kmart

Well I must concede. Captain Steve is an honest man. For he said there be more redness to come for a royal barge it be. At truest he was.. for not only more a redness hue there be, but the Capt Steves barge is looking most regal indeed! And while the barge may not have the contrast of blackish and whitish the old gal Connie will someday haveth... The redish hue does grow on one and the bardge be most hansometh Congrats to Capt Steve!

Congrats Used2Sail You made a true work of art. And a fittimg case to show her off. Thanks for the your build log. Its both a source of inspiration and my go to log as I reach each new step in my own build. Congrats again. Looking forward to following your next built. K

Src Excell to build model wooden boats. Whoda thunk. But thats what you get when you put an IT guy in a woodshop. Grin Excell is helpful. But visio is actualy great. Scan in the model blueprints. Then you can scale to 1:1. And draw out and then print components to scale. Poor mans cad.

Capt Steve. Ur hero's planking and nailing tis looking mighty fine. But i,'s got to say that red is looking mighty err well Red 🙂

Jon, Jon, Cpt Steve, Used2Sail.... Thanks all for the kind works / Encouragement /Likes. Currently I'm working on framing out the stern window openings and and making the quarter galley lower pieces right now. I'll post some more pics this weekend. With us heading into Spring and warmer weather here in the New England... My time spent and motivation on Connie will go down to a trickle as I switch gears from model boats to preping and maintaining and then sailing the real sailboat.. Here is what I Imagine I'll be doing soon!!! HMS Surprise (Ex HMS Rose) Which I actually did get to sail on once for 2 weeks as crew (it was amazing!) Here is what I will eventually be doing this summer I'm at the helm taking the picture. Would have been better if I was taking a picture over the stern of him chasing me with a stern chaser run out (grin) And here what real boating is about. And what I'm actually doing ..LoL Sanding , scraping, painting, fixing. Then more scraping, more sanding, more painting and more fixing. K

Tom Looking case is looking awesome and Massive!!! couple of questions -How did you secure the pexi in the panels. I see you have a channel.. bu I did you use some sort of adhesive to keep in place? -How will you get the model in the case when she is done. I'm guessing one panel will be hinged or removable? K

Part #2 Cleaning up the hull. So again.. I didn't take any pictures during. not much to see. Just pics when process was done. Basically I sanded the hull down with 220 grit sandpaper. After sanding.. I vacuumed the hull to pick up all the sawdust Then I used plastic wood wood filler to fill in all the dings, nicks, and low spots etc. I was quite generous with the filler. i.e filled in so it was proud on the hull. After the wood filler dried... sanded it back down to smooth again with 220. It actually sands quiet well and easier/softer than the wood. So I was able to sand off the excess filler without thinning the wood further. Next I repeated the filler/sand process 3 more times. Each time the areas that needed filler were fewer and smaller. After the last time when I was happy with the hull, I did a final sanding with 320 grit sandpaper. Vacuumed again And the result is.... Next up... I'll clean and install the mettle port-lights and scuppers fittings in holes that are already drilled out. Then I'll be plank the stern. Just frame the windows.. No stern decorations yet. At that point I'll be ready to prime the hull. Still have some work to do before I'm there, but i'm getting eager to see her with the black hull and white gun-port stripes... That's it until next time.

Alright.. time for my next update First.. I made a few templates I printed to scale... the 5 window stern from AOS The side view of the hull from the kit plans. Cut this into 3 pieces Cut them out For the stern... I still need to ad the ear pieces to the side of the hull that are the back of the quarter galleys The laser cut pieces that came with the ship are a good match for the present stern. but is smaller/ less rounded than the 1812 5 window version So using the template and some scrap from the kit... I made new ones that are the proper shape. So those are ready to glue on now. I'm holding off working on the stern and adding the ears to the hull until hull is all sanded. Otherwise they will be in the way of sanding and sure to be broken off. The other template.. side of the hull... I used to locate the position of the scuppers and port lights on the side of the hull near the top of the wale. Sorry I didn't take any pics using the template.. but here is the result after marking and drilling the holes. The lower, but larger holes are all set to receive the port lights. The upper holes I need to enlarge, and make more oval to fit the scuppers. Used same template for both sides. but needed to look at the back side of the template when working o Port side. No big deal.. As I did starboard first. holes were already in the template. note when using the template....line up the closest gun-port. then mark the holes. As the blueprints are 2D and the hull is 3D. They dont line up along the whole length of the ship. That's the reason for cutting into 3 pieces and doing in section. Note in the last picture.. you can see the hull needs quite a bit of cleanup. A good number of gouges and uneven planking. Especially around the transition from the bottom of the wale to the lower hull. Will need lots of filler and sanding

