New Bedford Whaleboat by John Ruy - FINISHED - Model Shipways - 3/4”=1’ (1/16 scale) - Plank-On-Frame Wood Kit

[John Ruy]

Just in from eBay, just snagged this kit NIB for $59.00. I have been chomping at the bit for something like this since I started seeing these kind of builds on MSW. 
 

Been working on the Charles W Morgan for a while now. This is a perfect follow up to that build. Can’t wait to get started so I have set up both the CWM and the Whaleboat on the bench for multitasking, keeps things interesting. 
 

Actually, the detail of this kit will help with finishing touches on the CWM. 
 

Very impressed with this kit. It’s my first build of the larger scale 1/16th. I have been working with Vintage kits around 1/96 scale. 

Instruction “book” and detailed parts look really good. Hope I can do this kit justice, it will be a step up for me in terms of skill sets. The micro carpentry just got more refined. Wish me luck and patients. 

Latter... 😎

[Fright]

Nice find on Ebay!

 

[John Ruy]

Reading my MS instruction “book” very nicely detailed. Feels like I’m studying for a test. Very good background for the beginner (me) 😆

 

Starting with the mold. Much more precision required at this scale. Don’t get me wrong, I love it. 
 

Marked up the pieces... Wow! A lot of adjustments needed, Laser cuts not very accurate.

Stripped off some scribed decking material to use for filler where needed. 

Sanded where only slight trimming was needed.  Used my handy new balsa stripper where more trimming was need for that perfect fit. 

Glued up perfectly square and true. We will see how it dries. Beveled all edges where required prior to glueing. 

Next up Horses...

More Latter...

[John Ruy]

Well, the wood glue did not work well for gluing the sections on to the profile. It just as well, I had not made all of the markings as required in the instructions. Ok, back two steps and then forward again. 
 

Here is the profile and sections marked up and glued with CA glue this time. 

Final touches on the profile...

Trimmed  up and the glued horses, Now we are ready for the construction board. 

I have about 8 hours into this and am almost ready to start building. 😎

[John Ruy]

Ok! 10 hours into this project and I have a construction board w/mold for the hull building. Hopefully everything is within 1/32” accuracy, according to instructions for correct construction of the Keel and Hull. Wow, what a process! 

 

continuing forward, all be it one plank at a time. 😎 

[John Ruy]

Soaked up the stem and stern post lumber overnight and placed it on the mold to dry. 

I think I’ll go work on the Morgan for a while and let this dry up. 

[John Ruy]

Spent 5 hours today on the Whaleboat. Accomplished building the Keel. Laminated the first three layers of the stem and stern posts. 

Trimed out the upper keel. 

Magnification and a steel rule help with accuracy. Instructions ask for 1/32” accuracy. 

placed the upper keel...

cut out the lower keel

placed the lower keel on top of the upper keel 😆So confusing working the hull upside down. 

beveled the stem and stern posts

Laminated the bottom three layers of the stem and stern posts

Wow! What a process! I am finding that reading the instructions a bit ahead and rereading with careful study the best way to avoid reworking. I have never done anything like this before. It’s a really nice kit with great instructions. 
 

More latter... 

[John Ruy]

After 12 hours of reviewing/studying the instructions, I have installed the Garboard. 

I spent a lot of time prepping the Keel and Garboards with proper beveled edges. 

Per instructions verified and reverified the fit of the garboards prior to glueing. 

I chose to use CA glue knowing I would get one chance to lay it down properly. 

Once glued into place I was not satisfied with the the reveal of the keel and decided to laminate another layer on the lower keel. I also did a bit of fill and sanding work on the Keel and Garboard seams before moving on. 

More final sanding work on the keel will be needed after the planking is completed. Now on to the 2nd strake. 

[John Ruy]

2nd strake added more beveling. 

Adding seam battens for the lap joints for the 3rd strake. 

ready for the 4th strake

I’m going to call it a night, good progress today. 

[John Ruy]

Added the 4th Strake and noticed I needed to true up both the bow and stern ends of the strake so they were even port and starboard. Just a bit shaving and sanding before installing the next batten. 

