Here is our ship in the erect position.
Next we apply glue to the parts that will be pulled into position. This is the tailpiece, the bottom of the mast and the bottom of Odysseus' feet. Then when we pull the strings erecting everything the glue will hold it all locked into the upright position.
Fold down the sail, mast and tail piece of the ship.
Now insert the ship into the bottle. Be sure to get the orientatation correct and keep the strings organized.
Now I am holding the ship down with a dowel and pulling the strings. This erects the various parts.
I left it all just like this for an hour. I taped the dowel and the strings in place. This held everything taut and in position while the glue dried on the ship.
Next I used a long piece of wire with a hoop on it to apply a large glob of glue to the surface of the water right where I wanted the ship to be placed.
This is a high tack and very globby glue. It has good gripping power. It is like a gel.
Then I moved the ship into position over the glue.
Once the glue has taken hold and is set I made final adjustments to everything, pulling on strings as necessary and insuring everything has been erected correctly.
And that's it. The ship is in place. Once all the glue is totally dried we can remove the strings.
Then we finish off the boat by adding the oar section to it. I applied a glue to the oar section and using a long piece of wire I reached it into the bottle and applied it to the side of the ship.
 
Next I apply waves around the ship and around the oars. To do this I am using something callled a Gloss Super Heavy Gel. It has the consistency of yogurt and it holds its shape when it dries. So, if you dab it on so it has ripples and waves it will stay that way when it dries.
I have applied the gel so it looks like waves and ripples.
Now we finish off the project by adding the sirens.
And that's it! Your ship in a bottle is complete.
And check this out! A web visitor (Luke) ran across a couple of authentic ships on the Hudson River. And one of them was a viking longboat much like the one I have in this ship in a bottle tutorial. Pretty cool! He sent me some pictures of the boat. Check it out here. Doesn't it look a lot like our ship in a bottle? My thanks go to Luke for sharing the serendipitous event and the pictures with us!!!
New: How to Set up a Goldfish Tank
I got myself three adorable goldfish. I am obsessed with them! Here is a tutorial on what to get and what to do if you want an easy start with an aquarium. How to Set up a goldfish aquarium
How to Make Miniature trees from Household materials
Miniature trees are expensive. But I have a nice alternative. You can make them with three materials: Brown paper, a kitchen sponge and glue. And they come out great. Make Miniature Trees
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