Seventynet

Cheers OC and Dave
How time flies, I see it has been over a month since I last  attended to Cheerful.
Post 27 (27/05/2018)
The mysteries of the Square Tuck
This involves some intricate framing below the counter, and a job I approached with some apprehension. This may have contributed to my lack of eagerness to return to the workshop.
I basically followed Chuck's instructions but I used some 3mm thick boxwood to form the frames.
Fitting the centre strip and the upper sections along the counter edge is the easier bit; the testy part is the shaped frame that follows the line of the hull and butts against the other two strips.
Having glued the first sections in place my approach was to form a template part out of card to form the basic shape before committing to the real stuff.

9548
Several tweaks of the card template were made before I committed the pattern to a 1.5mm thick piece of boxwood.
The pattern was then transferred to the 3mm stuff.

9550
For the planking inside the frames I decided to infill with a piece of 1.5mm Boxwood sheet before planking so that I could use 3/64" thick strip rather than 1/8" stuff.
As suggested by Chuck the pieces were temporarily glued to the hull for final shaping of the outer edges; the inner edges were then reduced to the 1/8th width before gluing  finally to the hull.

9569
Not quite sure why but my version took six planks of 3/64" x 7/32" Boxwood strip. rather than 5 planks of 3/16" to fill the void.
I suspect that the aftermost bulkheads were perhaps not faired down sufficiently to reduce the Square Tuck area.
I decided to carry on to completion to see how the overall effect suited my eye.
 
It didn't suit my eye  so off came the lower frames and planking, but I baulked at removing the hull planking to re-visit the aftermost bulkhead.
 
The revised arrangement still took six planks for the infill, the difference being the size of the outer segment between the 3/16th and 7/32" width planks.

9732
Having trialled both I opted for the (6) 3/16" planks with a slightly larger outer segment.

9733
This is in a fairly raw state prior to cleaning up.

9738
Not exactly matching Chuck's exemplary version and I cannot say I'm elated with my Square Tuck effort.
 
As Mr Spock might say, It's a Square Tuck Jim, but not as we know it  
 
At this point I will also add the Stern Post as I prefer to work the  lower planking to it rather than add it afterwards. That said the Stern Post will need some tweaking to get a tight fit from keel to counter.
 
Still we press on.
 
B.E.
04/06/2018
 
 
 
 

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

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

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.
 

There is nothing wrong with your build. If it were mine I would be happy, happy. Great job.
I love the look of the Yellow Cedar decking. I use it myself for my decking.

She is a beauty Ian. Mine is sitting on a shelf waiting for my attention once again so your pictures here give me a boost to get back into it. Lovely work.
Joe

Hi Ian.
That one nice looking build you have going on there.
Very clean workmanship.
Planking is first class and no exceptions. Repair work looks ... I cannot see the repair..
 
Well done.
Regards Antony.
 

Beautiful build Ian,
 
the planking looks superb....
 
Nils

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.
 

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.
 

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.

 




 


 
 
 
 

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

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 

After nearly 1 1/2 years of time I can finally see an end point. Not that I have been constantly working on this for that period of time, mind you, but it does take effort to carve out time and then have the focus and what I call the head set to get things done. I am sure others have the same problem.
 
The first photo shows the "very close to finished" main cabin. Smoked grey plexi-glass has been installed in the larger windows, the grab rails were installed after fabrication on my vertical mill and the running light holders have been installed. The lanterns for these did not come with lens so the remaining task is to fabricate them. I have some plexi-glass rod that I am likely to turn down and cut to solve the problem. Oh yes they have to be painted (green and red). Even the seemingly simple tasks get involved. Hmmmm.
 
I think I stated earlier that there were no logical running rigging terminations other than on the main and fore masts cleats. That only provided 4 points of tethering. So I borrowed from another model of mine the notion of using bitts to tie off the remaining rigging. Note that all rigging is not terminated correctly nor is there any coiled lines attached. There is a reason.
 
I meet with the owner this coming week and we will ultimately decide on the method of transportation to its final destination. There are 2 possibilities; (1) step the masts and re-rig after delivery (that will require about 2 days of work) or (2) bite the bullet and get a suitable van to transport it fully rigged. I will tidy up the deck a bit and see what comes of the discussion.
 
