Bon Retour by HakeZou - FINISHED - Artesania Latina - 1/25 scale - First wooden ship build

[HakeZou]

The much anticipated package arrived this morning! My goals for the morning were to unbox, inventory, and cut out the pieces for Step #1. (I've read Invictaag's build log about 4 or 5 times over the past two weeks, so feel comfortable with the instructions. I've also read Philthy's build log, but since he made some improvisations and alterations, I'm relying less on that one; probably a better source for those with more experience who can better appreciate what he's doing.) Since I'm a beginner, I'm not sure how useful my build log will be for others, but I know I'll have questions along the way and will appreciate all the help this community can offer! 

 

As a newbie, I have made a point to label all the parts, so I start learning their names. This was not always easy, since the inventory list in the instructions assumes a certain level of knowledge that I don't have yet. I'm mostly comfortable with all of that now, except for the long pieces tied together (planking, masts, etc.). I'm not 100% certain which pieces are which there. Easy enough to tell the difference between basswood, walnut, and mahogany, so I'll just have to measure pieces as I get closer in order to distinguish them. The inventory list assumes that some of the long pieces of walnut are already cut into smaller pieces, too. (Side note for others who might do this kit: piece #22 is omitted from the Spanish/English inventory list. They are in the French/German list, however, and form part of the bulwark on the main deck.)

 

Some photos of the unboxing, inventory, and pieces for Step #1. Unfortunately, I caused some minor damage to piece #10 of the frame, which was the first one I cut out. I quickly figured out a better technique, though, and so all the rest are in good shape.

 

Next step for me: sanding the pieces for Step #1.

[HakeZou]

I spent much more time sanding yesterday than I had planned—amazing how fast that time went! So, with all of the pieces sanded for Step #1, I thought I'd jump in. Dry fit the pieces of the frame to the false keel and then glued them into place.

 

A question for those with more experience: how tight is too tight when assembling the frame? How loose is too loose? I had sanded everything down to a snug fit. But once I added glue into the question, everything was suddenly tighter and I had to work a bit to get some of the frame pieces all the way into their slots.

 

Next step: Sanding down frame pieces #3 and #7 so I can attach the lower decks. Also, attaching the outer keel strengtheners (the two pieces marked #11 in the photos in the previous post.  

[yvesvidal]

You are building a "rare collectible" as the company no longer exists. I love these small boats.

I will be following your Build log with interest.

[HakeZou]

Thanks, Yves! I had no idea that Artesania Latina had gone out of business. More pressure to do good work on a "rare collectible," eh?

 

Hours continue to fly by while I work on the ship. I spent time yesterday afternoon sanding down the tops of the frame pieces in preparation for the decks. Then I sanded and soaked the deck pieces, before pinning them into place over night so they could take on the necessary curves. I also planked the lower decks.

 

As Invicataag noted in his build of this ship, the decks curve a lot (not helped by some mediocre craftsmanship on the frame on my part). Invictaag also noted how much detail/precision sanding is needed for this kit. Yup, much more than I anticipated and some of it was pretty tricky—especially the frame under the lower fore deck. That spot is definitely not perfect, but it's good enough and will be hidden from sight soon! 

 

This morning I woke up early, so went down to the basement to pick up where I left off last night. After unpinning the two upper decks, I cleaned up and installed the lower decks. Step #1 (frame and lower decks) is officially complete now! I also got started planking the main decks, but lost steam and mental focus before finishing; I'll work on that later.

 

Next step: finishing the planking on the top decks, taking care to prepare for the bulwarks. Invictaag installed the decks and bulwarks before planking the main deck; I might do all that before finishing the planking, since there will need to be some careful trimming on the outer sides to make everything fit together. I'm also staining the lower deck areas with walnut stain.

