Blue Ensign

Thanks John, only two strakes down to me, it gets a bit more tricky from this point on. Post 22 Planking continues. Two strakes including a drop plank at the bow have been fitted below the wale. This should help reduce any crowding at the bow as planking proceeds. I now attend to the Garboard Plank. 0069 0073 I have decided to use a 6mm board. This is followed by a 5mm plank which takes care of the planking at the bottom end of the prow. 0075 Where I can I do prefer to use pva rather than ca. For this second plank I find use of drawing pins is a good method to secure the plank during glue set. I start a drill hole in the lime planking to avoid too much pressure on the first planking. 0088 0080 0082 0087 0091 I now have a set space equating to (14) 4mm planks at midships plus an additional 1mm. This is of little relevance at this point as the spacings will be re-drawn several times before the planking is completed. 0093 I am intending to plank a first band down to just below the waterline around (6) planks depth fore and aft. For these I will reserve the best of the colour matched planks. Onto lining off. B.E. 21/01/2025

Post 21 Pearwood Planking I begin with making a Drop plank to fit directly below the wale at the bow. Above and running into the drop plank is a plank that runs the remainder of the way along the hull also directly below the wale. 0028 This plank I fit first, it terminates at the third bulkhead with a tapered width of 3mm. It then runs at full width to the stern. 0032 A temporary plank is run beneath to gauge the bottom line of the Drop plank. 0033 With this in place a pattern can be made for the Drop plank. This also tapers to 3mm at the stem, butts against the plank above it on its topside, and runs beneath it with a tail to bulkhead four. 0036 The patterns are cut out of some spare Pear fret. 0035 Dry fitting the drop. 0040 0053 After a lot of tweaking and dry fitting they are glued into place. 0062 0063 My next job will be to check the remaining strake numbers required and size up the Garboard Strake. B.E. 18/01/2025

Post 20 Pear wood planking I sorted the planks by colour, keeping even tones for planking below the wales to the waterline. A few were rejected by reason of poor grain match altho’ these could be used for the lower hull particularly if it is to be coppered. I always knock up a temporary support base to hold the hull inverted for planking and coppering. I find it helps a lot to keep the hull steady. 0205 The hull will spend a lot of time inverted. In this shot I have applied two strakes below the Gunport pattern, tapering to 3mm at the bow and leaving full width at the stern. 0206 The hull has been coated with sanding sealer which I think gives a better surface for ca to grip. I also dampen the back of the planks before applying ca, again I think it helps rapid grab. I have taken a different approach to the planking on this model. In reality, and on PoF model building, wales are fitted directly to the frames. I thought I would have a play around and plank down to just below the lower edge of the wale, fit the wales and trim back to the lower edge. The top line of the wale is marked on the Topsides veneer already fitted. 0214 Part of the Pear planking can be seen below the wale, this will be removed. This will allow the planking proper to begin below the wale and run naturally rather than the wale covering the plank below in a random manner. It also allows for the fitting of a drop plank should the mood take me as I know exactly where the wale line is. I initially soaked and pinned the wales to retain the Bow form. At the stern the wale should run under the round of the hull a little, this area was also soaked and pinned. 0211 Getting the wales to fit close is a clamp heavy exercise, and I modify cheap clothes pegs to suit. I used pva to glue the wales. With the wales firmly fixed the planks protruding below are removed, a fairly easy exercise but care had to be taken not to run off line when scoring the plank line for removal. This could prove unfortunate for the wale patterns. I used a new Number11 scalpel blade for the purpose on each side. 002 006 The white area is where planking was removed. This will be lightly sanded and sealer applied. 0016 0018 0022 0026 I can now work out my planking approach. B.E. 17/01/2025

Thank you Chris and Nipper it's satisfying to know that my Logs are of use to others. I too am grateful for the logs of others who also help me along the way. Post 19 Topsides The beautifully detailed Topsides save a lot of effort in planking around the gunports and what look like sweep ports. 0165 0170 Before I started, I marked the station lines down the hull to assist the planking. 0171 0174 The pattern was soaked at the forward end and clamped to the hull overnight to take the stress out of the bow curve. A useful innovation designed by Chris are gunport alignment jigs. These are handed Port and Starboard and fit the ports from 2 at the Bow to 10 at the stern. 0177 0178 Before I applied glue anywhere near the patterns I dry fitted with the jigs in place. The jigs need a little cleaning-up by removal of any fret nubs to ensure a perfect fit. Once gluing is in progress you don’t want to be fiddling around trying to get the jigs into place. 0182 Once I was happy with the fit of the jigs I glued the two sections together. I did find that I needed to finely shave the bow end of the pattern by degrees to allow alignment with the ports, several dry fit checks were necessary before I committed to glue. This is a critical part of the build and it has to be correct. Gluing is a tricky business given the length of the pattern. 0184 0187 I chose to start at the bow, gluing and clamping along to the third port whilst checking the alignment at the stern. The pva was applied to the hull. I did find it necessary to pin all along the bottom edge of the pattern to counter the tendency to curl. I used slightly thicker pins than those provided for this purpose. 0186 I then progressively glued along the hull at three port intervals, constantly re-checking the fit of the jigs, and removing/ replacing them to avoid any risk of stray glue sticking them. 0191 It has taken the best part of a day to get one side fitted. 0193 A main consideration is to guard against marring the surface of the Pearwood veneers. Unwanted pva or ca will be problematical, and I have both clean water and Acetone handy to immediately clean off any spills. Onto the Starboard side. B.E. 13/01/2025

Thanks Dave, obviously it would be a faux arrangement as I'm constrained by the kit bulkhead set up, but hopefully it would look a tad more authentic than end grain planks. I wish you good fortune with the carving, keep you chisels sharp and cuts small. I always find the tension rising as I get towards the completion of a piece, particularly if I am pleased with it, there's always that worry..... Cheers, Maurice.

