Cathead

I recently returned from a trip to the US East Coast, which included a visit to the Elizabeth II, a working replica ship of the late 16th century, of the kind that would have carried the failed Roanoke colonists from England. Here she is, from the official site:
 
 

 
There are many photos available online if you search the name, and if you are at all capable of visiting, it is a fantastic experience. They have trained re-enactors on board who compromise the actual sailing crew when they take her out of port, and I had a delightful time poking around every nook and cranny of the ship. Also took a number of photos myself, which could be shared if you're looking for a specific detail (and I got it in the camera). She is berthed in Manteo, NC.

And so, wi’ his sails now lashed using Chuck’s ropes, and the newly installed rigging works, it doest thus becometh necessary to re-apply some o’ the bird poopin’s.
“I shall also be a-touchin’-up me parrels with a little dry-brushin’,” he were to mention, “They just be too shiny fer me liking.”
 
Now, so very, very close to bein’ done wi’ his Launch, CaptainSteve didst haveth this to say …
“But a-forehand, there be the matter o’ a little surprise I didst promise ye”, he were to mention.
 
For Our Hero were to be lookin’ at his boat just the other day, and were to be somewhat displeased wi’ the fall o’ the sail cloth.
 
“Thusly, I didst settle upon-eth an idea,” he stated, somewhat ominously. “This ‘ere test upon a spare piece o’ raw sail-cloth may giveth you some idea o’ what I be thinkin’.”

 
"I were to liberally paint some Fray-Check onto the test-piece, and thereupon didst tie-eth it to me pedestal fan," he said.
Thence, Our Hero did turn the fan on, and head out the door to his local for a pint and a counter lunch. Upon his return, the test-piece were to be lookin' like this ...

 
For, verily, Our Hero hath decided that he doth prefer the look o’ billowing sails …

 
“And, so,” he were to close, “here be me boat as she doth stand currently.”

 

3 out of 4 for the steamer, interesting. I suppose it is the most unusual. I have a month to think on it. If I did do that, I would be very tempted to build all the internal framing, too, as I have books & diagrams showing details of such things drawn from excavated wrecks, leaving it open like an Admiralty model on one side. This could occupy me for years!
 
Thank you all for the likes and input, I will have fun revisiting all of your ongoing projects when I return.

3 out of 4 for the steamer, interesting. I suppose it is the most unusual. I have a month to think on it. If I did do that, I would be very tempted to build all the internal framing, too, as I have books & diagrams showing details of such things drawn from excavated wrecks, leaving it open like an Admiralty model on one side. This could occupy me for years!
 
Thank you all for the likes and input, I will have fun revisiting all of your ongoing projects when I return.

3 out of 4 for the steamer, interesting. I suppose it is the most unusual. I have a month to think on it. If I did do that, I would be very tempted to build all the internal framing, too, as I have books & diagrams showing details of such things drawn from excavated wrecks, leaving it open like an Admiralty model on one side. This could occupy me for years!
 
Thank you all for the likes and input, I will have fun revisiting all of your ongoing projects when I return.

And, the completed model:
 

 
It does not have the beautiful detail of others' work, but it meets my criteria of a displayable out-of-the-box build that will look very nice on our bookshelves (preferably near my actual Bounty).
 

 
This was great fun, taking about 50 hours of work based on my notes. I am greatly appreciative of all who followed and commented on the project, helping me through a rough spot, inspiring & teaching me new things even when I ended up following a different course than suggested. 
 

 
Now my attention turns to what comes next. I will be away and otherwise very busy with work for the next month, in fact I will likely not be on MSW at all until April, starting around the end of this week. So I will sadly miss (at least for now) the ongoing progress of others' launches.
 
But I do have an interesting choice for my next build. Here are three options I am considering:
 
1) Scratchbuild the Arabia, sidewheel steamer which sank on the Missouri River in 1856.
 

This was excavated recently and is the subject of a fascinating museum in Kansas City, Missouri, to which I have been many times. I live near the river, and this would be a fine companion to my first-ever ship build, the scratchbuilt sternwheeler shown in my signature
 
2) Scratchbuild the James Caird, the 22' lifeboat in which Ernest Shackleton and five other men navigated 800 miles of southern ocean, in winter, from the coast of Antarctica to South Georgia Island.

 
The voyage was undertaken to seek help for the remainder of his crew, stranded after their 1914 expedition ship was crushed by ice. I have read extensively on the subject, Mrs Cathead has even seen the real boat, and it would make a fine companion to my Bounty launch, another open boat used in a historic voyage of survival. This has the added interest that it seems a very rare model subject; I can find no other record of a scale model being built, although photographs and information are available.
 
