Blue Ensign

Post 5
Bulkheads.
Nice to have these heavy cleanly cut bulkheads provided for me, I particularly like the scored reference lines for the ports and wales.
All the Bulkheads slipped easily onto the false keel.
 

3820
At this point I made a simple support board to keep the keel upright whilst I fitted the bulkheads.
Bulkheads not glued at this stage.
 

3823
Get my first real impression of what a chunky little vessel she will be, lovin' it already.
The b/h's should have the scored reference lines for the ports and wale facing either forward or aft depending on whether they are designated by letters or numbers. Forward for numbers, aft for letters.
Chuck has confirmed to me that b/h ⊕ can be placed either way around.

3835
Starting with b/h ⊕ I work fore and aft to glue them into place, checking for square and level as I go.

3837

3839
I use a high quality pva for this purpose, which has a 5 minute grab, sufficient working time, but short enough to hold quickly once positioned.
With the bulkheads fixed it remains to fix the Bow and Port fillers.

3934
So far so good, then........
When it came to the Port fillers I hit a problem.
The fillers run between the external edges of bulkheads J and M., leaving just a wedge of the shorter bulkhead L  protruding, which will be faired away.
4013
On the starboard side of my cutter they fit perfectly, as above.

...but on the Portside seem a tad short.
Hhmm have I got either Bulkheads J or M slightly out of square, I spent so much time squaring them up, or has a bit of warp crept into the bulkhead.
Annoying and barely a mm but sufficient to need a filler to make up the difference.
Rather than try to get the bulkheads off again and perhaps end up with more trouble I added a sliver of Boxwood to the aft end of the filler pieces.

 4008
To bring the filler sets up to the level of the Bulkhead extensions I split a spare filler piece and used one thickness of ply.

4012
Onto the far more testy business of fairing next.
 
B.E.

Hi Kurt,
Here is the link to  plan I purchased.
 
http://prints.rmg.co.uk/art/534442/lines-plan-of-vessels-surly-1806-and-cheerful-1806
 
Cheers,
 
B.E.

Post 5
Bulkheads.
Nice to have these heavy cleanly cut bulkheads provided for me, I particularly like the scored reference lines for the ports and wales.
All the Bulkheads slipped easily onto the false keel.
 

3820
At this point I made a simple support board to keep the keel upright whilst I fitted the bulkheads.
Bulkheads not glued at this stage.
 

3823
Get my first real impression of what a chunky little vessel she will be, lovin' it already.
The b/h's should have the scored reference lines for the ports and wale facing either forward or aft depending on whether they are designated by letters or numbers. Forward for numbers, aft for letters.
Chuck has confirmed to me that b/h ⊕ can be placed either way around.

3835
Starting with b/h ⊕ I work fore and aft to glue them into place, checking for square and level as I go.

3837

3839
I use a high quality pva for this purpose, which has a 5 minute grab, sufficient working time, but short enough to hold quickly once positioned.
With the bulkheads fixed it remains to fix the Bow and Port fillers.

3934
So far so good, then........
When it came to the Port fillers I hit a problem.
The fillers run between the external edges of bulkheads J and M., leaving just a wedge of the shorter bulkhead L  protruding, which will be faired away.
4013
On the starboard side of my cutter they fit perfectly, as above.

...but on the Portside seem a tad short.
Hhmm have I got either Bulkheads J or M slightly out of square, I spent so much time squaring them up, or has a bit of warp crept into the bulkhead.
Annoying and barely a mm but sufficient to need a filler to make up the difference.
Rather than try to get the bulkheads off again and perhaps end up with more trouble I added a sliver of Boxwood to the aft end of the filler pieces.

 4008
To bring the filler sets up to the level of the Bulkhead extensions I split a spare filler piece and used one thickness of ply.

4012
Onto the far more testy business of fairing next.
 
B.E.

Post 5
Bulkheads.
Nice to have these heavy cleanly cut bulkheads provided for me, I particularly like the scored reference lines for the ports and wales.
All the Bulkheads slipped easily onto the false keel.
 

3820
At this point I made a simple support board to keep the keel upright whilst I fitted the bulkheads.
Bulkheads not glued at this stage.
 

