hopeful

Brad - From My experience this is used by Scratch builders. One of the first things the do after setting the frames is drill a hole in the keel and glue a nut on the inside. This way later in the build they can add a threaded rod thru the keel and mount it to a base. This also has the advantage of being able to adjust the height as needed.

Hi mates,
 
Thanks Grant, Pete, and Adam for your kind remarks re the paint job of my Phantom hull. I appreciate your looking in on the build. Good to know I am not alone in the world of ship building!
 
Post 10 of my Phantom Build Log
 
I am trying to get a bunch of steps finished prior to laying the fore and aft decks and waterways.  This, hopefully, will lessen the chance of damaging the decks.
 
Objectives:   First cut a slot in the bulwarks at the stem for the bow sprit, and second too test fit the cap rail to the top of the bulwarks.
The bow sprit is to rest on the stem and pass through the slot in the bulwarks and into a square hole in the samson post. Locating the bows sprit in this manner ensures that it is placed at the correct angle. A cast metal samson post combined with the windlass is provided in the kit. The builder has the option of using the kit supplied metal sampson post and windlass or making one from scratch at 1/96, yikes!!
 
Photo 42  
 
The metal samson post has small round legs. I drilled two holes in the deck and pressed the posts into the deck, no glue used. I started the slot with #11 blade followed by a needle file. Shows slot being cut with a tapered/square needle file. The slot is the same width as the bowsprit.  
 

 
Photos 43, 44, and 45
Multiple views of the bow sprit positioned through the slot in the bulwarks and through the Samson post. Note that the bowsprit slot is just a tad lower the bulwarks.
 

 

 

 
Photo 46 and 47
 
Photo shows the cap rail resting on the bulwarks. As you can see, I have a bit of work to do to ensure the caprail is too scale in terms of width and thickness, etc. 
 

 

 
Thanks for checking the build. Comments and suggestions always appreciated.
 
Cheers,
Hopeful aka David
 
“Standards set are standards met”, hopefully!

Hey Ben, Already way down that rabbit hole my friend! Rice n beans again for dinner.
 
Thanks Pete it may take awhile but should be fun.
 
I’ve continued on with the now infamous “Set Up” work. Quiet Mark!
 
Here I’ve constructed the jig that will hold the set up keel and frames in the correct position.
The bottom board is some ¾” ash that I had left over and the top piece is ½’ beech plywood
that is eight ply and very solid.  I glued the plans to the plywood and then cut it out using
the scroll saw. After it was done I placed it evenly on top of the bottom piece, clamped it
and drilled 6 holes for the bolts. This way I was pretty sure the top and bottom would stay
square to each other.
 

 
Once the bolts were installed it was a simple matter of adjusting the nuts until the correct
height was archived.
 

 
Here’s the Triton Cross Section placed in side for another size reference.
 

 
 
As I complete more “Set Up” work I’ll let you know.

Small update...with summer not much time to work on the cross section.....just a little at a time
Since I decided to go with cherry for the treenail.....don't know if this was a good idea or a really stupid one 
Got down to making me some
 
First I had to make a zero clearance insert for my saw...did not have any aluminium or plastic so I used cherry
 

 
ripped some cherry strips down to about .040  square
 

 

 
Then started pulling them through my draw plate. Taking them down to about .023 in size. This is smaller in scale than it should be at 1:32 but with them
be so much darker than the maple the will not look like the section has a bad case of the measles....I hope 
 

 
So now it is time to set back turn on the music and PULL for awhile

Hi mates,
 
Adam (SkerryAmp): Thanks for looking at the build and for your comments, much appreciated.
 
Post #9 of my Phantom Build Log
 
Task was to paint the hull, bulwarks (exterior and interior), and the rudder. As mentioned, I will not be adding copper plates to the hull below the waterline.
 
The acrylic paint scheme is black, copper over black to the exterior of the hull and bulwarks, and egg shell white to the interior of the bulwarks.
 
