davyboy

Hello,
it is done. At least the wheels are ready build. Next to build are the two supporters for the wheels.

Both platforms are done:

Foremast Crows Feet Rigging
Over the last couple of days I have been working on adding the crows feet rigging to the foremast.
 
The first task was to add a 2mm single block to the top forestay.

The next task was to add another 2mm single block to the euphroe.

Next up was to rig the two blocks. I found it useful to use a clamp to hold the euphroe whilst adding the inter-block rigging.

Before I started to add the crows feet rigging I did map out the required path. I also calculated the required length of thread. I opted for a generous 2.2m length but in the end a length of 1.8m would have been sufficient.

It was then a case of following the required path as the rigging was added. I have added a few photo's taken of the work in progress.

The rigging is now complete and the free end is ready to be tied off. once I have adjusted the required and applied some tension.

I used a slip knot to secure the free end. The crows feet rigging is now complete.

 
 

Post One Hundred and Seventy-three
 
18’ cutter – Jolly Boat
 
I thought I would have another stab at clinker planking one of these bijou cutters to go with 'Indy'.
 
My original cutter which sits with Alert was of the older version replaced shortly after I had completed it.
This one is the current and revised version, which includes laser cut gratings and footwalings whereas the original had brass etch versions.
 
I will be using 3.4mm x 0.6mm Boxwood strip, and of necessity the planking starts at the keel and works up to the Wash strake.

4315
The Garboard is applied first using pva. This is shaped at the bow but is otherwise untapered.

4320
The second strake overlaps the Garboard by 1mm.
In proper practice there is a rebate or rabbet edge along the top of each plank to take the bottom edge of the plank above.
At scale and with 0.6mm board I can dispense with this nicety.
 
From the second plank above the Garboard I am adding a degree of taper both fore and aft. How much is down to eye and best guesstimate.
4528
As with all these projects clamping is an issue, more so as the planking rises.

4531
With three strakes added I move to the wash strake. This is fitted untapered into the bow slot.
 
Twice the stem part broke but repair was effected and once the wash strakes are in place the area is more stable.

4542
As the strakes are applied the taper increases fore and aft until the final strake fits flush with the lower edge of the wash strake.

4552

4550
Planking completed in its raw state, but the lapstrakes are clearly evident.

4565
I applied a 1mm square Ebony strip along the lower edge of the wash strake to represent the wale.
It looks broader than it is because top and face edges are not clearly defined on the photo.

4568

4569
There is a satisfaction to be had from completing the hull of this smallest of the boat range, but there is a fair bit of cleaning up required before the inboard fittings are put into place.
 
B.E.
 
06/05/2024

Life finds a way (to get in the way) but some progress has been made, the keel and rabbet is assembled and I have sanded a first approximation of the head taper.
The scale of the model hit home in a different way when the keel was laid. Its quite large, in a good way. Having it occupying the desk is different from the theory of it will be 32"  :).


 
 
I'm not sure whether the taper should be continued down towards the waterline or stop roughly as it does now. Also unsure if it should be taken further towards the stern. For the figure to sit without any tension I should reduce the width a bit more, fractions of a millimetre, but I'm starting to eat into the thinner knee (correct part name? the fancy piece with notches). Perhaps that's as it should be?

 
Chuck, thanks for the advice on sanding parts while in the sheet!
When sanding the head I had to remove to much material around the box joint, I think I did a bad job when clamping the pieces during gluing so they were not perfectly in plane. I didn't really notice how much I removed at the time but it became obvious when mating the head to the keel. Next I plan to sand the keel around the box joint in the problem area to get a nice transition from head to keel. It will be a bit thinner that it should be but it is what it is. After that I will finish sanding the surface with high grit and apply some surface protection before mounting the aprons.


 
The kit came with enough spare parts for one additional complete head and keel assembly so I'm toying with the idea of assembling that and comparing the results. Possibly using poly for one and shellac on the other, for science as it were.

