Erik W

Lower platforms (aft)
I've been held up a bit in getting these completed due to some mohs surgery on my neck and face. Thankfully, the doctors got it all and it's healing quickly.
 
I did these platforms the same way as the fore platforms. The angles of the beams are a bit trickier, especially the ones further aft. As usual I used spacers between the carlings which were removed after the carlings were glued in. All of this will be covered by the platforms, but if they showed I would definitely mortise them.

Making the foremost aft platform proved to be an interesting project. This was done in sections moving from the center out. Tricky but lots of fun to make.

I ended up using Chuck's laser cut mast coat rather than doing it from scratch. Just wasn't in the mood for the inevitable re-dos.

Mike

Hi insertion square frame.

Thanks for the feedback guys!
 
Peter,  Thanks for the advice.  I rigged up a temporary tool with a alligator clip on a wood block.
 
Chuck,  If you have time, I'd appreciate any photos you can post of your method.
 
Todd,  My cap squares were made from strips of black construction paper with the hinge being represented by 24 gauge wire.  Low tech, but they actually look pretty good.
 
Glenn, Yes!  I had actually seen the helping hand you used in your post on the breech rope.  As I get closer to the main rigging phase, I'll definitely keep those in mind.
 
Thanks all,
Erik

It's been a nerve wracking week . . . I started rigging the carronades, haha.  This represents a milestone on this build for me.  It's my first rigging done on the Cheerful.  Rigging is the element of this hobby I have the least experience with, and really don't feel like I know what I'm doing, so I'm actually quite nervous as I tackle this part of the build.  Taking a page from Mike's (Stuntflyer) Cheerful build log, I made a 3/32" (.010") spacer to put between the bulwarks and the front gun carriage wheels in order to get the spacing uniform as I attach them to the deck.  Chuck's monograph, and build log posts, were spot on for making the breech rope.  I manged to get the first one, pictured below, made on the first try.  My seizings need a bit of work, but these early attempts are fine.  The more I do, the better they'll get.  Since the gun tackles will be positioned directly above them I'm not too worried about them being less than perfect.
 
I'd like some advice from you folks with rigging experience.  What, if anything, are you using to hold the rope when you seize the ends of it?  I don't have anything currently to hold on to the main rope, so what you see below was done while simply holding it in my hands.  This was quite awkward, not ideal, and I could tell I was at least one holding point short of what what I needed.
 
Thanks,
Erik

It's been a nerve wracking week . . . I started rigging the carronades, haha.  This represents a milestone on this build for me.  It's my first rigging done on the Cheerful.  Rigging is the element of this hobby I have the least experience with, and really don't feel like I know what I'm doing, so I'm actually quite nervous as I tackle this part of the build.  Taking a page from Mike's (Stuntflyer) Cheerful build log, I made a 3/32" (.010") spacer to put between the bulwarks and the front gun carriage wheels in order to get the spacing uniform as I attach them to the deck.  Chuck's monograph, and build log posts, were spot on for making the breech rope.  I manged to get the first one, pictured below, made on the first try.  My seizings need a bit of work, but these early attempts are fine.  The more I do, the better they'll get.  Since the gun tackles will be positioned directly above them I'm not too worried about them being less than perfect.
 
I'd like some advice from you folks with rigging experience.  What, if anything, are you using to hold the rope when you seize the ends of it?  I don't have anything currently to hold on to the main rope, so what you see below was done while simply holding it in my hands.  This was quite awkward, not ideal, and I could tell I was at least one holding point short of what what I needed.
 
Thanks,
Erik

It's been a nerve wracking week . . . I started rigging the carronades, haha.  This represents a milestone on this build for me.  It's my first rigging done on the Cheerful.  Rigging is the element of this hobby I have the least experience with, and really don't feel like I know what I'm doing, so I'm actually quite nervous as I tackle this part of the build.  Taking a page from Mike's (Stuntflyer) Cheerful build log, I made a 3/32" (.010") spacer to put between the bulwarks and the front gun carriage wheels in order to get the spacing uniform as I attach them to the deck.  Chuck's monograph, and build log posts, were spot on for making the breech rope.  I manged to get the first one, pictured below, made on the first try.  My seizings need a bit of work, but these early attempts are fine.  The more I do, the better they'll get.  Since the gun tackles will be positioned directly above them I'm not too worried about them being less than perfect.
 
I'd like some advice from you folks with rigging experience.  What, if anything, are you using to hold the rope when you seize the ends of it?  I don't have anything currently to hold on to the main rope, so what you see below was done while simply holding it in my hands.  This was quite awkward, not ideal, and I could tell I was at least one holding point short of what what I needed.
 
Thanks,
Erik

Thanks for the feedback guys!
 
