18th Century Longboat by jonny.amy - Model Shipways

[jonny.amy]

Hello,

 

For those of you you who don't know me, I'm Jonny from Farnborough in England, I'm 23 years old, and I live with my partner Lucy, who loves to cross stitch, and our 9 week old Cocker Spaniel puppy called Lily. Lucy bought me this kit for my birthday in July, and I promised her due to the lack of space that I'd wait until I finished Sherbourne before starting the Longboat.

 

I've been reading through the build logs for the 18th Century Longboats on MSW for a few weeks, and I can see this could be an interesting build, but small and compact, which is ideal for fitting around the new puppy we've taken on.

 

This will be my 5th build log on MSW, with kit builds of HMS President, HM Mortar Vessel Convulsion, HM Cutter Sherbourne, and a scratch build of a 19' day sailor, but this will be my first venture in to Plank on Frame construction.

 

I have spoken with Chuck Passaro and have a list of parts that I will replace on the model, such as the rigging lines, the blocks and the deadeyes.

 

The background for the model is described in Chucks build log available here on MSW, but in brief this model is a representation of a typical Longboat from 1750 to 1760, and based on a model at the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich in London.

 

Apart from the addition of new rigging items, I will be building this pretty much out of the box.

 

Now, I feel I should tell you all that this build will be slow to start off with due to the fact we have a 9 week old puppy, so I'll be starting in a few weeks time, when the dog is older and has had her full course of injections to allow her to go walkies in the big wide world (which will help tire her out)!

 

I will hopefully be able to pull out the kit today and start mulling over the parts and instructions to get a better idea of the build and what I will need to buy before starting the build.

 

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you enjoy my build log.

 

Cheers,

Jonny

Edited August 28, 2015 by jonny.amy

[Canute]

Jonny, I'll follow along.

[BobF]

Hi Jonny,

 

Welcome aboard, and don't concern yourself about being slow.  When it comes to being slow, you'll find my picture next to the definition in the dictionary!  Anyway, this longboat kit is an interesting subject since it makes a great model right out of the box, or you can make subtle changes to it that really don't add much work to its construction.  Good luck, and I look forward to following your build log.

 

BobF

[jonny.amy]

Hi Chaps,

 

I'll be posting some photos of the kit online either tonight or tomorrow, but I've still got my work cut out with Lily as she is proving to be a handful at times!

 

Lucy ordered my Christmas present online end of last week, and that arrived this morning too, so I now have the 21' Pinnace to build after this (I asked for that, and Model Expo had it going cheap on eBay)!

 

Right back to the puppy.

Cheers

Jonny

[Erik W]

Nice!  It'll be great to have another longboat build going. 

 

Erik

[jonny.amy]

Ken, Brian, BobF, and Erik,

 

Thanks for the likes and tagging along. Hopefully the build will kick off around the 18th September, by that time Lily the puppy will be used to life in our household, so I should feel confident starting the build!

 

Cheers

Jonny

[jonny.amy]

Hi Chaps,

 

All quiet on the Western Front for the Longboat still, but I have a few bits and bobs to do on Sherboune so whilst I'm at it (and hopefully the puppy is asleep) I can break out the false keel and knock up a build frame for the model to ensure the frame are straight and true.

 

Cheers,

Jonny

[jonny.amy]

Hi Everyone,

 

I will hopefully be starting the Longboat next Friday. Final odds and sods on Sherbourne are not far off from being finished. The backboard and display are almost finished, and I'm on the hunt for glass for the display case.

 

I will post the usual out of box photos when I start the build.

 

Cheers,

Jonny

[jonny.amy]

Hello Everyone,

 

After completing my long "to-do" list of chores on Friday, I finally managed to start on the 18th Century Longboat.

 

On Thursday night I popped all the frames and the false keel out of the surrounding materials and checked the alignment and fit of all the frames. I then proceeded to sand the laser burn marks from the inside faces of the frames.

 

I've managed to get all the frames straight and true and glued in place, and faired to accept the planking. Deviating from the plans to start off with when planking, I've started on the Garboard plank and the three planks above and worked my way up on the Starboard side. I decided to start here because I felt most comfortable doing this. Using the 1/32 x 1/8 planks makes it fairly straight forward with bending and shaping the planks, but I'm taking my time, measuring twice and cutting once.

 

I'll take some photo's tonight after getting the Port side planks on.

