gjdale

Deck 2nd planking. Most of it is uses 1mm thick mahogany sheets. Rest will be done using 1x1mm lime and 1x3mm mahogany strips.
 
The parts:

 
Before:

 
After dry-fit:

 
 

Nice work Bug. Tedious, but the end result is worth the effort!

The Keel
 
The first element I tackled is the keel which is made up of 8 laser cut pieces. Before removing them from the billets I sanded off the char that was left on the backside of the billet from the laser. There really wasn't a lot but it's easier to remove it from the faces before you remove it from the billet. Once that was done I liberated the pieces from the billets.
 
The keel has rabbets, which are nothing more than bevels, on the top side of the keel. The keel itself is 5/32" thick and the rabbets need to be 1/32" x 1/32". I cut a piece of 1/32" scrap and used it to trace a line on the sides and top of the keel which I then pared down using a #11 scalpel blade. On the curved stem I did the same thing using a scrap piece that had the correct curve traced from the stem. On the sides I used a compass with a very sharp pencil.
 

 
This photo shows the side of the keel with the rabbet line drawn. The top of the keel would look the same. This step is done after the various keel sections are glued together.
 

This is a shot of the curved 1/32" piece I used to trace the rabbet line on the stem. Just slide the piece into position and trace your line. Flip the stem over and trace the line on the other side.
 
 
 
 

Thanks for all the birthday wishes everyone! I was wondering, do ships grow on trees? They seem to keep falling into my hands . I just received an old T-2 tanker Kit by Bluejacket Shipcrafters! The kit is worth $400! Maybe ships don't grow on trees, but it might be possible that ships attract more ships .





Now it is time to copper my hull! Until next time!

Great work Grant. Admittedly I'd have liked to see the before. But I know with myself, when I botch something then have to repair it, the last thing on my mind is taking photos...
 
-Bug

Hamilton,
 
There is a tutorial on silver soldering in the NRG database:
 
http://modelshipworldforum.com/resources/materials_and_tools/SilverSolderTutorial.pdf
 
Hope this helps.

I like the faux leather Aydin - can't wait to see it on the seats.

I like the faux leather Aydin - can't wait to see it on the seats.

Planking
 
Planking the hull turned out to be a little trickier than anticipated, and included a “near disaster”. Planking the first side, I followed as closely as I could the lining out marks, having first tapered the planks to fit against these. The problem was in the lateral bending of the planks. Ideally, they should have been spiled. However, the planks provided are not sufficiently wide enough to spile (and I didn’t have any sheet stock that I could substitute). The kit planks are also wide enough that edge bending is very difficult, if not impossible. The result was a less than even surface. On the second side, I decided to adjust the lining out marks to allow the first (chine) plank to fall naturally – which took it exactly one strake higher on the lining out marks at the bow. This meant that I had to insert a wedge shaped piece below this plank, but the remaining planks on that side went on somewhat more easily than the first side. The result also meant that I managed to maintain alignment of planks on either side at the bow.
 
The near disaster came when I went to give the hull an initial sanding to even out the surface. Following the lead of others who have gone before me, I broke out the powered mouse sander and set to. I must have been a little too aggressive in one place because I suddenly noticed that I had sanded through the entire thickness of the planking and could see the white plastic showing through. Oops…..  I also discovered that on the other side, one plank had developed a hole – not sure how, but the timber is very dry and brittle. Hmmmm, two repairs to make!
 
My first thought on repairing these was to use epoxy putty, but one of them was quite a large area and was going to look dreadful. After sleeping on it for a couple of nights, I decided that I would remove a section of the planking and patch it with new planks. Another few days to consider exactly how to achieve this, and I finally gave it a crack yesterday. I used a mini circular saw blade held in the Proxxon rotary tool and gently made some “stop” cuts at the extremities of the section I wanted to remove. I was then able to insert the blade of a No.11 Exacto knife and prise the damaged planking free. A quick clean up with the drum sander in the Proxxon to remove the residual glue and it was ready for the new timber. I took my time in shaping in the “patch” parts, and even managed to spile some thinner sections to get a very close fit. I also used some epoxy putty (Milliput) to blend the area at the bow where the timber transitions to the plastic sheeting of the hull bottom. After a careful HAND sanding, I was quite pleased with the results. Here are a couple of views of the completed repair job (forgot to take pictures of the “before”).
 

 

 
 
And here is a close up of the bow, showing the alignment of the planking. The stem is not perfect, but as it will be covererd later by the cutwater, I’m happy with it as is.
 

 
Then, at last, it was time to start on the deck planking. The process starts with the attachment of the edge or margin boards. These are die cut parts, slightly oversized, and are relatively easy to fit. Once in place, the outer edges are sanded back flush with the sides, and a strip of white “caulking” (.04” x .08” styrene) is applied to the inboard edge. The next step is to place the centre plank on the forward deck. This requires that a length of caulking be sandwiched between two planks (3/8” wide mahogany), then shaped to fit the bow and fixed in place down the centreline. Compared to the hull side planking, this was dead easy!
 

 

 
The remainder of the deck planking will follow a similar pattern, with a plank being glued to a strip of “caulking” before being shaped and affixed as a pair.  I’ll be back when the deck planking is complete.

