Cap'n Rat Fink

All questions and remarks are welcomed....

here ios a small update on my Ancient workboat......  
 
 













 

AND A FEW MORE PICTURES.....

Hi Mark.....
 
Not for long I'm heading back up the stupid mountain in about a hour.... I should of gone camping since i'm in the mountains so much this weekend....
 
Hi John...
 Thanks...I have a lot of detailed pictures of the hull construction before of how different it was to put together...
SO HERE ARE A FEW MORE PHOTOS TO SEE...................
 
 

 
NOTICE HOW THE DOWEL COMES INTO PLAY HELPING KEEP THE CLAMP FROM SLIPPING OFF THE STERN AREA.
 
 

 
 

 
PER THE PRATICUM THE FIRST 2 STRAKES ARE NOT TAPERED IN ANYWAY.....
 
 

 
 

 
YOU CAN NOTICE HERE EVEN WITHOUT A DOWEL ON AT THE BOW THE CLAMP STAYS IN PLACE BECAUSE OF THE ADDED SANDPAPER TO THE JAWS....

and 5 more...............

runner63...
    Thank You i hope to make it interesting.....
 
Hi Mark...
    Funny you should that. Just got home from work 1030pm. I'm a little wired so not sleeping. So I will start posting some pictures.
 
So here we go..............
 

HI JOHN......Yes it is a lot of fun doing another one of my work boat obsessions here!!!
 
 
HI MARK.........Well it's really not 2 for the price of one. the other will be built off camera...but i will show the completion of it later...
 
 
WELL HERE WE GO.
 
 I HAVE A SMALL WINDOW OF FREE TIME TO ADD MY PROGRESS…..
 
AS SOME KNOW I USUALLY BUILD AND POST A SHORT TIME LATER. BUT WITH MY NEW JOB ASSIGNMENT I HAVE SHIFTED TO BUILDING TILL MY MODEL IS JUST ABOUT DONE. INSTEAD OF STARTING A LOG AND LET IT SIT FOR WEEKS BEFORE I UPDATE….
 
MY SPARE TIME IS NOW LIMITED, SINCE I AM AVERAGING 60 TO 75 HOURS A WEEK AT WORK. I HOPE THIS WILL NOT BE MY LAST BUILD. BECAUSE OF WHAT FREE TIME I HAVE, I DEVOTE IT TO MY WIFE AND KIDS. IF IT BECOMES MORE DIFFICULT TO SPEND TIME MODEL BUILDING., THEN I WILL HAVE TO LEAVE MODEL BUILDING FOR A VERY VERY LONG TIME. (WHEN CRUNCHING THE BOOKS, LOOKS LIKE I STILL HAVE ANOTHER 10YRS TO BEFORE I CAN RETIRE.)  SO I AM HOPING THIS DOES NOT HAPPEN. IM HOPING MY JOB GETS BACK TO A NORMAL WORKLOAD.
 
I WILL STILL BE BUILDING MODELS BUT PLASTIC CAR, TRUCKS, AND SUCH. BECAUSE MY YOUNGEST BOY HAS TAKEN AN INTEREST IN THEM, AND MY FAMILY COMES FIRST NOT ME….
 
SO HERE ARE A FEW PICTURES SINCE MY FREE TIME IS JUST ABOUT UP, AND WILL TRY TO ADD MORE AT THE END OF THIS HOLIDAY WEEKEND…
 
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FILL FREE TO ASK ME, AND I WILL ANSWER AS TIME PERMITS. THANK GOODNESS I HAVE A SMART PHONE TO USE ON MY BREAK TIME AT WORK.
 

 
The practicum is very detailed and comes with lots of pictures which i will post some of them up for you...
 

 
the strong back frames are mode of basswood ply...
 

 
once the frames are aligned and the wood glue dried , i will add extra security by adding CA glue to the base of the frames.....
 
The dowel is there to help assist holding the clamp at the stern of the boat.... 
 
 
 

I started this kit about a month ago. I was asked by Scott Miller if I would like to test his newly designed kit and practicum. As I love the work boats of any era, I was pretty much willing to go for it. I will add a few photos of the kit here, and later this week I will start adding the progress of my build of this wonderful ancient boat.
 