3823
Get my first real impression of what a chunky little vessel she will be, lovin' it already.
The b/h's should have the scored reference lines for the ports and wale facing either forward or aft depending on whether they are designated by letters or numbers. Forward for numbers, aft for letters.
Chuck has confirmed to me that b/h ⊕ can be placed either way around.

3835
Starting with b/h ⊕ I work fore and aft to glue them into place, checking for square and level as I go.

3837

3839
I use a high quality pva for this purpose, which has a 5 minute grab, sufficient working time, but short enough to hold quickly once positioned.
With the bulkheads fixed it remains to fix the Bow and Port fillers.

3934
So far so good, then........
When it came to the Port fillers I hit a problem.
The fillers run between the external edges of bulkheads J and M., leaving just a wedge of the shorter bulkhead L  protruding, which will be faired away.
4013
On the starboard side of my cutter they fit perfectly, as above.

...but on the Portside seem a tad short.
Hhmm have I got either Bulkheads J or M slightly out of square, I spent so much time squaring them up, or has a bit of warp crept into the bulkhead.
Annoying and barely a mm but sufficient to need a filler to make up the difference.
Rather than try to get the bulkheads off again and perhaps end up with more trouble I added a sliver of Boxwood to the aft end of the filler pieces.

 4008
To bring the filler sets up to the level of the Bulkhead extensions I split a spare filler piece and used one thickness of ply.

4012
Onto the far more testy business of fairing next.
 
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.
 
 

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.
 
 
 

Post 5
Bulkheads.
Nice to have these heavy cleanly cut bulkheads provided for me, I particularly like the scored reference lines for the ports and wales.
All the Bulkheads slipped easily onto the false keel.
 

3820
At this point I made a simple support board to keep the keel upright whilst I fitted the bulkheads.
Bulkheads not glued at this stage.
 

3823
Get my first real impression of what a chunky little vessel she will be, lovin' it already.
The b/h's should have the scored reference lines for the ports and wale facing either forward or aft depending on whether they are designated by letters or numbers. Forward for numbers, aft for letters.
Chuck has confirmed to me that b/h ⊕ can be placed either way around.

3835
Starting with b/h ⊕ I work fore and aft to glue them into place, checking for square and level as I go.

3837

3839
I use a high quality pva for this purpose, which has a 5 minute grab, sufficient working time, but short enough to hold quickly once positioned.
With the bulkheads fixed it remains to fix the Bow and Port fillers.

3934
So far so good, then........
When it came to the Port fillers I hit a problem.
The fillers run between the external edges of bulkheads J and M., leaving just a wedge of the shorter bulkhead L  protruding, which will be faired away.
4013
On the starboard side of my cutter they fit perfectly, as above.

...but on the Portside seem a tad short.
Hhmm have I got either Bulkheads J or M slightly out of square, I spent so much time squaring them up, or has a bit of warp crept into the bulkhead.
Annoying and barely a mm but sufficient to need a filler to make up the difference.
Rather than try to get the bulkheads off again and perhaps end up with more trouble I added a sliver of Boxwood to the aft end of the filler pieces.

 4008
To bring the filler sets up to the level of the Bulkhead extensions I split a spare filler piece and used one thickness of ply.

4012
Onto the far more testy business of fairing next.
 
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.

I agree with the comments above, as an overseas customer I would prefer to have the complete set rather than have to order them separately at a later date.
 
Regards,
 
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.
 
 

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.
 

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.
 
 
 

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 5
Bulkheads.
Nice to have these heavy cleanly cut bulkheads provided for me, I particularly like the scored reference lines for the ports and wales.
All the Bulkheads slipped easily onto the false keel.
 

3820
At this point I made a simple support board to keep the keel upright whilst I fitted the bulkheads.
Bulkheads not glued at this stage.
 

3823
Get my first real impression of what a chunky little vessel she will be, lovin' it already.
The b/h's should have the scored reference lines for the ports and wale facing either forward or aft depending on whether they are designated by letters or numbers. Forward for numbers, aft for letters.
Chuck has confirmed to me that b/h ⊕ can be placed either way around.

3835
Starting with b/h ⊕ I work fore and aft to glue them into place, checking for square and level as I go.

3837

3839
I use a high quality pva for this purpose, which has a 5 minute grab, sufficient working time, but short enough to hold quickly once positioned.
With the bulkheads fixed it remains to fix the Bow and Port fillers.

