Jaager

It is the same as drawing Bamboo trunnels.
For years I have used General steel drill gauges
1-60

61-80

They work -I rub the reverse on a sharpening stone from time to time.
 
 
Then there was one that works really well
The Jim drawplate  which I think is still available    from http://www.byrnesmodelmachines.com/drawplate5.html
 

 
The Bamboo skewers on the end caps are hit or miss as to which variety is in the bag.  Some are soft and play nice but then to crush at the gripper and some are hard and brittle and fight you all the way.
 
I have never seen drawplates for wood and I wonder if there is the necessary range of holes?   I have jewelers drawplates, but they are more difficult to use - Thick with a cone on the reverse - it is a lot of work  to get enough Bamboo thru the hole to have enough to grip and pushing does not work ar all

Things are not nearly a dire as they seem.
Polaris is a double layer POB build.
You are doing the first layer. The only function of the first layer of planking is to provide an adequate base for the actual planking.
The molds on most POB kits are too widely spaced to provide support by themselves.  Even though the first Italian kits termed them bulkheads, this is not what they are.
Actual bulkheads are a feature of steel vessels and Chinese sea going junks.  Western wooden ships did not have bulkheads. They are a mold of the cross section at their location. 
For that first planking layer - just good enough for the outer layer is enough.  Gaps between strakes are not important.  They do not need to be filled.  If there are dips and hollows  between the molds, these need to be fleshed out.  Often a scab of wood does a better job than spackle if the dip is significant.
If there is enough support for the outer planking, it does not matter what it looks like.
 

If you click on the Articles Database link at the top here  and scroll down to the Framing and Planking section, the bottom three articles will show how the planking should be done.  You do not have the materials to match what is shown, but this  may give you a map for adapting as best can.  Or you can buy wider and better replacement planking from a vendor at the right side of this page.
 
You cannot spill an "S" shaped plank from wider stock  with what is your kit supplied planking,  Trying to edge bend to a serious degree is fighting the nature of the wood, so at least you should have some idea about the cause of your frustration.  The garboard is the key to getting the rest of the planking to work out.  For it, the edge opposite the keel should stay dead straight.  Any removal should be at the keel edge and that should mostly be at the stem rabbet.  Never bend the ends up the stem.

If you click on the Articles Database link at the top here  and scroll down to the Framing and Planking section, the bottom three articles will show how the planking should be done.  You do not have the materials to match what is shown, but this  may give you a map for adapting as best can.  Or you can buy wider and better replacement planking from a vendor at the right side of this page.
 
You cannot spill an "S" shaped plank from wider stock  with what is your kit supplied planking,  Trying to edge bend to a serious degree is fighting the nature of the wood, so at least you should have some idea about the cause of your frustration.  The garboard is the key to getting the rest of the planking to work out.  For it, the edge opposite the keel should stay dead straight.  Any removal should be at the keel edge and that should mostly be at the stem rabbet.  Never bend the ends up the stem.

This is the old style marking gauge:

 
 
 
Replace the steel scribing point with a section of a 2mm  HB mechanical pencil lead

Using scrap wood stock and a chisel a miniature version is easy to fabricate.
 
 

What with the epidemic of greed which defines the current era,  there is a high probability that any plans would rival the kit in how much is the cost.
If you have the materials and facilities to fabricate the model from its plans, the parts of the kit itself can be used as 3D plans for to fabricate a total replacement model using appropriate species of wood.
 
Just a suggestion.
 
 

It is a bit more involved and depends on the era.
Rope, rope and parrels, a wooden shoe,  an iron truss and pivot spike.
The yards on an actual ship need to pivot and swing on a horizontal plane.
Often, the main yard was fixed at one spot on the mast.  The upper yards would move up and down the mast.
On a model, there are decisions.  Sails or bare.  Sails, and the topsail yards and above would be up.  Bare = down.
Sails would more often have the yards at an angle other than perpendicular.
Bare = perpendicular.
The way that the yards are attached to the mast needs to be simulated.  But once the pose has been selected, the actual attachment of the yards can be some something as simple as a section of a brass pin in blind holes in the yard and in the mast.   The simulation does not need to actually function.  It is only on an RC model where the yards have to actually earn a living.

