maturin52

I have followed the advice received, and have been gluing each bulkhead as I proceed. I've also elected to take an 'optional' suggestion from the kit's instructions, and have been adding a reinforcement between each pair of bulkheads. This gives further insurance against shifting, and will, of course, be invisible after planking. I've also purchased a few chunks of balsa wood and I plan to fill the first 3 bow sections, and the last 2 stern sections with wooden blocks,  sanded to shape, to give me a full backing surface for gluing up the more radical curves at bow and stern. That's the plan, how reality comes out is yet to be seen!
 

The center keel is finished, and I'm working on installing the frames. The wooden pieces match the plans wonderfully, and are well constructed.  They can be removed from their backing with reasonable effort, and with little danger of breaking. I haven't found any warping yet and, so far, have just been dry fitting the parts for fit and alignment. They fit perfectly, lining up well with the 'bearding line' cut earlier. In fact, I may have a little difficulty in removing a few of them for gluing. I'm sort of thinking that if they fit that well without glue, glue may not be needed. We'll see.

So, work is underway. From reading the instructions, it is clear that close adherence to the prints is going to be critical for a good result. I expect inaccuracies and carelessness at this early stage will multiply in consequence as the project progress. Since I have little trust in my measuring and drawing skills, I wanted to devise a way to transfer reference lines from the schematic to the actual parts in question. The plan I came up with seems to be working well. In the first picture, I tape a piece of tracing paper to the plans and copy the needed features to the paper. Next, I pin the tracing paper to the part being worked on and use a tracing wheel to transfer the lines to the wood, filling them in with pencil after marking. As picture 3 shows.... Viola... reference lines successful copied from my plans to my Center Keel sections!

Here are couple of shots of my recent progress.....

I've since finished the stern framing, and begun work on the waterways. I've decided to follow 'usedtosail's build and install part of the gun deck. I've removed the beams from bulkheads F through K and will install waterways and deck planking on that part of the gun deck. I will also order the cannon set from Model Expo to provide the extra gun-stations required. I've decided on a couple of departures from usedtosail's approach however. Rather than build decks based on planking over cut deck pieces, I am going to try to plank directly on to the bulkhead cross-members in order to reduce the amount of material added. In addition, rather than cutting holes in the gun deck for the hatches, I'm simply going to construct them from left-over material from other builds and glue them directly onto the planking, perhaps with a black construction paper backing. I'll try and get a few shots of the ongoing work as it proceeds.

Well, work has progressing, though this log hasn't been as scrupulously updated as it should be. I've been working on the bow and stern framing, as well as repairing some over-zealous sanding on the stern-post. I've most been focusing on 'rouging-in' the blocks and the framing, leaving fine fairing work to be done when the time comes to plank the pertinent sections.

The stern section has been even more of a challenge, since the filler blocks are much smaller, more delicate, and more dramatically curved. I approached this challenge by roughing them out in balsa wood, gluing them in, and I'm now in the process of shaping them in place. The block above (whose name escapes me at the moment) is made of kit-supplied wood and is neither finalized nor glued in as yet. Perhaps another few days of fine sanding will see this small part of the larger project behind me.

Well, the past few weeks have been dedicated to fairing the bulkheads and to installing and carving the bow and stern filler blocks. Even using balsa wood, which I did for all but one piece, there is an incredible of carving and sanding to be done. Much of the extra work is of my own doing, however, since I decided to add a couple of extra filler blocks to the bow. They are all in place now, though much fine sanding remains to be done. I have to keep reminding myself that these parts will not visible on the final model and are only there to provide structural support. Here is the roughed in bow section:

I've since finished the stern framing, and begun work on the waterways. I've decided to follow 'usedtosail's build and install part of the gun deck. I've removed the beams from bulkheads F through K and will install waterways and deck planking on that part of the gun deck. I will also order the cannon set from Model Expo to provide the extra gun-stations required. I've decided on a couple of departures from usedtosail's approach however. Rather than build decks based on planking over cut deck pieces, I am going to try to plank directly on to the bulkhead cross-members in order to reduce the amount of material added. In addition, rather than cutting holes in the gun deck for the hatches, I'm simply going to construct them from left-over material from other builds and glue them directly onto the planking, perhaps with a black construction paper backing. I'll try and get a few shots of the ongoing work as it proceeds.

