Bluenose by hamilton - 1:64 - POB - from Model Shipways plans

[mtaylor]

I too am sorry to hear about the injury.  I hope healing goes well and surgery not needed.

[reklein]

Hamilton, sorry to hear about your injury. Can't say enough about knife safety.  I you can I would advise cutting those stern frames for the Syren from basswood . You can orient the grain to get the most strength and its much easier to work than the plywood. The stern will be very flimsy until you get some planking on it.

[hamilton]

Thanks Mark and Bill!

 

Bill - that's good advice! My main concern is about the fragility of the pieces....they're quite thin, and cutting them will be quite tricky I think using my bandsaw - the only tool I have for such things.....I'm going to put a 1/8" blade on it to facilitate the process....My plan was to make multiples of all the frames so as to have backups at the ready, so maybe I'll cut a couple from ply and a couple from basswood and try my luck! Thanks again for the tip - I'm pretty sure I have some 3/16" basswood sheeting lying around too....but I can't recall....

hamilton

[hamilton]

OK - another small update....

 

In the last few days I've been fine-tuning the centre keel and bulkheads - only the top of the latter for now, though some early tests have shown that there's a bit of shimming and trimming that needs to be done along the edges....I also fit the two parts of the "great beam" atop bulkhead "H" - made some patters for these pieces and cut them from 3/32" basswood sheeting. They are not very elegant, as can be seen from the photo below, but once they were fit on the bulkhead I took some time working on the top edges to ensure that the aft (lower) part was even with the quarterdeck bulkhead tops and then that top of the forward (higher) part was 1/16" above the lower part. Final work will be done on this once the deck planking is complete....

 

 

I also made a couple of templates for the upper edges of the stern filler blocks - not very exciting, are they....anyway, they'll come in handy in a couple of days when I'm shaping these.

 

 

My main work has been on the rabbet joint. The photos below show how unpretty the work is....I scored the rabbet line with a #11 blade and then used a #10 blade to remove the wood....not the best instrument but as I don't have any gouges or chisels, it had to do....eventually I'll invest in more appropriate tools for this job! In any case, though it's a bit messy it's nothing some wood filler and a lot of paint won't hide when it comes down to cases.

 

That's all for now. We're leaving for a couple of weeks to go up to a place called Hornby Island in the Northern part of the Salish Sea (Straight of Georgia) - I might do some maintenance on the Corel Flattie that I have stashed up there at a friend's cabin but no other modelling....hope to have the framework of the Bluenose complete by then and ready to move onto the planking when we get back....bye for now

hamilton

[mojofilter]

Hi Hamilton -

Thought I'd post a quick note to say I'm still watching.  Very nice work on both BN and Syren!

My new doctor said "you're right handed" how do you know that? I said.  "All of your scars are on your left hand".  Heal fast my friend.

Fall is coming.  Shipyard to open soon on the end of the dining table.  Cutty Sark awaits.

- Tim

[hamilton]

Good to hear from you Tim! I've just come back to town from our annual cottage vacation....now back to work! I'm on a list for surgery on my hand, but I'm still able to do most things, including tying my shoes! My left middle finger is becoming like a second index....

 

I'll check in on your Cutty Sark - in the meantime, take care!

hamilton

[hamilton]

Well, this summer has been a bit of a bummer, modelling-wise...my hand injury slowed things down and then the surgery I had to fix the nerve damage slowed things down even further at the time of year when I usually get a lot of modelling done....The surgery was a "success", though I've learned that what this means to doctors may not be what it means to patients....I had a gigantic bandage and partial plaster on m left hand and upper forearm (I suppose to prevent me from any further stupidities), which finally came off yesterday....my left index finger (or frankenfinger, as I like to call it because of the crazy surgical scar) is still extremely stiff, and will require extensive and persistent exercise on my part to get as much movement back into it as I can....they were typically reticent to make any indications of what I could expect but right now I can bend the first joint at a right angle but I cannot make a fist that includes the index finger.....

 

In any case tonight I finally got back to the Bluenose. Whatever work I've done on it recently has been dull and and not really worthy of documentation - though I have some progress pictures below. I've installed the bulkheads now, as well as the stern filler blocks and the false beam that acts as a landing place for the fore deck planking on a mid-ships bulkhead. The rest of my time has been taken up with adjusting the outboard edges of the bulheads and fairing the frames, reducing the width of the bulkhead extensions to the required 1/8" and (starting soon) fairing the bulkhead tops for the deck planking. I thought the tops were ok until I test fit the waterway strips this evening and discovered a lot of little adjustments needing to be made....

 

One thing I've learned so far in this venture into scratch-building is that I cannot cut as accurately as a laser cutter, and this adds a lot of time in getting things as fair as possible. For example, my work tomorrow will likely centre on tightening up the angles between the bulkhead tops and extensions - very fine knife and file work so the waterway planks will fit as snugly as possible....I'm really hoping that extra time and effort spent here at the foundations will pay off down the line....

