donrobinson

Thanks David: I have never used balsa before so after hearing what you said I'm sure I would have been very upset spending $100 on something that was useless to me. I am very happy using the basswood at least for this application.
 How did the trellis turn out?

Hi Bob, Thanks for that. I originally was going to use balsa until I found out the price. When I went to the lumber yard the smallest piece they had was approximately 3"x4"x4' and it would have been over $100.00, although I must say it was nicely wrapped in plastic . I decided to go with a 1"x6"x4'(unplaned) basswood board instead which cost $20.00) . I found it very easy to work with and it will have a better glueing surface versus balsa, not only that but I now have enough for several more builds  

Thanks to all for stopping by and thanks for your remarks and likes
 
Doug: LOL it really isn't too bad having more than one on the go, it certainly isn't because I'm organized because I am not!! It helps when you get to some parts like planking and there is so much lag time waiting for glue to dry. I always have thought it would be nice to have several on the go at different stages then maybe a person wouldn't forget so many of the skills you have learned between builds  . And biggest bit is the encouragement and support here at MSW is what really helps one out.

Well I think this hobby has gotten the best of me, I mean who wakes up in the morning excited about making filler blocks? It's just not right  .
 Before I jumped into this madness I did manage to get some of the outside work done so maybe I'm not totally over the edge yet.
 For the blocks I cut some pieces out of a 1x6 board to size then shaped by cutting one edge on scroll, and shaped the rest on the belt/disc sander. Finished shaping by hand then glued in place. In the pictures only the starboard stern side has been slightly faired I am leaving the rest of the fairing until I finish with installing all the filler blocks. I'm thinking that all in all I probably spent about 4-5 hours making and installing them.
 

Stern filler block
 

Bow filler block
 

Bow
 

Stern
 
Have a good night

Hi Dave, I have a day or two left on my Mayflower and she will be done. After that I will be devoting more time to this girl then you have my word there will be more updates

Hey Buddy, how are you doing? I have been working on my Mayflower this past while and am about to update on that soon. Now that I have no Admiral house work gets in the way too   !! Since last post I have added three more coats of poly. I don't know how you do it with so many builds on the go I know my hands are full with two.
 Thanks so much for the concern Mike, I hope to resolve this problem soon.
 
Take care

Elijah you go for it, you'll be more than happy. We could start our own Trabakul brotherhood

Thanks Dave, it is really proving to be an enjoyable and challenging kit.
 I would also like to mention, that's about enough holidays and kicking back, time to get back into the shipyard  

Hi Lawrence, Thanks for stopping in. I bought this kit directly from Marisstella in Split, Croatia. You can find their link on the main page they are one of our sponsors. The kit cost a little over $320Cdn and shipping was free so it has turned out to be a real bargain. I am pretty sure the free shipping still applies but that is something that you would have to check on.
 As for fairing the frames that is coming up next after a few more coats of poly on the interior. I am just not too sure whether I want to add filler blocks between all the frames as it is a single planked hull. The bow and stern call for blocks so I am undecided as to whether to do the rest or not.
 I followed your African Queen build and you did a fantastic job, scratch building the HMS Bounty will be a real undertaking I will look forward to following that.

Hi Mike: Thanks a lot. It is an impressive kit, I was a little scared about the size at first but now I am very happy with the size it is as some of this work would have been almost impossible at a smaller scale.

Hey Mike, the wood in this kit really is awesome. It seems Marisstella actually puts pride in their kits something most other manufacturers should take note of.
 As for clamping permission(       ) my navy no longer has an admiral so I was fortunate in this case permission wasn't required. Not to worry all is good only thing that has changed is it is no longer a "honey to do list" it is just a "do List" and it's not getting done either . 

Hi Ian, Thanks for your comments. Yes  I know that "needy" feeling" watching some of these builds here makes it very hard not needing more. I guess maybe the low Canadian dollar isn't so bad in this respect

Hello everyone, thanks to all for stopping by and for your comments and likes.
 Since last update I have been working on the floors and ceiling also the bunk rooms. It has been a lot of work but it all came together, I was expecting the floor to be the hard part, however, the bunks turned to be the hardest(for me at least). The six bunks took me about 10 hours to build even though they were laser cut. trying to hold the pieces in place in such a confined space to test fit proved to be a real test of the nerves. It was a good exercise in holding my breath and stretching my tongue
 I am really impressed with the planks, so far all have been milled really good and the color variation is almost non-existent I have yet to pick through to find a lighter or darker one.
 Even though this ship is a single planked hull it feels like I have one layer done already, I'm hoping the outside of the hull is as easy as the inside was to plank.
 The last 5 pictures show it finished with a fresh coat of brushed on wipe on poly.
 

 
These are the parts for the bow and stern bunks
 

 
 Next up is several more coats of poly then the hull begins
 
Have a Good One
 
 
 

Thanks Chris. You are 17 hours ahead of me so it is 06:15 here and 23:15 there. So right now I am enjoying a morning coffee and you are sleeping
 Have a Good One

Thanks to all who have stopped by and thanks for all the likes
 
Ian: Thanks, it was hard putting the Mayflower aside being that is so close to being done but I kind of promised myself a two week on and two week off rotation(closest I'll come to the oilfields  )
Mike: The instructions seem to be good so far, the book is about 145 pages of which about 134 are pictures and the rest written. Following the pictures, plans and instructions guides you along enough so that you shouldn't back yourself into a corner. The only difficulty I've had so far is the stern floor and that was for the most part my fault trying to complicate things when not required. Overall I am extremely happy with this kit and how it is built, if I do see something I don't understand a quick e-mail to Zoran(MarisStella) and he clears things up for me, MarisStella's customer support is just incredible.
 
