Mike Dowling

Well, after a bit of a pause here is an update.
 
The first layer of planking except for the transom is done!!!!
 
I have lots of tidying up to do, plank under the transom, cut and add the bow blocks. Then loads of sanding to smooth everything down before trying to plank it properly next time!!!
 

 

 

 

 
 

Hi mike.
Very nice work. Lookes to be a nice model.
 
Regards Antony.

Well, after a bit of a pause here is an update.
 
The first layer of planking except for the transom is done!!!!
 
I have lots of tidying up to do, plank under the transom, cut and add the bow blocks. Then loads of sanding to smooth everything down before trying to plank it properly next time!!!
 

 

 

 

 
 

Definitely see what you mean there.  Enough to make you seasick!  Just kidding you Mike.  You know I'm impressed with your work.

Hey look at that.  You covered the hull. Success. That is a big hull.  Has anyone told you that? I bet you learned some things along the way.  Also success!
The bow blocks shouldnt be too bad.
 
Nice work.

Well, after a bit of a pause here is an update.
 
The first layer of planking except for the transom is done!!!!
 
I have lots of tidying up to do, plank under the transom, cut and add the bow blocks. Then loads of sanding to smooth everything down before trying to plank it properly next time!!!
 

 

 

 

 
 

Oh, that was fast, mate! Seems you ve spent most of the Easter holidays in your workshop ;-)
Nice work, keep on moving!
I have not touched her for a good 10 days... Other things keep me busy.
But, I'll be back!!

Thanks Dom, the up - down bit was due to the original error, as in following the instructions!!! Even taking some planks off was not enough to correct it but I wasn't going to take them all off and start again. I will certainly be doing the second planking differently but at least I should have a smooth solid surface to work on for that.

Many thanks for those, in fact without realising it I have been trying a few techniques without really meaning to. At least this first layer is turning out to be a learning experience!!!

Woh there fella!!! Not even close to a second layer yet but, when I get there I was thinking of doing exactly what you just said and don't even begin to tell me 'I told you so' or any of that 'here we go again' stuff!!!!
 
 
 
 
(Only joking but I'll bet that had you going for a micro second - tee hee!)
 
Also, no you dare not, you wouldn't like what they tell me to do at all!!

Very good! Did you have to soak those beasties or were they flexible enough not to have to?

Thank you for that. I would revise my last post as, to be honest, I wouldn't buy a thing from AL. I have had serious difficulties with them over parts not supplied in a sealed box kit.
A friend of mine has also had big problems with his model. If you can get over the dreadful instructions I would go for the OcCre kit and now, I am glad I did!

I´m about my first AL kit. Sufficient to say, lots of mods are going on - but my kit is old, bought from e-bay, cheap and a surprise when I opened it. Have a San Francisco on the shelf, just waiting for more bashing, as lots of things seems wrong or are just too ugly to be used (metal pre-cast parts are the worse). AL kits are good to bash, though - And I like to do exactly that. So, if I can by another one cheap, I will. Never will buy it from their site, though.

Not a bad bit of planking Dom! Still keeping an eye on you you see!!

Don't be dismayed - you should see the state of my hull !!! Actually, you shouldn't, you would be totally ashamed of you student!!! Happy Easter anyway.

The great thing about double-planked hulls

There was now nothing left to do but glue on the beams and then the deck. All I wanted was a way to make sure I could hold the deck securely down onto the beams. I had decided not to use pins except if absolutely necessary. Weights and clamps were my choice. But no matter how many weights I used there was always a frame tip that wouldn't hold tight. I realized that it was cause the actual point of pressure was not on the tip. Clamps would have been better at the edges but I couldn't figure out how to make a clamp or pair two clamps up and get them to hold the deck to the frame. I think there is a whole art to clamping, and I don't know it yet. And I didn't want to take the time to go out and buy more specialized clamps, so I improvised. The best way to describe what I did is visually, so take a look at the pics. In the end, this afternoon I finally glued down the deck. There is a lot of fairing of frames to do (some frame tips are actually sticking out beyond the deck) and to my horror the masts don't run down now through three decks. They did when the main deck was only sitting dry on the beams, but now, glued down they don't. I think its cause when I tested them last, I hadn't done the shimming of the frames. That little bit of difference has made the sweep of the deck just different enough that the holes on the top/main deck are now a millionth of a mm out of alignment. I'm praying that I only need to ream out the hole a wee bit and it will line up.
 
