mobbsie

Hi Sjors, You have a mighty fine looking ship there my friend. You are doing her proud, very well done. mobbsie

Hi Frank You know who's fleet only has one ship with sails, not much bigger than a rowing boat, carefull he dont mount a raid and nick your's my friend. How did you go on Wednesday, OK I hope and it's all systems go for the main event, I'll be thinking of you. Supply looks fantastic and those sails are just brill. mobbsie

Hi John, I would leave it green, the pattina takes an age to get and enhances the look of any ship. Just my own thoughts. mobbsie

Hi Wayne, Thanks for the good word mate. You are most welcome to borrow our rain any time you like, I dont need it anymore. Can you send it to the Netherlands when you are done with it, I think they have a drought there. mobbsie

Hi Sjors, Thanks mate. My trademark yes, and you may indeed have the jig. Summers over now, suns gone in and it's clouding over, oh well back to wearing jumpers and thermals. mobbsie

Hi Andy, Thanks for the good word mate, the gun muzzles on all of my ships remain brass, When I first started with the "Badger" Aldo commented on it and so it's become my mark, , I know it's not correct but I quite like the effect. How the trip going, not having any problems with the weather I hope. Be Safe mobbsie

Hi Guys, As promised an update. I cant believe whats happening here at the moment, I've had to draw my workroom curtains because the sun ( yes the sun ) is blinding me, this must be our summer. Right, the gunports have been lined, filled and rubbed down, painted and the holes for the guns drilled. 14 of the 26 18lb guns have been made. I've started making the Breach Ropes for the guns that will be seen on the lower gundeck, thats 12, so far I've made 6 so far, I made a sort of gunport so that I can check them and all seems ok so far. I am going to have to get some 2mm single blocks because the guns are only shown with the breach ropes on, I'm not too sure if I want to get hooks for the train tackle, still I have all Easter to think that one through. Enough blurb, some pics Port side gun ports before trimming Same with the Starboard side Starboard side gunports and port side bulworks 4 of the 18Lb guns with breach ropes 4 of the breach ropes Made up gun port for testing the breach rope length Breach rope attached, note the flintlock fireing mechanism on the gun So thats it for now, hope you like them. mobbsie

Hi Guys, Voldamar has talked himself into building the Aggy himself, I would never presume to suggest such a thing, honest. I thought that with all the new toys going into that yard we were looking at a scratch, just shows how wrong we can be. As far as sails are concerned I believe only one ship carries sails in that fleet and that is the Corsiar, the rest are stuck on mooring bouys growing weed and being eaten by worms. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ( Shame ) Thanks for looking in guys, update will be coming very soon although I'm still waiting for my timber to arrive so I'm unable to do the wales, second planking and quarter galleries. Be back soon. mobbsie

Hi Keith, Thanks for the diagram mate, it would'nt have made any difference which system I used, the gunport is 10mm x 10mm inside and I was using 10mm planks, so the biggest I would be able to get would be 9mm which is to small. I have had to make each gunport lining with the sides at 12mm and the sills 10mm this has given a lining of 10mm x 10mm. Thanks for the interest and your help, it is very much appreciated. mobbsie

Hi Norman, She is a big girl right enough, and looking great. Well done. Mobbsie

Superb just Superb, well done Popeye. Mobbsie

Hi Grant, Those yokes are very nicely made mate, I'd like to see your stock yard if you have spare that size. Victory is looking superb. mobbsie

Hi Anja, To answer your question, No, it's the inside of the tube thats the wrong size, when fitted the gunport should be 10mm x 10mm, with my tube it's 10mm x 8mm. I could try and split the tube and refix it but that not going to stop the wood from splitting when I cut it. I think I am going to split the tube and refix it then I can line it with a piece of 10 x 10 block to give support when I cut it, it's worth a try. Thanks for asking and the idea. mobbsie

Hi Guys, Here's my latest update for what it's worth. I have filled the dip and just have to finish the sanding down, should be ok when it's done. I thought I would plank the stern transom whilst waiting for the filler to harden, it calls for 1 x 3mm walnut, so searching for the right wood ( took ages ) I find that I dont have any, been left out the kit, a quick call to Jotika and they are sending it to me, should'nt be long in getting here. I thought I'll line the gunports, somewhere in the old forum I saw a tube that was made up and the linings cut from that so I thought I would give that a try, I made a jig so that I could just cut the tube, set for 9mm this would give about 1mm to sand down, made my box tube, let the glue dry and tried cutting a piece, what a mess, the tube just kept shattering, and the inside dimensions are wrong, it was giving me a measurement of 10 x 8 when it should be 10 x 10mm, so for me there is no shortcut, I'm going to have to cut the linings individually and do it the long way. I know where I've gone wrong with the tube, I put it together wrong by just butting the sides but I cant do anything about the splitting of the timber, it's just very dry and quite rough. So all in all I've not made much progress but I have learned a lessen. Anyway a few useless pics. Making adjustments to the size of the gunports and my way of holding the wood in place The filler just needs to be sanded down Quite a lot of filler has been used on both sides Here is my jig for cutting the many lengths of gunport linings !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Jig and tube The tube fits tight into the jig Cutting the tube The end result, too small, all it's cost me is a bit of time, but lessen learned. So there we are, pretty boring really but it's still fun and it's good to try new ideas even if they dont work out, isnt it ? Be Good mobbsie

