Bowdoin by Mjohn - FINISHED - BlueJacket Shipcrafters - 1:48

[Mjohn]

Hi, I’m mjohn.   I live in the Pacific Northwest, and have been a fan of wooden boats and yachts for many years.  I have built a full-sized drift boat from plans as well as a ½ size traditionally built lapstrake dinghy (Acorn  converted from glued lap to traditional), which I have turned into a coffee table, and a quarter size Shellback dinghy. 

 

Over the years I have built a some model airplanes and even a few model boats.   But I am far from an expert model builder, and this is my first complicated planked model.  Several years ago I built the planked hull catboat from BlueJacket.   I anticipate the catboat hull to have been much simpler to plank than Bowdoin because the hull shape did not have the big reversal that Bowdoin has below the water line.  Also, the rigging on Bowdoin is much more complex than I have tackled before.     But I’m really doing this for the fun of it, so we’ll count any mistakes as part of the learning process.

 

Thanks to some of the prior build logs for pointing out areas I will need to pay attention to.  And thanks to BlueJacket for the kit.

 

This is also my test post

[Mjohn]

Here is my picture post test.

 

Here is a shot of gluing up the backbone and a follow-up of the bulkhead/molds ready for installation.  So far the kit is of great quality.  The laser cut parts are well cut and very accurate.   Parts go together with minimal fuss and fit.  For much of the model I anticipate using CA glue.   I use a combination of thick, 30 second CA and thin CA.   When I can I like to just wick the thin glue into joints.

 

[elviejo]

I've just recently started on this build and am very interested to see you getting started as well. One thing I have already found very useful was to construct a keel clamp from scrap lumber and a few dollars of hardware. I have attached a PDF file of the materials list and plans along with photos. 

Hope this is helpful. I am looking forward to seeing updates of your build. Good luck!

1

Keel Clamp.pdf

[Mjohn]

Thanks.    I can see how this would be helpful.    I have been using a block of wood with a slice cut out of it to hold the keel.   I may give something like this a try.  Good luck with your build also.  

[Mjohn]

 

Here is adding the sub-deck.   I wanted to make sure to get the camber right and consistent along the whole deck. 

At the same time I had started to experiment with how to finish the deck.   Basswood is notorious for an inconsistent looking stain finish.  On parts left over from another build I tried several stain colors directly on the wood, stain over lacquer, stain over varnish, and stain over several applications of pre-stain. Nothing looked particularly good, and neither did plain spar varnish or clear poly.   So I called BlueJacket.   I love that place.   I wish I had gotten the name of the person who answered the phone since he was so helpful.   He recommended coating the deck with shellac.   Two coats of amber shellac look pretty good.   I coated the spars with the same shellac.   I glued the deck to the subdeck with contact cement.

[Mjohn]

Like several others, I was confused about how to handle the raked stern.   I spent a good deal of time looking for and at pictures of the full-sized Bowdoin stern and finally decided I needed to take the beveled lower section of the stern almost to a sharp edge at the top.  Reading other build notes helped here.    I guess we’ll see if I got that right.    I am still trying to figure out how to form the deck/hull planking/transom transition at the top of the stern bullworks.

 

I had a heck of a time visualizing how the planking was supposed to lie as it approached the transom.  I finally cut out a piece of 1/6 basswood using the transom template and glued it to the sanded stern block..  With a defined transom in place before planking, I hope to have something solid to fair and plank to. 

 

 I guess in a full-sized boat the transom would be beveled and the planks run past the transom and cut off.      I didn’t go that far.   I will terminate planks on the transom and fill the edges to smooth as needed.   I don't have a good picture of this alone, but you can see it in the planking pictures I will post shortly.

Edited February 4, 2023 by Mjohn
clarity

[Mjohn]

The shear planks went on pretty well.   To bend the planks at the stern I soaked the plank ends in hot water for a few minutes.   However, I have decided I want to try to put the planks on with the minimum of steaming/heating.   After the shear plank the first couple of planks where I had softened the wood in hot water took hard bends as they crossed the bulkheads.   I didn’t think this looked very good.   Maybe I did something wrong, but I think for the rest of the planking I’m going to try to put the planks on dry and position them so they take a natural bend with no sag or bulge and without any edge-set.    I expect this will require more stealer planks, but I think the trade-off will be worth it.

