David Lester

A quick update today -
 
I've been working away at a variety of things.
 
I've added the stanchions (which are not part of the kit's plans) including the curved transition piece where the deck levels change. This recreates the actual boat quite closely. The stanchions are much closer together in the centre part of the boat and further apart at the bow.
 

I've also been working on the decking.
 
 

I didn't use the provided decking material, which is that .5 x3mm stuff of indeterminate origin which I don't like very much. Instead I used some 1/32" x 3/32" basswood. The decks on the St. Roch appear to be painted, so that's how I finished these decks too. I have never painted a deck before and I was afraid that it would completely obscure the planking, so I tried something I've never done before and that was to paint the planking before installing it. It's not likely that I would ever do it this way for a deck that was finished in one of the more usual ways, but for this painted deck, I think it worked quite well.
 

I also added waterways, which the kit doesn't provide for, but I did make a compromise. On the actual boat the waterways sit higher than the decking, but I have opted to make them all level. With the slightly thicker planking that I used, It was getting a bit too tight along the bulwarks if I made the waterways any higher than I did. This is a small compromise that I can readily live with.
 
A couple of other little things -
 
I made the chimneys from scratch using 3mm brass tubing. I am really bad at soldering and don't really like doing it very much. However after several stabs at it, I managed to get an acceptable result.
 

I've finished the rudder, which is now ready for paint, as well as made a spare one to sit on the deck, as per the actual boat. The kit doesn't reference this spare rudder, but it does provide two rudders. The spare had to be modified to be made longer as the one to be installed on the stern only just reaches the bottom of the hull.
 

The kit provides four life rings which are plastic and I decided that once they were painted up they looked as good as any cast metal upgraded version would. So I chose to use these ones rather than replacements like I'm doing for so many of the other fittings.
 

That's it for tonight. My next challenge is to try to figure out a simple, but effective way to replicate the steel sheathing on the bow of the hull.
 
Many thanks for checking in.
 
David
 

A quick update today -
 
I've been working away at a variety of things.
 
I've added the stanchions (which are not part of the kit's plans) including the curved transition piece where the deck levels change. This recreates the actual boat quite closely. The stanchions are much closer together in the centre part of the boat and further apart at the bow.
 

I've also been working on the decking.
 
 

I didn't use the provided decking material, which is that .5 x3mm stuff of indeterminate origin which I don't like very much. Instead I used some 1/32" x 3/32" basswood. The decks on the St. Roch appear to be painted, so that's how I finished these decks too. I have never painted a deck before and I was afraid that it would completely obscure the planking, so I tried something I've never done before and that was to paint the planking before installing it. It's not likely that I would ever do it this way for a deck that was finished in one of the more usual ways, but for this painted deck, I think it worked quite well.
 

I also added waterways, which the kit doesn't provide for, but I did make a compromise. On the actual boat the waterways sit higher than the decking, but I have opted to make them all level. With the slightly thicker planking that I used, It was getting a bit too tight along the bulwarks if I made the waterways any higher than I did. This is a small compromise that I can readily live with.
 
A couple of other little things -
 
I made the chimneys from scratch using 3mm brass tubing. I am really bad at soldering and don't really like doing it very much. However after several stabs at it, I managed to get an acceptable result.
 

I've finished the rudder, which is now ready for paint, as well as made a spare one to sit on the deck, as per the actual boat. The kit doesn't reference this spare rudder, but it does provide two rudders. The spare had to be modified to be made longer as the one to be installed on the stern only just reaches the bottom of the hull.
 

The kit provides four life rings which are plastic and I decided that once they were painted up they looked as good as any cast metal upgraded version would. So I chose to use these ones rather than replacements like I'm doing for so many of the other fittings.
 

That's it for tonight. My next challenge is to try to figure out a simple, but effective way to replicate the steel sheathing on the bow of the hull.
 
Many thanks for checking in.
 
David
 

A quick update today -
 
I've been working away at a variety of things.
 
