Sterlingclements

Stern decking sanding complete, tung oiled. Deck hardware installed, including mainstay and jibsheet horses, pumpwell deck plates, hawse holes, cleats and a plethora of padeyes.

I did not like the result of painting the Britannia metal fittings black. So I decided to chemically blacken them instead. Very satisfied. Here is a before picture, after filing off the rough edges. One hawse hole unfilled for comparison, lower right. Second pic is one bath in oxidizer. Third pic is after a second bath.

A light coat of clear matte poly sealed the color.

On 6/8/2024 at 5:41 AM, Gregory said:

Those look really good..   If I were going to shoot for any improvement, it would be a more uniform size. 

Agreed, uniformity made a big difference in second batch. I don't have a paper slicer, so I set up a makeshift jig to cut consistent slices.

Second batch of hoops is much better. Slightly thinner and consistent width. 

On 6/4/2024 at 7:30 AM, gsdpic said:

Looks great!  The deck is so smooth and everything fits together so tight.

 

Regarding the mast hoops.....I also was not crazy about the bright brass rings and made my own out of wood.  I checked my build log but it looks like I did not explain the process.   As I recall, I made a wooden tube using a bunch of shavings from a plane.  I carefully planed some scrap bass wood trying to maximize the length and width of the shavings then glued them around a dowel that I had wrapped with either wax paper or foil.  The shavings were already naturally curly so it was a simple matter to glue them around the dowel.   Once the glue cured, I carefully sliced the tube as I slid it off of the dowel to create a bunch of hoops.

 

I went with some craft paper for the mast bands. Here's my first few. Not too bad for a first try. I cut thin strips, soaked them in diluted glue, then wrapped around a foil covered dowel. I later found tightly wrapping those with stretchy film got rid of ripples and voids. I will try another set applying what I've learned. Pics of first attempts below:

Aft deck planking installed. I have not finished with tung oil yet. I wanted to show a good contrast with the oiled fore deck. 

I have also started on the masts. Top mast is complete and installed on the main mast. Main mast is nearly complete. I need to install the sail hoops and spider. The kit supplied shiny brass hoops, but I am not sure how those will look. I may make my own. I'm open to suggestions on that. Here's some pics.

Latest update: decking is completed forward the break in the deck. I couldn't find any examples of partially planked decks online, so I went with what I thought would look good. Full planking to frame 5, but then progressively staggered open deck further aft. The nibbling was time consuming, but very satisfied with the results. Deck furniture installed as well. Finished with tung oil. I need to touch up the paint on the capstan. Aft of the break is next. The first pic  below shows the difference the tung oil makes, compared to the color of unfinished aft section.

@juhu There are five detailed cross section views that roughly correspond to frames 2, 6, 15, 23 and 31. There are also 10 half-section outlines, 5 bow port side and 5 stern starboard, but there are not plans for each frame. The included plans were good guidelines, but did not really match the supplied frames very well. It is definitely more a matter of "looks good, looks reasonable" as @gsdpic said. For me, making them symmetrical first was more important. Once symmetrical, I didn't mind if the overall shape was slightly different than the plans. No one knows what the real America's exact lines were anyway. So I'm just going to assume my model's lines are dead on b**ls accurate (that's an industry term) to the original.

Slow going, but making progress. Last bit of planking along bulwarks/timberheads complete. I had to order some 1/32" by 1/2" basswood strips for that, as that top plank is inset slightly from the lower planking. Also started the decking in earnest. This is my first attempt at nibbling, and you can see it at the bow if you zoom in. Fine sanding still needed. Also started on the cap rail segments. Final shaping on the cap rail will smooth out the angles.

@MrBlueJacket Thanks Nic! Here are a few more pics. Sanding of the hull is complete, waste wood from keel has been removed, bowsprit with sheave installed, rudder post installed. Rudder, some of the deck furniture and mast dry fitted. Sometimes I like a preview of the finished product. There's also a close up of the tiller, hand carved. 