What interested me about this kit was I will be constructing the hull using the shell method. I will be using a strong-back with the keel and stem n stern pieces in place. Then I will be adding the strakes first and then the frames afterwards. Just like ancient times.
 
 The other reason is because Scott’s practicum has me using nothing but CA glue to construct this boat. I thought this would be a nice challenge to get my cuts and measurements right if I was going to use CA, because once the part is placed there is no turning back.
 
This kit is rated by Scott for the intermediate to expert builder because of the hull construction being a challenge. My opinion…..this hull is not for young…
 
What you are seeing are the contents for 2 boats. One will be donated after it is completed.....!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Everyone is in for a real treat as Mario continues his posts because his work is exceptional!
 
I'm the person who makes the kits that Mario is building.  I've was a mod here on MSW for many years but resigned that job because my focus has shifted to building guitars. I still build boat models but I've moved away from fully rigged ships just because there are only so many hours in a day...
 
If you are interested in purchasing one of these kits please visit my web page and send me an e-mail from the link at the bottom of any of the pages or you can e-mail me at scott@scottsguitars.net.  The cost of a kit is normally $80 plus shipping but because MSW is an organization that I've been a part of for many years is am lowering the price to MSW members to $70 plus shipping.  The kit includes everything you need to build the model including mast, yard, oar and quarter rudder stock that I turn by hand.  Needlees to say it takes quite a few hours to make a kit so I don't make much on a per hour basis but my interest is in getting many of these boats out there for people to see and talk about.  If you want to purchase a prebuilt model, there is also information on that on the web site.  I've built and shipped these models to Germany, North Carolina and Utah thus far.
 
I don't want to hijack Marios post so please e-mail me with questions about the kit rather than post them here.  Enjoy Mario's posts, he's doing a great job as my beta tester!
 
Scott
 
www.scottsguitars.net
scott@scottsguitars.net

Hey, that's a nice collection of clamps, mate!
 
John

Hi Mark.....
 
Not for long I'm heading back up the stupid mountain in about a hour.... I should of gone camping since i'm in the mountains so much this weekend....
 
Hi John...
 Thanks...I have a lot of detailed pictures of the hull construction before of how different it was to put together...
SO HERE ARE A FEW MORE PHOTOS TO SEE...................
 
 

 
NOTICE HOW THE DOWEL COMES INTO PLAY HELPING KEEP THE CLAMP FROM SLIPPING OFF THE STERN AREA.
 
 

 
 

 
PER THE PRATICUM THE FIRST 2 STRAKES ARE NOT TAPERED IN ANYWAY.....
 
 

 
 

 
YOU CAN NOTICE HERE EVEN WITHOUT A DOWEL ON AT THE BOW THE CLAMP STAYS IN PLACE BECAUSE OF THE ADDED SANDPAPER TO THE JAWS....

AND A FEW MORE PICTURES.....

HI JOHN......Yes it is a lot of fun doing another one of my work boat obsessions here!!!
 
 
HI MARK.........Well it's really not 2 for the price of one. the other will be built off camera...but i will show the completion of it later...
 
 
WELL HERE WE GO.
 
 I HAVE A SMALL WINDOW OF FREE TIME TO ADD MY PROGRESS…..
 
AS SOME KNOW I USUALLY BUILD AND POST A SHORT TIME LATER. BUT WITH MY NEW JOB ASSIGNMENT I HAVE SHIFTED TO BUILDING TILL MY MODEL IS JUST ABOUT DONE. INSTEAD OF STARTING A LOG AND LET IT SIT FOR WEEKS BEFORE I UPDATE….
 
MY SPARE TIME IS NOW LIMITED, SINCE I AM AVERAGING 60 TO 75 HOURS A WEEK AT WORK. I HOPE THIS WILL NOT BE MY LAST BUILD. BECAUSE OF WHAT FREE TIME I HAVE, I DEVOTE IT TO MY WIFE AND KIDS. IF IT BECOMES MORE DIFFICULT TO SPEND TIME MODEL BUILDING., THEN I WILL HAVE TO LEAVE MODEL BUILDING FOR A VERY VERY LONG TIME. (WHEN CRUNCHING THE BOOKS, LOOKS LIKE I STILL HAVE ANOTHER 10YRS TO BEFORE I CAN RETIRE.)  SO I AM HOPING THIS DOES NOT HAPPEN. IM HOPING MY JOB GETS BACK TO A NORMAL WORKLOAD.
 
