Santa Maria by acaron41120 - Billing Boats - Scale 1:50

[acaron41120]

First ever attempt at a builder's log so please bear with me. This kit is a Plank-on-Bulkhead (POB) kit.

 

First I squared up the keel, stem post and stern post and then glued them together. I then let the assembly set on a 1 X 6 and set another 1 x 6 on top for 24 hours to cure up and to keep the assembly flat. After getting answers to my questions on the stem post and on cutting the rabbit, I dry fit the bulkheads to the keel assembly and marked where the rabbit should be cut. I have removed the bulkheads and will start cutting the rabbits tomorrow. (Have to home school my grandson during the day). My plan is sand it with 100 grit sandpaper glued to a paint stick. Here's how it went so far. So please let me know your thoughts and if I am proceeding correctly. Also noticed the Santa Maria scale was listed as 1:65 but the plans on Sheet 1 (the rigging sheet) says scale is 1:50. I guess this is typical of kits.

 

Thanks,

Allen

 

The keel assembly with the bulkhead positions and rabbit line marked.

 

The keel assembly BEFORE the rabbit line drawn in.

 

Stem post with the notorious "staple holes". These hole will not be visible when the hull is completed.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 22, 2020 by acaron41120

[acaron41120]

Well had the build going and while checking for everything being square I found that the stern (Bulkhead in this kit) was improperly installed by myself.

So today I carefully removed the bulkhead 5 and 6 and made the necessary corrections and dry fit it to recheck. So far so good. What follows is the

misalignment and repair photos. I believe that I was paying more attention to the placement of the opening for the tiller than the plans. Lesson learned.

This is how the stern lined up. I don't know how to edit the photo but the notches on the top of the bulkhead should line

up with the notched second deck.

The plank shows where the top of the bulkhead should fit. This meant I had to remove the stern bulkhead and associated lumber.

This is how it looked after the stern bulkhead was removed. Still had some cleanup to do but I didn't have to fabricate two new pieces.

Everything came off nicely.

Just a final cleanup then I'll do my first dry fit.

This is the stern post after the bulkhead removal. A little more cleanup and then start reassembly.

This is a dry fit to make certain that all lines up as it should.

Final dry fit. Now I have to plug the opening for the tiller and move it where it should be.

 

[clearway]

gotta love billings- however they do lend themselves to upgrading better than some other manufacturers and are generally true to shape regarding hull profile. always read instructions about a dozen times before touching anything- then read em again😵🧐

 

Keith

[acaron41120]

Posting this update for new builders to show how important a template can be when building their ship. These photos show the port side half of the main deck.

The first is the deck showing where to mark the cutouts for the bulwarks. The second is my fitted template with the cutouts where they belong. The third shows

the deck with the template showing how much the marked deck can be.

 

 

 

[acaron41120]

News! I had the main deck of the Santa Maria planked and my son asked if he could finish it for me and add it to his little collection (he has the Nina and Pinta wood models.)

So I boxed her up and shipped it to him over the weekend.

So now I'll have to start the next build in the hopper which is the Mayflower. And I expect to ask a lot of questions because this looks to be a plank on frame kit. I've never seen bulkheads like these.