canoe21

Good morning Lawrence, and Thanks. I was happy how the hinges turned out, this was my first attempt at soldering so it took a few tries until I got it right

Hahahaha, You have a good point there Robin. I'll maybe re-think my strategy        

I'm pretty much new to this, but I think deck goes before mast.

Thanks for the info, Lawrence.  
David wrote to me but I missed his PM.  I'll check with him on his Diana  log.  It's so good to see him back with us again.  I really missed him; especially his witty sayngs.  I;m trult happy that he's back.
Best
Jerry

Greetings Jerry
Hello young man. It looks like you are enjoying yourself on this build, and it is all looking splendid. I posted yesterday on my Diana log, and sent you a pm last week.. keep enjoying your build and I will catch you later. Regards DAVID

Hello Lawrence.
i hope you and Bernadette are having a terrific vacation and too bad it has to end.  I expect to hear all about it when I speak to you next.  Thanks for telling me about David.  I haven't heard from him and am a bit surprised but it's good to know that he's back in the ship model building business.  Has he posted a new log?  And what is he building?  let me know when you get a chance.  Have a safe trip home and get in touch with me by Skype when convenient.
Best,
Jerry

oh hell yea...........your doing better!   shrouds and ratlines look great     do you need that high a mag though?  I put on the 2.00's and my eyes go buggy after a while......I can't wear them for too long.  did your doctor tell you what your sight is?  check it out........you may be able to get along with less  
 
so very glad for you.........this is good news indeed!  

That's great news indeed Jerry. Bluenose is looking splendid - but from the sound of it, you don't need us to tell you that any longer!

looks great!      yea.......it's good you don't overdo it.   ship building hasn't got a time limit      I have an optivisor,  but I hardly use it.  I only wear glasses when I'm on the computer,  or working on the boats,  and reading fine print.  I buy those glasses you find at the drug store.......I have a pair of 1.25..which I use a lot.   then I have a pair of 1.75 and 2.00 for the small stuff.   
 
I read that you and Charlene are taking another trip......enjoy and use it for additional recovery time!  

Hello David...
ROPE Society is truly cooking again.  I'm sorry to say that I haven't received your PM.  I double checked just now at my Old Mail but the last PM's I have from you were back in March.  No matter, I'm just thrilled that you are back doing your thing again.  Glenn is correct and i'm tickled that he kept buzzing your ear as we all missed you very much.  I'll check out your Diana site  as I'm really anxious to see where you're at.
Best to you,
Jerry
P.S.  No real pointy ends on the Bluenose but I managed to break other things for sure.

Thanks for stopping by, Grant.  I sincerely appreciate your visit and comments.  Since I posted yesterday i found another picture that was taken showing the completion of the port foremast ratlines.  Hope you have a nice day.
Best,
Jerry

Hello Popeye..
Hope you are well.  My visit to the Ophthalmologist yesterday was a good one indeed.  She told me that everything is healing well and reduced the number of times for my eye drops and doesn't wan to see me for three weeks.  She also told me that at this time I can get a pair of the same type of glasses as you have.  I own a pair of  2.75 (used in the past) and that is very helpful for reading and computer work.  I don't need anything for distant vision and this surprised the doctor.  She told me that I'm one of about 5% who have had this type of operation that didn't become near sighted.  I really am lucky.
I began the rat lines today and found it easy to see with the magnifier and the reading glasses.. 
Here are some pictures I took since the last posting:
Best,
Jerry

Hello Popeye...
Your kind comments are very much appreciated.  My eyes do get tired after awhile since i have to do everything behind a magnifier so I usually work a few hours and then call it a day.  I have made some additional progress and am just about ready to step the main mast and begin the running rigging.  Here are some pictures which show where i'm at.
I hope you have a wonderful weekend.
Best,
Jerry

good to see you've settled back to the table in fine order     the rigging so far looks super!  

Another minor update...   The aft midsection has received it's thick stuff.    There's one plank I need to rip out and replace but that's a job for tomorrow.  I've installed the bitt that sits behind the mainmast.  It needed to be installed now as it's morticed into the deck beam and the thick stuff will also help hold it in place.  
 
The area around the main mast is a pretty busy place.  There's the bitt aft, a pinrail forward, the two crew ladders to the lower deck, four elmtree type pumps, and numerous eyebolts with blocks.  But.. most of those things can come after the deck is completely planked and the ceiling installed.  
 

Today's progress and the adventure continues.....  much head scratching, much smoke blowing out the window... fed the scrapbox as I sorted out my approach but success I do believe.
 
