Jond

Post 5 First frames are in! My first goal is to complete the frames from station number 7 to 41. That completes what one might call the normal ones. After that potential small victory, I need to get more creative in my understanding of how to draw, make and attach them. As to what I am doing now, using the park service drawings is to set up the irregularity of the spacing. So far all is fine. Moving aft of station 7, however things change. 32 I quickly realized that simply using a grid to lay out tick marks works fine on the center section, but as the curves get tighter and even reverse a bit we need a different approach. My trial and error approach became apparent here. The tracing line of the station is a polyline. That means many straight lines that allow offsetting needed for the other frame lines. To get the 3 or 4 frames in between two polylines to follow the curves I needed to forget about the vertical and horizontal grid and draw lines connecting the points of the two adjacent stations. Then do the measurement and offsetting for the spacing. I realize this is not orthodox. 33 stations 8 through 11 are interesting because frames straddle these station lines. Thus station 8 drawing makes up two frames since the difference is something I could never measure[ say max of .020]. I called one plus and the other minus, but that just to refers to anticipated sanding. That conclusion meant the number for frames between stations drops to three so the calculation of the tick mark offset’s changes. Using simple math of the 2.5 inch spacing I can figure the offsets to use rounded %. I did this going back and forth between excel on one screen and turbocad on the other screen. 34 going between station 8 and 9 I never used the horizontal grid for the offsets. I add this lesson into my trial and error learning approach because I was taught that all frames that are lofted are given offsets that are based on a simple grid. Since I am not using French curves to draw the lines in a simple 2D Turbo cad I needed to go away from that principal. I tried to use the spline function for the lines and that may be the answer. The problem I had there was one can does not draw offset lines of splines [ at least I don’t know how] Enough of that talk back to wood 35 here we have the planned production line. The four steps as mentioned before. If I did not have all those things that come with life, I could probably do four of these a day. Alas life moves on and I try to stay at one a day on average. 36 here we built up to twelve frames, so I thought I should glue some in. 37 here we see, I believe, good enough lines to square up the frames 38 Oh well, wouldn’t you know it? The second one to go in did not have pins, so we delay again to go over the fab table and put pins in place. 39 finally I glued in the first four frame in place. 40 here we see the temporary plank above the deck held by backer blocks. I needed a few shims to hold the frame as straight as I could. I think it’s time for wee dram Jon

Post 4 Early frame production First up we need to complete preparing the keel to receive the frames. As I posted earlier, I made this assembly up using maple, then chose to use the park service drawings for all layout. Hopefully, the section frame placement will agree with the deck plan view with all the frames. I highlight the stations as that is my control and tool for if, or when, a compromise is needed. 22 here the parts are laid out on the section drawing for marking. Now back to Turbo cad to draw each frame. 23 the first ones I chose are in the mid-section and they are the straightest. Between stations 6 to 7 there are four frames, so I measured each offset and then set tick marks at 20% of the distance. They are all on layer for station 6, so they do not show on the printouts for each mid frame. This view is the first completed frame 18 using the ticks between sta 6 and sat 7 24 here is the first frame drawn and the layer for the control station is turned off. the red line is outside of the planks and the blue lines the theoretical 6 inch frame at the center point. I cut outside the pland and a little insid so as the beveling takes place I have enough wood to shave off. so far so good only one frame the sander got a way from me. I am sure there will be more. 25 with this method, I can draw two frames in about a half hour. Then on the assembly bench I can make up the pattern for two frames at a time. That is do a little, go away and let glue dry then do more go away for glue to dry. 26 I tried using my spindle sander for the insides. It is aggressive, so after two tries I retired it. A cordless Dremel does the inside just fine. It is important as there is a slight bevel to the insides, so the surface of the frame is parallel to the planking. 27 here is my old trusty friend. It too is overly aggressive. I just use 220 grit paper on it and the poplar seems to be OK. I tilt the table for the angle of the planking and so far, that outer bevel is not hard to match. 28 A lesson learned. For some reason I had a little contact cement left over from a copper tape job and foolishly used it to glue the paper to the wood. Several minutes of acetone and rubbing and even some sanding to get rid of it. I now use wax rub on glue like the kids do it. It comes loose sometimes but is much better. 29 here I am drilling and using copper wire for the trunnels. There are 14 or 18 on each of 44 frames and most will not be seen, so I am not going to learn how to do bamboo on this build for the frames anyway. I will replenish some blackening stuff and cue tip them before I am done. i also need to decide what to finish if any goes on the frames. The poplar is pretty plain and a little warm tongue oil might be good. 30 I plan to get a whole bunch ready for the mid-section and then stop and get them in. the frames are sticking up above the deck, to be removed. On this schooner the stanchions are not extensions of half frames but separate members in between the frames.. I will add temporary planks outside in inside to support the frames until all fairing and sufficient planks and deck shelving are in place. The ¼" thickness of the deck level jig worries me a bit, so I hope it works the way I plan it. The double deck beam shelves go exactly where the frame is located. Maybe that is OK…we will see. 31 here we see about ten frames resting in place waited for their companions. All for now Jon

