Erik W

Thanks for the kind words and likes.  When photographing a couple weeks of work it doesn't really look like I made much progress!  I attached the rest of the cleats to the bulwarks, drilled all the holes for the cannon eyebolts, formed the 60 or so eyebolts needed, and then made and attached the side pin rails.  When attaching the eyebolts, I only glued in the top ones, and left the lower ones off.  I made a jig out of styrene to get the holes in the bulwarks consistent.  And being a perfectionist, the forming of the eyebolts themselves wound up taking some time.
 
I had a question regarding the inboard bulwark ladders for you Cheerful builders.  The instructions say, "You will find the template on the plans to cut the sides for the ladder.  But just to make life easier, print the next page as all of the elements are provided".  None of the 3 plan sheets have a template for the sides of the ladder.  And I'm not sure what the print the next page reference means.  There are no plans for the ladders in the written instructions either.  Does anyone happen to have a plan that shows the side shape of the ladder?  I guess I can make a good guess based on photos of the ladder pieces shown in Chuck's instructions, but it would be a little easier if I had a template to reference/print.
 
While still working on the Cheerful almost daily, my progress has slowed down a fair amount.  With the warmer weather and longer days, there's lots to do outside, so the path forward on the build will be a bit slower while I enjoy the summer.
 
Erik

Thanks for the kind words and likes.  When photographing a couple weeks of work it doesn't really look like I made much progress!  I attached the rest of the cleats to the bulwarks, drilled all the holes for the cannon eyebolts, formed the 60 or so eyebolts needed, and then made and attached the side pin rails.  When attaching the eyebolts, I only glued in the top ones, and left the lower ones off.  I made a jig out of styrene to get the holes in the bulwarks consistent.  And being a perfectionist, the forming of the eyebolts themselves wound up taking some time.
 
I had a question regarding the inboard bulwark ladders for you Cheerful builders.  The instructions say, "You will find the template on the plans to cut the sides for the ladder.  But just to make life easier, print the next page as all of the elements are provided".  None of the 3 plan sheets have a template for the sides of the ladder.  And I'm not sure what the print the next page reference means.  There are no plans for the ladders in the written instructions either.  Does anyone happen to have a plan that shows the side shape of the ladder?  I guess I can make a good guess based on photos of the ladder pieces shown in Chuck's instructions, but it would be a little easier if I had a template to reference/print.
 
While still working on the Cheerful almost daily, my progress has slowed down a fair amount.  With the warmer weather and longer days, there's lots to do outside, so the path forward on the build will be a bit slower while I enjoy the summer.
 
Erik

Glenn,  Thanks for the compliments.  I think it's just the angle of the photos for the pin rails.  They're made/shaped exactly to size from the plans.
 
Erik

Glenn,  Thanks for the compliments.  I think it's just the angle of the photos for the pin rails.  They're made/shaped exactly to size from the plans.
 
Erik

Thanks for the kind words and likes.  When photographing a couple weeks of work it doesn't really look like I made much progress!  I attached the rest of the cleats to the bulwarks, drilled all the holes for the cannon eyebolts, formed the 60 or so eyebolts needed, and then made and attached the side pin rails.  When attaching the eyebolts, I only glued in the top ones, and left the lower ones off.  I made a jig out of styrene to get the holes in the bulwarks consistent.  And being a perfectionist, the forming of the eyebolts themselves wound up taking some time.
 
I had a question regarding the inboard bulwark ladders for you Cheerful builders.  The instructions say, "You will find the template on the plans to cut the sides for the ladder.  But just to make life easier, print the next page as all of the elements are provided".  None of the 3 plan sheets have a template for the sides of the ladder.  And I'm not sure what the print the next page reference means.  There are no plans for the ladders in the written instructions either.  Does anyone happen to have a plan that shows the side shape of the ladder?  I guess I can make a good guess based on photos of the ladder pieces shown in Chuck's instructions, but it would be a little easier if I had a template to reference/print.
 
While still working on the Cheerful almost daily, my progress has slowed down a fair amount.  With the warmer weather and longer days, there's lots to do outside, so the path forward on the build will be a bit slower while I enjoy the summer.
 
