Richvee

It's been a busy summer. Baseball was back in full swing, (pun intended), and work is as busy as ever, and help is real hard to come by these days, so there's been minimum shop time until the past week or so. I did manage to reach a bit of a milestone. Belt "A" is planked. I've been doing a little rough sanding as I go in hopes of easing the final finishing when the hull is completely planked. I'm pretty happy with the results so far, being my first attempt at cutting planks. Chuck's Longboat was a nice primer, however it was real nice have precut and spilled planks. So there's plenty lessons being learned on this model. Anyway, here's what the first belt looks like today. 
 

 

No one's ever going to accuse me of moving too fast. Closing in on finishing the port side planking. One thing I can say, this isn't my favorite part of the hobby. I'm plodding along, sanding with 100grit as I go to level out the planks. I think it's looking OK. 
 

 

Slow but sure, Rich. Nothing wrong with that. Looking good!
 
I've had this model on the shelf for a few years. I've always thought she has some of the most gorgeous lines I've ever seen. I'll will definitely get around to building it some day!

No one's ever going to accuse me of moving too fast. Closing in on finishing the port side planking. One thing I can say, this isn't my favorite part of the hobby. I'm plodding along, sanding with 100grit as I go to level out the planks. I think it's looking OK. 
 

 

No one's ever going to accuse me of moving too fast. Closing in on finishing the port side planking. One thing I can say, this isn't my favorite part of the hobby. I'm plodding along, sanding with 100grit as I go to level out the planks. I think it's looking OK. 
 

 

After many hours, I finally finished treenailing the planks! Well, I will need to do one more round for the channel wales, but right now majority of the treenailing is done. 
 
After completing one side, I learnt it is better to randomize treenailing the last bit of the bamboo skewer so the transition between two bamboo skewers is not very apparent. Even though the colors of the skewers match, the cross-section appearance is slightly different. I hope once I apply the Tung oil finish, the transitions between the skewers do not show much. 
 
Here are some snapshots I took of the WIP:


Applying a bit of water shows how they may look after applying the Tung oil. Here you can see the clear divisional line where I began using a new bamboo strip (between the 2nd vs 3rd columns of where I applied the water). Lesson learnt! Next time I will be sure to randomize the the treenails at the transition area. I did that for the portside area and I can not see any clear transition lines.

After treenailing, I sanded all the planks with medium then fine sandpaper. Here is how she looks right now:






I am now thinking of starting to plank the lower hull area. I bought some 1/16" basswood sheets so I can cut the planks to shape instead of edge-bending. I may also start installing the channel wales but let's see!

Thank you very much Bob. 
Thanks very much friends for the nice comments and likes.
I added the crow's feet to the tops.

Thank you, Moonbug 😀
 
Both sides of the hull and now drilled and ready to be treenailed:




And so it begins 😁

Finished drilling all the holes on the starboard side! So I am halfway now 😀

I'm a little late, but I'll be following along. My Kate Cory is getting close to complete and I'm looking for my next build. I have an old Model Shipways 1/8" scale Essex kit from the mid '80's in the closet...The machine carved hull and the plans and instructions are probably all that's left that's useful. The rest would be scratch. I'm not sure I'm ready for such a build, but I'll be following here looking for tips and inspiration. 

I tried to get some better lighting and a background to show off some of the rigging I have completed on this ship so far. It's a small start. I still need to make the other mast, hopefully this weekend I will have some time to get the main mast comets and set.

Got a lot done on the bowsprit. I took a moment to set it on the kitchen table to get some better pictures. I had to step back for a moment. Pictures do not seem to do it justice. I'm not trying to toot my own horn, but, this thing is looking so good. I have never built any thing of this scale or detail and I have to say, I am really excited with how it is turning out so far. Fingers crossed, the rest of it comes together as nice. I included some action shots this time. 

Finally got around to getting the deck hardware mounted. As I continue rigging up the cannons. I plan on coming back around and adding some rope coils next to them. Thanks for all the likes!

I really enjoyed remaking all of these do-dads (I don't know what they are called) I think the tone of the wood really sets them apart. Onward!

Much better then the supplied ones in my opinion. Work has slowed down a little as I have to reverse engineer each element. Slow but steady. More pictures to come soon.

Well I got a little more done over the weekend. I got the hull glossed, put a matte varnish on the rest. I am a little jealous of how good the matte finish looks. Now I am wishing I could do the whole thing in matte, oh well. I got the rudder installed and a couple of the details for the deck started. A little more bashing, looking pretty good. 

Main mast shrouds, stay and preventer stay are now done.

The first layer of main wales have now been planked. I also finished gluing in all the sweep port lids and ballast port lids. Here are some pics of where I am at right now:







I will next start working on treenailing the planks before starting to plank beneath the wales (something I am very nervous about!!! 😅)

Rigging has begun. The arrangement and run of the lines is being taken from the rigging diagrams in AOTS Essex.
I've completed the burton pendants, shrouds and stay on the lower mizzen mast. I have served the lines with a hommade serving machine.

