Chuck

Thank you Frank for the kind words. It was a pleasure meeting you as well. Unfortunately when I got back from the conference I caught a bit of Bronchitis. I havent been in the shop for five days now. Its a slow recovery. But I hope to get back in there tomorrow. Chuck

indeed I meant every word. I enjoy the company. As promised here are some step by step for making those pesky boom crutches. Its important to start with an extra thick piece and cut the crutches out so the tail is extra wide also. You will soon see why. I find it easier to concentrate on one angle at a time. To get these pieces positioned properly you must get the four angles done separately....one step at a time. Start by filing the fashion piece flush with the cap rail. Then viewing the boom crutch from the stern try and establish the correct first angle. This would be the angle of the fashion piece along the transom as shown below in green. You do this by filing the bottom of the crutch stem. Then turn your attention to the angle when viewing the crutch from the side. You are trying again to establish the fore/aft angle of the fashion piece as shown below. This is why you made the crutch so much wider and cut it out of 1/4" thick boxwood. Sand it to shape with a file. Then.....we have to make the boom crutch face the lower mast. On most models I see they are facing forward or even outboard. This wouldnt serve its purpose to well. The reason for making the stem of the crutch wider is so you can turn the crutch to face the mast. Note how the fore edge of the crutch is flush with the fashion piece...BUT the aft corner hangs off the fashion piece. Mark the aft side of the boom crutch as shown below and file this bevel into the outboard edge. The round crutch remains untouched. You are only beveling the stem. Then also bevel the inboard edge of the stem to complete it. Its at this stage where I glued it in position. Then I filed and sanded it further to shape. I filled the joint with wood filler and sanded it smooth so the crutch and fashion piece looked like one piece. Thank God it is going to be painted black. The last angle we should concern ourselves with is the angle of the top of the crutches when viewed at the side. This is easier done while it is glued into position. See the angles established in red so the crutches match the sheer or are at least level rather than slanting upwards. This is important and the bottom of the crutch....inside the crutch should also be addressed and angled downward slightly or at least leveled off if need be. Think about how the boom would REST in each crutch when establishing the angle inside the crutch. When you are done....do it all over again on the other side and try very hard to get a matching pair. Note how the stems are not very long and the crutches are so very close to the top of the transom. If you hide the seam well and paint it the results are very convincing. You will no doubt have many parts added to the waste pile as I did. These are a bit tricky.

That looks very good Mike. I cant wait to see it in person.

What a wonderful few days indeed...... Ben, Duff, Rusty, Druxey, Ron, Mike, Ryland and so many others from MSW...It was great to spend time with all of you and chat. Now its time to start working on Next years Conference in San Diego . Get ready Chuck

Thank You....if you are ever in th e neighborhood let me know.. I love getting company during the day.

nicely done

Don....why not actually start a build log of your own. I do think it would be much better and so not to have kinda to builds going on in one topic. I think it would be easier to ask your questions that way. We would all love to see your Washington develop and progress. Chuck

The conference is just two weeks away!!!! I just wanted to let folks know to be sure to visit the NRG registration table when you arrive. Get your name badges and welcome packet. Your name badges will get you free entry into Mystic Seaport for the entire duration of the conference including Wednesday I believe. So you will be able to come and go as you please. Even though the seaport is just a mile and half from the hotel, you will certainly need a car. Although I am sure somebody will get you there with over 175 folks signed up for the conference. There will be plenty of model builders there. I wish everyone a safe and comfortable trip and I hope to see you there soon!!!

Thanks!!! To my knowledge nobody sells blackened eyebolts commercially. I wish I could make them from the acrylic I make my hooks out of, but the acrylic doesnt like any type of glue and it simply wouldnt work. Best to just use 28 gauge black annealed wire to make your own eye bolts from scratch. Chuck

Guys All I can say is that I am careful and slow to a fault. Its tough to get stuff done this way. But I do agree everyone should just slow down. Its what I recommend a lot of folks to do... Anyway...back to Cheerful. I was able after two attempts to shape the boom crutch and create a procedure for doing so. The key was starting with a much thicker piece and making the boom crutch a bit over-sized to start. I cut out the boom crutch on a piece of 1/4" thick boxwood and carefully adjusted for three angles. When completed it will be just 1/8" wide to match the width of the fashion piece. Now that the starboard side is complete I can do the other and take pictures at every step. This is certainly one piece that needs slow and attentive care to the angles involved. The boon crutch must be turned inboard slightly so the boom can actually sit in it. This is tough because the fashion piece and the side of the hull goes in the opposite direction!!! This one piece took me over four hours to produce, shape and paint to a finish I found acceptable. A few careful reference marks and filing...then turn the piece inward and you are good to go!!! I will have a step by step soon. You can see the second boom crutch over-sized and ready to shape in one of the photos. Note the tail is left long so the proper angles can be created while sanding it shorter. Because the boom crutch was painted black it might be hard to see in these photos but essentially the boom crutch must match the angle of the fashion piece when viewed from the side and from astern in two planes while being turned to line up with the path of the boom (or the main mast). All while hiding the seam between the two pieces...thank God it is supposed to be painted black.

Magic!!! Seriously I have no idea...I just work very slooooowly. Drives others nuts when they watch me working on something.

Timberheads are completed....now on to the boom crutches. Just a word about those boom crutches. These are probably some of the trickiest parts of the model to make. There are going to be some crazy angles to create and much trial and error. I expect to make quite a large pile of bad boom crutches. This is for the benefit of all those building the model as well. You will no doubt have a large pile of discarded crutches also. I will do my best to explain how I make them step by step.

Doubles on the inside and singles on the outside.....

