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DB789

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  1. DB789
    Despite Ranger’s forgiving hull shape, second planking didn’t go as smoothly as I’d expected. The problem was my lack of patience and not the kit. Plenty of filler used on the lower hull. Generally I don’t mind what the planking looks like under paint, especially below the waterline, the exposed wood areas are those that matter and they’ve turned out well I think. Top of the stern counter broke off (as usual for me on these fishers) but fixed back on easily. Then removed the bulkhead ears. I also decided to paint the inner stern area black as the stern timbers are MDF and I prefer not to leave any MDF areas exposed and unpainted. Once the paint was dry I fitted the engraved Maple deck. This needed a gentle sanding at the edges to get a perfect fit. That’s clamped down and drying now. Other than the black inner stern area, I’m planning at the moment to stick to the kit’s suggested colour scheme. Although, I may consider white / tea stained sails instead of red brown on request from the Admiral who who says she already has five fishing boats with “steak” coloured sails floating around the house. Looking at the plans I think Ranger may have the biggest sail area of them all.
  2. DB789
    They’re fantastic kits and the end result looks so good even when built by someone with limited model making skills such as me. That’ll be why I’m currently building my sixth Vanguard fishing boat and eighth Vanguard boat.
  3. DB789
    Looking good. I think that the numbers were wrong on these parts in my Zulu kit too, but clear enough what parts went where from the photos in the manual. Funny that this was the Vanguard fishing boat that i was the least interested in building, but now she is complete she is one of my favourites…
  4. DB789
    First planking complete. This continued to be easy and straightforward. I could plank her with no edge bending or soaking of planks. Probably would have resulted in a tidier finish if I had edge bent a few of the tougher planks and will do so for the second planking. Then nails removed and sanded. No filler yet. Then the rabbets and inner stern board fitted and clamped to dry. I found that I needed to unglue and sand the tops of the outer stern frames so these were the same shape as the stern board.
  5. DB789
    I started Ranger a month or so ago whilst stuck staying in a hotel for a fortnight’s business trip in one of the UK’s less attractive locations. Made a start, but not a lot of progress and then back on the shelf once home whilst finishing Grecian. This will be my sixth fishing boat from Vanguard and the last of the Vanguard fishing boat range. They are a lovely range of kits. Ranger at first glance seems very similar to the others in terms of being exceptionally high quality, very well designed, superb instructions and an excellent prototype build log on MSW. Ranger is similar in length (both hull and overall) and also width to Erycina, but has a much higher single mast to carry a great deal of sail area as her purpose was not to do the actual fishing but return the catch from the fishing fleet back to port as quickly as possible. Her lines, whilst longer, are not dissimilar to those of Saucy Jack. The MDF skeleton of bulkheads, keel and deck is wonderfully over engineered as usual to give a very robust framework with no risk of warping. Hull was faired, but the curves on this one are very gentle and do not require a lot of sanding. The only thing to note is that the slots in this construction do need a gentle sand to get them to fit properly. I have been spoilt on other Vanguard builds being able to do this initial construction without any sanding, I suspect it’s the norm for most manufacturers. I did, stupidly, try and force a couple of the bulkheads on snapping both a bulkhead and the keel itself - an easily avoidable mistake. They’re all glued back together fine now. Lower stern counter went on well without soaking. Just clamped and glued with PVA. Deck clicks in as usual into the helpful slot at the bottom of each bulkhead ear. Then the bulwarks fitted, as per the instructions with a small nail at the bottom, clamped and glued with PVA, although no glue above deck level as the eats will be removed. Again, no need for soaking due to the gentle shape. Once both sides done, time to start the planking. There’s tapering at the bow but not stern. Only a few planks in, but so far this has been the easiest boat to plank. I think Chris or Jim promised this in the instructions or build log! That’s all I did whilst away. Will restart construction shortly.
  6. DB789
    Grecian is finished and in her display case. Rope coils fitted. A few final pics. The case is from DSC Showcases who if you’re in the UK I highly recommend. I have one of their cases for Alert. Despite being handmade from wood and glass they’re much cheaper than the acrylic alternatives. DSC usually make the cases bespoke, but in this case they had this one already made and offered it at a big discount so I bought it. It’s the perfect length, but with hindsight a bit too wide and a bit too tall. Grecian looks a little lost in it, partly due to that huge bowsprit. I suspect that when I eventually build Sphinx I’ll eventually put her in it, her overall dimensions are similar but she’d fill the case better. I’ll probably need some anti-UV film on the case or window to protect against fading. Thanks again for all the advice, encouragement and support on this log, it’s been invaluable! Thanks to Vanguard for yet another wonderful, extremely high quality kit.