The second photo is meant to show the final result of the stanchion terminations. I had related that since the stanchions were screwed into the deck and aligned that feeding the brass railing wire through them and then terminating them into the deck was just not going to happen without some unpleasant results. So, as shown the upper railing were cut so that 1/2 of the upper stanchion hole was occupied by it. The other half of the hole was filled by a separate piece of bent brass rail that was terminated in the deck. I did not solder any of the junctions, rather I used thin CA applied with a micro glue applicator. It was surprisingly effective and neater than what I could have done with a soldering iron.
 
Joe

As they say the devil is in the details. With my limited experience with machining metal and other materials on a lathe or mill I was stumped as to how to machine the plexi-glass (1/16") to fit the brass portholes. Since there are 10 instances I was not about to hand cut them out and file them to fit. It occurred to me that the methodology shown in the attached photo might work.
 
On my Unimat I attached a 3/4" plywood secondary face plate to the Unimat face plate. To this I attached small squares of the smoked plexi-glass. Using my cutoff/parting tool that I honed to a very sharp cutting edge I slowly turned the plexi-glass to the proper diameter. It took 2 attempts to get the almost correct diameter. On my first pass the "glass" grabbed near the release point. Prior to the second pass I trued the plywood secondary face plate. So doing solved the grabbing problem. I did find that the plexi-glass melted a bit no matter how slowly I fed the cutter. Some finish filing addressed the rough edge and fit.
 
I was tempted to stack a few plexi-glass plates together to speed up the process but decided I was pushing my luck. Only 7 more to go!
 
Joe
 
 

Looking back I observe that I raised the masts in February of this year. Now I have not been working this model full time but I certainly have put a decent amount of time in its advancement. Below is the latest depiction of its progress. As shown all sails are up and either tethered or awaiting to be secured. You will notice that the shrouds and stays, for the most part, are temporarily secured with miniature alligator clips. The reason for this is that I am unsure at this point if I should crimp the Du Bro fittings at the deck or wait until I deliver the model (recall I have to step the masts for delivery). Note that the wishbone is finally in place. Also note there is a temporary "spreader at the mast tops to maintain the mast vertical alignment in light of the temporary shroud and stay situation. The down haul rigging for the wishbone is not in place yet but will be as soon as I complete some deck bitts to tether all "floating lines.
 
As I progress I am reminded of a song lyric that goes "the ocean is  a desert with its life underground". I offer that as I under estimated the task of converting this to a static model. Most of the operating rigging for this model is below deck. As an RC model most top side rigging is tied off close to its need or fed down below through small tubing cleverly disguised in deck appointments and ultimately secured to pulleys, cleats and the like. In addition, on modern sailing craft, there are few traditional cleats. Most are cam cleats which are strategically placed on cap rails, outcroppings of the hull or some other means. There is neither the opportunity to do so here or are there parts that I could use that I know of. Hence I must compromise, much to my dismay.
 
To move this model to completion, I have yet to trim out the deck furniture with glass simulation (smoked polycarbonate), and add skylights, grab rails and air vents. I have to add the stanchions/railings and aforementioned bitts. I also have to model the life boat which was missing from the parts I received when I took this on. There a few deck fixtures I have to address such as the anchor (which was to be glued to the outside of the port side of the hull) and the anchor winch which has to be fabricated. Might I say that the anchor placement authenticity is troubling me.
 
I will leave it there.
 
Joe

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.
 

The wishbone connectivity to the fore mast has become problematical. I am conflicted by the many versions of the fisherman sail I review on line. I have seen the sail rigged with and without the wishbone element. I have seen the wishbone attached to the (fore) mast and not attached. This is especially true when it is used as a boom replacement. Today I realized if I use the wishbone (it would be a lot simpler if I didn't) it has to pivot off the mast and has to have a mast attachment that will allow the sail to pass up and through the mast receiver. So now I have to attempt to come up with a form of mast yoke that answers both requirements. This is driving me a bit crazy. Here is a decent image of what I am troubled by.
 
 

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