tarbrush

Really really great work Richard.  I love all the detail you have done!  very impressive!

Hidey Ho Good Neighbors!
 
Hard to find time lately to even post let alone build - but doing my best!!
 
Did a couple quick additions to the willie to keep it moving forward - nothing grand unfortunately compared to the others around here but getting there!!
 
First, went ahead and added the plankshears, trimmed them up and sanded to shape as per the plans / instruction book.
 
 

 

 
Then to wrap up that part mounted the log rails and sanded them out.
 

 
That is set aside to dry and am starting to get the other hull pieces ready to go so I can give it a final fill, sand, prime and paint and then ON TO THE DECKING!! (kind of excited about that part )
 
 
As always, thanks for peeking and Enjoy!!
 
(And yes, flemish coils would look snazzy!!!!   )
-Adam

Tim and Bob, Thanks for the comments. I went ahead and blackened all the parts then started to put on the boat. I immediately discovered that the axle brackets for the long roller were to tall so I had to make new ones. Here is a old and new pick.

 
After blacking the new parts I installed the dredge roller on the starboard side. Everything fit well and I am happy. Probably do the port side tomorrow.

I put my sail making aside, while I wait for some eyelets I ordered to arrive so I could complete them. Today I have been working on the oyster dredge rollers. The picture shows the two roller assemblies prior to painting or blackening. This little project took me about 8 hours to complete to this stage and I am pleased with the result. I sorta wish I had aluminum tube to use for the rollers but only had the brass. I will likely paint the rollers with aluminum colored paint and the mounting ironwork white.

Thanks for having a look.

Well I spent the last two full days building these oyster dredges and man what  a challenge! They turned out ok, I guess, but I wish I was better at soldering. Actually I assembled one with about 20 percent solder and 80 percent CA glue and one with 90 percent solder and 10 percent CA glue. The glued one looks better to me. I had a real problem with previously soldered joints melting when working on a near by joint. The paste solder didn't work very well. I couldn't see when the solder melted because there was so much slag generated by the stuff. I used and open flame and a tip but still had problems with both. I guess practice makes perfect.  I probably should have spray painted them, but I used a brush and there is some clumping of the paint. Oh well they look good from about 18 inches away so I will live with them. ( Duh, I have "Blackin It" but just thought of it now)

 
 I started making the nets using 1/8" split rings but I'm thinking they are too big. They scale out to 4" when they are supposed to be 2 1/4". The smaller rings are 3/32", which scale to 2" but they are so small I know it will be very tough to assemble. What do you all think? 

Well I finished the second bilge pump and it turned out as good as the first. I started building the oyster dredges yesterday and quit in order to come up with a better more organised method. So I went and bought a nice piece of poplar to serve as a build board for the dredges, made a copy of the dredge plans and taped it to the board. Then I spent the next two and a half hours cutting and shaping the pieces for the frame for one of the two dredges.  Oh yeah, I also went to the local craft store and bought a pair of 4mm X 2mm Bale Making pliers and a pair of Round Nose Pliers from the jewelry department which helped a bunch.  Went to the local supermarket and bought a bag of White Pearl Onions just for the bag, as it will work very well for the netting on the dredges ( I need to find a recipe to use the onions!)  Now I need to come up with a plan or jig to hold these parts so I can assemble them. I intend to bolt the pieces I made eyelets for together and solder the rest of the joints. I think I will make it in sections, the two sides and the bottom then assemble and finish soldering the connecting braces and joints.  I may staple the individual pieces in place to the build board then use FloTemp paste solder to join them.  Hopefully I will be successful. I will post my results. Here are a couple pics of the 23 pieces needed to to construct the dredge frame. I still need to cut and shape the pieces for the second dredge and make a rake for each one. 

 
Hopefully it will look like this when finished.  

Thanks Russ and Gerty for the encouraging comments. I worked on a fun little project this afternoon, building the bilge pumps.  Completed one today and will make the second one tomorrow.  It turned out pretty well. I think it would probably even work.  Ha, maybe I'll give it a try. The only real challenge was making the conical shaped upper piece and the wooden pump handle. Started with this basic material, 

 
Made these components, 
 
Here is the assembly, 
 
And mocked up on the boat. 
 
I will polish them up a bit and just paint them white.

A short update.  Spent the last two days installing the headrails and trailboards.  I am not planning to torture myself by trying to paint the fancy trailboards so I went ahead and installed them.  They were quite a challenge but I am satisfied with the results.  Will put a primer coat on the new wood then start the deck planking next.  Here are some progress pics.

Hello all, This is my first build log and my first build of a somewhat detailed wooden model boat.  I retired about 18 months ago and decided to get into building model boats. I am partial to work boats, especially those of the Chesapeake Bay, so I built a simple crabbing skiff and a smaller scale skipjack wood model to get into it a bit. This kit is far and away more difficult. I am having fun though and the hours just slip on by.  I am sorry I did not start the build log properly by documenting the kit unboxing and early stages of my build so this log picks up after I finished the basic hull. I started this build on Jan 15, 2013. I am building the boat as close to the "real thing" as I can and adding as much extra detail as I am capable of.  Comments or questions are welcome of course.
 

