Santa Maria by mrcc - FINISHED - Mamoli MV42 - 1:50

[mrcc]

After lots of "hemming and hawing"...

Should I buy a mini lathe or not...

 

I decided to tackle the tapering of masts in the most basic way. I marked out the main mast at the point where the taper begins from 12 mm and ends at 5 mm on a piece of cardboard and dividing the total distance, that by the difference of 7 mm, marked out my hashmarks on the cardboard, and began with the mini planer to strip the dowel from the end to the base in ever less increments, constantly measuring with the caliper. I kept the dowel at about 1 mm larger than need and plan to final finish the taper with sandpaper... which I ran out of, thus the lack of pictures with final finished mast.

 

This process took me all of 10 minutes with the new sharp planer that I had and was pleasantly surprised at how well it turned out. Glad I saved some money in the non purchase of the mini lathe but would still love to own one nevertheless.

Edited November 28, 2017 by mrcc

[mrcc]

Still hemming and hawing over what to do with the masts...

I have noticed with this hobby that the further you progress in skills, the more perfectionistic you become and with these masts, I feel I do not want to tackle them quite yet and I keep mulling over the fact that I should buy a proxxon mini lathe to truly do them justice.

 

Anyways, one problem that I have from the picture below is that the chains don't reach as far down as they should according to the plans. My understanding is that they should anchor into the upper of the two lower strakes pictured. Either I put the series of strakes a bit to low and perhaps I put the chain plate a bit too high as well... and thus the problem.

 

Question: just anchor them into the hull and don't worry about anchoring them into the strake or try and purchase the chains to match and extend them a bit further down. This is an old kit from Mamoli and it will be difficulty to find a perfect match of the existing chains.

[popeye the sailor]

one thing to keep in mind,  is that not every one interprets the plans in the same way.   whether it's an older kit,  or a revised kit,  it's all in the way you assembled it.....no two models will be the same    making any adjustments with the height of the channel might not be good......could result in a mess.   your best bet would be to adjust the chains,  so they will reach the wale......the lesser of two evils.   I really don't think it matters how they are fixed to the hull,  but if the plans call for them to be attached to the wales,  then you should fasten them there.   you've done such a nice job......no need to skimp on a technicality  

 

how I taper masts,  is by cutting the mast to length {with a little extra at the base}.  sticking it in a drill,  loosely wrapping sandpaper around it,  and by running the drill at low speed,  shape the mast.  but wear a glove......the sandpaper can get a bit warm   

[mrcc]

Thanks Popeye for the input,

 

I think I will affix the chains just above the strake and thus onto the hull, even though it may not be historically accurate. I think it will be impossible to find the chains to match should I wish to extend the chains by a link or two.

 

The other problem with regards to tapering the masts are likely best tackled with a drill and the problem here is the main mast is a diameter of 12 mm which will not fit in the chuck but I am sure I will find a workaround.

 

Cheers

[mrcc]

Don't know why I was scared to tackle the tapering of the yards and masts without a mini lathe...

So easy to do with a cheap mini plane and a bit of time and patience. I just divided the mast /yard into increments, knowing what my end diameter is and planed the furthest to the midway taking gentle cuts with the plane as to not gouge into the wood. I constantly measured with my caliper being careful not to take too much off and then sanded first roughly with 80 and then final sanded with 120 to get the perfect taper.

Edited February 28, 2018 by mrcc

[7 Provinces]

Hi Julian, just checking in after being away for some time (working on the house..).

I think you are doing a very nice job, your Santa Maria is looking great!

 

About the lathe: I know what you mean. If I would buy all the machines I would like to have I think I could move out ;-) 

Have you tried a drill? If you have a drill with variable speed and insert the mast intead of a drill or bit, you can rotate the mast. Then press some sandpaper against the rotating mast and you will sand it evenly on all sides. Of course you still have to check and measure all the time but at least it will be even :-)

 

Then in the tools section of MSW there used to be a document showing how you can make a lathe out of a drill by basically securing the drill in one place with wooden blocks and, for longer pieces of wood, making sure you have a hole on the other side where the mast fits into snugly and still and can rotate..

 

I wish you happy building and will be following your log!

[mrcc]

Some progress to report finally...

