Martin W

From all perspectives (even the one that counts most) that planking looks might good.  And perhaps more than anything other than rigging, it's planking that can really make a build delight the eye.

 

All hail William!

 

Cheers,

 

Martin

Hi Mike -- thanks for stopping by, and for the nice words.  The head is seriously challenging, and proved too many times that my skills are wanting.  I used to say that being baffled by straight lines showed that I was romantically anti-palladian, but now I know all too well that even the curvaceous line of beauty lies beyond my grasp.

 

And I confess, I do have a fondness for real turkey rather than those domestic ones we're reduced to carving up.  But my fondness for backyard wildlife exceeds my appetite.

 

And thanks to everyone who clicked the Like button!

 

Last night I cut out the two Catfall Blocks.  These have an angled notch, and a decorative tail that is also mortised around the timberhead.  FFM says this mortise should go all the way round the timberhead, but the NMM plans show the tail going only about a third around.  I was surprised I was able to cut these so quickly (there was plenty of time left to take Mrs W to dinner).  I just used the jeweller's saw to cut the notch, then opened the kerf with 180 grit sandpaper.  The decorative tail I sawed then refined a bit with some files.  And Ditto with the rear notch I was able to get away with instead of a mortise.  Here's the starboard version, dry fitted in place:

 

 

I made a fleeting effort at using some wider stock to follow the curve of the planksheer, as FFM says would be the case, but the curve on mine is so slight that I decided the effort wasn't worth it.

 

Cheers,

 

Martin

 

 

 

 

Doing my best to put the Headworks behind me, I've moved on to the Timberheads -- a small task by comparison. 

 

I first marked out the location on the planksheer for both the Fo'c'sle and the Quarterdeck by using the kit's planksheers (which have pre-cut mortises) as a template.  Then I cut some 3 dozen little Timberheads out of 1/16 inch stock, 1/8 inch wide and 1/4 in long.  These I shaped by cutting a notch 5/32 inch from the bottom, and then cutting toward that notch from 1/32 inch down from the top:

 

 

 

After cutting that wedge on all four sides, I just filed a chamfer along the top edge, and there it was.

 

The next task was to cut all the mortises for the timberheads.  Since these needed to be 1/16 inch wide, I was able to use my handy 1/16 inch chisel from Veritas. 

 

 

Of all the chisels in the set, this one is shaped as a mortise chisel -- whether to create rigidity at that tiny size or what, I don't know.  But it works brilliantly at cutting 1/16 inch mortises.  I have to say that after cutting the mortises for the Fo'c'sle on the wood mill, I worried I wouldn't be able to cut them on the quarterdeck, since I'd already installed the planksheer there.  But when it came down to it, that fabulous chisel knocked the 24 mortises out in no time -- possibly even faster and more accurately than the mill did.  Hooray for hand tools! 

 

Here are the results.  First the Fo'c'sle:

 

While I was at it, I went ahead and put in the Timberhead Bollards.  And I should mention that since this picture I have smoothed out that huge and ugly joint between the cathead supporter and the eking rail.

 

And here's the Quarterdeck:

 

You can't see it in this picture, but there is a small departure from the plans.  FFM says there is one timberhead forward of the break in the quarterdeck.  That number is supported by the kit plans.  But the NMM plans clearly show 2 at that location, so that's the number I put in.

 

These little details induce far less stress than big complex matters.  It took me only a few nights to get all the timberheads done, I'm happy, and excited to move on to a few other small details.  Another way of saying that is that I'm putting off even thinking about the stern for a while.

 

And on another front, here's the latest new borns to pass through my yard:

 

Cheers from turkey land,

 

Martin

 

 

Hi Skip -- You're off to a great start.  It looks like you've taken full advantage of MSW by studying other Swan builds.  Doing that really adds to the fun!  I'll be looking forward to your progress.

 

Cheers,

 

Martin

The best method I've found for blackening the edges is to use a No. 2 pencil.  If it gets wet from the glue, it won't bleed, but it can spread dust. That can usually be cleaned up with scraping & sanding prior to varnishing.

