Richvee

Couldn't resist putting the boats on for a quick pic.

The boom is rigged and in place. I'm not sure those reef tackle blocks would be there with no sail, but I wanted to get as many lines in as I could. I just knotted the line at the block, then ran it to it's cleat. Same with the outhaul. Knotted at the sheave, single block tackle, and belayed to a cleat. Boom tackle was stored under the boom, and lashed to the boom near the jaw when not in use. Next up, the gaff. This is going to present some issues, I believe. I neglected to drill a hole in the main mast to try to "pin" the gaff to the mast. That seems like too risky an endeavor at this point. Hopefully the rigging, and a little CA on the jaws and the clapper will be able to hold it up.

Thanks for the likes and looking in. Paint and ironwork on the boom and gaff is underway. The hoops are thin slices of electrical tape with a drop or 2 of CA on the back to make sure they stay in place. After drying, I added the brass eyebolts and painted them black. As I mentioned earlier with the masts, the ironwork on the KC was all painted white, but I like the contrast. A little artistic license. Next up is trying to get as much rigging on the boom as I can before I mount it. Footropes, Boom tackle, topping lift hardware. I want to show the outhaul, and the reef tackle even though there will be no sails. I'll knot the outhaul at the sheave, and rig it's tackle under the boom, and I'll knot the reef tackle at the block on the boom, and run it to the cleat. Footropes first. Definitely a challenge to get a natural looking hang on them...diluted white glue and a little weight in the right places, but the curve keeps changing as the line dries. I've got a few toothpicks strategically placed to try to coax the curve. We'll see how this looks when it dries, then I'll trim the ends.

Thanks Chuck. They sure are tiny. Especially after working in 1/2” scale for a while. Yes, I’ve gotten pretty proficient at making those little locks. There’s probably just as many of those on the floor as there are lost thwart knees. 🙂

UHG..I see I lost another rowlock on one boat. Better put these things away and stop fiddling with them until it's time to add them to the ship.

The whaleboats are completed. I think they came came out OK. I think I got enough of the important details in. Once they're loaded with oars, mast, Harpoons, line tubs I think they'll look good. I'll say this, I don't want to make any more little thwart knees for a long time. There must be twice as many that came out looking funny or are somewhere on the floor than there are on the boats. I've tapered the boom and Gaff, and made the jaws for the boom. I wasn't having a lot of success using the method of a drill as a lathe, so these were tapered by hand. A little at a time with 220, and 320 paper, using calipers with approximate diameters marked off every centimetre or so. Then, once the taper looked good, 400 and 600 to finish it off. I'm happy with the look of the taper. Not as happy with the placement of the two holes for the belaying pins in the jaw, hence the filler in one hole.

Closing in on finishing the last two whaleboats. Some painting, cuddy board details (Loggerhead, cleat, steering oar brace), oarlocks, thwart knees, foot brace, lifting eyes, and they'll be done. (Wow...actually there's quite a few details I still need to add 🙂) I'll save the gear for when I need a break from rigging. I'm going to load all 3 boats on the davits with gear, and leave the spare boat on the tail feathers empty. I know the boats weren't fully loaded until they were about to embark on a chase, but for display purposes, that's the way I'm going to go. Hey, if it's good enough for Ronnberg's KC in New Bedford, it'll be OK for mine as well. Once I have these little guys finished, I can temporarily set them in their places on the ship so I can get the davits at the correct height and aligned with the lifting eyes on the boats. Then I can go ahead and get the blocks on the davits, and secure the davits permanently in place, and add the davit braces. Work has begun on shaping the boom, gaff, and yards. I'm fortunate to still be working through this crisis, but work is slow with lots of down time, so I've been bringing the yards to work and sanding and shaping to pass the day. I've got the boom, gaff , lower and topsail yards shaped, but I haven't trimmed the lengths yet. The plan is to have these ready to paint and start adding details to them as soon as the whaleboats are done.

You and me both Bob. I can’t seem to learn thin coats and trust the paint. I keep going over spots Instead of painting a thin coat, let it dry, then another coat-and I get lousy results. I’ll get there. Rayland - Absolutely beautiful!!

Thanks Bill. Hopefully we’re back to normal sooner rather than later. Be well, see you soon.

Second whaleboat complete. Half way there. Special shout out to @David Lester for his use of cardstock for the stripe on the boats. Much better than trying to paint that stripe of color between the black and white. I made a red stripe for my original boat. So much better than trying to paint that line, and masking it off. Used a blue stripe for boat #2. . 680 I'll make the next two together and get back to rigging soon.

I got to the point where my little workbench was proving inadequate to accommodate some of my recent power tools purchases. Thanks to our club’s annual auction, some nice pieces have been added at some great prices, so it became time to expand the workbench, which once again put the whaleboats on hold. The bench is now complete. Time to start modeling!!

