The answer will determine how I color it.
Never mind. The Admiral informed me the directions call it the “cabinet.”
I finally got the staircases done. It was not easy. I held my breath a lot. 
I cut off some beaded pins for the knobs. I lost one of the supplied parts so I improvised. 
Vic, it is a binnacle: cabinet for navigation devices such as the compass. It does missing a ventilation cap to ventilate the light, and I think there is a marks for that on your photo.
Thanks, Jimsky! I tried to look online, but didn’t find anything. I once used a sextant when navigating the B-52 bomber.
Maybe it should have a ventilation cap, but I didn’t see one provided. I’ll look again.
, the instructions have the wheel facing aft so the binnacle is at the helmsman’s rear. Does that make sense?
The binnacle should be placed in front of the steering wheel. Check the below photo with arrows. Your kit might have something for the vent in the middle
This seems like an odd configuration with the wheel and helmsman facing aft and the binnacle toward the bow. 
Vic, don't bother too much. BP is a fantasy ship, everything there possible. But to confirm the weirdness see below:
A binnacle is a waist-high case or stand on the deck of a ship, generally mounted in front of the helmsman, in which navigational instruments are placed for easy and quick reference as well as to protect the delicate instruments. Its traditional purpose was to hold the ship's magnetic compass, mounted in gimbals to keep it level while the ship pitched and rolled. A binnacle may be subdivided into sections and its contents typically include one or more compasses and an oil lamp or other light source. Other devices such as a sand timer for estimating speed may have been stored in the binnacle as well.
A binnacle is a waist-high case or stand on the deck of a ship, generally mounted in front of the helmsman, in which navigational instruments are placed for easy and quick reference as well as to protect the delicate instruments. Its traditional purpose was to hold the ship's magnetic compass, mounted in gimbals to keep it level while the ship pitched and rolled. A binnacle may be subdivided into sections and its contents typically include one or more compasses and an oil lamp or other light source. Other devices such as a sand timer for estimating speed may have been stored in the binnacle as well.
I suppose he can stand beside the wheel instead of behind.
Wheel and binnacle installed. Printed compass rose on photo paper and cut out. Too bad can’t see skull in center of compass. 
I think this quite likely.
Used copper wire as pins affix belaying pin racks to side of ship. 
wow, those stairs look really hard.
You did a great job, they turned out nice.
I'm learning so much from your build .
Keep up the good work.
You did a great job, they turned out nice.
I'm learning so much from your build .
Keep up the good work.
Thanks, brother. They aren’t as nice as I would have liked, but better than expected. I had to use copper pins to keep them in place for the glue to dry. Next time I would put on the top rail before the spindles were dry so I could move the tops of the spindles to engage the rail better. I wound up using wood putty to fix mistakes. I’m glad they are done.
I was having trouble finding when to add the wales. I figured it had to be before I started on the prow. I was trying to figure out how to bend the wales the right amount. I soaked and bent them with a hot iron. It didn’t bend it perfectly, but it was close. So how do I keep it in place while i glue it? I drill holes into the board and hull and stick a copper wire in them temporarily while the glue dries and then I can bend it slightly as I go. 