I WILL STILL BE BUILDING MODELS BUT PLASTIC CAR, TRUCKS, AND SUCH. BECAUSE MY YOUNGEST BOY HAS TAKEN AN INTEREST IN THEM, AND MY FAMILY COMES FIRST NOT ME….
 
SO HERE ARE A FEW PICTURES SINCE MY FREE TIME IS JUST ABOUT UP, AND WILL TRY TO ADD MORE AT THE END OF THIS HOLIDAY WEEKEND…
 
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FILL FREE TO ASK ME, AND I WILL ANSWER AS TIME PERMITS. THANK GOODNESS I HAVE A SMART PHONE TO USE ON MY BREAK TIME AT WORK.
 

 
The practicum is very detailed and comes with lots of pictures which i will post some of them up for you...
 

 
the strong back frames are mode of basswood ply...
 

 
once the frames are aligned and the wood glue dried , i will add extra security by adding CA glue to the base of the frames.....
 
The dowel is there to help assist holding the clamp at the stern of the boat.... 
 
 
 

I started this kit about a month ago. I was asked by Scott Miller if I would like to test his newly designed kit and practicum. As I love the work boats of any era, I was pretty much willing to go for it. I will add a few photos of the kit here, and later this week I will start adding the progress of my build of this wonderful ancient boat.
 
What interested me about this kit was I will be constructing the hull using the shell method. I will be using a strong-back with the keel and stem n stern pieces in place. Then I will be adding the strakes first and then the frames afterwards. Just like ancient times.
 
 The other reason is because Scott’s practicum has me using nothing but CA glue to construct this boat. I thought this would be a nice challenge to get my cuts and measurements right if I was going to use CA, because once the part is placed there is no turning back.
 
This kit is rated by Scott for the intermediate to expert builder because of the hull construction being a challenge. My opinion…..this hull is not for young…
 
What you are seeing are the contents for 2 boats. One will be donated after it is completed.....!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I want to thank you all for your patience, but I decided I hadn't finished the dory build and unlike some I can't do two at a time.
 
Go see the dory at:
 
http://modelshipworld.com/index.php?/topic/1067-grand-banks-dory-by-capnbob-132/page-5#entry57310
 
Bob

]It’s amazing what you learn when you build a boat the way they were actually built.  I had always wondered why lap strake.  It seems like a difficult way to build a boat.  But then I decided to build a dory and guess what, they were lap strake built.  The building taught me why. 
 
The planks of a dory were only 5/8” thick, and the only way to get enough surface area between planks and provide a good seal is to put matching angles on planks so that instead of 5/8” surface you end up with about 1½”. 
 
 Here is the dory hull, still a long way to go. 
 
Bob
 

 

Rudder
Next time I’ll hold off on making the rudder until the planking is done.  This rudder is made from 1/8” square basswood and a bamboo skewer clad with walnut. 
Funny story about this rudder:  After I took some photos out on the balcony, I gathered up the parts and heard a golfer calling ‘fore!’  I looked out to the golf course just in time to see my rudder sailing off my third floor balcony.  I ran down the stairs out the door and happily it landed on the grass and not in the bushes.  Still need to remake the tiller
 
Cockpit Combing
There was no way I was going to get walnut to bend to make these combings.  So again, I used the kit part and added a layer of walnut. 
Per the drawings in Chapelle’s book, the windows were square with sliding covers and consistent with other contemporary boats.  Next time I’ll figure this out and get these added.      
 
Hatch Opening
I’ve resigned myself to the fact that this hatch opening needs a whole lot of improvement.  I could remove the cabin roof and try again, however, the real issue goes back to prepping the F2 bulkhead. 
07 05 2016  Looking for these photos.......

