Muscongus Bay Lobster Smack by Piet - FINISHED - Midwest Products - length 15"

Piet · January 20, 2015

Well, it's been a few days but I was not sitting on my hands. Had to do other things that took priority over model building. Yes, there are a few more important things - - - when the Admiral suggests that something REALLY needs taken care of - - -

In any case, I painted the trim work green and put some poly on the decks. Looking okay but the trim needs some touching up. That'll be an ongoing thing with me I'm afraid. I keep seeing things that could be just a tad better.

While the paint was drying I started making the cabin door hinges from 0.1 mm brass shim, 1 mm brass tube with 0.5 mm brass rod for the hinge pins. All very fiddling work but it went off like clock work, no problems.

Next came the job cementing these little parts to the doors and then the frame parts to the door frames. First I cemented the door parts to the doors with CA. Okay, now to cement the frame parts. I taped booth doors together front and back with masking tape and then set them int the door opening. As the pics show I also secured the doors to the bulkhead. Hey, my mommy didn't raise a dummy

I then clamped the model into my small Proxxon vice by the cutwater so she stands bow down. This way the door bulkhead is now horizontal. The small fame parts could now be placed on the frames and slid into the hinge pins. So far so good. A little touch of CA and holding them tight against the frames till te CA had done its grasping job and presto, job done.

Now I had to give it the hingeing test and wouldn't you know it, one of the tubes was not soldered on correctly. So, that one had to be redone and reinstalled. No problem, just another 15 minutes and it was back on.

The only problem is that the doors won't open all the way when the fish bin hatches are on. They'll just have to squeeze through a narrower opening, sorry guys :rolleyes:

I could now finish with paint touch-up on the door bulkhead. I'll have Gwen, the Admiral, look at it tomorrow and let me know where else I need to touch-up.

If the paint job is satisfactory then I can start with putting the bowsprit on and rigging that. Then the mast and rigging it. Hmmm, we are slowly getting there. The sails will be a challenge for me

Here are a few pics of my efforts of the last few days.

This shows the three parts that make up the door parts for the hinge. A similar setup applies for the frame parts, except that I made them smaller as shown in the next picture.

This shows the completed door hinge assembly.

This shows how I jigged the doors so I can cement the frame ends to the frames. Sorry, I didn't take a pic with the boat bow down in the vice but it worked like a charm.

This is another shot of jigging the doors.

This shows the completion of the door hinge installation. I think it looks a little better then the paper hinges I had on previously. This is taken before I repainted the bulkhead.

This is how my little sloop looks like as of today.

Cheers,

GLakie · January 20, 2015

I think it looks excellent Piet! I have no doubt it'll pass the Admiral's inspection with flying colors!

Cheers

popeye the sailor · January 20, 2015

love that paint!!!! she looks so sweet! exactly.........no doubt that she'll pass the admiral's muster!

I like the idea that the doors are removable......you never know when you'll need to replace the sofa!

Edited January 20, 2015 by popeye the sailor

Piet · January 21, 2015

Thanks everyone for looking in and your like votes, it's much appreciated.

Hey George, you know women, they have always something to hmmmm, point out Yeah, Gwen pointed out a few raggedy edges from the masking tape. Old eagle eyes Gwen but I'll try to clean them up as best as I can. Yeah, I like the green paint too, it's the same color I used on the model of her Friendship sloop.

Hi Popeye, Yes, I love the paint as well. A sofa ??????? The crew should be happy with two bunks with mattresses and blankets, a cupboard and table No wet bar yet though.

Cheers,

Piet · January 21, 2015

Today - - - what did I do today - - - oh yeah, in the morning after my morning coffee I decided to make the trail boards. Wont cement them on yet because I'm not sure yet how to finish them. Yes, they'll be painted green but what kind of decorative motief to put on it.

Then there is the question of a name and where to put it.

I needed to scrape some of the white off at the places where the trail boards are to be cemented.

I installed the bowsprit with my previously made hardware and also installed the lower stay.

Then it was time for me to drive down to see my urologist / oncologist for the 3 month visual check. I got a little scare last week. His assistant called me and told me that the lab found questionable stuff in the urine sample. Well, when the doc looked inside the bladder he was very pleased and told me that it looked perfect, better then three years ago when the cancer was found, not to worry about the lab findings. This was good news and I'm a very happy camper :dancetl6:

After I came back I had to get my passport pics taken and complete my passport renewal forms. Gwen wants to mail them out tomorrow. Passports, did he say passports? Yup, Gwen and ur daughter Marianne cooked up a plan to go to the Netherlands this June for three weeks!!!!!!

Okay, I had some extra time and installed the mast. I also installed the fore stay. I used 0.1 mm brass wire for both the bowsprit and fore stay instead of the kit suggested black thread.