First step was to reapply the waterline to make sure that the pencil line is dark. I then painted gesso everywhere paint was going to appear.  After the gesso I applied ¼” wide Tamiya tape at the upper hull side of the waterline. I use Tamiya tape because it is thin, has a cut edge, and is very sticky.  Bob (bburlman) recommended I use Tamiya when I built my first vessel. It works far better than masking tape or blue tape.
 
As I am using acrylic copper paint to represent copper below the waterline I painted black as an undercoat prior to applying the copper color.  Process was gesso, black, and copper colors below the waterline. Copper over black is much deeper and richer in appearance.
 
Photo 38
 
Shows black color applied over gesso. I gently rubbed the black paint with number 400 steel wool before apply the copper color.  I used the wool to eliminate paint brush strokes and cut the gloss of acrylic paint. Note how the tape line is revealed after using the wool. Paint tends builds up along the waterline and needs to be smoothed out.
 

 
Photo 39
 
Painted the copper color over the black undercoat and removed the tape to show the waterline.
 

 
 
Photo 40
 
Next step was to apply tape over the copper color as close to the edge of the paint as possible prior to painting the black color above the waterline.
 

 
Photo 41
 
Hull painted black and the tape removed to show the completed hull. The rudder was painted away from the hull and then added for the photograph.
 

 
There was a very, very fine raised line where the two paint colors met.  The line is visible to the eye and obvious to the touch and must be leveled out to look right.  I used number 400 steel wool to accomplish the task. Now the paint colors blend beautifully into one another. Do not use sand paper for this task. The fine line to be removed is measured in microns.
 
Thanks for looking in on the build. Comments and questions always welcomed.
 
BFN,
Hopeful aka David
 
“Standards set are standards met”.
 
 
 

Hi mates,
 
Adam (SkerryAmp): Thanks for looking at the build and for your comments, much appreciated.
 
Post #9 of my Phantom Build Log
 
Task was to paint the hull, bulwarks (exterior and interior), and the rudder. As mentioned, I will not be adding copper plates to the hull below the waterline.
 
The acrylic paint scheme is black, copper over black to the exterior of the hull and bulwarks, and egg shell white to the interior of the bulwarks.
 
First step was to reapply the waterline to make sure that the pencil line is dark. I then painted gesso everywhere paint was going to appear.  After the gesso I applied ¼” wide Tamiya tape at the upper hull side of the waterline. I use Tamiya tape because it is thin, has a cut edge, and is very sticky.  Bob (bburlman) recommended I use Tamiya when I built my first vessel. It works far better than masking tape or blue tape.
 
As I am using acrylic copper paint to represent copper below the waterline I painted black as an undercoat prior to applying the copper color.  Process was gesso, black, and copper colors below the waterline. Copper over black is much deeper and richer in appearance.
 
Photo 38
 
Shows black color applied over gesso. I gently rubbed the black paint with number 400 steel wool before apply the copper color.  I used the wool to eliminate paint brush strokes and cut the gloss of acrylic paint. Note how the tape line is revealed after using the wool. Paint tends builds up along the waterline and needs to be smoothed out.
 

 
Photo 39
 
Painted the copper color over the black undercoat and removed the tape to show the waterline.
 

 
 
Photo 40
 
Next step was to apply tape over the copper color as close to the edge of the paint as possible prior to painting the black color above the waterline.
 

 
Photo 41
 
Hull painted black and the tape removed to show the completed hull. The rudder was painted away from the hull and then added for the photograph.
 

 
There was a very, very fine raised line where the two paint colors met.  The line is visible to the eye and obvious to the touch and must be leveled out to look right.  I used number 400 steel wool to accomplish the task. Now the paint colors blend beautifully into one another. Do not use sand paper for this task. The fine line to be removed is measured in microns.
 
Thanks for looking in on the build. Comments and questions always welcomed.
 
BFN,
Hopeful aka David
 
“Standards set are standards met”.
 
 
 

This is a portable bench that I design on Google Sketch up. I want to build it in the near future because I don't own a workshop and I'm working on a balcony or inside according to the weather.
I'm planing to build it from 2 by 4 cm  and 12 by 1,5 cm boards or any cheaper material.
The whole bench is portable as You can see on the pictures, is closes by a piano hinge and can be mounted on a wall with a french cleat and a pull up legs, or can stand on a table top without the legs.
Any suggestions, comments or questions are welcome.
And there are the dimensions on the pictures in mm.