Planking
 
Planking the hull turned out to be a little trickier than anticipated, and included a “near disaster”. Planking the first side, I followed as closely as I could the lining out marks, having first tapered the planks to fit against these. The problem was in the lateral bending of the planks. Ideally, they should have been spiled. However, the planks provided are not sufficiently wide enough to spile (and I didn’t have any sheet stock that I could substitute). The kit planks are also wide enough that edge bending is very difficult, if not impossible. The result was a less than even surface. On the second side, I decided to adjust the lining out marks to allow the first (chine) plank to fall naturally – which took it exactly one strake higher on the lining out marks at the bow. This meant that I had to insert a wedge shaped piece below this plank, but the remaining planks on that side went on somewhat more easily than the first side. The result also meant that I managed to maintain alignment of planks on either side at the bow.
 
The near disaster came when I went to give the hull an initial sanding to even out the surface. Following the lead of others who have gone before me, I broke out the powered mouse sander and set to. I must have been a little too aggressive in one place because I suddenly noticed that I had sanded through the entire thickness of the planking and could see the white plastic showing through. Oops…..  I also discovered that on the other side, one plank had developed a hole – not sure how, but the timber is very dry and brittle. Hmmmm, two repairs to make!
 
My first thought on repairing these was to use epoxy putty, but one of them was quite a large area and was going to look dreadful. After sleeping on it for a couple of nights, I decided that I would remove a section of the planking and patch it with new planks. Another few days to consider exactly how to achieve this, and I finally gave it a crack yesterday. I used a mini circular saw blade held in the Proxxon rotary tool and gently made some “stop” cuts at the extremities of the section I wanted to remove. I was then able to insert the blade of a No.11 Exacto knife and prise the damaged planking free. A quick clean up with the drum sander in the Proxxon to remove the residual glue and it was ready for the new timber. I took my time in shaping in the “patch” parts, and even managed to spile some thinner sections to get a very close fit. I also used some epoxy putty (Milliput) to blend the area at the bow where the timber transitions to the plastic sheeting of the hull bottom. After a careful HAND sanding, I was quite pleased with the results. Here are a couple of views of the completed repair job (forgot to take pictures of the “before”).
 

 

 
 
And here is a close up of the bow, showing the alignment of the planking. The stem is not perfect, but as it will be covererd later by the cutwater, I’m happy with it as is.
 

 
Then, at last, it was time to start on the deck planking. The process starts with the attachment of the edge or margin boards. These are die cut parts, slightly oversized, and are relatively easy to fit. Once in place, the outer edges are sanded back flush with the sides, and a strip of white “caulking” (.04” x .08” styrene) is applied to the inboard edge. The next step is to place the centre plank on the forward deck. This requires that a length of caulking be sandwiched between two planks (3/8” wide mahogany), then shaped to fit the bow and fixed in place down the centreline. Compared to the hull side planking, this was dead easy!
 

 

 
The remainder of the deck planking will follow a similar pattern, with a plank being glued to a strip of “caulking” before being shaped and affixed as a pair.  I’ll be back when the deck planking is complete.

Planking
 
Planking the hull turned out to be a little trickier than anticipated, and included a “near disaster”. Planking the first side, I followed as closely as I could the lining out marks, having first tapered the planks to fit against these. The problem was in the lateral bending of the planks. Ideally, they should have been spiled. However, the planks provided are not sufficiently wide enough to spile (and I didn’t have any sheet stock that I could substitute). The kit planks are also wide enough that edge bending is very difficult, if not impossible. The result was a less than even surface. On the second side, I decided to adjust the lining out marks to allow the first (chine) plank to fall naturally – which took it exactly one strake higher on the lining out marks at the bow. This meant that I had to insert a wedge shaped piece below this plank, but the remaining planks on that side went on somewhat more easily than the first side. The result also meant that I managed to maintain alignment of planks on either side at the bow.
 
The near disaster came when I went to give the hull an initial sanding to even out the surface. Following the lead of others who have gone before me, I broke out the powered mouse sander and set to. I must have been a little too aggressive in one place because I suddenly noticed that I had sanded through the entire thickness of the planking and could see the white plastic showing through. Oops…..  I also discovered that on the other side, one plank had developed a hole – not sure how, but the timber is very dry and brittle. Hmmmm, two repairs to make!
 
My first thought on repairing these was to use epoxy putty, but one of them was quite a large area and was going to look dreadful. After sleeping on it for a couple of nights, I decided that I would remove a section of the planking and patch it with new planks. Another few days to consider exactly how to achieve this, and I finally gave it a crack yesterday. I used a mini circular saw blade held in the Proxxon rotary tool and gently made some “stop” cuts at the extremities of the section I wanted to remove. I was then able to insert the blade of a No.11 Exacto knife and prise the damaged planking free. A quick clean up with the drum sander in the Proxxon to remove the residual glue and it was ready for the new timber. I took my time in shaping in the “patch” parts, and even managed to spile some thinner sections to get a very close fit. I also used some epoxy putty (Milliput) to blend the area at the bow where the timber transitions to the plastic sheeting of the hull bottom. After a careful HAND sanding, I was quite pleased with the results. Here are a couple of views of the completed repair job (forgot to take pictures of the “before”).
 

 

 
 
And here is a close up of the bow, showing the alignment of the planking. The stem is not perfect, but as it will be covererd later by the cutwater, I’m happy with it as is.
 

