bhermann

I'm so sorry to hear about your many issues over the past few years and the loss of your father, and happy to hear about your new puppy.  I have been thinking about you as the log has remained in a sort of limbo for some time.  Looking forward to reading the finish of this "build book" and seeing  her sitting in her place of pride.
 
Bob

Hi Bob, 
 
thank you so much for your wishes and support.  I have the build itch and looking forward to being able to get out of bed soon and start working on her again!
 
best,
Marc

I'm so sorry to hear about your many issues over the past few years and the loss of your father, and happy to hear about your new puppy.  I have been thinking about you as the log has remained in a sort of limbo for some time.  Looking forward to reading the finish of this "build book" and seeing  her sitting in her place of pride.
 
Bob

Beautiful job, Tim!  Your workmanship and attention to detail produced a fine finished model.  The embellishments on the name plate are a nice touch as well.  Congratulations!
 
Bob

I have finally completed the Bluenose!!  I actually completed all the sails and final odds and ends a couple of months ago, but needed to add the flag and figure out what to do about a name plate for the base.  While it sat on the shelf, I completed the Flying Dutchman.  I found a Red Ensign flag online from www.Duplicataproductions.com.  They can in a sheet with several different sizes.  Unfortunately, while gluing the two sides together, I smudged part of one side of the flag.  Also unfortunate, the size I wanted to use was one of the few that did not have duplicates on the sheet.  I tried to fix as best I could.  Hard to tell from normal viewing distance, so ok with it for now.  May order another set at some point in the future.
 

 
For the name plate, I ordered a custom printed brass plate from Etsy.  I also found a commemorative stamp and dime on eBay.  I made a simple plaque with a sheet of basswood and stained before adding the nameplate, stamp and dime.
 

For my first build, this one was challenging but a lot of fun.  I have always wanted to build this model, so I can now check this one off.  I may come back at some point and add the dories if I find a more suitable option than the kit supplied boats.  May just be me, but I did not like the way they went together and thought they would detract from the rest of the model with the way they were turning out.  Have several models waiting in the shipyard (Midwest Canadian Canoe, Billings Oseberg, MS Constitution).  Will probably build the canoe next, just for a break from the more complicated builds (and rigging!).
 
Happy New Year!  Tim
 

Eastern Europe has a long history of sophisticated paper modeling of all sorts of things.  Of course paper is thin enough to be viewed as a two-dimensional material, and paper model design flows from how one can bend, twist, roll and otherwise join 2 dimensional components.  I wonder if  this background (school of thought or shared history?) is reflected in more recent kits coming from Eastern Europe.
    Model kits (non-ship) from U-Gears are laser cut on thicker wood stock, thus have a third dimension.  But the U-Gears offerings are built like puzzles without having to bend pieces (for the most part).  The Nitkin ship kits have a mixture of thick and thin wood parts, and the the planking does require bending.  The pre-cut shapes of all the planks likely correspond to a certain "perfect" hull shape (determined in the design phase).  The hull frames do have lines on each side to serve as a guide for how to fair them ... but get the builder only 'so close' to the theoretical ideal.  Fairing is a tricky (artistic, actually) process where not trimming/sanding quite enough versus going too far can be measured in thousands of an inch (or hundredths of a millimeter).
 
    Perfectly 'faired' hulls (whether frames or bulkheads, with filler wood or not) won't have any 'kinks' or 'dips' in planking (or springy wire used to lay over a hull in progress to judge the fairing process) put over the exterior.  A plank length designed to fit perfectly over an ideal faired distance will appear short or long in its place depending if the fairing along the hull covered by that plank is not exact.  There's the rub!  2-D laser cutting cannot pre-fair ship frames, and frame assembly also produces slight positional variations in the framing that even 'assembly jigs' (on smaller models) can't completely prevent.
 
    With regular plank-on-bulkhead kits, one must cut, shape and fit one's own planks from long pieces of planking stock to conform to whatever fairing shape the modeler happens to have achieved on the hull.  This may seem inconvenient to some, but the result will be appropriate for the hull being built.  The concept of a 'fully engineered' kit where all the shapes have been pre-determined and will 'fit like a glove' is alluring indeed - but I fear that it will likely remain something of a "Holy Grail".  We're forced to deal with at least a few assembly variables that still require a modeler to 'work around' a few surprises.  But isn't that what model ship building is all about?  So I wouldn't be too hard on Pavel because of the very high (and difficult) bar he's aiming for, and consider the 'partnership' of sorts that exist between kit designer and model builder.
 
    Consider the words of old Einar Billing, founder of Billing Boats:  "The most important point is that this kit is intended to be built, and not merely assembled.  In consequence, you must not expect the parts to fit together perfectly - it will be necessary to exercise skill and imagination in the building of this kit.  I have tried to make the parts as accurate, and the instructions as precise as possible - but thought and care should be exercised during the construction.  After all, any child can put a puzzle together.  I wish you a lot of success in building your model."

Really don't have a whole lot to update on this Santa Maria build, but with about 20 additional pictures of my "progress" waiting for disposition, I figured I'd provide another post.  I continue to be a bit "underwhelmed" by this Pavel Nikitin kit but am trying to work through the hurdles as they arise.  I am finding, however, that many of the same issues a couple of YouTube builders ran into in their build are appearing in this build, as well.  And Pavel's comment about incompetent builders on one of those builders page still aggravates me.  Pavel is, however, posting his own build log on YouTube.  However, with what appears to be several build logs in the works at one time, his Santa Maria posts are pretty infrequent.  With all that said, I continue to move on and treat the hurdles as best I can as challenges.  I will certainly face similar challenges whenever I begin my Constitution build, so... I need to get used to it, right?? 🤷‍♀️😆 
 
Wow, haven't posted an update in over a month!  Guess the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays and all the preparation and distractions had a bit of an effect on my shipyard time this month!  I had begun working on the hull planking and had completed the lower halves of both the port and starboard sides.  Now to work on the top halves.  You will recall that these Pavel Nikitin planks come already pre-cut and pre-shaped, so these seemed to come together fairly well.  I had a few issues with the top planks on both sides not quite reaching the tops of the bulkheads.  So, some sanding was required in the center, main deck areas, and we were a full plank short in the poop deck area, so I added a strip with some available wood strips I had from previous builds.
 
