Blue Ensign

Don’t know how one can fair those fragile bulkheads without bracing strips, but once in place you can proceed with confidence. Still need soft hands tho’. 😉 B.E.

I’m late to this party Peter, not quite sure how I missed it. You’ve taken on quite a beast, and made a lot of progress in what seems to me to me a very short time. Nice idea to use ‘false port’ gun carriages, will give a far more authentic look. I’m not a fan of dummy plug in gun barrels. B.E.

Thanks Martin, been 2013 since we had any significant snow in my small area of England, an area that would no doubt slip into a corner of Oklahoma and not be noticed for weeks. Great for taking seasonal pictures of William, but it's all gone now. Been busy in the shipyard this morning making an additional support cradle for the Cutter. 3927 Haven't used it for months but the Band saw came into its own today, I so love these bijou Proxxon machines. 3932 Set the supports for bulkheads H and 8. 3933 Rough and basic from a bit of scrap 9mm mdf, but it will serve the purpose. Winding operations down now for the Christmas break. 2659 Not before time for some of the Dockyard workers. Cheers, B.E.

Hi Chuck, I am just about to start fixing the bulkheads on my version of Cheerful, and I am mindful of your warnings about ensuring that the scored reference lines on the bulkheads face forward for numbers and aft for letters. This is probably a stupid question but which camp does bulkhead Ø fit into - numbers or letters? I have trawled thro' some of the build logs and there seems to examples of both. Regards, B.E.

Thanks Martin, I can't make out the signature on the plan but this is what I know. Cheerful (and Surly) were designed by Sir John Henslow, Surveyor of the Navy, who had served as a young man as draughtsman to Sir Thomas Slade; The Cheerful Class were the last of a varied class of ship designs produced before he retired in 1806. The plans were produced in The Navy Office 16/4/1806, approved by the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty 17/4/1806 and a copy of the draught sent to the Merchant Builders James and Joseph Johnson, Dover 30/5/1806. The keel was laid in June of that year, the vessel launched in November, and commissioned in January 1807. She was sold on 31 July 1816 after 9 years service. Surly her sister ship was commissioned at the same time but had a much longer and more exciting early career, finally sold in 1837 after some 30 years. The moral of this tale if anything, is, if longevity is your goal, it's better to be surly than cheerful. Happy Christmas to you and Mrs W. B.E.

Post 4 Attending to the stem I am grateful to Chuck for the laser cut parts that make up the stem and keel, saves a lot of time faffing around with the scroll saw; nice Boxwood and need for very little fettlin', the most time consuming part is removing the quite heavy char on the pieces. I did this mostly by scraping with a sharp blade. I followed Chuck's example of filling the treenail holes rather than use dowel pegs. 3772(2) 3609 They are very small, he suggests a #76 drill equivalent to 0.508mm Ø I used a 0.6mm Ø drill. 3603 Once I was satisfied with the fit the two stem pieces were glued together. 3608 and then to the Rabbet strip on the false keel. 3772 All went together very nicely. 3774 The two keel pieces were then added. 3779 Impressed by the fit of the stern post and rudder, although these will be put aside for much later in the build. 3776 There seems to be a slight kink in the forward section of the keel, I hope this doesn't prove to be troublesome, the false keel looks true sighting along from stem to stern. To complete this part of the build, a light sanding and sealing with wipe-on-poly. 3786 3783 Note: Chuck makes reference to the use of Minwax wipe-on Poly to seal the Boxwood finish of the stem pieces once they have been fitted. For those in the UK Minwax products are horrendously expensive (£36) for what is essentially a thinned down oil based Polyurethane Varnish. Normal oil based Poly is readily available in the UK. Thin it down 50/50 with White spirit to make your own wipe-on. I used Blackfriars satin poly - 250ml cost me £8 effectively 500ml once diluted. There is loads of stuff on making your own w-o-p on the internet. 3771 Finally as with Pegasus I obtained the Admiralty plan for Cheerful and Surly which now sits above my workbench as additional inspiration. Next up fiddlin' with my Bulkheads. B.E.

Nice touch Steve B.E.

