ziled68

Hello everyone,
Yes it’s been a while since my last post due to the fact that the majority of the main construction of my whaleboat has been knocked out of the ball-park. Now is the time to actually go through the ordeal of constructing the whalecraft and minor details. The minor details were oar locks, steering oar rest, compass box, waist and stern tubs, lantern keg, lantern, water keg, piggin, bucket, and coopered drogue. I’ve also tweaked the mast and oars to include the steering oar and tiller. These items are small and a person can easily finish them without realizing it. I should point out that there were a few items that I did not follow religiously from the guide. The guide book states that you can add the hoops to the buckets, etc… made from copper which I did not. What I used was 1/16 wide strips of card stock that I painted black with a sharpie and am happy at how they came out. The guide book also points out the details for the mast as follows, “mast hoops are usually a permanent feature of the mast and so should be present. After the hoops are on, add the wooden cleat for the spritsail tack”.  Keep in mind that I stressing the important fact that the hoops go on before you place the cleat. My hoops are not made from copper but rather from a piece paper. What I did was wrap a piece of wax paper a few turns around a dowel of similar dimension in order to get spacing between the dowel and the soon to be made hoops. I then glued a strip of paper about 4 inches wide around the wax paper and let it dry overnight. Once dry, I slid the paper off of the dowel, cut it down to the size I needed and finally took a sharpie to it. The finished result looks quite convincing as the photos below will show. I still have a few more items that need to be made before I can finally dress up my whaleboat and call it good.

Hello Everyone,
The latest update to my whaleboat is the addition of the whale gun box which was optional but decided to add it on. Also, I added the rudder and the tabernacle which was not part of the original plans. Lester, who has actually worked on the Charles W Morgan, was kind enough to send me lots of information on whaleboats. One such detail that I enjoyed was the tabernacle which seemed an ideal concept in aiding whalers to safely seat the mast into its step without getting their fingers crushed. I also went ahead and painted the gunwales and rubbing pieces black. I originally planned on painting the hull white but decided to leave it unpainted because I actually like the bare wood. If you’ve seen my previous builds, you can tell I fancy this aspect. Attached you will see photos showing you how she looks and I’ve also added the variations of tabernacles in the event someone would like to add it to their whaleboat.

Hello everyone,
Here’s the latest update to my whaleboat. I’ll start off by saying that the new details I added are small but gives my whaleboat a lot more character and the more I add the more I learn about the functionality of the whaleboat. Since the majority of the items are small, I’ll just blurt them out and let you look at the photos below. The new items added are, bow chocks, preventer cleats, standing cleats, foot brace, three small cleats at cuddy area, logger head, lifting straps, row locks, and peak cleats. I also added and finished the details for the centerboard. What I like most about the centerboard is the fact that its lifting strap is functional and I can raise or lower the centerboard. I also painted the thwarts brown with yellow edges to continue following the paint scheme I showed everyone on a previous post. For those of you who plan on purchasing this kit and for those of you who already have it, I must say that I am having a blast as I know you too will enjoy it.
 

Hello everyone,
It’s been slow going since my last post but one that had to be done to get great results. I added the rubbing pieces outboard, just below the gunwale strakes. The guide states that this piece is made from 1/16” x 1/8” timber which I believed did not do justice for this important and noticeable aspect of the whaleboat. I decided to use the 1/8” x 1/8” timber I used as a retaining batten when I separated the form from the horses. I used the measurements from sheet 1 of the plans and tapered the ends to its specification.
After completing the rubbing pieces, I started working on the thwart knee filler blocks. These filler blocks are a simple affair but extremely time consuming if you want it to look great. Once the filler blocks were installed, I went through the procedure of steaming1/32” x 1/16” timber to form the thwart knees which is a laminated procedure similar to the frames for the whaleboat. As I finished up one set of thwart knees I immediately added pads to the areas mentioned by the plans.
I finally put the week to an end via the construction of the box just forward of the thigh board. Once complete. I went back and went through the procedure of adding all my simulated tree nails to the areas that required them. The following photos will show you how she is looking.
 
