Ryland Craze

Hi All. Well the infamous "set up"   has been completed and I finally got my lazy
butt in gear and took some pictures of the finished bomb vessel.  
 
It has been a great "little" project that I had a lot of fun with. I hope you enjoyed it too.
 
Thank you for all your comments and likes. It means more than I can express.  
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 

Behold... The outdoor modelling studio!

Ship Modelers,
 
Next steps include installation of the bowsprit, bowsprit rigging, catheads, forward cap rails, spray rails, and ship's name. Key points include:
 
>>> Bowsprit & jibboom dry fitted
>>> Bowsprit painted & pre outfitted with rigging hardware
>>> Forestay lower deadeyes installed (to avoid access issues later)
>>> Bowsprit installed
>>> Bobstays fitted and made up (4 1/2" 15 link chain w deadeyes)
>>> Upper catheads painted & installed
>>> Forward cap rail assemble painted and installed
>>> Spray rail fitted, sanded to final shape, & painted
>>> Ship's name plates installed (later replaced w improved name plates)
 
These steps complete all outfit in the inverted position. Future posts will address completing the balance of hull and deck outfit.
 
Pete Jaquith
Shipbuilder

I taped off the keel and it seemed to go pretty well.
 

 
 
Until...
 

 
 
I have to be pretty careful going across the frames.  It is very easy to fix.  No wood damaged just a weak glue joint.  A bit of sanding and viola good as new.

Thanks Michael for the kind words about my Kingfisher. I did Halifax before I ever heard of MSW and so had no log and no pictures of the build progress. I have found a couple of photos of the completed model ( I don't have the model any longer), and am attaching them here.
 
Bob

I am finally back home where I can start up this build log.  So lets give this thing a whirl!  I am definitely still a beginner although I have built a few models in the past.  These include the Swift (Artesania Latina), Indian girl canoe (Midwest), and various other small boats.
 
 
 
 
This will be my first plank on frame attempt. Can’t wait!
 
 
 
 
 
This is a now discontinued kit from Lauck Street Shipyard and Mr. Bob Hunt.  Mr. Hunt is better known for his “College of Model Ship Building” which is a collection of progressive practicums that start with beginner kits and progress all the way to scratch building.  At one time a few years ago he developed a series of kits which included this Halifax, The Fair American, Kingfisher and Fubbs (I think). 
 
 
 
 
 
The Halifax sloop of war in 1/4 scale plank on frame kit based on plans by Harold Hahn.  The parts are CNC milled and not laser cut which is nice and the wood quality seems a step above.  
 
 
 
 
 
I guess we always start with a close up picture of the Box:
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
The contents are very neatly packaged and all present:
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
The instruction in full color:
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
I am not too familiar with the site yet and If anyone has any tips just let me know.
 

Bow gun and fore stay spreader mounted.

Thanks for the information Mike.
 
On another note I've finally got this camera working so here's my first shot.  Not much to see, just the keel, but I'm making sure I know how to upload these images
 

 
K, looks like I got that figured out.  Gonna start working on the bulkheads.
 
 

Cheers Mike, sorry I missed your kind comment - thanks mate!
 
No real progress of sorts, but a few pics of the Snake's first voyage to the NE Join Clubs Ship Model Show (There are some great pics at the following link).  It was great to meet some folks face to face and see some really nice models and some in person from logs right here on MSW.  http://modelshipworld.com/index.php?/topic/4939-northeast-joint-clubs-ship-model-show-conference/page-2#entry191448
 
Sjors/Mobbsie/Pierre/Klaas - You should check out the pics of HMS Ardent, I think it was bashed from the Agamemnon kit but was heavily modified - it won best in show and was pretty impressive!
 
Hopefully with a bit of work in the garden done I can get back to a bit of modelling in near future.
 
MSW group photo, Chuck in front and me lurking in the back

 
Snake (very humbly) on display - the big boys are in the background

 
Chuck's stall, fantastic stuff that I will no doubt be using in the future, had to share a picture of his lamp kits

Slowly finishing interior details. Mounted splash protectors, rings, some decorative things near a few twarts, small ladder for a captain.
Some things are done not according to the manual (different position on splash protectors, etc). So far I like the modified parts compared to pictures in manual
 

 

 
Rudder tiller was nice, but too small for that scale. Made another one, bigger. Maybe it is not in scale, but now it will not break if a fly poops on it
Connection between carved part and turned part is enforced with a small brass rod. It is a pity that connection is visible, will try better next time:

 
And that is a moulded boxwood strip instead of friesers (that look like an overdecoration imho). I understand that are a part of contemporary model, plus the whole point of captain pinnace is to flash, so it was overdecorated. But I like a more laconic design, so replaced most flashy parts with less flashy, but elegant:

More interior details completed. I ended up braking a thwart while trying to get it under the cap rail. Fitting them close to the inner hull width means that one has to bend them slightly and they can break easily. Raising one end up so it touches the cap rail makes it easier to insert the other end. I'm still working on the wider thwart for the mast and need to paint the filler piece at the bow red.
 