     
 

 
      
 

 

 
I had mentioned in a previous post that all of Pavel's pre-made parts have some type of "part number" assigned to it so you can find the part in the sheets of material and you can (hopefully) see how the part is placed on the ship in the pictorial instructions.  One of the issues that I discovered, then, was that the hull planking part #'s were visible on the inside.  Others had commented that they were concerned that too much sanding of those part numbers would make the hull planks too thin.  Anyways, I am hoping that with the stain I will be applying to the hull (both inner and outer sides) will cover the part numbers and that the inside bulwark rails would also help cover.
 
   
 

 
   
 

 

 
Working on the forecastle deck next.  The kit has you put together a framing jig to assist with the forecastle deck construction, but it was actually more of a hinderance, so I scrapped it and worked on building the deck base without it.
 

 

 
The kit comes with a finite pre-determined number of forecastle deck side panels.  From the diagrams, it appeared that these panel pieces were to be placed vertically, although they were cut at a bit of a diagonal.  Either way we placed them, they still came up short in filling each of the three sides, so I secured them vertically and, again, filled the empty spaces with extra available wood.
 
      
 
The kit's provided 3-piece top rail was not fitting well, either, so I decided to shape my own top rail using some available basswood sheet.  I worked on shaping it, as well as placing the kit-supplied forecastle decking.  I've given it all a couple of coats of the deck stain, and will probably put another coat or two on it before affixing it to the rest of the ship.
 
 
 

 
       
 

 
Speaking of affixing to the ship, the instructions have us placing six (6) timber braces under the poop deck.  However, as other builders have also acknowledged, those timber braces, although identified with part numbers to be found on one of the wood sheets, were not included on the sheets.  So, using my new Byrnes saw I acquired several months ago, I milled six new 3/4"-square timbers.  Excited to find new ways to use the saw!  The poop deck doesn't set perfectly on top of the timbers, so that will be our next challenge to conquer.
 
      
 
Thanks again for the reads and likes.

After completing the lower part of the port side hull, it was now the starboard side's turn.  As you will recall, all of the Pavel Nikitin Santa Maria hull planks are pre-shaped and include nib scarfs where needed.  Many of the strakes, though, did require some careful bending to shape them around the bulkheads.  I've been doing this successfully on these planks by holding them under a stream of hot water for a bit, then pinning them against the bulkheads until dry, then glueing them in place, using Acco clips and mini-clamps.
 
      
 
Although Pavel has been adamant in other modelers' YouTube build logs that all of his planks fit perfectly, modelers have had issues with some planks not being long enough or the spacing being a bit off.  I had that issue on the port side that I noted in my post #19 above, and had a similar issue on the starboard side (actually a bit worse).  I also had an issue with what would, I guess, be Pavel's garboard strake #1 not meeting the keel fully, so I added a small 3/32" square strip to fit in the spot to take up that space.  It will all be sanded and filled as I clean up the hull before finishing.
 
      
 
So, the lower half hull planking of both sides is now compete.  I will now work on the hull planks at the wale and higher.
 
    
 

 
To those celebrating Thanksgiving this week, hope it is a wonderful time for you.  Safe travels if enjoying away from home.  As always, appreciate the reads, likes, comments and criticisms.

OK, another silly little update before I start on another major sub-project... After I finished planking the main deck, I wanted to look at how I was going to paint/stain each of the decks, the hull, and all of the fittings and other gear that will be placed on all of the applicable decks.  Pavel Nikitin has a pretty detailed YouTube video (narrated by Olha Batchvarov) on how to paint the ship using his paint kit and an airbrush.  I am still horrible at airbrushing, so I am going to opt for using stains (either wiping on or brushing on) in order to achieve similarly satisfactory results.
 
I tested three (3) different stains with multiple coat options to see which ones I liked, and which ones would provide close to the appearance that Pavel achieved in his work.  Here's what I landed on...
 

 
This ship is painted/stained very dark.  So, I found a Minwax Honey stain (bottom sample on the test sheet) that, after about 3-4 coats, looked like it would be a good finish for the exterior hull.  We'll go with that.
 
The middle sample stain is Minwax's Poly Shades Satin Antique Walnut, and the far-right sample represents 3 passes/coats.  We'll use that for each of the decks.
 
And finally, the top sample is Minwax's Poly Shades Satin Bombay Mahogany, and I will use it for the fittings, furnishings and other pieces that will be placed on the various decks.  The third coat got pretty dark, so I'll judge that "on the fly" on how many coats each fitting receives.
 
So, with that said, I began staining the main deck, as a large part of it will be inaccessible once we place the quarterdeck planking in its place.  I have given it 3 coats of stain so far and may give it another coat or two before finishing.  I think, though, that the subtle differences in shades between decking, hull and furnishings should look sharp (well, I hope so, anyways!).
 
Also, before planking the quarterdeck, I will need to secure the cannons in their proper places while I can get to those spots.  So, I thought I'd take a break before the planking project and work on the cannon carriages.  The Pavel Nikitin kit provides small parts to build up a basic carriage unit and since all that will pretty much be visible once everything is built is each of the four (4) cannon muzzles extending slightly from the hull gunports, we will use the kit's carriage parts.  A bit of sanding was required for pieces to fit, but everything seemed to come together nicely.  We'll set these aside for now until ready to secure to the main deck.
 
