Muscongus Bay Lobster Smack by cdrusn89 - FINISHED - Model Shipways - 1/24

[cdrusn89]

While waiting for the HMS Speedwell project from Syren Ship Model Company I am building some smaller models to "fill in the spaces" in some of the cabinetry where the larger models will not fit.

 

[cdrusn89]

The first issue I encountered is there is a discrepancy between the center bulkhead pieces shown in the instructions and the material actually provided. I canot tell if this is going to be a problem but...

 

This is the middle center section:

On the left you can see three "notches" probably where bulkheads will be placed after the spine is completed.

Here is a picture from the instructions which shows only two such notches.

 

Probably better too many in actuality than too few but...

 

 

[druxey]

The photos are from the prototype, which was later modified. All should be OK! (I think that you are the first person to notice this.)

[cdrusn89]

Thanks Jacques.  As they say on TV "Details Matter".

 

[cdrusn89]

I decided on a fixed centerboard in the down position so I painted the exposed portion flat black before gluing it onto the spine pieces. It may make a handy place to hold the structure for now.

 

I managed to get the center spine and reinforcements attached without major problems. I used Titebond yellow glue for the spine but resorted to medium CA for the reinforcements. I find it easier to get precise location with the CA.

 

I removed the bulkheads and cleaned the char from the slots as directed.

 

So here is the center spine and the bulkheads ready for dry fitting.

[cdrusn89]

Dry fitting went fine until bulkhead 4, the one that is in two halves to accommodate the centerboard trunk. Well, I did have to trim the bottom of bulkhead 1 as it stuck down below where the garboard plank will be.

 

But Bulkhead 4 was definitely a problem.

The notches to fit over the spine stiffeners are definitely too shallow. I measured and then cut out the offending parts.

And that seems (after some more cutting, sanding and fitting) to resolve the issue.

So here are the ten bulkheads and cockpit floor dry fit into the spine.

And here is the first half of bulkhead 4 glued into the spine waiting for the glue to set.

 

 

Edited January 23 by cdrusn89

[cdrusn89]

While waiting for the glue on bulkhead 4 (second half) to dry I looked ahead and glued up the stern transom and the mast halves.

I will continue the mast shaping in between bulkhead gluing.

 

 

 

 

[druxey]

Bulkhead 4 needs to meet at the centerline. Hopefully it worked out!

[cdrusn89]

Yes, bulkhead four came together at the spine.

I experienced some unease and trepidation once I had the bulkheads (and floor) glued in place. It may all have been optical illusions caused by all the lines on the cutting pads or my eyesight not being what it used to be (along with many other functions) but I thought it prudent to add some additional support between the bulkheads to keep them perpendicular to the spine. While the "spinal rigidity" leaves something to be desired (IMHO) there isn't anything I can think of that will help that appreciably.

 

So I added some perpendicular supports between the bulkheads where I could get access. Sadly there doesn't appear there is room/access to do anything for bulkheads nine and ten so we will have to be "particularly careful out there" to quote an old TV show - anyone remember the show and character????

 

So here is the hull framework with the supports added. I put some sanding sealer on the cabin floor as I intend to paint the cabin floor and seats before everything comes together in that area.

Edited January 25 by cdrusn89

[cdrusn89]

While waiting for the extra support glue to "really set" I went back to working on the mast.

 

It would have been nice if when the two halves were glued together the lower end would have been square. As it was one side was 8mm across and the other was 6.4mm. Since I have one I used the Byrnes thickness sander to get the lower end square before working on getting the other two sides tapered.

 

Tapering was not two big a challenge but drawing straight lines on relatively tiny pieces of wood has always been a challenge for me.

 

After the mast was tapered on both sides I painted it with a water based gray primer. I find it much easier to work the spar to eight sided when I can see a distinct contract between where the wood has been removed and where it has not. I also cheated and built a "rounding board" with supports every inch covering 12 inches so even very long pieces can be supported along their entire length.

 

Here is the tapered spar in the fixture.

I use a sanding stick made out of a tongue depressor with 220 grit sandpaper glued to each side. I try not to use any sandpaper more aggressive than 220 grit because when I do generally bad things happen. I would rather spend ten minutes getting the correct amount of wood off rather than five minutes and take off too much. Besides it leaves a cleaner surface that is easier to finish sand.

 

So here is what the spar looks like after the first side has been "flattened". I use the tic strip I prepared before hand to check the width of the bare wood and can see if the width tapers as it gets closer to the narrow end.

At this point I can see that there needs to be more wood removed at the wider end but it looks pretty good where the taper starts.

 

After some more work on this side and the next here are the upper and lower ends:

And here it the completed eight sided mast in the fixture with the tool of choice at the top.

 

 

 

 

 

[cdrusn89]

Mast and boom shaping complete.