 

Here is the first stealer plank as I am planking up from the bottom.

 

(Added later)  Planking progressing.  I have been trying to land stealer planks on bulkheads, but I can’t always do that.   With CA glue I can edge glue the planks by holding them in position and wicking some thin CA into the joint.    

Edited February 4, 2023 by Mjohn
clarity

[Mjohn]

Here is the planked hull.   Having seen some of the amazing work in other work in other build logs, I have a lot to learn about planking hulls.    

I used the MK compound to fill, and it seems to work pretty well.  I have filled and sanded and marked off a couple of places for a little more attention.   Eventually  I sanded off a good deal of this filler before I added primer.

 

I used primer as a sanding guide coat and then filled again and sanded again.   Rookie error – in my enthusiasm to fair the hull, I sanded some of the planking pretty thin at the edges.   Nothing disastrous, but key learning for next time.  I will probably spot fill and prime one more time.  I

[ahb26]

Looking very good indeed! I learned a lot building my Bowdoin and she puts a smile on my face every time I look at her.

[robert952]

Jumping on board to watch this build.  Looking good.  I enjoy and learn from how people solve the challenges they come across.  

[Mjohn]

48 3/8" small pieces and 30 1/4" small pieces to be frame heads.   I built a jig.   tedious but done.

That was the good news.

 

I have a picture of the stern of the full-size Bowdoin, and in the picture the transom looks different than what I think the transom of the kit will be.   I could be misreading the kit's plans, but anyway I got to feeling way overconfident and decided to deviate from the plans and try to duplicate what I see on the transom picture.   First, I sanded some camber into the block of wood that forms the stern works of the boat.   That was ok.    Then I cut a piece of 1/4 balsa to try to imitate what I call the ears - in the picture you can see how the full-size transom protrudes outward from the bullworks and there is a bit of hull that tumbles home to the bullworks.     Modeling that piece is still a work in progress.   I don't think I got it exactly right yet, but if I do a little more carving and create a fillet with some compound, I think it will work.

 

I was feeling pretty good about all that fancy transom stuff until I got to thinking about how the bullworks is designed to meet the stern wood block at the block's full kit height, and I just sanded an eighth off the edges of the stern block.   OOPS.   It will be interesting to see how that all works out.   

 

 While I'm thinking about that potential unforced error, I'm also thinking about how to cut 100+ scuppers in the bullworks.   I know I want some type of stencil to lay out the scupper locations.   I'm not sure if I can come up with a jig to make clean cuts or if I'll just stab-cut with my x-acto.  I'm thinking I will look at some more of the prior build logs for some ideas.

 

 

[ahb26]

Mjohn,

 

What you call "ears" may be the aft ends of the stern fashion pieces, as shown in this photo from my build:

I had a lot of trouble getting the transom close to correct and I think I had to fudge it a bit, as is evident from the photo.

 

As far as the scuppers are concerned, they are placed in close relation to the frame heads.  The best way I've seen to make scuppers is with the bulwark plank off the model, where it can be clamped into a jig that allows precise saw cuts into its edge, then finishing the scupper with a grainwise cut of your hobby knife.  That of course assumes that the scupper is at the edge of the plank and that you can position each scupper correctly with the plank off the model.  For my Bowdoin, I used the stab technique with less-than-perfect results. 

[Mjohn]

I'm pretty sure you are right about the fashion piece/ears.      I'm going to take a look at whether to replace my little "ear with the fashion piece or just create my own "fashion piece" from what I have.   Either way I am a little screwed because I sanded down the afterdeck wood block to get the deck camber.    I'm considering whether to just add some pieces back to the top and live with it flat or what I'm going to do.   

 

Thanks for the suggestions.

 

[CLovehitch]

I am in the process of building  this model also, thanks for the tip on using shellac. The deck is still in a raw state nothing applied to it yet

I find using water wood putty works very well for filling holes and cracks. The stern has been driving me nuts to construct it.

An old craftsman told me about that trick.

I will send pictures if you like? I am new here, but i have been building wood model ships for over 25 years.

I still need to file out the scuppers.

 

Nick

[Mjohn]

Sure.  Absolutely.    Glad to have pictures.  Thanks!

[Mjohn]

First thanks to elviejo who recommended a building stand.   I didn't follow the plans exactly, but as can be seen in the pictures, I made one up and it has been very useful.