I've added the stanchions (which are not part of the kit's plans) including the curved transition piece where the deck levels change. This recreates the actual boat quite closely. The stanchions are much closer together in the centre part of the boat and further apart at the bow.
 

I've also been working on the decking.
 
 

I didn't use the provided decking material, which is that .5 x3mm stuff of indeterminate origin which I don't like very much. Instead I used some 1/32" x 3/32" basswood. The decks on the St. Roch appear to be painted, so that's how I finished these decks too. I have never painted a deck before and I was afraid that it would completely obscure the planking, so I tried something I've never done before and that was to paint the planking before installing it. It's not likely that I would ever do it this way for a deck that was finished in one of the more usual ways, but for this painted deck, I think it worked quite well.
 

I also added waterways, which the kit doesn't provide for, but I did make a compromise. On the actual boat the waterways sit higher than the decking, but I have opted to make them all level. With the slightly thicker planking that I used, It was getting a bit too tight along the bulwarks if I made the waterways any higher than I did. This is a small compromise that I can readily live with.
 
A couple of other little things -
 
I made the chimneys from scratch using 3mm brass tubing. I am really bad at soldering and don't really like doing it very much. However after several stabs at it, I managed to get an acceptable result.
 

I've finished the rudder, which is now ready for paint, as well as made a spare one to sit on the deck, as per the actual boat. The kit doesn't reference this spare rudder, but it does provide two rudders. The spare had to be modified to be made longer as the one to be installed on the stern only just reaches the bottom of the hull.
 

The kit provides four life rings which are plastic and I decided that once they were painted up they looked as good as any cast metal upgraded version would. So I chose to use these ones rather than replacements like I'm doing for so many of the other fittings.
 

That's it for tonight. My next challenge is to try to figure out a simple, but effective way to replicate the steel sheathing on the bow of the hull.
 
Many thanks for checking in.
 
David
 

Good Monning,
Look what I am the "lucky" recipient of -
 

I have a friend who is interested in all aspects of history, but especially naval and military history. When I mentioned to him that I was building St. Roch, he was the first person I had spoken to who knew the vessel I was talking about, knew its history and even knew its captain's name. Furthermore, he said he had a picture of it that I needed to have (or he needed to be rid of, I can't quite remember.)
 
For some reason my wife does not want to see it hanging over our fireplace, so I guess it will be my basement shop for the time being.
 
David

Good Monning,
Look what I am the "lucky" recipient of -
 

I have a friend who is interested in all aspects of history, but especially naval and military history. When I mentioned to him that I was building St. Roch, he was the first person I had spoken to who knew the vessel I was talking about, knew its history and even knew its captain's name. Furthermore, he said he had a picture of it that I needed to have (or he needed to be rid of, I can't quite remember.)
 
For some reason my wife does not want to see it hanging over our fireplace, so I guess it will be my basement shop for the time being.
 
David

Good Monning,
Look what I am the "lucky" recipient of -
 

I have a friend who is interested in all aspects of history, but especially naval and military history. When I mentioned to him that I was building St. Roch, he was the first person I had spoken to who knew the vessel I was talking about, knew its history and even knew its captain's name. Furthermore, he said he had a picture of it that I needed to have (or he needed to be rid of, I can't quite remember.)
 
For some reason my wife does not want to see it hanging over our fireplace, so I guess it will be my basement shop for the time being.
 
David

Good Monning,
Look what I am the "lucky" recipient of -
 

I have a friend who is interested in all aspects of history, but especially naval and military history. When I mentioned to him that I was building St. Roch, he was the first person I had spoken to who knew the vessel I was talking about, knew its history and even knew its captain's name. Furthermore, he said he had a picture of it that I needed to have (or he needed to be rid of, I can't quite remember.)
 
For some reason my wife does not want to see it hanging over our fireplace, so I guess it will be my basement shop for the time being.
 
