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

[JamesBhm]

On 7/12/2019 at 8:42 PM, Rick01 said:

Here's a shot of my deck layout and companionway. I've got to remove mine (as I said) and reverse it and possibly lower it a little to match the cutaway sketch.

Rick,

 

Very nice work. We may be interpreting the cutaway drawing differently. I had thought the companionway entrance was aft (as you have it modeled) so it's right over the ladder. I assumed the drawing showed the hatch slid into the open position. Is there a convention as to which way they're usually oriented? I agree that it should be shorter based on the drawing.

 

James

[JamesBhm]

So I think the great rudder saga is wrapping up. The new hardware came in, along with some drill bits for the Dremel tool. I cut the bracket pieces to length (which lopped off one of the two holes), then drilled a new hole with the Dremel tool. Got them attached and painted, then mounted the whole thing onto the boat. The nail heads are the heads of sewing pins. Getting the whole thing attached to the boat was trickier than I thought and isn’t the neatest job (you're seeing the more photogenic side!) I wish the DVD covered that a bit more, or maybe I missed it? On the transom, you can see the notches I cut out to fit the stern davits.

[Rick01]

1 hour ago, JamesBhm said:

Is there a convention as to which way they're usually oriented? I agree that it should be shorter based on the drawing.

I missed the point about the ladder and think you're probably correct there. Looking at the original sketch I always felt there was a slight slope to the top towards the aft which would have made sense as you really don't need a flat surface for water to sit on. The height is going to need to be cut down by 3~4 mm ! There isn't any set convention on orientation, in fact with cutters it seems you get a basic hull then outfit it to you personal taste ! 

I like your rudder and will confess that I still have trouble mounting this particular item. Gunports are now open but I'm not doing anything about the others - I'm really not sure if they were painted on blanks as was sometimes done, or actual ports. there are a couple that really would have been impossible to fight, the one between the stays and the one at the bows with the windlass immediately behind it.

 

Rick 

[Rick01]

Here's the modified companionway. Lowered and flattened as per the sketches.

 

... and dropped in to place but not yet glued. I may have some more work to do here when I've clarified how a flying gaff is rigged, possibly more cleats for rigging.

 

 

Rick

[Rick01]

Hi James - I've remodelled my decking layout up at the bows having spent a little more time studying the cut-away sketch.

 

Complete re-build of the windlass as the cut-away seems to show it having it's "support" as a beam dropping down through the crew quarters and a number of period windlass' have the extra belaying pins mounted as I have. In addition I reversed the sliding hatch cover for the crew access as it didn't seem to work the way it was originally. I also had to move both the cat-head and bowsprit stays so that the anchors could in fact be hoist properly (unlike the model plans). Waiting on stuff from Cornwall Model Boats to finish the carronades and one or two other items towards the stern. Apologies if I have hijacked your thread but I thought this may save you some head scratching down the line. 😞

 

Rick 

[JamesBhm]

On 7/24/2019 at 10:25 PM, Rick01 said:

Hi James - I've remodelled my decking layout up at the bows having spent a little more time studying the cut-away sketch.

Rick,

 

Looks nice. I like the pin rail on the windlass. I'm planning to kitbash the windlass that came in the kit with a smaller one I had ordered, and I might also add a pin rail. I may also do my main hatch cover as a grating instead. I like the anchor cables going into the hatch (like the cutaway drawing) rather than through eyelets in the deck. I'll have to look closer at the catheads when I get to that part. 

 

My progress is at a crawl for the moment. I've been busy with work and trying to get a bathroom remodel off the ground (which will be a little chaotic). I've almost got the skylight done and hope to have pics shortly. Slow, but I'm not out of the game!

 

James

[Sailor1234567890]

Is it just me or do those guns look to be terribly inconveniently placed for the helmsman? Anybody working those guns will be in his way. 

