cdrusn89

Port side garboard stake in place waiting for glue to set.

I soaked the strake in hot (190 degree - Insinkerator hot) water for a few minutes, got it in position then used a hair dryer to dry the plank. Only took a few minutes and the plank was ready for installation.  Titebond glue (what I am using) is pretty firmly set in about 30 minutes. So I should be ready for the starboard side before I quit for the day.

On 12/4/2023 at 9:08 PM, SiriusVoyager said:

I started working on fairing the frames.  I realized I had another problem.  Some of the frames don't go all the way to the edge of the deck.  I am not exactly sure what happened here.  It isn't an issue of them being short on one side and protruding on the other side.  I think my best bet will be to add shims and wedges when I do the planking. 

I had exactly the opposite problem - I had bulkheads that stuck out beyond the deck edge. And like you it was not that the ones on the other side were too far in. I had three on one side and one on the other. Go figure.

It took a good bit of sanding to reduce the bulkheads to be level with the deck edge.

I have just started planking - garboard strake, so I may yet " pay the price" what whatever I did wrong.

I got the hull faired - I broke my own rule and used mostly 110 grit sanding sticks for the fairing. Where the bulkheads extended past the decking it took a good bit of sanding, even with 110 grit to get the bulkhead reduced to the deck edge.

While installing the keel and stern post I noticed the instructions admonition that the plank supports are flush with the spine. In my case the supports were flush (more or less) but bulkhead 9 extended beyond the spine by more than a little. See below:

So out came the 110 grit sanding stick again and I reduced bulkhead 9 to be level with the plank support pieces.

I had to refair the bulkhead 9 and 8 to get the flow correct. I am hoping that this will all "come out in the wash" when the planking is done but...

Now that this area is as described min the instructions I added the central plank and left it extended over the transom. The problem is that with the center plank on top of the transom only the part on and forward of bulkhead 9 is attached to the frame. Not sure what, if any, impact this will have on the planking but it bears watching.

Two other issues as we near the planking stage.

One the stem is not flush with the deck. I am not sure how it could have been since the decking went on top of the center spine and the spine was flat in that area. If this becomes an issue I will cut and shape a piece to extend the stem up to deck level.

Two, the deck does not extend all the way to the transom. Either my transom is sloped too much or I put the deck on too far forward. The deck location aft is determined by the  center board section fitting against bulkhead 4. If this joint is tight then the stern falls where it falls. I will put some filler in here when the planking is done.

The deck - hmmm, should be easy I thought.

I dry fit the starboard half but after several fitful attempts to get everything in place at the same time I put some dabs of glue in strategic spots and tried again.

I found three spots that needed attention, all where the deck support was too low. Probably means the bulkhead was not level port/starboard and the port side in these locations is probably high.

Fitting the port side deck however did not bear that out. It had one bulkhead which was low as well. And it was not the same as any of the three on the starboard side.

Given that I thought maybe it would be better to try and do both sides together, but starting at the bow and working aft.

One more point - if you are planning on a fixed centerboard in the down position wait until after the deck and planking is done to install it. Mine keeps getting in the way of rubber bands.

Here is the deck done to midships, both sides.

The weight is holding down the two center section astride the centerboard trunk.

The two clamps are keeping the port side deck even with the bulkheads on that side. Left to its own devices it would be well outside of the bulkhead ends.

Given the unevenness at the bow this is probably not surprising.

Going to have to be more than a little firing before the planking can begin - at least at the bow.

Painted seats installed.

I also painted the cabin floor.

Seats - badger 16-419 Umber.   Cabin Floor - Badger 16-427 Salmon Buff

Since the instructions made a big deal about getting the seats aligned I decided to assemble them off ship and added a strengthener to ensure the three pieces were aligned.

And yes, I originally painted the wrong side of one of the seat sides. i am pretty sure I checked before I painted but obviously I forgot to mark the backs and had to repaint.

This goes on the hull shortly and then the "real fun" seeing how well the deck fits.

Mast and boom shaping complete.

While waiting for the extra support glue to "really set" I went back to working on the mast.

It would have been nice if when the two halves were glued together the lower end would have been square. As it was one side was 8mm across and the other was 6.4mm. Since I have one I used the Byrnes thickness sander to get the lower end square before working on getting the other two sides tapered.

Tapering was not two big a challenge but drawing straight lines on relatively tiny pieces of wood has always been a challenge for me.

After the mast was tapered on both sides I painted it with a water based gray primer. I find it much easier to work the spar to eight sided when I can see a distinct contract between where the wood has been removed and where it has not. I also cheated and built a "rounding board" with supports every inch covering 12 inches so even very long pieces can be supported along their entire length.

Here is the tapered spar in the fixture.

I use a sanding stick made out of a tongue depressor with 220 grit sandpaper glued to each side. I try not to use any sandpaper more aggressive than 220 grit because when I do generally bad things happen. I would rather spend ten minutes getting the correct amount of wood off rather than five minutes and take off too much. Besides it leaves a cleaner surface that is easier to finish sand.

So here is what the spar looks like after the first side has been "flattened". I use the tic strip I prepared before hand to check the width of the bare wood and can see if the width tapers as it gets closer to the narrow end.