      
 

 
Interestingly, in the Anatomy of the Ship - The Ships of Christopher Columbus book by Xavier Pastor, there is no mention or depiction of cannons or gunports on the Santa Maria.  But, as has been widely discussed, there are no actual "certified" drawings of the Santa Maria, so.... we'll call it designer's prerogative! <shrug>
 
Before beginning the hull planking, Pavel provided some additional "layered blocking" at the stern to help support the hull planking at the front of the ship.  These layered pieces required beveling so that there was a smooth curve for the planking to adhere to.  That process worked well.
 
      
 
So... we are now to the stage where we need to begin planking the hull.  Pavel Nikitin's kit includes several sheets that include a bunch of pop-out CNC plank pieces.  The instructions assist in showing which numbered planks go where.  Others who have worked on this kit recently have indicated that some shaping may be necessary, whether heating or soaking or a combination of both, to fit the planks properly.
 
      
 
Well, let the hull planking begin!  I'll check back in as this process progresses.
 
As always, appreciate the likes, comments and criticisms!  
 

Another short update (or at least I'll try to make it short...) as I reach another transition point in this Santa Maria build.  Time to plank the main deck!  Of course, I began with the planks at the centerline and worked out both ways, alternating placement on the port side, then starboard.  You will recall in the picture in the previous post with all of the main deck planks laid out, the centerline section of planks are in three sections.  I lined up the two R & L center planks on the center line and in position with the bulkhead cut for the main mast drop.  You can see there is a slight overlap discrepancy with the underlayment, but I'll take care of that, if needed, with a Dremel when we look at the main mast placement.  But, with its placement there, you may be able to see that the two longer pre-cut planks do not line up properly with their neighboring planks for the hatchway placement.  And, I found this to be the case with all of those planks on the aft side of center.  After contemplating it for awhile and concerned about cutting into Pavel's designed kit, I decided to make the cuts.  So, 4mm was cut from the following planks - 67-1/3R, 67-2/3R, 67-3R, 67-1/3L, 67-2/2L, 67-3L.
 

 
As I continued with the deck plank placement, I decided to "pre-glue" the last six (6) outside planks on each side and then fit them in position with any necessary tapering done where needed in order for them to fit in with the best placement. 
 

 
That process seemed to work pretty well, and the finished main deck planking looked like this...
 

 
There are some areas along the bulwarks that may need some scrap fill, but I will look at that when we look at completing those inner sides.  You can also see in the above picture the layout of planks for the other three decks, as well.  Before I start working on the quarterdeck placement including the support beams that will support the quarterdeck, it is probably smart to do some main deck staining and place the smaller hatchway, as that work will be impossible to get to after the quarterdeck is up.  Also, I believe there are some cannons that will be located under the quarterdeck, as well, so determining their placement will be important now, too.
 
So, I pulled out the laser-cut sheet that has the hatchway pieces on it.  In the instruction drawings, it appears the two hatchways have some ring handles to open or remove the hatchways.  The laser sheets have locations drilled or burned on a couple spots on boards, but not all of them.  So, I'll mark and drill those, and then use some available eye pins and jump rings to create the handles, as I do not see those included in any of the kit boxes.
 

 

 
So, I will work on these hatchways and the main deck staining.  I have several different darker stains I am going to test on some scrap sheets to see what best replicates what Pavel achieved in his demo videos and pictures.
 
We continue to move forward.  As always, appreciate the reads, likes, comments, suggestions and criticisms.  Thanks for peeking in.

One more (brief) update before we finish this section of construction...  As mentioned briefly in my post above, I resolved my spacer issue by simply cutting off the single tab side and gluing a small shelf for the spacer to rest on using a couple small spare strips of 1/32"-square wood.  This should work out OK.
 

 
 The last few bulkheads and corresponding spacers that needed to be added were a bit challenging to get set just right and secured properly, but after a couple "glue and unglue and re-glue" sessions, I believe we got it how it's supposed to look.  One can never use too many clamps to make sure everything sets properly, right?
 
      
 
As you have probably noted in these pictures I have posted so far, all of the parts in Pavel's kit have numbers lasered into the piece.  On these last bulkheads 17, 18, 20, 21 & 22, I was having difficulty determining just how the spacers would be placed in order to have a natural (and correct) rise in bulkhead tops to create what will become the poop deck.  This is how my spacer placement ended up...
 
Port Side
Between BH 17-18, Spacer 47R Facing Out
Between BH 18-20, Spacer 48R Facing In
Between BH 20-21, Spacer 49R Facing In
 
Starboard Side
Between BH 17-18, Spacer 47L Facing In
Between BH 18-20, Spacer 48L Facing In
Between BH 20-21, Spacer 49L Facing In & Upside Down
 
We also placed some thin 1.3mm strips along the outside next to the bulwarks that I guess will serve as an underlayment, if you will, for the decking for the main deck, the quarterdeck and the poop deck.  I did need to use the Dremel a bit to allow the pieces to fit snuggly in place.
 
    
 
      
 
A few pictures of the ship after all of the initial framing is complete and before the decks are placed...
 
      
 
      
 
      
 
Next up is placement of the deck planks, beginning with the main deck planking.  I popped out all the laser-cut pieces from the sheets and laid them out to see how they were looking, and they seem to be ok.  Having these deck planks pre-formed (hooked scarf joints and all!) is a huge time-saver.
 

 
As with all of the other pieces in the Pavel Nikitin kit, you can see that the deck planks have numbers and locations laser-burned on the planks.  One thing I should note here, as I don't think I've mentioned it before... you have seen that pieces are designated with numbers and either R or L.  The R-designated pieces are placed on the port side of the ship, the L-designated pieces go on the starboard side, as if you were looking down the center of the ship from its bow.  However, when placing these deck planks, we will flip them so the laser-burned markings are on the bottom.  The "R" planks will be on the starboard side, the "L" planks on the port side.  I'll let you know on how everything fits on the next update, I suppose!
 
Fun to see this ship taking shape!  I will trudge forward.  As always, appreciate the reads, the likes, the comments, the advice and the criticism!  

