here - Traplet Publications

£Ia GREAT BRITAIN
MV DAWNLIGHT
TOM GORMAN DESCRIBES HIS BUILD OF A DIESEL-POWERED PUFFER
AU'nfOR: TOM GORMAN
THE DESIGN
I first saw the ship 'Raylight' in an article by James Pottinger in
the magazine 'Model Shipwright' although I believe that was an
expanded repeat of an earlier article published in Model Boats
magazine in 1966. The idea of a traditional puffer but diesel engine
driven appealed to me. I brought my thoughts to Bryan Ward of
Mobile Marine Models and we agreed that if the drawings were
enlarged to a scale of 1:32 it would be an ideal model to add to his
current range of similarly scaled tugs, lighters etc. Consequently
I agreed to build a suitable hull of the model in timber to a quality
suitable for using as a plug for hulls in fibreglass and to build
a complete model upon the GRP hull to prove the build and
provide templates and data to be used to build up a complete
set of kit masters. The drawing when expanded and examined,
showed certain'areas where alterations were needed to permit
easy manufacture of parts for making up a kit, the drawing was
then altered to suit and the model was re-named 'Dawnliqht'. Mr
Pottinger kindly gave his permission for the use of the drawings in
this case.
The photographs show the basic build up of the hull, which is the
standard plank-on-frame type but with bulkheads in place of frames.
Decks were inserted before the hull was sheathed in 3.0 mm thick
ply to ensure that the hull would not twist and to add strength. The
timber plug needs to stand up to a fair degree of pressure when
it is covered in resin and glass cloth as the material gets very hot
when it cures and it shrinks over the plug in the process creating a
high pressure on the timber. Once the timber hull was finished the
surface was brought to a fine degree of smoothness, it needed to
be brought up to the finish required for reproduction.
The details such as relief ports, anchor pockets, portholes, rope
guides and bilge keels need to be shown so that all future hulls in
GRP will carry this detail to allow the modeller to complete his/her
model correctly; obviously adding such detail in relief needs careful
measurement to ensure each item is in its precise location. This
detail work can be time consuming.
THE HULL
I was advised that it would take approximately three weeks
between delivery of the plug to the supply of the first GRP hull
and this led me to the calculation of costing. The plug had taken
almost 80 man hours to build; the master mould would need about
a further 30 hours minimum and then the building of the model
at about 350 hours all add up to a substantial amount of time not
counting the cost of materials etc. Some twenty-five or more years
ago I calculated that my initial development costs for a model
ship kit were in the order of £3,000; today this must now reach in
excess of £5,000 and a manufacturer needs to sell a great many
kits to cover such costs before he/she can start to make a profit. It
makes one to think does it not?
The first hull from the mould eventually arrived and work could
commence upon the Quilding of the motor puffer. The hull was
first washed in warm water and detergent to remove any traces
of the release agent used in manufacture, such release agent
would prevent the primer and finishing paints from firmly adhering
to the hull. Next all the marked release ports, portholes and rope
guide locations were covered with masking tape before they were
drilled out and opened up to the correct size. Masking tape was
used to prevent the drills from wandering and to prevent the fine
gel coat outer surface of the hull from being damaged as the work
proceeded, Once all these areas had been completed; the hull was
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abraded lightly allover using 600 grit wet and dry abrasive, used
wet and the hull was rinsed and left to dry naturally. Rubbing the
hull all over with fine abrasive provides a key for the subsequent
application of primer and finish coatings.
RUNNING
GEAR
At this point the propeller shaft, 8.0 inches long was inserted
through a suitable hole drilled and opened up to suit the outer tube
of the shaft. Using a Protoline unit from Mobile Marine Models, the
shaft and motor were set into the hull. A mounting for the motor
being made from 6.0 mm thick plywood and prepared to accept
the motor, this process allowing of accurately aligning the motor,
coupling and shaft. Forward of the motor a small platform of 3.0
mm plywood mounted on two blocks of soft wood was installed to
carry the M.troniks speed controller and the on/off switch for the
electrics. Further forward a cradle of plywood was made to hold the
6.0 volt 10 amp/hr battery lying on its side. All such plywood parts
were treated to two or three coats of paint once they were glued
down. Note that the 8" shaft, motor, coupling, ESC platform and
battery tray were all located so that they could be easily accessed
through the hatch opening. Motor, coupling, ESC and battery were
all removed after test fitting to allow the hull to be painted.