Erik

I did a variety of things over the last week.  I built the jib outhaul block (shown in the painfully enlarged photo below . . . warts and all, haha).  Mike (stuntflyer) has an excellent tutorial for that on his Cheerful build, so I followed that.  I then made a card stock mock up of the starboard side seat.  I used the card stock templates as a pattern to cut out the parts.  As others have said this is a bit finicky.  I have a feeling the second one will be more of a challenge as I try to get it to match the first.
 
I spent some time this week reading ahead in Chuck's monograph chapters to get a list of the last little bits I need to finish the build.  I ordered some Albion Alloys brass tube.  I also messaged Chuck, Mike, and Glenn (glbarlow) with questions about the thread type/size/color they used with Chuck's scale rope for seizing and serving.  Today I went on a region wide road trip to fly fishing shops and fabric stores.  Most of my dark brown rope is Chuck's old style rope, other than the .012" new Ultra for rat lines (so I don't need thread for seizing or serving the brown Ultra rope).  My tan rope is a mix of his old rope and the new Ultra rope.  These tan colors are close enough in shade to mix on the model, but I wanted thread for seizing that matched each shade.  The photos below are color corrected to be as close to accurate as I could possibly get the images.  The Gutermann thread is for most serving and seizing.  The smaller diameter UNI-Thread fly tying thread is for tiny serving and seizing.
 
Here's what I came up with based on what I could find locally.
Using with Syren old brown rope - Gutermann 50wt CA02776 Polyester thread Color 593 - UNI-Thread 72D 8/0W Dark Brown
Using with Syren old tan rope - Gutermann 50wt CA02776 Polyester thread Color 512 - UNI-Thread 72D 8/0W Tan
Using with Syren new Ultra tan rope - Gutermann 50wt CA02776 Polyester thread Color 509 - also UNI-Thread 72D 8/0W Tan
 
Also, as Chuck had answered, the thread he uses for seizing and serving his new Ultra rope is as follows (I researched what actual size/diameter it is in wt and tex).
Ultra Brown rope - Gutermann Mara 150 50wt/20Tex  Color 682 or for smaller uses Mara 220 77wt/13Tex
Ultra Tan rope - Gutermann Mara 150 50wt/20Tex  Color 263 or for smaller uses Mara 220 77wt/13Tex
This is hard to find in the US, so Chuck recommended this place: https://www.williamgee.co.uk/product-tag/mara/
 
Erik
 

Glenn,  Thanks for the compliments.  I think it's just the angle of the photos for the pin rails.  They're made/shaped exactly to size from the plans.
 
Erik

Glenn,  Thanks for the compliments.  I think it's just the angle of the photos for the pin rails.  They're made/shaped exactly to size from the plans.
 
Erik

Thanks for the kind words and likes.  When photographing a couple weeks of work it doesn't really look like I made much progress!  I attached the rest of the cleats to the bulwarks, drilled all the holes for the cannon eyebolts, formed the 60 or so eyebolts needed, and then made and attached the side pin rails.  When attaching the eyebolts, I only glued in the top ones, and left the lower ones off.  I made a jig out of styrene to get the holes in the bulwarks consistent.  And being a perfectionist, the forming of the eyebolts themselves wound up taking some time.
 
I had a question regarding the inboard bulwark ladders for you Cheerful builders.  The instructions say, "You will find the template on the plans to cut the sides for the ladder.  But just to make life easier, print the next page as all of the elements are provided".  None of the 3 plan sheets have a template for the sides of the ladder.  And I'm not sure what the print the next page reference means.  There are no plans for the ladders in the written instructions either.  Does anyone happen to have a plan that shows the side shape of the ladder?  I guess I can make a good guess based on photos of the ladder pieces shown in Chuck's instructions, but it would be a little easier if I had a template to reference/print.
 
While still working on the Cheerful almost daily, my progress has slowed down a fair amount.  With the warmer weather and longer days, there's lots to do outside, so the path forward on the build will be a bit slower while I enjoy the summer.
 
Erik

Glenn,  Thanks for the compliments.  I think it's just the angle of the photos for the pin rails.  They're made/shaped exactly to size from the plans.
 
Erik

You'll need space on those pin rails for all the rigging you'll later belay.  Could just be the angle but they seem a bit narrow.
 
It all looks so tight and crisp - exceptional build. You clearly got the eyelet making drill down, those look great.
 

