Half Moon by usedtosail - FINISHED - Billings Boats - 1:40 Scale

[usedtosail]

I am planking from both sides of the existing gap between the keel and the chine. I have been able to bend the planks near the keel but I have been spieling the planks along the chine.

 

 

Here you can see the gap I left for one of the stealers that I will be adding at the transom.

 

I am also planking up from the main rail along the aft section of the hull.

 

[usedtosail]

Another milestone reached - the lower hull is totally planked. I filled the remaining gaps and added two stealer planks at the stern. You can see how I used partial spieled planks at the bow to get the curve on the undersize to look half way decent.

 

 

Now I have to scrape and sand the hull, with some wood filler in places, to try to get it to look good. At least the weather is right that I can do most of the sanding outside. I do have to clean up the workshop too as you can also see. I will leave the rest of the upper planking above the main rail until later, once I plank the main deck and bulkheads.

[usedtosail]

I worked on the port side planks for about half an hour this morning and this is what it looks like now. I did have to add some wood filler in a dip by the bow but so far I am pretty happy with the results. I used a sanding block with some course sandpaper, which as a rounded end so I could get into the curves more easily. I still have more to do on this side and the starboard side.

 

 

[usedtosail]

I have been sanding the planks on both sides of the hull, adding wood filler in spots as I go. I trimmed the plank ends at the transom using a sanding disk in a Dremel tool first, then finishing with sanding blocks. In doing this I opened up a hole at the transition of the planks on the deadwood and those on the transom, as you can see here.

 

 

I really should have cut a rabbet on the deadwood as a continuation of the transom and ended the planks there, but I didn't. You can see in the photo above that I have tapered the planks on the deadwood so they are much thinner at the stern post. I could have added planks above these on the stern post, but I came up with a different solution. I cut two filler pieces from a thick piece of basswood sheet and fit them to each side of the stern post.

 

 

 

I tapered them from the front to the back and from the bottom to the top and glued them on. I will use some wood filler and give them a final sanding after the glue dries to blend them in better.

 

 

I still have a ways to go sanding the hull planks, but it is getting there.

 

[usedtosail]

It was cool to see my Chris Craft model on the MSW Facebook page the other day. With so many great models on this site I figured they had a lot of others to choose from. I was thrilled.

 

On the Half Moon I sanded the filler pieces into the stern post. I still have some more sanding to do but I will wait a bit on that.

 

 

I wanted to cover the plywood edge along the keel and also to make the keel a bit deeper, so I glued a strip of wood onto the keel, which I will taper into the plywood after it dries. I didn't have a good way to clamp it so I brushed wood glue along the keel, leaving areas that I put medium CA on. These acted like a clamp to hold the strip down while the wood glue dried.

 

[usedtosail]

I have been working on sanding the hull planking and filling in cracks and dips with wood filler. I am not completely happy with it yet but for now I am going to move on to planking the decks and bulwarks. I will come back to the hull later to finish it off.

 

 

I removed the bulwark extensions on the main deck for a couple of reasons. Firstly I want to be able to plank the deck without having to work around them, and secondly I want them higher so I can attach the rail to them. I am going to add many more extensions for the rail and the plywood extensions didn't look as nice as solid wood extensions will. I removed them by carefully cutting them near the false deck using a cutting disk in the Dremel tool. I then used a sanding disk in the Dremel to sand them down closer to the deck then I used a riffler file to file them flat to the deck. Here you can see them removed on one side.

 

 

I will add about 10 new ones on each side, keeping the curve of the old ones and gluing the hull planks to them. When I added these hull planks I only glued them to each other, not to the old extensions, which made it much easier to remove them.

[usedtosail]

I added a few more bulwark planks at the aft end of the main deck, then cut out the first curved portion. I first marked the planks with a circle template then used the Dremel with a sanding disk to remove the excess. I will finish them up with a half round file and sandpaper.

 

 

I cut deck planks for the small bow deck, then removed the starboard planks to drill holes for fake treenails. I wanted to do this with the planks off the deck because it would be harder to drill with the bulwarks in the way. I used some masking tape to hold them together and to use as a guide for drilling the holes. I traced the curve edge of the planks on the masking tape then cut out the guide strip. I drilled two holes at each end and will fill them in with oak wood putty. You can see this on the long test strip.

 

 

Before I glue these in place I will mark the ends and one edge with a black Sharpie. Here are the port deck planks dry fit.

 

 

After I finish gluing these all in I will do the same on the main deck.

[usedtosail]

Here are the bow deck planks glued in place waiting for a coat of oak stain and WOP.

 

 

I am now working on planking the main deck. I first pinned planks along the front and back edges of the deck hatches, then cut planks to fit between them. Here is the start of this.

 

 

Many more planks to cut yet.

[usedtosail]

I finished planking the main deck. For the planks between the hatch openings I used tape to hold them together and also to mark the lines for the fake treenails. These were added before the planks were glued to the deck.

 

 

 

I added some of the fake treenails to the rest of the planks before gluing them down where they were under the overhanging decks above the main deck. 

