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Bertie Builds a Boat - Lady Isabella - Scots 'Zulu' Herring Drifter - Finished ! ! !


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The rudder is also smooooth now, but before I mount that and start varnishing, I remembered that I must first apply the rubbing strakes to the hull. I have a feeling that I mentioned them already but they slipped my mind. Many things do that and another important slippage is my reading.

 

Did you ever buy a book, fail to read it properly and think that you had done the research that you intended? Well I have a pile of books on my bedside table that's taller than said table and when I get to bed I'm asleep in ten minutes. That stack of maritime literature is consequently growing rather than diminishing and I am learning nothing about rigging and similar subjects of interest. 

 

I get so driven by the need to do something with my hands and post pictures of it that sometimes I forget that research is also a part of modelling, even if it does not make for lively updates. So I'm telling myself to get a grip on the books and I'm telling you that things continue to happen here and I'll be back as soon as something photogenic happens (by the end of the week probs).

 

Until then I bid you a fond adoo.

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y4mL0ocHFcBLSMEZamRK9sB3-qYJm0YFKIbmEE4w

 

The end of the week? Ha!

 

This morning I fitted the go-faster stripes to the Port side. These are rubbing strakes designed to protect the hull planking from abrasion by other boats, quays and possibly nets? The top one is a double and is rounded while the others are all simple square timbers; this makes me think it might have had a purpose related to hauling a couple of miles of netting over it.

 

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That's the first one fitted, 4mm below the top of the bulwark. It's 2mm wide walnut. It has quite an open grain but the colour will be lovely so the grain is a minor matter. The thing that's been keeping me up nights was working out how to install it in the right place and parallel to the top while avoiding making a mess with the glue. CA was recommended but I knew that would end up messy and there's the dermatitis thing too, so I stuck to wood glue (😆).

 

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There was very little spring in 2mm of wood but I still bent it to fit to minimise the chances of it boinging at an inopportune moment. There's a clue in the photo to how I made it parallel and incidentally kept the glue under control. Tamiya masking tape. I cut it down to 4mm and stuck it to the top of the bulwark, which gave me not just a line to follow, but a little ledge to butt the strake up against. 

 

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I clamped the ends for piece of mind but there really was no need. The small quantities of wood glue that I use lose their water content very quickly and the polymerisation of the resin happens almost as fast as CA. The bond continues to strengthen for some hours but for non structural, small joints like these, it's stuck firm in a minute or two. Just about enough time to spread glue on both sides of the joint and get it lined up. Gluing is always a bit of a drama for this reason!

 

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I continued to use the tape, cut to the appropriate widths to space the lower strakes. The three bottom ones are 1mm square and for them I taped both sides of their intended location which worked very well as I could feel them slipping into place. Peeling the tape away before the glue fully dried seemed like a good idea and kept it all tidy.

 

I got this idea from a brother Britmodeller who lined up the roundels on the huge wing of the Vulcan using Tamiya tape in a similar way a while back. Was it you @Adam Poultney? Whoever it was, I'm much obliged.

 

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17 minutes ago, Bertie Psmith said:

I got this idea from a brother Britmodeller who lined up the roundels on the huge wing of the Vulcan using Tamiya tape in a similar way a while back. Was it you @Adam Poultney? Whoever it was, I'm much obliged.

Yes I think it's my thread you got that from, although I got the idea from @robvulcan

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I received a big boxful of motivation yesterday.

 

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In there is my Billy Ruffian (AKA Vanguard and Elephant). I actually wrenched my shoulder by picking it up carelessly from my doorstep. 😭 It weighed 13kg, nearly 30lbs.

 

Until this one arrived, I'd been a little intimidated by my Beagle, but when I placed the two boxes next to each other on my dining table, I realised that I can transfer all of my fears to the Ruffian, and approach the Beagle with a light heart.

 

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I sent that phone photo to my son and he came back quick as a flash...

 

"Dad, you're going to need a bigger shark." 🤣

 

I haven't opened the box. I checked that there are no signs of damage to the exterior and then stowed it right at the back of my wardrobe based 'model shop', where it can lurk menacingly until Christmas.

Edited by Bertie Psmith
Modesty forbade.
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Gidday Bertie, you have an interesting approach to tackle intimidation - buy something more intimidating. That's like slamming a brick down on my bare toe to make me forget about a mild headache! 😖     I thought that shark joke was quite clever.   And I actually like a lot of Slade's songs, including that one, and have done since the '70's. (Are they, and me, that old?)

     Regards, Jeff.

