NMBROOK

Life has been extremely busy since my last update but, I have still managed to find time to work on la Couronne. The planking on the port side has been moving along smoothly as I have stuck to the same plan that I used on the starboard. This is also why I have fewer progress pictures as it is the same as the last ones just opposite side. I'm hoping another week and I will be looking to finish sanding and prepare it for finishing. I'm planning on just a satin polyurethane but I am open to suggestions if someone has something they like better. I don't want any kind of shine so no semi-gloss or glossy finishes just something to protect and bring out the color in the wood. 
 
Also with the exterior hull planking wrapping up I have begun to think about the interior planking that I will need to do as well as building all the canons. There is a lot of detail work I'm wanting to put in on the interior decks and not as much information on these spaces so a lot of it will be guess work based on what I have and similar ships of the era. This will also begin the tying of a thousand knots as my wife calls it with the installation of the canons. Granted, those are still weeks out but I find it best to start planning the process early so I don't forget anything that needs to be there. 
 
Anyway, I hope you enjoy the small update. There should be a bigger one coming soon!  

Continually amazed by your attention to detail Michael You do know the museum model is 1/10 and you are working at 1/75
 
Have you tried annealing the brass eyelets first?they will be work hardened from the stamping process.This should stop the tearing
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Mates,
 
Thanks for your thoughts. It does appear as if many of us have had table-top shipwrecks. Ouch !.
 
J - brilliant idea, thanks. I will follow through with this idea. There is a foam store nearby, I will fashion fit a large piece that will fit this project. Thanks for the post- I would have never thought of this type of cradle concept.
 
Cheers
 
Michael

Hi Mates,
 
Thanks for your thoughts and "clicks".
So it is "repaired" - Not B. Hills plastic surgery results (;-(. There are scars), but much cheaper ha ha.What did I learn?
 
Not to install parts prematurely. Big learning lesson for me. Platform (crowsnest) will stay in the tray for a while. Now, happily, on to the mainmast.
 
Again thanks so much Mates for your support, and encouraging posts.
 
 
Michael

Mates,
 
Thanks for all of your kind "clicks". It's been a bit of a learning experience for me to move forward - at a "slow boat to china" progress. As I mentioned - now for mainmast construction. This bit will be new, but looking forward to the challenge. I will post my interpretations.
 
PS: igorsr you are also so kind (:-)
 
Cheers,
 
Michael

Thanks Don, if I understand you correctly that seems like the way to go.
 
I am wondering about a slight variation to your idea that might take less skill and precision. Would it be better to plank the transom first to just proud of the underside of the hull planks, file off excess to be exactly flush with the bottom of the hull planks, then edge bend a strip around the whole deal? Same thing I guess just the other way around. I like the treenails idea too.
 
Best, Ian

Ok transom installed. Thanks again for the vision Don. With the dimensions the wrap around piece ended up paper thin from the transom view, so no treenails for this baby. In any case I'm happy with the result.
 





 
Ian

So sorry to hear of your drama Michael,but glad to see you are already on the way with the repairs,as they say 'what doesn't break us,only makes us stronger'
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Hi Mates,
 
Thanks for your thoughts regarding this damage.
 
Igorsr - Thanks so much for your interest in following this build log. Very kind of you, 
 
Update on the crashed platform;
 
Decided to (this time [hindsight]) use my Proxxon Vice to complete the fix.
 
FYI – This is the second time this ship has fallen sideways. The first time was – way back when – so no damage. BUT the ship was attached to the Proxxon Vice with suction pad. The vacuum was from the table to the vice. That did NOT work out. Vacuum suction escaped and ship with vice attached fell sideways about ten minutes later. Hmmmm.
 
Purchased a piece of glass. NOW when I suction lock the vice, I first clean the glass, then clean the rubber bottom of the vice,  then rotate the suction lever. The vice has NOT lost its suction since.
PS: 2 Great addition to my tools! (vice)
----------------------------------
Still today I got so paranoid used a pillow in case ha ha,
 
In any case damage worse than I thought. Turns out the ring had two broken bits, not just one.
 
Managed to remove the platform using a flat rectangular Exacto blade twisting sideways between the platform and its lower braces.
 
Now I will correctly, and much more peacefully, rebuild the broken bits as well as replacing the tiny wrap around rings. 
 
I was hoping to move forward and start work on the main mast that I hope to articulate as closely as I can to the original. I have enjoyed thinking about this segway into a new area. Wood and I are better friends (;-) So a slight delay.
 
Again Mates thanks for dropping by the shipyard, always a pleasure to have you as guests.
 
Regards,
 
Michael

 
 
 
 
 
 

Work on Granado has now begun. As always, the initial work is fairly routine and a "just get through it" process. The ply framing pieces are good, although the slots are a little loose. This was easily corrected by my usual practice of overdoing bracing of the bulkheads with stripwood pieces. I also added pieces to box the mast holes.
 
