Bluenose by Retired guy - Model Shipways - scale 1:64

[Retired guy]

Hi,

Just join this site and what a great site it is 👍

I see that a lot of people (most from Canada) build the Canadian fishing schooner Bluenose 1921 and so happens I am building this too, hope this is not to many do like the shape and lines of this schooner.

When I bought this model I also purchased the Fair-A-Frame from Model Shipways as well, while building I did modify it so that head stock would slide in a grove this makes it more ridged and keeps everything nice and square, also they show that the adjusting rail which moves to clamp the keel was at a different height than the one you glue down, so I notched the rail to allow both rails to be the same height, these are small changes which I found really helped.

 

 

 

 

 

Did not take any pictures of the start when I joined three parts to the center keel once that was dried I took some tracing paper and traced the beading lines and rabbet lines onto the center keel.

Next up was to remove 1/16 from bulwark stanchions just below the deck then took some tracing paper and traced each bulkhead so that I could mark out how much beveling I had to do all these bevels were done before gluing to center keel, also bevel inboard bulwark stanchions, once this was done I did a trial fit to see how it all fit.

 

 

 

 

 

Regards

Richard

 

[etubino]

Nice and clean beginning!

[Retired guy]

On 10/5/2019 at 4:33 PM, etubino said:

Nice and clean beginning!

 

Thanks Etubino 

[Retired guy]

Next up I decided to change how the masts mount into the center keel, started by cutting approx 1/8" either side of the  two cutouts in the center keel making sure they are parallel to the original slot so that I could mount a block (used blood wood) with hole the size of mast and then machined groves both sides so mast would fit snug and not move around, made block the same length as cutout

 

 

Then cut the rabbet from beading line as per the marks I had transferred from drawing

 

 

Glued all the bulkheads in place making sure they were nice and square to the center keel and at this time added permanent strut between bulkheads 

 

 

 

 

 

Shaped the stern block as per the drawings and glued in position

 

 

 

 

Regards

Richard

 

Edited October 7, 2019 by Retired guy

[Retired guy]

Following the instruction manual I check the hull fairness with a batten and had to do a lot of adding thin strips of wood here and there to the bulkheads, also to make sure they all lined up to the beard line

 

 

 

Then added the stern blocks and frames, also added the horn timbers and great beam and deck beam at step

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glued in place the fore deck waterway planking making sure the third inboard was beveled to meet the thickness of deck planks, added the nibbing strakes at the same time

 

 

 

Regards

Richard

 

[Retired guy]

Thanks very much everyone for your likes do appreciate them.

 

Installation of he Knighthead and Hawse timbers was up next, did install on an angle as per the real ship

 

 

 

Then started to put together the main rail, traced the shapes from the drawings and relayed to wide strip of wood all edges were then sanded round at this time

 

 

 

 

 

Drill and pined but did not glue yet, also made sure I had enough bend in the stern rail

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then took the main rail off and installed fake stanchions, used the main rail to check heights and angles as I installed

 

 

 

 

 

 

Each fake Stanchion was made to fit the curves of the ship so none were made square except the middle ones

 

 

Regards

Richard

Edited October 19, 2019 by Retired guy

[Retired guy]

Installed, pined and glued the main rail, started to install Buffalo rail, Monkey board and Monkey rail also drilled and filed hawse holes same time added anchor chafing block, did add some paint on the stanchions at this time 

 

 

 

 

 

Once the rails and boards were done it was time to think about planking so I made a jig so that I could turn the boat upside down and turn left and right to help with planking

 

 

 

 

Did add supports for all coamings on the deck 

Started by adding the two rows of planking right under the main rail these were thinner thickness than the rest of the planking, all planking I cut to around 7" long so that they would cover 4 bulkheads I know this is to long because this makes it 37' in real scale, planks would have been 20 or 30' long at the most.

