Cathead

Okay, I just had to take photos in better light. Here she's set on the kitchen floor just inside our glass doors, with snow-softened light streaming in.
 

 

 
I like the lighter walnut stain on the gunwales, backrest, & knees setting off the darker cherry stain on the rest of the hull.
 
I have successfully resisted the urge to try treenailing anything, as tempting as it is seeing the gorgeous results of others. My goal going in was to built the kit "out of box" with nothing added, and I have largely stuck to that. Perhaps the next project I will go down that particular rabbit hole.

Progress!
 

 
Facing the dreaded spreading-hull syndrome, I decided to tackle the issue head-on. With carpentry clamps. Using the thwarts as a guide, I set up two clamps and gradually tightened them until the thwarts fit snugly. Some minor hull popping and creaking made me nervous, but she's a strong little boat. With the clamps stable, I glued in all but the aft two thwarts (to leave room for building the quarterdeck).
 
Part of this process, though not shown, was aligning two thwarts properly with the mast steps. I inserted the dowels, held them straight with a square set onto the floor, and adjusted the thwarts as needed. The slow set time of carpenter's glue allowed this to work properly. 
 

 
My gamble was correct; when the clamps were removed, the thwarts held the hull in shape. Test-fitting the gunwales proved that the original kit design is accurate; when the thwarts fit snugly, the gunwales will as well. So I glued them on, using the thick-rod-and-rubber-band method I stole from someone else (I have read so many Bounty Launch logs that I cannot keep them straight anymore).
 

 
On to the quarterdeck. I spent an afternoon reading about 8 build logs to develop my plan of attack for this, and decided to build the deck on the plans before installation. Here I stole an idea from my model railroading  background, and laid a wide strip of masking tape face up, securing it with two other strips at each end. Then I laid the rough-cut cherry frames across the tape, which holds them in place for further assembly. The tape is translucent enough to allow for tracing appropriates lines to ensure accuracy.
 
At right you see the assembled deck, with hatch cut out. I left the frames long intentionally, and slowly cut them down as needed, with a lot of test-fitting, until the deck seated properly into the hull. I used a neat little tool for notching the hatch-planks (the plan shows it done this way, though some logs have used three full planks), also from my model-railroading background:
 

 
There it is on the left; the Nibbler. It takes perfectly square chunks out of strip wood, and is invaluable for cutting precise window/door holes in buildings and other projects. This is how I did all the windows on my steamboat. On the right is another excellent tool, the Chopper. It makes perfect 90 degree cuts of stock, with frames that let you set repeatable lengths. I use this for all manner of projects, and it is perfect for decking like this.
 

 
And here is the current status. The hull is effectively done, save one last sanding and perhaps one more coat of stain. Two insets show changes I made. On top, I made new quarterknees because the kit's did not fit properly with the angles my hull ended up with. They were too short, and the aft angle was wrong. So I traced and carved new ones. The stained piece is from the kit, the unstained my own replacement, cut from the same stock as the original.
 
The other inset shows my hatch-rope, an idea shamelessly stolen from CaptainSteve. His used a tighter loop; Bligh would probably trip over mine. But I went with a design that I thought would be more visible, if not quite as realistic.
 
Apologies for the color balance on these. Outdoors we are getting a mix of rain, snow, and other in-between mess that makes the indoor light rather dim and harsh. One of these days I will take this outside for some better photos.
 
I had intended to build this without  masts, thinking it would fit better on a shelf somewhere. Fortunately, I happened to mention this to Mrs Cathead just before gluing in the thwarts, and she made it known that masts would be a good thing. So I took the extra time to align the thwarts and mast steps, which I would otherwise have not bothered to do. So very soon I will begin shaping masts and oars, and starting to feel sad that this wonderful project is now closer to its end than its beginning.

Ah, knowledge, the font and curse of happiness...

Okay, I just had to take photos in better light. Here she's set on the kitchen floor just inside our glass doors, with snow-softened light streaming in.
 

 

 
I like the lighter walnut stain on the gunwales, backrest, & knees setting off the darker cherry stain on the rest of the hull.
 
