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Continuation. .   
Now even the starboard side has been "decorated" with the gunports. Here, unlike the left side, the hinges are already present on the ports, or rather the bits of burnished copper that simulate them. I think the aesthetic is much better. Obviously I will have to mount the same details on other gunports on the left side. 
 
Now all gunports are positioned and well bonded. The next step in equipping the ropes to close them. To do this, I'll have to tie a rope on the internal ringbolt, drill the hull inside the port window in proper position, place the head of the rope through the hole and secure it with a some glue. This for sixty times. .  
 
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To break the monotony at the same time I'm preparing the structure supporting the boats that you can see (only positioned) in the next photo. The work is still in progress. .
 
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Cheers, Jack.Aubrey
 

Hello to all
 
sorry that I have forgot to put some pictures in of my finished ship.  Even if not everything is correct but it was a great fun to build her.....!!
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Good afternoon everyone and greetings from jerry's drydock.  A bit more progress from the little guys working fervently on Victory.  Today it was mounting and rigging the Crossjack yard on the mizzenmast.  In my opinion this task was more difficult then any of the other lower yards because of the tight quarters one has to work in.  For the first time I found my fingers getting in the way of rat lines, stays and shrouds so I slowed down the pace and eventually was successful.  The next job will be making, mounting and rigging the the Mizzen topmast yard.  Attached are a few pictures of my work of today.

Good evening everyone...A little update from the dry dock.  Another yard is finished and rigged in place.  I am now ready to begin forming the Main topgallant Yard which, when done, will complete the yarding of the main mast.  A few pictures to mark my progress follow.  I hope all is well with everyone.
Jerry

Next step is the making of the fore course and its attachment to the yard. It will then be fixed on its mast.
I will show the making of the sail step by step and hope to convince one or two fellow builders that sail making is manageable with a moderate effort.
 
First step is to find out the dimensions of the sail. I took a suitable plan sheet where all the masts and yards were shown. Usually the yards are shown in full frontal view and therefore the sails can be drawn directly into the plan.
For the head of the sail a parallel to the yard is drawn at the position where it would be with sails set.
The depth of the sail can now be found. The width could also be taken out of the plan but it must be checked with the actual yard.
At the head it must be a little less than the distance between the yard arm cleats. The width at the foot is the width between the cleats of the yard below. The foot of the main course is 2 clothes wider than the head. The fore course has parallel sides. The width of one cloth is between 24 and 30 inches. I took 10 mm which corresponds to about 25 inches.
 
All those and a lot more details can be found in James Lees’ The Masting And Rigging of English Ships of War.
 
My sails are simplified because in furled conditions hardly any details are visible. The seams are pencilled on (on both sides) and no linings or bands are shown. The boltrope is not sewn onto the edge of the sail but glued into the hem – in this scale the difference is hardly visible and the result beats any of my clumsy attempts to sew a rope onto the edge. Also the foot of the sail is straight – no curve is necessary.
 
Finally the size of the sail is reduced by 30...40% to produce less bulk on the yard.
 
For the hem I ad about 2,5 mm around the sail. This is rather wide but some extra width is needed to fix the boltrope inside the hem.
 
 

Sails pencilled into a plan sheet
 
 

Sail drawn
 
 

Check with the finished yard(s)
 
 

Sail pencilled onto the fabric (both sides!)
 
 

The sailmaker has the sail ready for hem and boltrope

Davit factory still going strong. My fat, shaky fingers had to bend these tiny brass trim pieces that will adorn the side davits. I managed to drop everyone of them at least once on the floor and have to get on my hands & knees to find them. You think I'd have learned by now to set up in the center of a big table to avoid these frustrations. I guess I'm un-trainable!

Thanks for kind words and likes guys.  The garden/yard and kids sports seem to be taking up most non-working hours, but little progress.  I have all the top and topgallant masts shaped and finished, but before rigging the various shrouds it seems to make sense to get the slings in place as these would be challenging with shrouds fixed.
 