Well, work has progressing, though this log hasn't been as scrupulously updated as it should be. I've been working on the bow and stern framing, as well as repairing some over-zealous sanding on the stern-post. I've most been focusing on 'rouging-in' the blocks and the framing, leaving fine fairing work to be done when the time comes to plank the pertinent sections.

I've since finished the stern framing, and begun work on the waterways. I've decided to follow 'usedtosail's build and install part of the gun deck. I've removed the beams from bulkheads F through K and will install waterways and deck planking on that part of the gun deck. I will also order the cannon set from Model Expo to provide the extra gun-stations required. I've decided on a couple of departures from usedtosail's approach however. Rather than build decks based on planking over cut deck pieces, I am going to try to plank directly on to the bulkhead cross-members in order to reduce the amount of material added. In addition, rather than cutting holes in the gun deck for the hatches, I'm simply going to construct them from left-over material from other builds and glue them directly onto the planking, perhaps with a black construction paper backing. I'll try and get a few shots of the ongoing work as it proceeds.

Well, work has progressing, though this log hasn't been as scrupulously updated as it should be. I've been working on the bow and stern framing, as well as repairing some over-zealous sanding on the stern-post. I've most been focusing on 'rouging-in' the blocks and the framing, leaving fine fairing work to be done when the time comes to plank the pertinent sections.

I wanted to test fit the cannons I bought from Model Expo to make sure they fit in the gun ports, so I assembled one of them and did a quick test. These did not come with instructions, so I basically just fit a support piece between the two side pieces for this test cannon, but the real ones will have a small tapered piece and a front support piece instead. I also just used some 1/16" square wood for the axles, but will use wider pieces of wood in the final version. I made a jig to hold the side pieces up while I glued them to the axles. Here is the test cannon from the jig:
 

 

 
I rounded the axles to fit the wheels and just slid the wheels onto them for now:
 

 
When I put this cannon onto the gun deck I could see that it was about 1/8" too low. This made sense to me given that the bulkheads as supplied by ME are at the height of the gun deck after planking, but I had reduced the height of the bulkheads by 1/8" to account for the 1/16" of the gun deck support piece and the 1/16" deck planks. If I had just planked the deck without lowering the bulkheads, these cannons would fit fine or be close.
 

 
My first idea was to add more height to the axles, but that would only get me another 1/16" or so without looking awful. I then looked at the supplied gun carriage sides and realised that I could cut them in half without hitting any of the notches, then I could add a 1/18" by 1/16" piece to make up the height difference. I did this for two sides and after sanding them they looked fine.
 

 
I glued them up with the axles and support piece, added the wheels and this is how it came out:
 

 
And here it is in one of the gun ports. It fits nicely and more importantly, the barrel comes out straight so I can (hopefully) line them up with the dummy cannons that will be in the other gun ports.
 

 
Here is a comparison of the stock cannon (right) and the modified version (left):
 

 
I was lucky to have some extra cannons to experiment with. At some point I will make up the 16 cannons that will be rigged on the gun deck, but I have a lot more work to do to get to that point.

I think you may be right. I'll have a look. Shouldn't be hard to repair at this point, more of an issue later! Thanks.
 

The stern section has been even more of a challenge, since the filler blocks are much smaller, more delicate, and more dramatically curved. I approached this challenge by roughing them out in balsa wood, gluing them in, and I'm now in the process of shaping them in place. The block above (whose name escapes me at the moment) is made of kit-supplied wood and is neither finalized nor glued in as yet. Perhaps another few days of fine sanding will see this small part of the larger project behind me.

Thanks Rob, and for the likes.
 
I have finished the ratlines on both sides of the lower shrouds and tied on the futtock staves. It is nice getting to this point in the build.

I next did some more bowsprit rigging. I had made this jibboom traveller a few months ago, modeling it off what Chuck made for his Syren build. Before installing it, I seized two small blocks to it for the jib downhaul and tackle, and the two inner fixed guy lines.
I then slid the jibboom through the bowsprit cap from the back, and slipped the traveller onto the jibboom. The jibboom was not sitting flat into the saddle, so I filed out the hole in the cap a bit until it did, then glued it to the saddle.


I had made this bracket to fit over the saddle before, so I just glued it in place.

I seized eyes into the ends of two lines for the fixed inner guys and added them to the end of the jibboom, and seized two bullseyes with loops for the martingale stays and slipped them over the end of the jibboom.

This is as much as I can do on the bowsprit until I make and install the bowsprit yard. Before that I am going to work on the mast caps and install the topmasts.
 
