The Bitter End

Good Morning Spygalss!(it is 0504 here) This is all starting to make sense. And I am genuinely warmed by the willingness of this community to help me. The detail you have put into this respose makes all the difference. THANK YOU! I do still have a couple of questions, which I hope you font mind answering. I know exactly what you are saying about the fact that I should be too worried about the rabbet as I am going to be coppering the Hull anyway. However I really want to get every single step as perfect as possible so I can learn for future projects. I am in no rush to get finished. I am a very patient man and I live in a very remote place with not much to do after the sun goes down. 1. I think I understand what you mean about leaving the one edge untouched on the bulkhead but how do you determine how much to take off on the other edge?is this just something that you eyeball as you go along? 2. What do you mean by "sort your fixing points out? are you referring to the contact surface between the first layer of planking and the bulkhead section? 3. I notice that you cut the rabbet for the stem at slope and not at 90 degrees(i dont know if this makes sense?) By the time I read this post I had already cut a rabbet at 90 degrees on the false keel should I cut it back to a slope? I know that I was probably not meant to cut a Rabbet at all but I have sort of crossed that bridge already. 4. Thanks again for that tip on bringing the first planking up the the bearding line on the stern. Am I correct in saying that these planks just get sanded so that they taper smoothly to the false keel? Regards Haiko

Day 2 updates and questions. Progress is very slow but I am really enjoying finding my feet. I have cut the rabbet(1.5mm "high" and 1.2mm "deep", leaving a strip of untouched wood down the middle of the false keel 2.5mm wide) and marked the bearding lines(just a fraction below the bottom edge of the last 3 bulkheads) and Pre-fitted the bulkheads. this leads me to my questions for the day. Do the Rabbet lines in the photos below look correct? I cut the rabbet lines at a 90 degree angle but I see some examples(like in the example so kindly posted by Richard above) where they are cut away at a slope. I realise that I still need to taper the stern from the bearding line to the edge of the false keel(I hope that's correct) My second and third questions are as follows. Is the bearding line marked correctly? Do i need to cut back the lower edges of the bulkheads so that they follow the same contour as the bearding line?

Hi Chris Thanks for your input! I feel like you might be right about this. What does however confuse me is why the likes of SkipW, Blue Ensign and Landlubber Mike went for the rabbet line. I am totally new to this so I dont know if that is just a design choice or if there is a "correct" way. EDIT- I just found out that you designed this model. I find myself quite amused by what Just happened "you MIGHT be right Chris" 😂😂 😂😂 sorry about that. No further questions. Cheers, Haiko

Hi again! Customs duty ended up being zero Rand. I only had to pay 15% VAT, which seems fair seeing as I didn't pay tax in Europe Thanks for getting those links for me. I will be bookmarking both and going through them in fine detail immediately.

Sorry about the delayed response, I just got back in. That is perfect. That is sort of what I was hoping. thanks again!

It is a bummer indeed haha I will pay careful attention to the framing. That is going to be a whole other challenge. Yes, I do have to glue what they referto as a "true keel" onto the edge of the false keel

Hi Richard Thank you so much for your response. This now makes perfect sense. The only problem is that I have is that the plans fail to indicate either a bearding or rabbet line. Is it appropriate to just run the bearding line right below the lowest point of the frames?

Good Evening All This is not the most positive way to start a build log but I guess it was to be expected for a newbie like myself. So I have finally received my HMS Pegasus from Amati. The box is barely open and I already have problems. This would be a great point to recommend a build log or other resource for this build. I have found many but Im struggling on that covers the finer details that a rookie like myself needs. The instructions make no reference to a rabbet or bearding line, I have however come across reference to this in virtually every single build log that I have read on the vessel. My extreme lack of experience has lead me to several questions regarding these two subjects. 1. Rabbet line: - Am I correct in saying that they should be cut from the very bow to the very stern(excluding the vertical portion of the stern as indicated between the red arrows) -Should this line be cut 1.5mm "tall" and 1.25mm "deep" on either side of the false keel? -Do I need to sand the true keel down from 5mm to 2.5mm to match the width of the false keel after being cut down for the rabbet line?(this doesn's seem to make a hue amount of sense but it seems like this is what some people have done on some of the photos that I have seen. 2. Bearding line: - how do I determine where to draw the bearding line? - should the false keel be tapered evenly from the bearding line down to the rabbet line? - the instructions say "the stern area of the false keel to which the rudder post will be glued is to be sanded to roughly half the original width" does this essentially mean that I should sand from the bearding line to the vertical portion of the stern as well as the rabbet line(so that it tapers to the edge of the keel both vertically and horizontally?) Thanks a million in advance!

Good morning Jim As a matter of interest what is the process for importing foreign timber into OZ? Is it even theoretically possible? It is ultimately a good thing that you guys have these kinds of regulation. I could probably DHL a school of live piranhas into South Africa and nobody would bat an eye.

Good Morning all I hope that I am not in contravention of the rules of MSW and if i am please let me know immediately and I will remove this post. (this is NOT about commercial gain, it is about limiting my waste and hopefully yours too) I am a fruit farmer in South Africa with access to an almost unlimited supply of fruit woods(Pear, apple, peach, apricot and plum). As it currently sits I use this wood for barbecuing, as there are mountains of it on the farm and on farms all around me and we are creating more ever day as we pull out old trees and plant new ones. This post consists of 2 parts, firstly, if there is anyone who would like some of this timber, either in block shape or a specific curve or curves please let me know and I will be happy to ship to you if you can cover shipping costs once the timber arrives at its destination. Secondly, I do not want any money for this wood BUT I am a new modeller and equipment can become very expensive very quickly, if anyone would like to trade old/used/damaged equipment/plans/parts for this wood I would really appreciate it. Please remember that the primary point of this is to not let tonnes of good pear wood go to waste so if you do need some and have nothing to trade for it please let me know and we can make a plan to get supplies to you. Kind Regards Haiko

Hello and Thanks Matt!

