After showing a couple of models back in June, I've been feeling a little stuck on my regular project progress. I think a lot had to do with rigging damage on those models due to environmental conditions. My own fault, but it still has had me dragging along on my projects a bit.

After that, I've been poking at one project and then poking at another, not really getting anywhere. But, in that process, some progress emerged that got me going again. So, at least for the time being, with a couple other projects resting up as I contemplate how I want to proceed on those, the Yacht America project leapt ahead and pulled me out of my funk.

The idea for the project has been nagging me for many years, but really started bugging me while I was working on my pilot boat Mary Taylor. The Mary Taylor was one of two immediate forerunners of the Yacht America and I've read in one book that when the America was commissioned, it was asked to be built as a larger Mary Taylor. There is much more in the relationship between these two schooners, but I'll leave that for a future discussion.

Another inspiration for this build is that America's Cup challenge which will be coming to the San Francisco Bay Area next. Seemed like a good reason, so I decided to at least get the project out of the dreaming stage and into construction. That way, I have some time investment to build on.


Model Construction

Since I've been doing a lot of solid hull work already, I figured I'd make this one a plank-on-bulkhead model. The inspiration for that probably has a great deal to do with the group project we're working on over at the Hyde Street Pier Model Shipwrights workshop – a large scale POB model of the SF pilot schooner Gracie S.

The America would be my second scratch POB model, the first being the Lively, which is actually awaiting a couple final touches. I like 'firsts' in all of my projects, so this will be my first POB model constructed from hull lines. The Lively plans provide the actual bulkheads, which simplified a number of construction decisions.

The plans I used are for Model Shipways' 3/16" scale solid hull kit, which were drawn up by George Campbell. I thought about trying to scale up from Mary Taylor's 3/16" scale size and go to 1/4" scale, but the America is a much larger vessel than the Mary Taylor and the resulting model was a tad larger than I wanted. So, I stuck with the 3/16" scale of the plans. Anyway, it would make the model the same scale as the Mary Taylor and would probably be a nice complementary model.

I used basswood for the framework and decided to make the bulkheads in two pieces rather than the slotted bulkheads often found in kits. Since I was using single ply basswood for the bulkheads, this method was less prone to breakage.

Anyway, I posted a few photos of the hull construction in my gallery and am linking to them here.

Clare


http://shipmodeling.net/photopost/data/1380/thumbs/CIMG4767.jpg (http://shipmodeling.net/photopost/data/1380/CIMG4767.jpg)http://shipmodeling.net/photopost/data/1380/thumbs/CIMG4768.jpg (http://shipmodeling.net/photopost/data/1380/CIMG4768.jpg)http://shipmodeling.net/photopost/data/1380/thumbs/CIMG4770.jpg (http://shipmodeling.net/photopost/data/1380/CIMG4770.jpg)http://shipmodeling.net/photopost/data/1380/thumbs/CIMG4783.jpg (http://shipmodeling.net/photopost/data/1380/CIMG4783.jpg)http://shipmodeling.net/photopost/data/1380/thumbs/CIMG4897.jpg (http://shipmodeling.net/photopost/data/1380/CIMG4897.jpg)http://shipmodeling.net/photopost/data/1380/thumbs/CIMG4962.jpg (http://shipmodeling.net/photopost/data/1380/CIMG4962.jpg)http://shipmodeling.net/photopost/data/1380/thumbs/CIMG4990.jpg (http://shipmodeling.net/photopost/data/1380/CIMG4990.jpg)

Really looking good Clare and you've made a pretty fair jump on her. There's no doubt that she's a sweet looking vessel.

Jim

Thanks Jim. My plan is to make what will essentially be a larger, more famous Mary Taylor model. I think I'll use essentially the same coloring, though America should have more natural wood showing and I'm going to make the decks from boxwood instead of lemonwood.

I went ahead and ordered the deck planking strips from HobbyMill, but with the NRG conference coming up, I don't think I'm going to get anything for a few weeks. They kind of spoiled me with the turnaround on my last order.

I'm not sure about the rigging quite yet. I may mimmic the Mary Taylor configuration so they're kind of a matched pair. But, I'm also thinking about using the sail making technique I used on the Lively to make the simple set of sails for the America. Won't have to decide that for a while.

Also, I'm not sure about this yet, but there is a slight difference in deck arrangement on different plans. Bluejacket has the aft companionway built really wide and a narrow companionway at the main hatch.

These Campbell plans show a narrower aft companionway (more like Mary Taylor's) and a grating at the forward hatch. I'm expecting I'll just build a companionway to fit over that forward hatch, just to depart from the plans a little. They were removable anyway.

I'm also probably going to add a pair of gigs on davits amidships as shown in the Campbell plans. Just gotta find plans for those.


Clare

Well, after a bit of a hiatus where I took some time to work on the USS Washington, I'm back to the America again.

I had to take a break because there were several issues I was having with the work I'd done before. First off, the cockpit had warped out of round and was looking a bit lopsided and I couldn't correct it. Second, the deck structures, well, primarily the aft companionway, was turning out to be way too tall. Finally, the coppering pattern just didn't look right – certainly not as nice as on the Mary Taylor.

So, I scrapped all of that and took a bit of a break to recollect my thoughts.

I'm now working on the cockpit again and used my cockpit former to make a new coaming and have planked the inside with cherry strips. I will be a lot more careful this time to see to it that it stays nicely round.

I need to make a new floor next, so I have to make gratings again from 1/32" boxwood. The way I do it, it's kind of a delicate procedure and I have to see if I have the wood on hand.

As a separate, parallel task, I'm back to making copper sheathing strips. I made a new tool – a triple pounce wheel with staggered wheels. I'm hoping this will work, but I'm not too sure it will. The idea is to speed up the process and make the copper plates more detailed. We'll see what happens with that.

I'll upload some pics soon. I just got done uploading some pics of the USS Washington that I was tinkering with recently.

Clare