Shazmira

What I would really like to do is find a way to age it now, to get it to the proper lovely green, and then clear coat. Unfortunately those little corners of this copper tape, like to come up, and if I don't want damage to the hull I do need to do something to protect it. Not sure what is the best way to go though.

Well, the instructions said not to copper the false keel, so I did not. I do like the way it looks that way.

So after all that worry, it turned out the coppering really was not all that difficult. Here she is finished
 

 

 
The rudder
 

 
And all assembled
 

 
Now that I have received my replacement pieces from ME, I can go back and get my deck planked at last!
 

What I would really like to do is find a way to age it now, to get it to the proper lovely green, and then clear coat. Unfortunately those little corners of this copper tape, like to come up, and if I don't want damage to the hull I do need to do something to protect it. Not sure what is the best way to go though.

Well, the instructions said not to copper the false keel, so I did not. I do like the way it looks that way.

Robbyn -
 
Good job on the coppering.  And like you said, once you figure it out, it is not that difficult.  It certainly adds a lot to the model.
 
<<Gary>>

Nice work Robbyn, I've never done coppering so you're better at it than I am!!

So after all that worry, it turned out the coppering really was not all that difficult. Here she is finished
 

 

 
The rudder
 

 
And all assembled
 

 
Now that I have received my replacement pieces from ME, I can go back and get my deck planked at last!
 

So after all that worry, it turned out the coppering really was not all that difficult. Here she is finished
 

 

 
The rudder
 

 
And all assembled
 

 
Now that I have received my replacement pieces from ME, I can go back and get my deck planked at last!
 

So after all that worry, it turned out the coppering really was not all that difficult. Here she is finished
 

 

 
The rudder
 

 
And all assembled
 

 
Now that I have received my replacement pieces from ME, I can go back and get my deck planked at last!
 

So after all that worry, it turned out the coppering really was not all that difficult. Here she is finished
 

 

 
The rudder
 

 
And all assembled
 

 
Now that I have received my replacement pieces from ME, I can go back and get my deck planked at last!
 

So after all that worry, it turned out the coppering really was not all that difficult. Here she is finished
 

 

 
The rudder
 

 
And all assembled
 

 
Now that I have received my replacement pieces from ME, I can go back and get my deck planked at last!
 

So after all that worry, it turned out the coppering really was not all that difficult. Here she is finished
 

 

 
The rudder
 

 
And all assembled
 

 
Now that I have received my replacement pieces from ME, I can go back and get my deck planked at last!
 

So after all that worry, it turned out the coppering really was not all that difficult. Here she is finished
 

 

 
The rudder
 

 
And all assembled
 

 
Now that I have received my replacement pieces from ME, I can go back and get my deck planked at last!
 

So after all that worry, it turned out the coppering really was not all that difficult. Here she is finished
 

 

 
The rudder
 

 
And all assembled
 

 
Now that I have received my replacement pieces from ME, I can go back and get my deck planked at last!
 

So after all that worry, it turned out the coppering really was not all that difficult. Here she is finished
 

 

 
The rudder
 

 
And all assembled
 

 
Now that I have received my replacement pieces from ME, I can go back and get my deck planked at last!
 

So after all that worry, it turned out the coppering really was not all that difficult. Here she is finished
 

 

 
The rudder
 

 
And all assembled
 

 
Now that I have received my replacement pieces from ME, I can go back and get my deck planked at last!
 

So after all that worry, it turned out the coppering really was not all that difficult. Here she is finished
 

 

 
The rudder
 

 
And all assembled
 

 
Now that I have received my replacement pieces from ME, I can go back and get my deck planked at last!
 

So after all that worry, it turned out the coppering really was not all that difficult. Here she is finished
 

 

 
The rudder
 

 
And all assembled
 

 
Now that I have received my replacement pieces from ME, I can go back and get my deck planked at last!
 

So after all that worry, it turned out the coppering really was not all that difficult. Here she is finished
 

 

 
The rudder
 

 
And all assembled
 

 
Now that I have received my replacement pieces from ME, I can go back and get my deck planked at last!
 