I have successfully resisted the urge to try treenailing anything, as tempting as it is seeing the gorgeous results of others. My goal going in was to built the kit "out of box" with nothing added, and I have largely stuck to that. Perhaps the next project I will go down that particular rabbit hole.

Okay, I just had to take photos in better light. Here she's set on the kitchen floor just inside our glass doors, with snow-softened light streaming in.
 

 

 
I like the lighter walnut stain on the gunwales, backrest, & knees setting off the darker cherry stain on the rest of the hull.
 
I have successfully resisted the urge to try treenailing anything, as tempting as it is seeing the gorgeous results of others. My goal going in was to built the kit "out of box" with nothing added, and I have largely stuck to that. Perhaps the next project I will go down that particular rabbit hole.

Progress!
 

 
Facing the dreaded spreading-hull syndrome, I decided to tackle the issue head-on. With carpentry clamps. Using the thwarts as a guide, I set up two clamps and gradually tightened them until the thwarts fit snugly. Some minor hull popping and creaking made me nervous, but she's a strong little boat. With the clamps stable, I glued in all but the aft two thwarts (to leave room for building the quarterdeck).
 
Part of this process, though not shown, was aligning two thwarts properly with the mast steps. I inserted the dowels, held them straight with a square set onto the floor, and adjusted the thwarts as needed. The slow set time of carpenter's glue allowed this to work properly. 
 

 
My gamble was correct; when the clamps were removed, the thwarts held the hull in shape. Test-fitting the gunwales proved that the original kit design is accurate; when the thwarts fit snugly, the gunwales will as well. So I glued them on, using the thick-rod-and-rubber-band method I stole from someone else (I have read so many Bounty Launch logs that I cannot keep them straight anymore).
 

 
On to the quarterdeck. I spent an afternoon reading about 8 build logs to develop my plan of attack for this, and decided to build the deck on the plans before installation. Here I stole an idea from my model railroading  background, and laid a wide strip of masking tape face up, securing it with two other strips at each end. Then I laid the rough-cut cherry frames across the tape, which holds them in place for further assembly. The tape is translucent enough to allow for tracing appropriates lines to ensure accuracy.
 
At right you see the assembled deck, with hatch cut out. I left the frames long intentionally, and slowly cut them down as needed, with a lot of test-fitting, until the deck seated properly into the hull. I used a neat little tool for notching the hatch-planks (the plan shows it done this way, though some logs have used three full planks), also from my model-railroading background:
 

 
There it is on the left; the Nibbler. It takes perfectly square chunks out of strip wood, and is invaluable for cutting precise window/door holes in buildings and other projects. This is how I did all the windows on my steamboat. On the right is another excellent tool, the Chopper. It makes perfect 90 degree cuts of stock, with frames that let you set repeatable lengths. I use this for all manner of projects, and it is perfect for decking like this.
 

 
And here is the current status. The hull is effectively done, save one last sanding and perhaps one more coat of stain. Two insets show changes I made. On top, I made new quarterknees because the kit's did not fit properly with the angles my hull ended up with. They were too short, and the aft angle was wrong. So I traced and carved new ones. The stained piece is from the kit, the unstained my own replacement, cut from the same stock as the original.
 
The other inset shows my hatch-rope, an idea shamelessly stolen from CaptainSteve. His used a tighter loop; Bligh would probably trip over mine. But I went with a design that I thought would be more visible, if not quite as realistic.
 
Apologies for the color balance on these. Outdoors we are getting a mix of rain, snow, and other in-between mess that makes the indoor light rather dim and harsh. One of these days I will take this outside for some better photos.
 
I had intended to build this without  masts, thinking it would fit better on a shelf somewhere. Fortunately, I happened to mention this to Mrs Cathead just before gluing in the thwarts, and she made it known that masts would be a good thing. So I took the extra time to align the thwarts and mast steps, which I would otherwise have not bothered to do. So very soon I will begin shaping masts and oars, and starting to feel sad that this wonderful project is now closer to its end than its beginning.

