HMS Winchelsea 1764 by glbarlow - FINISHED - 1:48

[FrankWouts]

Looking very good Glenn!

Frank.

[BobG]

Wonderful, precise work, Glenn, and, of course, your build log is informative and a pleasure to read. 

[glbarlow]

I thought I'd add a few closer photos of my framework before I move on to the stern. Maybe a little more interesting to look at than my previous post caught up more on the process than the result.

 

The ship is straight the photo isn't - the tick marks are a sign of my many measurements to ensure symmetry. No bulkhead from front to back has more than a .5mm difference from it's opposing side - the front three are through measured effort, the rest more ...'how'd that happen...'

 

 

Still have the top to fair. The off-centered ones between ports are there for support (two where a bulkhead was troublesome) and ensuring equal distance between bulkheads. Per Chuck's guidance every sill and support piece was measured close to the former, not at the outside, it's opposite on the other side is it's exact twin. The challenge, maybe not obvious in the photos with these are all the angles involved, as I noted above the angle finder and Byrnes sander were essential, for me anyway. A single plank run will be placed 1/32 from the bottom of all 14 ports, another along the top edge, front to back. I think I got it right, not a lot of tolerance, time will tell. 

 

 

It does't quite look like a ship yet, but it's getting there. The lines are really nice, 1/48th is so cool to work with.  I happened to notice the scale is very near the NMM plan I have framed on my work room wall - I was comparing measurements and was taken by my building a model so nearly equal in size to it's original draft.

 

 

More evidence of the tick marks, I showed in an earlier post how I record these on paper and fair for symmetry.  I hope the eventual planks are appreciate of the beating the bulkheads took for them.

 

I messed up and not am happy with my staining of the figurehead, I'm going to acquire another from Chuck and practice a little more before staining the next one. Still it looks pretty cool setting there.

 

So now on to the stern, I've tried and continue to try to learn all I can not only from Chuck's monograph, but the many build logs long past this stage with dates more than two years old now. My journey is underway.

 

Thanks for stopping by. You have many choices in Winchelsea build logs, I appreciate your taking a look at mine.

 

 

Edited December 22, 2021 by glbarlow

[Edwardkenway]

Very tidy and precise work Glenn,  but after watching your Cheerful, I've come to expect nothing less😊

[glbarlow]

On 12/20/2021 at 1:47 PM, FrankWouts said:

Looking very good Glenn!

Thanks Frank, your build is one I regularly check to learn from as I move forward. 
 

14 hours ago, BobG said:

build log is informative and a pleasure to read.

Thanks Bob, as you know from my past logs this is something I strive to achieve. 
 

1 hour ago, Edwardkenway said:

come to expect nothing less

Thank you, glad to be a part of this journey. 

[glbarlow]

Stern framing

 

Patience and perseverance - just a couple of random words, probably not connected to this post…

 

Ship sterns on kits always seem problematic, no matter what level of quality they might be they often seem to be an afterthought, overly simple, or at best a challenge to fit pre-cut pieces together properly. The challenge part doesn’t go away with Winchelsea but any questions of design do. I felt like I was building the actual ship with Chuck’s well thoughtout process for Winchelsea.

 

 

I made several copies of the provided stern plan, I’m not sure I needed each use after the fact but at the time they were helpful in some way. There are six frames with the outer one bulked up with an additional half frame. The objective is for them to be all properly spaced and equal distance in pairs, level and equal in height also in pairs, together forming a curve.  For whatever reason one frame didn’t want to cooperate so I had to file the slot a bit. A couple of my old feeler gauge blades used for milling work came in handy as a temporary spacer to determine the position and were later replaced with a thin shim glued into place.

 

 

It’s hard for me to walk away to wait on glue, but that’s what I did, a couple of hours for each pair (I sanded some other stuff). Then I left them overnight to lock them in place.

 

 

Another copy of the stern plan was sliced up and double sided taped to each frame. That plus the temporary templates shown in the photo make the whole thing possible, they set the widths and heights for the fillers and sills. Despite my careful frame alignment they didn’t stay in place without the help of a rubber band (I only needed the blue one, the second was to help with this photo).

