bhermann

Much Better!
I built a new mainsail from silkspan using Tom Lauria's technique linked above. Tom does not seem to post on MSW but a quick search on Lauria turned up 6 pages of mentions, mostly about making sails or rope hanks.
 
I had plenty of silkspan from previous model airplane projects. It is strong and does not disintegrate in water - that's why it's also used to make teabags. It is available in three thicknesses from Sig Manufacturing.
Tom said his was .0015" thick. Mine is .003" thick - I suspect it's Sig's medium-weight material. My only concern is that silkspan can become brittle and yellow over the years. However, the first step of Tom's process is to coat the silkspan liberally with artists' acrylic paint, and that should help protect the material. 
 
I chose an off-white paint called Titan Buff. I think it resembles muslin. I painted two sheets about 18" x 24" and used almost half a tube of paint! The silkspan really soaks it up. The paint goes right through the material, so when the front is done the back is too.

I marked the sails with a hard, dark pencil and attached hem reinforcements with diluted Elmer's glue. Tom recommends using a travel iron to seal the strips down, with a sheet of dry wax paper between the sail and the iron. Dry wax paper is NOT the wax paper you have in your kitchen. It is also called deli paper and has the wax embedded in the fibers so it doesn't come off on your sandwich or your sail. Even better, we had some parchment paper which is silicon-based and used for baking in a hot oven. I only needed a 6" strip.
 
I don't have a travel iron - I don't think I've ever ironed clothes while traveling. I do have a covering iron used to attach iron-on covering to larger model airplanes. I set it to 250 degrees and it worked perfectly.

The mainsail took a few hours to make and I am pretty happy with it. I still have to stitch it to the boom and gaff, and attach the sail to the rings on the mast. That looks tricky.

 

Every Project Deserves a New Tool - Or Does It?
I was ready to start sewing sails, so I collected all my tools and materials from my basement workshop and carried everything to my wife's sewing room three flights up in the attic. We have an old Viking-Husqvarna sewing machine that we inherited from my mother-in-law 40 years ago. It used to do fancy stitches using various cams. The cam mechanism jammed years ago but it still did beautiful straight and zig-zag stitches, until earlier this summer when it started to smoke. We took it to a local repair shop where the repairman cleaned it and assured us that it was accumulated dust that was smoking. 
 
I set up to sew my mainsail but when I went to wind a bobbin, the bobbin shaft disappeared inside the case. I spent all day disassembling the machine and managed to fix the bobbin shaft. I sewed two seams before the whole machine jammed up. I gave up and ordered a new Brother computerized sewing machine from Amazon. It cost less than what I paid the repairman for the other machine. It doesn't fit inside our old sewing machine cabinet but I think I can make it fit.

45+ year-old Viking-Husqvarna machine.

New Brother computerized machine. After a little practice on some scraps I stitched my mainsail.

At first the sail matched my plan almost exactly. But after stitching all the scale seams between the individual pieces of fabric, the sail was much shorter than the pattern. (The purple stitch lines are supposed to disappear automatically after a few days.)

After stitching a zig-zaged reefing band the sail was also narrower than before. My wife said "Yeah, sewing can take up a lot of fabric."
 
By the way, I really like the computerized Brother machine. My only complaint is that there are a few settings that are made by shutting the machine off, holding a button down, and then turning the machine back on. But when you turn the machine off it resets the stitch pattern, width, and length back to the default. It's easy to get confused and end up with the wrong stitch. That never happened with the mechanical machine.
 
I don't know if I can use the sail or not. I'll have to try it on the ship and see how it looks. Amati was very stingy with their sail cloth and I don't have enough scraps to try over. Fabric is not so easy to find around here since JoAnn Fabrics went out of business. If I can find something appropriate, I could try sewing the fake seams on an extra large piece first, then cutting the sail slightly oversized and hemming the edges to fit the plan.
 
In a private conversation David Lester sent me information about making sails out of silkspan, a strong tissue that I used years ago for covering model airplanes. The seams can be drawn on it with pencil and the hems can be glued down. Maybe I should have listened to him in the first place.
 
 

Another “mini-project” done (well, mostly done), so another short update.
 
Bow Knightheads and Timberheads
 
Using the plan copies that I had made to cut up and use as templates, I cut out the spar deck framing piece and outlined it on a 3/32” section of provided basswood sheet.  I also flipped it and re-outlined it for the port side framing.  Using my scroll saw, I then cut the framing for both sides and sanded to shape.
 
   
 
Using the same outline the template” process, I also cut out the knightheads and timberheads for both sides.  Several of the build logs I have used for research and guidance mentioned that the lengths of the plan’s pieces might have been a little short, so I added 1-2mm to each of the framing pieces as I cut them, so I could adjust as needed when I fit them on top of the filler blocks.
 

 
I worked on the starboard side first and used the knighthead #1 piece and the timberhead #5 piece (the one closest to Bulkhead A) to have the spar deck frame to sit on for fitting and adjustment.  A bit of sanding was needed for the spar deck frame to sit well in its “slot” between the center keel and Bulkhead A, and the notches both in the filler block and the spar deck frame needed some small widening in spots for the frames to fit well.  I also tested the height of the spar deck frame, as well, against the existing tops of Bulkheads A, B, etc., to make sure the spar deck planking will be level.
 
   
 
I then repeated all of this process on the port side of the ship.
 

 
The plans also show the addition of planksheer supports, stiffeners and bridle port header and sill.  Using some suggested 3/32” square strips, I added the planksheer supports just above the spar deck level.  I’d like to hold off on any stiffener additions until I get a better idea of how the bow area will be completed,, and I’m holding off on the bridle port frames until I get to the gun deck gunport framing, as that will all be done at the same level and I want it to be as accurate as I can.  Whether these are good decisions or not… we shall see.  It will be easy, though, to add (I think) when needed.  I also need to do some additional sanding, both inside and out, to smooth things out.
 
