Jay 1

She passed with flying colors--well done, Pete! Looking forward to seeing her fitted out with rigging and sails!

Cheers,

Jay

That sucks, Pete--know the feeling when these little guys take a tumble. Looks like you were able to repair her--don't see any signs of the mishap--and she's looking sweet as ever!

Cheers,

Jay

Wow, she's looking very nice--really like all the fine details of this kit!

Cheers,

Jay

You're right, Pete the newer bow looks fuller; also looks like the the newer version has slightly more dead rise and a bit more rake at the stern. Always nice seeing manual draughts--lookin' good!

Cheers,

Jay

Don, thanks for sharing the link! That's great that Google has made this little work available for free; I have an older reprint that I picked up for a reasonable price--generally these can be a bit on the pricey side. Spot on what you said about the book as well--there's a wealth of good information in the book that's from a contemporary source.

Another great reference is Tucker's "Arming the Fleet." While Tucker covers a broader spectrum of period armament, his information on late 18th and early 19th century US cannon is quite good.

Both these works are very reasonable in price (can't beat free for Muller) and relatively easy to obtain in comparison to Caruana's epic cannon tomes.

Again, thanks for posting this great resource, Don!

Cheers,

Jay

Wow, I really like your decking--it's a great effect! Also, your work is so clean and crisp--esp. where the planks meet the rails.

Cheers,

Jay

She's really looking sweet, and your trim works really nice, Pete! Looking forward to seeing the rigging and ballast go on!

Cheers,

Jay

Pete, that Epiphanes varnish is outstanding--it really makes your build pop and also highlights your skill as a builder!  Next time I'm at Woodcraft or Rockler's, I'll see if they stock Epiphanes--am hoping it comes in a matte finish, too.

Cheers,

Jay

Just received my copy today, and it is a pleasure to work with; esp. in comparison to the SBR tables! The size in comparison to Steel is also very convenient (I have the Sim Comfort edition), though one needs to place Alan's work on a stiff, flat surface for easier use--it's an ~14"-long soft cover. I also like the drawings in the back of the book: They make for quick access and reference. Further, the font and fractional notation, which is very nice, and as mentioned by Alan, are very friendly on middle-age eyes! Haven't fully dived into the work yet, but my 1st impressions are very positive.

Thank you for this fine work, Alan--it's a treat having all this data in one edition! Well done, sir!

Cheers,

Jay

Wow, thought those spreaders looked like they would be more tricky--glad they weren't a pain for ya. Thanks also for your pointers on the varnish, and I'll give Epiphanes a go on my next build--judging from your photos, it looks like a beautiful finish!

Cheers,

Jay

Your bosun turned out great--his line work looks very natural! In the photo, his coloring looks good so perhaps it will dim a bit more with time. Yikes, I've experienced the same with paints and definitely understand your frustration.

Mmmm, looks like we'll be kept in suspense until this September or October about your new project, Kester!

Cheers,

Jay

She's looking sweet, Pete! I imagine getting those spreaders in & at 10 deg. was a challenge. What wood is your masting? I've had mixed success with varnishing masting--even with very light coats, I tend to get runs when they're drying regardless if they are vertical or horizontal--so would love to hear how you do it (all your finish work is gorgeous).

Cheers,

Jay

Beautiful planking--your hull looks fantastic!

Cheers,

Jay

Thanks for the explanation and additional photo, Pete; you're right, it is a cool effect...had me scratching my head and going, hmmm. While many of the large ships are great, I sure am fond of small boats with beautiful lines like these--the big girls just can't quite compete!

Cheers,

Jay

Pete, thank you for adding me as a friend! Your latest work is great! Do have a question on the seats: Do they curve downward at their forward ends or is that appearance due to the photos, shadows, & etc? If they curve downward, it's a very interesting feature!

Cheers,

Jay

Stunning work--she is a beauty! Like Mark said, I didn't realize how large she is until I saw the turret in your hand.

Cheers,

Jay

Thank you, MarisS. for explaining your planking techniques--your planking looks excellent! Getting good fits with the planks looks especially challenging since both the bow and stern narrow.

Cheers,

Jay

MarisS., Russ explained the English definition perfectly. I checked Google translate to see if spile crosses to Croatian but it didn't work. Yes, your English is excellent and you manage very! very well!!

Cheers,

Jay

Your planking looks excellent--very smooth and clean! Are you spiling your plank strakes?

I think it's brilliant that you are going to include CDs of a kit's build in your kits!! Those will give a builder an idea of how things actually should look and so forth. As far as I know, you are the only kit mfgr that is doing this with CDs and it's great! Now a builder will have plans, instructions, and photos--with all these, it should be a very good experience for a kit builder! Hopefully other mfgrs. will copy your idea, as it will go a long ways in improving our hobby!

