Nantucket Lightship by Jerry Berenson - FINISHED - BlueJacket Shipcrafters

[Jerry Berenson]

I recently completed the USS Constitution model from Bluejacket Shipcrafters. Since I am retired and was unable like many of us to go anywhere during the pandemic , I was able to complete it in 17 months. I just bought and began the construction of the model of the Nantucket Lightship. I wanted a break from shrouds, rigging and yards along with the fact that the actual ship is moored 45 minutes away from me in New Bedford Harbor. I am posting my initial work on the hull as well as pictures I took of the actual ship.

[Azzoun]

Pulling up a chair.. I have this kit in my back log

 

Joshua

[Jerry Berenson]

After pencilling in the midline and the perpendicular station lines down the sides I started the shaping of the hull using the templates. I first removed the extra carving lugs from the bow and stern. The most difficult area is around the stern post which has to be reduced from a approx. 1/2 inch to 1/16 inch. The shaping of the starboard side is almost done. You can see the difference to the port side which I have not touched yet.

On 8/8/2022 at 5:38 PM, Jerry Berenson said:

I recently completed the USS Constitution model from Bluejacket Shipcrafters. Since I am retired and was unable like many of us to go anywhere during the pandemic , I was able to complete it in 17 months. I just bought and began the construction of the model of the Nantucket Lightship. I wanted a break from shrouds, rigging and yards along with the fact that the actual ship is moored 45 minutes away from me in New Bedford Harbor. I am posting my initial work on the hull as well as pictures I took of the actual ship.

 

[Laxian Key]

Jerry, I am looking forward to this build log. I too am building this Bluecrafters model. If you have a Facebook account, check out the Nantucket Lightship/LV-112 Facebook page. many, many historical photographs. I actually visited the original ship in Boston Harbor last week. The volunteers on the ship were very friendly and helpful.

On beginning the model, I found a lot of gaps between the templates and the carved hull, necessitating adding material rather than sanding away material (my garage is now carpeted with Bondo dust).

Side note, when I was younger, I spent most of summers in Falmouth-still my favorite place on the Cape. Good luck with the build.

[MrBlueJacket]

We have made a change to the kit to eliminate that problem.

 

Nic

[Jerry Berenson]

Laxian Key, thanks for the info and enjoy your build also. Look forward to any info. Jerry 

[Jerry Berenson]

Air ports drilled and metal tubing placed. Sheer strakes and Rub rails placed as well as Bilge keels. I have thinned the bulwark at the stern while learning my lesson to not apply too much pressure on my Dremel . 1/32 of an inch is quite thin and I accidentally fractured off a piece of the bulwark. I recemented it and filled in a couple of defects with wood filler. The thinning requires a lot of patience. I am tempted to leave them on the thicker side. I am awaiting a new set of sharp modeling chisels before I begin the bow section. I also fitted and installed the propeller frame. 

[Guest]

John, thanks for the nice pictures and progress.  You can barely see any crack indeed.  Thinning the bulwarks is a challenge!

I like this ship a lot.. and her sister Chesapeake. 

 

Guy

[Roger Pellett]

Jerry,  Nice work!  What is the scale of the model?

 

Roger

[Jerry Berenson]

Thanks Roger, the scale is 1/8” per foot. The overall length of the model is approx 19”. Much smaller than the model I just completed of the Constitution which is also 1/8” but is almost 40” in length.

[Jerry Berenson]

I just completed the hull
of Nantucket. Keel and cap rails placed as well as the anchor opening, bulwark stiffeners, freezing ports and Hawse lip. I painted the hull with 3 coats of acrylic red paint sanding between coats. I tried to use a pencil marking around the ship for the waterline but was unable to see the markings on the paint. I measured the waterline from the plans and masked the area and painted the bottom of the ship with flat black acrylic paint. After drying I placed the adhesive letters on both sides. The ship is on a temporary cradle until I buy brass pedestals and a baseboard.


 

[schooner]

Looking good!

[Mike Collier]

This looks like it would be a fun build!

