SkerryAmp

Walking through the doors brought a familiar, comforting feeling.  Some of the decor had changed but the overall atmosphere remained.   The smell of sawdust and glue, paints and lacquers drifted softly in the air as the murmur conversation filled his ears.  It had been a long time since had taken a seat at the table or pulled up a chair to a viewing.  Three years, in fact, but never a day had passed that he didn't think about the camaraderie, the talent, the build, and being a part of it all.  Chaos and neglect had left the work shop in shambles, the husks of neglected projects gathering dust and cobwebs taunted him daily.  Three years before today, the day he said enough - it was time.

He took the Santa Maria down from it's shelf where it sat.   Out of sight enough to not be a daily reminder, but not so much that when passing by it didn't glare at him, judging his dereliction.   Looking it over he carefully dusted off what he could, removed the cobwebs and evicted the house spiders so as to see what he had to work with.

It wasn't horrible, but it wasn't pristine.   Mistakes made now obvious with time, wear from being moved from shelf to shelf, minor damage and some wood swelling at first made it feel lost.    But not today, today was the day - it was time.

Here is where he was starting from.....



 

 

 

 

 
He spent days and nights working cleaning the rooms which had been so badly forgotten.  In a matter of time the work room took shape.  It was a new room, a different room than before, but that made it fresh.   Fresh paint on the pegboard, tools large and small neatly organized on peg, on shelf and in drawer.  New lighting put in and new benches lined the walls.   The floor swept, the room was ready - ready to rekindle that joy and excitement of creation, of learning and of improving.

 
 

 

 

 
So - away we go!    Again.
 
 
 

(Returning Preamble)

Whew.  Hey all.
 
I am not sure what protocol or etiquette is for continuing a build log after a very long hiatus.  I feel the need to explain my absence though, so whether necessary or not here goes.
 
It has been one heck of a year.  Shortly before my last updates here I was beginning to venture into a new career as well as getting involved in Muay Thai Kickboxing.  The first, for security the second for health reasons.   That, very quickly, became my life for the last year.   If the admiral and I were not going to the gym or sparring I was dug deep into code projects and work related things.  It pretty much consumed my world and thus my time.  Combine that with a bit of frustration and a disheartening event with the mayflower and well - a building hiatus ensued.

My career seems to be going well at the moment (hopefully I did not just jinx myself) and I have evened out on the learning curve. The Kickboxing has hit a nice groove with a nice schedule that we have fallen into.  This has, luckily for me, freed up some time and let me return to my other loves - writing, playing guitar and building these wonderful wooden vessels.

I popped back on shortly before Christmas to get caught up.  Am amazed, as always, at the progress of several projects and all the new ventures I saw.  As I searched for updates on some of you guys I sadly came across the news of Augie.  That took me back a bit - so sorry to hear that (even though I am late to the news).

Well, after re-evaluating my process and goals with building ships I am getting back to it.  I sort of have a very high bar set for myself which did lend itself to frustrations with my various builds.  I have decided to put that to the side.  After all, I am far from an expert - heck barely out of novice really - so my ships will be as good as I can do them with the skills i have.  Each ship will get better and my skills will grow - and that will do just fine =)

So - if there my seat at the table is still around here some place - I think I will get back to building =)

Good to see you all again!
(Since I have many build logs going, this will be CnP'd to the my first post across all of them - sorry for the repetition).

Onward and upward!!



Part of the reassessment process was looking over the builds I have going.   The mayflower is the closest to finished but sort of contributing to taking the wind out of my sails a little bit, okay - quite a bit.  While starting the rigging I damaged some of the deadeyes.  Struggled for a bit trying to figure out how to repair them and how much work that would take and really did not have a solid plan.  Still don't. So, that one is sitting aside and I will give attention to the ones I can continue on with some level of confidence =)

When we last left the Santa Maria - we had replaced the decking.   So I picked it up and dusted it off - cleaned it up and went to putting together the second planking layer.   My planking skills proved to still be mediocre at best so I did my best to learn what lessons i could as I moved forward.

Here we have the initial second planking on the port side
 

 
Really needed some clean up, errant glue and some ragged edges.  In going over it I also found a couple planks that had splintered.  So, I bit the bullet and with much trepidation attempted a repair...
 

 
It went well - thankfully!
 
