aliluke

I'm stumped by this - no idea what is going on. The only thing I can think of is that the bulkheads are not properly seated on the centre keel - that is they sitting slightly too high at either the stern or the stem which in turn distorts the layout of the plywood patterns. Impossible to change this now, so take the big plunge and adjust as you progress? I still reckon getting the flow of the sills and heads of the ports is important though.

Not much help I'm afraid...

Hi Martin

Spyglass's advice is good. I had a gap at this joint but it was an even gap. Your joint is tight at the top and open at the bottom. This implies the strips are not going to flow along the hull. Even in your photo I sense a lack of flow between the two ports we can see. I did not reinforce the gap in my joint with any backing bits. I merely filled it up with epoxy glue. Strong as can be after that. I also had a kink at the joint but this has worked itself out now with the planking layers and the cap rail will kill it any appearance of it completely. I noted on Vitus's build that he had the same thing occur.

These plywood strips are a devils of things to get on. My feeling is to take the plunge and resolve the minor issues that may, or may not, arise later. As long as they are aligned with the bulkhead tops and reasonably aligned along the hull there is plenty of room for adjustments later on through the planking process and other fiddles. Certainly my gun ports are not at exactly even heights above the deck but, as Spy says, there is plenty of room to manipulate this fault with the guns themselves. Bottom line - I reckon anyone who got these pieces installed to absolute perfection did so by a fluke.

You'll do your head in fussing about it too much and you need to get planking!

Very good looking coppering there Sjors.

If you want to speed up that patina have a look at my Fly log. A free and frequently available chemical is demonstrated that will age copper about 100 years in about two days.

Looks very good to me Brett. The planking colour on the deck will settle down in time. Mine was pure white when laid and is now an even dark yellow.

Next? You are ready to rig and then this little ship takes on a whole other dimension! One to enjoy.The length of the sprit and the height of the mast will knock your socks off. This is when it really comes to life.

Hi Timmo

I'm envious of that machine and may just have to break down and get one. Looking good. Also envious of your potential wood haul!

I used matai on my AVS for the poop deck planking, hatch covers and some other more minor bits. The AVS build base is kauri. Matai would make a great modelling timber - better than rimu I reckon. Kahikatea is not so good - too soft. Captain Cook and others that followed felled these mighty trees for spars and masting only to find that they quickly rotted and turned to mush. Such a shame. The entire Thames Valley was predominately kahikatea forest and Cook's descriptions of taking a long boat up that river is mind boggling when you see it today. Also Hutt Valley in Wellington also had huge stands of kahikatea along the river. They didn't bother to log those they just burnt the lot.

Beautiful spring day here too. Yay for summer to come!

Mind boggling Denis. Amazing rigging! I do hope you find a home for this magnificent model at home.

Nice work on those cap squares. I couldn't make brass work for these parts and ended up just using thin card painted black.

Glad to hear you are heading down here. The best months weather wise are February and March. Also I recommend Abel Tasman National Park. A bit off the usual tourist trail but my favourite place and it is where we spend our annual summer holiday. 

I definitely like the thinner thread and it also makes your splice more compact. Nice one!

Hi Peter

I have a fondest for these ships as the Sergal Dutch Whaler was the first wooden ship I attempted. A mad proposition as the stern and bow where both incomprehensible because of their curves. I still have the hull all made up but the kit is such crap that I've never finished it. If you'd like photos I'm be happy to send by a PM. I don't want to bomb your log with my dross! Let me know but otherwise I'll keep watching your log. The stern and bow of these ships is a killer - they must be the hardest to plank of any hull shape. Endeavour would be a dream in comparison and that says a lot. And I tried it as my first wooden ship build - what a fool I was. That said they are great subjects and the intensity of their form is worth resolving.

You are doing very well - better than I did that is for sure. I'll be following

Very nice work on Carmen Brian and I can definitely recommend the AVS - a great choice you have made there, she builds into a wonderful model.

Hi Ian

I wrap my breeching line so can't help with the splicing. However I would suggest that 0.7mm rope looks a bit heavy to my eye. I use 0.6mm at 1/64 (much research was done - i.e. I copied the size from someone elses log who did do the research...) so at 1/75 I think 0.7mm is perhaps overscaled.