Resubmitting of lost pictures
 
Hi fellow builders,
 
as some of the pics went lost some time ago I have resubmitted these, beginning with # 32 post on page 3
 
Nils
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Hi fellow builders,

in Need for sewed sails, I dared to do self Trials with my wifes sewing machine some months ago. If there is interest in anyone trying likewise, pls. dont hesitate to comunicate your queries here. Also feel free to share your own experience....

I use thin fine weaved Cotton Cloth, use 100% Polyester sewing thread, medium machine needle, textile glue for Fixing, some ordinary paper for Patterns and a soft pencil for drawing the contours from the templates onto the Cloth.

The Cloth is only slightly wettend with laundry starch spray and ironed dry . The soft pencil lines are easy to follow during Transit into the sewing machine. There is no Need for prefixing sewing needles along the seams. The ultimate kick I found was to place a 0,5mm stainles steel wire in spring Quality into the lower (bottom) Portion of the bolt-rope that encloses the sail. Braced to the wind, once mounted you get sails shaped as if the tradewind is just providing Swift sailing

Please follow the (I trust) self explaining Pictures, I added some coments, and a Little Hand scetch for Illustration. It does not Claim to be perfect, but the anxiety for the sewing machine is overcome, improvements are welcome, but last not least the "sewing boat" has been pushed out....


Part 1


sew straight seams horizontal, vertical


follow the soft pencillines on the Cotton cloth


trimm off the edge fringes after doing so, then follow my handscetch at the end of this part 1


spring wire (stainless st)and hollow weaved thicker Polyester tread


sorry, dont know the english Nomination for this seam making device


debur (important !! slightly round)wire edge and push gently though the weaved thread
Surplus wire endings shall be made to small Loops for the the sail bottom bolt-rope rings


stay sail pattern


after many Trials,.... seem to work now...


Comes out of the machine quite clean and neat now


should be self explaining... come on pls.get out your german/ engl. dictionary.
Of course I shall be happy if I can help....


Part 2 to follow

Ok, as ZyXuz suggested, photo gallery seemed to do the trick so here goes with some photo updates.  I apologize for picture quality because we are still in the tail end of this move and I haven't located my little camera so these were taken with my smartphone and THEN resized which also hurt quality some.  
 
First, a couple photos of the new workbench and whatnot.
 

 

 
I also have these right next to my work space as motivation to complete the builds and it doubles as proof that they can be finished haha.
 

 
Here is a photo of where my hull stands at the moment.  I want to re-paint her because she picked up quite a bit of dust in the move and her dry dock time.  You can also see that I have the waterways and deck step cut to size but they are not glued in place yet.  I have some boxwood strips that I will be using to plank the deck, still trying to decide exactly how I want to go about planking it though, full length planks and then possibly marking in board ends or laying planks with like 60mm long strips of wood.
 

 
Here are my deck fixtures where they currently stand.  These may also get a fresh coat of paint but I'm not sure about that yet.  The roofs of the deck houses are all boxwood strips so they will match the deck and they are thinned down to 1/64" for scale.  The doors for the deck houses are obviously not done, I want to get the runners installed and the sliding top made before cutting them to size in order to get the best fit.  What do you guys think about color for the doors?  should they be white, stick with the wood(different from the boxwood) or I could make them out of boxwood but I don't think I like that idea much?
 

 
Also, I wanted to add in a couple pics of the way I mounted the hull to the launching ways.  I used a metal rod and a metal tube with an inside diameter slightly larger than the rod diameter.  The tube is set inside the hull and the rods are mounted on the lunching ways.  It provides for a smooth way to attach and detach the hull from the launchingway and I feel like it is sturdier than just having the rods go into the wood where they could potentially damage the hull or break through the wood.
 

 

 
Man, I really like the new posting system on this site.  Very easy to add pictures inside of the text and whatnot. 

