Mary Taylor 1850 by MrBlueJacket - FINISHED - BlueJacket Shipcrafters - Scale 3/16" = 1' (1:64) - NY Pilot boat

[MrBlueJacket]

Here's the kit contents of the BlueJacket Mary Taylor pilot boat. The kit comes with copper tape, but I will be using individual plates on this model.

[MrBlueJacket]

And the first step (after reading the instructions) is to screw a block into the top of the hull, then mount it in a vise to start carving away the leftover nubs.

[Jim Rogers]

Have you ever tried a Rockwell Sonicrafter for the initial rough carving? 

[MrBlueJacket]

On June 9, 2018 at 2:44 PM, Jim Rogers said:

Have you ever tried a Rockwell Sonicrafter for the initial rough carving? 

 

No, I have not.Looks like a useful tool, however.

[MrBlueJacket]

So finally got the stern shaped, the rest of the hull only needed a little cleaning up. So like jfinan said in his Constitution build "laying the keel is always a momentus occasion"

[MrBlueJacket]

Got a little vigorous with sanding the stem, but a little putty fixes that. Since the bottom will be coppered, no harm done. Some smoothing needed at the stern, too.

Edited June 22, 2018 by MrBlueJacket
typo

[GTMike]

I ordered this kit on Thursday and expect it this week.  I am looking forward to following your progress and will also start a log once I get my kit in.  This will be my first wooden ship model after months of research and reading, I hope that I am up to the challenge.  I was going to use individual copper plates as well and have thought about planking the model above the plating for no reason other than getting my feet wet on planking.

 

Thanks,

 

Mike

[MrBlueJacket]

Time to drill out for the mounting pedestals and test fit onto a building board. The mary Taylor has a raked keel, so two different height pedestals are needed.

 

And looking down the bow, it looks pretty straight up and down (Thank God, I hate shimming pedestals)

[GTMike]

MrBlueJacket, I just started construction of this model over the weekend (will start build log soon) and I was wondering what size pedestals you used.  I have started making templates for shaping the hull and as this is my first wooden ship model I plan on taking my time during this part of the project.  I hope that you post several good pictures of the bulwark and transom area.  I am not sure if I am going to install the bulwark and transom before I use the copper plate the bottom so that I can attach a holding block to the deck.  I am thinking that it will be easier to copper if the boat is held upside down and then I can move on to the bulwarks and deck. 

[MrBlueJacket]

The pedestals are F0876 and F0877.

 

There's more than one way to sequence the hull. My plan is to attach the bulwarks next, then paint their inner surfaces. Then paint the outside of the hull, then attach the copper plates. After that,  put the model back on the building board and do the decks.

[MrBlueJacket]

So to attach the bulwarks, you have to cut in a rabbet around the top of the hull. I started with a piece of masking tape, which I then outlined with a pencil. That gave me a good reference to cut a 1/32" groove.

 

Next is to chisel down from the deck to the groove, forming the rabbet for the bulkhead to attach to. You don't have to be super neat, the inside edge will be covered by the bulwark and the decking. I used a sharp (new) #17 chisel blade.

 

[Ric Smith]

Hey Nic

I am following your build and am eager to see the progress. Would you consider building you Alfred model and a build log of the progress. My wife purchased the Alfred direct from you company. I now own a model that I want to build, but I am probably not ready or it. Both the scale an the fact that it is a solid hull is something I have never done. I would love to follow a build log of the Alfred to completion. What do you think?

 

Ric

[MrBlueJacket]

Hi Ric,

 

The ships I build are for a purpose, (customer, gallery, etc) not just because I want to build a model. My current stack-up is:

 

rigging the USS Perry (new kit)

Mary Taylor (customer)

Coastal Schooner (new kit)

Lincolnville wherry (gallery)

 Liberty ship (gallery)

Red Jacket (gallery)

 

And interspersed are two repair jobs. I trust you understand. Maybe someone out there with an Alfred will step up to the plate?

[Ric Smith]

Thanks Nic

 

[MrBlueJacket]

So I had a little time to work on the MT again. here's a picture of paper taped onto the hull so I can trace the bottom line of the rabbet for the bulwarks.

[MrBlueJacket]

Then to cut the plywood to the same shape. Needless to say, it took a bit of trial and error. But in the end, it is a good fit as you can see in the second picture. But before I glue it on, I need to put down the deck planking. Easier to trim first, rather than try to fit the deck on with the bulwarks in place.

[MrBlueJacket]

Got the deck on last night and trimmed it to fit this morning. Cockpit well was opened up with a dremel cylindrical sanding attachment.

[russ]

This is a nice looking kit. I like how the deck planking came out. Your planking strips are always very good. I use them regularly. 

 

Russ

[Fright]

Compliments to your work on the decking - great work!

[MrBlueJacket]

Thanks for the deck compliments.

I forgot to mention that it is a sheet of pre-glued decking strips, so I can't take credit for anything but gluing the sheet down and trimming :)

 

The kit comes with scribed decking, but this looks so much better.

[Fright]

MrBlueJacket - can you kindly tell me where you found this deck sheeting? I'd like to use this on an up-coming model. Many thanks!

[ccoyle]

Robert, it is available from BlueJacket and can be ordered from their website. I can attest that it looks quite good in person.

[MrBlueJacket]

Thanks for answering, Chris.

[MrBlueJacket]

So I have the bulwarks ready to install. They are painted and have the scupper slot cut out. But before I install them, I am going to use a pounce wheel to simulate the deck treenails.

[ccoyle]

Ooh! I would be careful with the ponce wheel since it is quite unlikely to produce marks that are correctly spaced. In real life, treenails are pretty much the same color as the rest of the decking material and would be nearly impossible to see at a stand-off viewing distance. At 1/96 scale I think it is perfectly acceptable to omit this feature. But to each his own!

[MrBlueJacket]

Chris, I agree. But my customer likes it.

 

So here's the template for the pounce wheel. 1" spacing, equal to about 5 1/3 feet (model is 3/16" = 1' scale) Note the bow is already pounced.

 

After pouncing the stern deck, I did a brown wash into the holes, quickly wiping the thinned paint off right away. A bit of overkill, but....

[ccoyle]

Ah -- I see what you're doing. I had it in my head that you were going to do the ponce wheel thingy perpendicular to the run of planking, doh! 🙄

[MrBlueJacket]

So with the deck done, I can attach the bulwarks. Still need to trim them down to the caprail level, but it's starting to look like a boat!

[Fright]

Really enjoying your work and photos on this project! Many thanks for sharing this one 

[MrBlueJacket]

Here are the bulwarks trimmed down to their final height. I used a Dremel saw attachment (carefully!) to trim it close, then sanded to the final lines I drew with a compass so it would follow the deck properly.