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cdrusn89

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Everything posted by cdrusn89

  1. cdrusn89
    On my previous kit (B. J. Latham) I built and installed the deck coamings and planked the deck around them. I found that somewhat tedious and generally not worth the extra effort. The camber in the Niagara deck is quite mild and should not present any difficulties with laying the deck furniture directly on top of the deck. After looking at the plans and the Syren gratings that I had I figured out that the 3/32" thick gratings should just fit inside a 3/32" coaming making internal ledges and such unnecessary. I used my disk sander and a home made jig to get the small pieces very close to the disk and put the required 45 on the end of 3/32 x 3/32 boxwood. I used the grating, which were already cut to the required size as the template. After the gratings were glued up I used a sanding stick to add the taper on the outside of each coaming. After two coats of paint on the coamings and a coat of clear, flat on the gratings here is what they look like. Making me want to get on with planking the deck so I can see how they look where they belong.
  2. cdrusn89
    Speaking of the gratings and such. I have decided to try and build the model closer to what the 1813 version "might" have looked like. It seems pretty clear to me that the capstan is close to useless in the current configuration with the skylight and companionway so close fore and aft that you could not get past them and still be pushing on the capstan bars. And the capstan was used for more than raising and lowering the anchor(s). Since no one knows what the original configuration really was I have decided to substitute a grating for the Salon Skylight and Captain's Skylight and interchange the locations of the Captain's Skylight (now a grating) and the companionway. This will put gratings fore and aft of the capstan and make it much more usable IMHO.
  3. cdrusn89
    With the hull (in theory) ready for the finish paint I decided to keep the hull in the "primer" state while I work on some other things. I have to re-plank the forward bulwarks as I did not extend the planking under the bowsprit and see no elegant way to fix that without redoing the planking. I have not decide how to paint these sections (brush or spray). Will have to figure that out when the planking is done. While waiting for the primer to dry I started on the gratings. I tried using the grating material supplied with the kit but could not keep the pieces lined up satisfactorily. I had some Syren Ship Model gratings, which I have had good success with in the past so I decided to use them. I also decided to fabricate the gratings before the coamings. IMHO it is easier to build a correctly sized coaming when you already have what will fit inside it. Also, the grating do not come in infinitely variable sizes. Here is a shot of the hull (all the masking tape is gone now) with the first planks on the port fwd bulwark and the gratings for the various hatches.
  4. cdrusn89
    I did some more filling and sanding on the hull and finished with another coat of primer and 600 sandpaper than what I hope is the final coat of primer. There are still spots where you can see the individual planks but I have never gotten a plank on bulkhead hull to a completely smooth (looked like a fiberglass sailboat hull) so did not expect to get to that level this time. Here is what the hull looks like now.
  5. cdrusn89
    So, I put Bondo 907 automotive filler on the hull (probably a little, maybe a lot thicker than necessary) and then proceeded to sand, first with 120, then with 220 using mostly the sanding sticks I made from tongue depressors. Generated so much red dust that I decided to use my air brushing face mask to keep from inhaling all the red particles containing probably more bad things than I care to know. Anyway below are pictures of the before and after. Need to go over the hull again looking for areas that need more filler but it looks pretty good a first glance. Will at least go over with 320 sanding sticks before priming. FYI, the pictures after sanding were taken shortly after wiping the hull down with a rag soaked in paint thinner so the wood is darker than it would be when dry.
  6. cdrusn89
    Thanks Jim. Back from weekend of watching losing baseball. Hope to get hull planking completed and first coat of filler applied today.
  7. cdrusn89
    Completed planking on port side and have bands A, B and C done on Stbd. Have not had to use anything but water to soak a few planks so far. Taking the weekend off to watch some Red Socks baseball in person in St. Petersburg. Will finish the stbd side when we get back and then the real full - filling and sanding.