Good to see some progress Martin, I found drilling the hawse holes a testy moment in the build, something that stuck in my mind even tho' the detail of my approach had faded, and I had to refer to my log (page 3) This is what I wrote at the time: Hawse holes and bolsters This is a good time to attend to this job before other stuff gets in the way . The Hawse holes are 10½” ø equating to 4mm at scale (ffm). The anchor cables are 13” circ = to 1.65mm ø. A formula exists for determining the size of the hawse holes; diameter of cable x 9/4 = 3.7mm. Always best I think to start small and work up. The task of positioning the hawse holes and bolsters proved quite tricky and somewhat tense with the risk of a slip with the Minicraft drill. Even so little bits flaked off from the surrounding planking, and I could feel my stress levels rising until I had the four holes completed. Not too sure about the kit arrangement or the shape of the Hawse bolsters (120). I don’t want them fouling the lower/ekeing rails and I suspect that the kit set up is too far in towards the stem, and that the two holes are too far apart. Hope this helps rather than confuses. B.E.

Nice progress Jason, very pleasing to my eye. B.E.

Having just looked at Rusty's completed Cheerful, two come along at the same time. What a stunning model you have created Mike, beautiful work, and another fine reference for those who follow on. Thank you, B.E.

Beautiful model Rusty, and great photo's. Fills me with some trepidation as I start out on my own Cheerful journey, but relieved that I have such an example to inspire me. Just one curiosity, why did you display the Union flag at the Gaff, rather than a naval ensign? beautifully fashioned flag by the way. Regards, B.E.

Cheers Kurt, I've got to work So the build begins The two keel halves are glued together and the Bearding line marked on the Starboard side to match the Portside. The Rabbet strip is now ready for fixing. 3112 I used the False keel fret cut out to make a former to shape the rabbet around the bow shape. 3120 Using the wet/heat method I pre-bent the strip to take the stress out when gluing. 3122 Because the strip has to be centred along the keel not having to fight it or apply too much pressure is a great bonus. 3256 Only light clamping is required. 3258 The stern rabbet strip is then added. 3262 and finally the bearding line taper sanded in. 3263 I can now move onto the Boxwood stem and Keel. B.E.

Cheers Guys Well a week or so has passed and nothing really to show, but I have been busy reading logs and I feel grateful for three fine builds by Rustyj, rafine (Bob) and Stuntflyer (Mike) in addition to Chuck's own initial build, to refer to. If I come anywhere close to those examples I will be a happy man. As an aside I have treated myself to a couple of Proxxon goodies to add to my collection. A Thicknesser/sander, (DH40) and a Surface Planer (AH80) plus some spares, and mill bits. As with previous purchases I obtained the machines from Germany. https://www.tbs-aachen.de/ .....and saved myself £118.00 over the UK supply price. I always feel a certain trepidation whenever I start a new build, and I tend to spend a fair bit of time fiddling with the first stage bits before I get the pva out. 3079 Looking at the two false keel halves, they don't seem to join square at both top and bottom. Maybe the tongue of the Jigsaw join is a tad long. 3078 The second task will be to glue a Rabbet strip (⅛" x1/16")- 3.2mm x 1.59mm along the stem, bottom and up the stern of the false keel. This strip doesn't seem to have been provided in the Crown Timber package but they do supply a 1/16"" thick sheet of boxwood which would require a ⅛" strip cutting off. 3104 Fortunately I do have some 3.4mm square Boxwood strip and this provides me with a perfect opportunity to bring my new Thicknesser machine into use. 3103 It brought the 30" length of 3.4mm boxwood strip down to 1.59mm consistently along its length. Being new to this machine I took quite a few light passes to familiarise myself, but I think it will be a very useful addition. A question to those who may have this machine, when feeding narrow strip thro' is it normal for it to move across the planing table without maintaining a straight line? it doesn't seem to affect the cut but is a bit disconcerting to a new user. B.E.

I'm another fan of the Flower Class Corvette, Adrian, and looking forward to your new project. Were you inspired by the magnificent cut away model made by Barry Sharman? I was lucky enough to see his outstanding work at a model show back in 2012, be good to see how your build progresses. Regards, B.E.

