Santa Maria boat 1492 by JpR62 - Korabel - 1:24 scale

[JpR62]

During this year, as I had little time for my hobby, I decided to build a small boat in parallel with my work on the Cheerful cutter. I chose the Santa Maria boat. I ordered this model (as well as 'Captain John Smith's shallop') directly from its designer in Ukraine.

 

Here's a brief presentation of the model we received.

The model is delivered in a cardboard box with a photo of the finished model.

The plans consist of 4 large sheets (A3 format)

The instruction manual contains very little text (only on the first 2 pages), but features drawings detailing the various steps involved.

The model consists of 8 laser-cut boards. One in MDF for the base on which the boat will be mounted, three in pearwood for the hull, three in beech for the planking and one for the oars (maple?). The laser cut seems to me to be precise and without too many burn marks.

And finally a PE board for the metal parts, fabric for the sail, mast and yard ('antenne'), good quality blocks and the rope.
Only the rope, although of good quality, will surely be replaced by Syren rope, which is clearly of better quality.

 

To be continued

[JpR62]

Thank You to all the 'Likes'.

To help me in my build, I watched, as the model progressed, the various videos on a YouTube playlist made available by a Ukrainian modeler. I don't speak Russian, but all you need to do is activate the subtitles and their automatic translation into your mother tongue. Automatic translators have made enormous progress, and it's easy to understand the various steps.
Here's a link to the YouTube playlist

Play list 'Santa Maria' - 13 videos
 

Construction has begun on the base for the boat's frame.

Here's a quick photo summary of the build.

To be continued

[JpR62]

Thank You to all the 'Likes'.

 

Boat building begins with the keel. As you can see from the photo below, the laser burn marks are not very pronounced. The cut is fine and precise.

First, however, I remove the burn marks by sanding down with a sheet of sandpaper before taking out the various parts of the keel. It's easier to get even, precise sanding this way, and above all it avoids rounding off the corners of the parts.

The three keel components are easily removed from the board.

The three keel elements are assembled and glued. I use special Titebond 'Dark Wood Glue'. This will slightly accentuate the joint between the different elements.

The keel is inserted into the work cradle

To be continued.

 

 

 

[JpR62]

Thank you to all the 'Likes'.

 

The frames :

Each frame consists of a floor and two futtlocks. All the components needed to build the hull frame are located on two pearwood boards. Each element is numbered, and a letter identifies whether the futtlock should be installed on the port or starboard side. The planking will be clinker-build style.

A light laser line indicates the limit of the area to be sanded to allow the hull to be faired.

I start by sanding the various sections that will receive the planking. This way, the hull will already be faired.

And I finish by gluing the three parts together.

To be continued

[JpR62]

Thank you to all the 'Likes'.

On some parts, in addition to the line indicating the sanding limit, there is a second dotted line. This simply means that the sanding must be done in reverse: this dotted line must be transferred to the back of the part.

In the photo below, parts 16R and 16L require the dotted line to be transferred. To do this, I photocopy the wooden board directly!

 

I then cut out the copy of the part concerned.

So I can transfer the line precisely to the back of the piece.

The last photo shows all the tools used  for the fairing.  Just a few simple tools and a lot of patience and time...

To be continued.

 

 

 

[JpR62]

Thank you to all the 'Likes'.

 

All the frames are now faired.

But before gluing them to the keel, I still have to remove the laser burn marks on the 3 sections of each frame that will be visible inside the hull.

I'll be able to proceed with a blank assembly and then the final installation of the frames.

To be continued

 

[JpR62]

Thank you to all the 'Likes'.

The work continued with the gluing of the frames to the keel.

Some of the slots in the work cradle required a little sanding so that the frame could be positioned.

Each frame is first blank tested.

Then they're all glued to the keel.

To be continued.

[JpR62]

Thank you to all the 'Likes'.

The work continued with the installation of the two interior planks.

For the first, no problem. I shape it beforehand by moistening the board with a wet finger and using the heat of a hairdryer.

Gluing goes smoothly

 

 

[JpR62]

For the second, I encountered the only problem present on this kit. The plank is slightly too short... This seems to be a common problem, as in the Ukrainian modeller's third video (which I linked to in my second post) the problem is pointed out and he shows how to correct this issue. I used the same method to lengthen the plank.

After sanding off the laser burn marks on both sides, and before extracting the two planks from the laser board, I prepare a small piece of wood the width of the plank.

I then glue it to the plank on the side facing outwards. This small piece of wood will then be invisible, as it will be hidden by the outer planking of the hull. This small piece of wood connects the plank to the laser board, reinforcing the bond.

I then extract the two planks by cutting the extension with an x-acto. For the moment, I don't care about the final length of the plank and cut the whole extension.

I use the two planks to make two templates on cardboard. These will then be placed in the ship's hull, and the final length of the planks can be determined. All that's left is to transfer the cutting line to the planks.

This gives me two planks of the right length. All that remains is to glue them to the inside of the hull.

[JpR62]

Thank you to all the 'Likes'.

Before gluing the second inner plank, I fitted the last two frames at the bow.

I then glued the second inner plank, starting with the bow, and once this was dry, I glued the stern segment (photo below).

The hull frame is now rigid and the planks forming the boat's interior floor can be laid.

To be continued.

[JpR62]

Before laying the planks making up the bottom of the boat, a few half floor reinforce the frames.

Beforehand, I annotate the drawing in the instruction manual, referencing the positioning of the different half floors.

According to the plan supplied, a small angle must be sanded at the junction with the keel.

The bottom of the boat can now be covered.

To be continued.

[JpR62]

Thank you to all the 'Likes'.

Assembly continues with the fitting of the boat's inner bottom. The planks are supplied pre-cut. All you need to do is glue them in place, but they do require a certain amount of precision.

Installation begins with the two planks in the center. They overlap the keel slightly, with the spacing between them exactly in the center of the keel. So I use a small jig consisting of a small board the width of the overlap of one plank plus the space between the two planks. Three sticks of wood are glued perpendicularly to this board, enabling me to clip it onto the keel. All I have to do is glue the first plank in place using this jig. The first photo below shows gluing in progress with my jig in place.

The second photo below shows the gluing of the first inner plank completed with the jig removed.

To glue the second plank, I also use another small jig. It's simply a small board whose thickness corresponds to the spacing between the two inner planks. Again, two photos to illustrate the gluing (gluing in progress and gluing completed).

I continue with the installation of the two planks on either side. All that's left is to glue the last 4 planks, spacing them evenly.

This step completes the reinforcement of the boat's framework. I can now move on to laying the outer planks.

To be continued.