Boxbuilds

Nice matching effort on the lantern. Looks original.

Thanks for the kind words

To make Martha “work” I reviewed pics of other small crab boats on the Chesapeake to identify some of the equipment used. In short, I added crab scrapes, blue crabs, crab tub, buckets, net, life vest, gas can, toolbox, fire extinguisher, cooler, nav light, floatation cushions, floor grate, gauges, sorting board and ropes. To give miss Martha a slightly lived in look I put in a false deck that was weathered. I added thick layers of paint representing many years of maintenance. Woodwork was slightly worn with sandpaper after staining. Scuffs and dirt were applied with diluted mud colored paint. Watery black was helpful where oily grime was appropriate. The crab scrapes were made with soft wire and netting. I think the wood frame is instrumental in deploying and retrieving the scrapes. I used my 3D printer to make 2 crabs as a mount for the stand. I generally use creatures and figures (golden) to hold my models. To hold the identity tag, since my last name is Boeck as in Bock beer, I use golden goats on all my jobs.....kind of a signature. I tagged Martha with the CBMM logo to credit them with this great kit. Now, on to the next The steering mechanism on these boats is unique. Controls are in the aft, near the engine compartment, not in the cabin. Looking at the boat's stern a long vertical lever, blocks, ropes and a steering arm are visible. I drew a little diagram to help illustrate the mechanism. A line is tied to the vertical, steering lever. The line travels from the steering lever through one block and ties to the rudder steering arm. From there the line is passed through the other block, through feeds along the boat bulwark into the cabin, around the perimeter of the cabin and back out the other side of the cabin. Finally the line continues through the feeds and terminating at the vertical steering lever. By moving the lever to the back of the boat the lines pull the rudder to the left and vice versa. With the throttles attached to the engine housing and the adjacent steering lever, the boatman can control his craft.

I cry with wonder....I wish I could do this. your career and patience are producing an exemplary model...no, piece of art. Not diminishing similar experts, you deserve credit for both the quality of your woodwork and the "tutorial" that is being written in your log. Many of us will benefit. Danke.

Martha is essentially built. It still needs its decals and touching up. The build had some interesting challenges but was pretty straightforward. The laser cut parts fit well. Its important to pre-fit and sand a bit. The cabin takes care because there is a tight dependency to getting all the pieces in line. The steering mechanism is a combination of line, pullies, and a steering lever. The pullies are soft metal. The small holes the lines run through should be cleaned up and enlarged a bit. There are fairleads for the lines which tie off on the steering controls and the rudder lever and run along one side, up to the cabin and back in one large loop. The fairleads were wooden, small and really fragile. I managed to break one and decided to use half of a split ring instead. Once the cabin is built it is unlikely the line could be properly run, so do it before. I have decided to modify the boat and make it "Martha" at work....at least my impression of a day on the bay.

Hello Keith. This is a very nice effort. Whatever approach you take to refurbish your ship is the right approach. You want to be happy with the result and your experience with woodworking serves you well here. I have found paint thinner to vary greatly in its aggressiveness. I have used it when I suspect that someone plastered varnish or some other coating over the original paintwork. Over time it turns yellow and black and ruins the original work. The trick, as you know is to test and be gentle, right? It made a huge difference on the Nuestra Senora Afortunado restoration. Although the owner didn't want to retain the patina(sad), the detail in the decks and other bits came out. But soap, toothbrush and water often do the yeoman's portion of the work. I continue to look for matching drawings to identify your ship. I appears to be English based upon its flags. I'll also look into the heraldry displayed on the shields and sails. They could be notional or real. Some look common. As I see anything I'll let you know. I am doing the same for folks at cast your anchor hobbies so I'll combine efforts. The ship appears to represent an early carrack of three masts, 16 guns, topsails on 2 masts and a lateen missen. Interestingly, the bowsprit (or mast) does not go into the ship. It rests below the beak, seated in the stem. It carries a sprit sail. I counted only 7 guns on the starboard but I think I saw a hole where the balancing eighth gun went. Is that possible? Additionally, I count 24 "gunports" on upper decks, which would raise the count to 40 guns. So I think I'll look for a forty gun ship and let you know of any candidates for your consideration. If I overstep here, I apologize and will back off. It's just fun for me. Regarding the maker of the ship....The tag on your ship is just like that on the GH! The turned guns, mast construction, nailed yards, colors and sail materials seem identical. I have a question out to the Cast Your Anchor Hobbies folks about the provenance of a ship like ours that they worked. You may not know that we've identified four other ships made by this manufacturer. Sooner or later I hope to get to the source of these ships. This is an interesting project and I look forward to watching its progress.

Marc, I am new to this thread. I saw your pieces on carving and admired it so much that I copied it and created a single doc that I can use as a reference. Hope that's ok. The artistry demonstrated in this topic is about the best collection I've read. I am working on Sergals SR. I have completed the planking. I am framing the insides of the lower 2 lines of gunports. So I am not too far. I have had a bevy of challenges and I think this topic will give me better insight about approaching the next steps. I thank all all of you on this topic for sharing your experiences and expertise. John boxbuilds

Ok. Looking at the CBMM site I found interior pics of the wheelhouse. ....no wheel. only life preservers and tools. good enough for me. Finally fixed the windscreen frame, so Back to glazing...

I am finishing the trim and rails and starting the cabin. I also finished the false deck, weathered it, and created support for the dredge uprights. The pic shows the kit deck that will be painted white. Also the other paraphernalia and false deck are shown. The dredges are made with soft wire. Uprights are basswood. Other pieces were 3D printed from my own designs I had a few problems of my own making. RTFI READ INSTRUCTIONS. They directed when to glue and I skipped over that. I tend to skim directions and glue to drawings. 80 percent of the time you get away with it but that other 20 percent is destructive. Then when I needed a clamp to gently squeeze parts towards each other the clamp popped close and took out the windshield frames. Luckily there’s enough scrap to remake the lost parts. I talked about paint parts in their frames. It should be cautioned that such methods can make it trickier to extract the parts. Be careful with small, fragile pieces or they’ll need repair. Sanding the edges will be important. I made a console and printed a wheel based on cockpit photos of random crabboats. I couldn’t find a good one of Martha’s interior and I’m pretty sure my guess of location is off. I welcome input re that.

Helping folks recover memories and nostalgic bits is rewarding. Plus I/we learn a considerable amount. I have a history degree specializing in the Tudor period so rooting around in the nautical aspect while using 30 some years of modeling experience makes it a joy. I’m sure you share similar feelings. So thanks for your comment. The whole club appreciates it.

Like I said it’s old news. I am flabbergasted that searching for old reference sources for Harry pulled that book up!? So I wanted to share it. It has some old techniques that are interesting although not useful today. hang in there and thanks for your sacrifice John