bhermann

I've been rationalizing that the rigging thread will run on the inside of the hole and that it won't snag on the wire. I have also been trying to drill out the end of the wire after the hook is glued in place and set up. I'll soon be coming to the point where I'll have to test to see if I've just been fooling myself! Thanks for the tip on using the shank. I think I would have caught that, but probably missed the idea of moving it to make sure it doesn't become a permanent part of the block. Bob

That is a nice looking skylight. A similar approach to the main cabin would probably work well also. Painting the inside of the box black gives it the proper feeling of depth. Hmmm,,, time to re-do what I've got in place? Bob

Thanks for posting that, Jay. I have done similar things with gluing hooks onto the short side of blocks, but never thought of putting a rod through the sheave hole. Not only does that prevent glue from filling the hole, but it keep the end of the hook from blocking the hole as well. I'll have to remember that one for future blocks! Bob

She is looking good, Popjack. It was about the time I was building the deck furniture that I noticed the practicum didn't agree with the plans for painting. I made the forward companionway and skylight in accordance with the practicum then ditched it for color schemes. Also the plan calls for the tops of all the rails to be white, while the practicum calls for black. I ignored the practicum for that as well. It is surprising how much the waterline appears to dip toward the bow - the drag of the keel makes that more pronounced. All i can suggest is to look at it from the side and see that it looks straight from that angle. I reworked mine after initial painting to get it better. Bob

Hi Frank. Thanks for stopping by and for the kind words. I too have been following B.E.s Pegasus - now there is some real craftsmanship! As Bluenose is my first wood build, it didn't occur to me that research would be useful - or even possible - until I was a ways into the build and after I found MSW myself. Since them my primary source has been the Nova Scotia Archives section on Bluenose. The articles and especially the photographs have been very useful in sorting out some of the details as I have gotten further into it. I haven't seen anything there on Gertrude expect some race photos showing her from a distance. I assume you are referring to the "Gertrude L. Thebaud". If you haven't been searching on the full name, that might yield better results for you. Also check out the Story Shipyard in Essex, Massachusetts, where she was built. I look forward to hearing about your experience in looking for her, and to your build log, should you get the chance to do that. By the way, I understand your respect for the underdog and I share it. I have to admit when I started this build, I didn't even know there was an underdog to the Bluenose story. I just loved the lines! Bob

Hi Kip, it's great to hear from you. I guess I'll have to see about getting a copy of the Jenson book after all. I forget who it was that speculated about a lazarette on MSW1 - guess they had the right idea! Bob

Roger - I believe the Jenson book contains drawing of Bluenose II, which does not have the same deck layout as the original. There is no evidence that a scuttle existed at that location on the original. I think we are still in the dark on the "round object" on the original. Other differences between the original and BN II that are apparent on the drawing you posted: on the original there was a hatch behind the mainmast in the position the Jenson drawing shows a companionway. Also, the cabin on the replica is longer than the original, running the length of 15 frames, where on the original it only ran 9 frames in length and left a larger deck space between the cabin and the mainmast. Thanks for sharing this information, but I think the hunt for the answer still must continue. Bob

Rob - I have been enjoying the resurgence of clipper models also. Thanks for sharing your build with us. If I ever get Bluenose finished, I'll be adding my Flying Fish kit to the mix. The box is sitting in the corner trying to tempt me to open it and do more than just study the plans and read the book! Keep up the great work - love the work you are doing. Bob

Jay - I noticed that the thread was still taped after hearing the words so I figured you were getting a little ahead of yourself. Loosening the taped thread at that point would have left you with one hand too few! Bob

Daniel - it's good to see you finally keeping one for yourself. I am curious what you are thinking about using for ratline material, at this scale it'll have to be mighty thin. I'll be following along. Bob

Jay - thanks for putting this together. I have read descriptions of that technique several times over the past few years, but seeing it being done really helps clarify what is going on for me. Thanks, Bob

Jan My limited experience with decals suggests the colors come out truest if they are applied to a white background. In this case I am picturing painting the entire area under the transom white, then making a decal that covers the entire rectangle, with the background blue color printed on the decal. That might make the figures appear the way you want them to. I have read about (but never done) people printing their patterns on paper and then gluing the paper to the hull. Just a couple of thoughts - I look forward to seeing what you come up with - although I think that what you have already looks very nice!. I love the boot at the top of the rudder. Bob

Don - I am sorry to hear of the loss of your friend. Cancer can be such an insidious disease. My thoughts and prayers are with you and with your friend's family. Bob

Thanks, Rich. A lot of detail was lost in the crash, so feel free to ask about anything. It may help bring back some thoughts from before. Bob

Kimberly Two different colors of thread on the models because there are two different kinds of rigging. "Standing" rigging is used to do things like hold the masts in place. Since the masts don't generally move once they are set up, the ropes that holds them in place was "painted" with a tar-like mixture to help preserve them from the elements. Water and salt can do quite a number on rope. "Running" rigging is used to move the sails to take advantage of the direction the wind is blowing from. Since this rope has to be able to move, it wasn't treated with the preservative (which would gum up the blocks and make a general mess) so this rope appears in its natural color on the ship. Hope this helps, and a belated welcome to MSW. Bob

Jay - Thanks for adding the section on how you do the model coils. Very clear and very helpful. Now i just need to find the Bos'n and see how large he makes his coils Thanks, Bob