 

Note: the instructions say nothing about planking or staining the lower decks, since they aren't visible in the finished boat. I planked them so I could figure out how that process works before getting to the visible decks. Since Invictaag stained his lower decks and painted the surrounding bulkheads black, I thought I'd do something there, too. Again, good practice on a hidden part of the boat, but I'm also considering leaving the hatch covers loose, so that one could peek inside if one wanted to.  

[HakeZou]

Very little homework to grade today, so I was able to spend a lot of time with the boat today. Finished up the deck planking in the afternoon (though forgot to get a clean picture). After re-reading the instructions and Invictaag's post on the main deck planking (see their post on September 1, 2017), I decided it would be more straightforward to follow the instructions. So, I laid planking all the way to the edges of the main deck. This meant I had to cut out the side holes. A real bugger to work the knife blade in there, but once I got enough clearance, my file was the perfect size to clean them. Tomorrow, I'll work on the bulwarks, which will be built on top of deck planking. Invictaag, on the other hand, installed the bulwarks first, then laid the planking just up to the bulwarks, with some tricky shaping as he got to the curves. Their solution might look cleaner, but mine made it a lot easier to trim the planks!

 

This evening, I cleaned up the planking and mounted the decks on the frame. They're being held in place overnight by a bunch of rubber bands, which I straightened out after taking the photos. You can see the lower decks through the hatches in the main and fore decks. Hasn't been a perfect build, but at least it's starting to look like a boat! The wife and kids are even impressed at how it's coming together!

 

Next steps: The last part of Step #2 is put some mahogany planking on the riser of the step up from the main deck to the fore deck. Step #3 focuses on the bulwarks. I've read in Invicatag's and Philthy's build logs that this is a tricky step, since the bulwark rails aren't cut quite right...we'll see how that goes for me.  

[HakeZou]

A slow day of working on the boat today. Lots of waiting, so not much progress. I finished up Step #2 by lining the step with mahogany. I can confirm all accounts of mahogany planking as being very brittle and fragile! Last night, I managed to cut the strake into enough 12mm pieces to fit across the strip—and had to scrap a few bits, too. I also glued them into place. Today, I trimmed off the extra bit sticking up above the step. After cutting the first two on the right side, I discovered I needed to research a better method. In the end, I saw a suggestion to cover them in CA glue and then use fingernail clippers—worked like a charm! (My apologies that I can't figure out now where I read that! I should have saved the link...) The chipped spots on the right side will ultimately be covered by a bench, so I think that's going to be okay in the end. But definitely a valuable lesson learned for me!

 

I've also started into Step #3. Last night I soaked one of the inner bulwarks for an hour and pinned it into place overnight with binder clips. I need to scare up some more of those clips, otherwise I would have done both at the same time. This evening, I glued that one into place and put the clips back on to help it stay put. I also sanded the rails in preparation for installing them once the two inner bulwarks are in place.

 

I've started taking photos with the flash on...really revealed my inadequate sanding job on the deck in these photos! I've only posted one, which shows the portside inner bulwark and the mahogany lining. 

[HakeZou]

Still leaving the clips on the inner bulwarks to ensure that they stay put, so last night and today I decided to look ahead at some of the deck features. I keep reading that Artesania Latina is notorious for inadequate directions. That is definitely the case here. Photos 19 through 25 in the instructions are accompanied by the following: "From photo 19 onwards the making and location of the parts is simple, it is a matter of making up and placing these parts following the photographic process, step by step, using the parts and the plan diagrams as a guide." For a newbie like me...that's been a bit of a challenge. Things are mostly intuitive, though not everything is shown on the plan diagram. For example, the underside of the covers for the two main hatches are shown finished in photos, but not at all on the plan diagrams; the third hatch cover (which is flat on the deck and doesn't cover a hatch in the model) is partially obscured in the plan diagrams. In addition, there's an error in the parts list: the transverse forward hatch bulkheads (the longer pieces of the frame on the bottom of the hatch) should be cut to about 16mm, not the 21mm as the parts list indicates. I discovered this too late and am not sure how much excess 2x2mm walnut there is, so am just going to go with what I've done and sand it down. At least I can keep the hatch bulkheads from sticking out from under the hatch. Another lesson learned there.

