I’d stop but then the OCD part of me would not be able to rest
-
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Bluenose 1:64 by Model Shipways - Build log
- Thread starter HughLo
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Nicely done. This step was the one I lost the most sleep thinking about how to do it well.
After each step I have the sense of joy and accomplishment but it’s followed quickly by a sense of apprehension as I start thinking about the next step. I know it’s not next, but I’m already thinking about the deck furniture, especially the stuff at the bow. And don’t get me thinking about rigging
7/4 to 8/5
The Rocky Mountain Shipwrights workshop is on Saturday (7/6), and I thought I would use the time to catch up with friends and figure out what I would work on next. Even though I had planned to work on the eyelets next, I was not sure they would be the best fit for the workshop. After a bit of research, I decided to do prep work for the rudder.
At the workshop I sanded the rudder to taper it from front to back as well as top to bottom. I still need to shape and glue a dowel near the top, but I did not bring one so it will have to wait. Once I get home, I will attach a sanded 5/32” dowel to the top of the rudder after using my GOXAWEE to carve a small gouge into it and add a little filler. I will wrap it up by sanding everything smooth and then adding two coats of gray primer.
It still needs to be painted red and a touch of black, but that can wait.
Next up are the pintles and gudgeons, and based on a number of build logs, including the Suburban Ship Modeler and GGibson over on MSW, I decided to glue the brass strips to a piece of wood and mark out where the holes will go on the pintles and gudgeons. The pictures in their build logs helped plot this out plus GGibson stated his measurements between the holes so I was able to draw it out on a board once I got home.
I am hopeful this method will go smoother than my drilling did for the chainplates. I was able to drill the holes in them, but I fought with it throughout the entire process.
If this method works better (low bar in my opinion), I will go back and edit my last post recommending drilling the chainplates in the same fashion.
So, about an hour prepping to board and glueing the six strips down, and then about an hour to drill the thirty holes - without an error. I definitely recommend this method for the pintles and gudgeons as well as any future chainplates.
At this point, I have come to the realization that I am struggling to find time for building. I know they are excuses, but life is getting in the way. From some painful teeth/jaw issues (compounded by the fact that my dental insurance doesn’t kick in until August 1st), to our 100 pound Great Pyrenees getting sprayed by a skunk three days before a trip to North Carolina to visit family, to some major on-going renovations to our patio and deck (including preparing to add a 12x20 gazebo), compounded by some child custody and support issues for my daughter and her kids that have been in the court system since January of 2023 - yes over a year and a half and he hasn’t physically seen the kids or helped financially at all, not even a bag of diapers. Deadbeat in every sense of the word - and that comes from a single dad who raised two daughters with truly little assistance from their mom and even less that was not court enforced. And did I mention my wife has Parkinson’s and had Deep Brain Stimulation surgery recently?! I am not looking for sympathy, just stating some facts.
But with the bad comes the good… I’m getting closer to my dentist appointment and have done ok on a combination of OxyContin and klonipin, we were able to get rid of most of the skunk smell with a combination of hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, and dawn dish soap, the NC trip was great (other than the CrowdStrike issue that occurred right after takeoff while we were in the air), the patio and deck are coming together nicely, and we believe the courts are finally catching up with Mr Deadbeat (but in the meantime we’ve been able to spend a lot more time with the grandkids - I even started a wooden boat model with my grandson - more on that in a separate post), and my wife is doing great. It is just a lot of stuff that is not letting me focus on my Bluenose.
And then just as things started to move in the positive direction, COVID hit me with a vengeance. I am up to date with my boosters and have had it previously, but this was a bad bout of it for me. I was able to get on paxlovid and at least it made me feel a bit better, but it’s expensive ($200) and one of the side effects is that it leaves a really nasty taste in your mouth - a taste that does not go away until it’s almost time to take the next dose. I am feeling better, but it knocked me down for a solid 4 days and made me miss my dentist appointment as well as our club’s workshop on Saturday.
So finally, after a number of days lying in bed, today was the first day where I felt like doing anything other than napping. I.E. - It is Bluenose time.
With my scattered mind I decide to get things ready for the bowsprit. I cut it from a kit supplied 3/16 dowel. I drill the hole for the bowsprit at the tip of the bow and widen it until the dowel will fit through it.
It will need to be shaped, but right now I'm just getting the bowsprit and creating the hole.
