MAGIC's Craig

Yes, I think that we shall have to place a crew member in the pilot house and another in the galley...and a cat somewhere in the way.

Thank you, Keith, Gary and Roger for your compliments/support. I appreciate your visits to the tale. We are proceeding in the "boatshop" a little more each day. Craig

Yes, John. that is the plan - and the primary reason for that cabin top "hatch" - though based on past boat experiences, whether full scale or a model, it's also never a good idea to totally block access to any space. It may take someone's smaller hands....

February 5, 2025 In preparation for finally gluing the pieces of the main cabin together and onto the hull, I decided to frame out and fit the various windows. Initially, I felt that only the exterior portion of the frames could be done at this stage due to the requirement to be able to slip the main cabin sole down tightly into place during the actual glue-up. However, with a bit of care in the sequencing of the positioning of the cabin sides and the sole, I realized that the window framing could be completed beforehand. This also permitted, with appropriate masking, the painting and varnishing which would have been far more difficult post glue-up. The windows were traced from the actual openings and cut from a sheet of 1/16" thick polycarbonate. The window framings were made from meranti and were varnished after being glued in place. The individual cabin sides and partial bulkheads were repeatedly dry-fitted and then removed to accommodate these steps. Masking and unmasking and re-masking seemed to be norm for a couple of weeks. The day arrived (finally) when the check-list indicated it was time to mix and apply the epoxy. Fortunately, all the practice of setting up (and removing) the parts of the cabin helped to minimize anxiety from the presence of wet, sticky glue. When the clamps and masking tapes were cleared away, this portion of the structure was delightfully stiff and the process of creating a cove at the intersection of the house and the deck could proceed. The aft cabin's roof was next on my list. I framed it to be able to provide a removable panel in the overhead for possible future access. The 1/8" thick basswood planks were glued to the beams and carlins and carefully marked for the locations of the future access cut-outs. While I was at it, I also fitted a pair of AYC lodging knees to upper aft corners of the main cabin. The aft cabin top was sanded fair, re-scribed and re-marked for clarity. It was given a layer of F/G cloth set in 2 coats of epoxy and this will be followed with a coat of light fairing epoxy for pre-painting smoothing. While these cosmetic details finish up, I plan to begin focussing on the development of the pilot house portion of the cabin. Until then, my thanks for looking in and for any future suggestions. Craig

The nibbing-in of the planking on the foredeck looks very crisp and proper. Well done, Greg!

Thank you, John. Just trying to match the "standards" I see on this supportive site.

Thank you, Gary. I very much appreciate your kind words.

I am so impressed by the detail you manage at this tiny scale! What a delight to see! A friend and boatbuilder in Sidney, BC built some years ago a 2-deck live-aboard stern wheeler as a home for he and his lovely wife. The fully-functional pilot house enjoys lovely views and the side windows can be dropped down into slots to permit one to lean an arm on the sill while navigating along. I wonder if the pictured LULA might have enjoyed a similar feature - the forward window looks to have a possible handle(?). Since the master of your Lula will have to look around the stack....? 😉

To continue the tale: The cabin panels were laid out and the exterior sides covered with light FG cloth set is epoxy as in other portions of this build. The weave of the cloth was then filled with another coat of clear, followed by the fairing coat which is an easy-leveling mix. Once the fairing coat is sanded smooth, a couple of coats of primer were sprayed on, sanded between and then finished with the color coats. Once again, the panels were dry-fitted in place. The stern cabin has a few items to fit which will be easier done before the cabin sides are permanently glued in place. One of these is the creation and fitting of the steps from the main cabin down to the aft cabin. These were built up from a nice plank of teak and a scrap of the 1/16" thick birch ply. The first beams for the aft cabin roof were fitted and then set aside until the cabin side glue-up time. The beam crossing above the location of the steps will be cut for the opening to permit the crew to go below without clonking their noggins. There will be an angled "trunk" cover from the aft side of the main cabin down to the top of aft cabin to keep the wet out. I will finish this update with a couple of photos of the planking of the cabin sole. The sole hatch is held in place with a pair of magnets. (not shown). Thanks to all for your support and sound advice. I greatly appreciate your comments and guidance. Until again, Craig

Thanks for the praise, Keith. I hope that I am able to "stay ahead of the curve" with the preplanning. I note that I cannot fit the inner window moldings to the main cabin until the sole is permanently in place because of the tight clearance and the camber of the sides.

January 10th, 2025 update: It has been an interesting first year to be building this model and I am delighted to have the opportunity to continue the work into a second year. As noted back in November, I began by working on the construction of the cabin structures. I decided to continue working from aft to forward since I feel that the pilothouse area will be more demanding. Card panels were first mocked up to check fits before cutting the 1/16" baltic birch ply for the actual sides. the aft face of the cabin was gotten out of some 3/16" thick meranti ply. Another bulkhead was to be located at the aft end of the main cabin. The main cabin sole stretches forward to a step-up at the aft end of the pilot house and to hold the house sides out against the curved edge of the deck, this sole needed to be fitted prior to gluing the sides in place. It was fortunate that when dry-fitting the sole in place, I realized that the batteries below, as mounted, might become rather difficult to replace if needed. Trying to wrestle a battery out revealed the need to redo the battery mounts to bring the batteries closer to the centerline. After removing the batteries, I softened the epoxy with a heat gun and removed the previous set-up. A new arrangement was bonded in place and a more tidy wiring harness was developed. The construction of the house then resumed. The house sides camber inwards by 3 degrees to provide a bit more shoulder room when moving on the side decks and this design feature - easy to draw, not so easy to build - meant that the vertical bulkheads all had to incorporate the camber in the appropriate locations. This also necessitated ensuring that whatever structures which needed to span full width be at sole level in the cabin either were inserted prior to final glue-up of the cabin sides to the hull/deck or were to be pieced into place. In the above image, large-ish clamps are being used to pull the upper portion of the house sides inward to check fit and angles for the partial bulkheads. Once the cabin pieces could be dry-fitted together, window and door location measurements from the drawings were transferred to the sides. Holes were drilled to permit access by my fret saw and then the house was once again disassembled to accomplish the needed work. The main cabin subfloor was cut out from some light 1/4" thick ply, carefully fitted to provide a sturdy horizontal support to the hull at the deck level, and then an access hatch was cut in it to permit servicing the "motor/battery room". As a note, the temporary bulkhead spacer on the right side of the picture below helps keep the forward ends of these cabin side portions stable. I will break this update into portions to keep the size reasonable. Craig

And to you, Keith. Thank you for for following along. I have been doing a variety of little, mostly-non-visible projects on TWILIGHT, however I will post progress in the next week or so.

I have been away a bit. Delighted to find a notification about Lula.. but I'm gobsmacked to see what you have accomplished and especially in such a scale! Once again, you are kindly showing all of us what can be accomplished with some care (and desire).

Fascinating techniques and lovely results from your careful workmanship. I find myself learning all sorts of new ideas. thanks for sharing the build process. Craig

Thank you, John. I'm honored that this sort of craft has caught your eye (and the eyes of others as well.) Will endeavor to keep up the standard. 😉 Craig