[cdrusn89]

Since the instructions made a big deal about getting the seats aligned I decided to assemble them off ship and added a strengthener to ensure the three pieces were aligned.

 

And yes, I originally painted the wrong side of one of the seat sides. i am pretty sure I checked before I painted but obviously I forgot to mark the backs and had to repaint.

 

This goes on the hull shortly and then the "real fun" seeing how well the deck fits.

[cdrusn89]

Painted seats installed.

 

I also painted the cabin floor.

 

Seats - badger 16-419 Umber.   Cabin Floor - Badger 16-427 Salmon Buff

Edited January 26 by cdrusn89

[cdrusn89]

The deck - hmmm, should be easy I thought.

 

I dry fit the starboard half but after several fitful attempts to get everything in place at the same time I put some dabs of glue in strategic spots and tried again.

 

I found three spots that needed attention, all where the deck support was too low. Probably means the bulkhead was not level port/starboard and the port side in these locations is probably high.

 

Fitting the port side deck however did not bear that out. It had one bulkhead which was low as well. And it was not the same as any of the three on the starboard side.

 

Given that I thought maybe it would be better to try and do both sides together, but starting at the bow and working aft.

 

One more point - if you are planning on a fixed centerboard in the down position wait until after the deck and planking is done to install it. Mine keeps getting in the way of rubber bands.

 

Here is the deck done to midships, both sides.

The weight is holding down the two center section astride the centerboard trunk.

 

The two clamps are keeping the port side deck even with the bulkheads on that side. Left to its own devices it would be well outside of the bulkhead ends.

 

Given the unevenness at the bow this is probably not surprising.

Going to have to be more than a little firing before the planking can begin - at least at the bow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 26 by cdrusn89

[cdrusn89]

I got the hull faired - I broke my own rule and used mostly 110 grit sanding sticks for the fairing. Where the bulkheads extended past the decking it took a good bit of sanding, even with 110 grit to get the bulkhead reduced to the deck edge.

 

While installing the keel and stern post I noticed the instructions admonition that the plank supports are flush with the spine. In my case the supports were flush (more or less) but bulkhead 9 extended beyond the spine by more than a little. See below:

So out came the 110 grit sanding stick again and I reduced bulkhead 9 to be level with the plank support pieces.

I had to refair the bulkhead 9 and 8 to get the flow correct. I am hoping that this will all "come out in the wash" when the planking is done but...

 

Now that this area is as described min the instructions I added the central plank and left it extended over the transom. The problem is that with the center plank on top of the transom only the part on and forward of bulkhead 9 is attached to the frame. Not sure what, if any, impact this will have on the planking but it bears watching.

 

Two other issues as we near the planking stage.

 

One the stem is not flush with the deck. I am not sure how it could have been since the decking went on top of the center spine and the spine was flat in that area. If this becomes an issue I will cut and shape a piece to extend the stem up to deck level.

Two, the deck does not extend all the way to the transom. Either my transom is sloped too much or I put the deck on too far forward. The deck location aft is determined by the  center board section fitting against bulkhead 4. If this joint is tight then the stern falls where it falls. I will put some filler in here when the planking is done.

 

 

 

 

 

[cdrusn89]

Port side garboard stake in place waiting for glue to set.

 

I soaked the strake in hot (190 degree - Insinkerator hot) water for a few minutes, got it in position then used a hair dryer to dry the plank. Only took a few minutes and the plank was ready for installation.  Titebond glue (what I am using) is pretty firmly set in about 30 minutes. So I should be ready for the starboard side before I quit for the day.

[SiriusVoyager]

I had the same problem with the stem not being flush with the deck. I cut a small piece of scrap to fill in the gap.  As far as the transom and the deck lining up, I think the deck is mostly correct based on the where the mast goes.  I do remember having to sand down quite a lot of the transom to get it to fit.  I can’t tell from the angle if that is a possibility on your boat. 

[cdrusn89]

Eric,

I have to agree since we experienced opposite effects so there must be something in our assembly techniques AND the limitations of building the structural components of the hull from a very soft wood. In addition there is a very weak point in the spine at bulkhead 9 that could cause issues with the transom. A small change in that area could cause the transom to be either too high or too low.

 

In my next project the structural components are made from MDF which is considerably stronger that the basswood/limewood here.

Edited January 28 by cdrusn89

[cdrusn89]

Strake 1 installed on both sides. Waiting for starboard side to dry then on to strake 2.

 

On the garboard strake the instructions say to start from the stern which is correct since we know where that has to end (stern post). On strake 1 I started at the bow (since the start point there was defined by where the garboard strake ended) and found that the strake supplied is .25" or so too long (sorry that is hidden by the clamp in the photo).

