Bob Cleek

Somebody probably has a more authoritative answer from a book somewhere, but I'd guess that they would attach the block on the horse with a shackle or a moused hook and remove the block when the mainsheet wasn't attached to the horse. (I'm not sure when shackles came into use, actually.) The shrouds would be attached to the chainplates similarly, with a shackle or moused hook on the bottom of the lower deadeye. This would permit the deadeye lanyards being loosened and the deadeyes and lanyards removed from the chainplates with the mast as a unit. The shrouds and deadeyes and lanyards, as well as halyards and stays, would likely have been lashed to the mast when it was stepped, and then the entire mast and gang of rigging removed with a tackle while the longboat was alongside. I doubt they'd have gone to the trouble to reeve the mainsheet tackle and deadeyes, although they may have stowed some of it below if they were "off soundings" for a long while and not anticipating sailing the longboat for weeks at a time. The spars and rigging would likely have been stowed lashed on the boat skids or spar rack of the ship. The mast is likely too heavy and unwieldy to step from within the longboat and there isn't any "tabernacle" arrangement that I expect would have been present (as in American whaleboats) if it were ever intended to be stepped from the longboat. Then again, some of the evolutions that were performed by the naval crews of that time were pretty amazing. For the size of the vessels, they carried large crews and many hands make light work. The amount of heavy work that was performed, such as stowing furniture and removing cabin bulkheads throughout the ship, when the crew was "beat to quarters" to go into combat was truly prodigious.

It's been niggling at me for days now and I think I've found the answer. I think the horse below the tiller makes perfect sense, Chuck. Everything on a vessel is for a purpose and on most vessels, particularly naval vessels, things are pretty well worked out. A longboat is primarily a pulling boat. It's usually used for short trips to shore when anchored out, between vessels in a squadron, between ships at sea, or for sending armed parties ashore. Speed and maneuverability would usually be of the essence. There is no shortage of manpower on board the mother ship, so there's no problem manning the oars. By far, the most use she'd see would be propelled by oars. That would provide reliable speed and no problems with the wind being ahead of the beam. The sailing rig, as handy as it may have proven to be to Captain Bligh and his mates, had to be a pain to have to rig and was likely rarely used. It would only be of advantage on longer journeys when nobody was in a hurry and then, primarily, when the wind was abaft the beam. If so, there would be even less occasion to tack and thus to see the mainsheet running into the tiller as it came across on the horse. The tiller sets rather high. To install a horse above it would be complicated, as the horse has to be stable and the taller it is, the less ability it has to withstand the athwartships forces of the sheet block at the corners of the horse. The tiller is relatively short, which allows for the loose sheet tackle to perhaps be thrown around the tiller as the boom crosses amidships. As primarily a rowing boat, a "hybrid" approach is also obviously available. Traveling long distances to windward, short tacking under sail can easily be avoided by leaving the sails to luff on the short leg with the oarsmen taking over, and then relieving the oarsmen on the long tack to let the wind do the work. That would permit rather rapid windward progress without having to pass the boom over at all when the helm was a-lee. So, all in all, the horse below the tiller, while shocking to the eye of small boat sailors used to sail as the primary means of propulsion, and hence who do a lot of short tacking under sail, makes perfect sense on this particular boat. So from now on, Chuck, any time somebody asks about the mainsheet horse, tell thelm I said it was right and right for good reasons!

