Beef Wellington

Quick update.  Increasingly realizing I'm reaching a point that I need to attach the upper false foc's'l and quarter deck template before more progress can be made, but  a couple of items I need to finalize and figure out first.
 
Main and mizzen backstay stools:
Unfortunately when I made the channels I neglected to make the stools at the same time, In a moment of focus decided to just get these done.  These smaller items were definitely trickier than the channels when scraping the edge profile, other than that, these can be put aside for when I'm ready to install the quarterdeck drift rail.
 

 
Upper deck coamings:
As mentioned previously, I'd like to keep the option to have a few of the gratings be removeable.  First off, appropriately sized gratings were made up, and the coamings then sized accordingly.  I cheated here and used a simple butt joint as I didn't think the more authentic lap joint would really be visible.  These were made of 3x3mm strip and 2x3mm strip with the inside ledge added after with some slightly thinned 1mm strip.  The grating thickness had to be thinned quite a bit to make it them sit flush.  These will also be simulating actual practice and so the edges were rounded off to 1mm above the bottom to butt up against planking.  TFFM was used as a guide here.
 

 
Once the coamings were finished, the fake beams and cross pieces could be made up to the appropriate size.  The ends were sloped to ensure that the end of the face beam would not be visible for viewing angles.
 

 
Adjustments were made to the false deck to accommodate the larger openings and positions tweaked a little.  For the foc's'l, the coaming size does not match the deck cut-out or AOTS exactly due to the limited incremental options for the grating size.  The stove flue needs to sit equidistant between the steam grate and the forward grating which moved forward slightly.  The steam grating needs to be positioned appropriately to allow the belfy to sit on the aft end of the steam grate coaming.
 
The top tackle scuttles have been filled in to ease future planking - the instructions indicate that there should be coamings and gratings here, however, these will be modeled as flush scuppers without a coaming as described in AOTS and shown on contemporary models. Although the surface of the center deck is very slightly curved, it is a close enough approximation to a flat surface that the flat top of the fake frame seem to sit without issue.  Lighting is clearly an issue here, and the interior is a little more visible than the photo's suggest, and probably more so in a well lit room.
 
Of note is the fact that the stove, and especially the condenser, sits a little higher than ideally would be the case, although looking at the AOTS diagrams its still a tight fit there as well.  In retrospect, I would probably not have put wooden battens underneath the bottom plate to lower this by 1mm or so, but not going to risk damage at this point to redo.
 

 
Putting some scrap planking in place give a better sense for the final proportion and the above deck rounded edge.  Think these will be a nice contrast to the much higher coamings of the exposed upper deck below needed to withstand water ingress.
 

Sorry for the delay to recognize the kind comments and likes!  
 
24 Foot Cutter:
 
Work has started on the 24' Cutter.  I'm recording my progress in this log as it seems more logical coming from this kit, however, I hope to mount this boat on my other build, Snake.  I leaning toward not mounting any ships boats on Jason, at least directly, so this seems a good opportunity to stick my toe in the water on these smaller boats without risk of serious catastrophe if things don't turn out as planned...I'm determined to make the best show of these as I can building from the kit, so we'll see.  Many other build logs seem to show the finished article so I wanted to try and record progress as I stumble in the dark.
 
The frame parts fit together pretty easily, however what is not clear is how these would ultimately go together to end up as a cutter.  The instructions essentially say 'plank this as you did the main hull' which isn't too much help.  The first decision was to figure out where the frames should be set in the keel former.  Looking at the profile and the lines, it seemed the best option was to sit the frames approx. 1mm above the keel bottom.  This will mean that planking will be pretty much flush with the keel former so an external keel will need to be added.
 

 
Straight away the stern fascia looked far too small so a replacement was made from the same 1.5mm ply.

 
The formers at the bow we reduced and beveled as best could be estimated envisioning the final hull shape and how the plank will sit, and some limewood shaped at the stern.

