Muscongus Bay Lobster Smack by JacquesCousteau - Model Shipways - 1:32 - Rescaled and Modified

[JacquesCousteau]

After finishing my build of a Lancha Chilota about a month ago, I thought that my next build would be a Brazilian Jangada fishing raft. However, as I began reading for it, I realized that it would take a lot longer than I expected before I could start making sawdust. I would need to do a fair bit of research up front, which is a hard to do right now as my job is currently in a busy period. So, I decided to put the Jangada on the backburner for now, and start a new build that I've already done a lot of the background research for: a Muscongus Bay Lobster Smack, based on the Model Shipways Shipwright Series. I had originally planned on building this way back in 2023, but my kit never arrived in Mexico, and by the time I finally was able to get it in the US, I was focused on other builds. Despite putting it off for a while, though, I'm looking forward to this model. I quite enjoy building these sorts of fishing boats. This one has very nice lines, and being based on a kit, it should be a bit of a more straightforward build with less time and effort up front to figure out the underlying structure.

 

This is quite a popular model with a lot of excellent build logs, for both the Model Shipways kit (which I have) and the Midwest kit, many of which have personalized it by diverging from the kit in some way. I also hope to do something a little different with it. First, I decided to rescale the kit from 1:24 to 1:32, making for a smaller, easier-to-display model in the same scale as most of my other builds. This will really highlight the design differences between the Lobster Smack and the Lancha Chilota--both gaff sloops of similar lengths, but meant for totally different purposes. Rescaling the kit means not using any of the kit materials. In theory I could have just gone with a totally different scratch-build, but as will be seen, the rescaling process was pretty quick, and (as long as I didn't screw up) should result in a nice model without needing to do all the work of developing the hull from scratch. Rescaled, the model has a total hull length of about 8.5 inches, corresponding to a vessel a bit over 22.5 feet long.

 

The second big difference is that I will be diverging from the kit design to follow other sources in a number of aspects. Although the kit uses carvel planking and has stays, most Muscongus Bay Lobster Smacks used lapstrake planking and lacked stays, for example, and many seem to have lacked the beakhead on the kit version. I'll discuss this in more detail later, but the kits is heavily based on Chapelle's plans for the vessel, yet the vessel that he drew plans for seems slightly atypical in some respects. I'm still working out exactly how I'll modify the design, but the basic framework will be the same, so I've begun work on that.

 

(I'm not really sure if this log should be in the kit or scratch-build section, as it's an oddity. I seem to remember seeing builds based on kit plans located in the scratch section, hence my decision. Moderators, please feel free to move it if necessary. Thanks!)

 

Rescaling

I started this model in late 2024 while visiting family in the US. When I moved to Mexico and had limited space in my luggage, they kindly offered to hold onto the kit for me until I could take it later. While visiting, I realized that I could use the local public library's free makerspace to rescale the kit. I began by scanning all the part sheets, and the very friendly makerspace staff were able to show me how to import the files into Lightburn and set them up for laser cutting. (Here I should probably note that the scans and files are strictly for my personal use, not for the purposes of piracy.)

 

Despite my lack of experience, I found Lightburn pretty easy to use, but there were a couple things to be aware of. I had to rearrange a lot of parts to fit on the basswood sheets I used. When I imported the scan, I needed to do a fair bit of cleaning and removing artifacts, as it interpreted a lot of darker spots in the wood as lines to cut. It also generated a double line around all parts, because it traced both sides of the laser cut, so I needed to erase one of the lines to avoid double-cutting. For my test piece, I chose to use the inner line, which (as I should have realized) led to a slightly undersized piece. For the actual parts, I used the outer line, except for in the slots in the backbone and bulkheads. This is because I was not able to scale down the thickness of all the wood, so the bulkheads and keel are slightly thicker, proportionally, than they are on the actual kit.

 

 

Before too long, I had the full rescaled "kit" ready to go. I was not able to figure out the exact settings to minimize burning, so quite a few of the cuts have some scorching around them. As I'll be painting the model, this won't be a problem. The makerspace staff were really friendly and helpful, and a lot of people were interested in the project. This was definitely a lot faster than trying to cut all the parts by hand, and I would definitely be interested in using a laser cutter again if possible (it certainly would make my Bateau de Lanvéoc build a lot faster...).

 

As can be seen, the rescaled model will be a good bit smaller than the kit. Kit deck above, rescaled version below.

 

Framework 

After traveling back to Mexico, the parts sat around while I worked on other builds, until yesterday night, when I began building the backbone structure. It fits together well. It's a great idea to include spacers in the kit to align the backbone parts while gluing, as I often find that parts slide a bit when clamping. I should note that, while the kit uses slightly different shapes above the centerboard slot for each side of the backbone, I just copied one side to reduce my workload in Lightburn.

 

It's interesting to see how well the backbone matches up with the plans included in Howard I. Chapelle's American Small Sailing Craft (1951).