3934
So far so good, then........
When it came to the Port fillers I hit a problem.
The fillers run between the external edges of bulkheads J and M., leaving just a wedge of the shorter bulkhead L  protruding, which will be faired away.
4013
On the starboard side of my cutter they fit perfectly, as above.

...but on the Portside seem a tad short.
Hhmm have I got either Bulkheads J or M slightly out of square, I spent so much time squaring them up, or has a bit of warp crept into the bulkhead.
Annoying and barely a mm but sufficient to need a filler to make up the difference.
Rather than try to get the bulkheads off again and perhaps end up with more trouble I added a sliver of Boxwood to the aft end of the filler pieces.

 4008
To bring the filler sets up to the level of the Bulkhead extensions I split a spare filler piece and used one thickness of ply.

4012
Onto the far more testy business of fairing next.
 
B.E.

Post 5
Bulkheads.
Nice to have these heavy cleanly cut bulkheads provided for me, I particularly like the scored reference lines for the ports and wales.
All the Bulkheads slipped easily onto the false keel.
 

3820
At this point I made a simple support board to keep the keel upright whilst I fitted the bulkheads.
Bulkheads not glued at this stage.
 

3823
Get my first real impression of what a chunky little vessel she will be, lovin' it already.
The b/h's should have the scored reference lines for the ports and wale facing either forward or aft depending on whether they are designated by letters or numbers. Forward for numbers, aft for letters.
Chuck has confirmed to me that b/h ⊕ can be placed either way around.

3835
Starting with b/h ⊕ I work fore and aft to glue them into place, checking for square and level as I go.

3837

3839
I use a high quality pva for this purpose, which has a 5 minute grab, sufficient working time, but short enough to hold quickly once positioned.
With the bulkheads fixed it remains to fix the Bow and Port fillers.

3934
So far so good, then........
When it came to the Port fillers I hit a problem.
The fillers run between the external edges of bulkheads J and M., leaving just a wedge of the shorter bulkhead L  protruding, which will be faired away.
4013
On the starboard side of my cutter they fit perfectly, as above.

...but on the Portside seem a tad short.
Hhmm have I got either Bulkheads J or M slightly out of square, I spent so much time squaring them up, or has a bit of warp crept into the bulkhead.
Annoying and barely a mm but sufficient to need a filler to make up the difference.
Rather than try to get the bulkheads off again and perhaps end up with more trouble I added a sliver of Boxwood to the aft end of the filler pieces.

 4008
To bring the filler sets up to the level of the Bulkhead extensions I split a spare filler piece and used one thickness of ply.

4012
Onto the far more testy business of fairing next.
 
B.E.

Post 5
Bulkheads.
Nice to have these heavy cleanly cut bulkheads provided for me, I particularly like the scored reference lines for the ports and wales.
All the Bulkheads slipped easily onto the false keel.
 

3820
At this point I made a simple support board to keep the keel upright whilst I fitted the bulkheads.
Bulkheads not glued at this stage.
 

3823
Get my first real impression of what a chunky little vessel she will be, lovin' it already.
The b/h's should have the scored reference lines for the ports and wale facing either forward or aft depending on whether they are designated by letters or numbers. Forward for numbers, aft for letters.
Chuck has confirmed to me that b/h ⊕ can be placed either way around.

3835
Starting with b/h ⊕ I work fore and aft to glue them into place, checking for square and level as I go.

3837

3839
I use a high quality pva for this purpose, which has a 5 minute grab, sufficient working time, but short enough to hold quickly once positioned.
With the bulkheads fixed it remains to fix the Bow and Port fillers.

3934
So far so good, then........
When it came to the Port fillers I hit a problem.
The fillers run between the external edges of bulkheads J and M., leaving just a wedge of the shorter bulkhead L  protruding, which will be faired away.
4013
On the starboard side of my cutter they fit perfectly, as above.

...but on the Portside seem a tad short.
Hhmm have I got either Bulkheads J or M slightly out of square, I spent so much time squaring them up, or has a bit of warp crept into the bulkhead.
Annoying and barely a mm but sufficient to need a filler to make up the difference.
Rather than try to get the bulkheads off again and perhaps end up with more trouble I added a sliver of Boxwood to the aft end of the filler pieces.