 
The instructions do indicate the floor should be glued in position, however I want to leave the option open to remove this as it seems to sit a little high (should be at same hight as the keelson), and put the floor planking (footwalling) in as low as possible once the hull is completed.  Profiling the frames also indicated another challenge, the 1.5mm play is rather soft and pliable, and very thin in places.  To try and reduce the strain, some limewood reinforcement was glued to the most delicate frames.  Even with this, this requires a light hand.
 
Planking could then commence using 0.5mm walnut provided.  The usual frustration here, the kit supplied walnut is poor....no more need be said.  The main challenge at this stage is that the planking can't be glued heavily to the frames as these will need to be removed later on, and the keel former is rather bendy.  Small amounts of PVA glue were used to keep planks in position on a few frames only.  CA glue was used to attach the walnut strip at the bow.  A second strake has been added so far using the same approach, only some PVA glue was applied to the strip edges to try and bond these.  Once set, dilute PVA glue was brushed onto the installed planks to try and give it a little more strength at this stage.
 
We'll see where this goes...

 

Sorry for the delay to recognize the kind comments and likes!  
 
24 Foot Cutter:
 
Work has started on the 24' Cutter.  I'm recording my progress in this log as it seems more logical coming from this kit, however, I hope to mount this boat on my other build, Snake.  I leaning toward not mounting any ships boats on Jason, at least directly, so this seems a good opportunity to stick my toe in the water on these smaller boats without risk of serious catastrophe if things don't turn out as planned...I'm determined to make the best show of these as I can building from the kit, so we'll see.  Many other build logs seem to show the finished article so I wanted to try and record progress as I stumble in the dark.
 
The frame parts fit together pretty easily, however what is not clear is how these would ultimately go together to end up as a cutter.  The instructions essentially say 'plank this as you did the main hull' which isn't too much help.  The first decision was to figure out where the frames should be set in the keel former.  Looking at the profile and the lines, it seemed the best option was to sit the frames approx. 1mm above the keel bottom.  This will mean that planking will be pretty much flush with the keel former so an external keel will need to be added.
 

 
Straight away the stern fascia looked far too small so a replacement was made from the same 1.5mm ply.

 
The formers at the bow we reduced and beveled as best could be estimated envisioning the final hull shape and how the plank will sit, and some limewood shaped at the stern.

 
The instructions do indicate the floor should be glued in position, however I want to leave the option open to remove this as it seems to sit a little high (should be at same hight as the keelson), and put the floor planking (footwalling) in as low as possible once the hull is completed.  Profiling the frames also indicated another challenge, the 1.5mm play is rather soft and pliable, and very thin in places.  To try and reduce the strain, some limewood reinforcement was glued to the most delicate frames.  Even with this, this requires a light hand.
 
Planking could then commence using 0.5mm walnut provided.  The usual frustration here, the kit supplied walnut is poor....no more need be said.  The main challenge at this stage is that the planking can't be glued heavily to the frames as these will need to be removed later on, and the keel former is rather bendy.  Small amounts of PVA glue were used to keep planks in position on a few frames only.  CA glue was used to attach the walnut strip at the bow.  A second strake has been added so far using the same approach, only some PVA glue was applied to the strip edges to try and bond these.  Once set, dilute PVA glue was brushed onto the installed planks to try and give it a little more strength at this stage.
 
We'll see where this goes...

 

Sorry for the delay to recognize the kind comments and likes!  
 
24 Foot Cutter:
 
Work has started on the 24' Cutter.  I'm recording my progress in this log as it seems more logical coming from this kit, however, I hope to mount this boat on my other build, Snake.  I leaning toward not mounting any ships boats on Jason, at least directly, so this seems a good opportunity to stick my toe in the water on these smaller boats without risk of serious catastrophe if things don't turn out as planned...I'm determined to make the best show of these as I can building from the kit, so we'll see.  Many other build logs seem to show the finished article so I wanted to try and record progress as I stumble in the dark.
 
The frame parts fit together pretty easily, however what is not clear is how these would ultimately go together to end up as a cutter.  The instructions essentially say 'plank this as you did the main hull' which isn't too much help.  The first decision was to figure out where the frames should be set in the keel former.  Looking at the profile and the lines, it seemed the best option was to sit the frames approx. 1mm above the keel bottom.  This will mean that planking will be pretty much flush with the keel former so an external keel will need to be added.
 

