cdrusn89

While I worked on the port side I got the window frames dry fitted into the stbd side quarter gallery. These frames are done in Swiss Pear, although I have been considering hitting them with the walnut stain so the gaps between the frame and the gallery will not be so obvious. Not sure what I will do at this point - I have walnut wood filler and wood putty but I have not tried it alongside the walnut stained walnut veneer that I used for the gallery facing. Perhaps I should experiment some before deciding. I also (against my better judgement) mixed up a combination of tru-color flat off-white (TCP-817) and SP&S Yellow (TCP-48) to get a color that is pretty close to the shade of the boxwood that I have used for the molding on the stern. Here is the piece of trim between the windows (also dry fitted) held in place with two bits of masking tape.

The starboard side quarter gallery - wiped down with paint thinner. And yes I see that the bulwark is broken off - that happened while I was thinning the bulkwarks. It was the only one so I mcount myself lucky. I will fix it when I get the port side finished. I did not get the forward junction with the hull as close as I wanted but... I am putting the glass in the windows with the canopy and window cement (Model Master Clear Parts Cement and Window Maker to be exact) instead of the acetate sheet. I think I am going to wait until I get the port side done and then put all the windows in at the same time. Now it is on to the port side.

I decided to use boxwood in place of the kit supplied parts for the "floor" of the quarter galleries. But I did not have any boxwood in a wide enough width to span the entire area so I glued up four pieces of 1/8" wide strip which I will use for the bottom and aft part of the quarter gallery interiors. I used the kit piece for the inner "top" of the quarter galleries since it will be really hard to see them. So here are the quarter gallery "foundations" ready for the two layer "skin" to be applied.

It was only a matter of when the dreaded "tolerance build-up" would rear its ugly head and that time is now - at least the first instance where it is causing a "real" problem. The issue came to light when I was installing the QG1 and 2 pieces that define the top and bottom of the quarter gallery "foundations". The directions say that the upper (QG1) piece should be 1/16" below the lower opening for the quarter galleries which are defined by the bulwark planking. If the planking on each side are not "aligned" (at least vertically) then the quarter galleries will appear at slightly (hopefully) different locations relative to the stern transom. However, since the ends of the galleries will be connected by molding pieces top and bottom even a slight difference will cause the molding to not appear to be "level". On this model the difference was pretty close to 1/16" with the port side higher than the starboard. Unluckily I did not recognize the problem until both sets of QG1 and 2s were glued in place. So I tore the port side pieces off. I decided that the stbd side was going to be the "display" side (it has the hull planking cut-out) so would use that as "ground truth" for the quarter galleries. Here is the stbd side quarter gallery "foundation" as it stands now. I used the thin walnut veneer to cover the QG1 and 2 pieces. I saw no reason to plank this area since I was going to cover it with walnut. Now that I have located the stbd side of the upper molding strip (you can see it in the photo above) I have to extend it across the stern and hope it comes somewhere close to where the port side QG1 should be. We will see.

I had to invert the hull again to add the "details" to the lower transom as well as providing a better perspective to plank the upper transom. I added the walnut veneer to the transom and now the hull is back upright. I should have taken I picture before I turned it over but... So here it is as I start the construction of the quarter galleries.

While letting the glue dry on the upper transom planking I was experimenting with finish for the etched brass parts that will be part of the decorations on the stern. I have several bottles of Mr. Surfacer metal "primer" which I was planning on using on the etched brass to try and give the pieces a more rounded look - simulating the wood that they were made from. I have three different products, number 500, 1000 and 1200. The only differfence I can detect is that the larger the number the thinner the material appears to be. They are also a slightly different shade of gray. I applied a bit (by brush) to the edge of the etched brass sheet (after chemically cleaning the area) and then tested two of the colors I am considering for use to approximate the color of boxwood which is the wood I used for the "fancy" molding and will use for much of the interior items. The two colors are tru-color TCP-48 (SP&S Yellow) and tru-color TCP-123 (MP Eagle Yellow) - my local "model" shop is principally for model train folks so much of the paint they carry are aimed at that community. The picture below shows a piece of boxwood and samples of the two colors on top of the three primers. I may try and add some flat white to the TCP-123 (the color on the left) to try for a closer match although I generally try to use pre-mixed colors to avoid issues later when touch-up is required and I might have to mix more - never can get an exact match once the initial supply is gone - at least that has been my experience so far. If anyone has a suggestion for another pre-mixed color that would be useful please let me know and I will see if I can get some. As with clamps, you can n ever have too many paint colors.

