Blue Ensign

Not necessarily a strange omission, remember it’s a French ship you’re basing your model on. What would be strange is the inclusion of a Fore Jeer Capstan on a British ship, they were common on French ships of the period. That strange erection on the Fore deck abaft the fore mast is the jeer capstan. B. E.

The port side looks good to my eye now completed, I like the clean line you’ve achieved at the stem. Any oddly shaped planks below the round of the hull won’t have any visual impact on the display, I usually end up with one on my efforts. On with the show Kevin. 👍 B.E.

That thought fills me with horror, the amount of planking you get thro' and the excellent results you achieve with the proto builds, I just couldn't live with the pace of it. Chris has got the right man. @ Alistair - send me the air fare, I'll be there .😉 B.E.

Hello Joe, thanks for looking in on my build. Kevin has provided a link to a planking guide, which is a good place to start. In addition, if you go into the Articles database at the top of the ribbon you will find a copy of the planking fan contained within Chuck Passaro’s article as below, and an excellent guide how to use it. Lining Off your hull for planking (thenrg.org) Scroll down to the Framing and planking section, there is a wealth of advice to be had. Regards, B.E.

Post Twenty-four At this point I skip sections 165-191 and move to fit the keel, stem, and sternpost pieces. I want the keel pieces in place to modify the build board for the upright hull which will be used for most of the fitting out and detailing. All these pieces fit together nicely. Note: The keel facings are numbered 437/439 (Fore) and 438/440 (stern) – not as shown in the manual. The pieces are port and starboard specific. 0832 I found the trickiest part was fitting the stem facings. I needed to further tweak the planks ends using a micro chisel to allow the facing pieces to sit flat against the stem at all points, and line up with the peg slots. The hull will remain inverted for hull planking and that board has been modified to protect the vulnerable stem piece. 0833 0835 The stem protectors can be swung in and out of position. It would be a tricky issue if the delicate figure seating at the prow was to be broken off. 0840 0841 The upright building board has now been modified to support the planked hull. 0842 0838 Indy is now secure and sitting level, I don’t want this beast moving around whilst I am working on her. On with the show. B.E. 19/04/2023

I'm not prepared to risk it Jason, it also has implications for the keel. Knowing when not to meddle is a valuable skill in our business.😉 Cheers, B.E.

Glad to hear you're feeling better Hakan, hope you have a more settled 2023. I can continue to enjoy your model as she is, in frame, all that lovely woodwork, and I would be happy to display her as is. Regards, B.E.

I like your approach to hull planking Cisco, she's shaping up to be a very nice model. 👍 Regards, B.E.

Post Twenty-three The Sanding business 0811 This is a lovely hull to sand, large enough to sweep along it with flexible sanding sheets and blocks. 0812 At the stern the planks are feathered into the false keel to receive the top layer. 0815 There were a few low spots that I filled and sanded and once I was satisfied with a blind feel test I deemed the job complete. 0819 The whole process was completed over two days, and the hull was finally given a coat of sanding sealer. 0821 Sanding sealer contains Xylenes, and is nasty stuff, best done in the open air and wearing a mask and gloves. 0822 At this point I dry fitted the stem, keel, and sternpost parts. The stem fitted neatly into place with a light tap of the hammer, but before final fitting I was interested to see how the facings related to the curve of the bow planking. 0810 These facings of 1mm stuff are engraved with the lines that denote the various parts of the head and provide a rabbet for the second planking. 0830 I fined down the plank ends a little to provide more leeway in the rabbet. I find it always pays to constantly look a few steps ahead in a build, and check what’s coming up. B.E 18/03/2023

Thank you Dave, Pavel, and Kevin. I'm quite pleased (relieved) with the way the planking has gone, but I'm still very edgy about the second lot. I think I'm feeling the weight of the large investment in this kit plus the expensive timbers I could potentially mess up. message to self - just get on with it! B.E.

Amazing the difference a butt shift pattern makes, the starboard side is going well. 👍 B.E.

Thanks Alistair, may not be epic but planking a 26' launch is no mean feat, as I experienced with my Sphinx build. Those Vanguard boats are great little projects in their own right. B.E.

Post Twenty-two Countdown to completion 0762 0766 Three strakes left. 0768 0769 Two strakes left and getting a little tight at the bow. 0771 I could get a fit but I decided just for the fun of it to add a drop plank here. 0774 It extends from the stem back to the fourth bulkhead. 0776 0779 One strake only left to abut the drop plank. Things have worked out pretty well with the remaining strake sitting below the hull round. 0783 A good supply of lime was provided in the kit; I have a fair number left over, but I did use a few wider strips, to form planks like the Garboard and drop planks. 0784 0792 0790 0787 It’s now a case of sand, sand, and sand again. B.E 17/04/2023

The planking strips are narrower and thinner for the second planking and I hope to do a reasonable butt shift pattern, and more or less scale lengths. B.E.

Wishing you a quick recovery Chuck, take your time and get well. B.E.

Hello Spy, The single lengths are 900mm long, too long in my opinion to handle the run. As I mentioned in an earlier post to halve the runs down the double middle bulkheads offends my eye. I can't bring myself to apply the first planking 'any which way', simply because it's 'only the first planking'. I prefer to use a limited tick strip, edge bend, approach which gets me into the rhythm for what is to come. Just one of my little foibles , but in the final analysis 'any which way' will get you there, providing the fairing and sanding is completed to a reasonable standard. Cheers, B.E.