Post 3 I have determined a program now I have to do it First up was the final finagling that some of us need to go through before deciding on the program. I have now taken more of the plans and cross referenced them and found despite a few discrepancies that things seem to lay out as I have them. One good thing is I reopened the PDF with the dimensions and found there the long dimension was correct at 108’1 ¾ and the 105’ was what seemed written on the over blown up [ to life size] version embedded in turbo cad. Lesson learned is perhaps I should have not blown up the drawings to life size as there must be other details that I am missing. 11 The final discrepancy came when taking the framing at deck level plan and projecting it to use for the Jig layout. The frames there are clearly 15 inches wide and 6 inches thick on the deck framing plan. They are also drawn as if they are parallel to the framing. The space between frame is 9 inches and the stanchions nearly fill it up. Allan talks about molded dimension of 15 inches, but I assumed that meant the over cutting needed for the bevels in the other direction, so one ends up with 6 inches thickness on the continuing curve. The width would end up 12 inches measured fore and aft and a little more parallel to the planking due to fairing. 12 here is my final test before deciding which of two routes. I used Turbocad to accurately lay out the stations and then set that over the downloaded deck framing plan. Not surprisingly it has some oddities that I would agree with Allan are stretching and other aspects of digitizing old drawings as opposed to the models they created that are most likely perfect. At the bottom of the drawing are the green and read frame located off the vertical frame elevation drawing I talked about in an earlier post. So, in the end I have determined to use the downloaded framing location plan. My skill level is not up any of these conclusions to make much difference. My decision, however allows skipping a step of recreating the frame plan. My getting into this issue is not because I think my model will be or even look different, it is just my joy of learning. I plan to use the frame layout in the Park Service drawings and giggle the offsets a little as I make up the intermediate frame drawings. That means most frames and gaps are indeed ¼”. Several, especially forward, will be 3/16” gaps to make the math work. Following the lead of the Allan, I will then overcut every frame and buy more sandpaper to make things right. If I end up with kindling that is fine too. So first up let us build the jig and set up production. I have read in recent logs that 1/8th Masonite is too flimsy. Right next to it at Home Depot is ¼” MDF so I decided to give it a go. 13 here I have taken the deck level framing plan and adhered it to the MDF on two pieces, so the step up can be facilitated 14 Here I have adjusted one sheet under the other for the step at frame 24. 15 I little cut out on the band saw with some help on the points by chisel or scroll saw on the transom and we are ready to go. I assume I will need to notch for the bow stem but leave that for now. I plan to use ¼ or 3/16” shims between the frames to keep them properly spaced, so I have lines but no notches at the top of the jig. If I can install interior deck beam shelves [ the new design I will share in another post], that should make everything strong enough to lift out and then do some serious fairing 16 I am bragging that this new project got me a new thickness sander. So first a little learning curve and then we can make our own lumber. The first plank was touch and go but I learned to shorten up the wood and all went well. I need an arrow to remember which way the screw nob tightens for consecutive passes. 17 The first frame is #8. As I said I am making a frame drawing at each station. Whether it goes at, just fore or aft of, or even one-half space away, it really is close. 18 Here we are glued up and ready to cut out 19 the second one always goes easier 20 here we are with most things ready. There seem to be several tasks. i prefer to move around and do some of each task each day, I can work on this project for as little as 15 minutes or all morning. Some people work one task until it is all done then do all the next task. I like to do a little of each task and move on. 21 from the other end we see the work table coming along On the table we have a. 2 strips of ripped poplar roughly 5/32 by ¾ by 8 feet b. 3 short strips from former ripped stock finished in the thickness sander for 1/8 thickness c. The jig all screwed together with posts set to have the top of the drawing of the deck section correctly set above the keel d. Two rough cut frames set in close to where they go e. Two more frames ready to cut out f. The Keelson and stem components ready to go in after the center frames are in place. g. The computer in the next room waiting for me to draw the next frames to manufacture h. The keel waiting to be properly aligned and secured. I think I have some more planning like how to attach forward frame 1-7 to the keelson and stem. Do I rout out a slot or glue and pin? then how to make trunnions for the frames to strengthen them and for looks on those that will be visible. All for now we have got to make more sawdust