Next planks had a cove and were marked on the drawings scuppers, to make the cove I set my Jim Byrnes table saw with a couple of saw blades to make the right width, set the depth and back stop this made it easy to do, installed these planks until it was time to add scuppers, I laid plank against stanchion and mark were the scuppers had to go use the saw again and cut them in then glue in place, did not take any pictures of this but here a couple to show.

Also at this time I split the planking into three belts and laid the first batten this would then help with how much each plank was going to be tapered, so the fun begins. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Regards

Richard

 

 

 

Edited October 19, 2019 by Retired guy

[Retired guy]

Continuing planking I measured each bulkhead to batten so that I knew how much to taper each plank

 

 

 

Used Jim Byrnes disc sander to do all tapers fantastic machine (all his machines are fantastic) once I got close to the batten I had to taper sides as well this prevented gaps between planks

 

 

 

Each plank could be bent and laid onto bulkheads with out using clamps,  

 

 

 

 

You can see the dimensions of the tapers from inside

 

 

 

 

 

Lot of fun doing the planking

 

Regards

Richard 

 

[The Lazy Saint]

Hi Richard 

Its a lot of fun watching.

 

Best wishes as always, 

The Lazy Saint. 

[RickyGene]

Apparently you do this for a living.  Wow, oh yea, wow!  And the Fair-A-Frame, you are the 1st one I have seen make that thing work.  I have purchased twice and never would have thought of the mods.  Do us a favor and post diagrams of those mods if you would be so kind and not to hold up your piece of art you are building.  Watching you work has made me want to build the Bluenose again following your lead.  I am impressed to say the least that you have done the Model Shipways kit such justice.  I am a fan of the Billing Boat version, but yours will do.  Here is a little sum thing to say thanks for sharing your build.

 

Edited October 22, 2019 by RickyGene

[RickyGene]

And a detail of the sails shot, this is the Bluenose II.

 

[RickyGene]

Went back and read thru your thread on the Fair-A-Frame.  After looking at the photos  I got what you did.  Genius and I wished I had of looked at this while building a Billing Boats Build Slip I just finished.  I believe I might give the Fair-A-Frame another go.  You other keel clamp is pretty cool as well.  It is obvious you are a wood worker.  Just look at the added filler wood you have added to your build'

Rick

Edited October 23, 2019 by RickyGene
correction

[Retired guy]

On 10/21/2019 at 10:48 PM, The Lazy Saint said:

Hi Richard 

Its a lot of fun watching.

 

Best wishes as always, 

The Lazy Saint. 

 

Thanks for your post Lazy Saint will have lots more to watch, ins't it is a beautiful ship. 

 

Best wishes to you as well

Richard 

[Retired guy]

13 hours ago, RickyGene said:

Apparently you do this for a living.  Wow, oh yea, wow!  And the Fair-A-Frame, you are the 1st one I have seen make that thing work.  I have purchased twice and never would have thought of the mods.  Do us a favor and post diagrams of those mods if you would be so kind and not to hold up your piece of art you are building.  Watching you work has made me want to build the Bluenose again following your lead.  I am impressed to say the least that you have done the Model Shipways kit such justice.  I am a fan of the Billing Boat version, but yours will do.  Here is a little sum thing to say thanks for sharing your build.

 

 

Hi Rick, not doing it for a living, just completed her in retirement 🙂

Glad you like the Bluenose she is one beautiful shaped ship and thanks very much for the pictures.

Regarding the fair a frame it would not have worked very well without my small mods, ran the base through the table saw to get a 5/32" slot both sides and 1/8" depth then put a 1/16" deep slot x 5/32" slot in each jaw legs, cut four pieces of 3/16" x 5/32" piece of wood so that it would sit in slots without moving up or down it just slide side to side, did not want to try screwing it to the base the whole thing is made from the wrong wood way to soft, but it did the job if you still would like a picture with dimension I can send to you let me know. 

Hope my pictures help not an expert by any means have followed the instruction manual it is very useful.

