HM Cutter Mermaid 1817 by JamesBhm - Modellers Shipyard - Scale 1:48 - first build

[JamesBhm]

I’ve been a little sidetracked and busy lately but have managed to finish the first layer of planking. I won’t lie, I struggled a bit with the curves in the stern, especially where the planks twist to the deadwood area. I have some unsightly small gaps and uneven spots that should be filllable and sandable. On the positive side, I’m pretty pleased with the symmetry (even my gaps and uneven spots are about the same on each side!) and smooth gradation of plank widths (no jumps from super narrow to wide planks). Doesn’t matter for the first layer, but it’s dress rehearsal for the final planking.

[Blue Ensign]

With double skinned hulls you do get two bites of the cherry, and sanding and light filling will provide an excellent base for the second layer.

For getting a little twist into planks such as where they  run along into the stern post,  I wet them and apply a hair dryer on full heat whilst I twist and hold with a pair  of pliers. It really helps to take the spring out of planks and assist gluing.

Nice start tho' James.

B.E.

 

[JamesBhm]

37 minutes ago, Blue Ensign said:

For getting a little twist into planks such as where they  run along into the stern post,  I wet them and apply a hair dryer on full heat whilst I twist and hold with a pair  of pliers. It really helps to take the spring out of planks and assist gluing.

Thanks for the tip, B.E. I was mostly using a crimp plank bender (as used in the DVDs), but it obviously has some limitations. I think it was good to get a feel for it and learn its uses and limitations, but in hindsight I wish I had played with some other bending techniques for the trickier spots. I've got some scrap limewood left over and might practice some heat/water bending. 

[JamesBhm]

A quick look at the carpentry I've done around my house will tell you that sanding and filling are my forte!

 

[Fernando E]

Hi James

 

Looks a good first layer to me....once sanded it will look totally different and a good base for the second layer.

 

Cheers.............Fernando 

[Rick01]

Coming on well. For the twists and bends in the planks I've found the water and hair drier less strain on the timber and can be done a few times to get the exact curve that you want.

 

Rick

[JamesBhm]

Got in a little sanding tonight, starting at the stern. Looking much better than it did in "rough" form. Sanded pretty smooth. Once I cover the whole hull I'll go back and hit a few of the gaps with some filler and final sanding. 

Edited November 24, 2018 by JamesBhm

[JamesBhm]

Spent a good bit of time this week filing, filling gaps with wood putty, and sanding. I managed to fill and re-shape a slight “depressed fracture” of one plank between bulkheads at the bow (I squeezed a bit too hard pinning something and the plank gave a bit. I’ve got a pretty smooth hull at this point. Before I get to the second planking layer I’ll have to decide whether I’ll fit the false keel last (like the instructions and DVD) or fit it before the second layer.

[Rick01]

I fitted before the last planking. Reason being that this way you guarantee to have the timber fitted tightly up to the keel and stem post.

 

Rick

[Fernando E]

Hi James, I fitted it before the second planking and, as Rick suggests, the planking fits up nicely to the keel and the stem post.

 

Nice finish on the first layer of planking.

 

Cheers............Fernando 

[JamesBhm]

Thanks Rick and Fernando. Dumb question: did you plank over the false keel before attaching and then do the second layer of planking on the hull? Seems like the long run of the keel underneath could almost go either way but at the bow it would need to be planked first (if that makes sense). 

[Rick01]

Long time since I did mine but as I recall I did the same as you have and did the first planking trying to leave the correct space for the keel and stem. I then looked at the plans and decided that the instructions were stupid so dry fitted the keel and stem trimming the excess first planking until they fitted fairly neatly, glued them in place then proceeded with the final planking. Forgot to say I actually hated all the ply fittings so I spent a few hours making solid ones from a 3/16th (I think) sheet bought for the purpose. If you go with the original parts, fit then plank remembering that the grain needs to run the full length of the stem.