Thank you Allan for you sensible words. The key word in this guidance is thousandths. I will still do some gyrations as I draft up the plan to set on the base board under the keel to identify where each frame is to go. I plan to continue to use the stations as my basis. When I lay out the points to connect for the additional frames, the method really does not change even if the separation does. I believe a combination of 1/4 inch and 3/16 inch shims to slide in between the different frames will help me keep them square as i work along. it is just a matter of math to add up the frames and spaces and stay inside the grid. I also realize that to the bevels being sanded means I need more wood when I cut to allow for such bevel. Since this is my first ever POF build I believe that poplar is the way for me to go on wood selection. the first go at it could become kindling. As to the drawing stretch etc., I did notice that as I scaled up the image and then measured in Turbo cad that some deviation was there. The three foot error is in the printed numbers of dimensions, and as a rule I would go with the sum of the smaller dimensions as opposed to the longer one. cheers

Post 2 Do I do frames? First up is a dabble into the world of trying to understand how to recreate frame design when the information I have is reasonably complete but still leaves a bit of conjecture. Example. One might think the stations of the line drawings are causally related to the frames. Well so far, I have taken the tiff drawings and entered them into Turbo Cad and scaled up to full size. I started drawing the keel and stems etc. and cut them out of maple to at least have some wood on a table. I then started drawing frames. My assumptions were quite naive. I assumed one draws the station and then divides the distance between them and makes up and even number of frames. If the library drawings did not have the frames drawings that might have worked. If one takes the stations drawn on a cross section of the hull and lays it over the frame section drawn on the hull….. guess what. There is no consistent relationship between the stations and the frames as drawn. The spacing between the frames clearly is mystery. Anybody reading this log that has already crossed into the frontier of plank on frame knows this and is not worried. I am sitting here thinking I need to make a matrix by drawing the station line grid onto the frame drawing and then measuring the offset to each of the 41 frames. Then make up a table of offsets for each. To simply divide the lines of two adjacent stations by say 4 and to make frames on that basis would work but not reflect the drawing of the actual frames. I am not smart enough to know if it matters. there are also many more frames knight heads etc as well. Also, another point for those experienced modelers to chuckle about. When I draw a bulkhead for a 1:48 it is easy to use birch plywood or even luan of an appropriate size. However, to cut little frames that are only 6 inches= 1/8 of an inch ...wow that is another world. I am going to do it at some point, but wow. Perhaps if I jump to 1:24 I could more easily hold onto the pieces. I even have Bluenose at 1:24 sitting there waiting for a friend in the same scale. Too much to think about right now, 3 Here is a sample of the station and frame combined drawing. I am not sure if there is a frame at each station. As I am plodding along drawing both a frame and bulkhead for each of the 15 stations, I am hoping that is not all wrong. I need to check it out. My thought is to first draw layers of stations to put over the frame section in turbo cad and will get a light table to do it the old fashion way in paper to see what I have. I am sure the answer is out there, and I am hopeful it is not as complicated as I think it is right now. First up to solve this issue is the traditional way 4 here we see the two elements for the study. The frame section and station section drawing printed out at 1:48 scale. A little magic marker to see those lines. 5 after laying the frame section over the station section I marked the stations onto the frame drawing. 6 here we work our way aft noting where each station lines up with a frame or pair for frames 7 here are the results laid out on an excel sheet noting the positioning of the frames in the aft half. If one is to follow this approach, there is only one frame that lines up with a station. That means if we use common sense and draft from the station lines, we may retain the shape of the hull simply fine, but we are not following what this drawing says is the actual locations of the frames. Oh My!!!! 8 here are the forward frames over stations. note frame three is centered on station 2, the only one! 9 here is the next step to lay out the frames and see a pattern and design what to draw. the red frames would be subtle variation on the station drawing and the green are percentage variations to be plotted....I think 10 sometimes there is help in research that lets a few of us off the hook and able to find a rationalization. If one blows up this tiff and adds up all the dimensions one gets 108’ 1-7/8. The long complete dimension say it is 105’ 1-7/8. My devious mind is looking for a solution( maybe an excuse). My next posting, I hope will get through all of this and on my way forward…we’ll see what I plan to do. i think I see a light at the end of this tunnel but honestly have not gotten there yet. Cheers