Thanks, Ronald & Bob both, for your perspectives and possible solutions.  But, no, I had tried that "flip", but the single tab is still in an incorrect position, so... I've already chopped it off and glued a small knee "shelf" for that spacer.  Details will be shown in my next update.
 
You may be right on the future for these kit companies, Bob.  I see that OcCre has been announcing an upcoming launch (their promotional email this morning says its 3 days away) that may incorporate some of these same designs. 🤷‍♂️

I had the same thought as Ronald-V when looking at the last photo in your post, Gregg.  It depends on where the hole for the spacer is on the left side of bulkhead 17 is to see if it will fit when flipped.  If it is to the inside, as the right side hole is, then trimming the tab seems to be your only choice (unless you want to try cutting a square hole in bulkhead 17 to allow the tab to fit where it wants to go.
 
Your fix for bulkhead 16 should hold just fine.  Nice work and photos, as always.  I love the kit design that supplies the spacers and places to put them, maybe other kit companies will take note!
 
Bob

Another update!  I have been working on the placement of each of the bulkheads along the former (thanks, Mustafa, for the proper vocabulary lesson!) and placement of the kit-provided battens or support reinforcements that are secured between each bulkhead.  As I began through this build process and reviewed through the 90+ page pictorial Guide to Manual booklet (or at least the initial section pertaining to the bulkheads), several of the pages seemed out of place for me to follow.  So... I reorganized the first few pages to make it easier for me.  Pavel's instructions do say that on some of the pictures, you can see details from later steps of construction, but it was easier for my mind to process it all with at least these first few pages reorganized. My sorted page list is now... 1-4, 25, 5-9, 12, 10-11, 14-15, 26, 16-17, 27, 18, 28, 19-24, 29-30, 13, 31-33.  With that said, on to my construction notes...
 
First off, I sanded each of the bulkheads and their corresponding bulwarks as marked to the fairing lines indicated.  This worked really well using the Dremel (outside!) and then smoothing with sandpaper.  Each of the bulwark pieces are then glued to their respective bulkheads.  I was impressed with the fit between each of the matching pieces, as they all fit snuggly with a nice thin glaze of Titebond.  In addition to the bulwark attachments, bulkheads 2 & 3 on the fore end and bulwarks 11-16 on the aft end have little knees or supports glued in position to support decks that will be above them.  Again, the fit on these were impressive.  Kudos (so far) to the precision laser cutting.
 
      
 
Bulkheads 1-3 were able to be assembled off-ship, with the kit-supplied battens or reinforcements placed and secured between bulkheads.  The three assembled bulkheads were then able to be slid down into place onto the former. Nice fit, and the batten spacers seem to be helping quite a bit in solidifying the bulkheads in place.
 
     
 

 
I, then, proceeded to move down the line, placing each bulkhead in its rightful spot and inserting the batten spacers between each bulkhead for support.  After every two or three, I would spread some Titebond using a toothpickand use a mini-clamp to secure for a period of time.  In the second picture below, you can see how each of the batten spacers are shaped with the tabs, two on one side, one on the other, that were inserted into the existing square holes.  For each placement (especially for the second placement between the R & L sides) it was difficult to spread the bulkheads out away from each other enough for the tabs to pop into place.  My routine was to insert the two-sided tab on the fore end and then spread the bulkheads enough for the single tab to pop in (I used small pliers to hold while positioning). And more on that in a second...
 
      
 
I did fine on all of the inserts until one of the last bulkheads, and on bulkhead 16 I was attempting to spread wide enough to insert the support piece and... snap!  The wood cracked on the left side of bulkhead 16.  I forgot to take a picture of the "post-snap, pre-repair" bulkhead, but I took a couple small pieces of scrap from an empty sheet, glued on each side of the break and squeezed until the repair dried, and... I think that will work.
 

 
My next concern that I ran into is one that I'm totally unclear why it appears this way, but think I know a resolution in order to move forward. Bulkhead 17 is one of the final bulkheads that will be placed on the ship and is different than its neighbor bulkhead 16.  There is a batten spacer similar to the other spacers that needs to be placed in between.  However, it appears to me (and I have positioned all of the affected parts in multiple positions, right-side up, upside down, pivoted 180 degrees, etc.) that the single tab on the #46 batten support (it's the same concern on both left and right sides) is in the wrong place for it to be inserted into the square hole on bulkhead 17.  The double tabs will be placed in the two holes on bulkhead 16 (all marked with the blue X's).  But, as the two bulkheads are placed in their proper positions on the former, bulkhead 17's square hole is to the inside of the inside hole on bulkhead 16!  And, as it hopefully depicts in the picture, its tab on the 46R batten support is roughly in the middle of the two tabs on the fore side of the support.  They ain't gonna fit!  Does this explanation make sense?  My resolution to this at this time is to simply cut off the single tab and, with some type of small strip of wood, glue a knee of shelf underneath where each of the 46R and 46L pieces should sit, and glue it all securely... and move on.
 

 
Other than that latest little hiccup, it is all coming together well so far.  Pavel's Santa Maria continues to be a ship that I look forward to getting more involved in and excited about as I continue forward.  I think this has been a good selection for my 5th build, although as I said before, a bit different than the previous four builds. As always, thanks for the reads, the follows, the likes, the comments and the criticisms.

Maybe you've tried this already, but it looks a bit in the picture as if you can place the spacer upside down on the other side? So the R spacer in the L side of the ship and the L spacer in the R side. But then the spacer upside down (letters towards the bottom)

Well, after finishing my Bluenose, it's time to begin another build!  And I am going to work on the Pavel Nikitin Santa Maria that I purchased earlier this year.  Will work on this iconic ship, and then will build the Constitution.  At least that is the plan... for now! 
 
While there are quite a few Santa Maria build logs here on MSW of differing scales and manufacturers, there really aren't any (yet) from the Pavel Nikitin group.  There are a couple current logs on the Ships of Scale site that I will use for research and reference, as well as some YouTube videos of build logs.  So, hopefully I will have plenty of references if I have questions.
 