Your boat is looking really amazing
 
While I can't really point you to anything specific, I used small brass tube (with a smaller brass rod for the pin) and the strips contained in the kit.  You will probably want to use/learn silver soldering (I had to learn, it's really easy to get too much solder on these tiny things) for the strongest joints.
 
 I just finished blackening those items, using Birchwood Casey Brass Black.  It's really easy to use.

I have now come face to face with a dreaded part of the build: metal work. I have zero, zilch, nada experience in working metal. I am staring at these brass strips and trying to figure out how to turn them into the complex and detailed pintle/gudgeon assemblies so blithely shown on the plans. What is used for the pins? The brass nails look too thin. Am I supposed to shape the strip into a full tube to hold whatever pin I come up with?  I have read through a number of logs and haven't found (or missed) a discussion of how this is supposed to work. The instructions are no help at all.
If someone knows a good discussion of exactly how to do this, feel free to direct me there instead of needing to repeat everything here. 

Okay, I just had to take photos in better light. Here she's set on the kitchen floor just inside our glass doors, with snow-softened light streaming in.
 

 

 
I like the lighter walnut stain on the gunwales, backrest, & knees setting off the darker cherry stain on the rest of the hull.
 
I have successfully resisted the urge to try treenailing anything, as tempting as it is seeing the gorgeous results of others. My goal going in was to built the kit "out of box" with nothing added, and I have largely stuck to that. Perhaps the next project I will go down that particular rabbit hole.

Okay, I just had to take photos in better light. Here she's set on the kitchen floor just inside our glass doors, with snow-softened light streaming in.
 

 

 
I like the lighter walnut stain on the gunwales, backrest, & knees setting off the darker cherry stain on the rest of the hull.
 
I have successfully resisted the urge to try treenailing anything, as tempting as it is seeing the gorgeous results of others. My goal going in was to built the kit "out of box" with nothing added, and I have largely stuck to that. Perhaps the next project I will go down that particular rabbit hole.

Progress!
 

 
Facing the dreaded spreading-hull syndrome, I decided to tackle the issue head-on. With carpentry clamps. Using the thwarts as a guide, I set up two clamps and gradually tightened them until the thwarts fit snugly. Some minor hull popping and creaking made me nervous, but she's a strong little boat. With the clamps stable, I glued in all but the aft two thwarts (to leave room for building the quarterdeck).
 
Part of this process, though not shown, was aligning two thwarts properly with the mast steps. I inserted the dowels, held them straight with a square set onto the floor, and adjusted the thwarts as needed. The slow set time of carpenter's glue allowed this to work properly. 
 

 
My gamble was correct; when the clamps were removed, the thwarts held the hull in shape. Test-fitting the gunwales proved that the original kit design is accurate; when the thwarts fit snugly, the gunwales will as well. So I glued them on, using the thick-rod-and-rubber-band method I stole from someone else (I have read so many Bounty Launch logs that I cannot keep them straight anymore).
 

 
On to the quarterdeck. I spent an afternoon reading about 8 build logs to develop my plan of attack for this, and decided to build the deck on the plans before installation. Here I stole an idea from my model railroading  background, and laid a wide strip of masking tape face up, securing it with two other strips at each end. Then I laid the rough-cut cherry frames across the tape, which holds them in place for further assembly. The tape is translucent enough to allow for tracing appropriates lines to ensure accuracy.
 
At right you see the assembled deck, with hatch cut out. I left the frames long intentionally, and slowly cut them down as needed, with a lot of test-fitting, until the deck seated properly into the hull. I used a neat little tool for notching the hatch-planks (the plan shows it done this way, though some logs have used three full planks), also from my model-railroading background:
 

 
There it is on the left; the Nibbler. It takes perfectly square chunks out of strip wood, and is invaluable for cutting precise window/door holes in buildings and other projects. This is how I did all the windows on my steamboat. On the right is another excellent tool, the Chopper. It makes perfect 90 degree cuts of stock, with frames that let you set repeatable lengths. I use this for all manner of projects, and it is perfect for decking like this.
 

 
And here is the current status. The hull is effectively done, save one last sanding and perhaps one more coat of stain. Two insets show changes I made. On top, I made new quarterknees because the kit's did not fit properly with the angles my hull ended up with. They were too short, and the aft angle was wrong. So I traced and carved new ones. The stained piece is from the kit, the unstained my own replacement, cut from the same stock as the original.
 