Every thing I've seen has the chimney facing forward. Except for those pictures that have it facing aft . I reckon it should face with the wind = forwards. Being baffled that works fine for me.

Wonderful work in all regards. I look forward to more.

Hi

Always good to see another AVS get off the ground. She builds into a great ship model and you have made a solid start. As to those pesky bulkheads you have to add as well as remove material. I probably added the most amidships and removed the most at the bow and stern. Take your time on this part of the build...good foundations count for a lot. There is no reason why you can't go back and forth. Sometimes I'd add a shim only to sand it off again as I adjusted the bulkheads to get the right flow for the planks.

I'll be following and thanks for sharing.

Hi Alex

Just came across your log. Your Prince is looking good. Making things - any thing - is a great way to spend time. Sometimes frustrating but more often than not it is very rewarding, I'm glad to see you are enjoying this craft and I'm pleased that you chose to make a ship. Keep it up mate!

Hi Martin

I echo Spy's comments (if I read them right) and add some:

- Fit the gun port patterns to the top of the bulkheads as a first priority.

- Do not adjust them to fit the kit supplied cannons on the basis of a raw fit.

- If you go by the correct fit of the patterns you can adjust the barrel elevation or other elements to get the cannon centred on the gun port.

- Absolute centring of the barrel within the port no longer matters to me. There are too many other elements at play to make this of long term interest!

Hi Bob

I'm sure you are sick of the rope discussion but I'm going to add that the springiness of the Morope is the very reason I like it. I found on my AVS that it allows you to create a taut looking rope at a variety of tensions. This made doing the shrouds a breeze. That said B.E is right - it is very hard to get it to drape naturally and it does have a life of its own at times.

Anyway - onwards. Your decking looks great - tight and accurate. I think adding margins and nibbing, joggling or hooding the planks at the margins adds a great deal to the model's appearance and is well worth the extra effort.

Hi Martin

The cipher I used is probably even less well defined than B.E's version. I can't remember where I got them. I think Chris Watton chucked them in with the upgrade P.E set he sent me (he sent me a lot of stuff!). Anyway if you don't go down the Dafi route, I have a load of spares and I'm happy to send you enough for the 18 Fly cannons.

Hi Martin

There is a long discussion on cannons in my log - you may have seen it. I used 32 mm RB barrels and Syren Models carriages.

Very nice work on the cap rails (you have sailed past me on those but I've been away...) and fittings. I couldn't pull off the side windows on the skylight - well done - and the other difference is I set my piece within, rather than on top of, the coaming which makes it smaller and lower.

Hi Sjors

I admit to lurking in your build logs for a while. You are doing great work.

Getting the flow of the copper plates took me a while too. Mine is a smaller hull but I ripped off many plates on the first go until I got a feel for them. After that it wasn't too hard. Stick with it - they aren't wood but it is interesting to deal with different materials and you soon learn their character. I overlapped my plates to get the lines right but that has some other effects on the look. That said, cutting the plates to the lines would have driven me crazy - overlapping is easier.

My 2 cents here. I'm inclined to just plank the hull and have never used this battening technique. I know that is probably a crude approach but the three hulls I've done have come up just fine. Probably makes me a bull in a china shop but unless I actually get into the planking using some basic rules of engagement I can't see ahead.

I'm sure planning it out with battens is the smarter move but sometimes you have to just go for it to get your head around the issues.

I guess this right hand left hand thing is very interesting but when you look at a model at 1:64 can you really tell which is which?

Bob - yep those left hand pop up dudes know that I'm in Wellington. We are no longer safe...

Hi Bob

I never really got that left and right lay thing either. I just went for one lay - right hand - with my order. Blue Ensign has a schedule for Pegasus ropes that suggests the lays - page six or so in his build. It is something that is completely beyond me in terms of visual accuracy and from my point of view I couldn't care less...Way beyond my eyesight to usefully pick this up.

Still, I'm interested in better informed answers to your question.

Nice work on the capstan Martin. The connection between it and the upper capstan cannot be seen when the QD goes on so I didn't even bother with it. Still I had to reduce the depth of the beam slightly to give it clearance over the lower capstan.

Hi Curtis

All is looking really good.

I can't remember my sequence but I'm pursuing a similar one now. Get the hard parts on which need fingers and clamps out of the way before you install the fragile bits. In your case I'd get those cap rails on before adding the cannons.