HMS Winchelsea by Greg M - 1/48 scale

[FrankWouts]

I'm very glad to see you back at her after such a long time Greg!

That stern piece and the blinded window edges look very good! Excellent job!

Frank.

[scrubbyj427]

Looks good Greg, glad to see you’re back at it!

[Greg M]

Thanks Frank and JJ and everyone for the likes.  Feels real good to be back again.

 

Work on the transom is progressing.  The round ports came out very well; I always worry enlarging a circle that I'm going to run the file at a bad angle and elongate it, but that didn't happen here.  Not entirely happy with shape of the top of the transom.  The arc above the 2nd and 5th window is a pretty awkward angle and I struggled trying to get the arc consistent.  I think when I add the veneer to the top of the transom, it may smooth it out a bit.  I tested the windows again and got the 2nd window squared away.  Just needed to shave a tiny amount off the top.  

The window alignment looks perfect from the inside, so they are going back in the bag and I'm not going to give them a moments thought until it's time to install them.

Onward to adding the veneer to the top of the transom and then installing the quarter gallery windows.  

[Greg M]

Thanks for the likes guys.  

 

Progress continues.  I applied the thin strip along the top of the transom and it definitely cleaned up the lines a bit.  There were some leftover wood strips from chapter 1 that served very well for this.  The 5/32”x1/64” for the top of the bollard timbers was perfect for the top edge of the quarter galleries where the filler piece is a bit thinner.  There was also a 3/16”x1/32” piece that was very easy to thin out with sandpaper for applying over the stern fillers.  I think when the fancy moulding is applied, everything should look just fine.

 

In 2 1/2 years of my Winnie sitting on the workbench collecting dust, the only damage that occurred is that little chip out of the starboard side of the transom and a visible ding on the right-most post.  Turns out my 1 year old cat got into my office a couple week ago and for some reason decided to gnaw a little bit on the transom.  Luckily the rest of the damage was on the inside of the starboard quarter gallery that just got covered up with just those two small dings remaining.  I’m very careful about keeping her out of the workshop now.

 

Installing the quarter gallery windows went off without a hitch and then everything got a couple coats of WOP.  

It took me a couple hours and multiple attempts to get the templates just right on both sides to where they were symmetrical.  You can see with my second attempt on the starboard side the line underneath was just a little bit off the first time.  I was a tiny bit off on the port side as well the first time and a moment of panic set in that I thought one of the sides of the transom was off and it was going to look lop-sided.

Please let me know if these look wonky to anyone.  There’s a bit of an optical effect going on with the sheer and the doorways are not quite symmetrical, but the foremost line measures the same length on both sides and the same distance from the sheer to the top and the wale to the bottom.  

 

I had hoped that one white piece of cedar would mellow with time, but alas, there’s always going to be that one goofy plank.  I noticed from Chucks pictures that the template seems to sit a little bit closer to the gunport.  I’m guessing maybe my transom doesn’t have quite as much arc, but I don’t think this should have any major effect.

I’ll double check all the measurements again one last time tomorrow, but by the end of the week, hoping to have the continuation of the upper counter done and be back to figuring out fancy molding.

 

Edit: The measurements are fine so I tacked up the first timber.  It looks like the angle is a little bit off against the run of wale.  If I lower the front 3/64" so the bottom lands on the seam it eyeballs up better.  My concern is if I do that then I think the gallery windows may run into a spot of difficulty.  I went through a bunch of others build logs and the gist I got out of it is that it's a great time to sit back and solicit feedback.  Would it be better to keep the alignment based on the template against the transom or is there enough tolerance with the windows to adjust the timber to align along the wale?

Edited November 28, 2023 by Greg M

[Matt D]

Chapter 3 is still one of my favorite parts of this whole project.  The stern and q-galleries are spectacular and were so much fun to build.  Cats are wonderful, aren't they?  I found one of mine using Winnie as a bed right after I put the subfloor down in Chapter 4.  I think that little bite mark on the transom will be completely covered by a molding.  The one on the upright might be high enough that it will be cut off when you put the railing on in Chapter 10.  