 
Then, at last, it was time to start on the deck planking. The process starts with the attachment of the edge or margin boards. These are die cut parts, slightly oversized, and are relatively easy to fit. Once in place, the outer edges are sanded back flush with the sides, and a strip of white “caulking” (.04” x .08” styrene) is applied to the inboard edge. The next step is to place the centre plank on the forward deck. This requires that a length of caulking be sandwiched between two planks (3/8” wide mahogany), then shaped to fit the bow and fixed in place down the centreline. Compared to the hull side planking, this was dead easy!
 

 

 
The remainder of the deck planking will follow a similar pattern, with a plank being glued to a strip of “caulking” before being shaped and affixed as a pair.  I’ll be back when the deck planking is complete.

Once again, many thanks for all the kind words and to those who hit the 'like' button.  Progress has been slow lately due to other commitments, so only a mini-update this week. 
 
Installing the sub-decking was straight forward:
 

 
 Took the opportunity to fill some of the dings in the hull using a two-part Epoxy putty (Milliput Terracotta) and she is finally ready for planking.
 

 
The instructions would have you just lay complete planks the length of the hull, from the chine up to the sheer. I tried that on one side and wasn’t happy, so ripped it all off again. Then I lined-off the hull using tick-strips in an attempt to do better by tapering planks fore and aft and having the same number of strakes throughout. Here is the lined-off hull:
 

 
So far, the tapering seems to be working quite well. I've been using a miniature plane to taper the planks and have to say, it beats the pants off sanding! Much easier and far less mess. The supplied planks are not wide enough to spile, so I will likely use some shorter plank lengths in addition to tapering, to cope with the bow curvature. I got as far as laying three strakes the second time around before I ran out of CA kicker – a real must for this process. So, it’s back on hold until I can pick up some more supplies.
 
More pics once substantial progress has been made with the planking.
 
 

So, the last couple weekends have been a tough part of the build for me.   Going from the support beams to the middle rail was a tough bit.  Although the guidance warns against permanently putting the mid rail into position until everything is fitted - that didn't work for me. I had to glue the mid rail in before I could measure anything out.
 

 
   I started with the cathead knee, carving out a spot for it along the side of the ship and making an adjustment where the bottom meets hull.  
 

 
    However, I ultimately changed my methodology, and use the middle portion that links to the mid rail to the cathead knee as my focal point. I shaped and shaped and shaped some more to fit it along the hull, then notched out a spot against the hull where it would hopefully meet the cathead knee with as little deviation as possible.
 

 
   Here's a good comparison of how the parts started, and the degree to which they needed to be shaped. 
 

 
  Once everything was aligned, it became a sanding fest with a very small amount at a time until everything could get smoothed out.  I also added a bit of glue to the cracks of the moulding so that as I sanded, the sawdust would get caught in the cracks and fill in the gaps as much as possible. 
 

 
It was also important to sanded the moulding along the shape of the hull so the final product is the same width consistently throughout the bow.  In the end, it was a bit of funky tweaking, and each of the pieces has a very slightly different shade to it based on the grains and the sanding. But overall, it smoothed out pretty well I think.
 

 
Finally, I added the pre-stain and the stain, then touched up the decorative trim. Although the instructions only show the decoration to the base of the middle rail, I thought it more prudent to continue it the length of the middle rail.
 

 
I still have to add the half beam at the base of the bow, but I am pretty pleased with the end result.  Now to spend the next couple of weeks doing the port side...  Ugh.
 
- Bug

I like the faux leather Aydin - can't wait to see it on the seats.

BUILD DAY 24.
 
Back from vacation and today I had some 2 hours to spend on my Riva. I finished the remaining 2nd plankings on the body.
 

 
Next I will continue with deck's 2nd planking.
 
Here is also a teaser for  your eyes, to be used on my seats. As I told earlier the seats which come with the new version is plastic (as opposed to the earlier editions which were apparently fabric covered). I have been looking around how to make them look better. As a try I bought a few (A4 size) faux leather sheets and asked a local tailor to make the stitches for me (by local I mean a tailor in my parents' neighbourhood in Turkey). He did an excellent job with making fake stitches. The stitches are 6mm apart from each other and about 1mm in length.
 
I have no exact plan yet on how to implement them to the seats. I still have a lot of tasks to do before it comes to that.  Here is how it looks:
 

 
2 hours today.
 
85 hours into build in total.

Planking
 
Planking the hull turned out to be a little trickier than anticipated, and included a “near disaster”. Planking the first side, I followed as closely as I could the lining out marks, having first tapered the planks to fit against these. The problem was in the lateral bending of the planks. Ideally, they should have been spiled. However, the planks provided are not sufficiently wide enough to spile (and I didn’t have any sheet stock that I could substitute). The kit planks are also wide enough that edge bending is very difficult, if not impossible. The result was a less than even surface. On the second side, I decided to adjust the lining out marks to allow the first (chine) plank to fall naturally – which took it exactly one strake higher on the lining out marks at the bow. This meant that I had to insert a wedge shaped piece below this plank, but the remaining planks on that side went on somewhat more easily than the first side. The result also meant that I managed to maintain alignment of planks on either side at the bow.
 
The near disaster came when I went to give the hull an initial sanding to even out the surface. Following the lead of others who have gone before me, I broke out the powered mouse sander and set to. I must have been a little too aggressive in one place because I suddenly noticed that I had sanded through the entire thickness of the planking and could see the white plastic showing through. Oops…..  I also discovered that on the other side, one plank had developed a hole – not sure how, but the timber is very dry and brittle. Hmmmm, two repairs to make!
 