Progress update:
 
The fore deck planking is done and it has been partially scraped with a razor blade to smooth it out and get rid of lead and extra glue.  The area that has been scraped already looks really nice with the nice boxwood color.  Although the planking job isn't perfect, I am satisfied with it as a first attempt at any kind of planking.  I plan on just covering up some of the imperfections later with decorative items like rope coils and the like.
 
Here is a photo of the completed fore deck planking.  
 

 
Once the deck scraping commenced.
 

 
This is one of the errors in the planking.  At this scale, any gap is significant and quite noticeable, at least to the builder... lol
 

 
Next up will be the aft deck and, thankfully, that will not require any plank joggling.  Instead, the planks will be bent so that the follow the lines of the waterways.  Hopefully, this will prove easier and less time consuming than plank joggling, I cringe at those words!

Hey everyone, checking in.
 
Thanks Richard!  Welcome to my build log.  
 
I built a jig for cutting the deck planks.  It has produced nice, repeatable planks.  Each plank is 1/16" x 30mm and 1/32" thick (Sorry for both US and metric measurements lol).  That roughly scales up to 6" x 9.5' which I thought would be reasonable in real life, although I have no idea how long deck planks ran on average.  Also, each strip of boxwood that I have produces 20 full length planks and one 11mm plank which I bet will come in handy when I need to add shorter planks for the joggling in the waterway or when I run into the baseboards for the deck fixtures.
 

 

 

 
Guide lines for laying the fore deck planking.  For some reason I could not get a good clear photo of this.
 

Hey,
 
B.E. (Blue Ensign), Hakan (Wintergreen) and, Pete 38: You guys are great builders. Thanks for the encouragement!!!
 
Ok, here is where I am with the build....pushing to finish the work on the hull. If I had a magic wand it would finito!
 

 

 
Thanks for looking in on the build. All questions, comments, and constructive criticism is always appreciated.
 
BFN
 
Cheers,
Hopeful aka David
 
“there is wisdom in many voices”

Ahoy Mates
 
Sorry for the delay, BUT
 
As we all know the ladies can take some time to get ready
 
After much deliberation, testing, posts and some beer, well maybe a lot of beer,  I have decided to let the lady show some skin. Many hours of testing only confirmed that for this build “not staining” would be my best move. After wiping down the hull with mineral spirits I found that this “look” suited my lady better then any other.
 
Thank you all for your patience and help on my build. I would have never reached this point alone, “Really” Thank you, (place bowing emoticon here)
 
Back to the build:
 
Using Buck’s suggestion to make patching dust with finer grade sandpaper I came up with Basswood Patch Mk2. The finer dust was collected and then water added. About five times as much as needed. The dust was then allowed to ‘soak’. After which I stirred in a very small amount of PVA glue. Then I put drops on areas I needed to fill. The surface tension used to keep the mixture in place. It usually took three to four applications to fill a small void. 
 
As for the Sanding gala. I used an eraser as my sanding block. It was one of those moments when you look at something completely unrelated to the task and say, Hummm.
 
The finish so far is one coat of “General Finishes” satin Gel Topcoat wipe on Urethane thinned with mineral spirits. I want to paint the wales black and keel tallow, and then I will put on a few more coats of Poly: Oh yes, and a million more treenails
 
Suggestions, comments welcome and “again” thank you MSW

Ahoy Mates
 
Thank you all for your encouraging words
 
Ben: Getting consistent results has been very difficult for me. Some tests come out great; others look like “hell”. I really want to avoid a crapshoot when I do my hull and continue to try to refine my technique. The wood has not been very helpful.  
 
Popeye: The problem in the stern is they taper, and then flare. It has been a difficult area  for me to plank.
 
 Eric: Anything you have to offer, especially when it comes to finishing would be greatly appreciated. I am not the teacher, just the guy who does his homework.
 
Ferit: This would be true if I had your skill. Currently I am on a ship called ‘persistence”.    
 
Sam: I looked into darker stains you mentioned. I can not however get Basswood to take them in anyway that would be considered acceptable.
 
