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Rebuilding Bluenose I, BB576. [COMPLETED BUILD]

RDN1954 said:
No harm done whatsoever.
The rebuild was a renewed encounter with modeling ánd with a steep learning curve, I might add.
It was fun nonetheless, especially with so many gifted people around, willing to share their knowledge and opinions.
Thanks for your compliments, it's appreciated.

Now waiting for Christmas to arrive: the unpacking ánd build of the YQ Bluenose...
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As a very late arrival in this conversation, for schooners' components and provisions I recommend that you obtain the book The American Fishing Schooners 1825 - 1935, Howard I. Chapelle, W.W. Norton and Company publishers. It is encyclopedic in the text and detailed drawings which generically give you answers to most rigging and fitting questions for a Bluenose. You would have to craft the components with small brass and soldering as needed but the results are well worth the effort for an accurate model. Just a thought. Rich Maris (PT-2)
 
PT-2 said:
As a very late arrival in this conversation, for schooners' components and provisions I recommend that you obtain the book The American Fishing Schooners 1825 - 1935, Howard I. Chapelle, W.W. Norton and Company publishers. It is encyclopedic in the text and detailed drawings which generically give you answers to most rigging and fitting questions for a Bluenose. You would have to craft the components with small brass and soldering as needed but the results are well worth the effort for an accurate model. Just a thought. Rich Maris (PT-2)
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Thank you so much for your suggestion.
Good to "see" you again; it's been a while.
 
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PT-2 said:
while I am attending to other life priorities and commitments
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I hope your priorities and commitments are of a positive nature.
Other than that I wish you a prosperous journey on your endeavors.
 
PT-2 said:
As a very late arrival in this conversation, for schooners' components and provisions I recommend that you obtain the book The American Fishing Schooners 1825 - 1935, Howard I. Chapelle, W.W. Norton and Company publishers. It is encyclopedic in the text and detailed drawings which generically give you answers to most rigging and fitting questions for a Bluenose. You would have to craft the components with small brass and soldering as needed but the results are well worth the effort for an accurate model. Just a thought. Rich Maris (PT-2)
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Like Johan wrote: good to see you back on the forum with a post, Rich!
Regards, Peter
 
Kundelis said:
building same model, but have lots of problems due to very short manual :(
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The manual, especially on the rigging, is notoriously compact.
I made the mistake not to make any pictures before dismantling the model, assuming the drawings I could retrieve from the internet were correct. They possibly are, but not for my approx 40 year old model.
That's when I found out that thinking logically could get you quite far. I worked my way from front to back, with the standing rigging done first. If your masts have a tight fit, you might reconsider that. I also did have the main- and gaf sails attached, prior to stepping the masts. That appeared to be quite cumbersome to work around with.
 
PT-2 said:
I will likely only cast a shadow once in a while as my model work has been shored up in the ship yard while I am attending to other life priorities and commitments. It is good to see the work progress of the SoS crew though.
Rich
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Rich, I miss your detailed discussions. You have done some excellent research, and your practical nautical skills are inspiring. I hope you are doing well.
 
Complimenti, fantastica realizzazione e bellissima storia.

Congratulations, fantastic achievement and beautiful story.
 
RDN1954 said:
Painting the hull.

As stated before, I went with the colors as specified by BB. This means white inner bulwarks, white railings, black hull above the waterline, gold(!) below the waterline and the waterline a duck egg blue, which turned out more like a duck egg green…
According to a letter sent in 1970 from Smith & Rhuland in response to an inquiry from a modeler, the lower hull should be painted a “red copper”. The complete letter (and the colors used on the original Bluenose) can be found in the Bluenose Practicum Standard, pages 135 and 136.

So I went with the BB specified colors and the picture below shows the outcome of my paintjob below the waterline, after applying the first layer of paint.

View attachment 255101

As you can see, I already painted the handrails ánd the bowsprit. According to the same letter in the Bluenose Practicum Standard, the bowsprit was “oiled resembling varnish” (this also applies to, amongst others, the decks, btw).

When looking at BB’s main plan, the bowsprit should be painted white, hence the bowsprit of my model is painted white.