  7. DB789
    Thanks so much Glenn. The end of the yard has a metal collar on so I wasn’t able to drill enough around to remove the old PE but I could get the new piece into the yard alongside it. It’s not absolutely at the centre of the yard, but once painted it will be almost invisible.
  8. DB789
    Whilst working on the rope coils, Grecian took some light battle damage from the children. The starboard stunsail boom was knocked off. It has survived but the PE metal mounting for it that comes out of the fore course yard has snapped off. Really bad iPhone photo below, I don’t know how to get the phone to focus right in. The brass dot in the middle is the stump that remains of the original PE-4. Vanguard are amazing in that they supply extra parts with each kit - so I have a replacement. To fit the original piece I drilled a hole in the end of the yard and glued the PE in place with CA. Can anyone advise me on the best way of gently removing the old stub of PE which is superglued in pretty tight? I’ve tried using a little acetone around it but without success. I can’t remove the yard as there’s so much rigging attached to it. Any advice would be hugely welcome! Many thanks Dan
  9. DB789
    Thank you all for your very kind comments. Craig - I followed Jim’s very useful guidance in the Grecian prototype log regarding the flag. I used the starch product below. It comes out as a thick opaque white goo which you soak the flag in for a few mins before wiping off with a damp cloth and then I hang the flag on its line between two arms of the quad hands and squash to shape using crocodile clips. I didn’t quite wipe enough off and there’s a mild residue on the surface. Also the crocodile clips can leave dimples that will need working out. But the overall effect looks good I think. It’s the flag that Vanguard sell as an extra for the kit and is both very high quality and period correct for the number of stars.
  10. DB789
    Grecian is complete, except for the rope coils. I’ve decided in the end to leave the front two gunports empty as the prototype does. You can just squeeze in two of the smallest cannon there but it’s a squash with the anchor cable too. I’ll do those and Alert’s rope coils over the next couple of weeks and then mark both boats complete. I haven’t varnished the copper tape either. I thought I’d leave that and see if it tarnishes a bit before doing so. Some photos. Yet another excellent kit from Chris and Jim. Thank you. She’s a lovely looking Baltimore clipper and I’m very pleased with how she has turned out. I’m ordering a very large case for her to accommodate that huge bowsprit. Ranger next for me, then likely the new version of Speedy. Thanks for all the encouragement, advice and likes. Much needed!
  11. DB789
    I was wondering how I was going to fit more lines to that mast and belaying points… somewhat relieved it wasn’t the simplified version! Thanks Chris.
  12. DB789
    Chris, The world is short of copper and the situation is likely to be tough for the foreseeable future. There is huge growing demand for copper globally from the drive to net zero and electrification. Electric vehicles (which use 3-4x the copper of an internal combustion engine vehicle), decentralised renewable generation which needs to be connected to electricity grids (both of which are copper intensive), etc. Whilst copper supply is under pressure with few sizeable new ore bodies being found or new mines being developed; existing mines are experiencing significant ore degradation and do not have infinite mine lives. Most commodity experts I meet forecast the copper market being in material deficit from 2026 and with the deficit getting worse each year to 2030. Sure Tesla are doing some clever stuff with 48V and reducing the need for copper in EVs, but it’s unlikely to be sufficient or soon enough. Short of a major macroeconomic event such as a major recession or collapse in Chinese demand, I don’t see what derails the scenario outlined above. The current inability of your supplier to source copper may be due to post-covid supply chain and inflation related dislocations, so near term supply of copper sheets to your supplier may return, but longer term, high quality copper sheets are likely to become unavailable again or very expensive.
  13. DB789
    Grecian rigging now complete and the boat fitted. Tightening the rigging whilst keeping the yards square was less tricky than I expected. I’ve kept as true as I could to Chris’s plans and Jim’s prototype, both of which are excellent. Only notable differences, other than a much less skilled builder, are: - no tack toggles in rigging and a few lines tied off to the wrong belaying pins - different paint scheme for the boat - I couldn’t get a good faux wood finish on it. - green vs black skylight - I preferred green. - slightly different cannon layout Only remaining jobs on this build are: 1. Anchors 2. Flag halliard and flag aft 3. Rope coils 4. I need to find a way to repair the broken winch handle (lost the part and tried CA to attach another piece of brass, but without success so far - I’ll add a photo later) 5. General touch up of paint plus waiting for a delivery of Vallejo ultra matt varnish to remove some spots of shiny CA. Thanks again for all the advice and encouragement.
