David Lester

Gunwales, Rail Patterns & Wales
 
Thanks as always for the likes and kind comments. 
 
Before starting on painting the upper works, I wanted to do something about the laminations visible in the gunports. Their oval shape made lining them in the normal way with thin strips of timber a challenge, so I decided to disguise them with woodfiller. I used masking tape on the inner bulwarks to prevent filler and paint getting on to them, as unlike warships they will not be painted. Here's the filler I used, and the result:
 

For paint I used Humbrol Blue #25 and Vallejo Red 70.957. In the manual James used Humbrol enamel but I prefer acrylic for wood. I wanted to try to up my game on this job, using multiple coats of thinned paints rather than slapping on a couple of thicker coats and hoping for the best. Not easy to tell in the first picture, but hopefully the close-up of the starboard bow shows the result was smooth with no visible brushmarks:

I used Tesa tape for the straight and gently curved bits, and this Modelcraft flexible tape from Vanguard Models elsewhere. @James H recommends Tesa tape and after trying it so do I - a fraction of the price of other brands and it works just as well.
 
The next job was fixing the gunwales to the hull, three lengths each side. Although each piece is precut to shape, they take a bit of preparation before they can be fitted. There has been some discussion on other logs about the importance of removing laser char, even on parts that will be painted. However I've found that it is equally important to sand laser cut parts everywhere that will show because, although the wood is good quality, the finish isn't smooth enough for painting. Here's two gunwales to illustrate the point, one sanded with 240 grit, the other not. I also like to lightly sand edges and corners to make them less sharp:
 

As a further test, I cut two pieces from the sheet the gunwales came from, sanded one and painted both:

Hopefully the difference is obvious. 
The next job was applying the rail patterns, two each side. The technique as set out in the manual was fairly straightforward - soak the bow ends in hot water, clamp to the hull and leave to dry (I did this part before painting the hull) then paint and glue in place. The manual recommends allowing the patterns to dry overnight, but I got impatient and used a hot air gun to speed the process. Seemed to work OK. Here's the port patterns clamped up:
 

The sharp eyed among you will have noticed that I'd already managed to break off all but one of the little dangly bits (nautical term 😁) under the windows. These patterns are incredibly well cut and detailed, but also incredibly fragile. Fortunately I was able to find all the missing parts, but I won't re-attach them until I come to fit the PE over them otherwise I'd be sure to snap them off again.
 
Before fitting the wales I wanted to finish sorting the gunwales. There are two places on each side where the for and aft gunwales dip down to the midships area, and in these places the laminations are exposed. Although I'd got them sanded fairly smooth I was still concerned that they would show through the paint, so I applied applied woodfiller, sanded it and painted to match the rest of the gunwales:
 
Lastly, it was onto the wales. These come precut to the shape of the hull, so after sanding, soaking in hot water, shaping on the hull and painting, I was left pondering how best to fit them. I knew from the plans and manual where the upper wales needed to go, but I was worried about getting glue on my nice WOP-ed hull. In the end I decided to use pins to fix the wale in position initially, tweaking the pin positions as necessary before committing to PVA. I used the 0.5mm pins supplied in the kit, and drilled 0.45mm holes. I drilled a series of holes in each wale first and inserted pins so they just poked through, then held one end in position against the stem. When it looked right I pressed on the first pin with a spare finger to mark the hull for  drilling. With the first pin in position, but not driven fully in, it became easier to repeat the process along the length of the wale. If necessary I took pins out, re-drilled their holes and repositioned them. Once happy with the upper wales I took them off the hull and applied PVA before pinning them back in place, this time driving the pins fully in. 
 
Next, I followed the manual's suggestion and cut a 3mm wide piece of spare limewood from the kit to act as a spacer for lower wales. This made positioning the latter easy.  Once all four wales were in place I filed the pin heads flush and painted them. Here's the current state of play:

I'm enjoying this part of the build, and looking forward to all the fancy decoration.
 
Derek
 
PS  I'm increasingly tempted not to paint the hull below the waterline. Anyone disagree?

With a little bit more of dry fit experimentation the penny finally dropped why the horizontal gun port patterns sit flush with the bulkhead at the bottom and are not sit flush at the top of the bulkhead. The bulkhead area where these patterns are located is curved which explains why this is the case. I may experiment with filing some angles on the horizontal gun port patterns slots, using one of the spare parts I have, to get the part to sit flush which should then simplify the sanding process to remove laser char prior to fitting the outer bulwark patterns. I also need to check how this assembly looks with regards to the fitting of the inner bulwarks as the inner surfaces also need to be flush again with the removal of laser char.
 