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I've had a little bit of a setback today. I went to put the strakes on the other side of the hull and noticed that one of the bigger half-round ones I did last time wasn't sitting properly at the stern. This was because I didn't bother heat treating a twist into it. I thought, being slimmer, it wouldn't need it but I think I failed to consider that walnut is a much stiffer wood than pear? Alternatively, I might simply have misaligned it and butted it too hard against the sternpost, setting up a tension in the wood? It's difficult when I make a mistake but don't know what it was! Anyway, I pried it loose at the end where it was coming away, trimmed the end to give me some slack and forced it back onto new glue with as many clamps as I could bring to bear. Now I cant touch it for a coupe of hours as I'm giving the glue every chance to do its thing.

 

 

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4 minutes ago, psdavidson said:

Hope the repair works out and doesn't dampen your enthusiasm.

 

 

Wood is usually repairable, so no problems there. All sorted. Enthusiasm is high atm. I'm tapering the rest of the spars tonight.

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Guess what I've been doing?

 

Oh, you already knew?

 

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It seems to be the done thing in the model boat world to transmit instructions about spars and rigging in the form of sheets of plans. It works well and made me feel quite the grown up shippie chippie (though it irks me when something is the rear sail yard from one angle and the aft sail yard from the other side).

 

Sanding the tapers was as difficult to photograph as it was on the mainmast, but it was exactly the same method. I did the other mast, the aft rear back one Then the bowsprit, followed by the boom for the aft sail which is nothing more than a bowsprit on the other end of the boat - a sternsprit? Finally and most delicately, the two yards which are of different lengths, asymmetrical and taper at both ends. As I couldn't chuck the middles of the yards in my drill, this meant sanding down the portion of the yard which was closest to the drill, all the while hoping it wouldn't snatch, buckle or bust. It felt awfully like sawing off the branch upon which one is sitting!

 

I got away with it despite the after dinner drinkies I have imbibed, or perhaps because of?

 

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The next thing to do with my beautifully smooth and tapered sticks was to drill some holes in them.

 

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I elected to mark the centre with a needle, drill a pilot hole and only then go up to the full sized 1mm drill. That happened as planned just the once and on the second one, after drilling the pilot hole the next drill just fell through the hole. I had of course, picked up the 1mm drill by mistake and it worked fine that way. So I ceased being a scaredy-cat and carried on regardless.

 

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It does seem an awful big hole to have in the centre of a yard though. I think that this must be a simplified beginner's yard and that it should really be tied on in some other fashion.

 

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All done and all dusted too, ready for finishing.

 

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A quick coat of sanding sealer is the first step. I'll sand that down a little and apply some furniture wax in due course.

 

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On the lower part of the hull, which I have decided to paint red for realism, I applied grain filler which I believe to be linseed oil putty dissolved in white spirit. It's a thicker version of sanding sealer and closed up most of the embarrassing gaps between planks. It just wipes off but the oils that are left have given such a lovely shine that now I may go back to not painting the red bottom after all!

 

Edited by Bertie Psmith
Perfectionismm in prose.
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Gidday Bertie, your decision of course but those planks really do look good. The different shades of the wood planks highlight the planking itself, instead of looking like bulk block of timber. Regards, Jeff.

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8 hours ago, steve5 said:

your doing a great job , plus I am looking forward to your beagle build , as i have been eyeing it off , but trying to build up the courage to do it .


Thanks. I’m keen to get going on the Beagle too. Having the model sitting on the table in sight all of the time is tantalising but I really must finish this one first. I don’t think it will be that much longer now. 

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2 hours ago, ArnoldAmbrose said:

Gidday Bertie, your decision of course but those planks really do look good. The different shades of the wood planks highlight the planking itself, instead of looking like bulk block of timber. Regards, Jeff.


So that’s one vote in favour of leaving the paint off. What do people think?

 

Paint or not, my first step will be to varnish the whole hull. That will seal it and effectively be a primer. At that stage the decision will be clearer. Hmm. 
 

I would save time by leaving it natural. And I’d always have the option to return to it with a paint pot. 
 

OK Jeff, painting the bottom red is hereby postponed indefinitely. If the planking errors continue to irritate me I retain the option but I think I can forgive her my beginner’s mistakes 😊

 

I think the white boot topping is still required though. 

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Part of me says paint her, so as to be an accurate representation. But, when you look at the hull planking, it seems to be a shame to cover them up. As you say, rethink after the varnish goes on.

I had a thought, perhaps paint one side and varnish the other ? But that might look a bit daft.
Or maybe, use thinner paint, so as the wood grain and planks show through ?

