America by gsdpic - FINISHED - BlueJacket Shipcrafters - 1/48 scale

[gsdpic]

More Fiddly Bits

 

I've continued to make progress, adding more fiddly bits....cleats, etc...to the various booms/gaffs/masts.   In some cases I was able to use the supplied Britannia metal pieces.  Some metal parts I fabricated from copper wire, copper tape, and some copper sheet that I had, then chemically blackened.   For the cleats and other wood parts I used scrap cherry wood.   I have not put any finish on any of this stuff and have not decided between leaving the wood bits natural or painting them white like the parts they are attached to.  At this point I am nearly done.  I still need to do the jaws for the two gaffs and the crosstree for the main mast, but I think that is about it.

 

Aft end of the jib boom...sorry about the blurriness.  These bits were fabricated from copper as noted.  There were britannia metal parts supplied but my jib boom was a bit too thick for them.

 

 

End of the bowsprit....gooseneck for the jib boom and the end piece, mostly from supplied brittania metal parts.  It is not really shown, but there is a sheave embedded in the end of the bowsprit.  That nail head you can see is the axle for the sheave.

 

The two gaffs.

 

Finally, the aft end of the main boom, with a bunch of blocks and cleats.

 

 

Edited January 18, 2021 by gsdpic

[gsdpic]

Ready for Sails and Rigging

 

Well, the model is, I am not sure I am.

 

Thanks for looking in and for the likes.  

 

I've pretty much completed all the other details, though as noted below I have found a few things I may need to tweak.  And of course, taking close up pictures always reveals flaws in the finish that I may try to fix, not to mention dust that has collected on the model.  Anyway, here are some pictures of where it stands now.  As I considered this another milestone I got out the "real" camera and took more care in taking the pictures.

 

Next I need to attach blocks to the masts, booms, gaffs, and eyebolts on the deck, then I will experiment with sail making.  While I'd really like to attach the masts at this point I think it will be much easier to attach the sails to the masts off of the boat.

 

Overall view....

 

With masts and booms.  They are just balanced in place here, not attached.  And yes I have enough wiggle room to make the masts parallel when I glue them in place.

 

Bow and anchor details.  After I did this, I realized there were two shackles that were supposed to be attached to the top of the anchor and then the anchor rope was to go to the shackles.  Oops.  Also, the kit did not include anything specifically for the anchor rope/chain.  I felt that even the thickest supplied line seemed too wimpy for the anchors.  I dug out the rigging line for my unfinished Niagara and braided together three lines to make one much thicker anchor rope.  You can also see the name plate.  At first I tried one of those inkjet printer decals but when I placed the yellowish gold decal on the black background, it just completely disappeared.  I ended up printing the name with a black background on a piece of paper and attaching that for the name plate.  You can also see the custom carved trail board in place of the Britannia metal one supplied by the kit.

 

I also attached the remaining deck furniture.

 

And here is the shot of the eagle on the stern.  It is not very visible due to the angle of the transom.  The Britannia metal piece was also pretty thick, more so than I would like, but I used it anyway.

 

Here are the main and fore gaff (top and bottom).  I completed the jaws and clapper since last time I posted a picture of them, though I fear that my clappers will not angle enough to allow the gaffs to point upward as much as they should, so some rework may be needed.  The jaws were just carved and shaped from scrap cherry wood and I inserted some short lengths of blackened copper wire to represent the bolts holding the jaws to the gaffs.

 

And here's a better picture than I posted before of the ends of the jib boom and main boom.

Finally some details of the masts.  First, the lower part of the mast with the mast hoops and the ring of belaying pins, and on the main mast (top) the gooseneck for holding the main boom.  Below that is the detail shot of the mast tops.  While taking the shot I realized I did not put the bolsters on the main mast (i.e. the rounded piece at the top of the trestle tree, I assume to reduce wear and tear on the shrouds).

[GuntherMT]

Looking good Gary. 

 

If it makes you feel any better about your fat eagle, the replica America has a pretty darned fat eagle also, so it's fairly authentic!

 

 

[gsdpic]

5 hours ago, GuntherMT said:

Looking good Gary. 

 

If it makes you feel any better about your fat eagle, the replica America has a pretty darned fat eagle also, so it's fairly authentic!

 

 

 

 

Thanks Brian, I had not seen that picture.  I've seen a picture of the eagle from the original, but it is straight on so impossible to tell how thick it is. 

