Landlubber Mike

Mike, the cherry might just work very well. It does darken with age in the rich deep, I'm not sure I can call it red but it is beautiful   I've used it and with the right woods for contrast, it works well.

Excellent job on the hull planking very neat and tidy, either way  with  wood look or white  the hull will look really nice.
 
OC.

Finally finished the first planking of the lower hull.  Ended up coming out really nicely I think - I might not have to use any filler at all, except maybe around the stern area with that turn up into the counter.  I still need to clean up a bit around the stern and bow, which I'll need to do by hand, but I used a palm sander outside today to sand the planking down.  Wow, does that make life much easier!  Was so quick to sand the hull, I still remember doing the Badger by hand and it taking forever.  
 
I'm now a big convert to bow and stern filler blocks, they really help!  A big thank you to Pete who suggested using them in his build notes.  One thing I started wondering is whether even if you're doing a POB kit, whether just adding filler blocks through the full area such that you don't even have to bother with a first planking would be quicker and easier than going through the first planking, sanding, filling, etc., and then adding the second (essentially, converting it to a solid hull).  Guess it depends how easy it is for the person to do filler blocks.
 
Some pictures of where I am:



One issue that has been bothering me is the fact that the kit provided different wood for the stem/rudder versus that for the keel.  The stem/rudder I believe is walnut, and the keel might be ramin.  The color difference between the two is too striking for my liking:

 
I was originally thinking of painting the lower hull white which would have made this a non-issue, but given how far I'm pushing on this build, I think I'm going to leave the hull natural.  I don't want to chance using a stain to even the colors out, because then I would have to use stain on the planking itself which leads to more chance of something looking out of place.  So, instead, I think I'm going to buy new wood for the stem, rudder, and lower hull planking.  I dropped the hull while planking it a while back and the stem snapped right off, so I think taking it off again should be ok.  The keel is a bit of a different story because I drilled the pedestal holes into it, and it's secured into the false keel by brass rod.  So, what I'll likely do is laminate the keel with thin walnut, and then maybe try darkening the very bottom a bit to avoid any oddities (people shouldn't really be able to see the bottom of the keel though).  Going this route will also be helpful in that I think I would like to spile the full hull as a challenge to myself (for my Pegasus, I only spiled planks up to the copper plating line.
 
Jason from Crown Timberyard is back up and running and has been very helpful in answering some of my questions. He sells both a dark walnut and mahogany.  I want the upper hull to be lighter in color than the lower hull, and I found a nice lighter cherry veneer that should do nicely.  I'm leaning towards using Jason's walnut over the mahogany as I think the colors will work better together.  Mahogany looks beautiful, but as a chocolate/orange/rich brown, I don't think that using cherry for the upper hull will work well.  Walnut and cherry though seem to complement each other nicely, at least what I've seen in other build logs.  Certainly welcome to any thoughts, ideas or suggestions!
 
Next, I'm thinking of working on the gun deck - planking, hatches, etc.  A nice respite before having to go back to planking the hull.

Finally finished the first planking of the lower hull.  Ended up coming out really nicely I think - I might not have to use any filler at all, except maybe around the stern area with that turn up into the counter.  I still need to clean up a bit around the stern and bow, which I'll need to do by hand, but I used a palm sander outside today to sand the planking down.  Wow, does that make life much easier!  Was so quick to sand the hull, I still remember doing the Badger by hand and it taking forever.  
 
I'm now a big convert to bow and stern filler blocks, they really help!  A big thank you to Pete who suggested using them in his build notes.  One thing I started wondering is whether even if you're doing a POB kit, whether just adding filler blocks through the full area such that you don't even have to bother with a first planking would be quicker and easier than going through the first planking, sanding, filling, etc., and then adding the second (essentially, converting it to a solid hull).  Guess it depends how easy it is for the person to do filler blocks.
 
