steamschooner

It’s time to start some rigging.  The mast is a brass tube with a wooden tapered piece on top.  The boom mount is plastic as are the nav. light mounts.  The nav. lights are brass tubing with clear tubbing inside and a colored stick inside that to show red or white. The foredeck parts are in place so I could mount the boom crutch and measure for the boom.  The Pequot website gave good plans for the ship as made but the modifications after she was transferred to the Coast Guard were never documented.  So when it comes to details most of it has to come from the pictures.
 
I just noticed, looking at the pictures, that although the drawings show portholes (lights) in the hull they do not show in any of the pictures.  Now I have to go back and fill them and repaint the hull. Ah well.
 
Bob
 

 

 

 

I was not happy with boat version 1 so I went for version 2 which came off the plug as can be seen below. I still need to add ribs and such. we will see if there is a version 3

I was not happy with boat version 1 so I went for version 2 which came off the plug as can be seen below. I still need to add ribs and such. we will see if there is a version 3

Well I have made some progress with my ship's boat. I also realized that the two boats that the Cudahy carried were different. So i guess I need to made another plug for the other boat. First one came off with out damage. Adding detail and a little strength to the form. Have a few more things to do with the boat like making a set of oars to tie down in side of it and adding some oarlock blocks.

I was not happy with boat version 1 so I went for version 2 which came off the plug as can be seen below. I still need to add ribs and such. we will see if there is a version 3

I was not happy with boat version 1 so I went for version 2 which came off the plug as can be seen below. I still need to add ribs and such. we will see if there is a version 3

I was not happy with boat version 1 so I went for version 2 which came off the plug as can be seen below. I still need to add ribs and such. we will see if there is a version 3

HI everyone
 
Ok.  I'm guilty as charged.  I'm just having too much fun taking photos of Majellan.  I may have gone a bit overboard by taking the following 11 photos, but I reckon she's one hell of a photogenic "looker".  So, please bear with me.  Of particular interest are the ship's tender and one of the jet ski's which have been casually located on the aft garage deck, just waiting to be launched.  
 
However .........these close-ups keep highlighting all the mistakes and 'still to be done jobs'.  Don't worry.  I'll get around to them, soon.  One of the first will be to properly install the railings to ensure that they're all straight and level....
 
I hope you enjoy the photos, folks.
 
Have a great week, everyone!
 
Cheers
 
Patrick
 
 
 

Hi everyone
 
Thanks for all of your comments and Likes!
 
Just a quick update - Last night I added the four life rafts (two on each side) that hang off the sides of the Sun Deck.  The close-up photos show that they still require some 'tidying up', but, that can be done later.
 
Have a great weekend, folks!
 
Cheers
 
Patrick
 
 

Patrick, she's looking very sweet! great job

Hull shaping
 
When I first read through the directions I was surprised to see that the bulwarks were attached before the hull was sanded - I thought they would be fragile and would complicate the hull shaping but I pressed the “believe” button and went with the kit’s building sequence - I’m glad I did. Trying to add them after shaping the hull would have led to inevitable “knuckles” at the joint, requiring even more sanding and they probably would still have not looked right. By adding them first they are treated as an integral part of the hull and after sanding they are fair with the hull. The design and depth of the rabbet also makes for a very secure joint so I have no more worries about them.
 
The sanding to shape of the hull is going relatively quick and easily, mainly because of the simple shape of the hull (bluff bows with no flair, slab sides amidships).  Here's an example of how the templates are used to check the shape of the hull:

 
At this point the forward 75% of the hull has been shaped and rough sanded, the stern area is next and will probably take as much time as the rest of the hull combined because of its shape and the need to thin it.
This basswood sands very easily yet keeps an edge, nice stuff to work with.
 

Bulwarks installed
 
The fore and aft bulwarks have been glued in place and a piece of square stock added to the stem to ensure there is enough wood there when the hull gets shaped. I probably will end up sanding all of it off but it is easier to attach now then when the stem gets narrow so better safe than sorry:


 
The midships gap (indent) is where the accom ladder will go. Scrap wood was used to fill the unused section of the rabbet:


 
Wood filler has been added to the seams and everything is   ready for the hull shaping:

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 166 – Bulwark Sheaves
 
Well. I finally got some time in the workshop for a couple hours today for the first work on the model in over a month.  Only a small task today – making and fitting the four bulwark sheaves that lead the fore and lower course sheets through the sides.  I toyed with fitting sheaves in the frames for these but the assemblies are quite small and after rigging, the sheaves will be completely hidden by the lines.  So I used the simple method of drilling holes, spaced at the sheave diameter into a strip of 8" x 8" stock as shown in the first picture.
 

