YANGTZE RIVER HIGH-NET FISHING SAMPAN

@Stephan Kertész Doodreg Stephan - soos Beurs van Amsterdam, Rijzende Son ... om maar net n paar te noem.

 

Hello allemaal. First I want to say thank you for all the wonderful comments and interest you have shown in the build of sampan. There is not too much to show in this update, but I did a few get things done!

Next up was the keel sheeting (on the underside of the keel stringers). I use the word “sheeting” as the keel is covered by 6 separate (thin) sheets of laminated wood. This planking would also provide the first opportunity to “test” if the hull curvature was done right.



The keel sheeting laid out and marked correctly so that I could be sure of the correct order.



The sheeting was glued, placed into position and then left to dry. At this point it looked more like a Viking longship with oars protruding on both sides than a sampan.



Thankfully, it all panned out and this was actually the first “easy” part of the whole build process. The sheets were very accurately cut and quite pliable which made the whole process a fairly straightforward one. The fact that the sheets fitted so well was at a least another clear indication that the hull was not warped.

The underside sheeting is completed by two pieces of thin pearwood - one which is mounted at the stern, the other at the bow. Once the glue was perfectly dry, the bottom sheeting was sanded smooth to provide a uniform foundation for the actual bottom-planking.



This picture shows the two pieces of the bottom sheeting installed as well.

So, with the hull sheeting and end-pieces in place, the floor planking for the fish tank could be done.



I wasn’t sure how this was going to pan out because of the altered curvature of the hull, but it was an easy job with just a small bit of sanding required. At least I was feeling a lot more confident that the torsion bars had done what they were supposed to do.

That is all for this update. If all goes well I will get some more work done on Wednesday and Thursday (on my two off-days).

Take care everyone and enjoy your modelbuilding.

Vriendelijk groete - Heinrich

 

Heel mooi dat het zo mooi samenkomt, ondanks de fragiele constructie Heinrich. Mooi gedaan

 

@Pingu57 Hello Peter. Zo stadig mmar seker begint dit al zo bietje na een sampan lijk

 

Hello allemaal

Wednesday and Thursday are my off-days so I have to make use of this opportunity.

The actual bottom planking is done in Pear Wood and consists of 6 pre-cut planks while the two end pieces are planked with diagonal strips of Pear Wood (also pre-cut). Unfortunately, I neglected to take pictures of that (I have far more important pictures to share), so I have to rely on the photographs from the instruction manual. You will see now what I mean by the “grainy” quality of the pictures in the instruction manual.



This photo from the instruction manual shows the 6 pre-cut planking strips that are used for the bottom planking.



Note the two sections of 5 pear wood strips which are used to plank the two end sections at the bow and stern. These are planked diagonally.

The planking process itself was very straightforward. The pre-cut planks were a perfect fit and because the area to be planked was smooth and flat, it went quickly. The same applied to the diagonal pieces on the two ends. All in all – eazy-peazy!



The bottom planking completed. Please believe me when I say that my bottom planking looks exactly the one in the picture!

So now the time has come for planking the hull.

The only problem is how? Bear in mind that 90% of the four plywood bulkheads (marked with red arrows) will be removed – thus I could not use them to glue the hull planking to. Also bear in mind that the top halves (50% of their total area) of Bulkheads Numbers 5 and 8 (marked with green arrows) are also to be removed – thus no glue! This means that for the entire centre section of the hull (the area in the blue block), the planking would be unsupported. And then the clincher! The pear wood planking strips are 2mm thick while the bulkheads are only 1.5mm!



This picture shows all the spanten to which I could not apply glue in order to plank the hull. The unsupported area is indicated by the blue block.

Don’t get me wrong … I love the idea of the extremely solid and high-quality planking strips, but how … oh how does Unicorn envisage one to plank them on paper-thin bulkheads of which you can only use half?



But ... if you think long and hard enough ( and drink enough cups of coffee and smoke enough Yuxi cigarettes, you eventually find a solution. Remember, this is the second time that I am building this model and this time I was prepared.

A quick message to Xiuli of YuanQing models (the company who manufactures the Bluenose) saw five 11mm x 11mm strips of Pauwlina wood (the Chinese equivalent of Balsa) on their way to me FREE OF CHARGE! Thanks, Xiuli! Then it was a case of meticulously shaping each piece to the exact size and inserting them into every conceivable nook and cranny that I could find. Plank on Bulkhead construction? To me it looked more like a “Bread and Butter” build!