The other inset shows my hatch-rope, an idea shamelessly stolen from CaptainSteve. His used a tighter loop; Bligh would probably trip over mine. But I went with a design that I thought would be more visible, if not quite as realistic.
 
Apologies for the color balance on these. Outdoors we are getting a mix of rain, snow, and other in-between mess that makes the indoor light rather dim and harsh. One of these days I will take this outside for some better photos.
 
I had intended to build this without  masts, thinking it would fit better on a shelf somewhere. Fortunately, I happened to mention this to Mrs Cathead just before gluing in the thwarts, and she made it known that masts would be a good thing. So I took the extra time to align the thwarts and mast steps, which I would otherwise have not bothered to do. So very soon I will begin shaping masts and oars, and starting to feel sad that this wonderful project is now closer to its end than its beginning.

Ah, knowledge, the font and curse of happiness...

Okay, I just had to take photos in better light. Here she's set on the kitchen floor just inside our glass doors, with snow-softened light streaming in.
 

 

 
I like the lighter walnut stain on the gunwales, backrest, & knees setting off the darker cherry stain on the rest of the hull.
 
I have successfully resisted the urge to try treenailing anything, as tempting as it is seeing the gorgeous results of others. My goal going in was to built the kit "out of box" with nothing added, and I have largely stuck to that. Perhaps the next project I will go down that particular rabbit hole.

Ah, knowledge, the font and curse of happiness...

Okay, I just had to take photos in better light. Here she's set on the kitchen floor just inside our glass doors, with snow-softened light streaming in.
 

 

 
I like the lighter walnut stain on the gunwales, backrest, & knees setting off the darker cherry stain on the rest of the hull.
 
I have successfully resisted the urge to try treenailing anything, as tempting as it is seeing the gorgeous results of others. My goal going in was to built the kit "out of box" with nothing added, and I have largely stuck to that. Perhaps the next project I will go down that particular rabbit hole.

Okay, I just had to take photos in better light. Here she's set on the kitchen floor just inside our glass doors, with snow-softened light streaming in.
 

 

 
I like the lighter walnut stain on the gunwales, backrest, & knees setting off the darker cherry stain on the rest of the hull.
 
I have successfully resisted the urge to try treenailing anything, as tempting as it is seeing the gorgeous results of others. My goal going in was to built the kit "out of box" with nothing added, and I have largely stuck to that. Perhaps the next project I will go down that particular rabbit hole.

Progress!
 

 
Facing the dreaded spreading-hull syndrome, I decided to tackle the issue head-on. With carpentry clamps. Using the thwarts as a guide, I set up two clamps and gradually tightened them until the thwarts fit snugly. Some minor hull popping and creaking made me nervous, but she's a strong little boat. With the clamps stable, I glued in all but the aft two thwarts (to leave room for building the quarterdeck).
 
Part of this process, though not shown, was aligning two thwarts properly with the mast steps. I inserted the dowels, held them straight with a square set onto the floor, and adjusted the thwarts as needed. The slow set time of carpenter's glue allowed this to work properly. 
 

 
My gamble was correct; when the clamps were removed, the thwarts held the hull in shape. Test-fitting the gunwales proved that the original kit design is accurate; when the thwarts fit snugly, the gunwales will as well. So I glued them on, using the thick-rod-and-rubber-band method I stole from someone else (I have read so many Bounty Launch logs that I cannot keep them straight anymore).
 

 
On to the quarterdeck. I spent an afternoon reading about 8 build logs to develop my plan of attack for this, and decided to build the deck on the plans before installation. Here I stole an idea from my model railroading  background, and laid a wide strip of masking tape face up, securing it with two other strips at each end. Then I laid the rough-cut cherry frames across the tape, which holds them in place for further assembly. The tape is translucent enough to allow for tracing appropriates lines to ensure accuracy.
 