 

However, despite the challenges I have mostly finished up the three hatch covers, which had to be constructed completely from scratch. I took the photos while waiting for the last of the glue to dry, so please forgive some of the ugliness! I'll be doing some sanding and clean-up work later tonight or tomorrow. From left to right: 

• the forward hatch cover, with bulkheads underneath; 
• the midships hatch cover, which sits flat on the deck and is partially under the mast rack, which will be installed on the step up from the main deck to the fore deck;
• the "companion ceiling"/main hatch cover, which is lined in (untrimmed) mahogany planks. 

My work with the mahogany planks went much better this time. I used the wire snips in my needlenose pliers to cut them. Perfect size for these 5mm-wide planks and they handled the .6mm thickness with ease and without shattering the brittle wood. The planks didn't fit the hatch bulkheads perfectly, so I had to trim narrow slivers for each side.

 

Next steps: soaking and shaping the remaining pieces of the bulwarks. If I have time, I'll start preparing the mast rack, bowsprit knighthead, and drain pump. 

[HakeZou]

My son climbed into bed with us last night and woke me up about 4am. Since I couldn't seem to fall asleep, I made my way to the basement and got an early start on the Bon Retour. I cleaned up the hatch covers that I'd assembled yesterday, then I started sanding the frame pieces and bow strengtheners in preparation for planking the hull. A quiet day, so I was able to spend a lot of time working on that sanding. 

 

Once I was satisfied with that, I soaked the remaining two bulwark pieces in preparation for shaping them. Since these will be visible on my boat, I didn't want to pin them into place. Silly me, I thought I could hold them both in place using a rubber band. I just couldn't get everything in place, so put one bulwark on a towel to dry until tomorrow (I'll soak it again then). After a re-read of the relevant post in Invictaag's build log I opted for a similar solution. I made some modified binder clips: I popped the metal loops out of small clips, then fit them inside medium ones. I clipped four of those along the side of the bulwark to hold it in place. Then, I wrapped a short rubber band around the back end of the bulwark to keep it tight against the stern. Finally, after some experimentation, I jury-rigged a way to use a rubber band to hold the front end of the bulwark to keep it tight against the bow. The final jury-rig: a clothespin standing inside the fore deck hatch (a perfect sized hole for that!) to relieve the tension on the top of the bulwark and keep it from curving inward, and a large binder clip pinned onto the opposite inner bulwark near the midpoint to keep the tension on everything.

 

The photos are of the jury-rig, just in case it's helpful for anybody.     

[HakeZou]

It's been a few days since I posted, since progress has really slowed. I've soaked, shaped, and glued the bulwarks. That was a frustrating process in a number of ways. Since this is my first ship, my tool selection remains pretty limited and I imagine that there are tools out there that would have helped—some kind of adjustable clamps, especially. The bulwarks on the Bon Retour are tricky to position, since they need curve both laterally and horizontally. They are cut with the horizontal curve in them, but getting the alignment in relation to the main and forward decks was not easy. With various combinations of rubber bands, binder clips, and clothespins, I got them mostly even—I think I can sand the left side down to match the right, but I'm also going to be keeping an eye on the hull planks.

 

While waiting on the bulwarks, I took care of a few other details in preparation for future steps. I shaped the mast, boom, and gaff, then glued together the rudder and rudder stiffeners. I installed the coamings on the two hatches. And I installed the interior stern support and futtocks. 

 

After the bulwarks were finished, I soaked the first two hull planks, which I'm leaving overnight to take on their shape.

 

Next steps: glue on the first two hull planks then soak and shape the first two pre-shaped planks on either side. (The kit comes with eight pre-shaped hull planks.) I also have 48 futtocks to cut; these will eventually be placed between the bulwark rail and the gunwales.   

