Charles W Morgan by texxn5 - FINISHED - Model Shipways - 1:64

[texxn5]

Thanks Tony and Adam....glad you stopped by. A little progress to report, got the Main Lower Topsail Yard mounted and the clew lines rigged. I only have to run the Bunt Lines and then try to get the Main Upper Topsail Yard.

[GLakie]

She's looking great John! Love seeing all the rigging go up!  Been debating with myself whether or not to rig sails when I get to it. 3 voices tell me "NO! Don't even think about it"  , but there's still one voice that says "YES! It would be great"  . Unfortunately, I almost always go for the underdog in these decisions, despite my "better" sense.  

 

Cheers

[texxn5]

Hi George, I thought long and hard about sails, and decided against it. Scale sails on most models I've seen look out of scale and too thick or heavy and don't seem to fall naturally. I've always leaned toward ships without sails.

 

Thanks to all that stopped by or hit the like buttons. By the way for anyone interested I'm running a very special deal for a limited time. It's the TBM 115 Drill Press Combo with all accessories to make a mill without "Z" control (except the handle) Here's the link.

John

 

http://www.proxxontoolsdiscount.com/store/p64/39020_TBM_115_DRILL_PRESS_COMBO_-_SPECIAL_w%2F_Accessories.html

Edited May 4, 2015 by texxn5

[GMO2]

Great road trip you ve got laid out there. You are in for a good summer.The Morgan is coming along nicely,and looking good. How have you found it to be,rigging with the davits in place ?I have mine made,but have been thinking to put mine on after rigging is complete. Iam probably a bit too clumsy to get away with working around them.

[texxn5]

Hi Gary, yeah, hopefully a good summer. Thanks for the comments. As for rigging with the davits up, I looked at many aspects of constructing this, and it logically seemed like a good time to install them. I didn't want to screw up any rigging, and since the hull lines are cut to place the boat handling equipment, I decided to go ahead and put the davits in prior to the running rigging. So far it hasn't been a problem and nothing has been in the way, so I guess so far so good. You have to use tweezers and rigging tools, but you need to do that any way. I don't know, but it has worked for me, I think it could be done at any point you're comfortable with.

John

[texxn5]

Hello to all. Sorry to have dropped off the map. My Brother in Law had a stroke in early May, and we packed up the RV and headed to Pittsburgh to help out. RV park I'm in has very limited internet so it has take a while to post. BIL is doing fine now and we will be leaving the Pittsburgh area Thursday after being here for a month. I brought the remaining yards and the whaleboats with me and will be trying to get them completed during our journey west. Then once we return in October it will be easier to finish the Morgan before the end of the year. I will be posting updates both here and on my website as I progress in the build. The Proxxon Store is open since most of it is by internet as well as my website. In fact I have a Father's Day Special for anyone interested.

Cheers to all, and I'll be following your builds.

John

 

Link to Father's Day Special:

 

http://www.proxxontoolsdiscount.com/store/p319/39401_Fathers_Day_Special_Pensander_Combo.html

[lb0190]

Hi John

 

Sorry to hear about your BIL health issue but happy to hear he is doing better. Enjoy the rest of your journey and be safe.

[mobbsie]

Hi John,

 

Sorry mate to hear about your BIL, and I am pleased for all your family that he is on the mend, bloody nasty things strokes.

 

Have a safe journey home and I look forward to seeing your next up-date.

 

Be Good

 

mobbsie

[GLakie]

Hope your family member gets well John. 

[md1400cs]

Hi John,

 

Just catching up. Whoa beautiful updates, your masts and spars are perfect. Scaling looks awesome.

 

Sorry to read about extended family member's illness, nice that he's now ok (:-)

 

Regards as always,

 

Michael

[popeye the sailor]

sad to hear my friend,  but glad that all is well.  I'll look forward in seeing your updates again 

[Piet]

Glad to hear that all's well with Bill.  You and Diane have safe trip.  Looking forward to the updates and some pics of your trip.

 

Cheers,

[augie]

Glad to hear that your brother in law is doing ok.  Have a safe trip home.

[texxn5]

Hello again everyone. Thanks for all the well wishes, thoughts and prayers for my brother in law. We will be dearting Pittsburgh soon, however, as most plans go they are subject to change we might decide to stay on the east coast since we're almost there - don't know yet. I would like to visit the Niagra in Erie, Pa since that might be my next build. I wanted to post this one picture (not ship related) and I will post others in the proper place later, but this one is a 58 year bucket list item and I wanted to share it especially for members that do not live in the US since it would be hard to travel to. When I was 8 yrs old I saw pictures of this house and was so fascinated by it I almost became an Architecht and I have always wanted to see it. It was built in 1937.

 

Frank Loyd Wright's "Falling Water" last year this was voted as the #1 of the top 100 most enfluential architechtural structures and achievements in all time.

[texxn5]

Hello to all. I am currently in Erie, Pennsylvania and plan to visit the US Brig Niagra on Tuesday. For any of the Niagra fans if you need any specific photographs please let me know and I will make sure I get a good photo for you. I will photograph it extensively since this will be my next build after I finish the Morgan. When I was here 2 years ago she was sailing in Lake Michigan and I didn't get to go aboard. Let me hear from you soon.

