AnobiumPunctatum

And another strake completed. As these strakes now run out over the transom, they are easier to fit. On closer inspection of the plans the uppermost strake, interrupted by the tholes, is actually a wash strake. It will be fitted after the shell has been removed from the plug. This means only three more strakes to go.
 

Five strakes down; halfway there. If progress seems slow, it is. One strake can take an hour or two to complete. Each plank has to be spiled, marked out, cut, the joints refined, the free edge smoothed and then shaped and glued. After gluing the plank often needs finessing using the hot iron and water. Once the strake is complete, it is carefully sanded almost down to the finished surface.
 
 

So, another day, another strake on each side. Today it's strake 4. The junction at stern post and transom needed care. (I think Eberhard was wondering about this.) The plank runs were arranged so that the seam between two strakes would run into this junction. Another 'have to think well ahead' strategy. I also cut away the plug for safety here. (Photo order reversed!)
 
Yes, Maury, I wash the planks well with a wet brush and mop up excess glue before it dries. In places such as the keel/garboard junction, I also use a dental tool (elevator) shaped like a mini chisel to clean out the angle.
 
Thanks for stopping by.
 

Thanks for looking in, everyone. Progress will be slow. Fitting planks that average about ⅛" wide is exacting work. You can see strake three going in in this picture.
 

Update: planking has commenced!
 
The stock for this was sanded to thickness (1/64")  using the Byrnes' thickness sander. That done, I needed to stabilize the keel laterally while applying the garboard strakes. These will make the spine rigid once both sides are in place. I had made the mistake of not doing this once on a previous boat and ended up with a laterally curved keel. Not nice.
 
The twist on the plank 'blank' was done using water and the heating iron.  Once it had set, the width at different points was marked, the plank removed and trimmed. It was then glued in place. The aft plank in the strake was processed in a similar fashion. Next will be the opposite garboard.
 
From here on it will be a repetitive process until all 36 planks are in place.
 
 

So, based on previous experience, I shall remove the formed frames and wax the grooves as well as the rest of the plug before gluing the frame extensions to the blocks. This will, I hope, prevent any from detaching from the planking later. As you can see, the frames are merely clipped in place at present. 
 
The frame stock was first soaked in hot water, then bent in place using controlled heat from the iron I use for restoration work of easel paintings.
 

Next was marking out and cutting the grooves for the frames I decided to put in every fourth frame. To assist marking out, I used a piece of thread wedged into two small cuts at the top of the plug. The grooves were sawn and then finished with a narrow pillar file. A piece of stock for the frames was used as a depth gauge.
 
 

Now it is time to put everything together.  Glue the step onto the deck assembly and insert the bolts.  Temporarily install the capstan onto its step.  Position the brakes to their free ends fit between the whelps and the bolted ends are on the beams.  Remove the capstan, drill holes for the brakes and install them, making sure they can rotate.  Install the hatch and its grating.  Insert the bolts into the chocks and whelps.  Finally place the capstan back on the step and insert the retaining pin below the step, making sure the capstan can turn.  Install the drumhead onto the capstan barrel and insert the bars into the holes.  
 
I hope some of you will give this project a try.  In a few weeks, I will start the build log for the advanced capstan project.



 
 

Very good video, Kenny. Your hints and -sorry to say- your small inaccuracies are very helpful for me, to avoid the same mistakes. Normally a model maker doesn't like to show these details. But these are the points which will help others.
 
Thanks for sharing

Reading, reading and more reading so now it is time to start building. 
First have copies made of the plans at Mesa Blueprint and hang up original set for reference.
 

 
Next to mark the the bulkhead locations on the bulkhead former and then make a copy of the BH. 

 
Then cut out the bearding line to use as a template for the port side making sure that I had features included that will allow alignment on the port side of the BH.

 
Drawing the bearding line using the template and that's how I started the build.
 
Stay Well and Stay Safe
Will 
 
 

I am a fan of the "Wappen von Hamburg", since  I was a child. I read the book of Wolfgang Quinger in the 70th of the last century. I think the kit is a good representation of the ship, based on the older Höckel drawings.

I am a fan of the "Wappen von Hamburg", since  I was a child. I read the book of Wolfgang Quinger in the 70th of the last century. I think the kit is a good representation of the ship, based on the older Höckel drawings.

Good morning.

So, next was to disassemble things and wax the plug. The grooves for the five frames were waxed using a micro-applicator.
 
Replacing the spine on the plug, I shaped the transom. By filing it to shape this way, the shape and changing bevel is automatically correct.
 
A problem I had with a previous boat was that the keel bowed slightly sideways because there was no groove on the plug. I carefully sighted along the boat and added temporary pins to ensure that it was straight. Finally, the boat is ready to plank!
 
I've been preparing leaves of Castello 1/64" thick - a scale ¾" - for planking. Next will be the garboard planks.
 
 

The Masting & Rigging Begins
 
A new stage of building has begun. With the hull complete its time for the masting and rigging, beginning with the bowsprit. I kind of enjoy this part of the model, and once again (he said again), Cheerful is taking me into new territory.
 