 
Straight away the stern fascia looked far too small so a replacement was made from the same 1.5mm ply.

 
The formers at the bow we reduced and beveled as best could be estimated envisioning the final hull shape and how the plank will sit, and some limewood shaped at the stern.

 
The instructions do indicate the floor should be glued in position, however I want to leave the option open to remove this as it seems to sit a little high (should be at same hight as the keelson), and put the floor planking (footwalling) in as low as possible once the hull is completed.  Profiling the frames also indicated another challenge, the 1.5mm play is rather soft and pliable, and very thin in places.  To try and reduce the strain, some limewood reinforcement was glued to the most delicate frames.  Even with this, this requires a light hand.
 
Planking could then commence using 0.5mm walnut provided.  The usual frustration here, the kit supplied walnut is poor....no more need be said.  The main challenge at this stage is that the planking can't be glued heavily to the frames as these will need to be removed later on, and the keel former is rather bendy.  Small amounts of PVA glue were used to keep planks in position on a few frames only.  CA glue was used to attach the walnut strip at the bow.  A second strake has been added so far using the same approach, only some PVA glue was applied to the strip edges to try and bond these.  Once set, dilute PVA glue was brushed onto the installed planks to try and give it a little more strength at this stage.
 
We'll see where this goes...

 

Sorry for the delay to recognize the kind comments and likes!  
 
24 Foot Cutter:
 
Work has started on the 24' Cutter.  I'm recording my progress in this log as it seems more logical coming from this kit, however, I hope to mount this boat on my other build, Snake.  I leaning toward not mounting any ships boats on Jason, at least directly, so this seems a good opportunity to stick my toe in the water on these smaller boats without risk of serious catastrophe if things don't turn out as planned...I'm determined to make the best show of these as I can building from the kit, so we'll see.  Many other build logs seem to show the finished article so I wanted to try and record progress as I stumble in the dark.
 
The frame parts fit together pretty easily, however what is not clear is how these would ultimately go together to end up as a cutter.  The instructions essentially say 'plank this as you did the main hull' which isn't too much help.  The first decision was to figure out where the frames should be set in the keel former.  Looking at the profile and the lines, it seemed the best option was to sit the frames approx. 1mm above the keel bottom.  This will mean that planking will be pretty much flush with the keel former so an external keel will need to be added.
 

 
Straight away the stern fascia looked far too small so a replacement was made from the same 1.5mm ply.

 
The formers at the bow we reduced and beveled as best could be estimated envisioning the final hull shape and how the plank will sit, and some limewood shaped at the stern.

 
The instructions do indicate the floor should be glued in position, however I want to leave the option open to remove this as it seems to sit a little high (should be at same hight as the keelson), and put the floor planking (footwalling) in as low as possible once the hull is completed.  Profiling the frames also indicated another challenge, the 1.5mm play is rather soft and pliable, and very thin in places.  To try and reduce the strain, some limewood reinforcement was glued to the most delicate frames.  Even with this, this requires a light hand.
 
Planking could then commence using 0.5mm walnut provided.  The usual frustration here, the kit supplied walnut is poor....no more need be said.  The main challenge at this stage is that the planking can't be glued heavily to the frames as these will need to be removed later on, and the keel former is rather bendy.  Small amounts of PVA glue were used to keep planks in position on a few frames only.  CA glue was used to attach the walnut strip at the bow.  A second strake has been added so far using the same approach, only some PVA glue was applied to the strip edges to try and bond these.  Once set, dilute PVA glue was brushed onto the installed planks to try and give it a little more strength at this stage.
 
We'll see where this goes...

