GuntherMT

Hi all. First boat build but I am a competent modeller. Will very definitely ask for help as I go. Will post more details later. In bed now 😃

CA isn't even close to the same as PVA.  Yellow wood glue is PVA (as is normal white glue).  CA is 'super glue' type glue which comes in various speeds and thicknesses but shares common attributes with, including that it will stick to your fingers (or anything else) and if it gets on a visible wood surface it will be extremely difficult to remove as it will soak into the wood fibers and create a super-hard spot that will show up through almost all finishes as even paint sometimes.

As I said above, I try to avoid CA at all costs when working with wood.  If I need to bind wood to metal or some other material CA is one possibility, but an epoxy would be a better solution whenever possible.

The traveler is blocked by the tiller.  Jibing would be pretty exciting if removing and replacing the tiller became part of the process.    The tiller should probably be under the traveler.

Yep, you just do exactly what you did in your post, enclose your search in quotation marks.
 
Example "Steam Capstan" will only return results with the phrase.  Just searching for Steam Capstan defaults to returning results with either Steam, or Capstan or both.

Instructions suggest gluing reinforcement block inside the hull for the chain plate locations.
 

 
Six locations. Now I glue on the plank sheers; being sure the glue doesn't fill the little square holes,
 

 
I tried setting the plank sheer edge as close to the sheer strake (top plank) as possible. Kinda making a average. I don't want to sand the down too much because of holes. I use Elmer's to give me more time to move things around and get it all rubber-banded.  You can see a shadow where the plank sheer overlaps the top plank. This will all be taken care of with spackling and sanding (I hope).
 

 
So the cracks and crevasses get spackled. I used the putty knife to fill in for abut a quarter inch for the gap at the plank sheer. My first time doing this so after 10 minutes of drying (things dry quick in Las Vegas and zero humidity)  I used the putty knives to kinda scraps semi-dried spackle off. I'm hoping to save a lot of sanding. I'll let it dry today and see how sanding works tomorrow.
 
 
 

I use nothing but PVA (wood glue) for the vast majority of my construction and for all of my planking, no reason IMO to use the super-glue type glues if you properly shape your planks before fitting.  If you get super-glue type glues on a wood surface that you don't plan to paint, it can be impossible to remove the stain left which can soak deep into some types of wood.
 
 
 

Port lids are all done.....they take longer than you think. 😊
 
So now the two ladders for the gundeck.  The thing about ladders on commercial kits is they are usually so out of scale.  You must consider that the ladders or steps were made much as they are today.  They are made from 2" thick stock.  So that translates to just 1/32" thick at this scale.  Most kits provide parts double the thickness so its like they used a 4 x 4 to make the stairs which looks pretty horrible.  I was also never happy with their shape which was usually very generic and not at all like they are shown on good contemporary examples and plans.
 
So I worked up a simple design but they can be finicky to build.   So this is how I managed these.
 
First I sanded both sides of the sheet to remove any char before the parts were removed from the sheet.  The photo shows the prototype build and now I will make another to show you how its done.  The edges were sanded free of char.....these are made from boxwood.   I have laser etched mortices to accept the stairs.  So first thing you should check is the fit of the sides of the steps in the mortices.  If they are too thick....simply knock off the corner or bevel the edge of the steps ever so slightly.  Not too much and dont touch the little "wings" protruding from the front of each step.   I also did not remove any char from the side edges of the steps as I want them all the same length exactly.   This is important.   I started by adding the top and bottom step to one side of the ladder.  I got a nice fit into the mortice after just lightly beveling the edge of the steps.

Then I added the other side of the ladder and made sure the glue was dry before handling it further.....otherwise it could fall apart easy.  Remember these are just 1/32" thick.
 

Finally I beveled the side edges of ever remaining step and slid them in position after applying a small drop of glue to each edge.   They slid right into place without much trouble.  Once you do one or two it gets easier......straight in and back.

The top step is a bit wide which you will soon discover so at this stage I used a sanding stick to sand it flush on the back side of the step.  Then to finish it off I sanded the sides of the ladder to make those little "wings" on each step flush with the sides of the ladder.   I hope that makes sense as I left them a bit longer so they would need to be finish-sanded.
 
Thats it.....
 
But the larger hatch mid-ship has a double ladder.  Its built  basically the same way.   The top and bottom step first.    But then I slipped the center riser in position as well.

Then its just a matter of slipping the remaining steps into position.   With each step added, the entire assembly gets stronger.   Finish sand the sides and that top step and its all done.  You can see how the front of each step has just a slight curve to it......not too much.  When finished these are light and elegant.   It is important to have them look this way.

Apply some WOP and then glue them into position in each companionway.   See  below.


Next up its time to add some cleats and bolts to the bulwarks.  Yippie.  Any questions???
 

Here are some photos of my first model ship (HMS Ballahoo)
 

Hi guys,
 
First of all, Happy New Year to everyone!
 
I think it's about time I introduced myself to the club.  I joined over 7 years ago when first looking at making a model ship but it all looked way too complicated for me so didn't get around to doing anything.  The desire to build a wooden ship has remained with me and at the start of the our first lockdown back last March I took the plunge an bought HMS Ballahoo.  I used this forum extensively during the build and don't think I would have got through it without access to the build logs.  I didn't make a build log myself as I didn't have the confidence that I would finish the build.  To be honest I thought I would make a bit of a mess of it and leave it partially made.  However, I did complete it and think I made a reasonable job of it.  Now I have my next model ready to go, HMS Beagle (OcCre).  This time I'll start a build log.
 