David

Good Monning,
Look what I am the "lucky" recipient of -
 

I have a friend who is interested in all aspects of history, but especially naval and military history. When I mentioned to him that I was building St. Roch, he was the first person I had spoken to who knew the vessel I was talking about, knew its history and even knew its captain's name. Furthermore, he said he had a picture of it that I needed to have (or he needed to be rid of, I can't quite remember.)
 
For some reason my wife does not want to see it hanging over our fireplace, so I guess it will be my basement shop for the time being.
 
David

Look at the trouble figuring all this out for a ship less than a hundred years old, In the time of photographs and films and still existing. Then think about the accuracy of information about ships from 2-300 years ago.
    we need to keep on mind that these ships were not built as museum pieces but as working craft that changed over the years as usage and technology changed. So historical accuracy is important to an extent but remembering it's just a snap shot of a moment in its life. We get to chose what we want it to look like.  For example I've never liked the blue gray paint  color and reddish deck paint and feel no guilt about changing it to how I would have painted it.
Bill 

I found these pictures, which answer the question about the location of the steering wheel -
 


But there seem to be unending questions:
In the pictures above, which would seem to be about the same era, the first one shows three port holes and the second one shows two. Also the planking around the lettering is different.
 
The boat has clearly had several rebuilds, in which it has been changed considerably.
 
This picture is supposedly from 1928, the year it was launched:

It had a totally different masting and rigging, three port holes, no cabin, I guess that's a pilothouse, big cowl vents, different paint scheme etc.
 
But by the time of its Northwest Passage days, which were in the 1940's it seems it was altered to looked pretty much the way it does now, but then here's a picture from probably the 50's and it's been rebuilt again, closer to when it was launched, but still differing in several ways - the pilot house is different, the port holes have gone from three to two etc.
 
 

I'm guessing they restored it to look like its Northwest Passage years when it went on display at the museum, but that still leaves the question of why the steering wheel isn't there. They obviously made choices at the museum, but I'm not sure what were the deciding factors for those choices.
 
I haven't found any narratives on-line yet that outline these changes, but I'll keep digging.
 
David
 

I found these pictures, which answer the question about the location of the steering wheel -
 


But there seem to be unending questions:
In the pictures above, which would seem to be about the same era, the first one shows three port holes and the second one shows two. Also the planking around the lettering is different.
 
The boat has clearly had several rebuilds, in which it has been changed considerably.
 
This picture is supposedly from 1928, the year it was launched:

It had a totally different masting and rigging, three port holes, no cabin, I guess that's a pilothouse, big cowl vents, different paint scheme etc.
 
But by the time of its Northwest Passage days, which were in the 1940's it seems it was altered to looked pretty much the way it does now, but then here's a picture from probably the 50's and it's been rebuilt again, closer to when it was launched, but still differing in several ways - the pilot house is different, the port holes have gone from three to two etc.
 
 

I'm guessing they restored it to look like its Northwest Passage years when it went on display at the museum, but that still leaves the question of why the steering wheel isn't there. They obviously made choices at the museum, but I'm not sure what were the deciding factors for those choices.
 
I haven't found any narratives on-line yet that outline these changes, but I'll keep digging.
 
David
 

I found these pictures, which answer the question about the location of the steering wheel -
 


But there seem to be unending questions:
In the pictures above, which would seem to be about the same era, the first one shows three port holes and the second one shows two. Also the planking around the lettering is different.
 
The boat has clearly had several rebuilds, in which it has been changed considerably.
 
This picture is supposedly from 1928, the year it was launched:

It had a totally different masting and rigging, three port holes, no cabin, I guess that's a pilothouse, big cowl vents, different paint scheme etc.
 
But by the time of its Northwest Passage days, which were in the 1940's it seems it was altered to looked pretty much the way it does now, but then here's a picture from probably the 50's and it's been rebuilt again, closer to when it was launched, but still differing in several ways - the pilot house is different, the port holes have gone from three to two etc.
 
