Chuck

yes you can use this method. If you are using cedar, you can use a straight edge or metal ruler and a sharp blade to just cut the plank when tapering. Then finish it off with a sanding stick. Also, with the cedar there is no need to bend the strip the other way. It is so pliable that after edge-bending you are good to go.

Started planking the belts today below the wales. Let me describe how I plank at the bow by edge bending rather than spiling the curved planks from sheets. You guys should give it a try. The first belt uses 1/4" wide planking strips exclusively. They are 3/64" thick. I will break it sown into steps and hopefully this reads well. I took still photos from the port side and I will do it again using video when I plank the starboard side. 1. - Take a strip and sand the angle to fit the stem. It will require beveling. Then mark the width of the plank from your lining off on that front edge. lets taper the plank for the bow. 2. - Then mark the locations for the bulkheads (the front edge with the tick marks). Dont obsess over the locations...you can just approximate. 3. Take a scrap length of 1/4" strip so you can mark the width of the plank at each bulkhead. 4. Transfer that mark to that bulkhead mark on your plank. 5. Then connect the dots with a sharp pencil using a straight edge. Then use a sanding stick, or blade to file the taper into your plank. 6. So far so good....but as many folks do, if you tried to force this plank on the hull it wont go well for you at this point. If you force the plank against the one already on the hull, the top edge pulls away from the hull dramatically. The photo below shows this....I even dropped a toothpick in the gap so you guys can see it better. You will never be able to force that top edge down. Instead, some builder create a creative run for the plank which is historically incorrect. OR they start putting the first of about five stealers and drop planks. Not the way to go. This plank needs to be curved to fit the shape of the hull while laying flat against the bulkhead edges. Here is one way to do this. My favorite way.....EDGE BENDING> 7. To bend the plank edge-wise, create a simple hold down device for the strip (center). Its just a 3/64" thick piece of scrap with a small length glued on top. Once clamped to your bench, the planks is held down by it. Note how the top edge is curved. I also clamp the forward end of the plank and the other end while edge-bending it dry. Now you can see that the plank is starting to lift up. Bend it until it just starts to lift up. Clamp it down but use some scrap on top of the plank so the clamps dont damage the strip. I prefer dry heat bending....but if you must....just dip your finger in some clean water and run it down the area of the strip being bent. Not a lot.....just to wet it a bit. I am doing this for each plank. 8. NOW...I bet you thought I would be using a hair dryer to heat - bend this plank. I do use one.....BUT, I have since switched to something different. It works even better!!!! Its great for wider planks. I still use the hair dryer to twist and bend strips the other way. But at the bow....you only need to edge bend it. Note that the strip is already flattened out where it was starting to lift....you are ironing it flat again. Works great. This is a travel iron...its really small. They only cost about $20. I use this only for edge-bending and then switch to a hair dryer for twisting and other bends. They are not as hot as those soldering iron things with the fancy tips. Those get super hot....too hot. This small travel iron gets to around 400 degrees and you can adjust it. I use it on a pretty hot setting....around 300 - 350 degrees. 9. Below is the plank I bent in comparison to a straight plank. You dont have to bend them all that much. Sometimes when you test it on the model, there will still be lifting....that means you need a more severe bend. So take it back and bend it some more. Other times you may not have bent it to the proper curve meaning the distance from the end of the plank at the bow for the center of the curve wasnt correct. Then take it back and bend it again. No big deal. I find that the apex or center of the bend falls between the 2nd and 3rd bulkheads at the bow. As you work your way towards the keel, that location will change. The severity of the curve will also change. 10. Now I can take that strip and fit it in the rabbet and hold the plank with just one finger. No forcing. It lays flat against the bulkhead edges. But note, there will be gaps between this plank and the one already on the hull. You must tweak it so you get a tight fit with no gaps. It may require some beveling too. This is also when you check your taper to see if the plank fits within the tick marks you lined off on the bulkheads. If it needs some tweaking so you can stay on "plan" with your lining off....do that before gluing it into position. But once you have a good fit, cut the other end to length and darken the edge with a pencil to simulate the caulking. Then glue it into position. I do use CA for all my planking. Its the only thing I use it for. This plank below still needs some tweaking because there are gaps after bending. I managed to almost finish the first belt on the port side today. I have just one last strake to put on. Then I will switch to the Starboard side. I work one belt at a time on each side. Then I switch sides. Here are some photos and it is starting to come together nicely. I am sure I forgot to mention a few things on this long post but feel free to ask me any questions. This is basically how I plank every hull after lining it off. I must also mention that I bend and twist the strakes at the stern with the hair dryer to get the best fit after I establish the taper...just like I did above.