 

Rick

[JamesBhm]

Been a bit bogged down lately with work and holidays, but I've managed to get in a little build time. I shaped and fitted the bulwarks...and "fitted" is the key word. It took some fairing, sanding, and trimming to make sure they were flush with the first layer of planking below. I've dry fitted the keel and stem, and will need to plank them before gluing them in place (Rick, I agree that plywood is overused in this kit, but I'm not sure I'm up for making a new keel). To gear up for that I spent some time preparing the wood stock for my outer layer of planking. I want some darker wood tones in the model and I don't like the orange-ish tinge of the wood so I opted to stain. I gave each plank a very light pass with #400 sandpaper, then applied some water based wood conditioner and finally a water based stain. I managed to darken up the planks without losing the wood grain. I think the color is closer to King's paintings of the boat (although I realize that was probably paint and not true wood color). 

Edited December 16, 2018 by JamesBhm

[Fernando E]

Hi James

The hull is looking good and the staining of the top layer is a great colour as well. Should look a great when put on.

 

Cheers...... Fernando 🍻

 

[Rick01]

Before you get too far fitting the second planking take time to sort through it all and pull out any rough/cracked/knotty bits. As I remember my kit there was a small? amount of rubbish included which I put aside as there were always short lengths that were salvageable.

 

Rick 

[JamesBhm]

Question for fellow Mermaid builders: I'm a little bit baffled by the 2mm x 4mm strips of walnut that are glued "edge on" to the top of the bulwarks. The instruction book and the DVD don't offer the same instructions. I'm not sure what the purpose of it is other than to raise the height of the bulwarks. In the DVD, he shaves it down with a hand plane without much rationale. What exactly is it being shaved down to? Is the strip covered by planking inside and outside of the bulwark? if so, why is it made of a nicer wood? Is any part of it supposed to be visible?

[Rick01]

Didn't make sense to me so I omitted it completely and ran the second layer of planking right up to the top of the bulwarks. Did the same on the inside of the bulwarks and omitted the simulated "frames" mentioned at 5.7.3 as my own investigations of contemporary models seemed to indicate that the frames were planked over during that period. 

 

Rick

[Fernando E]

Hi James, I couldn't work it out either other than that they were trying to raise the height of the bulwarks....a bit odd though! 

 

Like Rick, I left them off and it didn't make any difference to the finished product.

 

Cheers...........Fernando   

[JamesBhm]

Thanks Rick and Fernando...very helpful. I was worried there was something obvious that I just wasn't getting. I'll mull it over more when I get to that part in a bit. Rick: elimination of the "frames" is interesting. I haven't done much research but after you mentioned it I looked at several other models online and solid planked inner bulwarks seem to be common. I might go that route. 

 

Edited December 20, 2018 by JamesBhm

[Rick01]

47 minutes ago, JamesBhm said:

elimination of the "frames" is interesting

It also makes the construction simpler, trying to line up that many "frames" properly is a pain in the backside!

 

Rick

[JamesBhm]

I got exactly what I wanted for Christmas: some uninterrupted build time over the last few days. I started on the decking. My original plan was not to worry too much about treenails. I tried hinting at them by making a little divot/dot with a colored pencil near to the color of the deck and hated it. I experimented a bit and ended up going down the rabbit hole of toothpick tips. After 340 individually drilled holes with snipped, glued, and trimmed toothpick tips, every tendon in my right arm is killing me. Just finished sanding and finishing the deck. I like the look of the treenails ok, although precision of placement could have been a bit better. Another good skill building exercise.

[JamesBhm]

Just a note for future builders: I figured out that the 2mm x 3mm bulwark extension (walnut piece) is basically to even out the height of the bulwark to follow the shear of the deck, which could be critical if you are putting in a bunch of the pre-cut walnut false frames, which are all the same height. I think the bulwark pieces are shorter toward the bow to make them easier to bend. I saved the walnut piece for other purposes and just built a bulwark extension from a 2mm thick basswood plank. I just measured height from the deck at various spots and trimmed it down just like a hull plank. 

