lraymo

Just discovered your build log! Nice work so far... I'll need to follow along!

When I get to the stage where I need to work with blocks, I will be coming back to your log for a tutorial! Everything looks good!

Thanks Keith, Eric, for the words of support. I finally got some relief at a chiropractor appointment today, and will go a few more times to get the issues resolved. But very sorry, Eric, that you're in pain. It's not a fun club to be in! And sounds like you might be down for awhile, for which I am sorry, but hope you heal up as fast as possible!

Scuppers created. Had to "redo' the waterway for the fore port & starboard scuppers, bg ut it turnned out ok. I've had lots of time to work on the ship, ever since I somehow hurt my back and side last week. Lots of pain, alleviated by pain pills, which make me tired (and keeping me off the road)... so mostly I've been working on the Phantom between medical appts. Ugh. Hoping tomorrow's chiropractic appointment gives me some relief. But at least I can work on the ship the last few days, and I'm happy with the results/progress so far!

It all looks soooo good!

The waterway has been installed! Needed to do alot of tweaking on this. if I had just put the waterway strips (basswood 1/32" thick) on top of the deck, I realized I would be left with very little room for the stanchions (apparently I didn't sand the deck down far enough!). So I cut away part of the deck to make a channel for the waterway. But still, this didn't leave enough room for stanchions. So I went ahead and recessed the channel lower than the deck, (which I thought made sense, since the water would drain better anyway!), and installed the waterway in its recessed channel. I think it looks ok, and a fairly good fix rather than having to rip up the deck, sand the hull down, and order new decking material to start over. For a fix, I like how this came out! (except along the stern, but hopefully some wood filler will cover some of the flaws!). This was lots of extra work, but fun to figure out how to fix it. I also dry-fit the bowsprit to make sure the notch in the bulwarks was the right size. Scupper holes are next, now that I'm satisfied with the deck and waterway!

Keith, I went on a bit of a shopping spree for sanding sticks! bought these foamboard sticks, and then these plastic "band" sticks with replaceable sanding bands. Very cool, I like both kinds!

Lots going on here on this snowy day in Kansas City. I wanted to re-do the waterway in wood, rather than manila folder (thanks Keith for the idea). I didn't have any 1/16" x 1/32" strips, so I cut down a couple of 3/32" x 1/32" strips from the kit to the right size. Those strips in the kit were designated for the cap rail, but the cap rail is supposed to be 1/8" thick, so I am re-purpose-ing them for the waterway! Meanwhile, the author of the instruction manual suggests taking a piece of 1/32" thin basswood sheet and cutting out a continuous cap rail. So I traced the contours of the bulwarks onto the basswood sheet. The cap rail is supposed to be 1/8" wide but the author said to make it bigger, which I did. I can tweak the width as I "finish" it! Then I used a sharp blade and cut freehand the cap rail in one piece! I was happy with the result, even though it split a couple times. And I'll have to sand it down to the correct width. Using the middle "scrap" piece, I bent my newly-created waterway strips along the outside as a form, and then soaked it in hot water hoping it will keep the curved shape of the deck. (In keeping with the "kitchen-as-workshop" theme, I am using the microwave dish as a platform to soak the wood!) Last pic is the dry-fit of the cap rail, which will take alot of sanding and finishing still, but I'm hoping it will be ok. And of course I need to do the stanchions somewhere in-between the waterway and the cap rail! After posting this next pic, suddenly I have a desire for fish for dinner! I simply laid the cap rail on top of the ship. It will take alot of work to get it in its "finished" form.

Keith, I'd like to take credit for ingenuity, but it's actually what the instruction manual says to do! I like your suggestion much better, though, and I'll look into it. Seems it would make it easier and would look better too! (Not sure why my pics have a pink tint... I don't like the camera on my phone... I may invest in a better one!)

Wow, looking good! Love the Cap Rail. What size strips are you using?

Bulwarks are thinned, deck is in place, and step is installed. Trying to do the waterway now, made out of manila folder, but my ability to use a blade "freehand" to create the 1/16th inch wide waterway is suspect. This first attempt (I will install 4 sections, fore and aft, port and starboard) is just placed in for show, but is not glued, and I think I will redo it. The side that's against the bulwarks is good but getting a matching 1/16" edge is proving troublesome.

Ohmigosh! These look fantastic! Ditto with the other commentators... not sure how these can be improved upon! They look perfect already!