Before proceeding to paint the hull the cast portholes and rope
guides were next prepared for fixing, the inside of the hull was
lightly abraded in way of all these locations and strips of 0.5 mm
thick styrene sheet was attached using a contact adhesive. At the
bow area this covered the inside of the bulwarks and allowed easy
attachment of bulwark supports cut from styrene and the top rails
that were also made from styrene sheet. The cast portholes and
the oval rope gUides from the Mobile Marine Models range were
next carefully fitted and glued into place with superglue.
Main deck supports were made from strips of 3.0 mm thick x 10.0
mm wide soft wood and tacked with superglue along the sides of
the hull below the freeing ports at a depth to allow the main decks
of 3.0 mm plywood to be fitted flush with the bottom of each port.
A second strip being glued over the first to give a thickness of
6.0 mm for mounting the decks, once in place they were secured
with catalysed resin for extra security. All the holes in the hull were
covered on the inside with masking tape to prevent the spray of
paint from spoiling the hull interior. To ensure that no grease or
finger marks were left to mar the paint finish the hull was wiped
over with methylated spirit and allowed to dry.
The whole hull was next treated to three coats of red oxide primer
from spray cans, each coating being carefully examined and any
imperfections remedied before the next was applied. The paints
used to cover the hull were all from Halfords and were of their
acrylic car finishes. The hull was then left to harden over a period
of four days before it was stood carefully on a flat surface and
braced to bring the waterline parallel to the surface of the table.
The waterline was marked off with a soft pencil attached to a large
try square drawn carefully round the hull. Accurate measurements
being needed here and all measurements carried out on the basis
of 'measure twice, act once'.
The lower part of the hull was covered completely with tinder dry
newsprint held in place with masking tape; tinder dry to prevent
any chance of newsprint marring the paint surface. The upper hull
ABOVE: Timber beams across the GRP hull ABOVE: Midships decks laid over beams, ABOVE: Bulkhead aft of midships deck
to cerry midships deck beams to be cut away
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ABOVE: Stern of hull showing propeller
and rudder, lower support for rudder stock
still to be fitted
ABOVE: Supports for motor and speed
control unit in place
ABOVE:
Beams to carry radio receiver and
base for 6 volt f 0 amp/hr battery in hull
ABOVE: Tray carrying rudder servo fixed to
beams in stern area of hull
ABOVE: Battery pack and switch for
navigation lights under after deck with
modified tray and with rudder servo in place
ABOVE: Centre of hull showing motor,
speed control, switch and battery in place
was then spray painted green, four coats being applied and each
examined carefully as it dried. Technically the hull colour should
have been black but this would not have been as attractive as a
fine lighter colour and green (Ford Laurel Green) was chosen as it
was to hand in the workshop. At this point the hull was set aside
for almost two weeks to cure fully before further work was done
and the main deck hatch was built in the interim. This hatch is a
prominent part of the model and had to be researched and made as
accurately
as possible.
THE HATCHES
The full size hatches of such vessels in the years before and after
the Second World War had covers that were formed from steel or
wrought iron girders laid over the opening and intC! guides on either
side of the opening. These girders were used to hold hatch boards
of heavy timber and approximately six feet x two feet in size. Over
these boards were then fitted tarpaulin sheets secured round the
perimeter of the hatch with steel bars laid in side mounted brackets
and made tight with wooden wedges driven hard in place. Thinner
ABOVE: Forward end of hull showing radio receiver and battery
mounted
steel bars were fitted across the tarpaulin to prevent it moving and
such bars were locked in place with bolts and nuts.
The model hatch was made from a frame of 3.0 mm thick
plywood approximately 25 mm wide stood on edge and glued
into a rectangle with a raised centre at each end. The rectangle
was braced at each corner with triangles of 3.0 mm plywood. The
top was formed from two pieces of 1.5 mm plywood over three
fine braces across the hatch. The outer faces of this hatch were
covered with 0.5 mm styrene sheet glued down with contact
adhesive. Round the sides and ends of the structure were glued
fine styrene angle to simulate the perimeter rails and the whole of
the top surface of the hatch was covered with fine cotton sail cloth
glued down with diluted PVA adhesive.
