GGibson

I like it, Mustafa! Very sharp looking. How much time was the copper plating process?

Looking great, John! Still totally envious of your superb soldering work! I am going to try a different soldering method when I get to that point, Hope I do as well as you! I'm finishing my dories and waiting on a few things, so have just started trying to shape my bowsprit. Good to see your mast shaping, as well! Great job! Carry on!

Great stanchion work, Bob! What tool are you using to create? Awesome job!

Sharp-looking ratlines, Geoff! Well done! 🏆 And all great recommendations/advice!

Just taking an uneducated guess here, but I'm assuming that, since this is a "beginner kit" model, and the instructions in the manual were, as I recall, pretty well laid out and the materials provided required little changes, the Model Shipways folks thought that a full-size plan sheet was not needed. I did note, though, on page 3 of the instruction manual, a small depiction of one page of some detailed plans... ... with the link to the Simon Watts website where you can purchase a full set of his plans for $30. Plans for the Norwegian Sailing Pram - SIMON WATTS WOODWORKING (simonwattsfurniture.com) If you are so inclined, please start a build log on your NSP, as we'd love to follow along. Fair winds and following seas...

Good luck on the chainplates! If you saw the comment on my build log, I definitely feel I should have cut my holes for the chainplates while I was putting the main rails and monkey rails in. If you've already got the chainplate slots prepared, you're way ahead of the game, and the chainplates themselves were actually kinda fun to make up. 👍

It all looks great, Tim! I'll be working on my soldering practice pretty soon, as well, as I need to do the same work on masts, booms and gaffs. And, yes, agreed that Model Expo is very good at getting stuff sent out quickly. My problem, at least for the orders to get to the Kansas City area, Model Expo sends by USPS, and the Post Office is horribly slow. Tracking shows that it will sit at some interim locations for a day or two before moving to the next Pony Express stop. <grrr> Anyways, back to your Bluenose build... been watching it move along, and I'm envious, you're doing awesome work. Carry on!

Thanks, hamilton! Would have liked to have done the catheads a bit better, but I'm... content with the result. And, yeah, I really do like all the details on these Bluenose fore decks. Appreciate you peeking in and commenting.

Exactly the input I was needing, John. Thanks!

I saw Kevin53's solution a few months ago in a post above , and "stole" it. Had to find a bigger container than an old kit box, however...

Thanks, John! Appreciate the follow and comments. Your Bluenose continues to look awesome! As I begin to work on the dories, I have a question for you (and whoever else cares to provide input) on placement of the dories and dory kids. Or, rather the timing of their placement. As I look at where these will be positioned on the deck, I am wondering if it might be advantageous to not place the stacked dories and racks on the deck until a good part of the mast rigging is completed. I can get the dories racked up, but wait to glue the kids onto the deck until all of the lines are tied in the deck ringbolts. As you all are getting to the masting and rigging, are you seeing this as a potential snagging or breaking concern, similar to, say, the main boom crutch back by the transom? Thoughts? Or am I just paranoid?

Very sad news, indeed, My heart goes out to Donna and family for fighting this ALS disease along with Jim this past year. I haven't been in this ship modeling community long, but I recognize legends when I see them. Rest in peace, sir.

Impressive, gentlemen! And a nice looking HMCS St Thomas, as well!

Another update - I finished the catheads and anchors. I didn't keep a whole lot of notes on this work during construction and install, so a pretty simple explanation. First of all, I did not like the Britannia castings of the catheads in the kit. So, like many others who have built this Bluenose, I scrapped the castings and created my own version. Not sure if they are totally in scale, but pretty close. For the pole portion of the catheads, I used a 1/32" brass rod and a small 1/8" square wood strip, sanded and tapered. At first, I bent the rods a bit too low (in that first pic), but before placing them on the ship, I adjusted their height. I also made a small little "stand" for the rod to sit in on the deck, using a rounded-off dowel cut very short. I really had to study and refer to several resources, especially the Bluenose II - Saga of the Great Fishing Schooners by L.B. Jenson, which I have referred to quite often in this build for information. This time it was to remind myself exactly how the catheads work in relation to the anchors and the windlass. Very interesting and informative. On page 55 of the book, Mr. Jenson has drawings of the working anchors and cables in various stages of operation, whether it was anchor positions during normal stowage, when the club anchor (port side) was ready to let go for normal anchoring in harbor, or when the fishing anchor (starboard side) was ready to let go. From that discussion, it appears that there was actually just the one cathead (davit) on board, and they would shift it from one side to the other depending on need. For this kit, though, we are putting two catheads in position. As I said, very interesting. With all that said, I placed the port side club anchor on the cathead and ran the anchor chain from the anchor, through the hawse pipe, looped it around the windlass a few times, laid a few flakes of chain on the deck (my flakes did not come out awesome), and the remaining chain in the wooden box. I thought that all came out pretty well. For the starboard side anchor, the cathead stands empty, with the anchor, wood stock and coiled hemp cable laid on the deck for display. Under normal stowage, according to Mr. Jenson, this starboard-side fishing anchor would be stowed with the lower fluke lashed to a ringbolt inside the rail with the stock hund outside the rail, nearly vertical against the side (which is pretty much how the port side anchor is secured). Dories are next. And, from what I've read of others' build logs regarding the dories, this will no doubt be challenging. And, with the Thanksgiving holiday approaching, I will be surprised if I get past these before then. With that said, to my fellow USA modelers, have a safe and enjoyable Thanksgiving holiday weekend. To all, fair winds and following seas!