Followed Lever pretty closely on this, and again used a bullseye from BlueJacket.  The other advantage doing this now is that the sling can be made off of the ship a slipped over the topmast cross trees once finished.  I followed the plan and used 0.75mm line,  but was initially thinking it would not look bulky enough.  Once served it looks better and I think in keeping with something capable of supporting a main yard (?)
 
One question I noodling over - I've definitely seen in pictures of other (larger) vessels where there is a shaped, grooved saddle that helps the lie of the sling over the hard cap edges.  Lever however simply shows the slings resting on the mast cap, as I have here.  Is one any more correct than the other, or is it possibly a big ship/small 'ship' thing?
 

 

 
 

...

Max, ... there is a problem... You should plank the deck first, but to do this You should remove the bulkhead's tops that should form the freeboard... so it needs to do the planking first...
I think You should do this:
1.) planking the hull
2.) cutting the bulkhead's tops
3.) planking the deck
4.) doing the doors, windows, planking the wall of the cabin...

...

...

Another pic

Today I fitted the heart and collar for the main preventer stay on the foremast.
I have started making cleats, pretty fiddly because they are so small and I need about twenty four of them

Hi All
 
99% of the main mast to foremast finished, just some on the outside of the main yard that will be done at a later date.
 
Just started the shroud lines.
 
Denis.

As promised, new photos from my ship - once it was the Red Dragon, don´t know if I can still call it that.
 
 
First of all, some explanation on what I did. I made the cabin so it would look plausible enough; windows should be part of it. Inside the cabin I made a molding for it and outside it was rough. Using some wood from my scrapbox I did the same windows molding  on the outside.
 

 

 
Gave some curves to them so it could look a bit original - and the most different from kit´s windows.
 
Last time I had put the first side rail. Now I´ve finished the second and on overall, ship looks like this:
 

 
Following my fellow modelists opinions, molded the door frames. Also fixed doors to their proper places - they won´t be functional as I wanted at the beginning of her making.
 

 

 
Had to sand some more after I tainted some deck details. As she´s coming up some thoughts come to mind - little lessons I hope to have learned. 1. Never ever do things hastily. The time u lose after making things that way will not compensate why u did it in first place. 2. Take some time to think on what u´r going to do. If I had tainted all dark wood before fixing it, lots of work on sanding would not be necessary. 3. If u´r going to modify a kit, make a list of all modifications u want to do and try to figure it out before reaching the point of bringing them to life - try not to get too many creative while building, too. 4. Everything u learn from MSW has to be put to though - it means nothing when u learn something and just let it linger on your mind - make it worth.
 
That´s all for now. Many thanks for the tips, following, liking and everything.
 
Here goes some extra pics:
 

 

Thank Crackers. 
This is the only project I have going.  
 
Eamonn
Yep, you're in from the Get Go!  Welcome aboard!
You are spot on the coquille is similar to the Galway and Kinsale Hooker.  So far, the major difference I see is the sides of hull on the Galway and Kinsale Hooker curve inboard, whilst the sides of the coquille are vertical.  Here are some prints from the Galway and Kinsale Hooker. 
 http://www.tradboats.ie/index.php

 

 
 
Sails?  Yes, I will be adding sails.  The coquille kit came with sails, but they are not the best quality, so I will make my own.          
 
 
Josh,  thanks for stopping by.  Hope the house hunting in the Big Easy is going well.  From New Jersey to the Big Easy, that is definitely a 'Culture Shock!'   The boats of the
 
Check out Russ' scratch build Biloxi Schooner.   
 
 
Thanks again for stopping by
 
Dee Dee  

And the build begins!
 
First part to be added to the false keel was the bow filler.  The leading edge was faired for added glue surface for the planking.
  
 
 
Bulkheads #3, 4 and 5 were added using blocks to keep them square.  The cockpit false decking is integrated with the 5th thru 9th bulkhead, so these were all fitted as one and then glued.   The false deck made it easy to make sure the bulkheads were square and level. 
 
The false decking has tabs that fit into #5 and #9 bulkheads.  