 

 

The laser cut fillers are provided as part of the Chapter 1 parts package. Despite the fact that essentially all I needed to do was bevel the sides properly to account for the curve I managed to use all the duplicate fillers Chuck provides in doing so, some people are slow learners - plus I was a little obsessed with getting them right (and they aren't in this photo, but later they were).

 

 

With the fillers in place next up was the sills - again the templates coupled with the strips taped to the stern made it possible. All I had to do was get the right level, bevel and width from a length of ¼ x 3/16 wood. Fortunately 3/16 is the same thickness as Cheerful’s planking and I had a few leftover planking billets I cut into ¼ widths. Why you ask, because it took me a lot more than 5 attempts to get the 5 sills, again slow learner or too heavy handed on the Byrnes Sander (which was once again indispensable in gaining the angles and sizes required along with the cross cut table for my Byrnes Saw)

 

…Measure. cut, sand, dammit, repeat…

 

 

After an overnight glue drying session it was sanding day, and I mean it took me a full day to fair the front and back sides.

 

 

I needed a little comforting so I unwrapped my chapter 3 parts and tested the fit of the transom piece and the windows. Remarkably (or really not, its designed for them to do so, just means I followed the monograph) they all fit properly. (note in the photo the transom isn’t exactly level or even, I corrected it later and confirmed the fit but didn’t re-take the photo).

 

 

 

I also needed a few adjustments to ensure it was even across the top between pieces, they are now.

 

 

And with that the stern framing is complete. Is Yellow Cedar pretty or what...

 

What doesn’t show in a two dimensional photo is the gentle curve resulting from all the alignment, angled, and beveled cuts I made brought out by the fairing.  It’s quite pleasing, and pretty remarkable I more or less pulled it off. New respect for all the Winchelsea builders that have gone before. There was nothing easy about building this stern, it is though rewarding to see it completed.

 

On to the quarter gallery framing.

 

Thanks for stopping by along with the likes and the comments. Happy New Year!

[scrubbyj427]

That looks really good! Well on your way. Happy New Years!

JJ

[Trussben]

Looking great, just DONT forget that you need to sand the outside of the outermost frames thinner, back to the dotted line on the plan/template after you add the QG support framing.

[Rustyj]

Nice work Glenn, your slow meticulous work pays off again. 

[VTHokiEE]

Nice work the stern (and love all the colors in your pictures - I think I need some neon tape). Happy New Year!

[glbarlow]

19 hours ago, Trussben said:

need to sand the outside of the outermost frames thinner,

Thank you for the heads up, I was intentionally waiting until I had the qg framing based on seeing some had over-sanded the counter. I’m very good at over-sanding 😆

[glbarlow]

20 hours ago, scrubbyj427 said:

Well on your way.

Thank you, it’s a long road, but at least I’m now on it😊

 

17 hours ago, Rustyj said:

meticulous work pays off

Thanks Rusty. If I can just stay out of my own way and not obsess about small millimeter discrepancies …

 

14 hours ago, VTHokiEE said:

need some neon tape

Thank you. It’s gaffer tape, it’s thick enough to protect and leaves no residue when removed.  The neon colors is a fun bonus 😊

[FrankWouts]

You’re making great steps forward Glenn. Very nice curvature in that stern framing! I almost made a mistake there, but yours looks fantastic!

[glbarlow]

1 hour ago, FrankWouts said:

nice curvature in that stern framing!

Thanks Frank, your log helped bring that to my attention, so thanks for that.

[westwood]

Very nice Glenn, I also struggled with stern framing.

[glbarlow]

17 minutes ago, westwood said:

struggled with stern framing.

Thanks. I’ve graduated to struggling with stern fairing 😊😏

[glbarlow]

Quarter Galleries & Completing Framing

 

Moving on to the quarter gallery and finishing up framing work.

