mtdoramike

Thanks Bob. I'm finally making some progress on the Corsaro and finally bouncing back after Covid, which took me nearly a month to start feeling better.

got the hull all puttied up and sanded smooth. I had to back up and punt a bit because after planking the hull, I noticed on the plans and instructions that the top plank was supposed to be dropped 4mm or so below the deck.

I finished the deck planking.

got the hull all puttied up and sanded smooth. I had to back up and punt a bit because after planking the hull, I noticed on the plans and instructions that the top plank was supposed to be dropped 4mm or so below the deck.

Very nice work, Mike!

got the hull all puttied up and sanded smooth. I had to back up and punt a bit because after planking the hull, I noticed on the plans and instructions that the top plank was supposed to be dropped 4mm or so below the deck.

got the hull all puttied up and sanded smooth. I had to back up and punt a bit because after planking the hull, I noticed on the plans and instructions that the top plank was supposed to be dropped 4mm or so below the deck.

Fantastic work so far, looking forward to more pictures of progress.

Fantastic work so far, looking forward to more pictures of progress.

Fantastic work so far, looking forward to more pictures of progress.

Fantastic work so far, looking forward to more pictures of progress.

Fantastic work so far, looking forward to more pictures of progress.

Today I made my first capstan, good thing it is under the upper deck  lol. I painted the Main pump cistern black, but I might change that. I have to start thinking of how I want the ship to look, what color goes where,  and where to leave  natural.  So on to planking  got lots of that to do. 
   The gun strips went on well enough.  Lots of clamps but was really easy to do for some reason.  It all just fit where it was supposed to,  a little  sanding but not that much.  I proceeded  to put the first plank on as well  it looks good, a bit of sanding filling,  it will be good to go. 


So I fitted the  upper decks and played with my only cannon, realizing that there is a lot of rigging and little  eye bolts to do on these cannons. I am going planking  lol. For some reason I want to get to the coppering, I guess it is because I have never done copper before.  





I believe that I will start making the grates, going to do them, or try to do them like  @Blue Ensign, they look amazing.  Well that is  it for today, I am really glad the gun patterns went on well.     
      Talk later  Bob M.

Slow your roll player, I know this is your first wood ship model, but you need to slow it down a bit and not attach to much to that hull. The hull needs to be faired or sanded smooth. I built this same kit many years ago and it will make into a nice model that you can be proud of as long as you take your time with it. I thought there were some fairing stencils on the plans to give you an idea of how much to take off of the hull in various places. But I could be wrong since it has been quite a few years since I built this model. The Scientific Sea Witch that I built also came with the stickers and the heavy paper sails that I used. The stickers actually turned out rather nice and the sails, I used some diluted white paint and covered them with it to help stiffen then and bleach them a bit since they were pretty well stained from age. I then took some fine wire, which I glued and  sewed along the outside edges of the sails which helped them hold their shape with a bit of a billowed effect. I also has some very thin mahogany planking from a previous kit that I used to cover the solid hull, which turned out nice with a natural wood finish.
 
I was able to find a picture of mine that I had built, which was later sold. I bought the kit from someone who found it in a basement where it had been sitting since the 1960's I believe.
 
mike     

I finished the deck planking.

I finished the deck planking.

I finished the deck planking.

I finished the deck planking.

Hi again,
 
A little more progress.
 
The deck's down. I marked out the shift pattern and then I put the deck down using a pencil to simulate the caulking:
 

 

 
I've also planked the inside of the bulkheads, and opened up the gunports and oar ports again. Then I put the capping rails on. (The second picture below has some of the deck furniture roughly in place, but not fixed, just to see how it looks... I couldn't resist )
 

 

 
Once the capping rails were in place, I trimmed them back, and added the stern.
The stern fascia was first put in boiling water, then clamped round the cutlery holder from the kitchen sink to give it a curve. Once dry, it was fitted in place. This left a small gap at the bottom (so that the top was level with the tops of the capping rail, which I remedied by adding a small strip of walnut)
 

 

 

 
I added the lettering on to the stern - you'll notice I dropped the "U" from the name to match my wife's old school (brownie points for free!), and then it was on to the wales...
 

 

 

 
Think that's it for now. Managing to stick to the plan of not painting anything... the only things with any paint on so far are the remaining photo-etch, anchor, cannon. Quite pleased with the effect at the moment.
 
Next job is to tidy up the ends of the wales, and put the rudder on.
 
Happy building.
 
Rob
 
[edited to restore photos, 11, 13 July 2017]

Time for an update... I didn't really see the benefit of posting every time another plank went on, but here's the result...
 

 

 
And another comparison with Pickle...
 

