Friendship Sloop by gsdpic - BlueJacket Shipcrafters - 1:12

[gsdpic]

Thanks to those who have taken a look and to those who've hit the like button.

 

I've taken a bit of a detour.  As above, I was working on bending the strips for the rail around the edge of the deck.  But before installing that rail, I decided that it might be best to install the sheer trim strip on the upper side of the hull first.  It is likely that my only way to "clamp" that piece is with some tape and I'd prefer to do that before putting the rail on.  But, before putting on the sheer trim strip I wanted to put on the trail boards because I envision the sheer trim butting against the aft end of the trail board.  

 

The kit indicates using some of the 1/16th basswood sheet to make the trail boards.  I was hoping to carve some design into them and basswood is not the best for that.  I had some other thicker sheet that I believe is Castello Boxwood and thought that might be a good alternative.  But so far in working with it I am not sure.  It seems very hard and difficult to carve, though I have not yet tried soaking it in water, which I have found to be helpful carving other hard woods.   

 

Anyway, the pictures below show my patterns and the original pieces I cut out  (Though I made the rookie mistake of not considering orientation of the grain when laying out the pieces.  Not sure if that will be a factor).  The second picture shows the pieces with some initial sanding and marking for port/starboard.  The third picture shows the port side pieces with additional fitting and shaping, but no carving yet, temporarily fitted using a bit of double sided tape.  I'll probably continue a bit down this path though no guarantees I won't turn around.

 

[gsdpic]

I've continued to work on the trailboards.  I think I pretty much have them done now, perhaps save for a bit more paint touch up.  I am in that cycle where I touch up with one color, causing the need for a touch up with color 2, causing the need for touch up with color 3, causing the need for touch up of color 1, and so on.  Anyway, the pictures below show the overall model and a close up of the starboard side trailboard.  Now I should be able to do that sheer trim, followed by the rail.  Then just a few more bits on the hull before it is ready for masts, rigging, and sails.

 

Oh, for the paint I used a mixture of Tamiya XF-9 Hull Red and XF-7 red, as well as X-12 Gold Leaf.  Every time I use hull red I am disappointed how it just looks like brown to me and feel compelled to add some more red to it.

 

Thanks for taking a look.

Edited September 13 by gsdpic
fix typo

[robert952]

Great progress on this build. I probably speak for others by thanking you for the detailed photos on the project. 

[gsdpic]

2 hours ago, robert952 said:

Great progress on this build. I probably speak for others by thanking you for the detailed photos on the project. 

Thanks, appreciate it.  If I was better at this hobby I might include photos that have even more details

 

As noted at the beginning of the build log, there are several other logs for this kit but they all seem to have been abandoned some time during or shortly after completing the planking.  I am determined to log mine to the end.

 

[gsdpic]

Just another quick update....I have completed the sheer trim all around the boat.   Below is one picture showing how I taped the trim on while the glue dried and then a few pictures of the finished trim.  I started off using the tamiya masking tape to hold it and decided that was a bit of a waste so switched to the cheapo blue painter's tape.  Next up is to put the rails on around the perimeter of the deck.

 

 

Edited September 15 by gsdpic

[Glen McGuire]

Looking very sharp, Gary!  Particularly the sheer trim on the bow with the elegant scroll.  Nicely done!

[gsdpic]

Thanks for the likes, and thanks Glen for the comment.  Both are much appreciated.  Getting close to completing the hull.  

 

This first two pictures show the rail being glued on, and the next two show closer views of the rails without the tape "clamps".  I still need to add the rail on the stern.  The gap between the rail and the bowsprit will be filled with a chock on each side.  The rail consists of a basswood strip on edge capped by a mahogany strip.  

I also put on the tiller after bending it.  The tiller was laser cut basswood but for some reason it seemed to really absorb the stain more than most of the basswood, so it is a bit darker.

And finally I also did the bowsprit and the bitt.  Unlike the mast and spars, the plans did not have a separate drawing of the bowsprit off of the boat so it was a little tough to tell how it should be shaped.  It appeared to me to be octagonal all the way to the end but I rounded mine off a bit. 

 

[gsdpic]

As always, thanks for the likes.