 

Anyway, here are a few photos - not a huge amount of change since the last round, but things are moving and I can't be in too much of a hurry....

hamilton

[gjdale]

Nice to see back in the shipyard Hamilton. Glad to hear the surgery was a success and hope the recovery continues to go well for you. Don't get lazy with the exercises either - they will make a huge difference in the long run!

 

 

Edited August 26, 2017 by gjdale

[Tigersteve]

It looks good. Hope for a quick full recovery. 

Steve

[hamilton]

Thanks Grant and Steve! Yes I have to commit to these exercises, though they are uncomfortable and frustrating - probably more frustrating though to only have partial use of my finger...an 80% recovery would be fine by me while I sit here at 40%.....

hamilton

[rafine]

Good to see you back in action Hamilton. Best wishes for a quick recovery.

 

Bob

 

 

[mtaylor]

It's really great to see you back, Hamilton.  What the others have said about exercises.... push yourself.  The result will be worth the pain.   Bluenose is coming along nicely.

[hamilton]

Thanks Bob and Mark! It is very nice to be back at it, despite limitations!

hamilton

[hamilton]

Hello there!

 

I'm happy to say that I've officially gone (more or less) past the framework stage and am now planking the hull of the Bluenose! It's a very exciting time...particularly since I started this project about a year ago (when I first cut the out-of whack keel pieces and the bulkheads)....at this point it still looks a bit rough around the edges, but it's nice to feel like things are progressing.

 

I installed the middle waterway strip on the fore deck and the main waterway on the aft deck and then began planking downwards from there - thee strakes completed tonight before I had to take care of some chores before bed and watch Game of Thrones. Tomorrow will be more productive, I think....here are a few photos. I'll likely not post more until the hull planking is done, unless there's something interesting to note in it....In the meanwhile - enjoy!

hamilton

[KeithAug]

Hello Hamilton. It will be interesting to hear how you coped with getting the plank edges to line up as you progressed with the planking. In builds such as this where the distances between the frames are relatively large compared with the thickness of the planks I find that the planks want to "flatten" out mid way between the frames and that this makes maintaining alignment of all the plank edges a bit problematical. That said many builders seem to cope with the problem very well. Any learning points you want to impart will be most interesting. The build is coming along very well.

[Beef Wellington]

Somehow completely missed this Hamilton, despite all the challenges to get to this point you should feel good that the first planking looks to be going so well.  Looking great.

[Jond]

Hamilton

 

glad to see you back at it.  I have also been away from it as summer is so important to us .   i will be visiting Lunenburg again in late September and take a ride on Bluenose ll .  much more to learn from her as well as another pass through the museum

 

take care

 

jon

[hamilton]

Hello all and thanks for stopping by!

 

Keith -- yes, it is an issue - I can already see this trend happening at the aft end. I suppose I could have gone for wider strip wood and spiled the planks (certainly this would have been more correct!). But since the hull will be finished I won't mind this unless it becomes completely out of control and the planks start seriously misbehaving. I'll be taking a "plane" to the plank edges once it's done (that is a #10 x-acto blade) to smooth things out and then applying healthy doses of artist acrylic paste, which goes on nicely, dries very hard, sands easily to a nice eggshell finish, and takes paint evenly. We'll see how things go.....

 

Jason - I've been silently following your Jason build - it is truly beautiful! This little BN build is easily missed! Especially when I take ten months off to do my actual day job and return to more sporadic work on the Syren!! 

 

Jond - I'm jealous! - I live on the other coast now and don't often get down East....love your great state of Maine, though - spent quite a bit of time there as a youngster down at Old Orchard Beach and environs, up North in Madawaska and around Bangor and down to Machias....it's a lovely lovely place. Have fun on the BN!!

hamilton

[Old Collingwood]

Thought it rude of me not to say hi and have a nose at your build,  you are braver than me doing a scratch build.

 

OC.

Edited November 8, 2017 by Old Collingwood
spelling

[hamilton]

Thanks OC - things have been so busy at work that I've not had a chance to get back to the BN or my other build (the Model Shipways Syren) for quite some time....I'm hoping that over the holidays I'll be able to dedicate some time to modelling, but at that time there are, of course, so many other obligations....I'm missing the work a lot these days and will hopefully get back to it soon.......

hamilton

[mojofilter]

Hey Man!

Your BN frame is beautiful!!  I found that the thick first flanking on America laid pretty fair on the bulkheads if they weren't soaked.  Anyway, that's what putty is for.  

Glad to hear about the recovering digit.  Keep up the PT!!

I heard that pushups on your fingertips is good therapy 

 

- Tim

[hamilton]

Tim! Sorry for the very late response....the holidays have been and gone and I'm just getting back to looking in on MSW in a serious way. Still no work on the Blunenose since last official update....It's sitting in the closet covered in an old shirt, and now that a new semester has begun it's hard to say when I'll get back to her. I'm hoping to be able to eke out some time at the "bench" this winter, but it's hard to say.....Most nights I am just too knackered to commit to it and since I don't have an ongoing modelling set up half the hurdle is pulling stuff out and setting stuff up....so we'll see if I can recoup the energy required to do a half-decent job.

