I am taking a break from the Syren and Essex projects to build a solid hull model of the Mayflower. The lines and plan are based on William Baker's work. He built the replica in Plymouth and it is thought to be the most accurate. I am not writing a practicum for this model but I will still post pictures as I proceed. Any comments and questions are welcome.

Chuck

Chuck,she is coming along great!Your decks look super.Did you carve the hull?Walter :coffee:

Well I cheated a little bit. I used an existing solid hull that was for an old Mayflower kit. The hull had to be carved to match the profile I wanted though. I created new templates like those that come with Model shipways kits and carved away. There will be a bulwark of 1/32" planked placed along the rabbet you see there. All of the deck levels needed to be adjusted and some additional wood glued to the hull. But the hull now matches that of William Baker's design.

Chuck

I'm always looking forward to seeing photos of your work, especially when they are sequence shots of a work in progress. This should be particularly interesting as models of this earlier period seem to be a lot more rare (at least seen on the internet) than those of the mid eighteenth century onwards. Also, I want to add my personal thanks for posting your practicum on the Sultana, a model I hope to build someday.

Richard :coffee:

I'm always looking forward to seeing photos of your work, especially when they are sequence shots of a work in progress. This should be particularly interesting as models of this earlier period seem to be a lot more rare (at least seen on the internet) than those of the mid eighteenth century onwards. Also, I want to add my personal thanks for posting your practicum on the Sultana, a model I hope to build someday. (Sorry John, this message repeated. I seem to be able to edit but not to kill)

Richard :coffee:

Thanks Rich,

This shouldnt be a long project and I hope to have more pictures soon. I have never built a model of this time period and I am finding it a really nice change of pace.

Chuck

http://cpassaro.home.mindspring.com/progress1019.gif
http://cpassaro.home.mindspring.com/forebulk.gif
http://cpassaro.home.mindspring.com/aftbulk.gif

Slowly making progress on the Mayflower gang. I have planked the bulkheads as shown in the photos and created the wooden doors etc. This planking and detail work was done while it was off the model. I cut templates from 1/32" thick sheets and planked those. When they were done I glued them to the hull.

Next I will do the same for the bulwarks. I will plank the inboard side while off the model and glue them along the rabbet I cut into the hull after they are stained and completed.

I am not sure how many of you are interested in this topic but I will continue to post my progress. Some folks consider the Mayflower to be a boxy tub but I hope to show otherwise.

Keep the sawdust flying!

Chuck

It's very nice to see your photos of the Mayflower. Sure, it's a different style of ship than the ones so many modelers would rather concentrate on but I welcome the chance to see something of that period in various stages of development. I hope you will continue to post photos and captions so we can follow the ships progress. I think this is another chance to learn even though I may not be building that actual model.

Richard

Most definitely, I would have to agree with Richard in that I too hope that you keep posting pictures and updates. There's something to be learned from every build. I know for myself I've never followed a solid hull build so its very interesting to see how it's done.

Thanks guys. It should really start coming together over the next two weeks. I am trying to go for a more "old-time-heavy wooden-look" for lack of a better way to explain it. I dont want it to look too clean and neat. Hopefully a lot of wood grain will show when its done along with a weathered appearance. I will be using MinWax stain like water colors and blending darker shades into the lighter ones to show wear.

Chuck