Thanks for the kind words and likes.  When photographing a couple weeks of work it doesn't really look like I made much progress!  I attached the rest of the cleats to the bulwarks, drilled all the holes for the cannon eyebolts, formed the 60 or so eyebolts needed, and then made and attached the side pin rails.  When attaching the eyebolts, I only glued in the top ones, and left the lower ones off.  I made a jig out of styrene to get the holes in the bulwarks consistent.  And being a perfectionist, the forming of the eyebolts themselves wound up taking some time.
 
I had a question regarding the inboard bulwark ladders for you Cheerful builders.  The instructions say, "You will find the template on the plans to cut the sides for the ladder.  But just to make life easier, print the next page as all of the elements are provided".  None of the 3 plan sheets have a template for the sides of the ladder.  And I'm not sure what the print the next page reference means.  There are no plans for the ladders in the written instructions either.  Does anyone happen to have a plan that shows the side shape of the ladder?  I guess I can make a good guess based on photos of the ladder pieces shown in Chuck's instructions, but it would be a little easier if I had a template to reference/print.
 
While still working on the Cheerful almost daily, my progress has slowed down a fair amount.  With the warmer weather and longer days, there's lots to do outside, so the path forward on the build will be a bit slower while I enjoy the summer.
 
Erik

Thanks for the kind words and likes.  When photographing a couple weeks of work it doesn't really look like I made much progress!  I attached the rest of the cleats to the bulwarks, drilled all the holes for the cannon eyebolts, formed the 60 or so eyebolts needed, and then made and attached the side pin rails.  When attaching the eyebolts, I only glued in the top ones, and left the lower ones off.  I made a jig out of styrene to get the holes in the bulwarks consistent.  And being a perfectionist, the forming of the eyebolts themselves wound up taking some time.
 
I had a question regarding the inboard bulwark ladders for you Cheerful builders.  The instructions say, "You will find the template on the plans to cut the sides for the ladder.  But just to make life easier, print the next page as all of the elements are provided".  None of the 3 plan sheets have a template for the sides of the ladder.  And I'm not sure what the print the next page reference means.  There are no plans for the ladders in the written instructions either.  Does anyone happen to have a plan that shows the side shape of the ladder?  I guess I can make a good guess based on photos of the ladder pieces shown in Chuck's instructions, but it would be a little easier if I had a template to reference/print.
 
While still working on the Cheerful almost daily, my progress has slowed down a fair amount.  With the warmer weather and longer days, there's lots to do outside, so the path forward on the build will be a bit slower while I enjoy the summer.
 
Erik

Thanks for the kind words and likes.  When photographing a couple weeks of work it doesn't really look like I made much progress!  I attached the rest of the cleats to the bulwarks, drilled all the holes for the cannon eyebolts, formed the 60 or so eyebolts needed, and then made and attached the side pin rails.  When attaching the eyebolts, I only glued in the top ones, and left the lower ones off.  I made a jig out of styrene to get the holes in the bulwarks consistent.  And being a perfectionist, the forming of the eyebolts themselves wound up taking some time.
 
I had a question regarding the inboard bulwark ladders for you Cheerful builders.  The instructions say, "You will find the template on the plans to cut the sides for the ladder.  But just to make life easier, print the next page as all of the elements are provided".  None of the 3 plan sheets have a template for the sides of the ladder.  And I'm not sure what the print the next page reference means.  There are no plans for the ladders in the written instructions either.  Does anyone happen to have a plan that shows the side shape of the ladder?  I guess I can make a good guess based on photos of the ladder pieces shown in Chuck's instructions, but it would be a little easier if I had a template to reference/print.
 
While still working on the Cheerful almost daily, my progress has slowed down a fair amount.  With the warmer weather and longer days, there's lots to do outside, so the path forward on the build will be a bit slower while I enjoy the summer.
 
Erik

Thanks for the kind words and likes.  When photographing a couple weeks of work it doesn't really look like I made much progress!  I attached the rest of the cleats to the bulwarks, drilled all the holes for the cannon eyebolts, formed the 60 or so eyebolts needed, and then made and attached the side pin rails.  When attaching the eyebolts, I only glued in the top ones, and left the lower ones off.  I made a jig out of styrene to get the holes in the bulwarks consistent.  And being a perfectionist, the forming of the eyebolts themselves wound up taking some time.
 
