Modelling

I made these boats just before Christmas for my boys. Scale models was a big part architecture school so I was pretty meticulous with these by habit. There maybe a bit too much scale model than toy but the kids still like em.

They are Lake Freighters or Lakers and living in Hamilton there are usually 2-3 anchored in the harbour at a time. They are very cool and fun to point out to my kids. I didn't know much about them so I did some research and here some quick facts.

Some Lakers have been on the Great Lakes since the 1950’s. That’s because they stay in fresh water, no corrosive sea water to rust them out. One Laker still has a steam turbine as its engine. That is the SS Arthur M. Anderson. It was also the first ship to respond to the Edmund Fitzgerald wreck and still sails the Great Lakes today since its launch in 1952. These are living time machines.

The SS Arthur M Anderson

These ships are massive. And they are deceptively skinny - something I discovered fast when building the models. They can be up to 1,000 feet long and only 100 feet wide. There narrow to fit through the locks around the Great Lakes. Here's the longest ship on the Great Lakes, the MV Paul Tregurtha at 1,013 1/2 feet long.

The MV Paul Tregurtha, 

The cranes you see on these Lakers are self-unloaders. That means they can pull up to a remote dock swing the crane out and a conveyor belt inside the hull and along the boom will dump the cargo. Pretty cool feature and unique to the great lakes. Something I had to include in the models.

I had some poplar wood which is cheap and easy to paint and this seemed like a quick and fun project just before Christmas. It's really easy to find plans for these ships online. I went directly to some of the shipping company websites where I was able to download a spec sheet. Alogma Shipping and Canada Steamship Lines is where I found them. Originally I was planning on making these much bigger, see the sketches below. 

Here's some shots of the build below, lots of fun, painting took way longer than I anticipated which was getting pesky.

I shaped the hull with a 1/4"roundover bit on the router and an oscillating belt sander.

All the bits on top were made on the table saw.

I used acrylic house paint and sealed with an acrylic gloss furniture sealant 

Tricky work with an acrylic paint pen

Used a stencil here

at home where they belong

Empire Fighter, Bomber and Freighter combo.