March 28, 06 - Here is the finished model with its teak toe rail in place. The topsides are navy blue with a white boot stripe and gold leaf on vinyl cove stripe. The model is 36" long and is mounted on a 13"x42" birch board finished in satin varnish. This is a natural light picture.
The following are the steps involved in building this model
Feb. 18, 06 - Here are the lines I drew. The defining characteistiics of this design are the classic sheer, full keel, long overhangs, low freeboard and a wineglass section hull. The design displacement of the hull is approximetely 14,900 lbs. I used the NACA 1010 foil for the keel, so it has an air/water foil shape.
Feb. 20, 06 - I finished the design yesterday and laminated the backplane for the model last night. Today I cut out the station frames, installed them and the deck onn the backplane and then planked the hull down to the waterline. Tomorrow I will start planking the hull below the waterline. In the picture above the model is sitting on a plank I had handy, since I have not yey build the mounting board for this model.
Feb. 26, 06 - Over the last few days I acquired the birch for the mounting board, laminated the 13"x42" mounting board and put the first two coats of varnish on it. Today I finished planking the model. After I took this picture, I started fiberglassing the hull. It will take two days to finish the fiberglassing, then I will start the filling and fairing process. The black line on the hull marks the waterline.
March 6, 06 - I have now finished fiberglassing the hull. Over the next 3-4 days I will fill and fair the surface of the hull to get it ready for painting. The birch mounting board looks a bit crummy in this picture because I sanded it just before I took the picture in preparation for varnish coat 4.
March 10, 06 - I have now finished the major filling and fairing of the model and have started priming and spot filling. The picture above shows the model after the application of the first coats of primer paint. Over the weekend I will spot fill imperfections in the surface and reprime. I hope to be ready to paint the topsides on Monday.
March 14, 06 - Yesterday I finished spot filling and repriming the topsides of the model. Today I put the first coat of blue topsides paint on. I will let that paint cure for 48 hours and then repaint the topsides with what should be the final coat of blue paint. After that I will paint the boot stripe and then the bottom.
March 16, 06 - Today I repainted the topsides. The paint job came out with a flaw near the stern, so I will be repainting the model on Monday. Despite this delay, I expect to have this model finished toward the end of next week.
March 21, 06 - Since my last update I have repainted the topsides and painted the white boot stripe onto the model. I will let the boot stripe paint cure for two days and then buff the topsides, paint the bottom and install the gold cove stripe. I have also scarfed together and started varnishing the teak for the toe rail. I expect the model to be completed except for the teak toe rail on Friday. The toe rail will be completed over the weekend, so the model will be finished by Monday, March 27.
March 24, 06 - This model is now finished except for the teak toe rail. I have about 2 coats of varnish to go on the toe rail, so it will likely be installed on the model on Sunday or Monday.