  8. cdrusn89
    I completed planking belts A and B but not without some drama. I accepted the plan's version of the belt locations as they looked pretty good when I laid them on the hull but I made a major error when actually laying them out for band A. I neglected to use the hull planking layout drawing instead relying on the profile drawing (won't make that mistake again!). The result was that the portion of Band A around bulkheads O, P and Q was much narrow than it should have been. I caught the error when laying out Band B and had to make the band B planks in the area wider than the would otherwise have been and added on stealer on each side. Anyway, I believe I have everything correct now for Bands C and D - where the "real work" begins. So far I have used planks of 1/16", 3/32" and 1/8" widths (some basswood, some boxwood - which accounts for the varying wood colors) depending on the maximum width of each particular plank. I did follow the instructions for laying out the plank seams although my experience is that for a painted hull these are pretty much invisible. Here is a close-up of the stern area where I "corrected" the error in the Band A layout and two overall shots of the hull as it stands now. Blue tape is protecting the completed bulwarks from damage - hopefully. Am going to Colorado for a wedding so there will be no progress for 5 days or so.
  9. cdrusn89
    As I was preparing to start the hull planking I decided this would be a good time to do the counter planking and Fashion piece so I would have a firm location for the aft end of the hull planking. The instructions and plans only indicate using 1/32" thick planks so I used more of the 3/32 X 1/32 planks from the bulwarks and a piece of 1/16 X 3/32 at the forward end beveled to match the 1/32 counter planks. For the fashion piece(s) I used 1/8 x 1/8 along the quarter stanchions and counter and 1/16 x 3/32 to blend into the similar sized piece at the forward end of the counter. I will clean this up when finished with the hull planking and final paint the transom and counter when doing the flat black painting on the hull.
  10. cdrusn89
    Finally all the modules are done and installed on the hull. Some minor touch-up where clamps or other tools left marks but that will only take a few minutes and a dab or two of paint. Now it is on to the hull or deck planking, probably hull as I have not decided what wood to use for the deck planking. I have enough of both boxwood and Alaskan cedar in the 1/16 X 3/32 size. I am leaning toward the cedar since it is a bit lighter than the boxwood and I think would provide more contrast to the dark green and red interior. Anyone have any thoughts, cautions as I have not worked with cedar before?
  11. cdrusn89
    Spent most of the day pre-outfitting the starboard bulwark modules and installing some on the port side. Below are the stab side modules showing the ceiling planking side (only four have a bulwark planking side) and the port side modules that have not already been installed. Next is to complete the rip out on the starboard side and then get the modules installed. Also have been working the stern and transom areasand there is a quick shot of each.
  12. cdrusn89
    The offending sections on the port side have been removed and the new bulwark/ceiling planking sections are dry fit. Have to touch up the sheer-plank and waterway paint and then will install these and the other ceiling planking sections. Working on pre-outfitting the stbd side sections while waiting for paint to dry.
  13. cdrusn89
    Well, my first mask and spray job didn't turn out as well as I had hoped, but not too bad overall. For whatever reason I had more trouble with paint runs and such on the bulwark (yellow) side than on the ceiling side. Clearly some touch-up required on one side or the other on every module. Some of the runs and missed areas are clearly the application of the masking. Others are probably due to imperfections in the surface that the masking could not overcome. Others probably are just bad luck and inexperience although I am not sure what I would do differently other than play closer attention to where the masking goes, especially the second, third etc. pieces. It took six pieces on each side and there were several cases where an initial section that was supposed to get paint did not because it was covered up by a subsequent piece of masking. Next step is to"fix" the issues with the paint and install the gun eye-bolts/rings and the cleats and chocks of the interior sections and then rip out the offending sections and replace them with these.
  14. cdrusn89
    After what seemed like days (was really only hours) I got all eight modules masked so that I can spray the red trim on the inside and outside. It probably would have been faster if I did it by hand but I have this big investment in an airbrush and HAVE to use it now to justify the cost to HQ. So here are the eight pieces in the paint booth. I put a #4 X 3/4" wood screw in the bottom of each modules so I would have a way to hold it while I painted. I am expecting it will take several coats to cover the dark green. I am now thinking I should have done the painting in the order of the colors, i.e. first the yellow, then the red and the green last. Oh well, live and learn - hopefully.
