DocBlake

I’ve made some progress.  The stern is improved with only the fancy metal decoration to be added.  The pencil lines are for tree nailing that I forgot I hadn’t done.  Also, six gun port doors are installed.  I used the Syren kits and each door can open and close.  However, I intend to rig all 20 guns, so the doors will always be open.  And finally, I made a manger board; even though my forecastle and quarter decks will not be exposed.  I will know the board is there.  (The bow sprint is not glued yet.)
 


 

This is really two entries combined into one.  First I constructed 12 gun carriages.  They were made from some sheets of red heart wood left over from the capstan kit which I sent to Chuck Passaro.  He made his gun carriage kits from the red heart, which I think look really good.  I don’t care what my son says, I painted the gun barrels and the trucks black.
 

 
Secondly, I mounted six of the guns on the fore of the gun deck.  These will be pretty much covered up by the forecastle, but I wanted to rig them anyway.  It’s good practice.  I decided that I didn’t want to use those ‘beautiful’ round coils for the ends of the tackles.  When I visited the HMS Victory, the tackle lines look like they were just kicked under the carriages.  On the USS Constitution, the tackle lines were tied around the blocks, which is what I tried to do here.  It’s not exact, but close.  I have since touched up the paint on the guns.
 

 

 
 

I’ve gone as far as I want, for now, with the forecastle.  I installed the beams for the deck that were removed/broken from the forward kit supplied bulkheads.  All seems O.K. up front. 
Now I must turn my attention to the stern.  From reading the blogs of DocBlake and jsgerson, I realize that there are many potential problems with the transom back here.  As far as I can tell, I do have some problems, but they aren’t the same ones that they had.  So the work begins.  Also I’ve decided I’m going to use dark walnut for the outer planking above the white molding rather than Swiss pear.  I just like the look better.

I've started gluing up the main deck beams.  There are 12 in all, and each is comprised of three parts:  a thicker center part, and two thinner parts, with notches in them that glue to the forward and aft surfaces of the center part.  When glued up, the notches form the half-mortises for the carlings and ledges.  All in all, a pretty cool system.  The photo shows finished beams on the left, and the three components of a beam before glue up on the right.

Thanks, David.  The stove was fun to build, and as we've said many times "I know its there!"

I've started gluing up the main deck beams.  There are 12 in all, and each is comprised of three parts:  a thicker center part, and two thinner parts, with notches in them that glue to the forward and aft surfaces of the center part.  When glued up, the notches form the half-mortises for the carlings and ledges.  All in all, a pretty cool system.  The photo shows finished beams on the left, and the three components of a beam before glue up on the right.

I've started gluing up the main deck beams.  There are 12 in all, and each is comprised of three parts:  a thicker center part, and two thinner parts, with notches in them that glue to the forward and aft surfaces of the center part.  When glued up, the notches form the half-mortises for the carlings and ledges.  All in all, a pretty cool system.  The photo shows finished beams on the left, and the three components of a beam before glue up on the right.

LOL, Don!
 
I was really disappointed in how the stove looked before painting ; wood, paper, bits of metal and contrasting colors looked like a 5 year old's project.  But I kept telling myself that the paint will change everything.  It brought it together and camouflaged all my errors!  Thanks.

The lower deck planks are in place.  I set the stove in it's approximate position on the lower deck.  The space between the fore and aft lower decks is the hold.  It's separated from the two decks by bulkheads, and another bulkhead divides the hold into a hold/light room and the magazine.  The planking in the hold is applied directly to the frames.  There are no beams.

Planking of the lower deck s and hold is completed.  Next I'll start work on framing the main deck by installing the deck clamps.

Thanks, David.  The stove was fun to build, and as we've said many times "I know its there!"

Thanks, David.  The stove was fun to build, and as we've said many times "I know its there!"

Shaping up nicely Dave. Shame your stove will be hidden by all the beams.
David B

Nice work!  I think the  cabin roof turned out great.

Planking of the lower deck s and hold is completed.  Next I'll start work on framing the main deck by installing the deck clamps.

The lower deck planks are in place.  I set the stove in it's approximate position on the lower deck.  The space between the fore and aft lower decks is the hold.  It's separated from the two decks by bulkheads, and another bulkhead divides the hold into a hold/light room and the magazine.  The planking in the hold is applied directly to the frames.  There are no beams.

The deck beams for the lower decks installed.  The forward lower deck is where the stove sits.  The aft lower deck is really just a catwalk that leads from the hold.  The hold is subdivided into a hold proper with a light room, and a magazine where I'll add the gunpowder kegs and build the well and shot locker.

Planking of the lower deck s and hold is completed.  Next I'll start work on framing the main deck by installing the deck clamps.

Looking good!  The effect on the cabin top is quite striking, it worked out very well (even with your 'mistake').
 
But what's up with that big round silver hatch next to the scuttle?  

Finished with the deck and now working on the other details from Sheet 3 of the plans – binnacle, rudder, steering wheel, timberheads, etc. At the same time, I'm moving forward with painting the hull. 
 
Here's detail of the deck at the bow. I'm pleased with how it came out. The little dark piece at the forward edge of the scuttle hatch came from a different batch of pear wood than the rest of the deck. It's much less visible to the naked eye. The yellow spot just forward of that is I don't know what; can't even see it in real life. The deck is finished with Watco Danish Oil. I've never used it before but am looking for excuses to use it again. It's so easy and so pretty.
 

 
Here are some other views of the deck. The galley hatch is glued into place, but all of the other items are just placed for the photo and aren't yet affixed. Some of my coamings are a bit larger than spec; it's going to be crowded back behind the companionway where the bilge pumps go. 
 


 
The bilge pumps are also just placed for the photo. (That's not glue on the deck planks; it's natural grain - exaggerated by the camera.)
 

 
The cabin top is all walnut; my kit came with stock from 3 different batches – one dark, one yellow and one white. I intended to alternate the dark and yellow – starting from the center and working outboard. But I committed a rookie error; I didn't have enough yellow (which was really pulpy and unpleasant to work with anyway. So I switched to white. What I didn't realize until too late is that splitting the centerline with a yellow-and-dark pair (rather than placing a yellow plank on centerline) resulted in the pattern shifting to the right. So the whole thing looks off-center by one. It's going to bother me for eternity. And I mention it here only because I know what eagle eyes everyone has here. So yeah, I know.

Otherwise, I'm calling it a win. My heart wanted to finish the cabin top with varnish; my paintbrushes convinced me to go with water-soluble polyurethane. 
 


 
The red bulwarks and black rails have taken a beating from the environment of my workshop and the deck work. I've started giving those a new coat, along with the paint job on the rest of the hull. And I've taken to covering her loosely with plastic wrap to keep the new paint fresh.
 

 

Planking of the lower deck s and hold is completed.  Next I'll start work on framing the main deck by installing the deck clamps.

Planking of the lower deck s and hold is completed.  Next I'll start work on framing the main deck by installing the deck clamps.

Planking of the lower deck s and hold is completed.  Next I'll start work on framing the main deck by installing the deck clamps.

That transom angle is critical...and there is no easy way to get it right,  It also creates a very fragile joint until it's beefed up on the sides.  Go slow and carefully.  It will turn out.  See earlier in my log what can happen back there!  Jonathan had problems too.

Maury:  Yep.  Every time George needed an alias he chose "Vandelay".  When he lied about his employment he claimed to work for "Vandelay Industries".