HMS Winchelsea 1764 by glbarlow - 1:48

[glbarlow]

I'm joining the family, soon I'll start my own Winchelsea.

 

This first post is a place holder, I'm compelled to finish the Vanguard Models HM Flirt I'm already working on before embarking on this great project.  So it will be a while before I actually start work. 

 

 

I also have the NMM draft for Cheerful and Pegasus framed hanging on my workshop walls, Winchelsea (or actually the type ship she was) will soon join them. I love these wonderful drawings, realizing I'm building a ship based on actual plans. All these years later they still exist for us to follow, with a whole lot of help from Chuck.

 

I've printed the plans (40x30, no scale), the first chapters of monograph are printed and spiral bound, I have Yellow Cedar lumber and chapter parts from Chuck already on hand. I keep looking at the bin where I've stored them, smelling all that wonderful Yellow Cedar, I can't wait to start. Having recently finished Syren's HM Cheerful I have an idea just how fun its going to be. So for now I'll continue to check out other build logs and look forward to making my first actual build post here.

 

See you soon.

[Edwardkenway]

Good to see you here Glenn, I'm sure you'll do Winnie justice!

[Trussben]

Look forward to seeing you start your Winnie.

 

Ben

[BobG]

Great to see you've chosen the Winnie as your next build, Glenn. Your Cheerful model is magnificent so there's no doubt that you'll build a stunning Winnie.

 

I might follow in your footsteps. I've decided to go ahead with the Flirt. It will give me a chance to practice planking using the method of lining off the hull. I'm also ready to buy a Byrnes saw and disk sander and I'll take some time to learn to use the saw safely. After that, the Winnie could be my next choice. I'ver been admiring it for a couple of years.

Edited September 12, 2021 by BobG

[Boatsinc2000]

Looking forward to following along! 

[glbarlow]

Further established my motivation (not that I need any)  Now hanging in my workshop;

 

On top is my completed Cheerful, below the draft for the Winnie class. I love the beauty of these prints. 

[VTHokiEE]

Very exciting Glenn! Looking forward to this; I have it on my radar as well.

[glbarlow]

Having gathered the material and paused my previous Flirt build I’m ready to start Winchelsea.

 

 

 

 

First I had to do a few modifications to my workshop to accommodate the much larger Winchelsea by increasing my workspace width.

 

I’ve opted for Alaskan Yellow Cedar, after building Cheerful using it I know just how nice a wood it is when finished and how satisfactory it is to work with. It’s all there in the white topped plastic box in the corner ready to go, along with the first several chapters of laser cut parts.

 

Since the plans are too large for the counter where I normally keep them I stored my Pegasus framed draft and hung the plans using velcro fasteners. In theory I can remove them without damaging the wall and easily change which sheet of the plans is hanging.  I guess I’ll find out. I printed two copies of the plans. As I discovered with Cheerful it’s handy to have a set I can cut up at various stages of the build.

 

 

I opted for the starter kit from Chuck. I have no desire to cut my own bulkheads or find the lite-ply to cut them from. I’m more than content with Chuck’s already perfectly cut set. I’ll get to know it really well during the fairing stage - after I figure out how to fair something this huge without breaking it or me. I started by transferring the bearding line using tracing paper. Interesting that the middle section is reversed from the other two with the laser etching.

 

I also bought 1/16th acrylic sheets on from Amazon to provide a nice flat surface for it and the stem. And finally the build board, I went to Home Depot to pick up some MDF or something cheap but this scrap piece of beautiful oak called out to me. I sanded the edges and put a coat of WOP on it (why not) and will next add the brackets.

 

 

Finally, my thanks to Chuck for this incredible design, his detailed chapter instructions, and parts that go with each. I’m well behind so many great Winnie builds already in progress and at every stage of construction. I know I’ll greatly benefit from those many build logs already posted, thank all of you for taking the time to post and explain your work.  I doubt I’ll have much to add (if you've seen my other logs you know that won't stop me:-), yet I will enjoy sharing my progress as well as I move along.