I drilled out the Britannia mooring chocks, first with a 1/64” drill bit then followed with a 3/64” bit. I cleaned them up with some 400-grit sandpaper and then used a 1/16” bit to drill the hole for it in the rail then widened it with a small file.
I will paint them yellow on the outside of the hull as they line up perfectly with the yellow line of the hull once they are installed.
I then marked and drilled the holes in the stanchions for the eyebolts and rings using a 0.5mm micro drill bit. I spent quite a bit of time trying to make sure I was going to put them on the correct stanchion, only to find out that while I am sure they were used on the actual ship, nothing connects to them on the model - so they are just for decoration.
I then added the rings to the eyebolts and cut about a third of the shaft of the eyebolts off.
A drop of CA glue on the shaft and slide it into the predrilled holes… but no, the 0.5mm holes were too small. And given the tiny diameter of the eyebolt shaft, if you try to push it in, it bends. Argh.
On a test piece of wood, I drill a 0.6mm hole (the next bigger size that I have) and check to see if an eyebolt will fit - and it does! So, I re-drilled the holes using the 0.6mm bit and started glueing in the eyebolts and rings. Most of them go in as expected, but four of them do not slide into the holes and the shaft bent. Instead of connecting four rings to four eyebolts to replace the bent ones, I decided to do them separately. I trim the shaft and glue the eyebolt into the hole and then attach the ring.
These four replacements are a pain as it is difficult to pinch the ring closed while the eyebolt is already attached, but at least there are only four of them.
Jumping back to the rudder, I paint the small shaft black.
Once dried, I add two coats of clear satin finish. Now it is really time for the pintles and gudgeons, but I will cover that in my next write up.
Grandson’s 1st model
A while back I picked up a youth kit of the "Bermuda" from Alice Sampson's (a Rocky Mountain Shipwright's club member) company Seaworthy Small Ships. Alice and her business partner Julius Spradley recently took the helm of the company and will continue the production of a wide range of wooden toy boat model kits. These high-quality kits allow new and younger modelers the ability to discover the joys of modeling plus their model can sail in about any body of water.
Since my grandson is seven ½ (he will tell you that he is 8), I thought I would give it a go. He knows about my ship models and was excited to start his own build. After a quick rundown of the overall process, he started sanding... and sanding, and even more sanding. After he was a bit tired of hand sanding, I let him use my hand-held orbital sander.
He enjoyed using a power tool "all by himself” and heard more than a few times that the tool we will use most often is our patience.
We then added the fin and talked about painting. He wanted a rainbow pattern but accepted my idea of a red hull with a black stripe. The rainbow would be on the "deck" and "sail". I then explained why we needed to first paint it with a primer.
And while he asked a couple of times "why is it grey?", he humored his grandfather, especially when I gave him the can of spray paint. I wish I would have taken some pictures, but my hands were full of a 7 1/2 year old holding a live can of spray paint...
We then let a few coats of primer dry.
On his next visit, we went after the red hull - which first meant taping it off. As with the primer being grey, he asked a few times about the green tape, but again humored me. I put the first piece of tape on, while he did the rest, although I helped keep it where we wanted it. I then let him loose with the brush-on acrylic red paint and he did a few coats.
On his next visit, we removed the tape, and he was AMAZED at the results - saying they looked "like an artist had done them". I pointed out that "he" was the artist.
We then taped off for the black stripe and again I let him do a few coats.
Unfortunately, that is where we stand as both of our lives have been busy plus I have had covid. Next up will be taping off the deck for the rainbow pattern.
Work time: 7.5 hours
Total work time: 251.5 hours
The Rocky Mountain Shipwrights workshop is on Saturday (7/6), and I thought I would use the time to catch up with friends and figure out what I would work on next. Even though I had planned to work on the eyelets next, I was not sure they would be the best fit for the workshop. After a bit of research, I decided to do prep work for the rudder.
At the workshop I sanded the rudder to taper it from front to back as well as top to bottom. I still need to shape and glue a dowel near the top, but I did not bring one so it will have to wait. Once I get home, I will attach a sanded 5/32” dowel to the top of the rudder after using my GOXAWEE to carve a small gouge into it and add a little filler. I will wrap it up by sanding everything smooth and then adding two coats of gray primer.
It still needs to be painted red and a touch of black, but that can wait.