3) Tackle a more complicated kit. I am particularly drawn to the Model Shipways Charles Morgan, as I am also fairly well-read regarding whaling and would enjoy diving deeper by building an actual ship. I was hoping to visit the real thing this spring as part of travels, but the weather in New England is making this look unlikely. It has the up- and down-side of being a very common build, and I am generally drawn to the uncommon (just look at my previous builds), but it would occupy me for some time and would be a known product with near-guaranteed success.
 
I would be interested in thoughts on these ideas, but if not, thank you for following!
 

And, the completed model:
 

 
It does not have the beautiful detail of others' work, but it meets my criteria of a displayable out-of-the-box build that will look very nice on our bookshelves (preferably near my actual Bounty).
 

 
This was great fun, taking about 50 hours of work based on my notes. I am greatly appreciative of all who followed and commented on the project, helping me through a rough spot, inspiring & teaching me new things even when I ended up following a different course than suggested. 
 

 
Now my attention turns to what comes next. I will be away and otherwise very busy with work for the next month, in fact I will likely not be on MSW at all until April, starting around the end of this week. So I will sadly miss (at least for now) the ongoing progress of others' launches.
 
But I do have an interesting choice for my next build. Here are three options I am considering:
 
1) Scratchbuild the Arabia, sidewheel steamer which sank on the Missouri River in 1856.
 

This was excavated recently and is the subject of a fascinating museum in Kansas City, Missouri, to which I have been many times. I live near the river, and this would be a fine companion to my first-ever ship build, the scratchbuilt sternwheeler shown in my signature
 
2) Scratchbuild the James Caird, the 22' lifeboat in which Ernest Shackleton and five other men navigated 800 miles of southern ocean, in winter, from the coast of Antarctica to South Georgia Island.

 
The voyage was undertaken to seek help for the remainder of his crew, stranded after their 1914 expedition ship was crushed by ice. I have read extensively on the subject, Mrs Cathead has even seen the real boat, and it would make a fine companion to my Bounty launch, another open boat used in a historic voyage of survival. This has the added interest that it seems a very rare model subject; I can find no other record of a scale model being built, although photographs and information are available.
 
3) Tackle a more complicated kit. I am particularly drawn to the Model Shipways Charles Morgan, as I am also fairly well-read regarding whaling and would enjoy diving deeper by building an actual ship. I was hoping to visit the real thing this spring as part of travels, but the weather in New England is making this look unlikely. It has the up- and down-side of being a very common build, and I am generally drawn to the uncommon (just look at my previous builds), but it would occupy me for some time and would be a known product with near-guaranteed success.
 
I would be interested in thoughts on these ideas, but if not, thank you for following!
 

The launch is nearing completion. I have done all the rigging, but kept it all tied only, no glue, so that I can make adjustments later if desired. This also necessitated some careful line coiling on the model to keep the long ends orderly in case I need them later. Below, you see my  methods for making rope coils. 
 

 
For coils hung from belaying pins, I made a small jig of dowels and scrap wood. This can sit right on the thwart next to the line being coiled, minimizing uncoiled excess. Clamping it in place with a reversed clothespin helps. The excess line is simply wound around the pegs, then lashed across the middle with a series of clove hitches. Fine tweezers with angled tips made this fairly straightforward. Then the coil was eased off the jig and hung in place. As many tended to stick out sideways, I hung small metal clamps from the bottom of each coil and let them dangle overnight; this stretched the coil to a more realistic orientation. I could have brushed glue on these while still on the jig, to keep them especially orderly, but I want them loose for now. So the price of that is a few disorderly coils, but that is acceptable to me.
 
For several Flemish coils, I laid a piece of masking tape sticky-side-up on my work surface, then stuck another dowel peg on it. Then I wound the line carefully around the peg, using tweezers to gently nudge it into a tight coil. After a few turns, the dowel can be removed and fingers suffice for massaging the loops into place. The tape holds just strongly enough to keep the coil together. When at the desired size, I brushed some full-strength wood glue onto the coil and let dry, at which point it was easy to strip from the tape and lay on the deck. 
 

 
Here are examples of the finished coils in place, along with another detail shot of the rudder/tiller metalwork in better light than my last attempt.

Progress: the end is in sight!
 
