GGibson

Same plan for me, for when I start it! 👍

Looks like you were both correct!

It may be different on the Constitution, but I've always thought staining after placement was best. Someone with better experience may differ in that suggestion, though. Looking great, however, Peter! And good luck on those 😁...

Another very small update since it's been over a month. Had some travels to attend the oldest granddaughter's HS graduation and a few other distractions, as well as just taking some time on this area of the Bluenose build. Time to work on the lower mast shrouds. Cut out the kit-supplied oval deadeyes from the sheet, cleaned them up the best I could (these things are small!), strung them on some thread, dipped them in some stain, and hung them to dry. Using some .5mm (0.019") black rope for the shrouds, I tied and seized the eight lengths at the tops of the lower shrouds and, as others have done, created a "spacer jig" with some wire in order to manage the consistent length of each shroud and deadeye. Getting some small grooves around the oval deadeyes was helpful in securing the rope to the deadeyes before hitting them with some diluted PVA and seizing with smaller thread. Have now just begun to run the lanyards between the oval deadeyes and their respective round deadeyes. I am using .35mm (0.013") tan rope for the lanyards. Two lanyards down, fourteen to go. Can't wait until I get to the ratlines...!! 🤣🤣 And, in the "for what it's worth" category, I hate these extreme closeup photos that detail how bad some of this paint job is... Grrr..... As always, appreciate the comments and criticisms.

I purchased Bob Hunt's Bluenose practicum when I began my Bluenose and used it fairly extensively in the early stages of my build. However, as I have progressed, I have hardly used it at all, relying more on other MSW Bluenose build logs that, to Peter's point, have awesomely progressive pictures associated with their content, making them more beneficial to me to follow. In anticipation of "someday" getting to my own Constitution presently sitting in a box up on the shelf, I also purchased Bob Hunt's Constitution practicum now (to save money in case his price increases over the next few years), as I simply look at his practicum as an additional tool/resource in this hobby. Truth be told, though, I will no doubt rely more on other MSW Constitution build logs like what you gentlemen have been documenting, as they are much more detailed and have more "oops, avoid this..." type precautions. With all that said, gentlemen.... Carry on! 🏆👍🏆👍

The latest promotional email received today is advertising it as a beginner's model.

A ton of great information here in this last series of posts, Jon! Thanks for sharing! I have purchased wood strips from Joe at Modelers Sawmill - Milled wood lumber strips for the model ship builder - Modelers Sawmill. I'll probably look to him again when I get to my own Constitution. Great work on yours, sir!

Got this email yesterday. Any guess on what this one is...?!?

I've had mine since Feb 2023 when I moved the shipyard down to a basement room. It's quite comfortable to sit for hours at a time, has wheels (as you can see) which makes it nice to roll easily to a couple additional tables I have in the room, and I like the arms to rest on, but they do both pivot up out of the way, if needed. Amazon.com: Modway Veer Reception Desk Flip-Up Arm Drafting Chair in Black : Office Products

Welcome back, Mustafa! I've been away from my Bluenose for a bit, as well. Need to get back to my shipyard! I love the look of those doors! Great work, they look awesome!

Great work, John! you are SOOO close to being done. Looking great!

I bought the OptiVisor once, but it didn't fit my big noggin. I wear a 7-7/8 fitted cap, so it needs to be BIG!

Nice work, John! Hard to get into those small spaces! Lots of pics with tweezers in the camera shot! Excellent! I'm getting my lower shrouds in now. Wish I was as far as you, but then I keep telling myself I am in no particular hurry... take it slow! 👍🏆👍🏆

Was not familiar with Cookster's build log, although I have been bookmarking other logs for when I get to my own Constitution build. Will add his to all of yours, as well! Lots of research and reading to do once I get to that point!

Nice looking pedestal! Is the center brace a part of the practicum or was that an add-on? Looks great and provides additional support, I am sure.