I mentioned back in January when I opened this build log as a "placeholder" for when I began the actual build that the box the materials come in was heavy! As I unpacked everything and began sorting, there are multiple packs of laser-cut sheets.  The five (5) sheets of plans are huge! Got them hung up on the wall for now for reference.
 
       
 
Began working on the keel, of course, as a first step.  Each of the sheets are about 3.5mm thick and they are doubled up to form the full keel piece, so it makes for a nice, solid keel of a bit over 7mm in thickness.  Always fun to bring out the clamps when gluing these big pieces!
 
     
 

 
Then worked on the bottom piece of the keel (sorry, is there a formal name for this?) that will be exposed after the hull planking is completed.  Again, two pieces glued together, with small square pegs inserted for additional strength and placement.  Got to pull out the mini-clamps again, too!
 
    
 

 
This Pavel Nikitin kit also came with a slipway to assist in the building process.  Looks nice and I've seen other build logs using it, so I thought I would build it.  Have to admit that it was challenging and frustrating.  Was having difficulty sliding pieces into other pieces and getting things to fit well, so... I put it all back in the box and pulled out my "Keel Klamper" swivel vise.  This should do just fine...
 
     
 
Popped out all of the bulkheads from the laser-cut sheets and placed them on the keel to test-fit.  All of them slid down into place pretty well, some are actually pretty loose.  There are actually some kit-provided reinforcements that will connect between each bulkhead, so they should get better fits as we progress through the final placements of each bulkhead.  Those will be shown in a future build log update.
 
    
 
    
 
So, not a whole lot to start this build log, but wanted to get an initial "build" post on the record.  As others have mentioned in their logs, this kit is definitely different than others I have worked on.  It appears so much of the cutting and shaping has been done for us in this kit, as opposed to other kits that simply provide straight wood strips and you have to shape and cut them as needed.  That analysis may change as I progress in this build.  But, the Santa Maria should be an enjoyable build.  Time now for some sanding and fairing!
 
Appreciate the follows, likes, comments and criticisms, as always!
 

Thank you, Bob!  Appreciate the kind words, but there are certainly other Bluenose builds that have done much better.  But... mine was a fun build, indeed.
 
Before I get to the Constitution, which I am anticipating will take years to complete based on what others have done, I want to work on the Pavel Nikitin Santa Maria.  It appears to be a much different type of build than what I've been used to, and I am thinking that it won't take quite as long as the Constitution, so... I have that one already on the table.  No rest! 

Congratulations on a well-executed and well documented - and beautiful - model. Gregg.  I have very much enjoyed watching her come to fruition and your thoughtful commentary along the way.  With winter coming and more inside time I am hoping to finally re-start my effort, although I'll be thinking "Wish I'd done that as well as Gregg did".
 
Also looking to see where you go next and will be following along there - I think I hear the Conny calling
 
Bob

Funny how you don't see things necessarily with the naked eye, but after you post some zoomed pictures, you're like "How'd I miss that?!?"  🤷‍♂️  Did find that I missed placing a few rope hanks on belay pins on the foremast pin saddle and on the main mast fife rail, so added those.  I am sure there are more misses, but I'm going to call this Bluenose finished.  Started this Bluenose in November 2022 (well, technically, it began some 18 years ago, but that's a story I told in one of my first posts...), so it's been almost two years of solid shipmodeling.  This is now my 4th completed model and no question it has been my most challenging and most enjoyable.  Isn't that the way it's supposed to be?
 
A million thanks to those who have followed along with me, to those that I have admired in their own build logs and have learned from during that time, those who continue to inspire me to do better.  I have tried to do much less "settling for ok" with this Bluenose than in the prior three builds, but still have done some things that I have been disappointed in my results.  But... I am learning and enjoying this retirement hobby too much to walk away.  I am just committed to doing better with each new build.  So... on to the next one!
 
Again, thanks to all for your follows, likes, comments and criticisms.  You are ALL appreciated.  Here are a few final pictures.
 
     
 
     
 
      
 
      
 

Well, let's see if we can complete this Bluenose!  What's left?  Flags and rope hanks on the belay pins.
 
FLAGS
 
As almost everyone else who has built this Model Shipways' version of the Bluenose, they included the wrong Canadian flag in the kit.  So, I found a good copy of the Canadian Red Ensign on the internet and worked on getting some good prints (both regular and inverted or mirrored) simply using the Paint program on my laptop.  Still not sure if it is "historically accurate", but I wanted to have a 2nd flag on the foremast, along with the Canadian Red Ensign on the higher main mast.  So, I chose the Nova Scotia Provincial flag for the foremast.
 
I should also note that the Canadian Maple Leaf flag that was included in the kit measured approx. 82mm x 41mm.  This size seemed a little too large as I held it up at the main mast.  So, when designing the size for the Canadian Red Ensign, I decreased it a bit and printed it at 70mm x 35mm.  I then made the Nova Scotia Provincial flag at a slightly smaller dimension of 62mm x 31mm.
 

 
In reading on other MSW build logs about how others printed their flags on heat transfer paper, I recall that many of them were printed on inkjet printers.  Although I have an inkjet printer, I also have a laser printer that has better quality print, so when I was preparing to do these flags a few months ago, I opted to purchase the laser printer heat transfer paper.  
 

 
Well, in my pure stupidity and loss of thought, when it came time to print these flags this week, I still thought I needed to print them on my inkjet printer.  To make things even worse, I thought I would try printing these flags using the silkspan, as I thought they might hang better than using regular sail-type fabric.  Well...
 

 
...it didn't turn out so well!  Ha!  The print wasn't adhering to the paper well and it got way too hot under the iron.  Oops.  Long story short (too late for that), I eventually realized that a) I needed to print to the laser transfer paper on a laser printer, and b) regular sail cloth was working much better than either of the silkspan thicknesses that I had.  Once I successfully printed both flags on both sides of the cloth fabric, it was time to shape the flags.  Since my Bluenose was completed without sails, I wanted the flags to appear as much "at rest" as I could get them.  Using a series of dowels and clamps, I worked on shaping them, keeping them in these contraptions for days at a time.
 
