Over the weekend I gave the hull and other assembled pieces a coat of polyurethane.
While waiting for the polyurethane to dry, I worked on tapering the masts, bowsprit, boom, and gaffs. I am grateful for the strength of the wood provided in the kit for the masts, as the dowels would certainly have snapped if they were of a lesser wood. The kit provides metal pieces for the boom and gaff jaws, but I decided to create wooden replacements. The original metal part can be seen in the photo.
Next I addressed the rudder. The transom, as I built it, juts out in such a way that the rudder will be too far from the stern post. I think this has been a problem mentioned in every build log for this kit that I have read through.
To fix it, I glued an extra piece of wood to the top of the rudder piece, then sanded it down so that the rudder piece would curve in toward the stern post.
After many checks and adjustments, I attached the hinges and mounted the rudder onto the model.
