1/12 Beetle Whale Boat-Mystic Seaport Plans

lesterpalifka

lesterpalifka

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I have been building a 1/12 scale Beetle whale boat from plans from the Mystic Seaport Museum. We used these plans to build the new boats for the Charles W Morgan restoration in 2009-2014. I worked on the restoration for 3 years in the rigging loft. I also sailed on the 38th voyage and maned the helm for a 1/2 under full sail. Here is the photo record of my progress. so far. Enjoy and please feel free to comment as i welcome all .......

Building the molds....IMG_6342.JPGIMG_6345.JPGIMG_6349.JPGIMG_6350.JPGIMG_6375.JPGIMG_6376.JPG
 
If you ever build a scratch whale boat this book written by 3 generations of ship wrights is invaluable!! I am good Friends with Walt Ansel who works at the seaport with me and has been a valuable source of info for me. Walt and i have know each other for 10+ yearsunnamed (1).jpgunnamed (2).jpgunnamed (3).jpgunnamed.jpg.....
 
Starting to do the planking after lofting and cutting out the strakes. Whale boat construction uses battens at the seams. I had to do some fanageling with the strakes to get them to fit. I do have auto cad plans i drew of the molds and the strakes.. it was more of a fit as i went type of deal......i made the strakes from a 2x4 using my 10 inch table saw to get the thickness. then an exacto knife to cut the shape from a full size template.

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Rib construction. there are 64 ribs in a whale boat. i soak the wood in a 50/50 solution of ammonia and water. the ammonia breaks down the cellulose in the wood making it very plyable. i then built a jig to bend and hold the wood strips till formed. i also used a heat gun to speed up the process. i averaged about and hour a rib maybe longer but it was well worth it. the model shipways New Bedford whale boat at 1/16 th scale only has about 20 ribs. at 1/12 you can show a lot of detail on the model. oh you can purchase 1/12 scale plans from the Mystic Seaport Ships Plans for 65 dollars. it is a three sheet plan set. These were the plans they built the new whale boats for the Morgan from

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Very interesting construction methods - many thanks to show us this project and all the details :cool:
 
lesterpalifka said:
Starting to do the planking after lofting and cutting out the strakes. Whale boat construction uses battens at the seams. I had to do some fanageling with the strakes to get them to fit. I do have auto cad plans i drew of the molds and the strakes.. it was more of a fit as i went type of deal......i made the strakes from a 2x4 using my 10 inch table saw to get the thickness. then an exacto knife to cut the shape from a full size template.

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Great looking hull! I am following your build to see where it goes. This would be an excellent boat to scratch build.
 
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Jeff T said:
Great looking hull! I am following your build to see where it goes. This would be an excellent boat to scratch build.
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This could be like the Canoe Group Build or the Half Hull build, maybe if enough express interest we can get Lester to post plans to group build if admin goes along.
 
Decided to take a break and make some sails. I used linen soaked in coffee hung over night to dry. i used masons line for the bolt rope folded the edge over it and secured it with fabric attachment strips. I use peel and stick fabric fuse which is a permanent adhesive. i then hand sew the sail. one picture shows the jib in its approximate location. last pic is of the main sail getting ready to add the bolt rope to it.......IMG_7896.JPGIMG_7908.JPGIMG_7930.JPGIMG_7958.JPGIMG_7962.JPGIMG_7971.JPG
 
oar locks completed doing the rigging for the main sheet and installation of main sheet rigging in the wale. i have tried to use what i learned in the rigging loft when i worked on the CHarles W. Morgan restoration in my modeling. as you can see i used line and then covered it in serving. the i sized the loIMG_7724.JPGIMG_7725.JPGIMG_7733.JPGIMG_7734.JPGIMG_7735.JPGIMG_7736.JPGIMG_7940.JPGIMG_7943.JPGop and installed it on the boat
 
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