Seventynet

Steve that is an absolutly beautiful job. A pleasure to behold. Ian

Well this thing has been gathering moss hasn’t it! Hi Ronald. It’s been a while but I think I used masking tape, cut to measure after laying it over the bulkhead edges and then spray painted (can) the interior. I sort of wonder why I would even have done that but I may have completed the fairing process beforehand. thanks for looking in. Ian

It’s hard to turn away once you are hooked. Best Regards, Ian

Beautiful work Robert and ingenious solutions, methods that I am sure to employ myself. Ian

Very nice job! The wood type really seems to suit the type and age of the boat. What kind of wood is that? regards, Ian

Terrific job Steve! Such nice crisp work. regards, Ian

Thanks a lot Jim. I used a flat black acrylic. I think, but not positive it is what Chuck originally recommended. However I painted over it with satin wipe on poly which makes it shine a bit more than I like. Regards, Ian

Thanks B.E., honestly your build is absolutely beautiful and there has been more than one occasion where I had wished I was behind you so that I could have followed your lead. I have said to myself many times that I have to build another Cheerful so that I can do a better job next time. Al thanks for the compliment. I know your work and you will do a splendid job on it. You will also enjoy it as much as I do. Chuck has put together a beauty. Ian

Very clever, nicely done!

Thanks for the encouragement Kurt and Don. I really would like to see more of your build Kurt. Don I wonder what you’ve been cooking up in that shipyard of yours? Any undocumented projects you’ve been holding back? I cleared the Cheerful deck for action this morning . It feels good to be back at it. Best Regards, Ian

That is so sweet looking Rusty! ian

Absolutely beautiful Nils!

Nice work B.E. I actually miss the hull planking part. It reminds me how much I liked working with boxwood. Cheers

Thanks so much for the (overly) kind words and for hitting the like button. Jim: Thanks for the encouragement. I am intrigued by the picture of your yellow cedar deck. Where can I find your beautiful model? Antony: Thank you. I have come up with a pretty reliable approach to removing planks by first treating the area with rubbing alcohol and then heating up the area with a heat gun (after the fumes have cleared!). The planks come off with ease. And clean up is easier too. Much appreciated Joe. I found your Atlantis restoration project the other day. Wow is all I can say! Thanks so much for following Niles. Love your work! Regards, Ian

Beautiful model and exceptional work Joe. It is going to be hard to part with this. I am sure the client must be happy! regards, ian

Decking 1. I used Alaskan yellow cedar for the deck. I’d also used it for the deck on my Brazzera. It is perfect for this application. 2. Decking layout. I would do it slightly different next time. I would let some of the bow planks close to the center plank taper so that I could end up with all of the planks except the center plank being the same width at the bow. I could have been more careful to achieve the same objective at the stern as well. This is where I am at today. It may be a few weeks before I have any updates. I hope these are of some interest and value to those starting out. Best Regards, Ian

Deck Structures I bought and assembled all of Chuck’s kits. They are well worth it. Even the windlass which I built but can only conclude was eaten by my shop vac and dumped in the garbage after my semi-annual filter clean. Sigh, I guess I’ll have to order another one from Chuck.

False Deck 1. I used an 1/8th inch piece of basswood cut longitudinally. Worked well.

wales and stuff 1. Take your time with the “fancy” pieces that run from the bottom of the wales to the top of the transom. That’s really all I can say, just take your time. I didn’t and had to improvise. Pretty much concealable in the end. 2. My approach for building the counter worked well. Sorry no construction pictures. I laminated several 1/8th inch thick pieces of boxwood edge to edge. Overlaid this prepared structure (there is one for each side) with the pencil-traced outline of the frame using Scotch’s (3M™) matte tape, cut it out, carefully manicured it and glued it into the frame. This worked better IMHO than fitting each plank into the frame.

Greetings shipmates, I have decided, somewhat retrospectively, to show an abbreviated build log of Chuck’s Cutter Cheerful, which has been paused for the last few months while I work on other things. I hadn’t intended to document this build because there are already so many excellent logs here. My thinking was that I’m slightly beyond the “help me” stage but not yet at the “here’s how you should do it” stage for creating a build log - putting me in limbo land. So perhaps I can go forward with a “here’s how you shouldn’t do it” log. This will allow me to go back and examine the areas I can improve for the next Cheerful build, not to mention the possible benefit to others. But I am sorry I did not take a lot of photos. Instructions for this build. Chuck's instructions are the best I've encountered. Read them carefully, re-read them and you will be happy. Stage 1: Gun Ports & Planking 1. You simply cannot be too precise with the gun port frames. I was not. I will next time. When you are talking about a 1/64th inset from the planking it is important to get the line right. I used European boxwood for these, simply because I had a piece. Harder than Castello and pinker. Sorry,no pictures. 2. One must take the time to fair the bulkheads to perfection. While Chuck abundantly warns of this, and I had thought I’d done a decent job of it, there was one or two bulkheads near the stem on the port side that were slightly “high”. This resulted in me merrily sanding right through several planks. I replaced 4 or 5 of them (but could have done a better job of even that). 3. The planking is thin. Of course, it is adequate if you fair the bulkheads perfectly, otherwise… 4. The shape of the rabbet at the stem is important. If you want the planks to fit like a lock and key, take the time to shape it perfectly, it will pay off. It doesn’t take much figuring to know how to do that, just patience with a good file. 5. Bending Castello boxwood is a truly liberating experience. Easy peasy. The first time I’ve ever used it. Absolutely beautiful wood. 6. Learn how to read the plans properly. Forgetting that the plans represent a 3-dimensional model projected as 2-D will run you into trouble. Witness my first two planks below the wales at the stern on both sides. Too narrow. I had planked most of the hull before I woke up. So I left the whole thing as it was and somehow the rest of the planks forgave me and allowed me to end up approximately where I needed to be as I planked down the stern post. I can’t remember if I slipped an extra-wide plank in there to compensate. I think I did.

I certainly must defer to Chuck’s far broader and professional appraisal of AYC. Hereforth I sneak my picture in of my AYC decking of Chuck’s Cheerful. I hope the beautiful hue somehow shows through.

Hi Dave, I have worked with Alaskan Yellow Cedar quite a bit. It is a beautiful wood to work with, but soft. I built a bit of furniture with it decades ago and it always stuck with me how nice it was to work with. It planes like nothing else. It holds an edge well, sands nicely (although with coarser grits it will get furry) and takes stain fairly uniformly. It does not bend nearly as readily as boxwood but maybe I just haven’t figured out the best way to do it. It has a very distinctive smell that many like, others dislike (I’m one of the latter). Your observation that it is a bit harder than basswood is how I’d characterize it. For that reason one has to take care not to mar it using undue clamp pressure. I have decked two models with it and find it perfect for that application since I use my fingers to hold it in place while the glue dries. I love the colour and hue of this wood like no other. Regards, Ian

Hi Rob, This is looking really good! Ingenious flag locker. I am glad to see that you can squeeze some time into the Vic while working that job. Good on ya. I’ll email you to do the coffee thing. best, ian

Thanks for this Phil. I know I will benefit from this build log. Ian

What a pleasure to see this work Jason. Beautiful, crisp and clean work. ian