 

The Mizzen has arisen:
 
I can see why build logs tend to neglect rigging relegating it to a bit of a dark art - its so hard to reach a point where one can step back and say 'done' because nothing quite seems to get finished before its necessary to do something else before its too late.  Anyway, the mizzen rigging is now essentially complete.  This area proved to one of the more challenging so far 'learning the ropes', but also just because of the increased fiddliness factor and decreased access.  The plans also proved more challenging in this area due to their either lack of clarity or incompleteness.
 
Before starting, this was my last chance to address some things that have been annoying me.  The kit supplied ladders going to the stern platform just seemed too bulky, so these were ripped off and replaced with custom made items that just felt a little more to scale, and less visually obtrusive.  These proved challenging to make in walnut due to the splinter factor, but necessary to avoid introducing a new wood.  The ships wheel was also given some coats of a wash to try and make it a bit attractive from the flat brown colour I had used way back when I started (Pre-fix situation below):
 

 

 
Rigging could then proceed, planning ahead proved key due to the many elements that need to be fitted in a very tight space, especially below the tops (tye, parrels throat halliard etc).   Petersson's Rigging Period Ship Models and Lever's Young Officers Sheet Anchor provide invaluable to bridge contradictions and lack of clarity in the plans.  Items of note as follows:
Boom Sheets - went with single vs a double arrangement as illustrated on the plans as I couldn't find another example like this Gaff throat halliard - the positioning of the gaff is slightly different on each plan, I had to lower my original placement to allow for the two double 5mm blocks, luckily the pin hole was obscured Single boom horse - Common practice seems to have a knotted horses on either side of the boom.  I just couldn't get this to look right and the image of a young schoolboy with rather large and unruly ears kept coming to mind....so in the end I just went with a single and it seems to do the trick other than to purists. Blocks for main topsail brace - One of the first blocks I had installed has to be removed, a double block on the mizzen for the main topsail braces as indicated on the plans.  It was clear that this just wouldn't work with the crossjack and gaff in place as it needs to sit above the gaff.  I elected to remove and replace with 2 single 5mm blocks with a longer clearance from the mast to avoid interfering with the various rigging elements in this space as illustrated in Petersson.  These are held temporarily in place with sewing thread. Close up pictures of where things ended up that hopefully can assist others (errors are of course mine):
 

 
Finally, some overall shots...

 
 

So the next obvious question is how does the figurehead get into the roundhouse?

Absolutely wonderful work Jason!

Amazing work on your Diana!!! Really inspiring! Thank you

What are we on about  - I cant remember🙃
 
OC.

Nice work Jason, dispite the missing reference. I would have expected the handropes for the ladder to be slack as well as a final detail, since there is no knot at that last stanchion on either side. Now I am nit picking. A very nice additional detail for the build!
 
When you are talking about me I would call it dementia, for most it will be temporary amnesia, if I can still remember it correctly

Hi Mark,
Yes, it is confusing, the Roman spear/javelin. As I read more online, there appear to be one version, the pilum, which has a long metal shaft put into a shorter handle like what the second Bellona model seems to show. But there also appears to be another version of a javelin with a metal head only a foot long, connected to a 2 meter wooden shaft. That is what appears to be held by the Bellona sculpture in posting #721 above. Lacking any further evidence, I will go with the javelin like the sculpture, treating it as a wooden shaft with a one foot long metal head. So I will have to paint the metal shaft as wood in my model.
 
While I was at it, I finally nailed down the size the hawse holes. Since I did not do my framing as actually constructed, I had no idea where the hawse pieces were located at the head, and therefore where the hawse holes were located (since they are drilled with half out of each adjacent hawse piece). So I constructed their locations here.
 
And I did this while waiting for glue to dry in more planking.
 
Mark

 
 

Hi druxey and Mark,
 
I like the idea of her holding the shield; one less hand to carve! Here is an updated version, minus the gorgon that I don't feel like drawing right now...
I put the captain next to the figurehead just to see how big this really is. She is one big lady! I remember seeing original figureheads in various maritime museums over the years; now I fully appreciate why they were so big.
 