 

I'm guessing they restored it to look like its Northwest Passage years when it went on display at the museum, but that still leaves the question of why the steering wheel isn't there. They obviously made choices at the museum, but I'm not sure what were the deciding factors for those choices.
 
I haven't found any narratives on-line yet that outline these changes, but I'll keep digging.
 
David
 

I found these pictures, which answer the question about the location of the steering wheel -
 


But there seem to be unending questions:
In the pictures above, which would seem to be about the same era, the first one shows three port holes and the second one shows two. Also the planking around the lettering is different.
 
The boat has clearly had several rebuilds, in which it has been changed considerably.
 
This picture is supposedly from 1928, the year it was launched:

It had a totally different masting and rigging, three port holes, no cabin, I guess that's a pilothouse, big cowl vents, different paint scheme etc.
 
But by the time of its Northwest Passage days, which were in the 1940's it seems it was altered to looked pretty much the way it does now, but then here's a picture from probably the 50's and it's been rebuilt again, closer to when it was launched, but still differing in several ways - the pilot house is different, the port holes have gone from three to two etc.
 
 

I'm guessing they restored it to look like its Northwest Passage years when it went on display at the museum, but that still leaves the question of why the steering wheel isn't there. They obviously made choices at the museum, but I'm not sure what were the deciding factors for those choices.
 
I haven't found any narratives on-line yet that outline these changes, but I'll keep digging.
 
David
 

Thanks everyone for your input on the placement of the portholes vis-a-vis the rubbing strake. I believe most of you favour placing the portholes so that they just clear the rubbing strake and I think that's the way I will go. I think if I place the rubbing strake over the portholes, it will look like I messed up somewhere along the way, (and since that never happens 😁, why suggest that it did!)
 
Bill, your St. Roch is coming along very nicely. You asked where I found the trim for the hawse holes. They are a BlueJacket fitting. Here's a picture of the fittings I bought from BlueJacket.
 
BlueJacket calls them hawse lips(F0743.) They're in the upper left of the picture. The lower one is how they come and the upper one is after a little squeeze to more closely resemble the real thing. The others are Hawse lips for the anchors (F0451.) Also there is an anchor for the deck (F0506,) the davits(F0071,) these are not quite the right arc, but can be easily bent into the right shape. They are a bit too long, but I can either cut them off or sink them deeper. Chocks for the rail (F0089,) and blocks. The blocks on the real boat are all internally stropped. These ones (7/32" - F0378 and F0403) will work well. I'll paint them. Also, I decided to add a ships wheel (F0291)which I think will be visible through the window.


 
I also added a few things from Cornwall Model Boats. On the real boat there are six gooseneck vents along the waterways, which are not included in the kit. I thought I'd try these ones. I'm not sure that they're quite right. As small as they are, I think they are still a bit overscale. My plan B is to make them from scratch using pieces of 3mm solder that I have kicking around. (It's about 40 years old and dates from the days when I was still suffering from the delusion that I could successfully accomplish my own plumbing repairs.)
 
Even if I don't use those gooseneck vents, there's another reason why I bought them and that was to get the valves that come with them. They aren't needed for the vents, but another detail that can be added is the two or three water spigots. These won't be hard to make from scratch, but the valves would be. These ones should work for that quite well.
 
I also bought a ladder kit as well as a couple of anchors for the side of the hull.
 

I mentioned in an earlier post that although I generally don't like the plastic parts included in the kit, I actually prefer the provided plastic portholes to the provided brass ones. The plastic ones match the real ones quite accurately and since they will be painted they should look just fine. Cornwall offers these, so I bought a few more to replace the brass ones, which I think have too big a rim.
 

 
I want to show the ends of the deck planking under the cabin, so I cut the sub deck back a bit and put in a support to carry the ends of the planking stubs. I then filled in the mini planks. This way it won't throw the measurements of the cabin out of whack, as the provided pieces don't account for the extra 1/32" or so that would result if I placed them directly over the sub deck.