 

Let’s begin!

 

Edited November 12, 2021 by glbarlow

[desalgu]

Just wanted to let you know I'll be following your log, hoping someday to build Cheerful or perhaps this one.  Your workshop is beautiful and so neat looking!  Just like your models!   But mine's bigger, haha!  (it just allows me to make a bigger mess!)

 

I really enjoy your logs and thank you for taking time to do photos and describe your methods.  Flirt and Cheerful are incredible.  You and others have me very curious about alaskan cedar.

 

[BobG]

Beautiful workspace, Glenn. No way could I ever be that tidy and organized...much to my wife's chagrin! I'm really looking forward to watching you build this big beauty.

[glbarlow]

26 minutes ago, BobG said:

that tidy and organized

Cleaned it up after pausing Flirt, it will be a mess again soon enough. 🙂

[glbarlow]

16 hours ago, desalgu said:

enjoy your logs and thank you for taking time to do photos and describe your methods.

Thank you for saying so, though it might be more challenging to provide something useful for Winchelsea, it is my goal to be helpful with my logs. 

[PRS]

With all of us following you are going to need more chairs

 

 

[FrankWouts]

I'm glad to read you're starting another build Glenn. I admired your HMS Vanguard and was sorry to read that your seventh build would be your last' and that you 'were done'... Luckily Chuck succeeded tempting you to build another one!
I'm following your build and will check your updates.
P.S. that's a very nice, clean and light workspace you have there!

Edited November 16, 2021 by FrankWouts
forgot to mention Glenn's lovely workspace

[glbarlow]

Former, Rabbet and Stem

 

Work has begun, so an update. Using my 1KG weights and the acrylic sheets I bought as a flat surface I glued the three sections of the bulkhead former together with Titebond. I initially wondered why the middle one was reversed from the other two (easy to tell with the laser engraving and burn marks). Then I read Chuck’s reason why, the laser doesn’t cut perfectly 90 degrees, by reversing certain parts he gets them to fit together perfectly…oh, that makes sense. Just another example of the planning and thought Chuck puts into these builds.

 

 

While that was drying I assembled my build board using the brackets obtained from Syren and my nice piece of oak from Home Depot. I initially made the brackets tight to the former, knowing I’d have to add a little slack to accommodate the ¼” keel and stem once attached, easy to do with the slots already in the brackets…loosen, adjust, retighten.

 

It was good I did, despite the care in using weights, gluing only two sections at a time, and the acrylic surface, I had a slight (very slight) warp in the former’s center. No problem, after a day sitting in the tight fitting build board it straightened itself out, You go build board.

 

 

I pre-bent the rabbet strip using the billet the bow section was cut from. Though it didn’t need much I heated it with my plank bending travel iron by holding it near the curve and letting the steam do the work. I could have bent it on the ship, but why when it was so much easier pre-bent.

 

 

 

We know we can never have enough clamps, for this particular job I can also never have enough rubber bands. At first I thought centering it would be a challenge and so I cut a little wood gauge. It turns out the wood used for the rabbet is essentially the same size as the middle layer of the ply- just follow the lines. The gauge did come in handy for removing excess glue. I started with TiteBond II but then remembered from Cheerful the Titebond III dries more clear and more importantly gives me a few more minutes set up and alignment time. Not to be repeated here, he said emphatically, Cheerful dropped from my work table with the skeleton mostly complete and shattered, I had to start over... it was unrecoverable ... not a good day. What didn’t shatter was a single Titebond glued joint, so it really is, as it claims, stronger than wood. Also probably the one and only chance I'll have to use the Amati keel clamp.