   
 
Also, I do recall Jon Gerson mentioning an issue he discovered at this point in his build regarding the bowsprit placement and, in looking further at his build log and at some other logs, I reminded myself that, at some point before it all gets closed up and hard to get to, I will need to widen the area where the two spar deck frames come together to allow for the bowsprit to fit properly.  Thanks, Jon!
 

 
I am also cognizant of the issue Peter reminded me of in his post above regarding the planking placement on these spar deck frames.  It is great to have such awesome build logs and followers to rely on through this Constitution build!  Y’all are fantastic! Thanks!
 
For now, though, I think I am moving to the back of the ship to begin the stern and transom framing.  This, of course, is where everyone’s building methods have changed depending on which Constitution era we are shooting for.  Exciting times ahead!
 
Appreciate the likes, follows, comments and criticisms.

BOW FILLER BLOCKS
 
Yes, another update, I have moved forward on the ship and began working on the bow filler blocks.  All in all, I think the completion of the bow filler blocks went smoother than the stern filler blocks.  Mostly, of course, because much of the work was essentially a rehash of the process used at the stern.
 
The kit provides us with a 2” x 2” x 6” long block.  The plans suggest that you cut that larger block into two 2-1/2 x 1-1/4 x 1-1/2” blocks for each side.  Rather than full 2-1/2” lengths, I cut two 2-1/8” length blocks and two shorter ½” length blocks.  Employing a technique from Tom (@usedtosail), I will mill the required notches for the knightheads, gunports and head access frames into the ½” pieces, as it will be easier to do it this way on the mill.  I will then glue the ½” pieces onto the larger pieces for final shaping.
 

 
Trace the Gun Deck top view onto each block to ascertain cuts to be made.  Note that I have written port and starboard designations, as well as the Bulkhead A and Hull Center Lines, on each block to help keep them organized in my head.
 
   
 
Then, using the scroll saw, I cut out the bow filler block shapes.
 

 
I then moved the top part of the blocks to the mill and cut out the notches.  I scribed and then drew a line for the 1/8” depth notches, as suggested on the plans.
 
   
 
I then glued the halves together and let them cure overnight.
 

 
I then drew the A, B & C markings and bearding line shapes to determine how the blocks would be cut and shaped.  I also used the same technique I did for the stern filler block shaping, using small 0.51mm brass wires cut to the A, B & C lengths shown on the plan view, which helped me determine amount of sanding to check the shape.
 
   
 
Although I know the bow filler blocks will need additional shaping when we get to placing the hull planks, I think we’ve got the blocks shaped well.
 

 
So, I glued the bow filler blocks in place.  Everything seems to look good.
 
   
 
I am now working on the knighthead framing and the other bow framing above the bow filler blocks.  I appreciate the likes, comments, advice and criticisms.

Masts, Gaffs, and Booms
I tapered the masts, etc. chucked on a lathe using sand paper. At first I struggled with how to seize a line to a block and attach it to a mast, until I remembered that I had posted a very simple way to do that under my Endeavour build. It's cheating but it looks fine, goes fast, and hardly wastes any line. All those pieces are done and ready to install.
 

Anchors
The Amati kit came with two cast anchors but no stocks or chain. I made stocks from some scrap walnut, and I had a long piece of brass chain that I blackened. The instructions show the anchor tied to the cathead by the shank, and a rope from the ring to the hawsepipe, where it disappears. I searched several Bluenose builds on MSW and saw chains leading to the winch, around the engine box, and into a chain box (or possibly into a locker below the deck?) I made something like what  GGibson shows in this post.

Well, we’ve had a spell of extremely hot weather in the Kansas City area, with recent “feels like” temps over 100o, so it’s good to spend some time in my cool shipyard.  Therefore, another small update…
 
BULKHEAD PLACEMENT
 
After doing what I can to the bulkheads and the bulkhead former to prepare for the bulkhead placement, it was time to get them secured in their spots.  So, I got the obligatory Legos back out and, beginning with Bulkhead A, went through the slow process of painting a thin strip of Titebond glue on the contact points and then sliding each bulkhead firmly in its slot, matching the reference lines and securing the Lego blocks for the 90o placement while the glue dries.  Then moving on to the next bulkhead.
 

 
At the locations where I will be installing the ladders going from the gun deck to the berth deck, I wanted to have small “landing areas” for the ladders to rest on, so using some thin scraps of strip wood, I glued some support strips and small sheets at those ladder locations as I was permanently securing the applicable bulkheads.
 
       
 

 
Also, in order to provide additional support and strength to the bulkheads, I measured and cut (using my small bench top cut-off saw) some scrap 3/8” square dowel to use as struts between each bulkhead.  This gave me the opportunity to make sure the distances between bulkheads on the port and starboard sides were equal (or as close to equal as possible when measuring in hundredths of millimeters).
 

 
A view of the full ship at this early stage and it’s shaping up nicely…
 

 
COUNTER & STERN FILLER BLOCK
 
The Model Shipways kit provides a couple of large basswood blocks to use for these pieces.  First, let’s work on the counter.  The plans suggest a block size of 5” x 1¾“ x ½“, but I started with a 6” x 2” x ½“ block.  I used a thicker block so that, in order to drill the hole for rudder stock at a slight angle, I would have room to place a ¼“ dowel underneath the block as I was drilling the 5/16” hole.  That worked out well.
 

 
Once I had the rudder hole placed and drilled, I then repositioned the cut-out counter drawing on the block to trace the outline.  I could then, using my scroll saw, cut down the shape of the counter to a more manageable size (less cutting and sanding required).  The only recommendation to do differently is to reduce the thickness cut from ½“ to somewhere between 7/16”-11/32”.  More on that in a bit.  But the initial cuts and sandings had the counter thickness at just about 7/16”, it looked “ok”, and a quick test-fit of the counter and the rudder was successful.
 

