Salty Sea Dog

Continuation

Continuation
 
Intermediate assembly of a foremast

Over the past week or so I had decided that I might work on the blocking for the gun ports and the rails.  I thought that I might take a bit of a different approach then what the kit prescribes.  I thought that it might work well to forgo the blocking between the bulkheads, but to instead drop the post on each bulkhead and install one continuous rail along the top.  I thought this would help give me a better idea as the the subtle curves the ship has and to save a bit of time.  In end it causes me to loose a bit of extra wood from the kits stock but it may give me a better platform to work from.  Also along the stern I installed the Arch board.  To do this I roughly bent a longer piece of wood and cut out the portion that most resembled the arch in the plans.  Next I glued a transom plank to it to at the angle indicated in the plans.  Doing this gave me a great starting point to make measurements off of and to stiffen the horn timbers a little better.   
 
Cheers,
 
Brian
 
  

Next came the ship's boat, this was supplied as a block of balsa wood which needed to be shaped into the correct profile.  Once this was done the plans showed 1.8mm x 7mm planks to go around the outside of the shaped balsa block.  I chose to do this using 3mm x 0.5mm thick planks.  This was done twice and the planks were allowed to overlap each other to give a pleasing clinker affect and a much better scale appearance.  Once this was done the balsa block was removed from inside the planked shell.  Next the frames were cut and glued into position, followed by the floor boards.  Thwarts were made and glued into position along with the windlass.  The coxswain's seat was next up followed by the rudder.  The top half of the boat was stained and the bottom painted white.  Various other small pieces were made and glued into position.  Just some oars to make and maybe the masks and sails at a later date.  
 
Next was all the pin rails, these I made up using parts from the kit, but I did change the pins for wooden ones instead of the brass ones supplied.  I also added supports to the rails and repositioned them as shown in the ATS book.
 
Regards Phil
 

Hi all
 
Well, I decided to re-do this build log, the only thing is the first part will be missing owing to the fact that my old computer packed up working and I lost all the photos and log details of the early part of the build.  The old build log was only started after I had got the hull and deck planking done anyway and there was never any photos of this part of the build.  Various other parts of the build were completed before the mishap with the computer, so I hope you will all bear with me as I try to recreate this log as best I can.  
 
It all started nearly two and half years ago when the Bounty was given to me as a Christmas present.  The only other boat kit that I have built is a Bluenose II, so I am pretty green to model ship building.  As usual the build began with the bulk heads and false deck, this all went together without any trouble and the fit of all the parts was very good.  Once this was complete the carcass was made ready for the planking.  Once underway with the planking my problems began, having never planked this type of ship before, I had no idea about how to go about achieving what I was trying to accomplish.  In the end it all worked ok, other than where the planks were bent around the bow.  These ended up having a clinker affect, which needed a lot of sanding to get a nice smooth end result.  In doing this some of the planks became very thin around this area and so I decided to double plank it.  (The kit is a single plank construction).  The second planking was a lot easier owing to the planks being quite a bit thinner.  
 
Next was the deck planking, this went very well  and the finish looked good, to me anyway.  This was followed by the planksheer, this went on without encountering any problems.  This was followed by the gratings and companionways all made up from the kit parts and installed in their respective places.
 
At about this time I decided to deviate from the kit by adding a flag locker and binnacle.  These items were not supplied in the kit and so had to be made from scratch using odd pieces of ply and leftovers from the planking.  The steering wheel was made up using the kit parts supplied and fitted into its position.
 
Moving on, the knightheads, headrails and the catheads were completed and this brings us to the part of the build where I can show you the pictures of the work completed so far.
 
So here are a few for you to enjoy, more will follow when time permits.
 
Regards Phil
 
 
 

Thanks Augie! I started going through your Syren build and it is gorgeous!! I love the details. My head about explodes looking at your rigging- that stuff scares me! I hope that I can get half as good as you some day.
 
I had to laugh seeing your cat. We used to have a calico years ago when I did engineering work. I would sometimes be working on large floor plan type drawings and she would plop down on top and watch. She was critical of my work and would bat at my pencil while I was trying to make scale additions! I'm kind of glad she's not here to help with boat building!

Popeye,
 
Seems to me that you're having way too much fun in this building. . . Wait . . . Having fun is what it's all about . . . Never mind.
 