 
So that's it for now. This simple kit is proving to be even more fun that I expected.
 
Many thanks for checking in. I really appreciate it.
David
 
 

Thanks everyone for your input on the placement of the portholes vis-a-vis the rubbing strake. I believe most of you favour placing the portholes so that they just clear the rubbing strake and I think that's the way I will go. I think if I place the rubbing strake over the portholes, it will look like I messed up somewhere along the way, (and since that never happens 😁, why suggest that it did!)
 
Bill, your St. Roch is coming along very nicely. You asked where I found the trim for the hawse holes. They are a BlueJacket fitting. Here's a picture of the fittings I bought from BlueJacket.
 
BlueJacket calls them hawse lips(F0743.) They're in the upper left of the picture. The lower one is how they come and the upper one is after a little squeeze to more closely resemble the real thing. The others are Hawse lips for the anchors (F0451.) Also there is an anchor for the deck (F0506,) the davits(F0071,) these are not quite the right arc, but can be easily bent into the right shape. They are a bit too long, but I can either cut them off or sink them deeper. Chocks for the rail (F0089,) and blocks. The blocks on the real boat are all internally stropped. These ones (7/32" - F0378 and F0403) will work well. I'll paint them. Also, I decided to add a ships wheel (F0291)which I think will be visible through the window.


 
I also added a few things from Cornwall Model Boats. On the real boat there are six gooseneck vents along the waterways, which are not included in the kit. I thought I'd try these ones. I'm not sure that they're quite right. As small as they are, I think they are still a bit overscale. My plan B is to make them from scratch using pieces of 3mm solder that I have kicking around. (It's about 40 years old and dates from the days when I was still suffering from the delusion that I could successfully accomplish my own plumbing repairs.)
 
Even if I don't use those gooseneck vents, there's another reason why I bought them and that was to get the valves that come with them. They aren't needed for the vents, but another detail that can be added is the two or three water spigots. These won't be hard to make from scratch, but the valves would be. These ones should work for that quite well.
 
I also bought a ladder kit as well as a couple of anchors for the side of the hull.
 

I mentioned in an earlier post that although I generally don't like the plastic parts included in the kit, I actually prefer the provided plastic portholes to the provided brass ones. The plastic ones match the real ones quite accurately and since they will be painted they should look just fine. Cornwall offers these, so I bought a few more to replace the brass ones, which I think have too big a rim.
 

 
I want to show the ends of the deck planking under the cabin, so I cut the sub deck back a bit and put in a support to carry the ends of the planking stubs. I then filled in the mini planks. This way it won't throw the measurements of the cabin out of whack, as the provided pieces don't account for the extra 1/32" or so that would result if I placed them directly over the sub deck.


 
So that's it for now. This simple kit is proving to be even more fun that I expected.
 
Many thanks for checking in. I really appreciate it.
David
 
 

Thanks everyone for your input on the placement of the portholes vis-a-vis the rubbing strake. I believe most of you favour placing the portholes so that they just clear the rubbing strake and I think that's the way I will go. I think if I place the rubbing strake over the portholes, it will look like I messed up somewhere along the way, (and since that never happens 😁, why suggest that it did!)
 
Bill, your St. Roch is coming along very nicely. You asked where I found the trim for the hawse holes. They are a BlueJacket fitting. Here's a picture of the fittings I bought from BlueJacket.
 
BlueJacket calls them hawse lips(F0743.) They're in the upper left of the picture. The lower one is how they come and the upper one is after a little squeeze to more closely resemble the real thing. The others are Hawse lips for the anchors (F0451.) Also there is an anchor for the deck (F0506,) the davits(F0071,) these are not quite the right arc, but can be easily bent into the right shape. They are a bit too long, but I can either cut them off or sink them deeper. Chocks for the rail (F0089,) and blocks. The blocks on the real boat are all internally stropped. These ones (7/32" - F0378 and F0403) will work well. I'll paint them. Also, I decided to add a ships wheel (F0291)which I think will be visible through the window.


