KeithAug

Hakan - how thick are the planks - remember the intention isn't to revert to the lampshade plan

Phil, Tom, Pat - you are all too kind ---- and a good balance to my wife who finds plenty to critisise about me. The weather here continues to be mild. Yesterday Scotland had it warmest January day ever recorded - 19c. In the south it was somewhat cooler, never making it above a pleasant 14c. Apparently a southerly wind is blowing straight up from the Sahara delivering plenty of warmth and tons of red dust. the dust hasn't arrived yet. All this means that I got plenty of time in the workshop over the weekend. This is a good thing because the rest of the week is taken up with Grandparent duties. Anyway here is the update. Having got to the area of the prop shaft I decided to be clever and install the prop shaft tunnel now rather than later. The final section of keel has a knuckle and I very carefully shaped the aft keel piece so that the inner edge provided the alignment reference for the prop shaft. I know that sounds confusing but all may become clear later. The aft keel piece was installed and glued in place. I then turned the shaft tunnel and cut a slot along its length. This slot is inserted into the keel to locate the tunnel in its correct position and at the correct angle. I thought I would avoid cutting away the frames that supported the keel so I cut the shaft tunnel into segments and glued these in place. The next picture should make clear my earlier confusing description. Now that would have been great if only I hadn't messed up the position of the shaft. This was about 1/8" below where it needed to be (i.e too high in the hull). The good thing was that I found this now rather than later. So off it came and on to plan B. The aft keel section was well stuck by this stage so it was a case of some tricky sawing to get the alignment section back to where it needed to be. I remade the shaft tunnel and threw away the idea of fitting it in segments. it was a daft idea after all. I then glued it in place having checked and rechecked it was in the right place. I then proceeded with installing the last of the frames. I also installed slotted keel pieces, the slot being necessary to take the somewhat elaborate stern post. The bracing "floors" also continued to go in. The final keel piece then went in. This final piece defines the angle of the transom which I think I got right. Then I left it overnight and everything dried rock solid. If I screwed anything up this is now all firewood.😬

That is brilliant.

I recommend Macallan Double Cask 15 year old. My son is in Malmo on Thursday and Friday - giving a medical lecture. Has the weather warmed up yet?

That is going to be quite a baptism of fire Ian. Do you have a lot of clamps? As you progress the planks need to align with the previous plank along their length. With a wide frame spacing you may find that the planks don't want to align with the previous plank particularly at the half way point between frames. You will probably need to clamp the adjacent planks together at mid span while the glue is drying. 3mm is quite thick for planks and they are going to take some restraining - presumably this is what the designer had in mind when he / she suggested balsa as the planking material. You may find other MSW members have more experience of large frame spacing with thick planks. They may be more able to comment and advise. Ultimately we all find a way in the end.

Ian - did you say what the spacing is. It looks quite large.

You made me laugh!

Nils there are loads on eBay - this is the cheap end of the range - I suspect the more you pay the better they are.

I agree - two needed.

Even more Jealous.

Excellent progress Richard. The hull lines look wonderful.

Some very nice hand crafted brass work - well done.

You have missed your vocation mate..........................you should have been a plumber or real estate agent or a hairdresser. Anything but a song writer! Beautiful work Keith.

I find the older I get, the slower I work. I sometimes worry that if I slow down much more one day everything will just stop. Meteor is turning out real handsome John.

That looks like a wonderful day out Eric - I am jealous.

That seems like a sensible approach. As for myself I plank with hardwood cut from very old furniture. I don't experience problems with shrinkage but the wood can be quite brittle and will break if the curvature is too great.

Thank you Rick - as co author you will need to be chairman of the judges panel. Or should that be chairperson - you can never be sure in this PC age! Thank you John and Andy.

As I said in another post earlier today the workshop heated up to a sweat inducing 10c this week, so I made the most of it and did some shipyard work. To be honest if the workshop drops below 10c the PVA glue takes an absolute age to set and even then the bond strength seems weak. At least that is my excuse for slow progress. Anyway it was time to start glueing the frames into the building board. In the following sequence of shots you can see how I am using various blocks to get the frames vertical. I am also using the rods to ensure the alignment of the frames both top and bottom. As I am progressing along the hull I am installing horizontal bracing frames. Where I want to retain the option for doing some below deck detail the bracing is put in at the below deck floor level. Where the below deck won't be visible I am putting the bracing in where it maximises rigidity. As I progress I slide the alignment rods progressively rearward. After a while I got this far.

Ian - good tip thank you.

Very nicely done.

After all, she is your baby.🙂

Same here Andy - the workshop broke the 10c barrier this week. That looks like a hell of a lot of scrolling - plenty of opportunity for eye strain. I am look forward to seeing how it all goes.

George - Roger is correct. Scroll saw blades don't usually break a lot. you should have a look at your set up. George - Allan is also wise. I think it would make life easier for you if you put in more frames, particularly at the bow and stern. Filler blocks are also a good option.

Ian - as the planks are being covered up then let the hull tell you the answer. In general wider planks can be used on flat sections and narrower on more extreme curvatures. My advice would be make a start on planking and after a few planks decide if its going well and then adjust the width up or down as you see fit.