Rustyj

Welcome aboard Fred. Follow what Chuck says, go slow and enjoy the ride!

As expected it's beautiful workmanship and great innovation.

Thanks JJ. The paint I'm using is Admiralty Paints Acrylic Red Ochre.

Hi Ben, I'm undecided on the finish at the moment. WOP, Tung Oil, Sanding Sealer? I guess I'll have to decide soon.

Hi Joe, So far so good. Hope to see all of you then.

Also thanks for all the likes!  

Hi Ben, 

Great to see you making progress!

Here's where the Winnie is at in all her dirty glory. I'm happy to say that the starboard side went as it should.

I've planked the first 5 strakes above the wales from the bow to bulkhead #15.

She's in need of a sanding and a good cleaning. Thanks for stopping by and all the likes!

Thanks for the kind words. We all see things we would like to improve. The best thing is pushing on, learning, but most of all enjoying this wonderful hobby. I also agree with start a log. Best way to get help. I’ve been saved many a time.    

Great planking job!

Thanks guys. Oh things going wrong and finding fixes is very common in my workshop. I hope it helps someone out.   

Thank you Chuck for your advice. Also thanks for all the likes too.

What I did is replaced the 3/16" 5th strake with a 7/32" strake. Clipped in place.

I then measured the distance between the 2nd strake and the 5th strake. These two

strakes should have been 1/4" wide but I needed a bit more than that. So I then split the

distance between 2nd strake and the 5th strake and cut the two strakes to fit. These

are represented by the red boxes in the picture. Each set between the ports had to be custom cut

to fit. Once I got past bulkhead "7" I resumed normal planking.

Whew I hope that explains it.

Thanks Joe,

No matter what is going on I try to steal whatever time I can. Even if it's 20 minutes and one piece.

I've completed the port side upper planking. Unfortunately there was a "HOUSTON WE HAVE A PROBLEM" moment.

As I was working from the bow to stern doing two rows at a time by the 4th row at bulkhead "K" I started to see a problem cropping up.

I placed the 5th 3/16 strake where should be and you can see the other rows starting to take a dive.

Scratched my head for a few minutes, made some measurements and looked at the model from a few different angles.

Looking at the next picture you can see what looks like a dip in the bottom of the wales.

So I measured some more and determined the wales at bulkhead "A" was 1/16" between bulkheads "K" and "7". The Starboard side was correct.

So I pulled the planks off back to bulkhead "K" and the custom fit the pieces between "K" and "7". fit to the proper height of the 5th strake.

Thankfully the frieze will cover this and when running the molding the seam adjustment will never be seen.

I wanted to mention this so that others will be aware of the consequences of being off a little bit.

Anyways here is the completed port side planking. Needs some more sanding and a coat of wipe on poly.

On to the starboard side now.

21 hours ago, nzreg said:

Did someone mention that we need to make sawdust 

That's just the first salvo in the saw dust battle.

Excellent planking job Mike. Your workmanship is always an inspiration.

Hi Ben, Welcome aboard and It'll be great to watch your build.

Looking real nice Ryland!

Hi B.E. Great workmanship and a Happy New Years to you!

All I can say is outstanding!

Ben noticed that the port was a bit farther aft than it should have been.

I moved it forward about 1/8" to get it closer to the plans.

Thanks everyone for stopping by and the likes.

13 hours ago, Chuck said:

Don't procrastinate too much with those bollard timbers....those are tricky.  Have a great New Years!!!

Happy New Years to you Chuck and everyone else too!

I completed the bollard timbers a while back. While doing the counter and wales I constantly flip

the hull upside-down, spin it around and just manipulate it a lot. So to be safe I tucked them away 

and kept them off until the last possible moment. If all goes well I'll be putting them on later today.

I'm also re-doing the forward most gun port opening to be more inline with the plans.

That looks good Bob, I hope mine comes out as nice! It's my intent to give the tabs

under the ports a go. We'll see how that turns out.

My resin castings from Syren arrived a couple of days ago and they are great.

I can't believe sharp and nice the fine detail is. They came in a nice sturdy box

which they were returned to and tucked safely away until needed. 

I also received the chapter two laser cut set in cherry. These are my fall back

if I have issues when I attempt to scratch them.

The gun ports have all been painted red ochre so hopefully some planking will get done this weekend.

Looking good Jim.

Your build is looking very nice! Well done.

I've used ebony in the past and yes it is very hard. Whatever blades you use to cut it will be dulled and only good

for cutting ebony after that. The wood is very hard and bending is difficult. The dust is toxic and it sticks to unsealed

wood and everything else a lot like toner dust. I wore a mask and latex gloves when working with it. It does produce a

nice look when done but it wasn't worth the risks and trouble so I don't use it anymore.  

I don't see it being a problem. It gives you 5" off the center line which should be plenty. 

Thanks Chuck. I think your idea of having her planked in "no time" and mine might differ just a little bit.

Mldixon, I measured my ply from National Balsa and it was .232 - .234.

Thanks all for the likes and I hope for a Merry Christmas for all!