Yankee Hero by MichaelW - FINISHED - BlueJacket Shipcrafters - 3/8"=1' - 1889 Quoddy Boat

[MrBlueJacket]

As a matter of practicality, you can just spray the red without masking, then just mask off for the green. Saves a step.

 

Nic

[MichaelW]

Thanks Nic.  I did that when I built the Red Baron.  I don't know why I did not follow that plan for this boat. 

 

Making some progress while the snow falls.  We received another 8 inches of snow; so, I went to painting the hull.  I carefully masked the bottom of the hull and painted the top part green.  I purchased thin masking tape (orange) from Hobby Lobby, which worked very well at the water line.  I waited about 20 minutes between the coats.  The tape at the water line performed very well.  Unfortunately, the guy in charge of masking the bottom part of the hull missed a small gap in the tape and I wound up with a squirt of green near the keel.  Also, when pulling off the masking tape on the hull I pulled off two small chips of paint.  I do not think that's a function of the tape, but two flaws in the paint.  There must have been dust or something that affected the paint adherence in those two spots.  The over spray and chips can be handled with some very fine sandpaper and a few swipes with the air brush.

 

I think I will add the ship's name and home port before gluing on the toe rails.  It should be much easier to rub on the words without the toe rail in place.

 

 

Edited February 7, 2021 by MichaelW
Addition

[barkeater]

Your paint job came out nice.

[MichaelW]

Thank you Barkeater!  I hope to get more work done during the week.  Still have some snow to remove........

[wtimlen]

Hello Mike,

A trick I learned from BlueJacket that work great for me is to apply a few coats of Flat Clear over tape edge of line you are painting. This will create a seal between the tape and the hull. It works flawlessly for me, I rarely have paint leak under the tape. It is an extra step however for me well worth it. Good Luck.

 

Bill T. 

[MichaelW]

Thanks Bill.  Do you have any issues with pulling up the tape?

[MichaelW]

HELP!  My toe rails are too short!  I sanded the deck to fit the hull.  I did not cut the toe rails at all.  I beveled one end to fit at the stern and was gluing as I went along and took a quick look and the toe rails are two short!  The two toe rails are the same length.  What did I do wrong?? Anyone have this problem?  I may have to splice a piece in at the end, but I'm worried that will look like ....well.....not good.  I don't have any other wood that size.

[wtimlen]

On 2/8/2021 at 7:56 PM, MichaelW said:

Thanks Bill.  Do you have any issues with pulling up the tape?

No, it is always clean.

Regarding the toe rail, same thing happened to me. I applied the toe rail fore to aft, and I just made a small piece of triangle basswood at the stern. I noted it in my build. It was a simple fix, barely noticeable.

 

Good Luck,

Bill T.

[MrBlueJacket]

Interesting. I will look into this. Meantime, I will send you two longer pieces of wood.

 

Nic

[MichaelW]

Hey!  Thanks Nic!  I'll call the shop.  

[MichaelW]

I finished fitting and gluing the starboard toe rail - gluing with CA as I went along.  I then cut and fit a small piece near the bow to make up for the short rail.  I cut a 45 degree angle in the existing toe rail and cut a corresponding angle on the piece to be fitted.  I then fit the other end of the small piece to fit against the stem.  I have a little touch up to do both to the toe rail and where I had a little glue outflow on the hull.  Thanks to Nic at BlueJacket I have another, and longer length of toe rail to fit to the port side.  The next step is to shape that rail and paint it white.  In the meantime, I think I'll start shaping the mast.

 

 

Edited February 23, 2021 by MichaelW
A little more detail.

[barkeater]

The splice came out nice.

[EricWilliamMarshall]

So tell us about your experience sailing!

[MichaelW]

Eric - I started sailing Hobie Cat catamarans when I was much younger.  I had a 23' Compac for many years.  I currently have a 1978 25' Cape Dory sail boat.  It's an older boat and I probably take about as much time caring for her as I do sailing it - but that's fine by me.  Here is me at the tiller last fall - it might have even been late October.  

[michael mott]

Looks like a nice day for a sail Michael. I have to say that I miss sailing the full size models, I am hoping that I get invited out for a sail this summer at the lake that I used to live at.

 

Michael

 

[Ed Gibbons]

On 2/8/2021 at 12:09 PM, wtimlen said:

Hello Mike,

A trick I learned from BlueJacket that work great for me is to apply a few coats of Flat Clear over tape edge of line you are painting. This will create a seal between the tape and the hull. It works flawlessly for me, I rarely have paint leak under the tape. It is an extra step however for me well worth it. Good Luck.

 

Bill T. 

Do you put down the flat clear prior to putting down the tape?

[MichaelW]

I have not been idle!  I took some time off to get the "big" boat ready for the water and to get some sailing in this season.  On rainy days I have been making progress on the Yankee Hero.   Next up was painting the trim for around the hold, mitering the ends as appropriate, and attaching the pieces to the hold sides.  Next, I put the final coats of white paint on the Samson Post and bow sprit.  The next (and tricky) process was shaping the Gammon Iron.  Fortunately, BlueJacket gives you extra brass for forming the iron.  Although I was carefully (or so I though) bending the brass per the instructions (the template is super helpful), I managed to snap the brass in half.  The second time around did the trick.  I painted it with two coats of gray (see photo).  I then discovered that I should not have attached the toe rails to the bow stem.  You need room on the stem to mount the Gammon Iron.  I cut back the toe rails a a bit and did some paint touch up.  I then attached the bow sprit, Samson Post and Gammon Iron to the bow per the blueprint drawings.  Most recently I added some deck hardware, including the mainsheet rail.  I am now shaping the spars and mast (as rainy weather permits!).

