Tim Curtis

Thanks for the kind comments guys,
 
Some more progress ...
 
Lower hand rail going on

Beakhead progess ...

 

62 upper rail supports fitted - these were held in position with tape then CAed into place, very fiddly. Note chain boards and belaying pin racks also fitted.
 
That's about it for now.

It's been a while since my last update, and lots has happened, so here's an update.
 
Deck planking
 
I completed the gun deck, with 1mm maple. I'm pleased with how this has come out, and I'll be wiser when I start the quarter deck later on in the build. Replacing the wood seems to have been a good choice, not least, because I've been able to vary the widths of the planking to reflect the real ship more truly.
 

 

Inner planking for gundeck
 
I pre-painted the gundeck inner walls red using the admiralty paints and installed them.
 

 
Stern
 
Using Ray and Beef Wellington's logs as a guide, I approached this part of the build with trepidation. Only time will tell whether I've got it right, but I used scans of the plans as templates as others have done before me to line up the parts for the stern. So far, it doesn't look too bad!
 


Once the stern parts were in place, I opened up the area where the keel former would go to take a wider stern post from boxwood.
 


 
 
First hull planking
 
This is in 1.5mm by 6mm lime. It's lovely wood, actually. Really sharp and easy to form. I filled at the bow and the stern with balsa to act as a support for some of the more complex curves that this hull contains.
 


 
I started putting a plank on each side (to prevent the keep getting twisted) and once I reached where the gun deck was, I marked the frames and the gun port positions (The height of the port rises slightly at the back (between 21 and 25mm from the gun deck)) before I lost the frames as a reference behind the planking.
At present the gun ports are marked out as they will look when framed, so the holes made will need to be larger. This has helped in terms of understanding where the bulkheads meet up with the gun ports. (For some of the gun ports, one side of the port frames will be bulkhead.)
 
I've used a mix of plank nippers and boiling water to edge bend the planks so they aren't forced round the corners. After reaching roughly the point where the wale is, I started to work all the way down on the starboard side. Here's the progress so far.
 

 
 

Thé End. .....I am more happy 

Hello
 
Some more progresss with weathering, hope its not over dose :-)

Here is an update.
I have finished the bowsprit, jib boom, and martingale, along with guys and stays.
I have departed from the kit plans significantly, to match the contemporary print. See below.


As is lower yard, however this is dry fit and needs completing. Just wanted to check that the cranse iron would work.


Top mast is also dry fit. And topmast stay.

Here is the completed ship's boat. Very fiddly, its only about 8 cm long. But have loved doing it.

Hello folks
Well I am posting a few pics of, what for me, is the completed Benjamin L.  I deviated in a lot of areas for several reasons.  Limited illustrations, confusing drawings, missing metal parts, and just stuff I thought looked better.  For me the hardest parts were the rigging, especially the chain plates and pin rail lashings. Some of difficulty was because I did not follow the build schedule closely.  For instance, lashing the pin rails is deadly if you have to work around the mast shrouds.  Many thanks to builders that preceded mine, especially Gary Kapp.. I found a photo on Heritage Auctions web site of the Benjamin L and used it as a guide for rigging. 
 
 

Hello everybody, today we've finished two more parts on my model and I'm called boat hook . I also worked with metal, my favorite brass with copper wire. Because I am in the end of building I will make a list of what I have to do.
Have a beautiful night.

Adrian.

Mounting the Bowsprit
 
Hopefully my last bit on the bowsprit...
 
I rigged everything I could with the bowsprit off the ship.  I got the backropes, guy lines, and bobstays attached to the bowsprit.  I ended up pulling out the pins I made for the shackles and replacing them with bigger pieces of wire.  This keeps those shackles removable for now, which will come in handy.  I've ordered some really tiny brass bolts, so I'll wait until those arrive and see if they work for pins - if not I'll try making some.  In the meantime, ignore the big pieces of bent wire holding shackles in place.
 