       
 
I would also spend a lot of time rolling them between my fingers to try and "soften up" the fibers in the fabric.  (One note there - wear nitrile gloves to prevent any possible fingerprint smudges on your flags!)  I also clipped some weight to the bottom fly end of the flags to help shape the flags.  I should note also that, in one of my attempts to shape the Nova Scotia Provincial flag, I tried some spray starch on the flag which caused the colors to run, so I scratched that and didn't use starch anymore.
 

 
This is how much I was able to curl/shape the flags.
 

 
Using a 5/64" drill bit as a size guide, I wrapped 0.51mm wire around the sleeve grommets for the rope to pass through.
 

 
After tying each flag to the mast tops, I was pretty pleased with how they looked.  Whether it is accurate or not, I tied the Canadian Red Ensign flag halliard to the main mast's starboard sheer pole and the Nova Scotia Provincial flag halliard to the foremast's port sheer pole.
 

 
ROPE HANKS
 
There are many tutorials available (whether on individual build logs, separate topic discussions, or YouTube videos) on how folks have made their rope hanks to hang on belay pins.  I made a little jig to create the ones I would hang on the Bluenose.  If I were to do it over again, and I will do it on the "next ship", I would hang the loop over the edge like some others have shown.  After saturating the rope loops with glue and drying, some of my loops also got a bit stiff and didn't bend and hang as perfectly as I wanted.  But they look good to the casual observer, so I am moving on.
 

 
        
 
I will do one more final walk-through on my Bluenose, but I think we are pretty close to finished.  
 
As always, appreciate the reads, likes, comments and criticisms.  Thanks...
 

Hey, Bob!  Thanks for the kind words.  The difficulties I had regarding making sails really, I don't believe, had anything to do specifically with the silkspan itself.  It was just the general preparation of the sails in general.  I absolutely agree that using silkspan is the way to go.  I was just having trouble making clean, tight folded edges, keeping the sail sizes proportional to what they needed to be, etc.  I also thought about furled sails using the silkspan, but was concerned they would just end up looking like rolled up tissue paper.  I was probably destined to do this Bluenose without sails from the get-go.
 
But I definitely think that, with proper knowledge and technique, the silkspan sails would be the way to go.  FYI and FWIW, I got my supply of silkspan from Sig Manufacturing (sigmfg.com) and got two different sizes to test... the "00" light sheets and the "GM" medium sheets.  Next time I want to make sails, I believe the "GM" medium sheet would be good for sails.  The "00" light sheets were... pretty thin!  Someone else may have also used their "SGM" heavy sheets, but I thought I read somewhere that the heavy sheets didn't work as well. <shrug>
 
Again, Bob, appreciate the read and the nice comments. 👍

Looks very good, Gregg.  I like that you brought the gaffs down to the boom.  So many of the sail-less schooners I see raise the gaff to where it would be with the sails installed which looks a bit strange to my eye.  Actually seeing your rigging choice gives me yet another alternative to consider - this should add another couple of years to my analysis paralysis!
 
If you would like to elaborate on the difficulties you had with the silkspan, I'd love to hear about it.  I am convinced that this is the sail material to use, and I am almost decided NOT to sew anything.  I can understand that you may not want to clutter your log with this info, so don't feel bad about not responding.
 
Great photos and explanations, as usual!
 
Bob

So, got to the point where I had to make a decision on my Bluenose sails.  Do I put sails on it, do I try to make furled sails, or do I put as much rigging on as I can without sails?  For the past year or so, in anticipation of this decision, I have gone back and forth with this decision.  I have read countless articles on furled sails, I have watched NRG workshops on how to make sails and furled sails, read and re-read multiple MSW forum topics on sails, and have been marveled at much of the work others have done in creating their sails, whether it was for a Bluenose or for a different ship.  On my three previous ship builds, I prepared sails.  Albeit much simpler than what the Bluenose requires, I thought I did “ok” with the sail process.
 
In prepping for the Bluenose sails, there was also much thought about the type of material to use.  After reading about many variations, I was pretty much sold on using silkspan.  It seems to be thin enough to best resemble actual sails at the scales we are mostly building at, whether we are going with full sails, furled sails, square sails or sails on schooners.  So, I got some silkspan!
 
Almost everyone who has provided feedback on the “sails or no sails” argument for the Bluenose have sided on the “sails” side.  The Bluenose, with its full sails on display, just looks… majestic! So, I had to give it a try.  Practiced a bit first on making the balloon jib sail, as it is about the smallest of them all.  To sew hems/edges or not to sew.  With no access to a sewing machine, that decision was the easiest one I had to make.  In short, it didn’t work well and I struggled. 
 
I promise, on the ships that I have waiting up on the shelf… the Santa Maria, the Constitution, the America…, I will make a much better attempt at sails.  But, for this Bluenose, I am going to finish it without sails.  I have seen at least one picture of a completed Bluenose without sails, and the contrast of the black standing rigging and the lighter colored running rigging is pretty cool in its own right.  So, please don’t judge me too harshly, but I am completing this Bluenose without sails.  With that said, here’s how I did it…
 
RUNNING LIGHTS
 
Before I get to the running rigging, a quick note about the running lights that were added. Using some of the 3/64” stock sheets I had, I cut two small shelves for each of the running lights to be placed on. (Hadn’t used the Lego blocks since doing the deck buildings!) Painted the two Brittania castings black with their center lenses red and green.  Red one goes on the port side, green running light on the starboard side.  Drill a couple small holes on either side of each shelf in order to tie to the forward shrouds, each about 4-5 ratline lashings up from the sheer pole.  Pretty straight-forward.
 