To simulate turnbuckles I used small pieces of 1 mm brass tube. I had to drill these out with a #72 drill bit so I could double the wire back through them to secure it and then a touch of solder.

I think that I really need to make the display / mounting board for this little thing to give me a steady base for the rest of the rigging. The kit suggested one is a joke and this little boat deserves something nicer. I have a small plank of basswood that I can shape on my mini router and then stain it in oak, walnut or something like that. I have two nice looking pillars for the keel to rest in. We'll see how this basswood idea works out. I looked in the craft sore but they had nothing I could use that looked anywhere near decent.

Okay, here are a few pics of today's efforts.

This is a close-up pic taken with my Canon 100 mm macro lens. I was too lazy to get my tripod and set the aperture smaller for better depth of field. Here you can see the bolt I made a few days ago with two washers and a nut. You can also the fuzzies from that #*^%@( boxwood on the samson post. Looks like I need to take care of that too.

Same camera setup. Here we have a washer and the nut "screwed" on. I secured it with a dab of CA. I don't think that bowsprit is going anywhere soon

Same camera setup. Here you see the backstay installation. You can also see where I scraped off some of the paint for the trail boards.

Cheers,

captainbob · January 21, 2015

Well done, she's looking better all the time.

Bob

bdgiantman2 · January 21, 2015

Hi Piet, your smack is looking great! When I was making the trail boards on my model, I cut out the boards to the proper size then pencil drew on the scrolls they show on the blueprints included with the kit. When the drawings came out satisfactory enough, I took my dremel to make a hole in one small place in the carvings, like the middle or something. Then found a loose wire blade for a Craftsman scroll saw and manually cut out the details. For my first time trying that I think it turned out decent. Once the details had been properly cut, I painted the pieces black and used a heat bender to help give the pieces their proper curvature. Hope this helps you.

Brian

Piet · January 22, 2015

Thanks everyone looking in and your comments but above all - your likes.

Hello Brian, thanks for dropping in and your suggestions. What you did to the trail boards was rather ambitious to say the least. That idea never occurred to me, I was thinking of just hand painting some simple line decoration on it. I really like the idea of scroll cutting a design in the boards, that'll be the cats meow. I have already gone way overboard with this thing soooooh, I can give it a try.

Hi Captain Bob, thanks my friend.

Cheers,

Piet · January 22, 2015

I decided to make the display board today. I took a 3/8 inch by 6 inch basswood plank and routed the edges with my Proxxon hand tool. I put the tool in the Poxxon drill press thingy and routed the edges. Came out okay.

I sanded the board with worn out 300 gritI sandpaper so as not to raise up the nap. An old trick I learned from a furniture finisher. Sometimes he would wet the surface to raise the nap and then sand it. I then prepped it with a pre-stain conditioner and let it do its thing while I primed the centerboard. Yeah, that thing has yet to be cemented to the keel and now that the model is raised on the pedestals I can finely install it. After the stain has dried I'll rub the board with a soft cloth and then a piece of hardwood. Another trick I learned when in aviation tech school.

I also modded both pedestals for the display board, making one a little shorter and the other a little longer by adding a wooden washer below it to make the waterline of the model close to to be parallel with the display board.

When all that was done I figured that the pre-stain stuff had done its work and stained the board and the posts with white oak stain. It came out surprisingly nice, even though it was basswood.

Tomorrow I'll paint the centerboard white and cement it to the keel. I'll also made two bamboo pins that'll go into the posts and keel to make it a sturdier on its legs so to speak.

After the model is permanently mounted to the display board I can begin with the rigging and sails.

Here are a pics.

The display board - still fresh and sticky from the stain. In real life it's a lot lighter in color.

This shows the model temporally mounted to the board. I put the mast on yesterday and when you squint real hard you can also see the forestay.

This is a little closer up. Oh yeah, I also made the centerboard puller upper cable with a handle on the end. You can barely make it out but in this pic it's draped over one of the fish bin hatches.

Cheers,

Edited January 22, 2015 by Piet

augie · January 22, 2015

Really coming to life, Piet. Great color choices.

GLakie · January 22, 2015

Looking nice Piet! Been using the old "wet the wood" trick for many years. It works amazingly well on hardwood to get that smooth-as-glass finish. Just wet, let it dry, then block-sand. Doing that 2 or 3 times usually does the trick.

Cheers :cheers:

Edited January 22, 2015 by GLakie

Sjors · January 22, 2015

Found you !!!!!!

That's amazing Piet !!!!!

A very nice looking ,little one !!!!!!!

Strange that I not seeing this earlier......

Sjors

Piet · January 23, 2015

Thans everyone for dropping in and for hitting the like button.

Hey Augie, great seeing you here and thanks for the kudos. Yeah, I like the green, it reminds me of the Dutch ships and houses in Holland. I find it a happy color.

