Ships boats ~ Launch deck and copper bottom.

2/14/2012: After getting all the deck beams in, I painted inside the launch since once the floor-boards are in, I won't be able to paint below them. That done, the paint was scraped off the tops of the beams so the glue would stick when I put the decking in.

So, looking at A System of Boat Armament in the United States Navy from 1860 and Instructions for the Preparation of Vessels of War for Battle - 1852, I got a pretty decent idea of how the 12 pounder howitzer should be set up in the launch. It says that sloops of war got "light 12 pounders" but "Arming the Fleet" says that not many of these were made, and they eventually stopped making them while the heavy 12 and 24 pounders were used into the 1880's. To top it off, the Archives have a drawing of the boat howitzer arrangement specifically in Constellation's launch, and it calls for a heavy 12 pounder.

The plates from the Ordnance book show heavy skid beams across the bow with an iron clevis or gudgeon fixed to a block like a breast hook for the forward pivot. A pair of special fitting are mounted on the gun'ls forming an equilateral triangle that allows the gun to not only be pivoted from one point to another, but locked in place at two points. There's a similar arrangement back aft, but the plate doesn't show the heavy skid beams there. There has to be something for the gun to rest and pivot on - so I assume the skid beams are removable and stowed in the bilges or under the thwarts when not in use.

There's appears to be an inverted 'T' girder running down the center of the boat with a 'L' girder rails to either side.

The 'T' girder is just a plank running for and aft on top of the thwarts and carries the trail wheel of the field carriage; the 'L' girders are for the field carriage's wheels; the whole set-up allows the field carriage to be rolled forward in the boat when the gun is to be landed ashore. The 'T' portion of of the center stringer is actually a skid beam that stops at the mast hole.

This is where reading the text gives you more than just looking at the pictures...

Instructions for the Preparation of Vessels of War for Battle - 1852

...The light 12 pounders, with their boat-carriages, average 660 lbs. each; and can be transported by hand from one end of the boat to the other. With their boat-carriages, 12 pounders of 750 average 1,200 lbs. each; the 24 pounders about 2,000 lbs., and will probably be more conveniently managed, especially if the boat have motion, by placing rollers (2-1/2 to 2-3/4 inches in diameter) on the tracks laid for the field-carriage. On these the boat carriage can be shifted from one end to the other, using light falls at each end, to keep it under command.

Before I can seriously get to all that, I have lay in the deck. I've put in five so far and got some paint got into the 1st cutter as well.

2/16: With the deck laid and some paint on it, I decided to copper the bottom. I had some aluminum duct tape left over from putting the stove pipe in the workshop. It's peel-and-stick aluminum sheet on a roll just under 3" wide "for outdoor use" and I don't know how long - at least 150 feet, for around $20 at the local mega hardware store. I've been planning to use this stuff to "copper" the Macedonian then paint it with Krylon mettalic copper spray paint. I painted Constellation's bottom with this stuff as an undercoat for her copper, St Lawrence's bottom was also painted with this paint.

This is a great deal cheaper than real copper tape, and since I'm not looking for a polished copper finish anyway - appearance wise it'll do just fine.

I cut the plates 1/4" x 3/4" and applied them in the usual manner; from the keel aft up and forward. I had painted a piece of tape with the copper paint some time ago to see how it would do. I used this piece first which is why some of the plates are already copper colored. A band of plates wraps the hull to about 1/4" above the waterline, and the keel gets wrapped in short plates from the bow to stern. I actually got the boat done in an evening - nothing like doing the zillion plates on Constellation's bottom.

After getting the bottom "coppered" I painted the boat's topsides black.

2/17: Taped up the hull last night and this afternoon, gave it a couple of coats of copper paint.

The seat support posts were glued to the underside of the thwarts and allowed to dry. Then, the underside of the thwarts was painted. When that was dry, the thwarts were glued into the boat.

The center plank and stringers for the field carriage were cut and painted on their underside except where the glue was to go. These were installed and left over night.

2/18: Next day the side rails for the stringers were installed along with the aft seats, and the interior got a coat of paint.