 
 
       
 
I then moved to working on the two stern filler blocks.  As suggested in the plans, I cut the blocks to 2-3/4“ x 2-3/8“ x 1-1/8“ sized pieces.  I fit the blocks against Bulkhead R and traced the rear profile for the required cuts.  I then used the scroll saw again for the initial curved cuts.
 
     
 
Then, using the plan and profile lines on the Stern Filler Block Detail 2-H plans, I drew the shape lines on each block piece to help me with the sanding and shaping and… made a whole bunch of sawdust!
 

 
Using just my Dremel with the sanding disks (went through several of the disks in this process) and my hand-held sanding block, I was able to shape the two stern filler blocks to their required shape.  What helped me in gauging the shapes needed were two thin and flexible 0.51mm brass rods that I cut to the lengths shown on the Detail 2-H “plan view” for the C & D waterlines.  The A & B waterline marks were so small I could gauge those by eyeballing them to shape as needed.  But on the larger curves, the brass rods definitely helped me get to the curvature and shapes needed.
 

 
As a side note, I really do like the hook & loop “velcro-like” sandpaper sheets and sanding block I have been using.  I bought the assorted sandpaper grits that come in rolls in a box and you can cut off what is needed to place on the sanding block.  Works really well, and much more convenient than the sanding block I was using previously that I had to measure and cut strips from full sheets.
 
So, as I was once again test-fitting the stern filler blocks and the counter and seeing how everything looked placed against Bulkhead R and the counter sitting on top of the sternpost, I noticed a height level difference between the top of the counter (which will serve as the floor of the Commodore’s cabin) and the rest of the gun deck level on all of the bulwarks.  The Commodore’s cabin floor is going to be higher than the rest of the gun deck.  Well, crap, shouldn’t these obviously be at the same level?!?
 
When I made the decision to have a detailed gun deck, I followed the lead of others who have done this previously with the Model Shipways kit, and I trimmed 3/32” from the bulkhead former and bulkheads, but I did not trim the section of the bulkhead former directly behind Bulkhead R, where the sternpost attaches.  I don’t recall any of the other builders commenting on that piece specifically, but maybe it was just assumed that when you trimmed, you trimmed everything.  So, I trimmed that section off, as well.
 

 
Even with that piece now trimmed, though, the counter was sitting a bit too high.  That’s when I gave a shoutout to one of my fellow Constitution builders, Jon @JSGerson, to ask his advice, since it looked like in his pictures, his transom counter sat flush with the gun deck.  Jon, confirmed for me that, nope, there actually is a height difference and his photo made it appear to be an optical illusion.  Magic…..!  Once the front wall (including the buildout for the sofa area) is fully constructed, you can’t see the difference.  Very interesting, Jon!  Thank you!!
 
He did, though, remind me that Bob Hunt’s practicum does emphasize the importance of getting the transom counter thickness down to that 11/32” point.  So, I continued to sand that block until I got to that measurement (with a little more on each side to account for the deck curvature) and, ya know what?  I think once we add the gun deck base sheet and the deck planking, the cabin floor should be right at the same level as the rest of the gun deck.  Sweet!  Sorry for the long explanation but thought it might be worthy of documenting my perils.  My concern now is what I might have done to the sternpost in bringing that down the additional 3/32” and will that cause problems with aligning the hull planking, the stern frames, the quarter galleries, etc.  The rudder still fits in its eventual place just fine.  I guess “we’ll cross that bridge…”.
 
When I was making the cuts into some of the bulkheads and the bulkhead former to allow for the ladders going down to the berth deck from the gun deck, I failed to also make a cut into Bulkhead R prior to placement for the sofa area buildout.  According to the US Navy plans, if I am measuring the small scale plans accurately, that buildout area looks to be 8’ wide, which at our 1:76.8 scale, converts to 1.25”.  So, I cut that area out of Bulkhead R.  I did make a couple of notched cuts at the top of that extraction so that, when necessary, a new support beam can more easily be placed at the top of that cabin wall.
 

 
With that opening completed, I think I was ready to permanently secure (glue) the two stern filler blocks.  Of course, additional sanding and shaping will be necessary once the planking is placed, but I think we’ve got the stern area about where it needs to be for now,
 

 
While I placed the counter on top of the stern filler blocks for looks, I have not glued the counter in place yet.  In looking ahead at the work I am going to be doing with the transom frames and their locations, it may be wise to keep the counter loose for now, so that it will be easier to cut the slots in the counter where the frames will be seated.
 

 
For now, though, I think I will move to the bow filler blocks, the knightheads and the timberheads.
 
I hope I am doing things well.  I certainly have a treasure trove of available insights and information from prior build logs.  Thank you!  And thanks to all for reading, following, commenting, advising and criticizing!  You are all appreciated!

Dories - 13 hours over 4 days
The dories are made of 4 pieces of laser cut plywood assembled over a 4-piece form. The actual construction was pretty simple but I added some details that took a lot longer. Like these oars. They're 25 mm long and the handles are 1 mm dowel. They tended to break where the handles attach to the blades.


The floorboards are thin walnut strips. The spacing between the strips is exactly the size of my push pins.

I attempted to paint the dories by hand to avoid setting up my airbrush. When they still looked uneven after 7 coats of Model Master insignia yellow acrylic, I got out my airbrush. In 10 minutes they looked great. The green was masked off but drawn with a permanent marker.
 
The Bluenose often sailed with 12 dories stacked 6 high. but 2 was enough for me.

Another (I’ll try to be) quick update on this Constitution build.  In my mind, this feels like one of those “…small step for model builder man, giant leap for Gregg-kind” type of accomplishments.  I’ll take the baby-step wins when I can get them, because I know a ton of “what the…?!?”s will cross my lips ultimately in this journey, as well.
 
First thing I wanted to get done was what I had mentioned at the end of my last post… and that is to insert some brass tubes up through the keel and into the bulkhead former a bit in order to provide additional support for when this ship is placed in a permanent base.  Several builders have done this on whatever ship they were constructing, and I mentioned that Jon gave an excellent tutorial on what he did early on for his Constitution, so… I had to follow suit.
 