  14. DB789
    Thanks Chris, I thought that might be the case. I’m very glad that you have as Grecian is pitched at just the right level for me. Pushing me, but not defeating me! I was planning Speedy next, not DoK (2 masts vs 3, both on a small hull) but based on your comment above, would DoK be a more sensible natural next progression for me. I’m planning to build both at some point? Many thanks Dan
  15. DB789
    Thanks, I might try that. I try and tie it off with a figure of eight knot or two around both ends of the belaying pin - which I find very fiddly sometimes. Then glue it and cut it short. Then later make the coil to hang over the top to pretty it up. That guide from Glenn Barlow looks very useful and I’ll use it when I make the coils. I haven’t done these yet for Alert either, not my favourite job… maybe I’ll be doing some coil making for both over Xmas. Thanks Chris, I’ll try that for my next build, the lines are already attached on this one. Glenn- Thanks for the encouragement! Schooner - I’ll try that on lines that I’m confident don’t need adjusting. All the running rigging lines are now in place, but Grecian’s rigging is quite a tangle at the moment. Too many unglued lines, but necessarily so as I want to make sure that each line has the right tension and that the yards are all aligned and parallel (which they are not at the moment). Some lines are not tied off at all and not taught, that will be fixed, hopefully. Getting this right is somewhat of a challenge for me. Is there a good practice way of approaching this, such as doing one yard at a time and then tying and glueing that yards, maybe starting with the top gallant and moving down? I’m hoping when I pull all the right ropes she’ll come good! I see that myxyzptlyk2003 has chosen to simplify the rigging on his Grecian from the plans, maybe I should have done the same, although if I can’t manage Grecian’s relatively simple rigging I’m not yet ready for Speedy which will be my next big build. Thanks again for all the advice and encouragement.
  16. DB789
    Rigging progresses. Earlier in the log, I mentioned that Grecian is not much trickier than Erycina. That’s true of making the hull, mast and spars. The rigging, however, is more complex. I’m quite used to fore and aft rigging now, but finding the yards on the foremast trickier. As a beginner to this, each of the yards seems to have seven lines attached to it to keep it in position. To start with I didn’t dare tie off and glue any of them for fear I need to change the tension on them later. So for the topgallant and topsail yards I had 10 lines dangling down weighted by crocodile clips getting tangled up…. So I took the plunge and tied off and glued some. Hope I won’t regret it. Fore course yard is yet to be fitted, although the sling for the yard can be seen loosely tied on for now and floating around. I’ve just noticed that in these photos that the forward two cannons are not in place. They’re not glued yet as they may be in the way, the downside of this is that I keep having to rescue them from my little son’s Lego fortress. I’m finding the rigging a little confusing despite Vanguard’s excellent plans. The Vanguard plans superbly layout exactly where each line runs from and too and how it should be attached, they couldn’t be clearer. What I’m finding harder is where each line should run relative to all the other lines without touching them - it would be almost impossible to show this on a plan without it becoming incredibly confusing and furthermore the neutral lines are hard to see against a white background in the photos on Jim’s incredibly helpful build log. The Petersson rigging book doesn’t help in this regard either as it breaks out each line individually too. I’m sure with experience it will become clearer where they should run, for me it’s a learning curve. I think they’re roughly right so far. The other thing I find hard is looping the line around the belaying pins and tying it off, is there a good technique for this? Grecian visiting Alert. Thanks again for all the likes encouragement and advice.
  17. DB789
    The fore and aft rigging on Grecian is complete (I’ll take some photos later), now only the yards on the foremast to add. These are made and painted but not fitted or rigged yet. So I’ve revisited the boat, which I’ve been putting off. Despite some early successes on the fishers using dragged oil to simulate wood on resin winch parts, I haven’t managed a decent looking dragged finish for the interior of the cutter. Initially I followed the instructions advice and went for white using the same AK white as the rest of the kit, but it looks quite stark and unfinished when fitted to Grecian. Note, not all the cannon are glued in place and need aligning. I decided instead to paint some of the interior green and the gunwales brown. Looks better, I think. Still a little touching up of paint to be done here and the boat needs to be tied down. I broke the tiller handle and had to fashion a new one, so I’ll likely add the rudder and tiller when the boat is in situ and finished. Once the foremast yards are added and rigged then I think it’s just the anchors left to do. Plus any tidy up and varnishing. Thanks again for all the help, advice and likes!