Carl: I have found that for me to write them down I have to properly work out the steps. This is the biggest benefit for me
 
 
Back to the build:
 
It should be noted that my “brute force and superstition” to get that last two planks in at the same time method might need to be rethought. I had what only could be considered a mild disaster. The last two planks would not go in all the way where they met the stern post; glue spread everywhere including the starboard side. It was not a good day in the shipyard, fun ran out of the room like it was on fire. It was a kick in the ars to say the least but thankfully in the end, repaired with some creativity. Only one pic, I was a little too busy at the time for them.
 
On the bright side, this did result in an interesting way to fill seams on basswood planks. Comments welcome
 
First, I apply painters tape to both sides of the offending seam, then use a cut toothpick to trough PVA glue into it (like when doing sheetrock). Remove the tape, then use a paper towel moistened with alcohol to clean up any glue outside the seam (very important). Heat with RC heat gun to dry the wood, then sand the area forcing dust into the seam. When done blow off excess and liberally wet area with brush.  I will post pics if there is any interest.

Went back to the limber boards today and I think I have worked me a solution that I am satisfied with,
Instead of making separate boards for each section will make one long and simulate the seem in between each board. Less chance of loosing them  
 
Here is what I did 
Layed out he 3 foot sections (1 1/8" scale) and drilled 3/16" holes
 

 
marked each seem with the knife blade by scoring along the lines
 

 
Darkened the seem with a pencel
 

 
Then sanded down the boards and this is what I ended up with
 

 

 

 

 
This will suit me for now, unless I change my mind later on....will be easy enough to make new ones....

A short deviation from the main build:
 
Whilst in a local hobby shop I acme across some larger section planking going cheap (app 1.5mm x 8mm) and this gave me an idea for the display stand:
 
I cut the strips to size and laid them with a butt shift:
 

 

 
I then drilled for the treenails and inserted these with pva:
 

 

 

 
Then .5mm black cord caulking, a walnut border and some coats of semi gloss varnish and here we are:
 

 
It mirrors the Pickles' deck and I think looks ok.

Plating Finished and Deck furnishings installed
 
With the arrival of the extra copper plates work continued andthe Plating was finally finished:
 

 

 
I am reasonably happy with the plating, though on close inspection it is rough in a few areas, but as a first effort it is not an embarrassment
 
My next build is not plated, but I think that the next time I need to plate I will try either the Amati etched plates or even go the whole hog and try the copper tape that the Model Shipways builders use.
 
After the plating was completed I made up the Bowsprit and mounted it along with the final fixing of the deck furniture:
 

 

 
You may notice that The Carronades are fitted but I have not described their build.........
 
Simple "They are an absolute %#~@*!!!!"
 
The instructions, the quality of the parts and the final impression is superb. The size of the things is absurd: the overall finished item is app. 1.5 inches long and about .75 high (guesstimate) and has a grand total of .... wait for it.... 18 pieces: 4 wood, 5 brass etched pieces, 4 etched eyelets, 4 pieces of brass wire and the barrel itself. They take about an hour each (without the rigging, and on a good day) and would try the patience of a saint! my finished articles are ok for "stand-off" viewing but that is about it:
 
 
For a better narrative of building them it would be better to look elsewhere on this site, as there are a number of superb examples that far outrank mine LOL.   
 

 

 

 
Next up is the building of the masts, and then Pickle can go "Vertical"
 
 
 
 

Hi Mates,
 
A bit of progress to report.
 
Post 9 of my Phantom Build Log:
 
Task was to thin the bulwarks on the outboard side of the vessel.  The inboard side of the bulwarks were thinned in a previous step. The final target is to thin the bulwarks to 1/32"....thin.
 
One can thin the baulwarks by carving and finish sanding. I used that method on the inboard side of the bulwarks. For the ouboard side I used sanding sticks, #80, #120, finished with #180.  The height of the bulwards on the outboard side are 1/8 inch. Following photos are for reference.
 
Photo 34
 
First step was to bend a few battens to the form of the hull. The battens are some left over deck boards from another project. The battens are 4.0mm wide and 1/16" thick.
 
 
 
Photo 35
 
Shows the battens pined to the vessel on the port side. The battens are placed 1/8 inch from the top of the bulwarks.
 

