Biloxi schooner by Russ - FINISHED - 1/48 scale - POB

[Elia]

Russ,

 

She looks great with the red lower hull.

 

Elia

[russ]

Elia:

Thanks. I considered not painting the bottom, but as long as it has taken to get this far, I decided it really needed the red bottom.

 

Russ

[BANYAN]

Welcome back to the fray Russ; I was missing this little beauty of yours.

 

cheers

 

Pat

Edited April 6, 2016 by BANYAN

[russ]

Pat:

Thanks.

[captainbob]

Nice looking hull you have.

 

Bob

[russ]

Bob:

Thanks. This is design that I reconstructed based on tonnage admeasurements and photos of Biloxi schooners from around the turn of the 20th century, particularly those built by Martin Fountain Sr. He was a famous local builder who produced some of the best looking Biloxi schooners.

 

Russ

[John Allen]

Looking good can't wait to see the finish,

 

I had the chance to sail on one in the late 60s when I started with Alabama Marine Resources, this one was in Bayou la Batre Al.

 

Sadly Camille got it. Thanks for the memory! 

 

John

[russ]

John:

Thanks. I am hopeful I can get more done this weekend.

 

Camille took a lot of good things here on the coast. So much history lost to hurricanes over the years.

 

Russ

[russ]

Made some progress this past weekend.

 

The rudder is made and mounted. The rudder does not turn. It is just there for appearance. There is a brass plate under the keel and two pieces brass wire soldered into the plate that connect to the keel and the bottom of the rudder. The rudder is also held in place by bamboo dowels that go up into the hull and into the sternpost. The paint work needs a little touch up, but it turned out fairly well.

 

The headsails have their hanks. The hanks are soldered blackened steel wire. The inside diameter is roughly 1/16". That is 3 scale inches. They are tied onto the boltrope.

 

Russ

Edited April 13, 2016 by russ

[popeye the sailor]

rudders are a funny thing........on most of my builds,  they are all stationary.......except on my trawler.  I keep hitting it on things I have on my table     it won't come off........so I guess I have my first one with a movable rudder.   I'm not going to fix it again    

 

the sails look nice as well..........I see kits that have the hanks,  some look so out of scale.   yours have a better look to them.  did you coat them with anything to prevent rust?

[russ]

Thanks. The rudder is tucked up under the stern a bit so I am not too worried about knocking it on something. However, it is good to be cautious.

 

The sail hanks are very thin blackened annealed steel. I doubt there will be any rust issues, but in any event, the model will be cased. I was/am worried about the scale appearance. I think these will be okay.

 

Russ

[Jim Lad]

Coming along nicely, Russ.  I think the headsail hanks look OK for scale.

 

John

[russ]

John:

Thanks. I am going to test rig them on some thread to see how everything hangs. That should tell me something, one way or the other.

 

Russ

[BANYAN]

looking very good there Russ; those sails have some very fiddly detail - must have been an 'interesting' task

 

cheers

 

Pat

[russ]

Pat:

Thanks. I had a local person sew the sails for me. She did really nice work. I sewed the bolt ropes and added the hardware.

 

Russ

[russ]

Thanks to everyone for the kind words and likes. Working on the mainmast today.

 

Russ

[russ]

Okay, I know it looks a little scary, but in the end it is going to be painted. This is the main mast head band with the band for the topmast to pass through, as well as the iron for the topping lift. This fitting was soldered up from brass strip and wire.

 

Do not mind the cheeks. They are not completed yet. The cheeks will be sanded down and the spreaders for the topmast shroud will rest on them.

 

Russ

Edited April 15, 2016 by russ

[russ]

This schooner has a spreader on the mainmast to handle the topmast shroud. Here it a photograph of a spreader on a local schooner and the jig I am using to make the spreader for the model.

 

Russ

[cog]

Interesting item, that spreader, Russ I wouldn't expect a spreader formed or used that way ... maybe because I'm used to those flimsy looking metal spreaders on the average sailing boat ...

 

Cheers

[src]

Nice  work like always Russ. Thanks for posting the picture of your jig, I always enjoy seeing how others solve fabrication issues.

Sam

[russ]

Carl:

I am very fortunate to have some photographs of this item and that good one of the masthead to show how it goes together.

 

Russ

[russ]

Sam:

Thanks for the kind words and for looking in on my work. It is appreciated.

 

Russ

[John Allen]

looking fantastic can't wait to see how you tackle the dredges.  

[Jim Lad]

That spreader is certainly unusual, Russ. Will it have metal bands around the ends to ensure it stays together?

 

John

[russ]

John:

Yes, I think the spreaders will have a metal band around the ends. A hole will be drilled up through each end of the spreader to take the topmast shroud.

 

Russ

[russ]

John:

Sorry, no dredges on this schooner. She is ready for the regatta.

 

Russ

[russ]

For the name of this schooner, I made up some decals. This was my first experience making water slide decals, and it was interesting and educational. The only thing to be added is the "of" between the name and the hailing port on the stern.

[Jim Lad]

Very nicely done decals, Russ.

 

John

[russ]

John:

Thanks.

 

Russ

[russ]

Here is the completed name and hailing port on the stern. Not perfect by any means, but I think it will work. Next time will be better.

 

Russ