lamarvalley

I have brown hair that has sprouted more and more gray.... and I swear some of those grays are really blondes hiding behind a silver coat   .... we all got 'em and sometimes those blonde moments make life even funner! 

I still have a number of post to install........mid ship and fore deck.   the stern decks are done now,  and I was curious how it would look with the rails.   so,  I stained some 3mm strip stock and installed them on the stern.   just before I went to bed,  the cap on the end was cemented on.  it will be rounded up and touched up when it's dry,  as well as the tips foreward towards the mid ship.
 

 

 
I did manage to shape the three step-downs that the actual ship has........I'm going to have fun trying to do the edge moldings ....hee.....hee
 

 

 
the posts for the foredeck overhang are installed,  complete with the cross beam and the cap board.
 

 
one side has been trimmed and shaped.......I did the other side
 

 
there is to be another section of rails for the step-down section.  what I'm using doesn't take too kindly to being bent sideways,  so I'm just going to go this route.   the posts for this section will be the same height,  with just a very minor step-down.
 

 

 

 
when these are dry,  I can better show them.  now.......on to the mid ship and fore deck!    I also have a cool idea for the pin racks........I'll do the stern racks and will be able to show you soon.

Theo, I think they look super! Big improvement over the plywood   Nice work!

Amazing work Karl. While viewing your pictures I feel like I'm on a walking tour through a full size vessel.  Amazing work and as I say again, stunning attention to detail. Truly an inspiration. 

Hi George,
 
Don't rush it mate, enjoy every part of this build if you can. Unfortunately everything completed is a step nearer to finishing and I don't want to do that.  
 
mobbsie

I finally got those recessed cabin bulkheads corrected........and yea......it wasn't easy.   it went quickly though......and that was a plus,  dispite having to sand them to shape and all.   using the templates I traced earlier,  the aft bulkhead planks were cut.
 

 

 

 

 
this one was made a bit easier,  because of the opening in the deck above,  trading the plank from one tweezer to another.   then,  the fore bulkhead.........
 

 
the two on the bottom have already been shaped a little.   the top plank needed to have 1mm removed from the width.
 

 

 

 
now I can stain the interior.  from there,  I can the support posts for the aft deck,  cap off the ends of the upper decks {to hide the ends of the plywood platforms},  and install the cap rails.
 

 
 

Amazing! Looking at your pictures I always forget that this a model that is relatively small.... such incredible attention to detail.
Thank you for the inspiration. 

Wow, you've been busy. Looks crisp and neat, wonderful job Ray   Love the rails, gives a very nice finished look 

Popeye,
 
It's not that bad that i see ratlines in my dreams….
I only see two finished ships     
When I have done the shrouds and ratlines of the San Ildefonso, I go back to the mirage……
And when those two are finished, maybe , and I say maybe, I go to the Aggy !
 

Hi Robbyn,
 
Your SF 11 looks really nice with sails. A little tip I read of many years ago re belaying. Pass the line to be belayed through the hole in the pinrail etc then push the belaying pin in the hole. It will hold the line secure while you put on your couple of figure of eight turns,nothing more annoying than losing your hold on the line and it unraveling and slacking off. Can´t be seen once you have put your rope hanks on,yeah,I know that´s cheating
 
Regards,
 
Dave

Randy, remember how fiddly and delicate and dang tiny the upper shrouds and ratlines are???? Wait till you get to the running rigging OMG it is a pain in the a** messing with such tiny pieces and trying to tie tiny string around it lol.
 
Now to keep this ship related, the very first 2 lines are on...only 300 or more to go

Very nice Sjors, very nice indeed! 
 
Leave that Aggie alone .... you have enough to do with this one and your mirage.
 
Also, you or Anja are obviously talented wood arrangers... not everyone can claim that title but 10 thousand US is sadly out of my range 

Looks really good Robbyn and soooo close now.... starting to get sails and soon she can sail to the shelf 
 
I just finished the ratlines and ran two more stays. Started looking at the yardarms and such and needed to take a break... my eyes hurt from those instructions and plan sheets... obviously it takes a while (for me at least) to absorb what the heck they intend.
 
Here in Cincy it's 75 degrees but heavy rains all day.... this week it should turn a tad cooler but lows are only 40 or so at night.... I hope this year we actually get a little sustained cold since the last two years have been very mild and bland with only nuisance snow (1 to 2")...  and we yo-yo...  a day below freezing, two above, another freezing with a week above... lately we never really get a chance to acclimate.... Word on the street is this is supposed to be a brutal winter so I might have to eat that last sentence 
 
Break time's over... time to make sense of yardarm #141 and #147 etc....

good job randy

Hidey ho again folks!
 
Got some more time on the bench today.  The goal today was to at least get the one side planked, treenaild, stained and shaped.   And that is where we are at!
 
Finished planking down to the lower wale.  I decided to not plank the entire hull for two reasons. One, it is going to be painted white and two, conserve material (wood is expensive ya know ).   Once I put the trim up which includes the wales it will all blend nicely together.
 