Bob

6) Making some little stuff:
 
Because I had some left over cocobolo, it was used for the oar blades instead of the kit provided walnut. The instructions say to paint the blades white and add black stripes but I didn't want to risk being arrested by the wood police for vandalizing nice wood! White stripes were used on the dark cocobolo instead. I practiced masking off and painting the white stripes on scrap wood, but it was looking pretty sad. I ended up using 1/32" Pactra pin striping tape. The tape looked too thick after applying it so I figured a thick finish like varnish would help blend it into the surface. I used some varnish that I had, and thinned it down 50% with naptha (naptha thins varnish and shortens the long dry time too). A little dust still managed to settle in the finish so the oars were wet sanded with soapy water, cleaned and recoated. It took 3 coats to get a build that subdued the thickness of the tape. On the last coat, I thinned the varnish another 50% further with naptha to really speed up the dry time and get a very thin smooth coat. No dust this time! The oar handles were fun to whittle! Heck, all this stuff is fun!
 

 

 
The line tubs in the kit were short pieces of dowel hollowed out a little on one side. I mixed up some concentrated water based stain to get them to look like dark barrel wood. I got it a little too dark so I dipped them in clean water and dabbed them with a brush to lighten the stain. WARNING! DON"T DO THAT!! The barrels got swollen and burst open like blooming flowers! I was bummed out and called it a night. The next morning, the barrels had dried and had almost closed up. Having nothing to loose, I decided to really try to dry them out in the microwave. That actually worked!  Some water-thin super glue was "painted" on the inside of the barrels to try to keep the cracks closed. The brass bands were then soldered around the barrels and the solder joints were cleaned up with sandpaper.
 

 

 
A few days later the weather changed and the humidity went up causing the line tubs to swell a little. The bands popped open at the solder joint. Aarghhh! I resoldered them to fit the new plus size barrels and decided to varnish the barrels inside and out to try to keep their sizes stable. So far, so good!. The brass bands for the barrels were 2mm wide which looked too wide. I lapped them down on some self-stick 220 grit sandpaper using an eraser to grip them. I decided 1.5mm looked OK. I was worried that if the bands got too narrow, it might not take much humidity to make the solder joints pop again. I'm holding off with the rope coils in the barrels for now to make sure that the bands will be OK.
 

 
A collection of little stuff:
 

 

 

The carronades were mounted on the sleds and set on the deck temporarily.
 

 
Once satisfied, the carronades were permanently mounted and the breech ropes attached.  I could not manage the gun tackles this time around.
 
Deck fitting were begun with hatches, shot racks and the capstan.
 

 
This was followed by the companionway and the binnacle/belfry.
 

Brian, Thanks so much for the awesome comments! I admit I am a wood geek and I get excited about a nice piece of wood.   
 
Dave, It really is my first wooden boat kit. I was self-employed as a guitar repairman for 8 years with a specialty in structural damage. I always tried for an invisible repair. Fretwork involves a lot of metal shaping and extremely tight tolerances (a good guitar setup requires measurements less than 1/1000 of an inch!). I was a detail engineer in the telecom industry for 20 years prior to that.  If you look up retentive in the dictionary, there could be a picture of me there!
 
gerty, Thanks!  And thanks for stopping in to check out my build.
 
Michael, The mini-me cutout was hilarious and had me laughing out loud!  I'm hoping to try something like that. I'm glad you liked the trick with the modified cutters.
 
Augie, Thank you for the very kind words!
 
Crackers, That picture is frightening! To quote the line from jaws - " I think we're gonna need a bigger boat"  Thanks for the info on the details. I didn't know about the flags but that makes a lot of sense. I'm imagining something about the length and size of a golf flag with a sharpened tip- would that be right?

6) Making some little stuff:
 
Because I had some left over cocobolo, it was used for the oar blades instead of the kit provided walnut. The instructions say to paint the blades white and add black stripes but I didn't want to risk being arrested by the wood police for vandalizing nice wood! White stripes were used on the dark cocobolo instead. I practiced masking off and painting the white stripes on scrap wood, but it was looking pretty sad. I ended up using 1/32" Pactra pin striping tape. The tape looked too thick after applying it so I figured a thick finish like varnish would help blend it into the surface. I used some varnish that I had, and thinned it down 50% with naptha (naptha thins varnish and shortens the long dry time too). A little dust still managed to settle in the finish so the oars were wet sanded with soapy water, cleaned and recoated. It took 3 coats to get a build that subdued the thickness of the tape. On the last coat, I thinned the varnish another 50% further with naptha to really speed up the dry time and get a very thin smooth coat. No dust this time! The oar handles were fun to whittle! Heck, all this stuff is fun!
 

