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Freebird

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  1. Freebird
    Gregory, Thank you for the compliment. Making mistakes is all part of the learning process and I’ve learned a lot from reading other build logs and how issues were overcome. This is my first wood ship (boat) project and I’m learning a lot. Quite honestly, I’m surprised at the results I’m getting so far, it’s a great testament to Chuck’s design. I’m really enjoying this build. Best Regards …. Rick
  2. Freebird
    Next I clamped the wales in place to see where I’m at. Of course the bottom of the wale doesn’t follow the seam of the plank. If I drop the wales to follow the seams, I’ll need to add another filler piece at the sheer. But more importantly, if I did this, the bolster would now be out of whack (navel industry term) with the wales and other alignments would also be off. So I’ve decided to live with the seam below to wales. At least some of it will be covered by the bolster. At least I made the same mistake on both sides so it’ll look even. Best Regards …. Rick
  3. Freebird
    Ok, here’s where I’m at fixing my error. At the stem I’m 1/4” too narrow. Guess I took of too much material to make the planks fit tightly and didn’t follow the tic marks and make adjustments along the way. Lesson learned. I added a filler piece from the stem back to frame “E”, I left a 1/16” gap at the stem for the cap rail. I followed Chuck’s planking instructions on how to spile a plank. Best Regards ….. Rick
  4. Freebird
    Quick question: how far below the top of the frames should the sheer plank be? Best Regards…. Rick
  5. Freebird
    Thanks guys for the kind thoughts. Having a blast building it! Thanks guys for the ideas. Will tackle the fix after I finish the port side. Best Regards …. Rick
  6. Freebird
    Ryland, thank you for the compliment, much appreciated! I was thinking the same thing, only I couldn’t figure out how far to run the strips. Your thoughts give me a starting point. I figured the bottom of the wale wouldn’t be even with the seam on the second strake. Maybe make the bottom wale a little wider? Best Regards …. Rick
  7. Freebird
    Gregory, I thought of that, not sure yet. Ryland, thank you for the filler info, I have the same stuff. Gotta play with it. Now that I look closer at the planks at the stem, I see what you’re talking about. Did a better job on the last 2 planks. Now for another issue. Looking at other build logs, I see on my starboard side, my sheer line is too low. It starts at 1/4” below rabbet at the top, 1/8” at the first frame and gets progressively less and then widens up again and ends up at 1/8” at the stern. Should it be 1/16” at both the stem and stern, the thickness of the cap rail. Should I add a strip to get to 1/16” gap? Or is it OK to leave as is? Chuck, what’s your thoughts? Best Regards …. Rick
  8. Freebird
    Thank you Ryland. And thanks to all for the likes! Here’s where I’m at for the moment. Planking is completed except for the last 2 strakes on both sides, and here’s where I’m hitting a road block. When I place plank 15 in place and start the fitting process, the plank lies below the above plank. How can I get the correct shape (curve) so it is somewhat even with the plank? I’ve had a little stair casing, which I can see has added to the problem. Next, on port side at the front of the garboard strake, there’s a gap that needs to be filled. I guess that I put too much of a bevel on the adjoining plank and the gap opened up when sanding. What would be the best way to fix this without being obvious? At least it’s on the bottom and least likely to be seen. Thanks for the help! Best Regards …. Rick
  9. Freebird
    Chuck has probably wasted more wood than we could possibly imagine. LOL Best Regards …. Rick
  10. Freebird
    Thanks Diver! My first build also. Great fun! I’ve been following your log and you’re doing a fine job. Best Regards …. Rick
  11. Freebird
    Grant, thank you for the kind comment. Thats exactly what I did. However, when I made the replacement, I placed it in the open blank and not knowing it, the blank expanded (I didn’t notice this), and my replacement part was a perfect fit, or so I thought. So I went about fitting the replacement plank on the hull and it fit very well. Next I fit the aft plank to finish the strake, and when I fit it, at the butt joint there was quite a mismatch in the width of the planks. I really didn’t give it much thought, so I finished fitting it and glued it in place to finish the strake. After I finish putting a strake down, I always check the symmetry from the bow and stern. Looking at the stern all was well. The bow was a different story. The port strake was about 1/16 higher (wider) and I’m thinking what the heck happened as all the previous strakes were even on both sides. I noticed my tick mark was covered, hmmmm….. So a grabbed a compass and made some measurements and found the replacement plank to be about 1/16 too wide it’s entire length. DOH! That’s when I figured out the pattern expanded when I check fit the replaced plank. Thinking back, I do remember that the plank kinda “snapped” into the blank. Not wanting to rip the plank off unless absolutely necessary, I slept on the problem. The. Next morning looking at the problem with a cup of coffee, I decided to trim off the excess width. I didn’t have anything to lose, right? If I messed it up the plank would come off. Anywho, I used some transparent tape and traced the plank from the starboard side and transferred the pattern to the port fat plank. Using a new #11 blade and very light, smooth strokes is was able trim the excess off. A light sanding and I had the plank trimmed to the starboard pattern. Job done. Symmetry between port and starboard looked good and measured perfectly. Sorry, but I didn’t take any pictures of the repair process, but I’ll post some pictures of the end results. Best Regards …. Rick
