dunnock

Thanks everyone for the likes. Deck planking has begun with a waterway. This is the first time that I’ve included one in a deck. I looked at several references before staring which showed a variety of patterns: some of equal height and width and others wider on the deck than the height. I started with a length of 3x3 mm boxwood because that was the most suitable that I had around. I marked 1mm down from each edge then chamfered the corner off between the marks with a scraper. The strip was flexible enough to bend round the bulwarks and I did each side in two pieces. I wasn’t sure what sort of joint to use and in the end just butted the two parts together. The margin plank was a bit trickier. I made each side in three sections of 4x1 mm boxwood strip which are scarphed together. The bend at the bow is severe but I was able to edge-bend the planks to fit with three cycles of setting out and drying the plank. Rather than join port and starboard margin planks directly at the stem, I made a deck hook cut from some boxwood sheet. There isn’t one shown on the engraved deck and I don’t know if it’s an accurate representation but I like the look of it. I will joggle the deck planks into the margin as I go. I must have had a senior moment when I placed my order for wood because I received a bundle of 2mm thick strips of AYC (as per the confirmation) instead of 1mm that I should have asked for. I have spent an unhappy couple of hours shaving 1mm from each piece with my plane before I can start planking the deck.🙄 Thanks for looking in David

The external planking of the bulwark is completed. Cutting the slots for the channels and drilling for the fixed blocks in the second strake turned out to be easier than I expected despite some of the slots being very close to the edge of the plank. The third strake is only 3mm and would need to be cut down from 4mm so the top strake was fixed next. Again slots were needed for the stools and holes which represent the fixed blocks. Finally the third strake measured, cut and sanded to fit. The gun and sweep ports were roughly cut out as I went along but now they had to be cleaned out with files and sanding sticks made up for the purpose. It took a couple of days to complete this and sand out the surface of the bulwarks. Finally the hull, down to the approximate level of the waterline, has been given a single coat of shellac and rubbed down with 600 grade paper. The shellac brings out the colour of the boxwood and gives it a satin finish. Perhaps not an authentic look but I'm happy with it Thanks for looking in and for all the likes David

Hull planking below the bulwarks is completed. When the third band was completed, I took another, more critical look at the garboard plank I had installed at the beginning and decided that it wasn’t good enough. I ripped it out and replaced it with another made from strips of my precious 6mm boxwood. Despite best efforts, the difference between the two sides that I mentioned before, persisted through to the final band of planking. A half stealer was added three up from the keel on the starboard side but on the port the stealer was worked in at two above the keel. It also had to be about twice as long as would normally required. Starboard stealer Port side The hull was first scraped and then sanded back to something like smooth. I had to glue some joints between strakes perhaps because I had been too enthusiastic in bevelling the edges and they had become thin after sanding. I used a small amount of filler in the gaps between planks and sanded it off. For the time being I am happy with the result but I’m wondering if to apply a coat of shellac as sealer. I nought to test whether it will have any effect on the adhesion of the copper tape first. I’m now working on the outer bulwarks. I want to continue with boxwood but will use the excellent laser-etched layout as my pattern for the planking plan and positioning of channels, fixed blocks etc. The plank width is a median 4mm but the first strake includes the scribed mark indicating the top of the wale and overall needs to be 6mm. But the first plank in this strake at the bow rises t o 7mm so had to be cut from boxwood sheet. The position of the hawse holes were also marked on this plank. Having fitted this first strake I noticed an error in the position of the first pear wood strake of the hull on the starboard side which is 1mm lower than it should be at the stern. It must have slipped when it was being glued up. I only noticed after the first bulwark strakes were laid and looked at their height against the transom ports. It would be too big a job to remedy now and will eventually be covered by the wale. Even so it’s annoying. The second strake to be laid is a bit more complicated as the slots for the channels need to be cut into it. Thanks for looking in. David

Great idea Andrew to serve the anchor rings prior to bending and fitting. I always struggled to make a decent fist of it. With a better serving the seizings must go on better too. I'll definitely try your method on Speedy. David

Well done. a lovely model that you should be very proud of David

The 14 guns have been assembled. The PE eyebolts provided looked a bit chunky to me and replaced them with 2mm Amati eyebolts. I would like to add the axle pin but there is little room for one in the outer axle so will have to think about how this can be done. When the guns are ready to be added to the ship I will add breeching ropes and will attempt the training tackles but 2mm blocks are required and are going to be very fiddly. In the meantime my wood has arrived from Hobbymill.eu. It’s of excellent quality: very well finished and consistent sizing and colour. The boxwood is paler than the stock I bought from Original Marquetry a while ago so I can’t use them together. I requested some maple for the decking but it was not available so I will be trying out some Alaskan Yellow Cedar when the time comes. The first band of planking is completed using boxwood above the waterline and the kit pearwood below. The planks are tapered and edge-bent for the most part with only a couple that are spiled. For the first time I have used superglue gel to attach the planks as recommended by Chris and found that it works really well. Just a small spot at about 2 -3 cm intervals is enough to firmly attach them. I needed to use a little heat to secure where a severe twist is required at the stern. I looks like there is a slight difference the two sides which I will have to watch as planking proceeds It was perhaps unnecessary as one wasn’t used for the prototype build shown in the manual, but I added a drop-plank at the second strake below the wale because the planking seemed to be getting quite tight at the bow. I’ve remeasured the second band of planking. Only a few more planks of boxwood to add and then it’s pearwood all the way down. Thanks for dropping in David