Chimp

As I prepare the base for the Armed Virginia Sloop, I take this opportunity to add the moldings to the base of the longboat.
I created a little jig to cut the angles at 45 degrees.

 

 

 
I also extended the table at the back using a small removable stand to make it easier to cut long planks.

 

 
 
The base has now received its four moldings.

 

 
I  take this opportunity to wish everyone a very happy new year 2021 !

As maple seems to have won unanimous support, it is therefore this species of wood that will be used.
Legos blocks and a piece of wood slipped into the gap provided to receive the keel ensure perfect symmetry of the two pieces.

A photocopy of the plan is used to aid in the placement of pieces on the base.

The extra keel copy is used to properly align the two pieces when gluing.

The base is finished. More than to apply one last layer of teak oil.

Provisional test of placement.

It's time to start working on painting friezes.

Thank you Bob for your opinion.
To help me in my choice, I quickly cut out an example of the future structure (some pine scrap wood) and positioned the longboat in the background.
In the first photo, a maple piece is placed between the base and the longboat while in the second photo it is a pear wood.
It seems to reinforce my first idea of a better contrast if I use pear wood.

Thank you Gary for your kind words. Your work is a reference for me and motivates me enormously.
Thank you to all the 'Likes'.
 
I want to finalize the base for my longboat.
I will try to reproduce part of a ship's deck. It will not be a faithful reproduction but rather an inspiration.

First, I draw the laying plane in order to determine the length of the different segments. All the planks are then cut. My new Byrnes table saw really makes my job easier 😁

I simulate the caulking using the black plastic sheet found at the back of the folders to store paper documents.

It suffices to precisely cut strips of the width corresponding to the thickness of the planks and then glue them between each row.

As the gluing is done with wood glue, I spread my work over 2 weeks because you have to wait until each row is completely dry before proceeding with the installation of the next one.

The left edge will need to be sanded to equalize the length...

A first coat of teak oil is applied.

I will need your advice on the species of wood to use for the small support on which the longboat will be placed.
There are two options: use the same wood species as that of the deck, in that case:  american mapple (strip of wood located below in the photo) or use swiss pear (strip of wood located above).
It seems more judicious to me to use pear wood in order to better distinguish the two different elements: the ship's deck and the longboat support.
But I still hesitate ... What do you think?

The planking step continues. Two additional rows were made.



Only 3 rows

Thanks to all the likes.
I finished to fair the hull.


I can begin to plank the hull.

Thanks to all the likes.
 
All the frames were now glued. Just take your time and perform several dry tests before performing the real step.

I fixed the bases temporarily at the table to facilitate the task,




Time to fair carefully the hull.

I have officially finished my second ship model.
I have to say the final details took longer than I expected.
The base is also finalized. I used a copy of a maritime map as a background. I just have to add a descriptive plate.
Thanks again to all the people who have followed my build.
I will be able to resume work on the Medway longboat and especially start working on my next project: The Cheerful.
Happy New Year everyone !

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hello Michael,
 
I saw your post in the 2 build log challenge and thought I would peek in.  It looks like you are doing a top-notch job so far!
 
I've never taken a look in here for a fairly simple reason - these big first raters really don't interest me as I don't find them to be good looking!  However, the building processes are likely very much the same, and your planking looks fantastic, especially for a first planking that will be covered up.  I'll follow along for a while but may not have much to say due to my lack of experience with anything with more than 6 guns. 
 
 

Yep, you just do exactly what you did in your post, enclose your search in quotation marks.
 
Example "Steam Capstan" will only return results with the phrase.  Just searching for Steam Capstan defaults to returning results with either Steam, or Capstan or both.

Yep, you just do exactly what you did in your post, enclose your search in quotation marks.
 
Example "Steam Capstan" will only return results with the phrase.  Just searching for Steam Capstan defaults to returning results with either Steam, or Capstan or both.

Gilmer will ship to you.  It won't be cheap mind you as you are shipping a chunk of wood, but they usually have some good pieces of American Holly in stock.

You can get Holly from Gilmore Wood Company, but you need to mill it into the proper sizes yourself:
 
https://www.gilmerwood.com/categories/38-boards-and-blanks/products?utf8=✓&filter=Holly&category=
 

It was finicky working with such small parts. Need a magnifier and tweezers these days. Age takes it's toll.
The kit has an amazing number of small parts for the mechanical apparatus. But there are inexplicable parts left off. The gear side of the clutch is provided, but not the lever side or the lever. This is true in general for this kit. overall it's nice. They leave odd bits out. Usually chain is supplied but this kit doesn't have any. Things like that.
 
Anyway, I made the lever assembly from the flat brass wire provide with the kit. This was a little tricky as there are three pieces, two of which wrap around the missing clutch cylinder. To simplify I wrapped them around the hub of the clutch gear. It's not a working assembly and it looks correct. I used CA glue to assemble the parts. Here's the result:

 
Needs some touch up. The Britannia metal parts are a bit crude when looked at close up. The camera reveals details and textures that I don't see with my naked eye. It looks good from normal viewing distance.
 
Note: the sanding sealer and sanding before assembly completely got rid of the fuzzies. However, using a brush doesn't provide uniform  coverage as airbrushing would.

You can get Holly from Gilmore Wood Company, but you need to mill it into the proper sizes yourself:
 
https://www.gilmerwood.com/categories/38-boards-and-blanks/products?utf8=✓&filter=Holly&category=
 

18th Century Longboat sold.