Moved over and did up the starboard side
 

 
Cleaned it up as best I could and added a few coats of poly on it.  Each layer of poly helped expose areas that needed addressing, I think it turned out relatively okay.
 

 
Moved to the transom and luckily that went quite well.  Was able to plank it and clean it up much easier than the sides.  Applied the same amount of poly to blend it all together.
 

 
Then, once again, came the scary part.  Needed to cut the rudder linkage hole in the transom, so - outlined the shape with a sharpie and carefully rough cut it with the exacto and file/sanded it to final shape.   MAN is that stressful!
 

 
So there is where we stand with the Santa Maria.  I have started on the next bit which is the trip pieces, so that will be the next update once that is in a good spot.
 
Again, glad to see you all again - missed ya'll quite a bit and am glad to be able to return and look forward to a nice solid year of modeling!
 
Enjoy!

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!

Well,  my idea was to bleach the decks and then golden oak them back to a reasonable color, however - chalk one up to Miniwax stain,  bleach didn't touch it!!
 
So,  then thought about sanding it away - but really wasn't sure how I would go about that with them installed without damaging the inner bulwarks.
 
So, final decision!   Replank them.  The planks are are 1/64 thick so it really doesn't jump the deck height up noticeably and was easy enough to do.
 
However... PROBLEM!  (as always right).   I was hoping there was enough plank to do the deck and the final decking (fore and poop decks).  I was sadly mistaken.  I used up what I had and am now out of decking material.   Guess what, finding that size is NOT easy.  So,  what I will be doing is seeing what the Nina can do for me.  I am thinking about decking up the parts necessary with the Nina and then using the excess wood to finish up the Santa maria.
 
Until I decide that,  here is where the Santa Maria sits currently.
 
 
I started to plank the hull according to the instructions.  I am still not happy at all with my planking abilities,  my 10 year wedding anniversery is coming up so the wife and I are exchanging gifts and from what I understand she is doing I had better figure this planking thing out - and fast!!  (Ugh).
 
So, plank plank plank....
 

 

 

 
Really kind of embarassing - that hull is going to need a LOT of work regarding sanding and shaping!
 
I did however (as I said up above) get sidetracked with the planking and that is when I applied my magnificantly short sighted idea for decking up the Santa Maria.   Here is where that sits at the moment....
 

 
I did decide to vary the lengths and do simulated treenails with a mechanical pencil this time.  The solid planks and dark wood just were not doing it for me.  Once I fill in the rest of the space I will give it a VERY light stain of natural and Golden Oak (probobly like a 10:1 ratio) just to give it a little color and blend it all together, darken the nails and caulk etc.   The idea is to keep it very light.
 
 
So - enjoying this one,  but the deck debacle and really painful planking job so far is a slight spirit killer.. but I will get it all cleaned up and happy - I am pretty good at filler and shaping hulls (you should see what is under the mayflower second planking and filler hehe.
 
However, with all that said. my parts have come for the mayflower, so tonight will be finishing up all those fiddly bits, sealing it and getting ready to move forward with that one....
 
Until later - ENJOY!!
 
 
 
 

Walking through the doors brought a familiar, comforting feeling.  Some of the decor had changed but the overall atmosphere remained.   The smell of sawdust and glue, paints and lacquers drifted softly in the air as the murmur conversation filled his ears.  It had been a long time since had taken a seat at the table or pulled up a chair to a viewing.  Three years, in fact, but never a day had passed that he didn't think about the camaraderie, the talent, the build, and being a part of it all.  Chaos and neglect had left the work shop in shambles, the husks of neglected projects gathering dust and cobwebs taunted him daily.  Three years before today, the day he said enough - it was time.

He took the Santa Maria down from it's shelf where it sat.   Out of sight enough to not be a daily reminder, but not so much that when passing by it didn't glare at him, judging his dereliction.   Looking it over he carefully dusted off what he could, removed the cobwebs and evicted the house spiders so as to see what he had to work with.

It wasn't horrible, but it wasn't pristine.   Mistakes made now obvious with time, wear from being moved from shelf to shelf, minor damage and some wood swelling at first made it feel lost.    But not today, today was the day - it was time.

Here is where he was starting from.....



 

 

 

 

 
He spent days and nights working cleaning the rooms which had been so badly forgotten.  In a matter of time the work room took shape.  It was a new room, a different room than before, but that made it fresh.   Fresh paint on the pegboard, tools large and small neatly organized on peg, on shelf and in drawer.  New lighting put in and new benches lined the walls.   The floor swept, the room was ready - ready to rekindle that joy and excitement of creation, of learning and of improving.

