Decoyman

There are some useful pictures here: https://picasaweb.google.com/Portchieboy/VictoryReference?authkey=Gv1sRgCOSnmbSV56rtLA
 
These images
 
https://picasaweb.google.com/Portchieboy/VictoryReference?authkey=Gv1sRgCOSnmbSV56rtLA#5319055538931717202
https://picasaweb.google.com/Portchieboy/VictoryReference?authkey=Gv1sRgCOSnmbSV56rtLA#5319055461142235954
https://picasaweb.google.com/Portchieboy/VictoryReference?authkey=Gv1sRgCOSnmbSV56rtLA#5319055513781978834
https://picasaweb.google.com/Portchieboy/VictoryReference?authkey=Gv1sRgCOSnmbSV56rtLA#5319055538931717202
https://picasaweb.google.com/Portchieboy/VictoryReference?authkey=Gv1sRgCOSnmbSV56rtLA#5319055563828892338
 
all seem to confirm your initial assumption.
 
Hope this helps.
 
Rob

There are some useful pictures here: https://picasaweb.google.com/Portchieboy/VictoryReference?authkey=Gv1sRgCOSnmbSV56rtLA
 
These images
 
https://picasaweb.google.com/Portchieboy/VictoryReference?authkey=Gv1sRgCOSnmbSV56rtLA#5319055538931717202
https://picasaweb.google.com/Portchieboy/VictoryReference?authkey=Gv1sRgCOSnmbSV56rtLA#5319055461142235954
https://picasaweb.google.com/Portchieboy/VictoryReference?authkey=Gv1sRgCOSnmbSV56rtLA#5319055513781978834
https://picasaweb.google.com/Portchieboy/VictoryReference?authkey=Gv1sRgCOSnmbSV56rtLA#5319055538931717202
https://picasaweb.google.com/Portchieboy/VictoryReference?authkey=Gv1sRgCOSnmbSV56rtLA#5319055563828892338
 
all seem to confirm your initial assumption.
 
Hope this helps.
 
Rob

Soft solder at the scales we work in will work as well as silver soldering and, I suspect is easier to do. The key is to ensure all surfaces to be soldered are spotlessly clean. I scrub mine with a fibreglass pencil. Then I use a liquid flux touched in on a brush at the point where the joint is to be made. Since we are only making small joints I find it easiest to carry the solder to the joint on the tip of the iron. Hold the iron in place while the flux boils away and make sure all the parts of the joint are heated through. Once this has happened remove the iron and continue to hold the components in place until the solder solidifies. You should find you have made a good solid joint.
 
The excess solder can be removed using a scalpel and needle files. Another scrub with the fibreglass pencil will polish away the last bits of spare solder leaving a neat job.
 
Afterwards you must make sure you wash whatever you have been soldering in clean water to remove any traces of flux. If you don't do this the surfaces will become corroded over time.
 
The hardest part of the whole process is growing the extra hands with the asbestos fingers so that you can hold everything in place at the same time.

No rich uncle I'm afraid. If there was one I'd be first in the queue.
 
You don't need to turn the blank down to fit in the chuck - just drill a hole in the centre, run a screw in and cut the head off. You can hold the smooth part of the shank of the screw in the chuck.
 
Rob

I think  this comment might be fairly obvious, but the fact of the matter is I'm having trouble maintaining my enthusiasm for rebuilding my Agamemnon log.
 
However, despite the lack of evidence and a coherent storyline… I have actually finished! The whole thing!! It's taken me 11 years, 2 months and 3 days exactly. I have no idea how many hours I have spent on it, but it's a lot. The entire build was done on our kitchen table, which meant having to clear away before every meal and share it with my children when they did their homework. There are two lights hung quite low above the table, and when I got to the masting stage I bashed them nearly every time I moved the model from the top of the piano to the kitchen. Nevertheless she's still in one piece. Here are a couple of pictures:
 

 

 

 
She's very difficult to photograph most of the time because either she's against a wall, which results in an overlay of confusing shadows, or she's on the table with the lights in the picture and the kitchen clutter in the background. I took her out into the garden for the final shots, but even that isn't perfect. I'm considering getting some professional pictures taken in a studio, but for that I'll need a car with a higher roof.
 
I hope you like it!
 
Rob

As I suggested in my last post I needed to sand off the end of the mould so that the keel assembly fits properly. This was hard work, but pretty straightforward. As you can see in the following pictures the keel now drops over the frames with no problem.
 
