CharlieZardoz

Hello again! Yesterday I had a sick day, so I got the whole day to build! You won't believe how much progress you can make when you have the whole day to work! I built the fairleads, splash rails, chain plates and deadeyes, belaying pins with rails, and some more eyebolts! The splash rails were fairly simple. I took them off of the plans and painted them. The fairleads were made from Manila folder and wire. The chain plates took the most time. I cut brass strips to the correct lengths, bent and shaped the hooks, drilled the holes, and cleaned them over a candle flame. The hole drilling was a bit more involving, as I broke the drill bit that was the correct diameter . I just used the next size down and drove a pin through each individual hole, widening it to the right dimensions. I painted them, and painted the pins that hold them on the hull. The deadeyes are held on by a thin black line that's kookier on the hook of the chain plate, threaded through the cap rail, and tightened around the deadeye. The line is held in place with ca. The belaying pins were painted at the head first, then glued in to the cap rail. After they were in the cap rail, they were painted on the lower half. The paint is only on the visible side, so it shouldn't rub off during rigging. None of these items were made completely perfectly, but I chose some of the more appealing photos . Though it isn't perfect, I am still happy with it. Plus, there isn't much I can change now, so why worry about it? Anyway, here are the pictures.
 




 


 
I forgot. I also drilled the mast holes and have nearly finished the launching ways. Until next time!

Hello again! Thanks for all the comments! I made and attached the cleats. I sanded them, drilled a hole on the center, inserted a wire, cut them to size, painted them, and glued them to the bulwarks. Next up will be eye bolts and hawse pipes.




Until next time!

Elijah, What I have done in the past is use 1/16X1/16 strips of wood as battens to line my hulls.  They are sturdy and you can adjust them until you are happy with the result.  I would then take my measurements near the middle of the hull and decide on how mwny planks per baten.  Using a compass I would make a mark on some manila folder and shpe it to fit.  Then the next plank.  I would start out with 5per batten then three etc.  Ideally the last plank would be a perfect fit. 
David B

The keel and sternpost are being installed. The sternpost was already installed, but the keel is glueing. The last thing to glue is the stempost. Maybe I will be able to glue it Wednesday. I guess it is time to start the rudder, deck carving, bulwark thinning, and planking!



Until next time!

I finished the stempost! Now to the keel and sternpost!

Until next time! Sometime soon hopefully!

Aaaaaaannnnnd, Tada! I did it! Finally! That took a while! Wow, that's probably the largest single step in the build so far! I accidently made the area to support the keel and sternpost a but too thin, but I will fix that after I fit the keel on. That way it will be flush with the hull. I have a little more sanding to do on the stem post before it is done. After the keel installation is deck carving, as well as the indent in the bulwarks. Then probably scupper carving, bowsprit slot, and hull planking! I have a lot to do!





Before anything else, bedtime! Until next time!

Please share pictures of her with us!

First, let me take this opportunity to wish all of you the happiest of holiday seasons and a New Year filled with good health and modelling.
 
Crowsfeet have always been one of my least favorite tasks. When faced with doing them, I look to find other things to do. In that spirit, I started work on the topmasts. About midway through, I kicked myself and decided that now was the time to do the crowsfeet. Thus, this update is about crowsfeet and not topmasts.
 
The euphroe blocks are made from pear strip (I just happened to have a piece that seemed exactly the right size). The tackle blocks are Syren 3mm and all of the line is Syren .008", which is correct for size according to AOTS. The problem is always the same: how to achieve tension on the crowsfeet without distorting the stay to which they are attached. If you're expecting that I've come up with some magical solution, you're in for a disappointment. Trial and error, pull here, tighten there, have once again been my solution. The result has not been entirely satisfactory, but seems to be the best that I'm likely to achieve. You can judge for yourself from the photos.
 
Bob

And that's about it. I added enough to make the joint perfectly smooth no way of telling there was a piece added. I will do the same for the bow piece shortly. Once you think of wood as clay sculpting, you can add and subtract as much as you want. And fingers of course always work best!

Also you should pick up the Anatomy of the ship book for Beagle and that has very accurate detailing. You may also want to research Cherokee class brig sloops there were tons of them and a few of them might have had images of them recorded. Like for example this is the figurehead of the HMS Forrester while not a beagle shows the size and placement of the bust 

After finishing some other projects I finally managed to get back to brig Mercury . 