This is the old style marking gauge:

 
 
 
Replace the steel scribing point with a section of a 2mm  HB mechanical pencil lead

Using scrap wood stock and a chisel a miniature version is easy to fabricate.
 
 

This is the old style marking gauge:

 
 
 
Replace the steel scribing point with a section of a 2mm  HB mechanical pencil lead

Using scrap wood stock and a chisel a miniature version is easy to fabricate.
 
 

I did not see a log with the deck being laid in process.  It looks like there is a one piece sub deck on top of the molds and individual planks are laid on top.
A deck curve should be easy to add.  Use actual deck beams.  Now the thickness would be much less than an actual deck beam.  The middle would be the thickness of the deck crown,  At the tops of the frames.  At the side, the thickness would feather to zero.  The wider this pseudo beam the happier you will be.
This crowned deck would be done using- a shim that is an arc, actually,  The old How To Build A Ship Model books  show to get an arc or an ellipse over a distance.
 
For the deck - to avoid creating a cartoon by over doing it: 
A touch of walnut aqueous stain or walnut acrylic paint added to the PVA on the plank edges should give you a scale appropriate caulking seam. 
No trunnels.  
Study up in planking butt shifts. 
A 4 butt shift with just a hint of a seam - not a wide -poke you in the eye bowling alley gutter seam. 
The grain makes doing a scratch for a cross plank seam difficult to pull off.   I wonder if one of those ultra thin saws made from a razor blade would leave an even channel  - not deep and filled with walnut PVA would do it?

Exactly this and for me, a momentary foot switch.  I drill a lot of holes in the same board, so I have one hand for the leaver, one hand to position the work, and I do not want the spinning to start until the bit tip is in the divot.

This is the old style marking gauge:

 
 
 
Replace the steel scribing point with a section of a 2mm  HB mechanical pencil lead

Using scrap wood stock and a chisel a miniature version is easy to fabricate.
 
 

I did not see a log with the deck being laid in process.  It looks like there is a one piece sub deck on top of the molds and individual planks are laid on top.
A deck curve should be easy to add.  Use actual deck beams.  Now the thickness would be much less than an actual deck beam.  The middle would be the thickness of the deck crown,  At the tops of the frames.  At the side, the thickness would feather to zero.  The wider this pseudo beam the happier you will be.
This crowned deck would be done using- a shim that is an arc, actually,  The old How To Build A Ship Model books  show to get an arc or an ellipse over a distance.
 
For the deck - to avoid creating a cartoon by over doing it: 
A touch of walnut aqueous stain or walnut acrylic paint added to the PVA on the plank edges should give you a scale appropriate caulking seam. 
No trunnels.  
Study up in planking butt shifts. 
A 4 butt shift with just a hint of a seam - not a wide -poke you in the eye bowling alley gutter seam. 
The grain makes doing a scratch for a cross plank seam difficult to pull off.   I wonder if one of those ultra thin saws made from a razor blade would leave an even channel  - not deep and filled with walnut PVA would do it?

I would place money on the compounds that polymerize - the vinyl and acrylic components - have one chemical company as their origin.  It is probably a toxic and hazardous process not cost effective to replicate in multiple locations.  The gemisch that is the commercial product  probably has a few more manufacturers but not as many as there are products.   Some are just rebranded.  If two companies have products in the same shaped dispenser, they probably come off of the same line. A line that forks just before the labeling machines.
 
PVA when polymerized looks like intertwined fungal hyphae.  The thinner the zone of just vinyl chains between two meeting surfaces, the stronger the bond.   Clamping pressure = bond strength.  The limiting factor is the amount of pressure the wood fibers can resist before they crush.
 
If a POB build has molds that are plywood,  it would probably be prudent to prime the areas that are end grain with pushed in and surface wiped PVA.  Let it cure and then bond the planking.