Mark
 

 
 

Thanks for all the comments and likes everyone! I apologize that I have not posted completed pictures. Life has been busy lately. On the days I feel good enough to do something I am working on extending my lean-to shelter outside. Trying to have a little workshop out there for regular sized wood working and things are way too tight. Extending it out 12 more feet to move the lawnmowers under and free up more work space for a work table and space to use power saws, sanders, etc. With my health condition everything takes me 10 times longer than it should take.
 
Not sure what is next. With the outside projects and me building my own homemade biological filter systems for my aquariums Not sure if I will get back to any ship modeling until the warm weather season passes. Don't have any more kits. Have 2 part-built ships started by someone else that I picked somewhere along the way over the years that I always said I could fix up but have never done. I have also dabbled in SIBs some and could tackle another one of them as I always have ideas for them rolling around in my head. Plus all this depends on how I feel. 
 
Jesse

Blockading Brest during the Napoleonic Wars. A Brig brings in a captured French Lugger.
W/C  14” 10”

Based on HMCS Moncton before conversion to long foc'sl
W/C  9.5” X 6.5”
Jim

Fixed the Deliberate Mistake .. And the Other one too! (Both Double Blocks on the Mast for the Gaff were wrove through the bottoms..  )  I always try to take a good look at the photos shortly after I post them, potential mistakes not obvious at the time can show up after during a later visit ... Now if I could just get in the habit of checking the photos at the taking stage !!    I guess they don't call them Gaffs for nothing   
 
E
 

Hi Gang .. I got the Gaff sorted .. well that was fun.. trying to connect the Parrel, the Gaff Hoist and the Gaff  Topping Lift pretty much at the same time .. Oh The Fun, and how I laughed when the Topping Lift Block on the Gaff itself popped out of its strop.. Am still drying my eyes from that one     Have to say though, am totally enjoying this part of the build, when the block popped out onto the carpet monster I just took out another  (Chucks wonderful blocks btw) opened out the holes a little and got it back in (spot welded it this time   )
 
The fore Stay is now resting in its proper place (or nearly so, as the Shrouds will sit under it) and the tweezers is there purely to add weight to the system, to kind of Bed Things In so to speak..
 
All The Best Folks Thank You For All The Comments And The Likes, Always Appreciated..
 
Eamonn
 
 

Thanks Jason
 
I've been pondering the ship's boats... (My backup plan is to buy the caldercraft resin boats - which are okay, but a bit pointy at the bow, and I'd rather conquer the challenge myself) The kit bulkheads have caused me no end of trouble so far. I couldn't get the curves at either bow or stern, and if I wanted to make the center removable I couldn't get the planks to stay together. It's weird, because I managed the ship's boat on Royal Yacht Caroline - for some reason this is just fighting harder. 
 
Anyway - I decided to go back to basics. I had a look on the RMG website for 32 foot pinnaces and found a design from Portsmouth from a few years before Ethalion was launched. J0859, here: https://prints.rmg.co.uk/products/32-ft-pinnace-j0859?_pos=18&_sid=f62fc5df9&_ss=r
 
And I've been creating my own framework to build the boat on... As below:

It's a work in progress, but the resulting frame should be much much better for laying those really thin veneers onto, and getting a good curve. So far I've only cut out a few of the bulkheads to test out my theory. The design is printed onto A4 paper, glued (with Pritt-Stick / UHU-stick) onto 1.5mm ply, and then cut out with a piercing saw and finetuned to the line with sand paper and files. It's time-consuming, but quite rewarding really. As you can see, I haven't cut the centre slots yet... they weren't on the design when I did these ones. They are now. I'll add them manually for these bulkheads.
 
As you can also see, the bulkheads all stretch up to a universal line, so that they can be mounted upside down on a board, as I believe Harold Hahn did for his models.

As I say the designs are very much in progress, but here are the frames as an A4 PDF if you want to take a look.
 
wip_32ftpinnace_bulkheads.20200517.pdf
 
I expect to build the frame over the bulkheads and then remove the majority of the bulkheads - but time will tell how that really works out.
 
Anyway - that's my thinking so far.
 
Rob 
 

Post 2
Basic assembly continued.
 
