New Bedford Whaleboat by MrBlueJacket - FINISHED - BlueJacket Shipcrafters - scale 1/3" = 1' (1:36)

[MrBlueJacket]

And after a half hour of whittling, here's my result:

 

[MrBlueJacket]

Got a lot done last night. Time for more painting.

 

[MrBlueJacket]

Some of the painting done.

 

[MrBlueJacket]

Had some time to add the thwarts and do more painting. Using a brush means I'll have to go back and do touch-ups here and there.

[MrBlueJacket]

And 8 days later, after moving my daughter from one apartment to another (I can't believe she had that much stuff) I got to do a little more work.  Hinged mast step is done, as are the thwart knees. They are made from reed, which I sanded down in half (think "D" cross section), then painted black, and cut into 1" lengths. Soaked in water, they bent up nicely, and I could clip the excess just below the caprail.

[MrBlueJacket]

Next I tackled tha making of the oarlocks. The instructions say to twist and bend some wire to make them, but I thought I could do a more realistic job. I made a jig from a small piece of dowel and two wire pins, spaced correctly. Then I used thin strips of Britannia metal to form the oarlocks. In about a half hour, I had all ten that I needed. All I have left to do is drill the bottom and insert a pin to mount them. I'm kinda proud of that! One or two might need a tweak.

 

[MrBlueJacket]

Yes, that will be the tip of the month in the July newsletter. You get a free preview!

[MrBlueJacket]

o the next step is to drill a hole for the pin for mounting. Very difficult to hold the oarlock and drill at the same time. Looks like another jig to hold the oarlock. Although this worked OK, it would have been better to drill the hole first, then bend the oarlock. Hindsight is such a bummer sometimes.....

 

[MrBlueJacket]

And here's the first couple of oarlocks with their pins - I think they look kinda good.

 

[MrBlueJacket]

Here they are all assembled to the hull

 

[Voyageur]

1 hour ago, MrBlueJacket said:

o the next step is to drill a hole for the pin for mounting. Very difficult to hold the oarlock and drill at the same time. Looks like another jig to hold the oarlock. Although this worked OK, it would have been better to drill the hole first, then bend the oarlock. Hindsight is such a bummer sometimes.....

 

 

...or drill it while it is still in the jig.

looks great!!

[MrBlueJacket]

Next is working on the harpoon crotch. I didn't like my attempt at cutting it from a sheet of basswood, so I used a 1/16 dowel and some scrap reed from the thwart knees.

[MrBlueJacket]

I think it looks a lot like the drawing.

[MrBlueJacket]

And finally sanded flat on both sides and installed.

[Nirvana]

Nick,

By curiosity, who are the designer of the models BlueJacket are selling?

I have an old C.S.S Virginia model in box from your company. Bought on Ebay.

Nice whaleboat! 

[MrBlueJacket]

17 hours ago, Nirvana said:

Nick,

By curiosity, who are the designer of the models BlueJacket are selling?

I have an old C.S.S Virginia model in box from your company. Bought on Ebay.

Nice whaleboat! 

Over the years, there have been many kit designers. Some better than others. The Virginia plans were drawn by Ed Petrucci, a good friend of mine for many years.

[MrBlueJacket]

I am embarrassed to say I have made a real rookie mistake.

 

One of my newsletter recipients informed me that whaleboats only had 5 oarlocks, not 10. I went back to the plans, and realized that I only looked at the side view, saw 5 oarlocks, and assumed that it was 5 per side. If I had paid attention to the plans top view, I would have noticed that there were only 3 oarlock pads on the starboard, and 2  on the port side. Now I have to rip out half of my work.

 

[MrBlueJacket]

After removing 5 oarlocks and pads, sanding down and puttying the holes, I spent about 1/2 hour making the Water Breaker from a 3/8" dowel.

[Nirvana]

Nick, nice barrels.

Regarding the oarlocks that below a rookie mistake, not even a rookie would have done such.😁😎

Sorry, I couldn't resist and I don't mean this as an insult to you or anyone else.

I know we all make mistakes, me for certain. 

[MrBlueJacket]

I've said this before......

 

"Putty and paint

Makes it look like what it ain't"

[MrBlueJacket]

Now we're getting some of the pieces put into place. Rudder, tubs, lantern, etc. Next comes oars and harpoons, then the sails.

 

[MrBlueJacket]

Tubs filled with line, steering oar in place, 2 harpoons and 2 killing lances installed. Here's a shot of the port side

 

And one of the starboard side as well

 

[MrBlueJacket]

Finished the oars last night. Made the stripes by painting some Avery labels with red paint, then cutting strips off.

[MrBlueJacket]

Over the weekend made the jib sail from 2 layers of silkspan. Here's the boltrope getting glued on.

 

[VTHokiEE]

13 minutes ago, MrBlueJacket said:

2 layers of silkspan

Looks very nice; what weight of silkspan do you use?

[MrBlueJacket]

Medium (I think)

[MrBlueJacket]

Working on the mainsail. Tried a new technique with these sails - after pencil lines, spray with flat clear, and put just one layer over it (grain at 90 degrees of course.) Spray again, let dry. Big advantage is the lacquer does not shrink the silkspan.

 

[MrBlueJacket]

Now I have attached the sail to the mast, boom and gaff. Ready to install.

 

[MrBlueJacket]

Got the mast and sails installed. Almost done.

 

Over this weekend, we went to cookouts both Sat & Sun, no little modeling time. I did manage to make a knife to put on the cuddy. It would be used to cut the line if the whale sounded and threatened to take the boat with it. Next will be the compass, then it's done!

[MrBlueJacket]

And here's the compass. I stained it using burnt sienna and it looks like rosewood to my eyes.