Jon

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43 minutes ago, Faraway said:

Part of me says paint her, so as to be an accurate representation. But, when you look at the hull planking, it seems to be a shame to cover them up. As you say, rethink after the varnish goes on.

I had a thought, perhaps paint one side and varnish the other ? But that might look a bit daft.

 

No, that's a good idea. once on the shelf, you would only see one side or t'other. Thanks for making the decision even more difficult! 🤣 Or easier?

 

43 minutes ago, Faraway said:


Or maybe, use thinner paint, so as the wood grain and planks show through ?

Jon

 

That would be a woodstain. I don't fancy that compromise as much as your other suggestion.

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26 minutes ago, Bertie Psmith said:

No, that's a good idea. once on the shelf, you would only see one side or t'other. Thanks for making the decision even more difficult! 🤣 Or easier?

I aim to please. 😂

Once on the shelf, why not put a mirror behind her ? Then which ever side faces  ‘the viewer’ they can see the alternative view. 
In which case, she needs to go in a glass case but instead of glass all round, the ‘back wall’ would be a mirror.

Sorry, I guess I’m over complicating this. :mental:

I’ll go away now.

Jon

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27 minutes ago, Faraway said:

I’ll go away now.

 

I think you probably should!

 

My display cabinet is an Ikea Billy Bookcase with glass doors and a wooden back and sides. I can see your mirror idea in my imagination but I prefer to display the painted side of Lady Isabella, leaving me free to expose her see-through underparts whenever I'm in the mood. Not so often these days, sadly.

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y4mvzZUaVtEc8-pQJ1rSFUx3q-8Lp0Kny9S3OCF0

 

This is what the sanding sealer did to the spars. It's an overscale shine but that was expected from shellac, which is the stuff used in French polishing! I'm going to apply some furniture wax to them, rubbed in with fine steel wool and that will give me a beautiful satin sheen and a nice smell too. 

 

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This is the varnish for the hull. It seems appropriate. There's enough in the tin for three thick coats on a full sized door and I will always be thinning it at least 50/50 so that tin will see me out! Hence the decanting.

 

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And that's what a single coat looks like when it's still wet. Rub down after 8 hours and repeat, twice. Then paint one side with Humbrol enamel and polish the other with wax. That's the plan and I intend to stick to it. Away with this tergivasating equivocation. 'Tis time to seize the nettle!

 

(Thanks Jon and Jeff for the help making up what's left of my poor old mind.)

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1 hour ago, Bertie Psmith said:

Then paint one side with Humbrol enamel and polish the other with wax.

Glad to be of help.

You have only to ask, I’m full of ideas that makes extra work for other people. 😂😂😂
I think she is going to look splendid.

Jon

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4 hours ago, Bertie Psmith said:

So that’s one vote in favour of leaving the paint off. What do people think?

 

Paint or not, my first step will be to varnish the whole hull. That will seal it and effectively be a primer. At that stage the decision will be clearer. Hmm. 

 

Seems you have already decided.

 

I might have considered finishing with a linseed or tung oil finish. There are linseed oil based paints too so you could have had your red and finish too. An oil finish can also be applied over some stains like a water based stain or maybe an aniline water or alcohol dye.  Oil finishes have a bit longer of a drying time but do have their advantages too.

 

In any case, Isabella is already looking splendid.

 

cheers, Graham 

 

 

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On 5/25/2022 at 10:31 AM, Bertie Psmith said:

Until this one arrived, I'd been a little intimidated by my Beagle

 

Will confess to sometimes feeling bossed around by the domestic beagles when I was younger (all three of them) but not intimidated :)

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9 minutes ago, ColonelKrypton said:

 

Seems you have already decided.

 

I might have considered finishing with a linseed or tung oil finish. There are linseed oil based paints too so you could have had your red and finish too. An oil finish can also be applied over some stains like a water based stain or maybe an aniline water or alcohol dye.  Oil finishes have a bit longer of a drying time but do have their advantages too.

 

In any case, Isabella is already looking splendid.

 

cheers, Graham 

 

 

 

Hi Graham, yes, I decided in real time as I was writing this morning. I think I have a fair compromise now. One side for 'accuracy' and one for 'beauty'. They are both such arguable aims that I had to put them in 'scare quotes'.

 

I like oil finishes too, in other situations. I have found that they always need a periodic refreshment with more oil as the lustre fades away and that's going to be inconvenient on a model ship, especially around the rigging. Wax finishes fade too over time but not as rapidly, I believe. I was able to find some good quality wax and fine steel wool this morning in town, to my surprise, so that's the way I'll go on this one. 

 

And then there's wax applied over oil. That really does look nice... Lol the possibilities are endless!

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