Pride of Baltimore II by Blue Pilot - Model Shipways - Scale 1:64

[Blue Pilot]

This will be my third model ship and second plank on bulkhead ship. In addition to this web site I will be building the Pride of Baltimore II (POB II) with the assistance of Robert Hunts Sophomore course practicum, and of course all of you here at MSW. I thank you all in advance for your help and input along the way.

I must confess I am hesitant to start this log as there are already three magnificent build logs under way for this ship. I fear that I may have little to offer as I am very much a beginner and I do not posses any great skill, but I do have a desire to strive for perfection and like all of you a love and fascination with these beautiful tall ships that are reminders of our past. So with some trepidation and having being inspired by the craftsmanship of others here I have decided to take the plunge.

I chose the POB II for many reasons not the least of which is she is a beautiful ship, but also as I think she offers a great deal as a way to learn and improve as a model shipwright. She presents some new challenges compared to the AVS but in a way that is a natural progression for new builders.

The keel was first laid December 08, 2012 shortly after completing my Armed Virginia Sloop. Work progressed to the point where I had begun the process of planking the hull and had completed the first 6 rows below the wales. Some of the photos from early construction are posted below. Then life took me away and the poor ship has sat idle until recently. Like many others this hobby has a way of always pulling me back and the pride as waited patiently for my return.

Edited June 16, 2015 by Blue Pilot

[MEDDO]

 

 

I must confess I am hesitant to start this log as there are already three magnificent build logs under way for this ship.  I fear that I may have little to offer as I am very much a beginner and I do not posses any great skill, but I do have a desire to strive for perfection and like all of you a love and fascination with these beautiful tall ships that are reminders of our past.  So with some trepidation and having being inspired by the craftsmanship of others here I have decided to take the plunge. 

    

 

  Then life took me away and the poor ship has sat idle until recently.  Like many others this hobby has a way of always pulling me back and the pride as waited patiently for my return. 

 

 

I love the Pride.  I am originally from Baltimore and love seeing her when I return.

 

Never be hesitant to post.  We all have had mistakes and things we wish to do better.  The community here is wonderful and supportive and will help out at any time.  

 

This is on my (extensive) future build list so I look forward to more of your updates.

[jcoby]

Looking good. I see yours is the probably same version as mine with the planksheer too short at the aft end. You may want to fix that now (or immediately after planking the hull) if the gap bothers you. It's not glaringly obvious that it's wrong unless you are looking for it and know it shouldn't be there. It just looks like stowage boxes in front of the knees. It's much more difficult to fix once the knees and stanchions are in place.

 

You may also want to put a block of balsa in between the #1 and #2 bulkheads and possibly the #2-#3 space as well. I had some problems with the bulkheads moving aft and the planks wanting to flatten out a bit there. Installing the temporary strakes (as per the instructions) will definitely help with the bulkheads bending. I wish I had.

 

Doing it over I wish I had used a different stain for the mahogany bits. The minwax mahogany stain comes out far too dark and red. The basswood absorbs the color so readily that it's over-stained. It needs to be more of a brown with a tiny bit of red in it. Maybe more like the dark walnut color or even a custom mix. 

[Blue Pilot]

jcoby thanks for the tips and yes I know I have an issue to fix with the plankshere, this seems to be a common problem.  I also appreciate your comments on stain.  Several others have also noted the mahogany stain is to dark.  I was looking at some other minxax stains.  There is one called Gun Stock that appears from the can to be similer but lighter and more like the real ship.  I am still mulling this over and how to do the overall deck.  I am considering buing a Barns Saw and some Box wood and mahogony form hobby mill, and milling myown deck planking.  I plan to buy a saw at some point so if I go that route then this could be a good way to break it in.  Of course cost is the main issue holding me back. 

 

Meddo thanks for the encouragement.  I am hoping at some point I can make a trip to Baltimore and see the real ship, that would be fun

[Blue Pilot]

Today was an excercise in frustration!  I planed to start working on the lower hull on the port side.  I got distracted by my two puppies and glued the stealer I was fashioning on before the final shaping  So after a great deal of trouble removing it I started over.  This left some gaps to fill with putty later.

Edited May 19, 2014 by Blue Pilot

[jcoby]

I had the same idea but mahogany is far too coarse grained to use at this scale (I have some Honduran mahogany). You'd want to find something that's tight grained with a red hue to it.

 

Honestly, at 1:64 scale the basswood works just fine as long as you paint or stain (pre-staining is essential). If you want to leave it natural with just a coating of wax then finer woods are required.