I made the foot ropes and attached them while the bowsprit was off the ship, but they ended up being the wrong length once I got everything installed, so I pulled them off and remade them.  (Removable shackles came in handy there.)
 

Next the bowsprit was installed.  Obviously this is pretty easy - it just slides into place.
 

Gammon Iron
 
I made the gammon iron from a piece of brass strip.  I folded it in half and drilled a hole near the fold, then glued a brass rod in the hole (as a bolt), and cut the fold off.  Now It looks like two pieces.  I bent it to the right shape and drilled the other holes for the bolts into the hull.
 

Jumbo Jib Traveller Block
 
I made the jumbo jib traveller block from a piece of strip wood.  It was carved to the right shape, and the bottom was shaped to match the curve of the bowsprit.  From the plans, it was a little difficult to quickly tell exactly how the jumbo jib boom connects on there without more digging - it might be a ring - so I left the wire unglued for now.  That gives me options when I go to hook up the boom - just pop out the wire if something needs to slide on there.
 

Rigging
 
Next I started in on finishing up the rigging.  I started with the backropes.  These are attached to staples that go into the rail.  The staples were installed, and the lines were attached.  Thanks to Brian's advice I'm slowly getting better at eye splicing.  However, I did find it easiest to tighten the line, mark the length, then remove the line from the ship and do the final eye splice with the rope off the ship.  (Another way that having the shackles removable helped.)  I just found it easier to mess with the rope and do the wrapping when I didn't have to worry about holding it in place.  My lines could have been a little tighter, but this worked pretty well here.  I don't think I'll be able to get away with that on the masts, where I'll need the tension on the lines to be more precise.  Hopefully by then I've got a lot more experience with all this stuff and securing the lines is easier.
 

The guy lines and bobstays were also installed similarly.  The plates were mounted to the hull, hardware installed, then the rope was measured, removed, spliced, and reinstalled.  Most of this went pretty quickly since all the hardware was made in advance.  Each eye splice got easier and easier.
 
Footropes
 
Once all those lines were finished up, I tried the footropes again.  This time I got the length right.   The stirrups gave me some trouble.  My first attempt didn't turn out well, so I pulled all the knots apart and removed them.  Originally I tried running each stirrup from one side to the other, tying each knot (guy - footrope - footrope - guy) as I went.  I found it very difficult to keep the right amount of slack between each guy/footrope while also getting the knots tight.  
 
For my second try, I tied the stirrups to the guy lines on both sides first, being careful to leave the stirrup hanging just right so it hit the footropes.  I found this to be much easier, since it was just 1 knot controlling the amount of slack instead of 3.  Then I went through with some black thread and tied the stirrups to the footropes.
 

They didn't turn out perfect, but I think I can live with it.  I plan to keep an eye on it over the next week or so, and if they bug me too much I'll pull the guys and footropes off and redo them.  I think I'll be able to live with them.
 
Finally, I cut, tied and installed the jib stops using some tan rope.  Those were easy...not much to say about them.
 
So, the bowsprit is now built, installed, and rigged.  I learned how to eye splice (thanks!), learned how to make turnbuckles and shackles, and got more comfortable with understanding the rigging plans.  I *think* I'm ready to tackle the fore mast.
 

Ok so update on the relatively slow progress and going to take an opportunity to explain exactly what I'm doing on the second planking for the sake of anyone new reading. Although the progress has been slow, I'm pleased with the results so far and I have a pretty firm process now that requires just three tools (four if you count my fixit tool), none of which are expensive surgical, dental, or jewelry/watchmaking tools.
 
First thing is you need a good knife with which you can trim plank edges easily and with consistency. This is something I know from my chip-carving experience, where I learned to cut lines with great consistency - 

And the ONLY way to do that is to use a Rc60+ hardness knife with a very fine bevel that is absolutely flat. Basically the finer the bevel, the closer the blade axis is to the cutting axis, and the closer it is the easier it is to cut where you want to. If you have a secondary bevel with an increased cutting angle, the blade tends to dive into the wood. If the bevel is even slightly rounded, the blade tends to climb out of the cut - there's a reason properly-sharpened straight razors have severely-rounded bevels.
 
