Julie Mo

I am a newbie and on my first build. I couldn't even tell you what level the model kit I chose is rated. I don't recall seeing anything like that when I bought the kit. Maybe it was there and I passed over it but I was more interested in the emotional aspect of diving in than the practical, logical side of it. I had no fears of the task being over my head or beyond my skills. How could I? I have never built a wooden model before. But I gave careful consideration to the potential difficulty I could experience. I relied on my woodworking experience but even more on my guitar building experience as a barometer to guide me on making the purchase. At this time in my model making "career" I don't think I was even aware of this website. So I went in cold. The emotional draw was strong - I'm an avid sailor with thousands of miles of sailing under my belt but I have no boat right now. I was in between homes and waiting for the seller to come up with necessary documents and it was taking forever. I hate sitting still and we were living in a condo and all my tools were locked up in storage. I doubt anyone here could have stopped me from buying the kit I bought. That being said, I have no regrets. I wish I had more time to spend on the model but it has been a wonderful respite from fixing up the new house. And it has been lots of fun, too. I have so many plans for making the model mine and have only had one mental setback. I know I will finish the model but I don't know if I will build another. It's not that I don't enjoy it, I just don't know if another build will be able to fit into the picture. But pictures can change. If I were to add my thoughts about jumping into something you have never done, I would say to look at build threads carefully and picture yourself doing the work it takes to accomplish what you see. If you are honest with yourself, this should help guide you to the right first model.

As always, beautiful job, Keith! I appreciate what you say about mahogany vs. sapele. But sapele more often gives a chatoyance mahogany does not. At least that's been my experience with making cabinet doors and similar projects. But when it's cut to the thickness required for model building, it may react differently. After seeing the pictures of the hull with white spirits on it, I began to wonder how wood hulls one wanted the grain to pop, would look with boiled linseed oil. I've done a lot of projects where I use the BLO to make the grain pop, seal it with de-waxed shellac and then apply the final top coat to it. BLO adds a bit of amber to the tone, kind of like oil-based varnish. Looking forward to your next post! I love your work.

No torch, Mike. I was just a bit bummed. I thought I was making corrections to the model that better reflected how it was actually built. And in doing so, I got the bonus of honing my woodworking skills and making the model a little more mine that it would be if I simply followed the directions. That would probably have been the case if the original hull was wood. But it was steel. So the changes I have already made took the model further from the original than closer. Thus my being bummed. I'll get over it. And I may be able to hide the change I made by gluing the laminate keel in place before the 2nd planking and just plank over it. But none of this should really matter if I am trying to stay true to the original because the entire hull was painted. Many models leave some or all the wood planking exposed. And I get that. That's part of what attracted me to this model in the first place. I love sailboats with clear finish over wood planked hulls. The decision I have to make now is do I go in the direction of replicating the original the best I can? Or do I make this MY boat and customize it in the way most pleasing to my eye?

I am now feeling a bit foolish. I was pretty excited about the solid wood keel, thinking I was building her like she was back in 1934 but then a light bulb lit. The original Endeavour had a steel hull. I remembered reading Tom Sopwith was in aviation and applied his knowledge there in the design and building of Endeavour. I already knew the mast was aluminum but completely forgot the Sopwith history. I now feel like I ruined the model and have to take it in a direction it was never meant to go.

Again, if not following my build log, here's pictures of the progress: Glued up laminate: Comparing to the hull: Comparing to the drawings:

I took the strips off the hull, glued them up and banded them to the hull again. When I removed the laminate, I did a little clean up before I took this picture. It doesn't look like much but it matches the keel fairly well The rubber band is there only to keep the laminate from falling off. It is applying no pressure. And it matches the drawings, too. As this is an experimental approach, I am taking it cautiously. I will finish the 1st planking of the keel before deciding if it's time to glue the laminate on. If I did glue it on, I would then have to cut each of the 2nd planks so they would butt up seamlessly to the keel laminate. After the 2nd planking is done, I could trim the laminate to its final shape. My only apprehension is the thickness of the keel beam and how that might correspond, scale-wise, to what it would actually look like had the full-sized yacht been built that way.

