Long John2

Hi Adrieke, The few photos I have got of the focsle seem to indicate some curved planks, particulary towards the edges/margin planks but this could be camera error. Also, Marquardts AOTS shows curved planks also towards the edges clearly, so I would like to gain clarity if possible and you are my best hope when Endeavour is open to visitors again. My Endeavour hasnt even reached the slipway stage yet. Also, I am working on deck planking for HMS Sultana which is also 1760's period so Im trying to kill two stones with with one bird here as the research and issues are similar. There is also an equally good sailing replica of the Sultana in existance in the US, and in both cases the replicas have turned/hooked planks butting against the margin planks. I decided to turn Endeavour into a scratch build and have only gotten the issues that cover the frame and decks. However, I dont see Endeavour getting onto the slipway for a while so a build log is a while away still. Incidently, I lived in Sydney for 5 years as a child, and started my schooling there, and not was not too far from the Opera House which is close to ANNM I believe, but it did'nt exist then. I was inSydney briefly 3 years ago for a visit just before my interest in Endeavour started to materialise, so kinda missed an oppertunity to visit it 8). Cheers John

Hi Adrieke, I Have the EagleMoss Endeavour at 1:48 scale and have been researching deck planking, and am also keen to follow the replica planking. However, there are some challenges for a novice like me. If my research on the replica serves correctly there are both curved planks on both the fore deck and the poop deck. The poop plank curves are long and follow the shape or curve of the bulwarks. Also, the fore deck makes use of turned, or hooked planks at the against the margin plank where the curve of the margin plank is the most pronuonced. Curved planks and the hooked planks need to be custom cut and are usually require wider planking to be cut to acheive this. The planks provided in kits are usually not wide enough to do this and one has to get wider material to do this. Your kit planks from AL are probably approx 4-5mm wide (I have an AL kit also, but it is not the Endeavour) so you may struggle with the turns/hooks. I have experimented with maple veneer (0,5mm) and cut out custom planks. Maple cuts very cleanly and gives a nice clean edge. Also, the grain is fine and looks good as deck planking. In order to get the right shapes/curves my intention has been to get or draw the correctly scaled deck plans onto paper then glue the paper to a sheet of veneer and then cut out the planks acording to the plank images on the paper. This can be cut with a knife or with sharp scissors for the curves. When cutting with sissors it sometime helps to dampen the veneer being cut. However, it requires a good drawing or plan to scale and follow. I took a look at Marquardts ATOS plans but these are complex and not the same as the replica. He does quite a nice job of indicating the King planks, Binding Strakes, and some of the curved planks and his drawings are easy to duplicate and scale. However, he makes use of nibbed and joggled planks on the focsle instead of turned hooked planks. This is easer for a modeler as you dont have to shape the planks. However, it is argued and current convention that planks nibbed into the margin plank only occured late in the 18th century, or early in the 19th century when "Circular" saws appeared and became efficient enough to mass mill lumber/planks into narrow constant widths, so it is unlikely the Endeavour had nibbed planking on the focsle. The replica probably correctly has turned/hooked focsle planks. The question for me has been where to get decent deck plans of the replica. The replica was built to plans and there may even be a deck plan as part of these, maybe even held by the ANNM. Unless the buiders resorted to doing the deck planking the 18th century way by shipright experience and memory without plans as such. You are in a fortunate position in that you can just pop down to the replica and have a look, and can talk to the museum staff and find out details as far as the replica build is concerned. Marquard also in my opinion came out with a very inconsistant deck plank shift plans in his drawings. I studied these for weeks very carefully trying to work this out without sucess, and came to the conclusion that his drawings were meant to give a general impression of the shift plan witout being spot on accruate. If you get down to the replica and look at the deck layout and take lots of photos I would be keen to see these especially of the focsle. All the photos I have managed to locate do not really show the focsle planking too well. Also, the camera tends to distort lines so it is difficult to see if planks are curved as they often appear curved on photos when they are actually straight, so being able to confirm this with the naked eye is a huge plus. Finally, I also note that you are keen to include the ventilation louvres in the waist bulkhead. I am curious to know if these are a modern inclusion/improvement design to improve ventilation between decks below as part of a ventilation duct, or were an origional part of the design historically, as I have not yet seen this incorporated into other period ships of the 18th century. If you find out let me know. These have been my thoughts on the deck planking and it will be interesting to see how you get along with this. I am slowly researching 18th century english deck planking methods and designs and may one day try and put together a practicum on this for the forum, but it will be a while yet I think as I am still learning on this score. John