Good day to you kind sir! Thank you for your message. I will head over to the tools department shortly to start gathering all the advice I can(thanks for the link). As for the build log I think I will be making use of one to create a forum to help me through my challenges. I would like to say that I am remarkably impressed by this group of enthusiasts. I am yet to see a negative or unhelpful comment anywhere on here. even the most disastrous builds are revieved with kindness and helpfulness. It is an absolute pleasure to see in these times.

Good morning Tiger, thanks for the input and support. I think that it is so critical that I dont force myself through a portion of the build when things stop being fun, I will be sure to walk away and revisit each step when it feels right. As for the build log i think i might just do a "questions log" basically post with photos and a background to the issue every time I have a question about a portion of my build(i expect this will turn into a fairly comprehensive build log regardless)

Thanks Gramps!

Thanks for getting back to me Chris. I will do a couple of trials with soak times and heat/no heat and do a mini post about a novices ability to use each method.

Thanks Chris! I agree entirely that the hull planking looks like it might be the greatest challenge. Im hoping that I can learn the bulk of my lessons(without destroying the model) ont the first planking so that my second planking doesnt suffer too much. What is an appropriate soaking time for hull planking and should one then make further adjustments with the application of heat?

Good afternoon Mr. Roger Thanks for the positivity, I need all I can get. You are absolutely correct, I didn't even think about that. You might be horrified to hear that I use pear wood to braai(barbecue) on. If you(or anyone else in the hobby) ever need apple, pear, peach,plum or apricot wood I have access to an almost unlimited supply which you are most welcome to. Infact I am about to pull out 900 forelle pear trees if you are looking for fresh wood.

G'day to you Loupy I know Durbanville well, I grew up in the southern suburbs before moving into the karoo to farm. Its good to know there is someone so close to home to help, I think you can expect me to pick your brain on surviving this hobby in RSA where everything is just a little harder to get and takes just a little longer. I believe that I actually took a look at your build while doing my research. If Iremember correctly it is inspiringly beautiful. If you dont mind me asking, of the 47 months of work, were there long breaks inbetween or was it more or less constant chipping away? I hope you are mistaken about the customs bill according to the schedule there is no charge but who knows what is going to happen, the whim on the SA post office and customs has proven to be somewhat fluid.( I hope you can see the extract from the customs website below)

Jim Lad, thank you for the welcome. It seems like sharing a hemisphere makes us neighbors in this hobby. I hope you are enjoying the start of summer as much as I am.

Hi Bruce! Thanks for the support and kind words, I already have hundreds of questions but I decided for everones sanity that I should cross each bridge as I get to it and then patiently wait for replies before progressing to the next step in my build. DO you recommend starting a build log? and if so would that be an appopriate place to ask questions as I go?

Good day Gentlemen/women After much thought, research and deliberation(literally years of umming and aahing) I decided that I would bite the bullet and purchase a fairly challenging vessel to start my career in model ship building. I settled on the HMS Pegasus and I am extremely excited about getting started on it. I realise that any sane person would have started on something far more simple but my thinking is as follows... 1. I have prepared myself for what I expect to be a 2 year project. 2. The wealth of knowledge, willingness to help and attention to detail that can be found on this forum really gave me hope that I could work through this project and succeed. 3. I feel that every single element of doing this project is essentially very simple if it is broken down to its tiniest detail, every step is researched carefully and tackled without haste. 4. I like to think that I am fairly good with my hands. I do blacksmithing and carpentry both as hobbies and essential skills for a farmer in a remote part of South Africa. I hope that this somewhat simplified approach to this problem will turn out to be correct but the proof will be in the proverbial pudding. As of this moment I am still waiting for my model to arrive(I ordered directly from AMATI and paid 319 Euros including shipping). Unfortunately amati used a shipping company called Asendia who then handed the shipping over to the South African post office. This means that I can expect my package to arrive sometime within the next week or possibly during the next ice age. At this stage my primary means of securing my package is being on hold to the post office, checking my tracking number 380 times a day and thumb holding. In the meantime I have built a couple of simple tools to assist me and purchased the rest. The home made tools include. A "U" shaped desk(which through some bizarre negotiation with my girlfriend ended up being painted "teal"(thats blue to you and I)) An adjustable, lockable, rotating, swiveling, pitching, rolling keel clamp An adjustable keel rest (this is probably not the right term) And a guillotine with adjustable angles that takes a carpet knife blade. A plank bender made from a forged and polished chunk of copper and a soldering iron. I am not sure if there is a specific place where I should post photos and text about some of the tools that I made or if anyone would be interested in this but the information if available if anyone is interested. I also managed to get hold of a broken down scroll saw for a bargain and I restored it to a condition that im proud of. I have a dremmel stylus with a decent selection of attachments as well as the following bits and pieces Soldering Iron hand scroll saw razor saw multiple scalpel blade holders a variety of drawing equipment for technical drawig a variety of drill bits, sandpaper, clips, clamps, files, brushes, chisels blades, rulers, squares, clippers, cutters and pliers. If anyone has any questions, advice, suggestions or guidance for me(or perhaps a recommendation for which pegasus/fly builds to reference most) then I would be eternally grateful. Gods speed to you all! Cheers! Haiko(The Bitter End)