Tigersteve

Deadeye blocks are in progress

The barrels are complete

Thank you for all the likes and comments. The port side plank has been shaped and installed. I spent a lot of time trying to get these two planks symmetrical. After installation, I removed the braces at the transom. Additional fairing in this area will be next along with lining off the hull. 
 
Shims were created and faired with the bulkheads to repair a piece that broke earlier in the build.
Steve

Thank you, Bob - and all others who have purchased the book.  Still waiting for my copies.  Customers first.
 
Ed

Hi All,
Sorry Ed, but its too exciting to keep to myself.  Vol II is finally available at SeaWatch Books.
 
Guess what just arrived at my door.  Yes!, its true there is a Young America Vol II.  It has all the appearance of a Master Class in model manufacture.  If you never build Young America, the detailed descriptions of how Ed made all those marvelous deck fittings is well worth the price.  The techniques are extremely well documented in numerous photos and clearly written text.  I can't wait to dig into all the details.
Ed, I can't thank you enough for all the hard work that obviously went into the publication.  This is just the encouragement I need to get back to work in the shop.
 

Bruce,
Fantastic display of the Morgan. I'm def in for this one!
Steve

Looking super nice, Thomas! Full size views show really nice detailing
Mike

Gun rigging continued . . . 11 down and 7 to go.
A little sign of life . . . with more guns being rigged additional deck furniture could be permanently mounted: the ladders, five rail, and pump. The deck starts to get a ‘finished’ look (images 1 - 4) .
 
Thomas
 

Image 1
 
 

Image 2
 

Image 3
 

Image 4
 
 
 

 

Thanks guys! All the bulkheads are squared and braced with wood strips. This is absolutely necessary. The squaring process was more difficult with this one than with the longboat due to the amount of thin bulkheads. I'd say they're about 98% square. 
 
The filler pieces and transom have not been added yet. In the photo there is a 1/16" x 1/16" strip that will be used to shim the bulkheads where they meet the bearding line at the stern.
Steve

Being out of town, and working on outdoor activities I have not progressed too rapidly. 

Jim, I'm in. 
Steve

Feeling good this weekend! Finally finished my yawl for the aft davits. Its not exact to a true yawl but I like the outcome. I'll need to learn more before I make another.
On to the long boat.

Sorry for the (extremely) late reply Eddie - but thanks for following along - though there hasn't really been much to follow! I've been travelling quite a bit since the beginning of the year - San Diego, Ottawa, Rome, the Netherlands and Germany in the past 5 months.....it's been fun, but it'll be nice to spend some time at home! And then we're off to cabin country at the end of this month, so I'm trying to pack some modelling into the next few weeks!
 
So I finally got back to the BN today after many months of dust gathering....The work today involved re-cutting the keel pieces, which I did (for I think the fourth time) on the bandsaw. I cleaned them up with some files and belt/disc sander and found.....that they had the same problem as before! While the aft two keel pieces seemed fine, the forward one was out of line with the plans. Instead of taking new templates and cutting entirely new pieces, though, I just fidgeted with the joint between the foreward and centre keel pieces until all of them lined up - required a bit of extra filing and the addition of two small skims on the forward joint of the centre keel piece, and now everything connects and lines up well....I won't post photos, since you've kind of seen them already!
 
These keel pieces still need quite a bit of attention. I need to cut the templates off at the rabbet line and the bearding line and mark those on the starboard side and also make port-side templates to mark these lines to port. I'll then assemble the keel, cut the rabbet joint and taper the cutwater. Fortunately, the bulkhead pieces I made last Fall are still serviceable, but I'll need to make adjustments on the new keel to fit them properly. Then I'll have to adjust the stern end of the aft keel piece so the sternpost fits snugly - though this won't be installed until after the hull planking is complete. At that point, I should be able to install the bulkheads.....
 
I have to say it's been nice to get back to this build! I've taken almost the entirety of 2017 so far off of modelling -- there simply hasn't been any time and I found also that I needed a hiatus to reignite my interest! Anyway, hopefully there will be some decent progress to show here over the next few weeks. Bye for now
hamilton

I'm no expert, Chuck. Looks very nice to me.
 
Mike

Oh yeah, on the friezes. Very classy.
 

Thank you very much for the likes and comment.
 
The panels were completed and glued into position.  You could leave them like that with just the empty panels which has been seen on many contemporary models.  In this case I chose to insert printed friezes into them like the contemporary model shown above.
 
I actually patterned the same same frieze design from that contemporary model and used it on my prototype.  What do you guys think.   I will be working on the step into the stern sheets next and then started on the outboard details again shortly after.
 

 

 

 

 
 
Chuck

Bravo, BE, that was a tricky problem that you solved nicely.
 
 

It should sand nicely!
Steve

Try applying some water to the dings with a wet quetip and let it air dry. That might help "heal" the wood. 
Steve

I got the stern wheel in place and am working on the rigging.  She is very close to being finished.  As careful as I was on the paddle wheel, it is a bit skewed.  I think I should have added the planks alternating on opposite sides to relieve stress. Anyway, it isn't noticeable. I was very unhappy with the look of the laser cut anchor decoration on the smoke stacks and ended up making one out of styrene and leaving it unpainted.
 
Ron

Jim, I'm in. 
Steve

To create the curve and shape of the starboard sheer plank, I created a slight edge-bend for the part of the plank that wraps around the bow. It really is counter-intuative how this plank must bend towards the keel. The plank is then bent and twisted around the bow. 
 
The tip of the plank is cut at a slight angle and sanded on one side for a tight fit into the rabbet. After a satisfactory fit at the bow, the remaining curve of the sheer is created. Some additional fairing was needed at the bow and the rabbet scraped a bit deeper.
 
Several rounds of dry heat were applied for bending and shaping. Hard Maple is nice to work with. It's very rigid and doesn't dent when clamped like basswood.
 
A photo is shown of the second dry fit before the plank was glued. During the dry fit stage, I also add heat to "relax" the plank into shape.
Steve

Shaping the sheer planks is providing a large challenge. In the meantime, I've included a photo of the transom installation, which took place after the hull was faired. The extra strips will be removed after the first planks are installed. Additional fairing will be needed at that point. 
Steve

To create the curve and shape of the starboard sheer plank, I created a slight edge-bend for the part of the plank that wraps around the bow. It really is counter-intuative how this plank must bend towards the keel. The plank is then bent and twisted around the bow. 
 
The tip of the plank is cut at a slight angle and sanded on one side for a tight fit into the rabbet. After a satisfactory fit at the bow, the remaining curve of the sheer is created. Some additional fairing was needed at the bow and the rabbet scraped a bit deeper.
 
Several rounds of dry heat were applied for bending and shaping. Hard Maple is nice to work with. It's very rigid and doesn't dent when clamped like basswood.
 
A photo is shown of the second dry fit before the plank was glued. During the dry fit stage, I also add heat to "relax" the plank into shape.
Steve

Nice jig!  Much better than the "Fair-a-Frame".