The Building of the Model of BCK 209 'Jeannie McIntosh'

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Views of the sterns of BCK steam drifters - hoping to clarify for Ian whether they had a tug style stern.


Frigate Bird built 1900SPACE SPACE SPACE SPACEHope built 1907


Boats unknown at Findochty

Engine components as supplied

Some of the machined engine components

The boiler shell

The boiler was given to me by a retired coppersmith, its awaiting hydrostatic testing now. The castings I bought from Stuart Turner. HERE

The output end of the engine

The battery is to give an impression of the size - not to drive it.

The engine has had a short run on compressed air today, will now have to wait until the boiler is ready for a proper run!

First planks on

The keel is cut deeper than required to give stability during the build. When the hull is complete, I will reduce the depth below the planking by about half.

Note the use of masking tape and ironing board

'Ginnie' the overseer

The glue used so far is an evo stick exterior wood glue, which I think is pva based. Easy to work and weatherproof. It dries clear and it says, stronger than the wood itself, though I havent tested this. This is ok for models, but for full size boats, I use an epoxy two pack system. That gives joints stronger than the wood itself, something I tested by driving over a joint - the wood broke, the glued joint was undamaged.
The filler is a standard car body filler, epoxy based, sands to a very smooth finish suitable for painting.
Once the hull is ok, I will be coating it with probably 3 or 4 thin coats of twin pack epoxy to strengthen and waterproof it. Internally, it will get 2 coats of epoxy with a layer of v light glass cloth. This waterproofs and makes it v strong.
The finished epoxy can be painted over with enamal or acrylic paint. I have also used car body paint with good results.
Maybe a few words about materials is in order!
The keel is made up from one peice of clear pine in this case. This particular boat is a bit different from others I have done in that the keel structure is partly external to the hull. Most modern ships, with the exception of sailing vessels, have a smooth bottom, often with bilge strakes on the turn of the bilge.
The planking on the model is cedar. I got this wood from a wood reclamation yard, its previous life being tongue and groove cladding. I cut it into 3mm x 10mm wide planks using a small bench circular saw.

Well, I removed the build shadows, wonder if I have enough room inside!
Found my first mistake though, I only built to the deckline, should have gone right up to the top of the bulwarks.

I will just have to add more planking now. Wont take long - these things happen!

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