The sails are sewed with a basic hem around the edges (thank you, Mrs Cathead!); nothing else will show in the finished furled form. I did lay a line within the foot seam, with loops at each end, to allow for attaching the clew and tack lines. I realize the real thing had rope sewn along the outer edge, instead of within the seam, but that is too much for me on this project. Furled, it is hard to tell the difference.
 
Below is one sail stained and hanging to dry. I used a cup of water, with drops of oak stain (the yellow color of my thwarts) and black model paint added until test swatches came out the way I wanted them. Then the sails were dipped in, swished around until evenly absorbed, and hung to dry. I did the same with long stretches of line, to darken the natural white down to a similar color; you can see these hanging to dry as well. In a wood-heated house, things dry very quickly! I did not bother ironing the sails as they will be furled anyway and the creases will not show.
 

 
The foresail is attached and mostly rigged, as shown below. I bound it to the yard, using a process I will illustrate when I do the mainsail later today, then carefully furled it and used lengths of line with reef knots to roughly bind it up. I encountered an unexpected quirk, when finding that the wider foot of the sail ended up with a long, odd-looking projection past the yard ends when furled. After some thought, I simply folded these extensions back under the yard and tucked them under the furling lines, as that seemed like something a tired crew might do (h/t/ Steve).
 
Despite intending to use Matt's advice to display the yard mostly vertical, the square lash I used to bind this assembly to the mast did not allow for this, but did allow for a cocked angle, which I find pleasing. So I just chose a height partially down the mast, high enough to show the interior but low enough not to unbalance the appearance of the model, and went with it. Clew and tack lines are belayed to pins. i have not yet added the foremast halyard (through the block at top of mast) as I needed to stain more line overnight. I also have not yet neatly coiled the extra line. But this progress approximates my final layout.
 

 
I have also finished my metalwork, attaching the tiller and simulating nailheads by nipping them off the nails and gluing the heads onto the strip before repainting. I think it looks well, and has the benefit of both sides looking the same (rather than a bent or nipped off nail on one side as the instructions say). The rudder swings nicely through about 150 degrees and I have had to be careful not to catch it on anything.
 
Left to do this weekend:
 
- Attach mainsail to yard, furl, and lash to mainmast. 
- Run both yard halyards through blocks and belay.
- Add stays to both masts.
- Trim and coil all lines.
 
Optional: I may or may not get to the details like chest & barrels. These can be done later and do not directly affect the display of the finished boat. 
 
Oh yes, I forgot: a significant reason for posting this now, before completion, is for any last feedback on the appearance of sails and such. Anything I should do different or that I have not thought of? I have not glued any rigging, only tied and lashed, so everything can be readjusted if necessary or desired.

And, the completed model:
 

 
It does not have the beautiful detail of others' work, but it meets my criteria of a displayable out-of-the-box build that will look very nice on our bookshelves (preferably near my actual Bounty).
 

 
This was great fun, taking about 50 hours of work based on my notes. I am greatly appreciative of all who followed and commented on the project, helping me through a rough spot, inspiring & teaching me new things even when I ended up following a different course than suggested. 
 

 
Now my attention turns to what comes next. I will be away and otherwise very busy with work for the next month, in fact I will likely not be on MSW at all until April, starting around the end of this week. So I will sadly miss (at least for now) the ongoing progress of others' launches.
 
But I do have an interesting choice for my next build. Here are three options I am considering:
 
1) Scratchbuild the Arabia, sidewheel steamer which sank on the Missouri River in 1856.
 

This was excavated recently and is the subject of a fascinating museum in Kansas City, Missouri, to which I have been many times. I live near the river, and this would be a fine companion to my first-ever ship build, the scratchbuilt sternwheeler shown in my signature
 
2) Scratchbuild the James Caird, the 22' lifeboat in which Ernest Shackleton and five other men navigated 800 miles of southern ocean, in winter, from the coast of Antarctica to South Georgia Island.

 
The voyage was undertaken to seek help for the remainder of his crew, stranded after their 1914 expedition ship was crushed by ice. I have read extensively on the subject, Mrs Cathead has even seen the real boat, and it would make a fine companion to my Bounty launch, another open boat used in a historic voyage of survival. This has the added interest that it seems a very rare model subject; I can find no other record of a scale model being built, although photographs and information are available.
 
3) Tackle a more complicated kit. I am particularly drawn to the Model Shipways Charles Morgan, as I am also fairly well-read regarding whaling and would enjoy diving deeper by building an actual ship. I was hoping to visit the real thing this spring as part of travels, but the weather in New England is making this look unlikely. It has the up- and down-side of being a very common build, and I am generally drawn to the uncommon (just look at my previous builds), but it would occupy me for some time and would be a known product with near-guaranteed success.
 