 

 

Cheers for now,

 

Jonny

[jonny.amy]

Hi Chaps,

 

The last few days have been fairly busy, I've had to wash all the walls down with Mould Repellent (unfortunately we have a damp issue in our bedroom that the previous landlord didn't resolve), and I've also had puppy training classes to attend with the dog. If that's not bad enough, it's off to the in-laws tonight to wish them well on their Wedding Anniversary and then it's Great British Bake Off on TV tonight, so I'll not be allowed by the Admiral to start working on the kit during that.

 

Hopefully I'll get some time on the Longboat this weekend.

 

Cheers for now,

Jonny

[jonny.amy]

Hi All,

 

Sorry for the lack of updates recently, it's been a busy couple of weeks. I'm sitting a Professional Review with the Institution of Civil Engineers in London tomorrow, and it's been all go in preparing for this.

 

Hopefully I can get on with the longboat tomorrow after the review. I've been given the afternoon off afterwards, so I might be back in time to make some serious headway on the kit? Or should take the opportunity to have a bit of Model Boat time, and head off to the National Maritime Museum before heading home?

 

Cheers for now,

 

Jonny

[Canute]

Jonny, head for the museum while you're in town. Spark some "creative" juices and all that.

[druxey]

Best of wishes for tomorrow, Jonny. And, as far as puppies and training them go, I've been there, done that!

 

Not much to see in the way of models at the NMM now (now renamed Royal Museums Greenwich), but the view from Maze Hill and the Observatory is still well worth the visit. The pub on Park Vista east of the Museum, The Plume of Feathers, is a good spot too!

[jonny.amy]

Ken, I'm seriously considering it, but I'll be on the wrong side of London for the RMG. So I may have to hop on the water taxi and head down in style

 

Druxey, puppy training is a lot of hard work, but is paying off nicely. The little tyke is almost house-trained, and runs to the front door when she needs to go! Apart from that, she's still unruly and boisterous, but I can't complain. Thanks, I'll do my best tomorrow, put in lots of practice tonight, and break it up with a bit of the Longboat. Ohhh yes, the last time we went to RMG we "popped in to the Plume for one" before heading home, and 5 pints later staggered our way back to the DLR Station! Haha

 

Cheers
 

[Stockholm tar]

Jonny,

 

Good luck with your latest project.

 

If you do get to Greenwich, have a look at Prince Frederick's barge dating from 1751. A purely pulling barge, without mast and sail, but it might give you a few ideas. She's situated in the Neptune Hall, or was, near where you go in, so you shouldn't miss it:

 

http://www.rmg.co.uk/explore/sea-and-ships/facts/faqs/history-of-prince-fredericks-barge

Edited September 28, 2015 by Stockholm tar

[jonny.amy]

Kester,

 

I saw the Prince Fredrick's Barge last time I went up there with the Admiral. Very impressive indeed. The guilding along the hull is immaculate!

 

Unfortunately, I couldn't get to the RMG yesterday. I finished my professional review with the Institution of Civil Engineers, and got a phone call asking me to head back to work

 

So before heading back, I sunk a pint or two in the nearest pub, grabbed a late breakfast and was back in the office by 12:30!

 

Cheers,

Jonny

[jonny.amy]

Hi All,

 

With the dog being old enough to go for proper walks, the Admiral being signed off sick from work with stress, family visits, and with my workload increasing, I've not had much (if any) time in the shipyard over the last month. Things should return to normal this weekend, and with getting things back on an even keel, I hope I can get back on the Longboat.

 

I'll keep you all updated, and hopefully get some photo's posted in the next few days.

 

Cheers for now,

 

Jonny

[jonny.amy]

Well my plans were scuppered this weekend when the Admiral asked me use my day off on Friday to tidy the flat (I've learned to just get on with it and not to argue... She can win any argument with a raised eyebrow)! After vacuuming, mopping the floors, 3 sets of laundry, and the weekly food shop, most of Friday was gone. A trip round Costco also blew 2 hours of Saturday, a friends engagement party, and then walking the dog, building a puppy proof Christmas Tree guard (I know it's only the 2nd of November!!!!!), and then more walking the dog, my weekend just vanished

 

But saying that, I did manage to get about an hour on the Longboat last night. I've managed to finish off the planking on the Starboard side of the hull completely, and have started the Port side. I'll hopefully get some more done tonight.

