Landlubber Mike

I currently offer milled sheets and strips at Syren.  I dont know many other who do.  But most exotic lumber places stock it in larger billets.  The Medway longboat posted below is made entirely from AYC except for the molding strip which is boxwood.
 
https://www.syrenshipmodelcompany.com/milled-lumber.php#!/Alaskan-Yellow-Cedar-Ship-Model-Wood-from-the-Syren-Woodshed/c/28580529/offset=0&sort=normal
 
 

Update - the bowsprit is now done.  The kit supplied dowels were tapered using a small plane & lots of sanding,then a walnut stain was applied. A flat spot was filed for the knee holding the flagstaff & was glued in place.  A couple of spacers were made for the jib boom & some "iron" straps made from black card - the kit showed the straps made from brass strip,but I couldn`t get them bent just right ,so I just used the black paper.  The forward area was painted black according to the construction photos - I would normally not paint this area,but the plywood knee looked awful & I didn`t feel like making a new one. Rope wooldings were then added using black .5mm thread.  Just one odd thing - the stem has 2 gammoning holes,but the construction  pictures only show one rope,so I added a second set of cleats to the bowsprit & will use 2 ropes.  I thought about opening up the slots in the stem,but it would have made for a slot 14mm long - too long for just one rope.  All rigging blocks will be added later after all masts are built.
 

 

 

 
Mark
 
 

Thank you all as always for the nice words, likes and following along.
 
I actually finished the figurehead a couple of days ago but, didn't get around to posting the pictures. So here it is. I need to get out my good camera and take some new pictures of everything. Been hoping the weather will cooperate this weekend so I can take them outside in the natural light. Always a better choice. 
 
Now I get to flush out the bow with the gratings and their framework as well as start designing the iconic side decorations that I do not know the name for. 
 
Still have a lot of work to do so I better get back to it!

Been a while since I’ve had much to update. Took a much needed vacation to visit a friend from the Navy before work gets into my very busy part of the year. Nice and refreshed now and ready to get back to building! 
 
Been working on the decorations on the sides and am now on the third incarnation of them as I kept not being satisfied with them. Fairly happy with the look now and progress should continue moving forward. This is a very slow portion of the work so updates will probably be sparse till they are done but, I will try to post something every so many. 
 
As always thank Hanks you all for stopping by, the likes and comments. Much more to come! 

I took another small break from S.R. this weekend to build a display case for La Couronne. For those who have not followed that build, here it is!
 

 
I now have a nice, big open space in the shipyard that is begging for a new project. Better start saving up that money! 😃
 
I promise to now concentrate on getting decorations carved on S.R. so there can be more updates!

I promise I have been working! 😀Carving these decorations has been eating up the hours as I can make one in about 45 minutes. 22 out of 30 done and then I can paint them and finally install. 

That looks absolutely fantastic Dowmer.  Very nice!
 
Any good sources on where to buy AYC?  As someone mentioned above, it looks like a really nice way of getting yellow ochre by painting with wood.

Coming along really nicely.  Great job!

That looks absolutely fantastic Dowmer.  Very nice!
 
Any good sources on where to buy AYC?  As someone mentioned above, it looks like a really nice way of getting yellow ochre by painting with wood.

To give everyone an idea of how Alaskan Cedar ages, the below pic is of a ship I started in 2001. I then put it away in 2003 in a box.  No sunlight on it, but it does have a light coat of Tung oil.  You can see it has aged to a soft golden yellow.  Very pleasing.
 
The rest of the wood is ebony and holly.
 
 
 
Let’s just say the ship has “weathered in frame” as they used to do.  It’s about time it made it back to the lumberyard and onto the shipways to get finished. 😊

My Syren Yellow Cedar Deck
 

I certainly must defer to Chuck’s far broader and professional appraisal of AYC. Hereforth I sneak my picture in of my AYC decking of Chuck’s Cheerful. I hope the beautiful hue somehow shows through.
 

