Laxet

I built the gratings next & made the next major mistake, but didn't discover it until the deck was planked. The mistake is that the large grating is way too wide. I went back & checked all the measurements I had written down & drawn. They were all correct & yet this monstrosity was created. It will be the mistake that will always catch my eye forever when I look at this model.

Here is the finished planking. Not the neatest, but by golly it's my first time. Everything from here on out has happened this year.

I was stuck because every time I tried to bend a plank at the bow, it would break. I tried everything I could think of but could not bend the planks properly. So back on the shelf it went. In 2012, I retired from the FAA after 37 years of government service, including 5 years US Navy, 8 years at Long Beach Naval Shipyard as a Sat/comm tech & 24 years as a Comm Navaids tech in the FAA at LAX. The wife & I moved to outside Dallas TX last year.

One day the wife was cleaning. She has this thing called a "Shark" It is basically a steam cleaner. It sits on a counter & has a hose & generates steam under pressure. When I saw that I thought "This could be the answer I am looking for for bending planks". I confiscated it from her & took it to my room & hooked it up. It worked beautifully. I could actually tie a plank in a knot using it. Success! I got the hull planked finally. At last I will be able to finish a ship.

Then in 2010 I came down with a heart infection. I was out of work for six months & couldn't do much but sit. I began again on the Niagara, determined I was going to actually build the darned thing. I got this far.

The picture below shows how the ship sat for about ten years. In the mean time, during a move, my wife picked it up by the transom & destroyed the aft end. Another letter to model Expo for more parts. Transom was rebuilt.

Model Expo has a great policy of replacing lost or broken parts. I have availed myself of that service several times & will do again (but I'm getting better). The blocks that I carved at the bow & stern were disasters the first time I did them. So I asked for new blocks & re-carved them. They still are not that good, but passable. This picture shows the next major mistake I made, although I did not realize for for quite some time. The space at the bow for the bowsprit is too small. Once discovered I had to rebuild the bow. Ouch. Harsh lesson there, again, from inexperience.

A little background on this build. This is the first wooden ship I have ever built that has a chance of actually being completed. I bought it just after it was released, back in Dec. 1998. I paid $169.99 for it (I still have the invoice). Previous to this, I bought & eventually threw away Billings Vasa (in the '70s) & the Mantua/Sergal Victory (in the early '80s) that I still have. It is started but will never be completed by me since I have now bought the Caldercraft Victory. I would even be willing to give the Mantua Victory away for the price of shipping. I know all of the fittings & plans are there but not all of the wood or line. I also have a Heller plastic Victory that is complete but started. I would make the same deal.

When I bought this ship, digital cameras were just becoming popular. I believe most of the pictures were shot digitally. Keep in mind, this is my first actual build. I did not have internet available to answer questions so I guessed on a lot of this (& not always correctly). Since reading this forum, I can see many errors & better ways of doing things that would have made this so much easier. These are the first pictures I took of construction.

Hmm. I wonder what the reason is for that.

I read recently on a boat building forum (real boats) that only three sides of a mast should be tapered. The aft side is left straight. Does this rule apply to our world? Is there an advantage of one method over another (other than ease of construction)? I'm working on Model Shipways brig Niagara, & am trying to taper the masts now.

Dale G Elhardt