Planking done.... not counting the stern. Still needs quite a bit of sanding and cleanup. Really only 1 plank (each side) that didn't run from Bow to stern. And not a single stealer. Will need a bit of wood filler to fill in a few spots Overall... I'm really happy how she came out. also made a prototype stand. just to get the shape/position right.. And I found these threaded sleeves. and thumb screws made a test piece..same width as the keel Now I can drill 2 holes in bottom of keel. Thumb screw will go through the stand into the sleeve in the hull. And I'll have a secure but easily removable way to secure the stand. (when I get to that point in say 3 or 4 years . HeHe

Thanks Tom. Soo close to finishing planking.

Great Reference photos. Thanks Guys! I didn't realize they took off the top gallant caprails on the last refit.. Now If they would just put her stern windows and quarter galleys back to one of the 1812ish various version... 🙂 FYI, USS Constitution Model Shipwright Guild currently having their annual Model show at the Museum through March. I Highly recommend to the show if your in Boston. Some really exceptional models .... and craftsmen. I'm going to go see the show and this ship again either next weekend or weekend after... depending on work and weather. In New England.. we expecting snow storm tonight. The good news is I can stay in tomorrow and do more modeling!!! (after shoveling) Now for My update. I finished my next set of planking bands. There were 5 planks in each band. So another 10 down per side. I did some basic cleanup of the planking so far. Used a razor blade to scrape off the glue on the surface and the ridges where the plank edges meet.. Then did some initial sanding with 200 grit sandpaper. Finally I re-calculated the remaining space. and the plank widths at each frame At this point, the gaps at each frame (port/Starboard) are either a match or within 1 mm of each other. I'm really happy how its coming out very symmetrical. I am down to 10 more planks per side remaining... then planking will be complete... soo getting close. The remaining gap is definitely getting noticeably smaller... I'm at the point where I will only be able to do 1 plank per side at a time and not two. So it will be a bit slower progress. The Stand At this point.. before I finish up the planking...I need to start thinking about the final stand. I'm going to make some sort of cradle. And I want it to solidly fixed to the hull. I thinking 2 bolts that go through the stand and up into into some sort of threaded sleeve in bottom of the keel. If I can find such a sleeve, I can drill a hole in the bottom of the keel now and glue it in. Also, each of the 2 pieces of the cradle will need to be a form fit to the hull ... and align on a frames/bulkhead. Sooo... need to make it now, while hull is upside down and before I finish the planking.. I'll finish the model in its working cradle ( pics earlier in my log) ( It is much more supportive while working on her then final stand will be) And not attach the final stand until she is done. But that means it needs to be easy to on the finished model. One of the reasons I enjoy this hobby. I have to think about and plan for something that is still several years ahead in the process. HeHe Some Current Pics:

Zappto, Looking Great. She is really turning out beautiful. Looks like your close to completing her! K

Thanks mtdoramike. Actually, the xls chart didn't really take me that long. The basic sheet I borrowed from Used2Sail. Its all formulas, so after taking the measurements off the ship, the rest just calculates! That said, there's a lot of planks on Connie.. so you must be pretty fast planker 🙂 On to my status. In the middle of planking the hull, so nothing really that interesting to post. One plank, two plank, three plank, four, then repeat.... It seems like forever!! I was able to finish bands A and D. Working from the wale towards the center and then from the gardboard strake to center, Port then Starboard.. Basically sets of 4 planks at time. I've completed 17 planks total per side so far. I then re-measured the remaining gaps again at each frame and re-calculated. Staying accurate so far. port to starboard are within +- 1 mm across all frames I have 21 planks left (per side) to go That's it for now. It will probably be at least another month before I post again. Not much to see, document while I'm planking away. K

Jon, another.. welcome back. Glad to hear your surgery went well. And glad to see you back to working on Connie. No more surgeries or breaks! 🙂 I'm relying on your log, and progress to keep me moving on mine! 🙂 Best K

Vince, I'll repeat my early comments I made . Truly Magnificent!, Inspiring! I love the sails. They look great. Really adds to the model, makes it come alive from a static model to a real ship ready to sail out of port! K.