Welcome! You will find a lot of people happy to help you here. Many of them are extremely talented miniaturists. Some are well-known "world class" ship modelers. Don't be discouraged. Experience starts when you begin. Take it one step at a time. Do not rush. Care and attention to detail are the prerequisites to building a respectable model. Everything else you need to know can be found in this forum and in several fine "bibles" of model shipbuilding which you will probably acquire over time. 1. Try to find a build log for this model or one similar to it. Billings has a series of working boats and I expect their building issues (and there will be some... there always are in any kit) will probably be addressed there. 2. Go to the resources section of this forum and study the tutorials there. Go to the Western NY Model Shipwrights' Guild webpage and study their "resources" page: https://www.modelshipwrightguildwny.org/ On that page, carefully study and learn these two tutorials on planking: 1) https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/226021_09487f2b95af4dfda94bcf16f7f14016.pdf (Part One) and 2) https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/226021_a1f6a3f402ae4fc38dd90fd7049c7713.pdf (Part Two.) Don't be discouraged if they appear complicated. There's no way around it. Take it one step at a time. Practice on a "mock up," if need be, before you try to plank a plank-on-bulkhead model for your first effort. I'm sure many will have more to add to your specific questions, but here's my two cents worth: Planking Gluing . I have decided to use CA type glue (medium or thick). Hopefully this will avoid pins or clamps but I will have to work fairly fast. I will practise a bit before working on the model. Follow the instructions in the planking tutorials. Read the section in this forum on adhesives. CA has its uses, but it is expensive and somewhat permanent, so mistakes may be hard to rectify. For planking, it is handy for use as "liquid nails" to tack down a plank, but I prefer to rely on good old Elmer's Wood Glue, which is removable with alcohol, for real holding power. Treenails are also good for making sure plank ends stay put where there's a lot of spring away from the rabbet. Plank Bending. I have a Hot Shot Steam Cleaner and tried bending some planks. It seems to work fairly well, but will have to experiment a bit more. Broke one board already, and I notice some separation of the wood fibres in the ones that did bend. Maybe I am trying to bend it too quickly. Steam works, but it's messy and somewhat dangerous, in that you can burn yourself easily with it. It's used in full-size boatbuilding because a whole piece of wood can be heated for an hour without drying the wood out as much and steam is a good way to get the heat to a large surface in a steam box. For little pieces of wood in modeling, getting the wood hot isn't so much of a difficult challenge. A store-bought plank bender, a steam iron (for the heat, not the steam,) or a soldering iron work just fine. Planks should be heat-formed before "hanging" on the model. Trying to bend planking directly on the frames or bulkheads before at least partially bending the plank with heat is the proper technique. You'll save a lot of broken planks that way. Plank Cutting. I can cut planks to rough length before mounting, using a scalpel or Exacto type knife. But how do you trim planks once they are installed? Let’s say that you need to trim 1/8” at the stern after installing a plank. What is the best way to do that? I imagine using a knife would be difficult. Is there a fine saw that you use? Dremmel? Again, read the planking tutorial for tools suggestions. Hobby knives are good. A small 1" iron plane is handy for trimming and beveling planks. No need to spend big bucks on a Lee Valley or Lie Nielsen piece of jewelry. The sharpness of the iron is more important than anything else on a small plane. You'll have plenty of time to collect fine tools along the way, but you can spend thousands on tools you think you must have before ever starting a model. Everybody has at least one modeling tool they bought when they started out, only to discover it was junk and they never used it. (Lot's of 'Loom-A-line" ratline jigs gathering dust in forumites' shops, I'm sure! ) Micro-Mark, a convenient one-stop source for modeling tools (although there are others offering better quality tools at better value) has a decent little micro-plane for ten bucks and they always are sending 20% off coupons if you sign up for them at the website. See: https://www.micromark.com/Mini-Wood-Plane?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=PLA_Brand&utm_term=4576304834449762&utm_content=Micromark PLA For trimming overhanging planks at the end of topsides at a flat transom, a jeweler's saw is the tool of choice. This is essentially a small coping saw. You don't have to spend $150 bucks for one, although that's what the best will cost, but don't buy the cheapo models in the hobby tool catalogs, either. Get a decent mid-price-range one from one of the jeweler's supply mail order outfits on line. There's probably been a thread in here about the best jeweler's saw. If not, start one and you'll find out what people are satisfied using. Get a good selection of blades. The jeweler's saw will be useful for cutting wood and also fine metal sawing. For straight cuts, a "razor saw" that fits in a large "X-Acto" handle (and often comes with an aluminum miter box) is a good basic tool to have. Keel Gluing. This particular ship comes with the keel split in 2 halves. Instructions say to plank first, then glue the keel together. However some people have posted that they glue the keel halves together first, then plank. I think the latter would be more difficult, but planking each half individually might lead to warping. Comments? I have no experience with that building method and it would concern me. Rigidity of the keel and bulkhead structure is essential. So is alignment of the bulkheads square to the keel where that is indicated (the "fixed frames.") I can't imagine why anyone would add the complication of making sure half of each bulkhead was perfectly aligned with it's other half, if that's what you're describing. Sorry, but if that's the way Billings designed the model, I guess you may have to dance with the girl you brought. Search the building logs and see if anybody has described doing, or not doing, it the way the instructions direct. That will probably save you a lot of grief. Hull Finishing. The hull will be a single layer of planking, and will be painted, so I will need to fill in the cracks. I have seen various methods including wood filler and glue & sawdust. Has anyone used gyproc (sheet rock) filler? This works great for nail holes, baseboard joints, etc. so why not for a model? I want to get the hull as smooth as possible – this model scale is 1:30, so a scratch of 1/32” (0.8 mm) equals a gouge of almost 1” (2.5 cm). Ouch. Double-layer planking is more forgiving. Again, read the planking tutorial. Meticulous attention to detail is required for a fair planking job. The bulkheads have to be perfect or the planking will be funky. If you pay attention to planking correctly, you shouldn't have "cracks" to fill in. If you need to fair a less that perfect planking job, drywall patch will work, but you won't get a "model scale" finish out of it easily. The product that I've had the best success with is what is used on yachts for perfectly faired topside finishing, marine "glazing compound" or "surfacing putty" (same thing,) which is thinned with acetone and dries very quickly. It is specifically formulated for sanding and comes in pint cans. It also sands very easily and takes paint well. It's specifically designed for the job. Drywall plaster is coarser and you won't get as smooth a surface as with surfacing putty. It's softer and scratches easily. Drywall putty tends to soak up a lot of paint. Bondo and other stuff like that, while it might work, is far harder to shape and sand, as it's hard. (Bondo is really for use on metal, not wood. You'd get fired if you were caught using it in a good boatyard.) Decking Glue. I have seen several tutorials on how to lay out the wood decking strips. But I haven’t seen anything that tells me what sort of glue to use, or how to fasten the decking in place. I plan to stain this decking to look like a teak deck, so I don’t want any glue residue which will not absorb stain or finish. How do you guys fasten the decking? For openers, there aren't many working fish boats with teak decks. It's very expensive stuff. Most work boats are planked with fir, larch, and similar species. It's your model. Just sayin'. Again, most use white or yellow wood glue ("Elmers" is the best-known brand.) If the deck planks are glued down, they aren't going anywhere. Many modelers will additionally fasten deck planks (and hull planks, if they show bare wood) with treenails. Care should be taken to place them where they would actually be on a real boat. (i.e at last two side by side at the ends of planks and at every intersection with a deck frame.) Wipe off glue residue with a water-dampened rag before it dries. Neatness counts in the first place, of course. Alcohol will remove any that you can't otherwise get off. If you are going to stain or paint your deck, I'd suggest doing so before the planks are laid. Painting the edges black should ensure the planking looks real, as on real boats the deck planking is caulked and the seams paid with tar. Scuppers. I plan to add scuppers to this boat. A real boat would have provisions for quick drainage of water from nets, rain, or spray in rough weather. So I will endeavour to cut some scuppers in the perimeter bulwarks. If you study your vessel carefully, or those of its type, you'll probably find a lot of details that can be added. By all means, do so if you so desire. That's what makes your boat "yours." Note that the picture of the boat on the kit box will always be of the model built by an accomplished modeler and often will have many added details. In many cases, if one built the model exactly as the instructions directed and used only the materials provided in the kit, it would look like crap. For instance, many modelers will automatically throw the planking stock and other wood in their scrap bin if it's junk, as it often is in kits, and order better wood from modeling suppliers on line. The same goes for rigging line and fittings. These are the parts of kits that are often not really suitable for a good model. "But that's everything in the kit!" you say. See, now your are becoming an experienced ship modeler! Starting with a kit is a great way to go. Most do it that way, but most quickly move to "kit bashing" and, ultimately, to "scratch-building" as they build on the experience gained by their first kit builds.