Peter,  Thanks for the advice.  I rigged up a temporary tool with a alligator clip on a wood block.
 
Chuck,  If you have time, I'd appreciate any photos you can post of your method.
 
Todd,  My cap squares were made from strips of black construction paper with the hinge being represented by 24 gauge wire.  Low tech, but they actually look pretty good.
 
Glenn, Yes!  I had actually seen the helping hand you used in your post on the breech rope.  As I get closer to the main rigging phase, I'll definitely keep those in mind.
 
Thanks all,
Erik

It's been a nerve wracking week . . . I started rigging the carronades, haha.  This represents a milestone on this build for me.  It's my first rigging done on the Cheerful.  Rigging is the element of this hobby I have the least experience with, and really don't feel like I know what I'm doing, so I'm actually quite nervous as I tackle this part of the build.  Taking a page from Mike's (Stuntflyer) Cheerful build log, I made a 3/32" (.010") spacer to put between the bulwarks and the front gun carriage wheels in order to get the spacing uniform as I attach them to the deck.  Chuck's monograph, and build log posts, were spot on for making the breech rope.  I manged to get the first one, pictured below, made on the first try.  My seizings need a bit of work, but these early attempts are fine.  The more I do, the better they'll get.  Since the gun tackles will be positioned directly above them I'm not too worried about them being less than perfect.
 
I'd like some advice from you folks with rigging experience.  What, if anything, are you using to hold the rope when you seize the ends of it?  I don't have anything currently to hold on to the main rope, so what you see below was done while simply holding it in my hands.  This was quite awkward, not ideal, and I could tell I was at least one holding point short of what what I needed.
 
Thanks,
Erik

It's been a nerve wracking week . . . I started rigging the carronades, haha.  This represents a milestone on this build for me.  It's my first rigging done on the Cheerful.  Rigging is the element of this hobby I have the least experience with, and really don't feel like I know what I'm doing, so I'm actually quite nervous as I tackle this part of the build.  Taking a page from Mike's (Stuntflyer) Cheerful build log, I made a 3/32" (.010") spacer to put between the bulwarks and the front gun carriage wheels in order to get the spacing uniform as I attach them to the deck.  Chuck's monograph, and build log posts, were spot on for making the breech rope.  I manged to get the first one, pictured below, made on the first try.  My seizings need a bit of work, but these early attempts are fine.  The more I do, the better they'll get.  Since the gun tackles will be positioned directly above them I'm not too worried about them being less than perfect.
 
I'd like some advice from you folks with rigging experience.  What, if anything, are you using to hold the rope when you seize the ends of it?  I don't have anything currently to hold on to the main rope, so what you see below was done while simply holding it in my hands.  This was quite awkward, not ideal, and I could tell I was at least one holding point short of what what I needed.
 
Thanks,
Erik

Hello everyone!
 
I was able to complete the fairing today.
 
Here are all the tools (except for the painters tape) I used to fair the hull.

 
Firstly,  I need to stress how important it is to protect the stem and keel pieces.  I'm glad I put on 2-3 layers of painters tape.  It really saved those pieces from all the sanding.
 
This is after I faired the hull.  Notice the tape on the stem.
 

 
Now after removing the tape, the stem looks just fine.

 
Sometimes, I would find bulges like this.

 
It might be hard to see,  but that middle bulkhead is bulging out a little bit.
 
The bow was the most time consuming.  Using a strake becomes mandatory to make sure you faired enough.  It takes more fairing that one would think!
 
Here is what my Cheeful looks like after fairing.
 

 

 
As you can see, I also was marking the gun ports.  After placing the tape (which is easy to move around)  I would place a batten on it to make sure I can match the tape shape with the wooden strip.
 
Next up is putting on the gunports!
 
Lastly,  I 3D printed a storage container to hold the milled strips of wood.  This was the first time I made something like this,  but it really helps to clear off my table!
 

 
I can add labels to each section so I know what sizes are in which spot.
 
Thanks for reading!
 
Jeff
 

Hi Eric, outstanding build of Cheerful. I’ve used wire holders when rigging guns etc. I got the tip from Robert29 in his excellent build of Victory. You find his tip at the foot of page 7 when he was rigging his guns. They were easy to find and cheap on Amazon. Maybe a board with appropriately spaced holes to fix the pins would help with the tackle seizings and give you a spare hand to tie knots etc.

It's been a nerve wracking week . . . I started rigging the carronades, haha.  This represents a milestone on this build for me.  It's my first rigging done on the Cheerful.  Rigging is the element of this hobby I have the least experience with, and really don't feel like I know what I'm doing, so I'm actually quite nervous as I tackle this part of the build.  Taking a page from Mike's (Stuntflyer) Cheerful build log, I made a 3/32" (.010") spacer to put between the bulwarks and the front gun carriage wheels in order to get the spacing uniform as I attach them to the deck.  Chuck's monograph, and build log posts, were spot on for making the breech rope.  I manged to get the first one, pictured below, made on the first try.  My seizings need a bit of work, but these early attempts are fine.  The more I do, the better they'll get.  Since the gun tackles will be positioned directly above them I'm not too worried about them being less than perfect.
 
