USS Constitution by Flyfisher - BlueJacket Shipcrafters - 1:96

[Flyfisher]

Hello all,

My name is Jim Martin coming to you from South Carolina and I’m tackling Bluejacket’s notoriously difficult Constitution. This will be my third model, having recently completed the HMS Beagle. 
I have been lurking on the logs of most other builders, both Bluejacket and MSW. I plan to shamelessly copy your best ideas giving credit wherever possible. I’m a slow builder so don’t post a lot, and my technique is pretty average. I hope you guys will bear with me and provide help as I join a bunch of others who all seem to be doing a good job.

I have marked the hull, cut the templates and shaped the profile.  Now to shape the hull.

 

 

  Finished Beagle 

 

The only pic of me at Nic’s place in Maine 

The first tool-to-wood action: removing the stern plug

  
 

The only tip I can offer so far is that the instructions called for scoring a centerline along the keel rabbet. Since it was difficult to keep track of the line, I used a string fastened to the bow and transom and marked and scored it along that line 

[ccoyle]

Welcome aboard! As you can see, I'm here in the Upstate. I don't fly fish, but I have used ultralight spinning gear to fish the Saluda River up this way.

[Flyfisher]

Hi Chris

[KurtH]

Welcome to the very small but courageous Bluejacket Connie builders.  Mine was my first wood model kit, so it was a true baptism by fire.  If you followed the plan for the cutting out of the hull profile, I would like to recommend that you test fit the PE transom provided by BJ before you plank the hull.  You may find that the upper transom portion of the piece hangs out in space, and additional material may need to be added to the lower counter to correct the problem.  A diagram of the cause of this problem appears at the beginning of my build log if you are interested.  Also, if your carved hull is like mine, it has a counter clockwise twist to it, causing the sternpost to cant to starboard, and the stem to cant to port.  My apologies if you are already aware of these issues.

Best of luck with this build.  I will be following your build with great interest.  I am fascinated by the creative and resourceful solutions modelers bring to these challenges.

Edited February 8 by KurtH

[g8rfan]

Hi Jim,

Glad to see you got a log going. Just wanted to concur with Kurt on the transom issue, I had the same issue and thanks to him was able to catch it in the beginning. Easier to fix while you are shaping the hull than later. My hull didn't have a significant twist in it.

 

Good luck on the build

 

Frank

[Flyfisher]

Thanks KurtH and G8rfan for the heads up. I’m going to check both today. 
 

In the meantime, I have been carving the template stations with a ¼” gouge from the centerline to the stern. What strikes me most is that the depth of the cut is deeper on the starboard side than the port.

Port

 

Starboard 

 

Next up, I’m going to make an initial pass on the starboard side to smooth the hull and see what the profile looks like.

 

Jim

[KurtH]

One thing that I forgot to mention is that my hull was and is asymmetrical, being wider relative to the center line on the starboard side than on the port side.  Yours may or may not have this problem, but I would suggest checking for that just in case.