At this point I can see that there needs to be more wood removed at the wider end but it looks pretty good where the taper starts.

After some more work on this side and the next here are the upper and lower ends:

And here it the completed eight sided mast in the fixture with the tool of choice at the top.

Yes, bulkhead four came together at the spine.

I experienced some unease and trepidation once I had the bulkheads (and floor) glued in place. It may all have been optical illusions caused by all the lines on the cutting pads or my eyesight not being what it used to be (along with many other functions) but I thought it prudent to add some additional support between the bulkheads to keep them perpendicular to the spine. While the "spinal rigidity" leaves something to be desired (IMHO) there isn't anything I can think of that will help that appreciably.

So I added some perpendicular supports between the bulkheads where I could get access. Sadly there doesn't appear there is room/access to do anything for bulkheads nine and ten so we will have to be "particularly careful out there" to quote an old TV show - anyone remember the show and character????

So here is the hull framework with the supports added. I put some sanding sealer on the cabin floor as I intend to paint the cabin floor and seats before everything comes together in that area.

Thanks Rusty, Ryland and nzreg.

Working the Muscongus Bay Lobster Smack now waiting for the HMS Speedwell from Syren to come "on line".

While waiting for the glue on bulkhead 4 (second half) to dry I looked ahead and glued up the stern transom and the mast halves.

I will continue the mast shaping in between bulkhead gluing.

Dry fitting went fine until bulkhead 4, the one that is in two halves to accommodate the centerboard trunk. Well, I did have to trim the bottom of bulkhead 1 as it stuck down below where the garboard plank will be.

But Bulkhead 4 was definitely a problem.

The notches to fit over the spine stiffeners are definitely too shallow. I measured and then cut out the offending parts.

And that seems (after some more cutting, sanding and fitting) to resolve the issue.

So here are the ten bulkheads and cockpit floor dry fit into the spine.

And here is the first half of bulkhead 4 glued into the spine waiting for the glue to set.

I decided on a fixed centerboard in the down position so I painted the exposed portion flat black before gluing it onto the spine pieces. It may make a handy place to hold the structure for now.

I managed to get the center spine and reinforcements attached without major problems. I used Titebond yellow glue for the spine but resorted to medium CA for the reinforcements. I find it easier to get precise location with the CA.

I removed the bulkheads and cleaned the char from the slots as directed.

So here is the center spine and the bulkheads ready for dry fitting.

Thanks JJ

Thanks Jacques.  As they say on TV "Details Matter".

The first issue I encountered is there is a discrepancy between the center bulkhead pieces shown in the instructions and the material actually provided. I canot tell if this is going to be a problem but...

This is the middle center section:

On the left you can see three "notches" probably where bulkheads will be placed after the spine is completed.

Here is a picture from the instructions which shows only two such notches.

Probably better too many in actuality than too few but...

While waiting for the HMS Speedwell project from Syren Ship Model Company I am building some smaller models to "fill in the spaces" in some of the cabinetry where the larger models will not fit.

Thanks Rick and Dusan.

The long boat is the Model Shipways 18th Century Long Boat kit (MS1457CBT). It was the only 1/48th scale ship's boat I could find. I would have put two on (like the Confederacy model) if I could find one a slightly different length than the Model Shipways kit.

My Winnie is FINISHED!!!

I would update the blog title to reflect that if I could remember how to do that - once every 12 - 18 months is not frequent enough to get that in the long term memory - it least at this age it is.

Here are a bunch of pictures before she goes in the display cabinet.

And here she is in her new home.

And here is the fleet - or most of it anyway.

First round of touch-up paint done and the false rails are on.

I decided to leave the rails natural except for the inside esurface which I painted black. And I opted for no frieze.

I have the other two heads, the bumpkins and the stern lantern left to go. I already have the stern lantern built so it in just mounting that is required. Plus I almnost forgot the elm tree pumps - I did not install them previously due to damage possibility but now seems like a good time to get them in place.

By the way does anyone know where, exactly the bumpkins go. I can't find them on any of the drawings and the monograph only shows them in a few pictures.

Starboard side head timbers (all 4), cat head support and middle rail completed.

Head gratings (except for the ones outboard of the heads) completed but much paint touch-up required. I will wait until I get the last for grating pieces in place then (hopefully) get all the black touch up at once.

Getting close to the finish line now!

FYI - while the monograph says there are plenty of grating pieces to do all that is required I must be a paragon of wasteful as I used almost twice what came with the Chapter 12 materials. Just saying.

Starboard side head timbers and associated "stuff" completed.

On to the port side and then the Head gratings and REALLY small thin pieces.

Starboard side cat head support in place and frieze applied.

On to the fourth head timber. and yes, I fixed the frieze at the top before the glue was completely set.

Cover boards on starboard side installed.

The Cat Head support knees are causing me a significant level of difficulty. I decided to get the starboard side completed on  the cover boards, cat head support and the fourth head timber before I start the port side. I am on my third attempt at the upper portion of the cat head support on this side. Can't afford another without more materials.

Head timbers are in place.

Now the lower rails which I hope I have correctly templated before committing to adjust the "real" rails.

Then the cover boards and some touch up painting and filling the hole in the middle timber.