My first thought on repairing these was to use epoxy putty, but one of them was quite a large area and was going to look dreadful. After sleeping on it for a couple of nights, I decided that I would remove a section of the planking and patch it with new planks. Another few days to consider exactly how to achieve this, and I finally gave it a crack yesterday. I used a mini circular saw blade held in the Proxxon rotary tool and gently made some “stop” cuts at the extremities of the section I wanted to remove. I was then able to insert the blade of a No.11 Exacto knife and prise the damaged planking free. A quick clean up with the drum sander in the Proxxon to remove the residual glue and it was ready for the new timber. I took my time in shaping in the “patch” parts, and even managed to spile some thinner sections to get a very close fit. I also used some epoxy putty (Milliput) to blend the area at the bow where the timber transitions to the plastic sheeting of the hull bottom. After a careful HAND sanding, I was quite pleased with the results. Here are a couple of views of the completed repair job (forgot to take pictures of the “before”).
 

 

 
 
And here is a close up of the bow, showing the alignment of the planking. The stem is not perfect, but as it will be covererd later by the cutwater, I’m happy with it as is.
 

 
Then, at last, it was time to start on the deck planking. The process starts with the attachment of the edge or margin boards. These are die cut parts, slightly oversized, and are relatively easy to fit. Once in place, the outer edges are sanded back flush with the sides, and a strip of white “caulking” (.04” x .08” styrene) is applied to the inboard edge. The next step is to place the centre plank on the forward deck. This requires that a length of caulking be sandwiched between two planks (3/8” wide mahogany), then shaped to fit the bow and fixed in place down the centreline. Compared to the hull side planking, this was dead easy!
 

 

 
The remainder of the deck planking will follow a similar pattern, with a plank being glued to a strip of “caulking” before being shaped and affixed as a pair.  I’ll be back when the deck planking is complete.

Planking
 
Planking the hull turned out to be a little trickier than anticipated, and included a “near disaster”. Planking the first side, I followed as closely as I could the lining out marks, having first tapered the planks to fit against these. The problem was in the lateral bending of the planks. Ideally, they should have been spiled. However, the planks provided are not sufficiently wide enough to spile (and I didn’t have any sheet stock that I could substitute). The kit planks are also wide enough that edge bending is very difficult, if not impossible. The result was a less than even surface. On the second side, I decided to adjust the lining out marks to allow the first (chine) plank to fall naturally – which took it exactly one strake higher on the lining out marks at the bow. This meant that I had to insert a wedge shaped piece below this plank, but the remaining planks on that side went on somewhat more easily than the first side. The result also meant that I managed to maintain alignment of planks on either side at the bow.
 
The near disaster came when I went to give the hull an initial sanding to even out the surface. Following the lead of others who have gone before me, I broke out the powered mouse sander and set to. I must have been a little too aggressive in one place because I suddenly noticed that I had sanded through the entire thickness of the planking and could see the white plastic showing through. Oops…..  I also discovered that on the other side, one plank had developed a hole – not sure how, but the timber is very dry and brittle. Hmmmm, two repairs to make!
 
My first thought on repairing these was to use epoxy putty, but one of them was quite a large area and was going to look dreadful. After sleeping on it for a couple of nights, I decided that I would remove a section of the planking and patch it with new planks. Another few days to consider exactly how to achieve this, and I finally gave it a crack yesterday. I used a mini circular saw blade held in the Proxxon rotary tool and gently made some “stop” cuts at the extremities of the section I wanted to remove. I was then able to insert the blade of a No.11 Exacto knife and prise the damaged planking free. A quick clean up with the drum sander in the Proxxon to remove the residual glue and it was ready for the new timber. I took my time in shaping in the “patch” parts, and even managed to spile some thinner sections to get a very close fit. I also used some epoxy putty (Milliput) to blend the area at the bow where the timber transitions to the plastic sheeting of the hull bottom. After a careful HAND sanding, I was quite pleased with the results. Here are a couple of views of the completed repair job (forgot to take pictures of the “before”).
 

 

 
 
And here is a close up of the bow, showing the alignment of the planking. The stem is not perfect, but as it will be covererd later by the cutwater, I’m happy with it as is.
 

 
Then, at last, it was time to start on the deck planking. The process starts with the attachment of the edge or margin boards. These are die cut parts, slightly oversized, and are relatively easy to fit. Once in place, the outer edges are sanded back flush with the sides, and a strip of white “caulking” (.04” x .08” styrene) is applied to the inboard edge. The next step is to place the centre plank on the forward deck. This requires that a length of caulking be sandwiched between two planks (3/8” wide mahogany), then shaped to fit the bow and fixed in place down the centreline. Compared to the hull side planking, this was dead easy!
 

 

 
The remainder of the deck planking will follow a similar pattern, with a plank being glued to a strip of “caulking” before being shaped and affixed as a pair.  I’ll be back when the deck planking is complete.

Planking
 
Planking the hull turned out to be a little trickier than anticipated, and included a “near disaster”. Planking the first side, I followed as closely as I could the lining out marks, having first tapered the planks to fit against these. The problem was in the lateral bending of the planks. Ideally, they should have been spiled. However, the planks provided are not sufficiently wide enough to spile (and I didn’t have any sheet stock that I could substitute). The kit planks are also wide enough that edge bending is very difficult, if not impossible. The result was a less than even surface. On the second side, I decided to adjust the lining out marks to allow the first (chine) plank to fall naturally – which took it exactly one strake higher on the lining out marks at the bow. This meant that I had to insert a wedge shaped piece below this plank, but the remaining planks on that side went on somewhat more easily than the first side. The result also meant that I managed to maintain alignment of planks on either side at the bow.
 