Hi Popeye, Is the Denny Zen a working boat or a show piece, she now looks like a working boat and is the better for it. She looked good before but I like the way you have her now. Pots are brill and when the vegitation goes in so much the better. Well done my friend. Mobbsie

A joy to behold Augie, well done. Too late to pull up Andy, the pilots jumped. mobbsie

Bon Voyage Andy, Stay safe and keep warm mate, they tell me cold up there. You never know somebody may clear your work table for when you get back. !!!!!!!!!!! mobbsie

Dont poke him, hit him with it. mobbsie

Hi Pierre, There is a difference between the main mast and the mizzen mast, the main should have a rake of 1 degree and the mizzen has a rake of 2 degrees, you are correct when you say that the fore mast must be at 90 degrees to the keel. If it's any consolation I also had problems with the different heights of my gunports, like you time was spent re-measuring each one and making good. It's not a difficult task bit more of a pain in the backside. I was just about to plank the stern transom and was looking for the correct timber 1 x 3mm walnut and found it's missing, I phoned Caldercraft and they are sending some in the post, in the meantime it's back to working on the hull, more sanding. !!!!!!!!!!!!!! Love the crew members Mobbsie

Hi Guys, Thanks for the very kind comments and remarks, they are very much appreciated. I am going to remove the dip in the waist by using filler, I dont know how much I am going to need but I'm buying in extra stock just in case. I have been correcting some small errors with the gunports, it's rediculas that using the same gunport pattern in the same position on both sides of the hull that some ports can be as much as 2mm out of line. Nice to have a problem to sort out that does'nt involve planking., Andy:- I only have to line the upper gundeck for the time being so with them being split up it's not going to be so tedious, only 26 to start with, thats 116 pieces of 10 and 12mm lining, what fun. Frank:- Thanks for looking in my friend. Grant:- Cheers mate. Augie:- Thanks mate, the dip is symetrical but I will take it out, I dont know how it will effect the look later down the line, I still have to do the 2nd planking and then copper plate it, but on the whole I am quite pleased with it. Pierre:- She should have gracefull lines, dont know what they'll look like when I've finished with them. Patrick:- For me this was an eternity, never taken me 3 weeks to do a single task before. Sjors:- Thanks for the vote of confidence mate. Mort:- I have never copper plated before so it's going to be a new experience for me, cutting the gunports really is'nt difficult at all, when drilling stay inside the lines and be carefull when fileing down. Wayne:- Thanks mate. John:- The dip does look worse in the pics than in reality but I'm going to remove it all the same, as I said to Augie, I dont how it will effect the look later. Carl:- They were usually a bit younger than me I can assure you, but I dont plan on staying a midshipman for long, I'll never get as high as Sjors though, we will all need to be Astronaughts to talk to him soon., thats if the Dutch navy have Astronaughts, again thats if the Dutch even have a navy !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. Joe:- Thanks for your kind remarks. Anja:- You are too kind, if I can find out how to change the date on my camera I'll do it just for you. You know what us old folks are like with modern technoligy. Thats it for now guys, I hope to get another update out fairly soon, just as soon as I finish the Admirals wish list. Be Good mobbsie

Hi Pierre I do have a dip in the waist of my lower hull, I will have to try and remove it by useing filler. When you dry fitted the masts did you check on the angle's, all three masts have a different angle. Nice crew by the way. Mobbsie

Thanks for the info and pics Andy, this is most definately one tip to remember. Your doing a super job on Peg, she looks great. Mobbsie

Hi Sjors, I love this little ship. Well done on spotting and remedying the problem mate. Mobbsie

There's some very impressive work going on here Popeye, along with the wipers and spray nozzels how about an air horn on the roof for those long foggy nights. Enjoying the log my friend. Mobbsie

Hi Rob, Thats a great help thanks, and yes it does state about gunport linings in the 2nd planking stage, teach me to read a bit further on. I'm enjoying the ride mate. mobbsie