North River Finished

The North River all done

Ben finished his model of Fulton's paddle wheeler steamship the North River. Tonight she got her final coats of paint and stain, some rigging and put on her stand. (Pappa made the base as a surprise for Ben) This project is due on Monday so Ben still has a bit of time to finish it up and finish his presentation board. She has a brass tubing stack and a medicine bottle boiler and we even found a small anchor in our box of ship parts.

Looking at the bow

A proud captain

Painting the rooftops

Painting the roof of the forward cabin

Trimming the rigging - finger nail clippers work well 

Staining the deck

Trying to be very careful

Getting into the tight spots.

So this is likely the final installment of the North River Project. Thanks for stopping by.

Making the North River

Fulton's North River 

Ben's homework assignment was to build a steamship 'of the colonial period' - but this is as close as we could come. when finished this will be a model of Robert Fulton's first working steamship, the North River, which sailed in 1807. We found some pictures online and I drew up some plans for Ben. He has been making this boat for his class project. I try to guide him but from time to time we both seem to get covered in glue - but we sure are learning a lot about paddlewheel steamships.

The bow planking

paddle wheel parts

Pappa holds while Ben glues

fitting a paddlewheel

the first fitting of both paddles

Sanding the stern

even more sanding

Paddle wheels with axle

The house and stack