The smaller vertical gun port patterns are curved to match the bulkheads and tend to be flush fitting with the horizontal gun part pattern, with the exception of the bottom edges in some places.
 
This photo, taken at gun port 7 / bulkhead 8 provides a nice illustration of how the parts look when fitted

 
I certainly did not take enough care with the V1 build to check how these parts will look when properly fitted which resulted in me not fitting them properly. This error on my V1 build was then probably the starting point of the subsequent alignment issues I had. I am really pleased I have already taken on aboard some lessons learnt from the V1 build such as:
 
a) Trying to understanding the design processes better and how the parts should look when correctly fitted, such as detailed in this post
b) To take much more time and care with each build stage, I am in no rush this time around to glue parts together
c) To look ahead at the different build build stages, drying fitting as much as I can
 
I also plan to check the fitting of the following items before I actual start the assembly process in earnest, noting I will have to remove the bulkhead 13 infill piece to do so:
a) Quarterdeck beam spacing patterns
b) Stern counter frames (inner, middle and outer) as I seem to recall these were a very tight fit with my V1 build
c) Stern frame spacer beam
 
This photo is an example of dry fitting multiple parts to get an idea of how things should look. Since taking this photo I did dry fitted many more vertical gun port patterns.

Hi Trent,
I have chosen not to glaze the windows. There is black plastic with the kit for glazing but I have chosen not to use it. The window frames are airbrushed white which gives them a sharp a clean look. The inside of the galleries is painted dull black. You have to look very close to see there is no glazing. There is also a risk you mess up the window frame painting by adding glazing. I think it looks ok as it is. I am the type of modeller who thinks it is more important to have the look and feeling rather than trying to replicate every detail exactly. I call it artistic freedom 🙂 but I also have the greatest respect for modellers who think differently.
 
Best regards
 
Henrik

Good Morning,
I've made good progress with the planking.

 

 

 
This is not too difficult a hull to plank. I didn't soak any of the planks. I just used my new steam iron to bend the planks laterally at the bow and I also gave them a slight bend at the stern as well. With this "game changing" method they all fell into place very nicely.
 
I had no serious problems or issues, but if I'm being totally honest, I did have to correct two small missteps. I discovered a glaring gap between two planks that I had failed to notice as I was working on them. It was just too big to fix with filler, so I had to remove a couple of planks below the gap. I brushed on acetone and was able to salvage them. I replaced them with new planks and saved these salvaged ones for a location below the water line.
 
Also, initially I had the garboard planks located quite far down so that a portion of the keel would have been covered by them. I wasn't sure if that was right or not, but it occurred to me that the width of the the copper piece provided for the keel would indicate how much of the keel should be exposed. From that it was clear that the full depth of the keel needed to be exposed and the garboard planks were in fact too far down,  so I planed and sanded them back and everything appears to line up correctly now.
 
So now it looks like it's on to the the inner bulwarks and deck.
 
Thanks for checking in and the likes.
David 
 

A little more progress on Speedy -
 
I have finished the first layer of planking. This is not a difficult hull to plank and the whole process went smoothly. I chose not to line off the hull, creating belts. The instructions didn't indicate that this was necessary and I decided since it is a small hull, I shouldn't have any problems if I didn't do it. So I just eyeballed the amount of tapering for each plank at the bow, taking off just about half or slightly less and planning to address any issues once I got to the bottom. I worked straight down, but installed the garboard before added the final two planks above it. There really were no problems to speak of, just a matter of fitting the last plank against the garboard.
 
I used my new little Lee Valley plane to taper the planks and I found it to be very effective and pleasant to use. (which I'm relieved to discover, since it was about the same price as a used Hyundai!)  I can never seem to hold a ruler firmly in place when using a knife. This way, you just hold the plank on its edge and run the plane along it. It works really well and you have quite a bit of control. I didn't ruined a single plank this time, which is not typically the case for me with a knife and ruler.
 

 
 
 
Having really only built Model Shipways kits before, I am used to drawing the bearding line and reducing the centre keel before adding the planking. This kit doesn't include that step, but rather asks you to simply apply the planking first and then sand the stern area to a very thin width afterwards. I wasn't sure how easy a task this would be to do, but it proved to be easier than I anticipated and I think I have an acceptable result. I know it looks rough in the picture, but that's only because of the the contrast in colours. It's actually very smooth where the planks feather out.
 