Getting down to "business" at the stern. I got the stern transom attached and added the thickening to the out sections. Now the "real" fun, thinning the stern transom, lintels and sills to the 3/16" thickness of the outer portions of the stern transom. I mostly used an 80 grit sanding stick (aka tongue depressor) but had to make some adaptations when it came to the outermost stern timbers to get where it meets the bulwarks. Here is a picture of the stern timbers after thinning. The tops are now 1/8" thick and hopefully not much thicker than that as the extend down. Time will tell when I have to plank the interior of the great cabin. Anyway, here is what it looks like with the stern timbers mthinned: It is my intention to use walnut veneer on the transom instead of painting it flat black. To that end I ripped a piece of walnut that is luckily wide enough to accommodate the stern transom and thickness sanded it down to a bit more than 1/64" thick (.018"). I used the stern transom (before I glued it to the stern) to trace the outline on the walnut sheet and cut it out a bit larger than the tracing would indicate. Here it is clamped to the stern transom but not yet glued in place. I still have to cut pieces to cover the stern timbers themselves (should have thought of that when I was gluing the basswood pieces in place - it would, be easier to have trimmed the walnut to size attached to the basswood piece.).

So now it is on to the stern and quarter galleries. First step is to add the laser cut stern transom which includes two laser cut markers that should line up with the two center stern timbers. However, as you can see below the starboard side stern timber does not line up correctly. Note: I am not (yet) concerned about where the lintels and sills line up with the top and bottom of the transom. Need to get the timbers straight first. So I decided I needed to change some of the lintels and sills so I removed three of them as shown below. I cut some new lintels and sills and moved the starboard stern timber over just a bit. So here is the stern tarnsom as installed. I checked the distance from the top of the stern transom to the top of the bulwark planking on each side as a proxy for getting the stern transom "level". Both sides showed 10mm (+ or - less than 1 mm). So I glued it in place.

Bossman - Thanks and yes it is good to get her back upright although I notice some detail on the lower transom that should probably have been done before I reoriented her. Hopefully those will be put off to some indeterminate time in the future. With the hull planking completed (I am sure there is something left to do I just can't figure out what it might be) I switched to a new build board which I ordered when I started the build. It took over 90 days for it arrive (from Poland) but I did not need it until now. The old build board was great as long as there were exposed parts of the bulkhead former but now it would mean building a new series of custom "holders" which would be useful only for this build since they would be adapted to this particular hull shape. So I completed the third coat of WoP and here is the model on the new build board.

And here is the hull after two coats of Wipe-on-Poly. Every time I apply the WoP I think about finishing up with a coat of semi-gloss . I know that the finish in the period was flat but since this is more for "display" than "complete accuracy" (IMHO) I wonder if semi-gloss on the lower wales and hull would look "better" than the flat finish. I am planning on at least one more coat of WoP so I have a least few hours to decide.

Here is the Holly stern post and the new keel repair (this time I included the bolt heads as if this joint was supposed to be here) installed after three coats of Wipe-on-Poly flat. Not the best hull planking where it meets the stern post but probably the best I have done so far - and no filler to cover the gaps since it is not painted.

Speaking of the stern post - I decided that I needed to have one in the same wood (Holly) as the hull planking. I used the kit material for the stem and keel and want to keep the keel, rudder and stem in the basswood (mostly because I have little faith in my ability to turn out a satisfactory version of the kit design in another material). However, when this occurred to me I had already cut all the Holly I had into 1/8" wide pieces in preparation for cutting the hull planks. Since the stern post is 1/4" I had to glue up a billet from which to cut the stern post. I figured using a laminated piece would not show since the hull, rudder and keel cover the exposed sides - no harm no foul. Here is the kit supplied stern post (not glued together) and the one I fabricated from Holly (glued together).

Port side planking completed! Now for some sanding and fixing the keel (again). I messed up my original repair trying to get the interface with the stern post straight. I am going to install the stern post now since I can't find anyplace in the instructions where it is shown and it is clearly in place when the rudder is installed in Chapter 8 and in all the pictures in Chapter 7. So here is the port side as it stands now.

I have been "dogging it" lately - too much baseball to watch. So I got the first six rows (of the twelve remaining) on the port side completed. Here is what it looks like. Bow appears as though I need to add a stealer but I am going to add a few more rows before deciding exactly what to do. Getting close to hull planking completion - not a moment too soon.

Port side band 3, lined off and the first four planks (two starting at the bow and two at the stern) dry fitted. Thinking about how to add a drop plank or two at the bow as the planks there would be ev en narrower than on the stbd side (where I added one drop plank).

Starboard side hull planking completed. Now for the port side.

The current version of my jig for tapering the planks. The slot toward the bottom and the clamp on the left hold the plank with about half the width above the board. The clamp keeps it from moving. I use the 100 grit sanding stick to taper the plank. The two strips of masking tape are marked with the bulkhead locations (one each for forward and aft of the "0" bulkhead) with the calculated widths at each bulkhead. I mark a plank with either set of bulkhead locations and then start sanding. I have to take the plank out of the groove five or six times to check the widths as I move from the narrow to wider end. Six more planks for each end and then the stbd side should be complete.