 4008
To bring the filler sets up to the level of the Bulkhead extensions I split a spare filler piece and used one thickness of ply.

4012
Onto the far more testy business of fairing next.
 
B.E.

Post 5
Bulkheads.
Nice to have these heavy cleanly cut bulkheads provided for me, I particularly like the scored reference lines for the ports and wales.
All the Bulkheads slipped easily onto the false keel.
 

3820
At this point I made a simple support board to keep the keel upright whilst I fitted the bulkheads.
Bulkheads not glued at this stage.
 

3823
Get my first real impression of what a chunky little vessel she will be, lovin' it already.
The b/h's should have the scored reference lines for the ports and wale facing either forward or aft depending on whether they are designated by letters or numbers. Forward for numbers, aft for letters.
Chuck has confirmed to me that b/h ⊕ can be placed either way around.

3835
Starting with b/h ⊕ I work fore and aft to glue them into place, checking for square and level as I go.

3837

3839
I use a high quality pva for this purpose, which has a 5 minute grab, sufficient working time, but short enough to hold quickly once positioned.
With the bulkheads fixed it remains to fix the Bow and Port fillers.

3934
So far so good, then........
When it came to the Port fillers I hit a problem.
The fillers run between the external edges of bulkheads J and M., leaving just a wedge of the shorter bulkhead L  protruding, which will be faired away.
4013
On the starboard side of my cutter they fit perfectly, as above.

...but on the Portside seem a tad short.
Hhmm have I got either Bulkheads J or M slightly out of square, I spent so much time squaring them up, or has a bit of warp crept into the bulkhead.
Annoying and barely a mm but sufficient to need a filler to make up the difference.
Rather than try to get the bulkheads off again and perhaps end up with more trouble I added a sliver of Boxwood to the aft end of the filler pieces.

 4008
To bring the filler sets up to the level of the Bulkhead extensions I split a spare filler piece and used one thickness of ply.

4012
Onto the far more testy business of fairing next.
 
B.E.

Post 5
Bulkheads.
Nice to have these heavy cleanly cut bulkheads provided for me, I particularly like the scored reference lines for the ports and wales.
All the Bulkheads slipped easily onto the false keel.
 

3820
At this point I made a simple support board to keep the keel upright whilst I fitted the bulkheads.
Bulkheads not glued at this stage.
 

3823
Get my first real impression of what a chunky little vessel she will be, lovin' it already.
The b/h's should have the scored reference lines for the ports and wale facing either forward or aft depending on whether they are designated by letters or numbers. Forward for numbers, aft for letters.
Chuck has confirmed to me that b/h ⊕ can be placed either way around.

3835
Starting with b/h ⊕ I work fore and aft to glue them into place, checking for square and level as I go.

3837

3839
I use a high quality pva for this purpose, which has a 5 minute grab, sufficient working time, but short enough to hold quickly once positioned.
With the bulkheads fixed it remains to fix the Bow and Port fillers.

3934
So far so good, then........
When it came to the Port fillers I hit a problem.
The fillers run between the external edges of bulkheads J and M., leaving just a wedge of the shorter bulkhead L  protruding, which will be faired away.
4013
On the starboard side of my cutter they fit perfectly, as above.

...but on the Portside seem a tad short.
Hhmm have I got either Bulkheads J or M slightly out of square, I spent so much time squaring them up, or has a bit of warp crept into the bulkhead.
Annoying and barely a mm but sufficient to need a filler to make up the difference.
Rather than try to get the bulkheads off again and perhaps end up with more trouble I added a sliver of Boxwood to the aft end of the filler pieces.

 4008
To bring the filler sets up to the level of the Bulkhead extensions I split a spare filler piece and used one thickness of ply.

4012
Onto the far more testy business of fairing next.
 
B.E.

Post 5
Bulkheads.
Nice to have these heavy cleanly cut bulkheads provided for me, I particularly like the scored reference lines for the ports and wales.
All the Bulkheads slipped easily onto the false keel.
 

3820
At this point I made a simple support board to keep the keel upright whilst I fitted the bulkheads.
Bulkheads not glued at this stage.
 

3823
Get my first real impression of what a chunky little vessel she will be, lovin' it already.
The b/h's should have the scored reference lines for the ports and wale facing either forward or aft depending on whether they are designated by letters or numbers. Forward for numbers, aft for letters.
Chuck has confirmed to me that b/h ⊕ can be placed either way around.