I would be interested in thoughts on these ideas, but if not, thank you for following!
 

And, the completed model:
 

 
It does not have the beautiful detail of others' work, but it meets my criteria of a displayable out-of-the-box build that will look very nice on our bookshelves (preferably near my actual Bounty).
 

 
This was great fun, taking about 50 hours of work based on my notes. I am greatly appreciative of all who followed and commented on the project, helping me through a rough spot, inspiring & teaching me new things even when I ended up following a different course than suggested. 
 

 
Now my attention turns to what comes next. I will be away and otherwise very busy with work for the next month, in fact I will likely not be on MSW at all until April, starting around the end of this week. So I will sadly miss (at least for now) the ongoing progress of others' launches.
 
But I do have an interesting choice for my next build. Here are three options I am considering:
 
1) Scratchbuild the Arabia, sidewheel steamer which sank on the Missouri River in 1856.
 

This was excavated recently and is the subject of a fascinating museum in Kansas City, Missouri, to which I have been many times. I live near the river, and this would be a fine companion to my first-ever ship build, the scratchbuilt sternwheeler shown in my signature
 
2) Scratchbuild the James Caird, the 22' lifeboat in which Ernest Shackleton and five other men navigated 800 miles of southern ocean, in winter, from the coast of Antarctica to South Georgia Island.

 
The voyage was undertaken to seek help for the remainder of his crew, stranded after their 1914 expedition ship was crushed by ice. I have read extensively on the subject, Mrs Cathead has even seen the real boat, and it would make a fine companion to my Bounty launch, another open boat used in a historic voyage of survival. This has the added interest that it seems a very rare model subject; I can find no other record of a scale model being built, although photographs and information are available.
 
3) Tackle a more complicated kit. I am particularly drawn to the Model Shipways Charles Morgan, as I am also fairly well-read regarding whaling and would enjoy diving deeper by building an actual ship. I was hoping to visit the real thing this spring as part of travels, but the weather in New England is making this look unlikely. It has the up- and down-side of being a very common build, and I am generally drawn to the uncommon (just look at my previous builds), but it would occupy me for some time and would be a known product with near-guaranteed success.
 
I would be interested in thoughts on these ideas, but if not, thank you for following!
 

Matt,
 
Congratulations on a fantastic launch. It was a joy to follow. 

And, the completed model:
 

 
It does not have the beautiful detail of others' work, but it meets my criteria of a displayable out-of-the-box build that will look very nice on our bookshelves (preferably near my actual Bounty).
 

 
This was great fun, taking about 50 hours of work based on my notes. I am greatly appreciative of all who followed and commented on the project, helping me through a rough spot, inspiring & teaching me new things even when I ended up following a different course than suggested. 
 

 
Now my attention turns to what comes next. I will be away and otherwise very busy with work for the next month, in fact I will likely not be on MSW at all until April, starting around the end of this week. So I will sadly miss (at least for now) the ongoing progress of others' launches.
 
But I do have an interesting choice for my next build. Here are three options I am considering:
 
1) Scratchbuild the Arabia, sidewheel steamer which sank on the Missouri River in 1856.
 

This was excavated recently and is the subject of a fascinating museum in Kansas City, Missouri, to which I have been many times. I live near the river, and this would be a fine companion to my first-ever ship build, the scratchbuilt sternwheeler shown in my signature
 
2) Scratchbuild the James Caird, the 22' lifeboat in which Ernest Shackleton and five other men navigated 800 miles of southern ocean, in winter, from the coast of Antarctica to South Georgia Island.

 
The voyage was undertaken to seek help for the remainder of his crew, stranded after their 1914 expedition ship was crushed by ice. I have read extensively on the subject, Mrs Cathead has even seen the real boat, and it would make a fine companion to my Bounty launch, another open boat used in a historic voyage of survival. This has the added interest that it seems a very rare model subject; I can find no other record of a scale model being built, although photographs and information are available.
 
3) Tackle a more complicated kit. I am particularly drawn to the Model Shipways Charles Morgan, as I am also fairly well-read regarding whaling and would enjoy diving deeper by building an actual ship. I was hoping to visit the real thing this spring as part of travels, but the weather in New England is making this look unlikely. It has the up- and down-side of being a very common build, and I am generally drawn to the uncommon (just look at my previous builds), but it would occupy me for some time and would be a known product with near-guaranteed success.
 
I would be interested in thoughts on these ideas, but if not, thank you for following!
 

