Justin P.

Chess Tourney's. MLK Day, Inauguration's and a bit of shipyard mayhem... What a weekend! Friday and Saturday were entirely spent at a High School State Chess Championship in Seattle. It was an intense marathon, with my kids playing nearly 20 hours of chess over two days. Last year, we placed 4th, but this year, we tied for 1st! Everyone was ecstatic about their performance, and I couldn’t be prouder of them. It was a fantastic way to head into a three-day weekend, with Sunday and Monday spent in my shop. This weekend, my focus was on establishing an efficient process for building the many frames I need to complete. Drawing from my experience with the TRITON build—which has a very similar framing structure—I had a clear idea of which tools and order of operations to use. However, I quickly realized I had forgotten some of the finer nuances of clean, efficient work. In general, my process involves a 9" bandsaw with a 1/4" blade, followed by a disc/belt sander and, occasionally, a spindle sander. The first midship frame turned out well, but as I examined it closely, I spotted a critical error in the construction—can you see what it might be? This error would have resulted in an incredibly weak construction, so I had no choice but to start over completely. It’s amusing to think I could make such a mistake, especially given how many frames I’ve built using this method. Thankfully, I was able to laugh it off, rebuild the frame from scratch, and end up with a much better result. If you guessed that my mistake was cutting the frame down the midline, you’re absolutely correct. The plans include lines indicating the layout of the first futtocks, futtock risers, and so on. It’s entirely possible that the real ship would have been constructed with a split between the floor futtocks, similar to the illustration below. However, for a model of this size, such a design would be far too fragile. Instead, it’s better to construct the floor futtocks as a single piece, while assembling the rising futtocks according to the plans. This approach ensures greater stability without compromising the overall design. I rebuilt the frame, this time keeping the floor futtocks intact, which also helps ensure proper alignment during assembly. Pictured are the aft and forward halves of the single midship frame. Once I finished the frame with the drift bolts installed, I was pretty satisfied. However, after reviewing the pictures repeatedly and comparing them to the actual model, I’m starting to second-guess my decision to stick with the original drift bolt plan. I’ve always liked the look of brass for the contrast it provides in highlighting detail, despite the obvious realism issues. That’s why I went with it initially. But as I consider the model more holistically, I’m beginning to have doubts. In person, it’s more pleasing, but in the pictures, it looks a bit out of place. I had previously experimented with black monofilament, but I didn’t think it would look appealing when multiplied by potentially 1,000 bolts. I’ve also experienced the painstaking process of making trunnels with a draw plate (and thoroughly disliked it). So I opted for brass because I enjoy the contrast it provides. Now, though, I’m wondering if I made the right choice. This is the time to decide, and I don’t mind redoing it a third time if necessary. I think I’ll sleep on it, but I’d love to hear your thoughts. For now, it’s only dry-fitted, as I’ll be building out the ports and other details between the frames before permanently mounting them to the keel. I plan to work frame by frame, one at a time—a process that will likely take the next three months! Two days spent on one frame, I can only get faster from here.

I would use a UV active clear resin personally. Its sands well and will blend very nicely with the rest of the finish. It wont react with any glues or other finish you've put in and wont shrink like like other fillers might. You can get a bottle of it and a UV flashlight for under $25. Easy stuff to use.

I use both and appreciate the purpose of each. Many builders never create a build log but instead share their finished work in the gallery, giving those of us who are interested a chance to see and learn from their creations. Even without a build log, the gallery serves an important and informative role, as there is much to learn from how builders choose to "finish" their work, stage it, or display the final product. I’ve noticed that many build logs end without showcasing that critical final step of presentation and display. Additionally, the clutter of build log photography often detracts from the quality of the work itself. In contrast, the gallery offers a unique opportunity to declutter and focus the photography on the finished piece, free from the distractions of the workbench. Ive never thought of it as repeating something from my build log, but an entirely separate contribution.

Dont sell yourself short, the craftsmanship is all yours! Beautiful.

First POF? Welp... I should just quit now! What a standard of work, wow. I also agree with above, thats some premium kit youve got there! Earned another follow from me!

I agree with above, I always appreciate the historical context and envy your planking job - looking forward to seeing it through.

