Ryland Craze

And the last one, anchored behind the glass

 
 

There was a five part article in the now out of print Ships In Scale magazine running from the Jan/Feb 2012 issue to the Sept/Oct issue by Robert N. Steinbrunn where he did a highly modified version of that Smuggler kit from Bluejacket Ship Crafters.  I would suggest that you get a hold of those issues that are available from the NRG store on disc or flash drive. If nothing else it will show you just what is possible with this medium. From this shot of the article below you can see some of the remarkable details that he added to this kit that made it a truly museum quality model.

I'm pulling up a chair for this ship!
Back about 20 years ago my first wooden ship was the Bluejacket Smuggler. 
 
Sadly, I never finished it. Beer and partying were my main concern at that time. 
Since those days are over, per the Admiral, I've always wanted to try this ship again.
I will watch with keen interest.
She's a beauty already!
 
Tom E 

I started this project in January 2017 and worked on it steadily for about three months but have not worked on it since. This is my first model of any kind. In retrospect, it was probably a bit advanced for a first model. I thought my experience as a fairly advanced woodworker and having engraved scrimshaw for several years gave me some of the skills (and most of the tools) I would need. The one thing that kept me going was the Bluejacket helpline that is manned by a very experienced modeler. In fact, Charlie has built models not only for himself but under contract to Bluejacket for those individuals that are willing to pay a great deal of money for a model. He has built the Smuggler more than once.
The hull and major structures have been completed and painted. Next, I plan to finish everything except for the masts and rigging. I have also nearly completed two dories and a seine boat.
The woodworking tools that I have found most useful are a Lie-Nielsen small brass block plane and some very sharp chisels.
This is a solid hull construction. I thought that was a good place to start for a first model. I made templates by getting several photocopies and using spray adhesive to mount them on separate pieces of 1/16” plywood. Each was cut out with a coping saw and finished with sandpaper and a curved sanding block to get just up to the line. The fore-aft templates were reinforced to make sure they remained straight.
Once I got the hull shaped as perfectly as possible using the templates to confirm the shape I made a major deviation from the kit plans based on a recommendation from Charlie. The machine-shaped hull has the bulwarks and transom incorporated. Rather than trying to chisel the inside of the bulwarks and transom to get to the proper thickness and attempting to sand the decks to shape, I cut everything off at the level of each deck.
At this point, I was able to sand the decks exactly to the shape I wanted as everything was open. I installed the scribed decking supplied in the kit on the foredeck as the original Smuggler has straight planking. However, rather than taking the same approach on the main deck, I purchased wood strips so that I could install curved decking in the same way it was on Smuggler. I then installed the waterboards and built up the bulwarks and transom using 1/16” v 1/16” strips. This method allows one to get accurate wall thickness and real scuppers.

Photos submitted on 1-4-11

Got back from Humboldt Saskatchewan great wedding, Good time was had by all.
  Today it was back at'er, lined off  the main deck, and drew out the herringbone for the second deck. Then started to plank, first I had to blacken the edges then start cutting.  

 I  marked the nail holes, filled them with plastic wood , sanded then stained it with thin grey stain,  followed by two coats of  shellac .


I also gave the hull a coat of amber shellac  to darken it just a bit. Then I had to plank some more. .
 

 Going to start planking the rooms tomorrow ,  need to study the door plan a bit, I believe that I am going to change the corner molding to walnut,  instead of the kit wood, only because I got lots  lol. So now I will be planking for the next few days and  buildig the doors, while listening to the Doors, lol 😆 
It is so much fun being in the ship yard, there are not enough hours in a day, it's to bad we got to sleep lol. Later my friend's. 
Thanks for looking. 
Bob M.

Your boat looks great. I think your tiller looks great and there is no reason the "owner" of your boat could not make a modified tiller if he wants. As for wear and tear that's also totally up to you. Perhaps some earth colored pastels woujld be helpful?

Just imagine where any rub or wear points might be. Edges of the gunwale would be an obvious area, for instance.