John

[lb0190]

Hi John,

 

Thanks for the offer. I would love to see a few photos showing how the anchor rope is routed and stowed. Now if you can just convince them to lower and raise the anchor while you take pictures....      

 

Again, I really appreciate your offer to take pictures. Seeing the Niagara in person is on my to-do list. 

[texxn5]

Hi Larry, she's supposed to be leaving to sail to Huron on Wednesday. If at all possible I want to be there to photograph the event. I might see if she messes with her anchors then. I'm sure she's just moored to the pier, but you never know???? I'll see what I can get for you.

John

[texxn5]

Toured the Niagra today. It started out raining (.25") before noon. About 1:00 it cleared off and turned out to be a beautiful day. The ship sails tomorrow, so there was a lot of activity on board and they restricted where I could go and how long I could stay in one spot for photos, but I think overall I got a lot of good ones. There is an area inside the museum for model ship builders. There are currently 2 builds of the Model Shipways Niagra at the same stage of build. Hull planked stage. When I was there 2 years ago, they were building a 1/2" scale scratch build which is now finished and on display. I have photographs of all of this. I am going to post these photos on my Morgan website in the Gallery Section over the next few days as internet access here allows. If I can't get them posted I will do so as I can. I will make a post here with a link for anyone interested in the Niagra once it's archived. It was really cool to actually be on my next build

[GLakie]

Nice picture John! Can't wait to see the rest. 

[lb0190]

Great picture John! Thanks for sharing.

[xken]

John, I also will be looking forward to seeing your pictures, especially since I am building it presently.

[texxn5]

Hello to all. I have posted the photographs I took of the US Brig Niagra to my website as promised. I also included the photos I took in Aug 2013 of the various models on display in the Museum here in Erie, Pa. One in particular is a 1/2" scale model of the Niagra - over 8' long. It's the main model just before you go aboard the real Niagra. Anyone needing any specific photos email me and I'll send them to you. Here's the link:

 

http://www.charleswmorganmodel.com/us-brig-niagra.html

[texxn5]

Hi guys, all is well in North Eastern Maine...brrrr, but good. I wanted to illustrate my tool set up for using my Proxxon BS/E small belt sander and Proxxon Micromot Tool Holder to make or shape the whaleboats. This setup allows for keeping the tool stationary while allowing you to hold the part up against the sander to shape it with much more precision than holding the tool against a clampped wood part. I am offering the vise and clamp as a combo on my website if anyone needs one. It also will hold most hand held Proxxon tools which are listed on the page. It's a real handy set up. More to follow as I make progress on the boats.

 

Link: http://www.proxxontoolsdiscount.com/store/p321/39405_Precision_Vise_FMZ_%26__Micromot_Tool_Clamp.html

Edited July 26, 2015 by texxn5

[md1400cs]

Hello to all. I have posted the photographs I took of the US Brig Niagra to my website as promised. I also included the photos I took in Aug 2013 of the various models on display in the Museum here in Erie, Pa. One in particular is a 1/2" scale model of the Niagra - over 8' long. It's the main model just before you go aboard the real Niagra. Anyone needing any specific photos email me and I'll send them to you. Here's the link:

 

http://www.charleswmorganmodel.com/us-brig-niagra.html

John,

 

BEAUTIFUL website. Your photos are all five stars. You have a wonderful eye for photography as well.

 

Cheers,

 

MIchael

[texxn5]

Thanks Michael, glad you enjoyed. Thank you for the kudos and comments, much appreciated. Photography is kind of a hobby also...at least I play at it. Your build is looking fantastic. thanks for stopping by. My internet here is very limited so I can only get online every day or so at best. spending my time making scratch clam chowder, grilled lobster, lobster rolls and pigging out. I might not ever want to see a lobster again after I leave here. Currently in Lubec, Me., farhest eastern city and point in the US.

[popeye the sailor]

....and a hello from the neighboring state of New Hampshire......glad to hear things are looking up! 

[texxn5]

Hi Dennis, didn't realize we were that close to you. We stayed in Bethlehem, NH as well as Port Henry as we passed through from upstate NY. Thanks for stopping by.

[popeye the sailor]

[texxn5]

Hello everyone. I actually have an update today. I was fortunate enough yesterday while passing through Connecticut on my way to the Coponos to swing by Mystic and visit the Morgan a couple of hours for photos. I took more than 400 pictures of the rigging and the present state of the Morgan. I will post these to my website over the next week and will provide a link later for anyone interested. This also got me inspired to start working on the whaleboats finally. So today I started making the 7 whaleboat hulls and hopefully will get to do more work as time permits. We'll be here for about a week so I hope to get the hull shapes done during this time. Then I will be able to work on the details inside if the weather gets bad. I set up an outside workshop with my Proxxon vise and small belt sander and all worked well. I got one hull shaped once I found all the pieces and tools to get to work. Here is todays progress. First my campground workshop....lol

[texxn5]

Now for whaleboat progress. First the pieces were glued together to form the basic shape, now the fun begins shaping the outer hull by belt sanding the pieces to look like a whaleboat....