Next up are the pintles and gudgeons, and based on a number of build logs, including the Suburban Ship Modeler and GGibson over on MSW, I decided to glue the brass strips to a piece of wood and mark out where the holes will go on the pintles and gudgeons. The pictures in their build logs helped plot this out plus GGibson stated his measurements between the holes so I was able to draw it out on a board once I got home.
I am hopeful this method will go smoother than my drilling did for the chainplates. I was able to drill the holes in them, but I fought with it throughout the entire process.
If this method works better (low bar in my opinion), I will go back and edit my last post recommending drilling the chainplates in the same fashion.
So, about an hour prepping to board and glueing the six strips down, and then about an hour to drill the thirty holes - without an error. I definitely recommend this method for the pintles and gudgeons as well as any future chainplates.
At this point, I have come to the realization that I am struggling to find time for building. I know they are excuses, but life is getting in the way. From some painful teeth/jaw issues (compounded by the fact that my dental insurance doesn’t kick in until August 1st), to our 100 pound Great Pyrenees getting sprayed by a skunk three days before a trip to North Carolina to visit family, to some major on-going renovations to our patio and deck (including preparing to add a 12x20 gazebo), compounded by some child custody and support issues for my daughter and her kids that have been in the court system since January of 2023 - yes over a year and a half and he hasn’t physically seen the kids or helped financially at all, not even a bag of diapers. Deadbeat in every sense of the word - and that comes from a single dad who raised two daughters with truly little assistance from their mom and even less that was not court enforced. And did I mention my wife has Parkinson’s and had Deep Brain Stimulation surgery recently?! I am not looking for sympathy, just stating some facts.
But with the bad comes the good… I’m getting closer to my dentist appointment and have done ok on a combination of OxyContin and klonipin, we were able to get rid of most of the skunk smell with a combination of hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, and dawn dish soap, the NC trip was great (other than the CrowdStrike issue that occurred right after takeoff while we were in the air), the patio and deck are coming together nicely, and we believe the courts are finally catching up with Mr Deadbeat (but in the meantime we’ve been able to spend a lot more time with the grandkids - I even started a wooden boat model with my grandson - more on that in a separate post), and my wife is doing great. It is just a lot of stuff that is not letting me focus on my Bluenose.
And then just as things started to move in the positive direction, COVID hit me with a vengeance. I am up to date with my boosters and have had it previously, but this was a bad bout of it for me. I was able to get on paxlovid and at least it made me feel a bit better, but it’s expensive ($200) and one of the side effects is that it leaves a really nasty taste in your mouth - a taste that does not go away until it’s almost time to take the next dose. I am feeling better, but it knocked me down for a solid 4 days and made me miss my dentist appointment as well as our club’s workshop on Saturday.
So finally, after a number of days lying in bed, today was the first day where I felt like doing anything other than napping. I.E. - It is Bluenose time.
With my scattered mind I decide to get things ready for the bowsprit. I cut it from a kit supplied 3/16 dowel. I drill the hole for the bowsprit at the tip of the bow and widen it until the dowel will fit through it.
It will need to be shaped, but right now I'm just getting the bowsprit and creating the hole.
I drilled out the Britannia mooring chocks, first with a 1/64” drill bit then followed with a 3/64” bit. I cleaned them up with some 400-grit sandpaper and then used a 1/16” bit to drill the hole for it in the rail then widened it with a small file.
I will paint them yellow on the outside of the hull as they line up perfectly with the yellow line of the hull once they are installed.
I then marked and drilled the holes in the stanchions for the eyebolts and rings using a 0.5mm micro drill bit. I spent quite a bit of time trying to make sure I was going to put them on the correct stanchion, only to find out that while I am sure they were used on the actual ship, nothing connects to them on the model - so they are just for decoration.
I then added the rings to the eyebolts and cut about a third of the shaft of the eyebolts off.
A drop of CA glue on the shaft and slide it into the predrilled holes… but no, the 0.5mm holes were too small. And given the tiny diameter of the eyebolt shaft, if you try to push it in, it bends. Argh.
On a test piece of wood, I drill a 0.6mm hole (the next bigger size that I have) and check to see if an eyebolt will fit - and it does! So, I re-drilled the holes using the 0.6mm bit and started glueing in the eyebolts and rings. Most of them go in as expected, but four of them do not slide into the holes and the shaft bent. Instead of connecting four rings to four eyebolts to replace the bent ones, I decided to do them separately. I trim the shaft and glue the eyebolt into the hole and then attach the ring.