The near disaster came when I went to give the hull an initial sanding to even out the surface. Following the lead of others who have gone before me, I broke out the powered mouse sander and set to. I must have been a little too aggressive in one place because I suddenly noticed that I had sanded through the entire thickness of the planking and could see the white plastic showing through. Oops…..  I also discovered that on the other side, one plank had developed a hole – not sure how, but the timber is very dry and brittle. Hmmmm, two repairs to make!
 
My first thought on repairing these was to use epoxy putty, but one of them was quite a large area and was going to look dreadful. After sleeping on it for a couple of nights, I decided that I would remove a section of the planking and patch it with new planks. Another few days to consider exactly how to achieve this, and I finally gave it a crack yesterday. I used a mini circular saw blade held in the Proxxon rotary tool and gently made some “stop” cuts at the extremities of the section I wanted to remove. I was then able to insert the blade of a No.11 Exacto knife and prise the damaged planking free. A quick clean up with the drum sander in the Proxxon to remove the residual glue and it was ready for the new timber. I took my time in shaping in the “patch” parts, and even managed to spile some thinner sections to get a very close fit. I also used some epoxy putty (Milliput) to blend the area at the bow where the timber transitions to the plastic sheeting of the hull bottom. After a careful HAND sanding, I was quite pleased with the results. Here are a couple of views of the completed repair job (forgot to take pictures of the “before”).
 

 

 
 
And here is a close up of the bow, showing the alignment of the planking. The stem is not perfect, but as it will be covererd later by the cutwater, I’m happy with it as is.
 

 
Then, at last, it was time to start on the deck planking. The process starts with the attachment of the edge or margin boards. These are die cut parts, slightly oversized, and are relatively easy to fit. Once in place, the outer edges are sanded back flush with the sides, and a strip of white “caulking” (.04” x .08” styrene) is applied to the inboard edge. The next step is to place the centre plank on the forward deck. This requires that a length of caulking be sandwiched between two planks (3/8” wide mahogany), then shaped to fit the bow and fixed in place down the centreline. Compared to the hull side planking, this was dead easy!
 

 

 
The remainder of the deck planking will follow a similar pattern, with a plank being glued to a strip of “caulking” before being shaped and affixed as a pair.  I’ll be back when the deck planking is complete.

Planking
 
Planking the hull turned out to be a little trickier than anticipated, and included a “near disaster”. Planking the first side, I followed as closely as I could the lining out marks, having first tapered the planks to fit against these. The problem was in the lateral bending of the planks. Ideally, they should have been spiled. However, the planks provided are not sufficiently wide enough to spile (and I didn’t have any sheet stock that I could substitute). The kit planks are also wide enough that edge bending is very difficult, if not impossible. The result was a less than even surface. On the second side, I decided to adjust the lining out marks to allow the first (chine) plank to fall naturally – which took it exactly one strake higher on the lining out marks at the bow. This meant that I had to insert a wedge shaped piece below this plank, but the remaining planks on that side went on somewhat more easily than the first side. The result also meant that I managed to maintain alignment of planks on either side at the bow.
 
The near disaster came when I went to give the hull an initial sanding to even out the surface. Following the lead of others who have gone before me, I broke out the powered mouse sander and set to. I must have been a little too aggressive in one place because I suddenly noticed that I had sanded through the entire thickness of the planking and could see the white plastic showing through. Oops…..  I also discovered that on the other side, one plank had developed a hole – not sure how, but the timber is very dry and brittle. Hmmmm, two repairs to make!
 
My first thought on repairing these was to use epoxy putty, but one of them was quite a large area and was going to look dreadful. After sleeping on it for a couple of nights, I decided that I would remove a section of the planking and patch it with new planks. Another few days to consider exactly how to achieve this, and I finally gave it a crack yesterday. I used a mini circular saw blade held in the Proxxon rotary tool and gently made some “stop” cuts at the extremities of the section I wanted to remove. I was then able to insert the blade of a No.11 Exacto knife and prise the damaged planking free. A quick clean up with the drum sander in the Proxxon to remove the residual glue and it was ready for the new timber. I took my time in shaping in the “patch” parts, and even managed to spile some thinner sections to get a very close fit. I also used some epoxy putty (Milliput) to blend the area at the bow where the timber transitions to the plastic sheeting of the hull bottom. After a careful HAND sanding, I was quite pleased with the results. Here are a couple of views of the completed repair job (forgot to take pictures of the “before”).
 

 

 
 
And here is a close up of the bow, showing the alignment of the planking. The stem is not perfect, but as it will be covererd later by the cutwater, I’m happy with it as is.
 

 
Then, at last, it was time to start on the deck planking. The process starts with the attachment of the edge or margin boards. These are die cut parts, slightly oversized, and are relatively easy to fit. Once in place, the outer edges are sanded back flush with the sides, and a strip of white “caulking” (.04” x .08” styrene) is applied to the inboard edge. The next step is to place the centre plank on the forward deck. This requires that a length of caulking be sandwiched between two planks (3/8” wide mahogany), then shaped to fit the bow and fixed in place down the centreline. Compared to the hull side planking, this was dead easy!
 