Once the glue had dried the cloth was painted with dark green
paint mixed from water based acrylic artists medium and set aside
to dry. The sides of the hatch were painted black and finally over
40 tiny wooden wedges were cut and glued round the hatch sides
to simulate the correct finish. Strips of styrene painted black
were glued in place over the hatch top as illustrated. This hatch
consumed almost 25 hours of work and experimentation.
Cross beams cut from 6.0 mm thick x 10 mm wide plywood were
glued across
the well of the hull to carry the main deck, these beams
were fitted with small triangles of plywood at each corner to provide
extra security. The main decks of 3.0 mm plywood were next cut to
fit, templates of card being made first to ensure accurate fitting of the
decks, this section of decks being made in two halves to allow easy
attachment. Once tried in place and fit found correct the underside
of both parts were treated to two coats of white primer to render
the timber waterproof. 'They were then glued carefully in place using
PVA thixotropic adhesive. Once this deck was complete, 0.5 mm
thick styrene was cut to fit the inside of the bulwarks and fixed in
place with contact cement. The relief ports were then cut through the
styrene and bulwark supports cut from 1.0 mm thick styrene were
glued in place with liquid poly. The athwartship beams in the way of
the hatch opening
were next cut away and strips of 3.0 mm ply cut to
fit were glued under the edges of the opening
thick area to which to attach the coamings.
to fonm a reasonably
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Coamings made from strips of 3.0 mm thick ply approximately 15
mm wide were made to fit round the hatch opening, measurement
of this opening and the fit of the coamings was critical as the premade
hatch had to be a sliding fit after all parts had been painted.
The coamings were reinforced at each corner with triangles of 3.0
mm thick ply and they were painted by brush with acrylics mixed
to a dull red. The hatch was tried in place and found to fit; it gave
a large opening, when removed, allowing easy access to the radio
equipment, motor, speed controller and switches etc.
Progressively the remainder of the decks were made from 3.0 mm
plywood and fitted in place over suitable beams. It was found that
the fibreglass hull had spread slightly and a pair of long, adjustable
clamps was used to hold the hull sides until the beams and glue
were firmly fixed. All the decks were treated with two coats of
sanding sealer and sanded smooth once fitted. The after deck was
cut away in way of the superstructure and low coamings were fitted
made from strips of 3.0 mm plywood. Beneath this area a platform
was made from 3.0 mm plywood over the propeller shaft and on
this was fitted a battery pack of four 1.2 mmM cells to feed the
navigation lights and a suitable on/off switch was also fitted here, in
circuit with the battery pack and lighting harness.
SUPERSTRUCTURE
The superstructure was built from 1.5 mm plywood to fit
accurately over the coamings and was of a simple box construction
except for the wheelhouse. So frequently, when fitting glaZing, glue
spreads and mars the clear material. On this occasion I decided
to build the wheelhouse walls in three layers to allow glazing to
slide into place, glue free, and to be held securely when the roof
was glued on. The inner and outer walls were cut to show the full
size of the window apertures. the middle section of the walls was
cut smaller than the outer and inner sections by enough to allow
the glazing to slide between the outer sections. All three individual
wall sections were then glued firmly together and prepared for
staining and varnishing before being assembled. The result can be
seen in the photographs
ABOVE: Stern view showing construction of aft superstructure
Inside the wheelhouse were fitted, a wheel on a stand and complete
with chain and pulley, binnacle and telegraph, all from the Mobile
Marine Models range and a chart table complete with chart was
made and.fitted to the port side of the wheelhouse.
The funnel was carved and sanded from a block of jelutong to
match the drawings. The wheelhouse roof was prepared next.
painted and fitted with navigation lamps and casings, the lamps of
LED's, from Mobile Marine Models, were fitted and white styrene
tubes were added beneath the lamps to conceal the cables that led
through the wheelhouse. The wheelhouse doors were fitted with
small brass hinges purchased from Squires. and can be opened or
closed as required. Aft of the funnel housing are two water tanks
and a skylight and further aft is the quadrant over the rudder with
operating chains in place. Tubes for the rudder operating units run
on either side of the engine room casing. Above the aft tanks etc.,
are two frames upon which the lifeboat is mounted and a small
ABOVE: View inside wheelhouse showing wheel, steering chain
with gypsy and telegraph
ABOVE: Stern end of superstructure
base illustrating rudder quadrant with
steering chain
ABOVE: Main mast lower showing pivot
arrangement
for derrick
ABOVE:
slewing
Base of main mast illustrating
winch
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ABOVE: Stern deck of model completed
ABOVE: Stern of model illustrating wheelhouse
and detail
ABOVE: Detail photo to show hatch with tarpaulin and straps etc.
