So, after my progress in my last build log update, I was feeling a little too confident.  Monday, after work, I decided to dive right in to cutting out the scuppers.  Somehow, I managed to take the completely wrong location/size off the plans.  I didn’t realize it until afterwards, as I was scrolling through photos of other Phantombuilds trying to decide if I should paint the newly cut wood.

My scuppers were way to far towards the front.  Looking at the plans, I’m not sure how I ended up in this spot.  My best guess is that I mistakenly measured the plan markings where the bowsprit guy attaches to the hull.  It defies logic – but somehow I ended up cutting scuppers right there.

Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday were spent filling the cuts with putty, sanding, and repeating.  I had to reshape those areas completely.  Of course, this means that I need to repaint the hull.  Since I originally did the hull with an airbrush, I couldn’t get the right finish unless I re-airbrushed the hull.  Since I’ve already coppered and installed the deck, I had to carefully tape everything off before I could paint.  Saturday was painting day – a few coats later and I’m back to being in good shape.

The photo below shows the mis-placed scuppers, the ‘putty phase’, and the completed patch job.

Despite the setback, I was able to install the stanchions and get the cap rail installed.  The stanchions were a bit more of a pain than I expected.  My earlier mistake of using 1/32″ wood for the waterways came back to bite me.  Stanchions in the back were abnormally short.  Very tough to cut and get in place.  If I hadn’t made the waterways too thick I think this would have been a lot easier.  I also decided that it would be easier to leave the stanchions a little long, and cut them after the fact (so the height would be precise).  However, the pressure from trimming them ripped a few off – so I’m not sure that I saved much time/work compared to just cutting them individually and more precisely.

Finally, the cap rail went on.  I cut it a little larger than necessary and sanded it down after it was installed.

At this point, I’m starting to see the cumulative effects of small errors.  Were I to do it again, I’d be sure to either use a manila folder for the waterway or properly do the nibbling on the waterway to avoid the extra height from simply installing a 1/32″ waterway.

Oh well, first ship…I’m learning.