I use it for decking as I think the color is closer to a real hollystoned deck than Holly.

Coming along really nicely.  Great job!

Never say never, Dave.

SPECIAL EVENT CELEBRATION.....
This photo has a very special meaning for me personally.  As I have said in an earlier comment, this model of the USS Constitution will be my last major tall ship.
With that in mind, and knowing just how much I struggle with tying ratline clove hitch knots, this posting is to celebrate the last ratline clove hitch of my life.

Midway down the Mizzen topmast shrouds (port side).

Hello, I bought the beautiful drawings of HMS ANSON 1/48 scale made by Alex, I put photos of the construction site that I made for the construction of the model, I will use the same method that I learned from Ed and I used to build the NAIAD.

Hi Pat,
 
It's a good question. The answer is really that I can't say for sure. I'm not aware of any archaeological evidence, but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Might be in a museum somewhere. Mostly, all I have to go by are modern models and some old paintings. The paintings don't show this level of detail, and I don't know where the knowledge of the model builders comes from. I've seen nothing written about the subject, but my access to the information is extremely limited.
 
As far as I'm aware, there is nothing for the oars to come "loose" from. The ropes serve to keep the oars in place and double as full-time "retainers".
 
Note that on sculling oars that appear later on, boats do not use any form of rope retainer. The oar has a small hole that fits over a ro-gui, which is a rounded metal knob. The only rope is one that holds the handle of the oar in a proper position for sculling.
 
You can see such a rope on the model below. If used correctly, it would also serve to keep the oar from getting away, should it become dislodged and fall overboard.
 

 
This is a model of a water taxi, called a chokibune. A similar boat is detailed in Douglas Brooks' book Japanese Wooden Boatbuilding.
 
 
 

Thanks everyone for your concern and good wishes!
 
All is well. My insurance company took good care of me and paid out for the car. I feel sorry for the guy who rear-ended me, as he damaged his own truck as well as my car and my insurance company is going to be wanting to recover their money. Turns out he did have an insurance company, but he didn't have the truck he was driving on his policy. Don't know if it was an error on his part or what.
 
I lost a reliable, tough little car, and had to go through the process of getting a new one – and it's a process I HATE. But, the insurance company paid out very quickly. Only now, I have car payments. But, I like the car. So, all is well.
 
Work-wise, I've just been a bit too busy, so decided to try to slow down a bit and to try to make some modeling progress. Took some time out today, as I'm feeling really worn out. But, made a little progress on the trade boat and other things.
 
 
You may recall that this boat has one large sail. I don't know if I will mount a sail on it or not. I find it rather interesting how the lowered mast is stowed. I think I have a method for creating the sail, which was made from rice-straw matting, not cloth. But, I will have other opportunities to make that, and it would probably be simpler and more realistic at a larger scale.
 
In any case, I also have the full set of oars I made. I've decided that even though the museum models I've seen show the boat equipped for sculling, that my interpretation of early scroll paintings suggest they were rowed and not sculled. Also, I started to thinking about the side-to-side motion involved in sculling, and I see only rope bindings on these oars in all cases (museum models).
 

 
I can't see how rope bindings would be able to take the amount of side-to-side pressure without loosing very quickly. If rowed, the binding would simply be to hold the oar and keep it from slipping. All the force of propulsion from the oars are taken by the beam extensions of the ship. 
 
So the next issue was how these would tie into place. Nothing too special there, except that you can't simply tie it the oar to the beam, as you'd have a hard time moving it. You need to tie a rope securely around the oar and then that rope needs to be tied to the beam. Does this difference make sense? There needs to be some freedom of movement for the oar, so the rope itself becomes something of a pivot.
 
So, I started by tying a length of line around each rope at the pivot point. I used pencil marks for measurement. I didn't feel this needed to be exact. There is an extra pencil mark, as I realized I wanted the pivot point just a little higher up on the handle. Thread cutter and pencil included for size reference.
 

 
After I tied all of the oars like this, I realized I needed more of a lashing, so I wrapped the thread around the oar and tied a second knot.
 