 

As for finger push-ups.....not in my future....the finger is not really improving too much, unfortunately, except for wagging at people every once in a while. I has not interrupted my modelling so far, but when I come to rigging, I'm fearful that the fine motor skills of my middle finger (which I'm now using as a surrogate index) will not be up to snuff....we'll have to see.....

 

bye for now

hamilton

[hamilton]

Hello there - if anyone's still there!

 

I see that it's been 2 years since I started this log - lots has happened since then - my youngest has started school; I've stepped down (gratefully and after 8 years of service) as the chair of my department at the university; I've still only got about 45-50% use of my left index finger, though it's manageable as injuries go; I've built a small cabin; published a book and spent some time asleep. And yes, there has been progress on the BN.

 

I think my finger injury last summer, combined with an incredibly difficult year at work, took the wind out of my modelling sails - I've still only dabbled at the Syren since July 2017 and it sits now with the bulwarks partially planked. In the last couple of days, though, I've returned to the BN, finished the lower hull planking and mapped out the next phases of the build. 

 

Part of the malaise has been being stuck at points of the build that can be quite tedious - the hull planking. In the case of the BN, I have also been quite slapdash about the planking, particularly below the waterline, since the hull will be finished. The thing had been sitting in a closet with only a few stealers to complete before it was done, but somehow, after putting my boys to bed each night, I found that I didn't have the energy, patience or alertness that is necessary for good results. But now I hope I can gather some momentum since I'll now be moving onto what I find to be more satisfying parts of the build. I have no photos to post at the moment, but will do later this evening - in any event, I've slathered the hull in modelling paste and am waiting for it to dry so I can sand it smooth. 

 

More later

hamilton

[gjdale]

Nice to see you back at the bench Hamilton. I look forward to resumption of play on this one!

[mtaylor]

Good to see you back, Hamilton.  

[hamilton]

Thanks Grant and Mark!

 

It's been too long, for sure...I have occasionally lurked around here on MSW admiring others' work from a distance, but now it is probably time to jump back into the fray. Here, as promised, are a few shots of the hull - it is very difficult for me to get a decent shot of it....just using my phone, of course....should probably invest in a decent camera...Enjoy! Next step will be to complete the waterways - one 3/32" x 3/32" strip i/b on the main deck and then filler pieces to go between the outer waterway and the hull planking.....that's for tomorrow. Bye for now

hamilton

 

[hamilton]

2 updates in less than 24 hours! Have to say it's very nice to be back at the bench! 

 

Anyways, it's a rainy Sunday here, so not a bad time to install the inner waterway planks. These are fashioned from 3/32 x 3/32 strips, slightly chamfered on the inner edge to fade down to the thinner deck planks. This was achieved by clamping the strip, cut to measure, to an old piece of MDF and carefully working at it with a file and a sanding block. The effect is barely noticeable, but it feels good to have it done. 

 

The photos below show some 1/8" pieces of scrap basswood being used as braces for the clamps so as not to mar the waterways themselves. After I installed them I noticed (why is it always after that I notice?) a bit of unevenness in the milling of the two waterways - especially on the port side, there was a lip between the two pieces. This was straightened out using a #10 x-acto blade and some fine sandpaper. These will be finished grey eventually, so the colour contrast won't matter at all. Here are the results. The next step before moving onto the transom & bulwark planking will be to install some filler pieces between the bulkhead extensions....this seems like it might be a tricky operation, so any tips from past MS Bluenose builders would be appreciated.....Enjoy the photos and bye for now

hamilton

 

 

[hamilton]

Just took a look at some other BN logs and noticed that the smarter builders followed the instructions and installed the outermost waterway before doing the planking.....I'm wondering about either removing the top two hull planking strakes and then installing them, or leaving it as is and trying to fi pieces in to the gaps.....the first option might be easier in the long run, since I would be able to fair the outboard edges of the waterway planks while with the second option it'll be a lot of finicky trial and error for each of a couple of dozen small strips.....have to give it some thought....

hamilton

[gjdale]

Tough call Hamilton. Making the decision to remove work already done is always the hard part - once the decision is made, the work seems to go a lot more easily and you wonder why you hesitated. Whichever way you go, I’m sure you’ll nail it (pardon the pun).

[hamilton]

Thanks Grant:

 

I ended up going with option 1 and removing the upper 2 strakes of planking from the hull - in the end this was going to be way less finicky and frustrating than trying to get pieces to fit exactly in weirdly shaped spots....I have a bunch of 1/8" square strips that I'm using for the purpose and managed to get through about half of the job last night. I hope to finish this evening, but there's a chance I won't get to the "bench"....we'll see - thanks again and bye for now

hamilton