These four replacements are a pain as it is difficult to pinch the ring closed while the eyebolt is already attached, but at least there are only four of them.
Jumping back to the rudder, I paint the small shaft black.
Once dried, I add two coats of clear satin finish. Now it is really time for the pintles and gudgeons, but I will cover that in my next write up.
Grandson’s 1st model
A while back I picked up a youth kit of the "Bermuda" from Alice Sampson's (a Rocky Mountain Shipwright's club member) company Seaworthy Small Ships. Alice and her business partner Julius Spradley recently took the helm of the company and will continue the production of a wide range of wooden toy boat model kits. These high-quality kits allow new and younger modelers the ability to discover the joys of modeling plus their model can sail in about any body of water.
Since my grandson is seven ½ (he will tell you that he is 8), I thought I would give it a go. He knows about my ship models and was excited to start his own build. After a quick rundown of the overall process, he started sanding... and sanding, and even more sanding. After he was a bit tired of hand sanding, I let him use my hand-held orbital sander.
He enjoyed using a power tool "all by himself” and heard more than a few times that the tool we will use most often is our patience.
We then added the fin and talked about painting. He wanted a rainbow pattern but accepted my idea of a red hull with a black stripe. The rainbow would be on the "deck" and "sail". I then explained why we needed to first paint it with a primer.
And while he asked a couple of times "why is it grey?", he humored his grandfather, especially when I gave him the can of spray paint. I wish I would have taken some pictures, but my hands were full of a 7 1/2 year old holding a live can of spray paint...
We then let a few coats of primer dry.
On his next visit, we went after the red hull - which first meant taping it off. As with the primer being grey, he asked a few times about the green tape, but again humored me. I put the first piece of tape on, while he did the rest, although I helped keep it where we wanted it. I then let him loose with the brush-on acrylic red paint and he did a few coats.
On his next visit, we removed the tape, and he was AMAZED at the results - saying they looked "like an artist had done them". I pointed out that "he" was the artist.
We then taped off for the black stripe and again I let him do a few coats.
Unfortunately, that is where we stand as both of our lives have been busy plus I have had covid. Next up will be taping off the deck for the rainbow pattern.
Work time: 7.5 hours
Total work time: 251.5 hours
Looks like a lot of fun building with your grandson.
My building has been slow this summer as well. Too much work amongst other things.
6/5/25 to 6/16/25
It’s almost impossible to believe that it has been 10 months since I last worked on my Bluenose, but somehow it has been. Six of those months we were traveling so I can't complain, but it was still difficult to believe I hadn't touched it in so long. The cruise including 4 and 1/2 months in PV and one month on a cruise around the southern tip of South America. The ship went through the Strait of Magellan and to Cape Horn.
It was an amazing trip. I got to see and explore a lot of very historic maritime places, with my favorite being the maritime museum in Ushuaia. Ushuaia is nicknamed the “End of the World” as it is the furthest southern city in the world sure there are a couple of settlements, but no cities as of yet.
Now onto my Bluenose.
I had created a “what’s next” for me to do, but while I was in Vallarta beginning work on my pirate ship Molino, I switched gears and decided to follow the instructions a bit more than I had been doing. On the Molino this plan of attack worked well as it’s made by OcCre and I believe they have pretty good instructions, at least the “step by step” instructions. All the detail might not be given, but the order appears to be good.
The Bluenose is made by Model Shipways, and while the plans are pretty good, the “step by step” instructions could definitely be improved. Up to this point I had about 3 or 4 build logs that I was watching and then combining them to decide what to do next. I’m still following the build logs and taking what I like the best from each of them, but I’ve decided to use the instructions more to determine what I should be doing next. Novel idea, right? So, while I was expecting to continue working on the rudder and the pintles & gudgeons, the instructions pointed me towards the deck furniture and structures.
First up was the main cabin, but after researching it for a bit, I decided to go after the wheelhouse instead. The main cabin is the most complex structure on the ship, so I decided that it might not be the best choice for doing first. Then I decided on the wheelhouse instead, and while it is pretty basic, I was still spinning my wheels. I think mostly because of how small (around 1/4”) one side is or appears to be.