 
(Edited 11/29/2014 to add photos back)

WOW Mario, now that is a good friend. His girl's loss, too bad they don't realize it
 
For some picture clarification of the rat line process. i taped the tail onto my cardboard. Since I am now using embroidery thread I can leave a bigger tail which is speeding the process of the first knot up.
 

 
These tweezers work really well for pulling the thread tight, and pulling the needle through when space is limited.

 
Make the first loop

then the second loop and only tighten partially

Tighten the top half using the tweeezers

I use my thumb to hold that tight and then pull the second half tight.
 
If I am happy with everything then I use the tweezers to squeeze everything tight together. I add a drop of PVA only on the outside knots.
 
 

Two shrouds are completed!!!

 

The deck is finally sanded but no finish has been applied.  I'll hold until all the deck furniture and the aft area of the great cabin is completed.
 
So on to some deck furniture....  I'll preface this with: DON'T TRY THIS!!!!!!!!!!
 
I chose to do the pumps next.  Octagonal in shape with a peculiar hourglass chunk of metal at the top of the pump rod.  Rope is lashed around this, the runs up to a long bar lashed to the mast.  The other end of the bar has a rope coming back down with 10 smaller ropes attached to it.  Thus, as many as 10 men could be pulling down the rope and operating one pump.  I presume in an emergency 20 men on the gun deck and 20 on the quarterdeck could get all 4 pumps working at the same time.
 
Four pieces of pear were cut from stock... 1/4 inch (7 mm) by 1/4 inch (7mm) by 2" (51mm) each.  I marked them appropriately.
 
 
I then took a piece of fir and put an appropriate groove in it, mounted it squarely and securely in the vise on my mill.  The pic shows the mounting along with one of the pear pieces.

 
Here's where life gets interesting with one of those "what could I possibly be thinking" moments.  I hand fed the pear through the mill on three sides and was feeling pretty good about the way things were going.  Flipped for the 4th side and then.... the bit hit something.. small knot?  Not sure and probably never will know.  The wood was ripped from the jig and my fingers and sent flying into the ether.  I've got two fingers on my right hand missing about 10 sq. mm of skin on each and a nasty cut on one finger of the hand.  There's blood on the mill and bench.  The pear piece is somewhere not to be found and my fingers are covered in bandages (plasters) and I'm asorbing liquid anesthetic from a brown bottle.
 
So.... lesson learned.  Don't hand feed.   I'm reworking the scheme to clamp the wood for milling or I'm headed to the tool store tomorrow to find a halfway decent (hopefully a really decent) miniature plane.

Here are the pictures from the other day. This is all of the frames on the molds:
 

 
And here is a view from the stern:
 

 
This is the plank bending iron I am using and the "bone" pile so far:
 

"CHUCKY BLOCKS".........................what a great name..................!!!
 
IIT INTEREST ME VERY MUCH, SINCE I HAVE NO MILLING MACHINE TO MAKE THEM FROM YOUR OTHER THREAD CHUCK

Sanding decks is tedious and tiring and with my fat fingers, problematical.  So.. a tool, preferably power was called for.  After remembering that a floor buffer could be used to sand a wooden floor, I reached for the Dremel.   I'm using the mandrel for the cut-off disks and one of the felt buffing pads.  A chunk of sandpaper is rubber cemented to the pad.   I'm looking around for a rubber disk, the right size to perfect it a tad more.  I turn the Dremel on low and hold it as perpendicular to the deck as I can get and apply next to zero pressure.  It does a nice job, fast.
 

 

I do have some pictures of the reef lines.  I'm threading  them through,  with a dot of white glue.  cut and trim will come later.........I made a jig,  cementing two 7mm lengths of planking together...figure that's long enough.   I have them on both sides...thought it illogical to have them on just one side......with the sail rolled up,  what will it be tied to?  I started with the jib.
 

 

 
from here,  they were painted with diluted white glue,  to stiffen them up a bit,  so they will lay straight.
 

 
the fore sheet half done.  here is the jib being trimmed.
 

 

 
from here,  there is a jib boom to be sewn on.  I tried to do it the way I've seen them....a connected pattern
 

 

 
there are blocks that need to be set up as well.........I'm doing that as I go along.   more on this soon...I have to go plant some flower bulbs for m' lady     {butter-up time  }