So to neither dive in nor climb out, the bevel has to be flat and it needs to be at a fine angle, and the fine angle also reduces cutting resistance. You can't do consistent lines straight or curved using anything but a light touch. 
 
Yes I made this knife myself but you can buy ones from Ron Hock or Northwood Bay or others for $25-$30 that are very good, the blade on my knife below is from Ron Hock. Some of the best cheap knives are from Japan woodworker, they have marking knives with central cutting steel that's Rc63-64. Here's one that's perfect and already ground with a very fine bevel, epoxy a handle on it if you like. Even better for this purpose would be single-bevel knives, blade and cutting axis exactly aligned. I have some single-bevel knives on order from Mikhail but I might get some from Japan woodworker also.

In case anyone wonders, Japanese white and blue steel has nothing to do with the color of the metal, it has to do with the color of the wrappings they traditionally come from the foundry in. White steels are simple, nearly iron and carbon only and have all the advantages and disadvantages of the pure alloy. Blue steels are alloys that are more like our A2 or O1 steels, and can range all the way to what we'd call high speed steels. So generally speaking white steels might provide the best edges, while blue steels offer more edge durability.
 
Back on track.
 
Second tool is super-sophisticated, being a piece of .018" blue-temper spring steel with PSA 220 on one side. The hardest part about getting pieces of spring steel is finding someone who wants to sell you less than 25 feet of the stuff. I found a tattoo supplier on EBay selling short segments of various thicknesses for $7. I have no idea what tattoo artists do with it.

Last is a small scraper that I've ground with convex and concave curves sorta French curvish that you'll see below. NO CLAMPS OR TAPE OR ANYTHING ELSE!
 
So overall look at the results so far.


 
All that said, this plank wasn't going so great  I think it was Dan who pointed out that real ships often had flared planks to handle the stealer issue, and I decided to do that, just merge the stealers into the plank they were fitting into. It turned out I do have a boxwood sheet, however it's 1/16" so making workable planks requires cutting them roughly out and then planing down to thickness. This was the first one I was doing, and I learned I need to go a bit farther in planing them down, this guy just wasn't flexible enough. Obviously this would be a do-over higher up, but all of this is getting painted white so I went ahead with it.
 
Also, the sharp-eyed might notice that I was able to minimize the up and down rollercoaster look of the first few planks with some judicious curve reduction, not sure how realistic this part is as the planks ended up varying in width slightly and subtly, something that might be trickier than a dockyard would want to do.
 

One of my fancy tools helped here, because of the break the plank was no longer and no longer fit. This is the 90 degree attachment for my high-torque handset and it's like having a handheld Byrnes disc sander, with a fresh disc it can chew through boxwood without slowing down. With care it can be a precision joinery tool too, for example the bow rabbet fit of every plank is being done with this guy.

It wasn't as bad as it looked, it's ok once cleaned up.

So the process is that there are only two things I do to the planks I'm about to glue on:
 
1) Rough taper to 1/64" or so of intended line.
2) Relieve the top inner edge very slightly to minimize interference with glue or anything else I didn't notice right on the surface.
 
No beveling, sanding, anything else. Of course this is also Crown Timber wood and that means it's surfaced very well with straight and square edges. If that wasn't the case I'd work the plank until that was the case.
 
So basically ALL of the beveling and final taper and otherwise preparing the joints comes once the plank has been glued on.
 
First step, as mentioned, is using knife to trim us down to very close. We're doing two parts here, one is trimming to the line, the other is trimming in the correct bevel. This is easy, just keep the knife exactly perpendicular to the surface as you go. What we're trying to produce is an edge that is always exactly perpendicular to the surface, and therefore the planks we're about to glue on with their perfect square 90 degree edge will fit perfectly top to bottom - no concern about it looking good now but having seams open as you sand down.