 

Finally is the boat finished.
To many distractions and eye problems have delayed the Finnish.
Just a few pics .
I made changes to the Billings kit for RC use, next week is the maiden sailing.
 

I have followed the advice received, and have been gluing each bulkhead as I proceed. I've also elected to take an 'optional' suggestion from the kit's instructions, and have been adding a reinforcement between each pair of bulkheads. This gives further insurance against shifting, and will, of course, be invisible after planking. I've also purchased a few chunks of balsa wood and I plan to fill the first 3 bow sections, and the last 2 stern sections with wooden blocks,  sanded to shape, to give me a full backing surface for gluing up the more radical curves at bow and stern. That's the plan, how reality comes out is yet to be seen!
 

I have followed the advice received, and have been gluing each bulkhead as I proceed. I've also elected to take an 'optional' suggestion from the kit's instructions, and have been adding a reinforcement between each pair of bulkheads. This gives further insurance against shifting, and will, of course, be invisible after planking. I've also purchased a few chunks of balsa wood and I plan to fill the first 3 bow sections, and the last 2 stern sections with wooden blocks,  sanded to shape, to give me a full backing surface for gluing up the more radical curves at bow and stern. That's the plan, how reality comes out is yet to be seen!
 

I have followed the advice received, and have been gluing each bulkhead as I proceed. I've also elected to take an 'optional' suggestion from the kit's instructions, and have been adding a reinforcement between each pair of bulkheads. This gives further insurance against shifting, and will, of course, be invisible after planking. I've also purchased a few chunks of balsa wood and I plan to fill the first 3 bow sections, and the last 2 stern sections with wooden blocks,  sanded to shape, to give me a full backing surface for gluing up the more radical curves at bow and stern. That's the plan, how reality comes out is yet to be seen!
 

I have followed the advice received, and have been gluing each bulkhead as I proceed. I've also elected to take an 'optional' suggestion from the kit's instructions, and have been adding a reinforcement between each pair of bulkheads. This gives further insurance against shifting, and will, of course, be invisible after planking. I've also purchased a few chunks of balsa wood and I plan to fill the first 3 bow sections, and the last 2 stern sections with wooden blocks,  sanded to shape, to give me a full backing surface for gluing up the more radical curves at bow and stern. That's the plan, how reality comes out is yet to be seen!
 

I have followed the advice received, and have been gluing each bulkhead as I proceed. I've also elected to take an 'optional' suggestion from the kit's instructions, and have been adding a reinforcement between each pair of bulkheads. This gives further insurance against shifting, and will, of course, be invisible after planking. I've also purchased a few chunks of balsa wood and I plan to fill the first 3 bow sections, and the last 2 stern sections with wooden blocks,  sanded to shape, to give me a full backing surface for gluing up the more radical curves at bow and stern. That's the plan, how reality comes out is yet to be seen!
 

I have followed the advice received, and have been gluing each bulkhead as I proceed. I've also elected to take an 'optional' suggestion from the kit's instructions, and have been adding a reinforcement between each pair of bulkheads. This gives further insurance against shifting, and will, of course, be invisible after planking. I've also purchased a few chunks of balsa wood and I plan to fill the first 3 bow sections, and the last 2 stern sections with wooden blocks,  sanded to shape, to give me a full backing surface for gluing up the more radical curves at bow and stern. That's the plan, how reality comes out is yet to be seen!
 

I have followed the advice received, and have been gluing each bulkhead as I proceed. I've also elected to take an 'optional' suggestion from the kit's instructions, and have been adding a reinforcement between each pair of bulkheads. This gives further insurance against shifting, and will, of course, be invisible after planking. I've also purchased a few chunks of balsa wood and I plan to fill the first 3 bow sections, and the last 2 stern sections with wooden blocks,  sanded to shape, to give me a full backing surface for gluing up the more radical curves at bow and stern. That's the plan, how reality comes out is yet to be seen!
 

I have followed the advice received, and have been gluing each bulkhead as I proceed. I've also elected to take an 'optional' suggestion from the kit's instructions, and have been adding a reinforcement between each pair of bulkheads. This gives further insurance against shifting, and will, of course, be invisible after planking. I've also purchased a few chunks of balsa wood and I plan to fill the first 3 bow sections, and the last 2 stern sections with wooden blocks,  sanded to shape, to give me a full backing surface for gluing up the more radical curves at bow and stern. That's the plan, how reality comes out is yet to be seen!