Rustyj

Thanks Pat. Following Chucks instructions makes it much easier!

Hi Ben, Unfortunately it's a long haul for me and I won't be able to attend. Sorry it should be a great time. I hope you get to go. Ok I've been moving along just haven't been able to find time to post. The hull is faired fairly close to its final shape. I still have a little work to do on the tops of the bulkheads but I'll wait until I frame the gun ports to finish it up. I didn't need to use any cross bracing either. The plywood was good and solid and I was careful too. I next planked the two platforms of the lower deck with pau marfim. After that it was time to add the bow fillers and bollard timbers. Two of the fillers needed to be a total of 7/32" thick. While the third timber needed to be 3/16" thick. Chuck used two pieces to obtain the 7/32" thickness, (1 x 3/16" & 1 x 1/32"), I used my thickness sander to thin down a piece of 1/4" wood I had to the 7/16". Same result I just used one piece. After that it was time to make the bollard timbers. these are not the traditional way to make them but seeing there are bulkheads and not frames only the tops will be seen. As you can see from the plans there are different angles, thicknesses and a hole it was a bit of a challenge. At least every piece was made twice and some three time before an acceptable one was obtained. The bollard timbers are just set in place for now. Next up it is time to start framing in the gun ports.

Hi Ben, Very well thought out an executed! Looking really nice too.

Hi Augie. Just got caught up and you've done a great job on a difficult area. I really like the window "glass" too. It does add a really nice look to it. Well done and don't get distracted by outdoor work. In the shop I say!

Thanks Ben! Mark, Keeping the admiral happy is why I made it all those years ago. Thanks Grant. I mainly use it for big dirty jobs like fairing and sanding the hull planking. Then it gets tucked away for long periods of time until needed again.

Hi All, Not much to report on. I have started sanding/fairing the lower portion of the hull. When I do that I set the hull upside down on a small homemade down draft table to help contain the dust. I place some wood blocks on the table that are thick enough to keep the tops of the bulwarks from hitting the table and hopefully protecting them. Then it's just a matter of sanding, checking with some planking strips, sand some more, etc etc etc.

Wonderful workmanship Bob. I'm so impressed with how you can build the deck off the model and make it fit so nicely.

Just got caught up Augie and you have done a wonderful job on a shall we say challenging area. I agree with Sjors that it is "voortreffelijk"! voortreffelijk {adj} excellent exquisite superior Couldn't have said it any better myself. That is if I could pronounce it!

Remco I just sit here looking at your work with a huge smile and a sigh of admiration!

Hi Len, First and foremost my best wishes to you and hope you get it all sorted out for the better. If we get to see you again this year great, if not there is always next year. I also understand you wanting to move on for a new project. She looks great as is and if you decide to come back and do the rigging when you feel like it I'm sure it will be outstanding too. Well done my friend!

Thanks Augie. She came out as straight as I'll ever get it. At least she's not looking like a crescent moon. Hi Chuck S. Yeah rubber cement it is. I have contact cement in the cupboard and have to make sure I never mix them up! That wouldn't be pretty.

Hi Chuck S. I'm no chemist but I don't believe the stuff I use is water based. It's Elmer's Craft Bond Rubber Cement . It also has a warning that it is flammable and has a smell like contact cement. Like any liquid that you put on paper it could cause distortion. When I place the paper on the wood I try to lay it as gently as possible and not to pull or stretch it. If I have doubts I'll closely compare it to the plans. So far no issues for me doing it this way. Well all of the bulkheads and braces have been glued in place, and it is very solid. I won't have to worry while fairing the main part of the hull. As I move up to the tops of the bulkheads especially the longer ones I may use some bracing on them. I'll have to see what's what when I get there.

Hi Ben, I don't know how the bulkheads relate to the plans stations but there are 27 bulkheads on a 24" former. On the Confederacy there were 15 bulkheads on a former that was approximately 29" long. A lot more bulkheads in a shorter span. As far as building her, when you are done with your 5 year project, I know you would love her! Prior to seeing the plans and starting work on her I had thought about adding balsa between the bulkheads at the bow and stern as the twist and curve can be a bugger to maintain for us mere mortals. Don't think I'll need to do that now. Time will tell.

Very well done. That's a boring job but rewarding when finished! Also I my have a beverage and sing out as I look out the window and see the horizontal snow but you may not want to hear it!