 
 
The next issue was how to stop the frames sticking to the mould when the components were glued together. I took all the frame parts off the mould and gave it another good polish. Then, starting at the MC position, I assembled each frame over the mould, glueing the futtocks to the floors with medium cyano and using the pushpins again to hold everything in the correct relationship. Once the glue was reasonably dry I removed the pins and then the frame. If the frame was stuck I held a piece of wood against the side of the joint and tapped gently until it popped off. Once or twice a frame became glued quite firmly and a bit of the mould came away stuck to the inside. The MDF is actually quite soft, so can be removed easily, and it is certainly better for a bit of the mould to be stuck to the frame rather than a bit of frame stuck to the mould. Occasionally the futtock/floor joint was a bit dry and came apart, in which case I just put everything back on the mould and re-glued the joint.
 

 
The small dots on the sides of the floor and futtocks mark the glued faces.
 
 
 
The next step was to drill through the frame joints twice each and insert short lengths of 0.5 mm brass wire. These represent the bolts used on the prototype and also strengthen the joint because they are glued in. Once these were dry I trimmed the over-length floors and futtocks using a razor saw and then rounded off the upper corners in each case. Finally I sanded all the exposed faces, making sure there were no traces of glue left around the joints and the ends of the bolts.
 
 
 
The finished frames were put back onto the mould and pinned in place, making sure the sides were vertical.
 
 
 
I made every other frame to start with so that I had more working room.
 
I haven't quite finished the frames yet - there are three still to do.
 
Next time: making the rebates in the sides of the keel and finishing the frames preparatory to fitting the keel.
 
Rob

Thanks for the support and the likes everyone!
 
I have cut the planking rebates in the side of the keel assembly. I used a couple of different scalpel blades: a small straight to cut the inside of the chase and a large curve-ended one to scrape it clean afterwards. Mostly however I used a small V-profile gouge with a very sharp edge. This cuts beautifully and I'm almost happy with the result. The only disappointment was that my very last cut was a wrong'un! I forgot to stop the rebate on the stem and ran it straight out the top. I haven't shown this in the photos below (still feeling slightly annoyed with myself…). My only thought so far is to cut the profile of the short section of extended rebate as neatly as possible and then piece-in a very small sliver of cherry. If anyone has a better idea I'd be pleased to hear it.
 
 
 
I have also made the last frame components. The crutches are over-deep so they can be sanded to shape once the frames are assembled.
 
 
 
Rob

Thanks for the support and the likes everyone!
 
I have cut the planking rebates in the side of the keel assembly. I used a couple of different scalpel blades: a small straight to cut the inside of the chase and a large curve-ended one to scrape it clean afterwards. Mostly however I used a small V-profile gouge with a very sharp edge. This cuts beautifully and I'm almost happy with the result. The only disappointment was that my very last cut was a wrong'un! I forgot to stop the rebate on the stem and ran it straight out the top. I haven't shown this in the photos below (still feeling slightly annoyed with myself…). My only thought so far is to cut the profile of the short section of extended rebate as neatly as possible and then piece-in a very small sliver of cherry. If anyone has a better idea I'd be pleased to hear it.
 
 
 
I have also made the last frame components. The crutches are over-deep so they can be sanded to shape once the frames are assembled.
 
 
 
Rob

Thanks for the support and the likes everyone!
 
I have cut the planking rebates in the side of the keel assembly. I used a couple of different scalpel blades: a small straight to cut the inside of the chase and a large curve-ended one to scrape it clean afterwards. Mostly however I used a small V-profile gouge with a very sharp edge. This cuts beautifully and I'm almost happy with the result. The only disappointment was that my very last cut was a wrong'un! I forgot to stop the rebate on the stem and ran it straight out the top. I haven't shown this in the photos below (still feeling slightly annoyed with myself…). My only thought so far is to cut the profile of the short section of extended rebate as neatly as possible and then piece-in a very small sliver of cherry. If anyone has a better idea I'd be pleased to hear it.
 
 
 
I have also made the last frame components. The crutches are over-deep so they can be sanded to shape once the frames are assembled.
 
 
 
Rob

As I suggested in my last post I needed to sand off the end of the mould so that the keel assembly fits properly. This was hard work, but pretty straightforward. As you can see in the following pictures the keel now drops over the frames with no problem.
 
