mikiek

Easy build, huh?

You make me want to pull my lathe down off the shelf. The one with very little sawdust on it. Your tutorial makes me think even I might be able to do that exercise. What a nice addition to the build!

No apologies needed in this thread. I left my ego at the door. ALL suggestions and comments (positive and negative) are welcome here. The idea is we are all helping each other right? And it's obvious I need some help. IMHO Straight, honest responses will produce better results and further ones skills. It sounds like the gist of both Zoran's and Don's post is I am in too big of a hurry. I was trying to do the whole operation in one pass and it's just too much of a bend to be doing so. So the saw will stay on the shelf for another day. I will spend today SLOWLY working the 3x3's and see what I can come up with. Thank you Zoran and Don. Both of your opinions and comments mean a lot to me. Please keep them coming!

I won't argue with you on the port holes

I assumed Zoran was referring to the bending tool that looks like pliers. They put a crimp in one side of the stick and you bend in that direction. I have never heard much good about this tool but I thought I would give it a try. $30 later it's out in the shop and problem almost right away. Like I said the side that gets crimped should be the inside of the bend. Unfortunately, for this application it needs to be the outside of the bend. I need the smooth side to be the inside. I went ahead and tried bending like I needed and the stick broke at 4 of the 6 crimps I made. I can see this tools future will be short lived. Per Don's suggestion I tried bending thinner sticks with the idea of laminating several thin bent sticks together. Not pretty Creases and cracks all over. Was almost going to go with it anyway. Had all 5 glued down, then the little voice says ARE YOU NUTS? So I have exhausted the easy methods - heat benders, steam, overnight soakings, other benders. Due diligence? I would say so. Tomorrow it's the nuclear option. I'm bringing out the scroll saw and cutting frame pieces. I still have the one frame piece that is removed after planking so that can be my template. Will use walnut sheets. Got a lot of sanding to do as well - need to get all the glue off the hull. Note to Marisstella - these really should have been laser cut parts.

Yup - got me too. However I decided to live with it. All the transom planks as well as the rail have a slight slope up to the middle and back down again. I really like the look, especially on the hand rail. Fortunately that whole transom structure is easy to fabricate if you have to. Voice of experience.

Doug - re: gunport rope, it usually runs through a hole right above the ports and into the gundeck area. The rope would then be reaved thru some blocks hanging from the beams to make it easier to get the lid up. If you want I can snap a few pix from the plans of the gundeck section build I did. At that scale you may or may not want to go to the trouble. The section build was 1:24 so it was easy enough to rig it up. It actually works too.

The beech looks quite good Don. Nice straight grain, not too heavy. Good color. It's a winner. Never heard of a veneer saw before. How come you have to take the filler out?

I guess I will have to differ with Steve on this one. For me CA is the worst, I've had times where it took 4-5 minutes for it to dry. Wood glue is a little better. If at all possible scuff up the stained glue site with some sand paper first. Most glues want to get down into the wood fiber. Anything sealing that up is problematic. A quick sanding can bring up a little of the fiber.

No laser cut rails?

It's gorgeous dude. You have the best luck when it comes to staining. I still remember the finish on Phantom. They both look like real boats - not stained or painted, just used. A little bit of matte varnish on top of this will seal it up nicely.

The Tamiya tape is really good. It's flexible, it cuts easy and the adhesive is good but it doesn't leave spots. Plus they come in plastic dispensers similar to scotch tape. Get yourself a couple of the smaller widths - especially the narrowest - sorry I don't remember the measurement but it's about 1/8". I think I went thru almost 2 rolls of that. The gun and oar ports will use up a lot. For large areas the typical blue masking tape works. As far as your paint,I think you will get a color that is more pleasing to your eye if you mix it. Not sure that you'll save any money. Don't forget the clear paint. After you lay your masking tape you should paint a band of clear over the edge of the tape. When it dries it seals the tape edge so that your colored paint doesn't wick up underneath - which it will try very hard to do. The Niagara colors contrast a lot. A bit of yellow or red on your black, green on the red. Even a tiny spot is going to be very obvious. If you do go with the kit spars make sure they are straight. Dowels have a tendency to warp. They appear to be straight grained but most are not. Your option there would be to get square sticks of various sizes and shape them yourself. It's more work but with something like boxwood, you'll know in 5-10 years your masts won't be drooping over to one side. I'm working on a sectional kit with some seniors and right out of the box dowel that is the main spar doesn't even roll.

Did I mention get lots of masking tape? You should also consider sticking with the brand/type of paint you are already using. Especially since you seem happy with it. By type I mean acrylic, enamel or some other oil based paint. It's best to make a choice and stay with it. I would suggest mixing a color. I used Buff as the base. You can color that with yellow (use up some of what you already have), brown and lighten with white if needed. Dijon Brown I called mine. It really is the color of the mustard. Mix with an eye dropper and/or measuring spoons keeping count and taking notes so that you can make more if needed. You do realize of course, as soon as you switch the yellows and get it painted, the red is going to almost glow in the dark. So start planning what color you will be repainting that Be looking for some clear paint as well. You will use this to seal up the edges of the masking tape so paint doesn't wick under. I did mention you will need masking tape didn't I? Looking at your bow to stern pic made me think of something. Your mast steps. I'll suggest you get the mast feet prepared and tested out before you plank your deck. You will have limited access to the braces after that. Are you planning on making your own spars or using the ones from the kit?