I'm greatly enjoying the project so far, it delivers on creating a sense of building the model, rather than assembling it, which is what I was hoping for.

I have completed the rabbet strip and the false keel. Looking good so far and goes together easily.
 

Hi, and thanks ☺️
 
 

Work has finally started on cleaning, restoring and completing our model of the 'Duchess'. Unfortunately, the cleaning process has revealed some damage on the model - it looks like an object has been dropped across the well deck, with the gangway and the boat skids damaged (both removed at the moment) and damage to the topgallant railing on both sides - a bit of extra work I don't really need! Cleaning has also revealed some unfinished areas on the deck - holes where fittings have been removed and the holes left unplugged. I'll simply fill those as I work my way along the model completing it.  She also has all four lower masts fixed. I would have preferred them loose, as the lower fore stays of the after three masts secure to the deck right bedside the masts ahead of them, so it will be pretty tight getting the stays secured when i get that far.
 The images below show the model as she is now, except that by the time I left this afternoon more cleaning had been done.  I hope to complete the cleaning next time i'm at the museum and acrually start some work on her.
 
John
 
The model on her work table secured inside her display case - sorry about all the reflections, but there are large picture windows to the right.

 
The 'Duchess' out of her case and ready to work on.

 
Looking down on the decks. At this stage I'd finished cleaning the forecastle; down all but one cleaning run on the well deck and swept the dust off the poop.
 
 

 
 

Thank you John / Gary.
 
It is time to start what I anticipate to be a long planking job.
 
I am starting at the bulwark. I plan to plank the hull with mahogany planks of .062" thickness by nominally .220" wide. The plank widths will obviously vary to conform with the hull shape as progress is made. The bulwark will be made from a nominally 1" wide by  .032" thick birch ply which will be clad with .032" mahogany planks as per the attached sketch.

The bitch ply cannot follow the line of the bulwark exactly without shaping so it is being put on to sit slightly above the line of the capping rail. It will be cut back to the capping rail shape later in the build.
 
I started by glueing bits of scrap wood to the frames. These position / support the plywood during gluing. Each one cut back to  conform with the shape the plywood strip wants to take.

At this stage I also did the final sanding of the hull.

Then followed the slow process of fitting the plywood strakes. They were glued in position with a ample layer of PVA wood glue.
The strakes were held in place with plenty of notice board pins and elastic bands while the glue dried.

The plywood sheet wasn't long enough to extend the full length of the hull and the stern needed separate strips.


I didn't get one to the frames right and this was revealed "too late" by the application of the bulwark strakes. I will need to correct this before I plank the bulwarks. Stupidly having noticed the mistake I the repeated it on the other side. There is no fool like an old fool.

Applying the bulwark strake to the stern was quite challenging due to the extreme curvature.

Before attaching the ply to the stern I slotted it with a series of horizontal cuts.

With a bit of fiddling this enabled it to wrap around the stern.

A bit of sanding produced an acceptable shape for subsequent planking.

That all for now folks!
 

Just a bit clearer without all the clamps. 

What a difference some paint makes.   Bulwarks are painted however as usual, I will be applying many more thin coats over the next few weeks as I progress.   
 
Before and after...
 

 

Hello,
because today the summer ended we had here the last weeks and it rained again the whole day, I was busy at the yard. 
This is cutter No. 3 and I think now it works. The handles are a little too bulky, but when they are slimmer they would break. The spooks have a Ø of 1,6 mm!


Now are only 17+ spooks left

Belaying Foremast Jeers, Nave Line and Jeers
I spent some time looking at plan sheets 15 to 19 to check the various belaying points for the foremast rigging.  With reference to the Fore Mast (Aft) aka Main Topbowline Belay Pin Rack I ended up allocating the belaying assignments as shown in the photo below, noting I included the plan sheet belaying reference as an aide memoir.

I did note in Longridge's book the inner tricing line is shown belayed to one of the shroud cleats, so I might revert to that option when I get round to adding that rigging.
 