  
 
          
 
The Model Shipways Bluenose Instruction Manual, beginning on Page 31, has a decent explanation of how each of the sails should be installed, as well as how various lines and blocks are attached, where they set in the rigging, etc.  I will follow those guidelines.  Somewhere I read a recommendation to work front to back, starting at the bow.
 
Back in late April/early May, I did as much of the prep rigging as I could, getting the various masts and spars ready to be placed on the ship.  I’m learning now, though, that there were a few lines that didn’t get made before now.  At the bow, two of those lines are the balloon jib halliard and the jib halliard.
 
BALLOON JIB
 
The balloon jib halliard and downhaul line were not terribly complicated.  At the top of the foremast, hook a 1/8” single block with an S-hook on one side to the mast, with the other side of the block laced with 0.017” tan halliard line.  When rigging without sails, this tan line needs to be long enough so that the halliard block is brought down close to the bowsprit, back up to the upper block and then belayed at pin #14 (2nd pin from the stern).  The downhaul line is seized to a 1/8” single block that is reeved with the halliard line. That 0.009” downhaul line runs through a 1/8” single block that is attached to the very end of the bowsprit and is then belayed to pin #1 at the stern.  The sheets for both the balloon jib sail and the jib sail can either be removed with the sails or they can be left lying on the deck.  For now, at least, until I get everything else rigged and all of the belayed and coiled ropes that I do want displayed placed on the ship, I am leaving the sheets off. 
 

 
      
 
JIB
 
The jib halliard and downhaul rigging were a bit more complicated than the balloon jib sail.  The 1/8” single block at the end of the bowsprit was shown in one of the pictures above (the 2nd block from the end).  Two (2) 3/16” single blocks with S hooks are prepared that will be connected to the two long links on either side of the jib stay bail at the top of the lower fore mast.  I didn’t connect the S hooks to the links right away, though, as it would be easier to reeve the blocks with the fall line without them connected.  Another 3/16” block is also prepared, this one with the 0.009” seized on one side.  Since the halliard block on this jib will also be pulled down with the downhaul attached, similar to what we did with the balloon jib, we want to have sufficient 0.009” line attached so that it will go through the downhaul block at the end of the bowsprit and then belayed to pin #2 at the stern.
 
Another 1/8” single block is prepared with a 0.017” tan line attached on one side and a 0.013” line on the other.  The 0.013” line needs to be long enough for it to run from the block, which will sit about half the distance between the trestle tree and the rail, down to the rail, through a 1/8” block that is connected to an eyebolt just forward of the 1st shroud, back up through the single becket block and the tackle falls back down and ties to itself towards the rail with a clove hitch.
 
The 0.017 line needs to be pretty lengthy, as it goes up through the fairlead, through the starboard-side block at the trestle tree, down through the halliard block which, without its sail, is pulled down close to the downhaul block on the bowsprit, back up through the port-side trestle tree block, through the port-side fairlead, and belayed to pin #16 on the starboard side.  Whew!
 
One issue I am seeing with these halliard blocks being pulled down is that the long halliard lines are twisting a bit, and not running as “parallel” as I’d like them to be.  I pulled the line back out and tried to get as much of the twist out of the rope as I could, but a bit concerned in keeping them from getting twisted again as I reeve them back through the various blocks.  Something for me to watch as I move towards the stern.
 
       
 
        
 
JUMBO JIB
 
The rigging associated with the jumbo jib sail will be the first time I am placing one of the five (5) spars on the ship, inn this case the jumbo jib boom.  The instructions say that, without sails, one should set the boom in the crutch and, similar to what we did with the jib halliard, bring the jumbo jib halliard block down low.
 
The fore end of the boom was connected to the traveller block using the inhaul tackle U-shaped bras piece and some more of the same chain I used to replicate the anchor chain.  The jumbo jib sheet line was run from the aft end of the book down to the horse on the deck and then belayed to pin #6.  The jumbo jib topping lift starts at the fore masthead using black 0.013” line to a block, then 0.009” through 1/8” double blocks and belayed to pin #5.  There is also a jumbo jib stay (not sure if mentioned prior) using 0.017” black line that runs from the foremast to the fore end of the jumbo jib boom just in front of the traveller block.  The downhaul is also connected to that jumbo jib stay bail.
 
        
 
         
 
FORE BOOM & FORE GAFF
 
Since, without sails, the fore boom and fore gaff are positioned so close together, I am discussing both at same time, and the pictures I took reflect that positioning, so… here goes.
 
The instructions for no sails state to rest the boom in its crutch and to lower the gaff on top of the boom with the hoops stacked.  The gaff and boom should be lashed together with short lines.
 
First off, then, was to secure the end of the boom to the foremast’s gooseneck piece.  Ran into a bit of an issue here, though.  Probably made the gooseneck a bit too big, which causes the fore boom to sit away from the foremast just enough that it is too long to comfortably rest on the crutch.  And I did not think I could remove and remake the gooseneck at the base of the foremast without destroying that base, so… I decided to raise the foreboom slightly off the crutch, which in turn also allows for a better display of the fore boom sheet and its connection to the fife rail.  Also connected the topping lift rigging, running from just below the main mast trestle tree to the end of the fore boom.  After the adjustment on the above-mentioned hiccup, I thought the fore boom looked pretty good.
 
       
 
       
 
Next up was to connect the fore gaff just above the fore boom with the fore mast hoops in between.  Although I did a lot of pre-rigging on the fore gaff previously, I needed to finish a few things and prepare for hooking the gaff to the fore mast, so I stuck it in my little “extra hands” clips to make sure I had all the lines ready before getting the gaff on the ship, as well as to get the thread and parrel beads ready at the jaw to wrap around the fore mast.
 

 
There are two sets of rigging for the fore gaff, the throat halliard and the peak halliard.  The throat halliard runs between a triple block on the mast and a double block on the gaff.  One end of the line from the triple block goes straight down to a block on the deck and then belayed to Pin #7.  The other end of the line from the triple block runs to another set of double blocks on the starboard side, which are attached to the rail with an eyelet and belayed to Pin #18.
 