Hammock cranes on the quarter deck were made and installed.

Thanks again everyone for the likes and comments!
 
I finished planking both sides of the ship till the top. Here are a couple of pictures to mark this milestone of the build:





I'll next start working on the first layer of main wales, then the sweep ports. I am thinking I should then start treenailing since it will be easier to sand before I install the 2nd layer of the main and channel wales.

Jumping ahead to the present, I just completed construction of the mounting board base I will use to mount my Flying Fish.  I was fortunate to have access to a woodshop with a shop planer.  I built the base by gluing together 3 pieces of mahogany I had machined to size.  After it dried, the board was sanded smooth, then passed through a router to give a nice shape to the upper edge.  It was then finely sanded, stained and finished with a couple of coats of tung oil.  Holes were partially drilled through the base at the locations of the brass pedestals.  The ship will be mounted to the base vial brass rods (approx. 3 mm dia.) which I will epoxy the the base and in the hull, which was described in the tips section of this website.  The use of bendable brass rods is a  neat way to ensure the ship will be mounted level later.   Because of the coppering, the brass pedestals had to be filed wider at the top notch to fit over the keel.  
 
 

After completing the painting of the upper section of the hull, I began the long and arduous journey of coppering the Hull.  Some images of the finished coppering were posted on my second log entry above.   I marked off the lengths of several copper sheets at a time using a marked scrap sheet of wood as shown in the first photo below and scoring the cut location along an edge using an hobby knife.    To achieve 90 degree cuts I cut the sheets on a Chopper II.  Using a set of geometry dividers,  I then marked the lines for the coppering upwards and towards the bow to achieve the correct overlapping pattern of the copper plates.  I used a smooth scrap of wood to help me press each copper plate into place.   Images of several of these steps are shown in the photos below, along with some of the intermediate  and finished results.  Early in the coppering I drilled holes in the keel for the future mounting pedestal brass rods (photo 5).
 

The 4 images below show the finished planking.  I tried to adhere as closely as I could to the planking instructions with respect to the length and width of the boards,  staggering the planking butts and using stealer inserts.  To strengthen some of the joints, I glued additional boards behind some of the planks, especially where the plank butts did not attach over a bulkhead.   Sadly, with the hull now being coppered and painted, it is hard to really appreciate  how much time and effort went into laying the planks properly!
 
 
 

Here is an update on where I am with the Chris Craft Project.    At this point, focus has shifted to the fittings and other miscellaneous components of the boat.   I had designed, using Fusion 360, and 3D printed, using Shapeways, the gauge panel, as well as the navigation lights, spotlight, and engine louvers.   The steering wheel was laser cut by a good friend.    Another good friend helped me make the 2 exhaust pipes out of brass tube and wood.    Its so nice to have good friends that are much more experienced in modeling then I and I very much appreciative all their help and guidance.     I also am using leather for the seat and back coverings.   Below are some pictures of various miscellaneous items:
 
Fusion360 Louver Design.

 
Engine gauge and navigation light/ flag holder prior to finishing:


 
 
Seat covers:

 
Here is a picture of the dash panel showing the steering wheel, ignition switch, and gauges.    This picture also shows the engine hatch hinges and brackets added.   These are brass strips and rod that are painted chrome.    I also added the 2 window supports that allow the window to tilt.   Finally in the picture below you can see the engine louvers which as I mentioned were designed using Fusion 360 and 3D printed in this case by a friend.  
 

 
This next picture shows the exhaust pipes at the stern.    I painted the flange chrome and left the pipes natural.    Although not the best angle, you can partially see the rudder and propeller from this shot.  
 

 
Here is a picture of the raw 3D printed spotlight I designed and got made by Shapeways.    There are 2 drawbacks to this route, the first is cost.  A typical 3D printed part from Shapeways, of this size and material is ~$5 not including shipping each.   This can add up fast.   The second issue is texture.   The base plastic material is not smooth.   I suspect you could choose different material that is smoother but it will certainly cost more.     I choose to get it with the standard material and sand it after a primer.     This part as with the others shown will be finished with chrome paint.
 

 
Here is a picture of the laser cut steering wheel prior to shaping and finishing.  Thank you Chuck!
 

 
 
Next up will be more miscellaneous items such as the railings on the engine deck.   The making and installation of the gear shift lever.   The making and installation of the windshield and the remaining seat coverings.    I also wanted to give a big shout out to gjdale for his recommendation of Callie-Graphics for the boat name graphics.     I designed the graphic based on the original photo I had and assumed the color to be a metallic gold with a thin black lining.  Callie Graphics was able to take the design and make me a beautiful set of name graphics at a reasonable cost.     All for now, stay well!
 
Bill