[Greg M]

Thanks Matt and everyone for the likes.  Cats are funny; we had an older cat when I first started on the Winnie and she loved to plop down on sheets of sandpaper when I was working.  Never gave much interest in the ship, but loved the tools.  The transom gnawer just turned 1 so hoping she’ll get through that phase and be allowed back into the workshop.  Chapter 3 is probably the biggest transformation of Winnie into a work of art and I’m guessing the likelihood of completing the build goes way up after chapter 3.

 

A lot of activity in the past week getting the lower part of the quarter galleries built, but first a little detour.  When I stopped work on chapter 3 previously, I had installed the 3 upper counter planks and not done any sanding or shaping.  As I was setting up the q gallery timber on the transom I realized I had not shaped the the upper counter in any way where it met the transom.  If I didn’t clean this up now as well as generally sanding the upper counter, it would become a real mess trying to add the frieze’s later.  I also wanted to shape the outer edges to the curve on the plans.

Luckily, I discovered the little piece that sits on top of the gallery timber has the same exact curve I was looking for as a template.  

Cleaned up counter, no flat spots where the transom meets it, no bumps and a nice camber on the edges.  Much more respectable looking.

Time to start on the starboard side.  One last check with poster tack to make sure the angles are right.

I thought every was going swimmingly, but I made the mistake of not pre-fairing the timber enough and did not rough up the hull where the timber joined it, so the timber broke free several times before I figured out why the glue joint kept failing.  WOP and wood glue do not mix well.

So glad I cleaned up the upper counter before starting this as it was pretty easy to fair the timber. 

I had a lot of difficulty getting the laser cut planking to bend properly and ended up cutting my own from a sheet of 1/32” cedar.  Even still, the angle where I got the best results caused a little triangle wedge at the top of the timber that I’d have to patch in later.

The patch will be seamless once it’s cleaned up.

The planking lined up pretty well with the counter as well.  Just wish I’d been able to get a second clamp on the top plank to get rid of that little gap.

The port side progressed about the same.

But I’d forgotten to rough up hull again and the timber end popped as I was going to glue up the planking, so I ended up having to start over again.  It was a blessing in disguise as I’d placed the timber a touch too high against the hull.

Planking turned out the same in the end , even the patch.

Cleaned up and I’m happy with the starboard side.  A tiny chip cane out of the top right corner when I was cleaning up the cedar, but it should be fine when covered by the molding.

Happy with the port side as well.  The bottom is a tiny bit higher (~1/64") than the starboard side, so either the wales are slightly misaligned or the bottom plank of the counter could be a touch off.  Regardless, I’ll probably be the only person to ever notice.  The measurement from the front top of the timber to the sheer is the exact same for both sides.

Now that the structure is in place, I can start visualizing how the transom is going to look once all the friezes and moldings are in place.  Pretty exciting.

Time to break out the grinding wheel and scrap basswood and learn (yet another) new skill, which will probably take a week or two.  If anyone sees anything that looks off, please let me know.

Edited December 2, 2023 by Greg M

[glbarlow]

Ahh, I recall those chapter 3 days, so much to get right that pays off later. Yours is looking great. 
 

I dreaded the moulding, turns scraping is easy, it’s making the scrapers that’s the fun part. 

[Greg M]

Thanks Glenn.  Chapter 3 is incredibly fun, nerve-racking and feels like it's designed to make you say "can I really do this?" followed by "that wasn't so bad after all".

 

I think your comments on the moulding is exactly where I am right now; I was dreading it back in 2021 and it's been top of mind for the last couple weeks.  Probably one of those things I need to stop overthinking the mechanics and grab the eye protection and Dremel and just start cutting moulding and practicing.  I've got a ton of spent razor blades sitting in a dish just waiting to be cut up. and found some leftover 1/8"x1/32" planking from a kit I built a while back.  

[FrankWouts]

I had and still have the same feeling Greg! 

That’s so marvelous about this whole project. Unbelievable that a year ago I would not have dreamed I would be able to build chapter 3 up this point! But as our self confidance grows, we should beware not to overestimate ourselves and keep going slow and steady and work according to the plans Chuck provided.

Frank.