Hi George, yes, that wetting or damping of wood is something not wel known except for real wood finishers. I use a wood conditioner for soft woods, it holds the wood fibers together and hardens it some. Final wet-sanding with at least a 600 grit wet or dry sandpaper. Comes out like a baby's skin.

Hoi Sjors, glad you found me even with such a short name Piet, yup, that's short but like my name-sake, a famous Dutch admiral, my deeds are great :rolleyes:

Thank you my friend for being amazed at my humble little kit build. I did figure out that kit building is very difficult - that's why I'd rather do scratch building, much easier.

Well, today was more of a frustration day then progress. The stain on the display board just didn't want to dry. Even setting it outside in the sun (70 F) it wouldn't dry and remained slightly sticky. This is setting me back big time because I really wanted to mount it to the display board..

But I did some more touchup paint work and fiddled some with the boom. I added the gaff fork to it as Dee_Dee suggested but now have a problem in holding it to the mast and making ready for fastening the sail to it. I know, I could have temporarily tied it ti the mast but instead I installed parrels inside the gaff type fork

I'm also working on the cord that prevents the boom from being pulled up by the sail. Very tricky place to work, it's between the cabin and mast, not much room to serve it.

I hope that the stain has dried enough by tomorrow so I can mount the boat to it and get on with the rigging. Looks like that making the sails will commence very soon.

Cheers to all,

popeye the sailor · January 23, 2015

looking awesome Piet! love the stand!

Dee_Dee · January 23, 2015

Piet,

Your MBLS is looking fantastic! I love the green color.

Here's a photo and some info to help you with attaching the boom and gaff.

Dee Dee

Piet · January 25, 2015

Thanks Popeye for taking the time out of your busy schedule and visiting. Thanks for the kudos too.

hello Dee_Dee and thanks for the picture of the detail of the boom. I like your mast hoops, squarish looking. I am soaking some 1.5 mm square wood stock and see if i can bend tem into hoops. I'd rather use wood then the brass rod the kit tells you to use.

I was not planning to use parrels for the gaff but may leave them on the boom.

I'll show a pic of how I have secured to boom in preventing it from riding up on the mast.

Cheers and thanks to all who clicked the like button.

Chees,

Piet · January 25, 2015

Yesterday was an okay day. I took that pesky display board inside the house Thursday evening and yesterday morning the stain and poly had cured just fine. It came out nice and smooth, like velvet.

I also cemented the centerboard to the keel last Thursday and cemented the trail boards to the bow. I decided to just paint a simple design on them using gold paint. They don't look bad at all this way.

So, yesterday, Friday, I could finally mount the little sloop to the display stand. I did make bamboo pins to help secure the sloop to the posts and used Titebond glue. Everything worked great. I could now attach the boom holding rope as Dee_Dee suggests. I did raise the boom somewhat to allow some slack in that rope so the boom can swing. I am leaving the parrels on it for my convenience in rigging and fastening the sail.

I also moved the lanyard cleats a little higher on the mast because they may get hooked into the boom fork.

So, it looks like I'm ready for the sails and that's another can of worms.

Here is the boom to mast detail in how my hold down rope looks. It's not completely finished yet but yuns get the idea.

This shows that hold down rope. It may allow the boom to lift up more then we really want but so be it. As you can see i have temporarily tied the boom up a little. The boom will be lower when the sail is attached. That little eyebolt on top of the boom is to tie the sail lacing cord to.

Cheers,

Piet · January 28, 2015

Thanks everyone for dropping in and clicking the like button, I truly appreciate it very much!

Let's see, Sunday midmorning I started to prep for a special dinner for Gwen and spend the rest of the day in the kitchen. I wanted to treat her to something she's been talking about, on and off. So I made Tournedos a la Bearnaise with Dutch style potato croquettes, glazed carrots and asparagus. I made my own bearnaise sauce, a lot of work but delish! She was impressed and liked everything. I would have done this on Monday, our 52 wedding anniversary, but figuring she wanted to go out for dinner to celebrate. But, no, she'd rather stay home and enjoy my cooking left-overs So we enjoyed our company home instead.

So then, yesterday I started with the sails. I cut tem out per the sail plan drawings and stained the white cloth supplied with the kit in coffee. They look slightly tanned and weathered. First i wanted to fold the edges over and glue a thin thread in the crease, glue corner reinforcing patches on but ran into a gluing problem. So instead I pencil lined all the seams in. Then I sprayed the sails with flat poly spray to stiffen the fabric instead of using the diluted wood glue. Worked out okay.

Put the reefing ropes in the mainsail.

Next I made the mainsail mast hoops from brass rod. Yeah, nothing like doing this after the mast is installed with all the hardware on it. To get them onto the mast I bend them apart enough to slip over the mast and then bent them back again. Worked fine. i also soldered the ends shut and painted them flat black. I wrapped some masking tape around the mast for the painting.