 
Forward false decking tab

 
Aft false decking tab

 
Cover photo from the kit box.  

 
 
Before I start the planking, I need to do some planning and make final decisions on the changes I want to make and when I need to make them. 
 
Thanks for stopping by, comments and suggestions are welcome. 
 
Dee Dee

TO WHOM EVER, PLEASE STOP EDITING MY BUILD LOG
 
Thanks for stopping by my Corel Sloup build log.
The first photo shows the current status of my build and will be updated as the build progresses.

 
 
 
Corel missed the boat (pun intended) with labeling this model as 'Sloop'.  IMHO, there would be more interest if the kit was marketed as 'Sloup Coquillier / Shell fish Sloop'.  The Sloop Coquillier is a celebrated work boat with a long history from the coast of Brtittany, France, to the shores of the UK and beyond. 
 
From Corel's instructions:  The "sloup coquillier" was a boat typical of the Anchorage of Brest, in the Department on Finistere in Brittany (on the north-west coast of France), used to collect shellfish, in particular Saint Jacques shells ("Pecten Jacobaeus, the Venetian "Cape Sante"), and, to a lesser extent, oysters and other types of shell fish.  Attributable to the vast range of French boats with "cul carre" and "quille tombante" (square bow and strongly sloping keel), the sloup, like all popular boats, was the result of a complex historical evolution and structural adjustment to uses and environments.  The hull, little immersed and rather full astern, proceeding from the main frame towards bow, gradually took on a deep, net hollow V-section, culminating in the peak fishing point.  
 
Going forward, I will refer to this build as the 'coquillier' (AKA oyster smack.)  
 
The obligatory kit info: 
 
With no burn marks on the keel or bulkheads, it appears these were machine / die cut.  The quality is very good and these parts fit snug.

 
The quality of Corel lumber is a bit above average.  The first layer of planking is lime wood, a bit nicer than basswood. The second planking is tanganika and most of the dimensional lumber is beech.  The decking is plywood and appears to be mahogany, it's excellent quality and very flat.            
 
Corel instructions assume that the builder has some experience.  While there are 11 pages of instructions, (two pages / sheet), after removing the 'fluff', we're down to about two pages.  But the lack of instructions is more than made up for with the four sheets of drawings that progress in a logical manner.  The drawings are very detailed, contain a wealth of information and numerous part specific detailed drawings.      

 

 
I'm looking forward to building this boat and learning more about its history. 
 
Dee Dee
 
Edited on 8-3-2014 to update photos with ©

Thank you very much for the kind comments Patrick, Grant, Keith, Rowan Elia, Mark, Tony, Lawrence and Row .
 
Well this project is finally finished and delivered to it's owner - to say she was delighted with the result would be an understatement . I told her at the start that I'd have to charge her for any materials I had to buy, and she said that was no problem at all. Total expenses were just under $150 for such things as a bottle of Acetone, another of Turps, paint, extra timber, glue, knife blades etc. I was going to donate my labour, but she would have none of that and I received a very nice surprise when I opened the envelope with the money later that day - an extra $100 . My total labour worked out at about 80c an hour, but like I said I would have been quite happy to do it for free .
 
Here are the pics of the finished ship, with a couple of "before's" under some of them :
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Please ignore the way she's rigged - my aim was always to make this a "decoration", not a historically correct model. I only rigged the Lifts and Braces to all the yards, and threw in the Sheets and Tacks for the Fore and Main Masts to help "fill in the gaps". The rigging fulfills that aim. BTW - I know the Braces for the Main Yards should have been around the other way (i.e. toward the Mizzen Mast), but it would have left too much empty space in the middle .
 
I'm already a fair way into my next "holiday van" project - a similar situation to this project where the original builder passed away before completing his model of an Artesania Latina "King of the Mississippi" and I'm completing it for his family. Here's a LINK to it if you're interested.
 
Work will also be done on "Vulture" in the meantime .
 
  Danny

A few more photos.
 
