SkerryAmp

Hehe thanks Augie - it was a nice surprise,  I think she is just trying to make sure I have things to do so I never leave the house   (J/K she is just super supportive of the hobbies etc).
 
I did not get official clearance for 5 (yeah,  that is right, there are actually 5 on the bench at the moment) BUT I figured nobody would complain too too much, although I really need to get moving on these otherwise It will look like the place ships go to retire rather than get build

So now that the keel is set we continue to ride the wave of good feelings and get that deck down.
 
The false deck again like the other LC parts came right out without any issues.  Laid nice and flat and with a quick sanding was ready to go.
 

 
Started by finding the center and laying the two center boards.
 

 
Then just proceeded out to one edge.  The planks were laid just over the edge of the deck shape and they will be cut clean and sanded prior to installing the deck.
 

 
After doing the same thing up the other side, the edges were trimmed and sanded smooth.  For  this one i wanted to go a bit different with the color and go with the kit a bit.  I took some minwax mahogany and cut it with natural stain with a ratio of 3 natural to 1 mahogany.  This gives it a dark, but not too dark look to the deck which is kind of nice I think.
 

 
So now we mount it to the formers.  And here is where the wave of happy good feeling and success come to a screeching halt.
 
The deck has to get bent to shape with the formers, no big deal. However I do not have the spare clamps to hold it in shape (they are being used on something else at the moment)  So me, in my utlimate wisdom figured I can get it on there and just hold it in place.
 
So I lined up the deck, got it all set and then fipped it over while bending the deck into place.  Well, holding that deck in place really cramps up the hands so decided to add a few dots of CA to tack it into place while the white glud dried.
 
It worked great!  The deck was strong, and tight and not going anywhere.
 
So I flipped it over.  
 
Sigh.
 
The deck had somehow slipped a bit while I was holding it apparently.  I should have checked more as I worked and didn't and now have a deck that is about 1/8" off of wher it is supposed to be.  QUITE solidly attached to the formers and cannot go anywhere without some serious damage.
 
For the stern I can sand and shape it back and the rear cabin will be going on so it won't be a huge deal. However near the bow the forward vertical planks are not thick enough to hide the gap so really not sure what to do about it at the moment.
 
But - that now is Issue #2.   I will find a way,  oh yes... just not really sure what that is quite yet.
 

 
 
That is all for now.
 
Until later.... Enjoy and happy building all!!
 
 

So now we have the formers in and all is dry and good to proceed.  That little bend is still there but I still think my idea is going to work - at least I hope so.  I am kind of pot commited at this point so...
 
I attached the mast reinforcements as per the plans and instructions, again the laser cut parts popped out, cleaned up and went in without any fuss or heartburn.
 

 

 
We then move onto the bow reinforcements.  Basically just little piecs of ply that sit between the formers at the bow.  Oddly enough, I wasn't expecting it but adding these and forcing them in and keeping the formers parallel actually assisted a little with the keel bend.   This was promising!
 

 
So, at this point I went through the keel and gently flexed it at various points along the formers to see where, if any, there could be applied counter leverage to straighten out the keel.  Luckily I found a spot.  After trying a few times to get the right sized brace and verifying that spot would help straighten out the keel, I got it in there and glued it up tight.  
 

 
This helped quite a bit.  There was still a slight twist, but that was easily rectified by getting a clamp on the bow with a shim to counter twist it as the support strut dried in place.
 
The keel looked pretty good!
 

 
 

I spent a little time deciding how I wanted to build this.   I decided partly due to time and partly due to curiosity I would build this one straight up like the instructions say.   I will be attempting to do exactly what the kit calls for and see how it comes out.  From the pictures it looks like a pretty nice model.
 
I detached the false keel and laid it on the table to check it out.
 

 
 
Dangnabbit!   Right out of the gate - issue #1
 
The false keel has a slight bend to it.
 

 
I tried wetting and weighting it down - nadda. Started to get a little discouraged since this is my first time having to deal with this.  But after looking at it a bit, I started to formulate a plan that I thought would work - more on that in a bit (little cliff hanger for ya )
 
I then went through and marked the formers according to the plans and the little inventory sheet that came with the kit in order to keep all these little guys in some kind of order.
 

 
Once all was in order and ready to go....  we mount up!!
 

