petehay

To get the hull to have that aged appearance when the boat is complete, I start by applying 5 or 6 coats of an Alcohol India Ink wash until the surface is built up and chalky. This will assure that the paint does not stick in spot on the next steps.

 
Then I dry brush light grey in alternating directions on the hull in very light and dry strokes. Also I dab a slightly wetter brush to build up the paint along the uneven surface of the plank joints.


Then using some scotch tape I rub it onto the mostly dry surface and pull back to remove some of the paint to provide a worn and badly in need of repair, rotting hull!
 

The effect is over done somewhat, but the end result when looking from a distance is a ship that has seen service for 30 years of it's 15 year planned life!

Finally made more progress. Working slowly as usual.
 
Achieved a nice smooth glossy finish on the white and then airbrushed the bottom.
 

DSC_0140 by Batson Photography, on Flickr
 

DSC_0141 by Batson Photography, on Flickr
 
 
I had made the base from the suppied design. This is only to provide an upright means of working on it. I will be attaching the finished boat to a board and making a closed display case.
 

DSC_0142 by Batson Photography, on Flickr
 
I had made the stand posts out of brass rod and tubing. The brass tube was glued to the stand and hull and the brass rod slid into it. This way i can remove the hull from the stand as many times as needed and i do not have to worry about ruining the keel and endges of the holes.
 
I made a template for the floor out of the floor from the kit.
 

DSC_0143 by Batson Photography, on Flickr
 

DSC_0144 by Batson Photography, on Flickr
 
I built the mock up floor right over it. The finished floor will be mahogany planked.
 

DSC_0145 by Batson Photography, on Flickr
 
Currently working on a template for the seats, constructed in similar fashion as the floor.

Well, this is it......I am calling it a day on the Tender having tried to stain the wood and not really got it right.......
Pete had suggested Danish oil or Tung oil but I couldnt find them here in Rio so I bought some stains and experimented first with Cherry which was too pinkish and then with Mahogany which was too dark.....
 

 
I then mixed the two and got a reasonable colour but it did not stain evenly......which was when I decided ...what the hell, I´ll cover the external hull with floor wax which at least will fill inthe gaps and should give an old burnished look to the boat
 
 
 
The wax has indeed filled the gaps but is clearly visible in this photo....but I am going to leave it a while to collect dust and then smooth it down again with a cloth
 

 
 
I stained the base dark and attached rope around it ........
 
 
 
but didnt really like the result so painted it off white and am still deciding whether to keep the rope or not.
 
I then decided to varnish the interior of the boat with matt finish and now have a bit of a mess as the wax has oozed through from the outside. I quite like the rough finish so may just leave it like that....it looks something of an antique boat !!
 
so here are some more photos and I can see that the flash mercilessly picks out the unvarnished bits so will have to go back to them.
 
all in all it has been a fantastic learning experience and I now move on to HMS Victory by Mamoli which I hadnt realised was solid wood hull and quite tiny 1:325.................thanks to all at MSW for making this such an enjoyable hobby
 
Simon
 

I put my sail making aside, while I wait for some eyelets I ordered to arrive so I could complete them. Today I have been working on the oyster dredge rollers. The picture shows the two roller assemblies prior to painting or blackening. This little project took me about 8 hours to complete to this stage and I am pleased with the result. I sorta wish I had aluminum tube to use for the rollers but only had the brass. I will likely paint the rollers with aluminum colored paint and the mounting ironwork white.

Thanks for having a look.

I now need some advice as I want to give the boat as natural a finish as possible, preferably without painting it as I love wood and the grain and the shades; when you can see each plank individually (albeit incorrectly installed) you can reflect on the time that went into putting it all together.
 
My problem is the mess I got into with the clinker effect (I failed to measure, taper, and bevel - let alone do proper spiling where required). This meant that when it came to sanding I got the outer hull fairly smooth but it feels and looks like an eggshell. Having said that, I was amazed at how much strength came into the construction after fitting the whales, and ribs, and the rub rail, as well as the seats of course.
 