 
 
The next issue was how to stop the frames sticking to the mould when the components were glued together. I took all the frame parts off the mould and gave it another good polish. Then, starting at the MC position, I assembled each frame over the mould, glueing the futtocks to the floors with medium cyano and using the pushpins again to hold everything in the correct relationship. Once the glue was reasonably dry I removed the pins and then the frame. If the frame was stuck I held a piece of wood against the side of the joint and tapped gently until it popped off. Once or twice a frame became glued quite firmly and a bit of the mould came away stuck to the inside. The MDF is actually quite soft, so can be removed easily, and it is certainly better for a bit of the mould to be stuck to the frame rather than a bit of frame stuck to the mould. Occasionally the futtock/floor joint was a bit dry and came apart, in which case I just put everything back on the mould and re-glued the joint.
 

 
The small dots on the sides of the floor and futtocks mark the glued faces.
 
 
 
The next step was to drill through the frame joints twice each and insert short lengths of 0.5 mm brass wire. These represent the bolts used on the prototype and also strengthen the joint because they are glued in. Once these were dry I trimmed the over-length floors and futtocks using a razor saw and then rounded off the upper corners in each case. Finally I sanded all the exposed faces, making sure there were no traces of glue left around the joints and the ends of the bolts.
 
 
 
The finished frames were put back onto the mould and pinned in place, making sure the sides were vertical.
 
 
 
I made every other frame to start with so that I had more working room.
 
I haven't quite finished the frames yet - there are three still to do.
 
Next time: making the rebates in the sides of the keel and finishing the frames preparatory to fitting the keel.
 
Rob

As I suggested in my last post I needed to sand off the end of the mould so that the keel assembly fits properly. This was hard work, but pretty straightforward. As you can see in the following pictures the keel now drops over the frames with no problem.
 
 
 
The next issue was how to stop the frames sticking to the mould when the components were glued together. I took all the frame parts off the mould and gave it another good polish. Then, starting at the MC position, I assembled each frame over the mould, glueing the futtocks to the floors with medium cyano and using the pushpins again to hold everything in the correct relationship. Once the glue was reasonably dry I removed the pins and then the frame. If the frame was stuck I held a piece of wood against the side of the joint and tapped gently until it popped off. Once or twice a frame became glued quite firmly and a bit of the mould came away stuck to the inside. The MDF is actually quite soft, so can be removed easily, and it is certainly better for a bit of the mould to be stuck to the frame rather than a bit of frame stuck to the mould. Occasionally the futtock/floor joint was a bit dry and came apart, in which case I just put everything back on the mould and re-glued the joint.
 

 
The small dots on the sides of the floor and futtocks mark the glued faces.
 
 
 
The next step was to drill through the frame joints twice each and insert short lengths of 0.5 mm brass wire. These represent the bolts used on the prototype and also strengthen the joint because they are glued in. Once these were dry I trimmed the over-length floors and futtocks using a razor saw and then rounded off the upper corners in each case. Finally I sanded all the exposed faces, making sure there were no traces of glue left around the joints and the ends of the bolts.
 
 
 
The finished frames were put back onto the mould and pinned in place, making sure the sides were vertical.
 
 
 
I made every other frame to start with so that I had more working room.
 
I haven't quite finished the frames yet - there are three still to do.
 
Next time: making the rebates in the sides of the keel and finishing the frames preparatory to fitting the keel.
 
Rob

As I suggested in my last post I needed to sand off the end of the mould so that the keel assembly fits properly. This was hard work, but pretty straightforward. As you can see in the following pictures the keel now drops over the frames with no problem.
 
 
 
The next issue was how to stop the frames sticking to the mould when the components were glued together. I took all the frame parts off the mould and gave it another good polish. Then, starting at the MC position, I assembled each frame over the mould, glueing the futtocks to the floors with medium cyano and using the pushpins again to hold everything in the correct relationship. Once the glue was reasonably dry I removed the pins and then the frame. If the frame was stuck I held a piece of wood against the side of the joint and tapped gently until it popped off. Once or twice a frame became glued quite firmly and a bit of the mould came away stuck to the inside. The MDF is actually quite soft, so can be removed easily, and it is certainly better for a bit of the mould to be stuck to the frame rather than a bit of frame stuck to the mould. Occasionally the futtock/floor joint was a bit dry and came apart, in which case I just put everything back on the mould and re-glued the joint.
 

 
The small dots on the sides of the floor and futtocks mark the glued faces.
 
 
 
The next step was to drill through the frame joints twice each and insert short lengths of 0.5 mm brass wire. These represent the bolts used on the prototype and also strengthen the joint because they are glued in. Once these were dry I trimmed the over-length floors and futtocks using a razor saw and then rounded off the upper corners in each case. Finally I sanded all the exposed faces, making sure there were no traces of glue left around the joints and the ends of the bolts.
 
