canoe21

Hello Lawrence..
Yep, it feels great to be back in the shipyard and working away on the Bluenose.  My eyes seem to be able to stand the strain of the mini works although I lose focus from time to time.  The doctor told me that would happen for about three months and then the focal point will settle in so that i can get  a prescription for glasses.  But I really am having fun.  I was able to drive to the doctor's office on Tuesday and that was another marker because for several weeks I felt like a prisoner in home arrest.  Best regards to the admiral and hope to visit with you one of thee days on Skype.  
Best,
Jerry

Behold my self inflicted misery! 

And so I invented the word "boaring". 
 
Well it's actually not that bad, only mediocre stamina involved so far.
Finished the turning and I'm now glueing on the side strips, so I think I'm doing pretty ok.
 
I lost 3 while turning, but I still have 61 left, so I can mess up another 3 down the road.
 
Today I received the 1:72 scale Greek hoplites from Caesar Miniatures. An obscure brand, but they're the nicest available. The Zvezda hoplites are ok also, but I don't need a charging phalanx...I only need a couple of hoplites at rest.
Truly beautiful are the Victrix miniatures, but they're 28 mm scale (at about 1:60), so I can't use them.
 
More about this on sunday or monday....until then...oars, oars and some more oars. 
 
More soon guys!
 
Robin

Here is the last little bit for today the aft hatch, again there is a lack of pictures. Not sure what I was thinking this past week but it certainly wasn't about photography  
 
 

 
 in this picture it is finished but I wasn't happy with how it looked. Where top meets up with the frame just did not look finished and I never noticed the chip in the front panel until it was too late............so here is my fix
 
 

 

 
 Added a handle and another step.............it's step week   . I think it looks ok, then I sprayed it with four coats of satin varathane.
 

 
 And the ladders for both hatches, both made from all kit material. I have cleaned off that piece of dust on the one rung after seeing this picture . These also have been sprayed four times
 
 So I guess it's now time for the deck, or I could do the masts  
 
Thanks for stopping in
 
Later

Hello All, Thanks to all those who have stopped in, given likes and for all the compliments. 
 With this post you may have the idea I am stalling on cutting open and planking my deck..............you are right!! But it hasn't been a total waste I have accomplished a little. 
 

 
Here I am making the porthole covers for the forward hatch, Simply a walnut dowel drilled out, then shaped with a sanding stick then parted(the wire is held in place to stop the piece from flying away)
 

 
I apologise for the lack of pictures but here it is almost complete with covers attached. The trim is walnut from the kit then finished with cherry. The front step was an addition I added as the height of the ledge would have been almost two feet, much too high when one's belly is full of grog or probably wine in the Adriatic    
 
 
 

 
Here I have laminated some 1.5 x 5 mm cherry then cut to size for the doors. Also I have made the hinges still needing some cleaning up and paint.
 
 

 
Doors attached and working. I first tried brushing on wipe on poly but not paying attention I broke off a door. After repairing door I decided that spraying was a safer option, so it has four coats in this picture

Good morning, Dr. Per..
Thank you very much.  All seems to be going well now and the model is moving along.  More stays to do today and then comes the main mast.
Take care,
Best.
Jerry
 
P.S.  Some additional pictures to bring the photos up to date...
 
 

Hello again..
Just a short note to say that I was able to work with the tiny dead eyes and managed to complete the rigging of the foremast shrouds with their lanyards.  Have a great evening everyone and..
Best,
Jerry

Hello Everyone.
 
I gave it a good try today and I'm happy to say, I believe I'm back in business.  I attached some dead-eyes to the starboard foremast shrouds today and although it was very slow going it felt so good to be able to get something done.  I had to make the spacing jig and even though it it very tiny the magnifying lamp came through and I was able to get it done.  Here are some pictures that will bring my progress to date but most importantly show me that I can get some things done even very slowly.
Best,
Jerry

Good morning everyone..
 
First I'd like to say hello to Dan...Thanks you for visiting my log and for your good wishes.  I hope you have much success with your Bluenose and enjoy the build as much as I am.  I look forward to watching your progress...
 
Dr. Per...So nice to hear from you again,  The Bluenose is popular indeed...and also a decent challenge.  At least that's what I'm experiencing.  Please call again..
 
Rick,,,I appreciate your visit and your very nice words.  Thank you so much for taking the time to write to my log.  I hope you have much success with your build and i'm very happy that my log may help you.  It's a pleasure to know that my efforts may pay off.
 
