Ok onto the helm port - I really enjoyed making this part of the ship which comprises of 3 parts. Firstly I discovered that one of my counter timbers was not quite vertical so to correct this I milled a taper into the port leg of the helm port
I next cut out the other parts and glued and pinned them together. I needed them to be very strong to withstand the forming of them.
Then I had to free hand mill the hole out of the centre
The helm port was then glued onto the hull and the hole was finished with a file.
So now I've got a way of getting the rudder onto the ship
The next job is going to be very different for me now as the framing is pretty much done. I now need to ensure that the inside of the hull is faired as exactly as possible as this maybe my last opportunity to get that part right.
I then hopefully will be able to mark out and make the main deck clamp (The huge timber that all of the deck beams sit on) which will give the hull some more strength too. I can also strip down the building jig a bit so that I can get better access to the hull.
Cheers Mark