leginseel

Ratlines look good as does everything else

sorry Steve for causing you to redo the rat lines......especially when I saw you ended up cutting them.   they do look much better now though.   super job with the fore and main mast...the standing rigging looks superb  

Shipyard Update
Crowsfeet:
The shipyard has made the 3 Euphro's for the Mast Top crowfeet.

3 sizes, 1 for each mast top. Made from pear wood.
Holes not exactly lined up, but at the scale and when rope through, paint black, probably not be seen.

Strapping about the Euphro with tackle(blocks and sheet) added.
Will be added to the masts when I get some rope from USA.
 
Dave R

Hello all back with another update
I had to order up more thread for the ratlines and deadeyes so whilst I was waiting I set to work on rigging every block possible ,I have chosen not to use the sails ,I had given the sails to my mother to stitch up for me but after she showed me the first couple I decided it was pointless to continue as the material itself was so unrealistic looking
 

 
also whist waiting on the thread I was able to continue with placing the main mast here she is mainmast forestay first

 
shrouds
 

 
backstays
 

 
then forestays
 

 
then after receiving more thread in the post  it was time to attack those foremast ratlines ,as many of you will have predicted the sliding the original ones about was never gonna work so plan b happened
 

 
then it was out with the old and in with the new
 

 
im much happier with the new ratlines set at 8mm my little tourist buddy says he could climb them with his hands behind his back
 

 
so that brings us up to date and all caught up again after the small redo ,tomo I plan on fitting the mainmast upper shrouds and possibly a start on the mainmast  ratlines
thanks for viewing
 

Beautiful work as always Steve. I'm a good way behind you and your build has become my number 1 point of reference. 

What a great idea for the oars - they say the simple ideas are usually the best.

What a great idea for the oars - they say the simple ideas are usually the best.

What a great idea for the oars - they say the simple ideas are usually the best.

Thanks Nigel, You'll have to give it a try it really works good 

A short little update, I have started the ship's boat:
 

 
Here is the balsa blank and a picture in the manual showing how it should look when done. Let's hope!
 

 
Laminating the top rails
 

 
Ripping some .5 x 5 mm planking to 2.5 mm wide. The off cuts will be used for the interior ribs. The carving of the boat in this picture is almost completed, shaping was done using a rasp and sanding.
 

 
Showing how the keel fits on the hull, a little bit of daylight showing there but the fit is fairly good.
 


 
First planking completed, one more layer to go
 

 
I have shown this before on another log but I thought I would show it again for those who might have missed it. To make oars I cut the dowels to length, these are 3 mm diameter, give them a good soaking in water then put them in a vice to flatten them. From right to left this picture is showing the dowel, the blade after coming out of vice then the final product after a little sanding.
 


 
 
The paint is still wet in this picture but these are the finished oars for the ship's boat
 
Thanks to all for stopping in, for all the likes and the great comments
 
Enjoy Your Day
 
 
 

Gun deck inner bulwark gunport patterns in place. To align the height of the gun ports of the inner pattern with that of the outside pattern, I had to shave off quite a bit from the lower edge of the inner pattern.  I found those small cheap spirit levels quite useful for the job.  Linings for the gunports without lids are ready as well.

 
Robert

Hi All, I've been busy with what seems small but time consuming stuff.  The heat here at the moment hasn't helped as we've been up around 44C (111F) for a few days now.  Hopefully this is coming down this week but it doesn't make me want to sit over a work bench!!
I made the tiller house a little while ago as per the kit instructions I didn't feel that it was good enough so I clad it with Mahogany and stained it Dark Oak and I think that it looks better.

These first two are as per the kit

Now after Cladding

Now after staining.  I'll give it a coat of Sanding Sealer before I glue it in place.
 
I've also made a start on the Rudder.
I need to tidy it up and fit the 'bolt' Heads and stain/paint as my next job.  I'm hoping to have it done and fitted before I go to England in a week or so.
 
 

Hey Popeye, I've followed a number of your posts and logs. I've learned a lot from you,  especially the Flattie build. I recall that you and Dee Dee were exchanging ideas for making hoops.  
 
I had an "adventure in clamping" in which I maybe used a little too much force, clamping at the bow.  I split the deck and lost some wood from the hull. (Boy, those clamps sure do fly!)  
I repaired it the same way I've repaired wallboard. I enlarged and squared off the hole in the hull and glued in some bracing, then I cut and glued a filler piece. I'm satisfied w/ the results, but it will take some filler to fix, and it may take some effort to get the stem to fit.  We'll see.   
 
I started the mast and boom while waiting for the glue to dry. Drilling a series of 1/16 in inch holes in an 1/8 inch gaff gave me pause, but it worked out great.  Surprising for me.  The six inch tri-square that I bought at the local box store helped immensely.  It was a good purchase.  I got a strong six inch rule w/ clear markings, a tri-square, and a scribe that I used to center the hole.  And like I say, it helped me drill straight and true.  
 
Thanks to those who have stopped by and who have wished me well.
 
Mark

Here you go--nice little build. Everything fits. For me, the best part of any build is when you can see its form and still see into its heart

It truly is a beginner's kit.  Great instructions--they don't assume a thing, and the materials were nicely cut. 
 