I decided to place the two support holes about 12” apart, approximately at the F & N bulkhead locations.  Using just a pin vise and drilling holes by hand, I had to accurately drill straight down through the rabbet and keel in order to insert a 3/32” tube at each spot.
 

 
I started with a #60 micro drill bit and carefully worked my way up through larger drill bits so as to not tear out the hole.  So, a #60 drill bit, then a #54, then a #50, then 5/64”, then finally a 3/32” bit so that I could tap in the small tubes.  Sweet!
 

 
I had also mentioned in my last post that I was considering making some cuts into the appropriate bulkheads and keel locations in order to have visible ladders going from the detailed gun deck down to what would be the berth deck.  I looked at what others had done to the bulkheads and bulkhead formers to accomplish this visual.  Some had made the cuts at this stage, others had made cuts into the frames after the bulkheads had been secured to the center spine.  I decided to do this before attaching the bulkheads.
 
After reviewing several previous build logs and several USN documents, I made the following cuts in the center keel…
 

 
For the fore hatch going down to the berth deck, I cut out the center keel 19.34mm back from the Bulkhead F and 1” deep.
 
For the main hatch going down to the berth deck, I cut out the center keel 37.12mm back from Bulkhead I, which removed all from between Bulkheads I & J and went back another 12.44mm from Bulkhead J.
 
For the after hatch (the one that will be just in front of the capstan), I cut out the center keel 19.43mm from between Bulkheads L & M, beginning 9.78mm back from Bulkhead L.
 
For the companionway hatch (the one that will be just behind the capstan), I cut out the center keel 19.43mm from between Bulkheads M & N, beginning 14.52mm back from Bulkhead M.
 
  
 

 
In addition to the cuts made to the center keel, cuts also need to be made to a couple of the bulkheads that will be in the way in order to accommodate the “ladders to the berth deck” illusion.  So, the gun deck beams from Bulkheads I & J were removed now (other gun deck beams will be removed similarly later) as well as some deep cuts.  According to the USN plans (and looking again at other builds), it appears all of the gun deck hatches going down to the berth deck are 5’ wide, which translates in our 1:76.8 scale to 0.78125”.  So, the openings in these bulkheads were made that wide.
 
   
 
And, yes, the beams that are being removed will be saved in order to use as templates for when the new beams are added back in later on in this build process.  And, yes, I am still worried about snagging and breaking off at least one of these bulkhead extensions at some point during this build process! Uggghhh...
 
So, all in all, a good start to the first major bashing in this project.  I believe, then, that the next task is to get the Lego blocks out and, after a bit of initial fairing on a few of the bulkheads, secure each of the bulkheads to the center keel.  Then, begin on the filler blocks.
 
Thanks, as always, for peeking in.  Appreciate the likes, comments, advice and criticisms.

Back to Work
I just returned from two weeks in Europe, traveling from Prague to Paris mostly on a river cruise. After mowing the grass I got back to work on the Bluenose.
 
The Amati kit comes with a fairly ugly stand so I spent the last couple of days making a nice one out of cherry.  I shaped dowels to make the pedestals.

Old stand

New stand

The instructions say to wrap the deadeyes with fine brass wire. That seems simple enough but it took a few tries to get the hang of it. I darkened the wire with Novocan brand patina for stained glass.

The wires go through the rails and into the deck, and are attached with CA. The remaining holes are for the ropes, but there are no belaying pins with the kit! The instructions just say to run the ropes to the appropriate holes. I hope I have some belaying pins in my spares box.

I hope Rodney  likes it @Keith Black, I sure do. I got this grin on my face today, looking  at the twins.

I painted  the rubbing  strip and the white boot top . It was a piece of cake, masked it off , brushed on a quick  couple of coats , peeled the tape  off.
 

I had to make up these stayirons,  I flatten a wire punch some holes in it and naied them on. 

After the stayirons  were painted and installed  the rest was pretty  easy. 

So both ships are looking good, I have the ratlines  on the Scientific Bluenose  to do,only the lower ratlines  go on, according to the plan there is no top shourds or ratlines.  I see why,,,,,, the way it went together the shrouds  would have not lined up right.  Oh well I am thankful  for the few the I have to do.

Speaking of thankful,  I have so much to be thankful about, the Frist Mate said she will sew all the sails  ⛵️  for both Bluenoses. She did ask that I don't  bug her about how long will it take, and are the ready yet. Lol.
And @Keith Black, thank you for your needle threader idea, it really speeds up the rigging,  no mess , thanks.
 

There is just a few things to go through,  all the booms and gaffs on both ships need to  have the blocks  and parrels  added. 
That won't  give the Frist Mate enough  time for the sails. So I think I will let Freddie  fish for awhile , I am going  to go figure  painting.  My good friend @Gabek, has made me so many figures, I am way behind. PLUS  he has made me a light house and some , wait for it........
Adélie penguins 🐧  for the Astrolabe, that I believe I will be finishing the rigging on while waiting for the sails.
So greatful to be part of this hobby,  as the rest of life is , life,  this hobby  is the greatest  thing.  I have several  others to thank  as well, soon my freinds. 
  Bob M.  
 
And the crew. 
 

Portside  is rigged today, stays tied on and the chain plates are painted brass.

 

Freddie  says change theses dories, he doesn't  like green. So we painted them.

 
 
 
 

Speed paint.

My good freind and fellow ship mate @Gabek has made for me some Vikings  rowsmen for my Darkkar  as well as a very distinctive looking fellow that is a ship builder 


This might be my new masscott,  Gabe  told me to  look on  Thingiverse. All kinds of free files to down load, thanks you so much for posting these files.
 

They are all primed up ready to paint at a latter date.
 I am going to set the masts and start rigging  the Scientific  model tomorrow. 

