mtdoramike

Added the cat heads to the hull. Which leads me to the question of how they would actually raise the anchor out of the water. Every model I have built so far had a tackle at the end of the cat head that was used to raise the anchor high enough to get the flukes lashed over the gunnel or otherwise secured. You certainly can't leave it hanging by the chain from the hawse hole. I am tempted to add a three part tackle to the end of the cat head (similar to what was on the Gorham) but can do that pretty much anytime before I have to rig the anchors.
 

 
While working on the hull I added the bob stay and jib stay irons to the bow. I decided to not secure them (and trim the brass rods) until the stays are located to get them aligned with the stays.

 
I used the BlueJacket brass blackener but managed to get them torn up during installation. Will have to touch up with paint "later" (after the chain is attached).
 
I have gotten the main mast almost completed. I have to add the blocks for the topsail halyards and the backstays but am pretty close. The "new" thing here is I used Beadalon jewellery wire (0.010" 19 strand - silver) for the topmast shrouds. The wire is covered with a clear plastic covering but that does not seems noticeable (IMHO) unless you know it is there. I used the same stuff (although thicker sizes) for the standing rigging on the 1/35 scale Endeavour with creditable results (also IMHO). This is my first try with the 19 strand (Endeavour used 47 strand) and smaller size. I think .010 is as thin as it comes. I used the size 1 crimp tubes (although there is a size 0 which is on order but will not be here until mid-July). Here are two shots of the shrouds although you can see some of the other mast details.

 

I am tired of working on the sails so I tried cleaning up some odds and ends.
 
I cut out all the chain plates from the carrier and used the BlueJacket brass blackener on them. I did it three items at a time so it took awhile. I took the advise from the latest NRG journal and put a little baking soda in the rinse water to stop the chemical reaction after removal from the blackening solution. The thin chainplates sometimes did not blacken evenly on both sides but only one side shows so I did not worry about that too much. 
Here are the chainplates drying after removal from the rinse water/baking soda solution.

 
And after several coats of paint I finally got the trail boards "good enough" and mounted on the port side.
I messed up the dry transfer lettering on the stbd side and have not redone it yet so i will put the stbd side trail board on after I get that done. I am considering putting the lettering on a separate "name board" and gluing that on rather than putting the lettering directly on the splash rail like I did on the port side. Pressing hard enough to COMPLETELY transfer the lettering was a struggle. Using a name board would make it easier IMHO.
Here is the port side.
 
 

While waiting for glue to dry on line seizings I glued in the ladders (no stairs on ships I am told) to the main deck.

And then there were three!
 
Last night while fumbling around in one of the cabinets above my work table I found a "Ratliner" which I believe I got from Model Expo some time ago. It purports to allow assembly of an entire shroud/ratline set (for one side of a mast) off board. I never tried to use it but was intrigued enough (after rereading the included instructions) to order one for the closest to the Notman scale (they come in 1/48, 1/64 and 1/72-1/90 sizes).
 
I plan to give it a try on the Spanker since you have to have the bare lower mast head available - no topmast to be able to slip the loops at the shroud tops over the lower mast head.

While looking for something else I ran across a Syren kit for a ship's wheel. The label said it was 15/16" diameter. I looked at the parts list and the ship's wheel (Britannia metal) included is 3/4" diameter so I thought I would use the (much nicer IMHO) wooden wheel.
 
I spent most of yesterday putting the wheel together. It is quite a task with a bunch of small delicate parts that need to have the laser burn removed. To its credit the kit includes plenty of spare pieces to accommodate the to be expected problems (including dropping a small piece and being unable to locate it on the floor and breakage.
 
Here are the two wheels side by side - wooden one is bare wood - I will stain it cherry if I use it.
 
After all that work I am not sure the wooden one will really work.
 
At full size the wooden wheel would be 7'6" in diameter compared to the Britannia one which is 6'.
 
At the very least I will have to modify the wheel box to provide the additional clearance so the wooden wheel will clear the deck.'
 
We will see as I get closer to having to make a decision.

And then there were four!
 
Mast assembly and initial rigging (peak halyard, throat halyard and topping lifts) is complete and the masts are "resting" in their temporary home until they are needed onboard.
 
