Worldway

I was looking on Amazon for the various books and found that they had a set of the first three books of the Kydd Series with a "look inside" function. I clicked on it and they gave the first two chapters of the first novel. I was hooked. I downloaded the Kindle version. I think I will enjoy this series. However, I'm going to have my dictionary with me for the first while, there are a lot of words I am unfamiliar with but figure it's a great way to learn. Thanks for all your thoughts and advise.

Looks great. Nice job. I like the contrast with both the paint and the bare wood.

Thanks Micheal, will check it out tomorrow, thanks for the suggestion and I love the price lol.

OK, I know this is a loaded question, because everyone has their own opinion but I would like to see if there is a consensus. I have read a lot of the threads on this forum and got some great ideas for reading material. I raided my public library tonight and picked up a sampling of what I think are good writers in this genre (based on input from this forum). I got (and you have to appreciate that my library has limited resources): Jullian Stockwin - Treachery C. S. Forester - Hornblower and the Hotspur Alexander Kent - Richard Bolitho, Midshipman Patrick O'Brian - Master and Commander James Nelson - The Guardship I have read that Patrick O'Brian invented writing in this genre. I guess he is the most prolific writer in this era. I have seen the Hornblower series on our local public TV channel but have never watched them. I'm not familiar with the Richard Bolitho series or books by James Nelson. I used to read Bernard Cornwell (not mentioned above) and thoroughly enjoyed his novels such as Sea Lord, Stormchild and Wildtrack but they were modern day adventures. After reading that series I found I had no interest in his next Sharpe series. I am also intrigued by the fact that the Stockwell Kydd series follows the life of a seaman from just boarding a vessel for the first time through to Kinghthood (I believe, the third last book addresses him as "Sir"). I would love to read this series (if it's worth it) but my library doesn't have the first few novels. Of course I would rather start from the beginning and continue forward and am willing to purchase the novels in order but I don't want to shell out the investment if the consensus says they aren't worth the money. Again I realize everyone is going to have his or her own opinion. I plan to read a few chapters of each book to see what interests me, including story line and writing style. I would appreciate your thoughts

Just curious, why would you want straight deadeyes if you're trying to produce an accurate model? As Tom stated they all have different tension on them therefore they would never be in a perfect line. In my opinion (as novice as it is) wouldn't it be easier and more accurate to just install the deadeyes "freehand"? I truly hope BetaQDave doesn't mind me borrowing his picture

Just to update, still planking the hull. I have been practicing my serving and seizing but I still need more practice. It's not too bad but there is still room for improvements.

Welcome to MSW Paul. Looking forward to seeing your build log.

Hi Len, it didn't take long at all. I think perhaps 5 minutes tops. With practice it will become a lot quicker and neater.

I'm still planking the hull, ya da ya da slow moving process and pictures aren't really necessary. However tonight I tried my hand at serving and seizing. For my first time I think it wasn't too bad. I used Syrens serving machine. I'm wondering if there is a way to use the Serving machine to seize the lines? Any thoughts would be appreciated.

I saw a post earlier suggesting that you don't glue your masts, you leave them loose in case you eventually have to re-rig them. I'm curious what others think.

Fantastic idea. I think i"ll get some

Thanks for the kind works Don, I have seen the Gary Brinker videos and found them helpful. This is only my second build and I learned a lot from my first build. My first was a ton of trial and error but in the end I was happy with the results and it was a great learning tool. Plus, I got a lot of help on this forum as well. I look forward to following along on your build when you get started.

Looks like the transom is in good shape according the this picture of the Bluenose II. img006.pdf

Hi Rabi, So far I haven't had to do any beveling. The planks fall nicely into place with very little force if any. The practicum I use as reference suggests you can lay about 18 rows without any beveling. Why can't I find your build log?

Great start, I'll enjoy watching this.

Haven't posted in a bit but all I've been doing is working on the hull planking. I haven't been able to spend a ton of time on the Bluenose, maybe an hour a day, 2 or 3 days a week if that. i wanted to also mention that the deadeyes that come with the kit are laser cut on the billet. You have to cut each one out and you have a deadeye that is only 1/16" or so thick. I decided to buy some 4 mm deadeyes from Syren. Wow, these are nice, they come in three pieces, but assembly is simple. They are a lot thicker and you end up with a groove in the middle of them. Very impressed. That loose plank under the clamp is there to remind me that I have already cut and fit the final extension plank to finish that row. I didn't have time to install it today.

I like your eye for detail. Very nice work. I put the stem on after installing the bulwarks. I had to trim mine to fit the stem which I think would be the case with each installation.

Thanks Wefalck, that explains it perfectly. And, yes, I did mean deck-houses. Still getting to know the proper terms.

Hi Scott, welcome to MSW. Glad you found us. Enjoy your time here. I might also add that although I'm Canadian, I'm sure your fellow Americans appreciate your time spent in support of your country.

Looking good, your doing a great job. Welcome to the world of modelling. I look forward one day to see your ship in the bottle.

I know it's common to add a pencil (or whatever) line between the deck planks. But what about the deck furniture? Were they also caulked? Was it just the roofs or the walls as well?

Thanks for the comments Fnkershner, very good idea. But I was going to post tonight that I was wrong about the clamp that I have. I absolutely love it for planking. I just had the ship installed upside down. With it installed the correct way, it is stable and great that you can pose it any any angle. I'm continuing with the planking, nothing really special to report. Here is a couple of pics. Whoever thought of turning binder clips into planking clamps needs to have a ticker taper parade down New York City. Fantastic idea. As you can I used one Micro Mark planking clamp because I ran out of binder clips. They work well too but take a bit to install. I think planking is going to take a while. Members

For the newer builders who might someday look at this build log I want to mention that I have tracked my time spent on the Bluenose and I can attest that I have spent 10 hours fairing the hull and I'm still not 100% satisfied. I didn't do the 10 hours all at once. I sanded, then added shims, then sanded more, and more, up to the point that I sanded out my shims because they weren't necessary but I thought I could perhaps cut some time off. I learned from my last build that the beginning stages are the most important and deserve extra attention. Another thing to be careful of is to make sure you don't sand out your rabbet as your fairing the hull. I started planking the hull tonight. I've added the first two rows. Because this is going to be a painted hull I have improvised between the two deck levels. It wasn't an easy transition between the two elevations but, again, because this will be filled with wood filler then painted I don't think it will ever be seen. There really isn't any pictures because there isn't much to show. I did add a little filler on the waterways because they will get painted anyway. Hopefully tomorrow I'll have some progress photos.

Looking amazing, very impressive paint work and I love the lights.

I bought a pair of cut resistant gloves on Amazon for less than $20. I believe, but don't quote me on this, that they are Kevlar. I do a lot of cooking and on occasion have ran a knife into my thumb or finger. Because my knives are very sharp they tend to go in deep. With these gloves, the knife doesn't penetrate at all. Maybe something to consider.