Thanks for looking in SaltyScot, early days but I think she's shaping up. Post 18 Square Tuck or what? Post 36 about planking below the lower counter has set a hare running in my mind. Harpy kit prototype build.. What we are looking at here is a Square Tuck arrangement and the idea that the hull planking with open grain ends finishing atop the vertical planking seems somewhat impractical and may simply be a kit simplification. My mind went back to my Cheerful build and the arrangement designed by Chuck, with framing for the Tuck, and boards inserted leaving no open ends. Chuck's Cheerful arrangement. I decided to use the engraved pieces for the tuck but play around with a frame arrangement that at least gives a nod to the set-up for a square tuck as seen on small vessels. 0160 0163 The frame shapes were cut out on the jigsaw and this is the arrangement very much in the rough. The hull planking will butt against the frame which will cover the grain ends, which is always good carpentry practice. I will infill with planks to sit flush with the framing. 0164 This is not a big issue in terms of the overall look of the model and the planking will proceed as per the kit arrangement. I will re-visit this once the planking has been completed and decide which version I prefer. B.E. 12/01/2025

Post 17 Dressing the Hull As a break from planking the time has come to fit many of those engraved Pearwood veneers that complete the outer look of the model. These essentially replace the need for individual planking of the topsides and stern counters. I am mostly at ease with these simplifications as a similar system was used on the Sphinx model and I like the look of her. 0154 Firstly, additional veneer pieces representing the Knee of the head, including the Fiddle scroll, keel and stern post are glued and pegged into place. 0136 The stern post pieces needed a little fettling to fit. A gentle touch is required, these are fragile parts. 0130 0139 0148 0142 I have not yet fitted the pre-printed lower stern boards, I have something in mind for that area. B.E. 11/01/2025

Preferably on top of the Pennines with the wind at your back.😃

Thank you Glenn, I've had the tin for years - it says on the label Manufactured for J Perkins. They are a very old Model Company, and they still supply it. Thoroughly nasty stuff, care needed when using it. B.E.

Thanks for the 'heads up' James, I wish I'd known that an hour ago ! 😉 B.E.

Post 16 Sanding the hull For this I am using flexible sanding blocks and papers. I start with 120 grade papers. 0105 I decided not to use the B&D Mouse sander, seemed overkill on a small hull like this and Limewood is fairly soft to sand. Indefatigable it ain’t. Where there were hair gaps between the strakes pva was run in, sand dust sprinkled on, and then sanded in. 0121 I finished off with 180 paper. 0122 0123 0119 0120 0107 The hull seems to have scrubbed up nicely, I’m still amazed when I reach this point that it looks as good as it does given the state before sanding, but the display planking will be a job of a different calibre. The next stage involves fitting the lower stern boards. 0115 These are pre-printed 0.8mm patterns that should just sit above the first planking layer, presumably to meet the second Pear layer. 0116 Worth checking before the hull sanding stuff is put away. 0112 0126 The sanding job has taken around 3 hours, but I will review my efforts tomorrow as a final check. I will apply sanding sealer to the hull but it’s far too cold in these ‘ere parts for outdoor work, so that will have to wait. B.E. 09/01/2025

You're doing a fine job on her, looking very good. Great to see that you have a new dockyard companion, having a new pup does help ease the loss of a much missed friend. B.E.

Post 15 Completion of first planking I am now planking alternate strakes from wale down and keel up. 071 My usual approach is to get a final spiled plank beneath the round of the hull. 078 As I proceed, I can see that the stern area would require more planks than the standard 5mm midships planks, resulting in the need of several stealers to fill in. As it turned out I‘ve needed to adopt a combination of techniques to get the hull planked. Tapering, Edge bending, spiling, drop planks, and even a stealer at the stern. 086 088 I used a drop plank at this point. 090 091 096 093 The final piece of the jigsaw is a stealer and the first planking is complete. 097 Note; the stealer doesn’t end in a point but is squared off and cut into the adjoining planks against a frame. Not critical on a first layer, but it should be the arrangement on a show layer should stealers be required. 0100 I am fairly well content at this point, not an arrangement I would accept as a single planking display, but as a base for the second Hardwood layer it is fine. 0104 I am pleased to note that even at this rough stage the hull conforms well to the build cradle. Time to clean up the hull. B.E. 08/01/2025

A wonderful, wonderful, build Glenn, beautiful beyond words. You are a true craftsman and artist. Regards, B.E.

Post 14 Onto First Planking For the past week I have been busy planking the hull. The Gunport patterns have been fitted and trimmed to fit the stern counter and I’m liking the look of her. My younger modelling self of the 1970’s/80/s would be amazed to get this far in only three weeks of work. First Planking. This is in 5 x1mm Limewood and the kit provides a good standard of timber. I have covered my first layer planking method in my previous builds, so I won’t go fully into it here. Suffice to say I use a combination of taper, edge bend, bevel, tick marks, and eye. 035 033 Having completed seven strakes down from the Gunport pattern, the Garboard strake is fitted using a wider 7mm limewood strip. 038 040 046 041 This is followed by the adjacent plank using 6mm strip. Planking continues…. B.E. 05/01/2025