Snug Harbor Johnny

'Looks like you're going to leave the "Captain's walk" on ... I suppose when the original was repainted and fancied-up prior to the Queen Knighting Drake, they might have added one for show. Her saving it 'for posterity' (so Queen Elizabeth thought at the time) made it the second 'museum ship' in history - the first being the ship of Theseus in ancient Athens, which was continually repaired with new wood for hundreds of years ... until none of the original wood remained. This led to the logic problem of, 'is it really the ship of Theseus ?'. The GH was in such bad shape in, what, 60 or so years that what was left got buried in situ. I've wondered why there has been no effort to do archeology in what is thought to be her resting place using modern techniques. That would likely reveal the hull lines and gunport locations, as well as settle the question about the Captain's walk.

I'd loathe drilling a hole through a relatively thin mast section to accommodate a halyard ... even if that is 'called for'. That creates a weak point, unless that portion is reinforced by a metal collar. I'm opting for a pair of blocks on either side (jeers fashion), with the line in one continuous piece that goes through a block (for a single halyard) on the other side ... for a project still being mulled over.

Will there be any latrine holes in the bottom of the forecastle ? Obviously, the heads will be concealed within the structure, so there's no need to construct the seats ... unless you want to - in case anyone wants to examine the underside of the forecastle using a mirror. Hmmm, kinda like some show cars where the undercarriage gets painted-up nice and they show it off with a mirror on top of a wheeled floor jack.

Now the Mary Rose was built way before there was anything like a Sears catalog, but a source indicates that in Roman times there was a sponge on a stick placed in a water bucket at the latrines, and all the men used the same implement to clean themselves. Maybe there was something like that in Henry's time.

What can you put in a barrel and make it lighter? ... Holes 😉

Even if the Mary Rose Forecastle was in pieces, they could still put the 'jigsaw' back together with sufficient funding.

You can find something uncommon on Amazon or eBay by looking every day ... takes a schedule, and may take weeks or months - but don't you know, in time what you're looking for may pop up (on eBay more likely - but with books , second hand sellers do log new items as they get them ... otherwise they'd run out of books to sell). Case in point: I needed to find a hat band sewing machine - the kind with a very HIGH throat to accommodate the wide brim of 'old time' hats. This is because I took on piecework to make repro Colonial soldiers' hats (tricorns), and was having a heck of a time sewing linen sweatbands inside the crown on a regular sewing machine. Since a lot of hat manufacture went overseas, so did a lot of the machines to to the work ... and those still in the U.S. are closely held. A classic Singer would have been preferred, but a Wilcox and Gibbs chain stitch machine would do (with going around twice incase someone wanted to monkey with either 'loose' thread at the beginning or end, which are needed to 'lock' the stitching. Pull the wrong thing and a whole line of sewing can come undone, explaining why some Civil War soldier uniform components that were not mended promptly would come apart ... blamed on 'shoddy' work, but procurers contracted with low bidders who bought loop machines that cost half of what lockstitch machines were going for. Anyway, I looked faithfully for over a year, and finally - on eBay ... a small concern way out on Long Island N.Y. was selling off two chain stitch machines. I bought one and drove up immediately to pick the better one. Even then, I had to do a lot of work on it to go into production. The moral is that patience can pay off ... sort of like fishing on a slow day.

Since the forecastle houses the 'heads', do you want to cut out waste holes for, say, a three-holer on each side? Having to carry waste out in buckets to throw over the side is a non-value added activity ... and risks soiling the side of the hull - or slipping in heavy swells and spilling it over the deck!

Keith is right, as I've used both Gutermann versus Mettler poly on the Siren 'Rope Rocket', and found Gutermann has minimal 'fuzz'. Making rope is cheaper, and you can customize it as needed by changing the number of threads in the 'set-up' ... but it is a process you have to learn to 'get right', takes time to do, and the length is limited by the room available. So I can understand buying rope from the available sources. Builders put so much time and effort into their models, so its a wonder that some will use 'fuzzy' rigging thread that does not have the nice definition that spun scale rope has. Photo close-ups DO accentuate the fuzz, which is less noticeable at a distance. BUT, a model made by my dad 70 years ago had rigging made of cotton thread that just disintegrated all by itself. Parts held by thread either fell apart, and rigging crumbled by the slightest touch. This was told to me after the fact by the brother who had the clipper model, and since he thought it a total loss - the model was trashed. Had I known this before he made that decision, I could have offered to replace all the rigging with poly scale rope - a bit of trouble, but worth it for an heirloom.

