iMustBeCrazy

Well, I did get a little more done, another oar and the tiller: Oh, and a little more playing around:

No physical work going on as I pinched a nerve in my wrist, it's getting better though. Meanwhile, a virtual diorama:

Update time: Knees are all finished but not fitted (except the transom). Ironwork is done, fitted and functional but needs the paint touched up. What has slowed me down is trying to come up with oars that I like (and can make). I think I'm happy with the look but still need to make a set that match.

I'm happy enough, and yes, I dislike seeing frames on cutters and ribs on launches or frames poking through as knees.

Thanks Allan. However, the ribs are spaced at 12" where 8" would probably be more realistic. Also contemporary sketches show I could have used heavier ribs. Oh well, live and learn. Some progress, there's about an hour in each knee.

It feels like I'm getting close now. Just knees, rudder, sail?, oars, cleat, mast clamp then clear coat.

More progress and a little more mocking up.

A quick mockup with black washboards. Yes they will be matt black.

Allan, you've sold me, it's not as pleasing to my eye (I think it would look better at station D ) but it's probably right.

Does anybody think this is wrong? To me it looks like that's what they intended.

Allan, the only knowledge we have about the small cutter is that it was smaller than the large cutter and that it leaked, that's it. To that we add McKays assertion that it was 16ft long but where he got that from I do not know. So this is my best guess as to what she may have looked like, I think it's a good guess but I'm biased. Notched risers are shown on many/most drawings and make sense so I have included them. Thank you for your kind words.

Quite happy with the washboard fillers, much neater. I'm thinking of painting the washboards black to break up all that brown. And will somebody remind me to dust and vacuum it before I clear coat.

Some progress and playing with ideas. Fillers along the washboards to tidy up the end of the ribs and under the tholes. The quarter deck will get slightly rounded sides to fix that hard straight line.

Looks a bit like a boat: And as light and fragile as an egg shell.

Getting close to cutting her free, just need to work out exactly how I'm doing the washboards:

Progress continues on Deja Vu. A few more strakes added, just about reaching the point where you can see a boat there somewhere.

Work continues: The remaining planks are being spiled, that is shaped to the curve of the previous plank by measuring and cutting. It's a bit tedious. 1/ Scotch Magic tape is placed along the previous strake. 2/ Pencil marks are made of the edge of the previous strake at each station, transom and stem. 3/ The tape is removed and stuck on to a print of a homemade grid. 4/ The locations on the grid are transferred to the same grid in CAD. 5/ Adjustments are made allowing fore the strake overlap, 5/8th inch at the ends and 1 inch for the rest. 6/ A curve is drawn joining these points. 7/ Three new points are added below this curve at the transom, station 0 and the stem for the calculated width of the strake at those points. 8/ A curve is drawn joining these points. 9/ This is printed, cut out and test fitted to the previous strake (if it's not right start again Note in the pic that 4a (blue) has a kink at the red arrow and was rejected). 10/ Scotch Magic tape is placed on the board (sanded both sides) board stock and the printed strake is glued to the tape (the tape removes cleanly and the same printed strake can be use for the other side) 11/ The plank is cut to the share of the printed strake. Mark station 0 in some fashion. NOTE: The strakes are longer than the paper (A4) so continue the curves a bit further. 12/ Ditto for the other side. 13/ Both planks are stained and primed (interior side) with diluted PVA. 14/ Fit to the hull (sounds easy doesn't it).

Progress is mostly in the right direction, but much much slower than with balsa and CA. Didn't use enough glue in places but that's being fixed. Broke one rib which would have been less of a problem if I didn't run over it with my chair before I noticed. Lucky I had a spare. The interior is being stained prior to each strake being fitted, the exterior will be stained properly later. I slapped some paint on the balsa version just for the heck of it:

The test fitting showed a few of the moulds needed sanding so the the ribs didn't protrude above the false keel so that's been done, the ribs (except 6,7, F and G) have been glued to the moulds at their ends and to the keel. Ribs 6 and 7 will need to be glued to the keel first and then the moulds after that has dried. Moulds F and G have been made with false ribs and cant ribs will be fitted after the hull is remover from the jig. The cling film will stop me gluing the hull to the jig and hasn't caused any problems - yet, I will probably have to slit it between the moulds at some time to make clamping easier.

Third (and last I hope) jig is complete, assembled and glued to a board. Some other bits test fitted.

I think I'm going to have to name her the Deja Vu. I just have this feeling that I've been here before.

Progress continues, all the moulds have been tweaked in CAD, printed, glued to MDF and roughly cut out so I am / will be building what I hope is the final jig. The material for the ribs has been sanded on all four sides and the corners have been rounded off. They have also been stained (with a spirit based stain), steamed and bent or broken over the moulds of jig one ( yes I made spares). I haven't yet painted them with diluted PVA as I was thinking they may stick to the jig, but I was also thinking of covering the jig with cling film to stop the boat from sticking to the jig so I will probably paint the ribs anyway.

Allen, there is a very slight bevel the full length (or there is supposed to be), just enough so the overlaps sit together, then for about a foot each end there is a tapered or increasing 45 degree* bevel giving a carvel like join at the stem and transom but with 45 degree* edges. I still need more practice at that bit. * Nominal.

I knew I'd jinx myself, strake 6 (counting the garboard as 1) needs a little tweaking, about 3/8" (full scale) on four moulds. Not much but worth fixing. Meanwhile, I have been positioning the strakes with a 1" overlap using pins but I won't want to do this with the real model. So I am now using spacers from the keel (under the outer rubber bands in pic 1). These will be best pre-bent so I'm using scrap moulds to do this (pic 2), lucky I made them. I'm also using a scrap mould to pre-bend a strake (pic 3) the balsa is a bit brittle otherwise.

Added the first two tapered strakes, there will be nine a side if it works. I've learned I don't have enough hands and that's using balsa and CA. I'm pleased with the fairing so far, no lumps or bumps..