Having only just started this build I can only hope that I achieve the cleanness and beauty of the hull you have produced Eric, fine work indeed. B.E.

HM Cutter Cheerful 1806- 1816 This is my new project following completion of the Pinnace and Long-boat kits. I have had this offering from Chuck's Syren stable, including the wood set, gathering dust beneath my workbench since 2016, and I have been collecting all the subsequent add-ons, and fittings as they have been issued. So I now have all the makings to hopefully do justice to the fine materials, fittings, and the beautiful plans produced by Chuck. A period now to organise the build, assimilate the instructions and read thro' logs of those who have gone before. A couple of holding pics of my last foray into cutter building some 30 years ago, a bashed version of the Mamoli kit at 1:72 scale. 3070 007 Still on display in my Dining room, uncased, but fairly easy to periodically clean, she remains one of my favourites. Regards, B.E. ps: I did show Mrs W the actual plans of Cheerful and pointed out the actual, not insubstantial size of the beast.; Fazed she was not in the least; what can possibly go wrong with her on-side .

Thank you Guys for your comments, and for the 'likes' throughout this build, much appreciated. B.E.

A two month project Completed. Grapnel. The kit provides a soft white metal boat grapnel which at first look seemed somewhat over-scale, particularly in the spread of the claws. Checking against Steel ; A 112lb boat grapnel had a shank length of 3'with length of claws ½ the length of the shank. This equates to scale lengths of 19mm and 9.5mm, pretty much spot on for the provided grapnel, altho' this relates to largest size of grapnel. Even so the curve of the claws seems less pronounced than the version shown in the Medway Long-boat, and therefore takes up more room. As with the Pinnace version I added a ring thro' which a 300mm length of 0.63mm Ø line was attached with a Fisherman's Bend. Boat Hook Not provided in the kit, but at least one would have been provided as basic boat equipment. 2777 As with the Pinnace version I knocked one up from a soft metal hairgrip and a length of Boxwood square stock. Completion photo's. 2784 2786 2787 2788 2789 2790 2791 2792 I have now made both of the Model Shipways 18th c boats, and there is a lot of modelling to be had from these two little modestly priced kits and fine little models to be had as a result. 2793 2797 2798 They are also excellent for skill honing particularly in terms of single plank hull planking, and simple ironwork fabrication. It helps if you can replace some of the rather poor Limewood strips and use Syren replacement rigging line and blocks etc. which the kits really deserve. My thanks once again to Chuck for making this possible and I look forward to the issue of his latest small boat offering. B.E.

Nice progress Steve, she's looking great B.E.

You may very well be right Martin I viewed these two builds as a refresher before I started Chuck's Cheerful, but that may be pushed back in the light of Chuck's new offering the Queen Anne style Barge, which has me sorely tempted. The final stretch. Rigging the shrouds. I decided not to darken the shroud line. 2642 Using Syren 0.63mmØ line the first starboard pair were secured around the masthead using a needle to hold them in position whilst I did the seizing. 2645 For the seizing I used 0.20mm line. The port side pair were then added. For the lower deadeyes I use Chuck's self assembly 3mm ones, and 3mm slightly modified brass hooks. I have gone for the 'quick release' shroud attachment rather than strop the deadeyes in a Chainplate ring. 2649 I also made a 'deadeye claw' as shown in the instructions, mainly to hold the deadeye assembly together whilst I got the shroud around the upper deadeye. 2664 Even so it was a fiddly exercise. From this point on it was a fairly straightforward exercise to put the remaining rigging lines in place altho' I don't tie off the lines as I go along except for the ones around the Mast thwart. 2677 The Jib outhaul completed. 2666 Forestay rigging. Masthead rigging. I found that when I came to tighten the shroud deadeye lanyards that the shrouds had slipped down the mast somewhat. To counter this I inserted a pin thro' the mast below the Masthead shroud rigging. 2676 Line belaying completed, separate coils were made to hang over the pins. 2681 Flag Halyard The kit indicates 0.12" line but this seems a little heavy; a 1" or ¾" circ line scaling to 0.17mmØ seems more appropriate to me. I used Syren 0.20mmØ line. 2672 Nearly at the end now, some fussing about with the detail, and oars and grapnel to place. B.E.