I'd like some advice from you folks with rigging experience.  What, if anything, are you using to hold the rope when you seize the ends of it?  I don't have anything currently to hold on to the main rope, so what you see below was done while simply holding it in my hands.  This was quite awkward, not ideal, and I could tell I was at least one holding point short of what what I needed.
 
Thanks,
Erik

It's been a nerve wracking week . . . I started rigging the carronades, haha.  This represents a milestone on this build for me.  It's my first rigging done on the Cheerful.  Rigging is the element of this hobby I have the least experience with, and really don't feel like I know what I'm doing, so I'm actually quite nervous as I tackle this part of the build.  Taking a page from Mike's (Stuntflyer) Cheerful build log, I made a 3/32" (.010") spacer to put between the bulwarks and the front gun carriage wheels in order to get the spacing uniform as I attach them to the deck.  Chuck's monograph, and build log posts, were spot on for making the breech rope.  I manged to get the first one, pictured below, made on the first try.  My seizings need a bit of work, but these early attempts are fine.  The more I do, the better they'll get.  Since the gun tackles will be positioned directly above them I'm not too worried about them being less than perfect.
 
I'd like some advice from you folks with rigging experience.  What, if anything, are you using to hold the rope when you seize the ends of it?  I don't have anything currently to hold on to the main rope, so what you see below was done while simply holding it in my hands.  This was quite awkward, not ideal, and I could tell I was at least one holding point short of what what I needed.
 
Thanks,
Erik

The carronades and cannons are now finished and ready to be rigged.  I applied a black primer/paint coat over the self etching primer.  And then dusted them with a dark rust weathering powder (hard to see in these photos).  In the last photo they are just temporarily set into place.
 
Erik
 

It's been a nerve wracking week . . . I started rigging the carronades, haha.  This represents a milestone on this build for me.  It's my first rigging done on the Cheerful.  Rigging is the element of this hobby I have the least experience with, and really don't feel like I know what I'm doing, so I'm actually quite nervous as I tackle this part of the build.  Taking a page from Mike's (Stuntflyer) Cheerful build log, I made a 3/32" (.010") spacer to put between the bulwarks and the front gun carriage wheels in order to get the spacing uniform as I attach them to the deck.  Chuck's monograph, and build log posts, were spot on for making the breech rope.  I manged to get the first one, pictured below, made on the first try.  My seizings need a bit of work, but these early attempts are fine.  The more I do, the better they'll get.  Since the gun tackles will be positioned directly above them I'm not too worried about them being less than perfect.
 
I'd like some advice from you folks with rigging experience.  What, if anything, are you using to hold the rope when you seize the ends of it?  I don't have anything currently to hold on to the main rope, so what you see below was done while simply holding it in my hands.  This was quite awkward, not ideal, and I could tell I was at least one holding point short of what what I needed.
 
Thanks,
Erik

It's been a nerve wracking week . . . I started rigging the carronades, haha.  This represents a milestone on this build for me.  It's my first rigging done on the Cheerful.  Rigging is the element of this hobby I have the least experience with, and really don't feel like I know what I'm doing, so I'm actually quite nervous as I tackle this part of the build.  Taking a page from Mike's (Stuntflyer) Cheerful build log, I made a 3/32" (.010") spacer to put between the bulwarks and the front gun carriage wheels in order to get the spacing uniform as I attach them to the deck.  Chuck's monograph, and build log posts, were spot on for making the breech rope.  I manged to get the first one, pictured below, made on the first try.  My seizings need a bit of work, but these early attempts are fine.  The more I do, the better they'll get.  Since the gun tackles will be positioned directly above them I'm not too worried about them being less than perfect.
 
I'd like some advice from you folks with rigging experience.  What, if anything, are you using to hold the rope when you seize the ends of it?  I don't have anything currently to hold on to the main rope, so what you see below was done while simply holding it in my hands.  This was quite awkward, not ideal, and I could tell I was at least one holding point short of what what I needed.
 