Great idea on using the jig, Jon. Gives it a nice consistency in rope lengths, etc. Need to remember that! They look sharp. Well done, sir!

How do you do it? You tie Tanic down well. 👍

A couple updates... I needed to complete the work on the chain plates before I did too much more on other things. I mentioned in my previous post that I figured to have some valid reason for not cutting the holes/slots for the chainplates while I was putting in the rails. And I was kicking myself now for every one of the twenty (20) slots I had to cut into the rails after-the-fact. Message to all future Bluenose builders... CUT THE CHAINPLATE SLOTS WHEN YOU INSTALL THE RAILS! OK, enough self-criticism... here's what I was able to accomplish. I marked the locations of the chainplates on the main rails and the monkey rails based on the plans. In order to assure that I was drilling the holes on the correct side of the bulwarks and, when drilling the holes in the quarter deck rails, going thru both the monkey rail and main rail, I decided to drill from the underside, from the bottom up, to give myself a better visual of where I was going with the drill bit. I also was reminded how crucial the placement of the main rails is on top of the bulwark and stanchions, in order to give you the spacing required for these chain plates. Anyways, I used a #61 micro drill bit to begin each hole/slot and then, using my 2 largest micro-size precision reamers, I enlarged each of the slots until a "test" brass strip could fit into the hole. The kit-provided brass strips are 1/64" thick by 1/16" wide. But, when the tops of the strips are folded over to secure the wire holding the deadeyes, that thickness doubles to 1/32" plus a bit more due to the twisted wire thickness. As the chain plates were slid into each hole for testing, the paint job on the rails and the hull was taking a beating. Definitely going to require a lot of touchup. Again, another reason for doing this cutting sooner. <head slap> Actually, preparing the chainplates and deadeyes was the smoothest part of this process. I prepared a small jig, similar to what was done for the pintles and gudgeons, in order to drill the holes in the chainplates per the plans. My new Proxxon drill press with the X/Y table came in handy once again! Then, using a pair of hemostat forceps and a vise, I wrapped the thin brass wire provided in the kit around the deadeyes and twisted them. That is what, then, was secured into the tops of each chainplate. Long story short (I know, too late for that), I was able to place each of the twenty (20) chainplates and deadeyes in their locations with some work. Drilled holes in the hull at the chainplate hole locations and, using small brass nails with heads on them and a spot of CA glue, secured the nails to the chainplates to simulate bolts. I then spot-retouched all of the paint job that I had damaged in the process. I hope they will all look good once I get to the rigging. Before I get to the anchors and cathead installation, I wanted to do some additional work on the deck. I was wanting to place some barrels just ahead of the cabin, but wasn't totally sure how to place them. I was then inspired by the work that John Ruy has done on his Bluenose, as well as looking at the pictures of the old Bluenose on the Nova Scotia Archives website. So, I constructed a little rack holding a half-dozen barrels along with a couple other barrels tied to the front of the cabin. The barrels I used were from Model Shipways, 35/64" x 15/32" (14x12mm), and I think were sized about right. I also had a slightly bigger alternative, but that sized barrel just looked too big for scale, even for the black ones that are tied to the cabin. Not perfect, but I think they came out pretty well, and they add nicely to the deck furnishings, as depicted in those old pictures. Thanks to John for the reminder and the inspiration! Now I think it's time for the catheads and anchors work. Let's see how well this goes...

Welcome, TJM! Enjoy the benefits of the MSW community. And, I've had to remind myself many times... This Model Ship World forum is not a competition of who's best or fastest, but simply an awesome forum to share both our struggles and our successes and learn from one another. Look forward to seeing your HMS Flirt build log!

Very neat project, Brad! Thanks for sharing! I have the OcCre 1:300 scale kit in my shipyard to work on "sometime in my lifetime". In the meantime, it's fun (and educational and entertaining) to look at others' builds! And, unlike the very original vessel, it appears from this picture that, no matter how many passengers it carried, your original model didn't sink! 👍Great work by your N.S. team! Will watch the new build with interest!

Lots of interesting options that look nice, but think I still want to wait on a Byrnes! I was just at our local ship modelers' club meeting today, and I asked around the room what the guys were using, as most of them are scratch builders, and I heard a series of "Byrnes, Byrnes, Byrnes....." responses. 👍

Good looking out, pre-rigging, John! Always nice to spot those items now rather than a "how am I going to get that in there now?" moment later! Already found a few of those on mine as I progress but will do the same check when I get to your point in the build, as well. Looking forward to watching your rigging success.

Looks really sharp, John! Great work, sir! I can probably look back and see, but did you paint or blacken the small brass pieces around the mast? I'm working on the chain plates now, and the blackening has worked pretty well for them. Will do the same, I think, when I get to the stage you are at, as well. Going to take another approach to soldering and do some more practicing. Anyways, back to your Bluenose... you're about to the rigging stage now, aren't you? Super cool! Carry on, John!

Yep... I'm just waiting on their email reply saying they are back from their vacay! 👍

Thanks for clarifying, Mustafa! As I said before, it really looks like an awesome planking. Carry on, sir!

Planking looks really good, Mustafa. Congrats on a smooth job! Curious, though, on your choice of butt joint spacing. I generally read about recommendations for 3 or 4 plank spacing before repeated butt joints. Yours looks like only 2. Does the copper plating that will cover a good part of the hull have an effect on that decision? Not meant as criticism but genuinely curious as to process, being a new modeler. I'm enjoying watching your build log!