bhermann

All...
 
A bit of miscellaneous progress.
 
I've added the channels and I think I've got them on very firmly. I took the liberty of reinforcing them with a small strip of .040 x .040 Evergreen underneath to increase the surface area when glueing to the hull.

 
I've also reinforced the pin rails by drilling thru the bulwark and inserting small steel pins. They were snipped to size, covered with some blobs of filler, and sanded smooth.

 
I did some spot primer in key locations to help determine areas in need of improvement then gave the two half hulls a complete coat. Still a bit of touch ups and tuning needed, but I'm getting closer to the painting phase.
 

 
Additionally, I decided to change course on the berth deck ventilation scuttles and gun deck scuppers. Originally I did not like the large openings for the scuppers and elected to cover them up and treat them as the ventilation scuttles. It gnawed at me enough that it wasn't a correct representation that I finally went ahead and popped off the previous work to expose the scupper holes and built new ventilation doors lower down in a more proper location. I even depicted one of the doors swung open to add some dimension:
 

 

 
A note to add regarding the ship's boats... I got pinged on another forum by a terrific modeler who is also building the Revell Connie using some of the Bluejacket parts. He was wondering if I was using the BJ resin whaleboats. I did purchase a couple of the whaleboats along with the resin pinnace. I was a little disappointed that they came with pre-molded floor boards - I would've preferred to add my own interior details:
 

 
Mine came in good condition - I know sometimes resin parts can be full of air pockets and blemishes, but these can be easily improved. My original pinnace came very warped and I wasn't able to correct the shape under warm water. The folks at Bluejacket cheerfully sent me a replacement.
 
Unfortunately, it looks as though I can't use these on my build. Apparently the whaleboats did not appear on Constitution until AFTER the Guerriere fight. Receipts and invoices indicate that Commodore Bainbridge first purchased whaleboats from local New England sources to replace some of the boats lost or damaged in the Guerriere battle. They've been associated with the ship ever since. The USS Constitution museum Log Lines blog had a nice article about this: http://usscm.blogspot.com/2012/09/whaleboats-for-constitution.html
 
I think that catches me up on my current progress.
 
Thanks for looking in...
Evan

Denis
 
Storry of my life. If there is in front of me any type of, so called "elephant track/path" ( elephants in their life space walk almost always on same path which is solid beaten, and you can not miss it), I must discover/invent hot water again, after that hole in a flowerpot, or wheel, and find something new, even to walk on arms instead on legs ... 
 
Original kit was made by wide unknown Croatian company called TEHNODIDAKTA somewhere in 1960-1970 year, and that kits were known only by few ship builder lovers from former Yugoslavia. Former Yugoslavia had no great naval tradition, and ship modeling was not spread as hobby. As I know, somewhere before civilian war, TEHNODIDAKTA  who still exist, left kit manufacturing, and it is really accidentally if somebody (as me) saved kit or blueprints from kit until today ( there were no instructions except about colours in few words). Earlier in my log, during I was making ( or trying to make it) by the kit blueprints , you can see many simplifications and inaccuracy in those blueprints which leaded me to a few of deep surgeries I have made, so I complete gave up making Her by those blueprints when find C-plans, and Sergal, Mantua Artesania ... etc etc instructions on NET, and from time to time I mentioned TEHNODIDAKTA in log  only as a comparative 
 
Considering in mind that hull of Her majesty was made by this kit shits ( bulkheads) I do not dare to compare my hull lines I have got by TEHNODIDAKTA ribs and hull lines in C-plans ... afraid of disappointment ...  That was a reason that before second layer of planking, I work with maybe too much putty and sanding, because I believe in my eyes and lines of hull I saw on photos, and I was trying to catch exactly that lines. I am sure That I could not ping lines from C-plans, but I think that I have got visually "bingo", and Hull really on first sight looks like hull of Cutty Sark. Ok, maybe little correction here and there (as on stern post for instance), and in this circumstances inevitable artistic approach on whole model. Definitive decision about is some piece on place and is it look how has to be is always followed with close and distance look at whole model, two or three "Hmmm" and if it matches to my ideas, that is OK, and that piece is finished. ( until ...)
 