[Rick01]

2 hours ago, Sailor1234567890 said:

Is it just me or do those guns look to be terribly inconveniently placed for the helmsman? Anybody working those guns will be in his way. 

Slight optical illusion, at worst when on full recoil there's still around 65 cm clearance either side of the centre line as angled they'll run back into the area covered by the binnacle (which would have been struck below when clearing for action). As they are going to be exchanged for carronades there will be extra room there anyway. 🙂

2 hours ago, JamesBhm said:

I might also add a pin rail.

Even with the additional pinrail I still only have around 12 belaying pins unused - this will just about allow for sails and those other odds and ends needing to be temporarily tied down. We've  working topsail schooner at Melbourne modelled on an 1817 ship and she carries 22 belaying pins for a single mast controlling a similar sail layout to the cutter. 

I'm in agreement over the main hold but I have seen this system used and it was likely to destroy the decking if I tried to rebuild it so I've decided to stay with it (the guy who designed this has a lot to answer for). Once my carronades arrive I'll mount them and make a couple more alterations to the rigging mainly in securing points - if you like I can post them here and explain what/why it's been done.

 

Rick

Edited July 27, 2019 by Rick01

[JamesBhm]

Finally have the skylight together. I like windows as an architectural detail for whatever reason, so I really wanted it to be a nice point of visual interest on the deck. Still not sure if the bars are historically accurate, but I like them. The glass is 2mm plexiglass that catches the light nicely. I painted the interior sides white and added a flat black bottom to create an illusion of an actual opening in the deck. It works because it's hard to see too much in there with the bars. Hard to appreciate in the photos below because the light is catching the windows.

Edited July 27, 2019 by JamesBhm

[JamesBhm]

BTW Rick...I noticed that it looks like you skipped the pumps? I don't care for the ones that came with the kit. I've looked at some others or considered scratchbuilding. The deck is feeling a little crowded so the size would have to be right. I've been meaning to go back through the cutters in the contemporary model gallery for ideas. 

[Rick01]

I skipped them deliberately and have been waiting for someone to mention them. I didn't like them from the start, noted that no provision was made for them on the cutaway sketch so queried it on this forum. I was told (can't remember who) that it was quite possible that they in fact had pumps that could be taken down/rigged only when needed. Given that King took the time to show the binnacle which is not a fixture, the ship's boat and the beam in the crews' quarters that is the main support for the windlass I felt that omitting any pumps was a fair assumption. As you say it is crowded although there is space either before the binnacle or just aft of the main hold, but only this spot would allow a pump a straight line access to the deepest part of the holds.

If you do go with them I'd guess around 12~15 mm would work as a reasonable size.

Glass - I scrounged some 2 mm glass from a local glazier but went for white card under. Still gives the impression of a void but (to me) isn't quite so "in your face". 🙂 

Edited July 28, 2019 by Rick01

[Rick01]

Carronades now fitted to carriages and installed. Purchased from Cornwall Model Boats https://www.cornwallmodelboats.co.uk/cgi-bin/sh000001.pl?WD=carronade&PN=RB-Model-Fittings-Carronade-20mm-RB01123.html#SID=1251 . They had to be amended slightly as the extension on the rear of the barrel just didn't seem right. So this was removed reducing the overall length to 20mm after re-fitting the button, much nearer the 17mm I was hoping for. 

 

 

 

[JamesBhm]

Rick,

 

The carronades look sharp. I'm consumed with the chaos of a bathroom remodel at the moment but hope to be back in the game with the boat in a couple of weeks. Stay tuned!