The fore peak halliard was a bit more complicated, as the rigging line was run from the belay at the base of the mast at Pin #8, through the block on the deck, through the starboard side spreader on the trestle tree, and then weaved (if that’s an appropriate term here) alternately through the three mast blocks and the two blocks attached to the fore gaff, then back down through the port side spreader to a similar set of blocks and line as the throat halliard finish, except on the port side, with the belay at Pin #17.
 
Here are a series of pictures I took after-the-fact showing those connections.
 
      
 
        
 
      
 
STAYSAIL RIGGING
 
Another issue I had some difficulty understanding clearly was the rigging for the staysail, whether it was going to be with sails or without.  I wasn’t quite sure how the peak halliard was to be rigged, and I had seen previous build logs doing it differently than others.  So, I went to the best source I could find – the Bluenose II, Saga of the Great Fishing Schooners book by L.B. Jenson which was lent to me by a fellow local modeler, and I have referred to frequently in this Bluenose build.  Mr. Jenson’s description of how the staysail halliard should look is below.
 

 
The Model Shipways instruction for the staysail rigging plans without sails stated to bring the peak halliard block to the foremast and hook it to the throat halliard and to remove the sheet and tack.  Although I posted this picture above with the fore gaff rigging, you can see in the picture below the staysail peak halliard coming down from the top left and hooking to the staysail throat halliard.  You can also see on the lower left side of the picture the foresail sheet lines (port and starboard) hooking to the throat halliard block, as well, since the sails are down.
 

 
Also, a couple quick pictures of the belay ropes on the port and starboard sides of the fore mast.  Don’t think I have mentioned before, but my plan is, once I get all completed with the rigging and belaying, to come back on all the belay pins and place some rope hanks and coils so that the belayed ropes look complete.
 
       
 
MAIN BOOM & MAIN GAFF
 
The placement of the main boom and gaff and associated rigging was a lot like what we did for the fore boom and gaff.  Positioned the main boom jaws around the main mast and tied the parrel beads in order to secure the boom against the mast.  Had a nice piece of foam that worked well in holding the main boom in place while tying the jaws to the main mast.
 

 
Worked on positioning the main sheet and boom crutch while the boom rested on the crutch, but quickly discovered that once everything was rigged, the boom sheet was really squished, with the blocks on the boom and the boom sheet buffer super close to one another and it just didn’t look good.  So, like I did with the fore boom, I raised the main boom a bit higher off the crutch, and the main boom sheet and boom crutch tackles looked much better.  We’ll go with that!
 
A whole bunch of the pre-rigging work for the main boom topping lift was done earlier.  So just needed to connect the rigging at the aft end of the main boom to the main mast cap.  And, actually, I should say that I placed the main boom topping lift before completing the boom sheet and boom crutch tackles so that all three lines could be tighten snuggly.
 
I waited on placing the quarter lifts on the main boom until I had placed the main gaff at its lowered position, as the lines would get in the way of the main gaff placement and I would be sure to snag something and…. break.
 
The main gaff rigging was very similar to what I did for the fore gaff.  First things first, I secured the jaws to the main mast above the mast hoops, inserting a few parrel beads to fill the space in front of the mast.  Each of the three parrel bead connections look pretty sharp on this ship.
 
I tied a temporary line to the end of the main gaff, running it up to the top mast in order for it to stay in roughly the position it would sit parallel to the main boom.  The main throat halliard was strung similar to the fore throat halliard.  There did, though, seem to be an issue with what was shown on the belay plan in the instructions since the belays for both the throat halliard and the peak halliard were on the same side of the ship as the tackle falls.  So, I changed the main throat halliard belay to Pin #23 and the main peak halliard belay to Pin #22.
              
The peak halliard setup, you guessed it, was similar to what was done with the fore mast setup, too.  Don’t remember if I mentioned this earlier, but without sails and the gaffs pulled down, I needed to make sure I had plenty of line to get from point A to point B.
 
For the rigging done without the topsail, I hooked both the main topsail halliard and the main topsail sheet that would have been hooked to the sail to the main masthead above the peak halliard blocks.
 
Once I had the main boom and main gaff placed and secured with the needed rigging, I then completed the aforementioned quarter lifts, port and starboard.  I also placed the flying backstays.  I had previously attached the eyebolts and short black line into the deck close to the transom, as it would have been difficult to place them now.  Two black 0.027” lines were run from the top mast to each side of the ship, ending with double blocks.  Tan running rigging is then hooked to the black line attached to the deck and falls to belaying pins #44 & #45.
 
Finally, I tied the lazy jack line (both port and starboard), running from about halfway up the respective quarter lift lines, seized at that point, and running down to the lazy jack loops that were placed on the main boom when I initially prepped the main boom with its bands, eyelets and cleats.
 
Pictures of the main boom and main gaff were taken after all of this was pretty much completed.
 
      
 
      
 

 
I am sure I have forgotten to run some rigging somewhere and have undoubtedly not explained much of the rigging that I have done very well.  But, as someone else mentioned in their completed Bluenose build log, once you get to this rigging part and putting up sails (or in my case, not putting up sails), it many times gets difficult to rig AND to document, and suddenly… you’re done!
 
With that said, I do have to complete the rope hanks at each of the belay pins and some rope coils to be placed on the deck, and I also must get the flags made and get their halliards up on the ship, so not done done, but we are getting close.  I will, of course, also go around the ship and see if I really have missed something.  But, for now, here are a few shots of my no-sails Bluenose.
 
      
 

 
As always, I appreciate the all the peek-in’s, likes, comments and criticisms. 

Final sail

Final pics (for now).  Added rope hanks and cleaned everything up.  I still need to run flag halyards but need laser transfer paper to make them and running low on rope.  Also need more rope for dory tackle.  AL stand is sub par but it will work for now until I get time to build a proper display stand.