Just catching up on this build, nice work so far! I wish I could carve at that scale... I always get frustrated with the clarity of detail and then quit. That wheel looks great.

If I haven't made 50% of a Model at least twice then I'm not sure I've really built it. I think the other guys are right... remake it.

Nice work! Beautiful.

To say it’s been a while would be an understatement. After completing my TRITON build, quite a lot has happened to pull me away from the shop—only recently have things begun to settle down. I embarked on an entirely new career, teaching high school full-time, completed my teaching preparation courses (endorsed in Art, ELA, Social Studies and Middle Level Humanities), earned a second master’s degree, and took our high school chess team to the state competition three years in a row. It’s been a wild ride, but I’m happy to report that I can finally get back to work. As I neared the end of my TRITON project, I knew I wanted to take on a full-scale build. However, I also wanted to be careful not to become overly ambitious. With that in mind, I moved away from the Swan series and the Hayling Hoy—both excellent and well-documented options—but ones I feel I should save until my skill set matches the level of preparation that has gone into those designs. In the interim, I dabbled with a couple of smaller projects that were more manageable given my limited time. I built several Tosti clamps (both parallel and plank clamps), brought the NRG Capstan project to about 90% completion, and started the Masting and Rigging project. The latter two, developed by Toni Levine, are fantastic exercises and absolutely worth finishing—I’ve been selfishly using them to scratch the itch whenever I could dip into the shipyard. During this time, I’ve also been slowly preparing everything for my WASHINGTON build. Initially, I ordered one set of plans, but after some consideration, I decided it would be more practical to buy a second. This allowed me to keep one set for markups and notes while using the other for cutting. I highly recommend this approach—it has saved me the hassle of dealing with copiers and printers. I also created a timber list, settled on wood choices, placed a substantial order through Modelers Sawmill (which I highly recommend), and gathered a few additional materials based on what I found useful during my last scratch build. Once I sourced a build board according to the recommended specifications and set everything up, I jumped into keel construction. The truth is, I actually started this project back in May, but I held off on creating a build log until I was sure I was making steady progress and had fewer outside commitments. Unfortunately, there are many unfinished WASHINGTON build logs out there, and I didn’t want to add to that list. While they remain valuable resources on MSW, it always pains me a little to see them end without a conclusion. Having spent so much time away from the shipyard definitely showed in the early stages—I ended up building my keel three times. It was a frustrating and humbling experience, especially considering it’s just a few long, straight sticks! Getting the scarf joints right was a relearning process, and I also experimented with using paper to simulate oakum. I tried lightweight black construction paper, but it was too thick to bond well, so I switched to black tissue paper, which worked much better. Once I had a keel I was satisfied with, I moved on to the stern details, which also took a few attempts before I started seeing success. Fortunately, assembling and final routing for the frames went smoothly. Once they were attached to the keel, I started to feel that excitement again, confirming I had made the right project choice. The stem proved to be another challenge—I think I built three of them before finally accepting my limits and committing to one. Getting all the curves and joints to fit together while maintaining the correct proportions was another lesson in humility. I wrapped up this stage by adding the bow and stern support fixtures, which will remain fixed to the building board for the foreseeable future. Next up is frame construction—thankfully, my TRITON build prepared me well for this stage, so I feel confident I can tackle it with relative success. Thanks all for bearing with the long story, and wish me luck as I dip my toes back in the pool....

Sent you a message.

Ordered! Thanks Toni for another great mini-project! Just finally getting round to finishing up my capstan project!

Man Ive wanted one of these for awhile, but could never justify it to the family... jealous! Following along!

I second the suggestion that a hard look at the PNW be made. Aside from Bremerton, which has historic ship museums, an undersea museum as well as a healthy maritime tradition it also has the Center for Wooden Boats, the School of Wooden Boat Building and the annual Wooden Boat Festival. Im positive a location could be had at reasonable prices with choice accommodation collocated. I also live here... which is a bonus for me :).

Chuck, Ive been away from the Hobby and MSW for the last 9-months or so as I adjust to the new realities of teaching high school. Ive been poking my head in a little now and then as I start preparing for two luxurious months off back in my shipyard and must say its comforting to see you still at it - amazing everyone with your innovations and selflessly working yourself to the bone to our benefit. Congrats on the ten years - and get well soon!