Ahoy fellow model boaters,

The Aztec is shaping up nicely. I was able to get all of the bulkheads cut and glued to the keel, but not without incident. I started noticing that the bulkheads were not landing straight, causing the deck to appear as if it was slanted up, not level. I corrected this by cutting #11 - 18 back off of the keel and remaking them. This time, when securing, I carefully used levels to make sure that the keel remained in the correct position when the bulkheads were glued. This resulted in a very flat deck surface.

However, all was not well, once all were placed, I could tell that the stern curvature was not going to be correct. I had to add some 1/8" balsa to #18 - 22 to get the correct curvature. If you look at the .pdf drawing in the initial post, these bulkheads have an inward curvature, what I realized is that it needed an outward curve to the hull. Once I made the corrections to the existing bulkheads, I was able to measure and make corrections to the cad design.
Once all the bulkheads were in place, I added the thin strips to the bow and sides of the hull for strength.

I have started to plank the hull using 1/16" basswood strips which were cut from a sheet of 1/16" x 24" basswood on the Cricut.
I will add a second 1/16" skin over the initial planking.

all for now,
Chris

First off, I appreciate all for the likes, follows and suggestions sent in so far about the build.

With the design now in a CAD, I am able to print out a 1:1 pattern of the keel and cut out the 3/16" basswood using my bandsaw. The bulkheads are constructed using the Cricut cutting machine. I can download the cutting files directly from the cad software saving a lot of time with tedious cuts on the band saw. The Cricut has limitations to the thickness of material which it can cut, so I purchased some 1/16" Basswood ply and cut duplicates of each bulkhead with the grain of the wood at a 90 degree angle, then glued the two together to get the 1/8" requirement. I am able to put multiple patterns on a sheet of plywood to be cut by the machine.

I created the bulbous nose of the keel by making item "0". (see pdf from initial blog) and placing it on the keel, then fill the remainder with balsa wood, and then sand to fit.

Two pictures show the sheets cut with the different grain direction. Once cut the two matching pairs are glued together, sanded and then glued to the keel.

The Cricut machine does take time to do the cuts. The cut time varies between 2 and 3 hours depending upon how many items are on the pattern, but once started, there is very little that needs to be done until finished. There is a picture of how clean the machine cuts, and a short video of the machine in action.

Chris

Happy Groundhog Day fellow model boaters. Seemed like a good day to start a build blog after the weather we have been having here in SE Texas. From hurricanes to snow fall, now nice sunny temps in the 70's.

I asked my grandson earlier this summer what boat would he want me to build next. Without hesitation, he said a cargo ship showing me a picture of a Maresk Lines container ship in a children's picture book. I thought about this one for several weeks wondering how to build a realistic replica of something that large. My dry dock isn't very big, and the Admiral frowns on large models. One morning at breakfast I was peeling my banana, and I realize the perfect boat. A quick google search verified my thinking of the perfect cargo ship.

I have lived in this area all my life, and my first job was in the small gulf port town of Freeport, Texas. In the early 80's it basically only served the shrimp boat operators and commercial fishermen as well as a few cargo ships for Dow Chemical and the like. The size does not compare to the Port of Houston or even Galveston. However, in the 90's the Dole Fruit Company started operations delivering containers of tropical fruit for distribution to the US.
At that time I was commuting to Houston for work, and would see the Dole container trucks on the road and would chuckle to myself "must be a banana boat in port!

The Dole company just celebrated 30 years of service in Freeport, and in 2023 launched two sister container ships, the Aztec and Maya, specifically for the Gulf of Mexico deliveries. These are smaller ships which I estimate carry only about 500 containers.

Since I could not find any plans on the internet for a smaller container ship, I decided to make my own. From pictures of the Aztec, I free handed a graph paper drawing of what I intended to build, and when satisfied, I produced a CAD version in Autosketch.

The attached pictures are of the Aztec in port at Gulfport MS.. The Maya being built in drydock. My hand drawn rendering on graph paper, and a .PDF of the cad version with bulkhead detail.

The model ship will be about 26.5 inches long with a width of about 4.5". I plan to have a brushless motor driving a 1 inch 5 bladed brass prop.

Chris