Thanks

Yes its a pretty simplistic design. The hull will be 28" long unrigged. Rigged it will be close to 40" long I suppose. Its considerably smaller than Confederacy which was 36" long unrigged.

Chuck

 

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My god, Chuck... How am I supposed to work on my projects while I'm busy drooling over your projects???

And, when I'm not drooling, I'm busy wiping up the puddles...

Clare

 

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Thank you Clare

I get the same way when I look at your projects. I have been building frigates for a while now and would love to switch it up and do a schooner. Your projects inspire me because of the high quality and craftsmanship. I tell you what...you do a frigate next and I will try a schooner. Thank you for teh kind words. So far it doesnt look like much I am hoping to start planking today.

Chuck

 

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Chuck: Now that I am taking a little break from building along with you, I can take the time to admire your beautiful work as you post your updates. Looks like this one's going to be another real beauty. Puts me in the mood to go back to work.

 

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Thanks Chuck.

I don't know about my craftsmanship at times. But, okay, maybe by the time you finish Winchelsea, I'll be ready to start a frigate. But, it won't look as good as yours.

Since you're rigging this one, maybe that'll give me a little more time to work up to the project.

Clare

 

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Thanks

Didnt have much time to make a lot of progress but managed to start the planking. I am off next week so I hope to get a lot more done.

I planked the lower counter first as is the usual practice.

Then I painted the port openings red since the bulwarks will eventualy be painted too. The planking will be carefully cut around each port opening leaving a "lip" on the bottom and two sides. This will create the rabbet of the port lining.

I created the fixed hull blocks just like I did for Confederacy. I created a small sheave slot in a 1/16" thick piece of boxwood. Then I held it against the hull where it would be located. I used a sharp awl to mark the locations of the two holes that would simulate the sheave. After drilling them through the hull framing, I glued the fixed vlock into position. It is the same thickness as the hull planking that will butt against it. To finish it up, I shaped a small piece of boxwood to simulate the actual sheave. That was glued into the slot to complete the fixed block on the outboard side of the hull. The process will be repeated inboard before it is planked.

Before I started planking, I ran a batten strip along the hull. The top of this strip represents the BOTTOM edge of the wales. There were laser etched reference marks on each bulkhead so this was pretty straight forward. fter tweaking the batten a bit to get a smooth run I used a pencil to mark each bulkhead on the outside edge.

The batten was placed on both sides of the hull so it could viewed at multiple angles. I wanted to check and double check that the battens were mirror images. It is pretty crucial that the run of the planking be consistent on both sides of the hull. I used tick strips to make sure the distance from the batten to the shear line was the same port and starboard.

The first strake was then placed on the hull. It represents the first strake below the wales. Then I worked my way up from there. The wales and black strake will be completed later with a second layer of boxwood. Its the same process used for the Confederacy as well. I dis decide to plank the hull above the wales more accurately than the Confederacy. I am planking around the ports as they would have in actual practice. If a strake under a port became too thin, they would have used a thicker plank below it and shaped it to suit. A TAB of sorts was shaped into the plank making it wider in that area. Had a really thin piece been used it would not have been strong and would have been prone to rot quicker.

Hopefully this will be made clear in the photos as it is hard to explain. The shape of those planks directly below a port require some careful carving and filing. You can see one of them pictured before it was glued onto the model. I have only ligtly sanded the planking up to this point and no finish has been applied yet. Once thats done it should look cleaner with less scratches and very smooth. Its a little rough in its current state. I will snad with 220 grit initially and then switch to a fine wet/dry to finish it off. Then some wipe-on poly will be applied. A pencil was run across one edge of each plank to simulate the caulking. That should also become more clea and uniform after the finish is applied. There will also be the inevitable touch up fo rthe red paint on each port opening too. It should be a productive weekend I hope.

Chuck

 

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A beautiful job as always Chuck; it's very sharp and clean. Will you be treenailing?

 

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Thanks Don...Yes I will be treenailing but probably not until the entire side is done above the wales. Even though the contemporary model is not treenailed I like the look and will be adding that detail to this model.

Chuck

 

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Hi Chuck,

I admire your workmanship. It gives the rest of us something to aim for. I've told my wife that I'm saving up for a laser machine (yeah right!)

I personally enjoy fighting ships built between 1750 and 1800. That's why I'm currently building a 40 gun frigate circa 1790 from Harold Underhill's plans. I'm doing myself no favours by building it in oak so precision is difficult - Don't ask me why. I suspect that there is a bit of masochist lurking in me.

I'll post pics of the build on the forum when I'm nearer completion. Currently, I'm building the yards. I decided to add furled sails to my model because (a) I've never tried it before and (b) I'm trying for more realism. I'm not sure I am succeeding. I would be interested to know whether or not you have considered adding sails to your frigate?

Regards,

Rudeau

 

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Thank you

I have thought about it from time to time. But thats as far as it went. Having never tried it before I always chicken out. If I were going to try adding sails it would probably be on a smaller ship. At some point I will prbably give it a go....

Chuck

 

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