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Randy,

I dont blame you on wanting to keep it single planked, there were a lot of single planked kits on here and they all turned out nice.  Feel free to message me if you have any issues or concerns.

-Aaron

Hey Randy,

I am also working on this build.  It looks like you are off to a good start, I see that you have beveled down the bulkheads near the bow.  Have you considered using balsa to fill in the space between bulkheads 1 & 2 and 2 & 3?  It will make a big difference when you get to installing your planking.  Also have you spent some time studying the planking tutorial on this site?  This model is single planked which can be unforgiving and difficult.  I opted to change my build to double plank because of this difficulty.  If you are looking for logs as a reference, check out Shazmira's log as well as mine.  We are both working on this kit and she has also changed to double plank.

Also you can search for vulcanbomber's build, she built the SF I, but a lot of the same procedures apply.

-Aaron

Lol, when I looked at the instructions I saw this page and was scratching my head. I hope someone chimes in who has the answer cause I don't...thank Artesania Latina!

I'm really looking forward to starting this build, I hope mine turns out as nice as yours.

Aaron

Ken,

Thanks for the advice, I hope mine turns out as nice as yours looks.

Aaron

Yep, they are just a tad bit smaller.

Update:

I finished the planking and cut the bulwark gun ports out. My next two steps to tackle are stain and cutting the gun ports into the hull which will be difficult because the kit plans don't give a good template. I thought about using transparent paper to sketch the ports but the plans are still not good for this. I'm soo glad the planking is done and I feel like I am moving on to a much more fun part.

Robbyn,

Are the dummy ports bigger than the precut gun ports in the bulwarks? It almost looks like that from your pictures. I haven't look at mine yet.

Aaron

Update,

I have almost completed the 2nd planking phase of my build.  I just have to put a couple more planks on part of the bulwark on the starboard side and trim the excess off.  I am very pleased with the result, and I got really excited when I took a wet rag and wiped the one side off, just the water made the cherry look beautiful.  I plan on cutting the dummy gun ports out prior to staining.  I still have to figure out what stain to use which may be a very difficult process.  I am sort of happy this phase is over, I enjoyed it but I am ready for the next phase of putting all of the details on.

-Aaron

So how do you like ALs instructions I am working on the San Fran and they leave a lot to be desired.

Aaron

Robbyn,

Planking looks great. I think you just passed me up, maybe I need a couple of snow days

I am thinking the same as you with the gun ports, my only concern is that the glue for the rubbing strakes will hold once you stain or seal the hull. Now that you are ahead of me I guess that makes you my Guinea pig

Aaron

Robbyn,

Have you thought about when you are going to cut in your dummy doors?  Some people do it before the second layer of planking.  I can't decide if I should cut them in before or after I put my strakes on, i plan on my strakes being a natural color and not a stain, and I would rather cut the gun ports in after they are on so they can be centered around the strakes, but I am just concerned about gluing the strakes on after I put the stain on the hull, I don't know if the glue will hold with the stain and also I don't want to see any glue around the strakes, all the decisions are stressful!

How did you make your deck planks look worn?

20 minutes for basswood in water that has been brought to boiling point, but not boiling while the wood in soaking.  Other timber is different, I know mahogany gets very brittle and will break easy if you leave it in too long, you may have to use trial and error.

Hello,  I just recently bought this kit and it is going to be my next build.  Are you using the Lauck Street Shipyard practicum?  I am considering buying it to help with the build and improve the skills that are needed for ship building.

-Aaron

I cut the gunports which were the same level with bulwarks (exterior)... But after lining inside I will do the cut for a second time (interior)

I meant the gunports below the deck, the ones with the dummy doors.

-Aaron

Robbyn,

Are you pushing the pins through the strips? I haven't been doing that, I use thumb tacks and push the through the basswood not the 2nd layer, I don't want a bunch of holes in the hull.

Aaron

Looks great, I have been trying to decide when I will install the rubbing strakes (before or after cutting the gunports) have you thought about it?

-Aaron

I use a french curve to draw the second edge after I trace the curve.

Robbyn,

I ran into the same problem in my bow section on both sides, I kept getting the clinker effect, the only answer I have for you is to lay your planks in the position they want to lay even if that means cutting them to an extreme triangular shape.  I started doing this in the center portion of the port side and the result is no clinkering.  The down side is that this pattern is not historically accurate.  Honestly at this point I don't mind, reducing the clinkering is my priority now.

-Aaron

So I got on a roll and I got most of one side planked, I am very happy with the result

It is single planked, I changed it to double  .  It is just to hard for a new modeler.

-Aaron

I would imagine that I will be done with it in a couple of weeks, I still have to figure out how I will stain it.

-Aaron

Looks like you did a good job fixing up those open spots on the bow, its amazing what glue and sandpaper can do, my best friends in this hobby 

Your ship looks great, you must have an older kit, the newer kits have most of the metals parts replaced with wood, such as the grates and ladders.

-Aaron

I've been working on the second layer of planking this weekend and just wanted to give an update.  Things are going well, although I do have a clinker effect along the bow, I will do my best to clean it up.  At this point I really don't care and just want to make a decent model and learn from the experience.  I will also have some funky shaped planks in the middle, this too I do not mind as in the end, I believe the model will look decent.

-Aaron