 
I kept an eye on the false keel throughout the next bit of progress to keep assessing if my plan may or may not work... 
 
The transom went on first - went on like a champ!  This was going to be easy!!
 

 
After some quick dry fitting we move on to mounting the formers!!
 

 
Quick check to make sure things are going in as expected and not making the false keel worse!!
 

 
Nope! Good to go!
 
Continued with the formers making sure everything stayed nice and tight and square!  I must say a few of them did need a little attention with regards to a tad bit of sanding here and there as they were super tight, but it wasn't outrageous by any means.
 

 
Finish off the bow formers and whew - got past that without any issues... so far so good!
 

 
Now with the bow formers all in and everything dry lets check on that keel and see how bad it is or if it stayed as it was.
 

 
Excellent.  Well not totally excellent, that would be if it miraculously fixed itself.  However, it didn't get any worse so I had that going for me so far!
 
 
 
 
 

I have to admit, I really had no idea what to expect from AL.   I remember a long time ago when I managed a hobby store we sold them, but I really didn't know much about ship models so didn't know quality from crumb.
 
Opening the box my first thoughts were - heh, this isn't to bad.  The packaging was really tight, everything secure and everyting looked good!  There didn't seem to be anything strange in there, and everything looked to be "ok"!
 

 
The fittings come organized in some pretty decent trays, which I must admit I have already started thinking of ways to repurpose them once the parts are out of there
 

 

 
The laser cut sheets were clean, no fuzz or knicks out of the wood and the cuts seemed complete.   Quite a few lc cuts, really interested in where some of these things go!
 

 

 
The plans to me actually were very nice, very clean and clear with what was what and what went where.  Appears to be a full size to scale image of the boat itself which will come in handy finishing it off.  
 
One bit of paperwork that came with it that I was really keen on was the full color panel brochure showing the major steps.   Something about that I really liked!!
 

 

 

 
Then we get to the lumber supplied.   I have done Model Shipways and never had trouble with their wood and then I had Mamoli and it was dry and brittle.  What would AL give me - would it break the tie?  Lets find out.
 

 
Well, looked good!  I took a few sticks out and did a quick bend test on a couple to see if it would break shallow - and it flexed well!  Did not feel brittle and was not all gnarly and splintered.
 
Nice!
 
Now, one of the things on this ship that worried me was the sails.  The willie has me worried as it is, so another ship was sails just didn't seem like it would help.  Lo and behold.. PRE SEWN SAILS!!  Okay - not so scary on this one any more!
 

 
 
Overall, the parts look good, the wood looks good, the plans seem good.   We shall see what they are like in action!!
 
(While the parts do look good, I will be replacing the blocks and rigging with Chuck's. Nothing necessarily against AL's, but Chucks are really nice!)
 
 
On to the build!!
 
 

Okay, before we get to the customary build log pictures (the boxing, unpacking etc etc) I feel the need - no, the obligation to explain why yet ANOTHER build log.  
 
For my Birthday last month I was told I would like my present but I HAD to do something with it right away.  Well, it turns out that I received the Santa Maria by Artesania Latina.   It seems my lovely wife has taken an interest in the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria and wants them in our office on display.   So, we are starting with the Santa Maria.   I figure if the Admiral is going to encourage another build far be it from me to say no .
 
So,  while I had no intentions of starting a new build with 4 on the table - this became a special case and special project.
 
So.  Away we go!
 
Lets begin with the customary unboxing of the Santa Maria by Artesania Latina.
 

 
(Because of the limit on uploading pictures I split this into two posts to get all pics in there).

Wow a little deja vu!   The mayflower is drying, football on the T.V  - so,  let's finish off the re-planking on the Santa Maria.  
 
Finished off laying the new deck planks, marking the lines, dotting the nails and then after some trials went with a 4:1 Natural / Golden Oak Deck Staining.  Much lighter, and I think much much better!!!!
 
(That other one was VERY dark!!)
 

 
I need to make the plank lines and nails a bit better/cleaned up and darker on the stern but will get to that once the stain dries a bit more!
 
Well, games are over for the night so off I go
 
Tomorrow is another day!