Thanks for looking in Derek - there were times early in the build when I thought about sinking mine too Thanks Michael, at least we have the new log lists per boat type at the head of this section to better locate builds (thanks to Danny) and this one won't extend beyond three pages or so. Cheers Steve, in the home straight now B.E.

Nice job on those guns Bob, the carriages look excellent. B.E.

Great shots of the Bowsprit rigging Michael, those crowsfeet look excellent. Re drilling holes in awkward places have you considered gluing a drill bit in a length of dowel to gain access? Cheers, B.E.

Rigging the Longboat I put the supplied rigging line aside, seems under-scale and I didn't like the look of it, black too black and tan too shiny. The black line was supplied presumably for the shrouds and stay, but would these items be heavily tarred on small boats where the rigging would be taken up and down regularly? in any case the stark black line didn't look good to my eye. The kit instructions mention two line sizes only; 0.012" and 0.018" (0.30mm and 0.45mm Ø ) The instructions don't seem to specifically mention the size for the shrouds but I found on Chuck's log mention of 0.021" line (0.53mm Ø) which is the third supplied line in the box These equate to 1.7" 2.7" 3.2" circ line at full scale. Chuck comments - No....you should use smaller rope to seize the .021 rope around the mast. Use smaller .008 or .012 black for that. The rope is .021 because Expo doesnt have anything else other than really large rope above that size. My .025 brown line is perfect size for the shrouds. But for the kit they have to supply only what they have available. Chuck Chuck's 0.025" (0.63mm) line equates to 3.74" circ at full size. W.E May's book The boats of men of war gives Steel's 1794 rigging table for boats, in relation to ship rates. From this table I have calculated the rigging sizes for our model. Not a direct correlation for a given size of Long- boat and Steel does not mention the use of Running Backstays in relation to Long-boat rigging. Rigging item size circ scale mm Ø line used. Shrouds 3½" 0.59mm 0.63mm deadeye 5" Ø 2.64mm 3mm Lanyard 1½" 0.25mm 0.25mm (Morope) B'stay pendant 2½" 0.42mm 0.45mm B'stay tackles 1½" 0.25mm 0.20mm Fore Stay 4" 0.67mm 0.63mm Deadeye 5" Ø 2.64mm 3mm Lanyard 1½" 0.25mm 0.25mm (Morope) Halyard 1½" 0.25mm 0.20mm Sheets 1½" 0.25mm 0.25mm (Morope) Single block 6" 3.17mm 3mm Topping Lift 1½" 0.25mm 0.30mm Peak Halyard 1½" 0.25mm 0.30mm Throat Halyard 1½" 0.25mm 0.30mm Jib Halyard 2" 0.33mm 0.30mm Jib outhauler 2½" 0.42mm 0.45mm Single block 7" 3.7mm 3.50mm Boat Rope 7½" 1.26mm 1.14mm Grapnel rope 3½" 0.59mm 0.63mm Painter 3½" 0.59mm 0.63mm The line, blocks, and deadeyes, used in each case are Syren, except where otherwise noted. The first item of rigging is the Topping lift for the Boom. This is spliced around the Boom end taken up thro' the top block on the mast and down to belay on the aft s/b side thwart pin. The boom sheet runs between two blocks one on the boom the other seized to the iron horse. I used Morope 0.25mm line for this. 2626 The mast is quite slender and to avoid pulling it out of vertical when adjusting the lift and sheet lines I found it useful to rig a temporary forestay to counter the pull of the sheet. I have also rigged a temporary line to hold down the Gaff whilst rigging. 2635 I used 1/8" Syren blocks for the Topping lift and Peak Halyard lines, hooked to the masthead rather than seized. 2624 Peak Halyard secured to the Gaff. 2623 I used Boxwood Parrel trucks to rig the Gaff. 2627 2631 It is relaxing to be engaged with such a simple rig for a change. B.E.

Swivels look good Doug, glad the bracket method worked for you B.E.