Some pictures of where I am:



One issue that has been bothering me is the fact that the kit provided different wood for the stem/rudder versus that for the keel.  The stem/rudder I believe is walnut, and the keel might be ramin.  The color difference between the two is too striking for my liking:

 
I was originally thinking of painting the lower hull white which would have made this a non-issue, but given how far I'm pushing on this build, I think I'm going to leave the hull natural.  I don't want to chance using a stain to even the colors out, because then I would have to use stain on the planking itself which leads to more chance of something looking out of place.  So, instead, I think I'm going to buy new wood for the stem, rudder, and lower hull planking.  I dropped the hull while planking it a while back and the stem snapped right off, so I think taking it off again should be ok.  The keel is a bit of a different story because I drilled the pedestal holes into it, and it's secured into the false keel by brass rod.  So, what I'll likely do is laminate the keel with thin walnut, and then maybe try darkening the very bottom a bit to avoid any oddities (people shouldn't really be able to see the bottom of the keel though).  Going this route will also be helpful in that I think I would like to spile the full hull as a challenge to myself (for my Pegasus, I only spiled planks up to the copper plating line.
 
Jason from Crown Timberyard is back up and running and has been very helpful in answering some of my questions. He sells both a dark walnut and mahogany.  I want the upper hull to be lighter in color than the lower hull, and I found a nice lighter cherry veneer that should do nicely.  I'm leaning towards using Jason's walnut over the mahogany as I think the colors will work better together.  Mahogany looks beautiful, but as a chocolate/orange/rich brown, I don't think that using cherry for the upper hull will work well.  Walnut and cherry though seem to complement each other nicely, at least what I've seen in other build logs.  Certainly welcome to any thoughts, ideas or suggestions!
 
Next, I'm thinking of working on the gun deck - planking, hatches, etc.  A nice respite before having to go back to planking the hull.

Finally finished the first planking of the lower hull.  Ended up coming out really nicely I think - I might not have to use any filler at all, except maybe around the stern area with that turn up into the counter.  I still need to clean up a bit around the stern and bow, which I'll need to do by hand, but I used a palm sander outside today to sand the planking down.  Wow, does that make life much easier!  Was so quick to sand the hull, I still remember doing the Badger by hand and it taking forever.  
 
I'm now a big convert to bow and stern filler blocks, they really help!  A big thank you to Pete who suggested using them in his build notes.  One thing I started wondering is whether even if you're doing a POB kit, whether just adding filler blocks through the full area such that you don't even have to bother with a first planking would be quicker and easier than going through the first planking, sanding, filling, etc., and then adding the second (essentially, converting it to a solid hull).  Guess it depends how easy it is for the person to do filler blocks.
 
Some pictures of where I am:



One issue that has been bothering me is the fact that the kit provided different wood for the stem/rudder versus that for the keel.  The stem/rudder I believe is walnut, and the keel might be ramin.  The color difference between the two is too striking for my liking:

 
I was originally thinking of painting the lower hull white which would have made this a non-issue, but given how far I'm pushing on this build, I think I'm going to leave the hull natural.  I don't want to chance using a stain to even the colors out, because then I would have to use stain on the planking itself which leads to more chance of something looking out of place.  So, instead, I think I'm going to buy new wood for the stem, rudder, and lower hull planking.  I dropped the hull while planking it a while back and the stem snapped right off, so I think taking it off again should be ok.  The keel is a bit of a different story because I drilled the pedestal holes into it, and it's secured into the false keel by brass rod.  So, what I'll likely do is laminate the keel with thin walnut, and then maybe try darkening the very bottom a bit to avoid any oddities (people shouldn't really be able to see the bottom of the keel though).  Going this route will also be helpful in that I think I would like to spile the full hull as a challenge to myself (for my Pegasus, I only spiled planks up to the copper plating line.
 
Jason from Crown Timberyard is back up and running and has been very helpful in answering some of my questions. He sells both a dark walnut and mahogany.  I want the upper hull to be lighter in color than the lower hull, and I found a nice lighter cherry veneer that should do nicely.  I'm leaning towards using Jason's walnut over the mahogany as I think the colors will work better together.  Mahogany looks beautiful, but as a chocolate/orange/rich brown, I don't think that using cherry for the upper hull will work well.  Walnut and cherry though seem to complement each other nicely, at least what I've seen in other build logs.  Certainly welcome to any thoughts, ideas or suggestions!
 
Next, I'm thinking of working on the gun deck - planking, hatches, etc.  A nice respite before having to go back to planking the hull.