To make things easier, I decided on going after the 2 hatches, and other than their low profile (1/4”), they are very straightforward, being a square and a rectangle. Working on these will at least get me in the world of creating something around 1/4” in height.
But as with all the deck furniture, the instructions have a lot to be desired with them only saying “Build them either as planked structures or substitute 1/16” or 1/32” basswood sheets.” No other measurements or stepped instructions, just “build them.” This is where I lean on the build logs that I really like for assistance. In no particular order they are Jeff_T on Ships of Scale, Suburban Ship Modeler, and Gary Brinker on YouTube.
The hatches are both 1/4” tall and 0.95” wide. They vary in their length; one is 0.95” (making it square) and the other is 1.42”.
Here’s a list of the lumber I’ll be using:
The parts I’ll need for the 2 frames are:
Piece by piece, I measured, cut, sanded, and dry fit all of the 18 pieces of the small hatch. I then drew a pattern on it so that I could remove the pieces from the frame and recreate it while gluing all of it together. I used two metal rectangular weights to make sure it dries square.
The reason it has to be removed to be glued is that the frame is painted white while the top is to be stained. I'm not sure of the color yet. I want it to be complimentary but different than the deck which was done with a Minwax polyshade; satin classic oak. Sounds like a trip to the store is in my near future.
I first tried an English chestnut, but it was just too dark (looked more like a dark walnut), then I tried a classic oak, and it too was just too dark. These were both water-based stains so I switched to an oil based one and the third time was the charm as I settled golden pecan.
To finish the frame, I used a little filler, then sanded it, and painted it white.
Once the hatch cover was dried, I sanded it, and test fit it into the frame. Although I stand by my idea to draw the little pattern on it, it did require more sanding than I had expected to be removed. Once it fits in the frame, and the pattern is removed, I stain it using a golden pecan stain.
I add the coamings right at deck level (also stained with golden pecan) and once everything is dried, I place a small strip of sandpaper on the deck (approximately where the hatch will be located) and give the bottom of the hatch a little sanding to have it match the curve of the deck. Nice little trick that I can’t remember where I saw it.
I made the larger frame at the same time I made the small frame and now completed the top in much the same manner as before and wrapped it up by sanding it to lay more securely on the deck.
I put 16 eyebolts and rings together and then drilled 0.6mm holes for them. The shafts of the eyebolts on the hatches needed to have about a 1/3rd removed, while no trimming was necessary for those in the deck. A drop of glue on each hole followed by a drop on each shaft as they were inserted into the holes.
A little clean-up of the glue and the hatches are done.
We have a trip to North Carolina in a few days so my time on the Bluenose is probably done for a week or so.
Work time: 10.5 hours
Total work time: 262 hours
It’s almost impossible to believe that it has been 10 months since I last worked on my Bluenose, but somehow it has been. Six of those months we were traveling so I can't complain, but it was still difficult to believe I hadn't touched it in so long. The cruise including 4 and 1/2 months in PV and one month on a cruise around the southern tip of South America. The ship went through the Strait of Magellan and to Cape Horn.
It was an amazing trip. I got to see and explore a lot of very historic maritime places, with my favorite being the maritime museum in Ushuaia. Ushuaia is nicknamed the “End of the World” as it is the furthest southern city in the world sure there are a couple of settlements, but no cities as of yet.
Now onto my Bluenose.
I had created a “what’s next” for me to do, but while I was in Vallarta beginning work on my pirate ship Molino, I switched gears and decided to follow the instructions a bit more than I had been doing. On the Molino this plan of attack worked well as it’s made by OcCre and I believe they have pretty good instructions, at least the “step by step” instructions. All the detail might not be given, but the order appears to be good.
The Bluenose is made by Model Shipways, and while the plans are pretty good, the “step by step” instructions could definitely be improved. Up to this point I had about 3 or 4 build logs that I was watching and then combining them to decide what to do next. I’m still following the build logs and taking what I like the best from each of them, but I’ve decided to use the instructions more to determine what I should be doing next. Novel idea, right? So, while I was expecting to continue working on the rudder and the pintles & gudgeons, the instructions pointed me towards the deck furniture and structures.
First up was the main cabin, but after researching it for a bit, I decided to go after the wheelhouse instead. The main cabin is the most complex structure on the ship, so I decided that it might not be the best choice for doing first. Then I decided on the wheelhouse instead, and while it is pretty basic, I was still spinning my wheels. I think mostly because of how small (around 1/4”) one side is or appears to be.
