James H

Once those are on, progress should be nice and steady.

Photos, or it didn't happen.

Glad you like the build log and manual. Any questions, fire away.

Clamps can easily slip off something this shape, and you don't want to put any stress on the MDF bulkhead ears above the decks. I clamped my ply to the ears, and pinned to the lower bulkheads. A little further back, I also used Amati clamps to hold against bulkhead instead of pinning.

I never closed that gap on mine. I also got it, but it wasn't a problem. The first planks are almost twice the thickness of the ply, just work your way down and realise that your first planks might not also quite sit on that 2nd bulkhead, and then reduce that error until they do, with subsequent planks.

I think I'll be adding one to Flirt.

There will be new photos showing this in the Flirt manual.

That looks real nice with the boxwood ornamentation. Are these supplied ready to use, or do they need to be removed from their carving block?

Nice to see you back in the hobby again, and you work looks gorgeous!

Looks like it's all faired for planking. This is when you'll start to really see the hull come together.

Yes, the packets have an identifying number on them. The lighter, thicker and wider planks (5mm x 1.5mm) are lime for first planking. Pearwood for second layer is 4mm x 1mm, and look pinkish.

Planked yet?

The barrels look very interesting. This is a whole kit just in itself.

You really will love this one. Even though both Zulu and Fifie are primarily aimed at the same market, Fifie is the simpler of the two to plank and fit out. A real delight to build. I hope you'll share a build log.

She's coming along beautifully. Yes, the MDF stern frames were changed for the birch ply, as an extra insurance policy against breakage.

Chris actually does taper the sternpost in his instructions too. You can see where he stopped his planking too.

Maybe it's just the way I work, but it seemed easier NOT to have to plank that area and then sand most of it away, plus the underlying MDF too.

Hi Glenn, what do you refer to? This is exactly the same as Speedy, so far. There sure is. As the stern keel post is only 3mm thick, I prepared the MDF by tapering it to just over 1mm in thickness (about 1.5mm), down from the original 3mm., through the deadwood area. The first planking layer is 1.5mm thick on each side, so I didn't want to add another 3mm onto the MDF thickness at that point as the pear planking will make up the the correct thickness. If I'd planked that area, I would've just had to sand it away and still thin out the deadwood area.

I've still been putting my exile from my day job to good use and pushing forward on this build. Next up was adding the 0.8mm ply bulwarks. As with anything like this that has to try to conform to various compound curves, it can be a little testy, but a 30 min soak in hot water certainly helps to ease it into position. A series of pinning and clamping persuaded it too, once glue had been applied. the upper bulwark MDF ears were only lightly glued to the ply as these will be removed in a later stage before fitting the laser engraved deck. First planking is done with lime planks, 5mm wide and 1.5mm thick. There's more than enough bulkheads to get a good even finish, providing you faired them properly too. It's all Prep Prep Prep. These planks were glued with PVA and also tapered as necessary. Once planked, a thorough sanding was given, making sure no steps, unevenness or other anomalies would show on the shapes of the finished hull. The 4mm x 1mm pear strips are now cut into short lengths for the stern and stern counter etc. The rudder post is temporarily clamped in position so that I can plank up to it on either side without any guesswork. The edges of this are then sanded flush with the hull sides. The pear 'master plank' is now fitted to each side. This isn't guesswork as there are laser cut marks on the bulwark that help you position this in the same place as the planking run for the wale. CA gel is used to glue into position as it gives some seconds to align things. A quick photo with a few deck things sat in position! The hull is now planked in pear from the master plank down to the keel. More as soon as I get time to edit photos!

She's coming along real nice. You'll have caught me up pretty soon 🤣

Welcome to MSW. Your work is exquisite.

Nah, don't bother. You can't see it even when you leave a grate off (well...barely!). It's certainly not going to impact on any construction anyway. 🤣

Is this a dry fit? Bulkhead 10 should be the other way round with the door opening on the port side, although I don't think it really matters.

Is this being released in sections? I note that is No.1

That's the easy bit done..........now? 😆