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.

The hull started out with plank on bulkhead construction and a first layer of planking from a softwood (Oregon).

A second layer of planking was fitted from Merbau which is quite hard and very brittle in thin sections

The inside of the hull was coated in fibreglass and polyester resin to keep it water tight. A plywood deck was fitted and then planked.

Deck furniture, fittings and masts were made from Ash.

Numerous blocks were made from Merbau, the same as the outer hull planking.

The rigging begins. Each rope was made on my ropewalk prior to fitment to the model.

The rail with all of the belaying pins fitted.

All of the standing rigging complete.

All of the rigging and masts can be removed to help with storage and transport.

Sails fitted and most of the rigging complete.