Exciting times in the ship yard, lots to do, and two more models are set to arrive in the near future, it's a good thing too, I had eight models in my stach, lol. Now I have none. Just a train to do someday. 
Early  night tonight, but back at her tomorrow,  thanjs for stopping  by.
Knocklouder 
FFBI 🛟 

Well, another (fairly brief) update as I’ve done a bit more work and taken a handful of notes.  We spoiled the grandkids during their extended visit for this summer and, of course, the grandkids wore us out.  The house is back to being quiet, so I’ll try to get back down to the shipyard more frequently again.
 
I left off my build log having scribed and drawn the 3/32” lines to reduce each of the bulkheads, in order to compensate and allow for the detailed gun deck.  So, time now to get the Dremel on the drill press workstation and sand down all of the bulkheads.
 

 
The process worked out pretty well, although I had to use one hand to pull the workstation handle down to lower the Dremel and the sanding drum and the other hand to guide the bulkhead across its sanding path.  The sanding really took it out on the sanding drums, too, chewing them up pretty bad, and I had to replace the drums after each bulkhead.
 
Also, even though I was using the smallest diameter mandrel and sanding drums I had, I was not able to get tight into the corners of each bulkhead, so I used my Zona saber blade to trim the corners.  That worked out well.
 
   
 
I also used my Dremel and sanding drum to taper the bulkhead former at the bearding line.  I scribed lines on the bottom of the bulkhead former where I needed to narrow the thickness for the rabbet and sanded down to those lines from stem to stern.
 

 
I also sanded and cleaned up, as best I could, the laser char from each bulkhead slot and bulkhead former slot piece (clamping them in a vise).
 
     
 
Then, using a technique I saw Tom (usedtosail) use in his build, I placed all of the bulkheads in a scrap piece of ¼” thick basswood and lined up all of the gun deck level beams so that I could then see how my “adjusted” spar deck levels were across all of the bulkheads.
 

 
I took a long file to smooth them all down as best I could to an even level.  There are subtle visible changes in the before and after pictures.
 
   
 
Also, as just about everyone else has done and as recommended in the practicum, I placed a piece of 1/32” x 1” x 2” basswood on both sides of the bulkhead former joints in order to provide additional reinforcement support.
 

 
One of the definitive differences between the 1812 Constitution version and other periods was the use of rope for the gammoning on the bowsprit and stem rather than chain.  So, since my goal is to be “1812-ish”, and whether this is actually correct or not, I placed the stem piece on my mill and widened the two simple holes at the top of the stem piece to eventually accommodate the rope that will hold the bowsprit to the front stem.
 
   
 

 
Also, before securing the stem piece onto the bulkhead former, I used a round file to shave a small groove at the top of the stem for the eventual placement of the bowsprit.  Seems like a good time to do this while the stem piece is free.
 

 
Although I have probably forgotten some important task, I think I am ready to secure the stem, sternpost and 3-piece center keel assembly to the bulkhead former.  Using some Titebond CA glue, a couple palm-sized 3.3 lb. dive weights and some clamps, I attached the keel framework.
 
   
 

 
Since I first started this hobby, I have been using my Amati “Keel Klamper” vise to hold my boats while under construction for as long as possible, and it has worked out well.  However, the vise makes the ships sit fairly high off of the table and, with the Constitution being a big (and long) ship to begin with, I thought it would be good to have a different keel clamp.  I had seen on some other build logs, like Mustafa’s, for instance, that a small clamp had been constructed, so… I did the same.  A couple of 15” x 1½” x ¾“ strips along with two (2) legs at 8” x ¾“ square and some ¼“ bolts and nuts.  At some point, I may move this ship to a cushioned cradle, but for now, let’s try this keel clamp.
 
   
 
So, I have “test-placed” the bulkheads in their appropriate BHF slots.  As was suggested in the practicum, I have placed Bulkheads A-K with their printed letters facing the stem forward, and Bulkheads L-R facing the stern.  I need to do more work on Bulkheads K, M, N & P to get them to fit in their slots.  And, although I have penciled the bevel marks on each of the necessary bulkheads, I have not done any beveling and am weighing the alternatives about doing some of the beveling now before they are secured vs. waiting until they are in place.
 

 
I am also considering making some cuts into the appropriate bulkheads and keel locations in order to properly display the ladders that will be going from the detailed gun deck down to what would be the berth deck.  That is my next project to be completed.
 
As always, appreciate the likes, comments, criticisms and advice.  Thanks…

Just when you think all is well, boom, a miss calculation on Rodney's part. We have the hawse holes are in the wrong spot,

The plan shows the hole below the white line. It a bit of a pain, but I can fix it. 🧐 but it is a bit of a downer.  
 
  This is my little  jig for deadeyes, it happens to be exactly  the same size as another  ships spacer,  after the shoulds were on, it was on to the ratlines , thats when I notice the hawse holes. oh well what can you do lol.
 The deadeyes  are lined up , they look good to me,  good enough for me anyway lol.
 

Well the shrouds  and stays are ready to tie up, I will leave the four stay till later,  it gives me so much room for ratlines. 

So the ever changing  plan is to run the ratlines,  tie the stays, fix the hawse hole, then work on the booms and gaff.
 I told the first Mate that I may need the sails soon, she said......, well, let's just say I be working  on the Scientific Bluenose for awhile. Lol . 

Freddie is ready to go, he pretty  good as a ship inspector,  but he a little  to quiet for me, just wants to fish most of the time. 
Thanks for checking things out,  for ever greatful I found this hobby.   
Knocklouder
FFBI 🛟
 
 

@bhermann glad to have you on board.I build for the fun of the hobby and trying to make them look like ships is the most fun you can every have. 
   Jumping  ahead, I started looking into the  sails   the kit sails  were badly stained and after washing  them it didn't help. So I asked the First Mate  for some help, she reluctantly agreed to help. .

She started by ironing the original  sail then we cut out a test sail.


