JerseyCity Frankie

The ship in the color photo is the El Galion, a modern vessel with significant authenticity issues, in my opinion. I would caution anyone to second guess anything you find on that ship.

The model is finished!   I made an ensign which I’m flying from the gaff.  I followed Chuck Passaro’s method from his log about his new kit of the Queen Anne Barge which can be found at ‘https://modelshipworld.com/index.php?/topic/12476-syren-ship-model-company-news-and-forthcoming-new-projects-products/&page=9’.  His method worked and I’m really pleased with the flag. 

A few words about American ensigns during the Revolutionary War:  According to the US Navy ‘American Navel Flags of the Revolution’ web site, the Continental Congress in 1777 ”passed an act establishing a national flag for the United States of America.  The law specified the flag have thirteen stripes and a blue ‘cannon’ of thirteen stars.  No further details were specified.”  This lead to several variants of navel ensigns, the most famous being John Paul Jones’ ensign with red, blue and white stripes and eight pointed stars.  For my last model I decided to use the ensign flown by John Barry on the US Alliance which had 7 white stripes, 6 red stripes and eight pointed stars.  For the Rattlesnake I’m using a “common variant” of 7 white stripes, 6 red stripes and five pointed stars arranged in a unique pattern.   I guess I like being different.   But I am the captain.





(Notice that I neglected to trim some lose threads attaching the ensign block to the gaff.) 

More Photos:


 
 

Team Niagara! I’m building the Model Shipways Niagara kit too. I’m building mine as the SV Niagara sail training ship of the present day, not the 1812 version the kit is aiming for , so I’m using this exact color on my hull of the modern antifouling paint in the above photo. My hull planks go in and out of visibility in various places on the hull but they are mostly faired smooth.  Regardless of the color you go for, the planks could be visible or not, In my opinion. Niagaras hull is very shallow draft and curves inward right away from the waterline which makes it difficult to view. The second photo shows the marine growth, likely one years worth. 

I love this subject, Scottish Maid is a very worthwhile vessel to build. Congratulations on overcoming your planking problems the results you achieved from such a rough foundation is amazing! We’ve got the best hobby ever, don’t you think? 

Team Niagara! I’m building the Model Shipways Niagara kit too. I’m building mine as the SV Niagara sail training ship of the present day, not the 1812 version the kit is aiming for , so I’m using this exact color on my hull of the modern antifouling paint in the above photo. My hull planks go in and out of visibility in various places on the hull but they are mostly faired smooth.  Regardless of the color you go for, the planks could be visible or not, In my opinion. Niagaras hull is very shallow draft and curves inward right away from the waterline which makes it difficult to view. The second photo shows the marine growth, likely one years worth. 

I can’t imagine anyone would do all the intense labor to form every individual copper sheet so as to fit the topography of the klinker hull. I doubt you could put a flat piece of copper over the planks and then hammer the copper over its entire surface, hammering it into shape to fit perfectly. I Imagine if you attempted this on a real hull  your results would be very inconsistent and maybe you wind up damaging the hull too? 

Mice and Anchor Buoys
I needed some mice for the stays so I made them out of polymer clay. As long as I was at it I made two anchor buoys. The mice are very tiny. It was hard to get consistency so I made a bunch and used the best.


I couldn't find drawings for the anchor buoys on the Caldercraft plans. They're probably there somewhere, but I built two using the Syren plans.

You are going to laugh, you are not the first one to ask this and actually there are already some left-overs spread in several builds around the world :-)
 
Cheers, Daniel the destroyer!

Finally finished the step. 
Small tip in between: If all sides are stabilised with CA, one can cut 0,25 slices with the resin saw from a wooden 4 mm batten :-)

What that for? For the sheaves in the mast :-)
And that brings us back on the track. Foretop and fore topmast done.




And here compared with the "original"


Especially the wrong angle is corrected :-)


And the new detailing. The cheat in the heel is corrected, sheaves and a decent lock are fitted and the cap is made smaller, as it was the same size as the main cap.


XXXDAn
 

After doing the maintop, just wanted to smarten up the foretop to make some castings, as I still need several of them for some tests ;-)
Then realised that my standards improved since the top was first done. So when trying to dissemble the top it proved not a useful base any more, so a fresh construction was a must - at least for me.
Perhaps one remembers earlier posts. The top Heller supplies is quite ok, just an old version, that was only used until 1802 (and displayed on all models I know since the 1920ies). An admiral order from 1802 states to fit a top of two halves on big ships, as they are easier to replace. As the Vic was rigged in 1803 and could be considered as a big ship, so I dared fitting one, better saying two halves ;-)
Based on Lees and other sources, there should be sleepers on the top of the top with half the thickness of the crosstrees, reinforcements on the rim and a different scheme for the battens.
So got the Heller top naked, reinscribed the planking and fitted the missing bits and made new and slimmer holes for the irons.

To cut the crosstrees and the sleepers, I used a vice and with a single cut it was done.

And then a small orgy with Evergreen and the new top was done and a bit more crisp than the old version :-)





Anyway, Heller keeps surprises me, as on the "original" top the complicated planking scheme, with up- and downside looking different, was faithfully done :-)
XXXDAn

Time to start a new model. Made in Rockland, Maine in 1853, the Red Jacket was a clipper ship, one of the largest and fastest ever built. She was also the first ship of the White Star Line company. She was named after Sagoyewatha, a famous Seneca Indian chief, called "Red Jacket" by settlers.She was lost in a gale in 1885.On her first voyage, Red Jacket set the speed record for sailing ships crossing the Atlantic by traveling from New York to Liverpool in 13 days, 1 hour, 25 minutes, dock to dock. That record still stands today for commercial sailing vessels.
 