Cheers,

Jay

While maybe not catapults, Tony perhaps slingshots? lol

Seriously, here's what I strongly think about these: There are two of these on the ship, based on the symmetry conventions of draughts, and they are boom supports.

I strongly think how this feature faces us is for clarity and yet also tells us that they are positioned relative to the boom's swing from the mast (the lower forward arm relative to the aft higher arm is the draughtsman's convention of telling us this last piece of information). Here's a very rough picture to better capture how I think these features look on the ship.

There are other conventions on the draught that lend support to what I've said above about how the draughtsman is conveying these support's positions to us. Slightly above the lower lines of the sheer rail, rail below the sheer rail, and wale is a faint line about a 1/2" (scale) above those lower lines. These faint lines are clues that the rails and wale are on a different planes, i.e., that they are thicker (but not by how much) than their surrounding planking. In the attached photo you can see the faint lines on the rails; also notice the shapes of the port and hawse holes--these shapes tell us that bow is markedly curving inward to the stem.

Mainly, I need to confirm (i.e., the draughtsman's convention) what I think about theses features but I'm very sure that's what we are being told about these: There is one on each side of the ship and they are angled (high arm is outboard and low arm is inboard) relative to the mast and boom swing. Further, I think the dimensions of these are taken off from the higher (outboard) arm: from centerline of the 'U' upwards to the top of the higher (outboard) arm and from centerline to widest point of the higher (outboard) arm.

Or, they really are slingshots!

Cheers,

Jay

PS Several additional posts popped in before I completed my post. Very nice metal work, Gregor! Kester, I think you're right that the lips on these are to hold in place the lashing that would secure the boom into a support.

Tony, initially when I 1st began drafting the S., I also thought this feature was a boom support now I'm maybe/maybe not since gaining a lot more experience in how draughtsmen depicted features.

You may not see it clearly in the picture you attached (due to low resolution), but take a look at where this thing attaches--it's to the outside of the ship. The give aways here are its black lines and its black, ovular fastener. If those lines were in red, it would mean that it was attached to the ship's interior side. For attachment to the ship comparisons, I've included a shot of the chainplates. It definitely didn't attach to the deck or etc, as that's where the rudder head passes through (the lower red lines in the 1st attached picture) the deck. Also, there would very likely be another one these attached to the other side of the ship.

Its orientation towards us may either be for clarity, so that one can determine its shape, or is how it actually was attached and faced on the ship. This last aspect is rather crucial in helping figure out its function. If the orientation is how these actually were attached, then they cannot be boom supports; if the depiction is for clarity, then its possible. These have about 9" of attachment to the ship and pass through the sheer rails. I am not sure if this arrangement is sufficient for a boom, yet that fastener is huge in comparison to the chainplate fasteners and how it passes through the rail would, I suspect, provide strength and stability. The cross-ship distance between these is about 12', and the space in the crooks is about 8" wide x 6" high (fwd arm); the boom diameter on the draught is listed as 10 & 5/8". I haven't yet research Steel and company on boom tapers....

I'll post an update when I have a better idea about what these are.

Cheers,

Jay

She has beautiful lines and your work is very clean and precise, Pete! I've been watching and enjoying seeing your gems unfold!

Cheers,

Jay

I like these details of your build--false keel, rail extending 5 mm--and kit. They show that a lot of time and attention has gone into making a nice kit for a builder and it's very nice to read and see clear explanations of how the kit is built!

Cheers,

Jay

Lovely work, Darrel--she's looking gorgeous! Here's how you can add text to your post photos.

Type what you'd like to share, then:

1st) select file

2nd) attach file

3rd) position your cursor where you want to insert the photo--usually looks nicer if there's a blank line between text and a photo--then click "add to post"

If you insert several photos and want to comment on each one, put your cursor between the name brackets and then hit return. All the pictures after your cursor will then go to a new line. Put a few more spaces between each photo, position your cursor & type away. You then can click preview post and see how it all looks and make fixes.

Hope this kind of helps!

Cheers,

Jay

Jeff, thanks for reaching out to gather additional input! While you provide incredible customer service and excellent wood (am your customer for life), I hope other suppliers, mfgrs., and so forth look over the results of your survey and perhaps adjust their products accordingly. While some may argue that providing quality wood will increase costs, I believe most model shipbuilders, and other hobbyists, are willing to pay that bit extra for quality wood.... Thank you again for what you've done for this hobby!

Cheers,

Jay