To make things easier, I decided on going after the 2 hatches, and other than their low profile (1/4”), they are very straightforward, being a square and a rectangle. Working on these will at least get me in the world of creating something around 1/4” in height.
But as with all the deck furniture, the instructions have a lot to be desired with them only saying “Build them either as planked structures or substitute 1/16” or 1/32” basswood sheets.” No other measurements or stepped instructions, just “build them.” This is where I lean on the build logs that I really like for assistance. In no particular order they are Jeff_T on Ships of Scale, Suburban Ship Modeler, and Gary Brinker on YouTube.
The hatches are both 1/4” tall and 0.95” wide. They vary in their length; one is 0.95” (making it square) and the other is 1.42”.
Here’s a list of the lumber I’ll be using:
- Sides: 1/4” x 1/16”
- Insets: 1/5” x 1/16” (these will hold the top)
- Brace: 1/5” x 1/8” (to help support the top)
- Tops: 1/8” x 1/16” wrapped/framed in 1/16” x 1/16”
- Coamings: 1/16” x 1/16”
The parts I’ll need for the 2 frames are:
- Small hatch frame
- 2 sides at 0.95
- 2 sides at 0.83 (0.95 - 0.12; 0.12 equals the width of the other 2 sides as 1/16” basically equals 0.06”)
- Multiple insets at either 0.83” or 0.95”
- 2 insets at 0.83” (for the 0.95” sides)
- 2 insets at 0.71” (for the 0.83” sides)
- 3 braces at 0.83
- Large hatch
- 2 sides at 0.95
- 2 sides at 1.3 (1.42 - 0.12)
- 2 insets at 0.83” (for the 0.95” sides)
- 2 insets at 1.18” (for the 1.3” sides)
- 3 braces at 0.83
Piece by piece, I measured, cut, sanded, and dry fit all of the 18 pieces of the small hatch. I then drew a pattern on it so that I could remove the pieces from the frame and recreate it while gluing all of it together. I used two metal rectangular weights to make sure it dries square.
The reason it has to be removed to be glued is that the frame is painted white while the top is to be stained. I'm not sure of the color yet. I want it to be complimentary but different than the deck which was done with a Minwax polyshade; satin classic oak. Sounds like a trip to the store is in my near future.
I first tried an English chestnut, but it was just too dark (looked more like a dark walnut), then I tried a classic oak, and it too was just too dark. These were both water-based stains so I switched to an oil based one and the third time was the charm as I settled golden pecan.
To finish the frame, I used a little filler, then sanded it, and painted it white.
Once the hatch cover was dried, I sanded it, and test fit it into the frame. Although I stand by my idea to draw the little pattern on it, it did require more sanding than I had expected to be removed. Once it fits in the frame, and the pattern is removed, I stain it using a golden pecan stain.
I add the coamings right at deck level (also stained with golden pecan) and once everything is dried, I place a small strip of sandpaper on the deck (approximately where the hatch will be located) and give the bottom of the hatch a little sanding to have it match the curve of the deck. Nice little trick that I can’t remember where I saw it.
I made the larger frame at the same time I made the small frame and now completed the top in much the same manner as before and wrapped it up by sanding it to lay more securely on the deck.
I put 16 eyebolts and rings together and then drilled 0.6mm holes for them. The shafts of the eyebolts on the hatches needed to have about a 1/3rd removed, while no trimming was necessary for those in the deck. A drop of glue on each hole followed by a drop on each shaft as they were inserted into the holes.
A little clean-up of the glue and the hatches are done.
We have a trip to North Carolina in a few days so my time on the Bluenose is probably done for a week or so.
Work time: 10.5 hours
Total work time: 262 hours
Good to see you back on the build of your BN. Nice additions on the deck.
Regards, Peter
As I’m preparing to build the wheelhouse, I keep stopping whenever I read this little note saying that sometimes the area “within” the groves was painted burnt umber.
What keeps bugging me is that on all the build logs (at least those I remember) either the entire side is painted white or the middle section is stained. I don’t remember seeing one that has only the section between the grooves painted, almost like pinstripes.
What’s everyone’s thoughts about this note? Am I reading it wrong? I know it is minuscule, but before I paint or stain the side, I wanted to throw it out to the audience.