 

Last time I posted I was trying to figure out how to deal with the stern and transom.   I decided to just bite the bullet and rebuild the part I had over sanded.   I added a piece of 1/16 in and then  a little filler.   The result is in the pictures.

 

Along the way I have finished adding the frame heads and bullworks.  Tedious.   To get the frame heads at least close to vertical, I leveled the hull according to where the water line shows on the plans.   If  you look carefully you can see that once I had the hull leveled I marked a level line on the hull.   Then I set my electronic level to the level line, attached it to my square, and had a vertical index I could use.    I didn't get things perfect, but I think I am close enough.

 

I have just started adding the scuppers.    I practiced several techniques and what has worked best in practice is drilling a hole just shy of 1/16 inch and then using a tiny square file to widen the hole to 3/32

[Mjohn]

Progress slowed a bit, but is picking back up.

 

In the following pictures you can see that all of the scuppers have been cut.  Cutting scuppers was a slow adventure in trying to find a way to make consistent and clean openings.    I tried drilling a hole from the inside and then filing the scuppers using the drilled hole as a starting point, but I could not get that method to work well.   Maybe my files are worn, but the 1/32 wood tended to leave fibers and split as I filed.    I finally created a template out of some flashing I had laying around.   To use the template, I first drilled an under-sized hole from the inside of the bullworks out. I then marked the desired scupper size and shape using the template, and finally I carved the openings using a small x-acto knife.   The result isn't perfect, and I will do some final cleaning up of the scupper holes once I get some paint on the bullworks to stabilize the wood and give the blade and even chance of squaring things up.   

 

While I was scuppering, I did other work that doesn't show up easily including making and fitting the fashion pieces, fitting the rudder, and building one dory (only going to build one).   I also did a final fairing of the hull and transom.

 

I wanted to paint the waterways and frame heads before adding the cap rails because I didn't want to have to reach under the rails to paint these pieces.   After all this time fidgeting with planking and fitting the frame heads and scuppers, I couldn't resist putting some paint on the hull.  I think I'll need 4 coats of white True North paint on the hull and 1 or two coats of antifoul red.   I haven't decided whether to coat the hull with a mat/flat finish poly to protect it especially while the boat is bing finished.  Amazing how a little paint can start bringing the model to life. 

 

I'm also painting the underside of the boards from which I'll fashion the cap rails because I think they will be hard to paint as well.  I'm taking a little risk in that I'm hoping the CA glue will stick well enough even through the painted surface, but I'll do a test glue up, and if the test fails, I can always glue on the caps using the unpainted side and I'll be no worse for having tried.

[Mjohn]

This kit comes with a pretty impressive set of precast parts.   In preparation for painting these parts, I was prepared to spend a good deal of time removing casting flash.     I was pretty pleasantly surprised just how little filing I had to do.   Clearly Bluejacket had done a lot of clean up before kitting the parts.  I spent maybe a couple of hours taking off final little bits here and there.   What I had anticipated being a big job turned into nothing all that much.    

 

Painting all those little parts by hand looks like a lot less fun though.   I'm going to try some enamel spray paint I picked up at a local Hobby Town.    Before painting I'm giving all the cast parts a bath in some mineral spirits to remove oil and anything else that might cause paint not to stick.   And in a wildly carefree moment, I'm considering not priming the parts....

 

I'm going to ask for suggestions on the build forum, but if anyone has thoughts on whether to put a cover coat of satin or flat poly on the painted parts to protect them, I'd appreciate the input.

 

Below is the first batch of a bunch of cast pieces. 

Edited April 13, 2023 by Mjohn

[MrBlueJacket]

17 hours ago, Mjohn said:

Painting all those little parts by hand looks like a lot less fun though.   I'm going to try some enamel spray paint I picked up at a local Hobby Town.    Before painting I'm giving all the cast parts a bath in some mineral spirits to remove oil and anything else that might cause paint not to stick.   And in a wildly carefree moment, I'm considering not priming the parts....

If the parts are clean, no need to prime them. And for "considering not priming...." I call that inspired laziness, I do it all the time.

 

Nic

[Mjohn]

Thanks Nic.    I am really enjoying this kit.