Thanks for the compliment on the boat! I was a bit embarrassed to post it, particularly the unflattering "close-ups" of the rigging line. I sort of backed into the model. Someone gave me a very limited plan of a seventeen foot hard-chine catboat and I modified the design, the cabin and the rig primarily, and starting futzing around with it to see what it would look like. One thing led to another and the next thing I knew, I was taking the model seriously. I did rush through certain aspects, though. I would have spent more time cleaning up the metalwork and if I'd been harder on myself, I'd have laid up my own rope. I didn't even "flame" the thread to get rid of the fuzz! It was a cute boat in the end, so I built a case for it. Anyway, where it's necessary I did apply clear ("white") shellac to the lines in order to shape them. This is particularly evident in the coiled halyards hanging over the cabin bulkhead. It isn't natural to have scale lines coiled like a cowboy's lariat, as is often seen. Working lines on real vessels are limp and, when coiled and hung, don't lay in "circles," but rather hang down and conform to whatever they are draped over. Shellac is soluble in alcohol, which allows for changes and forming. The alcohol dries quickly and as it does, it permits forming the thread to pretty much whatever shape one desires. It's invisible, provided only enough is applied to wet the thread (one coat.) Adding further coats on top of dried coats builds up a glossy finish that isn't desirable. If "softening" for further shaping is desired, it only takes an application of alcohol to return the shellac already applied to a soft state again. I use shellac a lot, no only for treating lines to create catenaries or to seal knots (which are easily "unsealed" with alcohol, if required... there are always "do-overs," it seems,) but I also use it as a sealer on wood parts. Alcohol is quite water-impermeable and keeps wood stable. Depending upon the wood species, changes in ambient humidity can cause wood to move a lot, weakening the structure over time and causing glued parts to let go. I also use it when I want to leave wood natural. Repeated coats can depict varnished brightwork well, and when not overdone (i.e. not overly glossy,) can look quite realistic. All the unpainted wood on the model has shellac applied to it. Lastly, shellac is dirt cheap and brushes are easily cleaned in alcohol. Get your alcohol by the quart or gallon at the hardware store. That's the least expensive source. Get "clear" or "white" shellac. The "orange" shellac has an orange cast which will build up to a dark brown with repeated coats. I don't find much use for it on models. If your shellac thickens in the can, or if you wish to apply it in lighter coats than "out of the can," just add alcohol and stir. The solvent in shellac is only alcohol, so for those who are concerned about vapors, there are none to worry about. I seriously doubt that a "1940's cotton sail" from a full-size boat will work at your scale, if I understand your comment correctly. I've sailed with cotton sails of various weights, including very light spinnakers. All would have been much to heavy for model work. What you want is very light, tightly woven fabric. Something around the weight of handkerchief cloth. Hope this helps. Your model looks very nice, by the way! It demonstrates good, clean and crisp work. I'll keep an eye on how it goes.

