JacquesCousteau

That would certainly be a good way to do it, but I also saw that most lobster trap buoys seem to only have a "tail" coming out of the thicker end, without a protruding part at the front (narrower end) that the kit proposes. So I may just fully fill in the front end.

Thanks! I haven't ever done drybrushing, but I think that would be the way to go about it. I've certainly enjoyed seeing how you approached painting on the Alert.

I'm sure you'll be able to build something you're proud of. The size of the finished model depends more on the scale you choose to build in than the size of the original. You can make a 1-inch-long model of a oil tanker, or a 5-foot-long model of a rowboat, depending on the scale you choose. If you're interested in a warship with guns, maybe a cutter, lugger, or gunboat in a pretty large scale would be a good option. Here, for example, are some plans of a British cutter from 1778, including deck and interior plans: https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:HMS_Sprightly_(ship,_1778)

I've decided to slightly change up the design of the lobster trap. Unlike the ones I made for the dory or as a Christmas ornament (which is discussed somewhere in the Canoa de Rancho log), this one will be open on the side instead of the front, and have a few other differences as well. I am not following the plans in the kit, which seem a bit inaccurate. I started with the base: I then added the loops. So far, so good. I decided to color the trap with a very light black wash. I decided against really weathering this build, so I don't want the trap as heavily weathered as the others I've made, but completely bare wood didn't look right. Unfortunately, applying the wash made the loops fall off, as they were not very securely glued, and some broke when I tried to bend them back into shape. I should have seen this coming, as I had a similar problem with the dory's trap. In any case, I made new loops, this time applying the wash and letting it dry before I curved it around a varnish bottle with hot water: I also began pre-washing the slats: I'm planning on having the top of the trap open, because the kit includes a delightful tiny cast metal lobster (which I forgot to photograph until I was in the middle of painting) that I want to place inside. As can be seen, some details are a bit lacking--some of the legs are just a lump, and that's after I attacked it with files to try to add definintion. Unfortunately my figure painting skills are woefully lacking, and the mottled coloration of real lobsters was hard for me to capture. After a lot of effort with mixing paints, my results are... not great, I guess it doesn't NOT look like a lobster. It looks better from farther away, and after getting a slightly glossy sealer coat. Finally, the kit also includes a cast metal buoy with excessive faux wood grain. I'm not sure why it doesn't have you just make a wooden buoy, but the casting doesn't seem heavy enough to serve as a useful weight, so I think I'll use it anyway. There's a hole running through the center of the casting, and I'm supposed to shove a 1/8‐inch square stick of basswood through there. The hole is round, so the basswood will only fit if the edges get cut down, which I don't think would look right. I'll fiddle around with this and decide on what to do.

You mentioned that you want a challenging build, but it's worth noting that even a smaller vessel, built with care, is still a huge challenge. Here, for instance, is a fascinating build of a fishing schooner at about the level of detail you're proposing. The builder had to loft the frames from the plans. As can be seen, it took about three years.

I think that what people are trying to suggest is that it's not so much the plans, as it is the sheer scope of the very ambitious project you're proposing to take on. I could be wrong, but I don't think you're going to find a plan set that includes detailed diagrams of all the parts of a major warship like you're interested in, unless you buy something like an Ancre monograph. Others who are more knowledgeable about this can correct me if I'm wrong, but historically, plans sent to the dockyard for construction did not include such details, and the frames needed to be lofted--that is, diagrammed out--individually based on the stations on the plans. So, to make what you're proposing, you'll need to figure out lofting, unless you get a monograph with everything already diagrammed out. Once you do that, which is itself a huge undertaking, you'd be able to start cutting wood, but getting everything precisely lined up and set is a huge project. You can see this if you browse some of the build logs on this site (search "POF" and you should find some). A fully framed model of a major ship of the line is a project that can very easily take a decade, will inevitably have frustrating setbacks, and has a lot of tedious parts as well (like making several hundred tiny block-and-tackle setups for the cannons). This will be the case even if you opt for a simplified, stylized framing structure. People are suggesting that you start smaller not because they want to discourage you from the hobby, but because they want to see you succeed, and the best way to do that is to not start by trying to do a complete first-rate ship of the line. Would a smaller warship at all interest you?

Looks like a great start!