 
 
The finished frames were put back onto the mould and pinned in place, making sure the sides were vertical.
 
 
 
I made every other frame to start with so that I had more working room.
 
I haven't quite finished the frames yet - there are three still to do.
 
Next time: making the rebates in the sides of the keel and finishing the frames preparatory to fitting the keel.
 
Rob

Very neatly done so far, Rob.

As I suggested in my last post I needed to sand off the end of the mould so that the keel assembly fits properly. This was hard work, but pretty straightforward. As you can see in the following pictures the keel now drops over the frames with no problem.
 
 
 
The next issue was how to stop the frames sticking to the mould when the components were glued together. I took all the frame parts off the mould and gave it another good polish. Then, starting at the MC position, I assembled each frame over the mould, glueing the futtocks to the floors with medium cyano and using the pushpins again to hold everything in the correct relationship. Once the glue was reasonably dry I removed the pins and then the frame. If the frame was stuck I held a piece of wood against the side of the joint and tapped gently until it popped off. Once or twice a frame became glued quite firmly and a bit of the mould came away stuck to the inside. The MDF is actually quite soft, so can be removed easily, and it is certainly better for a bit of the mould to be stuck to the frame rather than a bit of frame stuck to the mould. Occasionally the futtock/floor joint was a bit dry and came apart, in which case I just put everything back on the mould and re-glued the joint.
 

 
The small dots on the sides of the floor and futtocks mark the glued faces.
 
 
 
The next step was to drill through the frame joints twice each and insert short lengths of 0.5 mm brass wire. These represent the bolts used on the prototype and also strengthen the joint because they are glued in. Once these were dry I trimmed the over-length floors and futtocks using a razor saw and then rounded off the upper corners in each case. Finally I sanded all the exposed faces, making sure there were no traces of glue left around the joints and the ends of the bolts.
 
 
 
The finished frames were put back onto the mould and pinned in place, making sure the sides were vertical.
 
 
 
I made every other frame to start with so that I had more working room.
 
I haven't quite finished the frames yet - there are three still to do.
 
Next time: making the rebates in the sides of the keel and finishing the frames preparatory to fitting the keel.
 
Rob

Thanks for the advice chaps!
 
I'm thinking about Ron's test suggestion and, short of making another mould, I haven't thought of a quick way yet.
 
I don't know if I mentioned it before, but I have polished the surface of the mould with a wax-based spray. Hopefully this will help too, however I don't want it too waxy since it might affect the surface of the ribs.
 
The instructions suggest that a frame inadvertently glued to the mould can be freed by giving it a sharp tap with a hammer against a block of wood placed alongside the frame. I think this might be my first test.
 
In the meantime I have been making the 'spine' of the boat; that is: the keel, the stem, the sternpost, the apron, the deadwood and the knee. This took two goes: the first keel was too long and I had already cut the rebate for the sternpost, so I couldn't shorten it. I had made the half-lapped joint between the stem and keel, but nothing else. This at least was good practice for the second attempt! I think the keel was too long because the paper pattern, which I glued to the cherry blank, stretched when it was wet with the glue.
 
The second time I made two changes: I left the keel over length at the stern to start with so it could be cut down later, and I cut a mortice for the sternpost, rather than a rebate since this looked more in line with the prototype illustrations (despite the drawings, which show a rebate).
 
This project is a big learning exercise for me, especially with the use of my new Byrnes table saw (thank you again MSW!). I have no thicknesser yet, so I am reliant on the fine blade in the saw to get a good, parallel-sided finish on the wood. In practice this means that the widest I can make a plank is about 24 mm, cutting from both sides. Fortunately this is just enough for the curve of the apron.
 
The first image shows all the blanks rough cut and roughly in the right relationship. As many of the straight cuts as possible have been made with the table saw. The remainder will be cut using a fretsaw.
 

 
The next picture shows the stern components after they have been cut and sanded to the right profile. I made a rudimentary 'bobbin' sander with a piece of MDF with a hole fixed to the bed of my pillar drill and a sanding drum in the chuck. It's actually very effective and accurate. I use this for all the concave curves and a hand sanding block with a shooting board for the convex and straight faces.
 
 
 
I fixed the apron to the stem and keel prior to cutting out the inner curve. This was because I thought such a thin piece of partially-crossgrained timber might break when I tried to cut it or sand it. Fixing it to the other members made it stronger.
 

 
Finally some shots of all the components assembled and sanded. No too shabby for a beginner!
 