Thanks Mark,  yeah - I kind of considered the cut a "Welcome Back" present - a quick reminder of what was to come
 
 
Thanks John,  I am looking forward to the Morgan - visiting the ship was a great experience since the only ship I have been on is the Mayflower (that I can remember that is). I was on the Conny when I was very young so don't remember much of anything,  strange thing is the Conny is closer to me and still have not made it back down.   The Morgan though looks VERY interesting now, ahem - once my current armada is caught up that is!

Hi Adam, I just got to catch up on your log. I've seen the Mayflower several times over the years....your's looks better than the real thing. Nice job. Glad to see they're restoring it during the off seasons at Mystic Seaport. The ship was starting to look pretty ragged. Look forward to you joining The Morgan Club someday.
John

It's great to see you back at the bench, Adam.   Mayflower is looking great.  As for the blood.. as long as it's nothing serious requiring stitches, that ok.  I think every ship that's ever been built has DNA on it somewhere.

I have several builds going on at once but only build on one at a time - if that makes sense.  I tend to keep the paperwork, notes and what not for each kit in their respective boxes and the small parts boxes stacked up on one of bench shelves.  The wood tends to get mixed into general population and pulled out as necessary.  Some wood I have swapped out for aftermarket lumber so the originals turn into spare.  The builds themselves are lined up in a row on my top shelf with the active build on the bench.   As I hit a point where my build attention deficit kicks in I cycle one off the bench and another on.  Sometimes it is when I do a little on one and it is drying but don't want to stop building so that will cycle another one in and around etc.
 
WOuld have had them much further along and done if life choices didn't strand me on shore leave for the better part of a year, but they are back in action once again!
 
(Trust me , my wife looks and shakes her head quite often at the kits inevitably muttering a casual, understanding but meangingful "you aren't getting any more kits until one of these is done...right?"  to which I nod yes.... my nod says yes,  but my eye say....muah ha ha ha ha ha ha)

Hey All,
 
So one thing that I managed to accomplish while being out of pocket and away from the shipyard for so long was to tackle a problem with my workbench that had always bugged me.
 
The bench I had picked up was this one from harbor freight
 

 
It is a great bench if you are not familiar with it and probably one of the best purchases I have made.  The trouble I had with it was the drawers.  They don't open up quite all the way.  This leaves a very shallow access to the drawer and with small tools or fiddly bits it was too easy for things to get hung up in the back.  My hands just didn't like trying to dig around back there so it limited my use of the drawers.
 
This is a pic of the drawer as it comes
 

 
However, after looking over the bench and consulting with my father who I had gotten the same bench for and had the same issue, he came up with an idea that was far to simple in it's concept we both couldn't believe we hadn't thought of it before.
 
Replace the runners.
 
So we purchased some runners from amazon,  these runners to be precise
10 Pack Promark Full Extension Drawer Slide 14" 100lb Load Rating 
And when we replaced the stock runners with the above sliders...walla!!
 

 
We had full extension drawers.
 
They handle a nice load on the drawer, slide in and out quite smoothly and make the drawer 100% useful.  Now, there were some minor (very minor) modifications that had to be made to the drawers due to the depth difference of the runners, but a quick shave on the drawers and we were in business.
 
Here is a side by side for ya
 

 
 
Granted, not a huge discovery but I thought it neat enough and useful enough to share with ya all, maybe someone else can make use of it.
 
 
Enjoy!!

Using the sliders I linked we found they were a hair wide, so we had to take down each drawer and modify the back front and bottom just a hair to bring the sides in a smidgen to make up for the width.
 
Other versions or brands of runners may be different of course.

Hey All,
 
So one thing that I managed to accomplish while being out of pocket and away from the shipyard for so long was to tackle a problem with my workbench that had always bugged me.
 
The bench I had picked up was this one from harbor freight
 

 
It is a great bench if you are not familiar with it and probably one of the best purchases I have made.  The trouble I had with it was the drawers.  They don't open up quite all the way.  This leaves a very shallow access to the drawer and with small tools or fiddly bits it was too easy for things to get hung up in the back.  My hands just didn't like trying to dig around back there so it limited my use of the drawers.
 
This is a pic of the drawer as it comes
 

 
However, after looking over the bench and consulting with my father who I had gotten the same bench for and had the same issue, he came up with an idea that was far to simple in it's concept we both couldn't believe we hadn't thought of it before.
 
Replace the runners.
 
