Time to start a new build it's called the cutter Andromeda by Dikar single plank on bulkhead kit all wood with brass fittings, it's a single masted vessel mostly used for coast guard duties dealing with small pirates ships and smugglers, but it was very well armed for a small ship having 8 small caliber cannons on carriages.

Time for an update, i have installed the false deck and added filler blocks to the bow and stern bulkheads this will give me a little more material to glue the planks to, i also added a thin filler strip under the false deck and in between each bulkhead for the same purpose. All comments welcome.

It is always nice to see a wooden boat being made.

Thank you for sharing!

Very nice build so far Robert, When you get to the planking I'd like to see where you start your first run of planking. That bow has a pretty good bend. Keep us posted!!

Thanks Jim, thanks Frank, I will first start with the bulwarks at the top covering that small strip in between the bulkheads and than my first plank will start at the bow under the bulwarks this will be clear once you see it in the pics, i don't for see any problems bending the planks as i will soak them in hot water first for at least one hour this will soften them up and make it easy to bend them with out breaking.

Hi Robert,
Will be following your build with intrest. Right now I'm working on Artesania's Mississippi River Boat. but I have model shipways" Pride of Baltimore ll in dry dock. I started
it a couple years ago and left it in a stage that you are in about now.When I finish this river boat I want to finish my Baltimore. I've bought a lot of "How to" books , but watching some one do something is a lot better than words. What's that old saying" One picture is worth a thousand words". Keep up the good work!!

Frank

Thanks Frank, i agree good pictures really are a big help, Model Shipways makes some very nice kits i have several stored away. I should have an update next week some time and feel free to ask all the questions you like and i will try to come up with an answer.

Nice start Robert.

Thanks kenny.

Time for an update, i installed the bulwarks so i could get a few planks on to see how difficult it would be, not to bad but the first few are always the easy ones, i also started the deck planking as this gives me a break from the hull planking. All comments welcome.

Lookin real good Robert, nice smooth run on the planking. Is there a reason why you ran the shorter planks on ythe bulwarks?( Looks good!!! )

Frank

Thanks Frank, yes i ran the short upper planks for a little contrast the breaks in the boards give a little visual interest on the light colored planks, i did not do this on the lower planks because they are much darker and the breaks would be more difficult to see also much harder to install the thicker boards under the stress of the curve in the hull,to tell the truth the lower planks are incorrect and would most likely have been done the same way as the upper planks in real life, i don't think they had that many 60 foot boards laying around for such a small inexpensive ship.

Yeah, you'er right about those 60 footers. Can you imagine trying to work one of those. The shorter boards really look good ,but like you said, the darker ones would'nt have showed as well. Iwas looking at the planking section of the instructions for my Pride of Baltimore, and it looks like they use the shorter planking method . Well I'll leave that alone until I get to that point in the build. I'll finish what I'm doing first. Keep those pictures coming . It's going to be a nice looking ship when you'er finished. There's nothing like the challenge of a wood ship model!!!!

frank

Thanks Frank, maybe i will have an update in a week or so i hope. I believe your pride of baltimore is a double plank on bulkhead kit which would make the second layer of planks you are using very thin wood maybe 1/32 of an inch that should make the shorter planks on the lower hull much easier to bend and install, i would be great if you post some pictures of your build i for one would like to see your progress.

Hi Robert,

Just looked thru Baltimore's instructions and it looks like it's going to be a single planked hull , which is o k because it's going to be painted , but they do recommend using the shorter planks. But enough of that for now. As soon as I finish this River Boat I'm working on, I'll try and do a build blog for the Baltimore. Than you can take a look and give advice where needed. Meanwhile I'm going to watch your build and try to pick up all Ican from your techniques. Looks like you've got a lot of experience. I was a little surprised that there were'nt a lot more build logs on this site. Maybe with your blogs , more people will try posting a build . Keep up the good work !!!

Frank

Sorry Frank i thought it was a double plank kit, look at it this way it will take half the time as a double plank kit. I am looking forward to your build blog. I think a lot of the guys here like to look at the builds of wooden ships but i am not shore why more don't give them a try, it may be the long build time and having to buy some specialized tools.

More great progress Robert.

Kenny

Thanks Kenny, another update next week some time i hope.

Time for another update, as you can see i finished the decking and i may still add some nail heads, i was trying for a nice cleen look. All comments welcome.

Hi Robert,
You decking is looking really nice. Unless you'er planning to countersink all of those nail heads( Whew!!!!!!) Its probably best leaving them off. I read some where,that instead of using nail heads, They used a pointed tool to make the impressions in the decking, then sanded them lightly. when varnished they look like dowelled decking. Might want to give that a try if you feel real ambitious. !!!! lol . Keep the posts comeing

Frank

Thanks Frank, I really wasn't going to use real nails i am not that crazy yet but i may use a sharp pencil and press the point into the wood you may be surprised at how good this looks i have done it before.

Sounds good Robert, looking forward to see how you do that

Hi guys

I think it may be just a little past time for an update on this model what do you think As you can see from the pics i finished all the planking and installed the stem post, stern post and keel and did most of the heavy sanding still need to fill a few small gaps in the planking and do a final sanding, all comments welcome.

TIme for another update in the first pic you can see a close up of the deck board details for the nail heads, in the second pic i planked the inside of the bulwarks and the transome and the last 2 pics are of the transome decorations, next up will be the cap rails which are giving me some trouble as they are thick walnut and are very hard to bend with out cracking. I have one other problem which will slow my progress i lost both the instruction booklet and one of the 2 sheets of plans so i will have to recheck everything i do many many times over.

Hi guys i have a small update in the first pic you can see i installed both cap rails i made out of walnut sheet which i cut out with a small saw blade in my dremel in the second pic you can see the finished cap rail in thr forground and the unfinished rail in the backround in it's raw state, next i will finish off the other rail and add a cap to the transome and maybe add a few parts to the bulwarks.