 
The cabins and hatches are just temporarily placed on the deck. The main cabin roof was split in two so that I can remove half to see the detail.  The cabin windows are clear plastic. The cabin mattresses are pieces of cardboard covered with old sail cloth. All doors are hinged and hatch covers are removable. Well that brings this build up to date.  The next task is to cut and install the planksheers.

Hey Gang,
An update at last !  Ive rigged and installed the rear cannon as well as the ships wheel.  As you can see by the profile photo - i probably should have mounted it about 1/32 further aft as the ropes arent centered on the drum.  And i think wheel stand is a little too tall by maybe 1/16.  Some corrections may be in order....
 
Stay tuned,
Chris

Hi Gang,
 
After a hiatus due to my wife and I having twins, she's dusted off and I'm hoping to recommence this build.  I've attached some not so great photos from my iphone - the idea here is just to get a log started and motivate me to get back in the shipyard - for at least a few hours per week.  
 
This build was started back in November of 2009 using Chucks plans that later were used in the Model Expo kit.  The woods used were swiss pear from Hobby Mill for almost exclusively with the exception of boxwood for the decks and a little bit of ebony for the false keel and checkerboard flooring in the great cabin.  Im a big fan of Fiebings dyed swiss pear and used this method for all black areas with the exceptions I just mentioned.  I used three finishes, pure tung oil for the hull, Watcos Danish Oil for the deck fittings and beams, and diluted sanding sealer for the deck.  
 
My goal is to at least get the 6 lb guns rigged and installed along with the ships wheel hopefully by the end of the month so i can begin the headrails this summer if the twins cooperate....
 
Thats it for now - by the way the photo posts looks a bit different than the old Modelship World - any tips on the best size to upload so they look more standard/fill the screen ?
Chris

Here are the pics

its been awhile since i have done anything on this model
 
i have added a few more bits on top

 
hello Urb sorry i must have missed your reply
 
have you started a buildlog ?
 
yes card is not as easy as it looks and this model is fairly complex
 
 

I'm glad the damage was only minor.
 
Everyone who has been in this hobby for a while has had an "oops moment!" My worst (so far - as to not invite the shipwreck Syrens), came when I was loading my Mercury into the back seat of my car. I'd measured the opening carefully. No problems; the complete, rigged model will sit nicely on the rear seat, on a cradle. I even cushioned the ride with pillows on either side of the hull  (yes, my wife knows I borrowed them). 
 
I got to where I was going (a ship club meeting) just fine. I carefully removed the pillows, threw them in the trunk. I was feeling confident, smug even. Made it this far from home, what can possibly happen? I'm certainly not going to drop it. In a split second of inattention, as I carefully slid the ship off the rear seat, the top of the main mast clipped the door frame and the topmast down to the top snapped right off! Rigging went limp. Many will know what this looks like. I actually closed my eyes for a moment and winced, wondering what repair job awaited me.
 
I took it into the meeting and with zen master steadiness (I held my breath), I carefully placed the end of the broken mast where it snapped-off and I swung it up and leveraged it into position. Voila! The mast centered itself on the break, the split wood aligned perfectly and all the rigging went taut. There wasn't even a break mark on the mast and - believe it or not - I didn't have to glue anything. Not one line needed attention (of many).
 
It's 2 years since then and I haven't touched the broken mast since and I believe only one person knows what happened: me. I'm sure this doesn't happen that often. And, yes - I do thank The Force every so often for my good fortune.
 
Ron

It's looking really good Mark, love the shape of that hull.

