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

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

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

Happy New Year everyone! I thought I would take some time out to finish the build blog for the Dole Aztec. I actually finished the model in September, but haven't had the time to get the blog in. So as the ole saying goes, "the job ain't finished till the paperwork is done!"

My previous post showed the first layer of hull planking. This was done only on the bottom so that the 1/32 bass wood sheet skins had ample surface area to adhere to. After making card stock templates of each side of the bow bottom, I cut this template into 6 sections, 3 on each side of the keel so that it would be easier to attach to the hull. The bass wood sheet was then cut from the templates for each side. I made some gluing blocks that matched the curvature of the hull at the bow end from some scrap balsa to aid in holding the sheet in place once it was glued. Rubber bands, clamps, and painters tape using to fix the pieces.
The first two bulkhead sections of the bow were filled with cut pieces of balsa and then sanded to form the curvature of the bow. Side skins made from 3/32" bass wood ply were then added to the sides to finish it off.
Once filled and sanded, the fore deck was cut from 3/32" bass wood ply. The gunnels were made from some .046"x .5" bass wood strip and attached to the edge of the fore deck. This assembly was then glued to the bow of the hull.
I also made mounting provisions for the rudder servo shown in one of the photos, as well as a removable motor mount. This mount slides in between bulkhead #10 and #11 and attaches to #10 by two 3mm screw hardware.

The inside of the hull was given several liberal coats of Minwax Polycrylic, an acrylic based "polyurathane" to waterproof the hull. I applied this to the outside of the hull as well also adding some very fine fiberglass cloth to the application for added strength.

I will probably have two more installments to finish. I promise it will not be 9mos in between. 🤞

Chris

Rod...
I use a metal oven baking sheet or cookie sheet as I call it.
Works good !!!

Chum444...
The Cricut Machine is the called the Cricut Maker. This machine is several years old, and there may be a newer out now.
For CAD design software I use Autosketch ver. 10. I don't think this is available anymore. I have an old program CD from years back and as long as I can load it on new Window versions, I will keep using as it does what I need.
The Cricut Machine has its own type of design software that it uses called Design Space. I can import the files from Autosketch in a .PNG format and go from there.

jumpugly...

I use the polycrylic so the Admiral (Wife) won't throw me out of the house because of the smell!! she is very sensitive to VOC fumes, and I found that this is acceptable. Yes, I did read that this product may not be acceptable for outdoor use, but since my boats rarely get in the water anyway I figured its a good compromise. Once painted, I do spray several coats of Krylon clear coat to protect as well.

Chris

Hello fellow Model Boaters. This build blog has been going on for way too long, so today I will finish it up. I had left off last with the hull being fiber glassed and sealed on the inside. I start off today with views of the whole ship painted in primer.

I constructed the deck top and the container racks from 3/32" bass wood ply sheet. The containers are as well just box shapes made from the same material. The pilot house structure is made from 1/16" and 1/8" balsa scraps with some of the thin 1/32" bass wood strip used to make the stair rails and other details. I really used my "modeling license" with this construction, looking at the prototype photos and trying to replicate it in miniature. I was not going for an exact scale model of the prototype, just a fair resemblance with just enough detail to make it passable at 20 yards😊

To get the illusion of individual containers, I drew the tops and sides in my cad drawing program for each of the larger blocks. The tops of the containers being in the middle, and the right, left, front and back of the container stack. It resembled how a flat paper box looks before bending into shape. The Dole Logo was imported into the cad system and then added to the individual containers on the right and left side paying attention that the orientation was correct. This drawing was then printed on a sticky backed vinyl sheet (Sticker Material) using my inkjet printer. The vinyl sheet is transparent, so each of the container boxes were painted in an off white paint color before applying the sticker to them.

I painted the ship in craft acrylic paints in the following colors.
The container blocks, Antique Parchment (off white).
The lower hull to waterline and deck top, Maroon.
All yellow portions of the deck and the container racks, Kings Gold.
Windows, exhaust stacks, and stairway background, Shadow Gray.
Pilot house trim and anchors, Black.

I used a 1/16" gold automotive pin stripe to accent the waterline between the maroon and yellow colors at the waterline.

The Dole Logo on the ship sides, as well as the name logos and the starburst on the pilot house were printed on waterslide decal paper. To make the decals, and the container wrappings water resistant, I sprayed them with several coats of Krylon Clear before applying to the model.

With everything painted, and all details added, the whole ship was sprayed with several (probably 4-5) coats of Krylon Clear.

The model is driven by a 1000KV brushless motor connected directly to a 1" five bladed prop. Power source is a 7.4v 1800ma lipo battery, and a Quicrun 16BL30 ESC.

I have yet to actually take her out on her maiden voyage. I did float and water test in the bathtub, so I know she will at least a little bit.

Chris