JSGerson

dgbot - I went looking for Bob Filipowski's build log on the English Long Boat as you stated above. I couldn't find it. I searched under his name, checked the member's list, and search all the long boat logs I found - no luck. Can you point me in the right direction?

There was basically one method I found for creating the lettering in the various logs I looked at - transfer lettering; the letters are rubbed on from a sheet. The problem I had was the area I needed to place the ship's name was too narrow. So I created my own method which I described in my log at comment 337. In effect, the name was placed on a plaque like the one on the USF Constitution and then glued into place on the transom.

You will find that that you will make mistakes, things break, the kit will have omissions, whatever. It would be good idea to invest in some basic wood stock as a reserve. Your local hobby store will usually have basswood which I believe is the basic wood stock for the MS kit. My Mamoli boat is built with a fancier wood package I purchased from HobbyMills  which means I have/need extra boxwood, holly, and swiss pear wood, Jeff Hayes, who runs this HobbyMills, will bend over backwards to get what you need, just ask anyone who has dealt with him.

If you are in a real pinch and must complete the waterways NOW, then yes you can skip areas that are unseen. I personally would try to avoid that because you would know you skipped part of the build. It will bother you and haunt you in your dreams (maybe) even though the casual observer won't even know it even exists or it's missing.

Remember, its a hobby, not a race. Time is on your side. I've been working on my boat for over four years and have just reached the masts.

Enjoy!

Waterboard - I assume you mean "waterways" (at least that's what my instructions for the Mamoli kit called it), the trapezoidal cross section strip of wood at the junction of the deck and bulwarks. The Practicum I was following indicated it went from the tip of the bow all the way back to the cabins under the quarter deck.

Some boats look good either way: painted or with natural woods; others demand to be painted e.g. USF Constitution (at least in my humble opinion).

Looks real good. Just remember, they are filler blocks. Any imperfections, gaps, etc. with the bulkheads will be covered up by planking, so don't sweat too much about the small stuff...just a little bit. 8-)

Just found your log and I look forward to following your progress. My Rattlesnake is my first POB build so if you look at my log, be aware I've made numerous miss-steps along the way, most of which I've documented. That may come in handy so you don't do the same. Have patience, do research, and most of all, have fun.

The platforms were then glued into position on the trestletree/crosstree structures. The images below show the fighting tops on their mast as a dry fit. They won’t be glued into place until all the components of the masts have been made.

The chocks are the little cross pieces inside the trestle tree. According to the Practicum, the aft piece is glued in place butted against the aft crosstree. According to everyone else, it a bit forward of the aft crosstree. The chocks were made from 1/32” x 3/32” boxwood in the shape of a “T” with a fat stem. A set of notches were cut with an X-Acto knife for the aft chock first based on Hahn’s plans. With that chock set in place as a dry fit, the assembly was then slipped over its mast to determine where the forward chock was to be placed. The forward chock notches were then cut.

Additionally the Practicum called for bolsters to be made from 1/32” square boxwood a little later on. I saw no reason why they couldn’t be set into place at this point. Unfortunately, I had run out of 1/32” square boxwood, so I used 1/16 x 3/32”. The bolsters have a quarter circle cross section to allow lines to drape over them without damaging them.

Once dry fitted and trimmed, the trestletrees and the crosstrees were mated and glued together using WeldBond. I chose the white glue over the CA glue because it gave me wiggle room to make sure everything was square before it set.

These were in turn notched using the Byrnes Saw and the sides angled using a disc sander for their clean cuts and consistency.

I finally got to cut the boxwood pieces for the trestletrees (1/8” x 1/16”) and its crosstrees (3/16” x 1/16”).

Finally, I've drilled what seemed like a billion holes into the fighting tops.

Steve - When I started this build soooo long ago I knew nothing except how to follow directions. I had no books and few ship building skills. Now I have so many directions it gets confusing, as I have noted above numerous times. Actually I have all of the books you mentioned plus another 20 or so. I have spent a fortune in books alone. My latest one is The Fully Framed Model, Rigging a Sixth Rate Sloop of 1767 - 1780 Vol. IV by David Antscherl which excellent. I wish I had known about and read his first three volumes when building the Rattlesnake hull. That's one of the reasons I go so slow, I'm always pouring through my reference library.

I can't stress enough the importance of a build log. I was afraid, like you, to write a log knowing there were craftsmen out there who had skills way beyond mine. I was pushed and reluctantly started to write. It was the best thing I could have done. Just organizing my thoughts to tap them out on the keyboard helped me understand what I was doing, plus the feedback was invaluable.

Jon

Chuck, I welcome another Rattler. You will find I have documented a lot of errors. Just don't follow too close and make the same ones! 8-)

Thanks, you verified my thinking

Martin - The holes for the Crowsfeet I've already drilled without a problem. What I'm confused about is how and where the buntline blocks are attached to the platform. Mamoli shows them tied with a line that goes over over the rim right where the Crowsfeet is rigged and hanging below the platform. The MS plans show the same thing in a more simplified manner. If there were no Crowsfeet, I wouldn't of seen a problem. In the books which do show the Crowsfeet, the buntline blocks are hung further inside the platform with the jeer strop. I guess I don't understand what you were trying to say as to where you placed them.