1 hour ago, juhu said:

@juhu I do plan to use a natural finish. Probably tung oil.

All planks glued in place. Last plank on starboard bow still clamped in place to dry. Here's a pic of the port side.

Thanks @Roger Pellett, @Andy P2. Port stern planking complete at this point, pic shows stealers that I used. Lots of sanding ahead, but pretty smooth and tight fit at this point. Thanks for all the likes @gsdpic and everyone.

Just picked back up on this build, after an almost 2 year break to care for my father in-law. Planking is going well,  some pics below. I am only partially planking so frames, sheer/bilge clamps, deck beams, etc. can all be displayed. That's why the top most rows of planks end at frame 27 aft. Same with planks at the bow. Rudder post and rudder dry fitted. Lots of sanding in my future still.

Looking good! I had some of the same frame struggles with my America build. Used some good tips from Gary's build log, but used a different jig. See my build log if interested. I am back to planking now after taking significant time off. Life happens.

More deck furniture work. Turning 15 inches of 28 gauge steel wire into 30 straight pieces for the aft skylight. I also used my new mini table saw to make dado cuts for the skylight housing corner posts, barely visible if you zoom in on the first pic below.

I wasn't sure the wider ones would look good. Thanks for the validation! I just built the forward skylight. The plans called for a round base with eight vanes, so I thought an octagonal base would be a good choice instead. I tested it with some scrap boxwood first. It looked decent, so I made it in mahogany. It came out pretty well. Tung oiled version in last two pics.

Waterways installed, sheer caps installed on stern and most of port side. Starboard side is not far behind. Sheer caps at the stern will also be trimmed down once I start hull planking. First deck planks installed under bowsprit and bitts.

2 hours ago, fnkershner said:

I am considering my next model. I have the plans for this Schooner from the Smithsonian. I also have access to a CNC router. I have already modeled her in CAD. I have been trying to decide between this kit and just doing it myself from scratch. Can you tell me what you like and what you don't like about this kit? Looks like you had a lot of extra work to do with the framing.

Yes, the frames took a ton of work. They were made from a solid hull that is then sliced like bread to make individual frames The solid hull looks like it was machine milled. The milling of the interior was off center, causing the frames to be very unsymmetrical. However, once I got the frames to my liking, the rest of the build has been great. Additionally, scratch building the frames is beyond my skill level at this time, so this was still the best kit for me. If you plan on fully planking the model, you are probably better off with bulkheads versus frames. I love the kit especially for the deck beam assemblies as they look fantastic, and I do not plan to fully plank so I wanted the authentic frame look.

8 hours ago, dcicero said:

Just curious what kind of surface prep you did on the companionway before applying the tung oil.  I've always liked the look of that finish and yours looks great!

 

 

Dan

Just progressive sanding, with final sanding using 400 grit. Then apply tung oil with a lint free cloth, rub it in like car wax. In the above pic, the sill piece directly aft of the companion way doors (and fore the cockpit grating) is dry, no tung oil, for a good comparison of what a difference the finish makes. Both sill and companionway are made from the same piece of mahogany stock.

Companionway completed. I used tung oil to finish.

I used my Dremel with drum sander to make short work of the transom.

I do not plan to fully plank. I plan on doing a couple rows of planks on the deck center line and maybe one or two outboard. I plan on 1 to 3 rows of hull planking top and bottom. Need some planking to attach rigging points/deck furniture.

Schooner America. Frames are all glued in, stern/transom carved and glued. Shown here with deck beam assemblies dry fitted.

At long last, after checking each measurement multiple times and  dry fitting deck-beam assemblies to verify timberhead heights, I began glueing the frames to the keel. I started with frame 18, just fore the break in the deck, and worked my way forward through frame 1. I took my time making sure that the frames were not only square to keel/horizontal but were also symmetrical in height port/starboard and in width from center line to outboard edge. Results pictured below, including temporary installation of sheer clamp so I can further check planking fit and complete any touch-up fairing as needed. I also included pictures dry fitted deck-beam assemblies and a few keel-line views.