Post 1 The beginning. Trying to decide what to build Now that it seems Ernestina Morrissey nee' Effie Morrissey will have spent over five years here in Boothbay Harbor before returning to her home in Massachusetts, I would like to consider her to have become part of our local maritime history. It is such an opportunity to visit her especially in these final stages to see how the interior and the equipment are all being done in 2020-2021 to make her the incredible teaching schooner that she will be. I got to see her in each of her stages as she was hauled, dismantled, and built back with incredible skill. She was birthed on a railway next door to where Bowdoin was replanked last year. 1a here we see from DEC 2018 the lowest view looking forward of the amazing planking on the Ernestina as rebuilt by Bristol Marine. This view is a definite challenging view to folks like me as to what the planking is supposed to look like. 1b here we are looking aft from the bow. We are also fortunate that the Wooden Boat Magazine is in mid-stream of publishing a multi part article trying to capture both her heritage and her rebuild. These articles, especially the third one that tells of the actual reconstruction in the first stage of the rebuild, are must reading for those of us who dabble in the world of schooners. 2 This WoodenBoat article is a must read for all schooner fans I must also say in this first post that once again for me I may have started down a rabbit hole. I have never done plank on frame and felt this might be the right schooner to start with. We’ll see. I need to get done by next spring and a master modeler is already doing a plank on frame version for the yard and I want to focus more on telling a story. As I am at this stage doing my planning and procurement of materials. I am comfortable taking the lines and drafting up molds [ bulkheads] and getting on with it. I may decide to do that and then focus on the deck furniture and rigging to match what is included in the 2021 rebuild. Then on the side I can work away learning how to draft frames and try to end up with the same shape. The next few posts will both introduce the actual work that is going on, a little of the history and the thought process that sets me on my way. I have done dioramas for the last two displays and may choose to do that again. I am fascinated with the early 20th century work in the arctic. Effie Morrissey as she was named for the first 50 odd years was a true arctic explorer. Perhaps I do another arctic diorama to sit beside the Bowdoin , each one representing a different period. They would be the same scale. To work in a comfortable 1:48 scale it would be fun to get her sails on too. So much to think about before I decide. First up is where to get information. I have totally consumed all the log created by Allanyed as he started his build of Effie Morrissey. Allan has offered to help when I get into trouble too. Most important he led us all to the Library of Congress where one can download lots of Tiff drawings and even modeling images of fitting out for the interior either for fishing or learning purposes. Maybe a cutaway with either fish or cabins to look at? The set includes the basic line drawings of which we all have sufficient familiarity, but also I fear they included too much additional information. They drew a cross section and plan at deck level showing every frame. Guess what? They are not all the same separations….eek all for now jond

This build is going to be fun to watch. Thank you for sharing. jond

Allan thanks for the informative response. As I get ready for my first plank on frame schooner I am both reading everyone's logs and have put a Byrnes thickness sander on order. call it my early Santa clause visit. I also have containers of sawdust that I use in dioramas. to Schooners i wanted to share a photo taken inside the Ernestina Morrissey being rebuilt here in Boothbay Harbor. The reason is to share the info that clamps and shelves have replaced knees on this work at the highest level. if I try to go this far on my next build, where things might show, this is the detail I plan to use. cheers jond

Schooners I am in between projects at the moment but moving back into a schooner build. Bluenose is always one of my favorite subjects, though at 1:24, mine does take up a bit of room. I too have been on Bluenose II and found it an incredible adventure. As to your modeling, I am in awe to those who have mastered the 3D modeling and the chain of possibilities 3D printing has made. Your understanding of the vessel must be really complete through that process. I am envious of your little custom clamps that you figured out to hold deck shelves and clamps in place. Even better was how you chose to follow that incredible book and make the knight head like they would have been made in reality as opposed to my previous sanding a solid block. That improves one's understanding, and to me that is a major point. I look forward to following along too. A simple question as to the sawdust. I did not see where you shared with us you choice of materials. I would love to know what species of wood you ran through the planer to get you framing stock. I am trying to learn how to make my own lumber too. I am debating between a thickness sander and a planer. The sander may be less " violent" and allow thinner stock for planking. cheers

Post 31 Almost there; Practical completion: I use that expression practical completion from my long career of building projects. When one achieves practical completion, it does not mean one is done , it means we are practically complete and the project, what ever it is, works or makes what it should make, or has all its parts in place. Today I put on the last mizzen royal yard and the last of its lines are tied down. What is not done includes all those little coils of line are not yet made and laid over the pins making the ship look much more real. I used a little vacuum cleaner attachment to clean it up. I need to build a stand but an using the flexible one for now. In other word it works All the yards are in place with lifts and braces. That is practical limit of scope for this my first ship, and this my first 1:98 model. I will continue along and do those missing things but for practical purposes I have taken an old thrown away model and redone it to represent something, and to tell its story. I need to consolidate the history and make a story board. I have been told where she was built in town and will make a small drawing of what it might have been like. Today it is a town parking lot and a chowder restaurant. So much silt has come in over the decades on only kayaks or brings a dinghy to the shore here. I will do another posting with her sitting on a stand on a shelf. Hopefully, those little lines will be in place. Today I want to share a few images to describe the final efforts I made, and I took her outside for a few overall photos to show where I am in this process. 217 just a detail shot of how after my first small scale build, I actually learned to work this small. There are several of these assemblies. They wrap the mast then hold the yard lifts 218 here the lifts. Also behind the yard there are the braces. they include the lanyard made from black annealed steel, which could be tarred line in these early days 1853 or wire rope in the later decades. Outside photo opportunity I always love moving around and moving the model around in the sunlight to try to photo all the lines. they are easier to see out here than in the shop photos. 219 to 223 ge neral views. This model is a 150 ish footer, or small size merchant ship. As I am rereading Chappelle’s history book, these did not continue long in our region as shortly in the midcentury, especially after the civil war, the bigger schooners came along in this size. 224 to 230 are more detailed images 231 is a reminder. In one of the early posts we noted that the stern of the model we were restoring was too round. In the end I am fine with it because the restoration aspect of this build is key 232 is a bow, and yes the pun is intended. We are practically complete. In the next post that could be in the fall we hope a final curtain call. Outstanding items include: · All those little lines · Stand · Story board for the history of where Aphrodite was built and hopefully more about Mr Sargent who reportedly built her. · A few missing blocks on the yards where running rigging would eventually go need to be added as well. Running rigging for the sails and sails are not in the scope of this build. All for now

