MikeB4

I've constructed the wheel house and companionway for the Aft deck. I haven't mounted them to the deck yet.

Just some photos of the latest additions (to go with my Post No. 32 above).. All the Bulkheads are glued in position, the deck is only 'dry-fitted' to assist in aligning the B/Heads.
 
In the Stern on shot, you may just be able to make out the 'thinning' of the Keel where the Stern Post will go to assist later planking (it is the beginnings of the Rabbet) but following great advice I haven't extended the Rabbet forward, this won't be done until 2nd planking (Thanks again to all those who are helping me along, it is much appreciated!)
 
Sláinte,
 
Eamonn
 
 

this converation may be past now but when i built this kit, this is how i modified the cleats so they could be used. I filed down and added a channel so that the cleat would fit over the bulwark stanchions and not through it.
 

 

Soft solder at the scales we work in will work as well as silver soldering and, I suspect is easier to do. The key is to ensure all surfaces to be soldered are spotlessly clean. I scrub mine with a fibreglass pencil. Then I use a liquid flux touched in on a brush at the point where the joint is to be made. Since we are only making small joints I find it easiest to carry the solder to the joint on the tip of the iron. Hold the iron in place while the flux boils away and make sure all the parts of the joint are heated through. Once this has happened remove the iron and continue to hold the components in place until the solder solidifies. You should find you have made a good solid joint.
 
The excess solder can be removed using a scalpel and needle files. Another scrub with the fibreglass pencil will polish away the last bits of spare solder leaving a neat job.
 
Afterwards you must make sure you wash whatever you have been soldering in clean water to remove any traces of flux. If you don't do this the surfaces will become corroded over time.
 
The hardest part of the whole process is growing the extra hands with the asbestos fingers so that you can hold everything in place at the same time.

Hi All,
 
This is my first proper wooden boat build, I say proper because some time ago I began building the Bounty from those magazines that came every week (you may be familiar with them) and though she turned out reasonable enough (I'm about 80% complete, just the Rigging to finish) the instructions (there was no 'plan', just text with photos) left a lot to be desired and makes even the simplest task awkward.
Last Summer I came across MSW and having read and followed many build logs I decided to buy a proper kit, in fact I bought 3 over the past few months! Sherbourne, Convulsion & Ballahoo all at 1:64 and all Smallish Vessels (This is just a personal preference)
Anyhoo, I have decided to do Ballahoo first, and possibly stagger the others over the coming months.
(The first time I opened the box and was hit by that pleasant wood smell, reminded me of those old wooden pencil cases from school   Oh! and it was great to unfold 'actual' plans too!)
 
Right lets begin..
 
Whilst the Keel and Bulkheads were still in their 'Matrix' (or whatever the wooden surround is called) I oriented the Matrix to the appropriate instruction sheet (in the Booklet) and numbered each piece, as some of those bulkheads may end up in the wrong slots on the Plywood Keel (am sure it would be easy to spot, but why take the chance)
I then removed the Ply Keel and all the Bulkheads using a Jewellers Saw (tried using a craft knife but ended up having to apply pressure, which didn't sound like a great idea) All items once freed got a light sanding and were then 'Dry' Fitted (see Photos) So Far So Good..
 
I shall cut a Rabbet and Bearding Line etc (as per Jim Smits and his Ballahoo) though the Plans/Instructions do not call for them, it seems logical when you take the Ply Keel dimensions and 2 layers of Planks into consideration.
 
Should anyone wish to offer advice, please feel free to do so.. it all helps and I would be very grateful.
 
Take Care
 
Eamonn
 

Mike:
That is the right attitude to use when doing this sort of modeling. If it gets bad, just walk away and come back to it when you feel like it. Good call.
 
Russ

I've soldered the legs onto the boom sheet which was quite a challenge for me since i haven't soldered in years and the parts are so small that at one point I was going to give up on it. My personal advice is that sometimes it's good to put it down and come back to it later and try again. 

Mike, on the template making, that's exactly the same way I have always made mine too. It is always well worth the extra time it takes to make them.

I've finally got the chain plates,deadeyes and belaying pins in place on the hull. Now the fun starts I can start building and installing the deck furniture.

I've finally got the chain plates,deadeyes and belaying pins in place on the hull. Now the fun starts I can start building and installing the deck furniture.

I've finally got the chain plates,deadeyes and belaying pins in place on the hull. Now the fun starts I can start building and installing the deck furniture.

I've shaped and fitted the rudder to the stern.I was a little nervous about this step because you have to drill a hole, but it was relatively easy. I do recommend creating the rudder before drilling so you can line things up with a physical object rather than guessing if you have it right. Another technique I find helpful is to put a piece of tape on the drill bit leaving only 1/8" exposed so you don't drill to deep.

It's taken some time but I've finally shaped the outer hull. It's not perfect but I've got it to a point that I feel satisfied with it.This boat might not turn out to be a museum quality model but I'm pleased to have gotten this far. I also found the way Chuck has you cut the curve of the stem using pieces of 1/8" strip wood has its challenges. I found it next to impossible to get a good bond when you try joining the angled strip to the straight strip.The problem is that there's no way to clamp it. So even though I let the glue try for 24 hours when I attempted to cut the piece out it breaks. The way I ended up resolving it was to glue the two pieces back together again only this time I took a garment pin, stuck it into the stem and cut the pin flush,it worked. So this is my progress thus far.

the best way that I have found is to use tracing paper and carefully trace out each image you'll need from the plans. Then cut each traced image out and transfer it to poster board.Cut the Images from the poster board and you have your templates. It's a little time consuming because you want to take your time and cut the images slowly so that they come out correct but it works. Maybe someone out there has a better way to do it but until I find a better way this is the technique I'll use for any future builds if I go with a solid hull kit.

One thing that I have learned if I should do another solid hull. Throw away the templates that they give you in the kit and make your own directly from the drawings. By using their templates I have spent a lot of time trying to fix the mistakes.I will say though not perfect my hull is almost at the point where I can move on to the next step.

I have discovered that the template is 1\8th of inch longer than it's suppose to be. assuming that the diagrams are at scale. You can see in the picture where I point out the difference.

I've started to shape the hull. The stern is pretty close to matching the template.

I've fitted and installed my cap rail

they're 5mm but I had to alter the base of the cleat so they would fit on to the stanchions.

Nicely done. I like the coppering

One of my near by hobby shops had some smaller cleats in stock which is kind of funny because they don't sell any wooden ship models. But I took a chance going over to see them anyway just in case and I got lucky. Although the cleats aren't as small as the plans show I think they'll work. I do have to do some modifications in order to make them fit onto the stanchions. In the pic I put the original cleat that came with the kit on the left and on the right is the new cleat, in the middle is one of the cleats  I modified. If for some reason I find that these cleats don't work I've done some experimenting with 16 gauge wire and was able to make something that would work if need be.

Mike,
     Lots of help if you need it.  I am just finishing up my Longboat build and injoyed it very much.  Please do not hsitate to ask questions.
 
                Bob R.

I've decided to purchase the kit. It'll be a learning experience,hopefully a good one.thanks for all your input.

I've fitted and installed my cap rail

One of my near by hobby shops had some smaller cleats in stock which is kind of funny because they don't sell any wooden ship models. But I took a chance going over to see them anyway just in case and I got lucky. Although the cleats aren't as small as the plans show I think they'll work. I do have to do some modifications in order to make them fit onto the stanchions. In the pic I put the original cleat that came with the kit on the left and on the right is the new cleat, in the middle is one of the cleats  I modified. If for some reason I find that these cleats don't work I've done some experimenting with 16 gauge wire and was able to make something that would work if need be.