Killed around 10hr on inboard panels, and not sure if they make things nicer or not. Probably, I should have definitely skipped the panels on the rear part of the ship.
Very hard to get a proper precision with such small things. Even if they are nice on micro scale, under magnifier, on a larger scale panels are not perfectly aligned together:

 
Also finished a rudder tiller. It have two pieces - carved part and turned part glued together. I am very happy with boxwood, so strong wood and so easy to carve!
On that photo, one cell is 5mm (1/6 inches):

 
Now will try to cover all that small particles with wipe-on poly and install to the model.

Jeff Hayes at HobbyMill has provided me some of the best service and product in my 20 +  years as a sales person period. Communication has never been an issue and follow up has been first rate. 
Chris

Thank you to everyone who has supported and recommended my products.  As with most things there are two sides to each discussion and our past experiences guide our decisions going forward.
 
My experience with PayPal has not been positive and I've always felt that their security had serious deficiencies.  In the past this was underscored by the fact that within minutes of receiving any correspondence from them, I would receive spam from all over the world.  Yes, I've been a long time member and my information was hacked in one of their documented attacks a number of years ago.
 
About two years ago I experienced an identity theft issue that was traced directly back to their security.  As a future preventative measure I discussed this with a couple of my banks and they explained that a high percentage of their identity theft issues were related to PayPal transactions.
 
So as a business and personal decision I do not plan to offer their services.  My perspective is that it would seem illogical for me to reward a business who harmed me and from a personal basis why would I ever want to jeopardize my financial status over a hobby.
 
I realize that some customers may find this difficult to understand, but I look at HobbyMill as a service to this hobby in much of the same way that the moderators offer their service to this website.  It is a break even business where I perform all of the tasks with the single objective of improving the quality of wood products offered to this hobby.  In other words, if I were to shut it down today, it would not have any financial impact on me and I would have a lot of time to spend on my own modeling.
 
I may have my own illusions about this, but I believe that through MSW and my efforts some of the builders in this community have begun to raise their expectations on the quality of milled wood products and services.  My business has grown a lot over the years and I would welcome other suppliers to the community who are willing to provide similar or better quality products, because that would support the objective with which HobbyMill was founded.  Over the years I have advised a number of customers on how to mill their own wood.  I have also added the section on my website covering operation of the Byrnes saw with the intention of assisting customers to improve their own milling quality.  So again, if there are other parties interested in offering top quality wood, I would be happy to assist them because I feel that it is a win for everyone.
 
This thread has been centered on some of my policies and some customers who would prefer me to change those policies.  I realize that some customers may not agree with them, but hopefully this response will provide some insight into my thinking and at least serve to rationalize that they are not arbitrary.  If it were focused on the quality of my product, then I assure you that I would take a different approach.
 
As a home based business my wife is very tolerant of the dust and noise created from milling wood, not to mention the 2 hours each day working on e-mails.  One other policy that has not been brought up is that you will not find my telephone number listed anywhere.  After giving my number out to a few customers, my wife started to become my secretary because I am always in the shop.  My wife didn't appreciate being my secretary and then the calls started to come in at all hours of the night.  So keeping peace at home and getting sleep is the rationale behind e-mail only communications.
 
Another policy is that I do not sell within the state of Ohio to avoid dealing with collecting and filing state income tax.  I do all of the tax filings for the business so I try to minimize this because most of the time the filings would just be zeros.  At one time I would just give the wood to Ohio customers and request that they make a charitable donation to their favorite charity.  That was pretty goofy and it only lasted a few years.
 
My payment policy has always been that I request payment in advance for first time US customers and thereafter I include an invoice.  International customers I always request payment in advance and this is as much as insuring that I'm getting paid in US dollars as it is a credit issue.  All of this has always been on my website.  I realize that my lead times have started to stretch way out, but I try my best to advise my customers of anticipated delivery.  I've only missed one delivery and I sent, unsolicited, a full refund to that customer.  The customer felt that was "over the top" and declined the refund.
 