I used Franklin pre-mixed Hide glue as a reversible glue.   It holds too well the way I applied it.
I coated both surfaces.  I used tolerances that were too exact.
Hide glue is a protein.  Hot ethanol will denature it and have it curl into small balls.  It would have been exactly what I want - if there was room for the hot ethanol to penetrate the glue joint.
 
Hide glue is probably what the pre- 20th century models were assembled with.   If your goal is a 100-200 year lifespan it should serve.
The Franklin and Old Brown versions are convenient but the high percentage that is water is a worry.
The glue pot hot dissolved flakes has much less water and would probably be the wise option.  Offering a wide choice of critter origins for relative strength.
It is however a witches brew process that takes addition time and skill before the actual wood joining step can begin.  This lack of convenience is a difficult hurdle to justify when compared to just applying a bleb of Titebond II spreading it as a complete monolayer on both meeting surfaces.
 
About Duco -  it probably helps to read the directions.  Totally coat both meeting areas - let dry - apply a wet layer and get together really sorta fast.  It does hold better.

Wrong glue.
PVA  - yellow carpenters glue  Titebond II if a display model  Titebond III if it is RC
 
No glue is going to bond all that well to end grain. 
Scrap wood - tongue depressors or Birch coffee stirs can be scabbed on both faces of the plywood molds where the planking bonds to widen and have better grain.

If there is a lamp assembly store near you - if that is still a thing - hollow brass cylinders of various sizes and shapes?

I would place money on the compounds that polymerize - the vinyl and acrylic components - have one chemical company as their origin.  It is probably a toxic and hazardous process not cost effective to replicate in multiple locations.  The gemisch that is the commercial product  probably has a few more manufacturers but not as many as there are products.   Some are just rebranded.  If two companies have products in the same shaped dispenser, they probably come off of the same line. A line that forks just before the labeling machines.
 
PVA when polymerized looks like intertwined fungal hyphae.  The thinner the zone of just vinyl chains between two meeting surfaces, the stronger the bond.   Clamping pressure = bond strength.  The limiting factor is the amount of pressure the wood fibers can resist before they crush.
 
If a POB build has molds that are plywood,  it would probably be prudent to prime the areas that are end grain with pushed in and surface wiped PVA.  Let it cure and then bond the planking.

I would place money on the compounds that polymerize - the vinyl and acrylic components - have one chemical company as their origin.  It is probably a toxic and hazardous process not cost effective to replicate in multiple locations.  The gemisch that is the commercial product  probably has a few more manufacturers but not as many as there are products.   Some are just rebranded.  If two companies have products in the same shaped dispenser, they probably come off of the same line. A line that forks just before the labeling machines.
 
PVA when polymerized looks like intertwined fungal hyphae.  The thinner the zone of just vinyl chains between two meeting surfaces, the stronger the bond.   Clamping pressure = bond strength.  The limiting factor is the amount of pressure the wood fibers can resist before they crush.
 
If a POB build has molds that are plywood,  it would probably be prudent to prime the areas that are end grain with pushed in and surface wiped PVA.  Let it cure and then bond the planking.

I used Franklin pre-mixed Hide glue as a reversible glue.   It holds too well the way I applied it.
I coated both surfaces.  I used tolerances that were too exact.
Hide glue is a protein.  Hot ethanol will denature it and have it curl into small balls.  It would have been exactly what I want - if there was room for the hot ethanol to penetrate the glue joint.
 
Hide glue is probably what the pre- 20th century models were assembled with.   If your goal is a 100-200 year lifespan it should serve.
The Franklin and Old Brown versions are convenient but the high percentage that is water is a worry.
The glue pot hot dissolved flakes has much less water and would probably be the wise option.  Offering a wide choice of critter origins for relative strength.
It is however a witches brew process that takes addition time and skill before the actual wood joining step can begin.  This lack of convenience is a difficult hurdle to justify when compared to just applying a bleb of Titebond II spreading it as a complete monolayer on both meeting surfaces.
 