I suppose it was to help the ships appear more like menacing warships since the US fleet was so much smaller than the British or French the idea of making our small fleet look more imposing must have been a factor. I mean the Continental navy was comprised largely of sloops and galleys, then we upgraded to schooners then brigs then sloops, building what was essentially affordable with a few superships scattered about. Regarding Enterprize I imagine she must have looked something like Prince De Neufchatel by the time of 1815-1820 after all her rebuilds. Could be wrong on that but with so many possible changes I could imagine the two might have looked similar.

Ah yes there it is! I understand now the schooner rig isn't immediately apparent of course but that makes sense now seeing this list. I guess in the same way the brig waned in usefulness after the 1830s the schooner was even less utilized as the sloop of war and steam ships became the backbone of the navy. So did this Boxer class remain schooners their entire career? Also Grampus is such a lovely looking schooner and some of these others I'm reading about right now never noticed them before. Cool stuff.

Hmm, I'm not sure but the ship draught I am inquiring about is this one, the Boxer 1831 Enterprise and Experiment which doesn't look like the 16 gun brig to my eyes. Actually I think it is similar to the "brigantine based on Dolphin" but can't be that one since it's from 1835, but like an improved version or some sort yes?

Talos has there been any progress on the plan for John Adams after sloop of war conversion?
 
And wow look at those sloops! Were some of those conjectural brigs used? I don't see Boxer among those listed.

Yeah I imagine it's matter of knowing builders inclinations, taking known dimensions and then knowing what was the fashion of the time and putting it all together. Canney also suggests the plan might also be of Merrimack or at the very least a very similar example which with a bit of imagination could come together as a nice model. Talos I'd love to see the brings lined up, specifically a lot of the ones from 1830 onwards when brigs became less of a staple in the fleet, so Boxer, Perry and Lawrence for examples. I've been looking at those old Bluejacket kits that exist of Boxer and Perry one day I'd like to build those so finding those ships of particular interest at the moment.
 
So that said I suppose I should ask what were the identifiable traits to a Fox plan or a Humphrey's plan? Or Hackett or Griece? I imagine there is a design evolution that each follow on their own way (of course some of them were specific to the time they lived) but that'd actually be pretty cool to see how the plans from each builder evolved over the years and what each builder brought to style and structure (sleek or bulky lines, more/less traditional). Interesting stuff!

And that's about it. I added enough to make the joint perfectly smooth no way of telling there was a piece added. I will do the same for the bow piece shortly. Once you think of wood as clay sculpting, you can add and subtract as much as you want. And fingers of course always work best!

For the record I've been using two types of wood filler, the left one is a white powder and dries very hard, good for providing strength when adding to the wood. The second is a soft filler using wood fibers and good for shaping and sanding.
 
Regarding glue I've come to prefer the instacure for the thin pieces. Water based glues will take a thin strip and warp it the same way one does when plank bending. Which in the case of this process is not desirable. That said, watch out the stuff dries fast with little time for resetting!

Basic approach was to take a thin veneer sheet of basswood and then sand to create a flat wedge. Glue it on then shape it to become part of the hull.

Ok guys so here's what I've been up to. Having to make minor corrections to the hull before the planking arrives. So this was my approach, cut out two side profiles one with the keel and one without to fit the hull in. The deck is the dotted line so I made sure to cut the top following that shape exactly. As you can see the bow and stern both need to be built up a bit plus there is a small bulge towards the bow that needs sanding. Easy fixes!

Ill be updating soon and thank you for the kind words same to you and yours as well. For the moment Im doing minor hull corrections for the 30 ton ship as the bow and stern need to be built up a bit (sagging a bit at the ends) then finalizing the shape very minor stuff until the planking arrives. Crown Timbreyard offers offwhite holly strips which I think look more natural as decking material so excited to do my first plank work and learn from it

Thanks Mark! So far so good he's out of ICU but he has a lot of recovering to do. It's been quite a crazy year for sure.

And that's about it. I added enough to make the joint perfectly smooth no way of telling there was a piece added. I will do the same for the bow piece shortly. Once you think of wood as clay sculpting, you can add and subtract as much as you want. And fingers of course always work best!

Basic approach was to take a thin veneer sheet of basswood and then sand to create a flat wedge. Glue it on then shape it to become part of the hull.

Looks like your methods work well and have provided me with some food for thought.