And, the completed model:
 

 
It does not have the beautiful detail of others' work, but it meets my criteria of a displayable out-of-the-box build that will look very nice on our bookshelves (preferably near my actual Bounty).
 

 
This was great fun, taking about 50 hours of work based on my notes. I am greatly appreciative of all who followed and commented on the project, helping me through a rough spot, inspiring & teaching me new things even when I ended up following a different course than suggested. 
 

 
Now my attention turns to what comes next. I will be away and otherwise very busy with work for the next month, in fact I will likely not be on MSW at all until April, starting around the end of this week. So I will sadly miss (at least for now) the ongoing progress of others' launches.
 
But I do have an interesting choice for my next build. Here are three options I am considering:
 
1) Scratchbuild the Arabia, sidewheel steamer which sank on the Missouri River in 1856.
 

This was excavated recently and is the subject of a fascinating museum in Kansas City, Missouri, to which I have been many times. I live near the river, and this would be a fine companion to my first-ever ship build, the scratchbuilt sternwheeler shown in my signature
 
2) Scratchbuild the James Caird, the 22' lifeboat in which Ernest Shackleton and five other men navigated 800 miles of southern ocean, in winter, from the coast of Antarctica to South Georgia Island.

 
The voyage was undertaken to seek help for the remainder of his crew, stranded after their 1914 expedition ship was crushed by ice. I have read extensively on the subject, Mrs Cathead has even seen the real boat, and it would make a fine companion to my Bounty launch, another open boat used in a historic voyage of survival. This has the added interest that it seems a very rare model subject; I can find no other record of a scale model being built, although photographs and information are available.
 
3) Tackle a more complicated kit. I am particularly drawn to the Model Shipways Charles Morgan, as I am also fairly well-read regarding whaling and would enjoy diving deeper by building an actual ship. I was hoping to visit the real thing this spring as part of travels, but the weather in New England is making this look unlikely. It has the up- and down-side of being a very common build, and I am generally drawn to the uncommon (just look at my previous builds), but it would occupy me for some time and would be a known product with near-guaranteed success.
 
I would be interested in thoughts on these ideas, but if not, thank you for following!
 

The launch is nearing completion. I have done all the rigging, but kept it all tied only, no glue, so that I can make adjustments later if desired. This also necessitated some careful line coiling on the model to keep the long ends orderly in case I need them later. Below, you see my  methods for making rope coils. 
 

 
For coils hung from belaying pins, I made a small jig of dowels and scrap wood. This can sit right on the thwart next to the line being coiled, minimizing uncoiled excess. Clamping it in place with a reversed clothespin helps. The excess line is simply wound around the pegs, then lashed across the middle with a series of clove hitches. Fine tweezers with angled tips made this fairly straightforward. Then the coil was eased off the jig and hung in place. As many tended to stick out sideways, I hung small metal clamps from the bottom of each coil and let them dangle overnight; this stretched the coil to a more realistic orientation. I could have brushed glue on these while still on the jig, to keep them especially orderly, but I want them loose for now. So the price of that is a few disorderly coils, but that is acceptable to me.
 
For several Flemish coils, I laid a piece of masking tape sticky-side-up on my work surface, then stuck another dowel peg on it. Then I wound the line carefully around the peg, using tweezers to gently nudge it into a tight coil. After a few turns, the dowel can be removed and fingers suffice for massaging the loops into place. The tape holds just strongly enough to keep the coil together. When at the desired size, I brushed some full-strength wood glue onto the coil and let dry, at which point it was easy to strip from the tape and lay on the deck. 
 

 
Here are examples of the finished coils in place, along with another detail shot of the rudder/tiller metalwork in better light than my last attempt.

The launch is nearing completion. I have done all the rigging, but kept it all tied only, no glue, so that I can make adjustments later if desired. This also necessitated some careful line coiling on the model to keep the long ends orderly in case I need them later. Below, you see my  methods for making rope coils. 
 

 
For coils hung from belaying pins, I made a small jig of dowels and scrap wood. This can sit right on the thwart next to the line being coiled, minimizing uncoiled excess. Clamping it in place with a reversed clothespin helps. The excess line is simply wound around the pegs, then lashed across the middle with a series of clove hitches. Fine tweezers with angled tips made this fairly straightforward. Then the coil was eased off the jig and hung in place. As many tended to stick out sideways, I hung small metal clamps from the bottom of each coil and let them dangle overnight; this stretched the coil to a more realistic orientation. I could have brushed glue on these while still on the jig, to keep them especially orderly, but I want them loose for now. So the price of that is a few disorderly coils, but that is acceptable to me.
 