 

Cheers,

 

Martin

Much there to be admired (and studied!).

 

Plans for the next one?

 

Cheers,

 

Martin

Very nice stove -- but won't it get a trifle thick without a chimney?

 

Your carpenters must have trained with those in my boatyard.  It takes at least 5 tries to figure out why a piece doesn't work, and then 15 more to get it right!

 

Cheers,

 

Martin

Nice ratlines!

 

 

With the catheads in place, it's time to give them their due support.  FFM says of these supporters that "frankly these will be challenging."   The reason for the challenge is that they move vertically and horizontally following the curve of the bow.  The line of that curve is then extended by the eking rail that goes to the hawse hole bolster.  I'm no engineer, but I can't imagine the eking rails serve any real structural purpose.  They  just seem to be one of those delightful details of Baroque architectural details that draw a lovely curve out as far as it will go.  You gotta love it!

 

I pondered the process of shaping a vertical piece into a horizontal curve for a few nights, then fixed on something of a simplified version, at least for the port -- my first effort.  On this side, my cathead supporter proper remains a mere vertical piece only, and the eking rail makes the curved line.

 

For the eking rail, then, I started with 3/16 inch stock that I cut down.  Using the same template that I'd followed for the planksheer, I shaped a card template that I hoped would be identical to the lower section of the bow.  It seemed to fit pretty snugly.  So I then used the main rail to draw a curve on the 3/16 stock, and cut that out with the jeweller's saw (I started out on the scroll saw in my shop, but that place isn't air conditioned, so when the blade broke due to me pushing the stock too fast, I wiped the sweat off my face and came back indoors). 

 

 

 

Then I used the template of the curve to mark the shape of the inside, and using files cut it down, still not at all sure the rough technique would work:

 

 

You can see that the piece is still quite thick, even though I took off a good bit of material.  I'll thin it down further from the outer side (the top in this picture).

 

Here's a trial fit:

 

 

Well, just maybe it will work.  I was surprised at how well the piece lay against the bow.

 

And now there's the question of how to join the eking rail to the vertical supporter.  Since the eking rail has that curve in the back, it wouldn't lie flat in any way that would let me align it simply with the supporter.  Forgive the gap in the photographic record, but I made liberal use of blue tape to hold the supporter in a general approximation of its place, then held the eking rail up and made some quick pencil marks.  The haste was necessitated by the repeated failure of the usually trusty blue tape.  But I did find the angle of the joint, so that I could cut the "scarph" (I'm putting that in inverted commas, because it's how FFM refers to this joint, though it looks like a basic lap joint to me).  Scarph, lap, whatever, I cut it out with my beloved Veritas chisels, and then trimmed the pieces to fit.

 

 

The NMM plans of Fly show the intricate painted decoration on these pieces, but I'm pretty much avoiding that.  So I tried to approximate the simple deep-groove molding of the cheeks by cutting a medial line with a v-tool, then using an old exacto blade (I don't know the number, but it's spear shaped) to scrape a groove.  In this picture the result looks rough, rough, and rough, but on the ship itself it doesn't look too bad.

 

 Ok, so maybe it is just a bit rough.  That's how I left it last night.  I'll do some more scraping this evening to smooth out the joint, and along the edges of the eking rail.

 

For the starboard version, I'm thinking (foolishly?) of taking on that challenge of starting the curve with the supporter itself.  Hey, it's hot outside, so why not? 

 

 

Lovely work, Peter.  I'd love to see your stove, before it becomes un-seeable.  For a triple decker it would have to be something of a behemoth!

 

Cheers,

 

Martin

Just a quick update.  The catheads are in place.  In effect I copied the kit strategy of cutting the stock at an angle, then setting it on top of the decking.  I can't say that that strategy thrills me, since they look pretty much like they're sitting on top of the planking.  -- On the Rattlesnake, the catheads extended under the planking, as they would have on the actual ship, and as they are in FFM.  That required some major bashing, and since this Fly has a stove, I don't think I could have fit the necessary beam in to hold the catheads in place.