Allan please see message I sent you. For everyone looking in at this wonderful schooner I offer reference to a new series of article about her total rebuild just published by Wooden Boat magazine jon

post 30 Complete standing rigging and lower yards…..almost I learned years ago that finished is a very subjective word. I remember the 20 80 rule...we spend 20% of the time and effort to get 80% complete and then 80% of the effort to get to 100%. Following the curve of diminishing returns, we need sometimes to say enough. I write this post today to celebrate what I am calling a milestone. Finished standing rigging and lower yards Looking at the foretopmast ratlines in the last post, picture 204 I decided to take another step backwards. They were awful, so I cut them all out. I feel better about working in this small scale and it really was much easier to replace them than it was at the beginning when they were my first attempt. 206 here we see the fore topmast shrouds and ratlines are gone 207 here the port side shrouds and ratlines are all back and I and tying ratlines on the starboard side . it is a little tricky with all the running lines in place. 208 one of the things I learned at this small scale is to simply get the line around a pin and add a drop of glue with a clamp to hold it tight till the glue dries . then remove the clamp and using two tweezers tie the half hitches. 209 the main lower and top mast yard braces come back to the stern area. I like using the bumpkin as it makes sense to project those line outward. 210 here we see all the braces snugged up and made off for the main and mizzen 211 and here we have the foremast lower and fore topmast yard braces The milestone In honor of achieving this milestone, I cleaned up my rigging desk. I also have a new overhead LED 2x2 light that is wonderful to improve the lighting from the previous overhead LED flood light. I am also putting in a dropped ceiling that makes the whole area a lot nicer. 212 here my cigar boxes are out, and the alligator arms hold the last dead eye as it gets its splice 213 shortly after this photo, the white glue dried and I lashed it into the lower dead eye completing the standing rigging. 214 here we can see the tied off yard lifts on the foremast fife rail. The braces go to the outer pin rail. Next, I need to make up those little coils to lay over the pins 215 here we see lift lines for the main and mizzen braces on the side rails. the pump wheels look like they need a touch of paint 216 so here we are at this stage. There is obviously a punch list. There is always more to be done. There are a few more ratlines, clean up, the aft skylight etc. then I will advance to the topgallant yards and ultimately the royals All for now got to go sailing

I just wanted to conclude this story with a picture in the Windjammer's Emporium museum store in Boothbay Harbor Maine . She is sitting beside last year's project of the 1924 Bowdoin diorama we built last year. come see them cheers

Post 7 Let’s start the study model….1:64 Before we cut down the rigging and make the big boy attempt a water venture, I thought it wise to do some research on how these schooners worked and work on a study model to accomplish that goal. Then or maybe if things change, I can take the study model and either leave it as it is or do some more work to honor the historical research. That means like my other builds, I do not know at this stage what will come of the effort. My planned time on this project is proportional to its current progress. That means I expect to do a few other projects at the same time. This project is one I mean to complete it just must accept I have other priorities. I hope to have this study model well progressed by the fall and then over next winter rework the larger version. So, let us get started on the study. As a note I will number the photos on the study starting at 201 so they sort in the files 201 here we have the hull. That is about all I plan to use from the kit other than their material that went to general supplies. 202 after cleaning up the hull, adding the keel and stems etc. I added a water way and stanchions. 203 as this is a study only, I am taking a few shortcuts. For the rail I took a 1/16” piece of scrap plywood and traced it out. I made offsets and cut it out. Since it will be painted, I am not worried about the edge. 204 for the deck I used up a bunch of bass wood planks. I then started to cutout blocks to shape for deck furniture I have to share this goof 205 working away I clad the two cabins and shaped the two masts ….then OH I can ‘t believe it 206 this view shows what happens when you don’t focus on what your doing. Yes I have redone the aft cabin since this revelation. Next up is copper bottom Jon