So after all that worry, it turned out the coppering really was not all that difficult. Here she is finished
 

 

 
The rudder
 

 
And all assembled
 

 
Now that I have received my replacement pieces from ME, I can go back and get my deck planked at last!
 

So after all that worry, it turned out the coppering really was not all that difficult. Here she is finished
 

 

 
The rudder
 

 
And all assembled
 

 
Now that I have received my replacement pieces from ME, I can go back and get my deck planked at last!
 

Thanks for the likes and comments and following along.
 
You guys are going to make this decision for the next ship hard, aren't you?         And I thought it would just be a simple decision.. Roebuck or something French like L'Orient.   I figure why not go for tough ones.... 
 
John, the Roebuck also juxtaposes with quite a few American ships according to the history, as I recall.
 
A bit of an update... the rudder is ready for hanging.  The macro shows the problems but in real life it looks pretty good to my eye.  I actually had another one made but it hit the floor without my knowing it.  The pup (hah!!!!  at 3 years old, not a pup but she thinks she is) picked it up, and gave it back with unfortunately some deep teeth marks.  I had to laugh as I call her "my helping bud". 
 
Anyway, I've got blue taped into position while I sort out the irons attached to the hull.
 

 

 
As always, critiques, comments, or general mayhem is welcome.

Thanks for the "likes" and comments.
 
When I laid the keel, I also cut the stem, the stern post, and the rudder from the same chunk of wood.   I've been busy with other things recently, but did spend a lot of time researching the rudder and sorting things out.  I found that many of my assumptions and some of what is on the plans wrong.
 
Here's what I've found (including from those responding to a post on this)...
 
1) As built in 1755, there's minimal vertical taper.  It wasn't common to do this, but not uncommon either.  Which makes me wonder that maybe it was a shipyard decision.   The rudder follows this. 
 
2) There is no fore and aft taper to the rudder.  That one caught me by surprise.
 
3) There is a cavitation/turbulence groove.  This would have been added when the ship was rebuilt/overhauled at some point later in time.  It would have been present in 1778 when captured.
 
4) The fore side of the rudder was beveled at about a 45 degree angle.  The pintle and cudgeon<SP?> straps were recessed only at the fore side of the rudder and at the aft side of the sternpost where the straps bend to the side.  They were recessed as on some other nation's ships.   
 
5) No spectacle plate.  There's an eyebolt with rings on each side just above the strop hole for the emergency steering.  The strop hole is nominally rigged to two eyebolts.
 
So.. I machined the rudder blank as shown in the pictures below.  There's two mortises in the top of the rudder, one for the normal tiller (which on Licorne is in the Great Room) and one for the emergency tiller which is on the quarterdeck.
 


 
I'm off and running with the metalwork.  I've started silver soldering and wondered why I didn't do this years ago.  It's pretty fast and gives a nice result.  
 
 

The "likes", comments, and questions/challenges appreciated..... 
 
So... pushing the envelope...
 
I've reworked the rudder and added some metalwork.  It looks a lot better.    The metal banding will have the appropriate amount of nails in it before this piece is ready to mount.
 
Edit:  I forgot to add... I cut it apart using a thin jeweler's saw and then glued it back together using some colored glue.
 

 
And a couple of quick shots of the rudder irons/straps in work.  I started by annealing the straps.  I silver solder the tube, cut-off the excess, and clean it up with a file.  For the pintle, a 1/16" brass rod will be epoxied into the tube.  The cudgeon will not have the shaft, naturally.  
 

I should note that these are not cleaned up yet.  

 
So far, so good.  I've got a pile of brass pieces now pickling in some vinegar.   I'll rinse well and let dry overnight.  I'm thinking of using paint on these or hitting the local gunshop tomorrow for some Birchwood Casey's.  In testing, Blacken-It did nothing for the silver solder.  I've got some discards painted and drying and I'll how they look.