palmerit

I plotted out where the planks should go, following the instructions.

I adjusted a bit. Probably going to follow the recommendation and sleep on it and check again tomorrow sometime.

The next step is to divide in 1/3s between the top of the broad strake and the bottom of the wale and to check the lines. I think it’s okay.

I'm new to this hobby. I made models as a kid in the 1970s, and really liked doing it, but I grew up in an era where you needed to put childhood passions behind you. (I also grew up loving video games - as simple as they were back then - but I had to put that aside too because of similar societal pressure to "grow up"; it wasn't really until a generation later that adults playing video games really became a thing. I eventually got back to playing some video games.) I've always been intrigued by models and dioramas. I would seek out sections of museums and get lost in the details. I also have a friend whose father was an artist and one of his media was hand-crafting small detailed dioramas on a variety of subjects. I'm a busy university professor - scientist, educator, department chair - and never really had time for hobbies. My wife is also a professor, but she has for a long time been a quilter, since our days in graduate school. I think it was a combination of our youngest finally going off to college, many of my childhood friends starting to retire, and considering my own retirement in a few years, that I started to think about things I could spend what little free time I have that wasn't just trying to do needed work around our house. (I also decided to learn to scuba dive recently after learning that it's something you can do with a head full of gray hair and good health apart from some creaking joints - it also helps to finally have a bit of disposable income with the kids out of the house, and it makes for a nice way to get the kids to want to spend some time with you on vacation, especially when you pay for part of their trip.) I think I'm drawn to models also because I've long been passionate about history. I almost majored in history in college but then realized I was more interested in reading about history than doing the work of history. People are often surprised when they come to my house and see the bookshelves filled with history books and not (my field) psychology and neuroscience books (the same is true of my audible library on my iPhone). Over a decade ago, I inherited an old (1960s or 1970s) unbuilt model ship (solid hull) and was intrigued at possibly working on it, but like many models of that time, it basically was just a set of plans with no instructions. At that time, I found this forum and poked around a bit, but did not have the time - or the money - to really be able to pursue it. (I may someday get back to building that solid hull model now that I think I know what to do.) It was actually a trip we took this summer to Maine that got me back to thinking about this hobby again. In addition to seeing all the boats around Maine, we stopped at Bluejacket Shipcrafters on the way to Acadia. It was there and then that I decided to just get a model to work on, hooked back onto this forum, and decided to buy the Vanguard Sherbourne. With my youngest in college, I also now had a place to work on models more easily (well at least until winter break when he's back home). Now I've seem to have gone "all in".

Got the broad strake on. Some of this might go a bit quicker from now on. I am rubbing a pencil along the bottom edge and stern edge of each plank (and the front edge of the ones going into the bow). I read that if you do all the edges of all the planks then it’s too dark. This makes a subtle line. I also followed a tip to have the back of the plank facing you while rubbing the edge - that way if you slip you mark the back of the plank rather than the front. I also (after a mistake) followed the advice to make the planks a little too large (higher and longer) since it’s easy to remove (cut or sand) but you can’t add. Also trying to add a bit of a bevel where planks come together.

Here’s the garbourd strake. I wish I could have gotten the stern end a bit better.

I wasn’t happy with the stern end of my garbourd strake, so I remove and tried it again. Not perfect, but a little better (the photo without clamps is the one I removed, the one under clamps is the new). The stern end of the garbourd, where it transition both to being flat against the deadwood and from a rabbet to a mortice is tough to get right.

Tomorrow I’ll cut the first piece of planking.

Plotting out the garbourd strake along the keel.

I think that’s an okay line for the wale.

I think the fairing, especially at the stern, is about as good as it’s going to get (or at least that I can get it).

I ended up ordering a variety of wood from https://www.modelerssawmill.com. Joe was really quick to respond, patient about my questions, and even texted Chuck to share an answer (that Chuck provided here). I ended up ordering some boxwood and alaskan yellow cedar strips (each in two different thicknesses, 1/32 and 3/64) to see the difference between them. I also ordered a few alaskan yellow cedar sheets (4" wide, in a few different thicknesses, .025", 1/32, 3/64, and 1/16). Given how often I've had to build up places, I thought it would be helpful to get a few different thicknesses. And I'm sure I'll find a use for them in the future.

Worked on the cannon for my Sherbourne. They’re just placed, not glued down (I need to do some touch up painting).

I marked the low spots (when laying a piece of pear wood I have left over from my Sherbourne), marked the low spots with a pencil, added wood filler to those spots, and smoothed with a finger dipped in water. I’ll sand tomorrow evening.

I think it’s close. There’s one small part of frame Ga and Gb that I need to fill. If someone spots some obvious error, please let me know. This is only my second fairing of a hull. My Sherbourne ended up okay but I had no clue what I was trying to accomplish and used lots of filler between plankings. I do now, but I’m not entirely sure what’s good enough. And this one is only a single layer, so no room error, at least if I plan to show it to the world.

Football yesterday. Hockey today. Sanding the whole time. Several hours fairing the stern of the hull. It’s getting there. Definitely something that takes time, patience, and diligence. And lots of 180 grit sandpaper (ok, the one in the photo is my last piece of 150 grit).

