jim_smits

Quick update for you all.
 
Managed to complete the first planking. It was interesting comparing the planking of this smaller vessel as compared to the Snake that I had previously done, with a far greater emphasis on the angle between the keel and the top of the bulwarks. I was adding in stealers from the word go. No great problems however, although the final couple of planks were not the most 'regular' shaped in the world but it will not matter in the big scheme of things.
 
Next steps will be to continue sanding to a smooth finish, adding a few bits of filler in a couple of places with a slight depression and also to 'paint' the entire hull with a bit of diluted PVA to strengthen the build.
 
The first planking really does the ship a sudden sense of being. The lines are now there....!
 

 

 
 
 

Well, its been a little longer than I had I thought.  I got into a bit of a funk with a couple of aspects of the rigging and felt myself forcing things - so decided to take a bit of a break.  I think I got lucky with my first mouse, replicating it proved to be rather challenging but decided to make them all in one go so they are as consistent as can be (why don't any manufacturers make mice?).  
 
Not much to report, but I am back in the shipyard at least...I do still want to try and capture each step in order for future reference, so apologize if this is less than thrilling.
 
Maintop with main and preventer stays in place...

 
Main and preventer stays attached to their respective hearts.  Did not serve around the stays where they rub against the fore-mast as would have been done.  I didn't  use the supplied 1.25mm line as supplied as it seemed a little too thick and out of scal, instead going with some 'officially' 1.3mm Caldercraft line which in reality was slightly thinner than the supplied 1.25mm stuff.  This proved to be a 'fuzzy'  nightmare but once in place I brushed with dilute PVA and they seem to have been banished.
 
The lashing of the hearts was done with  fake splice to the lower heart (although believe this maybe should have been to the upper heart) and then seizing the other end to the lashing.  The hearts have circular holes, I'd recommend flattening off the lower side so the lashing sits better, as it is, I found this quite tricky to look right.
 

At Long Last I have Good News to Report...
 
Yup! you guessed it, my timber arrived this morning and I have the first row of planking in place on the bulwark (just the Starboard side mind you)
I have cut the timber for each row (strake) up into the scale equivalent of approx.18 foot planks.
 
I should be able to get a few more strakes done on both sides tomorrow.
 
Thanks for checking in folks, and for keeping an eye on me during the Great Timber Drought of '14..
 
Incidentally I think Nigel was right when he said that CMB don't always have product in stock when they take an order, even though sometimes they have 'Temporarily out of Stock' marked on some items... as a quick check on the invoice dates show that my shipments are only traveling just over 9 days! (as opposed to the 3 weeks as of tomorrow, since my order was placed)
 
Will have All New Shinny Photos Soon...
 
Take Care.
 
Eamonn

Ratlines........ Done!
 

 
Finished off the mizzen mast shrouds and futtocks as mentioned in my previous post, and added in the remaining ratlines on the top mast. Rather glad to have got this all out of the way...!
 

 
Next items to take care are the main stay and preventer stay. The tension has dropped out of both, so I will remove them both and refit. I cant simply re-tension at the heart blocks as they are now to close together. Gives me a chance to try out the serving machine and make improvements to the mouse on each stay.
 
 

Ratlines........ Done!
 

 
Finished off the mizzen mast shrouds and futtocks as mentioned in my previous post, and added in the remaining ratlines on the top mast. Rather glad to have got this all out of the way...!
 

 
Next items to take care are the main stay and preventer stay. The tension has dropped out of both, so I will remove them both and refit. I cant simply re-tension at the heart blocks as they are now to close together. Gives me a chance to try out the serving machine and make improvements to the mouse on each stay.
 
 

Ratlines........ Done!
 

 
Finished off the mizzen mast shrouds and futtocks as mentioned in my previous post, and added in the remaining ratlines on the top mast. Rather glad to have got this all out of the way...!
 

 
Next items to take care are the main stay and preventer stay. The tension has dropped out of both, so I will remove them both and refit. I cant simply re-tension at the heart blocks as they are now to close together. Gives me a chance to try out the serving machine and make improvements to the mouse on each stay.
 
 

Ratlines........ Done!
 

 
Finished off the mizzen mast shrouds and futtocks as mentioned in my previous post, and added in the remaining ratlines on the top mast. Rather glad to have got this all out of the way...!
 

 
Next items to take care are the main stay and preventer stay. The tension has dropped out of both, so I will remove them both and refit. I cant simply re-tension at the heart blocks as they are now to close together. Gives me a chance to try out the serving machine and make improvements to the mouse on each stay.
 
 

Hi Eamonn,
 
I'm very surprised that you have been waiting so long for your order from CMB. I've always found them to be incredibly quick with orders; order in the morning and receive the following day.
 
It's probably worth you giving them a ring and checking up on the order....?

Fully caught up now!
 