Seems like nothing but setbacks the last day or two. I've been working on the cargo entry area but it just ain't working. Since this area is open down to the hull, you are supposed to put some faux frames in. This makes good sense however the frames are supposed to be 3mmx3mm sticks and they are supposed to be bent to fit the curvature of the hull. On the good side the frames are 2 pieces - one comes out from the keel about 2/3 of the way to the wale. The second piece starts under the wale and runs about 2/3 of the way toward the keel. I was able to get the bottom pieces in although I couldn't really bend them enough to fit flush on the hull. But given that part of the piece is under the flooring I just rocked them a bit so the exposed part is flush. A little smoke & mirrors. So far I am totally unable to bend the sticks enough to make the second piece of frame. Everything I have tried, the stick eventually breaks. I've tried soaking the sticks (even overnight) then using the soldering iron bending attachment. I ended up breaking the iron trying to apply enough pressure to bend the stick. I bought a hand steamer, that works no better. I even tried using some thinner basswood sticks and they are breaking too. So I'm stumped right now. Another downer, I couldn't resist staining that same area sort of as a test before I do the outside. The stain "Special Walnut" didn't look bad on a single stick but IMO it's WAY too dark applied to a larger area. In the pix you can see some bare walnut floor planks above the stained walnut hull. I guess walnut stain on walnut wood is not a good combination, although I suppose it would look OK on furniture. Speaking of floor planks, the plans are quite confusing. The floor outer edge is supposed to end with a "bilge keelson" - never heard of that one - that runs cockeyed from the rest of the floor planks. I don't see what purpose this would serve and it doesn't sit right on the hull. I will probably just run floor planks out parellel instead. So I think Trajta is going to get another rest while I figure out what to do.

Ditto that Steve - did I understand correctly, you filed those notches?

Hello Don - I look at the weather like this - it's 2 days I didn't have to drive 130 mile round trips to the office I was about to PM you & Zoran about that floor. The plans call for 2 strips for a bilge keelson (part #32) at the starboard and port ends of the floor, one to a side. The floor sits on supports glued to the bulkheads. It looks like these 2 strips have one long edge glued to the outside edge of the floor and the other edge either to the hull or the faux frames (I can't tell which). I'm guessing on the frames. What's really odd is I would kinda expect the strip edge to run parallel with the floor planks. But a top down view in the plans shows them at quite an angle to the planks - the last plank and a strip making sort of a V. THis makes me wonder if the strips are really contacting the floor planks or are maybe under the planks. If the strips do contact the planks then there would probably need to be a triangular shaped plank (almost like a stealer) to fill in the gap. I"m also stumped on the faux frame pieces. 3mmx3mm walnut sticks that need to be bent to the curvature of the hull. I use the soak & heat bend method but they are not bending enough. I've already broken the sticks twice.

Your welcome man. Thanks for the good word.

Well, maybe the cold will stop me. The CA isn't CAing. Will not stick. Even put some on my finger and rubbed it around. Felt like water. Bummer.

Work continues on Trajta. We've had a little excitement here in SE Texas - some cold weather. Nothing compared to what you Canadians live with but for around here it's almost a blizzard. Temps below freezing for over 24 hours - expected for another 18 - 24. In my area that in the 20's, teens at nite. The shipyard is kinda chilly but it won't stop me. I'm into 2 things at the moment. Prepping the hull (read sanding) for some finish and doing a few odd tasks in preparation for planking the decks. As far as the hull goes, I'm taking a different approach than usual. I REALLY want to stain & varnish the hull rather than paint. But as you may know, I'm pretty anal about how my stain comes out. IMO filler & glue can ruin any stain job. This time around rather than filling gaps & low spots I am sanding those areas to the point where they disappear. A lot of sanding! The hull planks are noticeably thinner - hope I don't poke a hole thru them. It has also been very hard to resist putting some sort of something (stain, finish, etc) on the hull. You know how that is? So far I have succeeded. The pix don't look to different than the previous ones, but if you run your hand down the sides the difference is noticeable. The other odds & ends are rather unique to this build. Trajta did a lot of cargo hauling. Rather than openings in the deck to lower stuff into the hold, she has a section of the deck open. In that area bulkheads are planked, there is a bit of flooring and the bulkheads have openings where things are loaded into.That was probably a bad description, the pix may explain it better. At any rate I am planking the bulkheads and getting ready to do the flooring. And since that area is open to the hull there are also some faux frames to be installed there. This will prove challenging as the plans call for 3mmx3mm walnut sticks and they will have to be bent to fit the hull. One problem I have to deal with. In the last pic you might see a notch in the keel. There was a frame piece there but after planking you take it out. My planking method requires marks on each strake where it crosses a frame. Usually no problem as I lay that side of the strake inboard and no one ever sees it. Not so this time with the section of open deck. To make things worse I used a Sharpie to make my marks. You can see my dilemma. The floor I'm about to do will cover part of it but not all. Nothing to do but sand Stay warm......

The color is what had me wondering David. I like it.

That beech could make a cool deck me thinks. I'm curious how it takes stain. Natural might do very well. I would also like to find something besides walnut. I ordered 5 different species and will be cutting sticks myself.

Thank you all for the likes and kind comments. If you knew the history between the owner and my dad (both in photo) and our families you would know how special the moment was. Those two go back literally to before I was born. And I'm no spring chicken. Most folks don't keep connections like that.

Owner got his boat back today

David - are you able to determine what kind of wood the hull is?

Looks like mostly sanding to me Tom. Be careful with the filler. It's easy to fill all the grain and even the joints between planks. You can lose the "plank effect" if your not careful. It'll get too smooth. None of that work was done perfectly back then. Something you reminded me of with your bowsprit. When you start putting all the cleats and stuff on especially at the foot, the bowsprit won't slide thru the opening anymore. Not enough clearance with everything glued on. So make all those parts, but be careful what you glue on. If the part is inside the bulwark, don't glue it until you have permanently fixed your bowsprit into the bits. Looking forward to seeing some paint! Stock ip on the masking tape.