At right you see the assembled deck, with hatch cut out. I left the frames long intentionally, and slowly cut them down as needed, with a lot of test-fitting, until the deck seated properly into the hull. I used a neat little tool for notching the hatch-planks (the plan shows it done this way, though some logs have used three full planks), also from my model-railroading background:
 

 
There it is on the left; the Nibbler. It takes perfectly square chunks out of strip wood, and is invaluable for cutting precise window/door holes in buildings and other projects. This is how I did all the windows on my steamboat. On the right is another excellent tool, the Chopper. It makes perfect 90 degree cuts of stock, with frames that let you set repeatable lengths. I use this for all manner of projects, and it is perfect for decking like this.
 

 
And here is the current status. The hull is effectively done, save one last sanding and perhaps one more coat of stain. Two insets show changes I made. On top, I made new quarterknees because the kit's did not fit properly with the angles my hull ended up with. They were too short, and the aft angle was wrong. So I traced and carved new ones. The stained piece is from the kit, the unstained my own replacement, cut from the same stock as the original.
 
The other inset shows my hatch-rope, an idea shamelessly stolen from CaptainSteve. His used a tighter loop; Bligh would probably trip over mine. But I went with a design that I thought would be more visible, if not quite as realistic.
 
Apologies for the color balance on these. Outdoors we are getting a mix of rain, snow, and other in-between mess that makes the indoor light rather dim and harsh. One of these days I will take this outside for some better photos.
 
I had intended to build this without  masts, thinking it would fit better on a shelf somewhere. Fortunately, I happened to mention this to Mrs Cathead just before gluing in the thwarts, and she made it known that masts would be a good thing. So I took the extra time to align the thwarts and mast steps, which I would otherwise have not bothered to do. So very soon I will begin shaping masts and oars, and starting to feel sad that this wonderful project is now closer to its end than its beginning.

This be jus' another brief update to Our Hero's build-log ...
 
"Recently, I didst take delivery o' some of Chuck's ropes," CaptainSteve didst begineth. "Indeedeth, verily they be most rope-like in appearance."
 
As such, he doth plan to swappeth out the kit-supplied threads, which doest be most shiny.
"Especially working with 1/16th scale, the new ropes will be looking much better," CaptainSteve didst suggest.
 
First up, Our Hero didst seize a length of 0.045" tan line, using 0.008" black line ...

 
... once seized, he didst strop a loop for the grapnel chain and thence serve-eth that.

 
Thence, he didst adapt an idea borrowed from Modeller12 to make Flemish coils ...


 
They be simply two discs cut from hard plastic, then slipped down on a toothpick and stuck into a pencil eraser.
"I didst first trail the end o' the grapnel rope through the hole in the bottom disc," CaptainSteve tried to explain. "And then smear some PVA onto one disc and thence proceed to wrap the line whilst pushing the discs together and turning the eraser around.
 

"Here be me grapnel sitting lazily upon the front o' me Launch," he continued. "I be plannin' to let half o' me coil hang down over the edge of the thwart."
 
As for the loose end, well, CaptainSteve still be a-waitin' the answer as to where the grapnel rope shall be tied off ...
"To me, thee logical choice doeth seem to be to affixeth it to the for'ard mast-step," he didst concludeth.

Progress!
 

 
Facing the dreaded spreading-hull syndrome, I decided to tackle the issue head-on. With carpentry clamps. Using the thwarts as a guide, I set up two clamps and gradually tightened them until the thwarts fit snugly. Some minor hull popping and creaking made me nervous, but she's a strong little boat. With the clamps stable, I glued in all but the aft two thwarts (to leave room for building the quarterdeck).
 
Part of this process, though not shown, was aligning two thwarts properly with the mast steps. I inserted the dowels, held them straight with a square set onto the floor, and adjusted the thwarts as needed. The slow set time of carpenter's glue allowed this to work properly. 
 

 
My gamble was correct; when the clamps were removed, the thwarts held the hull in shape. Test-fitting the gunwales proved that the original kit design is accurate; when the thwarts fit snugly, the gunwales will as well. So I glued them on, using the thick-rod-and-rubber-band method I stole from someone else (I have read so many Bounty Launch logs that I cannot keep them straight anymore).
 