I had a question regarding the inboard bulwark ladders for you Cheerful builders.  The instructions say, "You will find the template on the plans to cut the sides for the ladder.  But just to make life easier, print the next page as all of the elements are provided".  None of the 3 plan sheets have a template for the sides of the ladder.  And I'm not sure what the print the next page reference means.  There are no plans for the ladders in the written instructions either.  Does anyone happen to have a plan that shows the side shape of the ladder?  I guess I can make a good guess based on photos of the ladder pieces shown in Chuck's instructions, but it would be a little easier if I had a template to reference/print.
 
While still working on the Cheerful almost daily, my progress has slowed down a fair amount.  With the warmer weather and longer days, there's lots to do outside, so the path forward on the build will be a bit slower while I enjoy the summer.
 
Erik

Thanks for the kind words and likes.  When photographing a couple weeks of work it doesn't really look like I made much progress!  I attached the rest of the cleats to the bulwarks, drilled all the holes for the cannon eyebolts, formed the 60 or so eyebolts needed, and then made and attached the side pin rails.  When attaching the eyebolts, I only glued in the top ones, and left the lower ones off.  I made a jig out of styrene to get the holes in the bulwarks consistent.  And being a perfectionist, the forming of the eyebolts themselves wound up taking some time.
 
I had a question regarding the inboard bulwark ladders for you Cheerful builders.  The instructions say, "You will find the template on the plans to cut the sides for the ladder.  But just to make life easier, print the next page as all of the elements are provided".  None of the 3 plan sheets have a template for the sides of the ladder.  And I'm not sure what the print the next page reference means.  There are no plans for the ladders in the written instructions either.  Does anyone happen to have a plan that shows the side shape of the ladder?  I guess I can make a good guess based on photos of the ladder pieces shown in Chuck's instructions, but it would be a little easier if I had a template to reference/print.
 
While still working on the Cheerful almost daily, my progress has slowed down a fair amount.  With the warmer weather and longer days, there's lots to do outside, so the path forward on the build will be a bit slower while I enjoy the summer.
 
Erik

Thanks for the kind words and likes.  When photographing a couple weeks of work it doesn't really look like I made much progress!  I attached the rest of the cleats to the bulwarks, drilled all the holes for the cannon eyebolts, formed the 60 or so eyebolts needed, and then made and attached the side pin rails.  When attaching the eyebolts, I only glued in the top ones, and left the lower ones off.  I made a jig out of styrene to get the holes in the bulwarks consistent.  And being a perfectionist, the forming of the eyebolts themselves wound up taking some time.
 
I had a question regarding the inboard bulwark ladders for you Cheerful builders.  The instructions say, "You will find the template on the plans to cut the sides for the ladder.  But just to make life easier, print the next page as all of the elements are provided".  None of the 3 plan sheets have a template for the sides of the ladder.  And I'm not sure what the print the next page reference means.  There are no plans for the ladders in the written instructions either.  Does anyone happen to have a plan that shows the side shape of the ladder?  I guess I can make a good guess based on photos of the ladder pieces shown in Chuck's instructions, but it would be a little easier if I had a template to reference/print.
 
While still working on the Cheerful almost daily, my progress has slowed down a fair amount.  With the warmer weather and longer days, there's lots to do outside, so the path forward on the build will be a bit slower while I enjoy the summer.
 
Erik

Thanks for the kind words and likes.  When photographing a couple weeks of work it doesn't really look like I made much progress!  I attached the rest of the cleats to the bulwarks, drilled all the holes for the cannon eyebolts, formed the 60 or so eyebolts needed, and then made and attached the side pin rails.  When attaching the eyebolts, I only glued in the top ones, and left the lower ones off.  I made a jig out of styrene to get the holes in the bulwarks consistent.  And being a perfectionist, the forming of the eyebolts themselves wound up taking some time.
 
I had a question regarding the inboard bulwark ladders for you Cheerful builders.  The instructions say, "You will find the template on the plans to cut the sides for the ladder.  But just to make life easier, print the next page as all of the elements are provided".  None of the 3 plan sheets have a template for the sides of the ladder.  And I'm not sure what the print the next page reference means.  There are no plans for the ladders in the written instructions either.  Does anyone happen to have a plan that shows the side shape of the ladder?  I guess I can make a good guess based on photos of the ladder pieces shown in Chuck's instructions, but it would be a little easier if I had a template to reference/print.
 