So here comes Keith.  He asked some good questions on one of Chuck's designed kits, so I contacted Chuck because he designed the Pinnace supplemental wood package that I offer.  Chuck did a good job, as always, explaining some of the issues and we both advised Keith that it would be impractical to implement the modifications that Keith was thinking about and also that the prototype was built using Chuck's original design method.
 
In the interim and at that time I was trying to plan a new batch of Pinnace packages.  Also I had announced both on my website and to Keith what the anticipated lead time would be on the new batch of packages.   I had an announced shutdown coming up and I have other customers who have paid and I've promised them delivery on their orders as well as other repeat customers.  Keith still hasn't placed an order after more than 2 months of communication for a standard package and he is asking about the lead time for a custom package or a standard one with supplemental wood, but he never gives me the details.
 
I did advise Keith that his lead time is dependent upon when I receive an order, what the details of the order would be, and I pointed out the pending shutdown and that his order was rapidly approaching the bubble as to if it would be milled before or after the shutdown.  I also reminded him about the payment policy for new customers.  Keith's response is a rather long rant indicating that my payment in advance policy with an extended lead time was unreasonable.  From my perspective, I had asked an received advanced payment from other first time customers, so waiving this for Keith did not seem fair to my other customers.  Also this is the only time that I've ever received such a response from a customer.   My conclusion was that I didn't feel that it was fair to other customers to create an exception and even though I had invested a fair amount of time to assist Keith, he was never going to be satisfied with my service.  I guess that I could have deliberately lied about his lead time, but that is just not me and also he never provided final details on the order.  As an aside, outside of the policies listed above I have only declined orders from one other person.
 
In the end, it appears that Keith found a source that he is happy with, so all is well in the end as that was my objective from the start.
 
Life is too short and this customer/supplier relationship was just not meant to be.  I wish Keith continued success and enjoyment with this hobby.
 
I rarely post on such matters because they do not add value, but perhaps some readers will have acquired some insight into HobbyMill, it's policies, and my thoughts.  Hopefully they seem logical and reasonable to most readers.
 
Sorry for being way too winded and thanks again for the support!
 
Jeff Hayes
HobbyMill

One more post to finish off the deck planking. Key Points include:
 
>>> Planking fitted from the centerline working outboard
>>> Margin planks and nibbing worked from both the bow and stern
>>> Care taken to maintain a symetrical nibbing pattern P/S (select even width planks)
>>> Deck scuppers (5/32" thin wall brass tubing) drilled prior to fitting outboard planking
>>> Following completion of all planking; coamings, waterways, covering boards, windlass support planks removed for painting
>>> Planking finished with several coats of Minwax "Ipswich Pine" oil stain followed by multiple coats of Bartley's "oil based wiping varnish" ribbed down with ultra fine steel wool
>>> After finishing/painting; coamings, waterways, covering boards, windlass support planks were reinstalled
>>> Deck scuppers were installed from the outside and sanded flush (outside surface)
 
This completes the deck planking. As time permits, we will continue with the interior bulwark framing and finally finish off the cap rails.
 
Pete Jaquith
Shipbuilder

Well, she's finished. Overall I'm pretty pleased with how it came out. I'll put additional photos in the gallery shortly.
 
Now, what to build next...
 
 

Started interior panels. Feeling like a jewlery master, they are sooooo small! I cant make it without a magnifying glass, any attempt to photo them without it fails.

 
Boxwood behaves perfectly, no splitting, no cracking, and tweezers do not leave any traces on it!

 
That is how one panel looks through a magnifying glass:

 
2.5 hours later, and I just installed bottom parts for all panels on one side of the boat... Looking forward for a weird weekend
 
I wonder how I was supposed to make them with a basswood from the kit? Tried it, just for fun, it is close to impossible, the wood grains are too big.

Just got my Model Machines 4" Table Saw from Jim & Donna Byrnes!!! All I can say is WOW!!!! A very well made machine!!!
Cuts great!! Very quite running!! A very solid saw for serious small wood work!!!
 
AL
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The brigantine Newsboy was designed by Dennison J. Lawlor of Chelsea, MA (designer of the very successful pilot schooners Dancing Feather, Hesper, and Phantom) for owners Dabney & Cunningham of Boston.  Newsboy was built at the Joshua C. Adams and Elisha Brown shipyard in Owl’s Head, ME where she was launched in June, 1854.  She had a length of 111 feet, beam of 27 feet, depth of 12 feet, and tonnage of 290 tons.  While described as a brigantine, the rig is more accurately described as a hermaphrodite brig because there were no square sails on the main mast.
 