[Mjohn]

QUESTION:

Does anyone have a decent rigging reference.   I am familiar with small boat rigging, and even basic gaff rigging.    But I don't have much experience with larger wooden boat rigging.   I'm looking at examples on modelshipworld, but if anyone can point me to a reference they like, I'd like to take a look.    Thanks in advance.

 

The hull is nearly complete.  
Hull painted white and waterline struck.   Striking the waterline on this boat was a bit of a trick because the hull has so much shape in the stern.    The usual method ultimately worked - level the boat and then create an inverted L shaped tool of the appropriate height and with a pencil on the end.   Where the stern tucks under the pencil had to be pretty long and that left room for error.   It took me 4 or 5 tries to get it right.

 

The cap rails went on pretty easily using 30 second CA and spraying a light coat of accelerator on the bottom of the rails.   To close a question from earlier: NO, the rails did not stick well with the painted side down.    In the past I have had some luck with CA penetrating the paint at least enough to get a decent bond.   I don't recall what glue I was using.  But this time around the CA stuck really well to the paint, but the paint to wood bond wasn't sufficient to allow the boards to be bent into place.   According to plan, I tested the bond first, and when I determined the bond was going to be insufficient, I just glued the unpainted side of the cap rails to the frame heads.    I'll figure out a way to get some paint to the underside of the rails, though from what I can see, I don't think anyone is ever going to notice that they aren't fully painted.

 

I also cut the notches in the rails for the chain plates.     Not much to say about that except trying to be careful to get them properly located and appropriately sized.  I first fit each at the stem and let them run long past the transom.   Then I cut and sanded them to final length and shape.   Oh, and the depth gauge 2000 I used to mark the depth of cut on the cap rails before I cut the notches.   Marvelous tool and more than up to the job.   I'm including a picture of my copy of the tool on the picture of the hull ready for final paint and touch up.
 

Edited April 20, 2023 by Mjohn

[Mjohn]

Well the hull is very nearly complete anyway.  I still want to put another coat of paint (or two) on the cap rails and transom area, but the bulk of the work now is on the deck gear.    My plan is to build as much of the deck gear and rigging as possible then paint all the parts before assembly.    I think most people do this.

 

To get the deck houses square, I temporarily attached square jigs at each corner.    Glue to one side and then fit the other side without gluing to the jig.   When everything is glued, just knock off the jig.  It is easiest if you glue along the grain rather than cross grain because the jig just splits off without damaging the model's parts.

 

    

The kit's house parts resulted in houses that fit the deck shape pretty well right out of the box.   I placed each in position to scribe a fit, but neither needed more than a little sanding and filing to fit flush.    I refitted the houses parts again after adding the trim pieces to the bottom of each and I don't expect too much work final fitting after painting.

 

Parts, parts, parts.    I have also completed the travelers and a few other small parts.    Lots of painting in the future.   The lego belongs to my wife, who shares our worktable.   I'm pretty surprised at how nice some of the lego kits look when finished.

 

Edited April 30, 2023 by Mjohn

[Roger Pellett]

Very nice work!

 

 I grew up near Akron, Ohio; in the 1950’s headquarters, and manufacturing hub of four major US rubber companies.   My father worked for one: BF Goodrich.  Back in those days, Goodrich sponsored a series of lectures that their employees and their families were invited to attend.  I remember attending several given by a man named Donald McMillen an arctic explorer and owner of the Schooner Bowdin.  We saw a number of movies narrated by McMillen of Bowdin in the arctic ice.  I believe that Bowdin was named after McMillen’s Alma Mater: Bowdin College.

 

In the mid 1960’s I was a very junior naval officer working in the Navy’s Nuclear Propulsion Program.  Our training included a month at a Shipyard; mine at Electric Boat in Groton, CT.  On one of my few days off I drove to nearby Mystic Seaport.  There was Bowdin.

 

Since then Bowdin has had several owners.  WoodenBoat Magazine has followed her fortunes and misfortunes.  I seem to recall that she was restored/rebuilt recently and is somehow affiliated with Bowdin College.

 

Roger

[Mjohn]

Thanks for the background Roger.  I haven't been in probably 25 years, but when I lived on, and then regularly visited, the east coast, Mystic was one of my favorite places.   I haven't subscribed to WB for several years, but I will look up their coverage.

[Roger Pellett]

If my memory is correct, I believe that her hull shape is intended  to allow her to pop up when gripped by ice.  Sort of like trying to grab ahold of a watermelon seed!