 

To simplify the laser cutting and use only readily-available wood thicknesses, I made the centerboard of the same 1/16‐inch thick basswood as the central backbone part. Of course, it needed to be thinned to allow for movement, so I planed it and sanded it thinner.

 

I then ran into a slight problem. Lining up the pivot point, the centerboard would not be able to be fully raised as it contacted the backbone at several points. The centerboard pull rod also wouldn't be aligned with the slot.

 

This was easy to fix. I trimmed a bit off the top of the centerboard and relocated it a bit forward, drilling a new pivot hole. This allowed it to fit and aligned the pull rod hole with the slot.

 

I decided to paint the hull red below the waterline, so I painted the visible portion of the centerboard. I'm still deciding on the above-water hull color. I like the look of a darker hull, so I'm thinking either black or a sort of bottle green, both of which seem to have been common enough fishing boat colors in the US northeast in the period (although it's hard to tell which is which from black-and-white photos). I also used a dab of superglue to reinforce the area around the centerboard pull hole.

 

That's where the build's at, very enjoyable so far. In future posts, I'll discuss a bit more about the history of this vessel type, sources, and the changes I'll be making.

[Paul Le Wol]

Jacques, very interesting start to your new build. Thank you for including the Makerspace photos and experiences. The change of scale will make her feel right at home with the rest of your builds 👍

[JacquesCousteau]

Thanks, Paul! The makerspace was really a lot of fun. The one I used had a lot of other equipment, too, including a CNC machine, a 3D printer, and a Cricut machine. If I had had more time, I would have loved to experiment with more of the tools there.

 

I've progressed a bit more on the backbone. I'm still working out exactly how the centerboard pull will work, as it seems like a more accurate option may be a jointed or chain pull running through a small hole rather than a rigid rod running through a slot, as the kit would have it. At least, that's how I read Chapelle's diagram, which seems to have a small block or something for a rope or chain pull to run through? I could be wrong, though, I'm still considering my options.

 

In any case, I'll be able to add the centerboard pull a little later, so I went ahead and glued on the starboard backbone piece. Despite using the spacers, I somehow got it a little high foreward. The backbone is straight, though, and I'll be adjusting the slots anyway to accommodate the slightly thick bulkheads. The only problem I can see this causing is that the backbone side pieces provide extra gluing surface to affix the ends of the planks, but I can always add an extra piece to build this up if necessary. In any case, I trimmed the top flush.

 

I then drilled the new hole for the centerboard pivot through the starboard side, and added a length of copper wire for the pivot point.

 

Next up, the reinforcing pieces. When prepping these in Lightburn, I left these parts with the doubled cut line I mentioned above, as it seemed fine if they turned out slightly undersized. After adding them, the backbone is pretty solid.

 

Next up, I'll be attacking the bulkheads and backbone with files to get the slots properly sized.

Edited Wednesday at 05:08 PM by JacquesCousteau
Added Image

[JacquesCousteau]

Given that the backbone is slightly wider, proportionally, than in the kit design, I needed to do some reshaping to get the bulkheads to properly fit. This was actually a very straightforward process. I used sanding sticks and mini files to slightly widen the slots. Bulkhead five, which has a narrowed slot at the top for the centerboard, especially needed shaping. In order to avoid removing too much material from the bulkheads, which would screw up the bottom edge where bulkhead meets keel, I also thinned the backbone at each slot. Thankfully my square mini-file is 1/8-inch square, the same thickness as my bulkheads, so this was simple to do. They aren't the straightest file lines, as the file sometimes skated across the surface rather than registering properly, but everything will be covered.

 

Bulkhead 4, which is built in two parts around the centerboard, was a little tricky to properly fit due to its complex design. I had to trim the supports back a bit. For whatever reason, it didn't seem to need a groove filed in the backbone to fit properly--I filed more of a groove on the port side, but the bulkhead half just kind of hovers above it. It may need a little more fairing compared with the other bulkheads, but it should be fine and seems to line up pretty well with the other bulkheads.

 

 

I also accidentally widened the slots for bulkhead 10, the transom, a little too much, making a very loose fit. I think the transom itself, which I still need to make, should hold it in place well, though.

 

In any case, here is the backbone with all slots prepared:

 

And here, the bulkheads dry-fit in place.

Edited 1 hour ago by JacquesCousteau

[Paul Le Wol]

Jacques, it’s nice the way that you’re refining your modifications on the fly. Fun to watch.

[JacquesCousteau]

19 minutes ago, Paul Le Wol said:

Jacques, it’s nice the way that you’re refining your modifications on the fly. Fun to watch.

Thanks! There will be some much more substantial modifications to come, but I'm still figuring them out. For example, Chapelle's plans don't specify how far below deck the floors or seats should be, to my eyes the kit design looks a little short so I'm considering deepening the cockpit a bit (which Dee Dee, in his build log, seems to have done, but most of the photos don't load for me). So I'll need to work that out before I glue anything into place.