 

 

My Ibex thumb planer is perfect for running a slight bevel on the former along the keel after the rabbet is installed, just one long smooth pass. My freshly sharpened Veritas chisels along with a little sanding block made short work of carving out the deadwood below the bearding line. Chuck’s suggestion of temporarily gluing a rabbit strip at the stern (the stern keel section is different than most models, it covers this area without the rabbet strip used for the rest of the keel). I left a space and left it long with spot glue to hold it. It made for a perfect reference for how much to remove, I just popped it off when I was done.

 

 

Next up is the stem. I cut out its drawing from my second print of the plans, placed it under the acrylic sheet and, not being very good at puzzles, assembled the pieces. Nothing is glued here yet look how well it all fits together. I recall from Cheerful my first impression of Alaskan Yellow Cedar was like this, not that great. The transformation once it is sanded and finished with WOP is amazing, I’m looking forward to seeing the completed stem.

 

So far my only challenge is removing laser char. Fortunately that isn’t done between the pieces that fit together, makes for a nice tarred fitting as Chuck notes, but I do have to remove it for outward facing wood. I worked on the bottom of the keel for practice and I still haven’t removed it all. I’m always thinking I’ll sand to much off and the whole model is toast (actually that’s the opposite of the problem, it looks like toast with the laser char:-). I’m using a sharp #11 blade as a scraper and 220 grit sandpaper, but if there are any secret methods out there I’d like to hear them.  I’ll be sanding the forward of the stem once its all assembled so I don’t mess up the fit. I’ll save the rest of the keel bottom after its on the ship.

 

So none of this is news for the many Winchelsea builders already far ahead with their logs, but it’s fun and news to me. Maybe the next new builder will find this mildly interesting.  I should just include this line on the bottom of every post from here on I suppose.

 

Thanks for the likes and your comments. thanks to all those Winchelsea builders in the group for their inspiration, and thanks to Chuck for the help I’ll invariably ask for as I move along.

[Chuck]

Its coming along.  A little tip...Its much easier to sand both faces of the parts BEFORE you remove them from the laser cut sheet.  Its stays nice and flat and you can just run some 320 grit on both sides of the parts to clean them up perfectly.  Especially if you wont be removing the char from the cut edges.   You can even use a sanding block without worrying that you will round off the edges.  

 

 

[glbarlow]

That is a good tip, one I will definitely use going forward. Thanks!

[glbarlow]

Stem & Keel

 

One of the many signature items for our Winchelsea build is the stem and the multiple components that make it up.  Constructing it is a project in and of itself and an enjoyable one at that.

 

 

The necessary, maybe not so fun, part is removing a lot of laser char. Though it isn't cleared from the inside edges, simulating the tar used on the real thing. I did scrape off the “gummy” part of the char off to get a tighter fit. Chuck provided a nice tip to sand the sides while still in the billet, this protects the parts edges and frankly is just easier to do.

 

 

As those that have built theirs know, assembling the steam not as simple as it might look. It takes some micro-sanding to get a tight fit on some of the pieces. I took my time with tapering, going from 1/4th at the aft to 1/8 on the upper fore, while fading that back to ¼ on the lower fore, fun. One of my challenges was interpreting the instruction's use maritime names for each piece, which I’d otherwise refer to as the triangle thingy, the sorta oval thingy, the skinny piece, etc. I needed a diagram, in fact I turned to my research books (yes I have them) and improved my naval education a bit (I’m an Army veteran, the squids were never much use to me back then).

 

 

The gammon knee and extension pieces on the top took me most of a day to get the right fit. I had looked at the parts billet and wondered why Chuck provided three of each, by the end of the day I was wondering why he didn’t provide four. They are tricky little dudes (maritime term) to tuck tightly into that curve.

 

 

The point of the tapering, aside from looking really cool, is to provide a seat for Rolo (I decided that’s his name), the mandolin playing dude, to sit on. Guided by the instructions I brushed on and wiped off Old Masters fruitwood gel stain, it really adds highlights. These resin castings from Syren are amazingly sharp in detail, I think I can make out fingernails.

