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Mondfeld " Historic Ship Models " |
Very thick wales were sometimes stepped down gradually in two
ledges, Fig. 26. H.M.S. "
Victory" is like this.
Before 1720 the wide main wales were made with two thick
strakes and a space of thinner plank between. The upper strakes were
also narrow. Fig. 25. These strakes were only one plank in width
whereas the broad wales were anything from 3 to 5 planks in width. The
arrangement of wales is a good guide to the approximate date of an old
ship.
It frequently happened even well into the 19th century
with power driven wooden vessels that through insufficient knowledge in
their designs, some shipbuilders found their ships had not enough
stability when being fitted out. To alleviate this, the ship's beam was
increased by adding very thick planking all around the hull at the
waterline. This was called girdling and gave the appearance of thick
main wales, and was usually passed off as such.
Also very old ships with worn and leaky sides were often
given some few years more life by adding a complete new skin of
additional planking over the old, from the keel to above the waterline.
Notice that in Fig. 24 the level of the fore and main
channels is higher than in Fig. 25 and also the chains themselves in
Fig. 25 are much shorter. This change came about in the British Navy as
a result of experience gained on Anson's tamous voyage around the world
in 1745, when heavy weather damage was caused to the channels and also
the rigging attached to them being so close to the waterline.
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STRAKES AND WALES are applied to the sides with glue, using bent pins
to hold the strips in place until the glue dries. Fig. 27. Start at the
how and work aft applying glue as each section is drawn in to the hull.
WALES are more difficult to apply, as they are wider and do not readily
bend to the curves and sheer line of a small hull. For this reason it
is best to shape a heavy paper template and transfer the shape to the
wood sheet, ending up with a timber somewhat like that shown in Fig. 27.
To ease the bend at
the bow, shave the wale a trifle thinner, and give it a preliminary
steam bending (at the spout of a tea kettle). If hand-holding the wale
in place is necessary, a tast drying cement is called for. Where there
is space between the wale and the hull, due to curvature of the sides,
fill with plastic wood or like filler. Finally the wale can be lightly
sanded to bring it to uniform outer shape.
Alternatively the wide wales may be built up from several widths of
1/16th" or 1/8” strip, filling the seams before finishing.
A BILLBOARD was often
fixed to the topsides, just aft of the cathead. This timber protected
the sides against chafing of the bills of the anchor as it raised to
the deck. Fig. 28.
In the
latter part of the 19th century the billboard was often covered with an
iron plate which extended over the top rail. The earlier form of
billboard in the 17th, 18th and early 19th century was made with thick
planking to bring flush the space between the raised wales. If the fore
channel was well forward a portable board called an anchor lining was
fitted underneath it from the edge of the channel to the top of the
wale beneath, which enabled the anchor to be hoisted up and on to the
channel without catching under it.
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Contents
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Model
scale
Ship lines
The hull, woodworking
Holes in the hull
Gun ports
Decks, laying of
Rails and channels
Wales
Stern and galleries
Head and its rails
Figurehead
Rudder
Steering gear
Deck furniture
Windlass
Capstan
Hatches
Skylights
Hammock nettings
Painting the model, colors
Waterline
Rigging:
 The spars
Tops,
crosstrees, cheeks
Mast,
boom, gaff, yards
Lower
and upper yards,
halliards
The
double topsail
Lifts,
footropes, sheets, braces, clew garnets
Yard
bands
Making the spars
Ironwork
Bowsprit, dolphin striker,
the doublings
Top, construction
Shrouds, deadeyes, lanyards
Books & Tools,
recommendations
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