Bluenose II Build (Artesania Latina) 1:75 by Nomad [Completed Build]

[RDN1954]

Thanks for the suggestions Johan, both ships look very interesting. The Duyfken, in particular, is on a very handy special with Premier Ship Models at the moment. It uses walnut/oak planking and also carries several cannons, a good step up from the Bluenose II. Food for thought anyway

The Duyfken is also available from Kolderstok. Don't know if they ship to Down Under.
https://kolderstok.com/en/collectio...nningsjacht-de-duyfken?variant=34578437210275

 

[GrantTyler]

Added the cowls to the deck and hand-rails to the gunwales. It was something of a challenge to fasten the loop-ends of the rails with lengths of seriously thin galvanised wire, but managed to get there in the end after a fair amount of trial and error

View attachment 271167

The deck is starting to get quite busy, which must mean that the masting and rigging effort can't be too far off now

View attachment 271168

Great build Mark of a beautiful schooner.

 

[GrantTyler]

Thank you for the kind comments and reactions to this build, although I must say after browsing through several other logs I am blown away by what other modellers have achieved, some of them with their very first build. Even now I consider myself lucky to have got through the planking phase without too many injuries, and still get the jitters about being able to finish this whole thing properly.

That said, I'm already scratching around for another kit to follow this Bluenose II so I'll take it that I'm hooked. Any suggestions are most welcome, just not straight into the HMS Victory like I see others are able to do with relative ease

Clever thinking Mark.

 

[GrantTyler]

The Duyfken is also available from Kolderstok. Don't know if they ship to Down Under.
https://kolderstok.com/en/collectio...nningsjacht-de-duyfken?variant=34578437210275

I have been following @Heinrich (another SAFa abroad) build of Dutch ship Batavia and I think the Kolderstock kit for these ships is outstanding. I don’t know if you have had a look. Very interesting.

 

[RDN1954]

I have been following @Heinrich (another SAFa abroad) build of Dutch ship Batavia and I think the Kolderstock kit for these ships is outstanding. I don’t know if you have had a look. Very interesting.

Yeah, it's basically due to @Heinrich that I came across Kolderstok. Also a remark from Heinrich made me look into cross-rigged models, even before I started on the POF Bluenose...
Kolderstok has some real nice looking kits from the heydays of Dutch shipbuilding.
Luckily I don't have to decide anytime soon; I came to the realization that (for now) I favor schooner-rigged ships for their sleek hull lines and the less overbearing standing and running rigging.
By the way, that does not imply that I can't see the ingenuity and craftmanship of cross-rigged ships.

 

[PT-2]

For all my confidence in assembling customised chainplate and dead eye links I still managed to muck a few of them up, and find myself a chainplate or two short as a result. I think my strategy needs a bit of rework, but it will have to wait until I receive the chainplates I've been obliged to order to make up the shortfall. In the meantime I turned my attention to the anchor and davit assembly.

View attachment 270055

The process is relatively straightforward. A stock is bound to each anchor by way of fine raw thread, the anchor is attached to a length of chain which feeds through a pulley suspended by the davits, through the hawseholes from outside to inside of the hull, past the bowsprit assembly, over the pulleys of the windlass and is finally housed in the deck.

View attachment 270056

The anchors, stocks and davits were all made of cast metal, buffed, and painted black. The anchors rest on small walnut blocks attached to, and presumably to protect the deck. The ends of the axles in the pulley wheels held by the davits could probably do with a better finish, perhaps by soldering if you have that kind of equipment and know-how on hand. I was satisfied with the overall result however, and the assembly has given the model something of a working-ship look now

I think that you will have plenty of latitude as you continue with your BN II. . . as a working vessel it carries fare paying tourists and not always on days with wind to fill the sails. Sometimes they just run them up and down for show. Your work is clean and neatly done so the ghost tourists should find no complaints to make. Rich (PT-2)

 

[Nomad]

Great build Mark of a beautiful schooner.

Thanks Grant, still a long way to go for me though. The terminology alone does my head in. There is little maritime history in my family so talk of bowsprits, belaying pins, taff rails, gaffs, booms and who knows what else is all quite new to me, and I often need a dictionary (read Google) on hand when I walk through some of these build logs. Still blows my mind that you went straight in for the Victory first build, that's courage right there

 

[Nomad]

I have been following @Heinrich (another SAFa abroad) build of Dutch ship Batavia and I think the Kolderstock kit for these ships is outstanding. I don’t know if you have had a look. Very interesting.

I haven't no, but I certainly will now, and I'll look out for Heinrich's build log of the Batavia as well. And hello Heinrich if you see this post, I'm sure I've read many of your posts already, direct and to the point, but then you have to be with that scary old sea-dog avatar

 

[Nomad]

Yeah, it's basically due to @Heinrich that I came across Kolderstok. Also a remark from Heinrich made me look into cross-rigged models, even before I started on the POF Bluenose...
Kolderstok has some real nice looking kits from the heydays of Dutch shipbuilding.
Luckily I don't have to decide anytime soon; I came to the realization that (for now) I favor schooner-rigged ships for their sleek hull lines and the less overbearing standing and running rigging.
By the way, that does not imply that I can't see the ingenuity and craftmanship of cross-rigged ships.