A brief update. Unfortunately, the build has slowed due to some difficulties in getting materials and a very busy periodat work. For the sail, I haven't had the chance yet to look for screen-print silk. On the other hand, if I go the coffee filter route, I'll need a large size, #6 coffee filter instead of what I already have, but they only seem to come in packs of hundreds. I may see if a local café would be willing to sell me a filter or two for a few pesos instead. I also have had some difficulties in getting the right stain, which I need for the yard. The mast (and foredeck, and some other parts) had all been stained with a Minwax Golden Oak stain pen, which unfortunately ran out. I forgot to pick up a new pen before the move, and am finding that either the stain pen or a can of it are hard to find here and very expensive. I picked up a small can of a different stain that claimed to be "Light Oak," which sounded like it would at least be close enough. But when I tested it, it turned out to be weirdly red (as seen below, compared against the Golden Oak-stained stand). So, I need to visit some hardware stores and try to find a stain that's a closer match, but I haven't had much time to do so lately. It's not all bad news, though. I wasn't totally happy with how the anchor support ring turned out, as it was too tall, so I cut it off, reshaped it, and glued it back on. A small thing, I know, but I think it looks much better now. Below is the original followed by the redo. Original: Redo:

There are a lot of options you can look at in the Build Logs-Scratch Build category (https://modelshipworld.com/forum/151-build-logs-for-scratch-projects-by-era-launch-date/). KLarsen himself has a completed POF build of a small fishing boat, the Santa Caterina, which shows just how complex even a relatively simple vessel can be. He's also working on a POF build of just the stern of a frigate, La Mahonesa, which really shows the complexity of a sailing warship, while still being a smaller, simpler vessel than a ship of the line. (If you search for the ship names, you should be able to find the build logs pretty easily). For another example, again of a simpler vessel than your plan, see: https://modelshipworld.com/topic/19253-le-gros-ventre-by-marsalv-finished-148-pof/ It's also worth noting that all of these builds are based on monographs that include detailed diagrams of all the frames and other parts of the hull. Making a POF model from just the plans you've shown would require, as others have noted, would require a lot of working out frame shapes and the shape and dimensions of a lot of parts that don't appear on the plans, which would require a lot of research into the nuts and bolts of Napoleonic-era shipbuilding. It's up to you what you want to do, but it's worth noting that what you're proposing is a truly massive undertaking.

Great job repairing the bulkheads, the framework looks great! On the planking, as you note, you have two options. The method given in the instructions is not accurate to how boats are actually built, but as you've seen, the end result can still look quite nice. The other method will require more work but is more accurate. That said, I don't think you'd need a stealer between every full plank. Rather, you'll need to taper each plank substantially at the bow, possibly close to the half-width limit (the exact size is something you'll have to determine with measurements). You'll also need to edge bend the planks such that they curve downward toward the bow. I haven't ever edge bent planks, but if you look at my Half-Hull build linked to in my signature, you can get a sense of what planks should look like as they approach the bow. I just cut them in that shape from a sheet, but you can get the same results by edge bending a tapered strip. If you keep looking around on this site, you'll be able to find lots of examples of edge-bending that should be helpful. All of which is to say, it's up to you which method you want to go with, both can look nice. Personally I find it fun to try to recreate accurate planking, but I wouldn't begrudge anyone for doing it the other way, especially for their first build.

Congratulations, you did a great job! I love how you displayed it with the oars in action. Looking forward to your next build!

That's great! One of the benefits of working with wood is that it's possible to reshape and repair a lot. I found that bobby pins worked well as clamps, providing enough pressure to hold the wood in place without breaking it.

Looks like it's coming along nicely! Not to be overly critical, but one thing you may want to watch out for is how you're clamping the planks at the ends. Due to the difficulty of clamping there, it's very easy for the planks to end up pressed inward, causing a sort of bottleneck shape that looks off and can make it hard to fit the cap rail.

Congratulations, the model looks great! It's interesting to see the differences with the Model Shipways kit, too.

Very nicely done, congratulations! I agree that the natural wood looks great.

Yep. Sometimes it's nice to have a build going for a long time and to do all you can with it... and sometimes it's nice to say "you know what? This one's done."

It's been a long time since my last post, but this build hasn't been forgotten. It just got placed on the backburner with the move. I'm looking to start up some new projects soon, but I don't want to have a lot of unfinished builds hanging around, so I'm looking to finish this one. After some thought, I decided against kitbashing this model, except to modify the lobster trap design a bit. Partly because I wasn't able to find all that many photos of old fishing peapods to use as sources, partly because I think an out-of-the-box build looks quite nice, and partly because I'd like to finish soon. First up, the oars. These were pretty straightforward to make. I used my mini-plane to help with the taper. In hindsight, I wish that I had tapered the handles (which are made from 1/8‐inch dowels) a bit more, but it turned out all right. I painted them white to match the stripe on the side, but found it looked very stark until I added a dash of red on the blade and some leather wraps around the handles, which I made out of leftover coffee filter paper from my Canoa de Rancho sail experiment and painted brown. I spaced the oar wraps to correspond to where the oarlocks would be, but I think they look a little close to the handle when not in the oarlocks. They'll be displayed in the model like so: All that's left, then, is the lobster trap!

Thanks! I'll keep an eye out for screen-printing silk. Given that I have a ton of coffee filters already, I think I'll also experiment with trying a single sheet instead of doubling it.

