Bill97

That is an interesting connection Roger. Sadly the Jeffboat barge shipyard is closed and the plants have been demolished and hauled away. There is a lot of discussion going on in the Jeffersonville city leadership as to development of this very large area right on the banks of the Ohio river (residential, commercial, parks, etc). Will be interesting to see what the eventually decide to do. You should visit Jeffersonville. There is a newly converted old railroad bridge that is now a beautiful walking bridge over to my side of the river in Louisville. You can see the Belle of Louisville. One of the last actual paddle wheel steamboats. mtaylor I am looking at the OcCre Endeavor. I really like its history. However I noticed through our discussion that it is a bluff bow. Just wondering if I should expect it to be more difficult.

As I get the tackles constructed I am starting to glue in place and rig the small cannons. Have the out-hauls and breeching ropes done for 6 so far. Once I get all 16 in and rigged I will make a determination about the placement of the in-haulers. With the cannons hauled in I have more space between the blocks.

Roger I could not help but wonder if you were possibly a professor or teacher of maritime subjects. Your knowledge and ability to explain it in layman terms is excellent. I checked your MSW profile to see if I was correct. Wow Roger, very impressive background. I need to look for your book. With your interest in the American barge did you ever venture to Jeffboat barge company in Jeffersonville, IN? Massive barge building company on the Ohio River that built barges for many many years before recently being closed up. It is (was) directly across the river from where I live. Employed thousands of people over the years. I certainly appreciate you sharing your expertise.

I am sure that is the case Johnny. My ship wish list will be generated by this catalog! 😊

Thanks Roger and Bob. This is really great information to know and have. So Roger in short, the wider a ship architect could design a ship at the bow so as to carry more cargo the better for the ship owner. That is fascinating! I compare that design to maybe my Cutty Sark which has a definite sharp V shape bow. I would think a bluff bow would be much slower sailing. Both of you guys give me a lot of material to research before I decide and purchase which of the two hull types do I want to build.

Roger that is truly fascinating. I love naval history like this. If I were to build a bluff bow ship I will definitely have to memorize your explanation so as to impress friends and family with an explanation of why the bow is shaped like that. Is construction of a bluff bow more difficult because of the need to bend the planking at a more extreme arc?

Which of the two types is more difficult to build, or is there really not enough difference in the build process to have a bearing on the model selection?

I am going to ask a question that shows I still have some nautical terms to learn. I see that the Endeavor has more of a rounded bow than other ships where the keel comes up prominently to shape the front of the ship. What is the name given to the two different architectural styles? Is there a difference in the difficulty level of building each type wooden ship?

Thanks again Professor Bob 😀. Will complete my reading assignments and have a five page double spaced report ready for next class. 😊

Your right Vitus it is deliciously evil. As I mentioned above I am about 6 months into a Heller Le Soleil Royal build that expect I to be still working on this time next year. Yet, I still can’t fight the urge to dream what will be next on my work bench. There are some beautiful ships from several different manufacturers in this new catalog.

Got the new ModelExpo 2023 catalog today! These guys are killing me! This is like a kid looking at a Christmas toy catalog. All these wooden ship models are incredible. How in the world does anyone ever decide.

In to the mind numbing process of making the tackles for the 16 small cannons I am working on. This will require 3 tackles for each cannon, 2 out-haulers and 1 in-hauler. That makes 48 total tackles. Each tackle needs two blocks, each with a hook attached (which I have made) and one of the blocks in each tackle having a lanyard attached. So let’s see that is 96 blocks, 96 hooks, and 48 lanyards. But whose counting!😵‍💫

Happy Kentucky Derby weekend. Wish all my MSW friends were in town to enjoy this incredible tradition. Marc most of these beautiful horses will be up your way soon.