We got ready to sew and we didn't  have the right color of thread. So we put it all away and she will continue  later. I am so lucky  to have her. Love of my life.
  Mean while Frank the fire man is getting  ready to  put the stay back in place.

 


 

And with one chop of the axe, everything  fell back into place. So I painted up the chain plates and will move on to the foremast,  

 

I  think she starting  to look good, thanks to all the  help I get here. @John Ruy has been so helpful, I ask his advice on all most every thing  I do. Lol. But if I wonder off course  from time to time , he helps me focus.  Lol.  On to the foremast starboard side rigging. Ratlines first  lol. 😆 🤣 

 Thanks so much for all the help and likes l am receiving.  
 A greatful member of MSW/NRG, just signed on for another  year, .
Knocklouder 
FFBI 🛟 
 
    
 
 

This has been entertaining to follow thus far, now that I've found it I'll pull up a chair and follow along.  It's always nice to see a Bluenose (or two) actively being worked!
 
Bob

This has been entertaining to follow thus far, now that I've found it I'll pull up a chair and follow along.  It's always nice to see a Bluenose (or two) actively being worked!
 
Bob

This has been entertaining to follow thus far, now that I've found it I'll pull up a chair and follow along.  It's always nice to see a Bluenose (or two) actively being worked!
 
Bob

Hull Painted, Railing Installed - 23 days, 55 hours
The hull was painted with three coats each of Rustoleum Colonial Red, Krylon gloss white, and Krylon gloss black from rattle cans. The rails and interior were brush painted with gloss white acrylic. I am leaving for Europe in a few days and rushed to get this all done, but probably should have taken my time. I can see a few seams between boards and a few fingerprints on the black areas. Not bad but I could do better.

 

On the last day of our 40th Anniversary vacation, on the way home from Stonington I went to the Mystic Seaport Museum, South Entrance. On the 2nd floor of the Stillman building is an exhibit "From Clippers to Carriers." Ed Tosti's spectacular 1853 Webb, NY clipper Young America build is on display. Other 1:72nd scale replicas by Carl Davis are the 1850 Webb built packet Isaac Webb the Mystic, CT clipper David Crockett as well as the 1883 Bath, Maine Downeaster Benjamin F Packard. My sweet wife Peggy waited in the car so I was as efficient as possible to cover the entire floor. Other than one couple who soon left, the room was empty. That made my goal of documenting the sail portion of the exhibit much easier. I have additional photos of the entire sail based portion of the display but to save time didn't take pictures of the modern cargo carriers. It doesn't seem appropriate to post the rest on Ed's build log.
 

Well, it’s been several months since my last update, as I have been concentrating more on working on (and completing) this Santa Maria build than on posting status reports.  With that said, here’s what I have accomplished…
 
We left off back in March beginning to prep as much of the mast and yard spars as we can, placing ropes, blocks and eyebolts wherever we can prior to setting the masts in place.  So, I began that work, as well as began preparing for the shrouds placement, which included the building and placement of the kit-provided heart blocks to be attached to the chain plates.  The following are pictures of that build process.
 
  
 
     
 
     
 
   
 

 
As I stated earlier, trying to get as much placed on the masts and yards as possible before each of the masts are secured on the ship.  In order to have the cleats hold well on the masts (or wherever they are placed on the ship), the “well-known secret” (it isn’t much of a secret then, is it?) is to place a small piece of brass rod on the back of the cleat and a place to insert the rod in the mast (or wherever it’s going).  So, we did that, as shown.  One note, the brass rod pieces I inserted, as you can see, were longer than I really needed, so the rods on each cleat were ultimately cut down, accordingly, as they were placed.
 
   
 
For the mast and rigging work on this ship, I decided to work from the foremast and bowsprit back. And, in order to attach the yard arms to the masts, I again used small brass rod pieces to help secure and hold the spars together.  I also simulated a rope lashing on each of the spar connections, although realistically, these would not be lashed in order for the yards to be raised and lowered but would be connected by some type of pendant or parrel.
 
   
 
Once the foremast was fitted and placed, I was also able to permanently place the windlass, the stove and the ladder going from the main deck to the forecastle deck.
 
   
 
Next task was to set the bowsprit and its yard in place.
 
   
 
One thing I found helpful to me in working on this Pavel Nikitin kit, because there were so many pre-made or pre-assigned pieces that, once they were removed from their sheets were either hard to identify of hard to keep track of, was to make up some type of on-the-fly placement mat as a placeholder until the item was placed on the ship.  I even did that for the yard spars.
 

 
In looking at the rigging plans and also reviewing another builder’s YouTube build log, I tried to determine how many eyebolts were going to be necessary on the bottom of the crow’s nest to complete the rigging.  Ultimately, I ended up having more than I needed, but much better to do it now then to find out later You need to add another eyebolt after the crow’s nest is in place.
 

 
The following pictures show the work done in securing the foremast shrouds.
 
   
 
The following pictures show the main mast shrouds and… oh joy… tying the RATLINES!!  As almost everyone does, I placed a lined sheet behind the shrouds to assist with the ratline spacing.  I don’t recall now what spacing length I set up but it was equivalent to a ladder step spacing.  I will also take the time here to relay an interesting email conversation that I had with Olha Batchvarov.  As I noted earlier, I had previously prepared and installed a set of kit-supplied lower heart blocks on the channels.  In preparing to tie the shrouds to the chain plates, I was unsure how to initiate the rope ties between the upper and lower heart blocks.  I tried to research the issue here on MSW and other internet sites but was not finding anything.  I have been following some of Olha Batchvarov’s YouTube videos and had some previous personal communications with her, so decided to reach out and ask her advice.  She responded fairly quickly, stating that to her knowledge, heart blocks were never used for shrouds.  In the Carrack’s era, triangular deadeyes were used instead.  My options were, if I wanted to keep historical accuracy, remove and replace or… follow the author’s design and do whatever I want.  Replacing the lower heart blocks in the channels and connected to the chain plates would have been a mess.  And having heart blocks lower and triangular deadeyes upper would have looked a bit odd.  So, I figured out a way to tie the blocks securely and moved on.  I do appreciate Olha’s response, though!
 
