Santa Maria

[GrantTyler]

Odd jobs. The blocks are pretty good, but need staining. They come in little grip top bags, so that's handy. L to R - dark oak (deadeyes), walnut and light teak (oil based) -

View attachment 581214

Washed off with thinners. I even made a container (is my OCD showing?) to foil the workshop gremlins -

View attachment 581215

The longboats are white metal castings. Some clean-up necessary, but the definition is pretty good, so I will just spray them white. There needs to be a deck, so I made a card template ' -

View attachment 581216

Planking glued to the card -

View attachment 581217

Interiors painted, deck stained, gunwales roughly bent to shape -

View attachment 581218

Gunwales and thwarts (seats) fitted -

View attachment 581219

View attachment 581220

Oars and mast -

View attachment 581221

View attachment 581222

Stands and accessories fitted on the boats -

View attachment 581223

This is where they go on the deck -

View attachment 581228

Chain plates. A length of pin (to be cut to length) will secure them into the hull -

View attachment 581225

Fitted, plus some triangular strengtheners-

View attachment 581226

The hull so far -

View attachment 581227

I have painted the external parts for the stern -

View attachment 581229

...but I don't like them, they are just too 'blingy'. These will be consigned to the 'might come in handy' box and I will go with some much simpler windows as per the full scale sailing reproduction.

Very very cool boats Graham.

 

[Graham]

Very very cool boats Graham.

Cheers, Grant.

 

[Graham]

Rails around the fore and aft decks.
There is a curvature to these which necessitates bending some strip across the grain. I made some templates before fitting these decks and used them to make a jig using panel pins to form a profile -



Strips were then soaked in boiling water for 3 minutes and bent to the pins. The fore deck has a steeper profile and kept popping up, so strips were stapled across to keep them flat -



I spent ten minutes on them with a hair dryer (don't tell the boss) to try and get a set in the shape before releasing them. Eight strips made in total - tops and bottoms. I think it went okay -



While things were drying I made the rudder. Four pieces of 5 x 5mm are laminated. I stuck on the drawing from the plans as a template to help form the shape -



There is not enough strip to make a complete rudder from teak, so I
used what was still available in the box. No problem I will paint it -



It may be that I used the teak strip in error when I made the longboat stands, but I double checked and the instructions aren't clear on what to use. Anyway, I gave up on the instructions a while ago!
Ever onward!

 

[Graham]

Rails on the fore and aft deck.
Posts are 3mm stock. Brass pin in the base to aid positioning -



Dry fit -





On we go with the top rail. Clamps are sewing clips, small but strong-





Using spacers for the second rail -



The instructions call for the sides of the foredeck to be planked, but I prefer the look of the sailing reproduction and so have gone that way.

 

[dockattner]

I agree, the open railings fit the feel of this little ship. Well played, Graham!

 

[Graham]

That's the railings finished -

 

[Graham]

Time to do the gunwales.
Back on the bending board. This is 1 x 5mm strip, so it is putting up a bit of a fight to bend it across the grain to a template of the hull curvature -



While the actual straps are soaking/bending/drying numerous times I did a trial bend with a piece of 1 x 4mm to get an idea of the curvatures -



First pieces, with lots of soaking and work with the heated planking iron -



Second pieces -



Fitted, stained and lacquered -



It doesn't look like much for a full day's work! However, slow and steady is the way with plenty of soaking prior to heating and gently coaxing an increasing bend in the strips; rush it and they will split - and I only had two lengths of 1 x 5mm stock to play with.

Chain plates are next.

 

[GrantTyler]

Time to do the gunwales.
Back on the bending board. This is 1 x 5mm strip, so it is putting up a bit of a fight to bend it across the grain to a template of the hull curvature -

View attachment 586653

While the actual straps are soaking/bending/drying numerous times I did a trial bend with a piece of 1 x 4mm to get an idea of the curvatures -

View attachment 586654

First pieces, with lots of soaking and work with the heated planking iron -

View attachment 586655

Second pieces -

View attachment 586657

Fitted, stained and lacquered -

View attachment 586656

It doesn't look like much for a full day's work! However, slow and steady is the way with plenty of soaking prior to heating and gently coaxing an increasing bend in the strips; rush it and they will split - and I only had two lengths of 1 x 5mm stock to play with.

Chain plates are next.

Good morning Graham. Slow and steady made for a perfect snug fit. Excellent. Cheers Grant

 

[Graham]

Thank you, Grant. I think 1x5mm strip is the maximum without a proper steamer box setup. With a nail board, pan of boiling water, a hot iron and the Boss's hairdryer I was like some kind of mad scientist yesterday!
Keep well.

 

[Graham]

The chains.
The chains are made from individual brass strips which must be cut out and then any tags along the sides filed off. They then need to be bent to shape, so I shaped some strip to give me the end radii and link length. Tedious, but a good job for a rainy UK day -



Brass blackened with an ammonia / copper carbonate mix. I also threw in the brass pins to see what they would do. I knew they had a steel content because they are magnetic; some went okay, some stripped back to shiny steel. I'll pick the good from the bad -



Working out the attachment point of the chains to the wale considering the lie of the shrouds -





Chains assembled -



... and fitted. I used a single link from some spare chain between the longer links so that the lay is better and not twisted -



Rudder and windows will be next. Also, I note that there is no black thread in the kit, so I'll have to have a think about that.