[gsdpic]

I continued to work on the America last week, mostly attaching blocks to the masts, gaffs, and booms.   I think I am done with that effort but have about a dozen blocks to attach to eyebolts on the deck, and a few more in other places like the bowsprit.   I also did a bit of experimenting with sail making and believe that I will be able to make sails that live up to my relatively low standards

 

And I glued in the two masts, pictures below.  I had cut a tenon in the bottom of each mast to slip into a slot in the mast step, and I made the holes in the deck a little bit oversized to give some "wiggle room".  I first glued the tenon into the mast step and let that cure for a while, until the masts were pretty well held in place but could still move a bit.  I then inserted wood wedges around the mast to secure them in place, adjusting the wedges to get the masts in the correct position.  Once in position, I put wood glue around the wedges, and later cut off the top of any wedges that were too tall.  That worked out pretty well, I am quite happy with the position of the masts, though I admit the main mast has ever so slightly less rake than the fore mast.   Once the glue is completely dry, I'll put a bit of white wood filler around the base of each mast.

 

I think next up is alternating between attaching more blocks and making the sails.  I plan to attach the sails to the gaffs and booms before attaching them to the masts.

 

Fore mast with wedges:

 

Masts in position:

 

From the front-ish:  (That's my bluejacket lobster boat in the background along with some Porsche models).

[FriedClams]

Beautiful work Gary, she's looking really smart!  I really like the color and tone of the model and your finish work is excellent.  The 3rd photo down on post #122 really shows the goods.  Nice.

 

Gary

[Moab]

Great build!...Moab

[gsdpic]

6 hours ago, FriedClams said:

Beautiful work Gary, she's looking really smart!  I really like the color and tone of the model and your finish work is excellent.  The 3rd photo down on post #122 really shows the goods.  Nice.

 

Gary

Thank you!  That means a lot coming from the "king of weathering"
 

5 hours ago, Moab said:

Great build!...Moab

 

Thank you!

[gsdpic]

I've continued to attach blocks to things but have not started any rigging just yet.    The rigging/sail plan is not terribly detailed, but the mix of blocks in the kit seems a bit off.  I could've used another half dozen or so double blocks and will have at least that many single blocks left over.  So in some cases I've just simplified the tackle a bit.  For example, for the fore and main gaff lift, the plan appears to show 2 double blocks and I've changed that to a double and a single.

 

I have also finished one sail out of four.  Shown below is the top sail.   I did not take pictures of the process....I'll try to do that with one of the remaining sails.  Here's the finished product.   The panel lines and seems were machine sown; it is hard to see but there is a bolt rope around two thirds of the sail that I sowed on by hand.  That was by far the most time consuming and tedious part, and this is by far the smallest of the four sails.

 

[gsdpic]

Second Sail Done....and attached

 

Thanks to those who have taken a look and those who have clicked on the like button.

 

I've completed making the fore sail, and attached it to the gaff and the fore mast.   I was going to show pictures of the steps I am taking in making the sails, but half way through I realized there was an easier/better way to do a couple of the prior steps.  I'll try that better method on the next sail, and document that one.   For now, here are a few pictures of the fore sail.   Obviously the blue wire holding the gaff is just temporary, not some new-fangled rigging technique.  I think (hope) the sails are not going to get too much in the way of the rigging.  I plan to do the main sail next, and attach it, then make the jib, then start rigging.  Obviously I need some rigging in order to have a place to hang the jib.

 

Man, these pictures are noisy.  I am using an ancient little point and shoot for most of these.  It is just simpler than getting out the DSLR or using the iPhone, but maybe it would be worth while to do one of those two things.

 

[gsdpic]

Thanks for the likes, folks, I appreciate it!

 

So in the prior update, I guess I betrayed my ignorance of sails and sailing.   On the sail plans, I saw what is shown below for the main sail and fore sail.

 

Now for some reason, where those horizontal reinforcements are, I just assumed that all of them had the dangly bits (reef ties?).  I assumed they just left them out of the drawing in some cases to not clutter things up.   So I added them to my fore sail.  But I started to wonder about that, particularly since the foresail does not have a boom.   I did some googling of reefing and sail bonnet, and can see that I was mistaken.  I am still not quite clear on how the bonnet is used or why the third reef does not have ties, but I am pretty sure the sail plans did not leave out any reef ties that should be there, as I initially assumed.  So I have extra reef ties on my foresail. 

 

I also looked at the reprints of contemporary paintings of America in the book The Low Black Schooner, and several of those paintings even showed this level of detail, with the bare reinforcement strips above the bonnets and the reef ties only on the first and second reef of the main sail.

