realworkingsailor

Fantastic job on the planking so far, you're doing n excellent job. As for Sjors... he's perfectly capable of planking his own barn door.. Andy

I'd say yes, for wood you would have to add a few coats of sealer, and sand very thoroughly with progressively finer grit. Andy

Nice going. All that work making all those tiny blocks is paying off. Andy

Nice job so far. Just a thought, you might want to hold off on attaching the stern post until after you're completed the planking. It will make it easier to fit overlong planks and trim them neatly afterwards, rather then trying to wedge them in. Andy

Yes, and the glossier, the better. Actually, I remembered this stuff: http://alclad2.com/ Bar none, the best metal finish on the market. Provided you follow the instructions explicitly!

If you can find it... Floquil had a great line of "metal" paint. This was discontinued a long time ago, but I've seen some show up in the "discount" paint basket at my local hobby shop... still very much useable. Otherwise, try Humbrol enamels. Both can be applied by brush or airbrush Andy

Thanks, Lawrence. A couple more days to go, with any luck..... Andy

That looks really good. I find sometimes it helps to mock up the collars with a bit of cut off light coloured line and a black fine tipped marker. For my double shroud collar, I managed it in one attempt by measuring like that first. To serve the eye, first start by serving only about 8mm (for a 4 mm eye). Tie off the serving and form the eye, making the throat of the eye where the serving stops. Measure off the length of your collar and serve another 8mm. Make your second eye. Then serve the line between the eyes. I find it helps also to start your serving by tying to the short side of the eye and wrapping the throat. This will, not only, provide a smoother transition, but it will firmly lock the pseudo eye splice in place. Andy

As has been mentioned, the lashing goes just between the eyes. You're probably going to need a needle and a good set of tweezers. I also find for jobs like that a dental pick is invaluable as a sort of hobby sized marlin spike (with a 1:1 handle). Andy

The collars should be rigged as drawing "A" I found with my build, it really came down to a space issue whether or not I did one collar for each lashing or a single collar for both (which is the option I went with). Andy

Dovetails? You're kidding right? You really got those out of some old Mennonite made kitchen drawer..... tell the truth now... :P All kidding aside, a very nice touch Andy

Sherry, I think we are on the same path at the moment. My absolute heartfelt condolences to you and your family. Andy

You're Welcome Paul. And thank you Gerty and Adam Andy

You're welcome, Paul I almost forgot about the canons. I used the kit supplied ones, which are OK. But if you want to replace them, I'd go with Chuck's. Get his carriages as well, they will better match the guns than the Amati ones. Andy

Well.. the Mataafa was wrecked in 1905. But you are correct, the mystery boat is the Daniel J Morrell. Wrecked off Harbor Beach, Michigan in November 1966. Only one Survivor, Denis Hale (he's still alive BTW) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Daniel_J._Morrell

Not quite that far back.

Hi Jim, thank you.

Hi Paul, For tapering at the stern, I marked out the bearding line and used a small plane for the largest area, working down to a file for the smaller sections. If I had to do it again, I would go even a bit further with my tapering than I did. In the end I had to sand down a good chunk of the first planking to get the second planking to fit nice against the keel. Some builders go as far as to avoid putting any first planking over that area of the bulkhead former (see Spyglass' build log). Whichever method you choose is up to you, both seem to work well. I cut the rabbet using an ordinary craft knife and steel ruler. At the bow and stern, be sure to taper the inside edge of the rabbet to accept planks entering on an angle. You can pretty much follow the bottom edge of the bulkheads for the depth of the rabbet. it's also easies to do all this before you glue on all the bulkheads. Rabbeting at the bow is a bit more of a challenge, but not impossible. Just take your time (and watch your fingers). For the small part of the walnut stem, I used a small cordless Dremel and a cutoff wheel. Careful light passes and you should be ok. One thing I did find, I needed to add a shim strip along the rabbet as the keel pieces did not sit tight in the scarf joint with the stem. This helped increase the depth a touch, and when it came time, the first planking snapped right in and held quite securely. Hope that helps, at least a little bit. Good luck with your upcoming build. Andy

I believe you mean "Edmund" Fitzgerald... and no, sorry.. you didn't want me to make this one too easy did you?

If I have to say thank you one hundred times, I'll keep doing it. Thank you Matti, Anthony and Rhonda, Michael, Greg, Lawrence and Frank. And before I forget, Thank you Kester and Michael (md1400cs) Andy

Nope, sorry.

Hey Jan: :P :P :P

A small update for everyone. I was in touch with the company this afternoon, and they have a relief for me. I'll be able to go home when the ship gets back to the Welland Canal in 6 or 7 days or so. Never in my life did I ever think I would actually be looking forward to going to a funeral..................... Andy

That looks like the sinking of the General Belgrano....

I'm guessing you're glad you went with the prefab strips now, right? Looks great, even without the close ups Andy