 
 
Photo 36
 
Shows the bulwarks thinned to 1/16". Note the shelf formed adjacent to the batten and below the bulwark. The step will be rounded over later.
 

 
Photo 37
 
Shows both the bulwarks thinned to 1/16" on both the starboard and port sides of the vessel. They will be thinned on an angle to 1/32 just before the cap rail is added to the vessel.
 

 
Next I will remove the battens and round oiver the ledge creaded by sanding the bulwarks followed by adding the rudder and painting the hull.
 
Thanks for looking in on the build, much appreciated.  
 
Cheers,
Hopeful aka David
 
"Standards set are standards met".

Hi Mates,
 
A bit of progress to report.
 
Post 9 of my Phantom Build Log:
 
Task was to thin the bulwarks on the outboard side of the vessel.  The inboard side of the bulwarks were thinned in a previous step. The final target is to thin the bulwarks to 1/32"....thin.
 
One can thin the baulwarks by carving and finish sanding. I used that method on the inboard side of the bulwarks. For the ouboard side I used sanding sticks, #80, #120, finished with #180.  The height of the bulwards on the outboard side are 1/8 inch. Following photos are for reference.
 
Photo 34
 
First step was to bend a few battens to the form of the hull. The battens are some left over deck boards from another project. The battens are 4.0mm wide and 1/16" thick.
 
 
 
Photo 35
 
Shows the battens pined to the vessel on the port side. The battens are placed 1/8 inch from the top of the bulwarks.
 

 
 
Photo 36
 
Shows the bulwarks thinned to 1/16". Note the shelf formed adjacent to the batten and below the bulwark. The step will be rounded over later.
 

 
Photo 37
 
Shows both the bulwarks thinned to 1/16" on both the starboard and port sides of the vessel. They will be thinned on an angle to 1/32 just before the cap rail is added to the vessel.
 

 
Next I will remove the battens and round oiver the ledge creaded by sanding the bulwarks followed by adding the rudder and painting the hull.
 
Thanks for looking in on the build, much appreciated.  
 
Cheers,
Hopeful aka David
 
"Standards set are standards met".

The Bank Holiday weekend in the UK allowed me to make a little bit of further progress on the ship’s boat.
 
First on was the sheer strake. I reckoned that would be good to place first because then I could estimate the number of planks between that and the keel.
 
I then cut out the garboard plank, as seen in the photo.
 
 

 
Shaping the planks was a bit easier than I expected – but this was mostly because I didn’t spile them correctly and just tapered one side of each plank!
 
 

 
Having finished the external planks, I could remove the shell from the mould, cut away the ribs from the point where the gunwale joins, and then add the gunwales.
 
That was a moment of magic for me -- it really did look like a boat shape! It may not have the magnificent carpentry of the other ship's boat builds that are on this site, but I had managed at least the rudiments and it certainly boosted my morale and my appetite to continue!
 
I made the gunwales by gluing a 1mm square strip of walnut to a 0.5 x 1mm strip, then bending appropriately. By the way, I now use a small soldering iron to do the bending. I do this after soaking the planks and allowing them to saturate. It really is quite a nice sound to hear the hiss of the steam as I apply the plank to the iron, and watch it (the plank, that is: not the iron) dry and bend.
 
After putting on the gunwales I cut strips from masking tape to show me where to place the stringer supporting the thwarts. You’ll see the strips in the photo.
 
Then I laid a false keel along the keel top, and started the floor planking.
 
 

 

 
The next stage was to cut away the rowlocks into the gunwales. This is not really accurate, as the gunwales I added are thicker than the plans recommend, but I compromised!
 
The sternsheets, sternsheet transom (made from strips of 0.5mm walnut) and the seats were then added.
 
The rudder was then cut out, a handle made from 1mm square cherry, and 0.6mm holes drilled into the handle and the rudder in order to join them with a sliver of walnut.
 

 

 
I’ve had a bash at the thwart knees, but so far have not found a nice way of doing them. I might give up on that score. I’m also debating about the position for a mast. However, the most immediate work to do will be the gudgeons and pintles for the rudder, and the oars.
 