 

 
The line tubs in the kit were short pieces of dowel hollowed out a little on one side. I mixed up some concentrated water based stain to get them to look like dark barrel wood. I got it a little too dark so I dipped them in clean water and dabbed them with a brush to lighten the stain. WARNING! DON"T DO THAT!! The barrels got swollen and burst open like blooming flowers! I was bummed out and called it a night. The next morning, the barrels had dried and had almost closed up. Having nothing to loose, I decided to really try to dry them out in the microwave. That actually worked!  Some water-thin super glue was "painted" on the inside of the barrels to try to keep the cracks closed. The brass bands were then soldered around the barrels and the solder joints were cleaned up with sandpaper.
 

 

 
A few days later the weather changed and the humidity went up causing the line tubs to swell a little. The bands popped open at the solder joint. Aarghhh! I resoldered them to fit the new plus size barrels and decided to varnish the barrels inside and out to try to keep their sizes stable. So far, so good!. The brass bands for the barrels were 2mm wide which looked too wide. I lapped them down on some self-stick 220 grit sandpaper using an eraser to grip them. I decided 1.5mm looked OK. I was worried that if the bands got too narrow, it might not take much humidity to make the solder joints pop again. I'm holding off with the rope coils in the barrels for now to make sure that the bands will be OK.
 

 
A collection of little stuff:
 

 

 

various pictures from 13.3.2011

San Francisco II went to swimming to far islands (improvisation of my colleague of Raul http://www.goldenhind.ru/art_006.htm)

5) Prepping the hull for finish
 
The gaps and splits in the walnut planking that had occurred over the years due to dryness and wood shrinkage (shown in the earlier photos) were repaired with sawdust and thinned white glue and sanded. The triangular garboard fillers at the ends of the keel were stained for a better color match.
 

 

 
Then the fun part. Lemon oil was applied to all the bare wood. Instant magic! I just love the look of oiled wood. The main thing was to NOT use an oil with wax or silicone in it as that could interfere with my plans for a shellac top coat.
 

 
The exterior was rubbed down with a few applications of oil and the interior was oiled using a brush. The previously shellacked floorboards and seats were unaffected and any stray oil was wiped off of them.
 

 

 

 
This will need to sit for a few days before I apply a thinned out shellac wash coat to seal it.

Wayne- Thanks for the hatchet info and the kind words. Much appreciated! Your harbor master needs to allocate a larger dry dock for you!
 
Mario- Thank you for your kind words. You have been an inspiration to me and have really fueled my interest in small boats. I have some Midwest kits in the ships locker because of your builds. The dinghy diarama is the coolest!!

SIGH ... ( a very long silence) ... That is a beautiful piece of craftsmanship you show on that block! You surprise me again, and again. I've been watching the pictures of that block silently for at least five minutes ................

Ron glad you are enjoying this.
Daniel thanks.
Sherry, yes that was a fun movie.
Mark, well we needed some bigger rope, so this evening I fixed the bug in the rope walk and made this new 3/4 inch rope for such tasks. as rappelling.
 

 

 

 
Michael
 

Daniel, now my secret is out.
 
Carl don’t tell everyone!
 
Druxley thank you, Your comment gave me an Idea.
 
Russ thanks for looking in.
 
Dafi I am glad that you like it.
 
Well because I spent all day building a rope walk, mini me
wanted to get in on the action so I gave him the rope. At least he has a way of
getting down now Mark
 

 
I heard him muttering all day.
 
Michael


 

3) Work done during the last year
 
So my little whaleboat sat around for a bunch of years and I would look at it every now and then. I wasn't ever satisfied with the fit of the keel between the stern and the prow. The kit supplied keel is fit with a butt joint at each end and it was just a tiny bit too short. Not too bad, but just enough of a loose fit to nag at me when I looked at it. It taunted and mocked me! I had been working on another project and had a scrap piece of mahogany that was a nice color match to make a new keel, so I cut/chopped/chiseled/filed the old one out and made a new one using half-lap joints at each end. I figured that would look more boat-like but mostly it was just fun to play with a little saw and a chisel.
 

 

 
I got such a kick out of fixing the keel that I kept going. I liked the look of the really dark wood wales and gunwales (cap rails?) used in the photo on the box lid. I had a left over Brazillian Rosewood binding strip from a guitar repair job and decided to use it for the gunwales. FYI - Per the CITES treaty, Brazillian Rosewood is banned for sale in the USA unless it is certified as pre-ban or salvaged from old stumps like these strips were. I had been lucky enough to locate 3 binding strips for the repair job (a 1927 Martin OO-18 if you're into guitars) and one strip was a spare. It was a special piece of wood to me and I thought it would be cool to use it in my boat. I used a dark scrap of cocobolo for the wales since it looks similar. The centerboard case, thwart seats, mast hinge and the rest of the top of the boat was also built at this time. The kit supplied mast hinge was huge and had to be cut down.
 