 

 
The remainder of the deck planking will follow a similar pattern, with a plank being glued to a strip of “caulking” before being shaped and affixed as a pair.  I’ll be back when the deck planking is complete.

Planking
 
Planking the hull turned out to be a little trickier than anticipated, and included a “near disaster”. Planking the first side, I followed as closely as I could the lining out marks, having first tapered the planks to fit against these. The problem was in the lateral bending of the planks. Ideally, they should have been spiled. However, the planks provided are not sufficiently wide enough to spile (and I didn’t have any sheet stock that I could substitute). The kit planks are also wide enough that edge bending is very difficult, if not impossible. The result was a less than even surface. On the second side, I decided to adjust the lining out marks to allow the first (chine) plank to fall naturally – which took it exactly one strake higher on the lining out marks at the bow. This meant that I had to insert a wedge shaped piece below this plank, but the remaining planks on that side went on somewhat more easily than the first side. The result also meant that I managed to maintain alignment of planks on either side at the bow.
 
The near disaster came when I went to give the hull an initial sanding to even out the surface. Following the lead of others who have gone before me, I broke out the powered mouse sander and set to. I must have been a little too aggressive in one place because I suddenly noticed that I had sanded through the entire thickness of the planking and could see the white plastic showing through. Oops…..  I also discovered that on the other side, one plank had developed a hole – not sure how, but the timber is very dry and brittle. Hmmmm, two repairs to make!
 
My first thought on repairing these was to use epoxy putty, but one of them was quite a large area and was going to look dreadful. After sleeping on it for a couple of nights, I decided that I would remove a section of the planking and patch it with new planks. Another few days to consider exactly how to achieve this, and I finally gave it a crack yesterday. I used a mini circular saw blade held in the Proxxon rotary tool and gently made some “stop” cuts at the extremities of the section I wanted to remove. I was then able to insert the blade of a No.11 Exacto knife and prise the damaged planking free. A quick clean up with the drum sander in the Proxxon to remove the residual glue and it was ready for the new timber. I took my time in shaping in the “patch” parts, and even managed to spile some thinner sections to get a very close fit. I also used some epoxy putty (Milliput) to blend the area at the bow where the timber transitions to the plastic sheeting of the hull bottom. After a careful HAND sanding, I was quite pleased with the results. Here are a couple of views of the completed repair job (forgot to take pictures of the “before”).
 

 

 
 
And here is a close up of the bow, showing the alignment of the planking. The stem is not perfect, but as it will be covererd later by the cutwater, I’m happy with it as is.
 

 
Then, at last, it was time to start on the deck planking. The process starts with the attachment of the edge or margin boards. These are die cut parts, slightly oversized, and are relatively easy to fit. Once in place, the outer edges are sanded back flush with the sides, and a strip of white “caulking” (.04” x .08” styrene) is applied to the inboard edge. The next step is to place the centre plank on the forward deck. This requires that a length of caulking be sandwiched between two planks (3/8” wide mahogany), then shaped to fit the bow and fixed in place down the centreline. Compared to the hull side planking, this was dead easy!
 

 

 
The remainder of the deck planking will follow a similar pattern, with a plank being glued to a strip of “caulking” before being shaped and affixed as a pair.  I’ll be back when the deck planking is complete.

Planking
 
Planking the hull turned out to be a little trickier than anticipated, and included a “near disaster”. Planking the first side, I followed as closely as I could the lining out marks, having first tapered the planks to fit against these. The problem was in the lateral bending of the planks. Ideally, they should have been spiled. However, the planks provided are not sufficiently wide enough to spile (and I didn’t have any sheet stock that I could substitute). The kit planks are also wide enough that edge bending is very difficult, if not impossible. The result was a less than even surface. On the second side, I decided to adjust the lining out marks to allow the first (chine) plank to fall naturally – which took it exactly one strake higher on the lining out marks at the bow. This meant that I had to insert a wedge shaped piece below this plank, but the remaining planks on that side went on somewhat more easily than the first side. The result also meant that I managed to maintain alignment of planks on either side at the bow.
 
The near disaster came when I went to give the hull an initial sanding to even out the surface. Following the lead of others who have gone before me, I broke out the powered mouse sander and set to. I must have been a little too aggressive in one place because I suddenly noticed that I had sanded through the entire thickness of the planking and could see the white plastic showing through. Oops…..  I also discovered that on the other side, one plank had developed a hole – not sure how, but the timber is very dry and brittle. Hmmmm, two repairs to make!
 
My first thought on repairing these was to use epoxy putty, but one of them was quite a large area and was going to look dreadful. After sleeping on it for a couple of nights, I decided that I would remove a section of the planking and patch it with new planks. Another few days to consider exactly how to achieve this, and I finally gave it a crack yesterday. I used a mini circular saw blade held in the Proxxon rotary tool and gently made some “stop” cuts at the extremities of the section I wanted to remove. I was then able to insert the blade of a No.11 Exacto knife and prise the damaged planking free. A quick clean up with the drum sander in the Proxxon to remove the residual glue and it was ready for the new timber. I took my time in shaping in the “patch” parts, and even managed to spile some thinner sections to get a very close fit. I also used some epoxy putty (Milliput) to blend the area at the bow where the timber transitions to the plastic sheeting of the hull bottom. After a careful HAND sanding, I was quite pleased with the results. Here are a couple of views of the completed repair job (forgot to take pictures of the “before”).
 

