Koa4225

The "Hull Coefficient" you're referencing above is known as the Block Coefficient; a ratio of fineness or fullness. Basically, how much of the cube (LxBxD) does the hull form take up. A Liberty Ship's block coefficient was 0.745 (http://www.ww2ships.com/usa/us-os-001-b.shtml) so your estimate of .70 or .75 was pretty spot on!

I did have a small mistake early on getting some CA on my self-healing mat which is why I put the tape down this time (my first Captain told me he didn't mind mistakes, as long as you never made the same one twice!). I was hoping with the silicone mat any excess glue would collect on the flat surface of the mat and able to be easily trimmed away with a #11 blade after it dried. Woodcraft has a Woodriver Branded mat that says works with some CA glues, but if any silicone mat would work, I prefer to pick one up cheaper some place else. Also, I was trying to avoid spending money for something that might not work.

I did some glue up last night using dabs of CA glue on a small wood assembly, but the glue inevitably worked its way onto the tape below I was using to protect my self-healing mat. I know wood glues come off of silicone mats pretty easily, and was wondering if CA glue would stick to a silicone mat? If not, it would make clean up much easier as I wouldn't have to be scraping fuzz from the painter's tape off my work! Anyone have any experience with this?

I see! Never heard of the stuff before but I'm going to pick some up and give it a go. How do you plan to preserve the shine on the cannons now that they're looking good?

grsjax - Actually, I do reload and hadn't thought to use my reloading tumbler, so thanks! I'll stick them in next time I'm home with the corncob / walnut mix and see how it treats a few of them. Michael - I guess it's not that I couldn't polish these pieces, I could do it using a rotary tool, or some q-tips and brasso, but they aren't really in that bad of shape. I was hoping there was a chemical solution I could dip them in just to get the slight dullness off. Most folks would say they were "shiny" but I've polished enough brass in my life to know better. I'm not able to upload pictures right now; I'm guessing most people wouldn't even fool with them at this point. The pieces are about 1/4" across and perhaps less than 1/4" tall (deep). I've got maybe 20 of them for the Bowdoin kit by BlueJacket. Thanks for the help! Zachary

I have some small and intricate brass parts (small portholes) I need to get shining. They're really not too bad now, just a little dull, but I'd like to get them bright before filling them with RTV to simulate the glass, and installed. They're really too small to polish by hand, and was hoping someone had a tip on a chemical or paste I could use? Also looking for any feedback you have on keeping the brass looking good long term. Thanks in advance!

Looks awesome! Did you polish up the brass cannons by hand, or were you able to clean them up in some sort of chemical solution?

Steve, Where did you get procedure for painting the hull? I'm a long way off, but I'm not happy with how my paint job of the stern block is coming already.

Steve, Did you use wooden blocks for your rigging, or the metal ones that came with your kit? Zachary

Steve, Thanks for the great pics! They help out a lot, as does the "lessons learned" on how you would do it next time. Debating on if I should start my own build log. I'm afraid life will get in the way, and I'll have to put this aside again. Zachary

Steve, Do you have any additional pictures of the stern planking process you could post? Zachary

Steve, Thanks for all the additional details. I can't tell you how much your info and pictures from the build log are helping me. Did you decide to glue your masts in place or leave them held in place by the rigging? I'm just getting the scribed decking on now and am about to start the planking. I did have a little gap where the two pieces of decking met along the center line, but I think I've got a fix for that I'll be trying here pretty soon. I'm afraid to sand the decking so I'm going to put a piece of blue tape over the very small gaps, cut out the gap to leave tape on either side of the gap, and fill it with white glue and saw dust. It's really too small to insert a shaving of wood, and I don't want to risk filling in the valleys of the surrounding scribed board. If you (or anyone else) has a suggestion here, any feedback would be most appreciated! I actually built out little boxes from the keel so the entirety of the dowel would fit in there, but now I'm thinking it would be better to cut the notches like they suggest so it can't twist. With the masts, did you sand them with the drill to taper them as they recommend? Also, with your paints, which brand and colors did you use for the compass binnacle? The brass really pops, and the lower half looks so much like wood! Also, on the helm (ship's wheel) what colors did you use there? I really like the contrast of the spokes from the circular portion. I've got to tell you, I'm really impressed with how well your build came out! I know I've said it before, but it's true! If mine even comes close I'll be really happy.

Steve, I must have gotten a really bad copy of the pictures in my manual. I went out into town today and picked up a few tools, and made an order with BlueJacket for some additional tools, paints, and supplies. I've learned through the years, the right tool is always worth the investment, and good tools make work easier and more comfortable! I'm actually a Maine Maritime Academy Alumni, and did sail on the Bowdoin a few times throughout my education there. Like you, I have found their cruise logs, and Facebook page a great source for pictures. Looking over your pictures, I was wondering what technique you used for getting your little eye-screws for the rigging affixed so perfect and straight into the dowels? Any advice? Zachary

ESF - Incredible Job! I'm just starting mine now; it's my first build too. As you know the pictures in the instructions are not much help because of their poor quality. Your pictures however, are a treasure trove of info and answers! Thank you so much for posting all of the pictures and showing off your work. I've been a bit bogged down by the details and lack of answers, but your pictures have given me the inspiration to keep pushing forward. I do have a few questions right off the bat, and I'm sure I'll have more as the build progresses. 1. - What did you use to stain your masts and booms? 2. - As a first time builder, what threads or resources did you find most useful with this project? 3. - Are there any "lessons learned" if you were going to do this project again? Anything you learned along the way you wish you had known ahead of time? 4. - Could you describe the 1-3-5-2-4 pattern in reference to the pencil marks on the deck?

I went back and asked about how much it would cost to purchase the rights to the drawings from the UK National Maritime Museum. With their prices of the drawings just for personal use and Zvansom's comment, I was curious! I received the following response: "With regards to licensing the plans for a model kit - there would be a few factors that the price of this would depend on, including the number of units you were going to produce, countries distributed to, price of the kits, if they would be sold online. But to give you a rough idea of cost, for a commercial license for the plans, it would cost £300 + VAT. Any scanning fees for digitization would be separate to this price." I'm not sure if that would be per plan, but I suspect possibly so. I'm not sure what the margins are on model kits, but Zvansom might be correct (cost prohibitive). I also wrote the Smithsonian Museums, and while they do have ship plans, they don't have anything for Endurance. I also checked with the Mariner's Museum in Hampton, VA, but they didn't have any on file either. So, for anyone searching for the plans in the future, you can cross those two off of your list!