Good sharp knife, you can get quite close.

Then we have just a little bit of sanding to finalize those lines and make sure we have our good perpendicular edge everywhere. I purposely left my little sanding tool at this width even though it means 90% of it never gets touched for this purpose. Anyone guess why? Class? Bueller? BUELLER?

Because it makes it much easier to see what angle you're sanding at. With this tool, it's not really hard at all to sand the edges to exactly what you want. The reason for the spring steel is you have a nice gentle curve that allows you to hit specific areas or you can straighten it out while holding it to cover longer distances.
 
As noted, the resulting fit is very good. I'm holding this plank up to test with very little pressure, and nothing has been done to the plank at this point other than pulling it out of the bag.

And one last step, remember I relieved the top inner edge of the to-be-glued-on plank to avoid surface interference, I further reduce chances of that by taking the corner of my little scraper and cutting a very small groove in the prepared plank right down on the surface.

So that's the basic process, we can follow it with the fifth strake on the starboard side, that includes the first flared plank at the stern. Don't think you got it just yet, there are some things about how I am gluing and how I'm fixing issues that are important to note.
 
Because of the good fit, the pressure required to glue is very minimal, and as such we're using CA, and we're going to do it in short segments so we don't stress about fast-setting CA and also so we can make extra sure of the fit.
 
IMPORTANT POINT: we DON'T glue the plank edges AT ALL, except for plank edges and ends that fit into rabbets.
 
The first reason is that any glue in there will create a line even when there didn't need to be.
The second has to do with fixing issues, as you'll see below.
And lastly, if you insist, once we have the plank fully glue in and leveled you can run some thin super glue over the edges, enough will wick in to lock the planks in place.
 
This is the bow plank of the fifth strake, and we start by getting a very solid glue joint with the rabbet. I generally let this one sit for five minutes or so to make sure it's going nowhere.
 
I'll add a pic here a bit later, but I add glue with a photoetched glue thing that fits into an XActo knife. It's .007" thick, which is very much required for this glue method. What I do is pry the plank up from the previously-glued segment (WITHOUT pulling up anything glued) and I then carefully paint the inner surface of the plank segment about to be glued with my thin XActo applicator - pick up a big drop, and then kinda squeegee it down the inner surface of the plank.
 
IMPORTANT POINT: LESS IS MORE! We want NO squeezeout on either side. On the upper side, it gets into the edge joint and as previously discussed we don't want that. On the bottom it squeezes out where we're going to be fitting our next plank, which is unnecessary cleanup work to remove that we don't want to do.

As mentioned, little pressure or fuss required gluing. I'm "clamping" this segment with one hand. I don't know about you but I like one-handed, 30 second gluing of plank segments with a very good fit.

So far so good, but now we come to issue fixing, because just after this segment I got a little greedy and tried to glue the rest in one shot, when I really needed to do it in two segments and it didn't land quite right and grabbed so I couldn't adjust. It's hardly a nightmare, but it's definitely much more open around the butt joint in the planks just above, more so than the results we should have had here, so we want to fix it if we can. And we can.

This is the semi-fourth tool required for this planking method - our burnisher/fixer. Good for holding down parts of planks while we glue in this method in general, but it's also perfect for fixing little openings like this.
 
Now if we'd added glue to that edge, there would be nothing at all we could do about it since it would be filled with glue and the planks would be locked together. But because we didn't, we can take advantage of the fact that wood can be quite plastic if manipulated correctly.
 
Step one to fixing an opening - with considerable pressure (at least on boxwood) we use the burnisher to press in a groove just short of joint. If you look closely you can see it here, particularly in the shadow of the burnisher.

