popeye the sailor

I'm glad you cleared that up Mobbsie.........I was thinking that Andy was celebrating, finally coming home when i was younger, I used to imitate different accents I'd hear. when i moved to Florida, I adopted the Floridian accent.......every once in a while, it comes out. I think they are fasinating...I never get tired hearing a person talk. I have to be careful though.......if I hear it long enough, I begin to sound like they do.......kind of embarassing sometimes. if I could do it........I'd be there in a heartbeat.......it would be a hoot to meet you I still think back to the day I got to meet John {Jim Ladd}......I treasure it

yes...I will be......you build is in my watch list. I had a very extensive list back on the old MSW. I was a newbie back then {still am in some ways}....I wanted to see and learn as much as I could. I was kidding about being a secret......it's so nice to see some of your work. hope to see more.

looks great adrieke! glad to see all your lights are working........and looks like your back up to full steam!

I'm sorry Denis........I probably didn't specify....this one is my first sailing ship in wood. I have done others, but most of them are fishing vessels. I've done a lot of plastic build though.......but wood is so much different....I absolutely love it! hello Patrick! so glad to see your up and about...I hope your feeling better....I miss your work. thanks Larry and Mobbsie......you are so correct on the learning curve......I'm so glad I have all these pictures. I made it through my work week, so I'm going to try making some headway with the build. I have a few chores to do, but I don't think they will be too bad.

so cool you had this week ender Mobbsie.........{I'm still jealous} just shows though how friends are brought together....all because of this site .......oh crimney.........where's my hankie!

minwax also makes one that does both......stain and seal. it's a poly urethaine, and can be purchased in a can or spray. it would be true though that the main deck sees more weather than the lower decks. it's so nice that you get to have a little planking fun early in the build.

looks great Piet........very nice progress!

no wonder why i haven't seen this build........there wasn't one. nice that you have folks watching your back.......enjoyed the way you've done this so you were going to keep this superb piece of eye candy hidden, I'm glad that it was brought to the light! let me join the other eye candy cononseurs, and tell you what a beauty you have here truly a diamond in the rough!

thank you very much for your kind comment Kester.........and thanks for the update. I was told that she would be setting off on this year's tour, around April, if my memory serves me. your another of the fortunate, to have walked her decks, something that I can only dream about glad to hear that you had a good time. thanks again for the good word.....it's going to be very sweet to finally finish her. I do wonder where Eric {seasick} has gone to? I haven't seen him around. he worked aboard the Gothenborg last year, but lamented that he would not be able to count himself as one of the crew..........perhaps he stole himself aboard anyway? time will tell.

is this the Dragen......or an early period PT boat? the cannon looks very nice Borge.........I guess one cannon couldn't hurt

the hull frame looks verry nice Augie. those fillers....did you install them during the frame assembly? they would work very well in keeping the ribs square. very nicely done

thanks John and Sjors.....more progress soon thanks for looking in commodore Augie

I couldn't let you down Sjors.......I did get something accomplished. I started by rigging the lower stays for the mizzen mast. in the pictures, I saw that there were two.......one was with hearts, the other one I couldn't quite make out, so I used two smaller hearts {the small wood eyelets I made}. then I did the upper stay for the mizzen I wanted to do more with the shrouds, but duty called for Gibbs, and by then it was time for supper. I did do the two I had set up on the starboard side........I did not tie them off yet though......I want to get the rest of them done before I do that. I can't wait to get the back stays on and tighten all these stays up......I have one more main stay to do yet, and there is one or two that are not as tight as I would like them to be. I think that if I try to correct them, it may upset the balance........this last stay that I speak of has the ability to make {one of them especially} matters worse........so I will have to be careful and stay on the positive side of 'absolute zero'. it will be shrouds now......with a couple more lines to be added to the bow.

I wouldn't blame anyone John......if I come across a problem.......it'll be because I bore down too hard with the paint brush hee....hee! yes they are keith.....they are made of plywood. there are some rather significant bends I'll need to make. what I'm going to do is sub in some basswood.........cut to shape, get it wet, and bend it in a jig {which I still have to make}. but all this will come later, so I still have plenty of time to set all this up. I need to get through with redoing the cabin bulkheads, staining and painting. I plan to stain everything, deck and all........there are enough hard to reach places already, without adding the cap rails into the mix. there are also areas that need paint. I don't throw anything away. you never know if they can be used on another build or something I miss watching Anja's progress........I thought of her when I started this project. she sent me some wonderful information.......but I found more on my own. I plan on doing her like the picture a few pages back. I'll see if I can get the decal maker to do those designs. the rub rails alone will look really cool.......I have ideas. trouble is........I have to get there first!

welcome back Andy.

it's the old thing about quality VS cost.....those cannons look sweet!

