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Thread: Building a J-Class Sailboat

  1. #61
    Join Date
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    Really beautiful work. I just caught up on a year's worth of progress. Impressive!
    Shawn

    "no trees were harmed in the creation of this message, however some electrons were temporarily inconvenienced."

    "I resent having to use my brain to do your thinking"

  2. #62
    Join Date
    Jul 2012
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    Punta Gorda, FL
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    More catching up to do...


    After a few months of ignoring the model, I started up the planking again.


    It seemed to be pretty slow going with only about 15 or so planks getting laid in a day.


    Getting back into the groove...


    The planking at the bow and transom extend beyond the plywood deck that came with the kit. Once I glue the deck down, I'll have to figure out how I'm going to address those issues.


    In my haste to see what it was going to look like, I shaped the keel before the planking was done and took too much off so I had to glue down thin strips of mahogany and reshape the keel.


    I sprayed a few coats of lacquer to protect the planking. I was getting stain marks on the bare wood. Next step is gluing the deck down and fine tuning the planking around the rails. I also have to make a repair on the transom. I lost some planks on it when trying to slide rubber bands over the hull.
    “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness..." - Mark Twain

  3. Very nice work.

    Next time [?] consider shellac to seal such a surface rather than lacquer. It gives many more finishing options as you go forward and, in my opinion, is better at "popping" the grain of the planking. The lacquer looks very nice, tho'.

    For the plank ends: consider painters tape on the surface of the deck, butting to the plank inside. Shave down the plank ends with a VERY sharp block plane, leaving a tiny bit of overlap corresponding to the thickness of the tape. Remove the tape. Then you can use, say, 320 grit paper on a cork block to hand sand the edges flush.
    Fair winds and following seas,
    Jim Waldron

  4. #64
    Join Date
    Jul 2012
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    Punta Gorda, FL
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    Thank you, James.

    I was going to do French polishing because I wanted to fill in some of the grain but my lack of confidence in French polishing talked me out of it.

    I fixed the broken planks on the transom yesterday.

    There is a crack at the bitter end of the centerline planks that can't be seen here.


    When I went to remove the top planks, some of the sub planking came with it.


    I got it cleaned up and pared away the sub planking so the new top planks will be slightly higher than the existing.


    I couldn't get all the new planks to stay in one gluing.
    “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness..." - Mark Twain

  5. #65
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    I love this build. Very nice work. I love the lifeboat- great attention to detail.

  6. #66
    Join Date
    Jul 2012
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    Punta Gorda, FL
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    Thank you, Malcolm! Sure wish I could sail her when finished.

    Next up is the cradle

    Working on the hull with the new cradle told me I'll need additional support closer to the bow and stern.

    I'm going to add some ballast (in the form of lead shot) to give it a more natural feel. That and some epoxy are on order. While I wait for that...

    The deck cabin:

    The inner section parts.


    I was a little disappointed in the tolerances. With computer design and lasers they could have been better.

    Gluing them up wasn't fun. The slop in the tolerances created problems in making sure all the joints fit correctly.
    “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness..." - Mark Twain

  7. #67
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Williamsburg,Va.
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    12,402
    Very nice work,Julie. It would be well to put some hard maple jaws into your vises before they get messed up from use. Then,you can reline them as needed.

  8. #68
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
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    Dickinson, Texas
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    I have nothing to add except we visited Newport many years ago. I sailed locally 40 years ago and I had several boats.
    When I drove into Newport, the masts on the boats reached into the sky taller than anything I have ever seen.
    That being said, we have made five Gulf crossings under sail. Three of them were on our boat.

  9. #69
    Looks like a fun project. If you ever feel the need for some additional inspiration. look here: https://vimeo.com/220510301

  10. #70
    Join Date
    Jul 2012
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    Punta Gorda, FL
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    Thanks for the link, Dave. I never get tired of seeing J boats.

    I have made some progress but the house remodel has been stealing my time from the model. One thing that kept nagging at me was building yet another kit model of Endeavour. I wanted to do something a bit different. A friend showed me a deck layout that grabbed my attention.


    I took that and created a CAD model and scaled it to 1:35 then fine tuned it to match the deck of the model.




    Next was to print it out and see how it fit on the deck of the model.


    And then came the no-turning-back decision to cut the deck...


    Routing out the frame for the cockpit and balsa fill...


    “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness..." - Mark Twain

  11. #71
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    Jul 2012
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    I filled in with balsa where needed and fitted in the floors to the cockpit and helm station


    More balsa fill for the cockpit


    So far, so good...


    I've done a bit more but don't have pics loaded in yet.
    “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness..." - Mark Twain

  12. #72
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
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    N.E, Ohio
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    Julie, your attention to detail and quality are beyond amazing. I enjoy watching this ongoing project.
    George

    Making sawdust regularly, occasionally a project is completed.

  13. #73
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    IMG_2899.jpgLove the deck amendment. Also I saw your kitchen island build and it is very well done. No wonder you haven't finished this yet! Looks very enjoyable. I want to build a wooden model with one side just a skeleton and one finished. One day!

    I'm in Barbados all week and saw this old gal who roams around the islands a lot. Not a J, but lovely lines.
    Last edited by Malcolm Schweizer; 01-23-2018 at 9:04 AM.

  14. #74
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    Look what just pulled in to Charlotte Amalie this morning. How is yours comin. Along?

    F0E032B6-8AD4-4B6E-9774-11377563B7EA.jpg

  15. #75
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    Jul 2012
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    Punta Gorda, FL
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    Malcolm, I'd say you are trying to keep the juices flowing to help prod me along with the model. I've been working on the kitchen cabinet doors and drawer fronts. All the pieces are milled. All the doors are glued up and the panels have one coat of whitewash. I am so tired of making cabinet doors. I've reached the century mark and right now never want to make another 5 panel door.

    As for the model, I realized yesterday why it hasn't drawn me in lately. Every time I look at it, as it sits on it's own work table, I think of how, when it's done, it will just become a dust collector. And with the salt air and dust combination here, it could become very difficult to clean it. That's depressing. I don't want to seal it in a glass enclosure, in part because it doesn't seem right and in part because I don't have a place that museum kind of display would look right. So I'm stuck.
    “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness..." - Mark Twain

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