 
I think this is the first hull I've planked where I don't need a gallon of filler (and I'm talking imperial gallons!) I will use some though, just to even out a couple of spots, but I think it will need only a minimal amount. And that's it for now.
 
Thanks again for comments, likes etc.
David

All shrouds and catharpins rigged, and masts stepped. Ratlines next.
 

 

 

Good Morning,
I've made good progress with the planking.

 

 

 
This is not too difficult a hull to plank. I didn't soak any of the planks. I just used my new steam iron to bend the planks laterally at the bow and I also gave them a slight bend at the stern as well. With this "game changing" method they all fell into place very nicely.
 
I had no serious problems or issues, but if I'm being totally honest, I did have to correct two small missteps. I discovered a glaring gap between two planks that I had failed to notice as I was working on them. It was just too big to fix with filler, so I had to remove a couple of planks below the gap. I brushed on acetone and was able to salvage them. I replaced them with new planks and saved these salvaged ones for a location below the water line.
 
Also, initially I had the garboard planks located quite far down so that a portion of the keel would have been covered by them. I wasn't sure if that was right or not, but it occurred to me that the width of the the copper piece provided for the keel would indicate how much of the keel should be exposed. From that it was clear that the full depth of the keel needed to be exposed and the garboard planks were in fact too far down,  so I planed and sanded them back and everything appears to line up correctly now.
 
So now it looks like it's on to the the inner bulwarks and deck.
 
Thanks for checking in and the likes.
David 
 

Here's the little jig I made to hold the 1mm planking. The two strips in the foreground are 1/8" high and the two behind are 1/16" high.
David

Good Morning,
I've made good progress with the planking.

 

 

 
This is not too difficult a hull to plank. I didn't soak any of the planks. I just used my new steam iron to bend the planks laterally at the bow and I also gave them a slight bend at the stern as well. With this "game changing" method they all fell into place very nicely.
 
I had no serious problems or issues, but if I'm being totally honest, I did have to correct two small missteps. I discovered a glaring gap between two planks that I had failed to notice as I was working on them. It was just too big to fix with filler, so I had to remove a couple of planks below the gap. I brushed on acetone and was able to salvage them. I replaced them with new planks and saved these salvaged ones for a location below the water line.
 
Also, initially I had the garboard planks located quite far down so that a portion of the keel would have been covered by them. I wasn't sure if that was right or not, but it occurred to me that the width of the the copper piece provided for the keel would indicate how much of the keel should be exposed. From that it was clear that the full depth of the keel needed to be exposed and the garboard planks were in fact too far down,  so I planed and sanded them back and everything appears to line up correctly now.
 
So now it looks like it's on to the the inner bulwarks and deck.
 
Thanks for checking in and the likes.
David 
 

Good Morning,
I've made good progress with the planking.

 

 

 
This is not too difficult a hull to plank. I didn't soak any of the planks. I just used my new steam iron to bend the planks laterally at the bow and I also gave them a slight bend at the stern as well. With this "game changing" method they all fell into place very nicely.
 
I had no serious problems or issues, but if I'm being totally honest, I did have to correct two small missteps. I discovered a glaring gap between two planks that I had failed to notice as I was working on them. It was just too big to fix with filler, so I had to remove a couple of planks below the gap. I brushed on acetone and was able to salvage them. I replaced them with new planks and saved these salvaged ones for a location below the water line.
 
Also, initially I had the garboard planks located quite far down so that a portion of the keel would have been covered by them. I wasn't sure if that was right or not, but it occurred to me that the width of the the copper piece provided for the keel would indicate how much of the keel should be exposed. From that it was clear that the full depth of the keel needed to be exposed and the garboard planks were in fact too far down,  so I planed and sanded them back and everything appears to line up correctly now.
 
So now it looks like it's on to the the inner bulwarks and deck.
 
Thanks for checking in and the likes.
David 
 

Good Morning,
I've made good progress with the planking.

 

 

 
This is not too difficult a hull to plank. I didn't soak any of the planks. I just used my new steam iron to bend the planks laterally at the bow and I also gave them a slight bend at the stern as well. With this "game changing" method they all fell into place very nicely.
 
I had no serious problems or issues, but if I'm being totally honest, I did have to correct two small missteps. I discovered a glaring gap between two planks that I had failed to notice as I was working on them. It was just too big to fix with filler, so I had to remove a couple of planks below the gap. I brushed on acetone and was able to salvage them. I replaced them with new planks and saved these salvaged ones for a location below the water line.
 
