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Hi, To begin: This vessel is a fictional ship from a popular video game that I have never played (Assassin's Creed Black Flag). This build is not a scale build and is just a fun project that I was inspired and interested to undertake. I started this project January 3, 2016 and I am nearing the final stages so I thought it would be a good time to share the progress. Apologies for any grammar/spelling errors/ignorance on my behalf, I'm an Engineer not an English major Alright, some quick background info and introduction. I am a Saskatchewan farm boy, currently in my 3rd year of Civil engineering. During the school year I live in the city and visit the farm on weekends and live there during the harvest/summer months with my family. My main interests that relate to SIB building are Classic cars (60's mustangs), woodworking, metal fabrication, and drawing/drafting/art. I enjoy being able to create and work with my hands and I regularly try to find new and unique projects to expand my tool box of skills. I have always been a fan of ships in bottles and ships and sailing vessels in general so I thought I would try my hand at it. The reason I chose the Jackdaw is because of these two photos. Due to the fact that I was in school during the majority of this build I did not have time to take on a complex build and I had no idea how to even build a SIB at the time. Much of my inspiration and learning came from Gabrielle (Heather) Rogers website and write-ups on her builds. Just reading and looking at pictures is the best way to learn. The first real item that got me going on this build was the bottle.... now this picture is basically a huge spoiler but this is what I started with. For now we will ignore the carved basswood hull residing in this lovely square bottle.... I'll get to it eventually. My mother brought this bottle home from a thrift store (Value Village) and I asked if I could put a ship in it. She said sure and that evening I started to cut pieces of paper into mock hulls to see how big of a boat I could cram into this bottle. Unfortunately I like to work more than take pictures so some of the early stages of the build aren't documented very well. So like the budding engineering I am, I took the previously mentioned photos of the Jackdaw, scaled them down using the maximum dimensions that I got from the mock hulls/decks cut form paper, and traced/sketched the final plan. More photos and progress to come! As I mentioned I am nearing the final stages and by that I mean I am almost ready to make the voyage into the bottle. Just wanted to start the write-up and see how it works. Ill try to answer any questions when I have a moment and I love any and all criticism and wisdom from the pro's.

A friend asked me to make a SIB of a boat that is owned by one of their friends. The boat is a Colvic Watson 28 ft as shown in Figs 1 and 2. Figure 1: The drawings Figure 2: the actual boat I had a few other photos to work from as well. I drew up some plans, shown in figure 3. Figure 3: Working plans The hull block was made and shaping started, shown in Figs 4 & 5 Figure 4: Hull block Figure 5: Shaping Started Figure 6: Basic outline. The hull is split just off centre to port and has an upper, mid (from styrene) and a lower. The aim is to give sharp horizontal paint lines for the boot topping, Figure 7: Cabin made, under-coated and the planking. I made the planking from watercolour paper, printed on the PC with different weights of line thickness and shade. I used watercolour paint to try different shades of ‘wood’ colour, then picked the one that looked best at this scale. Figure 9: Top-coated The lower hull sections were painted separately, royal blue for the boot topping and red oxide for below the waterline. Figure 8: Sea started. The sea was made from plasticine, with a description of the SIB and makers name label under it. Figure 10: Starting the woodwork and masts. I used a red hardwood veneer for the woodwork, Small pieces were reinforced with thin CA glue before cutting and sanding to shape. Once attached to the SIB I used diluted clear acrylic varnish on them. The masts were made from brass tube and rods. This SIB had the luxury of actually having a large hinge at the foot of the mainmast. The main and mizzen sails are of the modern variety that are slotted into rails on the mast and are furled on a rotating assembly on the boom. The foresail is furled around a rotating steel forestay. Cutting the slots in the tubing was ‘fun’. I used a small photo-etched saw from http://www.radubstore.com. Took a while but it worked, Figure 11: Main mast Figure 12: Most of the woodwork fitted Figure 13: Masts and sails I used some type of translucent parchment that my wife gave me for the sails. Stitching was simulated using a black pencil, and they were coloured with watercolour, This allowed them to retain the translucent effect, They were a bit waxy, and I had a bit of trouble getting them to stay stuck in the slots on the masts. They held a good shape though. Figure 14: Rigging Underway I used a silver coloured thread for the rigging to simulate the stainless steel on the real boat. The railings were made from brass rod and painted chrome. Figure 15: Almost done. Windows ‘fitted’ I used DIY water slide decals for the windows and name. This is the first time I’ve tried this and have been pleased with the result. A pack of 5 A4 sheets of decal material cost about £5 and I’ve used half of on sheet. First I printed a couple of different sizes and colours on paper for trialing next to the SIB for size and effect. Then printed out 3 sets of the chosen ones on my ink jet, to allow for slip ups. When dry, a couple of light coats of clear acrylic varnish was sprayed over them. Once dry, the decals are cut out, placed in a saucer of warm water and when they float off of the backing are applied using a wet paintbrush and very gentle use of tweezers, left to dry then varnished over to seal and protect them. They went on very nicely first attempt. Figure 16: Ready for bottling Figure 17: In the bottle. By special request, the lighthouse is an attempt at Walney Island Lighthouse at the north end of Morecambe Bay where the owner sails to sometimes. Regards to all Alan