I look forward to your log. No better way to get help and advice. ( and show off your work a little 😁

Thanks Don. Appreciate it.

So the hiatus is over. The Medway longboat is complete, sans rigging. I'll save that for another day. Now it's time to get back to this ship and finish her. #2 whaleboat in progress...

The rudder is done, the thole pins are installed. For now, t's done. I'll come back and rig it at a later date. Right now it's time to get back to the Kate Cory and finish the whaleboats and her rigging. I'm itching to get back to her and complete it. This has been a great kit and a great learning experience. Many techniques I've learned and tried for the first time, and they'll be more when the rigging begins. Thanks for a great kit, Chuck!

Bob, like Chuck says start a log. There’s a lot to learn here. Sounds like you’re at pretty much the same level as me. Many steps in this project were firsts for me. I’ve learned a lot. And there’s plenty more to learn.

I used the Jax pewter for blackening. It was my first attempt working with metal blackening, so I have nothing to judge it against, but I was satisfied with the results. Just make sure the metal is super clean, and BRUSH the Jax on, do not submerge it. The stuff can be a bit pricey, but I found a little glass/jewelry store on line that sells 4 ounces for $6.00. That';s a pretty good price. https://glasssupplies41.com/product/4-oz-118-ml-pewter-black-patina/

Not hard to find at all. A quick search for black monofilament will yield multiple options. https://www.amazon.com/Magreel-Monofilament-Fishing-Nylon-Strong/dp/B07SQ1VX3P/ref=asc_df_B07SPLB6FQ/?tag=&linkCode=df0&hvadid=385569651350&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=3204704411157101334&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9003576&hvtargid=aud-802037562948%3Apla-824255271971&psc=1&ref=&adgrpid=78921460776&th=1

The interior is coming along. A lot of new techniques for me.. Carving the windlass.. I wish I could have gotten some sharper, more pronounced angles. Blackening and working with brass. Used the Jax Pewter black. No major issues. Just make sure the brass is super clean, and brush it on. Turning belaying pins in a Dremel. This went a lot better than I thought it would. I was happy with the appearance of the pins. Just a few more things to add...Block and roller at the stern, rudder, thole pins, grapnel and oars. Wile I do plan on rigging this, I think that's going to wait while I get back to the Kate Cory. I've been itching to get back to that.

Thanks Dave. I enjoyed following along. Nicely done!

Thanks Chuck. And thanks for the likes. Got a few coats of wipe on poly on the floors and platforms, and added the cockpit benches, filled the gaps and sanded smooth. a few coats of paint on the seats will be next up.

Yep. Very light. But it's surprisingly sturdy. I had no issues faring the frames pretty aggressively.

Haven't updated the log in a while, but work continues. Molding installed and nails done. Again, if I had it to do over, I'd add the nails after installing each plank. Floorboards were up next. Bending these boards was fairly easy. Even the thicker ones. The tougher part was shaving the nylon line flush with a razor on the bent boards without shaving pieces of the floorboards with the edge of the razor blade. The platforms were next up. The aft platform is easy compared to the little platform at the bow. The angles are tricky, and I cut a few cardstock platforms before I liked one and then transferred it to the wooden platform. I still had filing and shaping to do until I was happy with the fit around the inside edge, and making sure it sat fairly level. Next were the risers and thwarts. I marked the distance from the top of the rail to the top of the risers on each frame as Chuck suggested. Then measured again to make sure. I took a lot of time getting the height right on both sides. Last thing I wanted was to get to this point and then have a noticeable slant to the thwarts!! The risers were then bent to fit, clamped to the sides, and marked of for nails. I applied the nails off the model. Much easier than it would be after installing the risers. Then they were glued up, with a clothespin "clamp" on each frame. Next up was gluing the 2 layers of each thwart together, then fitting them into the slots. The first thwart at the bow was the trickiest. Again, a cardstock thwart was made and cut too fit before trimming the real thwart.. I still managed to mess up the "real" thwart. Luckily there's plenty room around the edges of the laser sheets to cut a replacement thwart! So here it is as of today. I think I'll add a coat of wipe on poly to the floor and platforms before proceeding the the cockpit bench.

Beautiful work. I’m at the point where I’ll be assembling the platforms and floor boards real soon. Did you pre- bend and assemble the 5 pieces of floor boards, and after they were done glue the finished floor in place? I think Chucks instructions suggests pre bending and and installing each piece of floor board one at a time. Any advantages/ disadvantages in either method?

Some progress to report Sanding of the cap rail is done, and my horrible paint talents are on display. had some fun with the frieze. Turns out the sheets Chuck included with the club's packages were a bit small. Led to a little angst wondering if I've done something terribly wrong. Downloaded to PDF from here, and there was no issue with the length. next up, moldings. This is my first time scraping a molding, so I'm keeping the design very basic. About have a dozen razor blades later, I was able to come up with a shape I can live with. Next up will be adding the moldings, then it's time to start the nails.