Mirabell61

Beautiful detail!

Build log part 18
 
 
 
 

foremast
 

 
 

one of the two main lower Yards with twinjackstays attached
 

 

 

Yard mounted to its place
 

 

 

 
 

Stern decoration with nameplate, and hometown badge (Kiel)
 
 
 
 
Build log part 19 to follow....
 
Nils

Build log part 16
 
 
 
 
 

roller for Yard hoisting / lowering chain (in mid mast)
 

bulls eyes inserted
 

checking mast angles and alignment
 

Fitting for taking up the chainplate (anchoring for the lower top shrouds)
 

 

top spars with access- ladder and devices for antenna and nav light attachments
 
 
 

 

 
 

belaying Points in deck area
 

 
 
 
 
 
Build log part 17 to follow....
 
Nils

build log part 24
 
 
 

Preparing for the captains Launch (Pinasse 9,2m )
 
 

the Yards have to allow bracing to utmost Position before they touch the backstays
 

checking alignment through topgallant platform before the final backstays are set
 

 
 

 

 

the boats Derrick attached to the mainmast
 

the mizzenmast bears no yards
 

have the most masting parts done...
 

the ventflaps for the scupper openings are attached
 

my master raft Containment template for moulding the semi halves
 
 
 
 
 
BUild log part 25 to follow....
 
Nils

build log part 23
 
Here the mizzen mast unpainted....
 
 
 

hooters, Radar station
 

 
 

 

 

lower platform antenna
 

top antenna
 

 
 

Mast top
 

middle gaff boom bearing
 

set of masts, yards
 
 
 
 
Build log part 24 to follow....
 
Nils

Great work.  Will the captains boat have a build log of it's own?
 
Bob

Hi everybody. Sorry for the really long delay in posting. I haven't been doing much modeling for some time now. Still working in Colorado waiting for the house to sell in Kansas so my wife and dogs can join me here. We looked into places to rent or lease-to-purchase here, but having 3 dogs puts a big limit on what is available. It's been nearly half a year now but we're very hopeful that next month our house will sell there and we can then buy here.
 
But let's get back to the boat! With all of my tools in storage I decided to work on the sail. I figured all I would need is some thread and a needle. No sweat, a couple of dollars tops. Umm. The cloth that came with my whaleboat kit was way too coarse. At scale it was more like a net than sail cloth! So I found some nice cloth that is about 72 threads per inch and bought a spool of thread. Less than 5 bucks - no biggie. In Model Expo's "To Build A Whaleboat" book, they show a method of making a sail where you simulate seams by folding a zig-zag pattern in the fabric. This is done by making closely spaced parallel lines at the sail's 'seams' and folding the fabric along the first line and then positioning the edge of that fold on top of the second line and then pressing it flat. This creates an overlap that looks pretty convincing. The book says to make the parallel lines 1/4" apart which results in a 1/8" overlap, but since that is for the New Bedford Whaleboat kit that is nearly twice the size as my kit, I made the lines 1/8" apart for overlaps that are 1/16" wide. A little white glue was put into the overlap with a toothpick before the final pressing to help hold it together for a very flat look. I have a little steel bar that I used as an 'iron' to press the creases and overlaps nice and crisp (no heat used).
 
Lines marked out and starting the 1st crease

 
Pressing the 1st crease

 
Folding the 1st crease to the 2nd line and gluing the overlap shut

 
Finished seam creases

 
 
So with all the seams pressed, I was ready to start stitching the seams. The book shows 2 parallel rows of stitches; one along each edge of the overlap. I made an extra practice seam on the opposite end of my sail cloth to try to get the hang of using a needle and thread. My wife is kind of excited that we may actually sit together and stitch some day! This is pretty tiny work and it needs to look good on both sides of the sail. My Optivisor sure would be handy for this, but it's in storage somewhere. My boss at work has let me borrow his magnifying head band that he uses for changing batteries in his watch collection. They really do help and I'm thankful.  Using the plastic lenses makes me appreciate even more the clarity of the optical glass lenses in the Optivisor. Can't recommend those enough!
 
So my sorry little practice sewing began and I quickly found out several things:
1) It's hard to make tiny stitches that look good on both sides.
2) Regular sewing thread is too big to look right at this scale.
3) Cheap household scissors do not cut thread very well.
4) Small thread that looks dark enough on a spool looks much lighter when used in small stitches.
5) You can spend a lot of money in a stitchery store, but they have some cool tools for this sort of work!
 