Thanks Dan....hope to see you soon...maybe in a few weeks at the conference??

Most were just edge bent...the hooked scarfs were cut from wider stock than the 3/16" strips and then they were edge bent too!!! Chuck

No not yet. That is months away I am afraid. I am using MinWax Wipe-On-Poly for the finish. Nothing else. Started on the timber heads today. There are only six. No shortcuts here. Just grab a sharp blade and start shaping. I know some folks use power tools for this but I prefer to go old-school. I just go very very slow. They are 3/32" thick. Chuck

I created the rudder port by flipping the hull upside down. I made a pilot hole and slowly opened it up and shaped it. I made the rudder first which is shown below. This was used to test the size and shape of teh port and when I was satisfied I touched up the red paint around it. Then it was time to add the small top section of the rudder post. I designed the model so it was simulated and put on in two pieces. The laser cut longer piece is shown in the same photo below. I left a longer tail so folks can sand it down to fit their models. The deck level will probably vary model to model and this takes care of the issue. Once filed down to fit, it was glued into position and painted. To pull off the illusion I used yellow glue which sets up slower. By having the rudder made I was able to tape it in position so I could get the correct angle for this tiny piece. This step was crucial. It was tweaked while the rudder was taped on temporarily. The yellow glue gave me a lot of time to move it around so it was positioned correctly and creates the illusion of a one piece stern post. A little sanding on the outboard edge and some filler and it looked really good after painting. I still havent decided if I will paint the inboard portion of the rudder head. I probably will as is stands out too much left bright. And finally....I made some time to paint the windlass. I havent glued it into position yet but here are some overall detailed photos.

Thank You.....I am not sure I understand what photo spars is. Can you clarify? I will certainly help you any way I can. Chuck

Yes indeed...on each end...I have seen some folks use 6 or seven and sometimes more at each end. It just wouldnt be the case. Its usually because they don't taper the planks to curve them. If you use straight planks then you may well be forced to use many more which is why they usually tapered them. I also find that they start the nibbing process too soon. It usually isnt needed till the margin plank turns down the sides of the bulwarks further aft then most start.

Druxey On this particular model they are not curved or tapered. They are straight planks. Go figure!!! Chuck

I agree that both methods were used. until around 1825-30 when most decks were nibbed. Here is an image of a 1770's cutter. It is a contemporary model for sure. The deck is clearly nibbed. Both methods were used and its just a matter of picking which you prefer to model. I prefer the curved planks with hooked and tapered scarfs over the straight and nibbed. Although there was also curved and nibbed deck planking as well. Like everything else....its a matter of personal preference. Chuck

And finally....the deck is planked. This is a big milestone for me because it is the last really big messy job to be done. The remainder of the project will be small fittings and less sanding. There will be less dust and less paint touch up. The planking was pretty straight forward after having lined off the deck. I just following the plan I drew on the false deck. Each plank was tapered to match. The scarphed planks were handles much the same way the drop plank was on the outside of the hull. If I thought it was needed, I made a card stock template. The scarphed planks were cut from wider stock (7/32" or even 1/4" wide planks). Next I will create the rudder port because it will be the last time I can turn the hull upside down without too much trouble. Once that is done I will return outboard and finish off all of the details. The boom crutches, boarding ladders, scuppers and channels etc.

That is looking very good Alan. Its fantastic to see you back in the workshop. Hope you are doing well. These are difficult pieces to shape and they look like they will work out very nicely. Chuck

Yikes....That will indeed be hard to look at!!!!

The Fleet Book of the Alaska Packers Association, 1893-1945: An Historical Overview and List By Donald H. Dyal North Charleston: CreateSpace, 2014 8-1/2” x 11”, softcover, xvii + 208 pages Photographs, notes, index. $44.99 ISBN: 9781499329209 The last large American fleet of ocean-going sailing ships was that operated by the Alaska Packers Association, seasonally carrying workers from San Francisco Bay to the mouths of Alaskan rivers and creeks to can salmon. This salmon canning business was very lucrative, second only to lumbering on the West Coast in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The ships that made up this fleet were very miscellaneous. None of them was purpose-built for the Association; all were purchased, usually rather cheaply, after hard service lives of fifteen to twenty-five years in the worldwide oceanic trades. (It is worth remembering that fifteen to twenty-five years was regarded at the time as the usually working life for a merchant vessel.) Remarkably, most went on to provide twenty-five years or more of service with the Association’s fleet, despite the rigors of the Alaska canning trade. Donald H. Dyal set out to research the extant fleet books in the archives and consolidate the information they contained into a single comprehensive fleet listing that would tell the remarkable half-century story of these vessels (and their steam or diesel-powered fellows). The heart of the book comprises thirty-six individual “biographies” of the sailing vessels of the fleet. Each vessel’s origins are presented in tabular form, followed by a short history covering its operations prior to, during, and after service with the Association. Dyal also includes remarks on surviving artifacts from the vessels, two of which (Star of India and Balclutha) are preserved to this day as museum ships. The powered ships are treated much more briefly, as are those vessel chartered by the Association and the Liberty and Victory ships it operated during World War II. One of the most interesting features of this new Fleet Book is the author’s excellent summary of the history of the Alaska Packers Association that opens the work. This presents not only a chronological summary of the Association’s story but also material on the routine of its operations; both important to provide context for a fuller understanding of the industry and the vessels in its service. Overall, The Fleet Book of the Alaska Packers Association is an invaluable reference for both researchers and aficionados of the later days of oceanic sailing ships. It is packed with useful material and, equally importantly, replete with pointers toward sources for those interested in greater detail. Henry Farrar Baltimore, Maryland