I also made a bunch of small brass rings to attach the jib to the forestay and installed the sail.

Today I installed the mainsail. I found that I could have made both sails slightly larger but at the stage in the build I'll have to leave it as is.

Tomorrow I'll fiddle with the jib and main sheets, coil the ends and lay them nicely on the deck.

Then I'll check things over and fiddle some more with details before calling it done.

Here is a picture as she is as of this moment.

Cheers,

Edited January 28, 2015 by Piet

GLakie · January 28, 2015

Hope you and Gwen had a Happy Anniversary Piet! Those sails turned out great and makes her look even more complete. A fitting end to a fun build I suspect.

Cheers

JesseLee · January 28, 2015

Looks great Piet ! :10_1_10:

jbshan · January 28, 2015

Don't know if this will blow up enough to help any...

I like a more subdued color palette, by the way.

I used acrylic artist's colors, matte medium on the sails. The darker color on them is from age/dust.

This is a pretty vessel; I liken it to a gull sitting on the water.

Joel Sanborn

Edited January 28, 2015 by jbshan

captainbob · January 28, 2015

She's such a lovely little boat. the green on the all white hull makes it pop.

Bob

Sjors · January 28, 2015

Piet,

Is there anything that you can not do ?????

Now he is making his own sails........

Or did Gwen that ???

Be honest with us Piet !!!!!!!

Enjoy your celebration on Monday !

52 years......that's long !!!!!!!!

Sjors

cog · January 28, 2015

Astonishing, sick but wounderful, marvelous work. Gwen must be very proud of you!!!

Piet · January 29, 2015

Thanks everybody for kind words and to all who clicked the like button.

Wait a minute folks, she's not finished yet!!! There are still a few details to be added yet. I hope to complete this little fun build in a few days.

@ George, Jesse, Carl and Bob, thank you.

@ Joel: That's a beautiful build and nice colors too. It looks like that people are using all kinds of materials to "tan" the sails. On my Friendship sloop model I used tea. It doesn't matter what we use as long as we are happy with the results.

She is indeed a lovely little boat, si graceful lines. No wonder that that design evolved into the Friendship sloop. Not only graceful but also quite seaworthy.

@ Sjors: Thanks for your kind words but you rate my abilities much too high. No, Gwen didn't make the sails, I did. I'd like for you to know that I used to sew my own shirts, did needle point and cross stitch end knitted my own socks. I even made the covering of an aircraft seat in real leather, hand stitched, pleated and rolled. Hey, when one is hungry and need an extra buck to feed the family you do what you have to do. Yeah, 52 years is indeed a long time and that with the same lovely girl too

She said, I never imagined being married to an old man - - - par am pam - ching - - - auch

Chee

dgbot · January 29, 2015

I just finished going through your log and enjoyed the whole thing. I also learned quite a bit at the same time. You did a splendid job.

David B

Piet · January 29, 2015

Today was rather productive. As mentioned yesterday I needed to tidy up the loose hanging sheets. So, that's what I did. This sounds like a simple job but I had to muster up some patience wrestling these springy "ropes."

I made double sticky tape from masking tape so the cords could be stuck to it as I tried to bend them to my will and not theirs. I have some clear all purpose glue and dabbed some on the coils to keep them in shape.

After the glue had cured I peeled the coils off the tape and with a small dap of the same glue I tacked them to the deck. For a static model that's not meant to be a toy I figured it would be best to secure them.

The jib sheets are just wrapped around the cleats in the cockpit with one loop hanging loose to make it look ready for action. Everything is secured with a dab of glue.

Well, that was it for today and now it's time for a few more details to finish her. One of the main things is the name board that'll be placed on the display board. I don't know yet how I'll do that. The other detail thingy's will be announced and shown in due time.

It doesn't look like a lot I did but I took this afternoon off. Actually, it was rather cold in the garage and I was not very comfortable, even with a jacket on. It was my lower legs that felt like icicles.

Okay, here are a few more pics.

This shows how I coiled the sheets.

Here are the jib and gaff halyards neatly coiled after being secured to the cleats on the mast.

Here is the main sheet cleated and then coiled on the aft deck.

This shows the jib sheets cleated and just looped over the cleat. I also stuck the oar thingies in. The oars are fastened under the deck overhang and out of sight

One more profile pic with all the rope work neated up and the flag tied to the sail, can't go without the flag.

Cheers,

Edited January 29, 2015 by Piet

augie · January 29, 2015

Getting everything Bristol Fashion! NICE

GLakie · January 29, 2015

She looks mighty nice Piet, mighty nice!

Cheers

mtaylor · January 29, 2015

Sweet boat, Piet. Looks exceptionally sharp.

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Muscongus Bay Lobster Smack by Piet - FINISHED - Midwest Products - length 15"

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