 

 

After spending a considerable amount of time micro-adjusting the stem and former to fit tightly it was time to glue the stem, keel, and false keel together with the former. Again more patience, taking it a section at time (there are three plus the stem). My acrylic sheets were an inexpensive and worthwhile purchase to provide a nice flat service for this task. Like clamps I’m beginning to think I can never have enough weights. I have a slight bend in the former, I made sure I held it flat with the weights while applying the keel. Chuck tells me I’ll be ok once I add the bulkheads and fit it into the building board with its tight brackets. Plus now I can add wood strips along the bottom of the build board to further help keep it straight. Have I mentioned how big this thing is. I used 27.5 inches just for the false keel.

 

 

 

Next up is adding the bolts along the keel. I pre-drilled the holes before attaching the keel sections, much easier to do that way. I’m using black monofilament (not braided) fishing line to simulate the bolts. After a bit of experimenting I elected to use 20 pound line with a #77 drill bit. Glue, snip, sand times 56 and we’re done.

 

-

 

The last step before adding the bulkheads is applying Satin Wipe On Poly. I’m always amazed at how fast the Alaskan Yellow Cedar absorbs the WOP after sanding with 400 grit. With a clean cotton cloth I wipe it on and wipe it off, it’s almost dry before I’m done wiping it off. The first coat barely shows up with the absorption factor. I’ll do a second coat once this first one has had time to dry thoroughly. I’ve said it other places, I’ll add it here, WOP is the way to go as a finish in my opinion. The AYC in particular loves it, turning the wood a nice golden color. My Cheerful has had a few months now to “age,” the WOP on it keeps looking better. The key is ‘Wipe On-Wipe Off,’ don’t let it sit. It’s just a great look. I’ve done Tung Oil and other finishes on earlier models, in my opinion WOP tops them all - especially on Boxwood and AYC.

 

So with that, and later the second coat of WOP, I’lll move to attaching the bulkheads. I’m enjoying this, just need to keep myself in check and keep going slow.

 

Thanks to Chuck for a great model, the Winnie builders group leading the way, and all your likes and comments.

[glbarlow]

After spending Thanksgiving week with family I spent the last two days fairing and still have more to go. Can’t quite get the bow right and don’t want to take too much off doing it. 

 

My recently neat and clean work shop is that no more. A more detailed post to follow, when I can lift my sanding arm again. 
 

Yay for sawdust…

Edited November 29, 2021 by glbarlow

[Rustyj]

Ah the first of several sore arm moments!  Very nice and also dusty shop is a happy shop!

[glbarlow]

Fairing the Frame

 

As all modelers know the most enjoyable and favorite part of every wooden ship model is fairing the frame. In fact many buy models, fair the frame, then throw the rest of the kit away so they can fair another one …Not!

 

 

The step before fairing is building the frame by gluing on the bulkhead, in this case 28 of them just about an inch apart (great for planking, fairing not so much), and keeping everything squared up. Everyone has their own way and I’ve tried a lot of them. I found these mini-squares perfect for the job, clamping one to each side of the bulkhead and both to the frame ensures a square bulkhead. I used Titebond II for its fast set up time. Even still it was a day of gluing four at a time starting from opposing ends and the middle out, go away for an hour, come back and do it again.

 

 

I recently bought a new iMac, Apple in their wisdom sent me two “trade-in kits” (large box with packing included) to send back my old one for a credit. The hard foam packing in the second one came in handy. With the help of my scroll saw I now have a handy and sturdy holder for Winnie to rest upside down.

 

 

I forget who here on the forum first told me about Soft Sanders, they are the perfect tool for fairing along with multiple grits, 80, 100, 120, 180, 220, (I also have 320 and 400 for later in the build) of their adhesive sandpaper attached. The multiple shapes makes it easy…or easier, nothing about fairing is easy… to flow with the various curves as the fairing process began.

