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

[Keith Black]

 

 More examples of small hand operated 1900's bilge pumps.

 

 

 

[Stubby]

I love the level of research you are putting into your build! Looking great Jacques!

[JacquesCousteau]

Thanks, @Stubby, I enjoy research about as much as building! And thanks, @Keith Black, for the pump examples!

 

More work on planking. I've been able to get a little better at lining up the top line of the plank joints.

 

One issue I've had is that, due to the different plank widths and strake lines of my model compared to the kit design, I haven't been able to use much of the kit-designed prespiled planks. It feels like a real waste--it's a great feature of the kit, but it doesn't really work if you go with lapstrake planking. So I was happy that, for the next strake, which is the one below the sheer strake, I realized that I could make it from the kit-supplied sheer strake, which for whatever reason was slightly too short to work as the sheer strake on mine. (Maybe my transom extends a little farther aft than it should? Or I screwed up something in the scan and laser cut process?)  It's a lot wider than the normal planks, so I could spile from it, as seen below.

 

At this point, there's very little bulkhead to clamp to, so I've had to be a bit creative with rubber bands.

 

 

I now just have the sheer strake left to add. I feel like, for a vessel of this size, it would probably be best to make it from a single piece, although I'm not looking forward to the complex gluing process that will entail. I'm pleased with the lapstrake planking so far. Before painting, I think I'll add a coat of shellac to help seal and strengthen the wood so I can touch up any stringy/ragged visible edges.

 

 

 

Elsewhere, I've begun work on the rudder and mast. The mast is made from two layers of basswood, which mitigates against the relative weakness of basswood as a mast.

 

Before I round off the mast, I need to decide whether it should be round all the way through, or squared-off at the deck. My initial thought was that, on an unstayed mast, a square cross section low down would keep it from spinning around. I began cutting the mast step partners square, but accidentally made them bigger than they should be, so it doesn't quite fit like it should and I'll need to take care when I step the mast. Moreover, it looks like Chapelle's plan shows a round mast at the deck, so maybe I should just round it all. I'm also trying to figure out whether to use brass rod or wood for the rudder shaft.

[Rick310]

Great job!!

Rick

[Paul Le Wol]

Fantastic job on the planking Jacques!.

[Keith Black]

 That planking is uber fantastic, Jacques. 

[Kenchington]

Just wonderful planking JC! That would be a great job if you had used the kit-supplied carvel planking. For a conversion to lapstrake, it's incredible!

 

You pondered:

58 minutes ago, JacquesCousteau said:

the mast, I need to decide whether it should be round all the way through, or squared-off at the deck.

I wondered about that but decided to stay with circular-section throughout. Chapelle's version was one reason but I wasn't keen on trying to re-shape the round hole in the kit's deck either.

 

Trevor