I also added the forward pin rails and drilled the holes for the belaying pins in the fly rail. I added the pins everywhere on the fly rail and where the belaying plan shows them in the forward pin rail. I am not sure what I am going to do with the pins that are not used. There are quite a few of them. I am not sure the kit has enough to put a pin in every hole and even if it did I am not sure that would look all that "authentic". I notice there are eyebolts at several points on the fly rail but nothing is shown using them. At the moment I am thinking about whether they are worth adding if they are unused.
 
Here are the four masts and a shot of the forward pin rails and the belaying pins in the fly rail.

Now that the masts are done (more or less) it is time to work on the bowsprit.
 
I initially tried to drill holes for the inner stays in the whisker pole but quickly realized that trying to drill a hole in a 1/32 round rod was not going to be easy - and getting four of them drilled without having even one get out of bounds was more than I was capable of. So I flattened the end and cut the groove per the instructions (and that was not all that easy) and will loop the inner stays around the pole as was done on the prototype.
 
I had the basic pieces already shaped and finished so it was a relatively short process to do the assembly per the instructions. Speaking of which, they seem to imply that the dolphin striker is to be left attached to the eyebolt on the underside of the bowsprit cap but not glued in a particular position. In theory the dolphin striker is positioned by the stays that pass through/around it but this is the first kit where it has not been glued to the bowsprit cap. Speaking of the stays, I started working on the Britannia metal deadeyes supplied with the kit to try and get the groove around the outside cleaned up from the mould marks and extra material. After about a half dozen  I gave up and orders some 3/32" wooden deadeyes from Model Expo. I have experience with these and will paint them flat black. I believe that a consistent groove is important on these since one end needs to be secured with a eyebolt in most of the places they are used. I have not tried this with the Britannia metal ones before and decided it was easier to switch than fight.
 
Anyway here is the bowsprit waiting with the masts.

With the spars complete it was time to work on the deck houses.
 
I decided to start with the most complex (at least is has the most structural pieces) - the after house.
 
It went together pretty much per the instructions with one notable exception. Although the drawings do not explicitly show the styrene angle pieces being used on the companionways and skylight structures I used them to cover the joints where the sides come together. That turned out to be a mistake as the Britannia metal windows are too long to fit inside the styrene pieces in the ends of the companionways and all four sides of the skylight. I had to cut about half of the sides off the angle pieces to get enough room so the windows would sit against the wooden side material. It did not turn out too bad in the end but I should have looked more carefully at the drawings. Had I dry fit the windows in every location I might have noticed the limited clearance -but probably not.
 
In any event here is the after deck house sitting in its approximate location on the hull. I have yet to fabricate the rods that connect from the companionways/skylight roofs to the main roof. I am going to work on the other deck houses before I add the "extras" to each one. I wondered what the purpose of these rods might be and finally decided they were probably there to keep lines from getting fouled on the structures sticking up from the main roof.

I don't care for this new setup at all. I used to like to tune in every morning just to see what others are building not caring about era's. This just took something simple and mad it difficult, but such is life I suppose. I guess I will have to find other things to fill that first hour in the mornings.   

I started putting the deck house together while I'm waiting for the weather to cool off a bit before I start fiber glassing the hull. 

Even though this is a pretty good sized model in length I think you will find that if it is to float at the proper level it will not weigh all that much. The real ship was one of the first US Navy's "Littoral" designs of shallow draft high speed vessels. The real ship only drew about five and a half feet of water.
 
You are doing a great job. This model is easy to end up with a twisted hull as it is so long and narrow. Also it has so much balsa, (Not my favorite hull material). I also always wished that Dumas had chosen a more common scale than 5/16th. It would have made some items like guns so much easier to obtain.

I agree Lou, The twisting of the hull was a major facture for me when I planked it. 

I agree Lou, The twisting of the hull was a major facture for me when I planked it. 

I started putting the deck house together while I'm waiting for the weather to cool off a bit before I start fiber glassing the hull. 

I started putting the deck house together while I'm waiting for the weather to cool off a bit before I start fiber glassing the hull. 

I have finished the hull planking which was non-eventful, but I did use scrap balsa pieces and added it to the sides of the frames to give more of a seat for the plank. I also skim coated the exterior of the hull with bondo, which really wasn't needed since the planking went on very nicely, but rather to give additional strength to the balsa planking and also to add a bit more weight to the hull since it is quite light and the narrowness of the hull along with quite a bit of super structure above the deck. I'm figuring it will require quite a bit of weight to keep it from wanting to pitch to much and to be more stable.   
 
