texxn5

The hull planking process has officially started. I have taken a rather lax approach to the band method. Rather than trying to mark off everything before beginning, I am going to plank band A - not worrying about the others until I get there.
 
Band A is rather easy, 3/4" wide at each bulkhead (8 - 3/32" planks) so no real plank shaping to speak of. This is a real blessing as I am able to get the rest of my process down without that complication. I've done some bending at the bow and it looks like there will be some twisting involved towards the transom starting at the 4th strake.
 
I am also using cut planks butted together rather than a single strip for the entire strake. This has worked out very well as it is easy to make a small correction without having to tear off a whole strip.
 
I am finding I did a reasonable job when I originally faired the bulkheads, but when it gets down to laying planks there is some fine tuning to do. Lesson there - don't kill yourself trying for a perfect fairing right after gluing the frame together. You are going to have to clean it up down the road anyway. Also, the small planks make fairing easier (at least for me) as I only have to straighten out an area big enough for the next plank.
 
So I fair both the bulkhead and the edge of the previous strake. So far I am ending up with a nice smooth surface to lay the next plank. We'll see what happens at strake 4.
 
The other step I have been doing is to bevel the top inner edge of each plank. I was doing that with the bulwark planks. It seems to help the plank be flush with both the previous strake and the bulkhead surface, as those two surfaces are not perpendicular to each other.
 
Band B will be a little more challenging - narrowest at the bow, not quite as narrow at the stern. Band C looks like the crazy one.
 
I'll post some pix when I finish Band A
 
Thanks for reading!

Looking very nice Tom, what a wheel...very tedious and sure looks nice on deck.
John

Hello Piet, we just tipped a Leffe Blond in your direction toasting a very Happy Birthday again. Wish we were there to share such a monumental event....Proost!
John & Diane

Thank you all for the best wishes in reaching 82 years of life.  I made dinner for a change, something I wanted to try.  Baked wild salmon in with Dijon / maple syrup dressing, rice pilaf, carrots in maple syrup and a green bean salad with a Dijon - balsamic dressing.  Yummo!
 
John Texxn5, I felt the vibes and I hoisted a Leffe dark.
 
Yeah, sorry for leaving yuns in suspense about my secret project.  Still a few more things I need to test and try before I can go ahead and post the new build log.
 
All y'all try staying in good health.
 
Cheers,

Hello Piet, we just tipped a Leffe Blond in your direction toasting a very Happy Birthday again. Wish we were there to share such a monumental event....Proost!
John & Diane

Happy Birthday my friend! May you have many more. Sounds like you're keeping busy...
John & Diane

Hello Piet, we just tipped a Leffe Blond in your direction toasting a very Happy Birthday again. Wish we were there to share such a monumental event....Proost!
John & Diane

Hello Piet, we just tipped a Leffe Blond in your direction toasting a very Happy Birthday again. Wish we were there to share such a monumental event....Proost!
John & Diane

Happy Birthday my friend! May you have many more. Sounds like you're keeping busy...
John & Diane

Hello Piet, we just tipped a Leffe Blond in your direction toasting a very Happy Birthday again. Wish we were there to share such a monumental event....Proost!
John & Diane

Happy Birthday my friend! May you have many more. Sounds like you're keeping busy...
John & Diane

Happy Birthday my friend! May you have many more. Sounds like you're keeping busy...
John & Diane

Happy Birthday my friend! May you have many more. Sounds like you're keeping busy...
John & Diane

Just getting caught up with your progress Scott. Looking good, keep up the good work..

Hi Mike, I like the way you did the ladder that is a nice addition and looks very real. Nice job.

Hi Mike, I like the way you did the ladder that is a nice addition and looks very real. Nice job.

If you have access to the frame under the deck, when you get to planking the hull, you can turn things upside down and clamp to that framework.  Glue the deck in place and the only place you can 'grab' the hull for planking is the keel.

OK - I will add a binnacle to my list of deck items. Definitely not making a captains skylight.
 
As for today - SUCCESS!!
 
I think the kid nailed it today. The ladderway hatch came out..., well take a look.
 
First off, the ringbolt from yesterday - used a few more today. How do you drill a <1mm rod with a #75 bit? I was using the brass rings from the kit and #75 was as small as I could go and still make a big enough hole. But getting that hole started proved challenging. Ended up with a styrene rod and squeezed the drilling spot to flatten it out a little. Much easier! After inserting the ring you can squeeze it back into shape.
 

 
Please excuse the focus, but you get the idea.
 

 
I'm using this color paint a lot lately instead of blackening. I like the looks.
 
Back to the problem at hand - a ladder going down to the lower deck thru a hatch opening (ladderway). First problem, bulkhead N goes right across the opening. As does the keel. Solution - remove.
 

 
Next - the ladder has to end up on a deck. Problem - there is no lower deck on this build. Solution - make one. Problem - when you look into the ladderway hatch you can see other bulkheads. Solution - darken the entire area where the ladder lands.
 

 

 

 

 
Gives a whole new definition to the term false deck! My Evil Black strikes again. It is sooo black.
 
The rest is sort of a repeat of the grate/frames. I elected to go with solid planks as a covering. This helps hide the "below decks". Keep in mind none of this has been glued yet so alignment is a little off.
 

 

 

 

 

 
How about that for a rookie? I'm pumped! I think this was a nice addition and my first real "bash".
 
For those that have followed this log for a while, you may know I have been threatening to glue down my deck for some time now, and trying to do whatever is necessary first. As someone who has yet to plank a hull to those that have - would there be any benefit to planking the hull before installing the deck?
 
 
 
 

I'm not sure on your question, but your evil black looks great! Nice bash!