 

James

[Rick01]

Bathroom remodelling is the worst!! Been there a couple of times and sworn "never again" each time. 🙂

 

Rick

[JamesBhm]

Whew. I'm coming off of several months of long work hours, a bathroom remodel, and other house projects. I've got a little holiday time off and I'm hoping to regain some lost momentum on the build. I started with a good cleaning of my work area and the boat (which I foolishly left uncovered during the remodel....coated in dust!). I had last been working on deck furniture and had a decent binnacle and skylight. I've been looking back at a sketch I had made (and have repeatedly modified) of other adjustments I was thinking of making to the deck layout. The main ones are:

 

1. A grating for the main hatchway

2. Two scratch-built or kitbashed whaleboats, consistent with King's journals

3. A kitbashed windlass that is a bit smaller than the one in the kit

4. Slight repositioning of the forward hatch

5. Slightly lower profile main companionway

 

I just need to pick one to start puttering with it. I might start with the companionway. I'm off to look at some gallery images for inspiration. 

[JamesBhm]

Trying to get my head back in the game by building the main companionway. I’m taking a cue from Rick and went for a low profile with a very subtle slope, consistent with King’s cutaway drawing. Instead of modifying the plywood pieces that came with the kit I just built up a scrap block of balsa and finished it out with walnut strip stock that I keep on hand in a couple of sizes. The faux hinges are the tips of some cannon port hinges I never used. They’re probably a bit large and I still might paint them black, but added some extra detail.

[Cabbie]

Very nice James I am up to the same spot and keep tell myself to get back into it.

 

[Rick01]

For positioning of the various furniture items you do need to refer back to King's cutaway drawings as the model plans are pretty dismal in that area. I see you appear to be thinking of putting a hatch forward of the windlass - won't work as the bowsprit comes back over that area.🤔

 

Rick

 

[JamesBhm]

7 hours ago, Rick01 said:

I see you appear to be thinking of putting a hatch forward of the windlass - won't work as the bowsprit comes back over that area.

Rick, I'm still mulling that over and it will probably have to be at least offset a bit. The kit has it as a slide access hatch but I'm making it more of a ventilation grating based on what I've seen in the contemporary models gallery. I did find one example of a grating under the bowsprit, but that does seem a little odd. I like the grating just behind the windlass (seems the most common configuration), but from the cutaway drawing that would put it over the main hold. Whether it was access, ventilation, or both, I'm pretty sure it would have been over the crew's bunk area. 

 

11 hours ago, Cabbie said:

Very nice James I am up to the same spot and keep tell myself to get back into it.

Just don't give up on it. I had no intention of being away from it for so long (I was thinking a few weeks, not a few months), but eventually just accepted that life intervenes sometimes and I'll do what I can when I can. 

[Rick01]

On the cutaway it's pretty clearly half way between the windlass and the bow and would have to be off-set to allow access for the crew. I'm very doubtful about using a grating style as it's not exactly waterproof without some type of cover which would make crew accessing it pretty cumbersome. The one you've illustrated behind the bowsprit is actually an access to the rope locker and you can see the anchor cable going through it. To provide waterproof access I can't see any other option than a sliding hatch given how tight space is in that area.

 

Rick

Ps It's funny but I was only thinking of you two a few days back and wondering why you hadn't come back given how well you were both doing! 

[Cabbie]

40 minutes ago, Rick01 said:

Rick

Ps It's funny but I was only thinking of you two a few days back and wondering why you hadn't come back given how well you were both doing! 

Howdy Rick The problem is I need to get back into it, too much work being self employed and running a small business that I am 

trying to build up and change direction to a retail one, a mother in law that is by herself and needs help with yard work ect as 

well as doing my own chores. The brain is just not in gear for sitting down and doing ship modelling.

Chris

 

[JamesBhm]

Couple of gratings done. No great skill level required...just a little grating kit from Model Shipways. As for the forward grating, I'm assuming it would be battened down in bad weather. Seems fairly common on cutters.