LowSodiumSailor, Welcome to the Connie Builder Club. 🙂 Search this site. There are a number of us currently building and many more that have have already completed building the Constitution. Sooo lots of great resources, and help available to you. As this sounds like your first wooden kit... and your first tall ship model... you jumped right into the deep end! 🙂 Take your time, ask for help, ask lots of questions, enjoy the build... and you'll end up with a showpiece model at the end. And stick with it. Model ship building is a slooow hobby but worth it. I expect my Connie built to last 5+ years. I think that is typical. YMMV. Connie really is a beautiful ship and makes a beautiful model. Best and good luck! Ken

Thanks Used2Sail and GMO2. I'll go with the 1812 version on NOT have the top-gallant rail. Will just have the rail end over top of the spar-deck gun-ports. Haven't posted in awhile but have been making slow progress. Added the filler pieces that will be used to support the spar deck gun port frames Used my gun-port Jig to keep them square and symmetrical Once all the filler pieces were in. I went and planked and sanded the outer planking. Cleaned up the gun-ports. Next to prep for planking the rest of the hull. First, pulled out my handy planking reference book. Supper helpful in understanding how to layout the planks Put in the gard board strake. Once gardboard in.. I made a bunch of tic strips. used them to measure distance from bottom of wale to gardboard at each frame as well as stem and stern In the process i identified that a few of the bulkheads were not quite fair .. So I needed to correct that with some strips on the low bulkheads With the tick strips all made, measured... transferred the info into an excel spreadsheet. Overall the hull is quite symmetrical. Of the 18 bulkheads + Stem & stern ... Of the total gaps at each frame.. 8 were identical port to starboard, another 8 had only 1 mm difference. There were only a couple off by 2 or 3 mm . All close enough that can be corrected within 1 or 2 plank adjustments I divided the hull into 5 bands. A1, A2, B, C, D A1 and A2 together have 14 planks. These will cover the planks that terminate into the counter of the stern. After calculating the bands... I transferred the info back onto the tick trips. Then transposed the band info from the tick strips back onto the respective bulkheads From there.... I ran batons at each of the bands. The battens are positions such the edge is aligned with the band closest towards the wale or gardboard strake. This way I can work 2 planks per side at a time. One closest to gardboard and one closest to wale, Working inward. When I get to the 1st baton, remove it and keep working toward the next pair. At this point the run of the battons look decent except at the bow. The natural run doesn't flow up as far on the hull as I laid out. If I follow the natural run, then the taper will be too great at the bow. But if I follow my marks. I'm concerned the planks will take a unnatural bend upward and look more wavy, thain fair. Need to play with this and figure it out before I start laying planks Thats it for now. K

Hey, UsedtoSail I'm pulling up a seat to watch you turn this into a masterpiece as well! 🙂 Glad to catch you at the beginning on this one! K

General Question for all the other Connie builder. Looking at some of the other builds logs ... (Used2Sail) And some pics of other historic models (see pics below) The top rail is right at the top of the Spar deck Gun ports. However, on the Model Shipway plans... and even in AOS under the 1812 profile view on page 47, There is a rail over the spar gun ports, but then there are 2 more planks above that rail and then the Top rail. Then the hammock crane on top of that rail. Are those extra planks a modern addition? Did the 1812 version end right at the top of the gun-ports? Current ship does have the extra 2 planks...