Very cool! It looks like this model will be a bit of a challenge to plank because it's an open boat, so any errors will be visible inside and outside. On planking in general, this site has a lot of resources that you can look for, like Chuck Passaro's planking tutorial. You might also look for examples of small vessels that are similarly constructed around removeable molds, like the Midwest Maine Peapod kit (although that uses strips for planking and may not be the best example to follow). Looking forward to watching the build move forward!

Me neither! Good luck with your project, Emily!

Totally new to model boat building and will be thankful for anyone who can follow along and lend tips/answers to questions I may have along the way! 

Thanks everyone for jumping in and following along! After opening things up and getting sorted I know I'll need some advice as I go.... 
 
I grew up in a place with a history of wooden boat building and have always been a fan of them, never learned any hard skills about it though. Now I work for Outward Bound, who still uses these boats for their courses in Maine & The Florida Keys (https://www.hiobs.org/) and I think at the New Zealand school as well... I was looking for more info about the history of the OB boats online and stumbled upon this kit on ebay as well as this forum where I thought - I'd love to build that! 
 
Preliminary steps: 
- Made copies of the instructions and blueprints just to have back ups 
- organized planking and plank-like pieces by size, which was not as easy as I thought it'd be, but my dad had a helpful measuring tool for tiny thicknesses
 
Upcoming steps: 
- getting a piece of scrap wood for a building surface, setting up the mold and backbone
- tapering and shortening the inner kelson (from one of the  1/16" x 1/4") and cutting the outer kelson (from one of the 1/16"x1/8") to make up the backbone and fit into the stern timber/stem
- Planking... 
 
Images attached: 
- The planking instructions, haven't really started any of that yet
- The blue print with the kelson specifications 
- My piles of planking and plank-like materials organized by size; beginning to realize what I've just gotten myself into!
 
Any thoughts, ideas, advice, or resources welcome and appreciated (especially re: learning how to do planking)! 
 
 

Time for Rigging 

I haven't checked for blocks, but I have plenty left over from my Wuetender Hund build. I suspect only a handful are needed. As for pins, I suspect the subject predates their widespread use.             

Thanks as always for the likes and comment.   I've made a bit more progress with some of the equipment in the side pods and the front suspension, as shown below.  I added the battery cables...none were supplied in the kit...and replaced the kits black vinyl hoses with braided metal ones.  There's a fuel pump still to be placed in that left bay and the two loose lines will attach to it.   but before that, the instructions have you work on the front bulkhead and various equipment attached to it...brake and clutch cylinders, radiator, fire extinguisher, etc.
 
Here are some pictures....

Well, two weeks after placing the order, everything arrived safe and sound. You can add Seahorse to the list of conscientious shippers -- all was securely packed.
 
First glimpse inside. I believe Tomek has described his mast sets as something like "just sticks," but they are reasonably priced, and I like the fact that I don't have to source dowels of the right diameter and cut them to length. They will need to be shaped, obviously.
 

 
Pre-printed sails. These include suggestions for dying, reinforcing, and adding boltropes.
 

 
The kit itself. Believe it or not, my knife slipped while slicing open the protective plastic sleeve. Fortunately, I only damaged the back cover. Whew!!!
 

 
Some parts . . .
 
   
 
. . . and diagrams.
 

 
And, of course, laser-cut frames.
 

 
Looking forward to starting soon

Nice, Chuck, and theoretically foolproof!

The hawse holes can be complex but if you spend a lot of time preparing and measuring it will go smoothly.   Before I begin describing my process here is a look at the contemporary model.   You can see many close up details here.
 

I started by preparing some new templates.   They are very much like the other templates but I wanted to add some other reference lines to help me more with aligning the hawse holes.   So these are the ones you want to use when you get this stage.
 

You will note a few things in that photo.  First you will see the dashed vertical lines I added that extend up to the cap rail.   These will allow you to mark the locations of the hawse holes on top of the cap rail.   To do this I cut some painters tape to the width of the hawse holes and placed it on the cap rail using the template as a guide.  The tape runs parallel to the keel across the cap rail.   
 