  12. Freebird
    Thank you Chuck! I’ve been really enjoying this build. Never thought I’d be able to actually build something like this, as I’ve always admired from afar and thought no way. The design of the kit is just amazing and is going to be a great stepping stone to my Cheerful build. Thanks Chuck! I will be posting some progress pictures shortly and asking for some advise as I’ve discovered a problem. Best Regards …. Rick
  13. Freebird
    I’m back! Cancer surgery went very well and I’m able to return to the ship yard. Before I stopped, I broke the tip off of plank 9 at the bow. I’ve read somewhere that Chuck had posted a pdf of the spiled planks. I’ve looked around and can’t find it. Anybody have a link. TIA! Best Regards …. Rick
  14. Freebird
    Thank you Grant. Best Regards …. Rick
  15. Freebird
    Ryland, thank you for the compliment and to all the likes! Floyd, yup, one at a time! Making progress, have completed 3 strakes on each side and they’ve been given a light sanding. Heavier sanding is still needed at the stem and stern. I’m finding these areas the most difficult so far. I’ve been taking a long time to fit each strake lining them up to minimize sanding. Chuck’s design is superior to anything I’ve ever built. Lots of work and fitting and refitting, but like most say, it’s not a race. To be honest, I’m surprising myself with this build. Don’t know if I’ll get anything done tomorrow, have to prep for cancer surgery on Friday. Probably will be at least a couple of weeks before returning to the shipyard. Gives me something to look forward to when I’m released. Best Regards …. Rick
  16. Freebird
    How cool! Another Medway on the blocks! Will be watching closely! Best Regards …. Rick
  17. Freebird
    Nailed the starboard strake. Overall, it went well, will trim in the morning and nail the port strake in the morning. This small rotary tool made quick work of making the holes. Best Regards …. Rick
  18. Freebird
    Thank you Chuck! This project has been a pleasure! Thanks to All for the likes! Got the the first 2 strakes down. Came out pretty good, only a couple of areas next to the keel that have some gaps that I’m not fond of. Maybe some type of filler? Looking for ideas. Also going to add the nails as I complete a strake, much easier as the frames are visible. I have the hole locations marked in the starboard side. Need to experiment on some scrap first to get my process down. More to come…. ‘’Really enjoying this build, learning a lot! Best Regards …. Rick
  19. Freebird
    Ryland, Grant, thank you for the kudos! Ryland, I wanted to line off the bow without using the template to see how well I’d get to where the planks would lie. Failed miserably! LOL! I used the template and saw where adjusting was needed. I needed to adjust each line toward the keel. The stern was much more obvious and was very close to the template. This was a very interesting step as I’ve never planked or lined off a hull. I have a much better understanding now. Best Regards …. Rick
  20. Freebird
    Thank you Floyd and for the likes. I’ve made my tick marks on the port side of the hull and lined off front half. I still need to figure out how to line the bow. More to come…. Best Regards …. Rick
  21. Freebird
    Finished fairing the hull this morning. First time doing this and I think it came out pretty good, lots of gentle and detailed sanding. It was an enjoyable task. Also glad that there are many excellent build logs to gaze upon! Now to line off the hull following Chuck’s lead. Best Regards … Rick
  22. Freebird
    Thanks! Agree, Chuck’s designs are awesome. Already have the Cheerful waiting in the wings. Best Regards … Rick
  23. Freebird
    New year and my first wood build! A little about me, I’m a lifetime modeler, mostly R/C planes and scale helicopters. Back in the 80’s I also got into R/C subs and had a lot of fun/success. I won a lot of National awards with my scale helicopters and just love to build. I retired a year ago after over 40 years of building jet engines, so I have the time now to enjoy my building. About 40 years ago, I tried to build a Billings Cutty Sark and as can be imagined, I failed miserably. Now, after reading the way awesome builds on this site, I decided that now was the time to get started. For my first build, I decided on Chuck’s Medway Longboat, it’s such a beautiful project and it’ll help me develop skills I need for my next project, Chuck’s Cheerful. I like to start new projects on January 1, as it makes it easy to see how long it takes to build. Actually, I started this build about a week ago and it has been a wonderful change of pace. Chuck’s efforts in designing and implementing his designs are of epic proportions! I’ve never seen such detailed laser cutting and his practicums are fabulous, as is all of the fantastic builds on MSW. So without further ado, here we go. I'm going to pass on showing the kit parts, as there are many already posted in the group build. I started with the easy keel to ease into the build and then built the lap-joint keel. Frames have been assembled and fitted to the building board. Keel has been glued in place and is drying. I expect to start fairing the frames later tonight. A task I’ve never done. Enjoy! Regards … Rick
  24. Freebird
    Diver, Any updates on your build? You’ve been doing such a wonderful job on it! Like you, the longboat will be my first build which will lead to my next build, Chuck’s Cutter of the Cheerful. Regards … Rick
  25. Freebird
    I’ll have to take a look at this. Thanks Greg! Rick

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