rafine

Thanks so much Kevin. Greatly appreciated.

Bob

Looking very good Ken.

Bob

Jeff, I replaced the kit carriages with appropriately sized carriage kits from The Lumberyard (www.dlumberyard,com). They are better wood. You might also look at Chuck's (Syren) nice carriage kits to see if any are sized right.

Bob

Thanks so much Hamilton. It's good to hear from you again. Looking forward hopefully to seeing your modeling work resume.

Bob

Looking great Chuck. The rest of us hope just to get close to what you do.

Bob

The deck and bulwarks look great Grant.

Bob

Thanks so much George, Dirk and Nils for the nice comments and also the "likes". Always appreciated.

Bob

I've completed the starboard side topside planking. Same as the port side, but it went a little faster (the old learning curve  ). Now it's on to the stern planking.

Bob

Looks great Mike.  I'm still glad that you're staying ahead of me.

Bob

You're doing a wonderful job Gary. Beautiful work.

Bob

Thanks so much Thomas. I'm glad to be of some use.

Bob

Thanks so much Mike, Christian, Mobbsie and the "likes". Mike, I was thinking just the opposite -- I'd like you to stay ahead of me so that I can learn from you.

Bob
 

Thanks so much Jay, George, Grant, Rusty and Augie for the nice comments and thanks also to all of the "likes". Every once in a while, being unable to do something leads to a good idea.   

Bob

Planking is now underway. I have completed the port side topside planking ( to the point of rough sanding). The caulking is simulated by pencil on one side and end of each plank. Since I've never been able to accurately plank between ports by adding individual planks, I use a method of building up units of planking , which allows me to get perfectly straight edges and correct sizing to obtain the 1/64" rebates around the ports. Where required, the planks are pre-bent to shape before gluing up the unit.

Now it's on to the starboard side to repeat the process.

Bob

Thanks so much Thomas.

Bob

Thanks so much Nils, Augie, Dirk and Joe for the nice comments and also all of the "likes".

Nils, the prototype for Chuck's design does not have lapstrake planking and I'm going to stay with that.

Joe, I only wish that I had stocked up on the paint. I don't have many bottles left.

Bob

Some progress to report. I completed the prep for planking by adding the square tuck stern piece and fillers and then painting the ports. I opened my last ever bottle of Pollyscale ATSF red for the ports.

I then did the first layer of the wales, which was pretty straightforward. Now, it's on to the topside planking.

Bob

Welcome back Augie. Looking great, as always.

Bob

Really nicely done Mike.

Bob

Wonderful work Nils. The hull looks great.

Bob

Thanks so much Ian, Rusty and all of the "likes". I'm sure that I must have done at least 3 of each of the sills and lintels in an effort to get all the angles and bevels to a passable state.

Bob

Back at it after a travel break. I've done the stern frames and the framing of the stern ports. Fitting and placing those sills and lintels was a fussy business, even using the stern drawing as a template, as suggested by Chuck.

Now the fun begins. Time to start the planking.

Bob

You seem to have resolved your issues beautifully. The planking looks great.

Bob

Nigel, however you end up doing this, it will be an extraordinary model.

Bob

Thanks so much John. Glad to have you back with us.

Bob