JesseLee

(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).
 
 
The Shadow will remain on the lifts for a bit.  Going to focus efforts on the Santa Maria, see if I can't move some of these builds along a bit more with a little more focus.   I tried it the first round (focusing on one build at a time, but got the bug - bad) will see how I do with round 2.  Whew - wish me luck!

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!

Nice setup!

I thought you were told to slow down Dave?    Very nice work on that rabbit, very clean cut.  I can understand the 4:30 thing - I have got to the point that if I am not asleep within 30 mins of hitting the hay, I get up and write down everything stirring in my head; actually setting to work is another thing though.  The beakhead is coming on nicely.
 
cheers
 
Pat

Hello Dave,
 
Great start with a beautify ship.  Glad you chose a large scale so you can add plenty of detail on her.
 
Gwen and I wish you and the family a very prosperous and healthy 2017.
 
Cheers,

Thanks Pat, CapSteve, and Piet....and for a host of other old MSW friends hooked up on this little project.
 

Happy New Year all!

Count me in too Dave.
 
Jesse

Have made a bit of progress on the standing rigging. Shrouds for foremast are in place.

Also forestays, served and spliced in order to loop around foremast trees.

Finally created the guys for the bowsprit. This was tricky. First had to create a collar with eyelets either side. Collar also needed the deadeye for the bobstay to be attached to it.


Then made the the bowsprit guys themselves, which are then lashed to the collar. Both collar and guys have eyelets and thimbles. First go at this, but managed to get the hang of making little thimbles, by pushing a dremel head into some small sections of silver coated brass beads (from a bead store). This gives them a bit of shape. Then created a false splice around them. Finally make the little lashing and there we go.
 



 
Its 2am, and I have a busy day with kids tomorrow. My wife is going to kill me... Bed time. Happy new year!

Hi Dave,
 
Lovely work as usual....hopefully still a little standing room at the back for me to follow along!
 
Cheers,
 
Nigel.

Hey Dave
 
Happy New Year! What are you doing staying up to 4.30 in the morning???
 
Don't you need your beauty sleep? Having said that, your solution to the beakhead's carvings is ingenious.
 
Onwards and upwards!
 
Cheers
 
Patrick

The Billet Head....
 
I spent a lot of time finding and studying close up photos of the beak .... particularly the billet head.  Most interesting was this old photo I found of the original billet head after being removed for restoration.
 

 
Since this is something that must be done off-ship, I decided I will need to do the carving before fitting the beak to the keel former. That represents a big problem with gluing up the entire assembly....right?!
Went to bed last night with this on my mind, realizing I would never be able to come anywhere close to creating that detail with the wood I used to create the bow stem....poplar is not great for carving small details.
 
The solution popped in me noggin at 4:30 am.... Up and to the ship yard!
 
Four hours later......
This is the beak as created from the plan pattern.... 
 

 
And here's the beginning of the poly vinyl billet head carving I began working on this morning.  Much to go yet, but I'm fairly pleased with the experiment at this stage. 


 
And the simple method that came to me at 4:30 am this morning.... inlay the carving onto the beak!
Used a small router to remove the material from the area where the inlay will be fitted.
 

 
Once finished and painted up with black and white details, I'm hoping it will turn out not too bad.
 

Hi Jeff
 
Your tools, boxes, desk and the pin vice, and other paraphernalia are great. I especially like the watchmaker's magnifying glasses. Nice!
 
Notwithstanding that, most of all, your hull's looking fantastic. I can't wait to see how you pull it all together.
 
'Have a great 2017.
 
Cheers
 
Patrick

Nice setup!

That shot shows how wonderful both your wood work and your metal work is!
 
Jesse

Nice setup!

That shot shows how wonderful both your wood work and your metal work is!
 
Jesse

Hello
Mike, Jose, Albert and Ed,
Thank you for your interest and the nice words.
Many thanks also to the others for the LIKEs.

Meanwhile, I made the different chainplate types.

The next picture shows an already assembled chainplate.

Began the morning with my first measurement of the dry fittings of the bulkheads to the center keel.
Great news, and to my complete surprise..... laying a straight edge along the top of the bulkhead beams, every single one of them were perfect.  
I fully expected to have some highs and lows that would require some tweaking....right?
This is kinda scary to me mates.  I'm accustom to trouble....always prepared for a fight.

I think I can proceed to marking the bearding line and begin cutting the rabbit before attaching the keel and stern post.
 