 
 

 

 

 
So - away we go!    Again.
 
 
 

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!

Walking through the doors brought a familiar, comforting feeling.  Some of the decor had changed but the overall atmosphere remained.   The smell of sawdust and glue, paints and lacquers drifted softly in the air as the murmur conversation filled his ears.  It had been a long time since had taken a seat at the table or pulled up a chair to a viewing.  Three years, in fact, but never a day had passed that he didn't think about the camaraderie, the talent, the build, and being a part of it all.  Chaos and neglect had left the work shop in shambles, the husks of neglected projects gathering dust and cobwebs taunted him daily.  Three years before today, the day he said enough - it was time.

He took the Santa Maria down from it's shelf where it sat.   Out of sight enough to not be a daily reminder, but not so much that when passing by it didn't glare at him, judging his dereliction.   Looking it over he carefully dusted off what he could, removed the cobwebs and evicted the house spiders so as to see what he had to work with.

It wasn't horrible, but it wasn't pristine.   Mistakes made now obvious with time, wear from being moved from shelf to shelf, minor damage and some wood swelling at first made it feel lost.    But not today, today was the day - it was time.

Here is where he was starting from.....



 

 

 

 

 
He spent days and nights working cleaning the rooms which had been so badly forgotten.  In a matter of time the work room took shape.  It was a new room, a different room than before, but that made it fresh.   Fresh paint on the pegboard, tools large and small neatly organized on peg, on shelf and in drawer.  New lighting put in and new benches lined the walls.   The floor swept, the room was ready - ready to rekindle that joy and excitement of creation, of learning and of improving.

 
 

 

 

 
So - away we go!    Again.
 
 
 

AAAAAND in the spirit of moving forward, as was said here by a few people - even a deadeye here and there is progress - SO, I attached the side gaurds today. Not a huge addition, but with that added I was set up to throw on the first coat of paint.  So it is currently drying.  It is going to need a few coats .
 
To do the sideguards I just copied the plans to the heavy blue paper to make templates and cut them out of some scrap wood I have with that kit.  Ran some diluted white glue along the edge and pressed it into place using two dots of CA to tack it into place while it dried since i couldn't get clamps in there.
 
Then, a final sanding and shaping once in place and they were ready to go!   I didn't cut the whole for the dredge roller yet, I want to be sure where it is going to lay once done.  While I know where it is supposed to be, sometimes what I am off JUST a tad so may need to compensate.
 

 

 
Until later all...
 
Keep enjoying what you do and doing what you enjoy!!
 
 

So, I read and read and re read and re read the booklet - then stared, and stared some more and stared more at the plans - then decided what the heck, HOW bad can I possibly make it...
 
Started laying rope!
 
So far only have done the 3 collars (Fore, Mizzen and Main), 2 Mizzen shrouds and the Mizzen stay.   MUCH different than the rigging on the phantom - am trying to master tweezers, forceps, clamps, pokers, pryers, picks and needle threaders all without htting the deck like Godzilla through downtown.  NOT easy.   Have had to reattach two channels and the upper bell railing so far - ugh.
 
Anywho,  the one common thing with the phantom is as the rope starts to go on it starts to look more and more ship like and kind of rekindles a bit of excitement in nearing the finish line.
 
I still have MUCH to practice and learn with regards to knots and servings and getting things lined up - but I keep trying to remind myself this is only my second model! Sometimes it helps - other times,  these strings can be frustrating!!!      But, it is on it's way.  This one will be better than my first one - not as good as the next one and a step on the way to the best one!!
 

 

 
 
As always, thanks for taking the time to stop by - more on the way !!!
 
Enjoy and happy modeling!!
 
 

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!!

So after much debate with myself, ultimately losing I decided to go out on a limb and throw this out to the masses.
 
I have seen many people ask here on the forums, and I personally have been asked by friends of mine, some variation of - what is a good entry level wooden ship?
 
When I worked in the hobby store, the answer was easy – not personally having built them myself I had to go by the marketing materials and the word of the ship builders who came through.    When I got into the hobby myself last spring I leveraged that information as well as the write ups of various ships to decide ultimately on the Phantom.
 
