Bowdoin by John Ruy - FINISHED - Laughing Whale - 1/48 Scale - Arctic Exploration Schooner

[BobG]

Super fine work on those sails, John!

[John Ruy]

Fore Stays…

 

 

Fore Stays installed with Jib and Forward Stay Sail. 
 

 

Stay sail Boom…

 

 

Details…

 

 

Main Sail Boom…

 

Main Mast ready for Shrouds. 😎

 

Progress… 🍻

[John Ruy]

Shrouds…

 

 

The Bowdoin’s shrouds are cables and the Laughing Whale kit supplies stranded wire and aluminum tubing (1/16” od) for the shrouds. All of which I used to pre-build the shroud cables earlier in this build. This photo shows the wire jigs used to hold the Deadeyes  at a proper distance. 
 

 

The rigging for the Deadeyes on the Bowdoin are tarred after installation. I used Acrylic Paint to blacken my rigging thread for the Deadeyes. 
 

 

Using beading needles I thread the Deadeyes. 
 

 

Remove the wire jugs one at a time while rigging the Deadeyes to maintain the tightness. 
 

 

Once the lower shrouds are rigged I then rig the upper shroud. 
 

 

I applied a drop of CA glue to the crimped tubing, per instructions, just to be sure it doesn’t come loose. 
 

 

Upper and lower shrouds now completed on both the Fore and Main Masts. 😎

 

 

Its time to get after those battens used as ratlines. 🍻

 

[John Ruy]

Battens…

 

 

Taking a cue from newer kits, I am creating evenly spaced battens. 8 mm separation to be exact. 😆 Te frames will be cut away, once the battens are tied in place. 
 

 

White glue for this application. 
 

 

Verify spacing, one piece at a time. 
 

 

Battens with framing completed. 
 

 

Painting flat black before mounting. 
 

 

Separate each shrouds batten set. 
 

 

Battens clamped into place. 
 

 

Tie each one to shroud…

 

Just a tiny drop of CA glue to secure the knot. 
 

 

Got to say I like the outcome. 😎

 

 

Only 252 of these knots to tie. But who’s counting. Half a shroud in 2 hours, only 14 hours to go. 😆 But who’s counting, no deadlines here. 👍

 

Tails to be trimmed later.

Onwards… 🍻

 

[yvesvidal]

Very clever way of doing these. Something to remember....

 

Yves

[John Ruy]

20 minutes ago, yvesvidal said:

Very clever way of doing these. Something to remember....

 

Yves

Yep, it is a very good way of doing this. I’ll use it on the Bluenose I have in my stash. 😆 Not my idea though, got it from @ahb26 his battens were laser cut that he had gotten from @MrBlueJacket . This technique may be in the current Bowdoin kit from Bluejacket Shipcrafters. Very nice kit they have. 👍

[John Ruy]

battens continued…

 

 

Portside done… Thought I would report a couple of learnings. 
 

1. Using white card behind the shrouds helps to see the knots you are tying. 
 

2. Lots of light and a magnifier. 🧐
 

 

Cheers 🍻 

[MrBlueJacket]

Nothing looks better than even battens. We are now putting them in the Bowdoin, Pauline, and Charles Notman. And the Wyoming when it is finished.

[BikerMart]

One for Mr BlueJacket. Will the battens be available separately? I am almost at the stage of requiring them for my Charles Notman.

[MrBlueJacket]

Yes, they will be available as a separate item.

[John Ruy]

Standing Rigging completed…

 

 

 

Those battens were painful 😖 Just as they were on my Charles W Morgan
 

Let the Running Rigging begin. 🍻

Edited November 5, 2021 by John Ruy

[John Ruy]

Running Rigging Main Sail…

 

Main Throat Halyard…

 

 

Belaying the Main Throat Halyard to the wrong side.  😑 Fixed it later… 😆

 

 

Main Throat Halyard Whip…

 

 

Belaying the Whip…

 

 

These tools were well worth the 10.00

I paid on eBay. 

 

 

Main Peak Halyard

 

 

Tip: Stage white card in the back ground, gives better visibility. Less squinting. 😆

 

 

Lazyjacks going in with the boom tied down. 
 

 

Tied off the LazyJack pendant, behind the Throat Halyard Blocks. That was fun. NOT! 🧐

 

 

Termination of the LazyJack ropes on the Main Boom. 
 

 

 

Main Sheet Tackle…

 

 

Topping Lift tackle…

 

 

Time to put some wind in the Main Sail. 
 

 

 
 

Wow! That actually worked…. I glued the Mast, Boom and Gaff in to position. Then laid her on her side and soaked the Main Sail down with Fabric Stiffener. Let her dry overnight. 😎

 

 

Peak Halyard Whip installed. 
 

 

View from the stern down the Main Boom. 
 

Main Sail Running Rigging completed. 
 

Cheers 🍻 

 

Edited November 9, 2021 by John Ruy

[yvesvidal]

Wonderful results on the mainsail. It is looking really neat.

 

Yves

[Papa]

I never heard of “craft paste”. Is it like spackling paste?

[John Ruy]

10 hours ago, Papa said:

I never heard of “craft paste”. Is it like spackling paste?

It’s more like really thick acrylic paint, in fact you can mix acrylics for a custom color paste. Made by Testors.

 

https://www.michaels.com/testors-craft-dimensional-craft-paste-4-pack/10566664.html?r=g&cm_mmc=PLASearch-_-google-_-MICH_Shopping_US_N_Craft+%26+Hobbies_N_Smart_BOPIS_N-_-&Kenshoo_ida=&kpid=go_cmp-9972406265_adg-99939223639_ad-433378147590_pla-1354477352600_dev-m_ext-_prd-10566664&gclid=Cj0KCQiA4b2MBhD2ARIsAIrcB-QsEkj-zVQIbkiZnvTLm72pLtLodtCbCT8m-jSefKX5aUhIyg3y7kkaAhsTEALw_wcB

 

 

[John Ruy]

Fore Sail…

 

 

Throat Halyard on Fore Sail. 
 