 

So it appears that all the rest of the strakes should be fitted from bow to stern,+

While waiting for the other side to set up I thinned out some Goodfilla wood filler enough so I could use a brush to apply it and brushed on filler at the joint between the graboard strake and strake 1. I plan on doing that for each strake (but will wait until the entire hull is planked) as a starting point for finishing the hull. Hopefully i will not have to resort to covering the entire hull in filler although I have seen that movie and while messy it will yield a reasonable looking hull.

 

 

[cdrusn89]

Strake 2 in position for drying.

 

The two "extra" clips on the starboard side are to align the edges of strake 2 with strake 1. That was not a problem on the port side.

[cdrusn89]

Strake 2 in place.

 

I had to modify a couple of the bulkheads to get a smoother run near the stern. Also, the planks continue to run longer than required which is a good thing.

 

One trick I saw somewhere is to use PVA/Carpenter's glue between the strakes and a drop of medium CA on the bulkheads. You can use the CA to hold the strake while the PVA sets up.

Edited January 28 by cdrusn89

[cdrusn89]

Strake 3 has a notch at the aft end which I suppose should fit around the stern post.

 

Putting strake 3 where it seems designed to go will leave a gap between it and strake 2.

 

 

I like deal with the gap later and put strake 3 where it appears it should go.

 

However, locating strake 3 here causes a problem at the bow

The stake is too long but cutting it to fit with a Xacto #17 (square end) solves that roblem.

And now the strake 3s are in place to dry until halftime in the 49/Lions game when I will put the soaked strake 4s on the model to dry overnight.

 

 

[cdrusn89]

Strake 5 in place.

 

Now that the strakes with the angled aft end are done it is back to starting at the bow.

I cut a filler piece to go in the hole for the rudder to make sure I do not get any filler in there as this area is one where probably the most filler will be required.

And here is the hull from each side. I put tape over the centerboard to try and keep the damage to a minimum.

 

 

 

Note the void on the port side aft where the strake did not come off the carrier cleanly and the bulge at the bow (subsequently "fixed"). The hull has developed a dip between bulkheads 1 and 2 which will need filler to resolve. I guess I could have done a better fairing job at the bow.

Edited January 30 by cdrusn89

[cdrusn89]

Strakes 6,7 and 8 have been added.

 

I dispensed with the soaking, bending and drying starting with strake 6 as the wood was pliable enough without these efforts.

 

I checked and while it will be close in a few places the sheer will clear the top of the deck everywhere if my measurement are accurate.

[Bryan Woods]

Looking good Gary!

[cdrusn89]

Thanks Bryan.

 

I got strake 9 on the starboard side. Then realized that my measurement of the space to be filled by the sheer strake was a bit off. There were two small areas one at the bow and one just aft of amidships where the sheer strake was going to be just below the deck. Not good.

 

I considered several alternative solutions - putty, some very small (almost slivers) pieces glued to the sheer strake, or create a new sheer strake a bit wider where required.

 

Putty probably would not hold in place during the rest of the puttying and sandin g that is about to begin. The small pieces would probably not stand up well to that either so I decided to make a new sheer strake.

 

Actually I covered the remaining area with two strakes. They were originally 1/16" X 1/4 inch basswood (from some long forgotten project) which I reduced to .0290" (which is the thickness of the material supplied in the kit) with the thickness sander.

 

I adjusted the width to fit the profile and to more or less evenly distribute the remaining area.

 

Here is the starboard side with the first strip installed.

And here with the final strip although it has not been trimmed to be even with the deck yet. I will follow the instructions and trim to the deck after the filler stage is complete.

 

On to the port side where I expect the same problem and solution.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 1 by cdrusn89

[GGibson]

Great start, Gary!  Will be following from now on. 👍

[cdrusn89]

Thanks Greg - I built the Model Shipways Bluenose a few (maybe more than a few) years ago. It was a "fun" kit in that many of the parts you have to fabricate from stick wood - like hatch coamings as I remember it now.

 

Here it is in the "place of honor" in the living room. That is the "shipyard" through the door with a drawing on the easel.

 

 

 

 

I am also working on the Vanguard HMS Sphinx (working on the ship's boats at the moment which the lobster smack is occupying the primary work space) and many (if not most) of the parts are either prefabricated or a series of parts that are essentially assembled into the capstan for instance. The Sphinx has like 15-20 sheets of laser cut parts and several sheets of photo-etched brass. And it was not cheap.

 

 

[GGibson]

Very sharp looking Bluenose, Gary! 👍🏆

[SiriusVoyager]

2 hours ago, cdrusn89 said:

… There were two small areas one at the bow and one just aft of amidships where the sheer strake was going to be just below the deck. Not good….

 

I had the same issue at the bow. I used a small amount of wood filler and sanded it down flush with the deck and hull.