Copy away Andrew. If you had been ahead of me in the build I would definitely have taken a lot of your ideas 😁 David

That's a fine model you have built and a great log too with much useful detail that I will shamelessly copy. David

Thanks Andrew, It's a great book and a bit of a bargain. David

I saw this book ‘The Modelling of the Brig of War Irene' on the Nautiek website which looked interesting and bought it through Abe Books. The book is mainly about ‘Irene’ – an English Cruizer Class brig, HMS Grasshopper built in 1806, captured in 1811 and renamed Irene by the Dutch. Not directly useful as a reference for Speedy but as well as details on Grasshopper/Irene, it contains a wealth of information on fittings and rigging of other classes of ships: British, European and American. I have made up all 20 swivel guns and have put together the components for the guns. There was a fault on the barrels of the 4-pounders but Chris responded to my query immediately and will be sending replacements. The cap squares are part of the carriage sides, so the sequence for construction is slightly different from the norm. The option of a PE brass cap square, which I understand from earlier logs was available, is no longer included. The integrated cap square makes for easier assembly but a steady hand is need to paint them matt black One side and the two axles are glued together first. The barrel will be inserted into the built-in cap squares and the second side glued in place. I made a jig for the first stage to keep things square but will not be possible (or perhaps necessary) to use it to fit the barrel and second side. The PE carriage bolts have been blackened and will be slipped through the holes in the carriage sides when assembled. There are no carriage beds in the kit, the quoins being glued directly to the axle and bed bolt. I thought it would be better to have the quoins on a bed so have made a set from 0.8mm pear fret. I have sanded the quoins into a wedge and will need to adjust the position of the quoin to allow for the extra thickness of the carriage bed. I will have to wait until the deck is planked before I can fix the quoins in position to make sure the barrels will lie centrally within the gun ports. The trucks have been removed from the fret and rounded off without reducing the overall diameter. David

Thanks for your kind comments mugje and Andrew and to others for their likes David

Thanks for the likes everyone. I’ve completed most of the centre line fittings. I added some strips to the ledges of the coamings to give enough depth to sand a curve to the ledges. I also fitted some bits of 2 x 1mm strip to cover the edges of the false deck and give the appearance of deck beams. The companion way hatch cut-outs needed cutting back by 1mm all around to allow for these strips. On the main hatch and the aft companionway hatch, I wasn’t sure whether these too should have a slight curve to their ledges. For the moment I have left them flat. The gratings take a curve quite easily after a short soak and then drying around a suitable former – a jam jar in my case. Inevitably, I broke the very delicate axles on the main mast windlass but it was easy enough to replace them with pins. I decided on a more colourful paint scheme for the capstan – it looks a bit Harlequin-like but I’m happy with it. The deck pumps have been modified. The pump casing was made from some 6mm square limewood filed into an octagonal cross-section and now matches the shape of the pump cap. An outlet has been added made from 2mm styrene tube and fitted to the casing at 90deg to the handle. I have left the flue and it's coaming and the mast bases for now but this is how the completed fittings look after painting The fittings will now be packed away until the deck has been planked and I'm moving on to the swivel guns. David

Thanks very much BE. David

Many thanks Andrew, I was sorry to hear about your health problems and the loss of your furry companion but I'm glad to see that you are getting back to shipbuilding. My daughter gives me mate's rates but I'll see if she has mate's mate's rates too! 😀 David

Just a short update... I began with a garboard plank – even though it will be covered in copper eventually. I used some 6mm walnut that I had knocking around. I hope that I have got it about right with not too much of a smiley face at the bow. I used the outer bulwark patterns as a guide to position the first plank, pinned and then glued them in place after removing the bulwark pattern. I have divided the hull into four bands for planking using cotton thread to mark them out. I’m now waiting for supplies of wood which I have on order from Hobbymill.eu. It will be about two weeks until it arrives so in the meantime I’ve started making some of the centre line fittings. Thanks for looking in David

Hi Rob, I'm just catching up on your log. It's great to see you back modelling again and making a lovely job of Erycina too. David