So we purchased some runners from amazon,  these runners to be precise
10 Pack Promark Full Extension Drawer Slide 14" 100lb Load Rating 
And when we replaced the stock runners with the above sliders...walla!!
 

 
We had full extension drawers.
 
They handle a nice load on the drawer, slide in and out quite smoothly and make the drawer 100% useful.  Now, there were some minor (very minor) modifications that had to be made to the drawers due to the depth difference of the runners, but a quick shave on the drawers and we were in business.
 
Here is a side by side for ya
 

 
 
Granted, not a huge discovery but I thought it neat enough and useful enough to share with ya all, maybe someone else can make use of it.
 
 
Enjoy!!

I have several builds going on at once but only build on one at a time - if that makes sense.  I tend to keep the paperwork, notes and what not for each kit in their respective boxes and the small parts boxes stacked up on one of bench shelves.  The wood tends to get mixed into general population and pulled out as necessary.  Some wood I have swapped out for aftermarket lumber so the originals turn into spare.  The builds themselves are lined up in a row on my top shelf with the active build on the bench.   As I hit a point where my build attention deficit kicks in I cycle one off the bench and another on.  Sometimes it is when I do a little on one and it is drying but don't want to stop building so that will cycle another one in and around etc.
 
WOuld have had them much further along and done if life choices didn't strand me on shore leave for the better part of a year, but they are back in action once again!
 
(Trust me , my wife looks and shakes her head quite often at the kits inevitably muttering a casual, understanding but meangingful "you aren't getting any more kits until one of these is done...right?"  to which I nod yes.... my nod says yes,  but my eye say....muah ha ha ha ha ha ha)

I have several builds going on at once but only build on one at a time - if that makes sense.  I tend to keep the paperwork, notes and what not for each kit in their respective boxes and the small parts boxes stacked up on one of bench shelves.  The wood tends to get mixed into general population and pulled out as necessary.  Some wood I have swapped out for aftermarket lumber so the originals turn into spare.  The builds themselves are lined up in a row on my top shelf with the active build on the bench.   As I hit a point where my build attention deficit kicks in I cycle one off the bench and another on.  Sometimes it is when I do a little on one and it is drying but don't want to stop building so that will cycle another one in and around etc.
 
WOuld have had them much further along and done if life choices didn't strand me on shore leave for the better part of a year, but they are back in action once again!
 
(Trust me , my wife looks and shakes her head quite often at the kits inevitably muttering a casual, understanding but meangingful "you aren't getting any more kits until one of these is done...right?"  to which I nod yes.... my nod says yes,  but my eye say....muah ha ha ha ha ha ha)

Hey All,
 
So one thing that I managed to accomplish while being out of pocket and away from the shipyard for so long was to tackle a problem with my workbench that had always bugged me.
 
The bench I had picked up was this one from harbor freight
 

 
It is a great bench if you are not familiar with it and probably one of the best purchases I have made.  The trouble I had with it was the drawers.  They don't open up quite all the way.  This leaves a very shallow access to the drawer and with small tools or fiddly bits it was too easy for things to get hung up in the back.  My hands just didn't like trying to dig around back there so it limited my use of the drawers.
 
This is a pic of the drawer as it comes
 

 
However, after looking over the bench and consulting with my father who I had gotten the same bench for and had the same issue, he came up with an idea that was far to simple in it's concept we both couldn't believe we hadn't thought of it before.
 
Replace the runners.
 
So we purchased some runners from amazon,  these runners to be precise
10 Pack Promark Full Extension Drawer Slide 14" 100lb Load Rating 
And when we replaced the stock runners with the above sliders...walla!!
 

 
We had full extension drawers.
 
They handle a nice load on the drawer, slide in and out quite smoothly and make the drawer 100% useful.  Now, there were some minor (very minor) modifications that had to be made to the drawers due to the depth difference of the runners, but a quick shave on the drawers and we were in business.
 
Here is a side by side for ya
 

 
 
Granted, not a huge discovery but I thought it neat enough and useful enough to share with ya all, maybe someone else can make use of it.
 
 
Enjoy!!

Hey All,
 
So one thing that I managed to accomplish while being out of pocket and away from the shipyard for so long was to tackle a problem with my workbench that had always bugged me.
 