 

I took a power tool to a couple of the spars that were double side and that were to be mated together.

I achieved a nice clean union...

 

The rest of the finished masts and single and double spars are depicted in the last picture. All this work certainly easier than I thought and expected.

[7 Provinces]

Masts looking good!

[mrcc]

And some pictures of the crows nest...

[mrcc]

And here is my most recent work...

 

I stained the masts with Minwax Golden Oak and the spars Dark Walnut

[mrcc]

And her current glory...

[Seventynet]

Looking very good Julian!

 

Regards,

Ian

[popeye the sailor]

coming along splendidly Julian........ the overall picture of the ship looks really sweet!   

[mrcc]

Thanks Ian, Popeye for the compliments and recent likes.

Much appreciated...

[Ryzuhr]

Caught up with your log and you have a beautiful looking ship there! I'll be following along from here

[mrcc]

Thanks Andrew for following along...

 

I think this older Mamoli kit builds out to a wonderful Santa Maria. 

Though the instructions have not been great, the kit materials, both wood, metal, and other fittings have been excellent. 

 

I have lately been slow with progress as lots of spring yard work here in my “neck of the woods” plus a developing issue with carpal tunnel syndrome is limiting my work on the kit.

 

Cheers

[popeye the sailor]

sorry to hear............hope you are having it looked at and taken care of.  

[mrcc]

Thanks Popeye for the greeting... and yes starting to get better but now a bit of laziness has set in.

But I did this last night...

[Mirabell61]

Well done Julian !

 

The ship is looking very good. Am curious for the rigging and further fitting out. Will you spend her a set of sails ?....

 

Nils

[mrcc]

Thanks Nils for the compliment!

I am hoping to start the rigging sometime this summer and I am certainly a "sail" type of guy.

 

Cheers,

[mrcc]

My finished anchors...

[mrcc]

Hawse holes...

Only a little nerve racking drilling into the completed hull. I used my Milwaukee hex drill bits manually from small to large (no power tool used) to open up the holes.

[popeye the sailor]

I have a Black & Decker and a Rigid......both do a great job.   the speed can be varied...and yup,  I have the same attachments {although a different style chuck}.

    nicely done on the hawse holes........yes.....it is a little nerve wracking to drill into a perfectly good hull     are you able to run a 'snake' through both holes?  if it's a POB,  probably not..........you'd be able to run one length of chain or rope to do both anchors.

[7 Provinces]

Nice work & looking great Julian!

I bet you measured and eyeballed the positions about 8000 times before you finally drilled, I know I would have 

 

Nice drill bits, I never saw those before. Mine are all round and yes, they may slip but mainly when drilling concrete. Anyway, these are practical for manual drilling for sure.

Hope your wrist is getting better..

[mrcc]

Thanks Popeye, Jan-Willem for checking in on the build...

 

I used the bits manually, , much like a pin vise and everything went smooth without much concern or worry.

I used one of the smaller bits in the power drill only when drilling an opening, carefully, passing the bit through the hawse hole and then drilling through the bulkhead hidden behind the bow and yes, no problem to "snake" the ropes attaching the anchors as only one bulkhead was required to drill through.

 

Wrists better, yes...

 

Cheers,

[mtbediz]

Long time no post Jullian. How is it going? I hope you are fine.

[mrcc]

Thanks Mustafa for checking in... just busy with work and life.

I noticed this last year that I have had less time for this wonderful hobby...

 

I have also had some wrist and hand problems related to my occupation that just does not want to seem to want to get better.

 

We are in the midst of summer here in Canada and I am going to set a timeframe of September or October to start into it again.

The other problem is I am dreading doing the rigging work... so procrastination is a big component as well.

 

Cheers!

[popeye the sailor]

sorry to hear your problem is still lingering.........hope it gets better for you and you can get back to this wonderful ship!  really look'in super!

[mrcc]

Thanks Popeye for checking in...

 

Soon, soon I will be back at it.

 

Cheers!

[popeye the sailor]

rigging these ships isn't as bad as some....you can go with a simplified rigging plan,  or with research,  you can add the lines that the instructions don't show.   did the kit include a rigging diagram?........it should have     are you going to go with the triangular dead eyes?  a lot of these earlier ship sported them.