For several Flemish coils, I laid a piece of masking tape sticky-side-up on my work surface, then stuck another dowel peg on it. Then I wound the line carefully around the peg, using tweezers to gently nudge it into a tight coil. After a few turns, the dowel can be removed and fingers suffice for massaging the loops into place. The tape holds just strongly enough to keep the coil together. When at the desired size, I brushed some full-strength wood glue onto the coil and let dry, at which point it was easy to strip from the tape and lay on the deck. 
 

 
Here are examples of the finished coils in place, along with another detail shot of the rudder/tiller metalwork in better light than my last attempt.

The launch is nearing completion. I have done all the rigging, but kept it all tied only, no glue, so that I can make adjustments later if desired. This also necessitated some careful line coiling on the model to keep the long ends orderly in case I need them later. Below, you see my  methods for making rope coils. 
 

 
For coils hung from belaying pins, I made a small jig of dowels and scrap wood. This can sit right on the thwart next to the line being coiled, minimizing uncoiled excess. Clamping it in place with a reversed clothespin helps. The excess line is simply wound around the pegs, then lashed across the middle with a series of clove hitches. Fine tweezers with angled tips made this fairly straightforward. Then the coil was eased off the jig and hung in place. As many tended to stick out sideways, I hung small metal clamps from the bottom of each coil and let them dangle overnight; this stretched the coil to a more realistic orientation. I could have brushed glue on these while still on the jig, to keep them especially orderly, but I want them loose for now. So the price of that is a few disorderly coils, but that is acceptable to me.
 
For several Flemish coils, I laid a piece of masking tape sticky-side-up on my work surface, then stuck another dowel peg on it. Then I wound the line carefully around the peg, using tweezers to gently nudge it into a tight coil. After a few turns, the dowel can be removed and fingers suffice for massaging the loops into place. The tape holds just strongly enough to keep the coil together. When at the desired size, I brushed some full-strength wood glue onto the coil and let dry, at which point it was easy to strip from the tape and lay on the deck. 
 

 
Here are examples of the finished coils in place, along with another detail shot of the rudder/tiller metalwork in better light than my last attempt.

The launch is nearing completion. I have done all the rigging, but kept it all tied only, no glue, so that I can make adjustments later if desired. This also necessitated some careful line coiling on the model to keep the long ends orderly in case I need them later. Below, you see my  methods for making rope coils. 
 

 
For coils hung from belaying pins, I made a small jig of dowels and scrap wood. This can sit right on the thwart next to the line being coiled, minimizing uncoiled excess. Clamping it in place with a reversed clothespin helps. The excess line is simply wound around the pegs, then lashed across the middle with a series of clove hitches. Fine tweezers with angled tips made this fairly straightforward. Then the coil was eased off the jig and hung in place. As many tended to stick out sideways, I hung small metal clamps from the bottom of each coil and let them dangle overnight; this stretched the coil to a more realistic orientation. I could have brushed glue on these while still on the jig, to keep them especially orderly, but I want them loose for now. So the price of that is a few disorderly coils, but that is acceptable to me.
 
For several Flemish coils, I laid a piece of masking tape sticky-side-up on my work surface, then stuck another dowel peg on it. Then I wound the line carefully around the peg, using tweezers to gently nudge it into a tight coil. After a few turns, the dowel can be removed and fingers suffice for massaging the loops into place. The tape holds just strongly enough to keep the coil together. When at the desired size, I brushed some full-strength wood glue onto the coil and let dry, at which point it was easy to strip from the tape and lay on the deck. 
 

 
Here are examples of the finished coils in place, along with another detail shot of the rudder/tiller metalwork in better light than my last attempt.

I don't like CA either. I used it in a few places, but I prefer wood glue for all of Canute's reasons.

My experience was that after 5 minutes on boiling water, the frames bent easily in combination with my bending iron. I tried a few without the iron, and it still worked. Steve is right about the grain, the few I cracked were mostly because of that. I still have a full length of cherry leftover.
 
As for the twisting needed toward the bow, I did some of that free-hand with the pieces before I even put them on the mold. Just put a good, solid twist in them between your hands (in the right direction!), because it will slowly try to straighten later on. Overdoing it slightly meant that it twisted back INTO the right bend once clamped and drying. 
 
And to confirm, I re-soaked a few with no problem.
 
Agreed that the bending process is rather mesmerizing.