 
When the glue was well dried I offered the whole thing up to the mould, only to find that the mould was marginally too long. I assume this was for the same reason as the keel being over-length: the paper patterns stretching when glued. My solution is to sand off the back face of the transom. I'll let you all know how I get on in my next report!
 
Rob

As I suggested in my last post I needed to sand off the end of the mould so that the keel assembly fits properly. This was hard work, but pretty straightforward. As you can see in the following pictures the keel now drops over the frames with no problem.
 
 
 
The next issue was how to stop the frames sticking to the mould when the components were glued together. I took all the frame parts off the mould and gave it another good polish. Then, starting at the MC position, I assembled each frame over the mould, glueing the futtocks to the floors with medium cyano and using the pushpins again to hold everything in the correct relationship. Once the glue was reasonably dry I removed the pins and then the frame. If the frame was stuck I held a piece of wood against the side of the joint and tapped gently until it popped off. Once or twice a frame became glued quite firmly and a bit of the mould came away stuck to the inside. The MDF is actually quite soft, so can be removed easily, and it is certainly better for a bit of the mould to be stuck to the frame rather than a bit of frame stuck to the mould. Occasionally the futtock/floor joint was a bit dry and came apart, in which case I just put everything back on the mould and re-glued the joint.
 

 
The small dots on the sides of the floor and futtocks mark the glued faces.
 
 
 
The next step was to drill through the frame joints twice each and insert short lengths of 0.5 mm brass wire. These represent the bolts used on the prototype and also strengthen the joint because they are glued in. Once these were dry I trimmed the over-length floors and futtocks using a razor saw and then rounded off the upper corners in each case. Finally I sanded all the exposed faces, making sure there were no traces of glue left around the joints and the ends of the bolts.
 
 
 
The finished frames were put back onto the mould and pinned in place, making sure the sides were vertical.
 
 
 
I made every other frame to start with so that I had more working room.
 
I haven't quite finished the frames yet - there are three still to do.
 
Next time: making the rebates in the sides of the keel and finishing the frames preparatory to fitting the keel.
 
Rob

Thanks for the advice chaps!
 
I'm thinking about Ron's test suggestion and, short of making another mould, I haven't thought of a quick way yet.
 
I don't know if I mentioned it before, but I have polished the surface of the mould with a wax-based spray. Hopefully this will help too, however I don't want it too waxy since it might affect the surface of the ribs.
 
The instructions suggest that a frame inadvertently glued to the mould can be freed by giving it a sharp tap with a hammer against a block of wood placed alongside the frame. I think this might be my first test.
 
In the meantime I have been making the 'spine' of the boat; that is: the keel, the stem, the sternpost, the apron, the deadwood and the knee. This took two goes: the first keel was too long and I had already cut the rebate for the sternpost, so I couldn't shorten it. I had made the half-lapped joint between the stem and keel, but nothing else. This at least was good practice for the second attempt! I think the keel was too long because the paper pattern, which I glued to the cherry blank, stretched when it was wet with the glue.
 
The second time I made two changes: I left the keel over length at the stern to start with so it could be cut down later, and I cut a mortice for the sternpost, rather than a rebate since this looked more in line with the prototype illustrations (despite the drawings, which show a rebate).
 
This project is a big learning exercise for me, especially with the use of my new Byrnes table saw (thank you again MSW!). I have no thicknesser yet, so I am reliant on the fine blade in the saw to get a good, parallel-sided finish on the wood. In practice this means that the widest I can make a plank is about 24 mm, cutting from both sides. Fortunately this is just enough for the curve of the apron.
 
The first image shows all the blanks rough cut and roughly in the right relationship. As many of the straight cuts as possible have been made with the table saw. The remainder will be cut using a fretsaw.
 

 
The next picture shows the stern components after they have been cut and sanded to the right profile. I made a rudimentary 'bobbin' sander with a piece of MDF with a hole fixed to the bed of my pillar drill and a sanding drum in the chuck. It's actually very effective and accurate. I use this for all the concave curves and a hand sanding block with a shooting board for the convex and straight faces.
 
 
 
I fixed the apron to the stem and keel prior to cutting out the inner curve. This was because I thought such a thin piece of partially-crossgrained timber might break when I tried to cut it or sand it. Fixing it to the other members made it stronger.
 

 
Finally some shots of all the components assembled and sanded. No too shabby for a beginner!
 

 
When the glue was well dried I offered the whole thing up to the mould, only to find that the mould was marginally too long. I assume this was for the same reason as the keel being over-length: the paper patterns stretching when glued. My solution is to sand off the back face of the transom. I'll let you all know how I get on in my next report!
 
Rob

Thanks for the advice chaps!
 