 

Tying off the Lazyjacks for the Fore Sail. 
 

 

Belaying of the Throat and Peak Halyards at the Fore Fife Rail. 
 

 

Peak Halyard rigging of the Fore Gaff. 
 

Next up the Jib and Stay Sail Halyards.  🍻
 

 

Edited November 16, 2021 by John Ruy

[John Ruy]

Stay Sail and Jib Rigging

 

 

Stay Sail Sheet rigging on the traveler. Note: Temporary tie to hold the Boom out. 
 

 

Another view of the Sheet rigging. 
 

 

Stay Sail Halyard and Boom Lift in place. 
 

 

Jib Halyard in place…

 

 

 

 

Jib Sheet lines completed and Lines Belayed on the Deck Cleats. 
 

Running Rigging Completed. 😎

 

Now, on to the final details. 

[John Ruy]

Sails now stiffened. I think she is looking pretty good. 👍

 

 

 

Still have have a few details to add. 
 

Almost there… 🧐

 

[John Ruy]

Dory’s…

 

 

Building a couple of MiniMe 😆 Dory’s to nestle in on the deck of the Bowdoin. 
 

Cutting out pieces from 1/32” basswood stock. Using templates from instructions. 
 

 

Pieces ready for assembly. 
 

 

Wetting with Ammonia/Water…

 

 

Staining of Dory pieces prior to assembly. I will only need to detail the top Dory of the two stacked on deck. 
 

Micro Carpentry, for sure. 😎

 

 

Edited November 18, 2021 by John Ruy

[GrandpaPhil]

Looking good!

[John Ruy]

Dory’s continued…

 

Two nested Dory Hulls, easier said than done. Micro Carpentry indeed. 😆

 

 

Nested Dory’s completed… 😎

 

On to the final details. Cheers 🍻 

 

 

[John Ruy]

Dory’s stowed on deck… 

 

 

 

Researching Dory Stowage, yielded these photos from the Arctic Museum at Bowdoin College. Interesting, 1930 bathing while out to sea in the Arctic. 

 

 

Dorys now properly stowed on deck. 
 

Onwards. 🍻

 

Next up Dory Hooks…

[John Ruy]

Dory Hooks…

 

 

 

 

Four Dory Hooks rigged. 
 

Some more details…

 

 

Ventilators and the Ships Bell installed.
 

Baggywrinkles…

 

 

Had to research this one.  🧐 I wondered what those fuzzy things were on the rigging.  I found mention of the in @Jond diorama build log. 
 

Baggywrinkle is a soft covering for cables (or any other obstructions) to reduce sail chafe. There are many points in the rig of a large sailing ship where the sails come into contact with the standing rigging; unprotected sails would soon develop holes at the points of contact. Baggywrinkle provides a softer wearing surface for the sail.

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baggywrinkle
 

I have not seen them on any other build of the Bowdoin, other than jond’s.  But then I haven’t seen Sails up full set, either. So, I had to find a way to make it right. 😆

 

 

Give a pipe cleaner a close cut. 
 

 

A quick dip in Carbon Gray stain…

 

 

BaggyWrinkles… 

 

 

Tie them on with black thread a d paint then with Acrylic Yellow Ochre.
 

More detailing coming up… 🤔  

 

 

[John Ruy]

Dory Hooks…

 

 

Dory Hook rigging tied off to stowed Dory on the Starboard side.
 

 

Dory Hooks tied off to eyes on the Port Rail. 
 

 

Stowed Dorys tied down to the deck. 
 

 

General question… What purpose do these balls on top of the masts serve?
 

I do know they are to be installed and that they were white before the last restoration and are now yellow. I cannot find anything regarding there function. I wouldn’t think they are decretive, everything on a ship should have a purpose. You would think.  🤔  

 

I sent an email off to the Captain of the Bowdoin at the Academy,  but I thought I would crowd source an answer and see if anyone is actually reading my build log. 😆

 

Thanks

 

 

Edited November 24, 2021 by John Ruy

[John Ruy]

Mast Caps and Ice Barrel…

 

 

Still trying to find out what the yellow balls are all about.
 

 

I am officially calling this model finished. 🍻 

 

Thank you all for your comments, encouragement and 👍 along the way. 
 

It has been fun… See you all on the flip side. 

 

Onwards 😎

Edited November 25, 2021 by John Ruy

[gsdpic]

Congrats on finishing a very fine looking model!  I hope you take some more formal pictures of her and add her to the gallery.

 

And I for one am reading your build log but have no idea if the yellow balls have a function

 

[John Ruy]

My Gallery Images

 

1 minute ago, gsdpic said:

Congrats on finishing a very fine looking model!  I hope you take some more formal pictures of her and add her to the gallery.

 

And I for one am reading your build log but have no idea if the yellow balls have a function

 

Thanks for riding along… 

 

Here is a link to my Glamour Shots of her, she is a beauty.  My wife says it’s beautiful and my best. I am getting better at this, but I think the Bowdoin is one beautiful schooner. 
 

My Gallery Images

[clearway]

i think the balls are just decorative forms of mast caps- well done and those extra researched details really set her off.

 

Keith

[Veszett Roka]

7 hours ago, John Ruy said:

Still trying to find out what the yellow balls are all about.
 

 

They are lightning rods?

[John Ruy]

2 hours ago, Veszett Roka said:

 

They are lightning rods?

  
That was my thought, but I haven’t been able to verify that.  Could just be Mast Caps the Seagulls can’t land on. 😆