 

My wife and I last visited Mystic in 2019.  The seaport is better than ever.

 

Roger

[ahb26]

16 hours ago, Roger Pellett said:

Very nice work!

 ...

Since then Bowdin has had several owners.  WoodenBoat Magazine has followed her fortunes and misfortunes.  I seem to recall that she was restored/rebuilt recently and is somehow affiliated with Bowdin College.

 

Roger

She is now the sail training ship of the Maine Maritime Academy in Castine, Maine, and is regularly used for training cruises - although not quite so far north as before.  Digging through the Maine Maritime website, you can find pictorial journals of the extensive work that has been done on her while she's been there - an invaluable resource to me while I was building my Bowdoin.

 

She is also the official sailing vessel of the State of Maine.  The book Arctic Schooner Bowdoin, available from BlueJacket, provides a fine history.

[CLovehitch]

Boy you are moving on this project!

what did you for wood filler? Spackle or water putty?

For the deck Pine stain?

I havent done much on my project, just alot of sanding!

The  red paint for the hull? what product?

Thanks, Nick

[Mjohn]

It is getting there.   Long way to go yet.   I have never tackled a rigging project as complex as this one will be, so I have some homework to do.   I'm looking for references.  Fortunately, there are a lot of parts to make and paint in the meantime.

 

I have used both Water Putty and the MH Ready Patch for various parts of the project so far.   The Water Putty was really great for rebuilding the stern area that I initially screwed up.    I found I could mix it to a consistency that let me mold it to shape, and it held its shape well.    I used the Ready Patch for fairing the hull and for general gap filling and smoothing.    I like that it dries quickly and sands easily.   It does seem to shrink a little, so sometimes needs a couple of coats.   I'm not sure MH has an advantage over any other spackling compound, but it seems to work well.

 

The deck is amber shellac over the bare wood.   The Bluejacket people recommended it.  The red is True North paints Antifoul Red.    

 

Thanks for asking.    

[Mjohn]

Despite no posts for a while, there has been progress.    Model making time since my last post has been split pretty evenly between building the many sub-components and preparing then painting these parts.   Here are some pictures as the model has been moving through the process.

 

 

Building the taffrails.   A little tricky keeping things square.   

 

Here is the main house.   

 

I subsequently shortened the hatch rails to be what I thought was more appropriate to the hatch cover size.

 

 

I have a few comments on my paint job as I learn more. 

 

I wanted to avoid putting too much paint on the components and ending up with an unsightly buildup, and I knew the white I had been using was going to need several coats to cover well.   So, I sprayed a hardware store enamel as a base coat and followed with a final coat of True North white to make sure the white on the components matched the hull.   I'd say that experiment was not a gigantic success.    Some of the components still ended up with a fairly thick coat in part because I'm a lousy rattle can spray painter.   

 

I think that if I do many more ship models I'm going to buy a small hobby sprayer because painting with a brush has its own problems and I like the True North paint better than the spray can paint.  One observation is The True North paint is incredibly strong.    The sprayed enamel I used for white and black parts is easily damaged.   The True North is much harder to scratch even on unprimed metal parts.    

 

I had an aha moment when I painted the silver and bronze True North paint.   Both paints initially went on pretty thick.    When I thinned the paint a bit and repainted, the results were excellent.    Of course, a quick look at the paint bottles for all the colors suggests thinning before using.      Next time follow the instructions.  

 

Putting a coat of satin poly on the white painted surfaces enhanced the appearance, in my view, as well as making surfaces less likely to get dirty.   I found I could even carefully mark pieces with a soft pencil and then completely erase lines when I needed.  Some may not like the satin as opposed to a pure flat, and I get that.   To each their own.

 

 

This picture shows progress to date.   The deck is unmasked and a final coat of shellac has been added.  The plastic containers and plastic bags contain the painted parts that need final assembly and installation.   

 

The large components are not glued to the deck yet in case anyone was about to have a heart attack.

 

Thanks to everyone who has commented or given suggestions so far.

 

 

[ahb26]

Looking great!

 

There is a good news feature on Bowdoin's current voyage here:

 

https://www.newscentermaine.com/video/news/local/207/207-don-bowdoin-schooner/97-ef6de72f-7d01-4190-b87c-da5977ecb684

 

She looks fabulous.  Donald McMillen would be proud.