post 29 figuring out the rigging plan Although time is limited by summertime temptations, I am still plugging away at this project. As I have noted often, I consider it class work project and fortunately will not likely leave the shop when done. In the last few weeks, I have focused on building the bottom and center and getting all lower mast and top mast work done. At the same time, I need to complete the standing rigging, ratlines etc. I won’t point out each time it happens, but I am constantly finding loose shrouds that need to be rerun and other things that make me step back. Maybe that is normal, but I believe it is what happens when close to the edge of our skill. I am finding it easier to work with the tiny blocks and lines. Some basic methods have come to me by trial and error and I may even be able to get this one done Last time I showed the partial solution for the Spanker. I pick it up today and share the almost completion of that work as well as the top masts re rigging of shrouds and the introduction of the yard braces. My plan is to get everything done before I venture up to ad the to gallant and royal yards. Today is a partial milestone. Many lines are still loose as for two basic reasons. I am focusing on the port side. To tie done a brace the other side is loose, so I need to get all these in place and then turn the ship around. I can then start tying things done and making them snug. I am also doing the 10-15 ratlines per day . I know I need to cut out and redo the fore top mast as it is ugly, and I now find it easier at this scale to do. So here we go with the planning of what needs to be done to get done. 199 I made a cut down [ low profile] sky light to go under the gaff. If it works, I will give it some frames and then consider if I should change the other two to match 200 here I have compromised and rebuilt side only fife rails so I can tie down lines. The rings for the spanker are purposely a mix of metal rings just be a motley grouping. 201 I have added all the lines. The gaff vangs are critical to hold all in place. When I turn the model around, I can tie down the topping lift and peak halyards to raise the boom just off the skylight and make all the lines tight. All the shrouds had to be rerun as they were shredded in the spanker process. At least they are snug this time Looking at the overall rig, we must remember pictures 182-185 earlier as I had to take off the top work rigging that was all wrong. 202 here we see a few lose or missing shrouds yet but the essence shows we have it right this time. It is hard to see in the photo, but I have also figured out all of the yard braces that are needed to hold the yards in position 203 this shows the braces for the mizzen and main 204 shows the braces on the foremast. I find using the fine annealed steel wire so helpful at this scale. In larger scale we take black line and splice twice etc. here in a matter of a minute a lanyard is made with a block in it and ready to hang. 205 splicing dead eyes on top shrouds can be fun. Here I figured out a use for my old cigar boxes that keep left over parts in. So onward we plug jon

Keith we have had a glorious two weeks and much time was spent on the water. yesterday all fog and today so so . I am online catching up. The fresh air and typical family plus close friend boating make it a perfect relief in my mind. Sorry others are still restricted, but i must say being here in Maine at the end of a ten mile peninsula where there are no cases of Covid is a blessing. thanks as always for your encouragement. this build is a challenge cheers

There is not enough to write up a post yet, but i just want to log that I almost made it through the spanker saga. I tried a different low profile sky light and think I need to change all three to a lower profile. I have no way yet to tie off about twelve lines at the base of the mizzen mast. Maybe a new fife rail forward and sides with an open back. Now it is June and we are sailing in a real boat and doing other summer things. As I have time to peck away i still hope to get on with this first attempt of a ship. I think the general design corrections are in place for the spanner on a the extended cabin poop deck configuration. 198 this view is just to show the boom and gaff are made and in place and tied to all their lines. the sheets are a bit tight and i will adjust the boom up enough to squeeze a low profile skylight underneath. cheers

Post 6 Completed 2015 rigging exercise This posting completes the look back into the work done on the RC version of this build through 2015. Following the build, I went on the Bluenose Journey and built and sailed the BHOD sloops. As I went through each stage of those builds, I came to the conclusion that it will be a challenge to fit this schooner out for RC. We will talk about the specific issues later, as I try to figure out what to do to get her wet. Now back to the build 41 here we see the foot of the sails laced onto the boom and the birch plywood hoops. This is pretty normal although many RCs like to to use wire jack stays to hank the sails close to the boom. 42 looking down the deck we must figure how we will use a single servo to let out and pull in both the large main and the small fore sail. Also I is apparte3nt I need to solve how to control the rudder. The rudder shaft comes up on deck near the mainsail horce on the transom 43 I added scale figure cut outs and a helm for looks. This is my first home made wheel. I have learned a lot since then. 44 here we are preparing the foresail. Topsails and jibs are on the table too. 45 as on my other builds I frequent our local supplier Bluejacket for most of my loose fittings. Working in this large scale I like the metal fittings. 46 here the foresail is sewn onto the mast hoops 47 we see the value of the stronger fittings. This process is where I got into trying hemp craft line for bolt roping. It is ok at this scale but I had to redo it on the 1:24 scale bluenose as it was just too big 48 here goes the foresail 49 here is the attempt I made then to control the rudder. The brass square tube penetrates the housing to an elevated servo. Who knows, it might even work. the sail servo is set up too run lines on deck. that is not normally done but access below decks at this stage did not allow for a simple solutions to be hidden. 50 up on the foredeck, I made some anchors, trail boards and the windlass / winch. 51 here she is as she sat for several years in the middle of the sail loft in my old shop. She is still over there today as part of the “staging” one needs to do for the hopeful sale of my past home. Here is a summary of the long sage followed by a look forward I bought this plan and kit in 2001. I started the hull for the larger boat in the winter of 2005. I restarted the build in 2007, as covered in this catch up log. As of today, I could say I have 15 years into this project. That is nuts and why I have taken it off the shelf so to speak. My plans for this upcoming build are to peck away at the small 3/16-inch version with a focus on setting up the sails and rigging design before getting back tot he large version. Next winter, though I will get into a few other projects as well, I have intent that one project is to complete the sails and rigging, so next summer we might try to sail her. All for this catch up. Next will be a some progress on the rigging design model