[JamesBhm]

I’m at a point where I’m going to go a little bit rogue (but hopefully not off the rails). I agree with Rick that the inner bulwarks look better (and may be more accurate) planked rather than with exposed false frames. I’m thickening the bulwarks up just a bit as if the frames had been planked over. I put the strip of 2mm x 3mm walnut along the base of the bulwark, but I put a little bit of a bullnose on it. I did the same along the top of the bulwark with walnut stock I’m not using for all those exposed frame pieces. I’m going to lay down a little 1/32 sheet stock between them to thicken up the bulwark a bit and then plank over that.

 

I’ve also decided to interpret the “gun port-like paint job” as actual disused gun ports. I’ve scoured the historical documents I can find and there is really nothing to clarify whether they are real gun ports or painted on. I think painted on is perfectly reasonable, but I doubt King would have been the one to do it. There was no war on, and he was sailing into literally uncharted waters where there were no “king’s enemies” who understood what gun ports looked like. The boat was purchased for King by the colonial government from a “local house” (presumably merchant?) and it’s possible they painted false gun ports. Again, there was no active war at the time, but I’m not sure where it served and what the dangers were (I know there was some pirate activity in the south China sea back then). In King’s cross section drawing, the boat is clearly blocking gun ports (as I think Rick pointed out), but the Mermaid had two whaleboats and a jolly boat for the surveying assignment, so I don’t think that would have been an “original” boat. My theory (mostly conjecture) is that the boat was built in British India but designed as a typical armed cutter at the tail end of the Napoleonic Wars. After the end of the wars, the British Navy was downsizing and I think it may have been either sold out of the service or never bought into it as intended when it launched.

 

The lack of solid historical details is the beauty and the curse of this particular boat. It’s hard to know what’s historically accurate, but it also gives you some interpretive leeway because there are few hard benchmarks on what is correct. That being said, if anyone found anything in historical records or has a different interpretation, let me know!

 

As for modeling the disused gun ports, I’m not actually punching through the bulwark or installing pre-fab gun port fittings. The port lids will be slightly recessed planking on the inner bulwark and defined by breaks in planking with some attached hinges on the outside (assuming I can pull it off).

[Rick01]

When it comes to placement of the deck furniture at least you do have King's sketch which allows a more accurate plan than the guesstimate in the instruction manual!

 

Rick

[JamesBhm]

3 hours ago, Rick01 said:

When it comes to placement of the deck furniture at least you do have King's sketch which allows a more accurate plan than the guesstimate in the instruction manual!

Yes! That's the next step of going rogue, probably with less risk of unintended consequences (provided I don't mess up any belaying points in the process). I wish he had done more sketches like that cross section.

Edited January 1, 2019 by JamesBhm

[Rick01]

The belaying points are fairly straightforward. I used Lennarth Petersson's book as a guide. With the hatches and other structures I think the only one I didn't have to move was the windlass, even the anchor cable goes back to the main cargo hatch if you look closely!

 

Rick  

[JamesBhm]

Started on the new and improved inner bulwark...slightly thickened, recessed closed gun port lids, and bull nose on the walnut trim at the top and bottom. The gun ports are tedious and fiddly. 

[Fernando E]

Hi James

 

Looking good. I wish I had done it on my model as it looks more in keeping with what it was likely to look like.

 

Cheers.........Fernando 

PS Have a great 2019!

[Rick01]

1 hour ago, Fernando E said:

 I wish I had done it on my model as it looks more in keeping with what it was likely to look like.

You can always strip yours down and rebuild it. 😉 This is usually the way, previous builds help improve the later attempts bringing the problems to the fore and providing clues as to how to improve the kit.

 

Rick

[Fernando E]

Will think about it Rick😋