The only real problem is the mix of walnut and cherry (apart from an obvious asymmetry in the height of the sides and the spacing of the ribs). That came about just because of the wood I had to hand. I had started the ship's boat more as a proof of concept -- not really believing I could make one. Now it's beginning to look like a real boat I am loathe to do it all over again. I decided I'll put it all down to experience for the build of my next ship's boat!
 
And now, back to the work that pays and funds the ship modelling (among other things).
 
Tony

Questions and remarks are very much Welcomed






NOTE THE PLASTIC CLAMP. IT WAS USED FOR THE PICTURE ONLY. THESE CLAMPS WILL NOT BE STRONG ENOUGH TO HOLD PLANKS IN POSITION AT THIS POINT IN THE BUILDING PROCESS...

Interesting topic and as Mark said, Adam and Chris covered most of that pretty well. The only thing I would add, is that for any wooden ship builder, the kit HAS to be of something the builder likes for whatever aesthetic reason. Regardless of the builder's skill level, mistakes will inevitably be made...the key is the perseverance to move on from the mistake. IF the ship really never interested the builder they are less likely to rebound from the mistake, or the difficulties and learning curves that also comes with ship building.

So after much debate with myself, ultimately losing I decided to go out on a limb and throw this out to the masses.
 
I have seen many people ask here on the forums, and I personally have been asked by friends of mine, some variation of - what is a good entry level wooden ship?
 
When I worked in the hobby store, the answer was easy – not personally having built them myself I had to go by the marketing materials and the word of the ship builders who came through.    When I got into the hobby myself last spring I leveraged that information as well as the write ups of various ships to decide ultimately on the Phantom.
 
However, after building the phantom and now working on a few other models I find myself sometimes wondering myself, when that question is asked, what is a good starter ship model?
 
I had been debating on bringing this up here, just for general conversation as I don’t think there truly is a “correct” answer, but the opinions would be interesting I think.
 
Where I kind of found myself drifting towards is that there really isn’t an easy answer to that question.  After answering it to some degree in another thread earlier today I decided what the heck, let’s bring it up and see what sticks!
 
Here is where my thoughts on the matter tend to circulate.
 
In the plastic world you have a box of parts and those parts, with zero modification, create a rough model of the box art.  You can in some cases (snap together) create something with zero tools and zero experience.  You can, of course, get more expensive detailed kits but still in most cases the parts in the box will assemble as is to create what it is you are after.  The difficulty of plastic comes in when you start adding glue or when you decide to go for it and craft aftermarket parts etc. to add to the existing model. So there is a curve, but in many ways it is a voluntary one.
 
Wooden ship models are very much not the case.   You cannot (as far as I can tell) open a wooden ship kit and create a model of the ship on the box with the parts in the box as is.  It isn’t even an option.   I remember joking about it when I opened up that Phantom.  I was staring at a bunch of wood with a handful of prefabbed parts. 
 
So this is where my thinking that there really isn’t such a thing as “entry level” model ship kits.  By default, the model ship world starts you at advanced.   I have seen people marvel at scratch building, and oh my there are some incredible masters of it that scratch build from front to back and top to bottom .  However, I think some people do themselves an injustice in not believing that they themselves have scratch built something on their ship.   Whether it is a door way, a hatch, a wheel house or a mast; everything about model ship building is about taking one thing and making it into something else so as to fit the rest of the things to make a ship.
 
I think with wooden ships you start at advanced and go up from there.  I think when we talk about “difficulty” in wooden ships it isn’t so much what you have to do, but how much of it you have to do.  The skills come with the practice of what is done; learning how to plank properly, learning how to lay a deck, rig a mast, mount a cannon etc.  The difficulty and challenge is how much planking has to be done, how much detail is in place, how many lines have to be rigged and the pattern or how many tree nails have to be done, sails etc.
 
Please do not get me wrong, I am not in any way saying that everyone who builds wooden ships are at the same skill level, trust me I look at my work and then at others and it is painfully obvious I have a way to go. 
 