   
 
I also started doing some prep work on attaching the kit-provided flags to the flag masts which are then attached to the mast toppers.  I threaded a row of 0.025” rope thru the flag edges so that they could be tied around the flag masts, as well as secured by a little CA glue.  That all worked pretty well.
 
   
 
I also ran a smaller set of shrouds (and ratlines!) from the upper mast top down to the crow’s nest, using another spacing guide slid behind the shrouds to help with the ratline spacing.
 

 
So…..!!! It’s time to actually do some rigging! This task was probably my favorite part of my Bluenose build and I was definitely looking forward to the rigging on the Santa Maria! Bad news is, though, that for my build log purposes, I took hardly zero notes and no pictures during any of the rigging… until the end.
 
There are no instructions in Pavel Nikitin’s manual pertaining to the rigging or the sails.  All that is provided are two large sheets of plans.  One of the sheets is primarily depicting what the standing rigging consists of, the other sheet shows the running rigging and placement of sails.  Although a more experienced sailor or modeler may have been able to determine what 100% of the rigging plans were to end up looking like, I landed at about an 85-90% level from what I could determine on how lines were run, how they were terminated at cleats or around side supports, etc.  Thanks to Vance McCarthy (VanMac on his YouTube build log) for answering a few rigging questions that I could not decipher from the plans.  As I said earlier, although no step-by-step accounts for the rigging, you will be able to see much of the rigging work in my final pictures below.
 
And, as I did on my Bluenose, as well, the Santa Maria will not have sails.  I understand it’s rather difficult for Columbus to have “sailed the ocean blue in fourteen-hundred and ninety-two” without sails, but mine won’t have them for a few reasons, but biggest reason is I just like the look of these majestic ships with all of the rigging exposed and the ability to see more of the ship details without the sails.  And mine would look crappy anyways.  So, there’s that, too.
 
The Pavel Nikitin kit included a separate kit for the boat that sits on the deck that they would have used to go ashore, etc.  I decided to give it a go, as well, since there was the empty space on the main deck.  Like the main Santa Maria kit, this boat was designed to be fit together practically like puzzle pieces.  Well, except that it didn’t.
 
   
 
The planks that were provided did not fit the length of the sides, inside frames did not fit as well as they were probably intended, and the seats did not fit perfectly.  In fact, because of that, I didn’t put two of the seats in the boat.  We made the best of it that we could and, all in all, the boat looked ok after it was completed and placed on the deck.  I tried to stain the small boat hull the same darker color the Santa Maria had, but it came out a bit blotchy.
 
  
 

 
I would like to at some point put some coiled rope hanks up on the belay pins and other rope terminations.  But, at this time, I believe I am calling this Pavel Nikitin Santa Maria complete.  Here are some final pictures.  I tried using a background sheet to hide some of “other things” in my shipyard like shelving and a refrigerator, but… I didn’t do so well, sorry!
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
I am going to take some time off before I pull the next ship kit from my shelf in order to give the shipyard a bit of good cleaning, restocking and reorganizing.  We also have grandkids making their usual summer stay with us for a few weeks coming up.  But around the first of July, I should be back with a new build log.
 
Thank you to all of those fellow model ship builders who have at one time or another followed, commented and/or liked any of the content of this Santa Maria build log.  You are truly appreciated.  This Model Ship World forum is really something special and there is no doubt that I would not have now completed my FIFTH model ship without the support and wisdom provided through this website and its participants.  I wish continued success to the NRG and its support of this website.

A couple small updates to my Santa Maria progress.  In my last update, I had completed all of the deck accoutrements, including the windlass.  In order to simulate the anchor ropes secured by the windlass, I wrapped some length around the windlass barrels with the extension to be placed through the holes under the forecastle deck, as if they were going out to the anchors.  I am still waiting on the permanent placement of the windlass (and other pieces) until I feel it's safe to put them in without fear of breaking them.
 

 
There will be a crow's nest on the main mast, so those pieces were removed from the applicable sheets, sanded and put together.
 
      
 
Next task was to begin assembling the masts and spars.  Like much of the other Santa Maria parts, pieces were removed from the laser=cut sheets.  For the main mast, three pieces were to be glued together to produce a thick squared dowel,  For the foremast and mizzen mast, two pieces were glued together.  I then needed to round the square dowels to make each of the masts.  To do this, I relied on a jig that was included in my first Norwegian Sailing Pram ship to assist in shaping masts.  Using my mini-plane, I shaped the square dowels to octagons, then used sandpaper to shape to round masts.  Although it is definitely time consuming, I really like to shape masts this way.  Seems it is easier for me to more accurately taper the masts to their needed diameters along the length of the masts.  Anyways, shaped each so they fit into their respective deck slot locations.  The spars were also shaped to their proper forms, as well.
 
      
 
      
 
     
 
This Santa Maria kit by Pavel Nikitin also includes some "mast toppers" (not sure if there is a formal name to them) that will have some rigging run through them, as well as will hold the flag poles.  The faux pulleys for the toppers needed to be inserted and were then held in place by short pieces of 0.84" brass rod.
 
      
 
The main mast has a series of bands around it running from the deck to under the crow's nest.  Those bands were made using 0.63mm dark brown rope.  Once wrapped, I applied diluted glue to each band and, once dried, they looked pretty decent.
 

 
I will now begin to do as much of the rigging on these masts and spars as I can while they are off-ship.  Hopefully, this little mast holder I made will help the organization process.
 

 
Pavel's rigging plans have much to be desired, so taking my time to see if I can accurately follow the standing and running rigging as shown on the plans.  Interestingly, much of the rigging information is listed on his plans in Swedish, so I am spending some time using an internet translator app.
 