The bench I had picked up was this one from harbor freight
 

 
It is a great bench if you are not familiar with it and probably one of the best purchases I have made.  The trouble I had with it was the drawers.  They don't open up quite all the way.  This leaves a very shallow access to the drawer and with small tools or fiddly bits it was too easy for things to get hung up in the back.  My hands just didn't like trying to dig around back there so it limited my use of the drawers.
 
This is a pic of the drawer as it comes
 

 
However, after looking over the bench and consulting with my father who I had gotten the same bench for and had the same issue, he came up with an idea that was far to simple in it's concept we both couldn't believe we hadn't thought of it before.
 
Replace the runners.
 
So we purchased some runners from amazon,  these runners to be precise
10 Pack Promark Full Extension Drawer Slide 14" 100lb Load Rating 
And when we replaced the stock runners with the above sliders...walla!!
 

 
We had full extension drawers.
 
They handle a nice load on the drawer, slide in and out quite smoothly and make the drawer 100% useful.  Now, there were some minor (very minor) modifications that had to be made to the drawers due to the depth difference of the runners, but a quick shave on the drawers and we were in business.
 
Here is a side by side for ya
 

 
 
Granted, not a huge discovery but I thought it neat enough and useful enough to share with ya all, maybe someone else can make use of it.
 
 
Enjoy!!

I have several builds going on at once but only build on one at a time - if that makes sense.  I tend to keep the paperwork, notes and what not for each kit in their respective boxes and the small parts boxes stacked up on one of bench shelves.  The wood tends to get mixed into general population and pulled out as necessary.  Some wood I have swapped out for aftermarket lumber so the originals turn into spare.  The builds themselves are lined up in a row on my top shelf with the active build on the bench.   As I hit a point where my build attention deficit kicks in I cycle one off the bench and another on.  Sometimes it is when I do a little on one and it is drying but don't want to stop building so that will cycle another one in and around etc.
 
WOuld have had them much further along and done if life choices didn't strand me on shore leave for the better part of a year, but they are back in action once again!
 
(Trust me , my wife looks and shakes her head quite often at the kits inevitably muttering a casual, understanding but meangingful "you aren't getting any more kits until one of these is done...right?"  to which I nod yes.... my nod says yes,  but my eye say....muah ha ha ha ha ha ha)

Hey All,
 
So one thing that I managed to accomplish while being out of pocket and away from the shipyard for so long was to tackle a problem with my workbench that had always bugged me.
 
The bench I had picked up was this one from harbor freight
 

 
It is a great bench if you are not familiar with it and probably one of the best purchases I have made.  The trouble I had with it was the drawers.  They don't open up quite all the way.  This leaves a very shallow access to the drawer and with small tools or fiddly bits it was too easy for things to get hung up in the back.  My hands just didn't like trying to dig around back there so it limited my use of the drawers.
 
This is a pic of the drawer as it comes
 

 
However, after looking over the bench and consulting with my father who I had gotten the same bench for and had the same issue, he came up with an idea that was far to simple in it's concept we both couldn't believe we hadn't thought of it before.
 
Replace the runners.
 
So we purchased some runners from amazon,  these runners to be precise
10 Pack Promark Full Extension Drawer Slide 14" 100lb Load Rating 
And when we replaced the stock runners with the above sliders...walla!!
 

 
We had full extension drawers.
 
They handle a nice load on the drawer, slide in and out quite smoothly and make the drawer 100% useful.  Now, there were some minor (very minor) modifications that had to be made to the drawers due to the depth difference of the runners, but a quick shave on the drawers and we were in business.
 
Here is a side by side for ya
 

 
 
Granted, not a huge discovery but I thought it neat enough and useful enough to share with ya all, maybe someone else can make use of it.
 
 
Enjoy!!

Hey All,
 
So one thing that I managed to accomplish while being out of pocket and away from the shipyard for so long was to tackle a problem with my workbench that had always bugged me.
 
The bench I had picked up was this one from harbor freight
 

 
It is a great bench if you are not familiar with it and probably one of the best purchases I have made.  The trouble I had with it was the drawers.  They don't open up quite all the way.  This leaves a very shallow access to the drawer and with small tools or fiddly bits it was too easy for things to get hung up in the back.  My hands just didn't like trying to dig around back there so it limited my use of the drawers.
 