 

 

It’s great to have the templates Chuck provides as part of the plans. A skilled person (not me) could probably build the whole model with nothing more than the plans. I make good use of them checking, comparing and using measurements transferred to the model as I build it. I make enough mistakes without guessing at stuff, though I probably get carried away with it.

 

 

Although pretty straightforward the gallery framing still has multiple angles to content with, once more the Byrnes sander does its thing, between the tilting table and mitre gauge I get what I need. I cut close to length required and let the sander do the rest (well, after I sort out what angles are required, there may have been some wasted wood involved.

 

 

Belt and suspenders I suppose, still its nice to have a little affirmation using this cut-out of the template (measured against the bottom of the frames, my wood is thicker) to confirm it’s all the right fit. Chuck makes a point of not changing the angle of the transom in the process of this framing, my cut-out confirms I haven’t.

 

 

 

After fairing it starts to look like the stern of a great ship (I squared up that port after seeing the photo).

 

 

 

 

I’ll admit I got a little lost in sorting our fairing the stern, thanks Chuck for talking me off the cliff. I looked at a lot of logs and for the most part they all seemed a little different, then it dawned on me, they’re all a little different. I think I’m pretty close now and unlike I sometimes do, I managed to stop sanding before I sanded too much, maybe. You can see the pencil marks I applied from marking the dotted lines from the stern frames template. Not an exact fit to the printed counter decoration, but reasonably close. I can adjust more if needed when I install the counter in chapter 2. Time to move on.

 

 

Thanks to Chuck (as always) for the good timing for me on the Chapter 10 forecastle cap rail templates. I was able to confirm my bow is the close to the right curve. I do this a lot, I buy chapter parts ahead of when I need them so I can look ahead to confirm something I’m doing now will be the right fit for something added later. More of that positive affirmation stuff .

 

 

 

Added the hance pieces and the strip along the quarter deck and the fairing across the top of the frames required to do so. The sheer now stands out.

 

 

 

Then it was time for one of those hold your breath moments, using the Dremel to bring the bow area down to 5/32 in preparation for the bollard timbers and not blow up the bow in the process. I got close as I dared with the Dremel then finished it up with my chisels, files, and sanding tools. Now if I can carve the timbers right before I run out of blanks I can finish chapter 1.

 

 

Ever closer to looking like a ship. Thanks for stopping by, your likes and comments are always appreciated.

 

Edited January 7, 2022 by glbarlow

[VTHokiEE]

Looks very nice. I'm starting to think I need a more efficient printer as my next tool given all the templates I've been using and seeing how many others are using.

[Rustyj]

Looking really nice Glenn. Very smart using templates to confirm your work!

[glbarlow]

Bollard timbers are complete and installed. Since I plan to paint them black later I wasn’t as concerned about removing  all the laser char. 

 

And with that Chapter 1 is complete. 

[FrankWouts]

Hi Glenn, very nicely done, but shouldn't the bollards be formed in an angle, following the curve of the bow?
See the plans what I mean.
Also I think the bowsprit hole should be filed and sanded in an angle, given by the angled piece of wood that sits right in front of it, and Chucks instructions ofcourse.
This way your bowsprit probably will not kill your mandolin player sitting on the bow later on?

Mine is not perfectly round yet, because I’m thinking of maybe fully rig the model and I want to be sure the diameter is not too big at forehand.

Edited January 10, 2022 by FrankWouts

[Chuck]

Frank is correct.  A locely job but the bowsprit hole should be angled.  The bollard timbers are skewed slightly.  Not a lot but on their forward and aft sides.

[glbarlow]

Here are some updated photos of the bollard Timbers with the angled bowsprit hole and more bevel to the front and rear, though the carving is still square. 
 

 

 

As you can see that’s as much as I can bevel until the planking is in and I can sand it smooth to that. 
 

Any more comments are welcome. 

 

Edited January 10, 2022 by glbarlow

[FrankWouts]

If that’s enough to make and sand the bow planks flush with the skewed bollard timbers, I guess you’ll be allright. Mine are skewed just a little more as maybe I oversanded the bow filler pieces a little.