I'll update as I move forward on the rigging.  Oh boy!  Ratlines are once again in my future! 
 
 

Got a few more little things done, so... time for another short update.  A few weeks ago, I had placed the fenders on the sides of the ship, so it was now time to place the bolts (nails) in the fenders.  Forty-seven (47) of them on each side, if I am counting correctly.  Used a pin vise to create the holes that the trimmed nails were then secured into.  Looks nice with the faux bolts in the fenders.
 

 

 
I had also begun work on the rudder previously, so wanted to finish it.  Positioned the kit-provided rudder straps for the pintles and gudgeons to fit properly and, with the ship flipped upside down, it was much easier to secure the rudder in place until the CA glue dried. 
 
      
 

 
Wish I could get the brass straps to appear a little darker and may continue to work on that.  But, with the exterior work pretty much completed on this Santa Maria, it is time to get this on the cradle.  The kit provided a pretty nice stand for the ship to sit on.  So, popped out all the cradle pieces from the sheet, cleaned up the char as best I could, and then pre-stained it, stained it, and assembled it.  Still a bit undecided on if I want to permanently secure the ship to the cradle but will make that decision shortly.  Placing much more stuff on the various decks will make it difficult to flip the ship in order to drill the necessary holes for any permanent rods between the ship's keel and the cradle.
 
    
 

 
OK, time to work on some of the deck accoutrements. First, the three ship ladders.  The kit provides three sets of rails with slots already pre-milled for the steps, and a whole bunch of rungs/steps that were popped out of the sheet.  After cleaning up the char on everything, I noted that the thickness of the kit-provided steps was 3/32", while the pre-cut slots in the rails only had clearance for 1/16".  At first, I sanded a few of the steps at the ends in order to fit, but then decided to just cut some new steps using a couple spare 1/16" x 7/32" basswood strips I had available.  Worked much better, less frustrating to fit in the rail slots.  Assembled the three ladders, tested them in place and then stained them.  Will wait on permanent placement of them (and several of the other deck pieces) until I know placing them won't be in the way of anything else going on the decks.
 
          
 

 
One of the next pages in Pavel's Santa Maria Instruction Guide has a diagram of several deck pieces that require assembly.
 

 
The kit contains some small plastic-type pieces that were designed to all be snapped off a base from which they were created (the red arrows), representing various deck pieces and parts, including the windlass barrels, bucket rings, pump parts, and stove parts.  Unfortunately, the stove pot and pan were all broken in the kit.  So, my Santa Maria stove will only have the grates with no pots.  However, I was also able to make some buckets and pumps.  I was able to shape, as best I could, the circular slats to create the buckets and the pump covers, and then using my Dremel sander, was able to shape them into more rounded shapes.  At this scale, that'll do fine.
 
    
 
    
 

 
The windlass was a fun piece to assemble.  The Instruction Guide showed MULTIPLE pieces required for assembly.  
 

 

 
Like the other deck pieces, these will all be permanently placed in their positions once I am confident they won't get bumped while doing other work on the decks.
 
Another example of items in this Pavel Nikitin kit that suddenly appear in diagrams or pictures without discussion are the anchor ropes that go from the anchors through hawse pipes at the bow and are then secured around the windlass barrels.  It would have been much easier and cleaner to create these hawse pipe holes earlier, especially on the inside, under the forecastle deck.  
 
      
 
So, we will now work on the anchor rope and then get some of these deck pieces secured onto the deck.  Also, it's about time to begin working on the three masts for the ship.  Continuing to trudge forward...
 
Again, as always, thanks for the reads, the likes, the comments, and the criticisms.  
 
 
 

OK, another quick little update on what I've just finished...  Three of the decks (forecastle deck, quarterdeck & poop deck) have railings.  The railing pieces in the kit were in multiple sheets, so I popped them out, cleaned them up, and assembled each of them, noting the positioning of the posts so they fit into the predetermined deck slots.  Gave them each a coat of prestain and then the Minwax Satin Bombay Mahogany stain.  After they were each secured on the respective decks, it looks like I may need to give them another coat of stain before we call it good.  However, it's nice to see these decks continuing to take shape.
 

 
    
 
Working on the rudder now.  I'll show how far I've gotten today.  Again, like all of the wood pieces, I popped the rudder parts out of the sheets and cleaned up the laser char.  The rudder, like the hull, is double-thickness so parts were glued together and then fit to create the full rudder piece.  The kit provides a sheet containing the brass pintles and gudgeons.  These were popped out, cleaned up, and I began shaping them using my parallel pliers, which worked out well.
 
    
 
    
 
Will work now on where to position the four (4) pintles to the rudder and where to position the corresponding gudgeons to the transom.  A 1mm brass rod will serve as the pin for each and will be secured on the pintle so that the rudder slides onto the transom.  I will also be staining the rudder and hinges so that it matches as best it can, of course, with the hull color.
 
Baby steps, but steps closer to completion, so that's a good thing.  Appreciate the likes, comments and critiques. 

Thanks for the response, Alfons.  I was too impatient to wait until I had a chance to get to the LHS, so I used the medium CA I have on hand.  It worked OK, I just had to redrill the holes a little.
 
For the first attempt at a repair, I filed away half the broken end of the jaw
 

 
Then glued a piece of stripwood onto the cut and clamped it overnight.
 

 

 
Then I filed away the overhanging parts and was left with this.
 

 
It was a bit thin for my taste so I glued and clamped another piece, then filed away the excess.
 
This is what I was left with
 

 

 
Once that was done, I drilled the hole, applied CA to the end of the piece, and redrilled.  I put some line through the hole and gave it a few good tugs.  It feels much more secure than the original, so I won't be moving on to attempt number 2 or 3.  Number 2 would have been to cut the end of the jaw flat and dowel on some fresh stock.  Number 3 was removing the entire jaw, which probably would have led to number 4 - rebuilding the entire gaff - whew!
 
Thanks for all the suggestions and for sticking with this.
 
Bob