I'm thinking about Ron's test suggestion and, short of making another mould, I haven't thought of a quick way yet.
 
I don't know if I mentioned it before, but I have polished the surface of the mould with a wax-based spray. Hopefully this will help too, however I don't want it too waxy since it might affect the surface of the ribs.
 
The instructions suggest that a frame inadvertently glued to the mould can be freed by giving it a sharp tap with a hammer against a block of wood placed alongside the frame. I think this might be my first test.
 
In the meantime I have been making the 'spine' of the boat; that is: the keel, the stem, the sternpost, the apron, the deadwood and the knee. This took two goes: the first keel was too long and I had already cut the rebate for the sternpost, so I couldn't shorten it. I had made the half-lapped joint between the stem and keel, but nothing else. This at least was good practice for the second attempt! I think the keel was too long because the paper pattern, which I glued to the cherry blank, stretched when it was wet with the glue.
 
The second time I made two changes: I left the keel over length at the stern to start with so it could be cut down later, and I cut a mortice for the sternpost, rather than a rebate since this looked more in line with the prototype illustrations (despite the drawings, which show a rebate).
 
This project is a big learning exercise for me, especially with the use of my new Byrnes table saw (thank you again MSW!). I have no thicknesser yet, so I am reliant on the fine blade in the saw to get a good, parallel-sided finish on the wood. In practice this means that the widest I can make a plank is about 24 mm, cutting from both sides. Fortunately this is just enough for the curve of the apron.
 
The first image shows all the blanks rough cut and roughly in the right relationship. As many of the straight cuts as possible have been made with the table saw. The remainder will be cut using a fretsaw.
 

 
The next picture shows the stern components after they have been cut and sanded to the right profile. I made a rudimentary 'bobbin' sander with a piece of MDF with a hole fixed to the bed of my pillar drill and a sanding drum in the chuck. It's actually very effective and accurate. I use this for all the concave curves and a hand sanding block with a shooting board for the convex and straight faces.
 
 
 
I fixed the apron to the stem and keel prior to cutting out the inner curve. This was because I thought such a thin piece of partially-crossgrained timber might break when I tried to cut it or sand it. Fixing it to the other members made it stronger.
 

 
Finally some shots of all the components assembled and sanded. No too shabby for a beginner!
 

 
When the glue was well dried I offered the whole thing up to the mould, only to find that the mould was marginally too long. I assume this was for the same reason as the keel being over-length: the paper patterns stretching when glued. My solution is to sand off the back face of the transom. I'll let you all know how I get on in my next report!
 
Rob

Thanks for the advice chaps!
 
I'm thinking about Ron's test suggestion and, short of making another mould, I haven't thought of a quick way yet.
 
I don't know if I mentioned it before, but I have polished the surface of the mould with a wax-based spray. Hopefully this will help too, however I don't want it too waxy since it might affect the surface of the ribs.
 
The instructions suggest that a frame inadvertently glued to the mould can be freed by giving it a sharp tap with a hammer against a block of wood placed alongside the frame. I think this might be my first test.
 
In the meantime I have been making the 'spine' of the boat; that is: the keel, the stem, the sternpost, the apron, the deadwood and the knee. This took two goes: the first keel was too long and I had already cut the rebate for the sternpost, so I couldn't shorten it. I had made the half-lapped joint between the stem and keel, but nothing else. This at least was good practice for the second attempt! I think the keel was too long because the paper pattern, which I glued to the cherry blank, stretched when it was wet with the glue.
 
The second time I made two changes: I left the keel over length at the stern to start with so it could be cut down later, and I cut a mortice for the sternpost, rather than a rebate since this looked more in line with the prototype illustrations (despite the drawings, which show a rebate).
 
This project is a big learning exercise for me, especially with the use of my new Byrnes table saw (thank you again MSW!). I have no thicknesser yet, so I am reliant on the fine blade in the saw to get a good, parallel-sided finish on the wood. In practice this means that the widest I can make a plank is about 24 mm, cutting from both sides. Fortunately this is just enough for the curve of the apron.
 
The first image shows all the blanks rough cut and roughly in the right relationship. As many of the straight cuts as possible have been made with the table saw. The remainder will be cut using a fretsaw.
 

 
The next picture shows the stern components after they have been cut and sanded to the right profile. I made a rudimentary 'bobbin' sander with a piece of MDF with a hole fixed to the bed of my pillar drill and a sanding drum in the chuck. It's actually very effective and accurate. I use this for all the concave curves and a hand sanding block with a shooting board for the convex and straight faces.
 