The false deck has been pinned and glued in. All the bulkheads have been shaped to fit the bulwarks and planking.
Shaped the bulwarks by immersing in boiling water and then pegging to the bulkheads.
 
Both bulwarks are a good approximate shape now, so next step is to pin to the bulkheads prior to planking.Y
 
Everything looking a lot better this time....!
 

Latest Gossip from ENN  (Eamonn News Network )...  Much Sanding Phase 2 is complete with rather satisfying results ( a Very Very smooth hull form) just a smidge of filler required at the stern (where the upward sweep of a plank meets the lower part of the transom) once that hardens I'm onto Mild Sanding Phase 1, there may not even be a Phase 2 here... Which will be a bit of a Result!!
I filled out a section of the Bulwarks up for'ard to allow the Bow Piece to fit in place (you may recall from a while back the problem I had encountered where the 2 Bulwarks meet at the bow, ie no or too small a gap for the Bowsprit & the Bow Piece) hopefully you can see it in the photos.
I also made up the Stand, which is straightforward and not as Gawd Awful looking as I feared (I'm toying with how I will present the boat when finished, she may end up on Blocks representing a slipway, with the angle matching the angle of the keel to keep the deck level! but that is a bit away yet  )
 
Thanks For Checking In Folks
 
Eamonn
 
BTW The Period Ship Handbook pt 2 arrived this morning, WOW they are going to be a brilliant resource, thanks for the recommendation Nigel & Kester, and Dee Dee for the advice on where to get them!! Abebooks are Deadly, and I'd advise all to take a looksee for those hard to find books  (by the way 'Deadly' is an Irishism for Pretty Darn Good!  )
 
Photo Time....
 

Hot off the Camera !
 
Copious quantities of filler (just kiddin) and Phase 1 of Much Sanding later.. and we appear to have a decent hull shape! WooHoo
 
Next Up:  Phase 2 of Much Sanding.
 
All The Best
 
Eamonn
 
BTW I trimmed off the 1st planking overhangs at the stern too, though it needs to be addressed further.  And incidentally all you Ballyahoo'ers out there the issue with the 2nd Bulkhead not being 'low' enough doesn't seem to be a problem (I only beefed it up a little early on, but if you examine Plan No 1, you will see that 'issue' is there too! the Garboard strake and the next plank take care of this in that they almost go vertical in this area, just like the 'Dead Drop' at the stern)
 
Anyhoo.. Photo Time..
 

As you can see I've now completed the installation of the stern gallery. I decided to do the usually RN routine on a metal ship, and painted everything, that didn't move internally, white. There was no detail that could be added internally, due to the fact that the gallery only contains the trunk for the hoist-able propeller. Next step is to add the internal lining of the bulwarks.

Good solid bit of work last night. The keel bottom, stem and stern post have all had pinning holes made prior to bearding and rabbet work. Dremelled the bearding line and rabbet onto the false keel. Finally, attached all the bulkheads in place, ensuring square in all dimensions, using a few dabs of cyano before liberally adding gorilla wood glue to fix in place.
 
All looking good so far and the false deck fits nicely. Need to bevel the bulkheads and the stern bulkhead to the deck level.

Been a little bit busy of late, so no huge progress. In fact I have gone backwards a little bit....
 
I decided I really wasnt happy with the positioning of the futtocks on the mizzen shrouds and the tensioning in the shrouds on the top mast. Very carefully have cut the futtock taves and shrouds and have now added a couple of extra levels of ratlines and raised the level of the staves. The angles should look far better now.
 
Just need to re-tie the catharpins in place and get the right tension and then seize the futtock shrouds back in place.

Big backwards steps. After adding the deck in place, I decided I really wasnt happy with the bulkheads positioning. It looks like a couple of them were off-canter and were really throwing out the lines that would be planked and the decking lay.
 
Took drastic action and attempted to seperate off the bulkheads and try and re-glue. Unfortunately my initial contruction was far too sound and the glued joints refused to budge but a couple of the bulkheads split. Went back to JoTiKa and got a replacement ply sprue with the false keel and bulkheads. Just in the process and put it back together. I think the issue is that the bulkheads were quite loose originally so made lining up in all three dimensions difficult.
 
I have taken the time to drawing some construction lines on the bulkheads to aid getting them lined up perfectly. Shouldnt take too long to catch back up.

Brief New Photo Update:  The hull is closing up nicely, I reckon 1 or 2 more visits should complete it then checking out the gaps & lots of sanding  followed by attaching Keel/Bow & cutting the Rabbet.
 
The photo pointed out to me a slight rise/lift in the 2nd last plank on the bottom section of the photo between 'visible' bulkheads 3 & 4 which has been dealt with.
 
Incidentally, I was unable to pick up any of that glue we were discussing so I shall just have to go online.
 
Thanks for checking in.
 