Bob... It's nice to meet new people so many thanks for stopping by and for your  nice comments.  Please come back again and watch me prod along toward the finish line.
 
As for progress, I have finished the foremast shroud dead eye attachments.  The next dead eye to be rigged is the 2.5mm one to be attached to the top mast shroud.  The fact of the matter is I can hardly see the darn thing, let alone rig it.  I hope my magnifiers will come through.  Here are a couple of pictures to illustrate what I'm ranting about.
 
Berst,
Jerry

Thank you all. I am having a fitful restart. Tried the blow dryer bending techniques and promptly broke the wood.   In 2 places.    Will need to trace the part onto some of the excess or else I will be requesting a new part from the fine folks at Model Expo.

Lawrence,
 
Ken is having a little off day, like me, but mine takes a wee bit longer

Well since people are showing up I guess it's time to get the party started. At present I do not plan on steam.  Here's the story.  You are at home with the boat at your dock and you say, to the admiral, at about 5:45. "Lets go across the river and have dinner at that nice restaurant."  Well first you have to go down to the boat and start a fire and oil every thing as you wait for the water to boil and produce a head of steam.  By this time the admiral is getting pretty hungry and has gone back up to the house to eat. Leaving you to do whatever you want, as long as it doesn't involve her.  No, steam is fun but it takes too long to get going. 
 
My plan is to build the clipper bowed one as a personal boat similar to the first picture.  The other may end up as an excursion boat with row seating inside. And now for the disclaimer.  Plans may change without warning.
 
Bob
 
This will have a clipper bow.

 
 

Back before anyone knew what a bucket list was, one of the boats on my bucket list was an  Edwardian_launch  Since I had not been able to find drawings of a launch I liked, I decided to design my own.  So out came the books and a few hours (days) later I have what I think will be a nice hull.  The cabin and seating will come later. 
 
As I was cutting out the bulkheads for the hull I happened to notice the 1:200 scale bulkheads for the Pequot that I had just finished.  They were what I started with before I changed to 1:100 scale.  As it turns out they are very similar to the 1:48 scale launch parts I had just cut.  My design has a clipper bow and the Pequot has a blunt bow but . . .  So I’ve decided to build two at the same time.  Something I’ve ever done before.  I expect to have fun finishing the design on both as I build.  As Popeye says “it’s in my head” .
 
Bob
 

 
 

Hello Jerry
Hope you're back in the shipyard before too much longer with 20 20 vision.
 
After my long absence I have returned to the shipyard very recently, restarting work on HMS Pegasus and I've also started  a new build with the Model Space HMS Victory on a monthly subscription. My Caldercraft Victory build is still on hold and I thinking about ditching it all together and restarting when the Chris Watton HMS Victory design is released, hopefully next year.

I am glad you are making a recovery.  Please take your time and do not strain yourself.  
David B

Hello Lawrence.
 
Real good to hear from you.  many thanks for your very nice words but your words are always nice and always appreciated.  I remember telling you and bernadette to get ready for the white etuff and bingo!  Here comes winter!
I can't tell you how anxious I am to get going on the ship model again but the work is still a little too minute for my eyes.  I try every day to see if i can get anything done but so far no good.  I'll keep trying and one of these days i'll be happily surprised and I'll be able to get going again.  Have a happy weekend and give my best regards to the admiral.
Best,
Jerry

I just finished a project to get an art show open
 
my poster.pdf
 
On the way home dropped into the fabric store looking for the right fabric and ended up in the wedding fabrics section and found a cloth that looked good but I'm not 100% on it yet mostly I want to do some experiments on the seams and eyelets or grommets.
 
First I used some rubber cement to glue the tabling
 

 
Then trimmed the edge the rubber cement stopped the material from fraying.
 

 
Then folded the tabling, I will also do one with the added tabling this will keep the cloth weave aligned.
 

 
The grommets are a little large these being 3/16 diameter which scale out to 1 1/2 inch, I will locate some smaller ones I know that smaller ones are made. I might end up making the ones I need.
 

 

 

 
These grommets were for a canvas cover on a 7/8ths scale model and worked well so I will have a go at making some with the backing ring, one of the issues with the tiny commercial grommets is that they do not have a backing ring.
neither do the ones I made, however for the sail to function well I want to ensure that the grommets are well seated through the layers of the tabling.
 