Edited August 17, 2021 by MichaelW

[MichaelW]

Now that the sailing season is winding down I am making more progress on my Yankee Hero.  I finished shaping and staining the mast and spars.  I read several posts and the instructions - all of which tend to indicate that shaping the mast and spars can be a tedious process.  Hey, let's face it, building a model is tedious - it's why we do it.  Anyway, as a way to speed up the process and make sure the shaping work did not affect the roundness of the spars, I used a cordless drill to "turn" the dowel.  Using a cordless drill, a micrometer, fine sandpaper, and the plans I was able to accurately and efficiently shape the mast and spars.  Using the instructions and plans I determined where the dowel needed to be reduced in diameter and what the finished diameter needed to be.  I marked those measurements on the plans.  I then put tick marks on the dowel corresponding to where the diameter needed to be adjusted.

 

I then used the drill to SLOWLY turn the mast or spar holding the sandpaper where I needed to adjust the diameter of the dowel.  I used the micrometer often to check the diameter of the mast or spar to make sure I wasn't making the diameter too small.  I pinched the sandpaper against the dowel using my fingers.  You risk snapping the dowel if you apply pressure to only one side (I learned the hard way!).  By holding the sandpaper in one place for longer than others, you can adjust the taper of the adjustment - that is make the end narrower than the diameter as you move towards the middle of the dowel.  DO NOT spin the drill fast enough to generate heat as you sand.  Smoke rising from the sandpaper probably means you're turning the drill too fast! 

 

I was very cautions and checked the diameter often.  I also checked to see if the mast dowel would fit into the mast hole on the hull.  I found that I had to slightly sand the dowel where it enters the hull so that it fit and fit tightly.

 

 

After I was satisfied with the shape of each piece - comparing it to the plans - I used Minwax pine stain on the mast and spars.  I will go back over the mast with a darker stain to simulate the grease often applied to the mast where the hoops would run.

 

 

More to come!

 

 

 

 

Edited October 21, 2021 by MichaelW
Removed duplicate photo

[MichaelW]

Tonight I tackled the boom step for the mast.  It has small pieces and is a small part.  I wanted to make sure the side pieces would fit tight to the mast, but in making it I can not glue the pieces to the mast.  The boom step is to be painted white - so you can't glue it to the mast. First, I tapped the brass rods into the holes drilled in two of the "legs" of the step.  After placing the pin in the hole, I gently tapped the pin into place using a small hammer.

 

Second, I wrapped some plastic around a small piece of dowel the same size as the mast; I then mounted it in my vice.  As I glued each "leg" to the step I held the step against the plastic and dowel and as I glued the leg onto the step I made sure the leg was tight against the dowel.  A small amount of CA glue on the leg stuck it to the step.  I used some accelerator to speed up the cure of the CA.  I didn't want the legs breaking off the step.

 

 

After the CA cured for a minute or two I moved to the next leg until all three legs were glued to the step.  I took my time and used just a spot of CA on the end of each leg when gluing it to the step.  A little accelerant secured each leg.

 

 

The next step, I think, is to paint the tips of the spars and mast and the boom step white.

[barkeater]

Looking good.

[MichaelW]

Thank you!  I am probably writing too much and adding too many photos.  My hope is that this will help the next modeler.

[MichaelW]

Ok, the spars and mast are finished.  I also assembled and painted the boom step.  Because I figure the boat owner would have varnished the spars, I sprayed them with some lacquer to give them a little shine.  On very close inspection it looks like I should have sanded the boom step parts a bit more.  The parts seemed quite delicate so I didn't want to mess with them much.  I may clean it up a little more before installing.

 

  

 

 

[tomebe]

Hello Michael,

I am searching around for my next build, though I am still working on my Bluejacket Grand Banks Dory. Your build log is great and I learned so much this morning reading through the entire project. I am amazed how the smallest of craft requires so much skill, patience, etc. Thanks for sharing it. Your doing a fantastic job.

Tom

[MichaelW]

Thanks Tom!  Just the shot in the arm I needed to get this boat finished!  

[MichaelW]

At a snail's pace now....   After a false start on the mast step (glued it on before placing the hoops on the mast), I have made some progress.  The mast is up, mast step attached (after loading the hoops to the mast the second go-around), boot stripe on, and spars ready to be attached.  The next step - rigging!  I still need to shape and attach the tiller.  I am wondering if I should paint the blocks or leave them gray......  Any suggestions?

 

 

[barkeater]

Painting them black would give you more contrast and help them stand out. Just a thought.

Richard

[MichaelW]

Great!  I'll go with that.  Thanks!

[MichaelW]

I painted the blocks, cleats, and anchor flat black.  I then waded into rigging the boat.  The first step was to find YouTube videos on seizing loops at the end of lines.  I picked the technique that worked best for me.  It take some practice to get the turns of the seizing to line up.  I read through and carefully followed the rigging directions in the BlueJacket instructions.  As shown in the following photos I ran the forestay, topping lift,  jib halyard, and jib sheets.  I also attached the boom and threaded and tied off the parrels, which keep the boom attached to the mast.  Still more rigging to go.  Apparently there are many ways to coil the ends of lines (i.e. search "Flemish coil").  I'll need to figure out what works best for me.

[barkeater]

Very nice. The thing about model ship building is that there are so many different tasks. Just when you've got planking down it's time for something completely different like rigging.🙂

[MichaelW]

Thank you sir!  I've finished the rigging and am finishing the last few tasks.  I'll have photos shortly.  MSW has been a huge source of tips and encouragement.