Also, initially I had the garboard planks located quite far down so that a portion of the keel would have been covered by them. I wasn't sure if that was right or not, but it occurred to me that the width of the the copper piece provided for the keel would indicate how much of the keel should be exposed. From that it was clear that the full depth of the keel needed to be exposed and the garboard planks were in fact too far down,  so I planed and sanded them back and everything appears to line up correctly now.
 
So now it looks like it's on to the the inner bulwarks and deck.
 
Thanks for checking in and the likes.
David 
 

Good Morning,
I've made good progress with the planking.

 

 

 
This is not too difficult a hull to plank. I didn't soak any of the planks. I just used my new steam iron to bend the planks laterally at the bow and I also gave them a slight bend at the stern as well. With this "game changing" method they all fell into place very nicely.
 
I had no serious problems or issues, but if I'm being totally honest, I did have to correct two small missteps. I discovered a glaring gap between two planks that I had failed to notice as I was working on them. It was just too big to fix with filler, so I had to remove a couple of planks below the gap. I brushed on acetone and was able to salvage them. I replaced them with new planks and saved these salvaged ones for a location below the water line.
 
Also, initially I had the garboard planks located quite far down so that a portion of the keel would have been covered by them. I wasn't sure if that was right or not, but it occurred to me that the width of the the copper piece provided for the keel would indicate how much of the keel should be exposed. From that it was clear that the full depth of the keel needed to be exposed and the garboard planks were in fact too far down,  so I planed and sanded them back and everything appears to line up correctly now.
 
So now it looks like it's on to the the inner bulwarks and deck.
 
Thanks for checking in and the likes.
David 
 

Good Morning,
I've made good progress with the planking.

 

 

 
This is not too difficult a hull to plank. I didn't soak any of the planks. I just used my new steam iron to bend the planks laterally at the bow and I also gave them a slight bend at the stern as well. With this "game changing" method they all fell into place very nicely.
 
I had no serious problems or issues, but if I'm being totally honest, I did have to correct two small missteps. I discovered a glaring gap between two planks that I had failed to notice as I was working on them. It was just too big to fix with filler, so I had to remove a couple of planks below the gap. I brushed on acetone and was able to salvage them. I replaced them with new planks and saved these salvaged ones for a location below the water line.
 
Also, initially I had the garboard planks located quite far down so that a portion of the keel would have been covered by them. I wasn't sure if that was right or not, but it occurred to me that the width of the the copper piece provided for the keel would indicate how much of the keel should be exposed. From that it was clear that the full depth of the keel needed to be exposed and the garboard planks were in fact too far down,  so I planed and sanded them back and everything appears to line up correctly now.
 
So now it looks like it's on to the the inner bulwarks and deck.
 
Thanks for checking in and the likes.
David 
 

Good Morning,
I've made good progress with the planking.

 

 

 
This is not too difficult a hull to plank. I didn't soak any of the planks. I just used my new steam iron to bend the planks laterally at the bow and I also gave them a slight bend at the stern as well. With this "game changing" method they all fell into place very nicely.
 
I had no serious problems or issues, but if I'm being totally honest, I did have to correct two small missteps. I discovered a glaring gap between two planks that I had failed to notice as I was working on them. It was just too big to fix with filler, so I had to remove a couple of planks below the gap. I brushed on acetone and was able to salvage them. I replaced them with new planks and saved these salvaged ones for a location below the water line.
 
Also, initially I had the garboard planks located quite far down so that a portion of the keel would have been covered by them. I wasn't sure if that was right or not, but it occurred to me that the width of the the copper piece provided for the keel would indicate how much of the keel should be exposed. From that it was clear that the full depth of the keel needed to be exposed and the garboard planks were in fact too far down,  so I planed and sanded them back and everything appears to line up correctly now.
 
So now it looks like it's on to the the inner bulwarks and deck.
 
Thanks for checking in and the likes.
David 
 

Good Morning,
I've made good progress with the planking.

 

 

 
This is not too difficult a hull to plank. I didn't soak any of the planks. I just used my new steam iron to bend the planks laterally at the bow and I also gave them a slight bend at the stern as well. With this "game changing" method they all fell into place very nicely.
 
I had no serious problems or issues, but if I'm being totally honest, I did have to correct two small missteps. I discovered a glaring gap between two planks that I had failed to notice as I was working on them. It was just too big to fix with filler, so I had to remove a couple of planks below the gap. I brushed on acetone and was able to salvage them. I replaced them with new planks and saved these salvaged ones for a location below the water line.
 
