Tomculb

My first attempt at a builders log (we all know that long before it became a fashionable term, that is what "blog" referred to). I write this as I am a couple of months into the build. I expect to have the blog catch up to real time over the next week or so). * * * Joshua Slocum left Boston in April 1895 aboard the 35 foot sloop Spray, finishing his circumnavigation of the world over three years later, in July of 1898. He was the first to circle the globe alone. We know quite a lot about that trip since the definitive book on the subject, Sailing Alone Around the World, was written by none other than Joshua Slocum. Less well known is that he left New England in 1909 for South America, sailing alone again on Spray, never to be heard from again. While working on Model Shipways’ Yacht America, I decided to look to Blue Jacket for my next build, and while exploring its many interesting offerings, I skipped over Spray several times as not being interesting enough a boat, not realizing its historical significance. But about a year ago the name Slocum caught my eye, and Spray stepped into my on-deck circle. This was inspired in part by an imminent trip to Patagonia, including a short cruise on a small ship visiting the Straights of Magellan (where Slocum sailed), Beagle Channel, and Cape Horn. First thing, of course, upon getting the kit in the mail, I inventoried the parts (all present and accounted for), quickly read through the instructions, and examined the two sheets of plans with some care. The plans are in my view quite clear and detailed--here’s a small excerpt. The instructions are less detailed than I am used to (at least compared with Model Shipways). They include a separate booklet with general instructions for planked kits. BlueJacket identifies this kit as one of its more difficult ones (rated 7 on a scale of 1 to 9, although BlueJacket doesn’t rate its kits with numbers like that). Eight months later, after finishing America, I opened the box again, took another close look at the plans, and began cutting out the laser cut bulkheads. The bulkheads are referred to in the kit as “frames”, numbered from 2 (oddly) to 12. That aside, they are sharply and precisely cut and easy to remove from the sheets they were cut from. I also took a close look at the keel. It was slightly warped, but not sufficiently so to cause me any concern. You have to look closely to see it in the photos below. I later noticed that the warp has a slight twist to it (so the stem and stern portions are not quite in the same vertical plane), but again, not enough to be of any real concern. Using the plans as my guide, I marked the bulkhead locations and the water line on the keel. While cutting out the bulkheads, I quickly glanced at the instructions and noticed an oddity--the plans have this warning written on one sheet, while the instructions imply the opposite. Oh well, it certainly is easy to be critical; I shudder to think what my plans and instructions would look like were I to try to manufacture a kit. The instructions say that the fit between the keel and the bulkheads should be snug, but they warn that some bulkhead slots may need to be sanded to open them up a bit and avoid splitting the bulkheads. I had the exact opposite problem; most of the bulkheads were too loose to stand up unassisted. I cut a thin strip of construction paper and glued shims to the inside of the slots on most of the bulkheads--that took care of the issue. Here are the bulkheads dry fitted to the keel. Next installment, my first mistake. . .

I have been a member here for a few years, but treating it more as a spectator sport than I should. I’m hoping to post the beginning of my first builder log within a week or two, so thought I should introduce myself. I have been a model builder off and on throughout my 7 decades on the planet. I built lots of plastic models as a kid (mostly airplanes but also a few ships) and an occasional stick and tissue glider, as taught to me by my dad. My first wooden ship model was a solid hull America built in high school. I still have it, but it has not survived the decades well at all, and thus my most recent build was the MS kit yacht America (which I think is no longer available from MS). Fast forward from high school to my late 30s, and I got back into the hobby of model building, first with three RC gliders. Revell’s 1:96 plastic Constitution followed, then a plank on bulkhead Bluenose (Artesania Latina), a canoe (Midwest), Endeavor (America’s Cup J Boat, an Italian kit), Brig Niagara (Model Shipways), and more recently Model Airways Wright [Brothers] Flyer and Yacht America. Somewhere along the way I finished a half-built Sopwith Camel (Hasagawa), after the father of a good friend of mine sadly passed away mid-build. Current build: BlueJacket’s Spray, the tiny boat Joshua Slocum soloed around the world. My builds tend to take a while, since there is a lot of competition for my time. I still work, slowly transitioning to part time (trust & estate lawyer), I am an avid cyclist, and my wife and I enjoy traveling, hiking, kayaking, biking, pickleball, skiing (especially XC), reading, and hanging out with our young adult kids. And living in Spokane, Washington, we are of course avid Gonzaga basketball fans!

I too will be very interested to follow your progress, as Spray is in my on deck circle. I first read Sailing Alone Around the World in high school or thereabouts, then read it again earlier this summer. The recent read and my purchase of the kit were inspired by a hiking and cruise adventure we did in Patagonia back in March. The cruise put us ashore at Cape Horn, which for a life long sailor was an incredible thrill. This will also be my first BlueJacket build and am looking forward to it. I'm about 95% finished with Model Shipways Yacht America, and I even started a "post-mortem" log I might finish and post (another first for me) before starting Spray. Again, looking forward to your build . . . Tom

Very helpful responses, and much appreciated.

I am working on Model Shipways now-discontinued yacht America, to which I have decided to add sails. The gaff topsail rigging in the plans has me befuddled. It shows the sail attached to the topmast with “lacing”. If that means loosely tied, then I suppose the sail could be lowered as far as the point at which the mast and top mast overlap, but that wouldn’t be a very satisfactory way to douse sail in a sudden squall. The downhaul is shown as running from the clew up to a block at the heat of the sail and then down to the deck, and if the halyard was eased and the downhaul pulled tight, the clew and head would be bunched together at that point of mast overlap, but that still leaves a bunch of sail flapping in the wind, and the only way to get the whole sail down to the deck is to run someone up the mast in a bosun’s chair. Is that what was done? Alternatively, maybe the sail isn’t attached to the mast at all except at the halyard (contrary to the lacing shown in the plans), but I don’t see that working very well going to weather. But maybe this is a sail that is used only when r broad eaching or running? I can’t think of anyone better equipped to provide some insight than the learned members of this forum. Thanks