 

 
 
And here is a close up of the bow, showing the alignment of the planking. The stem is not perfect, but as it will be covererd later by the cutwater, I’m happy with it as is.
 

 
Then, at last, it was time to start on the deck planking. The process starts with the attachment of the edge or margin boards. These are die cut parts, slightly oversized, and are relatively easy to fit. Once in place, the outer edges are sanded back flush with the sides, and a strip of white “caulking” (.04” x .08” styrene) is applied to the inboard edge. The next step is to place the centre plank on the forward deck. This requires that a length of caulking be sandwiched between two planks (3/8” wide mahogany), then shaped to fit the bow and fixed in place down the centreline. Compared to the hull side planking, this was dead easy!
 

 

 
The remainder of the deck planking will follow a similar pattern, with a plank being glued to a strip of “caulking” before being shaped and affixed as a pair.  I’ll be back when the deck planking is complete.

Looks good from this distance Slog!

I've been busy laying out the internal structure on the boiler deck so I haven't had the opportunity to get many photos.  Just a few here to show progress.
 
The internal walls would have been planked and then the bulkheads added.  I'm putting the bulkheads in first and will then plank between them.  This will allow me to economize on wood by using shorter pieces.  It's amazing how much planking this model requires and I'm running out of the long lengths.

 

 
The arches over the paddle box are just about complete.  I still need to add the steps up over the arch and the exposed planking will be painted white on the starboard side.

 

 

 

 

 

For planking these boats I use my favourite Privet, as the planks are under 0.5MM in thickness and have to cope with a fair amount of bending.  I know that Privet isn’t available commercially; however any hard, very close grained timber that can take the bending will work.
 
I usually plank boats like this with the planks a little over scale width.  What we want is a good look for the boats as much as strict scale, so the over-width planks work well in this context.  The width of each plank is easily decided by measuring around the girth of the proposed boat and dividing by the number of planks you want.  In the case of these boats, I opted for a wider sheer strake so that I could fit a rubbing strake, as you’ll see later.
 
Each plank will need to be shaped to fit and also chamfered along its lower edge and at the ends, if the planks are to fill well. 
 
The garboard strake is obviously the first one to fit.  Being the first plank on, it won’t need chamfering along its length, but will need the chamfering at the ends.  The chamfering of the ends of the planks helps them to fit neatly into the rebate of the stem and stern post and also helps them to bend into the adjoining planks at the ends.  Be careful in cutting the planks to length as they need to be a really good fit in the bow and stern rebates.
 
The garboard strake can be made from a straight piece of timber, but it will need some pretty extreme bending at both ends, as can be seen in the photos.  I find that the garboard is usually the only strake that needs to be steamed or boiled to allow the extreme bend to be put into it.
 
Also, before fitting each plank, draw an overlap line along it.  You can’t see inside the boat to judge the amount of overlap on the planks, so a line drawn on the previous plank will help to position them correctly.
 
Once the plank is bent to shape, put a dab of glue on each frame plus along the edge of the plank and at the extreme ends and hold it carefully in place until the glue sets.  I find it helpful to glue only half of each plank on at a time.  It takes longer, but it helps to position the planks accurately.
 
Work back and forth on each side of the boat planking both sides evenly.  After the garboard strake, each strake will probably need to be cut to a curve to fit easily – you don’t want to force the planks into position.  On the boats for the Herzogin Cecilie, I found that the planks needs a curve cut into them of from one to three MM as the planking progressively went up the hull.  In the case of these boats, there was no ‘reverse curve’ in the planks at the turn of the bilge, which can usually be expected in clinker boats.
 
Remember to chamfer off the bottom edge of each plank to give a good tight fit against the preceding plank and, naturally, don’t rush – a clinker boat will only look right if the planking is even along the length of the boat on both sides.
 

 
Don’t worry too much about excess glue getting on the planks – they can easily be cleaned up later with a fine file, so long as you’re using a good, fine grained wood.  Here is one of the lifeboats with the planking completed, but showing it ‘warts and all’ before clean-up.
 

 
And this is what it looks like after just a quick, rough clean.
 

 
With the boat still on the plug (for rigidity), clean up the planks, keel, stem and stern posts and file them down to their correct thickness.  Also at this time fit any outboard features such as a rubbing strake.  On these boats, the rubbing strake (not present on the launch) helped to strengthen the bare hull, which is a little fragile.
 

 
Once the external work on the hull is complete, the boat can be removed from the plug.  Simply cut through the frames at the top of the planking; cut through the stem and stern posts just above where their final height above the gunwale will be and then down between the posts and the plug (to free the glue) and the boat should simply pop off its plug.
 
Here is a work boat with the planking completed and ready to come off the plug, with the second one just freed from the plug.  You can see the film still in the boat that’s just been freed.  This film will just pull out of the boat, except for any spots where glue has leaked through, in which case a clean-up with a sharp blade will soon fix it.
 

 
Once the boat is off the plug, the internal finish will vary greatly depending on the type of boat.  These boats were fitted with floor boards and thwarts together with side benches for the lifeboats.  Remember to paint as you go, as some internal parts will be impossible to reach once they’re fitted out.  In the case of these boats, I painted the inside of the hull before the floorboards were fitted so that they would be white beneath the flooring.
 

 
Another trick (not photographed) is to make the thwarts slightly thicker than scale and then chamfer any visible edges to make them appear to be scale thickness.  This will give a little more strength to the thwarts, which need to be solid enough to keep the sides of the boat in shape, as double ended boats tend to try and collapse towards the centreline.
 