However, after building the phantom and now working on a few other models I find myself sometimes wondering myself, when that question is asked, what is a good starter ship model?
 
I had been debating on bringing this up here, just for general conversation as I don’t think there truly is a “correct” answer, but the opinions would be interesting I think.
 
Where I kind of found myself drifting towards is that there really isn’t an easy answer to that question.  After answering it to some degree in another thread earlier today I decided what the heck, let’s bring it up and see what sticks!
 
Here is where my thoughts on the matter tend to circulate.
 
In the plastic world you have a box of parts and those parts, with zero modification, create a rough model of the box art.  You can in some cases (snap together) create something with zero tools and zero experience.  You can, of course, get more expensive detailed kits but still in most cases the parts in the box will assemble as is to create what it is you are after.  The difficulty of plastic comes in when you start adding glue or when you decide to go for it and craft aftermarket parts etc. to add to the existing model. So there is a curve, but in many ways it is a voluntary one.
 
Wooden ship models are very much not the case.   You cannot (as far as I can tell) open a wooden ship kit and create a model of the ship on the box with the parts in the box as is.  It isn’t even an option.   I remember joking about it when I opened up that Phantom.  I was staring at a bunch of wood with a handful of prefabbed parts. 
 
So this is where my thinking that there really isn’t such a thing as “entry level” model ship kits.  By default, the model ship world starts you at advanced.   I have seen people marvel at scratch building, and oh my there are some incredible masters of it that scratch build from front to back and top to bottom .  However, I think some people do themselves an injustice in not believing that they themselves have scratch built something on their ship.   Whether it is a door way, a hatch, a wheel house or a mast; everything about model ship building is about taking one thing and making it into something else so as to fit the rest of the things to make a ship.
 
I think with wooden ships you start at advanced and go up from there.  I think when we talk about “difficulty” in wooden ships it isn’t so much what you have to do, but how much of it you have to do.  The skills come with the practice of what is done; learning how to plank properly, learning how to lay a deck, rig a mast, mount a cannon etc.  The difficulty and challenge is how much planking has to be done, how much detail is in place, how many lines have to be rigged and the pattern or how many tree nails have to be done, sails etc.
 
Please do not get me wrong, I am not in any way saying that everyone who builds wooden ships are at the same skill level, trust me I look at my work and then at others and it is painfully obvious I have a way to go. 
 
What I am suggesting is that newcomers to the hobby should not steer away from things because they are “advanced” looking or complicated because in reality whether it is a small boat like the phantom or a huge boat like the MS Constitution, you are using the same sets of skills and doing the same activities just more of it on one than on the other?
 
I can see the phantom being beginner due to quicker turnaround time, easier to “get one under the belt” maybe.  But after building the phantom and realizing it may be smaller but there was a lot more to it than what I expected.   The Harriet Lane, also listed as an entry level, seems to have a level of complexity that may initially shock someone who picked it up thinking entry level in a different way than the model ship world does.
 
I have done the Phantom (a solid hull) and worked on the hull of the Willie L Bennett (planked) and the Mayflower (planked) and I personally think planking was easier than the solid hull!
 
I truly hope I am getting this question out correctly,  as I have said I have debated it back and forth so many times in my head because I think it is a more complex answer than – This one or That one.
Now, this does not include built from plans type ship building, which is a whole different ball game.  
 
This is primarily in regards to kits.
 
Maybe a lot of this comes from what my expectations were of “Starter” versus advanced.  The Phantom was a challenge, again coming from the world of pre-formed parts.
 
Having only been at this just over a year just has me philosophizing over wooden ship building in general.   Looking at the builds and the people around here just got me to thinking; there really isn’t an entry level wooden ship builder. 
 
By default it is an advanced hobby.
 
Is the advancedness of  a particular model  in the kit? 
Or in the builder?
Or in both?
 
What do you guys think?  (And if you think I am just out of control, feel free to say so – I can take it; sometimes my mind goes weird places and the Admiral has to reel me back in)
 
Thanks for taking the time to indulge my random rambling.
 
Enjoy!!
-Adam

So, we continue trudging along.   Working solely on the outboard trim at the moment and have one side all done and in place
 
These took a bit longer than the horizontal boards.   The verticals required a bit of cutting and aligning.  To do it I went down one board at a time.
 

 
This way I was able to control the alignment going down along the hull.   Worked out pretty well, just had to trim out enough to fit it in the slot, slide it down to meet the board below and repeat.
After much toiling and fixing a few booboos along the way we have one side completed.
 

