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John Ruy

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Everything posted by John Ruy

  1. John Ruy
    Rigged up a Keel Vice… Started work on the bulk heads… Onwards… 😎
  2. John Ruy
    Cutting out pieces using templates. A photo copy pieces to be cut out… Printed the copies on card stock. Laid out the templates on Bass Wood. Laminated the pieces onto the keel using the Loctite Express Wood Glue. This is much better than CA Glue. No gluing my fingers together. 😆 These kits do give me an appreciation for the laser cut kits. Cheers 🍻
  3. John Ruy
    Roger, Your memory serves you correctly, The Bowdoin was designed specifically to survive being trapped between two ice flows. Something MacMillian was always on the look out from aloft in his ice barrel as he navigated the Arctic. This book is the best regarding the Bowdoin’s life in the Arctic and up and down the Eastern Seaboard. Fascinating little Schooner. Saw her this last year at Maine Maritime Academy in Castine Maine working with students abroad. Took these photos of her myself, so looking forward to working on this build. She’s going to be a beauty. Welcome aboard. 🍻
  4. John Ruy
    Thanks Nic, Ah yes of course, I follow him on Facebook. He’s currently designing the Wyoming, right? I was thinking Al was the name, but I wasn’t sure. Please let me know if there are any enhancements for the Bowdoin available. I am following a couple of completed builds of the Bluejacket Bowdoin on here to make this vintage build special. John
  5. John Ruy
    The schooner Bowdoin was designed by William H. Hand, Jr., and built in 1921, in East Boothbay, Maine at the Hodgdon Brothers Shipyard. She is the only American schooner built specifically for Arctic exploration, and was designed under the direction of explorer Donald B. MacMillian. She has made 29 trips above the Arctic Circle in her life, three since she was acquired by the Maine Maritime Academy in 1988. She is currently owned by the Maine Maritime Academy, located in Castine Maine, and is used for their sail training curriculum. She is named for Bowdoin College. Information taken from Wikipedia. Actually found this vintage Laughing Whale kit in Searsport, Maine in the Bluejacket Shipcrafters Gallery. They had some kits in the corner from a long time customer’s estate. What was really cool, is that I talk to a gentleman (forgot his name) working there that worked at Laughing Whale in Wiscasset, Maine. He verified the kit was complete and told me he probably cut out the pieces for the kit 40 years ago. 😎 Bluejacket does have this kit available with all the laser cut pieces and nicer fittings. So this build is for you @MrBlueJacket I love to rescue these old kits, I will try to make you proud. Yes I have this drawing framed. I like collecting and framing these old blueprints for my Gallery. Everything is in very nice condition considering the age of this kit. Sheet No 1 is up on the board. These keel and bulkheads are all hand cut 40 years ago. Everything else will need to be cut out by me. 😆 First steps, glueing the keel and bulkheads. Trying a new glue (new for me) Loctite has a wood glue with a 10 minute clamp time. I think this will be better for laminating than CA Glue. We will see… 🤔
  6. John Ruy
    Instructions are very pictorial. 😆 So begins deck furniture and cabin. Trimming out the mahogany with some 1/32nd material. Those miter joints are tricky at this scale. I’m liking the look this far. 😎 Later…
  7. John Ruy
    This was a lot of fun. @popeye the sailor I can see your obsession with the Maine Lobster Boat. Very versatile boat, can be useful for everything from lobstering to yachting and racing. I see them everywhere now. I love these Laughing Whale kits. Learned a lot about modeling. I have another Laughing Whale kit that I am about to dive into, The Bowdoin (Arctic Exploration Schooner). See you all on the flip side. Cheers 🍻
  8. John Ruy
    FINISHED 🍻