Edited May 19, 2014 by jcoby

[Blue Pilot]

I got a lot done today, started this log, sorted out creating a signature, linking my build log and gallery, and trying to post a picture to my profile.  There is a lot of great guides on how to do all that but it took me some time as I am only moderatly proficient when it comes to computers.  Next I started on making the plank above and forward of this stealer plank and botched it up as well  so I tossed it in the trash and started over.  This time it went better but still a gap crept in. Some times this hobby can be so frustrating and I am getting the feeling this may be one of those days. So not much progress but its progress.  Its a little agrivating to me as I have been looking forward all week to getting home and doing some planking but I think I am going to take a break for a bit and cut the grass.  Sorry for the rant, just needed to vent. 

 

Fair winds my friends!

Edited May 19, 2014 by Blue Pilot

[Blue Pilot]

Thanks for the guidance jcoby, sounds like I will scratch the mahogany idea then maybe based on your thoughts just a differant stain might be the solution.  Thanks keep the tips coming.

[Blue Pilot]

Today was a greeat day! 

 

It occurred to me today building ship models is a lot like dog training. Working with my bird dogs is another passion of mine. Like modeling, training is about identifying and working through problems. I have two 1 year old pups who I took out for some work this morning. The female has been hesitant to swim. She loves the water but she gets nervous when her paws aren’t on ground so she balks at swimming. We have been working on that for a few weeks now and today I was awarded with four nice water retrieves of about 10-15 yard swims each and a wagging tail, hers not mine .  I honestly believe she understood she had overcome her fear and was as proud of herself as I was. It is exciting when you watch a dog concur a problem and come out happy and confident in the process. With dogs when you get frustrated with setbacks you just have to take a break, walk away and start over again on another day. Same things with these ships sometimes you just have to call it a day when things aren’t going your way take a step back and start over on another day

 

This afternoon a sat back down again after yesterdays frustrations and made some nice progress again on the POB II and worked through some problem areas of my own, more to follow below.

[Blue Pilot]

So I started work on the Port side lower hull on the stealers at the bow and stern. The starboard side I had finished previously but was not that pleased with my craftsman ship. I had done a bit of a ham fisted job of it so was hoping to do a much nicer job on the Port side. I was going to add some comments on the photos but I can’t see how to do that. Any way the photos show I needed to make a plank to cover the area from bulkhead F aft to the stern post. I was really having trouble wrapping my head around this so first I made the first cut along the right half of the plank. I won’t tell you how long I stared at this thing trying to figure out how to draw the next cut. The other photos show the final shaping and finally the plank installed.

Edited May 20, 2014 by Blue Pilot

[russ]

So far the planking looks very good.

 

Russ

[Blue Pilot]

Thanks Russ, I appreciate your positive feedback and constructive criticism too.

The final two photos are of how she stands now with port and starboard sides.  I have roughly finished out two belts and this brings my progress and this log up to date.  It is also an excellent place to stop and enjoy an ice cold drink.

 

Edited May 20, 2014 by Blue Pilot

[Blue Pilot]

Seeking Input on Decking

 

Thanks to a very detailed post from jcoby I have a pretty good idea how to go about planking the deck. However, I still have a couple questions I could use some expert guidance on. First, does building the furniture commings first before decking make any difference from an appearance point of view? jcoby states it made planking easier but it seems like it would be far easier and faster to just lay the deck planking then build and attach the furniture. At this scale can you even see the differance on the finished model? Second, there aren't any good pictures of the deck layout. I am thinking either a 3 or 4 plank stagger. jcoby used a 4 stagger, but I am leaning toward a 3. Any thoughts at this scale what would be better? This is a modern ship built to replicate what a Chesapeake Bay Privateer from the early 1800's might have looked like. Thanks in advance for your thoughts, I am just thinking and planning ahead about how I want the final model finished and within the realm of my skill to achieve.

[russ]

Mark:

I would plank the entire deck before putting any deck furniture in place. This makes the deck easier to sand/scrape after planking.

 

However, keep in mind that there would not be any butt ends in the deck planking in the way of the deck furniture. The butt ends occur outside the width of the deck furniture.

 

Russ

[jcoby]

I installed the coamings first (I assume that's what you mean). They were installed first when the ship was built so I tried to replicate that. I plan on installing the deck furniture just before setting the completed masts.

 

Here is a pic of how I did the coamings:

 

 

And one of the completed deck:

 

 

I used black construction paper to simulate the joints, sanded, and scraped the entire deck before applying the conditioner and stain.

[jcoby]

I also applied a ~25% diluted wash of wood glue (PVA) to the inside of the hull before decking. I just added some water to it until I could brush it on. This strengthened the hull quite a bit and stopped any movement of the individual planks. If you glued the planks to each other fully this won't be needed. Since I used CA there were some spots that didn't bond fully.