 
Also - while waiting for glue to dry... (and trying to build my patience!), I began the cannon... these were a little rough as they came out of the cnc cut walnut ply, but by pinning them all together, I was able to tidy them up enough that I'm happy with them (at least without a milling machine, I think I'd struggle to make better from scratch)...
 
 

 

 

 

 
And one with them on the deck to see how the ports line up... (although they're not on their wheels yet, and the deck is yet to be planked...)
 

 
Finally, the bulkhead stubs were removed and the deck marked up for three-shift planking (I think?!?). I used some veneer I had left from Royal Yacht Caroline for the waterways. The gaps at the edge should get covered up by the planking that will go on the inside of the gunport pattern (he said, hopefully!).
 

 

 
Starting to take shape
 
Happy building
 
Rob
 
[edited to restore photos, 11, 13 July 2017]
 

Now we're up to date... I've been using the same strategy with the second planking to try and get really neat runs of planking without lots of drop planks and stealers... time will tell whether I end up getting bitten, but so far I'm pleased with it. I have a thermos flask with freshly boiled water in it, and then here's what I do for each plank:
 
Use paper to take a map of the curve of the plank (as though spiling) Mark out the width of the plank to fit and trim with a craft knife and sandpaper. Bevel the edge of the plank (I have good intentions, but I'm not very good at this yet!) Soak the plank in the _hot_ water for 30 seconds Edge bend the plank according to the paper prepared above. (with 1x4mm walnut, it'll hold it's shape fairly easily) Use plank nippers to bend the plank in for the bow and stern. Test, re-test, and glue in place with pins (or near the top, clamps to avoid pin marks)  
And here are the results so far...
 

 
There are gaps in between several of the planks, which I suspect may be shrinkage... I'm hoping next time I can spile, to avoid the soaking process, and that way avoid those gaps... Of course, it may not be shrinkage at all, but simply that my skills aren't quite up there yet
 
Anyway - I'm pretty pleased with how it's going, and the rest of the planks will be under the waterline and painting dull white, so it's not looking too bad now!
 
In amidst the planking I decided to start on something completely different to freshen up a little... I've begun the gratings. And I found a sailor left over from Pickle to keep eyes on proceedings too
 

 
Once the edging is on, I'll sand these to have curved tops...
 
But that's for next time.
 
Happy building
 
Rob
 
[edited to restore photos, 11, 13 July 2017]

Next up was planking...
 
I wanted to try spiling, but I didn't want to splash out on lots of extra wood at the time, so I thought I'd try edge bending the wood to see how well I could get it to fit. I was fairly pleased with the results, but even using the tick strips, it became evident just how much edge bending was required to get a nice run of wood without lots of stealers and drop planks... Next time I hope I'll be able to get the wider planks and spile instead. Nevertheless, not too bad for a first planking.
 

 

 
Again, you can see bulkhead 9 waiting to jump out and get me!
 
Next it was time to put the transom on - and this was where I had to deal with bulkhead 9. I tried just gluing the transom on and leaving a gap, but it looked really messy. I would have had to double-plank the bulkhead so that I could fill the gap between it and the transom, so I took the transom off again, and sanded down the bulkhead so it was even.
 
Now it plays nicer!
 

 
That meant I was ready for the second planking.
 
[edited to restore photos, 11, 13 July 2017]

I had a little time to spend on Nordkap today, so here's an update.
 
I've added access to allow the tiller arm to be maintained without ripping up the deck, and begun installing the prop shaft and rudder shaft. A little fore-planning is required for the prop shaft, as I didn't want to install it and find that the motor was in a ridiculous position inside the hull (especially to find that it had to be mounted too low...) the flat surface where the prop shaft exits the hull gives some idea of the angle required.  I replaced the prop shaft with a 5" M4 shaft from George Sitek, along with a brass prop... I mistakenly ordered a 32mm prop when I realise now I need a 38mm one (so the 32mm prop looks a little small in the photos)... but the updated prop has now been ordered and will replace the smaller one when it arrives.
 
Here are some photos of progress...
 
The tiller access...
 

And the prop shaft... 
 




The next job will be to add doublers on either side of the tubes to strengthen them, and fix them permanently in place with epoxy.
 
Thanks for looking in
 
Rob

I built the Nordkap a couple of years ago. There is no issue drilling the hull for the prop shaft, which I did after the hull was planked. I would highly recommend using the fiberglass cloth as well as resin for the hull, (I used 2 oz cloth). If the hul were plywood sheets, you could get away without the cloth, but with the wood planking, you will need the cloth for strength if you want it to last. 

I finished one side of the deck planking.