Ray

Hello Everyone,
The newest progress to my whaleboat is the addition of thwarts, thigh board, cuddy board, and lion’s tongue. The thwarts were an easy addition to my whaleboat via getting a rough dimension of the size per thwart and using scrap timber to get the correct angle for the sides. The inwale will tend to impede progress a bit but is not really an issue. The guide states that the thwart risers are notched slightly so as for the thwart to have better contact. An interesting tidbit of information in regards to these notches was that it was done as a “cure” for thwart risers that were fitted to high on one or both sides.
The thigh board was next on the butcher block which was a simple affair to work on. The guide states that you should get the width of your thigh board from the model itself rather than the plans due to the fact that the bow may have tapered more than expected. It also states that if you have not already added nails to your model, you should at least nail the thigh board down for added strength. What I did was add a bead of carpenters glue followed by small dabs of super glue to where the thigh board will rest and finally place the thigh board on the gunwale.
The cuddy boards and lion’s tongue followed similar fashion as the thigh board with one exception. The stem post that protrudes above the cuddy boards were laminated strips of timber. At the beginning of its construction, the guide made no mention that this area had to be longer so I made it long enough to where I believed it had to go. Bad idea. Since I was not happy with it, I had to perform a minor operation to remedy this fiasco. I am now one happy camper. The following photos will show how she’s coming along.
 
 

Thank you Curtis, I hope that my build will give you inspiration for your build.
 
Hello Everyone,
The latest progress to my whaleboat is in the form of cheeks, inwales and gunwales, and paint. Well for starters, the cheek pieces were a little difficult due to the fact that you only get overall dimensions for them but not how to go about it. This is where your artistic abilities come into play. The rough dimensions of the cheeks are 1/” x 3/8” x 1 ½”. The guide is where you will get a better feeling for the construction of the cheeks so pay attention to it. Once completed, I added the cheeks to the stem and realized that I had not placed brass roller between the cheeks. It was a simple affair to address via cutting the 1/8” brass tube filling it with a wooden dowel and passing a pin through it to hold it in place.
After the cheeks were installed I worked on both the inwales and gunwales. These are pretty straight forward but I must say the gunwales that lie against the cheeks must be sanded to follow the cheeks profile.
Upon completion of these items, the guide states that if you wish to paint your whaleboat, now is the time to do so for the interior of the boat. As for choosing a paint scheme that would give my whaleboat any justice, let’s just say that I suck at it and did some research online. I came across this website, http://www.muffyaldrich.com/2014/04/charles-w-morgan-launch-minus-23-days.html, which talks about the preparation of Mystic Seaport’s Charles W. Morgan. After reading and looking at pictures, I came across its whaleboat and was immediately drawn to its color scheme which I will follow as best as I can. The following photos will show how she’s coming along (keep in mind that the first three are of the Morgan’s whaleboat).
 
 

Hello Everyone,
As promised, here is the latest update to my whaleboat. The plans and guide state that the first strake to be placed inboard is the thwart riser followed by the adjacent ceiling. Care must be taken to ensure that the thwart riser is 5/8” below the gunwale between stations 1 ½ and 4 ½. Forward and aft of these point the measurement is 11/16” giving it a gradual slope. The thwart riser starts from the most forward most frame and will continue aft up to the second from the last frame. Once you have placed the thwart riser, it is time to tackle the adjacent ceiling. The adjacent ceiling needs to be trimmed and/or sanded to get a nice tight fit along the thwart riser. Also, you will have to cut and install short wide pieces which cover the frames at the bow and stern.
Once that is complete you can go ahead and trim the slot along the keel to accommodate the centerboard trunk and mast step. The plans are nicely drawn and it is a simple process of getting the measurements for both of these items. Now I must point out that the height of the centerboard trunk is level with the thwart riser. I found it easy to add a strip of timber from the port thwart to the starboard thwart and use that as a guide to get the correct measurement for my centerboard trunk. Now before you glue it into place, make sure that you bore the pivot hole for you centerboard. The mast step is a simple affair so I’ll not go into it with the exception of pointing out that you will not bore the mast hole for it at this time.
Since it was raining today, I had plenty of down time to concentrate on the deck’s ceiling. I started the first plank near the centerboard trunk and work outwards. The first 4 ceiling planks are easy due to the fact that they only receive a 90 degree cut at their ends. The fifth and sixth planks are a little more time consuming because they have extreme angle that need to be cut just so. After the installation of each ceiling, I marked my boards where the simulated treenails would be placed above each frame. The following photos will show you how she’s coming along.
 
 

Greetings to all,
Well this past Labor Day weekend I did not do anything to my whaleboat so the progress that I have to report is small so I’ll post them tomorrow. On the other hand, I did go to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon with my wife and just enjoyed my time off to take in the sights. I want to share the following pictures with all of you and I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.
 