 
On to the quarterdeck. I spent an afternoon reading about 8 build logs to develop my plan of attack for this, and decided to build the deck on the plans before installation. Here I stole an idea from my model railroading  background, and laid a wide strip of masking tape face up, securing it with two other strips at each end. Then I laid the rough-cut cherry frames across the tape, which holds them in place for further assembly. The tape is translucent enough to allow for tracing appropriates lines to ensure accuracy.
 
At right you see the assembled deck, with hatch cut out. I left the frames long intentionally, and slowly cut them down as needed, with a lot of test-fitting, until the deck seated properly into the hull. I used a neat little tool for notching the hatch-planks (the plan shows it done this way, though some logs have used three full planks), also from my model-railroading background:
 

 
There it is on the left; the Nibbler. It takes perfectly square chunks out of strip wood, and is invaluable for cutting precise window/door holes in buildings and other projects. This is how I did all the windows on my steamboat. On the right is another excellent tool, the Chopper. It makes perfect 90 degree cuts of stock, with frames that let you set repeatable lengths. I use this for all manner of projects, and it is perfect for decking like this.
 

 
And here is the current status. The hull is effectively done, save one last sanding and perhaps one more coat of stain. Two insets show changes I made. On top, I made new quarterknees because the kit's did not fit properly with the angles my hull ended up with. They were too short, and the aft angle was wrong. So I traced and carved new ones. The stained piece is from the kit, the unstained my own replacement, cut from the same stock as the original.
 
The other inset shows my hatch-rope, an idea shamelessly stolen from CaptainSteve. His used a tighter loop; Bligh would probably trip over mine. But I went with a design that I thought would be more visible, if not quite as realistic.
 
Apologies for the color balance on these. Outdoors we are getting a mix of rain, snow, and other in-between mess that makes the indoor light rather dim and harsh. One of these days I will take this outside for some better photos.
 
I had intended to build this without  masts, thinking it would fit better on a shelf somewhere. Fortunately, I happened to mention this to Mrs Cathead just before gluing in the thwarts, and she made it known that masts would be a good thing. So I took the extra time to align the thwarts and mast steps, which I would otherwise have not bothered to do. So very soon I will begin shaping masts and oars, and starting to feel sad that this wonderful project is now closer to its end than its beginning.

Progress!
 

 
Facing the dreaded spreading-hull syndrome, I decided to tackle the issue head-on. With carpentry clamps. Using the thwarts as a guide, I set up two clamps and gradually tightened them until the thwarts fit snugly. Some minor hull popping and creaking made me nervous, but she's a strong little boat. With the clamps stable, I glued in all but the aft two thwarts (to leave room for building the quarterdeck).
 
Part of this process, though not shown, was aligning two thwarts properly with the mast steps. I inserted the dowels, held them straight with a square set onto the floor, and adjusted the thwarts as needed. The slow set time of carpenter's glue allowed this to work properly. 
 

 
My gamble was correct; when the clamps were removed, the thwarts held the hull in shape. Test-fitting the gunwales proved that the original kit design is accurate; when the thwarts fit snugly, the gunwales will as well. So I glued them on, using the thick-rod-and-rubber-band method I stole from someone else (I have read so many Bounty Launch logs that I cannot keep them straight anymore).
 

 
On to the quarterdeck. I spent an afternoon reading about 8 build logs to develop my plan of attack for this, and decided to build the deck on the plans before installation. Here I stole an idea from my model railroading  background, and laid a wide strip of masking tape face up, securing it with two other strips at each end. Then I laid the rough-cut cherry frames across the tape, which holds them in place for further assembly. The tape is translucent enough to allow for tracing appropriates lines to ensure accuracy.
 
At right you see the assembled deck, with hatch cut out. I left the frames long intentionally, and slowly cut them down as needed, with a lot of test-fitting, until the deck seated properly into the hull. I used a neat little tool for notching the hatch-planks (the plan shows it done this way, though some logs have used three full planks), also from my model-railroading background:
 

 
There it is on the left; the Nibbler. It takes perfectly square chunks out of strip wood, and is invaluable for cutting precise window/door holes in buildings and other projects. This is how I did all the windows on my steamboat. On the right is another excellent tool, the Chopper. It makes perfect 90 degree cuts of stock, with frames that let you set repeatable lengths. I use this for all manner of projects, and it is perfect for decking like this.
 

