18th Century Longboat by mahjong25 - FINISHED - Model Shipways - 1:48

[mahjong25]

Took a long time to decide on a first build, finally picked the 18th Century Longboat from Model Shipway. Spent the first day sanding the burnt sections off the pieces, assembling the Keel and creating the bevel from the bearding line. I also followed BobF's direction to mount my ship with brass rods. 

 

 

Edited May 16, 2021 by mahjong25

[mahjong25]

I continued on and carefully glued on each bulkhead. I marked the center of each bulkhead so I can visualize the placement and also made sure they were perpendicular to the keel as well. I used wood glue for this section to give me a little more time to adjust the placement as needed. Then I beveled all the bulkheads so my planks will have a even surface to adhere to. This took a while to complete.

 

 

[zappto]

Welcome on board, i like the boat you chose to build, it is not too big for the start of this hobby, good luck!

[Estoy_Listo]

Greetings,

The Longboat is on my short list of future builds.  I'm in the middle of a move and shipyard is closed, so I'll do the next best and follow your work.  

 

Best wishes on your build,

 

Mark

[alde]

I just started my longboat yesterday. It looks like we are at exactly the same place in the build. Yours is looking nice and ship shape. 

[Tigersteve]

Off to a nice start. 

Steve

[mahjong25]

Took a long break from posting but I'm back. Since last time, I have completed planking the boat and I am currently sanding the inside to prepare for the cap rails. This is my first time planking and I definitely need to work on the curvature of my bending. I made such sharp bends that it was hard to compensate for when I started moving up. Able to finish it but good lesson learned. 

 

 

Edited November 19, 2017 by mahjong25

[mahjong25]

Thank you everyone for the support! I will definitely try my best to complete this ship!

[mahjong25]

I need some help. I've been reading up on multiple ship building logs to make sure I avoid mistakes. I see that the friezes provided in the kit is not the right size and there is a PDF somewhere of the corrected one? Could someone provide me with the link to it? 

[Tigersteve]

 

[Derek C]

Hello mahjong25

Its looking pretty good so far , the planking on this boat is tricky. After you fare the hull u can use a mixture of the sawdust and a 50/50 water glue mix to help with gaps in planking ad resand . Make sure to get the char off the inside the hull it wont pay nice with your  finish.looking forward to seeing it progress

Derek

[mahjong25]

6 hours ago, Tigersteve said:

 

Thank you! 

[mahjong25]

Thank you Derek. I will try and fill in the gaps between the planks. I am not satisfied with the smoothness of the hull and will work on that next. 👍

[mahjong25]

I have been away on several trips, but I am back with an update on my progress. I have put on my caprails and the molding as well. I've prepared the friezes and will wait to install them later to avoid damaging them. I've also put Polyurethane on my boat then painted. Then I continued onto the floorboards, and the 2 platforms. I also bend the risers but have yet to install them. 

[mahjong25]

I've glued on the risers and finished working on the thwarts.

 

Did anyone else have an issue with the plans not scaled appropriately? I am trying to work on my thwart with mast, but the plans are scaled just a bit too big so looks like i'll have to eyeball a lot of measurements. 

 

 

[Tigersteve]

The plans are correct. I believe Model Expo modified Chuck’s instruction book with an incorrect measurement on the thwarts, which is too small. Go with the plans.

Steve

Edited May 24, 2018 by Tigersteve

[mahjong25]

Thanks for such a quick response Steve! I felt it was too thin as well. It is good that I did not glue it on yet. I will work on redoing them. Thanks again!

 

Eden

[mahjong25]

Redoing the thwarts didn't take too long and I moved onto working on the seats and the locker. It took some extra time to make sure it fit the boat appropriately with no extra gaps and it was worth it. 

 

Eden

[mahjong25]

I completed the locker hinges and moved onto the knees. That is when I realized that my cap rail is not the correct shape for the knee so I had to do some surgery to repair it.

[mahjong25]

I fixed the caprail and glued on the knee. I also put in the mast bracket and installed the belay pins. Next I had to problem solve the dilemma of the windlass. I couldn't figure out a way to make perfect square holes, so I just drilled the the approximate size and cut the corners out with an Xacto knife. Had some trouble installing it but was finally able to do it. 

[mahjong25]

I painted and glued on the knees and it is time to work on the rudder. I cleaned it up then realized I finally have to place the frieze, especially on the transom. I printed out the PDF from Chuck's revision and gave it a couple thin coats of hair spray for protection. Then I cut it out and use some adhesive spray to place it on the boat. I taped a cutout of the transom frieze on so I could paint around it. Then I completed the metalwork on the rudder with gudgeon and pintle. I also shaped the handle. Before I can continue, I have to figure out the best way to draw the waterline on the boat.

[Chuck]

Well done.  That looks excellent. 

[mahjong25]

I attempted a waterline jig then taped it up to paint. I still need to figure out how to taper the mast with the make shift lathe/drill since I don't really own power tools. It might be a while before I make more progress.

 

[mahjong25]

I took a hiatus after being frustrated with my power drill/lathe set up to taper the mast. I just avoided the project and came back to it recently. I ended up tapering the mast by hand which was a lot easier. Making the bands and drilling them broke 2 of my smallest bits but I was able to complete it. I , glued it onto the mast, made the ball truck and mast step, and then painted it. Now I will read up on how to seize blocks and continue on.

[mahjong25]

I continued by seizing the blocks. I purchased some new rigging line and blocks for this sections because the ones that came with the kit were not great quality. I am really happy with the way it looks on the mast. Then I shaped, glued and painted the bowsprit on. I am really happy with the way it looks and I will finalize and glue the mast one so I can continue. 

[mahjong25]

Completed the boom and the gaff. Excited to be nearing the end of construction and moving into rigging!

[mahjong25]

So I'm nearing the end, and I still haven't used any nails. Am I missing something?

[Tigersteve]

Nope, you won’t be using any nails. Not sure why they’re included. 

Steve

[Cathead]

You're doing great, especially for a first build. Looks better than mine, which wasn't a first build!

[mahjong25]

The seizing took a little to get used to, especially since the rope is so tiny. But it got easier over time so the rigging is coming along. I haven't glued anything down yet and I will do that once all the running rigging is completed.