GGibson

Thanks, Jon! I've been looking back at your build log multiple times for guidance. Thanks, Peter! This is where I say "hold my beer", though, as I'm confident I'll screw it up somewhere along the way. Thanks, Mustafa! And a great reminder on the wood grain. I thought I had the right size mill bit, but... so it's on order and working on a couple other areas.

Very creative and successful way to make the double eyebolts, Frank! Nice work! Will need to remember this when the time comes. 👍

Welcome to Model Ship World, sir! You will love the support and resources you will find here. I have absolutely enjoyed my time here. With no prior model building experience to speak of, I quickly learned that I needed to start small and build confidence before I built ships. So, I built two of the Model Shipways combo series boats, and then three more ships before I felt I had the confidence and experience to tackle the Constitution. I have recently begun that journey. With your prior model building experience, you will undoubtedly do well with whatever ship you choose next. Best wishes and be sure to begin a build log. As I said earlier, the available support and resources here on MSW are endless. Have fun!

Looks like a fascinating trip, Mustafa. Amazing history in that region! And a great looking family! Curious what do your grandchildren call you? In the USA, we have several variations of what our grandchildren call us, anything from Grandpa to Papa to Gramps, and others. In our family, I am Papa to my 5 grandkids, and I love hearing that word every time it is uttered!

Carronades with the screw elevation look good!

A little report on what I’ve been working on… and what I’ve been thinking about. Before I firmly secure the false gun deck, I need to provide some additional support or reinforcement for the masts, as others have done at this stage. For the mizzen mast and main mast reinforcements, it was simply a matter of placing some small 1/8” thick stock on either side of the bulkhead former. Since the foremast location is right at where a bulkhead crosses, that reinforcement piece had to be notched in order to fit. Took a few sanding efforts for it to slide in securely on either side. Next task was to make the false gun deck using the gun deck template. As I mentioned in my earlier post, I made these panels in four pieces in order to fit down on the gun deck level and get past what’s left of the spar deck support beams that were trimmed. As you can see from the pictures above, I made the cuts in the false gun deck at the mast locations, as well as where the faux stairs going down to the berth deck will be located. As I am writing up this build log after-the-fact, I do not recall which plans I was using to mark the necessary openings, but you will notice that the center stairs hatch opening is the same width (port to starboard) as the fore and aft hatches. More on that in a bit. To replicate the stairs going from the gun deck to the berth deck, I used a simple technique that Mustafa used for these stairs. Since they will not be able to be seen in intricate detail but just need to give a simple impression of stairs going to a lower level, I thought this was a great solution. According to the USN plans, these stairs are 23” wide, which converts to 0.33” scale. After creating the stairs, I began work on the gun deck hatches that these stairs will be attached to. These hatches were 1/8” tall, which converts to a “real” height of 9.6”. However, after I made one complete hatch, I reviewed plans and pictures again, and I am going to redo the hatches using 1/4” high edges, which I think will look better. They will have a step-up on the outside of the hatch stairs, as well, which is how the current hatches appear. So, back to the center stairs issue. As I have stated already several times in this build log, my intent is to replicate, as close as I can, the 1812-ish Commander Hull version of the Constitution. As Jon Gerson so aptly described back in his Post #197 in March 2018, the gun deck’s center hatch configuration has changed multiple times, including the 1927 and 1931 restorations and its current appearance. What I noted as differences between the above plans and how the Constitution currently looks is the direction of the ladders going from the gun deck to the berth deck. While the current configuration has the ladders positioned “east-west” or port to starboard, the older plans show these ladders positioned “north-south” or bow to stern. Interesting! And I also learned that the Bluejacket plans, which are focused on the War of 1812 era configuration, have these ladders in the “north-south” position, as well. So, that’s what I am going to do. To do this, that center area needs to be widened to accommodate the stair repositioning. So, the cuts I had initially made in Bulkhead J need to be made bigger. One of my Zona saws made quick work of that and the Dremel cleaned up the bottom. I then re-cut the two forward false gun deck panels with the larger center hatch area. Everything seemed to fit well and looked good. So, I think my next steps are going to be securing this false gun deck to the bulkheads, installing the gun deck waterways and work more on the various hatches. Using another one of Mustafa’s techniques, I am going to attempt making the gratings, rather than using the kit-supplied gratings. Once again, Mustafa showed his technique that he saw on another person’s build log. I will try that. One thing I quickly learned, though… in making these hatches that will have gratings in them, make the gratings first. We’ll see how things go. On to the next set of challenges! Appreciate the likes, comments and criticisms.

Nice work, Peter. Your ship looks great! Quick question, though, to show my ignorance. How are the belay pins getting in the way of the chain plates and channels? I'm not visualizing the concern. Wouldn't the work for each be on either sides of the rail? I can see, though, having the belay pins in before working on the shrouds so they are easier to secure in their place without the rope lines in the way. Just a curious question...

Well, there is a distinct difference between having the luxury of soldering and the luxury of doing soldering well ! You have the latter ability, Mustafa! I'll have plenty of practice, though, as I get deeper into my own build. Not to get ahead of your discussion in what you are probably about to work on, but what are you going to use for the netting in these stanchions? I've seen others use tulle, which I was unfamiliar with until I saw others using it for purposes like this. I saw that Jon used it on one of his last builds, as well. Exciting to see you moving forward with all of this!

Truth be told, Ben is my rope guy at Ropes of Scale. But you, Chuck, are my blocks & deadeyes guy. Always have been, always will be. As much as you guys who do make your own make it look easy, it's much less frustrating for me to simply get my credit card out. Fair enough! I'm a long ways out from needing them, though, so I'll bide my time. Get some rest, Chuck!!

Hope your Lobster Smack build goes well, Trevor! And I think posting your build progress would be valuable to others. As I recall, there were just enough nuances that individuals encountered in their builds, whether it was due to manufacturer quirks in their laser cutting or how each of us did something slightly different that made our boats unique, that having several resources to look back on were ever so helpful. And with your fine work on the Norwegian Sailing Pram as evidence, your Lobster Smack build will also shine. Looking forward to whatever updates you provide on this build. It was a frustrating build for me as an inexperienced builder, but it was enjoyable! Have fun with it!

I love your jig creation, Mustafa! Perfect stanchions. Great work, sir! 👍🏆

Fantastic work, Mustafa! It's obvious that you put your milling machine to a lot of work making everything fit together perfectly. And I love the pictures that are (once again) showing the open spar deck and exposed gun deck. This is what I hope to shoot for with my Constitution. That last picture reminded me to ask you, though, are you eventually intending to place boats on the main hatch or leaving them off to help keep exposed as much of the gun deck details as possible? Curious...

Port side looks awesome, Peter! Great work, sir!

Awesome rigging work to complete your Bluenose, Rick! Congratulations!

Thanks, Frank! Watching your build log, as well. Appreciate your follow. Appreciate you looking in and giving the advice, Mustafa! Yeah, I recall on both your build log and Jon's (as well as a few others that have detailed their gun decks) that additional spar deck support beams were required, and not all where the original ones were cut. I feel confident, though, that I cut these far enough back that the edge planking where the carronades will be placed will cover the old ones. Thanks for looking out for me, sir!