I did my best to keep consistent around the ship.  Used the archive pen for the caulklines so they would match the transom and insner bulwarks, used Min Wax walnut putty to fill the tree nails ( Hand is cramped from poking all those holes ) and then used a mix of 2.5ish to 1 Natural to Golden oak MinWax stain to wash over the entire side.  
 

 
 

 
 
 
I also went through and stained all the stanchions with the same mix. The thought was, while they were pear if I used the same mix of stain it would tint without changing the color and blend the tone throughout and give it a nice two tone look.   I think I pulled it off.
 

 
 
 
Now it is letting it dry a bit before moving onto the next few steps.   I still have to clean up the gun ports, attach the lids (going to go closed, no cannons showing) then the wales and trim.  Then I will move on to the other side!
 
Off to cook my wife my famous Chicken Kiev!   Then will decide what to do next when I get back down here.... decisions decisions..!!
 
 
Until later friends - Do what you enjoy and enjoy what you do!!!
 
 

Hi Guys,
 
Aldo and Randy,
 
Thanks guys, it's appreciated.
 
As promised here are the pics of the Pinnace, the main construction and paint job are completed, whats left to do is the Rope Coils ( Grant ), bucket and when I can figure out the correct length, the oars.
 
Also first planking is done on the 24ft Cutter, pictures show dry fit of the frames, clamped while glue dries and the false keel being molded.
 
False Keel fitted

 
Internal ribs fitted and painted red ochre

 

 
Rubbing strips added

 
Deck planking complete

 
Ready for painting the rubbing strips

 
Paint job complete

 

 
Cutter dry fitted

 
Glued and clamped up

 
False keel being molded to shape

 
So there we are right up to date, second planking real soon.
 
Be Good
 
mobbsie
 
 

Progress is progress Randy regardless of how small, it will all in the end, add to the whole and become a finished product. I think the rat lines look fine, I am betting there will be even more practice to come on the next build lol.

And encouragement is supplied in spades It helps a lot especially when floundering :mellow:
 
I used a template and then changed to a spacer of sorts... even still it was tough. I'm proud of my ratlines but not delusional enough to think they are stellar... they are ratlines that represent a first try and from that a learning... the next ship(s), and there are plans for many, will benefit from this ship in many ways including rigging....

Not to steal your thread Sjors but I feel Adam's angst.
 
As is shown on my san fran build, I am far, way far, from an expert on ratlines... more like a duffer but I felt the same way when I looked down the long road of a few thousand knots and had no idea how to do it.
 
Sjors is right on the money... the physical part is not hard, it's repetitive and has a right and a wrong way but it gets easier after a few and brainless after a few hundred.
 
That said tho... tying the knot is easy once you figure it out... the hard part is trying to make it match the one below it without too much tension and match the height gap so your sailors don't hurt themselves.  And that too takes a while to wrap the head around but gets more understandable as you proceed.
 
Another cool thought is from Popeye the Sailor... he said imagine you're the guy on the boat needing these lines to climb on... how would they need to be? For whatever weird reason, imaging that helped me understand it just a bit better. Thanks Popeye! 

And encouragement is supplied in spades It helps a lot especially when floundering :mellow:
 
I used a template and then changed to a spacer of sorts... even still it was tough. I'm proud of my ratlines but not delusional enough to think they are stellar... they are ratlines that represent a first try and from that a learning... the next ship(s), and there are plans for many, will benefit from this ship in many ways including rigging....

Not to steal your thread Sjors but I feel Adam's angst.
 
As is shown on my san fran build, I am far, way far, from an expert on ratlines... more like a duffer but I felt the same way when I looked down the long road of a few thousand knots and had no idea how to do it.
 
Sjors is right on the money... the physical part is not hard, it's repetitive and has a right and a wrong way but it gets easier after a few and brainless after a few hundred.
 
That said tho... tying the knot is easy once you figure it out... the hard part is trying to make it match the one below it without too much tension and match the height gap so your sailors don't hurt themselves.  And that too takes a while to wrap the head around but gets more understandable as you proceed.
 
Another cool thought is from Popeye the Sailor... he said imagine you're the guy on the boat needing these lines to climb on... how would they need to be? For whatever weird reason, imaging that helped me understand it just a bit better. Thanks Popeye! 

Okee doke, caught back up.
 
While I stand by my statement that for a first go those ratlines didn't look bad - Is good to see the redo, they came out very well.   Trust me, I can only imagine what mine are going to look like so am tryign to soak up as much as I can from you daredevils as I can!!!
 
Nice work Randy - loving it!!
 
-Adam

Like an original painting on canvas of a great painter of the 16th century... A scene from his era...

Hi Randy,
 
Very nice job !
 
I can see that you use an old camera….
The picture are that small that I'm glad that we have a mac 
I can magnify the pictures and still sharp !!!!
But great job on the ratlines.
Happy that you have done them ?
 

She's looking great!