The Newsboy was engaged in the triangular trade: carrying lumber and manufactured goods from New England to the Mediterranean; transporting wine, oil, and fruits to the West Indies; and returning to New England with rum, molasses, and sugar.  The Monthly Nautical Magazine said “having a reputation for speed, by wringing reluctant laurels from her competitors who have chanced to fall in company with her at sea….she does her designers no discredit…her log will speak for itself”.
 
The model is built to a scale of 3/16” to the foot (1:64) based on an old Model Shipways solid hull kit and plans by George F. Campbell.  The model is plank on solid construction, with built up bulwarks, planked decks and topsides, coppered bottom, and scratch built deck furniture/fittings.  Limited commercial fittings will be utilized where appropriate, and the rigging will be proportional linen line with Warner Woods’ blocks.  The Brigantine Newsboy is my 4th wooden ship model and the 2nd in my series of mid 1800’s American merchant sailing ship models.
 
As time permits, I will attempt to post the high points of my previous MSW Build Log.
 
Peter Jaquith
Shipbuilder

While working on the next batch of guns, I decided to make the lower main capstan, the first of three capstans that will be done. As with the other deck items, I chose to make the capstan from boxwood strip and sheet. It was a very enjoyable piece to make, with the exception of the 16 tiny chocks that had to be individually fitted between the whelps. Very fiddly work, but satisfying to get it done.
 
The guns are well along and should be mounted and rigged in the next few days.
 
Bob

Hi Chuck, Not gonna happen. The planking of the hull will take a loooooong long time if
I hope to come even close to your work..
 
Thanks Augie. They are so much fun aren't they!
 
Thanks Mike and Ben.
 
Thank you Al D. The practicum and plans are outstanding. You will love it.
 
Hi Bob, The pleasure is all mine.
 
Ok I've squirreled myself away most of the last few days and have made a good deal of progress.  
 
Here is a picture of the plans depicting the stern framing.
 

 
There are eight stern frame sections  that fit into the slotted bulkhead section.
 

 

 

 
The next step was to add the sills for the stern lights and the lintel filler pieces above
them. I used both the plans and the transom cut out to alien everything.
 

 

 
In case you can't tell I'm having a ball here!
 
Once it all dried the stern was sanded smooth. I then added framing the quarter
gallery entrance and the aft-most gun port.
 

 

Thanks all for your kind words.
 
Sometimes you run into a part and had no clue that it would be that hard to make. The quarterdeck transom is such a part, looking rather unexciting. One redo and the better part of a couple of days work went into it. I had expected the counter timbers to be trickier but after watching Mark doing his Belona's counter with the help of a jig, I constructed a small jig that saved a lot of head aches. The mortises on the wing transom I had made light-years ago had to come off as the spacing was all wrong. Where would a shipwright be without his bottle of isopropyl
 

 

 

 

 
Remco

Finished one caprail. Turned out to be unexpectedly tricky to make a proper templates, so I just glued a Big Ugly Something and then sanded it down to name it a caprail. As you can see, right caprail looks legit, left one is just a piece of wood:

 
Remined me of a childhood, when I was locked up in a summer house for a month, and was so bored that made a solid hull ship about 25cm long, carved from a single piece of wood using one chisel and a sharp knife (that were the only tools available, apart from the garden shovel and a hammer). It is just a matter of time required to sand...
 

 
Speaking of mistakes, now a bit incorrectly aligned frame is very visible, one side of the hull have a wrong shape. Unfixable on a current phase of the build. Always always align your frames perfectly! Lesson learnt.
 
Chuck, do you recommend to cover a panted parts with a wipe-on poly? Is poly compatible with acrylic paints like Galeria that I use on your advice?

Molding strip under friezes and some interior details completed. The red paint is much smoother than it appears here. I applied 4 coats thinned just a little bit with water. Used 1/64" and 1/32" shims to get the floor spacing as close to the plan as I could. The front platform required a lot of sanding and fitting to place it low enough thereby making room for the risers which I have yet to work on.
 

Hi All,
 
The framing of the gun ports is moving along nicely and one pleasant thing I learned was that
there are no sweep ports to worry about.
 
A batten strip was pinned to the bulwarks at the previously marked reference lines and a smooth
run was established. I then marked the bulkheads for the final placement of the sills. The sill and
lintels were cut from boxwood.
 

 
At the bow the bridle port fell over a bulkhead and the bulkhead had to be cut away prior to framing it.
 

 

 
To add the lintels a piece was cut at the correct height and long enough to sit on both sills this
gave a consistent height and eliminated the need to measure each one.
 

 
I have done the preliminary sanding to the out board side.
 

 

 
On to the transom soon!