The point of interest to me was that I decided to plank the lower hull in holly. As a result, I needed to do the stem and keel in holly, as well. The stem was cut from holly sheet, using the kit part as a template. The keel was cut from holly strip, with a boxwood strip added for a false keel, as shown in AOTS.
 
Now it's on to the dreaded gunport strips.
 
Bob

Thanks to everyone for visiting my build log. I really appreciate your comments and support.
 
Bill

Hi folks,
 
I've finally finished the hull planking on the cat.
 
I should mention that I used the reference for the build of the real life cat that Michael Mott provided (http://www.woodboatbuilder.com/pages/maid-planking.html) to determine the lie and number of planks to use. That is one sweet boat.
 
My biggest challenge was figuring out a solid clamping system, something I wasn't entirely successful with. The pictures are after a coarse sand. I am going to buy some walnut stain to try to mute the contrast between the planks.
 
Clamping system:

 
I added thin cheeks to the stem so that I could make a rabbet for the planks. I used a notch system on the planks so that they would fit into the rather narrow rabbet. Worked ok.



 
Planking completed:



 
Best, Ian

Hi all,

I thought I'd start a build log for this little Cape Cod Catboat that the Admiral gave me for Christmas.

I am following Marcus's excellent build log (http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/11964-cape-cod-catboat-by-marcus-botanicus-–-bluejacket-–-scale-¾”1’/#entry362573). I am using my own milled wood: walnut for the hull and deck, Padauk for the pilot house area, maple for the deck planks. I am not painting. I will not spend time repeating aspects of the kit and instructions as Marcus has already covered that. Except to say that you must be very careful lining things up, thinking things through and reading between the lines of the instruction book. I'll point out a few areas.
 
A am still very much a novice builder and I hope that people will feel free to make suggestions to improve the model and to point out mistakes or help me head off mistakes.

Anyway, on to the pictures:

Box cover of Cape Cod Catboat:


Centerbox construction, keel stringer assembly. Frame 2 is very delicate (they all are) but the instructions and plans could have perhaps done a better job of showing exactly where the keel stringer is to be located and therefore the frame location. In fact the temporary frame horizontal must butt against the top of the centerboard box. That may have been obvious to others but not me.





Deck assembly:





Filler blocks and fairing. Instead of using the kit supplied garboard strake (almost half the width of the hull, if you can call that a strake) and the limited planking and spackling approach I have opted to use balsa filler blocks between all the frames and basswood filler blocks at the bow and stern where plank torque and attachment are more important than just shaping. This took me about two days including the fairing so I don't consider that too much of a penalty.






Defining Hull plank run bands: I have added plank run bands, intended to contain four, 5mm planks each at their widest point. I located the widest point on the hull using string measurement then divided that into 6 equal horizontal bands. I then divided the stern and the bow into 6 narrower equal horizontal bands. The trick was to find the correct run of one or two of the bands and the rest followed.





The next step will be to mark out the port side then use my proportional dividers to define each individual plank. Does anyone see anything I may have overlooked or done wrong?

Thanks for looking in,

Best, Ian

Wonderful work Igor   The model looks like that of Roland Vlahovic
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Excellent work Daniel I feel a special order for my Nuestra Senora coming in the future,for my model though,I would be the odd one out and choose D
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

So sorry to hear of your drama Michael,but glad to see you are already on the way with the repairs,as they say 'what doesn't break us,only makes us stronger'
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Of course Nigel, it will be no problem
 
To the Don's question-below is picture with the front side and back side after different time of sublimation in thermal press. It seems to be very similar color to the front side after the 8minutes. There is only one little problem, with increasing of time the small details (like skripts on these flags) are little more smudged. 
On the second picture is shown the flag after cutting from the sheet.
Best regards
Daniel

The first of the six sculptures is shown in this picture. They represented Consilium, that is Counsell; Cura, that is Care; Conamen, that is Industry; Vis which implied force; Virtus or Virtue; and Victoria, that is Victory. This description of the figures is taken from the text of "A True Description of His Majesty's Royall Ship" by Thomas Heywood written in 1638.
 

 
Two of the six sculptures are completed and mounted on the pedestals. Note the bottom of each sculpture forms the top of the pedestal.
 

 
A side view of the new sculptures.
 

 
 
More to follow.............

Thank you ! 
 
Yes , Nigel , It's Roland's model 

Wonderful work Igor   The model looks like that of Roland Vlahovic
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

So sorry to hear of your drama Michael,but glad to see you are already on the way with the repairs,as they say 'what doesn't break us,only makes us stronger'
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

So sorry to hear of your drama Michael,but glad to see you are already on the way with the repairs,as they say 'what doesn't break us,only makes us stronger'
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Wonderful work Igor   The model looks like that of Roland Vlahovic
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Excellent work Daniel I feel a special order for my Nuestra Senora coming in the future,for my model though,I would be the odd one out and choose D
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Excellent work Daniel I feel a special order for my Nuestra Senora coming in the future,for my model though,I would be the odd one out and choose D
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel