_SalD_

Garboard strake:
Before fitting the garboard strake to the bulkheads I penciled in a centerline on the inner keel pieces to help align the planks. 

 
Beginning with the fore plank, it was soaked in hot water and then clamped in position on the hull.  These pieces were allowed to dry and then glued in place.  The same procedure was followed for the aft garboard strake.  After the fore and aft pieces were set the center section was fitted in between them and glued in place.
 

 

 
You may have noticed, and maybe you haven’t, but the picture background has changed.  This is because I am back at my residence in Florida. The previous photos were at my house in Connecticut where we spend the holidays with the family and a few of months in the summer.  My main workshop is still in Connecticut so I am relegated to the spare bedroom down here.  Most of my toys…I mean tools are still in Connecticut so I will try to make do with what I have. 
 
Thank you for all the likes.

Garboard strake:
Before fitting the garboard strake to the bulkheads I penciled in a centerline on the inner keel pieces to help align the planks. 

 
Beginning with the fore plank, it was soaked in hot water and then clamped in position on the hull.  These pieces were allowed to dry and then glued in place.  The same procedure was followed for the aft garboard strake.  After the fore and aft pieces were set the center section was fitted in between them and glued in place.
 

 

 
You may have noticed, and maybe you haven’t, but the picture background has changed.  This is because I am back at my residence in Florida. The previous photos were at my house in Connecticut where we spend the holidays with the family and a few of months in the summer.  My main workshop is still in Connecticut so I am relegated to the spare bedroom down here.  Most of my toys…I mean tools are still in Connecticut so I will try to make do with what I have. 
 
Thank you for all the likes.

Hi Bob, just found your new log and will be following along.  Things good great so far.  Good luck and be patient.

Thanks Bob.  I was worried about getting the upper counter wet and having it warp out of shape.

Thanks druxey.  The stern pieces are fragile and need to be handled gently. Like my uncle the plumber would say while bending copper tubing, 'you need soft hands'.

Thank you all for the likes 
 
Bulwark inner filling strips:
The straight inner bulwark filler strips were cut to length and glued in between the bulkheads as instructed.  For the curved filler strips at the bow instead of cutting each individual piece and then trying to bend them to fit between the bulkheads, I soaked the entire strip of wood and then clamped it to the inner side of the bulwarks.  After it dried I cut the individual curved pieces and glued them in.

 
Around the upper counter at the stern the instructions say to use the keystone shaped pieces for the inner filler.  I don’t think these were provided or maybe you're supposed to cut them yourself, what I did was to trace the shape of the upper counter on the sheet with the inner filler pieces.  After cutting it out it was soaked and formed to fit around the inside of the upper counter.  To keep the upper counter from absorbing the water from this piece and possibly distorting it, I placed a piece of saran wrap between the two until the inner piece dried.


 
After it dried it was glued and clamped in place.
 

 
 Lower counter pieces:
The lower counter pieces were soaked and bent to shape.  The pieces provided are a little too short and a small filler piece was fitted between them.

 
Completed inner bulwark fillers with bulkheads sanded flush to the interior of the inner bulwarks.

Thank you all for the likes 
 
Bulwark inner filling strips:
The straight inner bulwark filler strips were cut to length and glued in between the bulkheads as instructed.  For the curved filler strips at the bow instead of cutting each individual piece and then trying to bend them to fit between the bulkheads, I soaked the entire strip of wood and then clamped it to the inner side of the bulwarks.  After it dried I cut the individual curved pieces and glued them in.

 
Around the upper counter at the stern the instructions say to use the keystone shaped pieces for the inner filler.  I don’t think these were provided or maybe you're supposed to cut them yourself, what I did was to trace the shape of the upper counter on the sheet with the inner filler pieces.  After cutting it out it was soaked and formed to fit around the inside of the upper counter.  To keep the upper counter from absorbing the water from this piece and possibly distorting it, I placed a piece of saran wrap between the two until the inner piece dried.


 
After it dried it was glued and clamped in place.
 

 
 Lower counter pieces:
The lower counter pieces were soaked and bent to shape.  The pieces provided are a little too short and a small filler piece was fitted between them.

 
Completed inner bulwark fillers with bulkheads sanded flush to the interior of the inner bulwarks.

Thanks druxey.  The stern pieces are fragile and need to be handled gently. Like my uncle the plumber would say while bending copper tubing, 'you need soft hands'.

Thanks druxey.  The stern pieces are fragile and need to be handled gently. Like my uncle the plumber would say while bending copper tubing, 'you need soft hands'.

Thank you all for the likes 
 
Bulwark inner filling strips:
The straight inner bulwark filler strips were cut to length and glued in between the bulkheads as instructed.  For the curved filler strips at the bow instead of cutting each individual piece and then trying to bend them to fit between the bulkheads, I soaked the entire strip of wood and then clamped it to the inner side of the bulwarks.  After it dried I cut the individual curved pieces and glued them in.

 
Around the upper counter at the stern the instructions say to use the keystone shaped pieces for the inner filler.  I don’t think these were provided or maybe you're supposed to cut them yourself, what I did was to trace the shape of the upper counter on the sheet with the inner filler pieces.  After cutting it out it was soaked and formed to fit around the inside of the upper counter.  To keep the upper counter from absorbing the water from this piece and possibly distorting it, I placed a piece of saran wrap between the two until the inner piece dried.


 
After it dried it was glued and clamped in place.
 

 
 Lower counter pieces:
The lower counter pieces were soaked and bent to shape.  The pieces provided are a little too short and a small filler piece was fitted between them.

 
Completed inner bulwark fillers with bulkheads sanded flush to the interior of the inner bulwarks.

Thank you all for the likes 
 
Bulwark inner filling strips:
The straight inner bulwark filler strips were cut to length and glued in between the bulkheads as instructed.  For the curved filler strips at the bow instead of cutting each individual piece and then trying to bend them to fit between the bulkheads, I soaked the entire strip of wood and then clamped it to the inner side of the bulwarks.  After it dried I cut the individual curved pieces and glued them in.

 
Around the upper counter at the stern the instructions say to use the keystone shaped pieces for the inner filler.  I don’t think these were provided or maybe you're supposed to cut them yourself, what I did was to trace the shape of the upper counter on the sheet with the inner filler pieces.  After cutting it out it was soaked and formed to fit around the inside of the upper counter.  To keep the upper counter from absorbing the water from this piece and possibly distorting it, I placed a piece of saran wrap between the two until the inner piece dried.


 
After it dried it was glued and clamped in place.
 

 
 Lower counter pieces:
The lower counter pieces were soaked and bent to shape.  The pieces provided are a little too short and a small filler piece was fitted between them.

 
Completed inner bulwark fillers with bulkheads sanded flush to the interior of the inner bulwarks.

Thank you all for the likes 
 
Bulwark inner filling strips:
The straight inner bulwark filler strips were cut to length and glued in between the bulkheads as instructed.  For the curved filler strips at the bow instead of cutting each individual piece and then trying to bend them to fit between the bulkheads, I soaked the entire strip of wood and then clamped it to the inner side of the bulwarks.  After it dried I cut the individual curved pieces and glued them in.

 
Around the upper counter at the stern the instructions say to use the keystone shaped pieces for the inner filler.  I don’t think these were provided or maybe you're supposed to cut them yourself, what I did was to trace the shape of the upper counter on the sheet with the inner filler pieces.  After cutting it out it was soaked and formed to fit around the inside of the upper counter.  To keep the upper counter from absorbing the water from this piece and possibly distorting it, I placed a piece of saran wrap between the two until the inner piece dried.


 
After it dried it was glued and clamped in place.
 

 
 Lower counter pieces:
The lower counter pieces were soaked and bent to shape.  The pieces provided are a little too short and a small filler piece was fitted between them.

 
Completed inner bulwark fillers with bulkheads sanded flush to the interior of the inner bulwarks.

Thank you all for the likes 
 
Bulwark inner filling strips:
The straight inner bulwark filler strips were cut to length and glued in between the bulkheads as instructed.  For the curved filler strips at the bow instead of cutting each individual piece and then trying to bend them to fit between the bulkheads, I soaked the entire strip of wood and then clamped it to the inner side of the bulwarks.  After it dried I cut the individual curved pieces and glued them in.

 
Around the upper counter at the stern the instructions say to use the keystone shaped pieces for the inner filler.  I don’t think these were provided or maybe you're supposed to cut them yourself, what I did was to trace the shape of the upper counter on the sheet with the inner filler pieces.  After cutting it out it was soaked and formed to fit around the inside of the upper counter.  To keep the upper counter from absorbing the water from this piece and possibly distorting it, I placed a piece of saran wrap between the two until the inner piece dried.


 
After it dried it was glued and clamped in place.
 

 
 Lower counter pieces:
The lower counter pieces were soaked and bent to shape.  The pieces provided are a little too short and a small filler piece was fitted between them.

 
Completed inner bulwark fillers with bulkheads sanded flush to the interior of the inner bulwarks.

Bulwarks:
The forward bulwark was attached to the bulkheads as shown in the instruction booklet.  I found that the wooden strip was thin enough that I didn’t need to soak it in order to shape it to the correct profile. 

 
In order to keep the lower edge of the bulwark even with the top of the deck line on the bulkheads I clamped a few pieces of scrape wood to a few of the bulkheads level with the deck.  This helped support the bulwarks while trying to clamp them in place.  The picture shows the scrape wood for the aft bulwark.  After clamping the bulwark in place I removed the scrape wood so they wouldn’t be glued in place by any excess glue.


 
Upper counter:
The upper counter is VERY fragile and needs to be handled with care. The laser etch gun ports in these piece makes them easy to break while trying to bend it.  I soaked the counter as instructed and formed it to shape at the stern.

 
  Everything looked good until the next morning when I went to check it and after drying it looked like this.
 

 
Fortunately the kit provides two of these pieces. This time after soaking and positioning the counter around the stern I soaked and fitted a piece of scrape basswood in the same shape as the counter to provide some stiffening.
 

Bulwarks:
The forward bulwark was attached to the bulkheads as shown in the instruction booklet.  I found that the wooden strip was thin enough that I didn’t need to soak it in order to shape it to the correct profile. 

 
In order to keep the lower edge of the bulwark even with the top of the deck line on the bulkheads I clamped a few pieces of scrape wood to a few of the bulkheads level with the deck.  This helped support the bulwarks while trying to clamp them in place.  The picture shows the scrape wood for the aft bulwark.  After clamping the bulwark in place I removed the scrape wood so they wouldn’t be glued in place by any excess glue.


 
Upper counter:
The upper counter is VERY fragile and needs to be handled with care. The laser etch gun ports in these piece makes them easy to break while trying to bend it.  I soaked the counter as instructed and formed it to shape at the stern.

 
  Everything looked good until the next morning when I went to check it and after drying it looked like this.
 

 
Fortunately the kit provides two of these pieces. This time after soaking and positioning the counter around the stern I soaked and fitted a piece of scrape basswood in the same shape as the counter to provide some stiffening.
 

Bulwarks:
The forward bulwark was attached to the bulkheads as shown in the instruction booklet.  I found that the wooden strip was thin enough that I didn’t need to soak it in order to shape it to the correct profile. 

 
In order to keep the lower edge of the bulwark even with the top of the deck line on the bulkheads I clamped a few pieces of scrape wood to a few of the bulkheads level with the deck.  This helped support the bulwarks while trying to clamp them in place.  The picture shows the scrape wood for the aft bulwark.  After clamping the bulwark in place I removed the scrape wood so they wouldn’t be glued in place by any excess glue.


 
Upper counter:
The upper counter is VERY fragile and needs to be handled with care. The laser etch gun ports in these piece makes them easy to break while trying to bend it.  I soaked the counter as instructed and formed it to shape at the stern.

 
  Everything looked good until the next morning when I went to check it and after drying it looked like this.
 

 
Fortunately the kit provides two of these pieces. This time after soaking and positioning the counter around the stern I soaked and fitted a piece of scrape basswood in the same shape as the counter to provide some stiffening.
 

Bulwarks:
The forward bulwark was attached to the bulkheads as shown in the instruction booklet.  I found that the wooden strip was thin enough that I didn’t need to soak it in order to shape it to the correct profile. 

 
In order to keep the lower edge of the bulwark even with the top of the deck line on the bulkheads I clamped a few pieces of scrape wood to a few of the bulkheads level with the deck.  This helped support the bulwarks while trying to clamp them in place.  The picture shows the scrape wood for the aft bulwark.  After clamping the bulwark in place I removed the scrape wood so they wouldn’t be glued in place by any excess glue.


 
Upper counter:
The upper counter is VERY fragile and needs to be handled with care. The laser etch gun ports in these piece makes them easy to break while trying to bend it.  I soaked the counter as instructed and formed it to shape at the stern.

 
  Everything looked good until the next morning when I went to check it and after drying it looked like this.
 

 
Fortunately the kit provides two of these pieces. This time after soaking and positioning the counter around the stern I soaked and fitted a piece of scrape basswood in the same shape as the counter to provide some stiffening.
 

I've gone as far (too far, probably) as I will go on the inboard sanding of the sills/lintels. The manual suggests using a folded length of sandpaper. I couldn't figure out a better way, as I wanted to span three bulwarks and not lose the double (S-shaped) curves. I did maintain the curves, but some of the bulwarks curves became exaggerated (thinner in the middle) from over-sanding. I have looked a lot of logs, and it seems that most have ended up with a fairly flat inside surface after planking. I saw a YouTube video in which the modeler attacked this operation, both inside and out, with a small block plane- it looked like he ended up with a flat inside surface also, as one would expect.
 
I finally noticed that the bulwarks were not exactly the same shape on both sides. On one side, the last 1/4 inch meets the bulkhead gracefully, and I was able to sand the sills/lintels pretty flush with the bulwarks. On the other side, this area takes an abrupt angle downward and outboard. This was the second of the sides I sanded, and since I was trying to sand flush this contributed to more over-sanding than on the other side.
 
Since the manual calls for additional thinning of the bulwarks inboard after framing the gun ports, I decided to stop here and start the framing. When I (try to) fair these additional pieces, I'm hoping that areas needing fill will become apparent. This will be true outboard as well, but to a lesser degree.
 

 

 

 
 
 

 
It's becoming apparent that I may have selected a model requiring more skill than I actually have, but it's a given that I will learn from it, and so will press on with all due humility!
 
Back to cutting, shaping, and gluing!
 
 

Fairing up the bulkheads:
To fair up the bulkheads I attached a piece of 100 grit sandpaper to and old emery board using double sided tape.  This worked well as the emery board was flexible enough to contour to the shape of the hull and stiff enough not to sag between the bulkheads.

Inner keel pieces:
The inner keel piece is pretty straight forward and was cut and glued in place, leaving gaps for the mounting pedestals.
 


Stern knuckle pieces:
These two pieces were glued into place as per the instructions and then tapered after the glue had dried.


 
Appreciate the likes, thank you.

Fairing up the bulkheads:
To fair up the bulkheads I attached a piece of 100 grit sandpaper to and old emery board using double sided tape.  This worked well as the emery board was flexible enough to contour to the shape of the hull and stiff enough not to sag between the bulkheads.

Fairing up the bulkheads:
To fair up the bulkheads I attached a piece of 100 grit sandpaper to and old emery board using double sided tape.  This worked well as the emery board was flexible enough to contour to the shape of the hull and stiff enough not to sag between the bulkheads.

Inner keel pieces:
The inner keel piece is pretty straight forward and was cut and glued in place, leaving gaps for the mounting pedestals.
 


Stern knuckle pieces:
These two pieces were glued into place as per the instructions and then tapered after the glue had dried.


 
Appreciate the likes, thank you.

Inner keel pieces:
The inner keel piece is pretty straight forward and was cut and glued in place, leaving gaps for the mounting pedestals.
 


Stern knuckle pieces:
These two pieces were glued into place as per the instructions and then tapered after the glue had dried.


 
Appreciate the likes, thank you.

Inner keel pieces:
The inner keel piece is pretty straight forward and was cut and glued in place, leaving gaps for the mounting pedestals.
 


Stern knuckle pieces:
These two pieces were glued into place as per the instructions and then tapered after the glue had dried.


 
Appreciate the likes, thank you.