Post 28 Second attempt to figure out that spanker As usual we need to go back to the basics. We must also accept that what we have already built might just not be right. First up is to ask our expert Mr. Crothers how he rigged a typical ship 195 is just that, the running rigging for a typical ship. I have cropped enough to make a comparison with the picture 191 above 196 here I pasted the two photos side by side and scaled so they can be compared. A few observations The mizzen in the typical ship is further aft from the main mast. The distance from the mizzen to the stern is much less on the typical ship The potential luff on the typical ship is much taller, making what the eye says is a reasonable spanker sail. Aphrodite has, by Alna’s design, a cabin and sky light, and my interpreted fife rail forcing the boom way high. Something has to give. My current thought is to take off the boom [ already done] and remove or at least lower the sky lights and remove the fife rails. At this scale it will be very difficult to put cleats on the mast for the 8 lines and actually tie them off. I will have to have some liberty there. Perhaps eight eyes with simple hitches buried under coils of line. 197 this is my next direction. Reconfigure the boom and lower it as much as possible. Just a note... the port shrouds on the mizzen got shredded and broke, so I am going even further backwards. oh and the wheel fell off too. Cheers

Post 27 Getting organized. seeking a path to do the rigging and how to do a mizzen One of the joys of doing this build without complete plans is the need to regularly search and discover a plausible solution. Unfortunately, it has again happened after the first attempt. First up is look over the “mess” as I called it and figure out a sequence. Then stick to it. If I glue something or paint something I must not jump to another extraneous part and work out of sequence. That is one reason I started up the other build. As to the sequence I feel a little better about starting in the middle and working out and working from the deck up. The little example of what had to be done to get the pumps installed was a great learning tool. So off we go. Last time we took a hair cut and went back a few steps 186 here is a milestone. All fore and aft standing rigging is in place and there is a clear list of items missing on the port and starboard shrouds. I will now work from the deck up. 187 first up the boats are now going in and are lashed down 188 looking aft we have a definite problem. How are we going to tie down all those yard lifts and other lines? The extended poop deck and house remove deck area around the mizzen mast. 189 looking at the rigging diagram they agree we need fife rails. But again, we have a skylight in the way. These are not indicated on the plan. 190 so being creative I reduced the skylight [ love those band saws] and built up another fife rail. I am used to trimming down some maple and using the mill to drill straight holes. My new problem is the acrylic craft paints I use are drying out and get lumpy. Just another pain to deal with. A most important sight in this photo is where I followed the masting instructions of our friend Mr Crowthers and came out with a lovely spanker boom with yokes and a table for the mizzen mast. I felt I was back in schooner land where I am much more comfortable. Looking at it though I just cannot believe it to be right 191 I look at the proportions and cringe. A yoke on the gaff would be ridiculous. Also starting above the cabin, we are a few feet shorted in the luff. Would it really have been so long? 192 back to the books. Here we have an image of a more plausible solutions. There is no full explanation, but a small mast is set aft of the huge mizzen to take the small spanker sail 193 here I am with my interpretation. I have a band over mast band forming a goose neck for the spanker boom that simultaneously houses the “{?????} “small mast for the spanker. 194 so as this week ends, I had to make other decisions. The spanker sheet is intended to go to both port or starboard rails over the steering gear. The bitts I added to ho;d the bumkins will allow tying off the sheet. That means I kept the boom at the length given in the table for Alna our prototype. Looking at the shallow slope of the topping lift and then imagining the block of the gaff peak halyards this will be a strange looking sail. I need to do more study on this part of the build. perhaps I shorten the spanker boom and have the sheets on the end of the cabin roof. All for now

Keith thanks for you fortitude to continue to drop in. I must say that just because i have become more comfortable in the world of Schooners, that a ship build is the place to go. it is amazing how much more there is to learn about how all parts of a ship work and what they are called etc. The sequence too wow ..... this rebuild started as a throw away. A pigs ear was an over statement. if I get it back to a pigs ear that will still be a worthy journey for me cheers