  18. DB789
    Thank you both again. I used a sharp knife which initially left the deck appearing a bit scratched, but then retreated the area with Danish oil. Looks great thank you. I didn’t dare using isopropanol as the deck isn’t varnished. Chris your guidance on the natural vs black 0.1mm makes complete sense. I think given my propensity for spilling Indian ink and wrecking the model at a late stage of build I’ll probably stick with the lower risk option of black 0.1mm line from Guterman which I used on Grecian. That’s excellent advice on the ultra Matt varnish for shiny CA spots rather than repainting which can get messy. I’ll source some and use it in future. I haven’t varnished anything on Grecian, do I need to? I’ve used Danish oil on the bare wood parts which gives me the colour I’d like. I could experiment again with mixing some wipe-on poly using Glenn-UK’s recipe or I could go without. On Alert I just used the matt Vallejo varnish undiluted and it looks OK, that’s an option too.
  19. DB789
    That looks excellent. Wish I could plank as neatly as that!
  20. DB789
    Another piece of advice if I may? I’ve painted some of the rigging - either where it says dye the neutral 0.1mm lines (although I’ve mainly used black 0.1mm thread for this, there’s a few places that I didn’t) or where I’ve used a little CA and it’s shiny. In doing so I splattered some small black drops on the deck (using the AK-47 acrylic paint set from Vanguard for Grecian). I didn’t notice at the time and they’ve had two weeks to dry Now there’s quite a lot of rigging up it’s not easy to sand these off and they’re quite stubborn. Is there an easier way to remove them with a solvent (I’ve tried water). The deck is not varnished but does have Danish oil on it. Many thanks Dan
  21. DB789
    Thanks. That’s what I’ve been trying, it has got rid of the twists in the lines but didn’t get rid of the 90 degrees out of alignment. I’ve tried Chris and Glenn’s diluted PVA on one vang so far and it seems to have worked a treat. Your Alert is looking stunning, I wish I had your patience and attention to detail!
  22. DB789
    Chris, Glenn, super - thank you both. Dan
  23. DB789
    I’ve been away a fortnight so very little progress. I’d love some advice. The block on the starboard vang for both the fore and main masts wants to turn 90 degrees and so is out of alignment. I’ve had great difficulty getting the four lines up to the block not to twist as soon as I let go, so this has been the best I can do with the lines untwisted. Can anyone recommend a way to get the block to turn 90 degrees and stay there? I’ve tried unthreading the line multiple time and re threading having twisted the block but to no avail. Main mast: Fore Mast: Thanks for any help!
  24. DB789
    Chris, as a relative newcomer to the hobby (a year and a half and almost seven boats built, all Vanguard and mostly fishers), I’m certain I’d not have got into boat building without your superb range of kits and indeed Jim’s excellent instructions and build logs. I will always be very grateful and I can’t see why I’d ever buy a kit from another manufacturer and risk almost certain disappointment. It’s fantastic to hear how well your business is going. I think your kits are absolutely excellent and clearly differentiated from competitors. Personally, I’d happily pay significantly more for them, I appreciate that not everyone can afford to and there’s always a tricky balance between price and volume of sales. I probably won’t be popular on MSW for saying it, but possibly increasing prices, reducing volumes sold and growing your margin could give you a similar level of profits and free up some of your time from manufacturing so you can design new kits. Dan
  25. DB789
    Standing rigging I think now complete. No big issues, but it’s certainly been more complex than the Vanguard fishers, albeit only harder than Alert in that there’s more of her having two masts not one. The gaffs and boom are just held on by parrel beads and are not in their final positions. She’s not an easy model to photograph well in her entirety without a photo bay with white background given the height of the masts and lengths of bowsprit and boom. So apologies for the not great photos below. There’s a lot of lines going to the bowsprit, but the Vanguard plans are incredibly clear and split these out superbly across a couple of plan sheets. Aided by Jim H’s excellent build log photos of Grecian. Phil thanks for the advice on gammoning, that worked a treat. With Alert. Running rigging and foremast spars still to be added. Anchors I’ll fit last. No decision on the ship’s boat yet, I need to do more work on it before deciding. Thanks for all the likes and encouragement. She’s a great kit and I thoroughly recommend her to other builders - surprised I’m the only Grecian build log on MSW other than Jim’s prototype.

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