For anyone not following my build log, here is a summary of today's steam bending: I steamed 3/32" thick planks of sapele. First time steaming sapele. Wow! This stuff is resilient to steam bending! First round, I steamed the planks until I thought it was time. Then I banded them to the keel A couple of hours later, I removed the banding. Barely a whimper. The planks pretty much sprung right back. So I cooked the Davey Jones out of them, something like 1.5 hours, and they finally looked ready to comply. They are now banded tightly to the hull. Tomorrow, we'll see...

After a couple of hours, I removed the banding. Bupkis. Almost no shape was retained. Round two... I steamed the planks again, this time for about 45 minutes. When I pulled them out and tried to form them, they dried so quickly I had to put them back in the steam box. Another session (I was able to caulk nail holes in window trim, caulk the gaps, hang 10' of double curtain rod and the curtains, and do a few other things around the house while the wood was steaming) and it was maybe another hour before I checked on them again. This time they were damp and pliable. So I set them up on the hull again and banded them tightly. Still no glue, though. I'll check on them tomorrow. They were pretty damp when I formed them.

I used a spokeshave on the keel edge and took off about 3/16" of the original keel, from bow to forward of the centerboard. While I was doing that, I was steaming (3) 3/32" sapele planks. I thought they were mahogany but the sniff test told me they were sapele. I had them in the steam box for over 20 minutes. That should have been plenty of time to get them flexible. I unplugged the steamer and immediately began to band the planks to the hull. But even after all that time in the steam box, the planks weren't very pliable. I guess sapele requires a lot more time than other woods I've used. Maybe the cellulose and lignin in sapele doesn't soften as easily as in other woods. Anyway, I'll let them dry in place and see if they hold the shape. I didn't apply any glue so I can steam them again if they spring back too much, or mill some real mahogany and try that.

Gunther, this model is double planked. The 2nd planking is VERY thin so I'm making sure the 1st planking is as perfect as I can get it. I've used the sawdust/CA method when filling in the edges after fretting a guitar neck. I cut the tangs of the fret wire short and used cocobolo sawdust to fill in the edges. A few drops of CA and some sanding and polishing... It's a neat little trick.

Port and starboard planks are now at about the same point of 1st planking. Now I have to decide how I'm going to do the keel... While clamping where pins hit plywood, I crushed the balsa. I didn't catch it until after I had planked over the depression. I filled the area in with sawdust and placed a few drops of CA glue over the pile. It's curing as I write this. I've been sanding the planking as I go along. So far, I'm pretty pleased with how it's going...

Allan, my guess would be basswood. It is from an Amati kit. Amati only refers to as "hardwood" planking. Roger, the steamer I am using is made by Earlex. Rockler sells the same thing. They also have free plans for building a steam box. Yesterday, I laid 5 rows that were steamed first. They laid down much better than the dried planks and there was almost no clinker effect. On the other side, I had dipped the ends of the planks, where the twist was most pronounced, into boiling water for a few minutes. This worked very well for the end but did nothing for the rest of the row. If I had a way to keep the planks in place other than pinning from the underside, steam bending would be the way to go. But I'm almost done with the 1st planking so I'll look into an alternative method on the next build. The 2nd planking on this model is so thin, steam bending would be overkill.

Since I already had the steamer, all I had to do was make a box. So I took some scrap wood and roughed one together. The box is about 30" long, overall, enough to take the longest pieces of the model I'm working on. I placed rod inside, made from a painted wire hanger, spaced 5" apart. This keeps the wood raised so the steam can get to all sides. I placed a plank in the box and left it for a little over 10 minutes. Rule is 1 hour of steaming per inch of thickness. I should also have a meat thermometer in there so I know the box reached 2000 but these are such small planks, I didn't think it was necessary. I pulled the first plank out and pinned it to the hull. After about 20 minutes, I removed the pins to check the shape. It kept the shape pretty well. Turned 1800 you can see the shape it held a little better I really only needed the steam bending for the stern end, near the keel, but I wanted to see how it worked for the entire length. I was pretty pleased. I have a 23 gauge pin nailer that shoots headless pins as short as 3/8", If I was nailing to the frames, I could probably do an entire side in a day, maybe both sides. The plank was very pliable but still had enough rigidity that it wouldn't sag between frames. The only downside is the steamer I have is designed for much thicker wood. So it was a bit of an overkill for the amount of steam it produced.