Thanks Lee and to all the others for their likes. Sanding the first layer of planking is done. A little bit of filler was required here and there but otherwise I’m quite happy with the results. The keel and stern post and stem pieces have been added. Getting the locating tabs into the slots was a bit fiddly and make sure that you put the forward part of the keel (part 108} in the right way round… I planked the stern counters using boxwood strip rather than the provided laser-etched kit pieces although they were used as patterns to achieve the required curve on the upper counter piece. There's a bit more preparation to do before I can move on to the second layer of planking, which I will do partially in boxwood and the rest, where it will be covered in copper, in the pear strips supplied. I need to mark the position of the waterline to know where the transition should be. At a later stage I will also probably replace the outer bulwark patterns with boxwood but I need to think what to do about the various slots and holes for channels, stools and fixed blocks in these pieces. David

The first layer of planking is completed and sanding and filling started. Planking went pretty well but I had to add a stealer, presumably because I was over enthusiastic with my tapering at the stern. Also apologies due to Chris: 15 planks each side were needed as shown in the photos and as correctly stated on page 17 of the manual (not 16 as I had calculated). The first plank... and some progress shots... First planking complete How far to go with sanding and filling? I assume that small gaps won’t affect the finish of the second planking but any slight ridges between planks need to be smoothed out. There is a 1.5mm gap between the end of the planking and the false keel on the starboard side as shown in the photo below. I will use a wider garboard plank here which I hope will bridge the gap without causing a problem. After initial sanding Side light shows up where more work is needed David

Thanks Lee, I'm sure you'll enjoy building her. David

The stern frames are now birch ply and more robust than the previous MDF that I believe was used in previous versions of Speedy. Even so, getting the counter and transom pieces on is a relief and makes the stern section quite robust. The counter pattern was soaked and curved around a jar before fitting and then the transom pattern glued to the stern frames. Hull fairing of the 3mm MDF was relatively quick. I worked it a bit at a time by hand over a couple of days for fear of overdoing it. For some reason BH 14 was low on one side and I had to add a 1mm strip to bulk it out. I think this is my best attempt at fairing a hull so far but the planking will soon let me know if that it true. The gunport patterns were soaked in warm water fitted to the bulwarks and left to dry. The two problems I had at this stage were getting the forward tab of the pattern to fit in the slot on the stem and getting the pins to hold the lower edge of the pattern against the bulkheads. I used a travel iron to improve the contact between bulkhead and pattern. I glued the port pattern without difficulty a few bulkheads at a time again pinning and using heat to improve contact at the lower edge and left it to partially set for half an hour before glueing up the starboard side. When it had all set I noticed the starboard quarter was about 0.5mm too low at the stern so it was partially removed and re-glued. There is still a small difference which I think is due to the transom being slightly off so I may have to rework it. After reworking the starboard gunports The manual says 12 strakes per side are required to plank the hull. I think that this is a typo: the pictures show 15 strakes but I measured the mid frame to be 80mm suggesting 16 strakes of 5mm planks will be needed The first strake of the limewood planking is glued and pinned to each side. The forward end is tapered to half width from bulkhead 5 and the stern left untapered. And so planking continues... David

I’ve had a few weeks now to ponder the possible lower deck additions. I marked out where I thought the captain’s and lieutenant’s cabins should go on the bulkheads and you can see that it would mean a fair bit of alteration and possible weakening of the structure so I decided not to press on and left it at painting the after section off-white in case any part can be seen through the hatches. The frame is now completed with it’s various filler pieces and as expected, it went together perfectly with only one slight problem. I couldn’t get the stern bulkhead (16) to sit square to the false keel. I couldn't see why this should be so sanded back the false keel to get the bulkhead closer to parallel then checked the fit of the stern frames (30 & 31) which pulled the bulkhead into line. This was the only time I differed from the instructions. I built the stern section off the model, gluing the stern frames to the stern bulkhead first and then gluing the assembly to the rest of the hull. I have decided that I will not use the laser-engraved deck but plan to use maple planks so I did some initial planning and marking out on the main deck pattern before gluing it in place. I could maybe have done bit more fairing of the bulkheads and filler pieces prior to assembly but the MDF is so easy to shape that it's not critical. That's where the build sits for the moment. David

Thanks for that Thuky. I'll take a look for it David

I said that I wouldn’t be starting Speedy until I got back from holiday but you know how it is, the box was there staring at me and I couldn’t resist a little look and one thing led to another…. I dry fitted bulkheads 4 -13 and the braces, parts 22 and then I began to wonder if it would be possible to add a little bit to the lower deck – maybe the Captain’s cabin. Based on the RMG plans, I think the cabin would sit from bulkhead 12 to between 14 and 15. It would mean cutting out a lot of 14 and adding a wall between 14 and 15. It would also affect the upper deck beams. I’m already going off the idea for where would it end – the officers’ and NCOs’ cabins, a stove? David

Thanks very much Dan. Your Adder's looking great too. David

Many thanks Chris, that's very kind of you and especially encouraging coming from the designer of this great little model. Thanks Craig. Really looking forward to Shetland. We've been to Scotland and many of the islands but this will be our first trip to Shetland. David