Hello everyone, I realize it’s been a while since my last post so let’ me see if I can bring you all up to speed. I last left off adding the strakes and batten seams to the form. I continued this process until getting to strakes 5 and 6 where these strakes need to be cupped to follow the contour of each section mold. The process is pretty simple in which you can either wet or steam these strakes attach it to a 5/8” x 5/8” quarter round molding and clamp in place until dry. Once dry, you add these strakes to your form. After the sixth strake the strakes no longer butt up against each other but start to lap. This can be seen when it is time to work on the sheer strake that needs to be completely beveled with the last inch heading towards the bow. Once the sheer stake is glued in place it is time to start working on the gunwale strake. You will notice that the gunwale strake is 1” shorter that the sheer strake due to the fact that gunwale strake will be placed 1” from the bow.
Once your strakes have been given enough time to dry, it is time to pin the temporary retaining batten to the cap strip to protect your gunwale from harm. Once the retaining batten is in place, you can now remove the hull from the horses. Removal is really simple. All you do is pry off the gluing tab that holds the jig to the bow and stern horses. Once done, you score along jig and the amidships horse to separate it.
Once the hull is separated, you can now go through the process of using the mold forms and a compass to draw your lines for your frames. You will get your measurements from the “Plan Views – Inboard Construction” on sheet 2 of your plans. The laminated frames are a simple process of steaming your frames, pinning it in place until dry, and finally gluing them in place.
I’ve also had enough time to carve up a scaled man to show relative size of the whaleboat. I my carving of a man to be 5’ – 8” tall and at this scale he came out to be 4 ¼” tall. I also could not help but notice that he had a barrel chest making him look like a tank hence being dubbed “Hank”. The following photos will show you how everything is coming along.
 
 

Hello Everyone,
I like the concept that Chuck is trying to get started in regards to group projects, be they small or large. One idea that I've been mulling over in my mind would be a group projected dedicated to carvings of Viking longboat prows. I've come across many pictures on the internet and it has stirred my imagination into incorporating it as a side project. Now the prow can be as large as one would want to tackle it. One must ensure that they do show updates and what carving techniques they are using. While at a larger scale, it will give people the opportunity to start practicing their carving techniques in the event they may want to try their hands at a carved ship's figurehead.
Attached are a few photos of what I am talking about in the event it stirs curiosity in fellow ship builders.
 
 

Hola Mija,
Sometimes you have to get the planks to cooperate with when they don't want to. What I find useful is a fabric steamer. Place the planks on the fabric steamer for a few minutes and gently bend the planks with your fingers before putting them on the frames. I hope this helps.
Raymond

Hello everyone,
Well I've finally crossed the finish line and have completed my whaleboat. On my previous post you've all noticed that the majority of the items were complete with the exception of the sail and the final dress up of everything stowed on board. The following pictures will show you the how she came out. Thanks to all those who've looked in on my build and I hope that a few of you will take on this build. 

Hola Cariña,
It has been too long since you've posted anything and I have missed your passion. I am glad that you are settling down again in order to continue working on your model and hopefully finish her (it seems you are closer to it now). I hope to see more updates and remember to take care of yourself. In the event you want ideas for working with your sails you may want to take a look at these videos for inspiration. Tu amigo, Raymond. 
 
 
 
 

Hola Mija,
I just finished seeing your Caravel and I must say, "Bravo". I see that you are starting with the Red Dragon. She will make for a beautiful model. I finished my Vietnamese Junk and I found an external link that explained the sails and rigging for Chinese Junks. Here is the site if you choose to have extra information at your disposal, http://www.thecheappages.com/junk/platt/platt_chinese_sail.html
I will look in on your build with interest.

Hola Cariña,
It has been too long since you've posted anything and I have missed your passion. I am glad that you are settling down again in order to continue working on your model and hopefully finish her (it seems you are closer to it now). I hope to see more updates and remember to take care of yourself. In the event you want ideas for working with your sails you may want to take a look at these videos for inspiration. Tu amigo, Raymond. 
 
 
 
 

Hola Cariña,
It has been too long since you've posted anything and I have missed your passion. I am glad that you are settling down again in order to continue working on your model and hopefully finish her (it seems you are closer to it now). I hope to see more updates and remember to take care of yourself. In the event you want ideas for working with your sails you may want to take a look at these videos for inspiration. Tu amigo, Raymond. 
 
 
 
 

Greetings to all,
Well like the old adage says, “All good things must come to an end”, I am here to report that after four fun months of working on my H.M.S. Triton, I have finally completed her. Today I have placed my Triton in her permanent home as the following pictures will show. Please enjoy (as much as I do) and I sincerely hope that a few of my fellow model ship builders will be able to take something away from my experience on my Triton.
I would like to thank everyone who has looked in on my progress and have given me words of encouragement and or likes and I would also like to thank the nay-sayers who have graciously kept their comments to themselves.  

Greetings to all,
I’ve finally completed the standing and running rigging for my Triton. I added the truss pendant, nave line, and another pin rail on the QD rail and the top’s rail. I still have to dress up the lines a bit. I also have to add the other components together in order to say my build is complete. These items include, ballast, barrels, ½ boat, crates, spare timber, and lines. Upon completion of my Triton I’ll move ahead and construct a display case for it. The following photos will show you how she looks so far.   

