Mary Taylor 1850 by phiipg - BlueJacket Shipcrafters - 1:64 - Pilot Boat

[PhiipG]

I've only build one kit, Yankee Hero, but I am ready to give it another try. I'm a rank beginner and an a little overwhelmed by the seeming complexity of the Mary Taylor. But I am going to take it one step (challenge) at a time. I'm not much of a woodworker - I'm better with solder and tiny electronic parts, but I started today (I bought this kit in July 2022 and this summer's trip to Searsport has gotten me fired up!).

 

Here goes. Today I inspected the kit parts, drew guideline and a temporary waterline on the hull, made the templates and put the hull in a vise.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then I started sanding. Gosh, there was a lot of sawdust flying...  

 

 

 

This is going to take some time!  

 

 

 

Edited August 31 by PhiipG
corrected log title

[PhiipG]

I used the templates, and although it takes more work than just eyeballing, it is tremendously satisfying when the templates (almost) fit!

 

 

[ccoyle]

The next solid-hull model I complete, should I ever attempt one again, will be my first (0-2 on attempts so far). My hat's off to guys who have mastered this particular skill.

[PhiipG]

Now it is time to lay the keel - a little adjustment here and there, lots of CVA on my fingers, and voila! Add a bit of wood filler and a wee bit of sanding......  When the filler dries, I will give it a light landing and contemplate my next steps. Next will come the decking and the bulwarks and the transom, which I can't get my head around.  Thanks to the others who have posted their patterns.

 

I am planning to copper the hull using the copper tape that I happened to buy when I bought the kit. It has an adhesive on the back. Can I rely on it to stick to the primed and painted hull?  Also, where can I find a pounce wheel that has closely spaced tics? 

 

Edited August 30 by PhiipG
Add additional text and a picture

[PhiipG]

On 8/30/2024 at 4:51 PM, PhiipG said:

Now it is time to lay the keel - a little adjustment here and there, lots of CVA on my fingers, and voila! Add a bit of wood filler and a wee bit of sanding......  When the filler dries, I will give it a light landing and contemplate my next steps. Next will come the decking and the bulwarks and the transom, which I can't get my head around.  Thanks to the others who have posted their patterns.

 

I am planning to copper the hull using the copper tape that I happened to buy when I bought the kit. It has an adhesive on the back. Can I rely on it to stick to the primed and painted hull?  Also, where can I find a pounce wheel that has closely spaced tics? 

 

 

[PhiipG]

Never considered model ship building to be dangerous.

 

While cutting the rabbet in the hull for the port bulwark, the #17 blade slipped and cut my thumb. Lots of bleeding, some on the hull. I guess I could say I have a blood sister now.

 

Edited September 8 by PhiipG

[PhiipG]

With bandaged thumb, I soldiered on, and in my enthusiasm inadvertently put too much pressure on the keel, and the section between the screw holes for the pedestals broke off. Fortunately, that was the only damage, because my young dog, who is my assistant, picked up the broken piece, thinking it was a chew toy for her. I glued it back on and continued with my knife handiwork.

 

Cutting the groove for the rabbet has proved to be the biggest challenge so far.

Edited September 8 by PhiipG

[PhiipG]

I traced the rabbet, made a template, fit the template, cut the bulwarks from the plywood, and then adjusted them to fit the rabbet. I found that soaking the bulwarks and rough fitting them to the hull made it easier to adjust them to their final finished shape. A little more sanding here and there needed, but I'll get them fitting. 

 

Edited September 8 by PhiipG

[PhiipG]

Transom fitted, bulwarks fitted.  I'll cut the the tops of the bulwarks and then begin cutting and pouncing the decking. I have only been able to find a pounce wheel that leaves 1/8 marks which are too widely spaced for the planking. I'll search in some more stores or else simulate the fastenings with a small awl.

 

Although I built the Yankee Hero, the Mary Taylor is a magnitude more difficult. I feel I am learning and the NEXT ship will be even better.  See you in a few weeks.

 

[Dr PR]

Art supply stores sometimes have ponce wheels. Also check model railroading supply places.

[PhiipG]

I pounced the deck and washed it  with a thin brown. Sadly, I didn't push the pounce wheel hard enough and the nail indentations aren't as defined as I would have liked. I don't think I can fix this. so I'll do better on the next build. Deck glued on and cockpit shaped with a dremel tool. Then I glued on the bulwarks. They still required a little fiddling. I used Elmer's glue and pinned and clamped them and the transom for 24 hours. Slight mismatches here and there, but I am learning. Fine sanding of hull. I'm going to be away for a couple of weeks, so the hull will be ready for priming and painting when I return. 

 

Question: where do I find the paint scheme for this model?

 

 

Edited September 17 by PhiipG

[PhiipG]

December 17, 2024 - I haven't been posting, but I have been working on the Mary Taylor, and in spite of a few mishaps and miscues, I am pleased with the progress. Since this is my first real model, I realize there are lots of things I could be doing better, and I realize I have made lots of slight mistakes that can't be fixed in this model, but I also realize that the NEXT model I won't make these mistakes, either.

 

Coppering the hull with 1/4 copper tape was not as difficult as I imagined. I used adhesive backed tape so did not add any CVA glue.

 

[PhiipG]

Began work on the topsides, with a dilute coat of polycoat on the decking that makes the planking pop out a little better. Also worked on beams and rails.

 

 

[PhiipG]

Still working topside with the top rail. Now I am starting to add the deck furniture and hardware. Couldn't resist putting the unfinished masts in place just to start to imagine the finished ship.

 

 

Edited 18 hours ago by PhiipG

[PhiipG]

I have built and painted the deck furniture and I am placing on deck just to see how they look. When I  complete the cockpit cowling later today, and I will be ready to begin the rigging.

 

Already a couple of the lower deadeyes have taken  flight as I was binding them with wire. I will need to order replacements.

 

I have no idea how to build the masts and the booms. The instructions are not clear.

 

Is there a guide that will get me started on the rigging?

 

 

Edited 18 hours ago by PhiipG

[schooner]

You are doing a great job - hard to believe it is your first model.

 

As far as rigging goes, the Mary T. Is about as simple as it can get. I recommend you search for other build logs for this kit and see how they tackled it. 
The “Shop Notes” section on this site does have a section for rigging but there are over 60 pages of topics so it might take a while to find a particular topic.

Keep up the good work.

[Dr PR]

I have been working on a topsail schooner model, and in the process I have learned a lot about schooner rigging. Here is a link to where rigging the model starts.

 

https://modelshipworld.com/topic/19611-albatros-by-dr-pr-mantua-scale-148-revenue-cutter-kitbash-about-1815/?do=findComment&comment=1007247

 

I have also posted a thread about rigging and sails on topsail schooners:

 

https://modelshipworld.com/topic/25679-topsail-schooner-sail-plans-and-rigging/?do=findComment&comment=750865

 

There is a lot of information in the schooner rigging thread! A version of this is also included in the NRG Journal Winter 2024 - Vol. 69, No.4.