[HakeZou]

After some massive frustrations with planking the hull, I stumbled on the "Simple Hull Planking Techniques for Beginners" document put together by Dirk De Bakker, Greg Booker, and Dave Rogers. Wish I had found that sooner, but the link is here for other newbies who haven't found it. I made a couple of mistakes in the planking, which I'm crediting to poor instructions. For others doing this kit: 1. Follow De Bakker et al.'s advice to attach the keel pieces before planking; I'd even recommend doing that before the bulwarks on this kit, based on my issues with aligning those pieces. 2. The first two pre-shaped planks should be fitted with the pointy end by the stem post, rather than by aligning the butt end at the stern. 

 

Despite those early hiccups, the planking has moved forward steadily and smoothly and is generally looking better. I've soaking, shaping, and installing one plank per side at a time, with plenty of sanding afterward. Not completely smooth yet, but getting better. Definitely some gaps that will need wood filler.  The kit comes with 10 pre-shaped hull planks, five for each side. The photo below shows my progress after installing the last of the pre-shaped planks. As a novice, these pre-shaped planks have been really helpful!

 

I've also finished cutting all of the futtocks—48 for the sides and 2 for the stern! As with many things in this kit, the measurements are a bit generous, so there is a lot of work getting them down to the right size once they're in place. I installed them this morning and started sanding them down to match the bulwarks. They're still a bit long in the second photo, so I'll finish smoothing the side next time I work on the boat. (That gap between the inner bulwark and rail! Yikes! Every time I look at that, I have to remind myself that it's my first model ship and so it isn't going to be perfect!)

 

Next steps: Install a garboard and finish planking the hull.  

[HakeZou]

Since my last post, almost a week ago, I've been making steady progress on the hull. And at lunchtime today, the climax—I've finished planking the hull! Bearing in mind that it's my first build, I'm pretty happy with how it's turned out so far. However, the two sides are not perfectly aligned and there are some significant gaps. I have an order in or wood filler, so will finish cleaning up the hull once that arrives. The first three photos show different angles of the hull. The stern will be planked, too, so the imperfections there will soon be covered up. 

 

I've also taken opportunities in downtimes to work on some painting and some of the smaller bits. The fourth photo shows the deck, coamings, inner bulwarks, and futtocks. The gunwales will be added on top, which is why the paint on top looks a little sloppy. It was tough getting into the nooks and crannies, but I also tried to get as little paint on top as possible. The fifth photo shows (from left to right): the knightbridge, the pump, the helmsman's bench, the mast rack, and the rudder; the boom is across the bottom, with a jackstay on top and a metal band stiffener at the tip. With the glare of the flash and the zoom, those pieces look much better in real life!

 

For the paint scheme, I've been regularly consulting the Facebook page for the Dizro Mad (the ship's actual name, which is in Breton; Bon Retour is the French translation). They have a lot of great shots of the boat in action! The group that owns the boat has just formed an association that will hopefully help speed up their restoration efforts, too.

[HakeZou]

This post is dedicated to the gunwales. As Invictaag and Philthy both noted in their build logs, these pieces just don't fit well in this kit. I've noticed throughout my work that all of the pre-cut pieces are cut generously, so that everything has to be sanded down to fit. Much better than the other way, right? In the case of the gunwales...they just aren't the right size. Some of the poor fit is certainly my fault, but I just can't believe I was *that* far off. So, for anybody else doing this kit, here's what I did:

 

First, I trimmed the bits that attach to the stempost at the front. They are cut in such a way that the two side gunwales fit together beautifully with the stern gunwale—but that doesn't account for the stempost, which is about 4mm. So, I trimmed and sanded off about 2mm at the front ends. 

 

Second, the curvature of the side gunwales is too generous. After some experimentation, I ended up soaking the side gunwales for a couple of hours, then pinning them into position on the bulwarks. Because of the curve, I think I used a dozen clothes pins on each side. I left that overnight.

