Phantom NY Pilot Boat
January 26, 2016
Back in November I finished coppering one side of the hull. Then the project sat idle for 2 months, right there in my office, taunting me daily. This weekend I was finally able to dive back in.
On Saturday I was able to completely copper the other side of hull, which finished up the hull coppering. It took several hours, but once I got into a groove, it was pretty painless. Once coppering was complete, I painted the inside of the bulwarks, giving them a few coats of white.
Sunday’s focus was on the deck. I made a paper cut out to fit the upper and lower parts of the deck, which took an hour or so to get just right. I used these as templates to cut the deck planking. While I love the look of the individual planks I’ve seen in some other build logs, I went with the sheet of planking included with the kit. (First ship, and I don’t want to go too crazy.)
In the practicum it is recommended to use a manilla folder for the waterways. I didn’t have one, but I had some very thin wood sheets, so I added a waterway made of wood. This was probably not the best choice – even with a lot of sanding they are still too thick. Oh well, first ship…
I built the rudder and got it coppered. I followed the general shape, but I had to make some alterations to get the fit just right. I still need to do the pintles and gudgeons – I need to swing by a hobby store to get some materials for those.
As I transitioned to working on the deck, my new cradle came in very handy. This is the second one I’ve built. This one has rails on the bottom so I can mount the cradle in my PanaVise (which is mounted on a small platform). This has made tilting the ship effortless.
Things I’ve noticed during this busy weekend…
Feels good to make some progress after a couple idle months. Knowing that I’ve got a Bluenose kit sitting in the closet is providing some motivation.