Well, after last week's start with the pre-rigging on stuff coming off the main mast, I continued around the ship and tried to catch every bit of rigging that I could do now, off the ship, for each of the five (5) booms and gaffs. I've doubled my seven pre-riggings to fourteen (14) and have labeled them (hopefully accurately enough to know where they go!). The ones on the top row are what I completed since last week. Unless I am forgetting another important step in the pre-rigging process, it appears my next task is to get the masts placed so that I can begin on the lower shrouds. But... before that, I think it is also time to get the Bluenose on its display base/pedestals, and also get the dories and kids firmly placed, as I've been holding off on their placement for fear of snagging them. Might also get the silkspan out that I recently ordered for the sails to see how easily it will be to work with. Appreciate all the advice, likes and comments.

Spoiler alert!!! 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️😄🤣 Just happened to peek at this thread again as I saw it on the home page as a recent post, and I love to peek at "all things Chuck"! 👍 This Speedwell looks awesome, sir!

Yep! I do what sounds like a "mix" of what James, Micha and Terry all do, and we are all arriving at the same finished entry. But I have never used the drag-and-drop, either. I will "prep" my pictures ahead of time using my PC's Photos app, doing all of the cropping, resizing, etc. there. Then, when I am creating a post, I will add all the photos I intend to use in that post at once, so the picture thumbnails appear in the UPLOADED IMAGES section below the text window. Then, as I am typing text, if I want to place a picture at a specific location after a paragraph, I hit enter so that the cursor is on a new line and then click the picture I want to insert. Boom! If I know I want to center the picture, I will hit the center alignment icon either before or after placing the picture. If you do that, though, and after inserting the picture, be sure to click back on the left-align icon, or all your continuing text will be centered, as well. One caveat to this procedure, though... if you don't place all of the pictures you have "pre-chosen" and are in the UPLOADED IMAGES section somewhere into your reply, they will auto-load at the end of your entry once you hit SUBMIT REPLY. If that happens, you can edit your reply entry and either delete it if no longer wanting to post it or re-insert it wherever you like by placing the cursor where you want it and click the picture, then deleting where it got stuck at the end. Sorry if this got too wordy in my explanation version! EDIT: I re-reading PvG's initial query, it sounds like he is doing fine with the upload, but then just not "telling" his text reply where he wanted the picture specifically placed, so they are all dumping at the end, as I noted in my last paragraph. So... ignore my first two paragraphs of yapping! 🤣🤣

Thanks, Ed! Yes, your build log has been an excellent reference for me. Appreciate the work you put in. And, yes, I know critics will say (rightfully so) that all the metalwork should be blackened, but I really do like the way the shiny brass stands out, so... I go against the purists on that one. <shrug> Wish I was able to duplicate the shackles, though. I just haven't had much success in creating those at a small scale and I see where I would need to do many more in some upcoming rigging. For now, I've just been going from spar to spar on the plans to see what rigging I can prepare in advance so that, once I get the masts up and start tying down the shrouds, hopefully most of the rigging will just need to be placed in its spot, connected to eyebolts, pins, etc. Nervous about it all, but I just keep telling myself to slow down and be patient with it all. Thanks again for peeking in. Appreciate any advice as I trudge forward!

Great explanation and, as always, great work, Mustafa. Thanks for taking the time to document and explain. 👍

I think I commented earlier, Mustafa, how impressed I am with how you make your ladders so consistently. As I recall, you said you had a little jig made for the ladder construction. Just curious, though... could you have made these at the same time you were making the ones that go up to the gun deck, or is there a slight variation in the pitch or angle that you needed to check on and couldn't until you got to this point? Any efficiency in doing it either way? As I said, though, they look awesome! Totally impressed, sir!

He trained in the T-45, flew F/A-18 in 2 deployments and has been flying the F-5N as a part of the fleet adversary program for about 12 years now. Appreciate your service, as well! 👍🏆

Ahhh, very awesome, Pete! Thank her for her service! My son is a Navy pilot, so I am especially supportive of the military aviation community. 👍🏆

Was in Ames '73-'76. 👍

Ahhh.... Very nice! Have relatives that live in the Quad Cities area. I was at Carver-Hawkeye for an Iowa Women's BB game with #22 this past year.