 

Thanks alot Rick

 

Regards

Richard 

 

[Retired guy]

7 hours ago, RickyGene said:

Went back and read thru your thread on the Fair-A-Frame.  After looking at the photos  I got what you did.  Genius and I wished I had of looked at this while building a Billing Boats Build Slip I just finished.  I believe I might give the Fair-A-Frame another go.  You other keel clamp is pretty cool as well.  It is obvious you are a wood worker.  Just look at the added filler wood you have added to your build'

Rick

 

Not a wood worker, was a steel fabricator (43 years) just love working with wood, the keel clamp, filler wood and one small board on the stern of the bluenose (because the laser part broke) comes from a 3" thk chunk of Douglas fir, the Blusenose deck was made out of Douglas fir so my ship has a bit too 👍 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Regards

Richard

[Retired guy]

Continuation of the planking doing the same thing measuring tapering bending then gluing 

 

 

 

 

 

Didn't take anymore pictures but here it is finish exterior planking complete

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lovely lines this schooner has 

 

Regards

Richard

[Ronald-V]

lovely planking job!

[The Lazy Saint]

I agree, it's a beauty that's for sure. Thanks for sharing. 

Best wishes as always, 

The Lazy Saint. 

 

[RickyGene]

Art......nuff said.

[RickyGene]

On 10/23/2019 at 4:07 AM, Retired guy said:

 

Hi Rick, not doing it for a living, just completed her in retirement 🙂

Glad you like the Bluenose she is one beautiful shaped ship and thanks very much for the pictures.

Regarding the fair a frame it would not have worked very well without my small mods, ran the base through the table saw to get a 5/32" slot both sides and 1/8" depth then put a 1/16" deep slot x 5/32" slot in each jaw legs, cut four pieces of 3/16" x 5/32" piece of wood so that it would sit in slots without moving up or down it just slide side to side, did not want to try screwing it to the base the whole thing is made from the wrong wood way to soft, but it did the job if you still would like a picture with dimension I can send to you let me know. 

Hope my pictures help not an expert by any means have followed the instruction manual it is very useful.

 

Thanks alot Rick

 

Regards

Richard 

 

Thanks for the info.  Went back and studied the photos.  I believe I got it figured out.  Agree, the wood for the slip is too soft but one can adjust as needed and replace material.  I just went thru a process of correcting a Billing Boats Build Slip #359 and as you pointed out, they are designed to do a job, but one must make corrections.  I can not wait to see what you do with the Doulas Fir and the decking.

Rick

[Retired guy]

22 hours ago, mugje said:

lovely planking job!

 

Thanks Mugje, I found doing the planking in small length (same length approx as 1 : 1 ) really helps and with this way you don't need to use filler just a light sanding

 

13 hours ago, The Lazy Saint said:

I agree, it's a beauty that's for sure. Thanks for sharing. 

Best wishes as always, 

The Lazy Saint. 

 

 

I was very pleased how it turned out, it is the 2nd model I have done, again thanks for looking in

 

7 hours ago, RickyGene said:

Art......nuff said.

 

Thanks a lot Ricky wooden ship building is an art and I see a lot of art on this site

 

Regards

Richard

[Retired guy]

1 hour ago, RickyGene said:

Thanks for the info.  Went back and studied the photos.  I believe I got it figured out.  Agree, the wood for the slip is too soft but one can adjust as needed and replace material.  I just went thru a process of correcting a Billing Boats Build Slip #359 and as you pointed out, they are designed to do a job, but one must make corrections.  I can not wait to see what you do with the Doulas Fir and the decking.

Rick

 

Would like to see your correction on the Billings boat slip. 

Regarding the Douglas Fir this chunk comes from a 500 year old tree I was told, and as you see the grain is way to big for the scale so all I can use it for is spacing's or parts which will need painting after 

 

Regards

Richard

[The Lazy Saint]

You are making a beautiful job of this Richard, l really must try this build myself next. It is certainly on my short list.

Best wishes as always, 

The Lazy Saint. 