But I must admit, that whole this fun is really enjoyment for me, and challenge to resolve particular places on model, also testing of my possibilities
 
And that is point, isnt it ? 

I finished planking the port side outer bulwarks. I set a compass to the height of the bulwarks above the plank sheer and drew lines across the sections. In most cases, I had to remove about a half a plank width, so I carefully used a razor saw to cut off most of the excess, then sanded the tops fair so the main rail pieces will run smoothly. I thought at one point I would have to lower the sieves, but I had just enough clearance for them when sanded. I left the planks at the curve of the bow as is until after the starboard side outer bulwarks are planked. I was able to sand these bow planks smooth without any big gaps, so I am pretty happy with the planking so far. I was also happy that the sides of the spar deck gun ports all have pretty much the same shape and width. Here is how the port side came out. The starboard side is still just the inner support pieces in these pictures.
 

 

 
Now to repeat on the starboard side, and hope that the two sides come out similar.

Hello Everyone:
 
This build log is a bit unusual because the model is almost complete but I only discovered and joined MSW a couple of weeks ago.  However, I was encouraged by several kind souls in "welcome to new members" to start a log nevertheless.  Had I had the advantage of the expertise and experience available on MSW from the outset, the result would have been much better than it actually is.
 
In April of last year, I was given the incomplete and damaged model of a Grand Banks fishing schooner by the grandson of the man who built it almost 50 years ago, a retired boat builder from Campobello Island, New Brunswick.  The grandson told me he had an early childhood memory of his grandfather steaming the side planking -- 0.5" oak -- in his driveway.
 
It was forty inches long and had a very heavy fin keel (lead or iron I suspect) attached to the regular keel.  This, plus the single-piece masts, led me to concluded that it was probably intended as a pond yacht.   The top plank on each side had snapped right at the beam and, sometime during that 50 years, someone -- I'm sure it wasn't the original builder -- had inflicted a very sloppy paint job on the bulwarks and along the edges of the deck.   The attached picture shows the boat as I received it.  
 
The builder being a former professional boat builder as well as the story of the oak plank steaming and bending led me to believe that it was probably a scratch build, although there were certain signs that it might have been a kit.  Comments from those in "welcome to new members" come down on the scratch-build side and I'm even more inclined to agree.  However, if anyone can shed any light on this question, I'd be grateful to hear it. 
 
Since last April, I've cleaned, repaired and painted the hull, built topmasts, built and rigged the sails, and am now at the point where almost all of the running rigging is complete.  I now face the challenge of shrouds, ratlines (which I've never done before), and running backstays.  Throughout all of this will be a more-or-less constant process of adjusting the shape of the sails.
 
I wanted to create the look of a hard-working, old fishing boat, under way, with sails drawing wind.  While the main and foresail were made from cloth from another kit, the other six were made from an old and very used piece of cotton sailcloth given to me by our local sailmaker.  Hence, the beaten up look and varied colours of the sails.  The various stains, partial footprint, and other irregularities on these six sails look a bit peculiar close up, but the effect from beyond a range of six feet is close to what I was trying to accomplish.  Given its eventual display position -- on top of a half wall at our family cottage, safely out of range of my three young grandsons -- no one will be able to get that close anyway.  The boat is on a close reach on the port tack.
 
Given the special provenance of the hull, I decided to do little to it beyond necessary repairs and the running rigging necessary for the sails.  I may decide to add some more deck furniture, but first wanted to see the lines of the running and standing rigging.  Any comments or suggestions on what might be added would be very welcome.
 
I'll leave this initial post at that and attach a picture of the boat in its current state.   I didn't take a lot of pictures of the build, at least until I joined MSW, but will attach some to additional posts to show progress to date.  I'd also like to seek advice on the question of shrouds and ratlines as well as other things that will undoubtedly still arise.   I should explain the peculiar background in the pictures: this model came with little advance warning and I don't have any proper workshop; hence, my boatyard became the dining-room table. 
 
Comments, suggestions, and advice all welcome.
 
