Gloucester Fishing Schooner by Alfons - BlueJacket Shipcrafters - scale 1:48 - first build

[Alfons]

Hi all.

This project, beeing my first build, was started in september 2011. Having thought about building a wooden ship for many years i finally got around and ordered my Schooner from Blue Jacket in the US.

 

In MSW 1.0 I maintained a build log since day 1, sadly, all the information were lost during the crash. However, all of the pictures are still on my hard drive. In below posts I have added all the pictures in somewhat of an order, this post contains the pictues of the current status of the build.

 

The Blu Jacket kit is of excellent quality, containing a solid hull and a small box of britannia castings. There are no laser cut wooden parts, all parts are built from profiles and sheets. The instructions are thorough and contains a number of hand drawn sketches, and also a number of pictures of the prototype build by Blue Jacket. The length of the finished model will be about 33¨, and I plan to make my own glass (or similar) display case. There will be no sails, but a full running rig.

 

I really enjoy my new hobby, and starting a build log at MSW has been extremely helpful and encouraging. 

 

Thanks for looking in, and I hope you will follow my progress along the way.

 

/Alfons

 

[Wintergreen]

Thanks for reposting some of your images Alfons

 

Your schooner looks sooo good!

[Alfons]

Thanks, it´s good to be back.

 

I am working on the dory, progress is rather slow at the moment, but an update is around the corner.

 

/Alfons

[ricky146]

Beautiful neat work Alfons.

Keep it up.

Looking forward to more progress.

 

Ricky

[Alfons]

Thanks Ricky.

 

Tim.
 
Regarding the rudder assembly, see pictures below.
 
I attached both the rudder stock and the rudder to the stern post. I guess this is not the proper way to do it, but the result came out well and I am happy. However, the rudder is glued solid and will not be able to swing.

 

Please note that I forgot to cut the small slots above the rudder hinges, not allowing for the rudder to come off during overhaul. 
 
/Alfons

[Alfons]

I am uploading the rest of my pictures, the new log required a little bit more life to it.   

 

Sorry that the time line does twist a little bit back and forth.

 

/Alfons

 

Edited December 8, 2013 by Alfons

[Elia]

Alfons,

 

Superb.  I'm so glad you've begun your log again.  I'm just finishing the monkey rail on my schooner and I've come to your log for reference numerous times.  What a crisp, sharp model you've built.

 

Cheers,

 

Elia

[Wintergreen]

What a treat, your deck is just beautiful!

[Alfons]

Time for a small update, just to let you know I am alive 

 

Thanks for the kind words, it good to be back.

 

I am making slow progress with the seine dory, next step is finishing the main rail.

 

Thanks for dropping by.

/Alfons

Edited February 25, 2013 by Alfons

[Wintergreen]

Oh, that was a sleek little boat.

Will there be oarlocks and oars too?

[pier44]

       Nice and very usefull details.... Thanks so much!

 

      I working on my Bluenose, and I appreciate that you share

 

      your know how...

 

                           pier44

[Alfons]

For sure Håkan, there will be oars, oarlocks, rope work, and even a small bucket to go with that 

 

/Alfons

[john46]

You are doing a great job, it is an impressive built. Thanks for sharing.

 

Regards

John

[Elia]

Alfons,

 

That is one sweet dory!  Very nice.

 

Elia

[Timothy Wood]

Alfons,

 

I look forward to watching your log also.  I really like your deck work, you aree doing a fine job!    

 

How do you like the BlueJacket kit?

 

Tim

[Alfons]

Thanks for your kind words.

 

Tim. About the Blue Jacket kit. Not having buit to many kits (yet), I dont have to much to compare with. The quality of the supplied wood are good but most of the castings (very few) are out of shape, but reasonable OK after some modifications. There are three sheets of drawings, with a few detailed views included. On numerous occasions, I have had to estimate detailed dimensions due to missing information. There are no pre-cut wooden parts (except for the roughly shaped hull), everything else is built from scratch.