This is the wood supplier place linked from the Syren Model Ship Company: https://www.modelerssawmill.com Their thinnest is 1/32" (.79mm). In terms of width, would it be better to get the narrowest width, which I think would also be 1/32" (79mm) or something wider like 3/64" (1.2mm), 1/16" (1.6mm), or 5/64" (1.98mm), or even wider than that?

From the @tlevine build, this is what the stern end will ultimately need to look like once fully planked.

I was able to reshape the stern area to be closer to what it should be. I added three layers of basswood for the part close to the counter and added wood filler behind. I just added some more wood filler that I smooth out with a wetted finger. Will let it dry overnight and sand down tomorrow evening. For anyone else doing this, I’ll echo that the stern area is (so far) the most challenging part of this model. Definitely look ahead to see what the area should look like and how the planks will need to lay in the area. I’ll need to fair this stern area a bit more just to make sure the planks will lay flat.

I created a separate post (under the "Building, Framing, Planking and plating a ships hull and deck" section) asking: If anyone reading this Half Hull build log has suggestions on battens, please chime in. I'm going to try to use battens to create separate sections of planking (and to see how well the frame is faired). I need to buy some planks to use as battens since I don't have any in my small stash of scrap wood (the couple pieces of pear wood from my Sherbourne are not long enough and are too stiff I think).

If you create a build log (with not only the name of the model but "First Build" in the name, people may see it and give help there (lots of folks here keep an eye our for First Build logs and will answer questions). Also, others currently building that boat, or recently built it, may see it, especially if you add tags to your build log (e.g., on my Dory build log, if you click on the "Lowell Grand Banks Dory" tag, you'll find other build logs that use that same tag). When I've had problems, I've posted photos and sometimes posted photos from the instructions if there is something I don't understand (a term, a part of the instructions, how to fix a mistake). For a build like the Dory, it could be another new person who will tell you what they discovered or what they did, or it could be someone who has more expertise chiming in. I'm not sure where you are in the build, but a bevel is usually just a 45 degree angle sanded along the edge of a piece of wood (say by using a sanding stick). Sometimes the bevels are merely aesthetic. Sometimes they're to make sure different pieces of wood meet up properly. If you haven't already, I definitely suggest reading over a bunch of build logs on the model Dory you're working on. Even the best instructions are not always clear (I've struggled at places with all three models I've started, with the Dory completed, and the Sherbourne and Half Hull in progress) - and while some build logs are pretty spartan, some are more pedagogical, and some pose questions and you can see answers and solutions to problems. I post a bunch on mine because I like to have it as a repository for my progress, because I often have questions, and because (being an educator) I like walking people through my (non-expert) thought process and the solutions I've tried, some which work, some which don't.

One thing I'm unsure about is whether it's more important for the location of the wale to match what's on the plans mounted underneath the Half Hull or to have the wale end on the stern at the counter. The instructions say "the wale terminates at the counter". I'm not sure if mine will exactly, but it should be close. I'm assuming that it's more important for the top of the wale to line up with the top of the counter than to exactly match the plans, even if that means repositioning the location of the wale a bit, while keeping its line smooth across the hull.

As the title says: what kind and dimensions of wood strips do you use for battens to guide planking? Or should I instead use thread or tape? I've seen a lot of different approaches to using battens on build logs and in guides and I'm not sure what to do. I didn't use battens when I planked my Sherbourne, and they wouldn't have made sense on the Dory. I'm thinking I want to use them on my Half Hull project. The only spare wood strips I have laying around is a couple of pear wood strips from my Sherbourne. They're pretty stiff. And they're too short for the Half Hull. With a wood batten, I take it I want something pretty narrow and thin (but long) and flexible. Not sure how narrow and how thin would work best - guessing it depends on the kind of wood. After using basswood on the Dory and Half Hull, it's pretty soft, and snaps easily. Without soaking it a bunch, it would seem like a lot of work to use as a batten. And it would seem to be really delicate if in really long strips. By contrast, the pear wood bends quite a bit and it would take a lot for it to snap. But I think pear wood is pretty expensive. Is there some kind of wood that I can get that's narrow, thin, and long that would be good to use as a batten? I tried using some really thin Tamiya tape, but I think I want something that I know will lay like a plank - the tape seemed happy to go just about anywhere (it's tape after all). I suppose I can experiment with trying string, where I can hold it on both ends and then tape it down. If I get some wood to use for battens, I could also use it to check that the hull is fare properly without using the wood I will be using for the model. It seems that there often isn't much extra wood, and in the case of the Half Hull, you get a sheet of basswood to cut, not wood strips.

One part of the instructions that’s easy to miss (since it’s at the top of the next page) is that “the outer face of the counter has been sanded to mimic the curve on the L- shaped piece”. I wondered why the @tlevine build (screenshot) had “counter” sanded off quite a bit while some other builds did not.

I wetted three strips of basswood. Clamping them wet and I’ll let them dry. Then I’ll glue down, let it dry, and fair again.