The Hull. Part 2
Sides are needed to enclose these high poop decks. Cut them from thin three-ply stock,
with gun ports and windows pierced, as shown in Fig. 3. These pieces also require an
ornate overlay. When in position the poop sides should leave a promenade deck about 3/8
in. wide on either side of deck F. As a protection for this promenade we shall need a
handrail. This is a strip of wood about 1/16 by 3/16 by 6 1/2 in. Bore fine holes along it
at 1/2 in. intervals, drive small bank pins through these, and on each drop three or four
beads, with a touch of glue to keep them in place. Then bore holes in the deck to
correspond. Invert the handrail and tap into position. Cut the projecting pin ends off
underneath, or cut them before inserting. Small glass-headed pins may be used at
intervals. The rail is to be stained and the beads painted silver, but do not put these in
position until almost the last thing. Two similar but much shorter rails will be wanted
for the forecastle. Cut or bend them to suit the curve of the bow. The stern board (Fig.
5), 31/4 in. high, is fret-sawed from a piece of thin wood, such as the lid of a cigar
box. The windows are pierced and the whole lightly carved. In the center space, put a
little picture of something symbolic, which you may paint yourself or find ready. It may
be a sacred picture, a device from a cigar box, or what you please. Perhaps you can touch
it up with oil paints; in any case, varnish it well.
The board is glued and nailed on with 3/8-in. No. 21 wire brads, a box of which will be found invaluable all through the work. The figurehead shown in Fig. 5 is cut from a piece of 1/2-in. soft wood. Before being outlined with the fret saw, it is cut down lengthwise to where the line of the stem (piece A) crosses it, so that a 1/4-in. slot can be taken out and it can be fitted over A. Lightly carve it, cut away the center with a chisel, and fit it on the cutwater. Just behind this come the headboards (Fig. 3). These are cut from 1/16-in. waterproof, three-ply stock. The ends are beveled to fit above and below the body of the lion and to suit the cutwater, and the other ends to meet the bulwark. They will need steaming until they can be bent to the right position. Then they are glued and nailed. Other material may be used, as previously indicated. Across these and lying on them, comes a 1/4 by 1/4 by 3 1/2 in. spar (an early form of cathead), over which the anchor cable passes. The spar fits close under the bowsprit, so do not place it until you have properly fitted the latter.
Before placing the headboards, bore two 1/8-in. holes through the cutwater, one under the lion's tail, the other behind it (Fig. 5). Cut a piece of stiff, flexible cardboard to the shape of the overlay 00 (Fig. 1), pierce the gun ports and windows, paint it to look like wood, then glue and nail it on the under part of the stern to follow the lines of the after part of the bulwarks and preferably inside them. Cut it a bit large and trim to fit; this is a good rule to follow in most cases. The lower edge of the stern board overlaps it. The Admiral's gallery round the stern is cut from thin press board, heavy Bristol board, or other good cardboard. It is rather tricky to cut, but should be approximately as shown in Fig. 3. Try out the center cut until it fits snugly around the stern when lying on the brackets, of which one is the extreme stern projection of centerboard A, and the others, Q and R (Fig. 1), are glued and nailed in position, two on either side and two on the stern. When the gallery fits, cut out the fretted parts with a sharp knife, bend up as indicated, bend in the forward ends, glue the flaps, place it on the glued brackets, glue the top ends, and spring them under the edge of deck F. Note the small sectional view in Fig. 3. The stern lantern is cut from a square piece of soft wood, as shown in Fig. 6. The windows are recessed and filled with silver paper, colored a transparent blue and painted with diagonal bars. If desired, this can be electrified as in Fig. n.
The capstan is wood about 3/8 in. in diameter and 3/4 in. long, cut to the shape
indicated. Drill 1/16-in. holes through the head at right angles to each other and pass
11/2-in. long sticks through them for the capstan bars. A long pin or thin nail is driven
right through the capstan into the deck. The main hatch (P, Fig. 1) is a block of soft
wood, 3/8 by 11/4 by 11/2 in. The top is punched with the squared point of a large nail so
as to represent a grating. The holes later are painted black, as is the lower half of the
hatch; the upper part is stained a dark oak color. The six ladders are made from strips of
very thin cigar-box wood glued together. The steps of each ladder must be exactly the same
length. The lengths of the ladders vary with the height of the various decks. You can
attach thin brass wire handrails to them, if you wish. 
The bitts, one large (U) on the foreside of the foremast, one (T) on either side of the mainmast, and one before the mizzenmast, are made from square sticks either 3/16 OR 1/8 in. square as shown in Fig. 1. The cross pieces are recessed into the uprights and glued. The best way to attach the bitts is to glue them to the deck and fasten them with tiny screws from underneath, but that necessitates placing them before the decks are laid down. Another method is to cut holes in the deck and glue the bitts very firmly into them. At the lower edge of the orlop (lower) deck, there should be fastened a 1/8-in. molding, glued and lightly nailed. Another molding about 1/16 in. square should be glued in line with the top of the open part of the bulwark, from the stem to the gallery. Some decorations may be painted between this and the top of the bulwark, both forward and aft. Below the lower molding, give the hull two coats of white paint; above it, two coats of light blue. The center piece and bulwarks are stained dark oak, and all the woodwork then is given one coat of varnish. The surface should not be a glossy finish.