The next photo shows the Nave Line which is linked to the truss pendents and then dropped down to the deck via a single block attached to the rear of the fore platform.

The next photo shows the jeer blocks and sling

The next photo shows the fore mast (aft) belaying rack, after the various rigging ends had been belayed. The unused belaying points will be used for the inner tricing line and the outer & mid main course bunt lines.

The next two photos shows the truss pendants double block belaying arrangement.

In the next photo the jeer can also be seen being fed through the lower left hole in the bitt pin.

To allanyed: Material used for this part is boxwood. The part is made using a cnc milling machine, which enables precise milling from both sides. The procedure can be seen in the photos in post 8.
I continue with the construction of the wing transom.
     

With the port side also ready, the standards are made to height. A simple way to measure, is to use a wooden plank as a template.

 
A mold for the semi-circular gun ports. This is slightly conical, so up to the arrow and no further, otherwise the hole is too big.

Ready.

This is how far we have come, next is the last piece of planking on the bow.

Thanks for following

Hello,
the first results.  I think, tomorrow I have to make the cutter new. But it is an interesting material and cuts better then wood. 

Hello everyone, and thanks ☺️

Bulwark planking has finally been completed.  It really wasnt too bad.   You just have to keep plugging away and while making careful cuts between those ports.   All the cracks, gaps and dents were filled and sanded in preparation for painting.
 
The second layer of spirketting was added as well to finish off the bulwarks below the ports.  The top edge was softened or even rounded off.  I dont like to leave a hard edge here.  I used a 1/32" strip the same shape and size as the first layer.  I took the shapes from the plans because this wide 1/2" strip needs to be tapered like the first layer and shaped before you glue it on.  Every model will have slight differences so it will take some time to get it right.     Then the top of the sills were very carefully sanded and the cracks filled there as well.   I was careful not to sand into the top of the spirketting which would ruin the nice continuous run along its top edge.  You can see how bad port sills look now but the surfaces are now smooth and once painted will look really nice.  
 

Before I paint however I needed to add the 4 fixed blocks on the inside of the bulwarks.  On Winnie, I had used laser cut fixed blocks the same thickness as the planking.   You would glue them to the framing before planking and then plank around them.  I went a different way this time.  I just planked the entire interior bulwarks and then just drilled the fixed blocks through from the outboard side.   Then I sanded them clean and reamed them a bit with a round file.  To finish off these simulated fixed blocks I took a very small "V" gauge chisel and made a small simulated sheave slot between the two holes.   Since the bulwarks will be painted this seemed like the better way to go.  You can see the two fixed blocks below at the bow on the starboard side.  I used a sharpened pencil to color the sheave to simulate a more appropriate color.   
 
I have also hi-lighted in this photo how I planked the bow inboard.   I first glued a 1/4" x 3/64" strip down the inboard side below the bowsprit hole.   See the red arrow.  This allows me to push the planking strakes up against it which for me makes the process easier and neater.  There were two more strakes to add on each side of this to plank the bow inboard.   The cracks were filled and it was all sanded smooth for painting.
 

 
Here is a photo showing the aft portion of the bulwarks planked and ready for painting as well.  Note the two fixed blocks here as well. 
 

The one last thing you might notice is that I did in fact add the margin plank all along the bulwarks.  This is 1/4" wide and 3/64" thick.   It finishes it off neatly.   You dont have to add this yet but I find it easier to paint the bulwarks when I have a nice right angle to paint down to.   Hopefully I wont bugger it up and get red paint all over the margin planks.  But if you find it easier to paint the bulwarks first without making a mess then fell free to do it that way.
 
At the bow,  the margin planks on each side were cut from a 3/64" thick sheet of yellow cedar.   I used the plans and planking template provided.  I cut it out and used that paper template as a starting point.   After seeing what I needed to adjust for a tight fit, I transferred this shape to the wood sheet and cut it out with a sharp #11 blade.  If you look at the photo again you can see my first attempt which I discarded.  It didnt fit as nicely as I wanted.   So I made more adjustments and cut another.   You would be best served to buy a few extra 3/64" thick sheets of Yellow cedar for stuff like this.   Every model will be slightly different and you will want to go through this exercise as well for a good fit.   
 