Nice progress. 😀

I should have chapter two done in a few weeks. I may not be completed with the planking but I can describe the process. Once hull is planked its the end of chapter two..... Chapter 3 will be the framing and completion of the stern transom and quarter galleries. This is where the fun really starts!!!

Beautiful.....you will be caught up with me pretty quickly!!!

Nicely done.....make sure those brackets will fit between bulkheads. They look a little wide. But otherwise everything is shaping up!!!

No 8-9 in total for everything. Two for the false keel and six for the bulkheads.

seven will do it but buy eight or nine in case one is horribly warped. Are you taking the plunge? Start a log and join the party!!!!

Thank you for saying...that alone makes it all worthwhile to do. I am glad you have started cutting and gluing parts. I do wish more would dive in and get some progress made. That is the hardest part. Just get started and the rest will fall into place. Chuck

Guys I dont mind being asked. I usually do a lot more with these projects than most so its a fair question. But rest assured, you guys will do a great job on the planking. The hull size makes things much easier. If you are using the cedar that is an advantage as well. It is very pliable and bends so easy. You can literally tie thinner pieces into a knot. Its just a matter of going slow and getting a tight fit. Having the lining off completed will allow you guys to really concentrate on the craftsmanship aspect of planking and getting some really tight joints. My only advice.....try not to over analyze things. It causes "analysis paralysis" ....just dive in and start making some progress, otherwise your shop floor will remain too clean and absent of sawdust. This is a long term project so you need to get started and build up some momentum....otherwise it will never get finished. You will figure it all out once its on your work table.

It’s not really important. Just use any scrap you have laying around. Make sure the base is larger than the model is long and wider as well. That’s about it. The strips can’t be wider or taller than the keel but anything will work.

Just a little more as it gets lower. Down by the bobstay holes. The top of the stem is fine. Check out the cont. model. Nice tight joints on those stem pieces by the way!!!!!

No you will have to pre shape each plank but I will explain how I do it. The last thing I need is to pre-spile 180 planks so you guys can have it even easier....LOL. Everyone does it differently anyway. On this particular model I wont be spiling the planks at all. I will be edge bending them all after tapering them. No need to cut them from a flat sheet to the correct curve. The hull is so large that the curve needed at the bow or stern is not that sharp. It should go very easily. I am also going to try making a video of the process. Because every strake is lined off on the hull you already know its width and length and how it should be shaped. The rest is easy.... I will start planking this weekend. Basically I do this.....in this order. I will try and detail each step. Just five steps. I dont clamp.....I dont wet my planks. 1. Taper a planking strip using my lining out at each bulkhead to find the width at each bulkhead. 2. Edge-bend the strip with heat after cutting the taper. 3. Twist the strip to fit on the hull if needed with heat. Every strip (especially at the bow and stern) needs to be bent, then twisted to lay flat against the bulkheads 4. Test it in position.....repeat steps 1-3 until good fit-trim its length to fit my butt joint pattern. 5. Bevel the edge of the strake with a sanding stick to fit tight against the plank already on the hull....line the edge with pencil to simulate caulking and glue it on. Repeat about 190 times ......until its all done!!!! I estimated 4 planks in each strake multiplied by 23 strakes on each side.....

You are welcome....but it is a shortcut. I will always continue to urge folks to line off their hulls. It gets a bit tiring sometimes as many just think its too hard or daunting. Then they wonder why their planking looks "off". I will admit that it isnt fun to do. But it does make the planking process more fun and easy afterwards. And the results can not be argued with. My hope is that after doing it for folks just this once, that when they plank the Winnie hull they will see how different it looks. They will recognize how important it is to have a planking plan developed so when they plank the next model.....they will give it a try. Here is the other tutorial I did on the subject which also includes some info on spiling. Its my presentation on the subject when I give one at conferences and meetings. http://modelshipworldforum.com/resources/Framing_and_Planking/Lining Off your hull for planking.pdf Chuck

Thanks for saying!!! The pdf docs of the tick strips are below....I will also place them in the downloads area. It cant get much easier than this. I am about to start planking in a day or so. Its my favorite part of the project actually. tickstrips.pdf tickstrips2.pdf Chuck

No.... I already made the tick strips. You will just print them out and transfer the tick marks to each bulkhead edge. I went ahead and did all that stuff and to save you time just made you the strips with the measurements already done.