So moving along. I did get a fair amount done this weekend. 1) finished the wale 2) Finished the cradle 3) put in the plank-sheer. 4) started the framing for the spar deck gun-ports The cradle is working out nice, She sits perfectly level, and doesn't move at all even when handling the boat. Easy to move it around, spin it around, etc.. So for the Spar deck gun-ports. I added the plank sheer plank....the top edge of which is level with the bottom sill of the spar deck gun-ports. The top part of the bulwark is very thin and fragile. Hard to really frame in the gun-ports with just the bulwarks for support.. So I'm borrowing an idea similar to what Used2Sail did. I cut a bunch of basswood into strips the same thickness as the bulwarks top I trimmed them down to be 13mm wide. This is the height from the top of the Gun-deck (starting just under the spar-deck beams) to the top edge of the sheer-plank and the top of edge of the spar lower sill. Then trimmed them to fit between the bulwarks. See below. The first one on the left is not yet done. The next 4 are. This does a few things 1) Really strengthens the bulwarks 2) Give a nice solid lower sill for the gun-ports 3) really strengthens the outer planking 4) Gives a solid surface when I go to do the inter planking Finishing the rest of them. So that's the lower sill. Next weekend I'll work on the gun-port sides, For that I will just do more of the same. I'll cut some more pieces similar to the lower sill.. This time the width will be equal to the height of the spar gun-ports. (~4 planks high) These will glue on top of the current pieces and butt against the bulwarks. Once in place I can add the 4 planks that are at the level of the gun-ports. Then repeat the process 1 more time to make the top sill, and support the remaining planking up to the top-rail. Like I did with the gun deck ports.. I'll make a jig to ensure the ports stay square, equally sized and spaced with the port on the opposite side. That's the plan at least. KMart

Vince , Yes.... when I saw that book at that price...I jumped on it. I actually learned about that book from your log. I've been following along your RW build for awhile now. You have a masterpiece there. And looks like your close to finishing as well. And I thought the Connie will be a large model when finished. The RW looks Gigantic. (and that's an understatement.) How/where are you going to display that when your done. 🙂 Back to Connie...... Next update. Nothing too exciting or interesting this time. Just added some more planks. At this point I'm working on the wale. The wale has 7 planks high. I'm up to number 6 at this point. I alternate sides to keep them aligned. Pretty straight forward except the stern. The planks are a consistent width for the whole length except at the stern Starting at bulkhead R they need to b tapered from full width down to 2mm. (just about half there width.) And then they make a 90 degree turn up to the break on the stern. Clamps fit nicely in the gun ports,,, then under the plank. So it kept pressure both in to keep plank tight against bulkhead, And up to keep plank tight against next adjoining plank above. It worked out well. Above... still at 6 out of 7 planks. I smooth out the edges between adjoining planks after glue sets... but before the next plank. I find it easier to do this rough shaping now then when all the planks are all down. The Bow. So the planks need to fit into the slot at the bow/keel. At this point the wale is also sanded down to the thickness of the planks just above the wale. (but just starting the taper from bulkhead B The stern was the only really hard planks.. As you can see. the last three bend around and then back up. To keep the run correct, I closely measured on the planes the distance from the stern post to where the edge of the last plank of the wale should end. That's the pencil mark just to the right of the lowest plank. As long as my 7th plank ends on that mark.... then the run should be correct. That will allow the next band A to properly flow up to the counter to fill in the stern. It came out reasonably well (So far). but I will need to add some filler to clean it up a bit before I sand it smooth. That's it until next weekend. Back to work on Mon. K .

Exquisite work of art. Congrats! An Inspiration to all of us who are following you! KMart!

Another welcome. From East Coast USA. Look forward to watching your build

Yes speedy recovery Jon!

Part #2 The second jig/cradle to hold the hull. So I took another piece of pine that is longer and wider than the hull. I cut into it 4 slots about 1/4" deep. These will align with frames C, G, L. P Now I kept the plywood sheets that the model frames came in. I used that as a template for the next step I cut each frame in 1/2 and laid it out on another piece of pine. On the band saw... cut them up And after they are cleaned up Note the keel rests flat on the board. The braces are adjustable within those slots. So as I add planks.. I can slide them out to adjust to the width. Once I copper the hull. I'll add felt to the inside face of the braces to not mar the Copper. Then when model is finished... the cradle can be used if I ever have to transport it. That jig took me a whole day as well.... 🙂 Now I can get back to planking!! KMart