[RickyGene]

12 hours ago, Retired guy said:

 

Would like to see your correction on the Billings boat slip. 

Regarding the Douglas Fir this chunk comes from a 500 year old tree I was told, and as you see the grain is way to big for the scale so all I can use it for is spacing's or parts which will need painting after 

 

Regards

Richard

My correction is nothing like yours sir.  The wood channel for placing the keel is much too wide to effectively hold/tight.  Billing Boats give you strips of wood to shim the keel with and to hold in place.  With that said, if one tries as they might to center everything into the slip, nothing will line up and work.  However if you adjust and place the keel over to one side and shim there with material sourced from outside the kit, you can get the keel to set straight and level, held tightly. I almost gave up and file 13'd the thing and just by chance, my last attempt got it to work this way.  500 year old year tree, wow.  And still to be usable as you have shown.  I have two pieces of wood I hope to use one day in a build.  1st, is from some wood work needed on the HMS Victory and 2nd is from the rebuild of the USS Constitution.   I just think it would be over the top to incorporate wood from the actual vessel into a build.  My camera down load plug is awol, as soon as I can, I will post a photo of my slip with the frame up f/Esmeralda.

Rick 

Edited October 28, 2019 by RickyGene

[Retired guy]

On 10/28/2019 at 10:26 AM, The Lazy Saint said:

You are making a beautiful job of this Richard, l really must try this build myself next. It is certainly on my short list.

Best wishes as always, 

The Lazy Saint. 

 

Thanks very much Lazy Saint it is a nice ship to build

 

On 10/28/2019 at 12:17 PM, RickyGene said:

My correction is nothing like yours sir.  The wood channel for placing the keel is much too wide to effectively hold/tight.  Billing Boats give you strips of wood to shim the keel with and to hold in place.  With that said, if one tries as they might to center everything into the slip, nothing will line up and work.  However if you adjust and place the keel over to one side and shim there with material sourced from outside the kit, you can get the keel to set straight and level, held tightly. I almost gave up and file 13'd the thing and just by chance, my last attempt got it to work this way.  500 year old year tree, wow.  And still to be usable as you have shown.  I have two pieces of wood I hope to use one day in a build.  1st, is from some wood work needed on the HMS Victory and 2nd is from the rebuild of the USS Constitution.   I just think it would be over the top to incorporate wood from the actual vessel into a build.  My camera down load plug is awol, as soon as I can, I will post a photo of my slip with the frame up f/Esmeralda.

Rick 

 

Sounds like you had a lot of issues with the slip 

 

Regards

Richard

 

 

[md1400cs]

Richard,

 

Awesome start - yes your planking is indeed beautiful work. -almost a shame that it will be covered with paint. Brought my chair will also follow along...

 

Cheers, 

[Retired guy]

On 11/2/2019 at 3:06 PM, md1400cs said:

Richard,

 

Awesome start - yes your planking is indeed beautiful work. -almost a shame that it will be covered with paint. Brought my chair will also follow along...

 

Cheers, 

Thanks Micheal took my time doing it and it paid off, working with smaller lengths works a treat.

 

Regards

Richard

[Retired guy]

Thanks again everyone for all the likes do appreciate very much 👍

 

Made all the coamings for hatch, cabin skylight and companionway as per drawings and installed onto supports I had added, made the nibbing strake for the fore deck  and made deck planking from kit supplied wood 1/16" thick  trial fitted before gluing, each plank I ran a 2B pencil along on side to show caulking once laid.

 

 

 

Fore deck runs parallel to the center line and stops at the step then planks taper on the quarter deck

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once this was done did a very light sanding of deck 

 

Regards

Richard

 

 

 

Edited November 5, 2019 by Retired guy

[marktiedens]

Wow - very nicely done!

 

Mark

[md1400cs]

Well your superb deck won't be covered in paint - but clear "marine lacquer" - perfect!- your attention to scaled details are simply a pleasure to look at. 

Edited November 6, 2019 by md1400cs