"Mariquita"
Now Complete!
Built by William Fife & Son at the Fairlie Yacht yard in 1911, "Mariquita" is the only survivor of the all too short lived 19 meter class racers. She received a full restoration by Fairlie Restorations in 2004, and since, is a competitive racer in numerous regattas.
Carving the Hull
Like all my boats, they start from a block of wood. Here you see the shear carved with the hull traced on the top.
Sawing out the hull shape
With a hand saw, I roughly cut the shape of the hull. After this stage, the boat is carved with chisels until the desired shape is acquired.
Paint Hull, Attach Cabins, Skylights
After about six coats of enamel paint and her cabins, skylights, and hatches attached "Mariquita" starts taking shape.
Mast is Prepared
The mast is completed with boom and gaff. As much rigging as possible is completed before stepping the mast and adding the shrouds. Backstays are also attached and left hanging.
Mast Stepped, Rigging Added
Mast is stepped and shrouds are added. The turnbuckles are small needle heads and the shrouds run through holes drilled in the spreaders and mast.
Mainsail sheets are attached from boom to track on the stern of the boat.
Dime is for scale.
Mainsail sheets are attached from boom to track on the stern of the boat.
Dime is for scale.
Adding Sails and More Details
The topsail is glued to its spars which are tied to the mast and gaff.
The mainsail is only glue to the gaff so that the sail can be curled before inserting it in the bottle. Once inside the clue will be glued to the boom.
Finally all sails are attached and the jibb sheets, which were pre-glued to the sails are ready to be attached to the deck in their proper positions as well as the leeward backstays.
"Mariquita" has the traditional sail cut and I have crafted her under full sail, set to to windward.
"Mariquita" has the traditional sail cut and I have crafted her under full sail, set to to windward.
Final touches and Details
With her jibb sheets set and backstays tied off "Mariquita" is nearing her final stage before entering the bottle.
"Mariquita's" steering wheel is only 2.5mm in diameter!
Below you can see the deck details and sail layout from above.
Below you can see the deck details and sail layout from above.
Cut from Block & Bottom Paint
After feeling happy that almost all work and details had been added to the boat, I removed it by sawing the hull from the teak block she was carved from.
With a strip of blue on the lower section of the hull to resemble the bottom paint, she is now ready to go in the globe.
Inside the Globe
For the sake of leaving something to the imagination, I won't share how I got this ship in its bottle.
I will say that it is what I would call a one shot deal!
I will say that it is what I would call a one shot deal!
Thank you for your interest in "Mariquita." I hope that you have enjoyed my step by step progress of the boats construction.
If you yourself are a ship in bottle builder looking for information regarding how I accomplished any stage of construction, please feel free to contact me.
If you yourself are a ship in bottle builder looking for information regarding how I accomplished any stage of construction, please feel free to contact me.