French 8 pounder frigate La Castor, from Le Renommee draught by Jean Boudriot, Combination method, Bread and butter and plank on rib.

Work continues on the deck, plank by plank. A slow but satisfying process. I so much enjoy the process, watching as a piece of crude wood takes shape into a work of art, a sailing ship of the 18th century, the wonder of technology of the period. This vessel has special significance to me, being built here in Canada just before the British invasion of 1758, first to Louisburg and then to Quebec. I have a piece of rope from the wreck of one of the ships of that invasion fleet, HMS Invincible, lost on the way over, and the wreck found recently by a fisherman/diver who recovered artifacts from her. planking.jpgplanking 2.jpgplanking 3.jpgplanking 4.jpgplanking 5.jpg
 
Your planking pattern (3 butts I think) is looking very good - it will be beautiful looking after it is oiled (or what´s ever you do)
Will you do also some tree-nailing of the deck?
Yes, will be using copper nails, drill and then insert, snip off the heads. I will be oiling the deck and then a varnish to finish it.

Bob
 
Work continues at a slow pace doing the nailing of the deck. I am using the small copper nails that I mentioned and am making good progress. I have tried to show the process in these video's, but the files are too large to load.

Bob

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The video would be interesting to see......the easiest way is to upload them to youtube and make here a link to the youtube video.......
 
I may be the dumbest ship modeller here, cause I can't seem to get a video on to YouTube. Oh well, I'll stick to the speed I am use to, one nail at a time, one ship at a time. Sorry folks, but I'll have to stick to still photos. I spent the week-end drilling holes and driving copper nails into them. It takes a lot of nails to do the deck properly, so I am still at it.

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After about a month of being tied up carving Christmas ornaments for a client , I finally got back to work on my model. I constructed the gratings for the lower deck, out of Pear wood, and made some eye bolts for the hatches. I used the method outlined in Bernard Frolich's book, "The Art of Ship Modeling".

Bob

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One step at a time. Ship modelling is a slow process and one that brings me much joy and satisfaction. Each little piece that is created goes to show a builders determination, patience and skill. I get my encouragement from observing the efforts of others, get inspired from others models and from the actual ships and the sea, paintings and images, they all bring me back to life at sea, something I miss every day. Books, paintings, models, and movies are my way of staying in touch with the life.

Today, a small part of the whole, the capstain. Made from 25 pieces, each carved to fit, in Pear, Birch, Maple and Ebony, it stands 1 1/4" x 3/4".

Bob
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It has been a couple of weeks since I last posted progress pictures, and I am sure the members here are very familiar with how much effort can be required for little to show for it. I have been working on getting the next deck level mounted, so first the skeleton must be formed. Ribs, 58 in number, cut, shaped and sanded, two pieces per rib, and two ribs required, one for each side, then a deck beam and finally some supports for the deck beam in the form of knees. I wish I had the secret of how some of our more skilled members get such perfect joints and polished pieces, but I will have to accept that what I produce is the best that I can manage. Assembly takes patience, and there are times when I feel that my fingers are rough sausages, and just wouldn't work as required, but I persist and manage. This method of building is called the "combination" method, part "bread and butter" and part "plank on frame", a method that I learned through several books on ship modelling. I like it.

Bob
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I can echo Uwe and Nigel, a very interesting and unusual building method. I am also wondering how the frames attached to the hull. BTW, very nice progress!
 
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