 

The next day, I tried dry fitting them to the boat with the stern piece. No dice...the stern piece was several millimeters oversize in all directions. So, in the end, I glued the side gunwales into place, using a few rubber bands for downward pressure and about ten clothes pins on each side to keep the alignment right. I then left that overnight.

 

Today, I started trimming and sanding the stern piece until it fit. I think I took about 3mm off each side and moved the angles (where it connects with the side gunwales) in by about 2mm. Glued it in place and I'm pretty happy with the fit, though I still need to sand things down and clean up the edges (note that the sides still overhang by quite a bit).

 

The stern square stiffeners fit well, so I think my work on the back end is good enough. The bow stiffener, however, needed a lot of sanding to fit correctly. (There's still a bit of a gap, but I'll take the blame for that and will use some wood filler to cover it up.) 

 

Adding the gunwales really transformed the boat and made me feel pretty good about how things are going!

 

If anybody has tips on adding eyebolts to the mast, boom, etc....I'm all ears! I need to do that soon and am a bit intimidated by the prospect.

[HakeZou]

Some dramatic improvements since my last post! After the wood filler finally arrived, I cleaned up the hull, sanded like crazy, and am now almost done painting it. There's still some blue painter's tape on the hull, but once that's removed it'll just be red on the bottom, then black, then a blue gunwale. (Note: The mast is in the boat in this picture only because I was using it and a rubber band to help hold the mastrack in place while the glue dried. That has not yet been installed.) 

 

While waiting to apply the last coat of black paint, I decided to attach all of the bits on the deck. This includes (from front to back): the knightbridge, the forward hatch cover, the mastrack, the midships hatch cover, the main deck hatch cover, and the helmsman's bench. There are still a few pieces to finish painting—the rubbing strakes, 8 cleats, and the trim on both the prow and stern—but the end of this stage is in sight!

 

In between everything, I've also finished up the mast, boom, gaff, and bowsprit (though this last one still needs a metal ring and a metal band on it). The main sail is attached to the gaff out of necessity, since the loop in the corner of the sail is too small to go over the cleats and the claw.

 

Finally, after reading about the effects of the thread being wound so tightly around the spool, I cut the various pieces of rigging and taped them to the wall, in hopes that I could get them to straighten out a bit more. They are sorted here by type of thread (.15 or .5mm) and length. Not sure how much effect it's having yet (though there is definitely some!), but maybe if I steam them a little?

[HakeZou]

After a week of adding the various metal pieces and touching things up, I've just mounted the ship on its base! I still need to go over the hull with finish, but overall, I'm pretty pleased with how this first project is looking now. Certainly some imperfections, but I've learned a lot and I think I'm figuring out how to do the next project better. (Note: the mast and the mast brace haven't been glued in yet, so their angles are a little funky.) The rubbing strakes ended up being a real disaster for me. They are supposed to be made of 1.5x3 walnut. When I soaked them, the wood got kind of...fuzzy. Even after sanding, I couldn't get them to stay glued onto the hull and the paint didn't look very good. In the end, I cut off the original rubbing strakes and replaced the walnut strips with .6x5 basswood hull planking, since I had a few of those leftover. The three-dimensionality isn't there, but at least the distinctive blue stripe is!

 

One of the issues I've faced is that I don't seem to have any tools that will allow me to punch a 1mm hole in a brass strip. There were a few spots were I should have done that, the most problematic of which was the support on the stempost. I ended up bending and trimming the two eyebolts so that I could glue them onto the side of the stempost, just above the pulley. Definitely not the prettiest solution, but I think it's probably reasonable given my limitations. Not a great photo and with some ugly looking glare on the bowsprit, but you can see the makeshift solution, at least.

I've also been taking time this week to read up on rigging. For a beginner like me, Chapter 3 of Frank Mastini's Ship Modeling Simplified has been the best resource that I've found. The diagrams are very helpful and the explanations clearer than I've seen elsewhere (so far at least). I'm still really intimidated by the rigging, but have managed to attach the first block to the mast. Only six more of those to go! (Three on the mast, two connecting the boom to the stempost, and one that goes...somewhere. It's on the parts list, but I can't for the life of me find it in the rigging diagrams!)