I have found that light cotton material or the equivalent is quite suitable for sails at as small as 3/4" to the foot. At this scale, a fine stitch in thin thread on a sewing machine is properly scaled for representing the sailcloth panels. It's tedious hand-stitching, but boltropes, reinforcing patches, and other "real-life" sail details are all possible. Actually cutting and sewing panels cut to shape the sail, as in full-size practice is a level of sophistication I have yet to attempt, but this also is theoretically possible. However, once a sail is bent onto the model, it tends to take the same shape as a real sail, and can be "filled" and shaped with a hair dryer in one hand and a can of spray starch in the other, right on the model. (Masking all but the sail before spraying the starch is advised, of course.) The below photos are of a yet-to-be-starched machine-stitched and hand-worked gaff sail of cotton in 3/4" to the foot scale. The photos weren't taken for the purpose of showing the sail work and the sail wasn't made with the lightest fabric available, but should provide some idea of what real cloth sails look like in larger scale models.

I wonder if you've ever considered using this or another similar sculpted plastic pedestal, perhaps designed to accommodate pads of various sizes on the dolphins' tails so as to fit a variety of models, fore and aft, as a pattern for brass or bronze castings? I'm guessing their relatively small size would make them suitable for lost-wax casting patterns. Here in the US, at least, there are foundries that can turn out small sculptural castings for quite reasonable prices (usually based on the weight of the metal poured) if a pattern is provided. I'll bet such cast metal bases would be a profitable sideline internet mail-order business if one were so inclined.

Trust me, you don't want to go there. At this stage of the game, I'm a lot less of a porpoise than I am a barnacle-encrusted, battle-scarred, old white whale!

Wonderful rigging job! A delight to watch someone else suffer through it, but a bit daunting. Were I at the early stages of building yet another Constitution, I'd be sorely tempted to reduce the task of rigging and proceed with building her in her receiving ship days. Or perhaps an Independence (1814) as a receiving ship at Mare Island before she was burned for her scrap metal on the mud flats at Hunter's Point. As noted, the billowing sails pose decided challenges, but I think it's worth the effort because it brings the model "alive" and, importantly, I think, opens up the view to the details on deck and at the base of the mast, which otherwise are always a problem getting the amount of viewer attention they truly deserve.