 
Tying the rope then onto the model, I kept the knot-side against the beam. I can't quite explain the final wrapping, as I kind of figured it out as I went. Something like wrapping both ends under the beam, over the top a couple times, making sure to stay on the opposite sides of the oar, then tying a final knot around the rope in between the oar and the beam. This turned out to be as challenging as rigging blocks on a square rigger.
 

 
Another difference between my model and modern museum models and their sculling oars is that sculling oars have a handle near the end of the oar and a line tied down to the rail or beam wraps over that to help hold the oar in place while sculling. Such lines seemed to have no purpose with this type of oar, so I didn't include them.
 

 
In this side view you can see how the oars look once they're all on the model, though I still have to add them onto the other side. I made the base just a tad too short, causing the aft-most oar to hang down just a little too much.
 

Thanks friends! Fortunately, I was uninjured, but my car was totaled and the other person was effectively uninsured, so it took a while to resolve. Then, after having to work more hours, dealing with the car rentals, getting paid, finding a new car, dealing with new payments, etc., it took my remaining free time.
 
I still am working more hours, so it has affected my ship modeling time, but at least the other issues are behind me. Mostly...
 
Clare

I've been busy with a lot of things, but now we are in autumn and it's time to get back in the shipyard!
 
Here are the cannons, with the cap squares applied and the breeching line attached.  Don made the line with his ropewalk.

The main thing to consider about all of this is that it is more of an art form than anything else.  We are our own worst critics,and it is ourselves whom we must first satisfy. Some while back one of the other Morgan builders was contemplating a means of representing the cabin and dining area that would be visible from deck looking down through the skylight.At first,that seemed an awful lot of effort for something that would not be seen,especially once in a display case,and could only be viewed from the side.But the more I thought about the idea,the more I realized that he would always see it every time he looked at his creation,and that is the most important consideration of all. I will be looking forward to seeing your results when you are ready to show it to us. I think I have about single- handedly worn out John's website looking at the Morgan pictures.I also think I will have built mine about three times as I spend more time redoing stuff than actually making real headway,not to mention getting diverted to other stuff for long periods.           Gary

Mike
 
I am slow right now as our actual sailing season ends, boat just out of the water, and we will take a trip west for a few weeks.  When back I plan to move along and the boats will become different.
 
I want one boat to be working at sea. I found a site that sells plans for keel and bulkhead lines of whales.  I think if I make the mold and fill it with sculpy I might make a whale.  I have a sheet of lexan and may cut it out at waterline for Kc and a whale by her side and a small boat in the water. If bad I can just trash it.  I have many visuals in books showing the process.  I believe in the brig they may have rigged a storm staysail in place of the furled Main. I say that because the fishing schooners did that.  There maybe a main staysail and a jib set.. Not sure but lots of fun studying
 
Boat two......pavilion has fore sail like a schooner. I will likely have it sailing with bulkhead closed, or do a dockside showing unloading of barrels.   lots to think about . This will be first attempt of diorama l keep looking for build logs on making thin waterline so you above and below water. There are some incredible examples in lunenberg museum …..I consider the opportunity here low risk practice and learning before I try charles morgan next year.
 
Cheers

Coming along really nicely!  Are you planning to have one of the models show the cutting station?  I've been thinking about whether to show the cutting station or add sails to my model.  This may be incorrect but my guess is that many of the sails would be furled with the cutting station in operation, so I think showing the ship in full/close to full sail would be incompatible with showing the cutting station.

Hello Group,
I want to introduce you to my good friend Bob Putnam of Rare Woods.  He just sent me an email regarding a nice supply of Boxwood.  This guy is first class - I have purchased a flitch of Swiss Pear from him along with some Ebony.  This wood is in larger dimensions than most of us need - but I have locally sourced milling operations to reduce my stock to our requirements for ship modeling.  Its a very cost effective way to have a good supply of quality wood.
Boxwood reply info sheet.pdf