gee Denis.......going through your log, I get the feel of the old addage......"we are our own worst critics". but the pictures tell a different story all together....you've actually done a very nice looking build the price you paid for the kit......the way you handled the printed laid out decking {other folks would have had a cow over that}, the problems with the stern windows and how the transon shell seems to cover them over quite nicely, ........the life boat issue.......the hand rails {I like them, by the way}......among other pratfalls you've encountered. you've faired them well and made them shine.......the overall build is superb. I look at all of that brass decoration in awe.......very well done! I have seen your build on the old MSW.......I knew I had seen your name before.......so glad to see your back. it's been hard, finding and setting up my old watch list.........I know your build was among them. now that I have commented, it is back in my list......I can now enjoy as you finish this fine lady.........it's the eye candy that makes me fat and happy!

thank you Denis........this is me stumbling into the unknown. I've done plenty in plastic, but this is my first in wood. I am so thankful having the good fortune of running into folks who have seen.....and worked........on this ship first hand. they also supplied me with sites to look at and sent me a whole slew of pictures. this is a testament of this site.......a really fine group of folks who love their ships and the hobby they base them on. the background and history here is quite in depth. I truly enjoy being here......and I hope you do as well thanks for the good word....I really appreciate it

yepper.......that's what I'm doing Alex I leave them just a tiny bit longer, so I can fit them flush to the bulwarks. when I do the calking, I don't get any on the ends, so they will blend in better. I'm so glad I was told about this....this soon into the build....I never even thought about it {well' not much actually} I saw this in the plans........I wasn't too keen on the deck and the bulwarks going in the same direction........but that's the way the plans said and that's what I did. I should have followed my vision instead.

the 'well almost' John is going to be these last two..........I just hope the frustration is small enough, enough to keep it from becoming a 10 min heat source {I'd say 15 mins, but that's giving it too much credit} thanks Daniel........did a 'hare' just run past me? the real lines are going to come from fitting the top rails on the bulwarks. Billing's isn't too clear as for how to do this, so I'm going to have to get creative. I'm not real keen on the material that they are made of....very stiff plywood. I haven't had too many problems from using this pen Augie.........of course the laws of probability, probably hasn't reared it's ugly head at me yet. I think that by the time I do get to the point of applying stain, it should be long dried. I still have those last two to do yet.......I had better get on with the Gothenborg though, before you know who really gets mad at me

say it with pictures I'm sure the community would love to see your build Robert

looking sweet Walter.......she's really coming around! very glad to see an update never dropped on on my foot........but I have dropped a couple.......I can second how strong these hulls can be. the only one to date that saw ant real damage, was the Gothenborg.....snapped the head of the bow stem right off it. darn lucky I was able to fix it. very nice work your doing

not too many folks are....I have quite a few of the Billing's plans. guess you could say that I seem to have gotten used to them

having pointed out the problem with the cabin bulkheads....it left me scratch'in my head, as for an easy way to do this. I then thought about the parts panel I have put away. I got them out and laid them on the table......between looking at the plan diagrams and the panels, I figured out which one has the cabin bulkheads. this can also serve as sort of a tutorial.....I keep these panels for a number of reasons. they are good to have in case a part needs to be replicated, in the event you need to make a part from 'like' material, and for some of the shapes they have, they can be used to ease the scratch making of parts for other ships. in addition to all this, they can be used to trace out the parts for other hulls, and scratch build the rest.....outfitting it as you see fit. I've made two hulls already. in the box, I have the panels for the Boulogne Etaples, the lobster boat, the AmericA, and the Gothenborg. I have another box stashed away which has the Mary Ann, and the Regina {I want to make one of these hulls}. I have just about every panel from the ships I've done, except for the Nordkap and the Cux {which is the same hull as the Mary Ann}. on a piece of paper, I drew out the ribs and measured the height of the bulkheads. starting at the stern transom, the planks were cut and shaped, so they would fit flush with the bulwarks. I used my archive pen to simulate the calking.......not sure if this was a good thing to do, but to me it looks good, so I went with it. after it was dry, it was trimmed and sanded to shape.....the second level bulkhead was done next. the top plank for this one needed to be trimmed as well........there are small appatures that needed to be allowed for. the bow bulkhead was done next. the two main deck bulkheads are going to be a bear to do, because they are recessed under the decks. I also found that I had forgotten to draw out one of them. I'll get to them for the next update.

oh......I know Mobbsie I tried to get to her today, but I got caught up cutting the cabin bulkhead planking for the Half Moon. I'm hoping this will pasify you know who, until I can do something to you know what, so I can put it you know where. oh.....so your saying it really wasn't the meds that broke Sjor's fever...........his frustration built up so much pressure, that he literally 'vented' the fever out!!! yes, I've heard that chewing on 'down' pillows can have that effect.......must be related to the frustration thing. I know......I'll PM him a couple of pictures of the spitfire.....could be what he's doing right about now. I'm sorry Sjors......I have one project I have to do tomorrow, but I will do my best to get some pictures here........I know I said today, I failed miserably...and I apologize. I hope you like what I did to the Half Moon.