Ahoy Joanie ! 'Glad to have you aboard. You've done VERY well so far, and I understand your frustrations that the instructions and illustrations in the Billing kit are somewhat lean. But I have a suggestion to offer that will come in most handy at the stage of the build you are in. It is a book (now out of print, but a copy can be found on-line ... I got mine through Amazon.) It is "Bluenose II - Saga of the Great Fishing Schooners" by L.B. Jenson published by Nimbus (1994) ... Soft cover 11 x 14 format of the original hand drafted drawings with cursive text. Don't be put off that the subject is the Bluenose 2, as the author has included hull drawings of Bluenose (I) on pp.66-67 - and notes that the masting and rigging of the two schooners were virtually identical. So the copious and detailed drawings of everything above deck level (sails, rigging, blocks, etc.) are perfectly useable for both Bluenose and Bluenose II. (As can be found today on-line, there was a controversial 're-build' of Bluenose II where many changes were made, although the 'new' ship looks much the same at a distance. The A.L. kit seems to model the present version, so I'll use Jenson's book to be closer to the original Bluenose II.) The Jenson book goes FAR more into the origin, contemporary schooners, the life of the fisherman and much more. I can heartily recommend this book, and can't imagine building a model of Bluenose or Bluenose II without consulting it. Fair sailing ! Johnny

1.) I've always been a tinkerer (and formerly a manufacturing engineer). Modeling is a way to tinker any time of day or year, and is portable to a fair degree if downsizing is in my retirement future. 2.) It reminds me of working on my kid-sized bench building models alongside my dad building larger models on his adult work bench. It is a hobby I did until my late teens, when higher education and 'life' took over - and something I have returned to in old age. 3.) I've always been a 'knowledge junkie' as well with history, and its been non-stop learning ever since finding the MSW forum.

Just don't go sleepwalking in the back yard ... theres a nice cliff over a lake below.

'Quite forgot about the "Panic of 1873", which caused a severe recession (only exceeded by the 'Great Depression" of the 1930s) for several years and the failure of some 100 banks. Noted for railroad failures and the lost fortunes of many investors and ordinary savers, the severe recession also impacted the ship building industry. 'Can't help but think that McKays finances took a devastating hit (as did many others), and there were no 'safety nets' (e.g. energy assistance, food stamps, Federal Deposit Insurance, unemployment insurance, etc.) in those days. Many hard working people in their later years were unable to every recover from so great a loss, while those still in their prime had the time and energy to 'start over' and recoup.

Despite many successes with clippers, McKay's fortunes declined. Was that because all the profits went 'back into the business'? I suppose he could have saved more along the way to provide for his old age. Some text from his life post 1875 is copied below: Soon he found it useless to continue and reluctantly closed his yard and moved with his family to a farm in Hamilton, Massachusetts. Here he struggled to make a living from the ground and on September 20, 1880, died almost in poverty after a brilliant career that should have brought him great wealth and high honor. Donald McKay, Master Shipbuilder - U.S. Naval Institute

'Looks like the 'second guy' 'painting' may be leaning over the gunwale (like one might do in case of sea sickness) with his chest (or lower torso) bearing on the gunwale - permitting free use of both arms/hands to do whatever. The three points of contact with the ship are the torso and his two feet (not seen), which is a stable configuration - and with most of his weight being behind the gunwale, there is little risk of toppling over ... of course, he might be kneeling. The standing figure on the right gives a fair idea of the height of the gunwale above deck. I note that in some ship paintings, there are verticals at intervals projecting above that rail to support a higher rail. And shields can be affixed to this framework if needed for action.