 

Instructions are quite thourough, but illustrations are in my opinion rather poor, mostly due to the fact that pictures are drawn by hand. 

 

As an overall impression, I wouldnt recomend the Smuggler kit as a first build. Never the less, I have learnt a lot about ship building technique, and the result so far is satisfactory according to my standards.

 

My next project is the Riva Aquamarine from Amati. I have had the chance to look trough the box contents at my local shop, my impressions is that castings and details are of better quality, and the supplied instructions are much moore thorough. 

 

Thanks for dropping by.

/Alfons

[Hayseed Sailor]

Alfons,

   I, like so many others are impressed by the crispness of your woodwork. There is an almost total lack of 'fuzzies" about your woodwork. How do you do it?

Also, your deck planks almost appear to have beveled edges. Is this so or is it an illusion? All in all it is very nicely done.

Thanks for sharing.

Ron Franck

[Alfons]

Thanks Ron, Im glad you like my work.

 

As for the woodwork, I am using a very special technique.. no macro photos 

 

Apart from that, high quality wood and a nice set of tools takes me far. I have also learnt to be very careful during painting, not to use too thick paint, but rather many thin layers.

 

The deck in the kit came as sheets of scribed veneer, but I decided to cut the sheets plank by plank. This allowed me to achieve the nibbing and the curvature along the quarter deck, but also to keep the beveled edges intact.

 

/Alfons

[gerty]

Wow - Terrifc work Alfons !   Really like your deck planking  - great job !

[Alfons]

Thanks Gerty.

 

Small update today; the making of the dory main rail. Next up is priming and painting.

 

/Alfons

[Alfons]

Sun is shining, son and wife are taking a nap, people are skiing just outside my house....and the oars supplied with my kit are way out of dimension. :mellow:

 

Stay tuned..

 

/Alfons

[Alfons]

I shall make my own oars for the dory, the ones that came with the kit are far to big and also out of shape.

 

What better to use than tooth picks! Excellent wood quality and roughly the right size.

 

My Dremel served as a vertical lathe, allowing for the right tapering effect. I then glued a pair of wood pieces to each oar. Finally, sanding to the right shape.

 

Much better, furthermore, how many fishing crews are able to enjoy a loverly scent of mint while at sea 

 

3 more to go and then priming and painting.

 

Thanks for dropping by.

/Alfons

[Elia]

Alfons,

 

Very nice dory rail and very very nicely done oar.  I have to say again that's a great looking dory you've built.  The smoothness of the wood finish, along with the paint job, makes for a really attractive little boat.

 

Elia

[Wintergreen]

Hammarby-backen?

 

Well, excellent dingy and oars Alfons! And your paint job is flawless. So nice to look at.

[Alfons]

Thanks Håkan and Elia.

 

And yes, it is Hammarbybacken, as seen from my living room.

 

I shall be back soon with the finished dingy, final painting starts tonight. 

 

/Alfons.

[allanyed]

Alfons,

 

Impressive work, especially the deck planking, well done!  Are the techniques you are showing all given in the kit, or are you inventing some of your ideas?

 

I look forward to your next posts.

 

Allan

[michael mott]

Alfons, Nice to catch up on your build again.

Michael

[captainbob]

Alfons,

 

Wish I had found this earlier.  Fine work.

 

Bob

[russ]

Alfons:

This model is just beautiful. You are making a wonderful piece out of the kit. I really like the dory. That is a nice little model in itself. Thanks for bringing this build log back.

 

Russ

[Alfons]

Thanks Allan, Michael, Bob, and Russ, I am glad you like my work.

 

There are not to many techniques described in the kit instructions. I am making things up as I go, plus, I am learning loads of stuff from you guys 

 

The oars are finished, dory is undergoing final painting.

 

This weekend I will visit my parents up north, this will be nice as always. As a bonus, I will have the opportunity to use my fathers lathe   Hopefully I will be able to make the jib boom according to the (rather poor) drawing. I will bring lots of raw material, so a number of attempts are possible..

 

/Alfons