Step two - that leaves a raised edge right at the joint, exactly what we need. We flip the burnisher over, and now when we bear down on it and work it toward the joint, this edge will be squishing down and will go toward the only open space available.

Step three - be pleased by the results. And as mentioned you can wick in thin superglue at this point to give you the traditional fully locked into place planking.

Here's that plank all cleaned up.

 
Same process for the stern plank, but we start by cutting out a piece matching the port side by using the same template as I used on the port side.

As with the bow, gluing starts with the rabbet joint and we get that right before working toward the middle. Based on my experience of the port side, I decided to leave this plank long and cut the midships butt joint just before gluing it down. Although I think I had it right on the port side before I decided to break that plank, that plank is long enough and bends enough to make it tricky to get it exactly right and the disadvantages of cutting a joint on a piece already glued in was outweighed by the advantage of being unlikely to get it wildly wrong.

Once we get to the other end, we cut it close with a good flush cutter. A good Lindstrom or Erem full-flush angled cutter like this is a very handy tool with lots of uses.

Then back to the rotary tool to finalize the joint, but with care you could do this with just as good results with the spring-steel sander.

And fit is good enough that I'll have to pry it back up to add glue.

I didn't show it, the the scraper is also useful for removing stock when working down plank edges as part of the fitting process. You can see the plank we just put on will require some knife trimming and sanding, you can add the scraper to the tool choice there as long as you keep one corner perfectly square. But below is its primary use, quickly leveling down the planks as we glue them on. 

And here's that stern plank done and that strake is finished.

 
 
 
 

Good afternoon 
Apologies for my absence, i have been contemplating walking away from the hobby, but decided against it, I dont know why i have lost interest in so many things and ............
anyway im here and the Bismarck has been progressing she has some teeth now with the big guns in place, the ships  boats will hopefully be in place in the next week or so 

The model is done. I made some executive decisions about the standing rigging and just worked through them. I didn't take any photos during the rest of the work, partly because I was ready to be done with this project and just wanted to keep working without setting up special photo sessions, and partly because I didn't think I was doing anything that hadn't been documented a number of times before. For example, I did the ratlines and deadeyes by making a wire spacer for the deadeyes and tying the ratlines using a lined wooden guide, but those approaches have been better described by others.
 
Also, as some of you may have read in the news, it's been extraordinarily wet here in Missouri with devastating rain and flooding, and that's meant very poor photography conditions (dark indoors and wet outdoors). The model has been done for a week, but I finally found time and conditions to take some photos outdoors. I used a blue background to try and emphasize the reddish colors in the model; the white background I tried first washed out the colors too much.
 

Example of the standing rigging. I settled on two sets of shrouds and topmast stays per mast per side. I think they came out ok. You can also see the sweeps lashed to their stanchions and the safety lines, or whatever they were called in the early 1800s. I need to repaint the nailheads holding the channels in, I rubbed the original paint off handling the model.
 

Examples of ratlines and shrouds. I carved and painted a small spacer for each set of shrouds and inserted it about a man's height from the tops. This seems to produce a sensible pattern to the ratlines. I tied the latter using an overhand knot, which I realize is less accurate than a knot that turns each end inward (as opposed to outward) but I spent a whole evening trying to master the "right" approach and couldn't. Few viewers around here will recognize that the tips of the ratlines shouldn't be outside the stays. Otherwise I think they turned out ok.
 

I made a flag by laying out back-to-back flags on the computer and printing them on the same bond paper as the sails. I then brushed wood glue on the backside and folded them over. The effect has a nice, rough, cloth-like look that's far better than shiny plastic and holds its shape better than cloth (just like the sails). I rejected the flag from the kit not only because it was shiny, but because based on my research its design had never been used in US history (wrong number and pattern of stars). I chose a 24-star flag, which was used from 1822-1836, about the right time period for this post-War-of-1812 revenue cutter. It also happens to be the flag that represents my state of Missouri (the 24th state), a nice touch.
 