I was going to call this "Epic Fail", but I remembered you guys told me not to be too hard on myself! And actually, considering how the hull came out of the box, I am happy with the amount of "thinning" of the bulwarks I was able to do, before screwing up the stern! Here's the story. Thinning was going along fairly well, till I chopped up the stern. It just kept breaking off in little chunks as I tried to carve out the wood. So I "fixed it" by trying to create a bulwark out of extra pieces of wood and wood filler. The last picture shows the progress so far, and I've sanded the stern. It's not perfect, but its ok for now, and I've moved on to the bow, where I've managed to break up as well. So more wood filler and crazy glue in my future. And hopefully, my next post will show a completed bulwark, fixed on both ends, sanded, and ready for the decking! By the way, I purchased a set of sanding sticks! What a lifesaver! This is what I started with: This is where things went awry... I tried to fix the stern with little pieces of scrap wood, crazy glue, and wood filler And finally, this is where it stands today. I'm happy with the "thinning" so far. Sorry for the non-rotated pic. It won't let me rotate it for some reason!

Wow, Keith! Just wow! I'm so impressed and can't wait to see which way you go (love the cards to let you see what each would look like). I agree with all the comments that whichever way you go, it will be the best!

Great to hear, Keith. I've been using mine also (it held my ship hull at just the right angle to do the coppering!) Do you also have special magnifiers to work on such small parts? I wear glasses, and i bought a magnifying glass with an led light, but my eyes still get tired. So yesterday I bought a headset that hold magnifying lenses out in front of my glasses, and I'm hoping it will help with eye strain. But your details are so small, I wondered if there's anything special you use to see your work!

Thanks for the info. I've put in my Amazon order! And I'll probably buy more as I continue this journey. I still need to use the blades to continue to thin the bulwark. I've already whittled a bit too aggressively in some spots, but a little wood putty will fix it!

Wow, Keith! Amazing! Your detail work is fantastic! Also, it looks like you are using the Workmate Vise you found on ebay. Cool! Are you liking it?

Hey Keith, thanks for the link to the Keystone sanding products. What a wealth of info! I had made a few sanding sticks earlier, but the shape and sizes weren't very efficient. From amazon, I will order these ($13 is a bargain, considering I'm not very good at making my own!)

Thanks @Keith Black and @BrianK for the positive words! I appreciate your comments! So now I'm moving on to sanding the bulwarks and I have a question. I've managed to carve the bulwarks to about1/16th thick, and now they're supposed to be sanded down to 1/32" thick. Question: Is there any other way to sand the inside of the bulwarks other than wrapping a piece of sandpaper around my finger? Suggestions? Thanks!

Coppering is finished! Both sides of the hull completed, and I was happy with the pic from straight overhead, which shows that the two sides mostly match! Yay! Next up is "thinning the bulwarks". The instructions point out this may be the most difficult part of the project, so I'm a bit intimidated. But I've seen @SkiBee's work, and my goal is to be able to do something similar, with his build log as a guide!

Started coppering the other half of the hull. @Cathead I'm working on doing a better "sweeping curve" this time! And @BrianK, I am a rank beginner, but thanks for the kind words! Also, @Keith Black let's nip that "coppertone" nickname in the bud! Teehee!

Great job finding the solution! Glad you didn't stew about it. I do that sometimes, and I end up more frustrated than at the beginning! Impressive, and good luck with the next 91 !

I've finished coppering ONE SIDE of the hull, and I'm excited about how it turned out! It was tedious putting each little copper "plate" on, but after awhile, it turned into a Zen-like experience! First, I decided that cutting little 3/8" pieces and trying to peel of the backing was just too tiny for my fingers, so I ended up cutting a 5" strip of copper tape, peeling off the back and laying it down on my work table, then slicing into the smaller pieces, and using tweezers to pick up and lay them on the hull. I've included the hull pics and a couple of close-ups, but if anyone has any suggestions or feedback before I start the other half, that would be cool! Thanks!

Wow! I just read your saga of 1.0, 2.0, and finally 3.0 success! What a journey! I'm impressed with your ability to overcome frustrations... you must've taken others advice to step back, take a break, etc, because 3.0 looks fantastic. Congratulations! At some point, my little model is going to have me attempting deadeyes... I'm going to have to come back here for inspiration!

Very good point, Eric! What's funny is that I thought I WAS making a "sweeping curve", but when done, it certainly looked exactly like a straight line! I liked your mark-up of the curve, and it helps me to visualize what to do! Thanks!