[HakeZou]

I've been reading up on rigging and so felt ready to take the first two steps. In Ship Modeling Simplified, Mastini describes a 13 step process for rigging a boat. Steps 1 and 2–5 are: 1) Fit masts with blocks; 2–5) Rig the futtock, lower, topmost, and topgallant shrouds. Since the Bon Retour is a fairly simple fishing boat, there are only 3 shrouds, so it was easy to think of these as a single step.

 

I had already cut all the "ropes" and sorted them by diameter and length. Next, I seized the lines to the blocks and attached those—3 to the mast, 1 to the stern, 1 to the boom, and 2 to the gaff. Last (for now), I seized the shrouds to the mast. A note to others who might build this kit, the shrouds are labeled #111 Stay and #118 Double Rigging. Each piece of double rigging goes up from a deadeye, loops around the mast at a cleat, then comes down to another deadeye. The stay loops at one end around the mast at a cleat, then comes down to an eyebolt on the stempost. I seized each of the three loops around the mast with some sewing thread and a little dab of PVA glue. One of the deadeyes that came with the kit had holes drilled at an angle. When I tried to clean up the holes in the deadeyes, I shattered that one, so have ordered some replacements. Once those come in, I'll attach the shrouds at the bottom; for now, I'm using clothes pins as weights for the picture.

 

Since installing the chain plate and lower deadeye, I've learned that the angle should have lined up with where the shrouds were eventually going to go. Another lesson learned.

 

Photos are: side view of the blocks and shrouds on the mast, front view of the blocks and shrouds on the mast, and a shot of the whole boat from off the port bow. I've cranked up the contrast and brilliance, so the rigging is more visible.

 

[HakeZou]

The new deadeyes that I ordered won't be in until next week and I got a little impatient. So I (perhaps foolishly) started on the next kit on deck, Artesania Latina's La Provençale. Yes, another French fishing boat. I was only going to read through the instructions and look over the parts...but then I realized that it was a much easier kit with much, much better instructions! In particular, the rigging instructions for La Provençale are detailed and clear. (Admittedly, it's much simpler rigging.) So, I've decided to set the Bon Retour off to the side for a little bit while I work on La Provençale and learn more about rigging. Not off to the side for good, but for a few weeks, at least. 

[HakeZou]

Okay, well, two days ago I declared that I was putting the Bon Retour on hiatus. Then I watched two YouTube videos on gaff rigs (from "How to Sail Oceans" and from "Living with the Tide") and, on the advice of Wefalck and Roger Pellet, read the relevant chapters of Tom Cunliffe's Hand, Reef, and Steer. Suddenly, everything clicked—the terminology made sense, I understood the logic of rigging, and I could picture in my head how the Bon Retour's rigging worked. So, after a marathon session last night and a few more hours this morning, the ship is finished!

 

A keen eye will spot the faults that come from my inexperience. The luff of the jib is the part that bothers me the most; I just couldn't get enough tension on it. Some of the blocks and seizing are sloppy (I replaced two while rigging everything up). My coils are not as tidy as I would have liked. But I'm very pleased with how I did on the gaffsail. All of the rigging for that worked correctly, so once everything was on the mast, I raised the boom topping lift, then hoisted the gaff using the throat and peak halyards until I got a little bit of a crease running from the peak to the tack. Here's a photo from the end of last night's marathon, which was spent working on the shrouds and the gaff.

This morning, I did okay with the foresail, though had to replace the forestay, since it was just too slack. The jib was the real challenge and I'll have to keep learning more about that—though I think the angle of the bowsprit may be the culprit there. But now some celebratory photos after finishing the rigging and placing the registration decals. First up, the view from the port side and the starboard side:

Next a detail of the rigging at the top.

And a few different angles looking onto the deck:

Thanks for following along!