As the last step, I made a base from a chunk of Black Walnut harvested on our farm, which I chain-saw milled to rough size and then cut down using a table saw and router. The pedestals are from Model Expo. I also made a nameplate for the stern, again designed on computer and printed on bond paper, then glued to the stern. A bit of ink rubbed off in this process, but I think it just looks nicely scuffed and weathered. The name has a specific meaning for me. Many of the revenue cutters from this period were named for their region of intended service; for example the Louisiana and Alabama, the closest prototypes to this vessel, served in the Gulf of Mexico. My family has a long, multi-general history of visiting North Carolina's Outer Banks, a fascinating set of thin, sandy barrier islands that have been the scene for many important bits of American naval history, including a great deal of smuggling and piracy. It's one of my favorite pieces of coastline in the world. Thus, I named this vessel Ocracoke after the most significant harbor in the Outer Banks, a town with many fond memories and associations to me. I don't think any such cutter was ever based there, but in the fictional world of this model, there most certainly was.
 
With those steps completed, I declared the model done. I have mixed feelings about this project. I found the kit very frustrating, with terrible instructions and mediocre quality materials. Yet I also learned a great deal from working through those problems, and am really very happy with how the model turned out. It has lots of small errors or problems that an expert or contest judge would instantly notice, but I also think it came together in a very aesthetically pleasing way, and I can justify/explain every bit of rigging and equipment on it whether or not it's strictly prototypical (for example, I made sure the flag hoist would really work). So here are a few completed photos. I'm not entirely happy with the color balance, but do like how the blue background sets off the model.
 

Thank you to everyone/anyone who's followed this somewhat disjointed build log. I've appreciated your interest and support. I've already started planning my next project, another scratchbuilt Missouri River steamboat, and will be building a Maine lobster boat for my mother to keep my hands busy during the extensive design period for the former.
 

One of the quarter galleys rough cut out and fitted.  After cutting the moldings it sits nice and flush.  Will be set aside for final sanding/shaping and painting.
 

Eric, thanks for the comment. It defiantly makes a change to make a model of something that you can get photographs of.
 
It’s been some time since I was able to do an update. I have been busy with other things this month. As I have been unable to spend much time in the workshop I have been able to study the rigging plans, work out what needs to be done there and count how many blocks I need to make: 133. Though I think I might find a few more along the way. I have also drawn individual rigging plans for each sail.
 
I had decided to make my own blocks some time ago, as I am not happy with the plastic ones supplied (pictures curtesy of CMB website). They only supply 1 size and no triples at all.

I cannot find any commercial ones that do not have slots down the sides for a strap. Examples of the types of block I need are shown below. Incidentally I also need white rigging cord. I will probably end up ignoring the fact that some of the rigging is wire and some is chain.

I am using boxwood to make the blocks. I bought a 3” branch many years ago and still have a small quantity left. The first job was to cut some small billets of different thicknesses for different sized blocks with either 1, 2 or 3 sheaves. In total I need
·        small single                                47 ·        small double                                1 ·        medium single                           46 ·        medium double                          12 ·        medium triple                              3 ·        large single                                 2 ·        large double                                2 ·        large triple                                  2 ·        others                                       18 Small are about 2.5mm, medium about 4mm and large 5mm.

Then I made a jig for drilling. It looks a bit Heath Robinsonish but it works. It makes it easy to drill the holes in the right place and at the right angle.

The billets fit into the slots and once pushed home a hole is drilled. I use a pin vice as the jig is only wood and if I use a power drill I find it opens up the hole quite quickly. I then shape the block and do anything else required while the block is on the end of the billet. I am adding a small strap to one end, which can just been seen below on the bottom billet. Some require a hook instead.

Then I saw off the completed block and it’s on to the next. I should get about 20 from each strip.
 
I have made 20 so far of various sizes. I am improving; getting faster and they are becoming more symmetric. The most difficult and time consuming part is fixing on the small half strap with CA adhesive.
 
