iMustBeCrazy

I think I'm happy with the new garboard, everything fits much nicer at the stern. And apart from the fact I cut the second plank a little short, the bow looks good too.

I don't think it can be done with the third plank, 0.4" in 2 inches. For now I'll make it as below and curve the rabbet up a little to fix (1) in the pic in post #9 Brain fade on 'ears' at the moment and none of my glossary's define them.

Problems with the third plank, too much edge set required Do you think a garboard plank shaped something is acceptable?

Well, planking in Balsa is paying off right from the beginning. I fitted the garboard planks and it pulls away from the keel at the stern (1) due to the bending. I suspect I will have to trim them as per (2) as I doubt I can edge set over such a short distance. The next plank needs edge setting (3) to keep the overlap and to allow for the bevel. This bevel starts out almost flat and twists round to 45 degrees at the end. Both planks are beveled. And yes, I know I cut the end of the garboard plank at the wrong angle, or is it the result of (1). I played around with the beveling needed to get the planks flush at the stern (and stem).

Thanks Allan, glad you popped in. ZAZ7361, the other Bounty launch, did you watch the video I posted in your 23 foot launch plans thread? 1:48 eek! Your planking will be just under 0.5mm thick, you'll almost be able to use shavings from a plane. Holly would be nice, Australia just doesn't have good modelling wood except Huon Pine, possibly the king of woods. I have some but the thought of the wastage milling small timbers is terrifying. In this model, which is largely an experiment, I'm using an Indonesian wood called Paulownia which has become available in small quantities at our largest hardware chain. It's about as dense as Basswood but more fibrous and has a stronger grain. So far it's not too bad. Meanwhile, I think I'll fully plank the current jig in Balsa in an attempt to avoid too many silly mistakes.

Well that went better than expected I glued two steel rulers together with a 2mm offset, added some 600 grit sandpaper to the underside, made up a cutting board with a straight backstop, sandwiched the stock between the rulers and the backstop and used several light strokes with a scalpel to cut each piece. Nice clean cuts so no need for finishing the edges. Speaking of finishing, it should be remembered that most of the inside of an open boat will be visible so pre-finishing exposed parts is advised if possible. The wood for the ribs was sanded before cutting and the ribs will be stained with a spirit based stain and coated with diluted PVA glue with a final very light sand prior to starting the build. The planking will be likewise finished on the inside. I have done a test and gluing is still fine, I haven't tested paint but I suspect acrylic paint will be fine too.

Well, I think six more moulds does it (but that included two that I sanded to the wrong line). The process for making the moulds is: 1/ Draw or edit in CAD 2/ Print 3/ Cut out roughly (except the straight edge which I cut with a ruler and scalpel) including the rubber band notches but not the slot for the false keel. 4/ Glue to a piece of MDF using a straight piece of wood (I use the fence on the band saw) to align the straight edge from step 3 with the edge of the MDF. I use a glue stick for this. 5/ Cut out roughly on the band saw 6/ Sand to shape on the disc sander beveling the edge at the same time. 7/ Back to the band saw and cut the slot for the false keel. (This is filed out later for a slightly firm fit on an offcut of MDF) I think the next step is to make a new set of moulds without the false ribs. And a new transom and probably a new keel/stem and stern post. (basically start from scratch). I also shaped and steam bent the forward end of one garboard plank, I then stuck on a post-it and trimmed it to size/shape and used it for a template for the other garboard plank. Having no mini table saw making planks is a pain. I cut them oversize on the bandsaw cleaning up the edge of the piece I am cutting from on some sandpaper on a flat board after each cut. Then sand them to size on the drill press. Then I have to make some ribs, 1mm x 2mm is going to be a pain.

You're certainly welcome Bruce, 50ish so far with hopefully 2 or 3 to go. I could have done it in less but I wanted corrected drawings so I can make them available for others. As I said, the original drawing has some problems. See station 7 below, red is original, light green is corrected.