This is a pic of the drawer as it comes
 

 
However, after looking over the bench and consulting with my father who I had gotten the same bench for and had the same issue, he came up with an idea that was far to simple in it's concept we both couldn't believe we hadn't thought of it before.
 
Replace the runners.
 
So we purchased some runners from amazon,  these runners to be precise
10 Pack Promark Full Extension Drawer Slide 14" 100lb Load Rating 
And when we replaced the stock runners with the above sliders...walla!!
 

 
We had full extension drawers.
 
They handle a nice load on the drawer, slide in and out quite smoothly and make the drawer 100% useful.  Now, there were some minor (very minor) modifications that had to be made to the drawers due to the depth difference of the runners, but a quick shave on the drawers and we were in business.
 
Here is a side by side for ya
 

 
 
Granted, not a huge discovery but I thought it neat enough and useful enough to share with ya all, maybe someone else can make use of it.
 
 
Enjoy!!

Using the sliders I linked we found they were a hair wide, so we had to take down each drawer and modify the back front and bottom just a hair to bring the sides in a smidgen to make up for the width.
 
Other versions or brands of runners may be different of course.

Using the sliders I linked we found they were a hair wide, so we had to take down each drawer and modify the back front and bottom just a hair to bring the sides in a smidgen to make up for the width.
 
Other versions or brands of runners may be different of course.

Hey All,
 
So one thing that I managed to accomplish while being out of pocket and away from the shipyard for so long was to tackle a problem with my workbench that had always bugged me.
 
The bench I had picked up was this one from harbor freight
 

 
It is a great bench if you are not familiar with it and probably one of the best purchases I have made.  The trouble I had with it was the drawers.  They don't open up quite all the way.  This leaves a very shallow access to the drawer and with small tools or fiddly bits it was too easy for things to get hung up in the back.  My hands just didn't like trying to dig around back there so it limited my use of the drawers.
 
This is a pic of the drawer as it comes
 

 
However, after looking over the bench and consulting with my father who I had gotten the same bench for and had the same issue, he came up with an idea that was far to simple in it's concept we both couldn't believe we hadn't thought of it before.
 
Replace the runners.
 
So we purchased some runners from amazon,  these runners to be precise
10 Pack Promark Full Extension Drawer Slide 14" 100lb Load Rating 
And when we replaced the stock runners with the above sliders...walla!!
 

 
We had full extension drawers.
 
They handle a nice load on the drawer, slide in and out quite smoothly and make the drawer 100% useful.  Now, there were some minor (very minor) modifications that had to be made to the drawers due to the depth difference of the runners, but a quick shave on the drawers and we were in business.
 
Here is a side by side for ya
 

 
 
Granted, not a huge discovery but I thought it neat enough and useful enough to share with ya all, maybe someone else can make use of it.
 
 
Enjoy!!

Hey All,
 
So one thing that I managed to accomplish while being out of pocket and away from the shipyard for so long was to tackle a problem with my workbench that had always bugged me.
 
The bench I had picked up was this one from harbor freight
 

 
It is a great bench if you are not familiar with it and probably one of the best purchases I have made.  The trouble I had with it was the drawers.  They don't open up quite all the way.  This leaves a very shallow access to the drawer and with small tools or fiddly bits it was too easy for things to get hung up in the back.  My hands just didn't like trying to dig around back there so it limited my use of the drawers.
 
This is a pic of the drawer as it comes
 

 
However, after looking over the bench and consulting with my father who I had gotten the same bench for and had the same issue, he came up with an idea that was far to simple in it's concept we both couldn't believe we hadn't thought of it before.
 
Replace the runners.
 
So we purchased some runners from amazon,  these runners to be precise
10 Pack Promark Full Extension Drawer Slide 14" 100lb Load Rating 
And when we replaced the stock runners with the above sliders...walla!!
 

 
We had full extension drawers.
 
They handle a nice load on the drawer, slide in and out quite smoothly and make the drawer 100% useful.  Now, there were some minor (very minor) modifications that had to be made to the drawers due to the depth difference of the runners, but a quick shave on the drawers and we were in business.
 
Here is a side by side for ya
 

 
 
Granted, not a huge discovery but I thought it neat enough and useful enough to share with ya all, maybe someone else can make use of it.
 
 
Enjoy!!