Ok guys.....the tedious part of lining off the hull is now completed. Some background info..... On the contemporary model, there are 25 strakes below the below the wales. There are no drop planks or stealers at all. I have however, added one drop plank at the bow which is typical on other contemporary models of frigates. This will make it easier to get a good run of the planks at the bow so they wont narrow too much into the rabbet. We already have two strakes on the hull below the wales so that leaves 23 more to line off. Now....if you remember....I have showed how I line off a hull many many times. I wrote about it in exhaustive detail for Cheerful and for the longboat etc. There is also a PDF in the database. Having said this, 95% of the builders still dont bother lining off their hulls. This is to their disadvantage. They usually just grab some pre-milled strips and start planking while hoping for the best!!! Its a cross your fingers approach. You want to avoid this as much as possible especially on a hull that wont be painted below the waterline or plated with copper. We are shooting for this below......but with one drop plank at the bow and 33% larger. You can see some photos of my lining off on the first Winnie model I made below. Remember that on the first model I didnt use any drop planks at the bow so it was a bit different. Planking fans......some math.......some artful tweaking......about 50% math and science and 50% art/creativity and eyeballing. So...............................I am taking a different approach on this newer larger model that I think all of you will be very thankful for. It took me about 36 hours to line off the new hull over 5 days. To save all of you the time, after lining off my hull I created a series of tick strips for every bulkhead edge. These marks can can be transferred to your model so you wont have to spend a few dozen hours lining off your hull if you choose not to. See the photo below. There are also templates for the stem.....and more for the stern post and along the bottom edge of the lower counter at the stern. You just need to print out the PDF and cut the strips out. NOTE the red square on the bottom of each strip.....this side of each tick strip sets against the edge of the plank already finished as shown. In addition, many of the lines are in red. These indicate the different belts on the model. There are four belts. It just makes it easier to plank the hull so you can treat each belt as a mini-project of its own. It makes the task of planking so much less daunting. In addition....the tick marks you make on your bulkhead edges should be made on the forward edge of each bulkhead. This is an important detail. This will take what was a week's work for me and turn it into just an hour or so for you. BUT.....you should still double check your work. You can do this by running a thin strip of black tape along the hull following your tick marks. You only have to do this for the red belt lines. This will be a double check to see if when you lined off the hull maybe a tick strip was positioned a little lower or higher.....you may need to adjust and tweak some. But this gets you 98% of the way there. NOW.....I still believe that all of you should learn how to line of a hull if you have never tried this. Lining off your own hull is far superior as your hull may be slightly different than mine. For example....maybe the run of your wales was slightly different than mine at the bow...or at the stern. This will alter how your lining off will need to be done. But if you are close to my reference lines and the run of your wales are close to mine...... using these strips will get you 98% of the way there. I also think this is a perfect hull for trying to line off a hull for the first time as you have some tick strips to compare your own attempts to. I had written a separate detailed set of instructions for the first Winnie model on how to line off your hull. I went back in and altered the size info to reflect this larger scale but its still a good description of what I did on this latest model. In fact its exactly the same. So for any of you who would rather line off your own hulls you can read through this document below. Its a good instructional any way. Let me know if you have any questions. - liningoff.pdf

not very difficult at all. You just need to cut out the area you want to create the box. then trace the curve of the bulkheads you remove to create the frame shapes.

They are in stock already....everything is there. https://www.syrenshipmodelcompany.com/milled-lumber.php#!/Alaskan-Yellow-Cedar-PLANKING-SHEETS/c/36682020/offset=0&sort=normal

Almost forgot.....watch the bottoms of those first few bulkheads at the bow. They may damage your keel and stem because they arent faired yet. When you install them you will see that they extend below the rabbet strip on their forward edge. You might want to pre bevel them and angle them ahead of time to avoid that. Place one in a slot and you will see what I mean. Very hard to explain in writing. Most kits always have bulkheads that are too short at the bow. When properly shaped you should angle them at the bottom to avoid damaging that keel.

Now you know why it cost so much to ship them. They are very heavy. Makes for a heavy solid model also. Nice work.

Good...it would be nice to see you build a complete hull model again rather than these cross sections and parts...LOL.

Doc, they can also be accessed on the right sidebar. Under the sponsor banner ads. Please let me know that you figured it out. Would love to see you start a build log and join the group.

Doc .....all group builds are now at the top of the screen menu bar. Each group has its own mini-forum with tabs for build logs and other discussions.

If you wet it...only wet one side. I forgot which side you are supposed to add water to. Then flatten and leave in the sun.