Rick
 
 

I then decided that maybe I needed to bring the bottom up. So here are two shots after doing that.  My planks will now run smoothly across the bottom.  I can see trouble developing at the top that I will have to spill some planks to smooth out that line also.  My thinking is to try and get the two areas running horizontally and fill in from front to back in a stair step pattern to better see how each plank needs to be formed at the same time matching up the but joints.  So here is where I left off.  Please let me know if my approach is flawed, ok or something else.  It’s ok to through hard balls too   
 
In the end this will all be painted so in the big scheme of things it does not matter all that much other then I am trying to do it right and it is a means to me becoming a better builder.

And another small step forward.
 
The hatch has been fitted. You can also see the alignment runners on its underside. These align the hatch cover on the rails.
 
Russ

Hi Everybody... did a little model work before I went to work... finished the sole between the bulkhead and the live well... added 1st coat of grey, then added a stringer on the bulkhead to start the cabin floor. now that I know where the bulkhead/sole meet i can add a companion way and finish the bulkhead.

Here is another small update. I do not seem to do any other kind.
 
The starboard deck house window is fitted. This one went a little easier being the second try at it.
 
I have also begun fitting the hatch rails and the door.
 
Comments and questions welcomed.
 
Russ

Thank you all again for your kind comments and likes. You made me feel inspired enough to find time to do a bit more!
 
I have made and fitted the first strake of planking either side of the keel. This is the first time I have attempted spiling of planking. So far it's OK... I have had to remake one strake through impatience, and the fit of each is not quite as perfect as I would like. The following photos show the garboard strakes being glued in place. I will post some more once I have several done.
 
  
 
The last photo shows the stern. You can see the ends of both strakes and the tick marks I put on the frames to define the widths of the planks. You can also see the stern planking, where I was a bit dim with the choice of wood! It's all cherry, but the first three planks are noticeably different in colour. I am hoping I can tone the variation down when I apply a finish.
 

 
In case anyone is wondering I emphasised the joints between planks by rubbing both edges with a 2B pencil before glueing them in position. I think it's reasonably subtle.
 
Another thing worth mentioning, since I don't remember finding this point made anywhere else, is how to measure the tick marks quickly and easily. Most people cut strips of paper to the length of the frame between the keel and the wale, which is what I did as well. However it is usually suggested that the next step is a diminishing grid: a 'fan' of lines drawn from a common point and with the other ends set out equally along a straight line. Sufficient line are drawn so that the number of gaps between lines is the same as the intended number of strakes of planking. The idea is that you lay your strip of paper across the grid at a position where the ends of the paper just touch the outermost parts of the fan. You then mark off along the strip the intersections between the lines of the fan and the edge of the strip. This gives you a strip subdivided equally by the number of strakes. It works fine, providing you keep your strip parallel to the line used originally to set out the fan ends. If you put the strip at an angle then the spacing will vary.
 
I prefer to use a simple sheet of lined paper - it can be graph paper with a square grid, but ordinary ruled notebook paper works just as well. You need to place your paper strip at an angle across the lines such that each end is exactly on a line and the number of spaces between the two lines at the ends of the strip equals the number of strakes. then mark off the intersections as before and the strip will be evenly divided. Both methods are similar, but my method is quicker, because you don't need to make the diminishing grid, and there is a little less opportunity for error.
 
Rob

Thanks Patrick, hope your feeling better.
 
Decking is complete.
 
I first tried cutting individual planks, 1/16” wide with the intention of planking the deck with them.  This proved, however, a bit beyond my current skill level. What I opted to do was use scribed planking.  Not the one that came with the kit but one I made myself.  First I made two planking templates, one of the fore deck and one of the aft deck.
 

 
I then finished a sheet of basswood ,1/32” thick by 4” wide x 12” long with 4 coats of polyurethane.  After the sheet had dried completely I taped the deck planking patterns onto the basswood and using a steel point, traced over the lines to score the wood.  Next I painted the decks with a dark brown acrylic paint and them immediately wiped the paint off.  The paint came off the polyurethaned areas but stayed in the scored lines.  Finally I cut out each deck section.
 