Hi All, I attended the EASIB bi-annual convention last weekend, and had a thoroughly good time chatting with other members, seeing their SIBS and the evening meal for the presentations. It was held in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk on the East Coast of England. It also coincided with the Great Yarmouth Maritime Festival. The quayside had a selection of nautical themed exhibits, historical re-enactment by the local ‘militia’ demonstrating muskets etc, folk singers/groups singing sea shanties, and a few vessels to go aboard and look round, one of which was the Lydia Eva. The large herring fleet had made the town the major herring port in the world in the early part of the 20th century. Built in 1930 and based in Great Yarmouth, Lydia Eva fished along the East Coast and North Sea for nine years. The Royal Air Force brought her in 1939, using her in a variety of roles until she she laid up in 1969. She was acquired by the Trust in 1971/2 and restored as a floating museum in Great Yarmouth. Lydia Eva joined the Maritime Trust's national collection of vessels in London's St. Katherine 's Dock in 1986 but was laid up again in 1990 and eventually returned to East Anglia when the Lydia Eva Charitable Trust Ltd was formed She is listed as part of the National Historic Fleet and there is fair web coverage. Lydia Eva was suggested as the SIB to model for the convention, so I set to. I couldn’t find a set of drawings for Lydia Eva, but I did have a set for Ocean Unity from a copy of Model Shipwright. This was of a similar style, so with a bit of electronic shrink and grow, a reasonable set of lines was obtained. The differences were obtained from photos from various websites. I aimed for a SIB at about 1/250. The Hull Block Hull being formed Cap rail being fitted SIB primed, bulwark interior painted and ribbing being fitted. Wheelhouse being constructed Then I got a new laptop and 'lost' some phots during the data changeover so straight to the finished SIB. And then this at the evening presentations - well pleased. best Alan

Hello guys, I just joined the forums today and would like to share my sib build. Now please hold back any rude and unnecessary comments, this is my very first ship in a bottle build. I am a novice wood carver, I first started carving faces in trees about 8 years ago. From what I seen so far from sib builders is that their level of detail and craftsman"ship" far exceeds the skills needed to carve faces in trees. I would love to be a part of this group. I took some pictures of my project so far and I came across a hiccup. I would like to shape the ship to represent a real ship. With faces, I'm allowed to wing it. And I started doing that with this, trying to make sure the hull fills up a good portion of the bottle. The hull fits snugly in the bottle neck and there should be enough room to add railing and hinged masts on top of the deck. What I would like to hear is some suggests of ships that I should attemp to build and which one best represent the shape and style of the hull I got semi completed. Also which one would fill the bottle up nicely.

With the build process complete I have dis-assembled Thermopylae and doing a preliminary fit of her inside the bottle before I add the transparent ocean to the bottle February 17, 2017 Thermopylae and her newly poured ocean inside the bottle.

Inspired by the great novel Moby - Dick by author Herman Melville the New England whaling ship Essex was sunk by a giant whale in 1820. Visit my completed diorama in the Build Logs.

In the ship yard I am presently working on a ship in bottle diorama. A replica of the Nantucket Whaler.....Essex. I've decided to recreate a scene from the movie In The Heart of The Sea. The real story of the Essex wrecked by a sperm whale in 1820.