Izzy Madd

Just let you know I've not been ignoring Nannie. The mini is coming along great as I've got all the standing rigging done I think. Jut doi some of the running rigging. I think the thread is to thick and I know it should be black but I like it and it's good practice for bis sis. Also you' can see her brand new stand Hope you all like.

Just a few words tonight. I've finished the planking of the base of the hull I like how it's turned out it is the look I was after. What are anyone else's thoughts? And ther result of the over sanding

Hi I've been looking at strop block closer and see what you mean about e amount of whipping. As I'd fallen into the same trap as most untrained artists do. That of thinkin "I know what these look like. Who needs pictures?" Which of course we all do as things are never quite how we think they are.especially for the Victory era. As for Little Willy, the may be another name change depending on the finished project. To honour a good friend who passed away a few years by who's first name Was Everard.

Ahoy me hearties, Simple question. After the master shipwrights left the apprentice in charge of sanding while he nipped of for a quick chat with the local barmaid. I've now got a gaping hole in the side of my boat where the Rodney sanded through the the planks. But having altready done this bit before and now owning two more billings boats. I was wondering about plank benders. I've not got much joy with soaking as the planks are just too thin so there is insufficient material for them to act like the full size and the outer surface just peals away. Now I know a man who can make me a bending tip for my soldering iron. For free so I've got that covered. But I also noticed the plier typ benders. Which have a knife like edge and a firm rubber/plastic pad to bend planks. My double question is. Do they work well? Also unless I'm much mistaken. Are they not just expensive and tacky anvil secateurs? Which are stronger, designed for prolonged use and about a third the price. Any advice please

Thanks for the advice. I've been looking at many sources of methods. But I'm enjoying the trial and error method at the moment. It more a case of, I know there not right but I can't quite say why. Hence me asking as others can often see pat the wood to the trees.

It also shows those marks of all that are by your side but can not be seen. I don't mean to be presumptuous but I feel that is all on here. We stand not face to face in time of need, but shoulder to shoulder. So as to be able the better to support one another if needed.

As mayor said "hard times do not shape character. They reveal it" also they reveal the true value of having a good family and true friends. And you have them both. Best wishes to all and sincere hope for you as well

Thanks the Dettol worked brilliantly. Then again I was surprised that Dettol antiseptic contained caustic soda. Which explains why it feels slimy. But them again why do Dettol recommend it for pimples. AND say that the castor oil in it 'may' cause skin irritation. Nothing about the caustic soda fetching your skin of

Thanks for the honest opinion and advice I'm not overly happy with the becket either. As for attaching I used a midline reef knot with the ends at the top the duped it in sealing solution then made the becket but I've been waiting for some more thread and I think, hope, I've got a better way of making it. Just a matter of putting it into practice. I'm reasonably happy with hold of the strops I just need thicker thread. As it tends to dissapear into the groove all the way round. So I'll be posting the next generation soon also I noticed on one the proportions are off. As the width is greater than the depth. And from what I can tell it's usually about 2:3:4 on a single block as a rough guide as they are all sorts of size. But the size that's given is the wheel size whic is also the width of a single pulley and that's very roughly twice the height and 1 1/2 the depth. It just gives me some sort of figures to work with. When doing them in bulk. I've also figured a better way of doing the strop groove on the long sides and the lengths so it's like everything make it as you go along and learn learn learn. That's why I like honest answers like yours which highlight what's not quite right. As I struggle to spot it as I'm too close so to speak.

As I've finally found a paint prepared to stick to big sis. Does anyone know how to remove an excess of acrylic paint without dissolving the hull? Other than sandpaper and a copious amount of high viscosity oil of humerus. That is.

This is the point I was trying to make. While maybe the terms I used were not scientifically correct the basic knowledge was there for all to read and understand. Without having to get the dictionary out. As the saying goes KISS. That's "Keep It Stupidly Simple" If some thing was falling at terminal velocity. Most normal people would say something like "that's moving fast" not "that must be close to its terminal velocity" But both mean the same in the world of bit, bobs and boats especially when in a shed. Well said Popey2Sea.

Mine and my ships cats thoughts are with you and yours. Keep well yourself as its all too easy to get down at times like this and you have a good family around you. Just having each other to lean on will mean so much. Don't underestimate each other's worth or strengths at this time. May the Gods smile down on you and yours very soon. Love the chain but that's for another time. Soon. Good luck and better news be yours.

As it seems most engineers live in another world. On here and else where. In the real world things like strain force newtons mass volume etc still exist they tend to have much the same definitive meaning as "average" does. But no one is.... Enough to bother asking is that mean, median or mode. They accept the info and adjust according to there own knowledge. So I would suggest putting your book of Phyisics 101 down. And do like the rest of do and either use or don't use the info your choice. As is the words I'll use to describe the force required to complete a destructive ad hoc test to demonstrate in real world terms. And if someone using terms incorrectly then try suffering from a chronic lack of inter human discourse. And I guarantee you get at least one word wrong as its always used incorrectly. But you are more than able to cope. As are we all when some one misuses a word. But with a subject as complex and with so many unique words. I'd have thought the last place to be throw in stones was in this glass house. As I can think of several words which mean totally different thing to an engineer, compared to a sailor. But they don't make you cringe. Never mind the newbies who don't know either wording. Such as is it a pulley, a block, a block and tackle, or a pulley block, the answer is yes it's all those and more. So if you don't like misused words don't join forums which will contain real people's wording and real world situations. Just go and work out the last digit in Pi.

