The ship’s roundhouses were at the fore of the ship on the bow. The Confederacy’s Roundhouses seemed to be pretty straightforward, however Augie had written in his notes that he was intending to use the Swiss Pear instead of the lightwood indicated in the plans. I really liked this idea, as it would surely set off a bit of color on the bow of the ship. It really didn’t change how I approached the Roundhouses initially, but soon after I discovered the slightly thicker Swiss Pear was going to involve a little more intricate bit of beveling than the stock parts.
In addition to mitering the edge, I also sanded the inside of the strips with a round file to try and match the shape of the guides. Then I marked the inside seams with a sharpie to simulate the caulking between the planks.
Chuck’s original plans & instructions call for a bit of 28 gauge wire glued under the overhang, which is a very nice touch to give it a sense of crown molding and insulation. Instead – for me to pull in a little bit of the natural color of the bow, I used the original light colored overhang, sanded it down, then covered it with the swiss pear roof.
Finally, I dug up in my “extra pieces” bin, some small circular brass rings with a lip that came from who know’s where, and I used those to bring out some detail int he ventilation scuttle.
Ultimately, Augie nailed it with his approach (as he always did), and I really love the way the swiss pear looks on the bow.
The Lehman Shipyard 