 
Once I finish the other side and the transom I will go over it with a couple of sanding sticks to clean up the roughness, a quick wipe with poly and she should be good to go!
 
Thanks all for stopping in, have a great day and happy modeling!

Alrighty then, let's see what we have going on now - whew.
 
When last we left the Santa Maria I had just finished up the second layer of planking.  I then moved onto some trim, the waterways, timber heads,  and started the hull details. So onward we go.
 
The first thing I want to say is that the next bit of work was made a thousand times easier with the help of a few things.
 
I pulled out my NorthWest Short Line Chopper - boy do I love this little gadget, made cutting some of the thicker walnut pieces a breeze.  If you don't have one and/or something similar I cannot recommend this enough - it is fantastic!
 

 
Being my first time working with walnut I was surprised at how fragile it is.  Splinters VERY easy, cracks etc.  So, aside from the normal clean up of gaps and spaces I found this product to be very helpful.  Walnut colored Plastic Wood.  It dries much lighter than the walnut wood, however a quick wipe of a diluted walnut stain (very diluted 10:1 natural:walnut) it actually blended quite nicely.
 

 
Finally - a LIFE saver.  I have never had a good knack for bending wood.  There were a couple of waterways as well as the outside hull parts that, being thicker wood, did not want to bend nicely.  Doing some digging I found some articles as well as a supporting comments from a couple of MSW member posts regarding a curling iron.  So - gave it a try... and WOWIE,  I was able to bend so much easier than I ever did in the past, including an edge bend on the walnut waterways.   SO HAPPY!
 

 
So - with that little intro out of the way, here is where we have come....
 
First thing I tackled was trimming out the poop deck and the rear stair entry way.  This was pretty straightforward, made easy with the chopper. Cut to length, angle where necessary and glue into place.  My joints still need a LOT of work - as you can see. SO there will be some cleanup/sanding required on the poop deck.
 

 
 
Next was to lay in the waterways.  As I mentioned above they did NOT want to bend into place.  So, this is where i gave the curling iron a shot and again - wow.  A little patience and gentle nudging (after learning how to use the little clamp thingy as leverage) and it bent just fine - quickly even.
 

 
Next up was popping in the timberheads. Again, used the chopper to get some nice clean cuts and once installed sanded/trimmed the top flush with the hull.  Once the upper rail is on I think that will look quite good! At this point I also installed the mast hole base and marked off where I am going to have to drill later (that still makes me nervous).
 

 
 
Lastly I started working the outer hull details.  Again, the curling iron came in VERY handy to help bend these guys both at the bow and along the edge to help seat them nicely.
 
As you can see I only got so far as installing them, I still need to clean them up - sand them out, fill and finish.  That will be the next step!


 
 
Well, that is it for this update!  As always - comments, suggestions are welcome and encouraged.

I have a long way to go with growing my skills but at least I am seeing improvements in some areas as I move along - which is encouraging!
 
Until later -  Enjoy and Happy Modeling!
 
 
 

(Returning Preamble)

Whew.  Hey all.
 
I am not sure what protocol or etiquette is for continuing a build log after a very long hiatus.  I feel the need to explain my absence though, so whether necessary or not here goes.
 
It has been one heck of a year.  Shortly before my last updates here I was beginning to venture into a new career as well as getting involved in Muay Thai Kickboxing.  The first, for security the second for health reasons.   That, very quickly, became my life for the last year.   If the admiral and I were not going to the gym or sparring I was dug deep into code projects and work related things.  It pretty much consumed my world and thus my time.  Combine that with a bit of frustration and a disheartening event with the mayflower and well - a building hiatus ensued.

My career seems to be going well at the moment (hopefully I did not just jinx myself) and I have evened out on the learning curve. The Kickboxing has hit a nice groove with a nice schedule that we have fallen into.  This has, luckily for me, freed up some time and let me return to my other loves - writing, playing guitar and building these wonderful wooden vessels.

I popped back on shortly before Christmas to get caught up.  Am amazed, as always, at the progress of several projects and all the new ventures I saw.  As I searched for updates on some of you guys I sadly came across the news of Augie.  That took me back a bit - so sorry to hear that (even though I am late to the news).

