shouseimaru for foreign visitors

BUILDING　SHOUSEIMARU
　building by Phillip Bowker
　　

Part 1

“SHOHSEIMARU”

A JAPANESE INSHORE FISHING VESSEL.

CONSTRUCTED FROM PHOTOGRAPHS AND INFORMATION
SUPPLIED OVER THE INTERNET BY THE OWNER OPERATOR SHIGEHITO TAKEUCHI OF ISE CITY JAPAN.

MODEL SCALE 1:24. 0.5 INCH TO 1 FOOT.

I AM INDEBTED TO SHIGE FOR HIS FRIENDSHIP AND ENCOURAGEMENT OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS. THE INFORMATION HE HAS SUPPLIED HAS BEEN INVALUABLE IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF THIS MODEL. NEARLY ALL THE PHOTOGRAPH SENT OVER THE INTERNET HAVE INCLUDED DIMENSIONS, AND ANY CHANGES TO THE BOAT .

PHILLIP BOWKER

KIRKLEES MODEL BOAT CLUB

INTRODUCTION.
THE CONSTRUCTION OF THIS MODEL OF “SHOUSEIMARU” CAME ABOUT BY A CHANCE INTRODUCTION TO SHIGE BY A FELLOW MEMBER OF KIRKLEES MODEL BOAT CLUB, JOHN HARRILD, JOHN GOT TO KNOW SHIGE THROUGH THEIR INVOLVEMENT WITH THE “EURO MILITAIR” EXHIBITION AT FOLKESTONE. SHIGE IS AN INTERNATIONAL JUDGE AT THIS AND OTHER EVENTS, BEING A MODELLER OF SOME REOWN HIMSELF.
SHOHSEIMARU IS AN INSHORE FISHING BOAT, WITH STERN TRAWLING EQUIPMENT FOR BOTTOM FISHING FOR SHELLFISH AND FLATFISH, MOST OF THE YEAR. FOR A 2 MONTH SEASON A MAST IS FIXED TO THE FORWARD TABERNACLE, WITH OUTRIGGERS FOR BEAM TRAWLING FOR LARGE CLAM, WITH WIRE FRAME BASKET NETS.
THE BOAT IS 16.5 METRES L.O.A. WITH A BEAM OF 3.3 METRES, OF WELDED STEEL CONSTRUCTION, POWERED BY AN AMERICAN DETROIT DEISEL. THE HULLSHAPE IS COMMON TO MANY JAPANESE FISHING VESSEL BOTH LARGE AND SMALL.

MANY PHOTOGRAPHS WERE SENT FROM JAPAN OVER THE INTERNET, WITH ONE IN PARTICULAR GIVING A SIDE VIEW OF THE BOAT ON THE SLIPWAY, OUT OF THE WATER FOR IT’S ANNUAL BOTTOM CLEANING AS BELOW:

THIS PHOTO WAS ENLARGED TO A3 SIZE ON A PHOTOCOPIER. AT 1:24TH SCALE AND 16.5M L.O.A. THE MODEL L.O.A. IS 660mm, THE PHOTOCOPY WHEN MEASURED WAS EXACTLY HALF SIZE. A TRACING OF THE SIDE ELEVATION WAS TAKEN WITH AN OVERLAY OF 10mm GRID. USING THE GRID AS REFERENCE THE SIDE ELEVATION WAS TRANSFERRED ONTO AUTOCAD ON THE COMPUTER, AND USING OTHER PHOTOGRAPHS AND BEAM DIMENSIONS A PLAN VIEW WAS DRAWN. FROM THESE 2 ELEVATIONS CROSS SECTIONS WERE COMPILED TO GIVE FRAME DRAWINGS AT STATIONS FROM STEM TO STERN, THESE ARE SHOWN ON A SEPARATE SHEET. WITH AUTOCAD IT IS SIMPLE TO CONVERT FROM ONE SCALE TO ANOTHER. NOTE THE REVERSE SHEAR ON THE UNDERSIDE AT THE STERN.

MODEL CONSTRUCTION.

WITH SO MUCH SHEAR TO THE HULL PROFILE A COMMON BUILD LINE WAS CHOSEN PARALLEL TO THE WATERLINE, SO EACH SECTIONAL FRAME WAS EXTENDED TO THIS BUILD LINE AND FIXED TO A SUBSTANTIAL BASE BOARD, ALONG A COMMON CENTRE LINE. EACH FRAME SECTION WAS CUT OUT IN THE CENTRE APPROXIMATELY 6mm FROM THE OUTSIDE LINE AND REDUCED ALONG THE OUTSIDE LINE TO ALLOW FOR THE THICKNESS OF THE HULL MATERIAL, AS SHOWN IN THE ATTACHED PHOTOS

THE HULL WAS PLANKED IN 1mm PLY, BUT WITH SO MICH CURVATURE AT THE STEM 3 LAYERS OF 1/64TH PLY WERE LAID CROSS BANDED IN STRIPS TO GIVE STRENGTH . BALSA BLOCKS WERE ADDED UNDER DECK LEVEL VERY CLOSE TO THE RISING STEM TO GIVE PURCHASE FOR THE PLANKING.
THE AFT PART OF THE HULL WAS FAIRLY EASY BUT THE STEM TOOK QUITE A BIT OF TRIAL AND ERROR.

YOU CAN SEE THE PICTURES WHICH ARE TAKEN DURING CONTRUCTION GIVING DETAILS OF DIFFERENT PARTS AND METHOD OF BUILD IN THIS WEBSITE PART 1 TO 9.

ONE PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS!!!!!!!!.