Also, initially I had the garboard planks located quite far down so that a portion of the keel would have been covered by them. I wasn't sure if that was right or not, but it occurred to me that the width of the the copper piece provided for the keel would indicate how much of the keel should be exposed. From that it was clear that the full depth of the keel needed to be exposed and the garboard planks were in fact too far down,  so I planed and sanded them back and everything appears to line up correctly now.
 
So now it looks like it's on to the the inner bulwarks and deck.
 
Thanks for checking in and the likes.
David 
 

I have finally reached the stage where I will stop work on the V1 build and move on to starting work on the V2 build. I have really enjoyed the V1 build. I am currently undecided if I will progress the build further at a later date. My current thinking is probably not and keep it as a hull only build.
 
The first picture is the current state of play with the V1 HMS Sphinx. The right-hand gangway hammock cranes are a bit wonky as the gunwale has a slight inboard lean . The plan sheets show hammock cranes for the stern area, but I noted there where not fitted in the prototype build so I opted to omit them from this build. I also decided not to fit the gun port lids. Given the mistakes I have made during this build process the end result (so far) does not look anywhere near as bad as I first feared it would. This proves, without doubt, what a great design this kit is when a ham-fisted error prone builder like me can produce a reasonably nice looking model. A big thanks to @chris watton and to @James H for the all the work they have done. vanguard Models continue to design and release amazing kits and to my mind are the best kits on the market.
 

 
This is a picture of the figurehead. The resin part was primed and then painted gold before the installation. The bow main rail assembly has also been fitted. I did like the description of the heads in the  build manual as  "seats of comfort", the tops of which are just visible.

 
This shows the forecastle with everything fitted. I think I overdid the weathering of the stove chimney.

 
The gangway walkways caused me more problems than I was expecting. Initially with the curling issue and then I totally misunderstood where the gangways were to be fitted in relation to the gunwales, but once the penny dropped it all made perfect sense. I have also added the step and rail up to the quarterdeck

 
A close up of the step and rail

 
To finish off this post I have added a couple of pictures of the quarterdeck

 

Starboard side is almost finished. I decided sometime ago that I would do sides in turns. Now port side...... I know it will be boring but at least there is some activity in my build log. This weekend´s work has been quarter galleries.

 

 
Best regards
 
Henrik

I'm working away at the second planking layer. There is a lot of ground to cover with this one!
 
On my Speedy, I didn't bother to lay out belts for the planking. Its hull is quite small and it didn't seem essential to me. On this one however, because it's so large, I think it is necessary. I wanted to try using a planking fan this time and it works amazingly well. I like because it is a very elegant solution - it's simple, low tech and works so effectively. (And it's a lot less expensive than a set of proportional dividers.) I downloaded a template from the forum.
 

 

 

 

 
Here is my progress so far.

 
Thanks for looking in!
David

Finishing the hull
 
The last step for completing the hull are the channels, strops, and deadeyes.
 

 
In anticipation of that I sanded and finished (with WOP of course) my walnut mounting stand and epoxied the brass pedestals using a scrap of the same board size as the keel for alignment. All of my models are mounted this way, I like the polished look of the finished walnut and brass not to mention the firm, epoxied attachment of the model to the board. As I mentioned way back at the beginning of this log I drill the holes for this mount at the start of the build well past the keel into the bulkhead former for strength. I also add a brass plate with the name and year (so I remember), Flirt’s plate is on the way.  Halex Awards is a fast, economical source for these plates.
 

 
Can’t pass up the chance to use my fancy tools, The mill is handy here as a drill press to drill straight and centered holes in the back side of the channels for placing the mounting pins.
 

 
With those pins (the brass nails from the kit cut to size) glued in the next step is bringing out the air brush for painting the channels Admiralty Dull Black. I like the look of the airbrush painted parts on Flirt, though I’m not sure its necessarily faster than brush painting. As I’ve mentioned it takes as long to clean properly the airbrush as it does to paint with it, still it’s worth it. Glad I’ve come over to the dark side with airbrushing…just for some things, I still prefer brush painting.
 

 
Here’s my collection of tools used to for adding the deadeyes to the strops and that assembly to the hull via the channels. The colored band on the tools are also an idea I got from my dentist, making them easy to identify when I’m reaching for them I got them from a dentist supply website.
 
Kit PE strops can be a real pain to assemble, however Vanguard has done as good a job as I’ve seen with Flirt, all one piece with enough etched detail to provide as realistic appearance as you can get and making assembly an easier task. Of course nothing about forcing apart the loop wide enough to insert the deadeye is ever that easy.
 