 
 
I fixed the apron to the stem and keel prior to cutting out the inner curve. This was because I thought such a thin piece of partially-crossgrained timber might break when I tried to cut it or sand it. Fixing it to the other members made it stronger.
 

 
Finally some shots of all the components assembled and sanded. No too shabby for a beginner!
 

 
When the glue was well dried I offered the whole thing up to the mould, only to find that the mould was marginally too long. I assume this was for the same reason as the keel being over-length: the paper patterns stretching when glued. My solution is to sand off the back face of the transom. I'll let you all know how I get on in my next report!
 
Rob

Thanks for the advice chaps!
 
I'm thinking about Ron's test suggestion and, short of making another mould, I haven't thought of a quick way yet.
 
I don't know if I mentioned it before, but I have polished the surface of the mould with a wax-based spray. Hopefully this will help too, however I don't want it too waxy since it might affect the surface of the ribs.
 
The instructions suggest that a frame inadvertently glued to the mould can be freed by giving it a sharp tap with a hammer against a block of wood placed alongside the frame. I think this might be my first test.
 
In the meantime I have been making the 'spine' of the boat; that is: the keel, the stem, the sternpost, the apron, the deadwood and the knee. This took two goes: the first keel was too long and I had already cut the rebate for the sternpost, so I couldn't shorten it. I had made the half-lapped joint between the stem and keel, but nothing else. This at least was good practice for the second attempt! I think the keel was too long because the paper pattern, which I glued to the cherry blank, stretched when it was wet with the glue.
 
The second time I made two changes: I left the keel over length at the stern to start with so it could be cut down later, and I cut a mortice for the sternpost, rather than a rebate since this looked more in line with the prototype illustrations (despite the drawings, which show a rebate).
 
This project is a big learning exercise for me, especially with the use of my new Byrnes table saw (thank you again MSW!). I have no thicknesser yet, so I am reliant on the fine blade in the saw to get a good, parallel-sided finish on the wood. In practice this means that the widest I can make a plank is about 24 mm, cutting from both sides. Fortunately this is just enough for the curve of the apron.
 
The first image shows all the blanks rough cut and roughly in the right relationship. As many of the straight cuts as possible have been made with the table saw. The remainder will be cut using a fretsaw.
 

 
The next picture shows the stern components after they have been cut and sanded to the right profile. I made a rudimentary 'bobbin' sander with a piece of MDF with a hole fixed to the bed of my pillar drill and a sanding drum in the chuck. It's actually very effective and accurate. I use this for all the concave curves and a hand sanding block with a shooting board for the convex and straight faces.
 
 
 
I fixed the apron to the stem and keel prior to cutting out the inner curve. This was because I thought such a thin piece of partially-crossgrained timber might break when I tried to cut it or sand it. Fixing it to the other members made it stronger.
 

 
Finally some shots of all the components assembled and sanded. No too shabby for a beginner!
 

 
When the glue was well dried I offered the whole thing up to the mould, only to find that the mould was marginally too long. I assume this was for the same reason as the keel being over-length: the paper patterns stretching when glued. My solution is to sand off the back face of the transom. I'll let you all know how I get on in my next report!
 
Rob

Thanks Rob. I think I will send the Admiral shopping or visit the local Hobbycraft store

Sewing shops sell beeswax in a little plastic containers with slots. Like this:
 

 
You drag the thread through the slot and across the surface of the wax. Easy!
 
Rob

Thanks for the advice chaps!
 
I'm thinking about Ron's test suggestion and, short of making another mould, I haven't thought of a quick way yet.
 
I don't know if I mentioned it before, but I have polished the surface of the mould with a wax-based spray. Hopefully this will help too, however I don't want it too waxy since it might affect the surface of the ribs.
 
The instructions suggest that a frame inadvertently glued to the mould can be freed by giving it a sharp tap with a hammer against a block of wood placed alongside the frame. I think this might be my first test.
 
In the meantime I have been making the 'spine' of the boat; that is: the keel, the stem, the sternpost, the apron, the deadwood and the knee. This took two goes: the first keel was too long and I had already cut the rebate for the sternpost, so I couldn't shorten it. I had made the half-lapped joint between the stem and keel, but nothing else. This at least was good practice for the second attempt! I think the keel was too long because the paper pattern, which I glued to the cherry blank, stretched when it was wet with the glue.
 
The second time I made two changes: I left the keel over length at the stern to start with so it could be cut down later, and I cut a mortice for the sternpost, rather than a rebate since this looked more in line with the prototype illustrations (despite the drawings, which show a rebate).
 