Well, after re-evaluating my process and goals with building ships I am getting back to it.  I sort of have a very high bar set for myself which did lend itself to frustrations with my various builds.  I have decided to put that to the side.  After all, I am far from an expert - heck barely out of novice really - so my ships will be as good as I can do them with the skills i have.  Each ship will get better and my skills will grow - and that will do just fine =)

So - if there my seat at the table is still around here some place - I think I will get back to building =)

Good to see you all again!
(Since I have many build logs going, this will be CnP'd to the my first post across all of them - sorry for the repetition).

Onward and upward!!



Part of the reassessment process was looking over the builds I have going.   The mayflower is the closest to finished but sort of contributing to taking the wind out of my sails a little bit, okay - quite a bit.  While starting the rigging I damaged some of the deadeyes.  Struggled for a bit trying to figure out how to repair them and how much work that would take and really did not have a solid plan.  Still don't. So, that one is sitting aside and I will give attention to the ones I can continue on with some level of confidence =)

When we last left the Santa Maria - we had replaced the decking.   So I picked it up and dusted it off - cleaned it up and went to putting together the second planking layer.   My planking skills proved to still be mediocre at best so I did my best to learn what lessons i could as I moved forward.

Here we have the initial second planking on the port side
 

 
Really needed some clean up, errant glue and some ragged edges.  In going over it I also found a couple planks that had splintered.  So, I bit the bullet and with much trepidation attempted a repair...
 

 
It went well - thankfully!
 
Moved over and did up the starboard side
 

 
Cleaned it up as best I could and added a few coats of poly on it.  Each layer of poly helped expose areas that needed addressing, I think it turned out relatively okay.
 

 
Moved to the transom and luckily that went quite well.  Was able to plank it and clean it up much easier than the sides.  Applied the same amount of poly to blend it all together.
 

 
Then, once again, came the scary part.  Needed to cut the rudder linkage hole in the transom, so - outlined the shape with a sharpie and carefully rough cut it with the exacto and file/sanded it to final shape.   MAN is that stressful!
 

 
So there is where we stand with the Santa Maria.  I have started on the next bit which is the trip pieces, so that will be the next update once that is in a good spot.
 
Again, glad to see you all again - missed ya'll quite a bit and am glad to be able to return and look forward to a nice solid year of modeling!
 
Enjoy!

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!

Well,  my idea was to bleach the decks and then golden oak them back to a reasonable color, however - chalk one up to Miniwax stain,  bleach didn't touch it!!
 
So,  then thought about sanding it away - but really wasn't sure how I would go about that with them installed without damaging the inner bulwarks.
 
So, final decision!   Replank them.  The planks are are 1/64 thick so it really doesn't jump the deck height up noticeably and was easy enough to do.
 
However... PROBLEM!  (as always right).   I was hoping there was enough plank to do the deck and the final decking (fore and poop decks).  I was sadly mistaken.  I used up what I had and am now out of decking material.   Guess what, finding that size is NOT easy.  So,  what I will be doing is seeing what the Nina can do for me.  I am thinking about decking up the parts necessary with the Nina and then using the excess wood to finish up the Santa maria.
 
Until I decide that,  here is where the Santa Maria sits currently.
 
 
I started to plank the hull according to the instructions.  I am still not happy at all with my planking abilities,  my 10 year wedding anniversery is coming up so the wife and I are exchanging gifts and from what I understand she is doing I had better figure this planking thing out - and fast!!  (Ugh).
 
So, plank plank plank....
 

 

 

 
Really kind of embarassing - that hull is going to need a LOT of work regarding sanding and shaping!
 
I did however (as I said up above) get sidetracked with the planking and that is when I applied my magnificantly short sighted idea for decking up the Santa Maria.   Here is where that sits at the moment....
 

 
I did decide to vary the lengths and do simulated treenails with a mechanical pencil this time.  The solid planks and dark wood just were not doing it for me.  Once I fill in the rest of the space I will give it a VERY light stain of natural and Golden Oak (probobly like a 10:1 ratio) just to give it a little color and blend it all together, darken the nails and caulk etc.   The idea is to keep it very light.
 
 
So - enjoying this one,  but the deck debacle and really painful planking job so far is a slight spirit killer.. but I will get it all cleaned up and happy - I am pretty good at filler and shaping hulls (you should see what is under the mayflower second planking and filler hehe.
 
However, with all that said. my parts have come for the mayflower, so tonight will be finishing up all those fiddly bits, sealing it and getting ready to move forward with that one....
 
