Gaffrig

Hello to all. Been away sailing for a while, gotta play a little with the big boats too! Have been back at it for a couple of days and here's a little update. Rick01, I like your beefed up davits, they look great! Definetly something I'll copy when I get there if you don't mind. Your version of the forward pinrail looks great too! Something to think about. I've been thinking about the anchorcable, and maybe it would work to make a horisontal capstan on the bollards/bitts that holds the bowsprit? Might be tight between that and the forward companionway though. Rick01, you mention the bowsprit, here's how I did that. In between different coats of paint I have made the bowsprit. The kit supplies a 8mm round dowel that is supposed to be formed into a 8x8mm octagon... There's an interesting task for you! 🤣😂 I ended up sanding it square and glueing on pieces of 0,5x3mm mahogany from the Bluenose deck I'm not using. Then sanding "between" the square to get the octagonal shape. This turned out good enough. After sanding.. And painting.. For shaping the rest of the bowsprit I used a small planer first, and then put the whole thing in a battery drill and sanded it smooth. Finished it of with linseed oil. Also made a new fitting for the tip. I've soaked and shaped the rubrails, and started painting them I've masked and painted the black stripes, and cleaned up and painted the insides of the gunports. Still need a little "cleanup" here and there, but all in all I'm happy with the result. Gaffrig.

Rick01, That’s something I am afraid might happen. Also getting the correct length on the rubrails to fit between the stem and transom. I think it will be easier to fit all the rubrails and the caprails, and then cut them of and sand to make the transom fit snugly against them all. Gaffrig.

Hello all! Getting settled on my new workbench, the work continues on Le Renard. I have cleaned up the gun ports using a square file, and I have finished painting above and below the waterline. I have used acrylic paint for this. The skylights/deckhouses are getting close to finished also. I have also shaped the rudder and drilled the hole to fit through. I want to finish the rudder, caprail and rubrails before glueing on the transom. This is a different order of things than the instructions call for, but I think it will be easier. That's todays update. More to come.. Must say I really enjoy having more space to work on. Gaffrig

I’ll tell you, I’m well on my way to clutter it up! 😆

Hello to all. Rick01, thanks for the links, lots of good information there. Great modifications to the catheads's. The illustration you have shows how they should look. Regarding the binnacle, I agree with you regarding the glass, but it could be that the replica has removable lids to hide modern navigation electronics. They probably have a magnetic compass too somewhere though. About the caprails, I did a dryfit, and they barely cover the thickness of the bulwarks, so I think I'll glue on a strip on either side to make it a little wider and to hide the plywood edge. This will hopefully give the little ledge needed to fit the forward pinrail. Thanks for all the tips! My 3mm blocks for the gun rigging arrived yesterday, so that's something to start soon! Your model looks great, keep up the good work! 👍 As to my build, it has not been done as much lately as I had hoped. I decided it was time to take some action regarding my shipyard status... I have been home alone this past week, and me and the cats agreed that a new building table was in order. 😎 My previous shipyard, a total mess floating out on the floor due to lack of tablespace.. Some drastic measures are needed! So I took a trip to the local lumberyard and got some woodfibre board (don't know the correct english word for this) and some wood for framing and legs and got to work. Decided to make some shelves.. And a couple of coats of paint.. Used regular floorpaint for this. Added some decent lighting and all the "stuff" Must say I'm very pleased with the result. Made a dedicated space for hanging drawings. Still need to make a few more shelves and a better support for the big shelf over the windows, but I ran out of materials. Some work has been done on Le Renard too, I've painted the bottom and started painting the topsides, but no pictures of this as this has been done in between building the new "shipyard"! All the best, Thanks for all the comments and likes! Gaffrig.

That’s good! But I’m afraid I’m a lost cause! 😂

Sooo.. This package arrived today.. I didn't... I mean.. There was a sale.. You know?... 40 % off they said... And shipping one or two is the same cost... 😆 Look's like the "add-to-cartism" struck again! I guess it's time to order that appointment at the doctor now! Gaffrig.

Hello all! Rick01, the carronades look great. I tried making up a tackle but as you say, the supplied blocks are a little to big. It doesn't look very good in the instructions either. 3mm blocks is ordered! The extra cannon, is that something you add just because you want to? or is there some source you found that says it should be there? Tompslattery, in my kit there was two lasercut pieces glued on top of eachother to make up the gun sled. Then a small PE brass bracket to hold the gun barrel. It seems your kit is an older version. The hull is getting ready for some paint shortly. A little more filler and sanding has been done. Marking the waterline.. Masked and ready for paint below the waterline. The dinghy has been removed from the jig, and is ready to be finished inside. And after sanding of the frametops.. I'm happy with the way the sheer of the boat turned out. It was very straight as the jig was before modification. That's it for now. Gaffrig.

Hello to all! Rick01, Thanks for the tip. It seems I have done the same as you, and a couple of the carronades need a little adjusting before mounting.. Tompslattery, Thank you! After mounting the inner bulwarks, they stiffened up quite nice, and I'm no longer as nervous for breaking them when handling the model. I have now sanded and filled and sanded and filled to get the hull as smooth and true as possible. So, I gave the hull a coat of primer, to see the places I need to fill and sand some more... Still some to do, but I'm sure I'll get there soon! The dinghy has got it's sheerstrakes and a little varnish. Soon to be released from the jig. I decided to use mahogany for the sheerstrakes too. That's it for now. Gaffrig.

The build continues... Next step is the inside of the bulwarks. Another strip of plywood goes on the inside of the first one. I really like the new keel clamper! Before glueing this in place, I need to mark and cut out the gunports. I dryfitted the inner bulwarks with clamps, and marked the gunports with a pencil and cut them out with a scalpel. I made the cuts a little small, to have some material for adjusting after glueing. Then some yellow paint, and they are ready to be mounted. I glued them on, one side at a time. Not enough clamps to do both sides at once! I also made some more progress on the dinghy. Got the primer sanded and some white paint on it. It's coming together, next up will be the sheerstrake and then time to cut it loose from the jig. It will be fun to see how it will look inside! Thank's for the comments and likes! Gaffrig.

Well... I guess treatment is needed when ordering styrofoam from Italy! 😂 I might have to take you up on that offer! I know what you mean.. I heard a mayday call from HMS Visa a while back. Noone has seen or heard anything since.. 😂

Wow! That looks great! Yes, it appears that the two benches fore and aft of the main hatch are lifebelt boxes on the replica. there is also what seems to be ventilation «ducts» on either side of the main and fore companionways. I think these can be omitted for the better. Gaffrig.

Finally! The long awaited package from Italy has arrived... Hopefully containing the deck materials for my Bluenose and some other goodies... 😎 Hmmm.. 🤔 After some digging in the styrofoam.. Voila! More than I remembered ordering! I think I got a touch of that contagious "add-to-cartism"! I guess shopoholic and shipoholic is closely related! 😆 Anyway, lots of new toys and projects for the winter. It makes me feel good to have a couple of kits "on the shelf"! I'm a happy modeller today! Cheers, Gaffrig.

Hi all! Just a small update today.. With the keel, stem and sternpost mounted, I planked the transom with the same 0.5x4mm materials that I used on the deck. I used the gorilla wood glue for this. After cutting of the excess material and some sanding... Starting to look more and more like a boat! Also got some primer on the dinghy. Those brushstrokes really show up in the pictures! I guess some sanding is in order before painting! Thanks to everyone for stopping by and reading my log. Also for taking the time to comment and like! It is really appreciated! Gaffrig.

Just recieved a couple of shipyard «helpers»! I’m sure they will volunteer to help with rigging!