So here's part of my $40 haul at the stitchery store. The Inspira micro-tip embroidery scissors are a joy to use. The finger loops easily accommodate my Sasquatch fingers and they snip thread more cleanly than the cataract scissors from Model Expo. The Inspira scissors were only a little over $9 and you really need these! The special pencil allows you to mark fabric and the marks disappear after a few days. They can also be erased if you make a mistake. Regular pencil lead is hard to erase from fabric- I am going to have to do some careful washing once I finish stitching to get rid of some of my initial pencil markings. This marking pencil leaves a fat mark and I'm not sure how much I'll be using it. It's a bit pricey at about $20, but it comes with extra "lead" and a very cool twist to extend eraser. The folding stitch puller is handy for removing stitch mistakes, but is a tad large for the size stitches I'm making. I have mostly been using the tip of my needle to loosen and remove mistakes. It is a bit comforting to know that stitching mistakes are common enough that tools have been made to remove them!
 

 

 
So, here's some practice stitches. The stitches closest to the edge are done with regular sewing thread and they look very bulky to me. This polyester thread looked very thin on the spool, and I'm surprised how huge it looks on the sail. The next bit of stitches is still a bit bulky to my eye and the color disappears into to sail's color. I was surprised by that since the thread color has a nice contrast with the sail when its on the spool. This is Mettler brand No. 50 "silk finish" embroidery thread from the stitchery shop. The 3rd bit of stitches is using Mettler No. 60 "fine embroidery" thread and its size looks good to me. I'm thinking that the color is a tad too dark, but the next lighter color in brownish earthy tones that the store I got it from has is much lighter. In this thread size, most of the colors are very bright vibrant colors. I am going to look around a little more to see if I can find another color in that size of thread. This stitching is going to take a long time so I want to find a color I won't have 2nd thoughts about.
 
Three different thread sizes and colors.

 

 
Sorry for writing a book. Hope everyone is doing well. 
 
Best wishes,
 
 
 
 
 

Build log part 25
 
 
 
 
 
 

Need 28 halves of this raft Containment, so ist worth doing a mould.....
 

the half of the metal model is pressed into schoolkids clay, this being the mould (s)
 

when making the boats there is always, before it cures off, some Polyester left, so is goes
into the moulds (without wasting it)
 

sanding, primering, Fitting of the halves, and preliminary mounting (some cradles to be made first)
 

 
 

 

fastening with brass wire straps
 

fitted on to the raft Container launching flipboards
 

 
 

a wooden model is made for the three boats of the Gorch Fock. The making of the boats Pictures shall follow later on
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Build log part 26 to follow.....
 
Nils

8a) Sealing the deal:

Hello again! Here's an update on the latest progress. The lemon oil that was applied to the hull had dried and it was time to seal it. I really would have preferred the look of just leaving it oiled and rubbing a coat of wax on it and calling it good. I had actually done that years ago to this boat before it was set aside, but the splits in the planking occurred after that, so I figured I really needed to put a more protective finish on it this time.

I like using freshly made shellac from flakes, and since that is not that common of a finish these days, I thought I would give a brief Shellac 101 for anyone that's interested. I'm not an expert at it, but I've gotten pretty good results when I've worked on really old vintage guitars with shellac finishes. It's kind of fun to use and you don't have to worry about toxic issues. I think that M&Ms use a shellac coating so they melt in your mouth instead of your hand and alcohol, well it melts in your mouth too! Don't drink any of the de-natured stuff! I know of a classical guitar maker that swears that using an Everclear type of alcohol is the best for French polishing because it does not contain the chemicals added to de-natured alcohol that make it un-drinkable and therefore provides a clearer finish!

The first shellac sealer coat was applied to the interior and exterior with a brush using what's called a 2lb cut of freshly mixed blonde shellac (2lbs of shellac flakes by weight mixed to 1 gallon of alcohol). I mix up the same ratio in a much smaller 2oz weight of shellac flakes to 1 cup (8 fl oz) of alcohol. A 2nd sealer coat was brushed on the exterior of the hull to try to fill the pores a little better. When brushing a 2nd coat of shellac you need to move quickly because the new coat will melt the previous one and your brush can stick if you brush repeatedly in the same spot. The 2nd coat had enough build and friction to show brush marks, but it adds some nice depth to the wood.