Rather than trying to attack the whole deck (center area) at once, I decided to break it into logical sections.   So.. aft section first as that's my anchor point for measurements. I spent the better part of last couple of days setting up the drawings for this with the deck plan as a basis and adding reference points and checking and re-checking measurements.
 
I finally produced a drawing showing what I thought I needed, printed it out, cut out the section and.. rats... off... Recheck measurements, reworked the drawing and repeated the test.  Got it.  Or so I thought.  I cut a piece of thin basswood and the fit was pretty good.
 
I then cut a piece of pear with etched in planking lines thinking... "one piece.. it should look good.".  It does look good (first picture).  However, not quite as good a fit as I'd like.  I mis-calculated the kerf of the Deathstar.  Different woods and different thicknesses affect the kerf.  It's not a constant but a variable as thicker wood needs more power which gives a bit of a wider kerf... a "Doh!" moment.  Back to the drawing board.  I ran some cutting tests (3 altogether for consistancy) using pear of the appropriate thickness to check the kerf and then ran those numbers into the calculator WITHOUT rounding them and got the correct kerf.  
 
While I had the drawing in the rework process, I decided instead of one piece and trying to get it to conform to the curve of the deck beams, I choose to cut individual planks.  Re-checked 3 or 4 times my calculations and it worked...  (See pic 2).  A light sanding to remove the ash but leave some of the char gives a nice fine line for the caulking.  It's been glued down into position and still needs some more light sanding to remove a bit of smoke stain and also to smooth out decking's surface.
 
Hopefully, tomorrow's efforts on the aft midsection (the next section forward) will yield good results.  I think it'll go a bit faster once I get into the rhythm of things.  It may seem like more trouble, but with the tapered planks on the deck I think this can produce a more uniform planking than trying to mark up the beams with the tapered widths and match them. 
 

 

Thank you for following along on this adventure and for the comments and "likes"....
 
Update weekend...
 
I've added the carlings where there will be a hatchway or ladderway.  Since the French laid their planks and then put the coamings ontop of the deck planking, the carlings will seen.   I've also added the mast partners, the capstan partner (I think that's the right term) and have started making bits and pieces while sorting out the deck planking.   The officer's ladder from the gundeck to the lower deck can be seen laying on the beams, the crew's ladders are in work and both fit in between the main mast partner and the oven on the lower deck.    I was 1/16th of an inch off on the making of the various deck pieces and planning the centerline planking (thick stuff).  It should be 3/32" of an inch instead of the 1/8" I mentioned previously... a miscalculation on my part.  I left the mizzen mast partner at the thicker size to better fit the pantry around it.   
 
Pictures show things ready for the next step.  The second picture is just a reference shot with dummy masts and the capstan in place to get an idea of things...  
 
 

 

 
As always, comments, corrections, and critiques are welcome. I'm still learning this art...
 

Patrick,
 
I used a ball mill and the mill with my fixture for doing profiles.   I think I posted this once before but here it is again.
 

 
 
Hi Vivian,
 
Thanks for the comment and it's great to see you back.  I hope you can get back to your models.

Minor update to show that all is not folly and folderol...  
 
The waterways are completely in and the beams marked with the centerline, the carling locations for hatches and mast partners, and also for the line where the center thick stuff will end and the normal deck planking begins.  (See the first photo).
 
I also ran a test using cutoffs from the beams, I made a "fixture" for lack of a better word.   I cut some 1/8" cherry and tacked it to the beams to see if there's any issues using the laser to cut the planking.  Nope... even leaves a nice black line for the caulking (see the last two photos) and with care, I should have some better planking than if I tried to sand/plane in the taper, etc. .  Also there's a bit of waterway to show the profile.  
 
Tomorrow (or however long it takes) will be devoted to cutting and fitting the carlings.
 

 

Nice work Mark, you must be looking forward to getting her out of that straight jacket.
 
Michael

Thanks for the comments and the "likes".  
 
The best laid plans of mice and men... an Admiralty meeting.  We discussed progress and plans then "if I can't see it, why do it?  You'll save a couple of months, right?".   "Err.. yes.  But I want to do it because it's there.  I'll know it."  Well, so much for argument.  It's her ship and I'll do it.  
 
So,.. I scraped the planking, added the oven and mizzen mast step and applied a coat of Wipe on Poly.   And then moved to the gundeck.  
 
Beams are in and the furniture on deck was salvaged from Version 1.  It's all destined for the scrapbox except for the riding bitts.  I just decided I can do better.   There's a dummy bowspit in place.  Carlings need to be added at various hatchways.
 