There's my ignorance again. I had to look up 'cross-rigged', and even Google wasn't that helpful this time. I'm assuming a mix of square rigged and fore-and-aft sails? I will certainly look into Kolderstok when the time comes, and thanks Johan for pointing my interest in that direction
- Mark

 

[Nomad]

I think that you will have plenty of latitude as you continue with your BN II. . . as a working vessel it carries fare paying tourists and not always on days with wind to fill the sails. Sometimes they just run them up and down for show. Your work is clean and neatly done so the ghost tourists should find no complaints to make. Rich (PT-2)

Ha ha, thanks for the confidence booster Rich. Anyone is welcome to sail on my Bluenose, ghost or otherwise. It'll probably sink soon enough, so to be fair I won't charge them for their passage up front

 

[RDN1954]

There's my ignorance again. I had to look up 'cross-rigged', and even Google wasn't that helpful this time. I'm assuming a mix of square rigged and fore-and-aft sails? I will certainly look into Kolderstok when the time comes, and thanks Johan for pointing my interest in that direction
- Mark

Good morning Mark,

You're welcome! One does encounter both terms; square rigged and cross rigged. Most larger ships of the period were cross-or square rigged, with the mizzenmast carrying fore/aft sails. For "schooner-rigged" I didn't find another satisfactory term. In Dutch we have the term "langsgetuigd". I couldn't find an English equivalent, other than fore-and-aft...
There's so much to learn; at any point in your build you come across details which require study, since most kits are not really forthcoming with extensive building instructions, especially so for rigging. Luckily for us we live in the age of internet, with real time access to countless documents and build logs.
But for now you should enjoy your journey to build your Bluenose; as I was once told: "It's all about the journey, not the destination." (Quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson.)
Stay safe!
Johan

 

[Heinrich]

The Duyfken model from premier Ship Models is the Kolderstok kit. Hans does offer the Duyfken with the choice of walnut or oak - and yes, he ships worldwide!

 

[Nomad]

The Duyfken model from premier Ship Models is the Kolderstok kit. Hans does offer the Duyfken with the choice of walnut or oak - and yes, he ships worldwide!

Awesome, thank Heinrich

 

[Nomad]

Bowsprit installed with stays and tighteners. The tricky bit is determining the correct length of each stay in order to achieve a reasonable tension when fastened to the hull and bowsprit. Needless to say I had to re-do several of them



I have not cemented the bowsprit assembly in place yet as I am unsure whether it might need to be removed during the rigging process. I have also omitted the boom bracket and eyebolt for now, parts that attach to the bowsprit and which, once attached, will prevent the bowsprit from being drawn out via the opening in the stem.

 

[Heinrich]

Beautiful work on that bowsprit. And she looks crisp and pointed in the natural light outside. Great job!

 

[Dean62]

Bowsprit installed with stays and tighteners. The tricky bit is determining the correct length of each stay in order to achieve a reasonable tension when fastened to the hull and bowsprit. Needless to say I had to re-do several of them

View attachment 272775

I have not cemented the bowsprit assembly in place yet as I am unsure whether it might need to be removed during the rigging process. I have also omitted the boom bracket and eyebolt for now, parts that attach to the bowsprit and which, once attached, will prevent the bowsprit from being drawn out via the opening in the stem.

View attachment 272776

There is no need to remove the bowsprit during rigging. You want it solid to take the tension from the stays.

 

[GrantTyler]

Bowsprit installed with stays and tighteners. The tricky bit is determining the correct length of each stay in order to achieve a reasonable tension when fastened to the hull and bowsprit. Needless to say I had to re-do several of them

View attachment 272775

I have not cemented the bowsprit assembly in place yet as I am unsure whether it might need to be removed during the rigging process. I have also omitted the boom bracket and eyebolt for now, parts that attach to the bowsprit and which, once attached, will prevent the bowsprit from being drawn out via the opening in the stem.

View attachment 272776

Good morning Mark. That is a stunning Bluenose. I have always love the lines and shape of her. Well done. Your bowsprit rigging looks great- nice clean knots and seizing.

 

[RDN1954]

Bowsprit installed with stays and tighteners. The tricky bit is determining the correct length of each stay in order to achieve a reasonable tension when fastened to the hull and bowsprit. Needless to say I had to re-do several of them

View attachment 272775

I have not cemented the bowsprit assembly in place yet as I am unsure whether it might need to be removed during the rigging process. I have also omitted the boom bracket and eyebolt for now, parts that attach to the bowsprit and which, once attached, will prevent the bowsprit from being drawn out via the opening in the stem.

View attachment 272776

Getting better all the time.

 

[Nomad]

The chainplate and deadeye assembly has been my nemesis in this build so far, but I finally pulled myself together and installed all twenty-two of them



I read somewhere that the chainplates should align with the shrouds they are to support, and not necessary fall perpendicular to the earth. So I inserted the masts temporarily and drew some thread from the mast tops to the dead eyes to simulate the shrouds and determine the angle of each chainplate. In the end the angle was rather negligible, or not worth fiddling with my inexperienced hands at any rate, and I turned my attention instead to making sure the deadeyes were level and that the chainplates were the same distance apart.

 

[Nomad]

There were just a few other small things to take care of on deck, such as securing the anchors to their bases ...



Threading the anchor chain through the davit pulleys and hawseholes and securing them to the windlass ...



And installing the warp line rails and filling the pin racks with belaying pins