To smooth out the brush marks in shellac, I like using pumice. Sandpaper can gum up too easily at this point. I put small piles of #2 (coarse) and #4 (fine) pumice on a piece of paper and pick up a little bit with a small moist piece of soft paper towel (Viva is my favorite). The paper towel can be worked into corners easily. Rinse out the paper towel every so often. It does not take much time and very little pressure to get great results. Wipe off the residue with a clean paper towel. Use a soft bristle toothbrush or nylon paint brush to clean residue out of crevices. NOTE: do not breath in pumice dust-I've heard that it will be in your lungs forever.









While getting the sealer coat leveled, it is really easy to expose wood if the finish is too thin in spots or you use too much pressure. No biggie, that will disappear with the next coat. A matte look like in this photo is what I intend to end up with except I want to leave a gloss finish on the cocobolo wales.

build log part 23
 
Here the mizzen mast unpainted....
 
 
 

hooters, Radar station
 

 
 

 

 

lower platform antenna
 

top antenna
 

 
 

Mast top
 

middle gaff boom bearing
 

set of masts, yards
 
 
 
 
Build log part 24 to follow....
 
Nils

build log part 24
 
 
 

Preparing for the captains Launch (Pinasse 9,2m )
 
 

the Yards have to allow bracing to utmost Position before they touch the backstays
 

checking alignment through topgallant platform before the final backstays are set
 

 
 

 

 

the boats Derrick attached to the mainmast
 

the mizzenmast bears no yards
 

have the most masting parts done...
 

the ventflaps for the scupper openings are attached
 

my master raft Containment template for moulding the semi halves
 
 
 
 
 
BUild log part 25 to follow....
 
Nils

7) The Return of Making some little stuff:
 
Hello again! This thread is in need of some pictures. I had asked Mario aka Cap'n Rat Fink how he got the color on the hinges of his HMS Bounty Launch and he said that he had used a flat black acrylic paint from Walmart. So I got some and tested it on some scrap brass. I also found some Birchwood Casey Perma Blue that I forgot I had and tried some of it too. I fooled around, and under the guidance of Bosun Rat Fink, worked out a mix of the two (shown later). The sample on the left is the Perma Blue.
 

 

 
At the risk of too much info, here's a series of pics on making the boat's hatchet. The handle started out as a 3mm x 3mm strip and I marked off some shoulder cuts to match the width of the blade. The initial curves were then made in the remainder of the handle length and a shallow tenon was formed for the blade. The blade was folded around the handle and soldered and filed to sharpen it. The handle was finished with shellac. I really liked how it looked but the shiny brass was a bit wrong for a whaleboat hatchet head. Kinda looked like one of those fancy Liam Neeson hand planes! The Bosun Rat Fink custom finish blend was applied to the brass to complete it. Although this is just a minor part of the build, it was a lot of fun and felt like a model in itself.
 

 

 

 

 

 
After looking at some of the Lagoda photos in the "To Make a Whaleboat" book, I decided to try wrapping the oarlocks with sewing thread. I really am all thumbs, and my thumbs and fingers seem to be getting wider with age and it's messing with my dexterity. At this rate, I think I will be able to flip pancakes with my thumbs in 2 more years! After wrapping the oarlocks, I de-fuzzed the thread with a soldering iron. The camera shows some tiny fuzz that I missed. Oh well...
 

 

6) Making some little stuff:
 
Because I had some left over cocobolo, it was used for the oar blades instead of the kit provided walnut. The instructions say to paint the blades white and add black stripes but I didn't want to risk being arrested by the wood police for vandalizing nice wood! White stripes were used on the dark cocobolo instead. I practiced masking off and painting the white stripes on scrap wood, but it was looking pretty sad. I ended up using 1/32" Pactra pin striping tape. The tape looked too thick after applying it so I figured a thick finish like varnish would help blend it into the surface. I used some varnish that I had, and thinned it down 50% with naptha (naptha thins varnish and shortens the long dry time too). A little dust still managed to settle in the finish so the oars were wet sanded with soapy water, cleaned and recoated. It took 3 coats to get a build that subdued the thickness of the tape. On the last coat, I thinned the varnish another 50% further with naptha to really speed up the dry time and get a very thin smooth coat. No dust this time! The oar handles were fun to whittle! Heck, all this stuff is fun!
 

 

 
The line tubs in the kit were short pieces of dowel hollowed out a little on one side. I mixed up some concentrated water based stain to get them to look like dark barrel wood. I got it a little too dark so I dipped them in clean water and dabbed them with a brush to lighten the stain. WARNING! DON"T DO THAT!! The barrels got swollen and burst open like blooming flowers! I was bummed out and called it a night. The next morning, the barrels had dried and had almost closed up. Having nothing to loose, I decided to really try to dry them out in the microwave. That actually worked!  Some water-thin super glue was "painted" on the inside of the barrels to try to keep the cracks closed. The brass bands were then soldered around the barrels and the solder joints were cleaned up with sandpaper.
 

