Eurus

Thank you!

An interesting ship for sure! Following!

Hello friends! I'll be on shore leave for some time, so no updates in the immediate future. I hope to be back at the shipyard next month. Meanwhile, no shipbuilding, but I can still participate in the forums. Cheers from Mexico! 🍹

The next module is located aft of the mainmast, and it comprises two ship stairs, a skylight, the funnel and twin mushroom ventilators. Later it will also have a commemorative plaque, a clinometer and the ship’s bell. In picture 1 you can see the assembled module. Unfortunately, the dimensions are wrong, and it is too long. In order to keep things authentic, I had to cut it to reduce its size; however, this resulted in an unsightly patch on the deck, as can be seen in picture 2. ☹️ Picture 3 shows the mushroom ventilators for reference, and also the ugly patch on the deck planking. I plan to obscure it with some rope coils in the event that the dye and varnish do not manage to hide it. 😞 In picture 4 the module is treated with filler and sanded, and adjusted in place prior to gluing. I’m just checking everything fits together properly.

We return now to the ship’s galley deckhouse block. As you can see in picture 1, the same problem we had with the wheelhouse has appeared here: the top piece does not match the dimensions of the block and some augmentations are required. Luckily, I have lots of scrap material. In picture 2 the galley is ready, augmented and sanded, and it definitely looks better. The corners have been rounded as well. I will need to drill more holes for the portholes in order to match the real ship to port and starboard, and fill the extra ones in the lower aft wall. A ceremonial anchor will be located here later. This area is important, since much of the sailors’ activity takes place here, including the official ceremonies. In picture 3 the planks are in place—I really don’t know what should I call this area. It is a continuation of the foredeck, aft of the foremast and above the ship’s galley. I have heard the term cubierta de trinquete (foremast deck) but I suspect it’s not correct. Is it an “upper deck”? In the past, the lifeboats used to be stored here, before switching to self-inflating rafts which are more compact. So, I guess no “lifeboat deck” either. Take a look at the picture and tell me your opinion. Picture 4 shows the galley in place, prior to clipping and sanding the planks. Some Zamak doors have been included for scale, however, if you look closely at the photograph of the real Cuauhtémoc above, you’ll notice that both the size and shape are wrong. Also, there is no outer watertight door. I haven’t yet decided how to solve this. I put a stick in place of the mainmast for reference.

Looks fabulous!

And now for my next trick, I will attempt to turn a pile of scrap wood and the remains of an old diskette into the integrated bridge system central console of the Cuauhtémoc. Picture 1 shows what I’m talking about. I collected the materials and a lot of patience. In picture 2 you can see the result. The console is less than three centimeters wide, and I recon it is rather ugly, but remember that it is just to fill up the space inside the wheelhouse. At best, only the silhouette will be discernible. Even then, I tried to make it at least decent-looking, and you might recognize the order telegraph, a telephone, the radar and AIS screens, engine control and of course the caña (rudder joystick). Picture 3 shows the console in its place inside the wheelhouse. At this point I noticed that once I glued the roof, this section would be sealed forever; I would need to either completely furnish it beforehand, or think of an alternative to manipulate things on the inside. This alternative was to cut holes on the floors of the wheelhouse, as you can see in picture 4. Why did I need to do this? Because I will need access in the future in order to install the transparent window panes. In picture 5 you can see the interior of the map room painted matte black. I did not want to waste my time with extra detailing for unseen sections of the ship, and besides, this room has frosted windows and is always kept closed. I also painted the wheelhouse ceiling white, and in picture 6 you can see why: the ceiling panels are simulated, and I also added a fluorescent lamp. Notice the seat for the guardiamarina (officer of watch). This seat is painted in black to simulate the real one, as can be seen in picture 8. I will dye the floor a darker color, and the inside of the wheelhouse is ready. Remember the ugly problem with the outside of the wheelhouse? In picture 7 I corrected it, by augmenting the wheelhouse roof’s sides with scrap wood. The end result is not that bad, as you can see in picture 9. The wheelhouse is still not finished, but we will continue later. We need some more planking to do.

Both surfaces, and all areas. Apply it and then wait 10 minutes--or whatever the manufacturer recommends--and then press firmly together. After finishing, run the handle of a wooden tool pressing down on the planks to smooth them.

Awesome detail!

They look nice, if a bit long (the flues). If those squares on the cutting mat are centimeters, these are tiny harpoons indeed! It is extremely hard to work at such scales. Are you planning to paint them, add some rigging or whale-line, or dye the wooden shafts?

I decided to rest a bit from planking and focus my attention somewhere else instead. There are lots of small tasks to do, after all. I chose to work on the Cuauhtémoc’s wheelhouse. OcCre kits have horrible, glue-on imitation windows made of Zamak. These do no justice to the ships, so I decided to make my own. You can see the kit’s provided windows in picture 1, and a to-scale door for reference—these are not without problems, but we will deal with them later. On the left is the wall where the windows must be placed. For the actual window panes I will use some transparent plastic—I’ve been eyeing some old CDs. Picture 2 shows the process of drilling the holes for the windows. These were made with a Dremel multitool—one of the very few times I resorted to using it. The detailing I will do by hand, though. Picture 3 shows the wheelhouse pieced together prior to gluing, displaying my brand-new windows, and placed approximately where it should sit on the quarterdeck. Notice the hole for the mizzenmast for reference. Picture 4 shows another angle, and also the port wall with windows of its own. The problem with doing this is that now I have a partially-open, hollow wheelhouse that still requires even more windows and doors. Since the interior will be visible, I will have to furnish it—at least to an acceptable degree. All this is completely foreign to the OcCre kit, so we are sailing into uncharted waters now. There is also another ugly detail that can be noticed from the last two pictures: the top piece is the wrong size. I will need to add some augments from scrap material.

Very beautiful. Fantastic job!

Yes, it would seem like it is a common issue with OcCre. For me it helps that I have personally been on board the Cuauhtémoc on several occasions. I know the ship and also have a lot of pictures, but also this means that I sometimes get bogged down with the details. So far, I have accepted that it will be extremely difficult to exactly replicate every single detail, so I will settle for the middle of the road: there are issues that I find unacceptable, like errors of shape or scale, and others that I can live with. I have no experience in real-world shipbuilding, like you, I wish I had. However, I have a degree in mechanical engineering, which is always useful in these projects. For me, tall ships are attractive in a way that a modern warship is not--as awesome as they are. Perhaps it's the complex rigging or the adventuring sense they convey. I find them extremely beautiful.

Welcome to the forums! HMS Cheerful is a beautiful ship, and also quite a popular choice around here. Be sure to check the build logs. You'll find plenty of useful information.

With the main deck finished, it is time now to build the next element. This long deckhouse block is the ship’s galley, and also provides access to the rest of the Cuauhtémoc belowdecks. The other two doors that will be glued here later—port and starboard—lead to a pair of stairs and the ship’s mess. In pictures 1 and 2 you can see the galley—which was prepared separately—being adjusted in place. The forecastle deck is shown in its final position but still unglued. The big picture 3 shows the process of correcting the severe warp the deckhouse block had. The whole interior is now reinforced with wooden blocks to keep it square forever. This was an unexpected difficulty that I discovered only after the deckhouse was already built. One of the walls was subject to little tension forces that ended up deforming the whole structure. I left it in that correcting position for three days. Fortunately, the solution worked. Picture 4 shows the completed set of bulkheads in their place, and the finished main deck. In picture 5 you can see both the foredeck and quarterdeck positioned in place (not glued yet) along with the ship’s galley. Notice that the holes for the masts have been drilled. Up next: more planking…