 

I've now completed the hull and just have the mast, spars, sails, and rigging left to do.  Since last time, I added the two chocks on either side of the bowsprit, finished the rail on the stern, added the two travelers, put some wipe-on-poly on the unpainted wood bits, and maybe a few other minor tweaks.  But in looking at the plans, I also realized that I failed to put any sort of mast step on the keel.....it is shown on the plans but I don't think it was mentioned in the instructions....and now that area is inaccessible.  I am hoping that I'll be able to adequately secure the mast anyway.  

 

I am not certain, but I was also thinking that when I got to this point, I'd take a break from this build and go off to work on another project or two for a bit.  So, there's a chance it will be a while before my next update.

 

[JacquesCousteau]

Beautiful work! The hull looks really sharp.

 

On the mast step, I wonder if you could notch the bottom of the mast to fit around the keel? Depending on how wide those parts are, of course. It would at least secure the mast from side-to-side movement.

[gsdpic]

On 9/19/2025 at 8:30 PM, JacquesCousteau said:

Beautiful work! The hull looks really sharp.

 

On the mast step, I wonder if you could notch the bottom of the mast to fit around the keel? Depending on how wide those parts are, of course. It would at least secure the mast from side-to-side movement.

Thanks Jacques.   I'd have to check but I recall the keel was relatively thick.  I was also thinking I could remove the head of a nail then put the head end of the nail into the bottom of the mast, then push the mast/nail into the top of the keel.  We'll see.   

 

Anyway, I've completed my side project so I've moved the sloop back to the workbench and may resume working on it soon.  Here's the side project:  

 

 

[gsdpic]

Just another quick update....I have resumed working on this, at least a little bit.  It looks like the lack of mast step will be a non-issue.  The plans show the main mast tapered both top and bottom (below the deck) but the planking near the keel in front is pretty close to the keel and leaving the lower part of the mast untapered, it fits in pretty snug from side to side.  As for front-to-back, there is a bulkhead just a little ahead of the hole for the mast.  I channeled Glen McGuire, pretending the mast hole was the opening of a bottle, and glued a few strips of wood to that bulkhead, in line with where the mast will be.  When I place the mast I can glue it to those strips and it will be aligned pretty well for and aft as well.  The plans don't actually indicate the mast rake, at least not that I have seen.  It appears to be perpendicular to the water line, which would mean it actually leans forward a small amount relative to the deck.

 

[gsdpic]

This time with some pictures.  Continue to work on the mast and spars and the mast rings.   Similar to when I built the America, I am making wooden mast rings.  I start with shavings created with a small plane that naturally curl, wrap them around a circular object and coat them liberally with diluted PVA.  More details below.

 

First, I start with the shavings and the jig/former.  For the shavings, I used a small plane on some of the leftover 1/16th x 1//8th mahogany.  They tend to be pretty rough but I am hoping I can smooth things out adequately.  As for the former, I have exploited at least 1% of the potential of 3d printing by printing this tube that is 5/8ths of an inch in diameter, to wrap the shavings around.  The mast is 1/2 inch in diameter so this will allow the mast rings to fit easily over the mast.

 

Here you can see 5 rings wrapped around two formers, and three rings that I have removed from the formers.  To wrap the rings, I start by using CA to glue on end of the shaving to the tube, then wrap it around securing the end with more CA.  If I need to add more layers, I grab another shaving and secure it with CA just on the ends.  Once satisfied, I brush on a bunch of highly diluted PVA and let it sit over night to dry.  I then sand the outer surface of the rings while still on the former, try to remove the ring from the former without breaking it, then carefully sand the top and bottom surfaces.

 

 

Below is the main mast, the end that goes into the deck on the left.  The picture shows the boom rest, created similarly to the mast rings, as well as one pin rail.  There is a second identical one on the other side.

 

And finally, the end of the gaff with its jaws, as well as the simple jib club.  I still need to do the main boom....the dowel needs to be cut and tapered and then jaws added.  then all the spars need to have some holes drilled and eye pins put in place.  I also still need to figure out exactly which parts will be painted vs stained.

[Glen McGuire]

That is the coolest way to make mast rings I've ever seen.  Ingenious, Gary!