Bulkhead former's all cut out....

Finally finished cutting out all of the bulkhead former's and fit them into their slots on the keel former.  Can now begin marking and cutting in the rabbit before adding the keel and stern post.
Then, of course, comes all the squaring, and measuring, and aligning of each bulkhead.
Note, all of the top beams have been removed from fifteen bulkheads, allowing the possibility of installing a full gun deck.
I have not yet decided just how far I will take the gun deck.... still studying photo's.... looks like a lot of exciting possibilities.

 
 
 

thanks for all the kind comments and the likes.  the holiday has slowed me down........hope I would have made more progress on her.
 
thanks Pat......I like doing the extra stuff...adds more interest  
 
thanks Jud.......I can respect pointers from someone whose been there.   if I had those parts and the idea of it,  I might have done that.....I make do with what I got.  not wanting to damage anything......I'm going to leave them as they are.   I was hoping to get this model finished as well,  so I could move on to another project......from the looks of it though,  I seem to be spinn'in my wheels on it.   I do enjoy building these types of vessels......I'd like to learn as much as I can about them.   anything you can tell me is valuable....it will make my next one,  all the better  
 
thanks you as well Patrick........I hope your having the best of holidays  
 
thanks John.......I have something of the same problem.......darn computer is about as old as I am  {not really,  but if you heard the noise it makes,  you'd swear that something was running amok in there!}  haven't seen it.........but if it sticks it's head out........I got a hammer.....and I know how to use it!  thanks for the good word my friend!

Thanks Captain Steve, Mark, Matt & Lawrence. Thanks for the very nice compliments Lawrence - my head is getting so big, my neck hurts! It was a lot of fun making the tiny bucket for you, and your Annie turned out amazing. A belated Merry Christmas and a happy New Year to you and everyone.
 
Best Wishes

Hey Denis
 
Wow, wow and triple wow!  I love all the details you're adding.  
 
A very big well done, from me.
 
Happy New Year.
 
Cheers
 
Patrick

Looking good with all the details you are adding, have been waiting for someone with a little experience on small working boats to point out what a hazard those line hooks on the outside of the fish box are to the seamen working the decks. The idea of providing a place for rope and lines to hang off  the deck is a good one, just move them up to a bar placed corner to corner on top of the corner posts of your fish box, holes with belaying pins, hooks or rings would get the ropes up and not be a hazard to the crew working the decks. Sorry for sounding like all I do is find fault, but what you are and have been doing on this model is good enough to deserve some fine tuning and My intent is to be constructive in this observation.
 
Aboard the Cape Race, 'Troller', SE Alaska 1965. we brought her up from Belingham and returned there in the fall.
 
 

Just now beginning to browse for photo's to draw from.  Holy Molly!
I'm beginning to feel like a "pig in a huge mud puddle".

Photo's like this is music to my ears....
But that eagle is a loooooong way off at this point.
 

I played with these pesky gaffs long enough........time to get off the seat!   the big problem.......I glue the brass blade sliver to the toothpick........then when I'd go and trim it,  it would rip it off.   time to get smart.......lets do some prep to the sliver of brass.   I want to put a barb at the rear of the blade......try ti cut it with the clippers,  and it would pop off.   all I got was these two at the early stages of the process.
 

 
so......lets make the barb cut before cementing the sliver on the toothpick...............BRILLIANT!!!!   I had already done a few without cutting the barb.........no matter......I'm gonna use them!  ....not like it will be too noticeable anyway.  after making the rest of what I needed.....and trimming the point.  it was time to paint everything.
 

 
paint the blades.......and the red ring for a little bling,  and I was almost ready to go.
 

 
yea.......not the best picture........here's a better one.....
 

 
I started to add the few additional parts to the winch.
 

 
cementing the gaffs on the racks.......they were cemented in place......in the fish box first.
 

 
this one is for the companionway......
 

 
I'll need to make the netting soon.........
 

 
this is the diagram I got with the Cux 87.........I have green and I have brown netting.  I think I will go with the brown.  I also need to make the net bar........I have more than enough chain        the companionway gaff rack is in place now.
 

 
the fish box was put back on deck.
 

 
I've started to work on the mast again........a few more parts are needed.   once the winch is in place,  then the mast can be cemented in permanently.   I will have to alter my shroud and ratline set up due to the dump ramps,  but it won't be too bad. 

Nice setup!