What keeps bugging me is that on all the build logs (at least those I remember) either the entire side is painted white or the middle section is stained. I don’t remember seeing one that has only the section between the grooves painted, almost like pinstripes.
What’s everyone’s thoughts about this note? Am I reading it wrong? I know it is minuscule, but before I paint or stain the side, I wanted to throw it out to the audience.
I think it’s a FI (Free Interpretation) of MS. If you want the looks of the original then this can help you:
When you enlarge the picture there is a small grove on the inside of the dark insert.
Regards, Peter
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Looks like a decorative (maybe) mahogany or walnut crotch veneered panel surrounded by an ogee (or double ogee) molding,
Thanks for the visual reminder. Pretty sure this is what I’m going to do.
6/23/25 to 7/1/25
Time for the wheelhouse.
As was the case for the hatches (actually all of the deck furniture/structures), there are no instructions or measurements, just a statement that says, “build them.” Previously I thought I would start with the main cabin and wheelhouse, but very quickly felt in over my head just to build them, so I built the hatches first to have a victory. I assume that if I really searched through all the various build logs, I could find what I am looking for, but instead of spinning my wheels (something I highly likely to do), I decided that I would create instructions.
I had a trip to visit my family in North Carolina and knew I would have some alone time each morning since I was an early riser. With this in mind, I brought along everything I thought I would need to create instructions for the main cabin and wheelhouse.
Each morning, I broke out my caliper, t-bevel, pencil, some paper, copies of the plans of the main cabin and wheelhouse and began transferring the dimensions and angles over to a blank sheet of paper.
After just a few mornings, I had what you will find below, plus a few corrections and adjustments I ran into when actually building the wheelhouse.
With a bit of luck, it will all go together as planned and look good without too many issues.
While some may feel like these instructions are overkill, they made putting the wheelhouse together quite easy, at least for me. For those not into instructions, look at the pictures while you scroll down. I expect the main cabin will take more time as it is a more complex structure (and so are the instructions), but hopefully the instructions lead me down the correct path.
Now on with my wheelhouse directions.
All of the wheelhouse will be made with 1/16” (0.06”) stock. Here are the parts that are needed:
Overall, I am incredibly pleased with how it turned out.
Of the 9 hours shown below, about 3.5 hours were spent on creating the instructions leaving about 5.5 hours of actual build time. The 3.5 hours included creating not only the instructions for the wheelhouse, but for the main cabin as well. I did not separate my design time between the two structures or from the actual physical build time.
Next up… the main cabin.
Work time: 9.0 hours
Total work time: 271 hours
Time for the wheelhouse.
As was the case for the hatches (actually all of the deck furniture/structures), there are no instructions or measurements, just a statement that says, “build them.” Previously I thought I would start with the main cabin and wheelhouse, but very quickly felt in over my head just to build them, so I built the hatches first to have a victory. I assume that if I really searched through all the various build logs, I could find what I am looking for, but instead of spinning my wheels (something I highly likely to do), I decided that I would create instructions.
I had a trip to visit my family in North Carolina and knew I would have some alone time each morning since I was an early riser. With this in mind, I brought along everything I thought I would need to create instructions for the main cabin and wheelhouse.
Each morning, I broke out my caliper, t-bevel, pencil, some paper, copies of the plans of the main cabin and wheelhouse and began transferring the dimensions and angles over to a blank sheet of paper.
After just a few mornings, I had what you will find below, plus a few corrections and adjustments I ran into when actually building the wheelhouse.
With a bit of luck, it will all go together as planned and look good without too many issues.
While some may feel like these instructions are overkill, they made putting the wheelhouse together quite easy, at least for me. For those not into instructions, look at the pictures while you scroll down. I expect the main cabin will take more time as it is a more complex structure (and so are the instructions), but hopefully the instructions lead me down the correct path.
Now on with my wheelhouse directions.
All of the wheelhouse will be made with 1/16” (0.06”) stock. Here are the parts that are needed:
- Quadrilateral sides; two are needed (cut out of 1/16” x 4” board)
- Start with a rectangular piece that is 1” x 0.6”. This will then be cut and sanded down to the non-square quadrilateral shape of the wheelhouse. The odd angles are about 70 degrees.