Dave: Thanks Dave, yes it is very interesting lots of different techniques and style of building It is making me a real MarisStella fan and with their newest kit, Barque Stephano, coming out soon I'm thinking my kits I have now maybe on the shelf a little longer  

Some progress has been made on the Trabakul, after taking off two weeks to work on Mayflower I have brought her to the front of the bench again.
 Since last I have started the ceiling(first four strakes) then installed the bilge keelson. I stopped there then went onto the floor in the fore and aft hatch, very important to do this now as if you were to finish off the ceiling you would have no way of getting fingers inside to put planks on the floor.
 Flooring in the aft hatch is complete and flooring in main hatch is partially complete, I'm working on the forward hatch now and expect to have it complete today.
 The aft hatch was done by installing the floor boards first, trimming them to fit stern( sort of a V shape) then finishing off the ceiling to meet the floor. This was accomplished by edge gluing four boards together then cutting to shape(kind of a four sided triangle) then bevelling the fore, back and top edges so they fit flush to adjoining surfaces. This took many attempts and lots of wood to complete and as always I kept my cool    .
 With all frustrations behind me I'm thinking things are going to be all good now. I will add that I am by no means a seasoned veteran but so far this kit has been my most challenging build to date and has been quite the adventure so far. 
 Next up after flooring is planking the bulkheads, will send more pictures soon
 
 

 
In these last three pictures you can see the bilge keelson(the oak planks) and also some of the centre flooring(lime wood) sanding is still required everywhere.

Thanks everyone for your comments, likes and for stopping by
 
Elijah: Thanks, I'll see real soon if they are actually going to work or not. I'll keep you posted
 
Mark: I thought the same thing but this is one sturdy boat so far and it will only get stronger as the inner and outer planking get added. Right now I'm getting close to where I have to spiel planks on the interior, a little opposite from what I'm used to  
 
David: You are more than welcome to join along, good to see you here at MSW. I haven't noticed any build log yet for your Connie are still planning on starting one here?

I took a bit of a play day off from the builds and made up these sanding sticks. The interior of the Trabakul is planked and with the bulkheads and support beams there is not room to get your hands inside to sand. So I'm hoping these will help. The feet are made from 1/2" square stock and the handles from 1/4" stock. A wooden pin is used to attach the foot to handle allowing it to swivel. I made extra feet so that I can have variety of grits. I'll attach the sandpaper with double sided tape, I'm just waiting for the poly to dry.
Have a good night all, and Thanks again for stopping in. I'm off to town tomorrow Wackowolf ordered some cold apple cider that I need to pick up.  
 

Thanks everyone for your comments and likes:
 
Mike those are ones that I made, they are made out of 1/4" square stock
 
Chris I agree about the tv nowadays, but I think a video is out of the question until I clean up my language  , But thanks for the vote of confidence.
 
Don F you are so right about these kits they are fantastic, I wish I had a small hammer as you say, it sure would have been handy. Do you have a log started?
 
 Take Care

I'm a little off with the glue here, hard taking picture and glue at same time the rest are better   
 
 I'm off to the refreshment ridge, anyone need anything?  

Hi everyone. Thanks so much for all your comments and likes, I was caught off guard by all the responses here so I took some time off to get more chairs, re-stock fridge and grab some snacks    . I think we should be good now for awhile so I'll continue with the build.
 Next step up after sanding the keel is fitting the bulkheads and test fitting all the notches on them. Unlike most where a snug fit is wanted between bulkheads and keel to allow for glue the Trabakul requires the bulkheads to be tight as there is no glue applied to the notches. The bulkheads all fit great with only very minor adjustment required on one of them, the last three bulkheads are left off until the four pieces for the keelson are slipped in. When the final three bulkheads are installed the two side pieces of the keelson are glued into place the last two pieces are glued into place in between the side pieces. The top piece needs to be aligned properly as this forms the ledge for the floor.
 After keelson was completed the support beams were all installed, again everything fit with precision, only at the front bulkhead did I need to do some minor filing and that was just put a little bit of an angle on the notches to allow beams to fit properly. After glue dried I removed her from the cradle and glued the bottom of the bulkheads. This was a little overkill as once the keelson and support timbers were installed this boat was absolutely tight and sturdy.
 This ends the first part of the build next up is the interior, wish me luck.
 

 
Have A Good One
 

Join in for the ride Mike, good to hear from you. It is going to be a real cool kit lots of different things involved in this one, hopefully I'll do it justice. What you been up to? Haven't talked to you since the "meltdown" anything new on the workbench?

Looking good 

Looks good Eddie, the round dowels are a real enhancement to these kits

Hello Nils, I just stopped by for my monthly visit and a cup of coffee and as always I am totally impressed. Wonderful work!!