  15. cdrusn89
    So I have completed the eight new sections of bulwark/ceiling and got them painted and am ready to work the pre-outfitting on the inside. While waiting for the paint to dry I created the mooring chocks that fit in the bottom of the stern gun ports and gave them a coat of clear flat.
  16. cdrusn89
    So here are the eight new sections, after sanding with 400# waiting for paint and other outfitting items (cleats, eyebolts, etc.). I am struggling with how to paint these since there are now several colors on each side of each module (red and yellow on bulwark side and red and dark green on the ceiling side). I had used my new airbrush to paint the red and yellow seen in previous pictures but they were done separately with only minimal masking. Trying to paint the red and either other color may be beyond my airbrush/masking skill level.
  17. cdrusn89
    The ceiling planking is added in a similar manner using 3/64 thick planks and adding the sweep trim pieces as on the bulwark side.
  18. cdrusn89
    With the sweep port trimmed up I added the 1/32 planking using a 1/8 wide piece at the bottom and 3/32 on the sides of the sweep port and at least the first row above. I used a combination of 1/8 and 3/32 pieces to match the height of the internal structure (which hopefully matches the height at the location in question. Here is a module with the bulwark planking completed. I cut all the planking long and then used a disc sander to trim back to the measured length. This is the one that convinced me to use thicker material for the sweep port trim pieces.
  19. cdrusn89
    After tapering the supports I added the trim pieces around the sweep port. I started with 1/16 x 1/32 but shifted to 3/32 x 1/32 to make sure I had "extra" material to sand down at the edges of the sweep ports. I found it easier to add a longer piece and then trim when the glue dried. Maneuvering small pieces with tweezers is not as easy at it once was. The key I found was only getting the glue where you want the wood to stick - Dah.
  20. cdrusn89
    On the bulwark side I added four 1/32 X 1/16 strips butted on the bottom strip. These strips were tapered to "zero" at the top to provide a smooth transition from the 1/8 thickness at the bottom (thickness less the planking) to the 3/32 at the top.
  21. cdrusn89
    So the eight new bulwark/ceiling modules are complete. I decided that the bulwark side would taper and the ceiling side would be straight. I used 1/8 X 1/8 stripes at the bottom and 3/32 X 3/32 for the remainder of the internal structure. I used 5 pieces of the 3/32 x 3/32 and then sometimes added a 1/32 or 1/16 piece on top depending on the actual height at the location being replaced. Here is what a "starting point" looked like.
  22. cdrusn89
    Darrell - thanks, and I did briefly consider leaving them "as is" but then I have no idea what the impact might be when fixing them (without essentially "starting over" is no longer an option. Plus, it would not ever look right, at least to me and after all I am the Captain (at least for this small part of the world) so it better look right "or else"!
  23. cdrusn89
    Here is what the model looks like with one "new" sweep port section and one of the incorrect ones removed. I have not tried painting yet (obviously) as I want to get all the new sections completed before I tackle that. Also a picture of the completed section before being fitted onto model for dry fit test. The red in the picture is from the Bondo filler I had to use to fill in the gaps inside the sweep port. Perhaps I will figure out a way to reduce or eliminate the gaps as I proceed.
  24. cdrusn89
    I sometimes get the feeling that everything is going along too well. Such a feeling came over me yesterday and now I know why. I discovered while trying to figure out what cleats and eye-bolts I could pre-outfit on the ceiling planking before installation that I had somehow mis-measured and eight of the eighteen sweep ports are not where they should be - see picture below. I am going to try my hand at building the entire section between gun ports (for the affected sweep ports) as a single unit. This will make painting somewhat more complicated but will (hopefully) validate that I should have done all the rectangular gun port sections this way. I had hoped to try this on a subsequent build but need to fix this error and it looks like a good place to start.
  25. cdrusn89
    The port side came out better than the stbd - no glaring mis-measurements and only minor "adjustments" were required to get the bulwark planking sections to fit. On to redoing the two stbd side sections and then installing them and "on to the ceiling" so to speak.

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