- Bow side (made from 1/16” x 1/2” board):
- [width of wheelhouse - (2 * thickness of side boards)] x (height of side + 0.06”)
- [0.53” - (0.06 * 2)] x (0.0.44” + 0.06”) =
- 0.41” x 0.5”
- Stern side (from 1/16” x 1/4” board):
- [width of wheelhouse - (2 * thickness of side boards)] x (height of side + 0.06”)
- [0.53” - (0.06” * 2)] x (0.19” + 0.06”) =
- 0.41” x 0.25”
- Top; made with six 1/16” x 1/8” planks, not solid board. The 6 planks will cover the top of the wheelhouse plus have ~1/16” overhang on the sides. The lengths are:
- [length of wheelhouse + (1/4” overhand on aft and bow sides)]
- [0.8 + (0.06 * 2)] = 0.92”
- Top pieces; two are needed. These will be glued to the bottom of the end pieces of the top, aligning with the notches on the aft and bow sides. After sanding, these will allow for a top that looks curved. Made with the same planks as the top; 1/16” x 1/8” planks. The lengths will be the same as those on top; 0.92.”
- Coamings: These will be made from 0.06” x 0.06” (1/16” x 1/16”) boards, miter cut to size.
- Make the two quadrilateral sides, by first cutting out two 1” x 0.6” boards from the 1/16” x 4” board.
- Cut/sand off section “1”; angle is 70 degrees.
- Cut/sand off section “2”; angle is 70 degrees.
- Cut/sand off section “3”; angle is 90 degrees
- This will create a quadrilateral piece that has side lengths of 0.19” (stern), 0.72” (top), 0.45” (bow), and 0.79” bottom.
- Cut and sand bow & stern sections.
- Glue the four sides of the wheelhouse together.
- Make the top using six of the previously cut 1/16” x 1/8” planks.
- Use a pencil to mark the plank sides.
- Glue the top pieces to the edges of the top, ensuring the top fits over the wheelhouse frame.
- Round thick edges and corners of top and sand.
- The wheelhouse will be two colors. The main part will be white, while the center sections of the quadrilateral sides will be stained golden pecan. To get this effect, I will first stain the quadrilateral sides (2 coats).
- Ensure the stain is dried and tape off the center of the quadrilateral sides with a smaller quadrilateral. Make sure the tape is securely attached.
- Stain at the edges of the tape. This hopefully will seal any small gaps that would allow paint to bleed under the tape. This technique works very well with different colors of paint, but this is stain and paint. I tested it and it worked well on a scrap piece of wood - so hopefully it will work on the actual wheelhouse.
- Stain the top golden pecan (2 coats).
- Paint the wheelhouse white (2 coats).
- Here is the first item that did not go as planned. Even with two coats of white paint on the front side of the wheelhouse, I could still see where the wood was glued together at the corners. So, I sanded it a bit and then gave it a coat of white paint. Definitely better, so I wait a little and give it a second coat.
- Using a hobby knife, score along the edge of the tape.
- Remove the tape over the inset.
- I am extremely happy about how this turned out as I was a bit worried about taping over the stain, but it worked well. And because the paint is thicker than the stain, the stained sections actually look like they are inset.
- Glue top to wheelhouse base.
- Put satin varnish on anything that was stained.
- Quick note I just realized that I did not do this to the stained pieces of the hatches. They are done now.
- Miter cut coamings to fit.
- Stain coamings using golden pecan (2 coats).
- Glue coamings to wheelhouse base.
- Minor adjustment to the plan as even with a 1/16” coaming, most of the white of the bottom of the wheelhouse (under the stained inset) will be covered. To remedy this, I cut and sanded a 1/16” thick board that is 1/16” bigger than the wheelhouse on all four sides. I then stained it and glued it to the bottom of the wheelhouse.
- I know this makes the wheelhouse around 1/16” taller than it should be, but I am okay with it.
- Mark location of wheelhouse on deck.
- Sand bottom of wheelhouse to match curve of deck.
- Glue the wheelhouse to the deck.
Overall, I am incredibly pleased with how it turned out.
Of the 9 hours shown below, about 3.5 hours were spent on creating the instructions leaving about 5.5 hours of actual build time. The 3.5 hours included creating not only the instructions for the wheelhouse, but for the main cabin as well. I did not separate my design time between the two structures or from the actual physical build time.
Next up… the main cabin.
Work time: 9.0 hours
Total work time: 271 hours