 
And here is the current status. The hull is effectively done, save one last sanding and perhaps one more coat of stain. Two insets show changes I made. On top, I made new quarterknees because the kit's did not fit properly with the angles my hull ended up with. They were too short, and the aft angle was wrong. So I traced and carved new ones. The stained piece is from the kit, the unstained my own replacement, cut from the same stock as the original.
 
The other inset shows my hatch-rope, an idea shamelessly stolen from CaptainSteve. His used a tighter loop; Bligh would probably trip over mine. But I went with a design that I thought would be more visible, if not quite as realistic.
 
Apologies for the color balance on these. Outdoors we are getting a mix of rain, snow, and other in-between mess that makes the indoor light rather dim and harsh. One of these days I will take this outside for some better photos.
 
I had intended to build this without  masts, thinking it would fit better on a shelf somewhere. Fortunately, I happened to mention this to Mrs Cathead just before gluing in the thwarts, and she made it known that masts would be a good thing. So I took the extra time to align the thwarts and mast steps, which I would otherwise have not bothered to do. So very soon I will begin shaping masts and oars, and starting to feel sad that this wonderful project is now closer to its end than its beginning.

Progress!
 

 
Facing the dreaded spreading-hull syndrome, I decided to tackle the issue head-on. With carpentry clamps. Using the thwarts as a guide, I set up two clamps and gradually tightened them until the thwarts fit snugly. Some minor hull popping and creaking made me nervous, but she's a strong little boat. With the clamps stable, I glued in all but the aft two thwarts (to leave room for building the quarterdeck).
 
Part of this process, though not shown, was aligning two thwarts properly with the mast steps. I inserted the dowels, held them straight with a square set onto the floor, and adjusted the thwarts as needed. The slow set time of carpenter's glue allowed this to work properly. 
 

 
My gamble was correct; when the clamps were removed, the thwarts held the hull in shape. Test-fitting the gunwales proved that the original kit design is accurate; when the thwarts fit snugly, the gunwales will as well. So I glued them on, using the thick-rod-and-rubber-band method I stole from someone else (I have read so many Bounty Launch logs that I cannot keep them straight anymore).
 

 
On to the quarterdeck. I spent an afternoon reading about 8 build logs to develop my plan of attack for this, and decided to build the deck on the plans before installation. Here I stole an idea from my model railroading  background, and laid a wide strip of masking tape face up, securing it with two other strips at each end. Then I laid the rough-cut cherry frames across the tape, which holds them in place for further assembly. The tape is translucent enough to allow for tracing appropriates lines to ensure accuracy.
 
At right you see the assembled deck, with hatch cut out. I left the frames long intentionally, and slowly cut them down as needed, with a lot of test-fitting, until the deck seated properly into the hull. I used a neat little tool for notching the hatch-planks (the plan shows it done this way, though some logs have used three full planks), also from my model-railroading background:
 

 
There it is on the left; the Nibbler. It takes perfectly square chunks out of strip wood, and is invaluable for cutting precise window/door holes in buildings and other projects. This is how I did all the windows on my steamboat. On the right is another excellent tool, the Chopper. It makes perfect 90 degree cuts of stock, with frames that let you set repeatable lengths. I use this for all manner of projects, and it is perfect for decking like this.
 

 
And here is the current status. The hull is effectively done, save one last sanding and perhaps one more coat of stain. Two insets show changes I made. On top, I made new quarterknees because the kit's did not fit properly with the angles my hull ended up with. They were too short, and the aft angle was wrong. So I traced and carved new ones. The stained piece is from the kit, the unstained my own replacement, cut from the same stock as the original.
 
The other inset shows my hatch-rope, an idea shamelessly stolen from CaptainSteve. His used a tighter loop; Bligh would probably trip over mine. But I went with a design that I thought would be more visible, if not quite as realistic.
 