I must say and confess that I am not 100% happy with my results so far. I just realized I am rushing things and I'm making some mistakes. So starting today I will slow down and do things more carefully.
 
First mistake: I placed those horizontal beams before sanding the deck. Huuuuge mistake. Nothing really bad happened, only more a more difficult and time consuming job.
 

 
Fitting of a piece of wood to form the curvature of the beams that later will make the deck curve.
 

 
Once the columns are glued, the piece of wood is removed and the curve remains.
 

 

 
 
Fitting of false deck slots against bulkheads is awful.
 

 
 

Getting the masts ready. Had to re-do the crosstrees because the kit ones did not fit right at all. Decided on the white paint based on the model by the ships 1st Captain.
 

Woo Hoo!
McMaster-Carr delivered my new #4-40 taps today. I was able to finish a plug cutter for my trucks. 
 
I started with some short lengths of 3/8" pencil rod, mostly because we have a bunch of scraps at the shop. Also I figured a heavier body might be less likely to burn the edges on my trucks. 
 
Not having a metal lathe or a mill I had to adapt and improvise a way to make these. I chucked the blanks in my fastest hand held drill motor and spun them against a running belt sander. First 80 then 120 grit then I hand filed to the best finish I could get. I then went to my wood lathe and chucked the blank up there. Using a jacobs chuck I through drilled the pilot hole for the axel, then stepped up several times to get my finished bore size. 
 
I then drilled my set screw hole, here is where I ran into trouble; I broke my bottoming tap, inside the hole and couldnt get it out so I had to make a new blank. I then broke the pilot hole bit in the new blank, inside the hole again!!!!! Fortunately I had made a couple of blanks (I am learning....) so was able to get  one complete today.
 
I have started a new set of blanks for back up. I thought I would get fancy and clamped a file into the drill vise and tried to turn the outer diameter down so I dont waste so much wood, it works but looks kind of crude.
 
Naturally once I finished tapping my setscrew hole I had to try things out. I grabbed a length of lumber and cut two truck, all told it cuts amazingly clean, especially considering how I have gone about making these. I am pretty pleased with the results so far. I need to come up with a way to clean up the edges, I am thinking a mandril of some sorts and throw them on the lathe at the slowest speed and use a file. We will see.
 

My first plug cutter, kind of rough but it works!
 

A blank for two more.
 

The first cuts. Pretty clean all things considered.
 

Even the backs arent too bad
 

Compared to the drawings
 

Mounted to a carriage. These are both rear trucks. Hopefully the weekend I can get the tooling for fronts made. as well as a method to clean everything up.
 
Sam

Hi Slog, the two end loops are lashed together, I used fairly thick cotton.

I began with my Dremel and carved a rough shape in the solid hull for every second one of the 35 stations along the hull. When I had completed that I then removed the excess hull in between and have the hull now down to something close to the final shape. 
 
     
 
There will be quite a bit of work filling and sanding out any blemishes to get it to the final shape. 
 
I then moved on to the quarter galleries. Instructions are pretty sketchy in the manual and to say that the galleries were left oversize as it does in the manual is an understatement. There are four precast sections that make up the galleries and shaping the hull to receive these is a slow process. It will be difficult to marry the four pieces together into the final shape. Should I solder them into one piece or glue them individually onto the shaped hull. Suggestions please. The photos below even though they are slightly out of focus show just how much has to be removed to get them down to the final shape. 
 

 
Stern view.
 

 
Completed gallery.
 

 
Untouched gallery.
 
I am planning to open the windows in the gallery and have a view into the gun deck but am wondering what is the best way to remove the unwanted material from the Britannia metal window frame. I am thinking a sharp knife would work best but possibly drilling would be better. Suggestions welcome, thanks. 

H.M.S Prince is ready to be launched! I have finished her, after about 18 months over long hours of work.
 



 
Sorry there isn't many photos, but most of the detailed shots have already been posted in previous posts.
 
Cheers for watching all!
 
Now onto joining the Syren club, and waiting on mine to arrive in the post!
 
Regards
 
Adam