RFP

Thank you, Mark, for your response.  Actually, the kit I was asking about is a Mantua (of Italy) kit.  For some reason, I'm fascinated by these little 'working boats' of the Mediterranean.    Here it is: https://www.mantuamodel.co.uk/1_Model_Boats___Ships/Panart_model_boats/_744_Santa_Lucia_46.html

Thank you both for your thoughtful responses.  All things considered, I think I'm still going with Glad Tidings!  I'm such a coward!

Found this interesting Mantua kit (https://www.mantuamodel.co.uk/1_Model_Boats___Ships/Panart_model_boats/_744_Santa_Lucia_46.html) but search as I may, I can't find out much about it.  I'm wondering if anyone here is familiar with it, or, even better, has built it.  
 
I'm still digging around for my 'first build' after a 30-year "break" from the hobby, and I'll have to admit a bit of reluctance to purchase a kit from anyone other than Model Expo in view of their widely reported excellent support and customer service.  Clearly, I need counseling!
 
All the best!
 
Rob

Glad Tidings is a really nice kit. Not too hard to plank and the instructions are very well done. I built the kit earlier this year and really enjoyed it. I made a number of modifications to the deck layout to make it more like a work boat than a pleasure boat. If you'd like to see pictures of mine, they are on my website - http://modelboatyard.com/pinky.html
 
I hope you enjoy the build.
 
Cheers -
John

Thank you both for your thoughtful responses.  All things considered, I think I'm still going with Glad Tidings!  I'm such a coward!

Tuesday, January 24, 2017  
Some further step forward: now only five/six floor timbers are missing at bow and stern, but since I can wait, I decided to start installing the futtocks, starting from midship.  
The bending templates used for the floor timbers are now useful for the futtocks.
 
The task proceeds pretty well, quietly though not very fast.
 
However, I am quite satisfied.  
01 - 20170123_195807.jpg

02 - 20170123_195814.jpg

03 - 20170123_195839.jpg

Cheers, Jack.
 

First build finished! Will order the next one first thing in the morning, the Pride of Baltimore from Model Shipways @ ModelExpo-online.com.

The holes in the bulwark through which the martingales pass turned out quite neatly, so I was pleased that i went to the trouble of using a brass sleeve.
 

 
I spent most of the day making the turnbuckles for the martingales.
 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

In late 1988, I completed a Bluejacket USS Constitution.  It was my second wood ship model kit, and turned out light years better than my first: Billlings' 'Jylland.'  I built the Constitution on the kitchen table, having to clear off and clean up after every session... no sense in making my long suffering wife suffer even more!  Also, I was working full time and doing house remodeling throughout the build.  I must truly be insane.
 
Now, some twenty-nine years later, I've run out of 'projects,' and my thoughts keep returning to another ship build... wanting something without cannons, I'm especially drawn to the Charles W. Morgan.  And here is where I need guidance, encouragement, or just a plain ol' sanity check (perhaps even therapy).
 
Today, I'm seventy seven and long, long retired.  My health is good, eyesight excellent (thank you very much, cataract surgeon!), and my hands are steady.  The kitchen table would not be needed in that I can set up a suitable work area in the 'office' of our modest home.  
 
But I've read and re-read many of the build logs of the excellent Morgan builders here and genuinely feel that I'm just out of my league.  I'm concerned about taking on a challenge the scope and detail of the Morgan, while - on the other hand - that's likely just why I'm drawn to it.  My sweetie-pie wife (of fifty seven years) is quite encouraging... she says 'do it'... saying that even I fail to finish, I'll have great fun.
 
So, I don't know... seventy-seven yeas old and a Charges W. Morgan.... seems like it might prove to be a poor combination.  
 
So, what would you do if you were an old geezer like me with limited experience?
 
Oh, I've attached a couple of photos of my Constitution, NOT for compliments (which it doesn't deserve) but just to show my general capabilities.
 
Thanks for your consideration and whatever light you may shed on this dilemma!
 
Rob Pritchett 

I finished airbrushing the white enamel today and being impatient to see the results I started to peel back the masking. I always find this stage a bit stressful - Will the edges be crisp? and how much bleed will have taken place?
 
Starting with the waterline the masking was removed.
 


 
Generally the result was good with one minor area near the rudder that needed a bit of attention.
 

 
So far so good so I continued to remove the masking from the bulwark area. 
 



 
The bulwark capping rail had proven tricky to mask, particularly at the stern so I wasn't surprised to find paint bleed in this area.
 

 
Fortunately a bit of scraping with a craft knife improved it.
 

 
Generally the result was better than I had feared.
 


 
Meanwhile another coat went on the deck fittings - only one more to go I think.
 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Hello Roger.
 
My mahogany comes from a hundred year old table. The down side is it is very dry and a little brittle. The up side is it cuts beautifully with a   very smooth surface. The real payback is when the poly goes on - the wonderful almost ruby red tones are mesmerising. I sometimes just sit and admire the depth of colour and the natural beauty of the wood. I'm not sure why model building advice warns against mahogany (it is claimed to be too coarse) but I prefer it to some more commonly used timber.

Thanks Michael.
 
I spent a bit of time fitting the sliding roof hatch. It worked out pretty well.
 




 
I then made a start on painting the various deck structures.
 


 
 
 
 
 
 

Good point Bedford.
 
I have made a bit more progress on the deckhouse.
 
Firstly I built and attached the skylight pods to either side of the deckhouse.
 

 
Of course this meant more skylight windows.
 

 
The time had then come to glue the deckhouse roof in place. Not altogether straightforward as a protruding rim exists just below the junction of the roof and wall. I decided to shape the roof to be an exact fit and then remove it and add the protruding rim to the underside of the roof before refitting and gluing.
 


