Port Jackson Schooner

For years I have wanted to build a large scale functional model of a wooden sailing ship. I wanted something a little unusual but I did not want the complexity of a fully rigged ship. I had the idea that I would like to be able to dismantle the rig without too much effort so that the model could be stored and transported easily. I also thought that something associated with Australia would be of more interest to me.

After contemplating options for many years I decided to build a model of the Schooner for Port Jackson. This ship looked to have a simple rig on a bulky hull, just what I wanted for a sailing model. Plans were readily available and It wasn’t going to be a complicate build, or so I thought at the time.

I decided to build the model at 1:16 scale as this would give a hull that would still fit in the back of the car for transport. I wanted the timber work to be a feature of this model but I didn’t want to buy exotic timbers for it construction. I decided to use hardwoods that are readily available from the local hardware store. All of the timber has to be cut to size from larger stock and then finished prior to making each component for this model so it is a slow process. My intention was to use the natural colours of the timber and clear varnish for the entire model. Photos below show my progress so far.

This model was started a few years ago after I had started a smaller static model of the same ship. My intention was to double plank the hull on plywood frames. The first layer of planks was from a scrap piece of Oregon that I striped up. It went on pretty rough but gave a reasonably shaped hull once it was sanded smooth.	The second layer of planking was Merbu. This was probably not the best choice of timber as it is very brittle which made planking was a very slow process. Each plank was glued with a polyurethane wood glue. While the glue dried each plank was held in place with pins, planking screws and clamps.
Once the outer hull had been completed the inside of the hull was coated in fibreglass to ensure that it remained water tight. The deck was then planked with individual planks on a thin plywood base. The deck planks were cut from a piece of softwood recycled from a pallet.	Hull and deck completed. Keel, capping and rails were cut from Ash and fitted to the hull.
Another good day of progress with bits, catheads and hatch coming fitted. The foremast and bowsprit were also constructed, these are made from Tasmanian Oak dowel tapered to a suitable shape.	Slow progress over the last couple of months. Deck furniture completed and the standing rigging has been started.