Apologies for the color balance on these. Outdoors we are getting a mix of rain, snow, and other in-between mess that makes the indoor light rather dim and harsh. One of these days I will take this outside for some better photos.
 
I had intended to build this without  masts, thinking it would fit better on a shelf somewhere. Fortunately, I happened to mention this to Mrs Cathead just before gluing in the thwarts, and she made it known that masts would be a good thing. So I took the extra time to align the thwarts and mast steps, which I would otherwise have not bothered to do. So very soon I will begin shaping masts and oars, and starting to feel sad that this wonderful project is now closer to its end than its beginning.

Progress!
 

 
Facing the dreaded spreading-hull syndrome, I decided to tackle the issue head-on. With carpentry clamps. Using the thwarts as a guide, I set up two clamps and gradually tightened them until the thwarts fit snugly. Some minor hull popping and creaking made me nervous, but she's a strong little boat. With the clamps stable, I glued in all but the aft two thwarts (to leave room for building the quarterdeck).
 
Part of this process, though not shown, was aligning two thwarts properly with the mast steps. I inserted the dowels, held them straight with a square set onto the floor, and adjusted the thwarts as needed. The slow set time of carpenter's glue allowed this to work properly. 
 

 
My gamble was correct; when the clamps were removed, the thwarts held the hull in shape. Test-fitting the gunwales proved that the original kit design is accurate; when the thwarts fit snugly, the gunwales will as well. So I glued them on, using the thick-rod-and-rubber-band method I stole from someone else (I have read so many Bounty Launch logs that I cannot keep them straight anymore).
 

 
On to the quarterdeck. I spent an afternoon reading about 8 build logs to develop my plan of attack for this, and decided to build the deck on the plans before installation. Here I stole an idea from my model railroading  background, and laid a wide strip of masking tape face up, securing it with two other strips at each end. Then I laid the rough-cut cherry frames across the tape, which holds them in place for further assembly. The tape is translucent enough to allow for tracing appropriates lines to ensure accuracy.
 
At right you see the assembled deck, with hatch cut out. I left the frames long intentionally, and slowly cut them down as needed, with a lot of test-fitting, until the deck seated properly into the hull. I used a neat little tool for notching the hatch-planks (the plan shows it done this way, though some logs have used three full planks), also from my model-railroading background:
 

 
There it is on the left; the Nibbler. It takes perfectly square chunks out of strip wood, and is invaluable for cutting precise window/door holes in buildings and other projects. This is how I did all the windows on my steamboat. On the right is another excellent tool, the Chopper. It makes perfect 90 degree cuts of stock, with frames that let you set repeatable lengths. I use this for all manner of projects, and it is perfect for decking like this.
 

 
And here is the current status. The hull is effectively done, save one last sanding and perhaps one more coat of stain. Two insets show changes I made. On top, I made new quarterknees because the kit's did not fit properly with the angles my hull ended up with. They were too short, and the aft angle was wrong. So I traced and carved new ones. The stained piece is from the kit, the unstained my own replacement, cut from the same stock as the original.
 
The other inset shows my hatch-rope, an idea shamelessly stolen from CaptainSteve. His used a tighter loop; Bligh would probably trip over mine. But I went with a design that I thought would be more visible, if not quite as realistic.
 
Apologies for the color balance on these. Outdoors we are getting a mix of rain, snow, and other in-between mess that makes the indoor light rather dim and harsh. One of these days I will take this outside for some better photos.
 
I had intended to build this without  masts, thinking it would fit better on a shelf somewhere. Fortunately, I happened to mention this to Mrs Cathead just before gluing in the thwarts, and she made it known that masts would be a good thing. So I took the extra time to align the thwarts and mast steps, which I would otherwise have not bothered to do. So very soon I will begin shaping masts and oars, and starting to feel sad that this wonderful project is now closer to its end than its beginning.

Here's a preliminary set up of the sails. I made 2 double blocks for each mast and I'm going to see how it all works out after I make the single blocks for the end of the spars.

The second, and final, application of stain. I'm much happier with the sails now.
 

 
No set of chisels should go without a leather case to protect them.
 

CaptainSteve, I suspect she would rather not go blind.