 

I have also installed the planksheer on the fo'c'sle.  For this process I shaped the individual pieces (six in all) around a template I'd cut out a year or two back.

 

 

Marking something of an advance in my ability to think ahead, I cut the notches for the timberheads.  Since I didn't think to do that for the quarterdeck I haven't figured out how I'll go back and do it with the planksheers in place.

 

There's a fair bit of litter on the quarterdeck -- that's mostly the molding I've had to pull off to fit the main rails of the head.

 

This evening I'm working on the supports for the catheads & the eking rails.  FFM describes those as two of the most challenging pieces to make.    We'll see!

 

Cheers,

 

Martin

 

Indeed, that really is a curve on that second strake.  Wow.  But it looks like it's set up the next one to go on fairly easily.

 

I hope you'll pass through Whitby!

 

Cheers

 

Martin

Hi Jason -- Thanks for checking in, and for the nice words.  Some of the notches are precise -- I cut those with a 1/16 inch chisel, and finished off with an exact.  The others I filled in with small strips of wood.  And a few I filled in with wood filler. 

 

You're absolutely right about Neah Bay.  Fabulous spot.  The mountains are the Olympics seen from Hurricane Ridge.

 

Cheers,

 

Martin

Hi Folks -- I've been laboring somewhat steadily on the head structure, even though I haven't posted anything.  This has been the most challenging part of the entire build -- or I should say it has consistently posed the most challenges, because every part posed new problems.  And I found that decisions I'd made long ago (and often without even realizing I had made any decision) created even more problems.  I can't say that I've built the best or most historically accurate head, but I've learned a lot more than I had expected.

 

Following are most of the steps I've taken since March (I actually started the head in October).

 

I refashioned another set of Main Rails, trying my best to keep them up high enough for the lower structures.  This took an embarrassing number of tries.  Once I got a pair that fit in a way that looked even, and sat at a good height, I pinned them in place to begin fitting in the other pieces.  I only have a photo of my scrap box filled with failed tries, so I'm glossing over that.

 

The Timbers posed a new set of challenges, in part due to my own lack of understanding of their design.  Finally I looked through a few of the scratch builds of Swan ships -- in particular Toni Levine's & Dan Vadas's -- to get a clear sense of how to shape them and where to notch them for the Main Rail and the lower rail. 

 

Here's what I worked out: 

 

Basically, the bottoms of the 3rd and 2nd timbers are cut out entirely, to allow the lower rail to slide in, and then sit on top of the 1st rail.  I'll cover these over later on.  But this is where I came to one of the biggest problems.  Because I situated the Hawse Holes both too far in and too high, I couldn't sit the Lower Rail out far enough.  I suppose I might have butted it up to the bolster between the Hawse Holes, but that seemed no better than the solution I ended up with, which was to place them too far in. 

 

This is what I'm really least happy with, and have lain awake at night growling over.  But I made my choice, and am moving on.

 

Here are the head beam and cross piece:

I used the blue tape to hold the 2 pieces in place so I could try to get a tight fit.  I've notched the Head Beam to fit in the Carlings, which in turn I notched to lie over the rounded Cross-piece.

 

Next, I notched the Carlings to make way for the gratings that go outward to the Main Rail:

 

 

Once I got the Carlings and the Head Beam & Knees notched, I could line up the gratings with the Main Rail and the battens along the hull.  This part actually went quite quickly:

It looks rough here, but after a little sanding, the gratings all looked more regular.

 

From here it was a simple step of creating the Seats o' Ease, beginning with the False Rail.  For these I shaped the bottom pieces by tracing the rails onto stock that I then cut and filed to make a tight fit.  I glued these onto a piece 1/32 cherry, shaped roughly.  Then I made the top strips by drawing a curve with a scroll, gluing them in place, and filing them gently.

They're not exact replicas of one another, but I think they look nice on the Rails.