Eamonn
 

Photo Update as Promised:
 
3 more planks each side went on this morning for a grand total of 6 a side, remember I'm not overly concerned over their appearance as this is only 1st planking and my aim is to get them on relatively neatly so as to give a good base for 2nd planking.
They are cut over length, and will be trimmed/sanded down later. I most likely will nail them in place also, particularly at the bow/stern areas as the last think I want is for them to 'spring' later.
 
Thanks For Checking In..
 
Eamonn
 
Oh and Dee Dee, if you are reading this I ordered those books from Abebooks this morning, Thanks again for the tip as I reckon I got them all for the price of 2 with Amazon! Thanks also to Kester & Nigel for putting me onto them to begin with!   E
 
 

Ok then, we have the Bulwarks glued in place, No End of 'Faff' involved there as plans say to be sure that it reaches the top of all bulkhead 'Horns' well that aint gonna happen as said horns vary in height somewhat! also if you keep the tops all level (Bulwark & Bulkhead Horns) then you are unlikely to meet the top of the transom, so I had to 'interpret' it a bit by keeping Transom /Bulwarks Level, some of the midships B/Heads Level and the Fore Most B/H level.  Later when I do the Sherbourne this will have to be done exactly as the Cannons won't fit if the Bulwarks are misplaced! but on the Ballahoo it shouldn't be a problem as there is no ordinance towards the stern (Oh Oh! those famous last words again.. :mellow: )
I'll cut out the Capping Rails tomorrow to make sure the Lines of the Bulwark are ok in relation to it, so there is no guarantee that they are in their final position!!
 
Below is a quick photo of todays work..
 
Bye For Now.
 
Eamonn
 

Newsflash....
 
- Bulkheads and Filler Blocks are now all bevelled/shaped .
- Stern Counter Frames are gluing as we speak.
- False Deck has been dry fitted & sanded flush with the edges of the bulwarks.
- Stern Counter & Stern Facia removed from their 'matrix' and sanded, I removed the Stern Counter early to help the 4 X Counter Frames in line as they glued.
- Bulwarks are soaking in water prior to being gently shaped around a 'straight sided' mug. Thanks Jim for that tip, see his Ballahoo build to see what I mean  at 'HMS Ballahoo by jim_smits'.
 
Here are a few photos of the Shaped Bulkheads and Blocks, compere them to the shots from yesterday above to see the difference.
 
Thanks for checking in
 
Bye for Now
 
Eamonn
 
 
 
 

Fantastic looking work Jason.
 
Can't quite tell by looking at the pictures but did you cross the shroud line above the deadeye and knot together or did you simply siexe the two ends side by side?
 
I crossed all of mine, and I can tell you it was really difficult to keep the deadeye in position and secure the shroud in place with it crossed.....

Thanks for the image DFellingham.
 
I had a rummage through Lever, and did a little experimentation. I found in the end I prefered the crossed catharpin, even if it might not be the most accurate method, it seemed to work the best in securing the futtocks at the main top mast.
 
Moved onto ratlines on the mizzen top mast. These are surprisingly difficult due to the shrouds being thinner in this area. The issues of twisting the shroud are more evident as I tighten the clove hitches.
 
Finally, I have made a stab at the first back stay on the fore top mast. Got all the rigging together and hooked into the channel ok. The blocks and the rigging of the stay seem to press against the deadeyes and lanyards a touch. Is it correct that the back stay would be 'outside' of the shrouds down to the channel, with the loose end of the rigging crossing under the last ratline in order to be belayed?

Looking good Eamonn. I might have to go back to my Ballahoo soon as you'll ovetake me very shortly....!

Excellent progress today!
 
Glued the crosstree assemblies onto the fore and main masts and replaced the shrouds that I had previously removed. Rethreaded all of the shroud lanyards and just need to seize the ends around the shrouds. I'm pretty much back to where I was before the accident. After that it's back to finishing off the ratlines again. Never thought I'd be glad to be back to ratlines....!

Coppering has now been fully replaced and the hull looks so much better now. The new plates don't actually stand out that much from the old plates so I will let them be and see how they look in a couple of weeks.
 
Now working on re-rigging the shrouds. I had two chainplates snap on the starboard main channel, and all five went on the port channel that was torn off the hull. The easiest way to replace these has been to use 0.75mm black thread in place of the deadeye strop, and tie a double knot to the deadeye to simulate the strop.The loose ends are then fed through the channel and tied to the chain plates. I have had to replace these as well as they were bent out of shape.
 
Used a little jig to create new chains from 0.5mm brass wire by looping several turns round two nails and then clipping down the side of one length.

Channel has been re-pinned and glued back in place.
 
I am now replacing the copper tiles along the keel bottom and at the stem. Port side is almost complete.
 
Time to sign off for the new year. See you all in 2014!