Hi Ben, I am thinking along those lines. I didn't have to do it with the Confederacy because the extensions were thicker and the plywood was strong. With the Winnie the extensions are thinner so there is a possibility of breakage. So if I had to guess right now I'd say I'd do them. Thanks for the reminder.

Hi druxey, I'm hoping that by measuring at the former where there is no movement and by paying close attention to the fit I should be able to keep a creeping error out of it. Fingers are crossed here. Hi Daniel, Oops I got talking about the bulkheads and filler blocks I forgot all about adding the stem and keel. Chuck uses a cleaver way to create the rabbet. He has you glue a 3/32" x 1/16" stripe on the edge of the bulkhead former. It extends down the stem and continues along the bottom edge of the bulkhead former. Once the keel and stem are added, this strip will form the rabbet. At the stern I had to trim the former to form the bearding line. Once this was completed the stem is test fitted against the rabbet strip and adjusted until a good snug fit is obtained. The stem is them glued to the rabbet strip. After that the keel and false keel were glued in place too. I did not need to pin or bolt any of this assembly in place as it was a snug fit and glued good and tight.

I've been working my way towards the center and this is how far I've gotten. While gluing them up I had a thought about putting some bracing between the bulkheads to help stiffen them some more for when I have to fair them. I also thought it may help eliminate any change of the hull twisting. I took and measured the distance between the bulkheads at the former and cut a piece of bracing and glued it towards the outer edge making sure not to displace the bulkheads. It seems to be working. I'll let you know when I finish with all of them.

Oh yeah Ben. I can mess things up on my own. I don't need a twist to make it worse!

Thank you for the kind words Antony. Well I've pre fit all the bulkheads. Just some minor sanding of the slots was needed so it didn't take as long as anticipated. Here is the first bulkhead in place. I clamp the angle piece in place to hold the bulkhead square until the glue sets up. I do one bulkhead fore and one bulkhead aft at a time and work my way to the center.

First and foremost my prayers and best wishes to you and your mom. Also I hope when you get back to the Syren you get to enjoy it because it's a really fun build!

Hi Augie, Yeah there a lot of bulkheads and hopefully the former remains flat! Thanks Michael. Hi Remco. Yeah at 1/64 she is smaller but I guess my magnifier will get a workout! Plus if I need help on producing small details I know I can count on your help. Thanks Bob, Always a pleasure. Sounds great Jim.

Very nice indeed Remco. By the way did you ever think of becoming a micro surgeon?

Thanks Greg, I think I started doing that on the Confederacy. Glad to have you here Jim. Are you going to make it up to CT for the show? Hi Dirk, I hope you do build her. I would love to see it. Also thanks everyone for stopping by and all the likes. I had a great weekend. The real world left me to my devices and I had a lot of shop time. Bulkheads are all cut out and stacked as previously mentioned and I then attacked the bulkhead former . It is laid out in two pieces and I thought of just cutting it out as one whole piece. But as Chuck pointed out to me that getting one piece of plywood that long that wouldn't twist would be extremely difficult. So after an unsuccessful search I relented and cut it from two pieces. I knew I shouldn't have wasted my time but then again I'm not known for my better judgment and decision making. Any way the former plans were cut out and glued up, then I cut it out on the scroll saw and fine tuned it with the disk sander and a sanding block. Once satisfied I applied glue to both pieces, put wax paper over and under the joint, placed a scrap board on it and some heavy weights and allowed it to dry over night. Now I will test fit all of the bulkheads and then start gluing them up.

Send along Ben. I can screw them up in a heart beat!

Thanks for stopping by Daniel. Well I'm back and I have got a start on cutting the bulkheads out. Care was used to ensure the plywood I have is free of warping. There are 27 bulkheads to cut out. I used my standard method of cutting the individual bulkheads from the plans and glued them one at a time to the plywood using a temporary paper craft glue. This allows for removal of the plans should I so desire. Once the bulkheads have been cut on the scroll saw I use my x-acto knife to score the various reference lines that will be needed later. This is done just in case the plans are removed from the bulkhead later. I then take the bulkheads and make stacks of about 6 bulkheads of similar size and shape and place a heavy weight on the to help ensure that they do not warp while I finish cutting the remaining bulkheads and the former. Well I'm off to cut more bulkheads out.