I goofed on one bulkhead by simply fitting the slots together w/o checking the plans.  Big mistake. Fortunately I'd only spot-glued it, and it was easy to correct. I'm ready to "plank," as they call it in the instructions.  I've got dozens of pictures--not that you'd want to see them all. I'll figure this picture thing out eventually, but I' have to say, it's taking up a lot of build time.  
 
Regards,
 
Mark Anderson
Seattle

Greetings, Nigel
Just finished reading through your blog--an ambitious first build, and it looks great. I'll be following along.
 
Enjoy our time w/ the family.
 
Best regards,
 
Mark

On a previous post, you questioned why manufacturers left out so many things on the model and, if you want them, you have to fabricate them. First, Second and Third are; cost, cost and scale and difficulty. They do not want to overburden the lower level modeler. They can list the kit as intermediate rather than advanced. This, of course widens the potential market.
 
 
Regards

Enjoy the holiday in the UK....and no doubt celebrating your 60th Birthday.
Cheers...Fernando (who also turned 60 this year!)

For those like me who now find themselves rigging in difficult places, perhaps the following may help, though I am sure I am not showing most people anything new.  There are probably better ways of going about things, but these work, and the results are acceptable. 
 
Following the plan sequence, I tied most of the lines to the various yards before mounting them, but in later plans (10 and 11), there are some nasty little surprises.  One is the need to tie lines to the fragile main topgallant yard. Shown is the smallest alligator clip I could find
 

An overhand knot with a couple of extra loops is tied above the clip, and the line is pulled through the knot until the loop is tight against the yard. A little dilute PVA on the knot, then trim.
 

 
A variation on the theme is used for attaching blocks. to one of the other nasty surprises. The block is tied with an overhand knot with an extra loop.  One end of the knot has a dab of PVA and is then cut off. The other remains to be tied around the line to be looped in this case around the main preventer stay.
 
 

 

 
 
 

 
 
 

 
Finished.

 
This is how things look at the moment. The sheets, cluelines and tacks are fitted, though not finally tied off.

 
 

 
 

 

 

 
I hope to finish these in the next few days and then it's to the braces ....

Hi Nigel
 
Am following your build and am impressed with how she is coming along. I have already decided to do the Bounty as my next build....... I already hinted to the Captain what I want for Christmas!
 
The paint work is beautiful and those cannons have come up a treat. Keep up with the postings.
 
Cheers..........Fernando
 
 

Hi Guys following Steves encouragement here are some photo's of my past months work.  The coin is a Turkish 10 Kurus the size of a UK penny

Hi All, I've been busy with what seems small but time consuming stuff.  The heat here at the moment hasn't helped as we've been up around 44C (111F) for a few days now.  Hopefully this is coming down this week but it doesn't make me want to sit over a work bench!!
I made the tiller house a little while ago as per the kit instructions I didn't feel that it was good enough so I clad it with Mahogany and stained it Dark Oak and I think that it looks better.

These first two are as per the kit

Now after Cladding

Now after staining.  I'll give it a coat of Sanding Sealer before I glue it in place.
 
I've also made a start on the Rudder.
I need to tidy it up and fit the 'bolt' Heads and stain/paint as my next job.  I'm hoping to have it done and fitted before I go to England in a week or so.
 
 

Cheers guys, the lower shrouds are to be installed as late as I can possibly leave them so I have access to those mast as much as possible. The only reason I fitted them was to enable me to fit the standing rigging over the tops of the shrouds and hide more work. 
 
I have been messing with my new DSLR today and the Victory was my target, so here is a few random shots of her as she stands today
 
Oh MSW the new site is fantastic and so easy to put pictures on than it was before, hats of guys and thank you 
 
 

Finally some updates!
 
I finished the lowest deck planks and installed them. None of them are really very visible at all so it was the perfect test bed for me to figure out how I want to produce the next deck of planking.  I also saw in the plans that a lot later, you need to drill out the bowsprit. I didnt like the fact that I would have to drill at an angle, through my varnished decking. Yuck! So, I decided to do that now.
 
I do not have a drill press, so I made a small jig to temporarily glue onto the ship to guide my drill to the correct angle for thr bowsprit. 
I then drilled the hole.  Afterwards, i cut out the hole that the bowsprit will pass through in the deck piece and glued it to the ship. I will plank this section later.

I test fitted the bowsprit into position and made sure it was straight and at the correct angle when installed later.
 
I decided not to plank this portion right now even though the instructions say to. This is because I still need to sand the hull down in a few steps to get ready to plank the hull, and I didn't want to sand it and risk scratching the front deck planking.
 
Jeff

The bunt lines and leech lines have finally been done. Installing the rope coils has been one of the most awkward jobs of the build. Access is very difficult, and the thread I used refused to behave.  There was some gnashing of teeth. I would definitely not like to do this again.
 
The photos exaggerate the shortcomings (the diameter of the coils is about 4mm) - in the flesh they are quite acceptable, and since they photos were taken I have made a couple of small adjustments to them.