The planks are 25.5". The hull is about 45" LOA. The last row I laid I took a bit more time laying the glue bead but I really need a smaller spout. I was just reminded I have bottles with smaller spouts I can use instead of the quart Titebond bottle. Still haven't set up the shop completely after the move so I tend to forget what I have.

I may need to apply glue to a few hundred more feet of planking before I can lay down that perfect bead every time. Sometimes I get it perfect, other times it's a bit too heavy. I am of the school that believes glue needs to applied to 100% of the wood surface, so I never lay it down on the light side. That may be the correct attitude for furniture and instrument making, but not quite necessary for planking. I'm also using a quart bottle with a spout designed for much larger projects. I suppose I could find a smaller bottle for glue application. The other side of the coin is if glue is laid down too sparingly, before I even get to the end of the plank, it has dried. The plank wood soaks up the PVA glue like a sponge. I had to switch from Titebond I to Titebond II so I could get a slower drying time. Maybe Titebond III is in order.

When I was laying the last plank row of the day, I paid attention to what I was doing to cause the thumb split. It happens while cleaning up the glue squeeze out. For those of you who haven't seen my build log, I filled in between the frames with balsa. So I am laying glue on the entire length and having to clean the squeeze out on the entire length. I will have to learn a better method. And if I forget, my thumb will remind me.

Yes. The problem may be even if the planks look tight, I'm still pushing them even tighter. It's a perfectionist problem, I guess.

I've upped the "production" of laying planks on my first model. A whole 7 rows/day, two days in a row. My fingertips have developed calluses and there's split skin on my thumb. When I'm laying planks, all I am concentrating on is getting the row I'm laying to butt up tight to the previously laid row, and to clean up the glue squeeze out. I don't think of or see anything else. The calluses aren't unexpected but the split on my thumb is. Is this typical or am I taking this plank laying too seriously?

Thanks, Les. I would only be running along the edge of the keel. I've made up some thin strips of mahogany that conform well to the keel edge. But I will need numerous clamping bands to hold it in place while it dries. A few years ago I was remodeling our kitchen. I wanted to do something different over the cooktop so I made up a jig to bend up some wood. I took a piece of jatoba, resawed it to bendable thickness, planed it and then used the jig to form it. This time, I will use the model itself for the jig. I will just need a lot of clamps!

I've been moving a bit faster on the flip side. But I find my fingers are getting raw. There is even a split in my thumb. But the port side is coming along... I took another page out of Keith's book... with a little modification... The Bessey clamps were good for clamping onto the frame members and for creating any kind of angle you'd need but they didn't stay put. The suction quickly failed. I'd still like something more universal but with a model this big, I don't think anything other than several pivot points would work.

I've moved to the flip side. First thing I did was to make sure the hull was better faired. Certain areas looked suspect so I filled them and came back later to fair them. It reminded me of a Bondo job... Today I laid four rows of planks. I am now using working on the model as an integral part of day: Work on the house Take a break working on the model, and, when I feel rested, Go back to the house stuff. It's very therapeutic. These beautiful lines keep me motivated

I was playing with the mahogany planks and it was hard to believe they would lay over that curvature without splitting but I not about to doubt you. You're the master. DeeDee, thanks for those pictures! I love what you did. I've used CA glue with inlays and fill on guitar necks I've made but so far haven't used any on the model build. I'll have to keep that in mind as I plod along.

Thanks, Bob. I know I have a lot to learn but I want to make sure I get this right. The instructions alone can't answer my questions so I am always appreciative of any help I can get here.

Thanks for posting those pictures, Keith. It looks like you took full width planks and shaped them around the keel. I would think they would break along the grain. That's why I was looking into making up a laminated keel. After I complete the planking on the other side, to the same point I am on the first side, I'll revisit the idea. I realize I'm jumping all over but sometimes I only have 5 or 10 minutes to play before the house starts calling me. We're still living in a construction zone.

That was just three strips of unglued mahogany. Before I could actually form it into a laminate, I'd have to shave down the plywood keel. I think what I'll do is plank the other side as far as the first side was done and then take another look at adding the lambeam keel.