Ken - different period, different type of ship, the reef lines on my Bluenose plan measure 5/8", which scales up to 40" at 1/64 scale. The important thing is they need to be long enough to tie together under the boom while taking into account the amount of the foot of the sail that is bundled up on the boom as well as the boom itself. It'll be interesting to see what people come back with on this. Bob

Russ - you bring a smile to my face. Of course I could have traced the sails, but that would have required me to think about it Now that I'm done slapping myself in the forehead, let me try to justify. Let's see, by doing the drawings I'll be able to share my work with any of the thousands of people who are out there build the exact same model I am, and in the same scale?... No, that won't do it..., that would be two people in the known universe. I have a high tech job, and my mind is just wired for using technology whenever possible? Nah, I'm still writing checks every month and sending them to the utility company instead of paying on-line... The sails on the plan show the finished size and don't include the extra needed for the tabling and if I hadn't done it this way I'd have had the devil of a time getting the tabling lines drawn parallel to the edges given my weak drafting skills? Yeah, I'll go with this one. After all I'm the guy who couldn't recreate a triangle by measuring it and letting the computer handle the drawing! OK - now that that's settled, Russ, please continue your efforts to show me the better way. I can hardly wait to hear what the admiral has to say about this one! Simpler is often better, just not obvious to some of us. And by the way, if anyone would like the drawings once I have them all done, just send me a PM and I'll be happy to share. For those of you who remember MSW 1.0, I did something similar with a spreadsheet that documented all eyebolts located on the stanchions and rails that several people got a copy of and found useful. I am willing to share anything I draw up along the way. One future example will be a spreadsheet of all the lines I have rigged. This one has been started and so far has only the bowsprit lines documented (since that's all I've rigged up to now). Thanks, Bob

I went ahead and started drawing up some of the jibs. The jumbo jib turned out just fine, but when it came to the larger jib itself, I was not able to get the three sides to intersect properly using the measurements from the sail plan. I kept winding up with a small gap at the head end of the sail. No matter how many times I measured the lengths and angle I could not get the triangle to close. I assumed the issue was with the angle measurements so I decided to change my process a little. I know that if the lengths of the three sides of a triangle are known, the angles can be calculated using some trig functions, so I decided to do up my own little calculation spreadsheet to get the angles based on the lengths I measured. Before getting started, it occurred to me that this big old Internet was out there and I should check because someone has probably already done it. Sure enough a quick Google search gave me several pages to choose from. The ostermiller.org site had just what I was looking for at http://ostermiller.org/calc/triangle.html. I plugged in my three lengths and the page quickly gave me what I was looking for. I was then able to drop the lengths and angles into LibreCad to get the sail outline, draw in tabling and stitch lines as shown in previous posts, and generate the sail pattern. Remaining to do are the balloon jib, the fishermans sail, and the two topsails. After that I will take one of my templates and see how it works on cloth. Bob

Jay - That matches how I was taught to do it on my Windjammer cruise a few years ago except when doing the "X"s over the pin, they had us do three instead of four, and the third one was flipped over to lock the line in place instead of pulling it under a previous wrap. Thanks for posting the video and your adaptation for modeling.

Rusty - this some very nice work. I'm glad to see you keeping busy. About getting that hole to come out round, I imagine it would be easier if you could do the rounding before attaching the planks to the underlying deck - I'm just not sure how that would be done. I'm curious that the second layer seams line up with the lower layer. I'd think that offsetting them a bit would add strength to the structure. Sometimes I wonder why they did things the way they did. Enjoy your trip - that can be a lot of fun with the grandkids along. If the food and wine festival is still going on at Epoct, avoid that park on the weekends. Lots of locals show up to "drink around the world" and it can get ugly - Walt would be rolling over in his grave. Bob

Floyd - I look at those photos and just shudder. It brings back memories of the amount of edge bending that went into my current hull. It seems like there is no way to make it right without spiling a plank that starts out 4 times wider than what you are working with. That plank would wind up looking a bit like a whale - very narrow at the ends and much too wide in the center. I tried picturing how the shipwrights would deal with this on the real thing, and a bit of a light bulb went off. They wouldn't be dealing with a single plank running the length of the hull from stem to stern - they would be using multiple planks in each strake and would be able to change the angle on each plank in the run as partial compensation for the edge bending we need to do to complete a strake with a single piece of wood. I guess that's one more reason for considering scale length planks for our builds ( have to remember that for my next one ). I agree that spiling is the way to go and look forward to seeing your progress on Harvey. I know my observation here isn't particularly useful, I am just suggesting another way to look at the process. Bob

Desert_Sailor That's the way I was taught to coil the halliards on the schooner I sailed on. Thanks for a straightforward approach to getting it done on a model. Bob

In my case, I believe I picked up 2 1/8x1/8X36" pieces (balsa, that's what they had) at my LHS - the 1/16 x 1/8 was kit stock. It was 6 years ago so my memory may be a bit fuzzy About running out of wood, my kit was short on the number of 1/8 x 1/16 strips supplied. It contained 64 instead of the 70 in the parts list, but I didn't run out of that size (or any other up to this point). These are details that were lost with MSW1, but that is my best recollection. The only kit-supplied part I have tossed was one of the mast dowels. It was just too warped for use. I bought a replacement at Home Depot for that piece. Bob

Thanks for the warning, Dave. I will stick with sails for now - should keep me out of trouble. Bob