 

 

I had to glue the False Rails in place before starting the actual SoEs, because they framed the space.  Here you can see that I first shaped the vertical front of the starboard Seat:

 

 

And then I used a piece of card to gauge the fit of the actual Seat, which I then drilled the all important hole into:

 

For the forward Seats, I cut pieces of thin boxwood (castello) stock in a parallelogram shape to match the alignment of the gratings.  I cut holes in these, and glued them to thin dowels that extend below the gratings.

 

 

Because the dowels aren't hollow, I blackened the holes with some paint.

 

After pinning the rails countless times, I'd filled both them and the planking with holes.  Some of these I patched up with wood filler (made from wood dust, a bit of glue and some water), but others I concealed behind the covering board:

 

Before

 

And after:

This is where I got a week ago, before Mrs W (of the Prairie) and I left for holiday in the magnificent Pacific Northwest.  Here are just two views of that beautiful place:

 

 

 

 

From my computer, I'm headed straight for the boatyard, where I aim to set in the catheads (which I made at least a year ago), and then start working on the Supporters, and the Eking Rail.

 

Cheers,

 

Martin

Well, some would say that a few wrinkles just accentuate the natural beauty of a Real Lady.

 

Vancouver is also one of my favorite places.  And, entre nous, I'd emigrate if my paycheck didn't come from here.  Someday I'll buy you a beer and vent.

 

Cheers,

 

Martin

Ahoy Peter!  I'm with you on the gunport size, that's a consistency that really shows.

 

And what a tortoise!  You're really lucky to get to meet such a handsome fellow!  Did you do any sailing in the Seychelles? 

 

And just about every retiree I've ever met seems to be going on vacation this time of year -- I have a bit more work time to go myself, but I'm following suit by heading up to the Olympic Peninsula of Washington.

 

Cheers

 

Martin

Hi Bob -- The black trim of the planksheer & the wales contrasting with the copper bottom really bring out the sleek lines of this fast ship! 

 

Well done -- You're building a very attractive model!

 

Cheers,

 

Martin

Wow! that does look like a tricky area.  Your eye is obviously sharper than mine, though, because in the end, it looks good to me. 

 

Glad to be reading your posts again, BE!

 

Cheers,

 

Martin

Hi David -- I have barely learned about your build, and here you are flying like the wind ahead of all the other Swans.  Great work on this beautiful ship!  Can't wait to see how you proceed with the rigging.

 

Cheers,

 

Martin

Hi Toni -- That's a very helpful bit of advice.  Your picture (as well as those in your own admirable log) shows that lovely sweep quite well.  I focused on getting that curve started at the bottom of the cathead (or, in my case, the bottom of the swivel turret, since the cathead isn't installed yet).  My current versions of upper rails are at the proper height, I believe.  But I'm still a long way off from the glue -- right now I'm cutting notches in the carlings & upper rail for the grating.  Summer has hit the southern plains, so the Outdoors has become much less appealing, and I expect to spend more time at my boatyard.  My camera has also been acting up, so I don't have any pictures at the moment.  But they will be up eventually.

 

It's a treat and an honor to have you check in.  Somehow I didn't see that you had, or I would have responded sooner.

 

Cheers,

 

Martin

Always, fabulous, Bob.  I hope you're starting to feel better!

 

Cheers,

 

Martin

Peter -- I feel 17 again!  That bridge looks exactly the same, but not nearly as high as when stood on it getting ready to jump into that COLD water below.  The only way I could restore the warmth of life was the Merlot.

 

Grazie mille!

 

Martin

Hi BE -- Over the past 6 months, I've come to prefer the headaches of planking to the tooth-grinding migraines of the head structure. 

Hear Hear!  Those carriages definitely look better.  Same for the barrels, and I noticed you added the Royal Insignia.  Very nice.

 

Cheers,

 

Martin

Wow -- that third plank really does have a TWIST.  Your shot from the bow really does show off your fine work -- pretty doggone close to matching the Grand Maestro Chuck, I'd say.

 

Cheers,

 

Martin