Initially I wanted to forego any painting of anything installed on the forward- and aft decks.
Once I completed painting the hull I reevaluated my earlier decision, the model really looked kind of boring, but also the balance was gone. The hull painted, the masts painted and none of the deck structure having any finish just didn't make sense anymore.
When looking at the picture below, showing the deck details of the wheel house and the main cabin, you’ll probably get my drift. So I started using tape…

View attachment 255102

The result is a more appealing looking of the various deck parts, although to this day I have second thoughts about the deck color. BB specifies “trainer yellow”, whereas the original should have its decks “oiled resembling varnish”. So essentially, the deck color on my model is at best too dark. What held me back, was, that in order to properly treat both decks, I had to remove all deck equipment, which was bonded to the decks. Since I had no idea what damage I could incur to the decks, I decided to leave the decks as they were…

View attachment 255103
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Ciao Johan, sto ammirando i tuoi lavori.

Mi ricordavo che anche tu avevi usato il nastro carta o qualcosa di simile per poter tracciare la linea di galleggiamento in maniera precisa.
Ottimo omaggio a tuo padre, bravo.

Hi Johan, I'm admiring your work.

I remembered that you also used paper tape or something similar to be able to trace the waterline precisely.
Excellent tribute to your father, well done.
 
Ciao Johan.

Osservando e ammirando i tuoi lavori, oltre a osservare bene i particolari e memorizzarli per i miei scopi, stavo pensando se questi modelli si prestino a poter essere naviganti RC. Logicamente non rovinando questi già fatti a farli ex novo. Probabilmente non sarebbe facile ma possibile.

Hi Johan.
Observing and admiring your works, as well as carefully observing the details and memorizing them for my purposes, I was thinking whether these models are suitable for being RC navigators. Logically not by ruining these already made by making them from scratch.
It probably wouldn't be easy but possible.
 
AlessandroROMA said:
Ciao Johan.

Osservando e ammirando i tuoi lavori, oltre a osservare bene i particolari e memorizzarli per i miei scopi, stavo pensando se questi modelli si prestino a poter essere naviganti RC. Logicamente non rovinando questi già fatti a farli ex novo. Probabilmente non sarebbe facile ma possibile.

Hi Johan.
Observing and admiring your works, as well as carefully observing the details and memorizing them for my purposes, I was thinking whether these models are suitable for being RC navigators. Logically not by ruining these already made by making them from scratch.
It probably wouldn't be easy but possible.
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Hello Alessandro,
That's quite an astute observation; I have seen a YouTube video of an RC Bluenose model:
Kind regards,
Johan
 
Love the story and rebuild. I am just embarking on the BB Bluenos 576 kit. Scouring the net for any and all references for a good, realistic 1920s as she was as a racing ready but still fishing for a living east coast schooner. I am from Nova Scotia And have lived my life with the bluenose as a large part of my existence so I have my work cut out for me to detail the Billing’s kit up to scratch. Your rebuild is very cool and I will be using it for details and inspiration.
 
Tomfoolery said:
Love the story and rebuild. I am just embarking on the BB Bluenos 576 kit. Scouring the net for any and all references for a good, realistic 1920s as she was as a racing ready but still fishing for a living east coast schooner. I am from Nova Scotia And have lived my life with the bluenose as a large part of my existence so I have my work cut out for me to detail the Billing’s kit up to scratch. Your rebuild is very cool and I will be using it for details and inspiration.
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Hello Tom, welcome to the Bluenose modeling world.
I have to say I'm just a little bit jealous of you, being able to walk over to the real thing and see for yourself the countless details making the Bluenose, well, her.
Having said that, I very much enjoyed restoring the old model to its former glory, where I pretty much kept to the original BB instructions and drawings.
After restoring this model I went on and build a PoF model of the BN and I customized this model quite heavily.
This was amongst others based on information regarding the BN1, there are quite some sources around; books, drawings, pictures, etc.
One of the things I now would do differently is the rigging of the model. I even considered to tear down the rigging and starting over.
I essentially used one size fits all blocks and ropes, which is a rather large oversimplification. I also used rather crude blocks, whereas very nicely blocks in all sizes are commercially available.
Still, even when sticking to the BB plans and instructions, it is possible to build a beautiful Bluenose.
Enjoy your (build)journey!

For reference: here you can find quite some useful information: Bluenose Main Support Page
 
Funny enough I find so much different with this third version I am doing all my research on old B/W of the original. I will say I was surprised by the lack of details and lack of instructions in the billings kit [for the price Canadian] but gives me clearer route to a detailed finer finish. I hope. Have already found stupifying examples of great model work on this site. hoping to start in January 2026
 
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