While still working on the Cheerful almost daily, my progress has slowed down a fair amount.  With the warmer weather and longer days, there's lots to do outside, so the path forward on the build will be a bit slower while I enjoy the summer.
 
Erik

Thanks for the kind words and likes.  When photographing a couple weeks of work it doesn't really look like I made much progress!  I attached the rest of the cleats to the bulwarks, drilled all the holes for the cannon eyebolts, formed the 60 or so eyebolts needed, and then made and attached the side pin rails.  When attaching the eyebolts, I only glued in the top ones, and left the lower ones off.  I made a jig out of styrene to get the holes in the bulwarks consistent.  And being a perfectionist, the forming of the eyebolts themselves wound up taking some time.
 
I had a question regarding the inboard bulwark ladders for you Cheerful builders.  The instructions say, "You will find the template on the plans to cut the sides for the ladder.  But just to make life easier, print the next page as all of the elements are provided".  None of the 3 plan sheets have a template for the sides of the ladder.  And I'm not sure what the print the next page reference means.  There are no plans for the ladders in the written instructions either.  Does anyone happen to have a plan that shows the side shape of the ladder?  I guess I can make a good guess based on photos of the ladder pieces shown in Chuck's instructions, but it would be a little easier if I had a template to reference/print.
 
While still working on the Cheerful almost daily, my progress has slowed down a fair amount.  With the warmer weather and longer days, there's lots to do outside, so the path forward on the build will be a bit slower while I enjoy the summer.
 
Erik

Thanks for the kind words and likes.  When photographing a couple weeks of work it doesn't really look like I made much progress!  I attached the rest of the cleats to the bulwarks, drilled all the holes for the cannon eyebolts, formed the 60 or so eyebolts needed, and then made and attached the side pin rails.  When attaching the eyebolts, I only glued in the top ones, and left the lower ones off.  I made a jig out of styrene to get the holes in the bulwarks consistent.  And being a perfectionist, the forming of the eyebolts themselves wound up taking some time.
 
I had a question regarding the inboard bulwark ladders for you Cheerful builders.  The instructions say, "You will find the template on the plans to cut the sides for the ladder.  But just to make life easier, print the next page as all of the elements are provided".  None of the 3 plan sheets have a template for the sides of the ladder.  And I'm not sure what the print the next page reference means.  There are no plans for the ladders in the written instructions either.  Does anyone happen to have a plan that shows the side shape of the ladder?  I guess I can make a good guess based on photos of the ladder pieces shown in Chuck's instructions, but it would be a little easier if I had a template to reference/print.
 
While still working on the Cheerful almost daily, my progress has slowed down a fair amount.  With the warmer weather and longer days, there's lots to do outside, so the path forward on the build will be a bit slower while I enjoy the summer.
 
Erik

Only the swivel guns to go to finish Chapter 11. A quick update on what was the long process of adding the chain plates to fix the deadeyes to the channels. Basically a lot of holes to drill in a straight, level, and angled lines.

Another exercise in patience, planning. placing, and adjusting each of the three mast sections of channels and deadeyes

I am a big fan of the acrylic strops and chainplates - so much easier and such a much better look than fighting through their metal equivalents. I’m not going back.

I also had a new opportunity to make many eyelets along the hull following the plans. At this point the twist around the drill bit in the vice and the cut, snip, fit is mindless, easy work. Maybe someday I’ll count how many I’ve made for Winchelsea - or maybe not.

The model is transformed with these additions - looking completely like a ship at this point (don’t look at the stem, that’s Chapter 12). It’s really quite something. I'm going to take some better photos after I finish Chpt 11. I still haven't glued in the remaining guns, but that's coming up soon.
 
Thanks for stopping by - some swivel guns are up next.

While I was away, I had taken a bunch of milled cedar strips of various widths.  All were 3/64" thick.   I spent my evenings planking the decks which was quite nice and relaxing.  My wife was also enjoying some wine from the local vineyards while working on her own relaxing projects while overlooking the Long Island Sound.
 
