Cap'n Rat Fink

Thank you, my friend! This is my first attempt on clinker and it looks not bad indeed in real life.
 
And, as promised, here's a little tutorial on clinker planking. I'll just describe steps I do myself.
 
Clinker build tutorial
 
1. Put planks in the water for a while or use any other soaking method you like. Planks just need to be more flexible.
 
2. Glue the first plank's middle part. Use a hair dryer for a minute - it'll dry the wet plank a bit and glue as well. Fix the middle with clamps or nails, if you want to. I didn't do fixing, because I built the deck first. But when you have only a skeleton, it's a good practice to fix planks to ribs.
 

 
3. Put a large amount of glue on one side of the plank, use hair dryer and fix with clamp. Do the same for the opposite end.
 

 
4. Cut the plank at the ends according to your needs (watch the keel).
 

 
5. Repeat the same for the plank on the opposite side of the boat. Do NOT continue with the same boardside or hull misshaping may occur.
 

 
6. Sand down the edges of the planks on both sides, so your next plank will fit properly.
 

 
This is how ot should look at the edges:
 

 
A few advices:
Manual tells you to use fast glue (one second glue or how do you call it in your country), but it's not necessary. I always use white (carpenter's) glue for wood, because it becomes transparent, when dried and easy to remove excesses. Don't be greedy and put a decemnt amount of glue, especially at the ends. You'll have your time to remove excesses. You can put your planks anyway you want, depending on your boat's blueprints and your own likings. For example, I have 7 mm planks and use overlapping method, leaving 5 mm at the middle and around 4 mm at the edges. Since the plank is wet, you may vary these measurements easily. Don't cut the first plank at the ends right away, wait for other one to follow. The best way is to do a raw work for both planks and then finish them simultaneously. You'll likely spoil your keel during planking. I simply ignored this and decided to restore the keel, when planking is finished (see further posts). I use this tool for sanding planks and find it very handy: 

Your windlass looks outstanding. Good craftsmanship!
 
mario

Your windlass looks outstanding. Good craftsmanship!
 
mario

Just beautiful work on the clinker planking monkeyman.
 
mario

Hey Matt,
  My log is not very great. MSW1 was upgraded to MSW2. But they had a crash that wiped everything out. But I have a some what more detailed build log here. It might help you with some questions if any. But you are really doing a great build here. Have fun.
 
http://modelshipbuilder.com/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?3529.0
 
I had a lot of fun building this boat. Right now I'm not building. Just putting my wood shop together. Then i will get back at it.

Hey Matt,
  My log is not very great. MSW1 was upgraded to MSW2. But they had a crash that wiped everything out. But I have a some what more detailed build log here. It might help you with some questions if any. But you are really doing a great build here. Have fun.
 
http://modelshipbuilder.com/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?3529.0
 
I had a lot of fun building this boat. Right now I'm not building. Just putting my wood shop together. Then i will get back at it.

So Pat will have to stop by my place to pick up the leftovers and Mario wants to place an order....  Hmm.... when would I build?  And here all along, I thought I retired so I wouldn't have to work.. what could I have been thinking?
 
Pat, I'm not sure there will be leftovers.  I always find I short myself when I do this....  

I didn't hear anyone offer to pay for wood, and If you're not getting paid, is it really work?
 
Bob

Hey Matt,
  My log is not very great. MSW1 was upgraded to MSW2. But they had a crash that wiped everything out. But I have a some what more detailed build log here. It might help you with some questions if any. But you are really doing a great build here. Have fun.
 
http://modelshipbuilder.com/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?3529.0
 
I had a lot of fun building this boat. Right now I'm not building. Just putting my wood shop together. Then i will get back at it.

Hey Matt,
  My log is not very great. MSW1 was upgraded to MSW2. But they had a crash that wiped everything out. But I have a some what more detailed build log here. It might help you with some questions if any. But you are really doing a great build here. Have fun.
 
http://modelshipbuilder.com/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?3529.0
 
I had a lot of fun building this boat. Right now I'm not building. Just putting my wood shop together. Then i will get back at it.

Hey nice going Mark!
   Can I give my wood strip order now or later!!!????
 
Mario

Hey nice going Mark!
   Can I give my wood strip order now or later!!!????
 
Mario

Hey nice going Mark!
   Can I give my wood strip order now or later!!!????
 