It's a really nice subject and Euromodel does a nice job with their kits.  Go for it!

Thanks Mark.  I’m slowly learning.  I agree about the French ships - your Licorne is certainly a great example of the beauty of that class of ships!

Hi Ferit, thanks for looking in.  Interesting, the picture does seem to show a gap or indent, but when I look at the model, it looks perfectly straight/in line with the general curvature of the hull.  My guess is that it's an artifact from my iPhone picture.  I was doing my best to take a picture over the top of the model without capturing my toes in the picture.  Ian Major pointed out my feet on one of my other logs a while back, and I've been self conscious ever since!

Simon thank you - appreciate the kind words!  Thanks for that link on the Russian forum.  I came across it on Pontos’ log, but probably should look at it more often.
 
Mark, thanks for posting the plans.  I think the Euromodel LAR is a different ship from the one in the Ancre plans, and my guess is that the ship is a Swedish ship, and not a French one.   Apparently there’s been research out there suggesting that Admiral Paris made a mistake in copying over the Chapman plans and calling it the LAR. 

Here's what my cannons will look like.  The upgrade kit supplies wood parts for carriages (second picture), but I think the detail on the cast metal carriages is more interesting, so that's what I'm using.  I think they call it an upgrade because it permits installation of more complex cannon rigging, which I'm not going to do.
 
Regards,
David
 

Thank you Mike.
Happy to hear from you again.
The visit by our sweet grand daughters was really special since we only see them once a year.  And the really neat thing about them "helping" is the fact that they will, one day, long after I’m gone, be able to show their children how they actually glued the main fife rail onto the deck .... and point to it on this ship they will inherit from their their Papa.
Now, I ask....How COOL is that?
 
Cheers
 
 
 

Dave, it's been a while since I last visited your log but wow, wonderful work!  Very cool to see you involving your grandkids like that too

I bought those too, but haven't had a chance to use them yet.  Glad to hear that they work great!

Dave, it's been a while since I last visited your log but wow, wonderful work!  Very cool to see you involving your grandkids like that too

I'll echo Chris, that came out very nicely.  Do not paint it   I like the effect you achieved with the alternating colors of the planks.  Very striking!

Dave, it's been a while since I last visited your log but wow, wonderful work!  Very cool to see you involving your grandkids like that too

I bought those too, but haven't had a chance to use them yet.  Glad to hear that they work great!

Dave, it's been a while since I last visited your log but wow, wonderful work!  Very cool to see you involving your grandkids like that too

The four anchors ready to be rigged to the ship.
This fairly straight forward task was complicated by the fact that I had overlooked the rectangular hatch where this anchor is stowed.  
Hull surgery at this stage not recommended.....
Also note the installation of the  studding boom.

Thanks Pat and Al....
I let the girls choose from my little "fleet of models" the two ships they want to stake their claim on.
Parker (the older) chose the Constitution.  
Hattie chose the Confederacy.
The three older boys will have to choose from seven other pretty fair models.
Hope they don't all wind up for sale on ebay.
Cheers

Great photos of the grandkids Dave. Enjoy your time with them. The ship is looking great too.

Great photos and even better memories for you and the girls Dave.
 
cheers
 
Pat

Our two granddaughters are visiting this weekend from Austin Texas.  We only get to see these girls about once a year, so this is a very special occasion.
Since all of my ships will eventually become the property of my five grandchildren, they were extremely interested in the Constitution, and wanted to do something to contribute to it.
So here they are gluing the main fife rails to the spar deck.
Parker age 8  and Hattie, age 6..... as sweet as they are beautiful.

CHANNELS AND DEAD EYES INSTALLED....
Totally happy to have the channels and chainplate installed for both sides of the ship.  I agree with the earlier comments of others as to the slow tedious work involved with this process.
Before moving on, I took advantage of the slight overcast morning to move her outside and capture a few quick progress shots.
 
My plan from here is to go back to the carvings of the four smaller boards, begin creating hammock netting frames, and also returning to finish up the out haul tackle rigging for the spar deck guns along with a number of inboard details I plan to revisit before turning to the development of her masts and spars.



 

Two quick shots this morning....
First - The davits completed painted and installed....
Second - The first two gangway board carvings done....