Charles W. Morgan by Glen McGuire - Finished – Bottle – 1/400

[Glen McGuire]

After finishing the Mamoli CSS Alabama and the Amati Hannah ship in a bottle, I have decided to dip my toe in the “dark side” as @Bob Cleek put it - the dark side being a scratch build.  I don’t think I’m ready or skillful enough to do a large scratch model so I’m trying another ship in the bottle.  The Hannah kit was a lot of fun.  Hopefully this scratch effort will be even more so.

After I finished the Hannah, a friend gave me a bottle for another ship in the bottle build.  It’s a peach cider bottle that came from Fredericksburg, Texas (which is famous for its peaches).  Fredericksburg is also the birthplace of Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz so it’s got some nautical ties.  

 

My friend’s name is Morgan so I thought I’d try to build the Charles W. Morgan whaler and float it on an ocean in the bottle.  3 tall masts, 9 yards, and 19 sails!  Oh boy.  This is either going to be an amazing build or an epic fail.  Only 1 way to find out which.  Here we go!     
 

[Glen McGuire]

Below is the peach cider bottle next to the recently completed Amati Hannah.  The good news is that the bottle opening is 1 3/16” vs 7/8” so I’ve got a little more wiggle room. 

[Glen McGuire]

I don’t have the Morgan plans but I think ship in a bottle projects are more about an impression than an exact scale replica build, so I am figuring out basic dimensions based on pictures.  I grabbed some pics off a few build logs, plopped them in powerpoint, drew some lines and made my measurements.  Thank you to @Landlubber Mike, @John Ruy, and @David Lester for posting great build logs on this forum for the Morgan.  Also, I found an incredible build log by a gentleman in Willis, Texas at https://www.charleswmorganmodel.com/.  These will be my reference points for figuring out how to build this thing from scratch.

[Glen McGuire]

First things first – build the hull.  Rather than try and carve from a solid block of wood, I took a page from the Amati Hannah kit and laminated strips before carving.  I used of 4 layers of basswood (two 1” x 1/8”, one 1” x 3/32”, one 1” x 1 1/16”) along with a slew of 1/32” thick deck planks leftover from the Mamoli Alabama.  For the bulwarks, I used coffee stirrers from the Corner Bakery that are 3/16” wide.  The stirrers are a bit thick but I’m ok with that since I want them to be sturdy.  

The hull will be 1/8” less depth than my plans and will have no keel on the bottom since the ship will be afloat in fake water inside the bottle.
 

Edited September 29, 2021 by Glen McGuire

[Glen McGuire]

Rather than do a rabbet cut to fit the bulwark in, I just cut the top layer smaller. 

Edited September 23, 2021 by Glen McGuire

[Glen McGuire]

Here’s the little deck planks cut and then installed.  The planks are leftover timber from the Mamoli Alabama build.

Edited September 21, 2021 by Glen McGuire

[Glen McGuire]

Based on the pictures I’ve seen of the Morgan, it looks like there is a little quarter deck on the bow.  Not sure what it’s called but I added one.

[Landlubber Mike]

Great start Glen!  Looking forward to following along.  If you need any plan details, etc., let me know and I'm happy to help.

[Glen McGuire]

Thanks, Mike.  And if you were wondering why the number of views on your Morgan build log has probably doubled over the past week, it's me!

[Glen McGuire]

Installed the bulwarks and made the bowsprit and knee The thickness of the coffee stirrers made bending them a challenge for the bulwarks but I think it worked out ok. 

[Glen McGuire]

After thinking about how to mount the bowsprit, I decided it was going to be too flimsy if I just glued the butt end to the bulwark opening in the bow. Especially since it’s going to have to absorb quite a bit of force when I have to raise the masts with all those sails.  So I redid it.  Unfortunately, I didn’t take a picture so I’ll try to describe what I did.  I cut off about 1/8” off the top pole of the bowsprit leaving the bottom pole extending by itself.  Then I drilled a hole in the bow so I could insert the bottom pole of the bowsprit into the hull.  The result is that the top pole is glued flush against the little quarter deck and the bottom pole extends into and is glued into the hull.  It is very sturdy now.  

[Glen McGuire]

Here’s the hull with bulwarks and bowsprit installed and the transom completed.  And here is also where all of you that know anything about the Morgan are shaking your head going, “GEE WHIZ.  THIS DUDE IS A MORON!”