Thanks very much Bob, seriously. Everything you have listed here will be worth my time and study before I make my final decision. The time factor does not dampen my enthusiasm. The Heller HMS Victory I built (here on MSW) took me almost 2 years to build to include a lot of modifications I made with enhancements found on line and of course the extensive authentic rigging. The Heller Le Soleil Royal I am currently building (here on MSW) has moved into my 6th month with at least a full year to go! Actually that is part of my desire for an attempt at a wooden model. I want a new challenge that will not be completed in a short period of time. I thoroughly enjoy the adventure more than the completion setting in a display case. I don’t know if you are familiar with OcCre wooden ship models. I have received a number of recommendations for their ships, especially the Endeavor which prices around $400. The reviews are very complimentary of the quality of parts, clear and precise instructions, and availability of customer service. That ship is currently where I am leaning. Of course I will be deep into my Soleil Royal for quite some time to come. This will give me plenty of time to read and study the material and recommendations you and others have provided me before making a decision. Again thanks so much. Very much appreciated. Please feel free to add any additional thoughts and comments you think might be helpful. Bill

Thanks guys. I keep debating with myself but I really think I want to try a wooden tall ship. After seeing a great number of wooden models at a maritime museum in Savanah, GA recently I was amazed by just how beautiful they were. And as a life long wood worker I enjoy the beauty of the different wood species. I know my ego will over rule by brain when the time comes to purchase my first wood model. I should probably start with a starter type model to get the feel for it, but I have no doubt I will go big from the start.

Thanks guys. A lot of good food for thought.

One thing I have noticed in looking through a lot of the wood model builds here on MSW is there does not seem to be as much painting as with plastic models. Of course as Baker said above once you have the wooden hull built the remainder of the build is very similar to plastic, just different material. So my preconceptions may be wrong about that. I really enjoy using a lot of color in my builds, both brush and airbrush. It looks as if in wood models the color comes from the wood species. I also realize I am free to paint certain wood pieces if I so desire so that factor probably should not play a part in my decision as to my next build.

Kirill4 your Spanish Galleon is so frequently mentioned in comments throughout MSW I had to search for your build and read through it. What a fantastic job you did with this model. Your painting skills are second to nobody. You should be very proud, and I have no doubt you are. I will definitely refer to this build for inspiration during my current and future builds, regardless of the ship being built!

Have the 16 small cannons built to include 3 eyebolts in each for the haul tackles. Also the holes for the breeching rope. I have the breeching rope in each one tied up out of the way until I am ready to rig them to the bulwark eyebolts. My plan is to position the cannons hauled in so as to display more space between the out-hauler blocks. In the picture I have them dry fitted about where I think I will glue them. Curious and studying the possible position of the ring bolts in the deck that will except the in-hauler hook. Some areas are tight for available space.

So that I can show the blocks of the cannon tackles further separated I plan to have these small cannons on the upper decks hauled in showing more space between the front and back block on each out-hauler. I will also place the ring bolt in the deck for in-hauler tackle for enough in board to provide minimal space between the the two blocks. Curious if having these cannons hauled in while all the cannons on the other decks are either fully hauled out, or partially hauled out, is appropriate?

Worked on building and painting the 16 cannons that go the upper decks. As you can see in the photo of the cannons I have removed the molded trunnions and replaced them with a new trunnion more accurately placed on the barrel length. Also positioned the wheels on the carriage more accurately as well. These are the last of the cannons to be built! Also made many many eyebolts I will use to rig the cannons. Also made enough eyebolts for the cannon hatch covers.

Henry I feel the same way about the boats. I did not like them on my HMS Victory so since I had already painted and bashed them with foot boards and other extras I just displayed them off the ship next to the ship biography.

Thanks Marc.

Henry I like the idea of just eliminating the wood stacks. If you go with your idea about the boats will you just not display them anywhere?

Worked on various things over the last few days. Most, but not all, from one page of the instructions dealing with items to be added to the decks. The items included the sponge buckets, the match bucket, and a couple stacks of lumber. The instructions show the lumber stacks on the forecastle but when I dry fitted them they would definitely interfere with the cannon in-hauls. So will need to see where to put the stacks later after the cannons in and rigged. Started working on the small cannons for the upper decks and the cannon hatch covers for the two lower decks. Marc I hope to be able to follow your design on the covers with a piece of Evergreen added to the inside and hopefully the enhancements. And last, but I think not least, I painted one of the side galleries just to see how it would look. I painted gold over the blue on the gallery enhancements and will follow up with gold leaf over the dominant characteristics. An item on this page I have not tackled is the boats. I will look at them at some point.