Niagara by lb0190 - Model Shipways - 1/64

[popeye the sailor]

great looking hull Larry.......almost ready to start fitting out the deck      hope your Uncle is doing better.

[lb0190]

Hi Popeye,

 

Thanks for looking in, for the compliment and for asking about my uncle. Yes, I'm finally at the part where it's starting to look like a real ship. My uncle passed away today which means I'll be heading up to Ohio this weekend. He was 90 years old and has had a rough time over the past few months. 

[augie]

My deepest sympathy on your uncle's passing.  Have a safe trip.

[Jimz66]

Larry please let me add my deepest sympathies to you and your family in the loss of your uncle. Jim. Z

[lb0190]

Thank you gentlemen.

[patrickmil]

Larry, I'm very sorry to hear about your Uncle. Have a safe trip to Ohio. I'll try to hold the weather off best I can while you're here.

[lb0190]

Thank you Patrick. If you can influence the big guy into a few days of warm weather and sunshine it would be appreciated.  

[Carlmb]

Condolences on your loss.

[riverboat]

Hi Larry, just catching up on your progress. The hull turned out real nice!!...... while reading through saw the sad news about your uncle. My

sympathy goes out to you and your family. Have a safe trip.

Frank

[lb0190]

Hi Carl & Frank,

 

Thanks for the condolences and for looking in on my build. Looks like I'm heading north this Tuesday. I'm pretty happy with how the build is going so far, especially considering it's my second build. I'm really looking fwd to trying a build with some nicer wood, maybe a leap to the dark side - I kinda have my eye on Chuck's English Cutter Cheerful

Edited January 18, 2015 by lb0190

[lb0190]

I have a small update to present prior to my trip. I managed to install the chock rail and the bow pin rail. The pins are nor glued in yet so they are sitting a little crooked in the photos. I also made the bell housing and hung the bell with some black thread. I'm not completely satisfied with how the thread looks but I'll look at it again once I return from my trip and mount it then if I decide to keep it as is. The plans calls for a cleat on the starboard side of the bell housing, but the kit supplied cleat looks way too big so I cut one out of wood.

[popeye the sailor]

looking good Larry........sorry to hear about your uncle.......thoughts are with you my friend!  I wish you well,  and fair winds in your travels.

[lb0190]

Thank you Popeye.

[patrickmil]

Very nice Larry. You're right about the kit supplied cleats and I did the same thing with mine as well. 

[lb0190]

Good moring Patrick. Thank you. I'm going to search for some manufactured cleats that look decent and are the right size. The thought of making them does not appeal to me and more importantly I cannot imagine my making them all a consistent size. If I find a source, I'll post the vendor info. The voice in my head is saying I'll be making them and counting cleats in my head as I sleep.

[patrickmil]

Larry, when I did the cleats, I took a page from Dan Vadas and made all of them consistent by gluing strip wood together to get the profile and then cutting them from that. One of his more recent posts on his build log of Vulture shows what I'm talking about. He was making the shroud cleats I think.

[SGraham]

Larry,

I really like that close-up shot of the inside of the bow with the waterways, the supports for the hawsepipes, the decking, the clean paint lines, etc. Very nice work. The Niagara looks like a fun build.

 

Steve

[lb0190]

Thanks Steve! Yes it is a fun build and very challenging for me. I'm picking up new skills and learning a lot. Im thankful for the advice and shared experience from everyone on MSW.

[GuntherMT]

So I found this picture on Facebook of all places, and thought you might find it interesting (or inspiring!).  It's my new desktop background.

 

Click for huge-ish:

 

[lb0190]

Good (cold) Morning Brian,

 

THANK YOU. For the picture. That is an awesome view of her. Seeing the ship in person is in my to-do list. I can hardly wait to get home to warmer weather... I've turned into a wimp since moving to Florida.

[jbshan]

I used small pins bent to a 90 deg. angle to hold the wet planks until dry, then finalized the fit before gluing on my Niagara.  I believe the plans or book suggested this technique.  Don't forget to bevel the edges of the plank; that should help with the gaps.

[augie]

Really nice photo.  Thanks for posting.

[GuntherMT]

Have some more!

 

Note that the last two have her under full sail, supposedly a fairly unusual thing to happen, unfortunately those are not in nearly as high-resolution as the others.

 

[augie]

With that low-in-the-water profile and immense bowsprit I could recognize her from 5 miles out.

[jbshan]

With that low-in-the-water profile and immense bowsprit I could recognize her from 5 miles out.

That apparently was characteristic of USN brigs and may well have led to a greater-than-normal casualty rate.

Niagara is reported to have 'walked away from' the 'Tall Ship' fleet when she accompanied them on the first leg of their return to Europe one year.  Calm seas and light winds.  She's a thoroughbred.

[texxn5]

I like the pictures, I hope I will have room on the buffet to make her my next build after The Morgan. She's really a sleek looking ship.

[lb0190]

Good morning John,

 

Yes, she is a good looking ship! I hope my finished product does her justice. I think you would enjoy the build.

 

I'm back form my trip and was happy to see my first order from Chuck's Syren Co has arrived and based on my experience and what I see, it will not be my last order. I'll share this experience in case it's beneficial to others.

 

• On line ordering was simple to follow with no issues.
• I ordered on Thur Jan 15 and on the same day rec'ed three emails. One was a receipt from paypal, the second was was a confirmation letter and thank you from Chuck with the third being item shipped. Very impressive!
• The items arrived the following Monday after I left for my trip up north. Arrival in four days is outstanding in my book.
• I had a couple of minutes this morning to confirm contents matched my order and I took a couple of photos to compare Syren parts vs OEM from my Niagara kit. 
• In my opinion based on my initial look, the Syren blocks and rope are hands down much better than what was supplied with the kit. I would not hesitate to use the kit supplied items if I had to, but I had options and liked what I purchased. The OEM blocks supplied for the carronades looked a bit rough and too big for me and I did not want to sand them down to try and get a smaller size. I ordered the smallest pear blocks Chuck offered and they will do the job nicely.
• I used the OEM rope for my ships bell but it does not hang right (I will replace) and I could see I would be fighting that issue on all of the rigging. Chucks rope looks like it will hang more natural and it just plain looks right to me.
• Below are a few pictures, on the left side of the photos are Syren products with OEM on the right. Hopefully resolution is good enough for you to see and appreciate the difference.

Edited January 26, 2015 by lb0190

[texxn5]

Hi Larry, thanks for posting this. It reminded me that I need to complete my order with Chuck. I started putting it together a few days ago, and then got busy working on the Morgan and as usual, I forgot to finish it. I'm going to need some stuff from him and I want to have it on hand when the time comes. Blocks and line also. Looks nice and it'll really look good on the ship.

[GuntherMT]

Wise choice Larry - the line in the MS kits is the one big issue I have with them.  That nylon crap is absolutely terrible and after playing with it a bit I would never even attempt to rig a ship with it.

[augie]

Excellent choice, Larry.  Thanks for the side by side.