What I am suggesting is that newcomers to the hobby should not steer away from things because they are “advanced” looking or complicated because in reality whether it is a small boat like the phantom or a huge boat like the MS Constitution, you are using the same sets of skills and doing the same activities just more of it on one than on the other?
 
I can see the phantom being beginner due to quicker turnaround time, easier to “get one under the belt” maybe.  But after building the phantom and realizing it may be smaller but there was a lot more to it than what I expected.   The Harriet Lane, also listed as an entry level, seems to have a level of complexity that may initially shock someone who picked it up thinking entry level in a different way than the model ship world does.
 
I have done the Phantom (a solid hull) and worked on the hull of the Willie L Bennett (planked) and the Mayflower (planked) and I personally think planking was easier than the solid hull!
 
I truly hope I am getting this question out correctly,  as I have said I have debated it back and forth so many times in my head because I think it is a more complex answer than – This one or That one.
Now, this does not include built from plans type ship building, which is a whole different ball game.  
 
This is primarily in regards to kits.
 
Maybe a lot of this comes from what my expectations were of “Starter” versus advanced.  The Phantom was a challenge, again coming from the world of pre-formed parts.
 
Having only been at this just over a year just has me philosophizing over wooden ship building in general.   Looking at the builds and the people around here just got me to thinking; there really isn’t an entry level wooden ship builder. 
 
By default it is an advanced hobby.
 
Is the advancedness of  a particular model  in the kit? 
Or in the builder?
Or in both?
 
What do you guys think?  (And if you think I am just out of control, feel free to say so – I can take it; sometimes my mind goes weird places and the Admiral has to reel me back in)
 
Thanks for taking the time to indulge my random rambling.
 
Enjoy!!
-Adam

HI Mates,
 
Time to post an update to my log.
 
 
Bob M (hexnut): Thanks for looking in and for the information regarding “bare metal foil”. Going to put the web address in my diary.
 
Russ: Nice to hear from you. You are correct when stating the kit comes with adhesive backed foil. I am definitely going to save it for future use.
 
Scott (gulfmedic1): Sorry for not getting back to you sooner re the dimension you requested. Please refer to the drawing titled “Arrangement & Lines”. The dimension from the step to the out board edge of the stem is 123.0mm. As the stem is 3.0mm, the hull measurement from the step to the bow is 120.0mm.
 
Post 8 of my Phantom build log:
 
Objectives:
 
Construct the water ways from bass wood, and size the deck material provided in the kit to ensure the two decks fit correctly. There are two decks separated by a step. The step is located just aft of amidships.
 
Also roughed out the cap rail at this time.
 
These components will be added to the vessel after the outside of the bulwarks have been correctly sized and the hull painted.
 
Photo 28
 
First step was to make patterns of the waterways and decks. I made the templates of low tack tape.
 

 
 
Photo 29
 
After removing the tape I fixed the patterns to 1/16” bass wood with scotch tape. Next I scribed the outside edge of the templates with a #11 blade transferring the shape of the templates to the wood and removed the tape.  The outside edge of the template is now the correct size of the outboard edges of the water ways and fore and aft decks.  
 
Photos 30-31
 

 
 
Shows the finished forward water way and deck. The water way is 1/32” thick. The part is very fragile, but I wanted to make it a one piece component out of wood.
 
 

 
 
Photo 32
 
Shows the completed aft deck and waterway.
 

 
 
Photo 33
 
The cap rail, made of 1/16” bass wood, was made in one piece following Chuck’s method explained in his practicum.  The part will be made more narrow and thinner (1/32) after it is attached to the top of the bulwarks.
 

 
Next steps
Carve and sand the outside of the bulwarks. Affix the rudder Paint the hull, rudder,  and interior of the bulwarks Thanks for checking out the build. Questions, advice, and constructive remarks are appreciated.
 
Cheers,
Hopeful aka David
 
“Standards set are standards met”.

here are the pictures again
 
paddlewheel is installed the side is holding for now and the wheel turns too
 

 
did some work on the floors of the curved 3rd deck rooms

 
not much progress tonight as I was watching state of origin