 
I like the results but I think I may have scored the wood a little too deep because the caulking lines appear a bit too thick, or maybe I should have used a lighter color paint so they don’t stand out so much.  I can't take credit for this method because I did read how to do it in a book whose title and author escapes me right now.  Amended 5/28/14 - the book is 'The Built-up Ship Model' by Charles G. Davis pages 106 to 107. 
 
I also chose to cut in the cockpit area and made a template for that planking as well.

After seeing the picture above, I thought it might be interesting to go a bit further with sailing, wind direction, etc.
 
 
If we consider that there are 360 on the compass, there are some points that should be avoided when sailing with any kind of rig.
 
 
A sailboat does not do well going directly into the wind and typically has to veer off 30 to 40 degrees. In that case it is referred to as being 'close hauled'. Sloop rigged boats do a lot better with that than square sailed rigs. The diagram below is good:
 
 
 
 
There is also a good explanation on Wikipedia: 
 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Points_of_sail 
 
 
Stockholm Tar also made a good point about ships sailing before the wind and the danger of the boom from swinging across when the wind shifts or the ship drifts off course a bit. Jibing is well known to skippers and helmsmen and should be 'planned' and not come as an 'accident'. To properly jibe, the boom, which is extended well outboard on the lee side, needs to be hauled in and gradually shifted as the ship makes a small adjustment in the course to let the wind fill the sails on the other side. Then the boom can be let out and the sails are fully filled. On small sailboats this can be readily done by hand, but on larger boats it takes some planning. Because of this we might include a small angle as another no-go zone. That is, stay away from winds coming from six o'clock.
 
 
 
 
But even at that, most modern sailing ships can handle winds coming from 270 to 290 degrees (out of 360 for the compass). Square riggers do worse because they cannot be close hauled as well. Then there is the issue of speed. And as you can read, a wind coming from eight to about ten o'clock (or 2 to 4 o'clock) will give ships the best forward force and speed and not from a following wind.

I love this photo for a lot of reasons. here it serves well to illustrate the flags position in relation to the square sails and the point of sail the ship is on. In this case the ship is being sailed as close to the wind as possible,  she is trying to point in the same direction the wind is blowing from. She can't sail directly into the eye of  the wind. But if she braces her yards around as far as they can go, so far that the sails are contacting the stays as is visible in the photo, she can get within six points of the eye of the wind. She is said to be "Close Hauled" and in this case she is close hauled on the starboard tack, since the wind is coming over the Starboard side. The flags as you can see are streaming aft and to port. 
The flags are ACTUALLY indicating a very very slightly different direction of the true wind since the speed of the ship through the water makes them behave a tiny bit differently than a stationary flag on a fixed point in the wind would behave. So if she was sailing past a rock with a flag on it, the flags on the ship and the flag on the rock would be at very slightly different angles. The one on the rock indicating the True Wind and the ones on the ship indicating the Apparent Wind.

To further my earlier remarks...
 
You have managed, far more than any other interior shot I've seen so far (on the entire MSW), to take us literally into the ship yard.
I like how the graceful sweep of the planks draws the viewers eyes towards the details around the mast step, and even though it's probably only a few inches in reality, it seems like a hundred feet. Without a sense of scale, you somehow manage to convey the massiveness of the timbers, the intricacies of the joinery, and moreover, the accuracy of your construction.
 
Incredibly well done. You really should get that one printed and framed.
 
Andy

Since that last view was popular, I will have to take some more. Without the use of mirrors or other micro devices this has to be done while the camera will still fit down in he hull. The picture was taken with a 2 1/2" x 4" Canon Powershot set down onthe keelson. The photo was then cropped. The Powershot is not the smallest of cameras, but it is a lot smaller than the slr I use for most of the pictures. The light from above plays tricks with the colors. I could have done a better job with the post-processing. The picture is a bit light. Here is a better version.
 

 
Ed

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 65 – Lower deck framing continued
 
More of the same, I’m afraid.  It looks like the lower deck framing is going to take about a month.  The first picture, taken from directly overhead, shows the lower deck framing back as far as the midship beam.
 