Until later - ENJOY!!
 
 
 
 

Ah, Santa Maria - We Meet Again!!
 
With the mayflower in a holding pattern until supplies are delivered I decided to come back to the SM for a spell.
 
When we last left our Maria we had a quarter deck done up, but sitting along side.  So, let's start by installing that.
 
The tabs lined up nicely with the bulwarks however they didn't quite fit nicely.  Between carefully filing the slots and reshaping the tabs I was able to finally get them to line up and pop in nicely.   However, once lined up and in it was a rough keeping them in there but I used some Masking tape to wrap it while it dried and it all worked out okay!
 

 
Let that dry and started on the poop deck/rear cabin.   The framing was laser cut, which was nice.  Popped out the parts cleaned them up and started installing.  First the innner wall....
 

 
Then the transom wall.   I have some alignment issues on the stern but am addressing them as needed and so far all is cooperating.   Once again, used masking tape as a clamp to hold the part in place (really starting to like the masking tape clamp method).
 

 
Then all that was left was to install the poop deck itself.   It went in like a champ.  Being my first run with an AL kit, so far so good!  Decent stuff (in my humble newbie opinion)
 

 
As you can see masking tape clamps all together until it was dry and then quick slice, peel away, sand and clean up and walla
 
A base poop deck!
 

 
All that was left for this evening was using the supplied veneer to finish off the inner wall and we are set aside for the evening.
 

 
 
Until later my friends... Enjoy and happy modeling!

Good Evening!
 
After doing a little bit on the Mayflower and having that sitting in a drying stage, I wanted to keep building so pulled out the Santa Maria for some updates.  It was a fair amount of work but only one piece this evening
 
The Quarterdeck!
 
Well, first I installed the other Bulwark so at least the vessel has two, instead of limping around with only one
 

 
Okay, NOW time for the quarterdeck
 
Here we have the false quarterdeck ready to go !
 

 
Once it is popped loose from it's sheet, the initial reference plank is laid.   I learned a long time ago it is very important to get this first plank and straight as you can as it will most certainly effect the alignment of every other plank after it
 
 

 
 
Plank after plan was laid,  as in prior projects the Archive Pen was used to caulk the boards. Finall we have a rough planked quarterdeck
 
 

 
 
Some careful trimming around the edges, done easily by flipping the part upside down and tracing the edge with a VERY sharp blade.  A dull blade can easily grab a plank at the edge and potentially yank it loose.
 
 

 
 
Finally the part is lightly wiped down with an alcohol rag in order to clean up any lose dirt, glue mistakes etc.   Once dry, I wiped it down with wood conditioner and then finally stained with the same mix of Dark Mahogany and Natural stain to match the rest of the ship.
 

 
This is a dark ship,  very different than what I tyipcally like but I am starting to appreciate the colors and the richness of it all.
 
So, for the evening this is set aside to dry overnight
 
Thank you again for stopping in
 

Spent some time tonight wrapping up that last step, part of which was getting the deck on (which was done) and then the forward... uhm, hmm. not sure what it is called.. bulkhead I guess?   Planked.   The problem was that gap.  Needed to figure out what to do with that darn gap.
 
(The Gap)
 

 
So,  decided to take a crack at something.
 
The gap isn't TOO too huge, (smaller than my panicky mind made it out at first it seems) so I took some 1/32 balsa and cut traced the shape and cut a piece to thicken it just a little bit.  My plan was to thicken it a tad and then the planks would even it out and cover the gap. Looking ahead the deck that sits on it isn't such that a 1/32 extension was going to throw things off too much and most likely had I not just mentioned it - it may very well go unnoticed.
 
So, first traced out the shape I needed.   I did two JUST in case I needed  back up
 

 
Then, I rough cut them out - I stayed close to the line, but purposely made them a little over sized with the intent of shaving and sanding down to the final shape once installed on the ship.
 

 
Glued them on, shaved, shaped and attached the finish planks... and woohoo!  Looks good, not too thick and I think it will work out okay.   WHEW that one was averted (hopefully, always nervous it is going to sneak up on me later, but will see)
 

 

 
Just need to let it dry solid then go through and sand it out, clean it up and wipe it down with some finish and I think it will be good to go.
 
 
Thanks all, until next time..
 
HAPPY BUILDING
 
 
 

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).