I first primed the PE strops and then painted them Admiralty Iron Works Black, which held up pretty well to the stretching, I added the tape around my pliers (which on this particular pair have no grip on the business end, just flat metal) to further minimize scratching - still I had touch up work to do which I did with 20/0 and 10/0 brushes, I like coordination and dexterity tests…
 

 
This drill, which is actually a battery powered screwdriver with a separate drill chuck attachment, I found on Amazon via the courtesy of another MSW member, it is perfect for this gentle work. Although a bit bulky, it is slow, exactly what I want for drilling a hole that can’t be too deep. It’s almost like spinning the pin vise myself in terms of rotation speed, this delicate work doesn’t need Dremel speed.
 
 

 
I got the required angles by measuring the distance between the bottom of the strops using the plans and the next strop. It’s a slow process but there’s only 26 total, so it didn’t take long to complete.
 
And with that the hull is complete. Here are a few photos, just using my off white cloth and iPhone. (you may notice the pumps are not aligned, recall I have not glued them in so I can remove them later to work on the rigging around the wench and bits).
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
I’ve enjoyed the build of this Vanguard Models Master Shipwright Version hull. Chris has a great design and puts so much into little extras I didn’t notice or think about until I compared them mentally to other models I’ve made in the past. The design, the very detailed instructions (thanks @James H), and the quality of all the components and wood results in a model that modelers of all skill levels can be successful building, if they take their time of course. So thanks @chris watton!
 
I am not leaving Flirt as an “admiralty model,” I intend to fully rig her starting with making my own boxwood masts. However at this point I am going to place this build on ‘Pause.’ Absolutely nothing to do with this wonderful kit, it’s just that the pull of starting Winchelsea has become too strong. With the hull complete I’m at a good point to temporarily shelve Flirt, pause this log, and begin Winchelsea.
 
Thank you for following this build, I appreciate the likes and especially the comments. I hope you’ll join me as I begin my Winchelsea log linked below in my signature.
 
 

I've just started the second planking. I have the stern area done. So far, so good.
 
This wood is very nice to work with.

 

 
That's all for now. I'm afraid it's back to raking leaves. We are knee deep in maple leaves. However, there are still plenty more to come down which always presents a challenge. There's always a very small window between the last leaf falling and the first snow. At this point it's just a matter of volume reduction.
 
Thanks for checking in.
David
 
 

I'm working away at the second planking layer. There is a lot of ground to cover with this one!
 
On my Speedy, I didn't bother to lay out belts for the planking. Its hull is quite small and it didn't seem essential to me. On this one however, because it's so large, I think it is necessary. I wanted to try using a planking fan this time and it works amazingly well. I like because it is a very elegant solution - it's simple, low tech and works so effectively. (And it's a lot less expensive than a set of proportional dividers.) I downloaded a template from the forum.
 

 

 

 

 
Here is my progress so far.

 
Thanks for looking in!
David

I've just started the second planking. I have the stern area done. So far, so good.
 
This wood is very nice to work with.

 

 
That's all for now. I'm afraid it's back to raking leaves. We are knee deep in maple leaves. However, there are still plenty more to come down which always presents a challenge. There's always a very small window between the last leaf falling and the first snow. At this point it's just a matter of volume reduction.
 
Thanks for checking in.
David
 
 

I'm working away at the second planking layer. There is a lot of ground to cover with this one!
 
On my Speedy, I didn't bother to lay out belts for the planking. Its hull is quite small and it didn't seem essential to me. On this one however, because it's so large, I think it is necessary. I wanted to try using a planking fan this time and it works amazingly well. I like because it is a very elegant solution - it's simple, low tech and works so effectively. (And it's a lot less expensive than a set of proportional dividers.) I downloaded a template from the forum.
 

 

 

 

 
Here is my progress so far.

 
Thanks for looking in!
David

I've just started the second planking. I have the stern area done. So far, so good.
 
This wood is very nice to work with.

 

 
That's all for now. I'm afraid it's back to raking leaves. We are knee deep in maple leaves. However, there are still plenty more to come down which always presents a challenge. There's always a very small window between the last leaf falling and the first snow. At this point it's just a matter of volume reduction.
 
Thanks for checking in.
David
 
 

Working on Yard's, Gaff and Boom. Learning so much from other builds and comments.
Been using aluminum from house trim, used on vinyl siding. For medal banding etc., but will start using paper more after reading and looking at how good it look's.