 

 

 

For the planks along the bulwarks I first cut a plank from a basswood sheet at the maximum width then trimmed it to fit the space. I did these in two pieces to make it easier with the joint following the 3 butt shift pattern of the deck. After all the planks were glued down I filled in the rest of the fake treenails.

 

 

I then finished adding the planks to the rear bulwark on the main deck.

 

 

Now I need to add the rest of the hull planking along both sides of the fore castle and the rear decks.

[usedtosail]

For the fore castle planking I am soaking and bending short lengths of planks to fit around the bulwark supports. I am also adding planks around the aft upper decks. I made a row of two planks, then added a diagonal plank from the top of the transom. I will fill in the open area with more diagonal planks. 

 

 

[usedtosail]

The admiral is back to work so I have more time to spend in the shop now. I finished planking the bulwarks on the fore and aft upper decks and started sanding the planks. I used a sanding drum in a Dremel tool to get the planks close to the transom then a sanding block to make them flush with the transom planks. I also used the sanding drum to cut in the other two curves in the bulwarks on each side. I am bending a thin plank to put over the top of the transom and I will sand the top bulwark plank to be flush with it.

 

 

I added more planks to the fore and aft bulkheads on the forecastle and also used a cutting disk to remove the bulwark extensions. I added a cap piece to the front of the forecastle deck, so I can now plank that deck.

 

 

I have started to mark out the locations of the new bulwark extensions I will add on the main deck, which will be high enough to support the rail. I will do this on the forecastle deck too, but not the aft upper decks as these don't have a rail on the Half Moon replica ship.

[popeye the sailor]

I did the same thing with the bulwark posts.........not enough if only the bulkheads are used,  and not high enough either      look'in good Tom!

[usedtosail]

I did get the idea from you Popeye. I am following your build log pretty closely for this ship.

[usedtosail]

I finished planking the forecastle deck and added the fake treenails.

 

 

I have the two aft decks to plank but before I do that I want to add a coaming around the opening in the first upper deck. I thought this was a hatch but the opening is for the steering column that comes up from the lower deck.

[usedtosail]

This is the area I was talking about in the last post. There is a post that comes up through the deck below, called a whipstaff, that is attached to the tiller below the main deck. I opened up a slot in the main deck for the whipstaff by drilling a series of holes and connecting them with a file. There is a trim piece that goes over the slot. I am working on the coaming that will go around the opening on the upper deck before I plank that deck. I have finished planking all the bulkheads so I need to sand and finish those up too.

 

 

[usedtosail]

I have finished planking the two aft upper decks. I added the coaming around the whipstaff opening then planked around it. For the mast hole, I first drilled the hole in some basswood sheet, then cut out a rectangle around it that was two planks wide. After fitting it in the space, I split it down the middle and glued the two halves to the deck. This made a much better hole than trying to file it into two separate planks. I sanded the decks and added the fake treenails.

 

 

I am going to make the bulwark extensions from curved strip wood. I soaked a long piece of 1/8" square stock and started bending it with a plank bender. I then curved it between two posts on the workbench and continued to heat it and dry it with a heat gun. I cut it in half then gave each piece the same treatment, bending them to a tighter radius. Here is how they came out.

 

 

I will see how many of the extensions I can make out of these pieces, but if I need more I will bend another strip or two.

[popeye the sailor]

hey there Tom    gee........you got me thinking how I did the whipstaff................so I brought the model down to look.  the kit has a frame that fits over the slot........I just glued it in the slot.  look'in forward in how you do the bulwark posts  

[usedtosail]

Thanks Popeye. I have the fitting that goes over the slot on the lower deck too. What did you do with the opening in the upper deck? Did you just plank to the edges of the opening?

[usedtosail]

I have started adding supports under the overhanging parts of the upper decks and the bulwark extensions. I am trying to line these up so they look like a single piece of wood that goes through the deck with some success. Here you can see the supports under the forecastle deck.

 

 

Here I am gluing the supports under the first aft upper deck as well as the port bulwark extension above one of them.

 

 

And here I am gluing most of the extensions on the two aft upper decks and the first extension that will support a rail on the fore castle . Luckily I have a bunch of these long reach clamps that work great for holding these tight to the bulwark planks. These extensions are also providing support for the bulwark planks, which at this stage are just edge glued together. There will be rails on the main and forecastle decks but not the aft upper decks, as that is how the replica was made. The bulwarks on the upper decks are pretty high so this makes sense to me.

 

[usedtosail]

I continue to add the bulwark extensions and as of this morning I have most of them glued on. I used a sanding drum in the Dremel to get the port extensions at the two upper decks almost flush with the hull planks, then sanding blocks to get them flush. I will do the same to the other extensions on the main and forecastle decks after I install the rail, sanding them flush to the rail. I have also started making the pin rails that will be pinned to the extensions. I need to make a pin rail that goes across the front of the forecastle too.

 

[Louie da fly]

Looking very good. 

[KurtH]

Excellent work.  I saw a full replica of that vessel tied up at the marina in Poughkeepsie some years back.

[usedtosail]

Thanks Louie and K, and the likes. I am working off pictures of that replica K and will use some of the elements in the final paint scheme but not all the designs. The kit is much different from the replica which I why I am not using the very wide rails that came in it, for instance.