 

 

 

 
By making my own I can also set up any diameter that I need. the eyelets for traditional and cruising sailboats under 45 feet being size 3 or 1/2 inch diameter and for boats over 45 feet being size 4 or 5 5/8 to 3/4 diameter. these diameters are listed in the "Sailmaker's Apprentice" by Emiliano Marino ISBN 0-07-137642-9.
 
summer's coming and I do want to get the cutter sailing before summer is over.
 
Michael 
 
 
 
 

Hi Mark
 
Regarding the watercolours I did them It is a compilation of a series of sketches dome during a trip to Marble Canyon in the Canadian Rockies here is a link to an art show where I exhibited them and here is a couple of detail pics sorry about the colour it is still dark and the lighting was not great.
 

 

 

 
I paint and do the odd odd art in my spare time.  I have a watercolour show coming up in April in Edmonton
 
Now back to the cutter.
 
Patrick and Druxey thanks, Sometimes I let things sit for what often feels far too long,I suppose because in the back of my mind there is something that is just not quite right about it,( this is especially true when I am following my own design and not making a copy of something already built.) and then all of a sudden it seems I have the answer and it really doesn't matter about the previous effort it was just a step on the journey anyway.
 
Well that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Hi Bob and Lawrence, Thanks for your thoughts and concern. With so many different avenues of interest I sometimes feel a little divided, Almost like a lack of focus.  I can focus intensely for a period on one project, then get sidetracked and follow its course before remembering something on the original project, and so go back to it and the cycles repeat, and so it goes. If only there were 48 hours in each day....
Then there is house maintenance, and visiting, the afternoon nap... you understand.
 
Michael 

Thanks Lawrence, it has been slow here lately I think it is the lack of sunshine we have only had one day of sunshine since Oct 4. I may have to install a sunbed in order to pick up the pace around here

You are working your magic again Frank, real cool windows, doors and hole covers

It's great to see an update, Frank.  She's looking super.   It's a bit odd to see what looks like a balcony until one sees some of these Chinese ships.  The weathering is perfect.

UPDATE .......      Hi Lawrence ...Thanks for looking in and your nice comments.....Well it's time for another update!!  Slowly but surely things are coming together. All the deck pieces are finished, stairs, ladders, and a couple other thinks I added. The following pictures will bring you up to date with my progress. Again, thanks to all who stop by and comment, and thanks too for all of you that have pushed the "LIKE" button.
 
Frank
 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
This I over did the hole for the ring so I made something different.

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 
This is the window that came with the kit, I didn't like this so I made some other windows

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 
I added a couple posts on the stern upper deck to tie some rope railing

 
 
That's all folks!!.... Thanks for lookn in!!
 
Frank

Frank,
 
Don't know how I missed this, but your HMAT SUPPLY with barnacles on the hull is, well ridiculous SO PERFECT. What great work. I think that when it comes to aging and "wear and tear" looks your ships are the best that i have seen here at MSW, or anywhere else for that matter. Just went through your completed photos of that ship.
 
PSL Your Riverboat is also a treat.
 
Cheers,

Little UPDATE time....... pretty much finished up with the deck pieces....... wasn't to pleased with the wood used for the deck pieces, but
I wasn't about to make all new ones....... I do have a question that maybe some one out there might be able to answer ... in the following shots I'll point out what I'm talking about when we come to it... thanks for look'n in....
 
Frank
 
 
 
Rudder completed and attached
 

 
 
Tiller finished
 

 
 
capstan installed.... I didn't fully rig the guns, just a simulation
 

 
hoops formed for the poop deck cover
 

 
 
This picture is what I have a question for ... does any one know what  it's function is.... there are a few of these on the deck
 

 
 
This picture shows two of the previous pictures piece. the way these two pieces are set up on the deck
leaves no room for the crew to get to the bow of the ship, I cant imagine them trying to climb over these. take a look........
 

 

 
 
 
Now this is without them.. seems they could move about a little better without them.
 

 
 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 
 
Thanks  again for look'n in.....
 
Frank
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Hello Popeye and the rest of my friends at MSW.....
 
Once again I would like to thank everyone who expressed concern about my eye problem and to those who wished me good luck.  While I'm still not capable to work on my Bluenose I am able to see well enough to write this note and to post the pictures that I had accumulated before having my surgery; they represent my October work.   The recovery process continues well and the doctor estimates that my vision will be good enough to model build in about two more months.  I'm going to try and prove her wrong but we shall see.  (no pun intended.)
 
Here the pictures I have that were not posted yet.
 
I wish everyone a very happy weekend.
 
Best,
Jerry