Ready for the 5th Strake. Both the 5th and 6th strake will need to be cupped to curve the hull. Note the curve of the mold cross section. 

Cupping the stakes is accomplished by soaking the strakes and clamping them to a piece of cove molding. 

The cove molding is supposed to be supplied in the kit, however it was not cove molding. See photo below...

So... I will have to call it a night and venture out to Home Depot tomorrow. 
 

To be continued... 🍻 

[John Ruy]

Ok, got the cove molding from Home Depot. Had to go anyway for some “Honey Do” yard projects. 😎

 

Soaked the 5th and 6th strakes in water with some ammonia to quicken the process. Only about an hour required. 

Rubbermaid Lid made for a great tray that was long enough. I had gotten 4ft of cove molding, so I could clamp all four pieces at once to dry over night. 

The 5th strake went on well and then on with the next batten. 
 
The 6th strake has a lot more cup to it, just because it is wider. 

As with all strakes I clamped the 6th strake in place at the center. 

And trimed both the bow and stern ends to meet the rabbit joint in the keel. 

Well as Precise as possible, seems that as careful as I was to get this right, I do have some gaps in this area. That’s what they make plastic wood for, right? 🤔

CA glued the 6th strake to the batten on the starboard. 

Here is a photo the Port side batten prior to glueing on the 6th strake. Must be very careful to not glue the hull to the mold throughout the process. I did use beeswax on the mold prior to starting the hull build to minimize the hull sticking to the mold. 

With the 6th strake in place it looks like I may have “turned the corner” on the building of this hull. 😆

Now for some filling and sanding before moving on.

A bit more than 30 hours into this build and I’m feeling pretty good about it. 😎 Latter...

[Moab]

It's looking great. Thanx for the photos...Moab

[John Ruy]

Thanks Moab... I have some great photos coming right up. 
 

In my last post I mentioned the need to be careful with the glue, well my worst nightmare occurred. The Stern and Bow Stems became glued to the mold. CA glue is so hard to see, it obviously ran down the stem as I glued the planks into the rabbit joints.

I ended up cutting the hull out of the mold. 

The good news is all things wood can be repaired, right? 🤨 While cleaning it up to re-glue, I took time to true up the bow and stern. 

All trimmed up, I re-glued. 

It’s all good now and ready to set back on the mold. Not too bad, salvaged. 😆

 

[John Ruy]

Before mounting the hull back on the mold I thought I would bevel the 6th strake for lapping the sheer plank. 

Now she is mounted back on the mold and ready for the Sheer Planking. 

The Sheer Planking does not get a batten. It overlaps the 6th strake by 1/16th of an inch. I used a compass to strike a line on the 6th strake to get a proper lap joint. 

Hopefully, no gluing errors to night. tomorrow is another day. Cheers 🍻 

[John Ruy]

Sheer planking set and beveled for the Gunwale. 

Gunwale is the last stake again its a lap joint by 1/16th. Clamps do not fit need to use close pins. 

Once the Gunwale sets the hull will be ready to pull from the build board horses. 

Next steps add strips to stabilize the hull on the mold before removing the hull from the build board. Latter...😎

 

[John Ruy]

Hull is completed and successfully remove from the build board. 

Woo Hoo! 🍻 Major Milestone!!!

Next up is framing the hull. Looks like it’s time to return to the Charles W Morgan and take a break from the Whaleboat. The CWM keeps looking at me from the bench and calling me to start the Standing Rigging. I’ll be back here before you know it. 
 

Stay Safe out there COVID is on the rise again. Glad I have this hobby to keep me in and focused on something other than the news. See ya soon...😎

[John Ruy]

I’m back to the New Bedford Whaleboat. Internal hull now marked and secured in the mold for framing.

 

Framing timbers are soaking so they can be fitted and glued into the hull. 

 

 

I will begin framing the hull tomorrow. 
 

Latter 😎

[John Ruy]

Framing the hull completed. Quite the process, given it’s my first time bending and laminating timber. Looks decent...
 

 

Hull fastenings? To nail or not to nail, that is the question. I am hoping I made the right decision. 
 

 

I decided to jump in and nail it! This should be an experience, to say the least. I hope it pays off. 
 