 

I have added all of the bulwark extensions and sanded those down that are flush with the deck planking. I then used a sanding drum on the Dremel to angle the tops of those extensions. I also added rail supports across the front of the forecastle, which will have a pin rail and a rail. 

 

 

 

I soaked some wood strips for the rails and clamped them to the extensions to dry. The main deck rails go behind the hull planks at each end. Once these are dry and glued on I will sand the tops of the extensions flush with the rail and angle the tops like the others.

 

 

I have five of the pin rails made with just the two on the main deck yet to make. These will be pinned to the extensions to give them more support. Once I add the rails I will start putting some finish on the hull, decks, and bulkheads.

[usedtosail]

I added the rails and sanded the bulwark extensions flush to them. I then angled the tops of the extensions.

 

 

Here is how the hull looks now. My next step is to stain and finish the decks, bulwarks, and bulkheads.

 

 

[usedtosail]

I made a new rudder from some basswood sheet because I did not like the plywood one in the kit. I milled slots in the rudder for the pintles then made the pintles and gudgeons from brass strip and rod. Again I did not like the kit supplied plastic ones. I blackened them with Birchwood Casey blackening solution after pickling them because of the solder joints on the pintles. I made all of the belaying pin racks that attach to the rails and finished them with oak stain and WOP. I used Brass Brown on the belaying pins.

 

 

You can see in the above picture that tiller that is attached to the rudder. I cut a rectangular slot in the transom for the tiller by drilling three holes them cleaning up the slot with some Dremel bits and square and flat files. I will paint the inside of the slot black.

 

 

I stained the decks, bulwarks, extensions, rails, and bulwarks with oak stain then a coat of Wipe On Poly. When that dried I started adding the racks to the bulwark extensions. I have wire pins in the racks at each of the bulwark extensions that they are attached to, and these are glued into holes in the extensions using medium CA. They appear to be very sturdy when I took the clamps off. Here you can see a few of them being glued on, then in place.

 

 

 

Once all the belaying pin racks are added I will start finishing the outside of the hull. I still have some rails to add to the hull but these will be different colors from the rest of the hull so I will add them later. The transom will be painted blue and the stem and rudder above the waterline will be painted black. For the hull I have made a very thin wash of Burnt Sienna and a tiny bit of Black paint. My only concern is that it is so thin it will bleed through some of the plank seams and show on the inside bulwarks. I really don't know how to avoid that but I am hoping if it happens it won't be too noticeable.

 

[HardeeHarHar]

This is some beautiful work you are doing.  Nice role-modeling (yuck-yuck).  I'm here all night.

[Baker]

Great work on a beautiful model

[usedtosail]

Thanks Hardee and Patrick.

 

I decided to only use the thinned paint under the bottom most hull rail, and will use the same Oak stain above it as on the inside bulwarks. This should solve the bleed through problem or at least make it less noticeable. I marked off the location of the bottom rail with masking tape and painted below that with the Burnt Sienna and black thinned paint. I gave it two coats then sanded it and gave it a coat of wipe on poly. I am going for a dark weathered hull look so I like how it came out. When this is completely dry I will remove the tape and mask off the paint, then stain above this to the tops of the bulwarks. You can't see it in this picture but I also masked off the transom as that will be painted blue.

 

[usedtosail]

Finishing work on the hull continues. I did stain the upper hull planks with oak stain and did not have any noticeable bleed through, so I pretty happy with that. I also gave the bottom hull another few coats of the diluted burnt Sienna paint and it looks much more even now, which I am also happy about. The transition area between the stain and paint will be covered with a rail plank which will be painted black.

 

 

I have also started painting the transom. The upper part is blue and the lower part is the same paint as the hull. The middle should have been oak stain but I painted the blue too far down so I mixed up some tan paint to try to match the color of the stain, which it didn't really. I then dry brushed some raw umber paint over the top and I think I have as good a match as I can get. I still need to touch up the edges of the blue paint in spots and paint the stern post and the stem black, and that should finish the hull off for now. I also have to paint and mount the rudder.

 

 

I started making the doors for each of the bulwarks this morning. The kit supplies four pieces of thin laser cut plywood for them but I am not going to use them. Instead I edge glued some planks and I will use the plywood pieces as templates to cut out the new doors. I penciled into one of the plywood pieces where the cross beams will go.

 

 

I wasn't going to add rails to the edges of the upper decks but after more thought I have decided to add them when I add the ladders between the decks.

[usedtosail]

I started making the rails that go around the outside of the hull. I soaked each wood strip and bent them with an electric plank bender, then pinned them to the hull to dry.

 

 

After I made the six strips for the three lower rails, I sanded them then gave them two coats of black paint. I also gave the stained part of the hull a coat of Wipe On Poly and painted the bottom portion of the rudder with a few coats of brown paint.

 

 

I also finished the doors. I stained them with oak stain, gave them a coat of WOP and added nails heads as door handles.

 

 

Here are three of them glued to the bulkheads.

 

 

After attaching the lower rails to the hull I will make the upper rails. These will have a more interesting paint scheme.