There is no way I can properly sand the inside of the boat or I will go right through the hull and anyway the clinker effect on the inside is quite attractive (to my sore eyes). It´s a pity that I made a lousy attempt at filling the gaps with sawdust and glue as it has just left it very messy but this has been mitigated somewhat by the seats and knees.
 
obviously there are gaps that really require a wood filler but then I assume that will stain the planks on either side of the cracks.....and I would be nervous about doing any more sanding for fear of going through the hull!  The gaps are not huge so if there was a really viscous stain or varnish that could seep into them that would be perfect.........
 
any ideas ??
 
 
 
 

 
 

 
 

Time to face up to the trickier part of the planking.....
 
 
 

 
using pins to stop wet plank lifting from the frame and perpetuating the clinker effect. Of course if I had followed the  advice of Capn Rat Fink earlier I would have been putting a bevel (or chamfer ?) on each plank and tapered them off at the ends in a more methodical, calculated fashion......but the instructions just made it all look too easy !
 

 
Then I went for the Garboard plank.........
 

 
and now time to fill the gap for which had to glue two planks together:
 

 
but not a perfect fit. This has made me realise that I need to up my game a little. A perfect fit is not impossible....it is so wonderful to work with this soft basswood so it just takes a little more focus, a little more measuring perhaps, learning a few more tricks (like using masking tape to measure the gap - ). all good fun:
 

 
more tomorrow.
 

...and off the jig.

Planked!

Playing with some false battens to try and get feel for the plank shapes. The framework is very fragile once you start sticking pins in it. The ribs started as 1/16th square but after fairing they are a bit smaller in places.
I originally bought this kit for planking practice before I started my AL Virginia 1819 sloop but I might need to go the other way and plank the Virginia as practice for the lifeboat.
Pete

Just a little update.  I trimmed the hull planks.  Next I'll use some wood filler and sand them nice and smooth before planking the second layer.  Unfortunately I'm going out of town for the holiday so I won't be getting any building done this weekend.
 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 
Thanks for looking!  
 
-Matthew

How did you decide on the length of the deck planks?
Pete

I finished the first layer of planking.  Below is a picture.  Overall, I'm happy with how it turned out. There are definitely some mistakes but for a first time effort I think it came out alright.  After it dries I'll trim off the excess and sand it.  It should look much more respectable then.
 
 

 
 
 

MRWESQ,
No, I haven't started a build log for the 1819 Virginia (although I sort of hijacked yours) - I will post some pics of my progress so far in the next couple of days. I've hit a brick wall with my little lifeboat build, so maybe we can build this model in tandem and learn from each other.
Pete

Well I opened it up for the first time last night and yes my plans have the same misprint as yours. Here is a link to a pretty extensive photo log of the virginia
https://picasaweb.google.com/Aquarius.7777777/ArtesaniaLatinaSchoonerVirginia1819
Maybe that will help us both.
Pete

The next step is to create the four main ribs by bending and attaching to the numbered forms. The instructions say you can soak the 1/16" strips in water for 15 minutes and they will be pliable enough to make the curve. My attempts at this just ended up with a lot of crimped wood.
I resorted to the Midwest procedure of adding ammonia to the soaking water. I then used tiny clothes pins and medicine bottle caps to form the half circle. This was much better.
Pete

Beautiful job. Your workmanship is an inspiration. I will be using this build as a reference for alot of things.
Pete

Rebecca,
I've used both tea and coffee to tint watercolor paper and it works great but keep it out of direct sunlight. It can fade in unpredictable ways.
Pete

Bob,
The Grand Banks Dory was my first scratch build. In fact it is my first completed boat. I just completed it last week.
I used the plans from the Shearwater site but built it half size at 1:24 scale.
http://www.shearwater-boats.com/doryinst.html
I am going to try to attach a photo taken with my iPad - not the best quality but I'm pretty proud of this little guy.
Pete

The deck looks very nice. There was a build (before the crash) of this kit where the modeler used either tung oil or Danish oil for all of the finishing on this ship.
Pete

Once upon a time, this build log contained a lot of high quality photos showing lots of detail.  
But many photos have gone repeatedly missing - The photos in this first post have gone missing / been replaced three times.  It's more than just a glitch.  I try to keep up with restoring the photos......  There are lots of photos on pages 3 and 5!  
Most of the build photos, I also posted on Picasa, so if you have a specific question, please send me an IM and I will send you the link to Picasa.  
 
