Fentone

One end got a bit gnarlier than the other. Notice the slight difference in length. Could have gone a lot worse given the method.

Cutting with scalpel was easy, however sanding cleaned it up somewhat. Overall result not great, not terrible. Bow/stern taper end in slightly different places, however I'm reluctant to take any more off as I'm happy with the port/starboard symmetry, and I'm happy for the boat not to be perfectly symmetrical end to end.

A wing and a prayer. Required much force.

Soaking in situ. Worked for one end, the other less so, ended up charring the wood when bending on that side.

Thanks for the help Mike, I will read those resources before continuing.

However I have run into a mistake - I should have bent and cut the ends of these two planks before gluing. Somehow I misinterpreted the photo in modeller_massa's build to think he was doing what I've just done. So I'm going to attempt bending these planks in situ, maybe after soaking the tips in water so they draw it up through capillary action. This may be a terrible idea. But I want to find out. I am less worried about cutting, as I think patience and a million cuts of the scalpel will do the job. However before this can happen I need to repair a couple of fractures I accidentally made to the keel at both ends in the previous step, hence the two rubber bands.

I had a setback. It was time to glue the first two external planks on. I couldn't find a clamp large enough for holding these two planks. They need to be clamped all the way through the depth of the entire boat, and sort of pushed together at the same time. So I decided to use contact adhesive for the quick drying properties and hold them with my fingers, not having enough hands I had to go through each bulkhead in turn and give it a squeeze. After 20 minutes of this I squeezed a little too tight and they fell right off, and I realised they had barely adhered at all. But now the glue had set into its feeble rubbery bond and needed reapplying. I went through the whole process again for the same thing to happen. So I had a look at modeller_massa's build log for inspiration. He used rubber bands for this step. I ordered a big bag from Amazon. The next day I sanded all the CA off both surfaces and tried again using my beloved Gorilla Wood Glue and the rubber bands. Great success! P.s. I wasn't sure whether these external planks needed bevelling. There is NO mention of doing so in the instructions, and as modeller_massa appeared not to, I didn't either.

Finally got the ends sharp, and the keel flat. I think I'm ready to start external plankage now.

And this is why not to use a rotary tool for this job.

So it seems from the other build log that the instructions fail to mention that you are supposed to remove the bottom of the keel. Also if I am following the other build, I should have gone even more to a point. So I have a lot more sanding to go. I will be back!

Not shelved at all! The next step was sanding the sort of overall curve shape to the bulkheads. It took ages! I would pick it up, do a little sanding, put it down again. There was a lot of material to take off. And that every slow unfocused approach took basically two weeks. I'm about to apply the first two outer planks, and a little confused by the instructions. Will seek out some other build logs and return.

I have issues. Started the side planks too high so now have these ugly holes. The Admiral says "That's alright, those are holes to drain the water". I don't like them. But can live with them if necessary. Any solution ideas? Putty of some kind? P.s. note to self in the future: could have easily prevented this at floor planking stage by some strips on the bulkheads to raise the floor.

Inner plankage done.

Two more in place. Gaps abound.

An staggering attention to detail, Mike. The 'nails' look terrific, and I really like the color scheme.

That hull looks delicious, Bradley.

18 hours ago, Mike_In_RI said:

I've read that you have tried different glues. What glue are you using for general use? Some wood glues set up pretty quickly by just applying finger pressure for a minute or so as long as the bends are mild. One can use the time to think about the next piece.

Gorilla wood glue (PVA) where possible. For the interior planks I'm using Gorilla Contact Adhesive as the clamps don't reach that far.

Didn't like the gap on the right, added another clamp. Please don't buckle overnight. (That's me negotiating with a model boat.)  I think I need to follow Mike's advice and have some gentler clamps alongside these.

Goes here

This cheeky guy...

Thanks once again for such help and encouragement. I will look into the dividers, I can see the big problem with my build so far is symmetry. I've seen the point of CA now, it's useful for places where it's near impossible to clamp. It does build up and leave a solid bump though. Used it for these two floor planks today: 

Got this chunky guy in. Scalpel was best friend, over needle files, for cutting corner notches. Decided to try out the Contact Adhesive for this simple glueing. Didn't like it. Very stringy, so harder to deal with and stinky solvent vibes.

Step 2 complete. On this last plank I had to compensate for height difference with the opposite side of the boat by sanding it right down along its length. Also for some reason, the clamps decided to crush/fold the tips right over this time. Either because I made this plank thinner, or because I didn't soak it quite as long, not sure. Hopefully invisible later.

I've just realised the obvious answer. Should bend them, THEN cut them. DOH!