Sorry to have rubbed salt into the wound. I missed the first "few dozen times." As I mentioned, I expected that your version was faithful to the original contemporary model. I can accept that the "why" of it is now lost in the mists of time. As you said, "It's a model of a model."

Thanks so much for sharing your amazing work! Keep it coming! (The MSW Forum "Swimsuit Edition" photos aren't bad, either!)

Beautiful rigging job on the longboat in the gallery, Chuck! In its scale, the fine line and blocks certainly make a huge difference. One question, however. I'm sure that you meticulously recreated the contemporary model upon which your longboat is based, but why would such a vessel have a mainsheet horse that is below the tiller? This requires the tiller to be unshipped from the rudder stock on every tack, at the time it is needed most, in order to permit the mainsheet tackle to slide over to the leeward wide. Isn't a horse on the transom and crossing above the tiller, or a mainsheet rigged to blocks on the quarters instead of a horse, which don't cause the sheet tackle to foul on the tiller, be the proper arrangements?

Or you can simply tape various grades of wet and dry sandpaper to a flat surface (sheet of plate glass, top of full-size table saw) and use the sandpaper as a sharpening stone.

Sure, put them on, but now you've entered the wonderful world of "kit-bashing." Which is perfectly okay. If you think they look better with the bolt ropes, it being in scale and all that, they by all means do it. There's no shame in adding detail to make a kit model better. Most all of the really well-done kits you'll see will necessarily include a lot of scratch-built improvements and additions.

Forming the "U" shaped bend in the shackle is easily accomplished with an orthodontist's loop-forming pliers. The models with stepped jaws will provide a range of loop diameters. Jeweler's loop-forming pliers will work as well, but more care has to be taken to make sure the diameter of the bend is consistent from piece to piece.

I'm sorry, but time prevents me getting a drawing done, scanned and posted at the moment. I'll try for a simplified version of my description of the jig. I've amended it slightly, as well, as you will see. Imagine a small block of metal, at least a quarter inch thick and two inches square. The following dimensions will vary depending upon the size of shackle you want. It has two holes drilled in it. Their diameters are the same as the ends of the shackle you want to make. The distance between the far edges of the two holes is the same as the length of the piece of wire you want to make the shackle out of. On one side of the metal block is a "U" shaped slot machined in the face of the block, running between the two holes and in line with their centers. The depth of the slot would be the diameter of the wire you are using to make the shackle. Looking at it from the side of the metal block with the groove, the two holes and the slot would look something like a weight-lifting dumbbell. To use it, the piece of wire that is to become the shackle is cut to the length of the distance between the far edges of the two holes and annealed. it is then laid on a flat anvil (or any other piece of metal.) and the block of metal with the groove facing downward is placed on top of anvil and the piece of wire so that the wire is held in place by the groove between the outer edges of the two holes and at the bottom of the holes. Looking down at the bottoms of the two holes, one would see the wire ends running straight across the bottoms of the holes, in the same line as the groove. The metal block would then be held so the piece of wire was sandwiched between the anvil and the metal block. A drift punch (or any piece of metal with a flat end matching the diameter of the holes) is placed in a hole and struck, flattening the end of the wire at the bottom of the hole to a flat circle the diameter of the hole. This would be repeated on the wire at the bottom of the other hole. (This is the same process as hand-striking a coin.) This same process would then be repeated with a transfer punch matching the diameter of the holes. Lightly striking the transfer punch would add a "center punch" dimple in the center of the end of the flattened end of the wire for accurately drilling the hole in the ends of the shackle. The wire would be removed and holes drilled in the center (marked by the transfer punch) of the round flattened ends of the wire and the wire bent in half to form the shackle. The shackle pin would be made the same way, but only using a length of wire with one flattened circular shape at the end and a hole drilled in it. Note that the pin of a shackle should be the same diameter as the shackle itself, so the same wire should be used for shackles and pins and the hole drilled in the ends of the shackle should be the same diameter as the wire used for both. If you were working in a larger scale and wanted to be really anal about it, the shackle and pin could be threaded using a tap and die, but allowances would have to be made for the threads which would require using a slightly larger size wire for the pin and a slightly larger hole drilled in the non-threaded end of the shackle. Without threads, a touch of CA adhesive on the "threaded" end of the pin will hold the pin in place forever and no one will be the wiser. This is a transfer punch below. They are used to mark the exact center of holes in the base of a piece when you want to fasten it to another piece. They are sold in progressively sized sets, like drill bits, and are relatively inexpensive. I've not tried this technique described with the holes used as a sort of die to squash a perfectly round circle at the end of the shackle wire, In the past, I've simply mashed it with a hammer and then filed to a rounded shape, but that is tedious work when a lot of shackles need to be made and, as most know, if you are working in a scale that permits shackles, there will usually be more of them than there are blocks. Below is a past effort of mine which I hope would be more refined if I'd done it today, but you can see what you get with this shackle-making method. In the below case, a 3/4" to the foot catboat of my own design, I left the shackles to develop their own patina, which has become a good imitation of weathered bronze at this point.