No real rights or wrongs I think, as long as you are satisifed with your work yourself!

[Chuck]

That will do just fine Glenn

 

Keep going!!!  No need for a redo on those.

[glbarlow]

Thanks, I think they’ll be fine after I sand them flush to the planking, and better still once they’re painted black.

 

Frank, my bow lines up nicely with the Chapter 9 bow templates so i think I’m good on that front.
 

I appreciate your looking in.

[FrankWouts]

13 hours ago, glbarlow said:

Thanks, I think they’ll be fine after I sand them flush to the planking, and better still once they’re painted black.

 

Frank, my bow lines up nicely with the Chapter 9 bow templates so i think I’m good on that front.
 

I appreciate your looking in.

You're welcome Glenn, that's what's this group build is for, to keep each other on the right track.
Luckily no redo needed, like I had to do with my lower counter planking, which was quite exciting when I chiseled away the lower three counter planks in small splinters...

[glbarlow]

Counter and Wales Prep

 

Not a lot to show for several days work, there was a lot of fussing about to set the line for the wales and complete the lower counter.

 

 

I have decided to name my ship BOB, why you might ask? There are a lot of good Winchelsea builds going on. For the stern and counter in particular I’ve spent a lot of time looking at multiple build logs searching for the perfect way to shape the counter, which then impacts the line of the wales at the stern, which is tied to virtually everything up from there. So I’ve looked, thought about it and determined one clear thing. There isn't one answer. Across the board everyone’s is a bit different - which is great and something I need to embrace. So rather than analyze and search for examples in fear of having a bad build log photo I’ve come to conclusion I just need to build….BOB. This isn’t a revelation to many of you I’m sure, but nonetheless here I am…just me and BOB.

 

 

First up was the very careful alignment of a batten, starting with, but not always ending with, the bulkhead reference marks, then doing the exact mirror on the opposing side.  Imagine my surprise after many hours of looking, lining up, nailing  (I hate nailing things, glad I had that nail driver I never use) my wales batten split stern frame D, just like Chuck noted it should in the monograph. I want to emphasize I ended there after everything else - so BOB did ok with her alignment (of course ships are ‘her’ and Bob in this case is a ‘she,’ it’s confusing I know). I was glad I remembered to mark the line with pencil before removing the batten, that would not be a fun thing to forget to do.

 

 

 

After a number of dents and pricks of my fingers with little nails and many more of them on the floor than in the ship I was able to look from all angles and feel BOB was looking quite sheik with her sheer exposed. Note BOB’s slender S-curve at the bow.

 

Here’s something interesting, the measurements of the wales taken from the plans are a near perfect match to the framed NMM print I have framed and having on my wall - talk about inspiration (and I'm sure no accident).

 

 

The stern looked a bit different as I added the lower counter, adding it did not come without a lot of adjustment to the stern frames. It probably ended up back where it started, who knows, but I spent a good bit of time getting shaped in a way BOB was happy with. This is where I examined all those build logs - there’s a lot of excellent lower counters out there in case you’re wondering. So this may not be the best counter, but I'll counter with its the counter BOB is going carry around from here on.

 

I am not at all sure about those stern fillers, another example of lots of examples in all shapes and sizes. It is however just balsa wood. I am confident it will reveal itself when I start the lower planking - it will take nothing to reshape it or even remove it, so for now it stays. BOB fills better this way.

 

 

Having constructed the frame, marked the lines, countered the counter I can finally move past the skeleton. After two months to get to this point it’s time to  put some skin on this puppy…I mean BOB.

 

Thanks for stopping by and your likes comments.

 

 

[BobG]

15 minutes ago, glbarlow said:

I have decided to name my ship BOB

 

Awesome name...there's no doubt now that this will be the finest Winnie ever built!  🤣

[DelF]

7 hours ago, glbarlow said:

I have decided to name my ship BOB, why you might ask?

I thought it stood for Back Of Boat 

 

(Looking great, whatever Bob stands for)