Mario

Hey Matt,
  My log is not very great. MSW1 was upgraded to MSW2. But they had a crash that wiped everything out. But I have a some what more detailed build log here. It might help you with some questions if any. But you are really doing a great build here. Have fun.
 
http://modelshipbuilder.com/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?3529.0
 
I had a lot of fun building this boat. Right now I'm not building. Just putting my wood shop together. Then i will get back at it.

Thanks Mario and for all the likes.
 
I think your toolbox with tools was one of first I had seen when I started my build. It has certainly helped inspire me to see yours and others with such talent. Trial and error is a great teacher, but it's nice to have all the help here to avoid some of the common errors.
 
Matt

Matt,
   It really wasn't that hard building the tools for the tool chest. Once I got the first tool completed, it really got me going with each and every tool after that. If you go to my log on the Launch you can see what I built. The hardest thing for me in this  adventure in minuature was putting Bligh's inscription on his coconut.
 
Mario

Matt,
   It really wasn't that hard building the tools for the tool chest. Once I got the first tool completed, it really got me going with each and every tool after that. If you go to my log on the Launch you can see what I built. The hardest thing for me in this  adventure in minuature was putting Bligh's inscription on his coconut.
 
Mario

Very beautifully done Matt...........
 
Mario

Here's some proof of life:
 

In the plastic bin... ebony and swiss pear for the main wales.  Ebony for the chain wailes and stern planking.  I'm going to laminate pear and ebony for the top strak of the main wales.
Next to the right, is the swiss pear for the rest of the wales (10 stakes) then swiss pear for the bulk of the hull planking, then there's the planking for above the wales and the upper works.
The strips on the bottom are for the garboard stakes and some spares for a bit of spiling.
 
The planking is made from pre-made strips and also from billets as not all the pre-made stuff was usable.
 
The planking pile doesn't look so intimidating now.
 
I'm going to make about dozen so more planking clamps today. 
 
Anyway, that's the plan.  But we all know about the best laid plans of mice and men....
 
 

First bit of planking is done with Swiss Pear.   Just the counter so far.  I've hung the stern post and rudder blank for position and to make sure I made the hole right.
 
There will be a bit of ebony trim over the exposed yellowheart after the rest of the planking goes one.  And "above" the counter and below the lights I'll be putting in the shaped trim strip after the rest of the stern has been planked.
 
All in all, I'm pretty pleased.

I think I bagged it....   Fiddly work at best.  I made some templates, changed them, cut some wood, fed the scrap box  Then I got what I wanted.   Since this is hidden by quarter galleries, I'll fair it in and tweak as needed before planking. The interior will need minimal as some is hidden by the clamps, deck beams and deck.   The interior will get planked and probably some trim around the doorways with some nice doors. 
 
It would appear that the French played the "misdirection" game as well as the Brits.  On the Brits Roebuck class, there's two rows of stern windows so that when seen by ship coming from astern it would appear bigger than it is.   On Licorne,  the top of the stern windows are also the beam for the quarterdeck.  From inside, the bottom of the lights are about chest high.  It gives the appearance when coming astern that the ship is taller than she really is and from a distance it could be mistaken for an 18 pdr frigate (my conjuncture).  I think the galleries were designed with the same "look" in mind.
 
Here's some more pics of her rear, and I'm off to the next bit which will either be setting up the deadlights or shaping the taffrail.. 
 

Thank you for the "likes" and comments.  
 
So far, nothing I thought was "horrible' was.  Easily fixable once I got over the shock of seeing it blown up.
 
This is part that Hahn gives minimal help by "leaving it up the modeler to fit and finish".   Last time, his recommended method didn't work for me.  It involved running the deck clamp to the stern frames and then tying in a couple of vertical stringers.  It just didn't look right nor was my craftsmanship good enough to get it consistant and proper.   So here's the plan:
 

 
Inside the red area is where I'll be focused next.  I'm now going to cut a piece of 1/8" thick cherry to shape, thin it down to the thickness of the frame forward and taper to half thickness where it ties into the stern frame.  It's pretty much a straight line according to the plans from above.. I'll finesse it in and then cut the doorway before mounting it.   The top of the piece (green) is the cut line for when the ship is removed from the buildboard so that's the upper limit.  It needs to be deep enough to catch the deck clamp as I'll need to add a beam on the gun deck as well as the clamp near the top for the quarterdeck.  It should be a lot sturdier for planking the inside and the outside and strengthen that stern framing some.
 