 
I am ready now for painting....the bulwarks will be carefully painted red over the weekend.  Depending on my honey-do list.
 
 

I had the opportunity to take part in a European championship a few years ago with my 'Amarante' and, frankly, I realised that these types of competitions, at least in Europe, are completely distorted by rampant hypocrisy, inept judges who don't even know the basics of naval architecture, and verdicts already written before they even begin! By now, the most important federations (French, Belgian, German) snub these competitions while they are very committed to non-competitive events (such as the next international meeting to be held in Evian), leaving the competitions to the Eastern European countries whose participants for the most part are professional modellers who profit from their works, which are perfect because they are for the most part made in 3D technique and CNC machines, against which even the best manual artist cannot compete!
Therefore, at least until this stagnant situation can be changed, my Pegasus will not take medals! 🙂
 
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Hello,
the wheels. They kept me busy this week, and other things like my garden. But now they are in the raw ready. I think I must not explain the pictures

 
 
 
 and then that  So, go back to start, and try again
 
This time I made the beads before I cut the rim loose. The shipwright is pleased.
In the foreground you see some of the spokes. They are from mammoth ivory. So, if you hear nothing from me the next weeks, I'm busy or I had thrown it all away. I hope not.

 

Installation of the foreyard to fore mast
Following on from yesterday's post today I was able to install the foreyard to the foremast.
 
Before fitting the foreyard, and as can be seen in the next photo, I was able to redo the truss pendants so their respective thimbles were correctly positioned, as indicated by the yellow arrow. I then applied glue to the foreyard locating pin before it was added to the fore mast.

Slings
On a real ship once the foreyard has been raised to the required height it is held in place with a sling arrangement. A loop is wrapped around the central point of the foreyard with a thimble on the free end. A second longer loop is wrapped around the mast cap with a thimble on the free end. The two thimbles are then linked together. In the next photo I have added the rigging between the two thimbles, as indicated by the yellow arrow.

Jeers
Operationally the foreyard is hoisted up the foreyard using the jeers. Two double blocks are located on the foreyard, each situated either side of the foremast. Two more triple blocks are seized to the figure of 8 wrapping around the foremast (above the platform) and they hang down, so they are positioned below the platform but above the foreyard position. The rigging between these blocks then allows the yard to be lifted up in position. In the photo below I have added the inter-block rigging, as indicated by the yellow arrow. The free end(s) are ready to be belayed to the deck using a block and tackle arrangement.

Truss Pendants
Once the yard has been hoisted, using the jeer block and tackles, and held in place with the sling, truss pendant are used to keep the yard in place with the mast. There are two truss pendant, located either side of the fore mast. Each truss pendant is looped around the foreyard and has a thimble. With the foreyard in position the each end of the truss pendants are placed behind the mast and is then feed through the other truss pendants thimble before they are belayed to the deck via a block and tackle arrangement. In the photo below you can seen one of the truss pendants has been fed through the other truss pendants thimble and is ready to be belayed via the block and tackle (yellow arrow).

 Nave Line
The nave line holds the truss pendants in place. A 3mm single block is located on the underside of the platform, centrally on the rear crosstree. The thread that passes through this block has a thimble on one end and the other end is belayed to the deck. A separate length of thread is passed through the thimble and each end of this thread has a thimble. Each truss pendant is fed through their respective nave thimbles, noting this has to be done before the truss pendants are fed through their respective thimbles of the foreyard. The nave line arrangement is shown in the next photo, noting the free end has not been belayed.

To conclude this post I have added a couple of photo's of the Indy with the foreyard in place.

Congrats B.E.
both models are masterly built, and eyecandy museum quality to look at
 
Nils

Superb photo's Maurice,a credit to your skills. I look forward to your next little masterwork.
 
Dave