Yes, I've seen the Lexan tops. In practice, they really don't provide much light at all, though, unless the sun is directly above the standpipe. If getting light below is desired, a deck prism is a far better solution. They were widely used in times past, but are generally too small a detail to be seen on contemporary models. Modern designs make wide use of plastics and safety glass to let light in, particularly in hatch tops, so now the dark cabins that resulted for the need to keep glass portlights small for reasons of materials strength are pretty much a thing of the past. Traditional portlights on modern yachts are more a matter of design aesthetics than anything else. "Modern" deck prism parts. Nineteenth Century not-so-modern deck prism from below. Nineteenth Century deck prism uninstalled. Mystic Seaport sells these replicas of those on the Charles W. Morgan for thirty bucks as souvenir paperweights. Interesting trivia, perhaps, but let's not let it sidetrack us from Michael's fascinating build log. I'm waiting for his next magical trick making slotted head screws to unfold! I'm learning a whole lot here from him!

I've had the same problem getting uniformly sized shackles making them "one off" as Vaddoc describes and suffered through it. Michael's post got me to thinking... It should be easy enough ( famous last words...) to fashion a metal block jig so that the desired length of annealed copper wire can be held between the metal jig block and the smooth face of an anvil so that the ends are positioned directly beneath two holes the size of the shackle "ears" desired. A suitably-sized groove milled between the two holes would serve to hold the wire in place. Inserting a properly sized transfer punch into the holes and giving it a good whack should, in theory, at least, produce on each end of the annealed copper wire perfectly shaped round shackle "ears" with an exactly-centered dimple in each, ready to be drilled for the pin. A similarly fashioned jig could be made to fashion shackle pins, or the same jig used as before to yield a single pin end the same diameter as the shackle "ears." If the faying surfaces of the bottom of the block and the top of the metal block are perfectly parallel and clamped tightly, I expect there would be little or no filing to clean up the flat rounded ends that would be formed. Or so says he who hasn't tried it yet.

Thanks for the good ideas, Jaager! I especially like the screw container idea.

Sorry to hear of your loss. It's kind of you to think of your husband's fellow modelers. I'm sure someone will be most grateful to honor his memory by putting his tools to further good use. I know I would if I were anywhere near Ohio!

Yes. My comment addressing capping the cowl bases on the Dorade boxes contemplated free-standing cowls screwed into bases. All the side mount cowls I've ever seen were permanently fastened, unlike the full cowls that screw into a threaded base. That's why I commented that I was perplexed as to what the inside of the side-mount box looked like. I figured that out, though. While some boxes have a wooden water baffle in the middle to isolate the water from the through-deck hole, another arrangement employs a standpipe or riser instead of a baffle to create the "water trap" effect. The upper end of the standpipe rises above the bottom end of a downpipe beneath the cowl base. It's a simpler arrangement, actually, and I believe a better one. That would have to be what is employed with the side vents in a box. For a side-mounted cowl, as seen below, the box would have to extend outboard far enough to accommodate the full diameter of the riser, of course. The side cowls don't contemplate their removal for complete sealing in heavy weather. The problem of heavy water isn't so great where they are placed, well aft on the cabin sides. Even so, as with regular round-based cowls on Dorade boxes (if you want to get really fancy,) there are standard mushroom vent fittings that can close off the standpipe or riser from below. In the double-cowl arrangement you have shown in the prototype vessel, I'm relatively certain there would be found a standpipe in the box between the two half-cowls and it would have some sort of mushroom vent standpipe or riser to close it off from below. The mechanism consists of a "spider" fixed inside the standpipe with a threaded center hole through which a threaded shaft can be turned. At the bottom of the threaded shaft is a handle with which to turn it and at the top it is threaded into a gasketed "mushroom cap" to close it off. The ability to easily close it off isn't simply to keep heavy seas out, but probably more frequently, it would be used to regulate the air flow as desired. Davey and Co., London, (or wherever... they recently moved to the suburbs) still carries such classic mushroom vents in bronze, as does Toplicht in Hamburg, I expect. Davey offers them in varying heights, as shown. There are also other models with squared edge caps. Myself, I'd hate to hide a piece of "yacht jewelry" like these under a Dorade box, though! I went googling for a picture of a squared cap mushroom vent and discovered that Cornwall Model Boats even makes miniature square-capped mushroom vents in several scales for model boats ! https://www.cornwallmodelboats.co.uk/acatalog/RB-Model-Fittings-Mushroom-Vent-14-x-23mm-RB09114.html#SID=1496