After filler pieces for the "deadwood" areas at the bow and stern had been glued into place and shaped to size, the planking could begin! Wish me luck!




Vriendelijke groete - Heinrich

 

Heinrich, my old friend. I see that the first planks are in place, good luck with the rest of your planking.
I love the way you are working with your Sampan

 

@Pingu57 Vele dank Peter! Vir mij is dit een bezondere leuk model om te bouw. Hier is geen zinnelose repetisie van de een klus na de ander - alles is een klus tot zover! But that is exactly what makes this build so exciting and challenging for me.

 

Hello Almal

Earlier I said to someone on SOS that the success of this build will stand or fall by the planking. My first effort "fell" right at this hurdle and this time I was hoping I could be more successful.

After the first plank on starboard side had been laid down (a process which involved push pins, nails, clamps, rubber bands and everything that I could remotely make work), the hull looked like a male dog with its one hind leg in the air taking a leak – “getordeer” did not even begin to describe it.



That is what the hull looked like after the first starboard plank had been laid down. I gave it one look and thought - "oh boy, here we go again"!

With not much hope, I put down the first plank on port side plank and to my relief it pulled the hull back to some form of sanity and into alignment. And that was the name of the game. Until the next and equal plank on the port side was laid down, the hull was as warped as warped could be. The 8-hour, self-imposed waiting period between each plank (luckily it is extremely hot in Nantong at the moment and the glue dries very quickly) turned out to be a test of nerves – would the hull be pulled straight by the next port-side plank? With the planking completed, the hull was left to rest overnight. Lo and behold … the next morning it was as straight as an arrow.

However, I was not in the clear just yet. Now all the bulkheads and the Paulina wood-inserts had to be “removed” (the sophisticated word for broken-, cut-, filed-out and chiseled into oblivion) – all this while the hull planking remained intact.

I first removed all the extras from that notorious centre section (which was an easy job to do) and when that looked good, immediately planked the floor. The idea was that the seam between the floor boards and the hull planking would provide something extra to which the hull planks could be bound. With that successfully completed, I moved onto the stern area. Here I chiseled away all the extra supporting material to a level which would remain as high as possible, but would simultaneously be just low enough to allow for installation of the stern deck planking. All the deck planking comprises of individual pear wood strips - each which has to be filed and sanded to ensure a precise fit.

I do apologize for not taking pictures during this part of the build – but truth be told – I just had my hands too full with the build.


This is where I am tonight. Even though the supporting section at the bow still needs to be removed and the deck planking done at the bow, I am satisfied that the entire hull structure is now sufficiently solid and even though there is still a lot of work ahead, I do have a successfully planked sampan to work on!

This was the crucial part of the build and even though I will probably still have my fair share of challenges, I feel like I have accomplished what I had set out to achieve. Sampan #2 is safe and sound inside the Nantong household. Outside it is pelting with rain - typical of Nantong summer weather - while the garbage bin remains empty ...

Until next time, take care, stay safe and happy modeling!

Vriendelijke groete - Heinrich

 

Gaat mooi zo zeg!

 

Heinrich, prachtig wat je laat zien aan dat fragiele scheepje. Heel kunstig hoor.

 

@Hans Groenenberg Baie dankie Hans! Ik moet zeg ik ben ook heel tevrede vanaand !

 

@Pingu57 Vele dank mij mater! Deze fragiele scheepje (of is dit nou een boot, Koos) @Jaques is nouw glad nie meer so fragiel nie. Om de waarheid te zeg, zij is somaar lekker stevig!

 

ff Goochelen op internet Heinrich, dan zie je precies wat het verschil is
Daar lezen we:

Het zit 'm in het formaat
Hoewel het verschil tussen een boot en een schip altijd enigszins vaag blijkt, is er één kenmerk waar je veel aan heeft: het formaat. Boten zijn kleinere vaartuigen die daarom meestal ook alleen voor het plezier worden gebruikt. Schepen, denk aan vracht- en zeilschepen, zijn daarentegen een stuk groter en kunnen ook voor de beroeps- en chartervaart worden gebruikt.

