qwerty2008

Today I made the fore course, the fore topsail and the main topsail. All that's left is the mizzen topsail, the main topgallant and the fore topgallant then the various stay sails and the jibs.

Lextin.

Today I made the main and fore topmast, I also made the main course. the tops make it a tight squeeze to get it in the bottle but it still fits.

Lextin.

Michael: yes, the hull is in 7 pieces.

Lextin.

I got the clay for the sea and added it to the bottle then did a test fit of the hull. I also made the mizzen topmast and lateen sail.

Lextin.

I made the beakhead railing, figurehead and the stern lanterns. The figurehead is made from two card cutouts glued together in a V shape with the open end of the V around the stem, the railings are strips of card shaped then soaked in CA to harden them and the stern lanterns are made from bamboo skewers and are placed lower than they should be, so they wont block the piece from fitting through the neck of the bottle.

Lextin.

I made the cannons and the stand for the bottle. I also scratched the paint off the deck leaving lines simulating planks as well as creating some contrast from all the black. The stand for the bottle is made from some old worm eaten wood.

Lextin.

I have started on the details such as the capstan and the hatches. the capstan slides up and down the mast covering the Hinkley hinge when in the down position but allowing the mast to fold when in the up position.

Lextin.

I made the wales and the cap rails then I put on the first coat of paint. I also took a closeup of one of the mast hinges.

Lextin.

I got a call from a relative who wants me to make them a ship in a bottle, they were not specific on what they wanted they just said a pirate ship. I thought abought it and realized that real pirate ships are not that recognizable as "pirate ships" so I decided on the Black Pearl from Disney's Pirates Of The Caribbean.

   I found some plans on the web and immediately started on the model. The hull is made in three pieces from balsa, the upper works are made in four pieces also balsa, the decks are made from thin plywood and the mast are bamboo skewers. 

Lextin.

I have not done much work on the Sophie but felt that I needed to post an update so you you guys don't think that I abandoned the project. Since my last post I did some work on the rigging and got a new lightbulb.

    I wont be working on the Shopie for a wile as I am making a SIB for a relative right now.

Lextin.

For now I am going to move on, I will revisit the cannons later. In the mean time I will be working on miscellaneous other parts.

   Since my last post I made the chain plates and the cross trees for both mast. Oops looks like I forgot to take pictures of the cross trees, I will try to post some soon.

Lextin.

The mold was made from some sort of plaster that came with the house which didn't conform to the shape of the master. If I make a mold again I will attempt to get proper mold making supplies.

Lextin.

I made a carriage for the cannon. As for the casting I will first try resin but if I cant get it to work I will try lead.

Lextin.

I made the master cannon that will be used to make the mold for casting the rest. The cannon is made from paper brushed with diluted PVA  and rolled around a piece of brass tube then turned on a lathe. In order to make the cannon I first needed to make a lathe to turn it on to do this I strapped my Dremel to a board and put some eye hooks in another piece of wood which was clamped onto the first. one end of the tube that I rolled the paper around was placed through the eye hooks and the other was chucked into the Dremel.

Lextin.

Nice but my advice would be to be careful when you shorten the keel.

David B

David: When I shorten the keel I will attach the bulb without the fin then move it up and down the bolts until I get the right balance between shallowness and stability then I will cut the fin shorter.

Lextin.

I did a float test yesterday, I added lead until it floated at its waterline then left it for 4 hours. Even with the weight held internally it was surprisingly stable this means that I can shorten the keel which will allow me to sail in shallower water.

Lextin.

I made the beakhead'ish thing, I made it by cutting grooves into my mockup version then setting small pieces of square stock into the grooves which were then glued onto the sides with some CA, I temporarily glued each halve into place then glued two pieces of square stock between them to hold them together.

     Should I go straight along the top edge or have a curve like the one I marked on it in the last two pictures?

Lextin.

I took some pictures of today, overalls and closeups.

A closeup of the stem showing a mockup of the proposed beakhead'ish trim piece.

A closeup showing one of the gunport sills.

The inside.

Lextin.

I have installed all of the gunport sills and am debating on if I should add some trim to the stem just above the figurehead similar to a beakhead but just decorative as it would be to small to be useful.

Lextin.

I asked the same question on another forum and got a similar answer, since I got the same answer from two different sources it must be good info so I will hold off on paint until the hull is sealed. Before sealing the hull I need to finish the trim and install the rest of the gunport sills.

Lextin