Well, as I was looking over the frames last night, I saw that I had to redo one, due to a crack right in the bend. No way I could sand it up and make it work. Redid that frame and began transferring the plank lines from the mold bulkheads onto the outer faces of the frames.Skinny marking square works well for that.
 
This morning, I boiled up my port garboard and sheet planks. I think I have a good bend on the garboard; lines up with my pencil lines on the stem. I had a little problem holding the sheer plank to the stem. Seems the clamp I was trying to use had a taper on the tip, so I grabbed a metal binder clip to hold the plank.
 

Bending the garboard and sheer.
 

Faulty clamp. It has a taper reversed to what I needed. Not really a bad clamp.
 

The fix. You can see the pencil ticks for the hood ends in the rabbet on the stem.
 
I think I'm going to get and make up more of those little binder clips before I launch off into actually gluing my planks up.
 
My driveway may defrost by Sunday night and I won't have to do a slalom course to get down.

Progress: the end is in sight!
 
The sails are sewed with a basic hem around the edges (thank you, Mrs Cathead!); nothing else will show in the finished furled form. I did lay a line within the foot seam, with loops at each end, to allow for attaching the clew and tack lines. I realize the real thing had rope sewn along the outer edge, instead of within the seam, but that is too much for me on this project. Furled, it is hard to tell the difference.
 
Below is one sail stained and hanging to dry. I used a cup of water, with drops of oak stain (the yellow color of my thwarts) and black model paint added until test swatches came out the way I wanted them. Then the sails were dipped in, swished around until evenly absorbed, and hung to dry. I did the same with long stretches of line, to darken the natural white down to a similar color; you can see these hanging to dry as well. In a wood-heated house, things dry very quickly! I did not bother ironing the sails as they will be furled anyway and the creases will not show.
 

 
The foresail is attached and mostly rigged, as shown below. I bound it to the yard, using a process I will illustrate when I do the mainsail later today, then carefully furled it and used lengths of line with reef knots to roughly bind it up. I encountered an unexpected quirk, when finding that the wider foot of the sail ended up with a long, odd-looking projection past the yard ends when furled. After some thought, I simply folded these extensions back under the yard and tucked them under the furling lines, as that seemed like something a tired crew might do (h/t/ Steve).
 
Despite intending to use Matt's advice to display the yard mostly vertical, the square lash I used to bind this assembly to the mast did not allow for this, but did allow for a cocked angle, which I find pleasing. So I just chose a height partially down the mast, high enough to show the interior but low enough not to unbalance the appearance of the model, and went with it. Clew and tack lines are belayed to pins. i have not yet added the foremast halyard (through the block at top of mast) as I needed to stain more line overnight. I also have not yet neatly coiled the extra line. But this progress approximates my final layout.
 

 
I have also finished my metalwork, attaching the tiller and simulating nailheads by nipping them off the nails and gluing the heads onto the strip before repainting. I think it looks well, and has the benefit of both sides looking the same (rather than a bent or nipped off nail on one side as the instructions say). The rudder swings nicely through about 150 degrees and I have had to be careful not to catch it on anything.
 
Left to do this weekend:
 
- Attach mainsail to yard, furl, and lash to mainmast. 
- Run both yard halyards through blocks and belay.
- Add stays to both masts.
- Trim and coil all lines.
 
Optional: I may or may not get to the details like chest & barrels. These can be done later and do not directly affect the display of the finished boat. 
 
Oh yes, I forgot: a significant reason for posting this now, before completion, is for any last feedback on the appearance of sails and such. Anything I should do different or that I have not thought of? I have not glued any rigging, only tied and lashed, so everything can be readjusted if necessary or desired.

Progress: the end is in sight!
 
The sails are sewed with a basic hem around the edges (thank you, Mrs Cathead!); nothing else will show in the finished furled form. I did lay a line within the foot seam, with loops at each end, to allow for attaching the clew and tack lines. I realize the real thing had rope sewn along the outer edge, instead of within the seam, but that is too much for me on this project. Furled, it is hard to tell the difference.
 
Below is one sail stained and hanging to dry. I used a cup of water, with drops of oak stain (the yellow color of my thwarts) and black model paint added until test swatches came out the way I wanted them. Then the sails were dipped in, swished around until evenly absorbed, and hung to dry. I did the same with long stretches of line, to darken the natural white down to a similar color; you can see these hanging to dry as well. In a wood-heated house, things dry very quickly! I did not bother ironing the sails as they will be furled anyway and the creases will not show.
 