 
Once the last beam forward of the midship view port is installed, I intend to work from the stern forward so the last frames will be those at the  view port.  Having only one hanging knee to fit on these beams will reduce the fitting of these in the last tights spaces – and also to allow plenty of room for fitting the aftermost small beams by doing those first.
 
In the next picture a hanging knee is being fit to one of the small beams at the stern.  The limited space is apparent.
 

 
This knee was cut using the new pattern shown in the last post.  In the next picture the installation of that beam has been completed – except for the lodging knees
 

 
The next picture shows the aft framing progressed past the mizzenmast step.
 

 
A ledge is being glued in the next picture.
 

 
The next picture shows the extent of the lower deck framing currently completed.  I need to get going on some of those lodging knees.
 

 
This picture gives a good idea of how for forward the "deadflat" midship frame is placed.  Finally, a look forward below deck along the keelson.
 

 
The height of that keelson is 4 feet above the floor frames.
 
 Ed

Update time...
 
I needed a break from cutting out frames having done about half of them so far.    So.... installed the first three frames,  added spacers for strength and position, and cut the bridle port.   The keel is just set into position as are the upper and lower sills for the port to help in squaring everything up.
 
The bridle port is build up on the frame sides and the upper and lower sills rest on the "build up" with the middle frame being cut out for the port.  Thankfully, it's the only one like this.  The rest are cut into the frames.   There's a conumdrum on the plans.  The cut-away with the ports outlined is more "square" where as the framing plan shows the fore end of this port higher on the hull.  I went with the framing plan.  I hope I picked correctly.

For those who work exclusively by hand (or those of us not to be trusted with power tools ), I included a brief description of some of my tapering methods in my log.
 
http://modelshipworld.com/index.php?/topic/217-bluenose-by-bhermann-model-shipways-2130-164/page-3
 
Check posts #33 and 34 for the details.
 
Bob

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 64 – Lower deck framing continued
 
There are not a lot of new kinds of work going on at present – just a continuation of the lower deck framing – very repetitive.  Item for item, the hanging knees absorb much more time than any of the other deck framing components.  I mentioned earlier that I am using a few “starter” shapes that are then modified to fit a given location.  The first picture shows the three shapes initially used on the lower deck.
 

 
The center and left shapes - to be used in the central part of the hull - worked out fairly well.  The shape to the right was a guess that I took at a starting point for the knees at the ends – not as good a fit.  I eventually surrendered and lofted the more complete set of 11 different starter patterns shown at the top of the picture.  The differences between those at the ends and the single piece at the right are pronounced, so this additional lofting for the other decks is planned.  The pattern shapes are marked with frame numbers and the number required of each in parentheses.  Each pattern will yield 6 frames when cut from a 1” thick block of wood.
 
The new shapes are still only approximate and will require shaping to fit.  The next two pictures illustrate my process for this.
 

 
First a knee is held up under the beam and the high points noted.  These are then sanded down using the disk sander as shown above.  This is repeated until there is a match.  The knee is then beveled as shown in the next picture using the tilt table on the sander to help with uniformity. 
 

 
After fitting, the knee can receive its dummy bolts, get a final sanding and be glued in place.  To strengthen the connection, two copper wire functional bolts are installed after the glue sets.  The next picture shows a hole for one of these being drilled down through the beam into the knee.
 
 

 
The hole is drilled at an angle into the throat of the knee to resist it coming loose.  A copper wire is then coated with epoxy and pushed into the bottom of the hole.  Another bolt is then installed from outside the hull as shown below.
 

 
The epoxied bolt is being clipped off in this picture.  The hole for this bolt is also drilled into the throat of the knee.  Additional dummy bolts will later be added to the outside of the frames and to the top of the beam.  All will be black.
 
The carlings and ledges are being added in the wake of the beam setting.  The score for a ledge is being marked in the next picture.
 

 
The ledges are centered on the carlings by eye and the top corners of the carling marked with the chisel. This is much more accurate than pencil marking.  The seat is then filed out.
 
All the ledges are cut from straight pieces.  I did not round up the ledges on this deck.  Ledges set in the center are fixed slightly higher than the tops of the carlings, and then rounded off to match the beams by sanding as shown below.
 