[Glen McGuire]

And you would be correct.  Yes, I cut the bulwark opening for the gangway on the wrong side of the boat.  As @BobG says “Measure once, cuss twice”.  $#%&@#!!!   $#%&@#!!!   

Fortunately, wood is more forgiving than I deserve.  So I cut a new hole on the correct side and used it to fill the hole I cut on the incorrect side.  Disaster averted.  Or at least postponed.
 

[Glen McGuire]

I built a small stand to hold the ship while working on it.  It certainly makes things easier.  

For this update I added a dolphin striker to the bowsprit, painted the top half of the hull, added a bit of gold from a Hershey’s chocolate wrapper to the tip of the knee (I had to eat quite a bit of chocolate to ensure I got that part just right.  In fact, I may need to rework it some more).  I will apply copper tape to the bottom half of the hull later.

 

Next, I started work on the deck fittings.  From left to right in the 2nd pic are the windlass and anchor chains, companionway, try house, hatch, skylight, and hurricane house.  I was working on the shelter/boat bearer but decided I needed to wait.  I’ve got to build out the mizzen mast first since the base of the mast will need room to clear the shelter when it is laid over to the stern. 

 

It doesn’t look like a lot of stuff, but the deck space is filling up fast.  I don’t want to overcrowd the deck but I also want to include as many of the distinctive Morgan items as possible.
 

[Glen McGuire]

I’m finding this scratch building to be quite a challenge – even for a small simplified ship like my mini-Morgan!  Without instructions or a kit, you gotta figure out what to do next, figure how the heck you’re gonna do it, and then figure out what the heck you’re gonna do it with!  I can’t imagine doing this for a regular size ship model.  I have new appreciation for what real scratch builders do.

I spent the last couple of build sessions working on the masts.  After collecting every size wooden rod I could scrounge up, I settled on handles from long wooden q-tips.  They were the perfect diameter.  

For the hinge I used thin piano wire.  I also cut the masts near the base at a 45 degree angle to give the bottom of the masts something to hit against (and provide a bit more stability) when I raise them inside the bottle.  

Below are pics of the mast on my bench hull, testing some things out - mainly to see if they fold down flat enough.  Still got some room (~ 3/16”) for the sails!
 

[Landlubber Mike]

Fantastic work Glen!  Really coming along nicely.

 

[Glen McGuire]

Thanks, Mike.  My Leavitt book on the Morgan finally arrived today.  Great recommendation!
 

[Glen McGuire]

Other Morgan distinctions that I wanted to try and feature were the 2 white stars and gold eagle on the transom.  I gave up on the “Charles W Morgan      New Bedford” lettering.  It was going to be way to small, but I hoped I could pull off the stars and eagle.

   
For the stars, I used powerpoint and made 2 of the smallest stars the program would allow me to draw and placed them on a black background 7/16” apart.  Then I printed it out, cut the strip, and affixed to the transom with white glue.

For the eagle, I used some gold foil off more chocolate (those fake gold coins they put at the checkout counters so kids will grab them and throw them in the cart when parents aren’t looking).  I cut it into a tiny shape somewhat resembling a flying eagle, and glued it on.  The further away, the better it (and everything else) looks!

 

Lastly, I coppered the lower half of the hull with tape and added some rope hanks to the inside of the bulwarks. Now it’s on to the yards, gaff, and boom and completing the masts.

[Landlubber Mike]

Great job!  For the white railings, did you use thread?  Very effective!

[Glen McGuire]

Thanks, Mike.  Yes, thread for the white rails.  I tried thin strips of wood, paint, tape, but none of those looked very good (more like I was not skilled enough to make them look good).  So I decided to try white thread and was really happy with how it turned out.  A little fuzzy on these close-up pics but looks much better when you are just looking at it with no magnification.  To me, the white pinstriping is such a distinctive part of Morgan's look I wanted to try and get it right.  

[Glen McGuire]

Oops.  Realized I was not quite ready for the yards, etc.  It was actually time to build the boat bearer and put all the deck fittings in place (where are the instructions for this?!)  😃

 

I’ve seen some models with 2 boat bearers (fore and mid-ship) and others with only 1 (mid-ship).  I’m going with having only the 1 near mid-ship.

 
I also realized I needed anchors, so I spent a ridiculous amount of time filing teeny anchors out of photo-etch brass sprues leftover from the Amati Hannah.  

 

In the last pic, the masts are not permanently installed, just put in place to see how the overall look is shaping up.    
 