 

At this point I am not quite sure what to do with the ties on the fore sail.  I may try to remove one and see how that goes.  I used a dot of white glue both where the tie goes through the sail and to hold the ends of the tie down.  If I am able to remove it easily I'll remove the others.  If it looks problematic I'll just leave the extra reef ties in place.  I guess if nothing else, it means I only have to do about 50 ties on the main sail instead of about 70.

 

As for that main sail, it is in progress.  I am on the lengthy and tedious part of hand sewing the bolt rope around the perimeter of the sail.  My hope is that by this time tomorrow I'll be done with that sail and have it attached to the gaff, boom, and main mast, and be able to post more details about how I am making the sails.

 

EDIT: The incorrectly placed reef ties on the foresail were easy to remove without damage.  I then used a thicker needle to poke through the sail to simulate the eyelets in the sail.

 

Edited March 1, 2021 by gsdpic

[gsdpic]

Main Sail Details

 

I have not gotten quite as far with the main sail as I hoped but I am far enough to post my process.  I owe a lot to @TUEL's America log for my sail making process though I made some of my own tweaks.   This will be a long post with a lot of pictures to show the steps I took to make the sail.

 

1.  I created a paper pattern, traced from the sail plan then tweaked to match my model.  I marked the pattern with the direction of the panel lines and made sure to lay the pattern on the sail cloth such that the panel line arrow was aligned with the direction of the weave of the cloth.  I then traced around the pattern with a pencil.

 

2. I cut out the sail very roughly, leaving about an inch around all sides.

 

3. I ironed the sail and then sprayed it with a coat of clear polyacrylic to make the material a little stiffer.  I also cut a separate scrap of material about 3 inches wide and 12 inches long and sprayed that.  I gave this scrap of material a heavier coat of clear acrylic.

4. I used a paper cutter to cut some thin strips of material from the scrap.  I also cut a few circles of material to use for the corner reinforcements.

 

 

5.  Again using the pencil, I gently drew on the panel lines.  I also drew a second line just outside the sail about an eighth of an inch from the edge of the sail.   Using the sowing machine I sewed down each panel line.  After that, I glued on the reinforcing strips over the reef points and in the corners.   While getting other sail making supplies, I saw some "fabric glue" in the store that I picked up and used for this step, though it looked and smelled exactly like regular white PVA.  Oh, you can see I have also cut out the corners to facilitate folding the fabric over.

 

 

 

6.  Using a thin piece of cardboard (actually a hanging file folder) as a straight edge, I folded over the edges of the sail and ironed in a crease.  I repeated that process on the lines just outside the edge of the sail, resulting in a sail with two creases around the edges.  This is where the extra inch of fabric is useful as it is much easier to fold over and iron an inch of fabric than it is to do a quarter inch of fabric.

 

 

 

7.  I put little drops of glue every inch or two along the outer crease and then folded over the material on that outer crease.  After the glue dried I cut off the extra material as close to that crease as I could. 

 

8.  I then folded the sail over on the crease at the edge of the sail, held it in place again with a few drops of glue, then sewed all the way around the sail with the machine to hold the folded portion. 

 

9. Next I hand sewed a bolt rope around the edge of the sail, at least the edges that are attached to something.   While I was doing this I also formed some cringles at the appropriate places.

10.  And with that the sail is mostly done.  I still need to put in the reef ties on the first and second reef then attach it to the boom, gaff, and mast.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 1, 2021 by gsdpic

[MrBlueJacket]

looking very nice!

 

Nic

[gsdpic]

Thanks for the likes folks, and thanks Nic for the comment.

 

It took me longer than expected but I've completed and attached the main sail to the boom, gaff, and mast.  I've also attached the top sail to the mast.  I did have one minor oops moment that I am trying hard to ignore.  Despite using a pattern that I compared to my particular model for the sail, I ended up with the top of the main sail about 1/8th or maybe 3/16th of an inch too wide.  Not sure how it happened, though I admit I never compared my sail to the pattern after initially cutting out the sail.  So the gaff is just not quite as long as it should be compared to the sail.  But I only discovered that after completing the sail....8 or 10 hours of work I think...so left it as is. 

 

Now I need to do at least some rigging to have a place to hang the jib, which I have not yet started to make.  Thus far I have just used regular thread or some leftover rigging thread from my not-completed Niagara build.  For the rigging I'll use the Bluejacket line, which also means I need to try out the brown fabric dye I bought to dye the white line some shade of tan.  I did a quick test on a short piece a while back and it worked ok, just need to figure out the process for doing larger quantities.

 

Anyway, below is a picture as she currently stands.  I really need that jib on there to balance things out.  But I feel like I can almost see the finish line from here, thanks to the relatively simple rig of the America, especially compared to those square-rigged behemoths that some of you like to build.