[JamesBhm]

And now for a trip down another little rabbit hole. I’m going to try to scratch build two whaleboats as described by King in his log (one “large” and one “small”). I’m assuming the cutaway drawing depicts one of them and the other one was on the other side. It’ll make for a crowded deck, which I suspect was the case in reality with a jolly boat and two whaleboats on a cutter. I had already made the jolly boat from a plank-on-frame lifeboat kit from modelexpo-online.com (I have no affiliation with them). Actually a lot of fun for $10 - deceptively easy and deceptively hard at the same time. I’m going to try to mimic the same construction technique for the whale boats (planks on ribs set on upside down formers). I sketched out a design based on some internet images and plans, then have been tracing, templating, and cutting a keel, the formers, and some bow blocks. Bending the wood for the ribs is a pain but do-able. The real test will be whether the shape of the ribs makes for a plankable hull.

 

[JamesBhm]

On 12/27/2019 at 7:01 PM, Cabbie said:

too much work being self employed and running a small business

Chris: I hear you. Also self-employed and only getting some build time in because I took my first full week off in a few years. I tell people that self-employment means you can work whatever hours you want as long as it's all the time. Hopefully I can keep the momentum up and I hope you can find some time too. I've enjoyed watching your build and have learned a few things. 

[Rick01]

4 minutes ago, JamesBhm said:

I’m assuming the cutaway drawing depicts one of them and the other one was on the other side.

This may not be the case. If you position them that way you effectively block all fore/aft access due to the position of the companionway. When it was carrying a full complement of boats I'd have thought one would be hung off the stern and another two nested one side or the other to allow a speedy movement of crew either port or starboard side.

 

Rick

[JamesBhm]

Well, what little momentum I had in “the before times” came to a halt as the world fell apart. I’m needing some stress relief, so I’ve gotten back to the scratch-built whaleboats. I had gotten the main ribs bent over formers and attached to the keels. Now I’m working on clinker planking using .5mm x 4mm lime planks. Once that’s done, I’ll detach them from the forms for interior detailing and probably end up sanding and painting. It’s still up in the air as to whether they’ll come out good enough to feature on the deck. If so, I’ll have to revisit the stowing configuration.

[Rick01]

Looking good there  - it's surprising what a little paint will disguise but from what I can see I don't think you need worry about them not being presentable. 

We're all going a little stir crazy at the moment but this sort of occupation does help keep us sane (sort of).

 

Rick 🙂

 

[Cabbie]

On 7/19/2020 at 8:42 AM, JamesBhm said:

It’s still up in the air as to whether they’ll come out good enough to feature on the deck

Go easy on yourself James, they look darn good to me as well.

Good to have some one showing me what to do again, except mine keep getting side tracked.

 

[JamesBhm]

So I'm just gonna slink in quietly like I haven't been MIA for two-and-a-half years.  I would offer excuses, but that would require finding a place to plug in my PowerPoint projector! Anyway...a little vacation time is a wondrous thing. I had to spend time carefully dusting the model and cleaning up my work area. I made an effort to finish off the two scratch-built whaleboats. Got them both off the stocks intact (full clinker planking!), but they have been such a labor intensive rabbit hole that I just decided to focus on one. I had decided that I wouldn't be able to stow them on the deck nested anyway. Quite a little skill building side quest, but it had contributed to my overall project delay. Next step is affixing all the deck structures and fittings, then...masts and rigging (which is honestly a little intimidating for me due to knowledge base and skill). We'll see what happens when work starts back up...lol.

 

Edited December 27, 2022 by JamesBhm

[JamesBhm]

I’m on a roll and assembled the carronades. We know the Mermaid had two carronades (although if I recall, logs/correspondence suggested they were kept below and only occasionally brought on deck as needed). The kit comes with two obviously long gun barrels. I had ordered a couple of 20mm brass carronades a while back (I forget which brand). There is nothing in the records (that I’ve found) that specifies what type of carronades the Mermaid had (slide, etc). I opted for carriages just because I could modify the ones that came with the kit (took a little height and length off of them). The wheels are a little…beefy. Reminds me of the Fisher-Price phone I had when I was a kid.

 

Edited December 29, 2022 by JamesBhm