Midwest models are amazingly close to the drawings in Chappelle’s book, they’re fun to build and learning.  Following Mario’s lead, I’m adding lots of detail to my Muscongus Bay Lobster Smack build and having fun!
 
I’ve added the fish wells, a cabin with floor and centerboard trunk.  The rudder will also be a working rudder.  At this point, I checked the instruction book to see just how far along I was – It was a shock when I realized I was only on step 17.  
These fish wells are too deep and the cabin floor should have been lower.  This would have given the space to add the bunk on the port side.   

 
I added a second layer of decking and fish well covers.   The original deck consisted of three pieces of wood:  the deck and two well covers.  This deck consists of 68 pieces of wood. 

 
There will be full access to the cabin.  You can just barely see the centerboard hinge pin at the base of the trunk.  Also added a ‘step’ for access.  If the floor was lower, I could have added the bunk on the port side.

 
It was fun adding the fish wells, centerboard trunk access and the covers.  The covers will be held secure with a piece of chain.  These wells are much too deep.  I painted the wells with silver paint to simulate tin lining.  For the centerboard trunk, I carved away some of the keel, then added some sides and painted it black.  I attached an eye hook for the rope and I’ll attach the handle. 

 

 
In almost all Midwest sailboats, the cockpit floor is too small.  First I added planking to the kit floor, then added width to the kit floor, but had to sand a lot off when fairing the frame.  Now this cockpit floor will fit tight against the sides of the hull. 

 
This brings me current.
At this point in the build, the kit calls for ~20 individual pieces of wood.  So far, I think I am close to 180 individual pieces of wood used in this build.   
I need to install the rudder and tiller before finishing the hull.  I think I should have done this before I added the deck.  

As for the hull, I’m thinking about doing the hull in lap-strake planks. Any suggestions would be appreciated.. 
 
Thanks for looking, your thoughts, suggestions are always appreciated
 
Dee Dee
 
(Edited on 5/27/13 to add photos again)
(Edited on 9/07/13 to add 'SMALL' to title)
(Edited on 11/26/14 to add back photos - again!)
(Edited on 4/09/15 to add back photos for the third time)
.

Well, here it is, my FAVORITE PHOTO OF THE ENTIRE BUILD.  So much so that it gets its very own post!

It might not look like much, but there is a ton going on here. You might not agree, but I like it because it tells a bunch of stories all at once. 

First, the boat in the middle has the caprail fitted and stained with “Weathered Oak” which is a sort of blue-grey stain. Additionally, all the cleats were painted and glued up under the caprail, as were several shiny brass eyelets that are barely visible.


Over on the right is the sheet of basswood from which the caprail was cut, and also a test-stained area can be seen there too. I mentioned early on that my kit didn’t have the wood for the caprail. So I called Model Expo and they mailed me replacements. Good company, that! However, after reading Chuck’s practicum, I just went out and bought a sheet of bass, held it tight over the top of the boat and traced the caprail. I carefully cut the entire thing out in one piece. It was a shockingly easy solution to what I thought was a terribly complex piece to build, what with the curves and  everything.

Also over on the right is a dime, and that tiny black spot under the dime is the fairlead which is a piece of bent wire super glued to a piece of cardstock. I did NOT like building this. Just didn’t enjoy it. The wire was hard to hold and it kept falling over and I got super glue on my fingers. Woe is me
 
Over on the left is the cut out core piece from fabricating the caprail. I used my 90 degree angle jigs to clamp some pre-soaked splashrails to the nearly exact curve desired, and didn’t have to make a new jig!  Bonus! I’m glad I don’t throw things away until the project is over.  My wife.. not so much a fan of not throwing things out
 
 
Well that is it for the re-upload for tonight. I hope to post the rest tomorrow, complete through the end of the project.

Cheers!

Thanks for the suggestion Wayne.
I contacted Model Expo via email and received a pdf version of the instructions the next day. Great customer service.  It's still the same file but I was able to print it in (somewhat) higher quality.
I don't know if the instructions alone are sufficient for my first plank on frame kit - although at only $9.00 I guess it's worth a try.

The keel and Stem are next. I made those out of cherry and borrowed a technique from Chuck Passaro whereby I put a stringer between the keel and profile piece to create the rabbet.