Thanks,
Erik

Thank you Glenn and Gary for your kind words and thank you to all the 'Likes'.
I'm lucky enough to have more time for my hobby and to be able to share my work again 🙂.
The work continued with the assembly of the two interior ladders. Once again, there's no need to reinvent the wheel, so I used Rusty's build method (see his build log, post #134).
Just a little planning beforehand to determine the lengths of the parts (uprights and ladder treads) and the angle at which the ladders will be installed. I've decided to use two different thicknesses: 3/64" for the uprights, while the steps will be made from 1/32" boxwood. The only slight difficulty is that the ladder is not quite square (the steps are not square to the sides, but must follow the slope of the deck from bow to stern). With little confidence in my visual sense, I preferred to build a small jig from a copy of the plan. The copy of the plan is glued to a plywood board. Two strips are glued to the plan: one along the line of the ship's deck and the second along the outer edge of the left-hand ladder side. A small piece of transparent self-adhesive paper is then stuck to the plan in the work area to prevent the ladder parts from sticking to the plan. All ready for ladder assembly.

Six small grooves (one more than necessary) are engraved in parallel on a 1/32" boxwood board using my MF70 mini mill. The ladder uprights are then cut with my mini table saw, respecting the installation angle and mirror finish. All that's left to do is glue the steps to the sides using the jig. The result is a ladder that conforms to the plan.


Sides are cut to the right length, ladder tops are rounded and the ladders are tested on the deck.

Finally, I colored and glued the ladders onto the deck.

Next element: the winch.
 

Please ignore the poor photography and messy work bench. 
 
My “big wood” artist friend has completed the stand and future home for my Winchelsea. Note how the grain imitates the bow breaking the water. He intentionally selected this piece of wood for that reason. The maple inlay compliments the cedar as does the African Wenge compliment the colors of the ship. You know the Byrnes thickness sander many of us have? He has the big boy version, he ran this piece through it multiple times, routed out the edges for the inlay then ran it through several more times. 

I wasn’t sure about the lacquered finish until we set the ship on it. It reflects the underside of the boat, so that bottom planking isn’t lost from sight after all, an extra dimension for viewing. We had multiple ‘fittings’ to get the brackets just right, they are a work of art by themselves, carved from the same Wenge as the base. 

I’m really excited by the time and expertise Bill put into this. Really nice to have a friend with these skills, far beyond anything I could do and a perfect home for my Winchelsea. Now I just have to get back in the workshop to finish it. 
 

Thanks for the likes and positive comments.  Nirvana, thanks for the link to the UMM flush cutters.  I hadn't seen those before. 
 
Erik

Thank you Glenn for the advice!
 
I'm starting at the stern and moving forward making sure to only take off as much as needed.  Like Glenn said, I have a 1/16" x 1/32" strip I'm using to gadge how well the hull is faired.  I was home today to help my wife with a Dr's appointment so I had some time to myself after we got back.
 
Before beginning to fair, I placed on painters tape to protect the stem and keel pieces from accidentally being sanded.
 

After the stern fairing today,  I was able to get a good run from the strip i was using.  I only faired up to bulkhead 2 so I wouldn't feel overwhelmed.
 

 
I was able to fair both sides of the hull.  During my fairing today, I noticed that the bulkhead former joint in the middle of the ship wasn't going to hold.
 
I immediately stopped fairing and made 2 boxwood filler pieces to glue to each side of the bulkhead former joint.

 
I made sure their length would not interfere with fairing the hull near the keel.  I then glued them on while my model was on the building board to help keep it's shape as wood glue tends to "pull" wood.  I placed a clamp on it while it's drying.
 

Once it's fully dried, I will continue to fair the hull.
 
Thanks all!
 
Jeff

Jewelry making websites are a good source for flush cutters, that’s where I get mine. 

The carronades and cannons are now finished and ready to be rigged.  I applied a black primer/paint coat over the self etching primer.  And then dusted them with a dark rust weathering powder (hard to see in these photos).  In the last photo they are just temporarily set into place.
 
Erik
 

This was a fun week.  I finished the stern details.  These included building the second seat, which I'm happy to say is close to identical to the first.  I made the horse for the boom sheet out of 22 gauge annealed wire, with washers made from .062" diameter styrene rod with the center .028" drilled out for the wire.  I cut and formed the transom knees, and glued those on.  I then shaped and added the cleats.  These I had bought from Chuck a long time ago.  I see he currently offers cleats in 5mm, 7mm, and 9mm.  I have 9mm and 6mm on hand.  So for the cleats on the transom knees, I shortened the 6mm to 5mm, and used the 9mm and 6mm cleats in the other areas of the stern.  I see in these enlarged photos a couple of spots that need touching up, but I'm otherwise happy with the way these details turned out.
 
Erik

The carronades and cannons are now finished and ready to be rigged.  I applied a black primer/paint coat over the self etching primer.  And then dusted them with a dark rust weathering powder (hard to see in these photos).  In the last photo they are just temporarily set into place.
 
Erik
 

Thanks for the likes and positive comments.  Nirvana, thanks for the link to the UMM flush cutters.  I hadn't seen those before. 
 
Erik