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[xrad]

Started with an EXCELLECT hull by Orion Mouldings, Anthony's pilot cutter. Worth every penny in looks , quality, and time saved!  About 50 inch. Great for the pond, lake.

Collected several books on cutters with hull and rig design.  'Working Sail' was an excellent resource. Decided to build the deck off the boat as it would be easier to build on the bench. Used 1000mm Constructo 80147 for wide dark planks , and ripped in half some Constructo 80107 1000mm light planks.  This was the only wood I could find in a good length without having to cut my own.  Found on Amazon, fairly inexpensive and looks great.

Pics show the build:

[xrad]

Each deck beam is sanded with a curve on the bench sander. That is why the clamps are needed to hold the topping beam down at the ends.  Ca glue was perfect to glue together the beams and wood to the hull.

Took a while to get the height of the deck figured with all the superimposing wood layers. this was important so that the scuppers could be at a functional and at correct location. Two plane sheer on the deck like the original.

Artistic license on the deck planking!  Alternating light and dark strips glued to 1/16 airplane ply....looks good, but not original. Belt sander followed by 180 grit hand sander.  good 30 min of sanding to get all strips level.  Always try to make the thin strips wide enough to be proud of the wider strips to decrease sanding time. First coat of natural oil. Will finish with polyurethane but after deck, rails, and houses are installed on hull. this way Ca glue can penetrate the wood.


Even with careful selection for grain and color, you never really know how the wood will look until oiled.  Tried to keep a random pattern, but there are light and dark wood clusters with a bit more asymmetry than I wanted.........

[Martin (Admin)]

That's a lot of loop forceps Xrad, are you a surgeon?!?!

[xrad]

Close, look at my avatar.....     Martin, Isn't it about 4am over there? Do you ever sleep? 

A note on the 1000mm plank length: Due to chance of hatch layout and plank length, I only had to 'end butt' two runs, one on each side of the big hatch. This is nice because less cuts and smooth overall look to the deck. And, I did not have to plan out the location of all the end butts....

[tigertiger]

Ref. the loop forceps.


Looking at the color. Are those plastic disposables? If so it might be a neat affordable clamping method.

[david48]

Deck looks good , just read the text ,you say you have used natural oil on the wood and will finish with Polyurathane ,have you used this method before ,will the Polly coat take to the oiled finish .
David

[xrad]

Tiger: Yes, cheap disposable clamps. reach is about 10 cm's , but the clamp max is about 8-10mm thick, any more and they don't lock. 

david48: Minwax 'natural' color oil based stain. To be followed by Minwax semigloss polyurethane(2-3 coats). Works fine. Been on my home floors for 6 yrs no issues. I have used this method on other model projects(steam and sail) with no issues as well. 

[xrad]

more build: 

Deck installed, steamed planks for gunwhale, milled scuppers with specially made jig, filed deck house holes.

NOTE: scuppers milled before deck attached and after careful height measurement so that the holes are in correct spot!

[xrad]

More with a little help from my little helper

(Nice win 10 font issues)

[xrad]

some work on the  deck houses. Basswood with 1/16 mahogany veneer. Lexan windows as I had some trouble cutting the plate glass. 


Stained as follows: Natural to soak into the pores, then sedona red, then dark mahogany. each coat wiped off before the next, light to dark process. Sometimes , extra dark stain rubbed in if needed. Gives a very nice used look.


If you live in the states, note that 'Pat Catans'  sells Midwest Basswood, generic balsa, and generic hardwood dowels in many sizes (you have to screen what you buy in the dowel section for the straightest ones).  This is where I do my bulk buys. Waaaaaaay cheaper than any 'true' hobby shop and even most internet stores.  For mahogany, I use amazon.  I bought these:


http://www.amazon.com/Mahogany-Sheet-16-24-15/dp/B000BQUQXE/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1446400588&sr=8-2&keywords=mahogany+wood+1%2F16 

30-60$ cheaper than hobby stores.

Great price if you don't mine ripping your own sizes. You can also get purple heart and other fine hardwoods off amazon.   you can also get used hardwood floor scraps/ends from local lumber yard ( a 6-8 'samples' of about 2 feet long 4 inch wide lasted me 5 years) or this:


http://www.amazon.com/Rockler-Hardwood-Assortment-Mixed-species/dp/B001DT4Q2U


Just depends what you need.  A box like this will last a long long time.

[xrad]

More pics of deckhouses. main cabin house yet to be veneered:

[xrad]

Deck house construction:

[xrad]

More on deck houses:
Almost finished main house.  Just needs some doors and portholes.  Basswood frames and mahogany veneer. I used thick white strips to contrast the deck, so that the house does not 'vanish' into the deck. Sliding hatch with mahogany strips fitting grooved recess in hatch sides. Brazed up a few hinges and handles for forward and main hatches. 


I used the 'plank on sheet ' method for covering main hatch roof, just like I did on the deck. Although this time is used 1/16 balsa sheet which was mostly sanded away before gluing to the ply roof. worked out great. And you can sand the edges before mounting to make all sides even and square, as well as sand the planks level(which is much easier off the house, given the hatch structure).


Stained as per other houses. 

[xrad]

Some more pics:

[xrad]

One of my favorite tools is an old sears crafstman scroll saw. Has about 16 inch depth so you can really cut some 'large' pieces. I have had this one since 1993. I use this for making frames and for rough cutting of many other parts. Worked great for the cap rails. These were time consuming to fabricate, but the hull is so well made that one side mirrors the other nearly perfectly. Therefore, I made patterns for one side, and flipped them for the other side. Stain before final assembly.


Another great tool is the harbor freight belt/disc sander. Not very powerful, but it has run without issues for hours at a time.  Can't beat 39$ either.  Can't find my needle file to finish the keyhole at the doorknob. It's around here somewhere.


I have not yet decided whether to install tiller or wheel.....so next up will be the hand spike barrel windlass...should be a fun part of the build.

[xrad]

My daughter built her first wooden model ship today. Hopefully, the first of many! She is very creative.

[Martin (Admin)]

We know that really yours Xrad!


Tell daughter we said 'well done girl!' 

[Landlocked]

XRAD,


Impressive built and a lot faster than I could every do it.  Will it be display only or will it sail too?


I think Sabino will be my last styrene on sheet built.  Wood is the way to go! 


Ken/Landlocked

[xrad]

Thx Martin! She really appreciated your comment!

Thx Landlocked for compliment! Your Sabino looks great too.  Your build has really come along nicely. 

Wood is fun to work with. I am always learning new tricks on cutting, wood types, attaching, and staining/finishing.  Most of the main work is done. But I have moved on, for the moment,   to a new steam launch and boiler build, the Chris Craft (just got my micro piano hinges from England!), and an even newer project still in the back of a UPS truck somewhere in USA(anyone have a jetcat turbine they want to sell???)!!!

Each of these has its own construction challenges. I was getting a bit bored of the woodwork, so on to metal work..etc......

[michael mott]

Very nice cutter, some interesting ideas, I will follow along.

Michael

[xrad]

Thanks Michael!.... Might be a bit before I get back to sail...had the itch for some metal working....ADD and all...