[Blue Pilot]

Thats a good idea. What I do is use a medium cure CVA on the bulkheads and PVA along the plank edge. That lets me mount the plank with out clamps or having to hold it to long. I just hold pressure on two or three bulkheads at a time and work my way across the plank. The PVA glue fills in any gaps. What oozes out on the back side I kind of spread with my finger to cover the back seam. If I see any gaps in the front I add more PVA (the one I use dries clear) then sand. The sawdust and glue fill in the gap. I don't know if this is the best approach but it works for me. I have not had to soak or clamp any planks so far doing it this way.

[Blue Pilot]

In an effort to improve my own skill I am looking for comments on my planking.  Specifically in the photos that follow I started planking from the top and bottom of the hull.  This makes perfect sense to me but my trouble lies in trying to match the butt joints to conform with standard planking rules of four bulkheads between buts and but joints separated by three rows.  You can see here in order to try and do this I am trying to use a stair step approach but I am not sure if I am going about this right or not?  I would appreciate any comments from some of you master craftsmen out there.

 

Thanks in Advance.

 

 

Edited May 29, 2014 by Blue Pilot

[Blue Pilot]

I then decided that maybe I needed to bring the bottom up. So here are two shots after doing that.  My planks will now run smoothly across the bottom.  I can see trouble developing at the top that I will have to spill some planks to smooth out that line also.  My thinking is to try and get the two areas running horizontally and fill in from front to back in a stair step pattern to better see how each plank needs to be formed at the same time matching up the but joints.  So here is where I left off.  Please let me know if my approach is flawed, ok or something else.  It’s ok to through hard balls too   

 

In the end this will all be painted so in the big scheme of things it does not matter all that much other then I am trying to do it right and it is a means to me becoming a better builder.

Edited May 29, 2014 by Blue Pilot

[russ]

Mark:

When I plank, I do the upper belt of planking first, then the bottom belt, and then finally the center belt. It looks like yours is coming along fine. However, I would plank that center belt from the top down since it is the upper edges of those planks that are most likely to need spiling.

 

With the wider spaced bulkheads it is not always possible to get the arrangement of butts to work out perfectly. So long as you get the butts so that there are none lining up on adjacent planks and there is at least a bulkhead or two in between butts with a strake or two between them, it should be fine. When I plank, I mark out on the frames about where the butts will fall so I know ahead of time how they will work out.

 

Russ

[jwvolz]

Good advice from Russ.

 

From the looks of things you did a good job with the tapering as every row has full-length, smooth runs. I think it looks just fine, nice work. 

[Blue Pilot]

Thanks Joe for your kind words.  Russ, thanks for the guidance I will start working from the top down when I get back to the shipyard.  Thanks for taking the time to respond.  I really appreciate your input.

[Blue Pilot]

I have not had a lot of time to work on the POB II but based on Russ's comments above I have started working from the top down which seems to be helping to bring the two lines toward running parallel to each other.  The chevrons indicate where there is some pinching and narrowing going on especially at bulkhead L and K.  Which I think was going to probably happen anyway.  Toward the front I still have not fully managed to smooth out things and there is a dip at this butt joint but it seems things are moving in the right direction.  At least I think so.

 

 

Edited June 6, 2014 by Blue Pilot

[russ]

From what I can see, it look pretty good. Each person will have different views of how to run the planking, so that is really not an issue. Yours look good.

 

Russ

[Blue Pilot]

Thanks for checking in on me and helping me out Russ. It helps me out a lot.

 

Cheers!

[Shiptek]

I'm looking forward to following your lead. I'm just starting the same build. This is my first, perhaps a bit above my skill level, but I'm confident I will stay the course. Cheers! -Andy

Edited July 28, 2014 by Shiptek

[Blue Pilot]

Until today the Pride has not had any love.  I have been enjoying two young bird dogs I now have and work keeps me away from home.  It’s been a tough 2014 with my mother in law not being well and passing.  Now my mom is fighting cancer so needless to say life has me on the ropes and the hits keep coming.  Ok enough complaining and making excuses.

 

 

So I decided in addition to the dogs maybe doing a little modeling might help lighten the strain I have been under.  I finished up planking the Starboard side this afternoon.  It did not turn out as well as I hoped.  I was hoping this job would be perfect, ok I have given up that dream.  I had to add some joggle planks where they don’t belong due to plank ends were going to look like pennants.  Still after initial sanding it’s not all bad for my second shot at planking a hull.  Once paint is on it will look great to anyone but fellow model shipwrights.

Edited January 21, 2015 by Blue Pilot

[russ]

The hull planking looks very good. Keep plugging away.

 

Russ

[jwvolz]

Nice job Mark, that finished up nicely. I'm looking forward to seeing more as you progress, as I'm a big fan of the POB.

 

Hopefully 2015 is a better year for you. 

[GuntherMT]

Nothing at all wrong with joggle planks, drop planks or stealers.  The planking looks great.