Correct. Some Dorade boxes also have two identical cowl bases, one next to the other. This permits shipping the cowl in the base directly over the air inlet hole in fair weather so that the air flow goes directly below, rather than having to go "up and over" the baffle.

I had thought the "handle" was a tube that held the wrench. I'm probably going to see if I can attach a magnet to mine so it sticks to the saw somewhere. I like to have tools that are frequently used with a machine, like chuck keys and Allen wrenches, have a designated storage spot, preferably on the machine itself, so they are instantly available for use. It saves me a lot of time. Otherwise, even if the tool is within arms reach, I seem to find myself looking all over (and often right at it) in the clutter of the work-in-progress or when commencing, remembering I absent-mindedly left it in the pocket of another pair of pants!

What beautiful joinerwork there! And the double half-cowls. Now I can say I've seen them on at least one boat! I can't figure out what the "Dorade" boxes look like inside. The drain holes leave me scratching my head, but no matter. I'm sure they are as well thought out as the rest of this lovely boat. My own favorite of the pilot cutter type, though originally designed as yacht, not a pilot cutter, is J. Laurent Giles' masterpiece, Dyarchy. I have her plans and a license to build one model. Perhaps one day I'll get around to it.

I really like the look of this installation with the box! Might I suggest that you consider making another set of those cowl vents to wear as cuff-links?. I'm sure it's a variation I simply have never seen here in the US, but I've never seen two half-cowls mounted together. It makes sense if one wants the same air flow as would be realized from one whole cowl, though, obviously. What seems to have been common here was simply the half-cowl on each side, or even more commonly, a "clamshell" cowl on each side. The "clamshell" cowl was the same as the half-cowl, except that it had no base and just the top section alone (which was sometimes shaped a bit flatter.) There was simply a hole cut in the cabin side to accommodate the air intake on the side mount half-cowls and clamshell ventilators I've seen here in the US. I've never seen a Dorade box on a half cowl, though. These side mounted cowls seem to have been far more common on early power yachts than on sailing vessels. I'm not saying there's anything improper about the pictured installation, but only that in my experience (which includes working in a classic yacht brokerage decades ago,) we didn't seem to have similar arrangements here in America. That said, as the long-time owner of a Giles Vertue sloop, I can attest that there are many such ingenious fittings which are decidedly "British" and yet rarely seen in the US. Cruciform cleats and Highfield levers are prime examples of "better mousetraps" that inexplicably never made it across the pond very often.

Actually, cowl ventilators on smaller craft (as opposed to large ships) were never intended to be shipped except at anchor or in a berth in port. They weren't for use when exposed to rain, spray, and breaking waves. (And they always posed the hazard of a loose sheet taking a flying half-hitch around one on a tack.) They had plates which screwed into the base mount when the cowl was stowed. The Dorade box was actually something of a compromise. (The loss of air flow through the drainage holes is minimal.) I don't believe they were intended for use in really heavy weather, either. Below, Dorade was relatively Spartan and dark, giving something of a claustrophobic experience. She was designed as a "ocean racing machine" in which speed was paramount and cruising accommodations secondary. (Although, at the time, standards being what they were, she is finished quite nicely, unlike today's bare-bones "racing machines.") When sailing, particularly in warm weather, it was found that there was a great need for ventilation below decks. The "boxes" permitted the cowl ventilators to be shipped in all but really heavy weather and carried their closing plates for use when needed. (If anybody's wondering, my limited familiarity with Dorade was the result of having the good fortune to have a friend who had her under charter for a time many years ago.)