[Glen McGuire]

Got all the yards cut, tapered, painted and affixed to the masts along with the mizzen gaff and boom.  The yards are regular toothpicks sanded down just a touch and tapered at each end.  They are attached to the masts with a cow hitch around the middle of the yard and then a simple knot tied around the back of the mast.  That knot configuration lets them fold up and align with the mast pretty easily.

Next I permanently affixed the masts to the hull.  Then it was UGH!  @&*#$%!!  I suddenly realized I should have tied the upper ratline shrouds BEFORE installing the masts.  Threading the line thru the tiny holes in the mast tops would have been way easier on the bench instead of on the boat.  But live and learn.  I managed to get it done but it took a lot longer than it should have.

   
I may be biting off more than I can chew trying to put upper and lower ratlines on the fore and main masts at this scale.  But I think it will be a good look if I can pull it off. 
 

Edited October 7, 2021 by Glen McGuire

[Glen McGuire]

I finished the upper shrouds/ratlines and back stays.  Then I got all the pull lines in place.  There’s 1 pull line for each mast, but I’ve got 2 additional lines that run thru the bowsprit and out the neck of the bottle.  These additional lines will carry the lower main stay sail and the lower fore stay sail.  

I think I’m going to skip the lower mizzen stay sail.  I’d have to run a line thru the base of the main mast, then over the tryworks, windlass, quarterdeck on the bow, and then out.  I don’t think it would look very good.

 

With the masts folded over, the ship will barely fit in the neck of the bottle.  I need to figure out how to squeeze it down a little more because I’ve still got a lot of sails to add.  I don’t know if this is all going to work out or not!  
 

Edited October 10, 2021 by Glen McGuire

[Landlubber Mike]

Hey Glen, looking really great!  Can totally tell it's the Charles Morgan, nice job at this scale!  Good luck on getting it into the bottle.  If it doesn't fit, you could always find a bigger bottle.  One of the side benefits of the SIB builds is you can consume the contents when looking for the right bottle  

[Glen McGuire]

5 hours ago, Landlubber Mike said:

One of the side benefits of the SIB builds is you can consume the contents when looking for the right bottle  

 

Amen to that!!

 

BTW, after studying the sail plans you sent me, I realized that my yard lengths were off by 1/4" - 1/2" on each.  At this scale that's quite a bit, which meant I could not just let it go.  Fortunately, I erred on the long side so I spent last night clipping off the ends and then trying to re-taper them while still attached to the mast.  It did not turn out pretty but I managed to do it without breaking anything. 

 

Texas two-step - a couple forward and one back.  Ugh!  

[Glen McGuire]

I’m trying a couple of new materials for the sail making and installation.  The material I’m using for each sail is very thin, supple and has a little stretch.  I’m thinking this will make things easier when I have to compress all 18 sails into a little wad, stuff it inside the bottle, and then raise them back to their original shape.  The downside is that the material is difficult to work with when you need to cut small, exact shapes.  I've had to redo more than I can count!

The other new material I’m trying out is fly fishing fly tying thread (Uni-thread 8/0 72D) for securing the mizzen and stay sails.  This thread is also more challenging as it seems to have a mind of its own when I try to tie small knots.  But I like how thin it is.

So it’s taking a little longer to get thru this phase of the build, but I think it will be worth it when I’m done.            
 

Edited October 20, 2021 by Glen McGuire

[Glen McGuire]

Finally done with hanging all the sails!  Very tedious process tying each of them to the yards and stays but I’m happy with the look.  

 

I found a new tool which has become indispensable – a $6 cuticle trimmer!  It’s soooo much easier to use than scissors for clipping away thread close to each knot.  Although I must admit that I got careless a couple of times and clipped an extra thread or two causing some rework.  Unfortunately, one happened to be the main topmast stay which resulted in another round of cussing and an extra hour to fix.               

Edited October 28, 2021 by Glen McGuire

[Landlubber Mike]

Beautiful Glen!  Very nice job!

 

[Glen McGuire]

Thanks, Mike.  After I get the lower shrouds and ratlines in place it will be time for a test squeeze!  Hopefully it will fit ok.  After that comes the whale boats.  Still not sure what I'm going to do with those.  I guess with a scratch build, you just make things up as you go, right? 😃

[mtaylor]

Looks great from here.  <fingers crossed it fits in the bottle>  I don't think I could ever build anything that tiny.

 

As for the boats... will this be a "sea display" with ocean in it?  If so, put the boats in the water near it.