  9. John Ruy
    Trap 2 of 2 and buoys… Parlor net… Shaped and ready to glue inside… Just a few drops of gel CA Glue… Very tricky… Losing up the entrance side of the trap. Gluing in the entrance net. Trimming up the excess netting. 2of 2 complete… Cutting 1/2 inch dowel for the buoys. Buoys complete ready for paint. Identifier striping and line is all that’s left to complete this one.
  10. John Ruy
    1 of 2 traps complete… Cheers 🍻
  11. John Ruy
    Sewing Sails… Allow 1/4” fold, stitch at 1/16” then trim for an 1/8” hem. Fabric glue to secure the seams. Ready for bolt rope… Now for the deck. Onwards 😎🍻
  12. John Ruy
    Into the paint booth… Masked off at the water line. New airbrush and pump working good. Matte Varathane sprayed with airbrush. Now for the deck… 😎
  13. John Ruy
    Views of the Fore Cabin furnishings. From the hatch… From the side window… From the Deck… Later… 😎
  14. John Ruy
    Adding Details… Radar Dome… Winch mount… Snatch Block framing completed… Ready for rigging and traps… She is now known as BANDIT out of Biddeford Pool, ME. Lighted engine bay to show off the Pontiac 400. Instrumentation… Note lighted cabin. View from the bow shows Navigational lighting. Open fore cabin hatch… Rear view… Prop and Rudder… Nearly completed, just needs some lobster buoys and traps.
  15. John Ruy
    Primed… Just a few more imperfections to fill in and she is ready for paint. Got my new airbrush with pump today. 👍 Later… 😎
  16. John Ruy
    Nice guess… Actually, eBay is as good as a pick-a-part junk yard. I was able to get a complete Pontiac 400 and radiator without having to buy a 1/16 Pontiac Firebird kit. 😎 Thanks for the tip on the windshield material. Just opened my new Airbrush Pump and there it is. Enough clear plastic to fix that window… 😆 BTW… Who says it has to be a a working Lobsterman’s Boat. This guy is retired and Trapping occasionally for dinner. He will also be on the Lobster Boat Racing Circuit here in Maine. Gotta fix her up nice to live on it 6 months of the year. Just some fantasies of an old man in Maine building boats. LOL 😂
  17. John Ruy
    Adding the details… Propeller and Rudder… Wood paneled bulk head… Forward Hatch hinges… Hoist hardware… Sheer and more Trim… She is getting there, more later… 🍻
  18. John Ruy
    Engine Cover completed… Cheers 🍻
  19. John Ruy
    Yep… I’m doing a cover and displaying it pulled back to cover the battery box for the lighting. 😎
  20. John Ruy
    More progress… Trim work on the stern… Hand Rails placed… YES! The Speed Shop showed up today with my new motor. 😆 1979 Pontiac Firebird 400… That ought to make her scoot. Installed Windows today… Not so good, you don’t want glue on clear plastic. Particularly CA Glue… I will have to see if I can source this clear flexible plastic. Might just leave it out, I have seen lots of these boats and they may or may not have this side glass in place. Fore Bit placed, Bow work completed. Hatch over the Forward Cabin trimmed out… Take a peak inside the lighted Cabin. All the comforts of home. 👍 Cheers 🍻
  21. John Ruy
    Cleaned up waterline… Started mahogany moldings… Doing a bit of clean up on the Forward cabin roof. Hand cut Hand Rails… Onwards 🍻
  22. John Ruy
    Bow piece… Forming wet… Hull now glued in place and primed. Ready for more sanding and filler. Sanded… Another coat of primer coming up… 🍻
  23. John Ruy
    Touch up of waterline completed. 🍻
  24. John Ruy
    Some touch up required, but all in all not bad. 😎 Ready to start accessories. Cheers 🍻
  25. John Ruy
    The airbrushing takes a lot of patience. Spray a light coat and walk away at least 10 minutes. Come back repeat all day long. Also having the acrylic thin enough to not plug the nozzle. 😩 It pays off, Brushing can not match the result. Just needed to start another project to fill the time between coats. I hate watching paint dry. 😂 So I started my Laughing Whale Lobster Smack. 😎

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