 

I will be painting this hull and the nails should add the desired detail and realism I am hoping to achieve. 
 

 

I am just hoping it doesn’t drive me over the edge. 😆

 

 

should be done with this step by Winter. 
 

more latter. 😎

[John Ruy]

Finished sanding and painted the hull today. 
 

 

Proceeded with setting nails and decided I didn’t like where this was going. 
 

 

Took another look at this photo graph taken last year in Mystic and decided the nailing was not visible in reality and was not enhancing my models presentation.  
 

 

I removed the nails I had set, filled the holes and repainted the outer hull. The Third brush coat looks great. 
 

 

Inner hulls came from the builders with a coat of buff paint. According to the instructions the shade varies with the builder. I used my custom yellow ochre and mixed in white to give it a more buff look. 
 

 

I am thinking I will use the yellow ochre for the inner planking to achieve the appearance of the Whaleboat I saw in Mystic. 
 

Onward. 🍻 

[turangi]

Great job, looks wonderful! This was my first build and and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Looking forward to watching your progress! 

 

[jwvolz]

Very nice work so far John. 

[John Ruy]

Installing the Thwart Risers and Adjacent Ceiling is very tedious. 
 

 

Decided to nail these in place using Lill Pins as opposed to the copper etched nails in the kit. 
 

 

Used CA glue on the nails, flush trimed them from the outer hull and repainted. 
 

 

First Ceiling Plank in glued only no nails. These are due cut and fit pretty good, although they do require a lot of coaxing and clamping.  Also placed the timbers for the stern sheets, another tedious task to get level and flat. 
 

 

On to the bow sheet framing and finishing the ceiling. I decided to keep this planking all natural and will be representing nails with the lead from the tip of a 9mm mechanical pencil and finishing with non-gloss clear coat of some sort. Any suggestions for the sealer?

 

[John Ruy]

Stern Sheets and Ceiling installed. Feeling good about the appearance of grayed out planks. 😎

 

 

 

On to the bow sheets. 👍

[John Ruy]

Ceiling planks next to the stern and bow sheets have a good amount of twist in them. Requires some creative clamping. 
 

 

Bow sheets complete...

 

 

 

 

Centerboard case constructed and installed. 
 

 

Centerboard also installed

 

 

Cut and prepared ceiling planks for staining. 
 

 

Varathane weathered gray.  Ragged on, not brushed. 
 

 

Rubbed in Yellow ochre to give the planks some highlights. 
 

 

Sanded with 150 grit to rough give the planks some worn/used appearance. 
 

Followed that with another rub of weathered gray varathane. 
 

 

Glued down ceiling planks starting from the centerboard our. Then cut to fit the center plank. 
 

 

Remaining ceiling planks will need to be trimmed carefully to fit tightly. 
 

Latter 😎

[Papa]

Amazing work John. Your attention to detail amazes me. 

[John Ruy]

Finished remaining ceiling planks. 
 

 

Rubbed on a bit more yellow ochre to match things up and gave the planking a coat of Varathane Clear (satin) to seal it. 
 

 

Thanks for your comment Ron, the details in this kit are just beginning. 👍

[John Ruy]

Final coat of White Acrylics on the hull. Page 78 of 130 completed in the very detailed instruction booklet. 
 

 

Great kit for developing those micro carpentry skills. 😆🍻

[catman42]

Hi john been following your build and have the kit on order. can you recommend a good glue to I have not built a boat using this method yet

thanks

 

Brad

[John Ruy]

1 hour ago, catman42 said:

can you recommend a good glue

Brad,
 

I have found Loctite Super Glue to work well. It seems to be CA glue of medium gel as to not run all over the place but form very small drops and stay were you want it to when gluing the wood strips. Needs clamping, but sets in a minute or less. You can find it most anywhere. I like the long tip applicator. 
 

John

 

 

[John Ruy]

1 hour ago, catman42 said:

can you recommend a good glue

Brad,
 

I have found Loctite Super Glue to work well. It seems to be CA glue of medium gel as to not run all over the place but form very small drops and stay were you want it to when gluing the wood strips. Needs clamping, but sets in a minute or less. You can find it most anywhere. I like the long tip applicator. 
 

John