Another point to make life a little easier is to fit way oversize pieces as the gunwale capping, not worrying about anything but having them cover the top of the gunwale and frames and fit together neatly.  Once thy have been glued down they can easily be trimmed back to their correct size – much easier than trying to cut and fit small curved pieces of the correct width in the first place.
 

 
Finally, with the other three boats having been delivered, here are the launch and the work boats complete and ready for delivery to the model of the barque.  I had held back the launch as we’re showing the barque as she was when she was just departing from Port Lincoln, South Australia, on her last voyage in 1936 and the launch will be depicted as having just been stowed on the forward skids and still with the little outboard motor attached.
 
By the way – a note on the grab lines around the lifeboats and work boats.  This scale is really too small to show the tiny ringbolts used on the full sized boats for becketing these lines, so what I do is to drill a series of small holes along the side of the boat under the rubbing strake and simply glue bights of the line into them.
 

 
John
 

Some time ago I advised that I needed to stop work on my ‘Francis Pritt’ in order to build a set of boats for a 1:96 scale model of the four masted barque ‘Herzogin Cecilie’ that a group of us were re-building for the museum.  I was asked at the time whether I could let people know how I built small clinker planked ship’s boats so here, at last, is a bit of a description on how I go about it.  Just to whet your appetite, here are all six boats in various stages of completion.  The piece of wood across the inside of the boat at bottom right is to stop it from trying to close up before the thwarts are fitted.
 

 
The first thing is to make a plug to the dimensions of the inside of the boat’s hull, but considerably taller than the boat.  The reason for this will become apparent shortly.  Any sort of wood will do for this, but a soft wood is easier for carving.
 

 
You can see from the photo that these plugs have been used before.  The rough line of the gunwale has been marked on the plug plus a guide for positioning the frames.
 
Now you need to cut some fine pieces of wood for the frames.  Again, the choice is yours, but I’ve found that for most boats at 1:96 some of the very fine scale wood used by model railway enthusiasts works well and is fairly easy to come by in a range of small sizes.  In this case the wood came from America and is, I think, birch.  Cut sufficient lengths for all the frames plus a few spares, ensuring that each frame in long enough to bend around the plug to a position well above the gunwale of the boat.
 

 
Steam or boil the frames until they are soft and pliable.  I have an old saucepan I use to boil my timber on the kitchen stove.  This method works well, especially if you are softening a lot of pieces at the same time.  Once pliable, bed the frames over the plug and hold them in place with elastic bands.  The frames don’t have to be in their correct positions at this stage – just roughly arranged along the plug so that they come reasonably close to their final shape.  I find that it’s a good idea to use at least to rubber bands for the job; otherwise as you put the end of a frame under the band the one next to it is liable to pop out.  If you use two bands they can hold alternate frames and make the job easier.
 

 
In this case I added an extra rubber band when I’d finished all the bending just to make sure the frames were held tightly against the plug.  Don’t worry too much if some of the frames crack as you’re bending them – that’s why you cut extra.
 
Now for one of the ‘tricks of the trade’.  We’re going to use quite a bit of glue in making these boats and if any of it happens to seep down between the frames and the plug it will be impossible to remove the completed hull from the plug, so – some people wax plugs to stop glue sticking, but a surer way is to use a bit of Glad Wrap; cling wrap; kitchen film; whatever it’s called where you live, but I mean the clingy plastic film used in the kitchen for covering such things as plates of sandwiches or cakes.
 

 
Cut a small piece of this film slightly longer than the boat and just wide enough to go over the plug down to the line of the gunwale.  With the film between the plug and the frames, there’s no way the hull can stick onto the plug!
 
Now we can starting fitting the frames.  Place the midships frame over the plug; ensure that it’s square and sitting down hard on the plug and glue the top ends of the frame to the plug above the line of the gunwale, at the same time ensuring that your piece of plastic film hasn’t slipped out of place.
 

 
You’ll need to clamp the frames in place while the glue sets to ensure that it’s sitting tight against the plug.  As I use fast setting epoxy for this sort of work I simply hold each frame in place with my fingers while the glue sets, but if you use CA, you’ll need to devise another method of clamping.  Keep working fore and aft with the frames until they are all firmly glued in place.  I find that I can hold several frames in place at once while the glue dries.  As you reach the bow and stern, fold the extra length of film around the end of the plug and hold the folds in place with the final frames.  This will ensure that no glue can leak under the film at the ends.
 
Once all the frames are in place, cut a piece of wood of suitable thickness for the keel, but cut it deeper and longer than needed.  Carefully glue the keel piece in place to the frames along the midships line fore and aft.
 

 
I find that there’s no need to rebate the keel, as the garboard strake will be fixed to it with a good line of glue; however the bow and stern posts will need to be rebated to provide a landing for the plank ends.  These rebates should be in a little from the inboard edge of the posts.  Again, cut the bow and stern posts wider than required and make them long enough to reach from the feel to the top of the plug.  A small groove is cut in these from the keel end up to the height of the gunwale and both posts are then glued to the keel and the top of the plug, ensuring that they are hard up against the plug.
 
In the first of the following photos you can see the pencil marks where I have marked the stem post for the height of the gunwale and the top of the plug.
 
 


 
 
When the ‘backbone’ of the boat is in place and the glue nicely hardened, planking can commence.
 
.
 
This topic will be concluded in Part 2.
 
John