 

As a photographer I often use gaffer tape from Amazon. It’s great because it has the thickness and holding power of duct tape but it leaves no residue when removed as long as I don’t leave it on too long. So that’s what I use to protect the AYC stem and keel as I sand as it’s more durable than blue painter tape. I’ll remove and replace it after the fairing is done. It isn’t cheap, but worth it for me.

 

 

After almost two days it was time to flip her over and fair the fragile extensions. Chucks binder clip and L-bracket recommendations worked great. Ironically the only extension I broke, one near the stern, was when I was adding the L-bracket and the binder clip snapped off cracking the extension as it did. I changed to small clamps after that, the width of the L-bracket and bulkhead is a bit much for my clips. A little Titebond in the crack, a splint on the sides and L-bracket to hold it straight while it dried and I was back in business, not my first broken extension.

 

 

 

 

After three days I was nearly there with the basic fairing, lots of sanding and running of the batten, I didn’t want to sand too much at the extension level until after the port framing is done, it is now fairly faired according to my eye and my handy batten.

 

 

Then the first of the many mistakes in my future: In my zeal to get a smooth run I faired too much at the port side bow. Winchelsea has more of a blunt bow than my Cheerful, it being a frigate not a cutter. I must note though it was faired really well, just not faired correctly per the design.

 

 

I learned this - fortunately early enough to do something about it - by test fitting the laser cut bow port curve provided in the chapter 1 parts. The easier thing to do was just sand it to fit, it was really off by just a millimeter or two at the filler and at the first frame, but it wouldn’t be right. The hardest thing would be to throw it all out and start over, but of course it’s wood and that wasn’t necessary. I know how these small errors at the beginning can compound and lead to more problems later. So I had to make it right now, no matter how small it might seem.

 

 

As we all know if it’s made of wood it can be fixed with patience and creativity. So after first taking precise measurements up and down the filler and first bulkhead and with encouragement from Chuck I firmly glued wood strip (Titebond becomes integrated and stronger than the wood itself) to both. This photo is after adding the wood, before final shaping it to fit.

 

 

(An earlier photo before wood added and shaped.) Using the measurements, matching those to the same location measurements starboard, and frequently test fitting the bow port lining pieces, I got it back to right. I haven’t fully sanded the addition to the first bulkhead, I’ll wait and to that once the port linings are installed and I do final fairing on the extensions. This took a full days work just on this, slowly sanding, checking, sanding, checking. 

 

Also in the photo, I made a sanding stick with Soft Sander adhesive paper of different grits on both sides and cutting a strip from the bulkhead ply scrap to match the width of the bow fillers. As others have pointed out and all Winchelsea builders know, the bow has a tricky curve going from near flat to an almost ninety degree turn, this sanding stick along with the soft sanders help me slowly create it. A lot of wood has to be removed from the fillers. I’m still not sure I have it right and will be checking it again and again before the first plank.

 

 

Next up is the port linings, I lot of little pieces of wood to cut and fit (here I come Byrnes saw and Byrnes sander). The first step of that is using the engraved laser lines to mark a smooth running flow for the port sills. As Chuck notes in the monograph the reference lines are a good starting point and for the most part a perfect fit, but there are a few frames that for whatever reason are off a bit. I found this 1/16th black crepe chart tape on Amazon. It has enough adhesion to hold on wood for a while, provided the dust is wiped off first he said knowingly, to allow me to find and get a good look at the flow before marking the bulkheads at the top of the tape.

 

So now it’s off to saw port linings. Thanks for stopping by. I realize you have a choice in the many outstanding Winchelsea build logs to read, I appreciate your taking the time to read mine.

Edited December 2, 2021 by glbarlow

[Trussben]

Nice progress, I found that when I lined off my hull planking that I needed to do more fairing in certain areas, that’s the big “tell” of if it’s faired correctly.

 

Ben

[glbarlow]

23 hours ago, Trussben said:

I needed to do more fairing

Thanks for the hint, I learned on Cheerful the same thing, even up to half planked I realized I needed more fairing on the bow near the keel. Fairing is so critical to get right.