They are not exactly like the real thing but I do not see how I could make the strap internal at this small size. As a final step some then require an eye-pin in the free end; so they can become half of a tackle.
 
The thing about this is that even though I have little time at the present and will not have much time until the end of the month, it is possible to sneak off for 1/2 hour occasionally and make a few blocks. Hopefully by the time I get back into the workshop on a more regular basis I will have got most of the blocks I need.
 
Head decoration
 
Another task I have completed is the head decoration. I had a go at carving this earlier from a single block, without any success. This time I built it up from 3 pieces and am fairly happy with the result.

Note, I have also stained the bowsprit, which was something I realised I had forgotten about before mounting all the metalwork.
 
My next main task is to start permanently mounting all the deck furniture I have made. This will be possible as I will be able to mount the required blocks on the deck at the same time, which would otherwise be very difficult if I had to work around all the other stuff.
 
Glenn
 

Finally, the diffusers are cast all and one more boat is made.

HI ALL
MANAGED TO GRAB SOME MODELMAKING TIME OVER THE LAST WEEK.......NO WORK! NICE LITTLE BREAK.
STOVE HAS BEEN PAINTED AND PUMP WELL AND SHOT LOCKERS FINISHED.
TIME TO START ON THE MAIN DECK.
BEAMS HAVE BEEN PREFABRICATED FROM SLIGHTLY THICKER STOCK AND SANDED TO SHAPE.
BASIC RUDDER ASSEMBLED  JUST NEEDS THE IRON WORK DOING.
PRECUT SOME HOLLY READY FOR TURNING THE HOLD PILLARS.
 
TREATED MY SELF TO A NICE LITTLE SHERLINE SELF CENTERING CHUCK........OUCH A TAD PRICEY IN THE UK!!!!
BUT INFINITELY SUPERIOR TO THE FAR EASTERN OFFERINGS.
 
THATS ALL FOLKS...FOR NOW AT LEAST.
 
CHEERS....MICK

The occasional droop in the stays will be due to variations in temperature and humidity. On warm humid days, they will expand a bit. Thats my experience at least. Love your model.

Having been suitably chastened by my own goal, further progress has been made. The mizzen topgallant yard is now on and the lifts are done for the top yards, though none have been finally made off. This leaves the driver boom and gaff still to do. 
 
Here is the mizzen topgallant yard. There is a slight droop in the mizzen and main topgallant stays. This is a bit of a mystery.  Some days it's there, others it's not. I will wait until the rigging is almost complete and if necessary, tighten up a couple of backstays which will fix the problem.
 

 

 

The lifts are still to be done for the topgallant yards, but without them they line up fairly well.
 
Alan: driving on the wrong side of the road - have you sat in the passenger seat and reached for the steering wheel? You get some very strange looks.
 

Good evening for everyone, for today we've worked the ship's antennae.
The whole construction was made of brass pipes and brass profiles, which is difficult because of the small size of a few pieces but in the end we finished well.
A beautiful evening still.

Adrian

Thanks for the comments and I like them.
  Small advances

Work is progressing on a little. One more papacy of high-precision casting is ready and serious modeling work is done. Some bugs fixed.

So the final section of eight frames has been made and installed between F and J stations.  I need to pull the hull off the build board to do the rough fairing around this new section.
Only 5 months ago since I started rebuilding the hull and it is now closed up, I had managed to save 37 frames from the original build, and I had to remake 43 frames new.
All of the new framing has a set of floor fillers missing every eight frames, and every filler is only glued to the aft or fore frame depending, so as to allow for wood movement - I don't want to get into the same issues as last time.
The workshop is undergoing a full cleaning and switch around for other work while summer is here and I have no control over the humidity. Modeling will begin again in the fall.
 
see you later in the year
 
ben

Go get em...the more clippers the better.  IMV
 
Rob