1.      Main topmast shrouds

2.      Mainmast cap

3.      Main yard lift block strop

4.      Hole for main topmast

5.      Ratlines

6.      Mizzen topmast stay

7.      Main yard lift long tackle block

8.      Eye for top ropes

9.      Strops for jeer pendants

10.    Main yard lifts

11.    Topmast shroud stave

12.    Mizzen topmast stay deadeye

13.    Topmast shroud lashing and deadeye

14.    Main yard lift fall

15.    Main top rail

16.    Mizzen topmast staysail stay

17.    Mizzen topmast staysail block

18.    Topmast shroud lower deadeye

19.    Deadeye plate

20.    Deadeye lanyards

21.    Bolster

22.    Lower mast shroud eyes

23.    Jeer strop

24.    Main top gunwale

25.    Jeer strop

26.    Batten

27.    Iron plate for topmast heel fid

28.    Crowsfeet

29.    Topmast deadeye and futtock shroud plates

30.    Spritsail brace and main course buntline block

31.    Studding sail boom topping lift and inner buntline fall block

32.    Standing jeer block

33.    Bibs

What is taking me so long to drill the holes in the tops is among other things trying to figure out where the rigging is going. As I stated, I plan to rig Crows feet as shown in Harold Hahn’s plans but neither the Mamoli nor the Model Shipways show this. When I look at the books from Petersson, Lee, and Antsherl they show in excruciating detail how the Crowsfeet is supposed to look. All fine and good except that both Mamoli and MS show rigging and blocks that the book authors don’t, specifically the buntline blocks. (see comment 520 of the log).

The Mamoli plan (third image) shows 12 blocks (Nos 450 – 499 and 451 – 499) and the MS plans  (first image) shows 6 blocks. Both plans show them attached to the rim of the platform. Because my model will have the Crowsfeet, it would appear that the blocks attached to the fore rim would interfere with it. The books on the other hand show either 6 or 12 blocks suspended underneath the platform using something called a Jeer Strop (No. 23 in the diagram below).

Now I know no two rigging plans are the same so I’ve chosen the Hahn’s plan as the Master guide but I still have to refer to anything I can lay my hands on for the details. For instance the diagram shows deadeye and futtock shroud plates (No 29) as well as the MS plans (not shown). The Mamoli plans appear to just use rigging line (2^nd image comment 520). What will I use? I have no idea at this stage. If I go with the plates, I’ll have to make them somehow.

Since this appears to work I now know what size hole to drill for the stanchions. Next I need to figure out how the futtocks work. The last item to the stanchion to be made is the little base plate which is not needed at this time so it will be created later.

Matching the thickness of the music wire, a 3/64” bit was used to drill a hole on the center axis of the strip as close to end as I could. This was cut off at an equal distance on the other side of the hole. Drilling the hole first was much easier than trying to drill it after the piece was cut off. Using a pair of flat nose pliers, the two sides were bent up to a 90° angle forming the U-shaped saddle. The hole was then  filed with a round needle file to ensure proper fit, allowing a piece of 17mm long music wire to be epoxied on. Once the glue had set and the excess trimmed, it was “painted” black with a Sharpie pen.

I thought about how I would make the rail stanchions especially the U-shaped saddle that fits on top. My first thought was to solder the saddle on. Sounded easy except I don’t have any solder equipment and my only experience is a very limited knowledge of how to connect a couple of electric wires as my Father showed me when I was a child. I read articles and viewed YouTube videos about silver soldering but reading and watching is one thing, doing is another. So before I committed money to getting soldering equipment and supplies, I decided to at least try using epoxy glue.

I went to Hobby Lobby which is the nearest hobby type store near me within 25 miles. It’s more of a crafts store than a hobby shop. There, I purchased the smallest amount of copper they sold, a 5 x 7” 0.16” copper plate. Using a strip of paper to create a template for the saddle, I determined that I needed a strip of copper about 1/8” wide. Using a pair of hand shears, a strip was cut off.

Me too!

The stanchions that came with the Mamoli kit I feel are too thick and clumsy. They just don’t seem to be to scale. I would be a lot of work to file them down and I’m not sure the results would be worth the effort. If I am to drill the stanchion openings now, I need to know what I putting in there to determine the size and shape. So, I’m going to take a stab at making them with 3/64” “music wire” for stiffness of the posts and connected to copper plate (to be determined) bent to cradle the railing; more on that effort later. At this point I haven’t determined the size of the futtock plates.

Actually they are more complicated than that but at 1/64 scale, I’m no Master Builder…yet. Once all the battens were installed I wanted to drill all the holes and slots for the rail stanchions, futtock plates that hold the deadeyes, and the crowsfeet. Based on Blue Ensign’s log for his build of the 1/64 scale HMS Pegasus, I will drill the crossfeet holes 0.5mm for 0.1mm line. As near as I can determine from Hahn’s plans, 13 holes in the Foremast top will be required.