Bluejacket Tug Sequin 1/4” scale

[Jimsky]

I’m now trying to find a good wood filler to eliminate and fill in some the voids. I’ve found Elmers wood filler hard to work with. I don’t know if I had a bad batch, but I couldn’t apply it smoothly, it tended to roll and ball up as I applied it.
What do others use?

Hello Jan. IMHO, you may look for an epoxy type of filler. As you intend to sail this model, the hull must be waterproof. Epoxy should be your best bet. I didn't work with epoxy filler, maybe others can chime in?

 

[Rowboat]

Finally got some time to check out your build.
Nice job, lots of good information.
Yours is coming along nicely, mine seems to be stuck at the second planking stage.

I’ll stay tuned ......

 

[neptune]

G'day Jan, she is looking very nice, I love the shape, for filler i use the Car Bog type of filler, it sticks well and sands nicely, hope this helps,

best regards john,

 

[Pathfinder65]

G'day Jan, she is looking very nice, I love the shape, for filler i use the Car Bog type of filler, it sticks well and sands nicely, hope this helps,

best regards john,

Thanks for the hint. I assume ”car bog” is similar to “Bondo” and “body dent filler”?

Jan

 

[neptune]

Thanks for the hint. I assume ”car bog” is similar to “Bondo” and “body dent filler”?

Jan

Yes thats the stuff, its nice and fine and it sets quickly, and sands really well,

best regards john,

 

[Pathfinder65]

Hello Jan. IMHO, you may look for an epoxy type of filler. As you intend to sail this model, the hull must be waterproof. Epoxy should be your best bet. I didn't work with epoxy filler, maybe others can chime in?

Hi Jimsky,

I‘m not familiar working with Epoxy. Going to have to research that method.

Jan

 

[Pathfinder65]

Finally got some time to check out your build.
Nice job, lots of good information.
Yours is coming along nicely, mine seems to be stuck at the second planking stage.

I’ll stay tuned ......

The Tug is my third build, another great learning curve. I picked this build as a tutorial hoping to gain more building skills.

Jan

 

[Heinrich]

You are doing great and the tug is a nice change from the normal builds. I think learning new skills is part and parcel of wood model shipbuilding.
Kind regards - Heinrich

 

[Pathfinder65]

You are doing great and the tug is a nice change from the normal builds. I think learning new skills is part and parcel of wood model shipbuilding.
Kind regards - Heinrich

Heinrich,
Thank you for the reply, I'm enjoying my learning as you build.

Jan

 

[Pathfinder65]

Progress:

The first filling and sanding of the hull. A sunny warm day today, a good chance to make sawdust outside.



There are still several low and high spots that need to be worked on. The spacing between the bulkheads allows for some plank flexibility. The planks are glued to the bulkheads as well as each other, still there are several spots that seem "spongy". I think bracing those spots fro the inside will help a lot.

I have managed to break off all the horns glued to the bulkheads that extend up from the false deck, mainly between turning the hull upside down and on its side while planking and later sanding.



Another "do over fix"

Jan

 

[Heinrich]

Hi Jan

From the pictures, the hull looks GOOD. I am sure that bracing from the inside will improve rigidity. Just make sure that any bracing does not interfere with something else that needs to be added later on. I am sure that a drop of CA (even though I hate the stuff), will restore the bulkhead tips to "good as new"! Glad to see you back in the shipyard!

 

[Pathfinder65]

Hi Jan

From the pictures, the hull looks GOOD. I am sure that bracing from the inside will improve rigidity. Just make sure that any bracing does not interfere with something else that needs to be added later on. I am sure that a drop of CA (even though I hate the stuff), will restore the bulkhead tips to "good as new"! Glad to see you back in the shipyard!

Hi Heinrich,

I decided against the interior bracing, not much room to place anything in the interior. I'm going to try to brush Titebond II into the gaps while slightly pressing the planks in. Hopefully that will fix things.

Jan

 

[neptune]

G'day Jan, what I sometimes do is brush on some PVA glue and add some thin cloth material on top of it and stipple it into the glue, just like you would do with Fibre Glass, hope this helps you,
Best regards John,

 

[Pathfinder65]

G'day Jan, what I sometimes do is brush on some PVA glue and add some thin cloth material on top of it and stipple it into the glue, just like you would do with Fibre Glass, hope this helps you,
Best regards John,

John,

Great minds think alike. I made a mixture of lightly diluted PVA glue, placed some double ply tissue over the area and used a 1/4 inch wide brush with stiff bristles to cover everything.

We‘ll see how well it worked in the morning.

Jan

 

[Rowboat]

How do you have time to work on 2 ships, I barely make progress on my 1.
Looking good.

 

[Pathfinder65]

How do you have time to work on 2 ships, I barely make progress on my 1.
Looking good.

I think the key is Retirement. I'm in no particular hurry to complete any of my builds and take the time to plan the next step in the process.

Jan

 

[Pathfinder65]

Hull Sanding:

Beautiful day today, took advantage of the warmth and sunshine and sat outside to sand the Tugs hull. There are still couple of "hollow or low spots. I'll fill those and do another sanding later in the week.



The blue tape is not part of the build. I'm trying to protect those areas from sanding damage.

Jan

 

[Kurt Konrath]

Looks like your chugging along on the old tug....

 

[Pathfinder65]

Hmmm, good weather and summer chores decrease the amount of time spent in the boatyard.

Todays time was spent on repairing some of the mistakes I made on the Tug’s hull. In my enthusiastic sanding, filling voids and more sanding of the hull I managed to break off every one of the bulkhead extension. Those have all been replaced by 3/32“ square Maple pieces.

The scribed deck was temporarily held in place with glue from an Elmers glue stick while I fitted the pieces of the waterway between the new bulkhead extensions . When I was satisfied that the waterway and the deck were a good fit, the waterway pieces were soaked and then glued and pinned to the false deck.


The waterway is used to eliminate the gap between the scribed deck and the edge of the first plank.



The rubber bands work great holding everything together for a test fit.

Jan

 

[Heinrich]

It is really looking good, Jan! I love the green colour.