The instructions call for 2oz cloth for the exterior of the hull. I have 2oz fiberglass cloth as well as 4oz cloth. I usually prefer to work with 2oz cloth over the 4oz cloth because the 2oz drapes better and a bit easier to work with than the 4oz. But, I like the 4oz for more rigidity than the 2oz.  

I have finished the hull planking which was non-eventful, but I did use scrap balsa pieces and added it to the sides of the frames to give more of a seat for the plank. I also skim coated the exterior of the hull with bondo, which really wasn't needed since the planking went on very nicely, but rather to give additional strength to the balsa planking and also to add a bit more weight to the hull since it is quite light and the narrowness of the hull along with quite a bit of super structure above the deck. I'm figuring it will require quite a bit of weight to keep it from wanting to pitch to much and to be more stable.   
 
The instructions call for 2oz cloth for the exterior of the hull. I have 2oz fiberglass cloth as well as 4oz cloth. I usually prefer to work with 2oz cloth over the 4oz cloth because the 2oz drapes better and a bit easier to work with than the 4oz. But, I like the 4oz for more rigidity than the 2oz.  

I have finished the hull planking which was non-eventful, but I did use scrap balsa pieces and added it to the sides of the frames to give more of a seat for the plank. I also skim coated the exterior of the hull with bondo, which really wasn't needed since the planking went on very nicely, but rather to give additional strength to the balsa planking and also to add a bit more weight to the hull since it is quite light and the narrowness of the hull along with quite a bit of super structure above the deck. I'm figuring it will require quite a bit of weight to keep it from wanting to pitch to much and to be more stable.   
 
The instructions call for 2oz cloth for the exterior of the hull. I have 2oz fiberglass cloth as well as 4oz cloth. I usually prefer to work with 2oz cloth over the 4oz cloth because the 2oz drapes better and a bit easier to work with than the 4oz. But, I like the 4oz for more rigidity than the 2oz.  

You got that right, nothing like a pressed wood panel or better yet printed on wood. Better have a sharp knife. 

I had to fix the spool, the left spool had broken off when it had it's accident. I drilled out the center of the spool and inserted a piece if steel rod in the center of the spool, which now holds the spool in place and is actually functional. It is a real guessing game on working on this beast since I don't have any type of diagram as to how it goes together. I had to cut all the threading for the dozens of pullies just to be able to work on it. The fun part will be re-stringing it.   

I've been doing a little work on the Manitowoc Crane, trying to fix what is broken and at least get it back together in one piece. Don't know how functional it will be when I get finished with it, but will have to see.

Here is a picture of the crane when it was setup in all it's glory, before the accident.

I met with Randy, (I won't post his last name), he is a not too local model builder today to take possession of a Seaspan wood chip barge as well as numerous other items, plans, templates of his past builds. He has retired from the ship modeling hobby and the hobby is less for it because he is in my expert opinion one of the best model builders I have ever met. I consider myself to be above average in building skills, but he is way about my skill set. So when I had the honor of meeting with him today, I was a bit tongue tied and awestruck. I could have talked to him for days and probably still be as awestruck as I was this afternoon.
 
I hope for the modeling hobby he has a change of heart down the road.
 
The Seaspan Barge is 4 feet long and actually has holes cut into the bottom of the hull to allow it to self ballast using water WOW! It also has a second interchangeable deck, which has a crane on it as a transport hauling barge. The crane was damaged sometime back, so I will have to see about fixing it to bring it back to all of it's glory. A R/C Tug boat owner should love to have this setup.  

I had to fix the spool, the left spool had broken off when it had it's accident. I drilled out the center of the spool and inserted a piece if steel rod in the center of the spool, which now holds the spool in place and is actually functional. It is a real guessing game on working on this beast since I don't have any type of diagram as to how it goes together. I had to cut all the threading for the dozens of pullies just to be able to work on it. The fun part will be re-stringing it.   

I had to fix the spool, the left spool had broken off when it had it's accident. I drilled out the center of the spool and inserted a piece if steel rod in the center of the spool, which now holds the spool in place and is actually functional. It is a real guessing game on working on this beast since I don't have any type of diagram as to how it goes together. I had to cut all the threading for the dozens of pullies just to be able to work on it. The fun part will be re-stringing it.