PRIDE of BALTIMORE

A working model in 1:20 scale.

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This model will represent the vessel as she appeared in the fall of 1981, when I served as crew aboard her. She will be built "plank-on-bulkhead," glassed outside, the bulkheads removed, and the inside coated with resin. She will be built from Thomas Gilmer's plans, my photos from my time aboard, and other images I can find of the boat from that time.
It will be 1/20th the size of the original;

• Hull length: 54" (137.16cm)
• Length on deck: 48" (121.9cm)
• Length on waterline w/o rudder: 46.75" (118.75cm)
• Length over the rig: 81.5" (207cm)
• Beam: 13.625" (34.6cm)
• Draft without ballast keel: 5.875" (14.9cm)
• Total height (top of jack-yard to bottom of keel): 61.6" (156.5cm)
• Total Sail area: 2,205.13 square inches in 8 sails..

The model will carry the sails shown at the top of this page with working squares, running back-stays, main fore-stays, over-lapping headsails, etc; all operated by radio control.

1 - 11/13/2010-11/1/2011: Design; Specification; Framing; Planking (this page)
2 - 11/3-20/11: Making a Male Mold; Wood from the Original; Pulling out Forms
3 - 11/25/11-3/31/12: Glassing the Hull; Trunk for the Fin; Deck Beams; First Float
4 - 4/7-14/12: Fin; Wales; Paint
5 - 4/15-21/12: Fashion Pieces and Transom; Channels; Cabin Trunk; Sub-deck
6 - 4/15-21/12: Sub-deck; Timber Rail, Deck Framing; Access Hatch; Motor Mount; Cabin Lid
7 - 4/22-26/12: Bitts; Counter Decking; Cabin Lid; Rudder
8 - 4/27-5/1/12: Rudder; Battery Mount; Prop Shaft; Tiller
9 - 5/2-9/12: Prop Shaft; Tiller; Servos; Speed Control
10 - 5/10-16/12: Sail Patterns; Mast making; Pumps; Cross-trees; Caps
11 - 5/18-24/12: Bowsprit; Tiller
12 - 5/29-6/1/12: Topmasts; Mast Hoops; Hot Knife
13 - 6/1-18/12: Tiller Line Fairleads; Sail-Making; Gaffs & Boom; Ring-tail Boom Iron; Stuns'l Boom Irons; Jackstays
14 - 6/19-7/18: Bolt-ropes; Rope Making; Blocks; Getting ready to display.
15 - 7/23/13; 5/14; 5/15-: More research; Moving; Going on Display; New sail control idea; Getting Wet; Control Line schematic
16 - 6/6/16-6/20/22: Steering controls; Propeller; new framing and a new hatch; some fairlead blocks for below; Hatch grating; RC Tx box.
17 - 6/20-7/7/22: Moved steering control, removed motor and prop, sail control, setting-up winches, printed guns, swivel guns.
18 - 7/13/22-6/8/23: Sail controls; printed parts; bilge pump.
19 - 9/22/23-: Ballast Determination; Ballast Bulb and Fin; Pride's boats.

11/2010: With the plans scaled to 1:20 and the patterns printed, the forms were cut from 5/16" CDX plywood

9/2011: This model's not at the top of the priority list, so it's been a while since it was worked on. The keel was cut from the same 5/16" plywood and fitted to the forms.

10/8: The table saw was set-up to rip planking. The block is clamped to the table to the left of the blade as a stop and adjusted to the plank thickness wanted. The finger-board keeps the work up against the fence. After ripping a piece, the fence is moved left for the next cut.

The forms were taped so the planking wouldn't stick to them. The planking will be glued to the keel and to each other.

The starboard side garboard strake was put on in three planks, followed by a second strake. Once the glue had set, the Portside garboard was put on.

10/8

10/10: Over the weekend a few more strakes went one; 4 on one side, 5 on the other, plus stealers. I put two strakes under the wale on, but the 1/2" wide planks didn't take the compound curves well, so I pulled them off and used narrower 5/16" planks which worked much better.

The hull will get glassed up to the bottom of the wale which is about double the thickness of the planking above and below it.

10/10/11

Ok, strike that, the hull will NOT get glassed up to the bottom of the wale, but right up to the rail. That's the rail on top of the waterways, not the cap rail on the bulwarks. Thinking about it and talking it over with Mark, who is often the other half of my brain on such things, there's not really anything to be gained by doing that. The wale will be added over the glassed hull. The water ways, sheer rail, etc, will seal better and have less potential for problems that a glass edge butted against the bottom of the wale. So, planking continues...

As planking progresses, I pull out the small nails holding it except in the most recent strake. The bulkheads were held steady with 8p finish nails inserted into pre-drilled holes through the keel. Those nails were reinserted because nothing is glued to the bulkheads (that's what the blue tape is there to prevent) and I don't want them moving quite yet. So if you're wondering what the pins sticking out of the keel are for in the pictures - that's it.

10/21-23: I was actually hoping to finish planking this weekend, but just couldn't get there. The transom was framed and planked and much more planking done from the sheer down.

10/21

10/22

10/23

10/25: The transom and counter sides were trimmed back to the planking back on the 23rd. Today the transom top was scribed and rough cut.

10/27: Pulled almost all the nails out of the planking, knocked off some bumps and ridges with the block plane, and sanded a bit.

10/29-30: A few more planks... the bottom was finally closed up on the 30th.

10/31: Almost there - just one plank to go, but it was getting late, I was tired, and I broke the darn thing, so I called it quits for the night.

As it was Halloween I took a picture with a scary monster in it:

11/1: At last, the final plank is installed!

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