bigcreekdad

Don...I'm using 1/16" x 3/16" planks...seem to bend OK

Been awhile since I posted any kind of update on this build. Been filling a lot of trout fly orders....as there are deadlines on these, my ship work took a backseat for awhile. With deck planking complete, I moved onto hull planking. The first planking using the kinda cheap kit wood went ok. I then filled and sanded. After planking the wales(same cheap kit wood...but to be painted), I planked above the wails with the kit supplied "better" wood. Below the wales, I debated but decided to go with the kit wood (Ramin or Sappeli..don't remember which but the darker one). I kinda liked the look of it, and I thought it would look quite good with a couple coats of gun oil. However, after 3 planks, I found it unusable unless you were content with a lot of stealers and pointy planks. The strips are near paper thin, and cannot be bent if you want to use the planking method used by Chuck as shown in his Cheerful build. So...tear off the planks below the wales, sand again and start again. I decided to go with Cherry. Also, I was going to, for the first time, try Chuck's planking method. I've got the Cheerful built as far as the framing, but wanted some practice on his planking method before I work more on that build. I used the tick marks on the hull at different intervals, and then tapered the planks accordingly. I then bent the planks to take on the upward curve of the hull...again, using Chuck's method (look for his planking videos). I just mounted the first plank, and..voila!!....it fit perfectly. I'll post more after a bit more planking.

Awesome!!

Very nice job!!

guess not....looks good though

has anyone used this for planking?

Just starting my own Cheerful, and was quickly going through some of the builds. Not this one....read the whole darn thing. Just awesome!!....the build and the story. Great!!

Give us more info on the wood you've used. Great job so far!

Very nice! I quite enjoyed my Pickle build. You will as well. I look forward to seeing your progress.

I've used both a drill and a mini lathe. Sandpaper or a file to taper. You really need to make sure the dowel is straight before starting to taper to avoid the wobble. I've had good luck with both.

Why doesn't my post show under "New ContentT?

Work continues. Finished the deck planking (red oak), sanded and Tru Oiled (X3). The bulwarks were a but cranky to install and line up properly, but finally was accomplished. Stern piece was a real task. If I had taken a (much) closer look at the plan photos, I would have seen the deck planking at the stern extending a bit over the false deck. This was supposed to accommodate the severe angle of the stern piece. Way too late to redo the rear planks, so i sanded quite a bit to reduce the angle. Not technically correct for the real ship, but it was the best option in my mind, and looks OK. Anyway, I'm not really concerned about building exactly to a specific vessel. More interested in how it turns out. Maybe heresy for some, and thats fine. I've laid the two (I'll call them guide) planks on each side and will then proceed with the rest of the planking. I'm deviating from the plans by mounting the stem before any more planking. I think fitting the planks that touch ii will be much easier, and likely look better than adding the stem after the planking. Any contrary thoughts on this are welcome. Also need to plank the inner bulwarks....any thoughts on doing this before the hull planking? The kit wood (and the written part of the plans) is IMO low quality. I will likely use something else (maybe pear?) at least in the upper hull. Not sure about the lower hull but I'm thinking of coppering it. As always....love to hear anyone's thoughts.

Thanks Popeye....I know it ain't perfect, but I wanted to at least give it a try.

Ok....not perfect, but WAY better than my first attempt. The wood I used is red oak....amazing the different color tones from the same piece of wood. Time move on to the tricky bulwarks.

Thanks Mtaylor......I am proceeding as you recommended.

No thoughts?

Did a fairly simple tree nail pattern using Early American Minwax putty. Opinions?....still a little too dark? Tried some bamboo (draw plating is no fun) on a piece of drilled wood and after you sanded it down it hardly showed at all. Might sand this and wipe on some Tru Oil to see what this looks like. I've kinda committed to the tree nailing now, so wish me luck.. BTW...I will likely replace the plank with the gap. Thanks for your thoughts in advance.

Any thoughts on the treenailing options?

Did a little sampling before I gave up the idea of tree nailing the deck. Looking left to right: 1) Just holes drilled and sealed over with minwax satin 2) Holes filled with Minwax Early American putty, then satin 3) (Darkest) Holes filled with Minwax red mahogany putty, then satin. Comments?

New planking laid. Needs some sanding. Still no decision on whether to treenail. Leaning towards not.

I'm replanking the ship after an abysmal attempt at tree nailing. I'm planking over the original, and will sand down quite a bit when complete. I'm still uncertain whether I will tree nail or not. I'll post a pic of the replanking when complete. In the meantime, I'm toying with the idea of not mounting the swiveling cannon in the bow. Frankly, I think it looks a bit goofy....no offense to those who have built the ship with the cannon. Any ideas on some deck furniture to take the space?

Kinda disappointed....no help here, and no response from Caldercraft. My fault, but I really hate to scrap my build.

My mizzen mast has broken below the trestle tree. I had to remove the whole mast, which necessitated cutting away a ton of rigging. Stupidly, I threw away the plans after completion (BIG lesson learned there). I will be doing a lot of rebuilding here. Are there any builders of this kit in the USA who still have their plans? If so, would you be willing to ship them to me? I will copy and ship back right away, and pay all expenses. Otherwise I will contact Caldercraft and purchase a new set. Thanks Mates. Update...heard from Jotika today. Plans available at very reasonable price.

Bill...not my first ship (Pickle, Convulsion, Bluenose., and Sherbourne...all safely in their respective docks). Just my first attempt at treenailing....maybe my last. We'll see.

I just ordered of bunch of fly tying supples.