This project is a big learning exercise for me, especially with the use of my new Byrnes table saw (thank you again MSW!). I have no thicknesser yet, so I am reliant on the fine blade in the saw to get a good, parallel-sided finish on the wood. In practice this means that the widest I can make a plank is about 24 mm, cutting from both sides. Fortunately this is just enough for the curve of the apron.
 
The first image shows all the blanks rough cut and roughly in the right relationship. As many of the straight cuts as possible have been made with the table saw. The remainder will be cut using a fretsaw.
 

 
The next picture shows the stern components after they have been cut and sanded to the right profile. I made a rudimentary 'bobbin' sander with a piece of MDF with a hole fixed to the bed of my pillar drill and a sanding drum in the chuck. It's actually very effective and accurate. I use this for all the concave curves and a hand sanding block with a shooting board for the convex and straight faces.
 
 
 
I fixed the apron to the stem and keel prior to cutting out the inner curve. This was because I thought such a thin piece of partially-crossgrained timber might break when I tried to cut it or sand it. Fixing it to the other members made it stronger.
 

 
Finally some shots of all the components assembled and sanded. No too shabby for a beginner!
 

 
When the glue was well dried I offered the whole thing up to the mould, only to find that the mould was marginally too long. I assume this was for the same reason as the keel being over-length: the paper patterns stretching when glued. My solution is to sand off the back face of the transom. I'll let you all know how I get on in my next report!
 
Rob

I am getting close to finishing the initial fabrication of the frames. In the next couple of pictures you can see all the frames across the keelson finished and then the futtocks added to the rearmost crutches.
 
 
 
Unfortunately I noticed that the keelson had acquired a pronounced downward curve (upward in the photos since the mould is inverted).
 
  
 
I wasn't happy to leave it like it was, so I stripped off all the frames - they were only pinned in place - and then planed off the first MDF layer from the mould down to the veneer leaf.
 

 
At this point it became clear that the whole mould was slightly curved, probably because I didn't clamp it to a flat surface when it was drying. Nothing serious, just slightly annoying! I was able to sand the veneer slightly more in the middle until the top surface was flat. Then I added a strip of cherry the same plan profile as the keelson, as thick as the distance between the top of the keelson and the lowest waterline and with a curve at the stern end. Once this was glued down I fixed 4 mm deep strips of veneer each side to set clean lines for the bottom of the mould (the MDF tends to flake off). Now I have a straight base for the keelson.
 
    
 
Next I cut a new layer of MDF in two pieces to fit around the keelson trough and, once the glue was dry, planed and sanded it to shape. Another couple of coats of varnish to stop the frame glue sticking and job done! A nice straight keelson ready for the frames to be re-fitted.
 
     
 
Rob

Jeronimo,
 
I saw your log and the photos of the finished boat - fantastic work. I hope mine is somewhere near as good (although I have my doubts… we'll see).
 
Aykutansin,
 
Thanks for the encouragement - do you have a build log of your own?
 
Here are some more photos of progress to date. I've set the keelson in its recess in the mould and started adding the frames. The instructions suggest pinning through the frames. I decided to use push-pins. A big benefit is that they can be removed more easily once the frames are finished (you don't want to miss a pin after adding the planking - removing the shell from the mould would be a bit difficult…). Another advantage is that lifting a pin slightly allows the frame to be adjusted laterally until its position is perfect.
 
 
 
I'm using apple for the frames as well as the keelson. Slicing it up into 2 x 2 mm pieces results in incredibly smooth faces straight from the saw. I give them a rub-down with 400 grit wet and dry used dry then soak them overnight. The first picture above shows all the pieces cut up: there are 30 of them, corresponding to 30 frames, each strip is 300 mm long. The second picture shows a set of timbers for a typical frame - a long piece for the floor and two shorter pieces for the futtocks.
 
The following pictures show steps in adding the frames to the mould with the keelson in place. Interestingly nothing is glued yet. The keelson is intended to remain loose until the hull is removed from the mould, at which time it will be pinned and glued in place. Initially I soaked the wood in hot water, but I found I broke quite a few pieces trying to bend them round the sharp curve between the floor and the sides, so I added some household ammonia to the water. I am now having more success, but this may be because a] I'm getting better at forming the bends or b] I've left the wood to soak for longer or c] I tried microwaving the container with the ammonia solution before taking the wood out. Anyway it seems to be going OK!
 
     
 
In the first three images the floors are being added; in the last three I am starting to add the futtocks. The darker pieces have been added later and are still wet.
 
 
Rob