 

Cheers for now,

Jonny

[jonny.amy]

Chaps,

 

Sorry I've not been able to post any photo's as of yet. With work and home life being very busy recently, I've not managed a decent stretch of time in the Shipyard. I have rehearsals with my band tonight (I play bass guitar), so won't get much time between work and hitting the road for rehearsals.

 

I'll be popping home around midday today for the pooch, so I'll snap a few photo's when she's face down in a bowl of chow!

 

Cheers for now,

Jonny

[Erik W]

Jonny,

 

We're all looking forward to seeing photos of your build.  In the meantime, MSW is awarding you the prestigious Made-it-to-the-Second-Page-of-His-Build-Log-Without-Posting-Any-Photos award!  Haha!  Kidding, of course. :P

 

Erik

[jonny.amy]

I'll get around to posting photo's later on Erik! You'll see what my main distraction is when I do post them!

 

I have prepare an acceptance speech:

 

Thank you for this prestigious award, I have worked long and hard to be so busy not to post photos until well in to Second Page of my Build log. I'd like to thank the dog for taking up too much of my time, I'd like to thank the Admiral for pulling me away from the shipyard to do housework, and finally I'd like to thank the good people for MSW for waiting so long for these photographs. I'm touched, I'm humbled, I'm honoured. Hahaha

 

Cheers,

Jonny

[jonny.amy]

Finally, it's here... What you've all been waiting for, the first photo update of the Build Log! It's only taken a few months, and lots of false starts and long gaps in between build times, but I feel like I'm starting to get there.

 

These are photographs of the current state of the model. I have a bit of filling to do where I've had to pin the planks down, but I've got a pot of white PVA glue mixed with sawdust for that.

 

 

Completed Starboard Side.

 

 

Completed Starboard Side.

 

 

Completed Starboard Side.

 

 

Port Side - First four planks.

 

 

Port Side - Bow View - First four planks.

 

 

Port Side - Bow View - First four planks.

 

 

Port Side - Bow View - First four planks.

 

 

Port Side - Bow View - First four planks.

 

 

Completed Starboard Side.

 

 

Completed Starboard Side - Stern View.

 

 

Completed Starboard Side - Stern View (Sorry about the Flash).

 

 

Upside down - Port Side planking.

 

 

Upside down - Port Side planking.

 

 

Upside down - Port Side planking.

 

 

 

So now I have uploaded a few photo's of my build so far, I'll show you what my main distraction from the model is...

 

 

This little madam is called Lily, she's a Working English Cocker Spaniel, and in 18 weeks old. A lot of my time has been invested in training, walking, and playing with her. She also loves belly rubs and nibble on my fingers (it's a bad habit, but she's soft when biting, and I'd rather she chew my hands than chew my furniture). Her favourite toy is "Sheepy" (she likes it that much we have 3 of them), which is a stuffed cuddly toy that squeaks as you press down on it, and every time I sit down to work on the Longboat, I'm greeted with Lily and "Sheepy" wanting to play more.

 

In the photo above, she is dressed up as a dinosaur for Halloween. This was the Admiral's doing, as I was busy buying materials to build a piece of furniture.

 

I hope these photo's suffice for now. I'll be in the shipyard tonight after walking Lily and cooking dinner, so will get some more planks on the model.

 

Cheers,

Jonny

[Matrim]

Wait till you find her favourite toy is chewing your newly complete longboat....Well done on getting started, which if often the hardest step. Until you accidentally drop a scalpel on your foot that is.

[jonny.amy]

Matrim - I joined that club ages ago when I started Convulsion. Slicing off a finger tip has also been personal milestone I have reached. All part of the fun I guess!

 

I keep the model on the mantelpiece out of dog-reach! Also I think she's well aware that I have the knife and sewing skills, that I could make her in to a pair of slippers, or gloves in next to no time. Haha

[Canute]

Jonny, the longboat is looking good. Nice tight planking. Well done.

 

Wow. Lily is getting big now. My shepherd/healer mix has a few squeak toys he's accumulated, too. They must like to make noise without barking, for some strange dog reason. And I don't understand why folks dress up their pups in silly costumes. We once put a coat on one of our dogs (wintertime in the Northeast US is c-c-c-cold). She pulled a Houdini and got out of the coat, although I think her companion may have had something to do with the transition.