I have not personally built nor have I seen a fully framed model of a Grand Banks fishing schooner so I thought it would a fun project to try.   There is a lot of information available on the Effie M. Morrissey, including a reasonable set of plans that are available from the Library of Congress, she is available to visit in her modern configuration, and there are folks in Massachusetts that have been more than willing to answer questions,  so she seemed to me to be a good choice.   
 The following is a compilation of her history from the internet, “so it must be true!” 
She was designed by George McClain and was the last fishing schooner built for the Wonson Fish Company.  She was built with white oak and yellow pine and took four months to complete.  She was launched February 1, 1894.  Her hull was painted black and her first skipper was William Edward Morrissey, who named her after his daughter Effie Maude Morrissey.  She fished out of Gloucester for eleven years then began fishing out of Nova Scotia.
 In  1914, ownership moved to Brigus, Newfoundland where Harold Bartlett used her as a fishing and coasting vessel along the Newfoundland and Labrador coasts.
In 1925 Harold Bartlett sold her to his cousin, Captain Bob Bartlett, an Arctic explorer.  Bob Bartlett had an auxiliary engine installed and reinforced the hull for use in the Arctic. In 1926 with  financial help from publisher George Putnam , Bartlett began 20 years of exploration using the Effie.
When Captain Bartlett passed away in 1946, Effie was sold to the Jackson brothers to carry mail and passengers in an inter-island trade in the South Pacific.   On their voyage to the Pacific she developed problems at sea, forcing the crew to return to New York.  On  December 2, 1947, the boat caught fire  while docked at the boat basin in Flushing, New York.
The schooner was repaired and sold to Louisa Mendes in Massachusetts at which time she entered the packet trade  in a trans-Atlantic crossing to Cape Verde. Upon reaching the islands, Captain  Mendes  re-registered the schooner under the name Ernestina, after his own daughter, and used her in inter-island trade. Ernestina made a number of transatlantic voyages and fell into disrepair at Cape Verde, where she remained until the late sixties when there was interest  in the U.S. to save her. In 1977 the people of Cape Verde made a gift of Ernestina to the U. S.
In August 1982 her hull was completely rebuilt and she sailed to the United States. 
In August 1988 the schooner made a return trip to Brigus, Newfoundland, on the 113th anniversary of  Capt. Bob Bartlett’s  birth.
Ernestina was designated as a National Historic Landmark i with restoration being completed in 1994, and in 1996 became a part of the  New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park.  She is currently owned   by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
 Effie  is the oldest surviving  Banks fishing schooner; the only surviving 19th century Gloucester-built fishing schooner; one of two remaining examples of the Fredonia-style schooners (the other being the Lettie G. Howard,) the only offshore example of that type; and one of two sailing Arctic exploration vessels left afloat in the United States.
 
This is the fourth model going onto the building board in the attached photos.  The model will be based on how she looked in 1894.  In the photos you can see that the  keel has a piece temporarily attached so it will sit at about a 2 degree angle to match the "drag" and make it easier to check that the frames are 90 degrees to the water lines (building board plane.)  I am using Castello box for the keel and  deadwood.  The plans do not show a shelf along the bearding line of the fore or aft frames.  Looking at photos of a rebuild of the schooner Virginia, there are no steps nor shelf.  I have no idea if there was one on the original build.  More to come, I hope.
 
Allan
 
 
 

Hi Ray,
I just found your log today,  you are doing a magnificent job!  I really admire the top and butt planking you did on the gundeck.  I think I may have gone a little crazy doing it.  Was it as difficult as it looks?
 
Your coppering came out great!  Is the black line at the top of the coppering, tape or a batten?  I have wanted to do coppering like that before but was afraid I would make a botch of cutting the angles on the plates and wind up with a serrated looking line.  Yours came out so good I want to give it try next time I have to copper.
 
I haven't built a model with quarter galleries yet.  Yours are perfection.  ok you are 3 for 3 in things I have thought too difficult, I will pay the extra for a front row seat on this one.   good job Ray!

The Stern& Quarter Galleries being built at same time as coppering hull.
 
                     This proved to be quite tricky to build and even more so as I am going with the low quarterdeck sides. I lined up the transom so that the rail across the top of the stern gallery will line up and be the same height as the quarter deck sides, when they have the rail caps on them, this has meant the side windows are a bit to high by about 5mm and its to late to change the height, so I will have to live with it, I added a extra 3mm piece under the windows which brings the whole gallery down so it finishes in about the right place. Could I have tried to removed it all and lowered it, it is so well glued up it would have been a nightmare to do and could have ruined the whole stern, the good thing is the top stern gallery rail and the quarterdeck rail will line up and look right. Once the quarter galleries were made up the stern gallery was done and the rail across the top added a length of 1x4mm walnut was well soaked and then bent into shape and fixed whilst very damp with cyno. Back to a bit more coppering as I mentioned before I have been building this up whilst coppering.
 
Starting the stern gallery

 
Galleries building



 
 
Top rail added

 
ready to paint



 
curtains

painting




 

Ray,
 
Good Luck with your Diana. I just completed mine this past December. This is the oldest but one of the best Caldercraft kits. Overlook the poor instructions, toss 'em. The plans are quite good however, the materials are excellent. I loved upgrading this kit.
 
I have some photos in the completed ship gallery here you may want to look at - you know, inspiration! As you'll see, I decided to not copper her. I agree that the Victory Models copper plates are considerably better (I used them on the VM/Amati Mercury brig kit, same scale). YOu may want to think about this approach. Diana's lower hull lines are beautiful and the walnut planking does finish-up quite nicely.
 
Cheers!
Ron
 
 

continued with the bow-part
 

 

finally glued the attributes on the bow

 

 
and continued with the railing
 

openings made for the canons

 
and a dry-fit for the structures in the bow

 

continued with the paintingwork
 
 

 

 
soldiers of the Royal garde are poping by
 

and some figures painted (basic colors)
 

 

The model was built at the level of beams. On margin planks, small pieces of wood were placed, giving the view of components of frames. By building the gunwale and the counter at the prow, the hull took its proper shape. Some wooden supporting constructions, were also made in prow and stern.  





 
Thanks