 
The bowsprit bobstay and guys, or as someone with my level of nautical knowledge calls them, the bow stringy things, require both served line and thimbles. So there was a pause while I assembled the Syren Serv-O-Matic I’d purchased a long while ago. It was time consuming and not at all fun removing all the char from each piece, but Chuck is right in the instructions to encourage us to do so. It does look much better once done and coated with WOP. Now to figure out how to use it, I thought it would be more complicated than the simple instructions explain. Turns out it wasn’t - its the perfect machine to serve rope quickly and easily. My first effort, which I thought would be practice, was good enough to use. It takes no more effort than turning the crank and a steady hold on the thread.
 

 
Next up are the thimbles. I found this nifty brass tube cutter at Rio Grande Jewelery tube cutter which has a number of handy tools for modelers. It comes with a handle, I removed that and mounted in on my vise. It proved to be an excellent way to quickly generate short lengths of very thin brass tube with a neat cut. Just set the length with the screw guide, hold the lever down with one finger, place the jig saw in the slot and cut. My $17 (including a bunch of blades) Amazon jig saw proved its quality and value once again, cutting as many as I wanted without fail or issue.
 

 
I found (thanks to @DelF ) that a spring loaded punch is much more effective for me at consistently generating an even “fold” on the both sides of the brass tube to create the thimble. While of course a hammer and regular punch work fine, I more often than not crushed one side or the other - why practice my hammering skills when the $9 spring loaded version (Amazon) does the job. After creating a number of them in different sizes I blacked them using my standard process.
 

 
I have plenty of commercial hooks, eyelets, and rings - and I’m not using any of them. In fact I pulled off the ones I had placed earlier (down the center of the deck) and replaced them with home made versions, mostly of 24 gauge black wire. The heft of these on a 1:48 scale model is noticeable. After some practice and a bit of wasted wire, I now have my own way of knocking out all the eyelets, rings, and hooks I need for Cheerful.  It was good I did because the thimbles require a hook with a larger eyelet to connect the hook to the rope.
 

 
I learned my rigging technique from Bob Hunt’s practicums, his AVS was my first model many years ago. The “fishing lure” method of seizing has served me well, but I thought I’d look at other methods and did a little research. I came to the conclusion that while there are in fact many ways to seize lines and strop blocks, after experimenting with a few of them I’m content to continue with the one that I’ve been using. With two additions: First, thanks again to Derek, in some instances I’ll use thin fly tying line and in others I’ll continue to use 50wt Gutterman poly thread. My only issue with the fishing lure method has been the small thread ends that were left despite my using high quality Gingher embroidery scissors. Second, thanks to @Ryland Craze I now have the answer to that issue by using extremely sharp and close cuticle cutters, my newest ‘tool’ investment (again from my friend Amazon). They are so flush cutting and sharp they can also cut the wood of the block, which I did and consequently had to replace, so care is needed. I also vary the use of watered down white glue, hypo-cement, and CA depending on the situation. I'm comfortable with each, they each have their pros and cons, why fixate on just one or the other.
 
Finally, I have a bunch of empty thread spools to transfer Chucks now historical rope, marked with the size. Not sure what I’ll do when these go empty for the last time, maybe a Rope Rocket in my future, but not for this model - I have what I need.
 

 
And off I went. The bowsprit collar is shrink wrap plastic (but I also use black card or black masking tape again depending on the situation). The rings in this case are made from 22 gauge black wire for some extra heft and of course a little (very little) weathering powder brushed on.  The blocks are seized to the hooks with fly fishing line while the served rope is seized with 50wt poly thread. The thimbles are from 1.6mm thin brass tube (yes, Amazon). The hooks have larger eyelets to accommodate the thimbles. Of note these where done before my “discovery’ of cuticle cutters, but I didn’t want to go in there after the fact for fear of cutting off more than I wanted to cut in such close quarters. This is one of this macro hi-res photo things. I didn’t even notice excess thread until I looked at the photo for this log entry.
 

 
Here’s the bowsprit end of the bobstay tackle and guys, naturally I’m using blocks from Syren.
 

 
 

 
And the bow side view of the same. The bobstay is belayed to its pin, but loosely. Like most I don’t tension the lines completely until later. The guy lashing took some experimentation (it was replaced more than once) and research, none of which was definitive. I learned many different techniques were used both by modelers and on the actual ships. In the end I opted to seize the line at the bow eyelet and tie it off at the center after two loops through the guy thimble and seize the running end past the knot (essentially a sheeps bend). And…I remembered to put on the traveler before the blocks, so it will just hang there a while.
 
Next I turn my attention to the mast.  Thanks for stopping by, the likes and especially the comments are always welcomed and appreciated.

Druxey: watching this like a hawk and enjoying it. I know I could wait and see, but can I ask about your plan for the stern?
Comparing your last photo in #23 above ...

 
... with the stern shapes in this photo ...
 