derrick, made from styrene tube is mounted on the funnel casing
and connected to the lifeboat. The lifeboat. from the Quaycraft
range is covered with a green tarpaulin made in the same way as
the tarpaulin of the main hatch.
The after deck carries two small cowl vents, mushroom vents,
bollards and rope guides, two large cowl vents sit each side of the
funnel and the stern deck is surrounded by two row rails carried in
flat bar stanchions. These stanchions were made from 3.0 ;'m wide
plated brass 0.5 mm thick, drilled in a small jig and each stanchion
was soldered, end on, into the slot of a 10 BA bolt. Holes, to
accept these bolts, were drilled into the perimeter of the stern deck
and the bolts glued in place with a dab of superglue. Finally the
stern lamp and pedestal were fitted over a suitably drilled hole aft
of the access opening and a jackstaff fashioned from brass rod was
ABOVE: Further detail of main deck showing hatch and main
mast with derrick mounted
fitted to the starboard side of the access opening and finished with
a red ensign from the 'Little Flags' range.
The main mast was made from 12 mm diameter dowel. turned to
suit in the lathe, it was outfitted with ladders. brackets. navigation
lamps etc .. after it was primed and painted. The cables from the
operating lamp were glued to the mast with superglue and painted
to match. The pivot system for the derrick was turned and milled to
suit and attached to the mast with concealed pins and superglue.
On the forward face of the mast there is a small winch. on the full
size vessel used to slew the derrick, this was made to scale from
a small block of jelutong. painted and glued in place on completion.
The derrick was fashioned from three sizes of brass tube. the
centre section being the largest diameter. the bands and rings for
ABOVE: Detail of forward deck and
illustrating combined winch/windlass,
brass barred anchor cable yet to be painted
ABOVE: Stern bulkhead showing port
lights, vent piping and access ladders
ABOVE: Photo of bow to show anchor,
Panama ports and name
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attaching the blocks were made from strip brass soldered in place
and the pivot end was filed up from a small piece of brass rod, the
whole derrick was painted buff on completion.
On the forward deck was located a small access hatch made
from a block of scrap timber and styrene sheet. Four bollards were
located round the deck as were two mushroom vents. The spare
anchor is fastened down close to the bow and the anchor cable
cover and tube is located on the starboard side. Aft of the main
mast on a platform to bring it level to the forward deck is located
the combined winch and windlass. This unit was turned from
jelutong and finished with parts made from styrene, the anchor
cable; of barred chain; nunsfrom this windlass section to the
anchor hawse pipe top, in this case the anchor cable has been left
unpainted to show it off clearly. Finally the derrick and mast were
rigged with black cord using suitable pulley blocks from the Squires
and the Mobile Marine Models ranges. The model was examined
carefully, access ladders were fitted, and parts were touched
up with paint where necessary. Name and Port of Registry were
applied from letters from the B.E.C.C. range and Plimsoliline and
depth markings were added from the same range. The hull then had
two coats of satin varnish applied by spray.
Ballast in the form of small flat sheets of lead flashing were secured
inside the hull using cellulose putty and superglue and the model
floated again for test. Dawnlight was sailed and water tested on
three occasions, once at Sheffield, Millhouses' Park; once at
Goole in the company of the young lady representing Macmillan
Nurses Support and a second time at Goole to allow photographs
to be taken. The model, complete in a purpose made carry case,
was then handed to Macmillan Nurses Support to be auctioned
and to raise funds for the charity that had been so helpful to the
author during a series of operations to remove cancerous tumours,
thankfully successful. MM.
SEA TRIALS
The model was floated in the test tank (domestic bath) and
temporary weights were applied to bring it down to the waterline.
ABOVE: The finished model on display
ABOVE: It is very difficult
size vessel or the model?
to determine if this is a picture of a full
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