of the removable rear deck framing was replaced with bass. The lower cabin formers are bass. Anything that will be handled on a regular basis will be basswood. Basswood is considerable stronger than balsa but does not add that much weight overall. I like the look of the solid mahgonany, the drawback that I am finding out is that it splits very easily. You have to very careful and not put undue pressure on it.

You do really good work!

Originally Posted by tinknocker

I did make heat and AC duct work for my daughters doll house. Doug

I'm afraid you have a sever case of model builders syndrome . I'll bet there aren't a lot of doll houses with heating ducts. At one point I got the idea of putting a bunch of fans up in the superstructure of the DD I'm building, drew it all up, I had ducts running all over the ship, to ventilate all the heat from the steamplant and engine, I've since rethought that out but will still have some fans.

The boat looks great, it's going to be a beaut. How are you planning on sealing and painting the inside of the hull? Cap

Hey tinknocker. Looking good there sir. Kinda like building an airplane wing huh? Got a tip for you.Try and find a SINGLE piece of wood to cover the cabin top and the bridge top. In my kit the tops were of two pieces of wood and I have never been able to keep the seam from openng up over the cabin. I have sealed it several times with all kinds of stuff including epoxy pushed into it and the wood split again next to the epoxy. The crack keeps coming back. Must have ten coats of paint on it too and it's still there. Pete

Originally Posted by capricorn

I'm afraid you have a sever case of model builders syndrome . I'll bet there aren't a lot of doll houses with heating ducts. At one point I got the idea of putting a bunch of fans up in the superstructure of the DD I'm building, drew it all up, I had ducts running all over the ship, to ventilate all the heat from the steamplant and engine, I've since rethought that out but will still have some fans.

The boat looks great, it's going to be a beaut. How are you planning on sealing and painting the inside of the hull? Cap

You're right Cap, I think it is more like a terminal case of modelers syndrome. Being retired I need to keep my mind (whats left of it) and hands busy. The duct work in the doll house was fun but I don't think I will do that again. What DD are you building? What scale? Kit or scratchbuilt? If you have pictures I would like to see them.

As for sealing the inside of the hull, it is coated with two coats of clear epoxy so it is well waterproofed. Some boats Have been painted over the epoxy but most have been left natural. Thanks for the nice comments good luck with your project.
Doug

Originally Posted by norgale

Hey tinknocker. Looking good there sir. Kinda like building an airplane wing huh? Got a tip for you.Try and find a SINGLE piece of wood to cover the cabin top and the bridge top. In my kit the tops were of two pieces of wood and I have never been able to keep the seam from openng up over the cabin. I have sealed it several times with all kinds of stuff including epoxy pushed into it and the wood split again next to the epoxy. The crack keeps coming back. Must have ten coats of paint on it too and it's still there. Pete

Thanks for heads up Pete. You have a good idea. Plywood would be about the only wood wide enough to cover that in one piece. I have a piece of 1/16th inch ply cut cross grain for easy bending but the lower roof has a compound curve so I don't know how that will work out. Definitely something to think about. Doug