 
I also added a few things from Cornwall Model Boats. On the real boat there are six gooseneck vents along the waterways, which are not included in the kit. I thought I'd try these ones. I'm not sure that they're quite right. As small as they are, I think they are still a bit overscale. My plan B is to make them from scratch using pieces of 3mm solder that I have kicking around. (It's about 40 years old and dates from the days when I was still suffering from the delusion that I could successfully accomplish my own plumbing repairs.)
 
Even if I don't use those gooseneck vents, there's another reason why I bought them and that was to get the valves that come with them. They aren't needed for the vents, but another detail that can be added is the two or three water spigots. These won't be hard to make from scratch, but the valves would be. These ones should work for that quite well.
 
I also bought a ladder kit as well as a couple of anchors for the side of the hull.
 

I mentioned in an earlier post that although I generally don't like the plastic parts included in the kit, I actually prefer the provided plastic portholes to the provided brass ones. The plastic ones match the real ones quite accurately and since they will be painted they should look just fine. Cornwall offers these, so I bought a few more to replace the brass ones, which I think have too big a rim.
 

 
I want to show the ends of the deck planking under the cabin, so I cut the sub deck back a bit and put in a support to carry the ends of the planking stubs. I then filled in the mini planks. This way it won't throw the measurements of the cabin out of whack, as the provided pieces don't account for the extra 1/32" or so that would result if I placed them directly over the sub deck.


 
So that's it for now. This simple kit is proving to be even more fun that I expected.
 
Many thanks for checking in. I really appreciate it.
David
 
 

A little progress to report -
 
I finished up the planking and painted the gray on the hull.
 

 
I intend to add all the stanchions to the bulwarks as well as the waterways, both of which are missing from the kit. In order to do that, I broke off (some by accident) all of the bulkhead extensions.
 
I added the first strip of the waterways (1/32" x 1/16") to the subdeck following its contour. Without the bulkhead extensions, I needed something to place the upper hull pieces against. The waterway created a small lip.
 

I glued the upper hull pieces in place.
 


I added the second strip of the the waterways.


The bulwarks are planked on the inside, just at the stern and bow of the boat. This detail is omitted from the kit, but I wanted to add it. I have the stern done.


There is a hawse opening at the stern of the boat which I wanted to add as well, so I've cut it in, using the hawse trim (from BlueJacket) as a guide. There are none included in the kit, but I'll add them for all five of the hawse openings. The smallest ones from BlueJacket are about the right length, but just a tad too high. A gentle squeeze with a pair of pliers fixed it easily.
 

I added the planking to the upper hull at the bow and the stern.
 


That's everything so far. Please forgive how rough everything looks. I know I still have plenty of sanding and painting ahead of me.
 
Many thanks for the comments and 'likes.'
 
David

I've been working on various deck details.
Here's how I built the hatch -
 
The hatch on the boat as it is at Vancouver Maritime Museum-

The challenge with this kit is determining what size the deck details ought to be. For example, the kit provided hatch is 50 mm long, but on the plan it shows it as 61 mm long. The 360 degree tour that's available online has a measuring tool, which I am finding to be quite accurate. So, the idea is to consider all the different sizes - the kit component, the plans, the 360 degree tour measurement, and the actual model itself. It's a matter of experimenting and determining what will fit and looks about right.
 
Here's the kit provided hatch -
It's three pieces of pre-cut plywood stacked and finished off with a plastic top. Quite apart from its incorrect length, it's a bit too high as well.


Having determined what size it needed to be. (I can't remember off hand, what those dimensions are)  I used 1/16" x 1/8" stock. I built it in the same "finger joint" style of the real one, but that little detail doesn't really show up after it's painted.
 



A thin top brought it up to 10.5 mm which is pretty close to the correct height in scale.
 

I added a canvas cover using sail material from a previous kit -
 

Next up is the cargo scow.
 