The BlueJacket kit has 5 sheets of plans. Sheet 1 has the pre-carved hull laid on top of it. This is going to be a large model! (41" LOA)

Walnut second planking done

My naive attempt to forego filler went by the board as thin gaps appeared when sanding. She has gone from looking like firewood to actually looking more like a ship now:) Had many problems fitting bulwarks and waterways but now fitted and ready for detail filing/sanding to finalise a  closer fit.
I'm in a dilemma as to wether to fit the keel before or after my second walnut planking. I will surely need to do some filling to ensure a perfect fit between the keel and false keel. Do I risk marking my planking with the filler or plank over the top of the sanded filler?
I have only experience of two kits but must say how superior the Artisan kit is ( but twenty plus years old so may be a better quality than now) to the new Billings Bluenose I have finished. The wood is higher quality and more plentiful plus there is no plastic to be seen. The Billings had many plastic parts. Including dead eyes which were badly formed and poor quality wood.

I can’t imagine anyone would do all the intense labor to form every individual copper sheet so as to fit the topography of the klinker hull. I doubt you could put a flat piece of copper over the planks and then hammer the copper over its entire surface, hammering it into shape to fit perfectly. I Imagine if you attempted this on a real hull  your results would be very inconsistent and maybe you wind up damaging the hull too? 

I bet it was cold in Canada this morning! Congratulations on your Victory it looks great. Rigging! The other half of ship model building and my favorite part!

I can’t imagine anyone would do all the intense labor to form every individual copper sheet so as to fit the topography of the klinker hull. I doubt you could put a flat piece of copper over the planks and then hammer the copper over its entire surface, hammering it into shape to fit perfectly. I Imagine if you attempted this on a real hull  your results would be very inconsistent and maybe you wind up damaging the hull too? 

For my part should be explained.
The photo shows a model from the Central Naval Museum in St. Petersburg.
Model cutter  with a brig sailing. The figure is the god Mercury.
1/24 scale
Model made in the 19th century
 
According to the museum, this is the model of the cutter-brig "Mercury", which was bought in England in 1788, and which in 1789 captured the Swedish frigate "Venus".
I found in the archives information that after the purchase in England, this cutter was immediately sheathed with copper on the Thames River in private shipyards, why its arrival in the Baltic Sea was delayed a few months from the plan
 
That is why I have a question.
On the one hand there is a museum model with clinker, and on the other it is known for certain that there was a copper plating.
And where is the truth?
 
My personal opinion is that - probably, the creator of the model was wrong when he made clinker.
Sailing equipment on the model is shown as of the 19th century, not at the time of purchase of the cutter in 1788
 
P.S. Long stored in a warehouse in the basement. The condition is very deplorable.
Now the model is under reconstruction in the museum.

I can’t imagine anyone would do all the intense labor to form every individual copper sheet so as to fit the topography of the klinker hull. I doubt you could put a flat piece of copper over the planks and then hammer the copper over its entire surface, hammering it into shape to fit perfectly. I Imagine if you attempted this on a real hull  your results would be very inconsistent and maybe you wind up damaging the hull too? 

I can’t imagine anyone would do all the intense labor to form every individual copper sheet so as to fit the topography of the klinker hull. I doubt you could put a flat piece of copper over the planks and then hammer the copper over its entire surface, hammering it into shape to fit perfectly. I Imagine if you attempted this on a real hull  your results would be very inconsistent and maybe you wind up damaging the hull too? 

Work on the hull continues.  I installed the wales and then the planking above the lower wale.  I intended to use the same hull color pattern as Clare, but I didn’t have any ⅛ inch walnut.  So I decided to use boxwood above the wales and walnut below. I also found that I had to edge bend the lower wale in order to get to sit right at the bow.  I figure that I might as well start practicing the edge bends since I’ll be doing a lot of that when planking the rest of the hull. I also carved the fashion pieces.  They weren’t that bad - I just made them longer than necessary to make the bending easier. Also, if you look closely, you can see that I applied a natural color stain to the stem to bring out the color of the walnut.


I sanded and applied polyurethane.  (There is no polyurethane on the stem yet.)  Next up is creating a hull planking plan and then on to the edge bending.
 

Thanks for the advice Jim.
 
I had both the black and blue one in the house.
After 5 minutes using the black followed by the blue one it looks much better already.
 
The sharp bend near the counter that was there is now all smoothed out.
Looks like a little bit filler and it will all blend in nicely.

Port side is now complete, I'm happier with how it turned out compared to the starboard side.
 

Completed the starboard planking above the wales.
Satisfied with how the bow came out.
Generally the planning looks ok, not great.
Could have done a better job around the gun and sweep ports. I'll make a jig for the other side so that they are more evenly spaced. I guess this side will be to the back when displayed.


 

 
 
 
 
 
 

Copper plating of the hull finished, will need to roll over a couple of the bumps still.
 
While not a 10 on the plating, for my first effort I'm pleased with the result.
 
Need to work on the rudder next.
 

Completed planking. Several rounds of sanding concluded with 400 grit sandpaper and Wipe on Poly. I do like the look of the maple when finished. 
 
I am disappointed with the outcome of the repairs and this planking result. I think there were several mistakes leading to this such as impatience, oversanding, and not properly fairing the hull at the bow, 
 
The Pinnace is much more difficult to plank than the Longboat. I think the length and shape of the hull make it difficult to plank. There are several twists and turns as a result. 
 
So the question we must ask is this: do we redo? If I was building this as one of the boats for my Confederacy, I would redo. However, after three months of planking this, I will move forward. To get the planking to the level I want would force me to start the entire planking over. 
 
I'm looking forward to the more fun parts of this project. 
Steve