I've done a bit more work testing out coffee filters as sail material, and I think it will work for the actual build. Having already doubled up the filter paper, painted/glued it, and cut it to rough shape, it was time to try folding/rolling it into the shape of a furled sail. So, following suggestions on other build logs, I wet the sail. It does indeed take on a flexible, rubbery consistency, without becoming too weak and ripping. I then tried folding/rolling it up. This was a complete failure and produced something that looked exactly like paper folded up. Unhappy with the result, I went looking for more examples of how to do this in build logs. I also watched Tom Lauria's extremely helpful youtube videos on scale sail-making, the third part of which shows him painstakingly making a furled catboat sail (which looks great). This made very clear one of my main problems. As you may notice, I did not have my test sail attached to the yard. This was because I didn't want to stain it somehow with the sail, and I had thought, how hard can it be to roll up a bit of paper freehand? As it turns out, the job actually is much easier if you have the sail attached to the yard. So I wet the test sail again, which allowed it to flex back basically to its original shape albeit withsome extra creases, and tried again. I used a coffee stir stick as a substitute yard, punched some holes with a needle, and used my roughest throw-away thread to simply lace the sail to the stir stick. I left excess string at both ends to assist with the furling. (Apologies for the sickly color/texture in the photo, I had to use the flash and the sail was still damp). I then wrapped one loose string end around the sail and yard. On the actual sail, as far as I can tell they would use the sheets to wrap everything up, but for testing purposes this line worked. As can be seen, it didn't look great at first. But, after poking, prodding, and reshaping everything while the sail was still all tied up, I produced something that looks much more acceptable to my eyes. There are still a few issues and unrealistic creases in there, but it's definitely a step up. I think it can only look better if I do a better job at avoiding creases when I apply the glue-paint-water mix to the sail (and if I don't botch my first attempt at rolling it again, and if I lash it to a round yard instead of a coffee stir stick). I may also experiment with a slightly whiter color, too. For anyone curious about using coffee filters as substitute silkspan, my sense is that two layers of paper is reasonably thin while adding enough strength for handling. Possibly it would fine with a single layer, though, after adding watered-down glue. While I'll be working on the real sail next, I won't be able to add it until I advance on other aspects of the build. The sail will be not just furled around the yard, but, on the aft half, also resting on the rancho. This will pose a definite challenge, and the sail will have to be shaped against the rancho (probably with a layer of plastic wrap in between to keep things clean). So first I'll need to properly place all the fishing equipment and any other supplies, so that I can fix the mast, fix the rancho, and then add the furled sail. Finally, I should note that I've begun another scratch build of a Latin American workboat, so I'm looking forward to starting that log in the next couple of weeks. Apparently I'm addicted to this hobby.

In my experience, you don't necessarily need to wet the wood before applying sanding sealer, because the sanding sealer will raise the grain anyway (or at least mine does). But it probably wouldn't hurt. I think the best thing to do would be to experiment on some scrap wood to make sure everything works for you and that there are no weird reactions between different materials. Given the wide range of responses you've received to this question, I think it's safe to say that there's no single way to do it, it's more a matter of finding out what works for you.

Quite the adventure!

Here's a sample from the Jábega kit. Instead of a plan, they just give you the photo at the top, with a tiny side view that's supposed to serve as a guide for painting it. Why they didn't paint the model they photographed in anything like their suggested paint scheme is beyond me. You can also get a sense of the limited instructions (suddenly the hull is fully planked) and the parts, which (besides some stripwood of decent enough quality) are made of a plywood that's already chipping in its bag.

If you search, you should be able to find a few build logs. In general, Disar does not have a very good reputation, and a number of other logs complain about problems with the instructions. I have the Jábega kit, which I bought on sale, but I don't think I'll ever build it. The instructions are seriously lacking, the kit doesn't include plans so you're stuck going off of some very inadequate photos, and there are a lot of puzzling aspects of the kit design. More importantly for me, at least, the model's hull shape is completely wrong. Jábegas are generally long and narrow, but this kit produces a short, squat little boat. While I was prepared to kitbash the model into something more accurate, such as by adding more frames, I can't reshape the hull without turning it into basically a scratch-build, and I wish that I hadn't bought it.

Thanks, all, for the kind words! I can see a lot of errors and issues when I look closely, but I'm happy with how it all comes together.

You ask an excellent question, one that I was myself wondering about when I looked over the smack's instructions. I looked in the relevant sections of Howard I. Chapelle's American Sailing Craft and American Small Sailing Craft, and while there's some discussion of the rigging, there's nothing about this particular question. He mentions that there was some influence from fishing schooners, so I suppose it would be reasonable to look in his book on American fishing schooners (which I don't have access to but which apparently has a several-hundred-page appendix full of details on every aspect of rigging, equipment, etc) to get some sense of possibilities. But I think your best bet, if you're still interested, would be to find a clear photo of a Muscongus Bay smack that shows the block. Unfortunately, I'm not sure where to find one. Maybe some local history museum or historical society has digitized photos that would be helpful?