 
The framing will not be finish-sanded until all bolts in the tops of the beams are installed.  The last picture shows the current state of the framing.
 

 
Wax finish is being applied progressively to the areas under the installed beams.  The last beam set in this picture is at the dead flat.  This terminology is something of a misnomer in that, unlike the configuration of most earlier ships, it is not at the widest point in the hull except in the neighborhood of the load waterline.  Above that height the breadth is slightly greater in the next frames aft and the maximum breadth in the lower hull occurs in the frames slightly forward.  The differences are small but it is an interesting point – probably the result of the original design being developed on a half-model and the offsets for construction taken from that – the nicety of a single dead flat frame being lost in the process.  This midship frame also occurs at about 25 feet forward of the midpoint of the hull – so I am not yet at the halfway point in framing this deck.
 
 Ed

I decided to drill holes in the dead eyes and to rig lanyards rather than to fake them by gluing segments of thread to both faces of the dead eyes. I don't fully trust ca (used to make the dead eyes) and paint, in particular, to withstand rigging stresses. By rigging them, even if the ca fails, the dead eyes are less likely to come apart with the lanyards to assist in holding them together. By faking the lanyards I would be trusting the paint-to-deadeye bond to not fail. In either case repairing failure(s) would be next to impossible inside the sphere. I realized I had no choice but to rig them for real.
 
I started by fabricating a fixture using a standard spring clothespin as a clamp to hold the dead eye for drilling through guides in the clamp. I used 1mm hobby plywood to make the parts added to the clothespin. The guide holes are .010 in./0.25mm.
 

The pieces on both sides of the clothespin keep the two wooden parts of the pin from shifting sideways.
 

Three bits of ply glued to one of the ply yaws to locate the dead eye and the three guide holes for drilling.
 
I also made a fixture to hold an upper and lower dead eye for reeving with a lanyard. I modified two mini clothespins to hold the dead eyes by the previously installed tails with a piece of the ply positioned between to sort of wedge the dead eyes against the clamps.
 

Dead eye reeving fixture, lower dead eye to the right.
 

Closer view of the fixture. The out-of-focus light thread is the tail from the knotted end of the lanyard.
 
I used some thinned white pva glue to secure the lanyard in the holes and on the knot. I will secure the other end of the lanyard after rigging the shrouds and attaching a stretcher just above the dead eyes. I know this all seems backwards to the method used on larger models but tying and seizing and reeving the lanyards on the model at this size seems to me next to impossible. It was hard enough with the parts held steady in clamps and fixtures. This way the only tying while on the model will be of the shrouds at the tops to form short splices or bight splices with a needle similar to the way I seized the dead eyes.
 
After letting the glue set I removed the shroud from the fixture and posed it in position in a channel on the model with an X-acto blade for size reference.
 

The lanyard is not tensioned at all. It has acquired a bit of a twist which comes out with a little tension. I have to
be careful when I reeve the lanyard so that the lay doesn't tighten as I pass it through each hole of the dead eye.
 
Now to get back to the other eleven pairs of dead eyes to drill holes and reeve lanyards, then go through the whole process again, starting with cutting discs, for the smaller topmast dead eyes and shrouds.
 
 

Dave
 
 
 

Thanks Steve. Here is another picture of the gig hanging from its tackles and the slings (or gripes) to hold it close to the stern and prevent it from swinging in the breeze.

Well with the corrections nearly complete I thought it might be a good idea to do produce a proto-type build log (of sorts). Obviously unlike other kits ESSEX has already been released but it and the members here on MSW didn’t have the benefit of seeing it come together.
This will hopefully give everyone a chance to see the details in the kit, ask any questions they may have and hopefully clear up any misconceptions about the kit.
How I’ll conduct this is to follow along with the manual, although I won’t be posting the actual pages but some of the photos and details.
I’ll do this over a series of weeks (the manual is 15 chapters). It’s my intent to complete this in no more than half that time.
One note, any updates regarding the corrections will continue to be posted in that thread. This thread is solely about the design and build of the proto-type.
 
 

My thanks to all who came to visit and liked my posts.
 