You will also notice how I cut the hawse holes from the template so I could use it as a stencil after taping it to the hull.   I also cut an opening to mark the location of the hawse hoods or naval hoods.  These are the plates that sit over the planking.   The template sits on top of the wales as before.  The forward edge sits against the stem.
 
I of course cut away the molding strip  on the hull before I taped the template in position.  I dont want to forget to mention that.   Then I traced the hawse holes onto the hull.   
 

On the inboard side of the hull,  I prepared another template specifically for the hawse holes.   Note the dashed lines again that extend to the cap rail.   This template was lined up with the tape I placed across the cap rail.  This will be the path I plan to drill through the hull for the hawse holes.   This was a lot of measuring and planning to come up with these templates but it all worked out well.   Just trace the hawse holes on the inboard side as well.  Note how the template is sitting on the deck which establishes the correct height...I hope.
 
I didnt take any pictures right after drilling the hawse holes.  I cant believe I forgot to do it.  But let me explain the process.  I drilled them out using progressively larger drill bits.   I drilled from both sides.   I drilled half way through from the front and then switched to inboard.  I drilled half way through until the holes met in the middle and the first small hole was clear and through.  Then I switched to a slightly larger drill bit and repeated the process.  I increased them until the hawse holes were almost full size and then I switched to a round file to clean them up and enlarge them further.   
 
THE ENTIRE time while drilling from the outboard side I used the blue tape on the top of the cap rail to guide the drill bit at the same angle.  Following the keel.   The hawse holes are almost level in height inboard and outboard with only a slight upward angle needed as you drill from the outboard side.  A very slight angle.   Not to worry if its not exact because when you dill from the inboard side to meet the outside hole it should all meet up decently.  
 
I touched up the red paint inboard and used a soft pencil to darken the insides of the hawse holes black...to represent lead or tin I suppose.
 
Next up was to add the Hawse hoods or Naval hoods on the outboard side.   These are made in two layers.  They are laser cut and on the outermost end is a laser etched detail.  This small etched detail wouldnt be difficult to carve with a sharp chisel.  But I just assume etch it onto the ends.  This means you must clean up the laser char from this "stepped" detail.  I used a small flat needle file.   It doesnt have to be perfectly clean either.  Just do the best you can.  Mine isnt perfect by any means and this little bt of char will actually accentuate the carved detail.   Look at the photo of the contemporary model to see it on the original.  The parts on the left are not yet cleaned.
 
The two layers are glued together carefully.  The circles for the hawse holes are registered together.   But a little tip....while gluing the two layers you can actually pre bend the hoods so they will stay bent and curved once the glue dries.  Its hard to see this in the photo but the one on the right is curved to almost match the hull curvature exactly.  This will make it so much easier to glue onto the hull.
 

 
Here you can see the two layered assembly glued onto the hull.  Please note that after gluing the two layers together the inside edge against the stem must be beveled.  I also cut these pieces a but longer (not by much) so you can line them up with your hawse holes drilled through the hull.   Just carefully bevel the edge a little at time until as you are test fitting it on the model it the hawse holes line up.   The holes themselves are also slightly smaller on this so you will have even more wiggle room to enlarge them after this is glued on the model.  I think they look pretty good and look quite a bit like the contemporary model.
 

Lastly...the bolster.   This piece is slightly thicker and not long enough to bend easily.  So I laser cut it on even thicker boxwood stock.   Its easier to sand the curve into the back side rather than bend it to fit on the hull.   Once the bolster sits nicely on the hull and the curve matches,   you can sand the outside to match.   This will leave the overall thickness at about 3/64".  Maybe slightly more.
 
Round off the top edges and sides but dont touch the hawse hole cut-aways just yet.   This will be done after you glue the bolsters on the model.  You will notice the oddball shape of the hawse hole cut-aways.  They dont look like half circles.   This is on purpose.   Remember the hawse holes are drilled through parallel to the keel.   So these weird shaped half holes are shaped like l=this so you can file them to the proper shape.   Use a round file to open them up to match the angle of your hawse holes through the bulwarks.  I hope that makes sense.   When initially gluing the bolster on the hull, line up the iboard side to match the profile of your hawse holes.  Just like in the photo.   Then use your file to shape them.
 