 

 
A few days later the weather changed and the humidity went up causing the line tubs to swell a little. The bands popped open at the solder joint. Aarghhh! I resoldered them to fit the new plus size barrels and decided to varnish the barrels inside and out to try to keep their sizes stable. So far, so good!. The brass bands for the barrels were 2mm wide which looked too wide. I lapped them down on some self-stick 220 grit sandpaper using an eraser to grip them. I decided 1.5mm looked OK. I was worried that if the bands got too narrow, it might not take much humidity to make the solder joints pop again. I'm holding off with the rope coils in the barrels for now to make sure that the bands will be OK.
 

 
A collection of little stuff:
 

 

 

5) Prepping the hull for finish
 
The gaps and splits in the walnut planking that had occurred over the years due to dryness and wood shrinkage (shown in the earlier photos) were repaired with sawdust and thinned white glue and sanded. The triangular garboard fillers at the ends of the keel were stained for a better color match.
 

 

 
Then the fun part. Lemon oil was applied to all the bare wood. Instant magic! I just love the look of oiled wood. The main thing was to NOT use an oil with wax or silicone in it as that could interfere with my plans for a shellac top coat.
 

 
The exterior was rubbed down with a few applications of oil and the interior was oiled using a brush. The previously shellacked floorboards and seats were unaffected and any stray oil was wiped off of them.
 

 

 

 
This will need to sit for a few days before I apply a thinned out shellac wash coat to seal it.

Build log part 25
 
 
 
 
 
 

Need 28 halves of this raft Containment, so ist worth doing a mould.....
 

the half of the metal model is pressed into schoolkids clay, this being the mould (s)
 

when making the boats there is always, before it cures off, some Polyester left, so is goes
into the moulds (without wasting it)
 

sanding, primering, Fitting of the halves, and preliminary mounting (some cradles to be made first)
 

 
 

 

fastening with brass wire straps
 

fitted on to the raft Container launching flipboards
 

 
 

a wooden model is made for the three boats of the Gorch Fock. The making of the boats Pictures shall follow later on
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Build log part 26 to follow.....
 
Nils

build log part 24
 
 
 

Preparing for the captains Launch (Pinasse 9,2m )
 
 

the Yards have to allow bracing to utmost Position before they touch the backstays
 

checking alignment through topgallant platform before the final backstays are set
 

 
 

 

 

the boats Derrick attached to the mainmast
 

the mizzenmast bears no yards
 

have the most masting parts done...
 

the ventflaps for the scupper openings are attached
 

my master raft Containment template for moulding the semi halves
 
 
 
 
 
BUild log part 25 to follow....
 
Nils

I had a little more time this weekend so I knocked out two of the sails.
 

I thought the rudder turn out pretty good, Took quite a while to get the hinges formed just right in order the get a tight fit.

first picture how yo store one on to the other with ''wood spacer''

Nils,
 
Thank you for your kind words and continuing interest. I often think these smaller vessels are as interesting, if not more so, than the larger types such as the Victory.
 
Eamonn,
 
I will endeavour to do as you say!

build log part 23
 
Here the mizzen mast unpainted....
 
 
 

hooters, Radar station
 

 
 

 

 

lower platform antenna
 

top antenna
 

 
 

Mast top
 

middle gaff boom bearing
 

set of masts, yards
 
 
 
 
Build log part 24 to follow....
 
Nils

Keep the photos coming.
David B

build log part 23
 
Here the mizzen mast unpainted....
 
 
 

hooters, Radar station
 

 
 

 

 

lower platform antenna
 

top antenna
 

 
 

Mast top
 

middle gaff boom bearing
 

set of masts, yards
 
 
 
 
Build log part 24 to follow....
 
Nils

Build log part 22
 
 
 
 

the pinrails are removable for Access to the eyelets (shrouds and backstays fastening)in between
 

 
 

 

 

mizzem mast pinrail, the nameplates are aside the poopdeck and at stern
 

bowsprit netting
 

swivible bumpkins for bracing tackle rope guides
 

 

 

the tack Position of the Forward mast lower yard
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Build log part 23 to follow....
 
Nils

Just catching up, Nils.  You're certainly a master metal craftsman.
 
John