Cheers, Glenn, and Alistair, I expect the second layer planking will take a lot, lot, longer to complete as I transfer each and every tick mark from hull to plank. My approach has been somewhat abbreviated on this first layer, but it has given me a lot of pointers to consider when I reach that stage. I don’t know about ‘fatigable’ Alistair, I tend to keep at it once I’ve started, sometimes to the exasperation of Mrs W. This is the largest hull I have planked since Norske Love and that was so long ago I’ve forgotten how I felt. The difference with Norske Love is that it is single planked, which without the comfort blanket of two layers, tends to concentrate the mind.🤔 Regards, B.E.

Post twenty-one Light at the end of the tunnel. I am now alternating the plank strakes from top down and keel up which should leave the final strake below the round of the hull at midships. This is a good place to have it in case the final strake works out to be less than uniform in shape. 0752 So, Gromit, how’s it looking – RUFF. Have faith Gromit, there’s a fair bit of fettlin’ to do yet. 0761 Five strakes now remain, and I have re-marked the ‘ticks’ hopefully for the last time. 0755 0757 Don’t say it William, I’ve heard it all from Gromit. 0760 Has it only been three weeks since I started planking, how time flies when you’re having fun. 🙄 Onwards… B.E. 15/04/2023

Thanks Alistair, Glenn has provided you with the answer. You can make them yourself using the spring clip with one of the handles from another inserted lengthways to provide the tongue. Post Twenty … and more planking. 0731 A couple more plank strakes are now added up from the Garboard and slowly the gap reduces. I am content that the midships gap each side remains even at 60mm. 0736 I now have ten strakes left each side to complete the first layer planking. 0729 At the stern, once I reached the stern post I began tapering; this is not a hull shape that requires wider planks at the stern. The tick marks have been recalibrated three times to this point. 0737 0749 0751 0750 Two, maybe three days should see the first planking completed and ready for sanding, and I suspect a little filling. B.E. 12/04/2023.

Post Nineteen Hull planking continues I can now work out the planking runs. If my arithmetic is right, on paper at least I will need (20) strakes of 6mm stuff and (I) of 5mm. At the bow the planks will need to taper to 3mm. 0718 I am using the MSW download planking fan which has the added advantage of being the correct 6mm spacing at the maximum width of the base of the fan. The provided lime strip is of a nice quality but there are variations in widths. A random sample indicates a range between 5.3 – 6.0mm and thickness 0f 1.42 - 1.58mm. These small variations do have a cumulative effect and create ridges and hollows. This is not a big issue and there is plenty of meat to sand out the irregularities. 0706 On first layer planking I use tick strips to mark the central and every other bulkhead with the planking lines. Variations in plank widths will also impact on the marked plank runs and there will inevitably be error creep as the strakes are applied. 0707 At this point five more strakes have been added, together with another strake adjacent to the Garboard. 0713 On this build I didn’t bother to thin down the false keel in the area around the bearding line to accommodate the second planking. I thought I would follow Jim’s example and finish the first planking short, and fay it to suit the second planking against the stern post. 0714 0716 0709 Edge bending is now required on all bow strakes. 0720 0721 Not a pretty sight in its raw state, but hopefully she will emerge as a swan at some point. 0726 I will now re-mark the tick strip results in the remaining space and apply another five strakes. B.E. 10/04/2023

Thank you Paul for looking in, and your kind words. Lovely part of the world you are based in; when I'm not modelmaking I can often be found wandering around Snowdonia. Anglesey, and the Llyn Peninsula.

Fingers crossed for a speedy recovery for your Mum, Kevin. As a matter of interest, what is the tapered width of the bow planks working out at, where they reach the stem? Regards, B.E.

looks a sound base for the 'show' layer Glenn. 👍 B.E.

Thanks Kevin and Nipper.👍 @ Kevin, - I think the jury is still out on that one, I'm always edgy until the first planking is done. @ Nipper - Kind of you to say so, it's not that time -consuming, there's only so much concentrated effort I can handle at a time. I take quick photos as I go along, write up the post on a word doc, and copy and paste to MSW. Doing the log is a nice break from actual building. My motives are not entirely altruistic, I use my own logs as crutch to my memory. I'm at the stage of life when I think how did I do that last time - I've just looked back on Sphinx to see what I did with the Garboard.🤔 Cheers, B.E.

Post Eighteen Planking continues – Garboard strake This is the point where I need to fit the Garboard plank to determine the planking requirements for the remaining area. Garboards can be tricky planks to fit in terms of shape and where to end, and they always cause me some head scratching. Some may think why bother, this is only the first planking that is to be covered, and perhaps even covered again by coppering. For me it’s about keeping options open. If the second planking is good enough not to be covered, then fitting a garboard on the first planking run will give a valuable insight for shape and position on the second show planking. It does mean that extra planking widths will be required. I am using a 10mm wide board, but I need to temporarily fit the keel and stem pieces to properly work out the shape and termination point at the bow. 0685 A real pleasure to get the keel elements in place even if only for a while. Beautifully cut, a perfect fit, and great to have a quality wood finish for the parts rather than mdf. Perversely my next move is to cut an mdf stem piece against which to form the Garboard. I can’t risk the proper stem during the working process. 0689 Time to fire up the scroll saw. 0692 I don’t see any reason not to leave the keel pieces in situ at this stage, as the Garboard is the only plank that abuts, and it will assist the fitting. 0693 A lot of time is spent tweaking the plank to gauge the right position. I’m never fully confident that I’ve got it right, but whatever the outcome doing it on the first layer will show the way for the second planking. 0695 I take the pre-caution of taping the keel, in part to avoid the planks getting glued to the keel at this point. 0698 0699 0700 0701 0702 I can now begin the next phase of planking. B.E. 07/04/2023