The doing should be a lot simpler than the describing.  We shall see what we shall see on the 'morrow after I fair the inside of the stern timbers. 

Hey I got a day off today....
 
Hi Qwerty,
    The Minnow! Wow that is back in my day when I was a kid. So young man like you knows the Minnow. I do have plans on that one too.
    But have you ever heard or seen the Vrolijkhied??? It's from the movie "Father Goose"....Now you other guys John, mark, John, and Bob you have to know. !964 staring Gary Grant and Leslie Caron. When I first saw the movie .....OH BOY DID LASLIE CARON STIR MY BLOOD A BIT. But I was lucky to get passed that and noticed the lovely cruiser in the movie. That will the next r/c build.
 
But when I'm away on the job I still will be research my Rattlesnake cross section I will be doing. I want it highly detailed so since a cross section and detailed 1/32 sounds about right and I will give it to one of my kids or a museum if nobody wants it. Because I like building but do you notice you hardly ever pay attention to them once they are just sitting there....haha!!!
 
But back to the orca. should add updates at the end of the month.................Later my buddies
 
OOOPS FORGOT THE PICTURE.....THE VROLIJKHIED
 

Hello my Friends,
Since my new job assignments has left me with very little time for research and building, I have decided to do a "FUN BUILD" , since I like to build more then research.
I have decided to venture into the realm of "REMOTE CONTROL" boating. Since I know nothing of R/C'n I am getting myself into a lot of trouble here. Scratch building the boat will be easy. It's the R/C stuff that will be a pain. My kids have been bugging me to build one so I have decided to build "THE ORCA" from one of my most favorite movies...."JAWS". Once completed i already have another R/C boat waiting in th wings to be built.
As for the Orca there is plenty of information on the WWW to pull from plus all the info I have on hand to assist me with the construction of the boat. My objective is as usual to make even a fictitious boat as accurately and realistic as possible of a world famous boat. The only part that might not have any detail will be the inside of the cabin. the reason is because the motor shell reside in the cabin area. If it sits low enough then you can bet your boots I will detail out the cabin. In the R/C world I have found out that the Orca is one popular R/C boat to build. So mine has to be detailed out to the max and make it my own.
Why the Orca, because it was the very first time my brother, cousin and I had to wait in line to watch this movie way back in 1975. Jaws was the first ever movie that bore the name of a "SUMMER BLOCKBUSTER". Another was I'm from Southern California and the beach go hand and hand in my area. But after watching that movie i really did not miss the beach too much that year. Ah what goes on inside a kids mind after watching that movie....HAHA!
The plans mention the boat being built completely out of Balsa. Well I do not like or care for balsa so I will be going with Basswood. The deck may be built from Teak wood. I hope to add as I go along a lot of "FACTS" and "FUN FACTS" about the boat and the movie.

HELP WANTED....
SINCE I KNOW NOTHING OF R/C RUNNING SYSTEMS I HOPE SOME OF YOU OUT THERE CAN ASSIST ME WITH THAT PORTION OF THE BUILD. MY OBJECTIVE IS TO DO A VERY DETAILED BUILD OF THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE BOAT....PLUS A DETAILED CONSTRUCTION OF THE RUNNING GEAR SO OTHERS CAN USE BUILD LOG FOR THEIR R/C BUILDS THAT ARE BEGGINERS IN THE FIELD OF R/C'n AS I AM.....

The next update will be when the hull is complete. So it may be a bit depending again on my workload at my job, as to how much time I have to play.....So talk to you all real soon I hope and "HAPPY MODELING.

Thank-you everyone for all the comments! 
 
Well, an update is long overdue - I almost feel I should introduce myself again!   
 
I struggled in the summer with which route to take for my cannons. I tried making molds and casting with resin with only limited success. The summer flew by and winter appeared and casting became a problem due to mess and allergies, or at least some reaction to the fumes. Ideally working outside is the best option, but at -20 degrees Celsius, it's not an option!
 
I had seen some paper cannons that Doris made and I thought I would give that a try. It would be easier if my scale was larger, but I don't find it too difficult. I know they are not perfect, but I am relatively pleased with the outcome and will continue with this process.
 
I am currently experimenting with weathering the cannons, so the painted one is not necessarily what the finished product will look like.