So... 4" of deck planking (except the center area which is 8") and 4" for the coamings.  4" thick coamings for the hatches on top of the 8" center area.  What else... planking will follow the French style of following the hull lines.  And the ceiling.   
 
Sorry for thinking out loud...   There's a pantry around the mizzen mast and rudder lines, a "cabinet" around the rudder, a step/storage at the transom along with all the other furniture on the gundeck.  The partition for the wardroom/Great Room is on the table as far as possible.  It was removable as was the captain's and executive officer's bedplace.   I won't get into all the politics and issues with the wardroom not being the Captain's cabin, roundhouses (Captain's bedplace and dayroom), etc.  
 
I'm done babbling.... I have my work cut out for me so here's pics.....
 

 

 

Thanks for looking in and either "liking" or commenting.  
 
Just a bit of an update.  Forgive me if I get longwinded as I'm thinking outloud here... and open to suggestion.
 
We're still slogging away at planking the lower (orlop) deck.  Thankfully, I have a Proxxon Belt Sander which makes tapering the planks go quickly and accurately.  I do finish fitting using sanding sticks though as a few times, things have got away from me ended up chewed up and across the room.  Fumble fingers I am.
 
The deck will still need serious sanding but that's on hold until after it's planked and the ceiling has been put it.  My thinking is why clean up two messes when I can do the whole thing once and clean up once.   
 
The mizzen mast step is in for location only and not glued.
 
This whole process has me thinking   further ahead than normal.. like the next two decks worth.  I should install two beams/carlings at each hatchway first then fully plank and cut out the hatchways after planking. The center planks do need to be tapered also (the raised planking) The hatches need to sit on top of the deck planks.  <facepalm>  I've also discovered that not all the hatches on this deck and the gundeck have grates.  Many have planks over the hatchways instead of grates.  
 
I'm also fiddling with plans and seeing if I can copy the Belle Poule planking scheme onto them.  This will let (hopefully) me cut the deck planks from a sheet of wood using the Deathstar.  The Great Cabin is still being researched.  The Belle Poule had a lozenge type parquet deck there.  Some other 8 pdr and 12 pdr frigates, just had straight planks...  so  I may end up flipping a coin.  Nah... I'm leaning towards the parquet and again, running the pattern up in Corel and lasercutting it.   I find I'm getting lazy in my old age.
 
Then there's the partitions on this deck and the gundeck (only 1 there) plus the cabins and storerooms.  I'm working on drawings to make templates for these.   It appears that the partition on the gundeck for the Great Cabin wasn't removable.  I'm still looking for info on this.  As a sidenote, the Great Cabin was a wardroom and not the Captains cabin.  There was a removable canvas partition in the center area for his bedplace which was taken down every morning.  The cabin itself and the quarter galleries was used by all the officers as a common room for meetings, rest, and meals.  There was a lot of complaining about this by the officers and even more after the edict was passed that roundhouses for the officers on the aft castle were not allowed.  They were allowed (unofficially) for awhile but had to be temporary in nature.  At the time of her capture, Licorne had quite a few which probably affected her handling.  I'm not putting those on as to my eye, they detract from her lines and appearance. 
 
I don't have the problem on this deck, but on the next up, using the Deathstar will let me mark accurately where all the eyebolts go around the main mast.
 
Anyway, enough out me.  Any thoughts or insights are, as always, appreciated.
 

Nice progress Mark and who cares about a little sanding, you get paid by the hour - - - - right?
 
Cheers,

Jerry
 
hello I am new to your clan of followers.  I am building a larger version of Bluenose that could possibly sail. making things strong enough to sail and look good is hard and there is lots of struggling on my part.  I love looking around and seeing how you and others attacked various issues.  Your seizing that you did a few posts ago looked great and it really comes through as you are now getting her together.   
 
good luck
 
regards 
 
jon

Hello Lawrence..
Many thanks for your visit and nice comments.  I will certainly take your advice as it is the same as the ORDERS I have received from the admiral.  She said that the last thing she needs is a husband who has to be helped gluing dead eyes and blocks in place.
 
So it's time for a northern trip again.  Charlene joins me in wishing you both a very enjoyable holiday and hope you both come back well rested and happy.
 
Yes, I am moving along with the build; I guess I'm trying to make up for lost time.  I'm working on the main mast now getting the shrouds and stay hung.  This is the first time i have ever rigged these lines on the bench.  It seems to work well except that there are lines hanging all over the place.
 
So have a great time and stay healthy and well.
 
Best,
Jerry  (and Charlene)