Post 5 Rebuilding rigging second time and starting sails In the fall of 2015, I spent some time re-rigging the schooner using much newly acquired skills. They are truly basic bit to me they were new. 31 to make strong hoops for sailing I took 1/64 plywood strips, soaked them to make them more pliable and bent them around a plastic electrical conduit that was the right size. After drying they are glued and wrapped again. Then sanding and varnishing and they look almost real. 32 I learned to cut out the big hole in plywood or bass sheets before sanding to the outside diameter of a ring. 33 here we see the Sitka spruce mast with the ring table for the boom yokes. The ring on the mast in the photo are the first generation of electric conduit cut in slices. The replacement wood rings are on the bench. 34 the first-generation mast head broke. Here again I drill the inside holes first and the cut and sand to shape the outside. I am obviously cheating as there is a slot and not a proper square hole. 35 here we are replacing the mast head. The crude attempt of seizing the shrouds looked good to me at the time, but now I need to think more about the right scale. 36 I needed to make up cabin and hatches for the deck housings. Here the hatch too big [ the pencil shows where it should be]and needed surgery. 37 here I am gluing up outer coverings. They must be removable Now to the sails I spent some time and consideration to reduce the sail area so the sailing of the scale model would be more realistic. From my reading there are many opinions out there, but a 15% reduction seemed to make sense 38 I laid out the sails on a template and the traced the marks to a plain muslin . 39 here is the first one made and sewn onto the loops 40 and here we set up the main and see the deck cabins More to come

Keith i use the would skill loosely. i love it when i think I am rolling and then oops cheers

Post 26 Big oops again….top mast rigging One good thing about all the other activities that come into our lives this time of year is the time to reflect. Walking by the work bench I kept thinking something is wrong. I needed to take the time for a fresh look into the rigging plans and be sure I have the big picture right. Well I did not 181 look here without reading ahead and see if the obvious issues hit home. The issue is the relationship of the lay out of the top gallant and royal mast, or “pole” as they call it in the book. I went back through the tables and then realized what I did wrong. I then redid the clac’s to see how best to fix it. Over simplified, the main and fore “pole” was made up with 24 feet of top gallant, 16 feet of royal and the top post roughly 5 feet. That means the shoulder for the stays at the top of the topgallant are just over halfway up the pole 182 uses a simple method to point out the errors. Basically, the shoulder is correct on the main and mizzen and way off on the foremast. The compounding error was to carry the shrouds and ratlines above that line. As I understand it now the crew apparently did not climb up to the high position of the royal sails but must have lowered the royal yards using the lifts so the yard came down. How else could they have gotten there to furl the sail. Anyway, it is all wrong and I need to start that phase again. 183 Some good news though… I got the last fife rails and little pumps installed. More importantly I successfully tied off the first few lifts. 184 I also decided to add some glue to the base of the mizzen and pull it a bit aft. All the tension from added stays was pulling it forward. I normally do not glue masts. Perhaps at this small scale where the consistency of tension is less consistent, it would be a good idea 185 here we are having taken a haircut. The foretopgallant mast is being replaced and all the shrouds are gone. I hope to get it right next time Cheers

Post 4 2014-2015 first rigging of sails The pace of this build continued on a spotty basis. In the spring of 2014, I spent a little time as I got going after retirement to roughly rig the spars. It was not a great result, but I was cutting my teeth so to speak. First, I needed to decide what were the sails going to look like. I had two images to work with 22 this is a cropped view of the kit design giving intended dimensions. I knew I needed to reduce the size of sails to about 85% and simplify them a bit for RC 23 this image I took from the book on Pilot Schooners and is what I tried to make. Obviously, there would be too much sail but off I went thinking I could cut them down later 24 here we are at the entrance of the shop in the spring of 2014 with standing rigging 25 the view on deck shows the roughness of the work. The full focus was learning process and the results were not great Several months passed and I decided I needed to rough out paper patterns for the sails. 26 here we have the paper templates all cut out and this is how Dancing Feather sat for another several months as I worked on the BHOD racing sloops 27 part of the learning exercise was for a standard easy to use stand for RC sailing. This strapped box goes with us to the shore and carries loose parts below and is steady to support the fully sailed model outside 28 here we are on the new stand and as a few more months went by 29 now in the fall of 2015 it got to decision time. I removed everything as I knew it was no longer up to snuff. The little red wagon is to carry the schooner to the shore. Other photos showed Charles Notman in the same wagon. 30 next up was to finalize the design of the added rudder and keel for sailing. This built was to achieve 50 inches on deck as that is a class of schooners in the Vintage Model yacht group. I had visions of travelling south to Maryland and joining a regatta if I ever finished the build. The wood shaped bulb form is the 5-pound lead form from the same 50 inch Marblehead I built at wooden boat school. They would give me 10 Lb of lead to hopefully keep us upright. In late 2015, after having built both Charles Notman and BHOD racing sloops I realized the need to redo everything. Next up is the rebuilding of the rigging the first time Cheers