Greetings to all,
Tim,
No spiders Buddy unless you mean me going at it like a Spider-Monkey on a banana. Actually, Woody and I are tag teaming the heck out of the ratlines.
Al,
I have to keep you on your toes Buddy now that you’ve literally brought out the “Big Guns”. LOL. Joking aside, from the very beginning of this build I had planned on making a cross section with mast and sails but I like the aspect of her without the sails. What do you think?
To All,
Now that I’ve completed all the shrouds (to include all of the ratlines) I turned my attention to the main yard. I first added the stirrups ensuring that they were ¾” from the spar and proceeded to add the footropes. As I was looking at the spar with footropes, I placed it upon the mast and visualized how it would be held in place via blocks and secured to the belaying pin when it finally slapped me in the face. I had the belaying pin rack but it was not drilled to accommodate the belaying pins. So I had a quick Pow-Wow with Woody and he suggested I use a drill bit on an Xacto and carefully twist the new hand powered drill until all the holes were made for the belaying pins. It worked like charm. I then worked on the triple blocks that are attached to the hooks on the head just above the top but below the cap. I then added the double blocks to the spar and also added the truss pendants. The following pictures will show you how she looks thus far.

Greetings to all,
During this Memorial Day weekend I’ve been working on my Triton and enjoying the heck out of it. This past Friday I finally received the blocks and deadeyes I’d ordered and decided to tackle the dead eyes. I have successfully added the deadeyes and installed the main mast shrouds with ratlines tying clove hitches every 5/16” to represent 15” in height. Upon completing the main shrouds I went ahead and installed the top shrouds with the exception of tying the ratlines due to the fact that my butt was starting to hurt from all the sitting. After I rest awhile, I’ll tackle the top shroud ratlines followed by the topgallant shrouds. The following photos will show you what I have thus far.

Greetings to all,
Wouter,
Thanks for your comment about liking the way My Triton is coming along. Hopefully soon I’ll be on the sidelines admiring your Triton.
Tim,
I really appreciate your words. Out of everyone that has “Liked” and/or made comments on my forum, you are by far the most motivated person who actually looks forward to my updates. Once again, thank you.
Bindy,
I totally agree with you in that the mast and spars have significantly changed my Triton’s overall appearance. With the base I’ve made for her today, she stands at 29” high (736.6 mm). As for Woody, what can I say other than he wants to take our act out on the road. LOL.
To All,
While I was waiting for my deadeyes and blocks to arrive, I decided to finish the main topgallant yard which I was avoiding due to the fact that the components were much too small for my hands. Happily I can say that I was able to complete it. I also went ahead and painted the trestle trees and top plus the yards (with the exception of the stuns’l yards) black to give my Triton more personality. The following photos will show you how she looks.

Greetings to all,
Many thanks to everyone who’s looked in on my build and have given me inspiration to constantly push myself into this great hobby.
Here’s a quick update on my Triton in order to keep everyone abreast on what is going on in my neck of the woods. When last I posted, I had incorporated the lower main mast with trestle tree and top. I have since then added the following items and I’ll tell you that this beast is getting quite large. I’ve added the top and topgallant mast along with its trestle tree; the main, topsail, and topgallant yards; and I’ve also incorporated the stud sail booms for each yard. I’ve lashed the main and topsail yards temporarily to the mast until the blocks and deadeyes I’ve ordered come in. Once they arrive I’ll start permanently lashing and securing items to its perspective area.

Hola Cariña,
It has been too long since you've posted anything and I have missed your passion. I am glad that you are settling down again in order to continue working on your model and hopefully finish her (it seems you are closer to it now). I hope to see more updates and remember to take care of yourself. In the event you want ideas for working with your sails you may want to take a look at these videos for inspiration. Tu amigo, Raymond. 
 
 
 
 

Hola Cariña,
It has been too long since you've posted anything and I have missed your passion. I am glad that you are settling down again in order to continue working on your model and hopefully finish her (it seems you are closer to it now). I hope to see more updates and remember to take care of yourself. In the event you want ideas for working with your sails you may want to take a look at these videos for inspiration. Tu amigo, Raymond. 
 
 
 
 

Hola Cariña,
It has been too long since you've posted anything and I have missed your passion. I am glad that you are settling down again in order to continue working on your model and hopefully finish her (it seems you are closer to it now). I hope to see more updates and remember to take care of yourself. In the event you want ideas for working with your sails you may want to take a look at these videos for inspiration. Tu amigo, Raymond.