[Jerry Berenson]

Mike, yes I am enjoying making it! It should be a very attractive ship if I make it correctly!

[JJUSNRET]

Looking at this to build for a friend.  Relatively new to this.  How good are the plans for deck furniture and structures including some mast rigging? 

[Jerry Berenson]

Bluejacket’s plans and accompanied manual are very explicit.

[Jerry Berenson]

Latest pictures of the ship. I just placed the superstructure cabins on the hull to see how they look. They are not attached. Lenses placed into the openings on them. I assembled and painted the stack. 

[Jerry Berenson]

Fully constructed forward and stern masts. (I have not fully seated the stern mast so it is about a 1/2 “ higher). I sanded the masts and painted them an ocre color which is extremely close to the actual color. I also cut and cemented the forward and stern yards. Note the 4 blocks on the forward yard. You need a very small hand drill to open the eye on them to attach them to the yard with some thread and cement. I use a headlight with magnifying loupes which allows me a better view of them. I respect the modelers who constructed their creations prior to the invention of cyanoacrylate (super glue) cement. I cut and attached the ladders to each mast placing spacers every 10 rungs. I finally attached the running lights on the forward mast. I have enclosed several pictures as well as one of the concert I went to last weekend with my son to see Willy Nelson . Not bad for 89 years old!

[Laxian Key]

Looks like you're making great progress Jerry. Can't wait to see it finished.

[Jerry Berenson]

Just completed the 3 boats , cradles as well as the pilot house and forward house railings and ladders. The railings were quite tricky to place and needed a lot of patience. Luckily they are very flexible and not delicate since I accidentally dropped the longer one and stepped on it while looking for it. I thought I would have to order a new one but although mangled it did not break when I reshaped it back to normal. I had to refine the castings of the boats with my dremel . There was a lot of extra material from the castings and I had to smooth down and reshape the hulls to fit the thwarts and especially the deck of the motorized whale boat. The cradles were also tricky since they are so small. Hint…. Micro drills, a digital caliper , tweezers and very fine paint brushes are a necessity for this model. I also highly recommend magnifying lighted glasses. I have enclosed some pictures as well as a picture of many horseshoe crabs on the side of the bike trail I was on last week down here on the Cape.

[Jerry Berenson]

All accessories painted and mounted on the ship. I still have to do the rigging , flags, and poles. After using all the pieces from the brass sheet per the manual, I noticed that the safety railings remained. No where in the manual were the railings mentioned. It is an obvious oversight when the kit was recently updated. The railings are on the plans so I placed them on the houses where indicated on the plans. Also be very careful with the cast Britannia turnbuckles! I fractured  one end of 2-3 of them when trying to open up the holes which attach them to the deck with a very small hand drill . I wound up cementing them directly to the deck.

[Mike Collier]

Very nice! Great job! I’ll have to build one myself.

[Laxian Key]

I thought it was just me. I must have read the construction manual 10 times looking for directions on the deck houses' safety rails. I am planning on gluing very small length styrene rods to each round junction to space them away from the houses. Your model looks great.

Edited October 19, 2022 by Laxian Key

[MrBlueJacket]

You're correct, it's missing. We will change the manual.

 

Nic

[Jerry Berenson]

All done!! Finished the model today. Rigging all done and the flags placed on the halliards. I rigged the 3 boats to their corresponding davits. One disclaimer…. Somehow I could not find the 2 remaining open chocks to place on the bow! I searched my working area on hands and knees to no avail. I will either give Bluejacket a call and have them send me a couple of them or wait until next summer when we go up to Maine for our annual vacation. Thanks everyone for following my build as well as your constructive comments. Laxian Key, looking forward to see how your model is going!

[Ian_Grant]

What a pretty model! 👍👍

[Jerry Berenson]

Thank you Ian! It was fun making it.

[ccoyle]

Well done!

[Jeff preisler]

Congratulations on completion of your Nantucket.  Looks great!!!

[MrBlueJacket]

Great job! Your customer file now shows a 10% discount on the next kit you buy from us.

 

Nic