Today was another doctor visit day and with doctor "Bendover" the proctologist.  I'm kidding of course, his name is not Bendover but Ritter.  We had good news and just keep on trucking   
 
This afternoon I made the dingy tackle handwheels that'll be cemented to the port aft side of the conning tower where the engine exhaust pipe comes up for snorkeling.  I have a photo of the location but the exposure is such that the black painted handwheels do not show.  But I do have a copy of a drawing so yuns get the idea where they are located on the boat.
 
It was a little tricky soldering 0.1 mm  brass wire to the 0.8 mm brass rod that I made into a ring of 5.5 mm OD.  But with enough small heat sinks it worked okay.
 
I also sprayed primer on the gantries and some of the attaching hardware.  The rest of the hardware like the pulley brackets and so will wait till tomorrow after I mow the lawn.
 
Well, that's it for now, pics below.
 

This photo was taken at the commissioning of the O19 where I was present at the ripe old age of 4.  You can't see the handwheels because they blend in with the black paint but they are located under the light fixture cutout.  The drawing below will show it better.
 

This drawing shows clearly where these handwheels are located and you can even see how the cables run.
 

This show how I secured the 0.1 mm brass wire to the 0.8 mm brass ring.  This steel office clamp also served as a heat-sink.  To solder the cross spoke I used a second clamp, it was kinda getting crowded and had to crank the heat up on the soldering iron.  
 

This shows the completed handwheels.  Don't forget that this is extreme magnification and shows all the little scratches and solder I was not able to clean away.
 

This shows the torpedo loading boom secured to it's securing fixture that'll be cemented to the deck.  It's now also painted as we speak. 
 

This is an extreme close-up of the boom secured to the deck fixture.
 
Cheers,

On to the beakhead!
 
Kind of nice to get off of the hull itself and add a new "feature" to the ship.  Although through the adding and fitting and photo's I am spotting all kinds of little blemishes and "neatness" issues which are reall embarassing and driving me crazy.  Not sure how to clean those up quite yet, but am mulling that over.
 
As to the task at hand!
 
The beakhead has begun,  the Mayflower has been without a face for far too long.
 
The stem knee was a super pain.  Apparently with all the sanding, shaping etc of the hull I drastically messed up the contour so when lining up the stem knee it was way off.  Pointing to the moon!!
 
So, carefully positioning it where was supposed to be and gluing the bottom in place and letting it set allowed me to get it basically into position.  Some creative filling with hobbylite made it look like it was right where it was supposed to be....
 

 
The laser cuts beakhead sides were VERY NICE!!!  Notched the base to go over the upper wale and set them into place.   The stem knee wasn't QUITE as centered as I thought, however luckily getting the sides into place and lined up with the forward part of the stem knee forced everything in place...
 
(that was rude, my wireless keyboard died right in the middle of typing fear not replaced the batteries and back in action. Of course none of you really knew that so I didn't have to share but it was in the flow of thought so decided to bring you all in for the moment )
 

 

 
So, as that dries I now plan and plot my next move....  moving on moving on..
 
 
Thanks all for stopping by ..
 
Enjoy!!

Various techniques including copper paint, individual copper plates, photo etched plates, and self adhesive copper tape have been used by ship modelers to simulate the copper sheathing used for under water hull protection on both naval and merchant ships from the late 1700’s thru the late 1800’s. The following notes describe the technique selected for my Topsail Schooner "Eagle" of 1847 build.
 
Test Pieces – Test pieces were prepared to evaluate the installation process and appearance of various methods including individual plates, individual plates cut from self adhesive tape, strips of copper tape, and both plain and embossed plates. The selected approach was individual plates cut from self adhesive copper tape with embossed nail heads on the exposed plate edges only.
 
Copper Material – The material used for copper sheathing was .0015” x ¼” wide self adhesive copper tape purchased from Blue Jacket Ship Crafters.
Plate Fabrication – The individual copper plates were cut from self adhesive copper tape using a Carl Rotary Trimmer from Staples Office Supply. The plates were ¼” x ¾” (16” x 48” full size at 1:64 scale). The individual plates were then embossed from the back side using a fine pounce wheel.
 