 

 

 

[closehaul]

A very good looking work.

    -Angelo

 

[Kevin Kenny]

This is the fun part so enjoy it

[gsdpic]

4 hours ago, closehaul said:

A very good looking work.

    -Angelo

 

Thank You!

 

4 hours ago, Kevin Kenny said:

This is the fun part so enjoy it

 

Thanks, the anticipation and satisfaction definitely builds as the finish line approaches.

 

After my last post I realized that this is pretty close to the four year anniversary of starting this kit.  Though there was one 19-month long break, from June 2019 through Dec 2020, and a couple other one or two month breaks where I did not work on it at all. 

[Kevin Kenny]

I am constantly taking breaks with my models, either for work, or because i am having a skill issue and get fed up. Walking away has always resulted in a better finish to the model when i start back. 

[gsdpic]

Rigging

 

Thanks for the likes and comments, appreciate it.

 

I've been working on the running rigging for the main, top, and fore sail.  I am almost done with that, just have the complicated fore sheet to do, and the two vangs for the main gaff.   Then I will do the standing rigging which will allow me to hang the last sail and do its running rigging.

 

I feel like I am doing things a little backwards, doing sails then running rigging then standing rigging but that seemed easiest to me.   I also realized that since I am dying the white running rigging tan, the rigging process is kind of like planking....cut a piece, soak it, let it dry, and then put it on the model.   Fortunately the rigging line dries much quicker than wood.

 

Unfortunately I am a little unhappy with the angle of the fore gaff.  It should be more steeply angled, with the aft end higher.  Unfortunately the angle was a bit restricted by the gaff jaws and clapper that I made.  Of course if I fixed that, then I'd need to remake the fore sail and redo a bit of the rigging.  But I already have another minor repair that needs to be done on the fore gaff jaws, as the tip of one of them broke when I was drilling a hole for the parrel.   It is one of those times when I really don't want to redo it, don't want to take such a big step backwards this close to the finish, but I fear it will bug me if I leave it the way it is.  I think the current position of the gaff takes away from the rakish appearance that is such a key part of the America.   Not sure if the standing rigging lines that go between the tops of the masts will make it better or not.

 

Edit:  I investigated more and realized the angle is not too far off but somehow I ended up with the main mast about a half inch longer than it should be and the fore mast about a quarter inch shorter than it should be.   So that makes the angle appear farther off than it really is.  Obviously, still far easier to fix the gaff and sail than to fix the mast lengths!

 

Anyway, here a couple pictures showing the rigging that I've done so far.  I still have a few untrimmed ends sitting on the deck, and will also need to make and place some rope coils around some of the cleats and belaying pins. 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 18, 2021 by gsdpic

[gsdpic]

Ready for Jib

 

I've mostly resolved my issue without redoing anything.   The thing that bothered me was the angle between the fore gaff and the rigging line attached to it.  On the sail plan and on other builds, it is in a near straight line, not angled so much.  After more investigation, there seemed to be three contributors:

1. The mast height issue, though they are not as far off as I first thought.  It is more like 1/8th of an inch each, but in opposite directions.

2. The angle between the gaff and the fore mast was not as great as it should be.

3. The rake of the fore mast is a little too great, further angling the gaff toward horizontal.

 

I was able to sand a bit off of the fore gaff clapper and tighten the rigging to angle the gaff higher.  I also used the jib stay to pull the top of the fore mast forward.  Those two actions greatly reduced the angle between the gaff and the rigging line, at the expense of causing a bit of a ripple in the fore sail, something I am willing to live with and which might dissipate on its own.

 

So with that I am now ready to make and hang the jib.   There are three or four rigging lines associated with the jib, plus I still have to complete the fore shrouds and do the main shrouds, more bowsprit rigging, as well as the two main sail vangs.  So, one sail and about 10 more rigging lines...oh, and the two parrels, and I think that will be it.

 

Here's a current picture showing the current state, with the improvement to the fore gaff.  You can see I put on the fore shrouds, since they are below the fore stay on the mast, but have not done the chainplates and lower deadeyes to attach the lower end of the shrouds.

Edited March 28, 2021 by gsdpic

[Kevin Kenny]

you might find this plan i purchase useful

[gsdpic]

Thanks @Kevin Kenny as I have come to expect seems like every plan is a bit different.

 

[Kevin Kenny]

If you read the history of this boat early in your build you will realize that no one knows for sure what she looked like when she won the race in 1851. I only found  this out close to the end of my kit build. There are a few photographs over time that show different deck layouts. All the early paintings were done without the artist even seeing her. This caused me to do two models, one is the Constructo kit and a second scratch built of what i think she would have looked like when she raced the British.