3835
Starting with b/h ⊕ I work fore and aft to glue them into place, checking for square and level as I go.

3837

3839
I use a high quality pva for this purpose, which has a 5 minute grab, sufficient working time, but short enough to hold quickly once positioned.
With the bulkheads fixed it remains to fix the Bow and Port fillers.

3934
So far so good, then........
When it came to the Port fillers I hit a problem.
The fillers run between the external edges of bulkheads J and M., leaving just a wedge of the shorter bulkhead L  protruding, which will be faired away.
4013
On the starboard side of my cutter they fit perfectly, as above.

...but on the Portside seem a tad short.
Hhmm have I got either Bulkheads J or M slightly out of square, I spent so much time squaring them up, or has a bit of warp crept into the bulkhead.
Annoying and barely a mm but sufficient to need a filler to make up the difference.
Rather than try to get the bulkheads off again and perhaps end up with more trouble I added a sliver of Boxwood to the aft end of the filler pieces.

 4008
To bring the filler sets up to the level of the Bulkhead extensions I split a spare filler piece and used one thickness of ply.

4012
Onto the far more testy business of fairing next.
 
B.E.

Post 5
Bulkheads.
Nice to have these heavy cleanly cut bulkheads provided for me, I particularly like the scored reference lines for the ports and wales.
All the Bulkheads slipped easily onto the false keel.
 

3820
At this point I made a simple support board to keep the keel upright whilst I fitted the bulkheads.
Bulkheads not glued at this stage.
 

3823
Get my first real impression of what a chunky little vessel she will be, lovin' it already.
The b/h's should have the scored reference lines for the ports and wale facing either forward or aft depending on whether they are designated by letters or numbers. Forward for numbers, aft for letters.
Chuck has confirmed to me that b/h ⊕ can be placed either way around.

3835
Starting with b/h ⊕ I work fore and aft to glue them into place, checking for square and level as I go.

3837

3839
I use a high quality pva for this purpose, which has a 5 minute grab, sufficient working time, but short enough to hold quickly once positioned.
With the bulkheads fixed it remains to fix the Bow and Port fillers.

3934
So far so good, then........
When it came to the Port fillers I hit a problem.
The fillers run between the external edges of bulkheads J and M., leaving just a wedge of the shorter bulkhead L  protruding, which will be faired away.
4013
On the starboard side of my cutter they fit perfectly, as above.

...but on the Portside seem a tad short.
Hhmm have I got either Bulkheads J or M slightly out of square, I spent so much time squaring them up, or has a bit of warp crept into the bulkhead.
Annoying and barely a mm but sufficient to need a filler to make up the difference.
Rather than try to get the bulkheads off again and perhaps end up with more trouble I added a sliver of Boxwood to the aft end of the filler pieces.

 4008
To bring the filler sets up to the level of the Bulkhead extensions I split a spare filler piece and used one thickness of ply.

4012
Onto the far more testy business of fairing next.
 
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.

That is from a painting by John Dews the Yorkshire Marine artist, depicting the Sir Winston Churchill off Whitby.
She is wearing the Flag of St George, the English Flag.
As she is not a naval vessel, where the flag and position may have more relevance, it may simply be indicative that she is an English ship.
At the stern she wears the Red Ensign, of the British merchant marine.
 
B.E.
 

That is from a painting by John Dews the Yorkshire Marine artist, depicting the Sir Winston Churchill off Whitby.
She is wearing the Flag of St George, the English Flag.
As she is not a naval vessel, where the flag and position may have more relevance, it may simply be indicative that she is an English ship.
At the stern she wears the Red Ensign, of the British merchant marine.
 
B.E.
 

Hi Paul,
 
I didn't coat the plates I wanted them to gain a natural patina over time.  I was careful when handling the model not to touch the plates with my bare hands.
 
Cheers,
 
B.E.

That is from a painting by John Dews the Yorkshire Marine artist, depicting the Sir Winston Churchill off Whitby.
She is wearing the Flag of St George, the English Flag.
As she is not a naval vessel, where the flag and position may have more relevance, it may simply be indicative that she is an English ship.
At the stern she wears the Red Ensign, of the British merchant marine.
 
B.E.