Hull Preparation – After filling and sanding any minor dings, holes, etc. on the lower hull and completion of topside painting (acrylic paints); the topside and bare lower hull were sealed with three coats of Minwax Wipe-On-Poly (oil based wiping varnish). A hard smooth surface is necessary for tape adhesion, and a smooth surface is important as any defects will show through the thin copper foil.
 
Hull Layout – With the model resting in its building cradle, the waterline was laid out using a surface gauge. The gore line was then located using the copper sheathing layout taken from a similar size merchant hull plans (whaler "Kate Cory"). The plate layout consists of upper and lower gore strakes with no dressing belt. The individual copper plate strakes were laid out using a tick strip working up from the keel. The water line, gore line, and individual plate strakes were then marked on the model hull using narrow strips of blue masking tape. Note that properly locating the waterline and gore line are critical as I have seen models where they dip down badly in the stern area.
 
Plate Installation – Individual copper plates were applied using the masking tape strips as a guide and working from the keel up and the stern post forward. The plates were overlapped approximately 1/32” and butts were staggered like brick work. A fair amount of fitting was required in the upper stern area due to the hull shape, and the upper corners of the plates were cut off for those plates that crossed the gore line and waterline. After installation, all copper foil plates were rubbed down with a soft rag.
 
Protective Finish – After installation, I cleaned the copper plates with denatured alcohol and applied three coats of Minwax Wipe-On-Poly to seal and protect the copper surface. After approximately 10 months, the copper sheathing is beginning to show some tarnish under the varnish finish. On future builds, I may just choose to clean the copper plates and let them tarnish naturally.
 
While the above technique is only an approximation of full size practice as the nail pattern would have covered the complete plate and would hardly be visible at this scale, I was pleased with the overall effect. As noted; critical items in the application include having a smooth hard surface, layout of the waterline/gore line, and holding the plate strakes straight.
 
Brigantine "Newsboy" 1854 Installation – Following completion of the Topsail Schooner "Eagle", my next ship model was the Brigantine "Newsboy" of 1854 (also in 1:64 scale). The copper sheathing installation on "Newsboy" was similar to "Eagle" with the following exceptions:
1. Due to her finer hull lines, I chose to model the copper sheathing layout after the clipper ship "Flying Fish" of 1851. The copper sheathing layout consisted of an upper and lower gore with a single dressing strake at the water line.
2. The copper plate fabrication and installation was similar to "Eagle". Based on the recommendation of friends at the USS Constitution Model Shipwrights Guild, I elected not to emboss the copper plates with simulated nails. I was pleased with the result, and plan to follow this practice on future models of American Merchant Sail from the mid 1800’s.
 
The following pictures illustrate copper sheathing installation on the Maine Topsail Schooner "Eagle" 1847 and Brigantine "Newsboy" of 1854.
 
Pete Jaquith
Shipbuilder

Well, It has been almost two years since I updated the journal.  My PdN has been completed for almost a year and a half and I completed LSS's Fair American during this time.  Now that I am in the middle of leave and my household goods have shipped to my next assignment, I find myself with lots of time to provide an update.
 
In July 2012, I moved on to the main mast installation and rigging.  The main is much simplier than the fore, none of those mysterious lines to figure out and I had worked out my techniques for ratlines, serving, etc... I did however, run out of rigging lines and had to order more.
 
I installed the stays and shrouds in pairs and added the horizontal planks to the shrouds.  I decided to exceed the model kit in a few places such as the hearts being added. (It appears I have forgotten how to have my images orient properly' they look fine on photobucket...)
 

 

 
The ratlines went fast due to my index card that was marked for spacing. although I did have some sliding since I was not gluing each knot as I progressed.
 

 
The upper ratlines got tight as expected but were not too bad.

 
Here is an in progress photo taken on the 17th.

 
This week ended with a decision to sew sails and add them causing some changes such as having to remove the rings from the masts and fashion new ones as well as more research into how a sail is actually fashioned, attached and manipulated.
As I reveiw my excel spreadsheet daily journal, I loved my comment "I love ratlines" and also noticed this was the week after our honeymoon (finally) in New Orleans.