Welcome all to my - First build log, first scratch build and first clinker/lapstrake build. It's a little scary. Ok, a 16ft cutter based on ZAZ7027 in 1:16 as a stable mate to the Model Shipways Bounty's Launch. This drawing has problems......... Trying to overcome those problems in CAD was beyond me so construction/trial and error was the next choice. Construction is similar to Bounty's Launch, ribs over a jig of a false keel and moulds. First I drew up and made the false keel then I drew up and made the moulds as per ZAZ7027 with the odd numbered drawn as halfway between those shown in the drawing. These were assembled with a friction fit and initial fairing began. This was done with a thin batten (1x2mm) as is traditional, errors were guestimated, corrected in CAD and a new mould was made (actually over 20 new moulds so far). I also drew and cut the keel, stem and sternpost. I did a trial fit of a garboard plank and realised it would be easier for the planking trials if I incorporated the ribs in the moulds, so a new set of moulds was made (that's about 50 moulds total now). Fairing continues but I'm taking a break and starting this log. I have incorporated a few things to make building easier such as the knotches for rubber bands for clamping, does anyone have any other suggestions?

G'day Mango, Probably. First I suggest you watch videos 24, 25, 78 and 85 at https://sampsonboat.co.uk/ They will give you some idea about fairing, setting out and planking. They are not tutorials but you do get explanations. Edge bending is about shrinking one edge of your piece of timber (you can't stretch it). In the picture the green line is a shorter distance than the distance along the adjoining strake so you need to shrink the the edge indicated (blue arrow), that is it needs to be on the inside of your bend.

The Excel 55777 fits the bill but for most of it's length it's resolution is 3 inches. That one seems to be Metric only, the only one I can be sure of is the Tankraft Imperial Pro Modeler Scale Ruler. @John Murray

G'day John, best I can offer is that I posted a PDF with some scale rules I worked up in CAD. It prints to scale on my laser printer but you may have to make some adjustments when printing. After printing I just put Scotch Magic tape each side then trim to size. LINK

I painted mainly because the strakes in the kit were in two very different colours and I just didn't like it. And yes the paint does bring out the imperfections, I may go back and make a curved sanding block that fits between the ribs and polish it up a bit. I do like a 'factory fresh' look so I might paint again. Next time I might play with pre-finishing the inside of the strakes, perhaps with diluted wood glue (after staining if that is the desired look) so they can still be glued to the ribs/frames. Just a thought.

My choice (on my Bounty Launch) was to set the riser and thwarts as per the drawing and raise the footwaling? (floorboards) as you are. As you can see in the pic my first try, which felt right, was too low and I had to add some more. I finished up with about 43cm in the real world.

And leaving stuff out because every shipwright knows how it's done....... Oh my aching head.

I think you were right the first time although this was a preliminary drawing. ZAZ5672 enlarged:

Not just a great photo, that's a heck of a lot of work you've done there. Best I can give is 'maybe'. Oak posts at 2 1/2 or 3 inches square would be strong enough but a strong enough mounting at the base may present a problem. I'm not sure.

50cm (19.7") would be too tall for me, I think 44 would be the max and I'm 5'10". The drawing you're working from, ZAZ7145, gives 50cm as you suggest but ZAZ7128 (a 26 ft Yawl) gives a much more reasonable 42cm. Many of the boat drawings seem to be based on very tall people Large copies of the above drawings are available from wiki commons: ZAZ7145 ZAZ7128

Generally, go to https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page and in the search box (top right) type in rmg and the ships name (and year if known) eg: rmg Atalanta (1775) That should give you https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?search=rmg+Atalanta+(1775)&title=Special:MediaSearch&go=Go&type=image I then find it easiest to right click on each image and open in a new tab. In the new tab click on 'Original file' then save the image. Note that only the outboard and inboard profiles are high res. Credit to Allan for finding them.

G'day Allan, So if this is 1690 (Thomas Wilshaw fits with that) and we have 23ft boats being fitted with "iron knees" doesn't that open up a new can of worms? How common were iron knees? Does it perhaps mean that the RMG boat drawings not specifically showing wooden knees had iron knees? 'shudder' too much to think about. EDIT, I just looked up Mays Boats of Men of War and the scantlings table ca1800 gives iron knees for Barges, Pinnaces, Yawls and Wherrys. I don't see anything for earlier but the contracts show that it might have been true for a long time.

Strangely I have a Dime sitting on my desk, it's a long way from home, before I picked it up I was visualizing a Nickle 😮 What size is the compass, 1/4" square? I must be crazy but you guys are nuts! All of you.

Sort of, it indicates that the chock has a beveled face so that when you fair the frame you you don't weaken it too much by making it too thin on that side at the chock. (Hope that makes sense).

Sounds good to me, you wouldn't make a pressure pipe any longer than necessary.

This seems to be a good explanation of an azimuth compass and it's use: wikiwand.com/en/Azimuth_compass