Not much to say about how to plank the decks as the gun deck and poop were planked like any other deck.  Just taper the strips following the provided deck plans.   You must cut around the hatches and coamings as usual.   These were the most difficult planks to cut but not awful.   It just takes careful planning and cutting.
 
These were the last two planks which I waiting to return home so I could photograph them before gluing them in permanently.
 

Here are some photos of the completed deck planking.   The forecastle deck planks were cut from a 3/64" sheet because of their curvature as I mentioned.  But the gun deck and poop were planked with strips.  The curves are not that severe and it was a lot easier this way.   Note the gentle curve of the planks.
 

NOW...how much deck planking should be added.   Its really just a personal decision.  What do like more....or less.
 
I have an extra strake on the gun deck where  the cannon will be located.  I dont particularly like when the carriage trucks are hanging over the edge if there were too few strakes.   But maybe you are OK with that.  This planking scheme matches the plans I provided but you guys can change to suit your sensibilities.  Looking at the photos you can see why I omitted all of the deck knees (hanging and lodging).  You can try really hard but would ever be able to see even a whisper of them.  It just doesnt make sense to add them with this planking layout.  I hope you will agree.
 


Next up will be something I have been blissfully ignoring.  Its a bit terrifying for any ship modeler. I will be drilling the scupper holes and hawse holes.   Usually I drill the scuppers after adding the waterway.  But this usually chips and frays the waterway.   So I am going to try something new.  I will drill the scuppers first and then add the waterway strip.   I will mark and file the waterway strip so it will hopefully not get damaged.  We shall see.
 
The hawse holes are a different story.  Those will require some really careful planning.
 
But waiting any longer to do these will only make them more terrifying. 
 
Chuck
 

I used 0.6 x 0.6 mm brass wire for nailing the frames.

@Thukydides
Thank you for your nice comment, and everyone else for the many LIKES.
 
 
Equipment of the main royal yard – Vergue de grand cacatois
The royal yards are on the 4th floor of the rigging. Since these yards on the La Créole were obviously equipped with lifts and braces, it can be assumed that they were already an integral part of the ship's rigging. In contrast, until the end of the 18th century, the royal sails were often hoisted together with the yards and flown as fair-weather sails only when necessary, i.e. without braces and lifts.
To carry out the tyes for the royal yards of La Créole, I have photos of the original model at my disposal, which a restorer from the Musée de la Marine in Paris kindly photographed in the depot especially for me.
You can't see much in the following picture of a royal yard of the Paris model, except that the tye is somehow knotted and doesn't have a hook like that of the togallant yards.
 

Source: Musée national de la Marine de Paris – La Créole
 
Source: Atlas du Génie Maritime

In conjunction with the depiction of a royal yard from the Atlas du Génie Maritime and various other examples, the tyes may have looked like this.
 

 
My model implementation or interpretation of the tye ø 17 mm (ø 0.35 mm in model scale) for the main royal yard looks like this:


Next I made the parral. The royal yards receive a slightly simpler version of a parral, only served with ropes, without leather covering.


This was followed by the production of the single blocks for the royal yards. These were used to guide the clew lines - The clew lines for the main royal sail had a diameter of 11 mm (in the model scale ø 0.23 mm), accordingly the blocks were around 13.5 cm long (in the model scale approx. 2.8 mm) according to the table in the monograph .



After attaching the grommets as abrasion protection, the equipment of the main royal yard was completed by attaching the braces and lifts.

We then continue with the fore royal yard.
Sequel follows …

Hull Planking, cont. .
It seems like forever since my last post. I had some personal matters to attend to amongst a few other things. Anyway, I'm looking forward to getting things back up to speed.
 
I'm working on a tricky part of the hull planking, those cutouts around the gun ports and sweep port lids. I really had to take my time here in order to avoid re-dos. The reveal around the gun ports is somewhere between 1/64"-1/32". A pillar file comes in really handy. It only cuts on one edge thus allowing for clean corner cuts. https://contenti.com/grobet-extra-narrow-pillar-files I use either a "0" and "2" cut.
 
I haven't done any sanding on the planking and as you can see it's a bit of a mess. The red color is Winsor & Newton "Crimson". In the past I would add a bit of Burnt Umber in order to darken the color. The two colors would often separate which I found to be a pain, so I decided to keep it simple this time around.

Mike