 

 
I had the most fun making the rudder. The kit showed using a clunky looking folded piece of brass to attach the tiller and it just seemed wrong to me. I cut a little bridle joint and double pinned it instead. The hinge pins were soldered in place as were the cross pins through the straps and rudder.
 

 

 

 
(edited to correct typo of Martin guitar model to a OO-18 instead of D-18, still a very cool guitar!)

2) Original work done in 1986/87

The frames on this kit are plywood so they were lightly sanded then stained in dark walnut before assembly to help conceal the laminations. I stole that idea from the picture on the box. There was no internet back then to learn about planking (I was using a state-of-the-art PC with dual floppies at work!) so the 16 page booklet "Planking Model Ships" by Richard Mansir was my guide. Once I started the single planking it became obvious that I really needed to get the edge joints beveled just right. I found it tricky to get the joints to look tight on both the outside and the inside. After one plank was installed and secured and the next one was spiled and bent, I slid a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper back and forth between the 2 planks while holding the new plank against the previous one. Also shown in this picture, although it was done more recently, is the finish that I applied on the ramin wood parts. Because the wood is so light and porous it showed dirt (or walnut dust transferred from fingers) easily. The floor boards and centerboard case are sealed with clear (super-blonde) shellac. The thwart seats and oarlock bases are finished in garnet shellac.


 
My first screw-up was only ordering the 5mm wide walnut planking.The garboard planks would have been better if I had used 10mm planks for them. I first tried staining the little wedge shaped areas of the false keel that showed at each end but that looked like poop. Later I cut shallow pockets into the false keel and inlayed some wedge shaped pieces of walnut, but they are a lousy color match and are too light. I may try coloring them before I put a finish on. Another problem that has occurred over the years is that some of the walnut planks have shrunk or developed splits. I'll need to repair these before applying a finish too. The nails that came with the kit were really soft and even with pre-drilling, they bent too easily. I used stainless steel straight pins instead. Each one had to be clipped off which left a wedge shape tip which was carefully ground down as close to the planks as I dared with a Dremel grinding wheel. I then used a small drift punch to seat them flush and then finished with block sanding with a hard block. Stainless pins are a pain! The pins are staggered side-to-side on each plank per Mansir's book while still hitting the frames.
 



 
At the time the boat was set aside, the keel, prow and stern posts and floor boards were added but nothing else in the pictures were. 

Yesterday started like this:


After shoveling a spot for our little white dogs with low ground clearance to do their thing, I decided it was the perfect day to
gather up info to start a build log. I had the day off anyway.

My wife gave me this kit for Christmas back in 1986 after I casually left a Model Expo catalog laying open in her chair with a note saying 'I'd really like this for Christmas'. I got a good start on it back then, but life got in the way and it sat until about a year ago. Back in 1986, Model Expo used to sell this kit for $24.95, and although the kit is no longer made, they show up on eBay for about $25 every now and then. This boat is inflation proof! Here are the box pictures, which I beleive by build log law, must be shown about now:







This kit is designed to be double-planked with wide pre-shaped limewood first layer planking and "walnut" veneer second layer planking (my kit's 2nd layer strips were a dark red-brown wood with giant pores like oak end grain). The instructions said that if you prefer, you could buy some 1.5mm x 5mm walnut strips instead. Of course the nice pictures of this boat on the box and in the catalog showed it as single planked with good walnut. I thought it would look wierd in an open boat if the backside of the planks didn't match the outside, so I ordered some walnut planking from Model Expo. Besides looking better, I figured that it would be twice as easy to build this way since it would only be one layer! My logic could have been wrong about that...

So here is where I am in the build now. The hull is about ready to receive a finish and the detail parts made. I've taken pictures with the boat sitting on a really nice maple board because anything would look better than it really is while sitting on it!





I'll add posts to try to discuss some of the challenges and little triumphs I encountered along the way until I get caught up to the current build activity. I am to slow as Popeye is to fast, so if I can stay ahead of my posts in real life, I hopefuly will be able to avoid long delays between posts. Starting this log should also put a fire under my ...

So look gammoning masts on the Rivoli model of known Russian modeller Mikhail Bezverkhny (Doctor Michael).

but you ARE rich......you have each other...........just like us.   money comes and goes.......but what's important,  always stays constant!

This is looking very interesting. Nice work!

Continuation