Jumping ahead to these details is to give me something to do while coats of filler on the hull dry.
 
David
 
 

I'm back with a build log after a bit of an absence. I've had multiple health problems over the past year, which is in part why I didn't do a build log for my HMS Pegasus and why it took me so long to build it, being away from my shop for long periods of time. However, I seem to be in decent shape for the time being (touch wood) and am back at my workbench.
 
In my hiatus I had been pondering what my next project would be when I stumbled across this model on the Billing website, and after a little bit more research I knew I had found it.
 
This one appealed to me for several reasons:
-I wanted something simpler than my last few builds had been
-this one has almost no rigging!
-it's a Canadian boat. I haven't seen any other one available as a model, apart from the Bluenose
-it has a remarkable history - it's only the second boat to ever travel through the Northwest Passage and the first to make the trip twice - it's the first do make the voyage in under one year and it's the first to circumnavigate North America - it resides today at the Vancouver Maritime Museum, has been declared a National Historic Site and the great Stan Rogers recorded a song about it.
-there are plenty of pictures and videos online to use as a reference
-did I mention that it has almost no rigging?
 

When I was in my 20's I built (very badly) a Billing model, but I don't recall if the quality of the kit was good or bad and I had no frame of reference in any case. So this is for all intents and purposes my first Billing kit and I have a mixed reaction to it.
 
So far the good things are:
-the laser cutting is very good and the bulkheads and centre keel fit together extremely well. They're as good as I have ever encountered.
-there are quite few specialized brass fittings which are really nice and of good quality.
-while the model is simplified, there are no glaring errors in its representation of the real boat.
 
However, there are some negatives too:
-there are too many poor quality plastic fittings which come on a sprue just like it was a plastic model car kit.
-the hull and deck planking material is pretty rough and not very consistent in width.
-while I did want a simpler model, there is too much simplification with this one. Built straight out of the box it would look like one of those gift shop ship models. At 1:72 it's large enough for the designer to have incorporated much more detail.
-the plans are poorly drawn. The instruction book is all but useless, which is fine - I didn't expect it to be otherwise, but the plans are disappointing. They appear to be a 1:1 representation of the model, but they are very inaccurate. For example for some of the deck components there are discrepancies in size of up to 1/2" between the elevation and plan views. It's impossible to take measurements from the plan.
 

Nevertheless, it's going to be lots of fun adding detail and upgrading many of the fittings. I currently have big orders in at BlueJacket and Cornwall.
 
So far, I have the hull planked, in my usual "suitable for filler and paint" style. I'm a terrible planker, but I never worry about it because filler and paint are my best friends. I've used some planking from my stash, rather than the kit provided planking.
 

 
I've made two improvements to the stern area. The kit instructions would have you just cut all of the planking off even at the last bulkhead before the stern. Then you add the two stern blocks and sand them even with the finished planking, leaving them unplanked, just to be painted. I chose to install the stern blocks first and plank over them in the usual way, however I found it to be quite a difficult stern to plank.
 
Secondly, the kit provides for no opening to accept the rudder; it's meant to just butt up against the bottom of the hull. The real boat has a framed rectangular opening, so I added that detail.
 

 
 
That's where I'm at!
 
David
 
 
 

A little progress to report -
 
I finished up the planking and painted the gray on the hull.
 

 
I intend to add all the stanchions to the bulwarks as well as the waterways, both of which are missing from the kit. In order to do that, I broke off (some by accident) all of the bulkhead extensions.
 
I added the first strip of the waterways (1/32" x 1/16") to the subdeck following its contour. Without the bulkhead extensions, I needed something to place the upper hull pieces against. The waterway created a small lip.
 

I glued the upper hull pieces in place.
 


I added the second strip of the the waterways.


The bulwarks are planked on the inside, just at the stern and bow of the boat. This detail is omitted from the kit, but I wanted to add it. I have the stern done.