[gsdpic]

Getting Close

 

I have now made and hung the last sail, the jib.  I still have some of the running rigging for the jib to do, plus I need to complete the shrouds.  I need to attach the chain plates/lower deadeyes, then bind the deadeyes together.  I have the deadeyes attached to the shrouds on the port side but not yet on the starboard side.   Then just some finished touches and I'll be done.  I am looking forward to completing it and to putting more care and effort into getting some final photographs instead of just the quick snapshots with this crappy old point and shoot. 

 

[gsdpic]

Thanks all for the likes and for looking in.

 

Just a quick update to say that I am still working on the rigging, but making progress.  I now have the chainplates and deadeyes attached and have the lanyards threaded through them, though need to tighten them up and seize the ends of the lanyards.   After that I just need to decide if/how/where to do the vangs, as they are not really shown on the plans with the kit.  Then the rigging will be done and on to the clean up and finishing touches.

 

[Dr PR]

I would think the vangs would be led forward near the base of the mast. That way they wouldn't interfere with the swing of the booms.

 

On some schooners the vangs are attached to hooks so they can be moved easily when necessary. The lee (downwind) vangs do not need to be tightened but they should be ready in case the wind shifts or for sudden turns.

[gsdpic]

8 hours ago, Dr PR said:

I would think the vangs would be led forward near the base of the mast. That way they wouldn't interfere with the swing of the booms.

 

On some schooners the vangs are attached to hooks so they can be moved easily when necessary. The lee (downwind) vangs do not need to be tightened but they should be ready in case the wind shifts or for sudden turns.

Thank you for taking the time to comment, Phil.  I appreciate it.  I've already referred to your topsail schooner sail plan/rigging thread several times while doing the rigging here.

 

What you say makes sense.  Oddly, the one and only thing shown on the plans regarding the vangs is an attachment point on the very aft edge of the deck, which does seem like it would have exactly the issue you mention, interfering with the swing of the boom.   Perhaps that is where the hook could be used, to allow it to be detached to give space.

 

[gsdpic]

And so I think I am done.  I feel like I sort of hobbled over the finish line.

 

I added the last couple of rigging lines, and a bunch of rope coils both to the deck and hanging from the pins.  I was a bit underwhelmed with my rope coiling ability, but it is not the first time I have had that feeling.   I then did the nerve wracking switch from my temporary building board to the real, cherry base board.   I still need to take one last look at the plans and the instructions to see if there is anything else I forgot that I'd like to add.  And maybe look in the box for leftover parts that should've gone on.   Then I need to do a bit of clean up in the spare bed room and get out the DSLR to take some better pictures of the finished product, which I'll post here and in the gallery.   At that point I will officially mark the build log as finished.   For now, here are two pictures using the crappy little point-n-shoot.

 

 

[gsdpic]

A few thoughts on the kit

 

I thought now that I am done I would add a few more thoughts on this kit.  I enjoyed building it and generally the kit is well done.  It is not for the faint of heart or inexperienced.  Though to be fair, Bluejacket does rate it an "8" on their 9 point difficult scale so that is no surprise.  The materials were generally all good quality.  In the end  I even decided that I liked the britannia metal blocks.  The wood was good quality and there was an appropriate amount, though I did replace the deck with some nicer cherry wood instead of the bass wood.   I made a few other substitutions as well, such as wood mast hoops instead of the brass wire loops.  The instructions were a bit uneven.  Many sections had good detail but in a few other places the instructions were little more than "use the supplied material to build the thing in the picture".  I felt like the rigging instructions were very much more like the latter.   There are only 30 or 35 lines on the boat, seems like it would not have been that difficult for the instructions to identify the size of the rigging line and blocks used for each line as well as the belaying point.

 

Finally, a huge thank you to those of you who have looked in, and commented, and hit the like button.  You provided guidance and encouragement on this long journey.

 

Also, a huge thank you to those that did their own build logs for other America kits, such as @TUEL, @greatgalleons, @mojofilter, @hamilton, and especially @Kevin Kenny.  I referenced all of those build logs multiple times and watched pretty much all of the videos that Kevin produced, and my build turned out better because of those prior build logs.

 

 

[Kevin Kenny]

Its always such a relief and most times a disappointment when a model get completed. Perhaps the most interesting memory is looking back on those times when you could not figure our something, or when everything went wrong. Now you think back and wonder what the fuss was  all about. 
 

congratulations on a very fine model. Now for the case.