[jonny.amy]

Ken - thanks for kind words, this build has not been as easy to get in to like Convulsion or Sherbourne, so I'm fairly pleased with my progress so far.

 

She is getting big now, but will only get bigger. Her paws are huge, and she has so much energy. We walk her three times a day, resulting in just over an hour of exercise and she's still running around the living room and garden like its her personal race track.

 

I will say in the Admiral's defence that I bought the dinosaur coat purely as a joke present, given to her the morning we picked up Lily. It was a very cheap present that I thought would be shredded to pieces within 5 minutes of the dog coming home. Apparently not, according to the Admiral, Lily loves wearing it, but that photograph says otherwise to me! Thankfully I was able to knock the dog costumes on the head fairly soon after this photo was taken.

 

Cheers

[jonny.amy]

Hi guys,

 

Busy day today outside of the shipyard. I've been baking my secret family recipe Christmas Cake (it needs 6 weeks of brandy AND rum soaking so has to be done this weekend), and boiling ham for dinner as well. I've also been cleaning carpets, lugging furniture, and generally tidying the house. Now the cake is in the oven for the next 4 hours, I'll be back in the shipyard making some well needed sawdust!

 

Cheers,

Jonny

[jonny.amy]

Hi Chaps,

 

I've been busy beavering away for the last couple of weeks on the 18th Century Longboat, and have got to a phase where she's really taking shape. I've managed to cut out all of the bulkhead centre's and I've added the capping rails to the model. I've applied the first coats of paint on the outer hull.

 

I also reverted back to my childhood yesterday and built a crude ropewalk from Lego Bricks... It works, but requires a bit of tweaking to get it running smoothly. I might have to get the cordless drill involved in it too, as currently it is a two man job to keep tension and turn the rope.

 

I'll post photo's later on of the ropewalk and the progress I have made on the longboat.

 

Cheers for now,

Jonny

[jonny.amy]

Hi Guys,

 

Sorry the photo's haven't been published earlier, I was hoping to add another few of them to the collection last night, but spent the evening sanding out a water stain from the wood flooring in the entrance hall to our flat, and then walking the dog.

 

So as for progress on the model, I've made a big jump ahead in the activities. I've finished the planking on both the Port and Starboard sides of the hull, broken out the inner parts of bulkheads, sanded them down, and have installed the caprails to the longboat. I have also managed to get some paint on to the model. I need to carry on sanding the inner faces of the caprails, and touch up the paint, but I'm getting there.

 

 

 

I have applied the frieze to Stern by doubling up the transom. Although this isn't called for in the instructions, it was (to me) the most logical way of applying the frieze square and true.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The hull has been painted off-white all the way up to the frieze as a nod towards the longboat of HMS Victory at Portsmouth Dockyard. Although the contemporary model at the National Maritime Museum shows the unpainted topsides (above the waterline and below the frieze), I decided not to follow suit, and try something a bit different. My reckoning is that all the topsides would have been painted to act as a means of waterproofing the planks. Although, I might be wrong.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Please feel free to comment on this!

 

As for the Lego brick Ropewalk, it works, but needs a rethink. Unfortunately the kit that I bought had no gears in it (I bought the kit in a catalogue store), so I had to work on basic mechanical principles.

 

 

Here it is set up on the Kitchen work top. It's a bit jerky in operation, but makes rope. It is a two man job as one hand is required to turn the spindles and cranks and the other is required to keep tension on the fixed end. The moving end also requires turning to keep the tension in the rope.

 

 

This is the outcome... I think it looks ok, but does not even compare to the stuff Chuck can produce.

 

Cheers

Jonny

[jonny.amy]

Hi Chaps,

 

Sorry there's been an absence from posting about the Longboat for a few weeks, but there has been myriad of thing's on my plate recently, and work has been very demanding, with a huge ramp up of progress prior to Christmas. I've also had my local hobby shop (mostly selling wargaming kits/tools/paints) contact me about producing a window display for their store. I've taken on said challenge, and have started building the Airfix HMS Victory (1:180) as a waterline model setting sails and firing a broadside. Ideally I need to get the model off the dining room table by the 22nd December to have a clear table for Christmas, this will be a bit of challenge as the kit is far from the standard I was expecting from Airfix.

 

I will be making smaller updates to the Longboat as a break from Victory.

 

Cheers,

Jonny