On a completely different tack. And no disrespect to the chap(images curtesy of The Daily Mail). As its the lighting and the daft pose they put him in. Is it just me or does this guy look like a cross between Joe 90 and Brains from Thunderbirds? Every time I see this image I want to look for the strings... And for those that had a less than full education, ie born too late. Here's Joe 90. And here's brains. Pre cartoon version... And before anyone asks yes it's the weekend and yes I've been tapping the admiral...

Comments please. Be brutally honest no hurt feelings as I'm trying to get the design right before setting up the process. Any criticisms accepted just leave you funeral request at the bottom of the page

Hi, does any one know the sizes of the original blocks. As I'm trying to make some but don't know how big they should be. Please help.

Ahoy there. Just a quick question. Please be brutally honest. As this is the very first one I've made. So I want advice on how it could be better as much as acceptance. Sorry about the quality.

Ah but the beauty of my admiral is she's only 20mm high and will be stuck on the front of the Cutty Sark. The nearest I've got to an admiral is the ships cat, who comes on the bed occasionally during the night. I just haven't got the heart to tell her she's been dead five years.

Hi, Jack Always wanted to say that but never met a jack before :-). You are right she is a steel hull boat. And still running. Although I had the pleasure of sailing on board her when she had just been taken over by OCL. I've a soft spot for her and wood. And as they were being made from the two materials at the same time. The last in wood was 1936. I'm taking a little artistic licence. Shall we say. The layout will still be Will just out of wood and in shades of wood. Unless things go wrong. I mean I change my mind .but the model is somewhat short of the real thing as a look at the virtual tour will show. The hold cover is far bigger than the model for a start. So I'm trying to meet somewhere in the middle as true to Will as possible but all from wood and based upon the model. Unless I can obtain better dimensions of certain part such as the hold cover. Which for a start should actually be higher than the sides of the boat. Which when fully loaded would have been the water line. So I feel there enough room between mine and billings to still say it's Will. Although I may rename her as I had a friend who's first name was Everard. But that's in the future. So welcome aboard and enjoy the trip. I just hope you've bought enough booze for everyone

Just a quick update the boss has okay end the funds so I've been down the local Forrest and chopped a few oak trees down. As you can see Nannies fully inspected them, while on a break from the Cutty Sark. Although she not to sure about the large mast piece

When I started I just intended to build the kit. But it's snowballed and as I want to leave the planking showing. Im going to use 0.8mm deck planks for the base boards. So it "should" look ok. If not I can rip out the base boards and plank it. I'm also toying with the idea of opening up the interior. As I was on dry goods barges. As the hold was just the inside of outer hull. With walls at either end. Which if i do do threats all the ribs would be if I ciput them back and just add two walls and plank the base on the inside. I'll see ho it goes up to that point first. As for the hull sides the stern is suck down now and had its first levelling sand down. So I can see the lines of the hull and I've still cot grooves for the caulking. So it's caulking for this first side and plank the rest of the other side then plank the base boards.

Hi, And welcome the greatest beauty contest this side of the Tardis. Why the Tardis. Well it seem that despite the rumours that I'd abandoned a young highland lass by the name of Nannie. In favour of some one called Little Willy. The rumours are unfounded to the point the I've enlisted the good Doctor to help. As you can see below... I'm afraid you'll have to excuse the poor image quality but they insisted upon soft focus at this time of night. It's always when someone turns around you get the best picture ah well After much coaxing I did get them to pose for a last time. And as you can see double yes we now have two Nannies. Thanks to the Doctor. Who nipped back to the future. Or forward to the past!‽ which ever but there they are. While big sis sports the right coloured tail it's clear that little sis has caught a much darker horse. So which witch is which? Well they are both of course just one is 1/130 and the other is 1/350. So we are still moving forward. It's just the ladies keep disappearing just as I'm about to do their hair or sort out her/their Cutty Sarks. And it's taken until now to get them both ready and in the same place at the same time. You can never rush a lady never mind two. So let's hear it for the girls Wolf whistles are allowed as being PC is banned on my log

Any help is grateful accepted. Criticisms I ignore

If I can get a tenth of the quality of Mike Seymour's model, see below. I'll be happy. But it's the look I'm hopefull of.

Hi, As it happens that's right way up. Apparently Apple have admitted they've messed up and advised people to hold there iPad one way for rear shots and the other for forward shots. That's fine but the camera won't rotate whilst taking rear shots so your looking at an upside down image that ends up being the picture. Ah well. Having the two halves laid out together makes a lot of things simpler. It's easier to visually match the two. I'm using one hull to pre bend the planks for the other. I can take measurements direc from one to the other and I can stagger the work from one to the other so as to keep the work flowing smoother no stopping and waiting iafter each plank if I don't want to. Just turn it around and work on the other half. Also the thicker board helps keep the keel flatter. I hope! Thanks for your comments and I'd also considered this problem of not liking the final look but I can always fill and paint if it's too bad. I'll check out you log soon but I've seen photos of old wooden barges and they have very clear caulking lines as the hull is so rough. They've just left it with a deep groove that's then filled partially withe pitch. But this is a learn as I go job and it works or it doesn't either way if got a model boat at the end. But I'll keep what you've said in mind. As for the sanding smooth I've started already and the caulking has sanded out but I've got severa razor saws and there's still enough groove to open it up enough to re caulk once sanded. So hopefully it will work. Watch this space. Thanks and keep trying to spot the upside down images