I have to laugh whenever I see how the weights are being used. But it is sure an effective way to get equal pressure across the whole of the deck, and apply that pressure right up to the edge.
 
Tomorrow morning we'll see how tight the deck really sits.

Plenty of progress. Plenty of obstacles overcome (hopefully). And I'm sure plenty more to come.
 
My last post concerned my preparation for putting on the main deck. My problem was that my frame tips were out of whack. Some too high, some too low. I decided to ignore the specs/plans and just work to create the contour for the deck in the easiest and safest way. I really didn't want to take a saw to any frames (remember, these are ribs, not bulwarks)or do much rough filing and sanding. As it turned out I was able to shim up all the low frames, a little here a little more there and produce the sloping I wanted. For shims I just cut already measured thickness wood and laminated one or two together and made the heights of these frame tips what I needed. For each tip that was raised in this way I also had to put in a shim on the notch that would hold the beam.
 
Then I decided to deviate a bit from the sequence of steps the instructions gave and install the stairways below deck before putting on the deck. I had finally found where the fifth step would go and this was both good news and bad. Good that I knew where it went, bad that the stringer for that fifth set of stairs had been destroyed getting it out of its template. So I had to rebuild the stringer. That was actually fun and in the end not disappointing. I used my Dremel scroll saw to cut the stringer's notches. I wasn't completely accurate, a couple steps came out pretty cockeyed but sanding them down made them almost look level. I need to find a better way to apply CA glue....I just dripped it directly from the squeeze bottle and obviously way too much comes out. I've been researching applicators and will try the sewing needle with the end snipped off next. Also maybe a sewing basting pin that has a little round ball at the end. Anyway, the pics show my work. And I still don't know how to insert pictures between paragraphs, so they are all at the end of this post I guess.
 
Getting that broken stairway in place and making it stay was another trip. Since my Bounty doesn't have planking over the bilge there was nothing to glue to at the bottom. Its supposed to just hang there, resting on the keel and propped up against the lower deck. Not much glue surface. So I added a little cross piece at the head of the stairs between the stringers, enabling me to glue across an inch or so instead of just the two little stringer tips. With the repair work I'd done to these stairs, they weren't precisely parallel stringers I guess and so they sat askew on the keel. I killed two birds with one stone by filing a little notch in the keel into which the left hand stringer fit, leveling the stairs and making the install more secure.
 
The other stairs from the lower deck down to the holding platform was a piece of cake cause it wasn't broken to begin with and cause it had a deck to sit on. So easy that I decided to embellish it and the lower stairs with the same type of railings that I made for the previous stairs installed a few years (it seems) ago.
 
With that I'm going to end this post and start a new one.

Port side, after some rough sanding.
Now follows nailing, some more putty and fine sanding
 

 

HI Mike ,i see your planking is going well the only advice i can offer is try all the methods on your first planking  eg stealers ,half stealers ,lining etc cause you will probably need them all on the second run ,i know im finding the second planking very slow with a lot of head scratching and scrap timber . But good luck and keep at it . Have fun!!!                             Boyd 

It remains un planked for the first layer. Then balsa filler blocks get put on and shaped before covering the whole lot with the second thin planking. Strange method I grant you but that is the way it is!

I think your planking looks really good I only hope I can do half as well. Your fix for the lack of wood I think looks great. It's very clever and doesn't look out of place with the open side of the hull.

There is a lot about that kit that is strange...

Hello, a few pics for you to see to show my 'undoing' and my additions.
 
I partially removed six planks from the bow to at least give me a bit of room for some tapering and, on further advice have now put on the garboard plank and one other.
 
I know folk like to see the bad news as well as the good and at least you can see that I am trying to work through the 'following instructions' error!
 

 

 

 
 
 

I do feel your pain Mike!
 
I know from my own experiences too of how badly things can go when we follow instructions.  Silly us!  But I also know how good it feels when we get it right with the help from the experienced builders here and everything is always better second or third time!
 
I really do look forward to seeing your final planking!