 
With the rim attached all round and sanded back to a .040" protrusion the roof was then glued in place with PVA.
 


 
The roof has edge rails down both sides as well as running rails for the roof hatch. The former were made from .040" x .100" strip while the runners were .100" x .080" with a .040" x .040" slot to take the hatch. I a bit of care was required as I wanted the hatch to slide.
 



 

Chris,
 
I'm really enjoying your build log... I am so impressed with the beautiful lines of this little ship, and with your craftsmanship. I'm looking forward to starting a build of Glad Tidings in a month or so ( I am so slow!)
 
Rob

Masts stepped. The dowels are different woods as you can see by the color. I didn't like it at first but now I think it adds character. The main was very hard wood and I had a dickens of a time plaining, filing, sanding etc. I split out the square for the hole in the deck easily enough. The fore mast is a lot softer and went much faster. Picked up some cloth to make the furled sails, some wooden beads for the booms and a pair of new hemostats to help with the impending rigging. Probably done for the day and just sitting back admitting my work. Oh almost forgot, had a small catastrophe - I had a bowl full of chips and sawdust, quite a lot of it actually. Well when filling on the main mast in the vice, the table got to shaking and, wammo, the bowl hit the baseboard heater and then the floor. Big mess but between me and gf got most of it picked up. Didn't save it though as I think I'm beyond needing it on this model and I'll have plenty more on the next one.

Epilog
What a journey!  It’s been approximately 18 months since I began this build and now that it’s over it seems like I just started.  I’ve learned a lot about ship building over this time and come to know many knowledgeable people on this site.  I’d like to thank you all for your encouragement and kind words and for all the 'likes'.  I’d also like to thank my biggest supporter, my wife.  She has been very understanding these past 18 months by letting me do something that I've wanted to for a very long time (I can’t wait to see the list).  I’d also like to thank Chuck for designing a kit and writing an instruction manual that even novices like myself can follow.  The kit itself for the most part is well made and the only pieces I substituted were the cannonades.  I think they should provide a bit more rigging line though.
 
Again thank you all.
 
(need to get a better backdrop)
 

All,
 
I present to you the completed Kate Cory!  It has been a two-and-a-half year long build, with a couple of stumbles, well, a lot of stumbles, some pretty amazing errors, and a lot of learning!  Thank you ALL for all your help in so many ways, from the simple to the complicated, from the esoteric to the obvious. Every day is one to grow by.  Without this group... I would not have gotten this one done.  Really. 
 
In this last section of the build: I completed the running rigging, added flags, and lastly rigged the whaleboats into place. I wanted to be a little different, so placed one of the whaleboats in a position down alongsides as if being lowered into the sea.
 
Obligatory images below. I did my best to stop the aperture down a lot to get as much in focus as possible. Enjoy,
 
~john

 
 
 

I find that time flies by and many jobs get in the way of boat building. Never the less I have made a bit more progress. Many of the skylights are now in place (but not yet glued). The mushroom vent for the galley skylight is made and as per the original it opens vertically by means of a screw. Most of the skylights are part finished with the window frames painted with poly, the bodies however are only sanded as yet.
 
I also assembled and glued the side walls of the deckhouse and fitted the roof (not yet glued). I was pleased with the accuracy with which it came together.
 








 
 

A year to the day since I bought the kit, I am finished.  My only regret is I wish I would have kept track of my total hours worked.  Will do that next time.  Thanks for all the likes and kind words along the way.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Good evening, John
 
Thank you so much for your reply... I really enjoyed looking at your beautiful 'pinky!'  Your craftsmanship and attention to detail are very evident in this build.  I love the colors you chose and I really like your own personal touches to the Glad Tidings.
 
Thanks again.
 
Rob

Good evening, John
 
Thank you so much for your reply... I really enjoyed looking at your beautiful 'pinky!'  Your craftsmanship and attention to detail are very evident in this build.  I love the colors you chose and I really like your own personal touches to the Glad Tidings.
 
Thanks again.
 
Rob

Managed to get the cap rail on. Took a while and there were more than a few challenges with the 'seat of comfort' which I always thought of as a 'head.' Puget Sound is a no discharge zone and so is the coastal water up to 3 miles out in most places. I can't believe you can discharge untreated sewage in Maine today (this boat is from Maine) or that this boat would not have a proper head within the last 50 years. Just for traditional looks I guess. Anyway, another milestone and a good place to stop for the night.

OK, Roger... so, I'm wishy-washy!
 
Since your response to my plea for guidance, I've dug around quite a bit, looking at the Kate Corey.  Oh, it is a beautiful ship, I love the lines and looking a 'Google Images,' there are many gorgeous models of the Kate Corey.  
 
Although I had my heart set on [another] POB model, if I decide to build the Kate Corey, I could always plank over the solid hull just as I did my Constitution.  
 
So, I'm going to revisit this decision... I may still go with the Charles W. Morgan, but the Kate Corey is now a solid contender.  I'm grateful for your kind suggestion!
 
Rob 

Bruce, actually your Morgan build log is one of the very first that I ran across, and I've read it 'cover to cover' more than once!  I really like that the Morgan is still around, just as the Constitution is; that probably played into my decision to choose it over another ship.  
 
Rob

Thanks, Roger, for the suggestion.  Yes, the Kate Corey is lovely, and would be a good bit less complicated than the Morgan.  That said, I'm going to go ahead with the Morgan, I'm looking forward (well, kind of!) to the plank-on-bulkhead construction and all those glorious deck structures.  Yep, I'm hooked already.