 
They will or should be opened up to look like this.  The holes were touched up and blackened with a soft pencil.
 

 

OK, there has been a little progress as I'm still waiting on supplies and tools.
 
After looking at some pictures online, I noticed some tillers had a more ergonomic shape. So I decided to make one from scratch. It has the same overall dimensions as the original for the most part. It might be completely inconsistent with this time period or boat. If so please let me know.
 

 
 
Then I decided to try my hand at some weathering/wear marks. I'm not really sure where these should be so I made what I hoped was an educated guess after looking at photos online. I can't find a lot that describes this boat.
I'd love your opinions of my work and suggestions for what else to do. I'm thinking the boat should have more wear and rub marks but I don't know where to put the wear! (see what I did there?)
I'd like to add a slightly dirty wash to the hull. Would that be appropriate for this time/boat? I'm not sure if these boats sitting out of the water was a common sight or not?
 
I did this with watercolor paints. I'd like to try my hand with some dry pigment soon!
 

 
Thanks again for stopping in!

Chris

When I came back to the build I re-read Chuck's log and many others, to refresh my memory. I consider myself lucky that I have all these excellent builds, including yours Bob, to refer to.
I picked up the  tip of  using the thinner stuff from Chuck's log, but it's not mentioned in the download instructions.
I was concerned about using too much pressure on those open frames.
 
B.E.
 
 
 

Post 22
Fitting the boards
Initial fitting of the 1/16th broad plank reveals it will be a tricky part to fit.
It is clear that a gentle approach will be required in getting the boards to conform to the frames as they are far more vulnerable without the support of outer planking.
 
Chuck had suggested that the broad planks could be cut from 1/32nd sheet and glued one on top of the other in the same manner as the outer planks.
 
These would better conform around the inner framework, and
having played around with the 1/16th board I decided that the 1/32nd option was both easier and safer.
 
Not out of the woods yet; 
 
Shaping by degrees was needed on the inner side of the broad planks to cleanly meet the central one.
Additionally, I had problems with Frame ‘F’ - third from the bow, which needed additional fairing to allow the board to sit down properly. This frame was also troublesome with the central plank.

0040

0042
These Amati planking clamps are ideal for securing the boarding both for heat treatment to conform the board, and for eventually gluing.
This would not be an option with a fully planked hull.
It is the forward section of the boards that require some twist to conform to the forward bow frames but using 1/32nd board there is no problem.

0049
The base layers in place.

0045
Here the port side second layer strip in position for the application of the heat treatment. Spacers are used to maintain the rabbet line on the central plank.
Before finally gluing into place the nail points were marked on the planking and pre drilled.
I used a 0.4mm drill.
 
Care is required to ensure that the nail lines across the board are even and square to the frames.
With the board in place I drew fine pencil marks in line with the frames, and off the model I marked the nail positions and drilled.
 
The board then needed cleaning with isopropanol to remove the traces of the pencil marks.

0054
Using 10lb fishing line the ‘nails’ are inserted, secured with pva. Dull work, but I can’t complain given that I have been spared the bulk of this task.

0055

0059

0057

0056
Onto the outer boards.
 
 
B.E.
03/06/2024

I tend to use a plank nipper on those. 
 
You can curl a plank in any direction, real quick.

I am now at the point I dread the most. The second plank has to be bent is such a way to wrap around the sharp curve in the stern. Most of the planks will be relatively easy to manage but not the first one. I have pictures of the area and I am concerned it is still not prepped properly. If it is close, it appears the plank shown will need a twist. The twist will become less and less as planks are added. In the past I have always built hulls where the stern was flat, and the planks did not have to bend around the stern. How do I best proceed getting the first plank fitted?
 
 

It'll come as no surprise that it won't be Surprise.