Ouch!  You're a braver man than I.  Not sure I could "loan out" a model.  On display somewhere, yes, but I would want to be there the whole time. No one touches it but me. Even then I hear horror stories about transporting models to and from shows, displays, etc.
 
Actually the top was the same one as before , just flipped. Only problem was it was glued to the frame and didn't want to come off at first. I'll probably end up gluing it again. That is the type of part that I WILL end up losing. Besides, there is nothing to see underneath.
 
Last nite, I did get the Dremel with a grinder bit and took out a piece of the keel and bulkhead directly under the ladderway opening. Even without a frame, the ladder looks quite good there. I think it will be a nice touch. I just need to decide how to integrate the ladder into the frame. As has been suggested, I will likely put a few planks in the frame, probably at one side or the other. Then the ladder will take up the rest of the opening. I happened to glance at the plans and realized that the ladder has to end up at the aft side of the hatch. Having a climber exiting to an alley is not practical and exiting towards the bow would put them face to face with the capstan.
 
Joel - in your Niagara article you mentioned placing a binnacle rather than the captains skylight. Is that what you ended up with? If yes, did you make one? I will have to do something at that spot as I did drill a hole in the deck there in anticipation of cutting the footprint for the skylight. I have seen several model web sites that sell scale binnacles, however it's difficult to see what they look like.
 
So far I am really pleased with how the deck pieces turned out. Thanks to everyone for their ideas and support!!!

Lazarette hatch or scuttle looks good, Mike.
A search for 'lazarette on a boat' leads to a storage space below decks at the stern of a boat.  It may have a scuttle on deck or perhaps a doorway if the entrance is below decks.
At least you should have had only to make a new cover.  My Lawrence/Niagara was on show at a local venue where a shuffling of models led to a fall and crash and loss of the grating for the forward-most hatch.  I just made a multi-plank cover for access to the forepeak, using the same coaming.  Strangely, the person responsible for the display keeps asking for models for future shows and doesn't understand my reluctance.

Boy, we have to get our ideas and our production coordinated 
 

 
Making the handles was interesting. I have read "back in the day"  if you didn't have brass strip you just smack some wire with a hammer and flatten it out - voila, strip. Did sort of the same with those handles where they are fixed to the plank top. I tried repeatedly to put some sort of rivet looking thing on the flat part to make it look like it is bolted down. That flat area is just too small and my rivet maker wasn't cooperating.
 
Among other things, I painted the grating frames today. The red doesn't look near as annoying as it does elsewhere. I finished the grates with a Natural stain. No added color, it just gives some depth to the color of the boxwood. Same as the deck.
 

 

 
Kept thinking about the rear hatch. Why is that called a Lazeret hatch? What is a Lazeret hatch?
 
" A lazaretto /ˌlæzəˈrɛtoʊ/ or lazaret (from Italian: lazzaretto [laddzaˈretto]) is a quarantine station for maritime travellers. Lazarets can be ships permanently at anchor, isolated islands, or mainland buildings. "
 
Need more?
 
" The name derives from the biblical story of "Lazarus". On the old square-rigged sailing ships it was located in the bow of the ship. The original purpose was to store the bodies of important passengers or crew who had died on the voyage, (lesser seamen would be buried at sea). It was a large locker obviously, and was situated at the bow in order that the stench of rotting flesh was blown away from the vessel rather than across the decks. (The wind cannot come from the front of the ship whilst sailing.) All that remains from these origins is that it is still generally the largest locker on a boat, and it's still known as the "Lazarette".
A lazarette is usually a storage locker used for gear or equipment a sailor or boatswain would use around the decks on a sailing vessel. "
 
It turns out that it is rather common to have a solid top rather than a grate here. Thus the term scuttle.
 
So being as how I love rework, I give you the Lazeret hatch complete with scuttle and ringbolt.
 

 
 
I don't know why, but for some reason I have been having the urge to bust into one of my other kits. Not for the purpose of shelving Niagara - not a chance. But the thought of working on some different wood is appealing. I need to watch myself. No room for 2 hulls on the workbench.
 
I also made a ladder for the ladderway hatch. Will try to tackle that tomorrow. Not a huge task but I am contemplating cutting out a chunk of bulkhead and keel that run under this opening. The whole thing would look kind of goofy if I don't.  Will also have to come up with a way to simulate a dark hole so the ladder just disappears into the dark. Should be interesting.
 
 

Got in a couple of good full days of work on the outside upper walls on my ship.  Here are the pics.
 

Unpainted bow wood work.  Looks like I got lucky with the two different wood thicknesses.  I did have to soak the thicker pieces of wood in hot water to get them to bend but not really a difficult issue.  The thinner planks I had no issues with.
 

Yep, I painted the top rail black. I initially painted it the model suggested buff and I didn't think it looked right.  I looked at Niagara ship pictures from over the years that were taken by ship visitors.  I noticed that the top rail had been pained buff, yellow ocra and black.  So I opted for the black. I thought it flowed better.
 

 

 

And the unpainted sides vs the painted sides. The most difficult part was trying to paint that little lip on the thicker wood.  Small brush and a steady hand...... and of course some scraping and repainted where I goofed.  LOL  No one's perfect.
 

And finally the stern.  For some reason those back rope chocks look like they are angled down in the pic but they aren't.  I used a very small jewel's file to file down into the wood and then used a jeweler's hack saw blade, without the hack saw, to cut out the little lower wider rope area.  Then I glued the whole piece into place.
 
 

Okay, finally got the bulwarks finished.  Repainted the red because as I said, I thought the paint I purchased from the modeler was too washed out and too thick.  The paint kind of clumped on instead of painted on.  My opinion at least.  I used insignia red and medium green from testers.  Anyways here are my pics.  I took them outside so I could see a "truer" color.
 

 

 

 

I agree with George....ouch