Plans Proofing and Redrawing

Plans for BB-44 were acquired from the Floating Drydock. They were sold as plans for Tennessee, BB-43, the leader of the two ship class. Differences between the two sisters are minimal, and mainly cosmetic. The basic structures are outwardly identical, with most differences being due to the changes in configuration demanded by war duty in the Pacific Theater.

Floating Drydock’s plans for Tennessee are by Thomas Walkowiak, 1985. The description from the page is: Part Number - TFW-BB43/16; USS TENNESSEE BB43; Period Date - 1/45, Scale - 1/192, $14.00. They came on two sheets.

For use in Big Gun combat, the plans had to be enlarged to 1/144 scale, using a combination scanner/printer setup at Kinko’s. The enlargement required a 50% oversize to bring the length from 34.5" to 52". Kinko’s machine was off slightly, and went a bit over that, but allowed the plans to still be legal by falling within the 5% variation rule. The Copyright information is maintained on the copy of the plans, and this set is used only for construction, and not for resale. Floating Drydock gave us permission to use the originals for this purpose.

After enlargement, there were found discrepancies between the beam measurements on the overhead and station views. Since the overhead, or "plan" view, proved to be uniform from port to starboard, this was used as the general reference for beam measurements. Mr. Walkowiak included perfectly uniform spacing for each of the 39 stations, and overlaid these positions on the plan and profile views. Using a square, each beam measurement was taken from the plan view, and matched to the stations view. This proved the error of the stations drawings. (To the credit of Mr. Walkowiak, the errors were small, and in 1/192 scale, could be overlooked.)

Project California used CorelDRAW! 5.0 to produce the drawings. The stations were first scanned and scaled to the proper size. In wire frame mode, the stations served as templates for the rib-by-rib tracing. The arrangement on the plans is of the usual type, with the fore and aft stations shown as half views, abutting each other. Since drawing ribs is basically a freehand operation, with the potential for errors when manually producing mirror images from one side to the other, these ribs were drawn as half images. CorelDRAW allows for a perfect mirror image to be made once the master has been proofed. 1/8" was removed from each station before mirroring and "welding" to account for the 1/8" armor skin.

At 1.25" rib spacing, center-to-center, BB-44 has 5/32" ribs. This unusual thickness and spacing has been authorized by the T.O. of the SCBG. The ribs are 5-ply aircraft plywood. This wood has no voids within its lamination, holds its shape well, and is easy to work. The method of attachment is the same as that shown in the Naval War College; notched rib bases fitting into a notched baseboard.

Inconsistencies in the hull section drawings required some rework during the transition from paper to computer. Many of the rib sections needed correction. The majority of the errors were in the width of the main deck, above the bulge, alongside of the bow. Additionally, the overall hull height was off at random points along its length. These issues highlight how important it is for every builder to check his plans, and correct them where needed.

Correcting plans can be a black art affair for some builders. With California, a simple routine was used to bring things back in line. A long straight edge was used to verify that the hull centerline marking was actually straight. But first, the straight edge itself was verified. (Use it to draw a line along its full width, flip it over, and see if the other edge matches the line. If there is a gap, it is bent.) Once established, the accurate centerline served as a guide in measuring the distance from it to the outer hull lines, and main deck lines over the bow bulges. These distances were compared to those in the sections drawings. Errors were corrected in the section drawings, not the overhead.

All stations were scanned and traced using CorelDRAW. The tracing was done under magnification to ensure a close match. After completing the outside lines of the ribs, the inside lines were added 0.4" inboard. BB44’s construction calls for top braced ribs at each end of the cannons pairs. This prevents the hull from spreading, and supplies good support for decking in these areas, (where joints are likely to be positioned). Below you will see an example of a portion of the forward ribs, beginning with the brace rib just forward of the first turret, to those behind the second turret. Not all ribs are shown. In actuality, there is a pair of ribs at each end of the cannon locations. Only 4 of the 8 total will be kept, after determining which will allow for easy cannon removal while maintaining close proximity.

The drawings also include templates for cutting the bow and stern keels. These parts will be cut from 1/4" 5-ply birch plywood.