Simple assembly continues with everything fitting together as perfect as a jigsaw puzzle without anything puzzling.
 
Follow the manual and you can’t go wrong, Chris’s many years of experience as a designer and builder show through. Everything is numbered, everything is clear. For the novice builder there are no headaches here.
 
At this stage I bring a support board into use.
 

5122
I used the slightly modified board I used for the Alert build, the two hull lengths are not that different.
 
The Fish hatch framing slots into place on the lower deck with a precision fit.
 
Well it didn’t last long into the build, but at this point I make a minor modification.
 
None of what follows is necessary, or has any real impact on the build, but I can’t help myself, and one of my foibles is that I like to have a glimpse of below decks, which I feel adds interest, and gives an impression of depth to a model.
 

5124
Firstly, I boarded out the lower deck within the Fish hatch framing, with 0.6mm boxwood strip on the basis that I don’t know at this stage how much of the hatch cover I will eventually leave open.
 I also may wish to open the sliding companionway roof or doors.
 

5128
To this end that section of the false keel between bulkheads 9 and 10 needs to be removed and an extension to the lower deck fashioned, easily done using spare mdf from the parts framing.
 

5129
This completes the extent of my lower deck planking.
 

5132
I coated the bulkhead surfaces with slightly diluted pva and slotted the sub deck into place. I found it best to slot one side partly into place, flex the deck up, and tease it into the other side.
 

5134
This is a little tricky and one of the bulkhead tabs did break off during the fitting, and once in place in the designated slots I still needed to weight and use elastic bands the hold the deck down at the edges.
 
 I think getting the deck out again would be a fraught business risking splitting the deck and breaking tabs.
 

5147
Next morning I also painted diluted pva on the underside of the deck along the bulkhead join.
 

5143(2)
There is a fair bit sheer on a Fifie.
 
 
This completes the basic carcass assembly; things will get a little more testy in the next phase of the build.
 
 
B.E.
19/05/2020

Well Eamonn, the difference is far from subtle, the small things can make the biggest difference.  If I had a chest of drawers, this would be in the top one!

Well Eamonn, the difference is far from subtle, the small things can make the biggest difference.  If I had a chest of drawers, this would be in the top one!

Well Eamonn, the difference is far from subtle, the small things can make the biggest difference.  If I had a chest of drawers, this would be in the top one!

Ahh Thanks Guys, such a nice thing to hear! 😊 .. Sorry for not replying sooner but for some reason I missed your Posts ...  
 
Over the last couple of days I have been setting up the Gaffs, beginning with the Fore Mast one, locating the Parrel beads and getting the blocks ready.. Oh and almost completely forgetting the Mast Hoops for the Main Mast, bit embarrassing especially after all the effort I put into them.. Don't mind admitting to an 'Oh Poop!'    moment as I looked at the Main Mast to see if they could still be placed without having to de-construct .. Phew all good as I simply had to lift off the Schooner Stay and slip the Hoops down over the various blocks.. 😌
Whilst doing all this over the past few weeks I thought I'd best show a sample of just how far 'off the reservation' (Or 'Beyond The Pale' if you will, appropriate for where  live which is just outside the actual Pale  ) I now am by showing a photo of the Ballahoo Box Art Work for the Bow area, which hopefully will give the non Ballahoo Builders an idea of just why I'm sometimes taking so long to do even the simplest stuff.. and having to research practically every Stay etc ... Fundamentally it looks the same but ... the devil is in the detail .  
 
All The Best Folks
 
Eamonn @ Excuses Excuses Ship Yards  
 
Edit ..  Oh and check out those Anchor Stocks 😕 
 
 

Planking is definitely something that you can only learn by doing, and you're doing just fine, keep going.  Everything can be solved.  Regarding planks, there is some variety here but I was guided to go with planks around 150mm long, but these would have varied somewhat for the following reason  that was not obvious to me at the time I planked mine.  The planks should terminate on a beam in practice and the position and spacing of these vary from ship to ship.  Most obviously, beams would go between the hatchways, not mid way through them.  Not a big deal at all, but just as easy to follow practice.