About Duco -  it probably helps to read the directions.  Totally coat both meeting areas - let dry - apply a wet layer and get together really sorta fast.  It does hold better.

Building ship models can involve solving such a wide rage of problems that it really depends on what you’re trying to do.  
 
For gluing wood to wood commonly available PVA glue; the yellow stuff.  Elmer’s, Titebond, both work fine. Possibly other brands too.  IMHO, it’s all the same stuff.  Requires clamping pressure.
 
Special gluing problems like lightly loaded or interlocking metal to wood joints: Nitrocellulose based glue. Nitrocellulose based clear fingernail polish works great.  It also works for wood-wood joints where clamping pressure cannot be applied.  Duco is its the same stuff, just thicker.
 
For larger wood metal joints, Epoxy.  I especially like JB Weld, it’s easy to squeeze out a couple of blobs and mix.  Eyeball can judge 1:1 proportions.
 
CA Glues:  Don’t use!!
 
Roger
 

An excellent job so far  - on one of the more difficult ships to model.

I have been using Duco Cement or similar glues for at nearly 70 years and it keeps forever. It contains acetone and other volatile chemicals, so if you live in California you should worry that it will cause your ears to fall off. I know it isn't "fashionable" these days, but it works very well with wood. It does dry clear, but it leaves a visible film. It sets up in about 20 seconds but doesn't form a strong bond for about an hour. It hardens fully in 24 hours.
 
I have used PVA and it works, but I end up throwing most of it out because it hardens in the bottle, even when kept capped.
 
I never use CA (cyanoacrilate). It turns to rock in the tubes before I get around to using it. If I do get to use it the necks of the tubes clog after a single use.

I see that you are a Tarheel, so  Sycamore and Walnut will have different meanings from what is European in origin.
 
I doubt that any kit will include Black Walnut or any member of the Juglans family.  What is provided in kits is called "walnut" because of its color. Most is one of several African species in the Mahogany family or a near relative.  Actual Walnut is a much superior wood, but for our uses, it has open pores - not good.
 
What Europeans call Sycamore is an Acer.  It is a Maple.  The Plane tree - what we call Sycamore - a large fast growing but messy tree - has fine grain, no open pores, usefully hard hard wood. However, the grain is busy, it is currently sold as Lacewood,  it has an unpleasant smell when cut and the fibers roll.
 
Lime is Tilia.  It is a soft wood with almost no visible grain.  A color similar to Pine.  It has been used in Europe - northern Europe - for a long time for carving.  The North American member of the family Tilia,  used here as a substitute is Basswood.  Lime is twice as hard as Basswood and not as fuzzy.  Bass does not hold a sharp edge.
 
The light color wood would be either Lime or Sycamore (Eu). If it is soft and shows no grain = Lime. If it hard and with an visible alternating grain = Sycamore.  The color defines its location.
 
Sapele is another African Mahogany.  It is for show.
 
The black is something that has been dyed.  I would guess it is for the wales.
The grey is something that has been dyed.  Probably the same species as the black.  I would guess for decking.
For a new deck, Lime or Acer would match the original Pine or Oak decks,  but the Sun and hard use will turn a "not for show" deck grey.
 
If you catch the ship modeling bug and if it sets in so hard that you come over to the dark side,  Except for the Acer, you can use the wood supplied in the kit as examples of species that you would never use.  For the Acer,  we have the premier member - Hard Maple earning an "A".    The European species gets a "B". 

Kurt is right.
If chop is the way you wish to go
Harbor Freight has a mini chop saw that will cut thru thicker stock rather than crushing the fibers
It is Harbor Freight  so it is not a Rolls.   The table wants a layer to bring it up to the level of the bottom of the "vise".
It wants to sling the off cut.  You do not want your fingers as close to the blade as it would take to hold and prevent that.
 
StewMac has a Japanese Curved-edge Mini Saw  that I like - cutting on the pull stroke- good.