Kijk dat is pas duidelijk nietwaar

Maarrruh, dat schuitje van jou gaat helemaal de goede kant op, complimenten hoor

 

@Jaques Dankjewel Koos , maarrruh nouw een probleem

De formaat zeg dat deze sampan een boot is. Maar dit is bezlis niet vir plezier gebruik nie

Dus ... dir MOET een schuitje wees !!!

 

Heinrich,
Nice build and unique. Not something you see everyday. She is coming along nicely.
Marcus

 

@Marcus Botanicus Hello Marcus - Welcome here and thank you for the kind words. As a model it is unique, yes. Nantong, where I stay is right next to the Yangtze river and the sampans were an everyday occurrence on the river. With motorized craft being increasingly used and the 10-year fishing ban that has been imposed on the Yangtze, the sampans have disappeared to such an extent that they have almost become extinct.

 

Hello Almal

Good evening everyone. With half a day at my disposal, I was back in the Nantong Shipyard - and please note that the term "shipyard" is very loosely applied - very much like the "shipyards" of the Tanka people.



I start this post by touching on the belief-structure of the Tanka people and for a very good reason - the reason of which will become obvious towards the end of the post.

As the Tanka is bound to water, it is no surprise that they originally believed in Totemism – in particular, they showed respect to the snake deities, as this was a common water creature in the area around Lingnan. Subsequently, their believes turned from Totemism to multiple deities. This might well be due to the many dangers at sea and on the water which were daily occurrences to the Tanka. It was believed that these deities would grant them more power to withstand these perils. One of these deities was Long Mu.

Before she became the Mother of Dragons, Long Mu, (born Wen Long Ji溫龍姬 circa 290 BCE), was a young girl who was orphaned after her parents had died in a great flood. Cared for by a poor family in southern China, she went to the Xi River, a tributary of the Pearl River, daily to fish, bathe and do laundry. One day, she found an exquisite white stone and brought it home.

The stone turned out to be an egg: five little water snakes hatched from it. Long Mu treated them as if they were her own children. Although her family was poor, she saved the best food for the snakes and fed them by hand. They, in turn, became very devoted to her, too, traveling to the river with her and helping her fish.



The snakes kept growing and it soon became apparent that they were not snakes at all but dragons. Their devotion to their adopted mother did not diminish. When the area was hit by drought, the dragons summoned rain. Grateful villagers in awe of the familial relationship between woman and snakes began calling her Long Mu: Mother of Dragons. After her death, she was subsequently deified. Long Mu remains a very popular goddess.

She is venerated as the goddess of motherhood, parenthood, fertility, and filial piety invoked to instill feelings of loyalty and responsibility between those who love each other, whether related by blood or even of the same species.

She was also regarded as the Tanka’s deity who has the power for controlling the water environment, and provide them a safe life (Chen, 1946: 164). The belief of Tanka is attested in some of the decoration of Tanka boats, Tanka people usually place the spirit tablets for the water deities at the stern cabin.



An example of two spirit tablets for the water deities at the stern cabin.

Long Mu is enshrined in two temples in China:



The Long Mu Ancestral Temple in Yuecheng



and the Baisha Temple in Zhaoqing.

Back to the Sampan



The front supporting structure had been removed and the bow deck area has been planked. As mentioned before, the deck planking consists of individual pear wood strips - each which has to be shaped individually for a perfect fit. On the sides where the deck planking has to follow the curvature of the hull, it gets quite tricky as it is not a completely straight line, but an ever-so-slightly curved one. The mast-supporting cross-beam has also been installed while the mast stub was used to ensure perfect alignment.

Now came the final and acid test of whether the hull was straight and whether the roundings were correct - the fitment of the top-railings onto the wales. Simply put, if the curvature of the hull was not correct, the railings would not fit properly.



But … fit they did and they did so beautifully! Finally, it looked as if Long-Mu smiling on this build.

Until next time, take care, stay safe and happy modeling!

Vriendelijke groete - Heinrich

 

Your sampan looks great. And a nice story about Long Mu and the dragons.

 

@Stephan Kertesz Thank you Stephan! I am very happy - or should I say, very relieved - with how the sampan is turning out.

 

Heinrich my friend, this was a beautifull piece of culture of China, Long Mu will be proud of you, to make such a splendid Sampan