[DelF]

I'm just catching up with your log Glenn and I'm jealous already! That hull looks awesome. 

 

I'm also jealous of your workshop - how do you keep it so clean and tidy? Even when I've just tidied mine it looks 10 times worse than yours. One day I'll post pictures to prove it.

 

Anyway, I'll follow your log with great interest from now on - it may spur me on to re-start my Winchelsea.

 

Derek

 

 

 

[niwotwill]

Hi Glenn

As they say I brought up a chair for your next build. Couldn't stay away from the scratch builds. HA HA HA  It is looking good so many frames. You go Glenn

 

Regards

Will

[glbarlow]

Making progress, building the frame is a chore, a fun chore, but a chore. Going slow is easy, there is no fast. 

 

 

Edited December 10, 2021 by glbarlow

[FrankWouts]

Looking very good so far Glenn!
Frank.

[glbarlow]

The Sills

 

It’s taken me a long while to finish the sills. There is a lot of work involved, as other I'm sure Winchelsea builders know. For half a moment I was wishing for a nice gunport pattern to bend on, but then I wouldn’t have had nearly as much fun.

 

 

 

 

My Veritas Chisels played a big role in the process, so happy I acquired these. Even happier I learned how to properly sharpen them with the Kell Sharpener (thanks again @DelF for both). Someone asked how small of a chisel it would hold, here it is with my 1/8 chisel. With the cut angle set by the distance from the roller (½ inch for 30 degrees) and my sandpaper sharpening tile setup I get them nice and sharp. I tuned them up in preparation for this task.

 

 

 

Invaluable in determining the many tricky angles involved is this inexpensive ,if a bit over-sized, angle finder. To precisely fit the sills the cross cut table on my Byrnes saw and the ability to both tilt the table and set the mitre guide of the Byrnes Sander proved equally invaluable.

 

As a side note I’ve had both Byrnes tools for over 10 years, I had the first problem ever, likely one I caused. I was unable to adjust the drum distance to and away from the table, it had locked in place. I called Jim Byrnes, he explained to me how to pull the sanding drum, file the spindle, and add the right grease. It took me less than an hour and I was back in business with the sander quieter than ever. The machining and precision of these tools is simply amazing along with the exceptional customer service that goes with them, they are worth every penny.

 

 

 

 

 

Rounding out the tools for this job are spacers I cut to fit the width and height of the ports, that plus a couple of bubble levels and off I went to build out 28 identical ports.

 

 

First were the sills and mantles both port and starboard, keeping both sides level and maintaining my line to conform with the sheer of the eventual deck. I stayed with the Titebond III, it really is stronger than the wood once cured. Per the monograph I included supports between bulkheads for extra strength, marked with a X so I didn’t obsess about their angles. Then on to the port sides and more angles to sort out. It’s a slow process process but one made more accurate and easier with these tools. I need all the help I can get.

 

Even with the right tools and a patient pace thank goodness for denatured alcohol. I’ve taken off various sills and sides only to reposition them for a millimeter or two difference. I could likely ignore and work past these small alignment errors, but while an omission now might never be noticed it might instead compound and multiply as the build progresses. I have to do what I can where I can to fix stuff, and I make enough mistakes to have stuff to fix.

 

 

 

It all that wasn’t enough fun, then it was time to cut away two bulkhead uprights to make room for the forward two ports. It was a little bit frightening in concept, but by going slow and having the port sides ready to go in advance it turned out to be fairly easy  (a little more fairing to do).

 

 

With almost three weeks spent on fairing and and cutting, aligning, and installing ports I’m finally ready to move on to the no less challenging task of installing the stern.

 

I won’t get much build time over the next two weeks with family around, so Merry Christmas to all.

[Chuck]

Nice progress. She is coming along.

[Rustyj]

Looking really good. Taking ones time with the port placement now will save you a lot of headaches later.