 
The foresail is attached and mostly rigged, as shown below. I bound it to the yard, using a process I will illustrate when I do the mainsail later today, then carefully furled it and used lengths of line with reef knots to roughly bind it up. I encountered an unexpected quirk, when finding that the wider foot of the sail ended up with a long, odd-looking projection past the yard ends when furled. After some thought, I simply folded these extensions back under the yard and tucked them under the furling lines, as that seemed like something a tired crew might do (h/t/ Steve).
 
Despite intending to use Matt's advice to display the yard mostly vertical, the square lash I used to bind this assembly to the mast did not allow for this, but did allow for a cocked angle, which I find pleasing. So I just chose a height partially down the mast, high enough to show the interior but low enough not to unbalance the appearance of the model, and went with it. Clew and tack lines are belayed to pins. i have not yet added the foremast halyard (through the block at top of mast) as I needed to stain more line overnight. I also have not yet neatly coiled the extra line. But this progress approximates my final layout.
 

 
I have also finished my metalwork, attaching the tiller and simulating nailheads by nipping them off the nails and gluing the heads onto the strip before repainting. I think it looks well, and has the benefit of both sides looking the same (rather than a bent or nipped off nail on one side as the instructions say). The rudder swings nicely through about 150 degrees and I have had to be careful not to catch it on anything.
 
Left to do this weekend:
 
- Attach mainsail to yard, furl, and lash to mainmast. 
- Run both yard halyards through blocks and belay.
- Add stays to both masts.
- Trim and coil all lines.
 
Optional: I may or may not get to the details like chest & barrels. These can be done later and do not directly affect the display of the finished boat. 
 
Oh yes, I forgot: a significant reason for posting this now, before completion, is for any last feedback on the appearance of sails and such. Anything I should do different or that I have not thought of? I have not glued any rigging, only tied and lashed, so everything can be readjusted if necessary or desired.

Progress: the end is in sight!
 
The sails are sewed with a basic hem around the edges (thank you, Mrs Cathead!); nothing else will show in the finished furled form. I did lay a line within the foot seam, with loops at each end, to allow for attaching the clew and tack lines. I realize the real thing had rope sewn along the outer edge, instead of within the seam, but that is too much for me on this project. Furled, it is hard to tell the difference.
 
Below is one sail stained and hanging to dry. I used a cup of water, with drops of oak stain (the yellow color of my thwarts) and black model paint added until test swatches came out the way I wanted them. Then the sails were dipped in, swished around until evenly absorbed, and hung to dry. I did the same with long stretches of line, to darken the natural white down to a similar color; you can see these hanging to dry as well. In a wood-heated house, things dry very quickly! I did not bother ironing the sails as they will be furled anyway and the creases will not show.
 

 
The foresail is attached and mostly rigged, as shown below. I bound it to the yard, using a process I will illustrate when I do the mainsail later today, then carefully furled it and used lengths of line with reef knots to roughly bind it up. I encountered an unexpected quirk, when finding that the wider foot of the sail ended up with a long, odd-looking projection past the yard ends when furled. After some thought, I simply folded these extensions back under the yard and tucked them under the furling lines, as that seemed like something a tired crew might do (h/t/ Steve).
 
Despite intending to use Matt's advice to display the yard mostly vertical, the square lash I used to bind this assembly to the mast did not allow for this, but did allow for a cocked angle, which I find pleasing. So I just chose a height partially down the mast, high enough to show the interior but low enough not to unbalance the appearance of the model, and went with it. Clew and tack lines are belayed to pins. i have not yet added the foremast halyard (through the block at top of mast) as I needed to stain more line overnight. I also have not yet neatly coiled the extra line. But this progress approximates my final layout.
 

 
I have also finished my metalwork, attaching the tiller and simulating nailheads by nipping them off the nails and gluing the heads onto the strip before repainting. I think it looks well, and has the benefit of both sides looking the same (rather than a bent or nipped off nail on one side as the instructions say). The rudder swings nicely through about 150 degrees and I have had to be careful not to catch it on anything.
 
Left to do this weekend:
 
- Attach mainsail to yard, furl, and lash to mainmast. 
- Run both yard halyards through blocks and belay.
- Add stays to both masts.
- Trim and coil all lines.
 
Optional: I may or may not get to the details like chest & barrels. These can be done later and do not directly affect the display of the finished boat. 
 
Oh yes, I forgot: a significant reason for posting this now, before completion, is for any last feedback on the appearance of sails and such. Anything I should do different or that I have not thought of? I have not glued any rigging, only tied and lashed, so everything can be readjusted if necessary or desired.

CH,
I do hope that you and MrsCH will be listening to Bach at the same time.