There is a hawse opening at the stern of the boat which I wanted to add as well, so I've cut it in, using the hawse trim (from BlueJacket) as a guide. There are none included in the kit, but I'll add them for all five of the hawse openings. The smallest ones from BlueJacket are about the right length, but just a tad too high. A gentle squeeze with a pair of pliers fixed it easily.
 

I added the planking to the upper hull at the bow and the stern.
 


That's everything so far. Please forgive how rough everything looks. I know I still have plenty of sanding and painting ahead of me.
 
Many thanks for the comments and 'likes.'
 
David

I am torn!
Looking ahead, I discovered this about the portholes in the hull. The rubbing strake runs right over the flanges.
 

What should I do? If I include that detail then I run the risk of looking like I've made an error, but it appears it would be the most accurate.
 
Or do I locate the portholes slightly higher to look a little tidier, but sacrifice some accuracy.
 
Such problems I have!
 
David

I am torn!
Looking ahead, I discovered this about the portholes in the hull. The rubbing strake runs right over the flanges.
 

What should I do? If I include that detail then I run the risk of looking like I've made an error, but it appears it would be the most accurate.
 
Or do I locate the portholes slightly higher to look a little tidier, but sacrifice some accuracy.
 
Such problems I have!
 
David

I am torn!
Looking ahead, I discovered this about the portholes in the hull. The rubbing strake runs right over the flanges.
 

What should I do? If I include that detail then I run the risk of looking like I've made an error, but it appears it would be the most accurate.
 
Or do I locate the portholes slightly higher to look a little tidier, but sacrifice some accuracy.
 
Such problems I have!
 
David

A little progress to report -
 
I finished up the planking and painted the gray on the hull.
 

 
I intend to add all the stanchions to the bulwarks as well as the waterways, both of which are missing from the kit. In order to do that, I broke off (some by accident) all of the bulkhead extensions.
 
I added the first strip of the waterways (1/32" x 1/16") to the subdeck following its contour. Without the bulkhead extensions, I needed something to place the upper hull pieces against. The waterway created a small lip.
 

I glued the upper hull pieces in place.
 


I added the second strip of the the waterways.


The bulwarks are planked on the inside, just at the stern and bow of the boat. This detail is omitted from the kit, but I wanted to add it. I have the stern done.


There is a hawse opening at the stern of the boat which I wanted to add as well, so I've cut it in, using the hawse trim (from BlueJacket) as a guide. There are none included in the kit, but I'll add them for all five of the hawse openings. The smallest ones from BlueJacket are about the right length, but just a tad too high. A gentle squeeze with a pair of pliers fixed it easily.
 

I added the planking to the upper hull at the bow and the stern.
 


That's everything so far. Please forgive how rough everything looks. I know I still have plenty of sanding and painting ahead of me.
 
Many thanks for the comments and 'likes.'
 
David

I've been working on various deck details.
Here's how I built the hatch -
 
The hatch on the boat as it is at Vancouver Maritime Museum-

The challenge with this kit is determining what size the deck details ought to be. For example, the kit provided hatch is 50 mm long, but on the plan it shows it as 61 mm long. The 360 degree tour that's available online has a measuring tool, which I am finding to be quite accurate. So, the idea is to consider all the different sizes - the kit component, the plans, the 360 degree tour measurement, and the actual model itself. It's a matter of experimenting and determining what will fit and looks about right.
 
Here's the kit provided hatch -
It's three pieces of pre-cut plywood stacked and finished off with a plastic top. Quite apart from its incorrect length, it's a bit too high as well.


Having determined what size it needed to be. (I can't remember off hand, what those dimensions are)  I used 1/16" x 1/8" stock. I built it in the same "finger joint" style of the real one, but that little detail doesn't really show up after it's painted.
 



A thin top brought it up to 10.5 mm which is pretty close to the correct height in scale.
 

I added a canvas cover using sail material from a previous kit -
 

Next up is the cargo scow.
 
Jumping ahead to these details is to give me something to do while coats of filler on the hull dry.
 
David