 
The sheaves were then carved into the strip.  The first step was to outline the sides of the sheave with a sharp knife as shown below.
 

 
A small chisel was then used to give the sheaves a round shape.
 

 
The strips were then cut into the 20" long sheave assemblies that would be mounted in the bulwarks.
 
In the next picture the position of one of the sheaves is being marked up from the base drawing station lines using a triangle..
 

 
One end of each of the assemblies butts against one of the top timbers with its lower face laid on the planksheer.  In the picture one of two holes has been started within the outline of the sheave assembly.  These were then drilled through the planking.  The next picture shows a rectangular opening being filed out to fit the sheave assembly. 
 

 
In the next picture the assembly has been glued in flush with the outside of the planking.
 

 
After installing, these were painted black on the outside and white on the inside to match surrounding woodwork.
 

 
A small task, but one of a few that remain to get the model ready for masts and rigging.
 
Ed

Thanks Ed for your word,
 
and also all the "likes" for clicking the button....
 
Update....
 
the first promenade deck cabin section is so far complete....
 
the handrails worked out fine, was easier than I thought it to be......, and this time the railholders had flattened ends before bending the holding loop for the rail was bent, (thanks to suggestion of member "Reklein", Bill in Idaho )
 
Nils
 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

Patrick, she's looking very sweet! great job

Patrick, she's looking very sweet! great job

Patrick, she's looking very sweet! great job

Hi everyone and many thanks for all of your comments, Likes and feedback - Much appreciated!
 
Well, I'm a happy chappy, because I've finally gotten around to painting the hull.  However, I'm not sure that my photography skills can properly show just how smooth and glossy the hull above the waterline is looking.  It's a pity, because to me, the finish on the hull is looking pretty spiffy.
 
Still lots of work to go, such as tweaking the railings (at the moment they're just temporarily put in, hence why they're embarrassingly crooked.  There's also the life rafts on the Sun Deck, the propellors, rudders, more painting and finishing the internal accommodation, that needs to be done.
 
Oh, by the way, in a couple of photos you'll see my other 'pride and joy'.  It's my Colnago C60 carbon fibre road bike.  She's a beauty, too.
 
I hope you enjoy the photos.
 
All the best!
 
Cheers
 
Patrick

Thanks for your compliment Denis,
 
I`ve been "riveting" the cabin walls and bringing in the holes where there come portholes. All tiny holes for the handrail stanchions have been drilled in. Also primering has been done and the painting for the four sections. The unpainted section shows what it will look like with doors and windows....
 
Nils
 
 

 
doors and windows not permanently glued on yet...
 
 

 
Handrails still missing....
 
 

 
the portholes shall look like those in the ships hull (metal sleeves with "glassing" from grasscutter 2 mm diam. Nylon line )
 
 

Finally,  the main deck structure is framed and planked.  Just a few more details before moving to the boiler deck.
 
 
Port side framing.  I just noticed that I haven't finished the framing of the outhouse at the stern.

 

 

 
 
Milling the window frames.  The mill is a 1 mm ball nosed mill.

 

 
 
After milling, I took the back side off with the thickness planer.  I'll clean it up and square the corners with a file.

 
 
Test fit of the first frame.  The windows will ge glazed with mica as per druxey's tip.  The mica will be sandwiched between a pair of window frames.

 
 
Starboard side painted -- still need a few touch-ups.

 

 
 
Test fitting a couple more windows.

 

I like the bandaid on the lower hull Great job, Patrick

I like the bandaid on the lower hull Great job, Patrick

I like the bandaid on the lower hull Great job, Patrick

Hi everyone
 
I hope you're all well.  I've had a go at doing a few of those little niggly bits on Majellan that've I've been putting off for ages.  They're tiny details and, therefore, are hard to see.  Although they're still 'works in progress', they are: the tiny railings on the Sun Deck at the rear of the sun lounges; the antenna masts and the railings around the staircases on the Sun Deck and Bridge Deck.  
 
I hope you like the photos.
 
Have a good one, everyone!
 
Cheers
 
Patrick

Update....
 
machine room lights, dry-fit in area of waist between the two last funnels. I only fitted 12 lights on every side, in actual it would have been 15....
 
Nils