 
... I take it the shapes do (or will) match. It may be the photos but the subtle hint of tumblehome on the museum piece isn't obvious to me in the plug.
Go on, tell me it's there and I am just not seeing it 🤐.
Great job so far, looking forward to the next instalment.
 
Bruce

I am further busy with sanding the hull. The starbordside is finished. At the port side some further sanding at the stern is necessary. It's a lttle bit difficult to get this really smooth with stem glueded in place.
 

 

 
 

Next was to complete the spine of the cutter. Cutting the rabbet along the top of the keel was easiest for most of its length by attaching the keel (rubber cement again!) to a board and using a shaped scraper as shown. The stem and stern posts were scarphed on, the joints being accentuated with a little pencil. The aft scarph was unusually short, as shown on the surveyed plans.
 

Thank you Chuck for your kind words. But when you have a model of this quality, so well designed, it is easier to get a good result. A lot of the credit goes to the designer...
And thank you to all the 'Likes'.
 
Setting up the fashion pieces.
I decided to choose Alaskan Yellow Cedar as my wood for the fashion pieces. This wood has many advantages: it is easy to cut (I was able to use my cutter to cut the 1/16" thick pieces), it is easy to shape, and you get clean angles. Really a great wood!
 

 
First, I cut my pieces into perfect replicas of the plan. But then I realized that it was difficult to position them correctly... So I got inspired by the method used by Stuntflyer (Mike). I traced on the model the front location of the parts with a pencil. I cut my pieces with the back part slightly wider. Once glued precisely to the line, I simply sanded the back part. Be careful not to forget to leave a space of 1/32" along the transom while in the part that runs along the counter you have to sand level.
I glued the pieces with Titebond wood glue, which means that the preformed pieces must be held in place while drying.
 

 
The pieces are then sanded on the back side and reduced to a thickness of 3/64".
 

 
To finish, I simulated the reinforcement dowels by drilling 4 holes with reference to the plan. A sharpened pencil tip is inserted in the holes to round them perfectly and toothpick tips are glued. The whole is then finely sanded. I know that you won't see much once the fashion pieces are painted black but I hope that you will be able to see them under the layer of paint.
 

 

 

 
I will now proceed as many modelers have done to lay the first two strakes of planks directly under the wales before adding the second layer of the wales.
 
I have several questions that come to mind:
- Is it time to paint the outside of the counter red?
- I purposely left my fashion pieces slightly longer (they extend slightly past the bottom of the wales). Should I wait until I have installed my first 2 rows of planks before sanding them to the right length?
- If the manual contains precise indications on how to tapered the first 2 strakes of planks at the bow, nothing is indicated on the width of the planks at the stern. Should I keep them at their 3/16" width or should they also be tapered?

Thank you in advance for your help!
 
 

That is just not my style.  I dont like all of those little add-ons.  Never did.  Makes me feel like im working on a dollhouse.  Its just not my thing.  I am sure someone will add one before its all done.
 
Plus I want to leave some stuff for you guys to make it your own.

Just about completed the smoothing of the plug. It is worth taking time to refine this even though it isn't part of the model itself. A little filler was required in spots in order to create a smooth fair surface. Next will be several coats of gesso and sanding. The planking runs can then be marked out.

The sheer was sawn out and smoothed using shaped sanding sticks. The half-hulls were then joined with a central 'spine' to allow for the keel/stem/stern post assembly. The projection allows me to clamp the plug in my vise. Shaping then began using a sharp chisel and gouges.

Well, having read the thread on an article seen the drawings and photos about a cutter preserved in Venice, the beautiful form has inspired me to attempt to build a model in 1:48 scale. 
 
The first step was to download the photos of the pages in the article that showed the surveyed drawings.  These had to be stitched together and distortion removed, which was done in PhotoShop. Then  the drawings had to be re-sized to 1:48. Having  the overall length, width and depth helped define the reduction required.
 
Once the drawings were to scale, I could begin. The first step was to begin preparing a plug on which to build the hull. Leaves of yellow cedar were cut from blocks (1) and sanded. Four layers a scale 4" thick, two layers 8" and one layer of 15" were needed for each half of the plug. These thicknesses matched the waterlines on the plan (2).
 
Tracing paper was used to transfer the waterlines to the leaves of cedar and laid down using graphite paper (3). The opposite pairs of wood leaves were rubber cemented together before cutting them out on the scroll saw.
 
To be continued!

I was about to glue the column into position when I thought to check out a few more contemporary models.  I was browsing through "The Legacy of a Ship Model" by Rob Napier and most of the columns were red and I really liked the look.  The natural column got kind of lost which is probably why you see most them painted red or white (ivory).
 
So I decided to paint it red....long story short and I think it looks even better.  You at least now get to see it both ways and hopefully it will help you decide.
 

I am further busy with sanding the hull. The starbordside is finished. At the port side some further sanding at the stern is necessary. It's a lttle bit difficult to get this really smooth with stem glueded in place.