Stbd side belt three complete to above (below) the cut-out. I originally thought there would be four rows of planks in band three that were "short", i.e. ended at the cut-out. However, I forgot to end the fourth row with a bevel so I added one more row and it seemed to work out okay. So here is the stbd side as it is today. Need six m ore rows. Slowly refining the methodology for tapering the planks.

Besides messing around preping for band three on the stbd side I got band two on the port side done. Again I had to slim down the filler piece at the stern to get the planks close enough to the bulkhead former so they will not stick out beyond the stern post. May still have some sanding to do there.

I sort of hate to admit it, but this is my first attempt at lining off the bulkheads for planking. Since I thought it would be better to walk before I run so I only did the area forward of the cut out on the stbd side. I followed the "conventional methodology" , measuring the length at each bulkhead and arriving at 12 planks as the number required at the widest point. Then I used the "radiating fan" (see below, this is from the Winchelsea monologue modified for 1/8" wide planks) and the tick strips for each bulkhead to determine the spacing required at each bulkhead. Then the marks on the tick strips are transferred to the appropriate bulkhead. Here are the forward bulkheads as marked with a test plank being fitted. (The clamps are holding band two planks on the port side.) I used the measurements to determine the actual plank width at each bulkhead, marked the measurements on a piece of masking tape with the bulkhead locations. (disregard the double "G"s. the right one should be "E" - it was late at night) I used a 120 grit sanding stick and the digit calipers to get the first four planks (those that end at the cut-out) tapered as specified. Not looking forward to doing this for all 60 planks (12 rows with about 5 planks per row) but I have not had good success using a knife (Xacto or other) to taper planks that are this narrow to start. Now for the acid test - do they match up with the marks on the bulkheads? Here are three additional rows of planking dry fit. Three out of four would make me MVP in either league of MLB. Time to get the glue. FYI, the planks were in the kit supplied bending jig overnight, no water or steam just sitting in the jig.

Band 2 on the stbd side completed. I also extend the keel to cover the stern post. I just grafted a piece in rather than try and replace the entire after piece. It will be in the shadow of the hull and I may add the fake bolts also so it looks more like the other joints. I had to make some pretty significant mods to the after filler pieces. Once I figured out where the planks had to go it became obvious that the filler blocks were to big and needed to be reduced so the planks were not making a very shape turn to fit into the stern rabbit. Now for some measurements - I will line off the bulkheads for the final planks so (hopefully) I can avoid a series of weirdly shaped planks where they will be pretty visible. Here is the stbd side in its current state.

The first planking belt is complete - 10 rows on starboard side and 11 on the port. I am one short on the starboard side as I ran out of milled 1/8" X 1/16" planks. Will add the additional row tomorrow after I mill some more holly. As it turns out (at least on my model) 10 rows extends to the center on both sides, the 11th plank is the first to end in the stern post rabbit. Speaking of the stern post - I can't find where the instructions address it. The rudder is chapter 8 but I can't find where the stern post is addressed except it is clearly in place in the pictures of the stern and quarter galleries (chapter 7) and not addressed in chapter 6. I did a dry install of the stern post and found that I apparently have cut the keel too short - it should extend to the end of the stern post. I need to get this fixed before I glue and more planks into the keel rabbit. I guess I will replace the entire after section - ugh. And here is the first belt, sanded with 100 grit and wiped with paint thinner.

Port side planking through 7 rows up (or down) from wales. So far so good.

Looks very nice Bruce. Hopefully I will be closer to your stage of completion when you return. I am still planking the hull.

I have truly started on planking the hull. I cut approx 100 pieces of Holly to 1/8" X 1/16" X 24" to use for the vast majority of the planking. I also cut several 3/16" X 1/16" pieces for the garboard strake and reserved some stock in case I decide to use some 1/4" wide stock to avoid stealers at the stern. I also built the plank bending jig provided in the kit and also build the plank bender that Chuck uses for the Winchelsea planking video. I did some "test" fitting on the port side and discovered that between bulkheads G and E that the 1/16" thick planking might not be thick enough to avoid at least a thin spot (at worst a "hole") so I cut some planks with some extra "meat" in them (.09" thick instead of .0625"). That created the problem of tapering the additional thickness down to the 1/16" going aft but I think I got that accomplished. I installed the two garboard strakes so I could make the measurements at amidships. I got 4.25 inches so I should have 34 .25" planks between the wales and garboard strake. Here is a shot of the two garboard stakes. I color coded the internal bulkheads to make keeping track of where the planking joints would be a little easier (I lose count easily). As directed in the instructions the garboard stakes end at bulkhead E. I "adjusted" the forward ends of three "beefy" planks so they would fit in the stem slot and then tapered them per the instructions (1/64" over the first 4"). Well actually I took the .125" width down to .100 "at the stem end. I bent them using the Winchelsea "hot iron" techniques and dry fit them on the port side as the second, third and fourth planks below the wales (one "standard" plank was already there per the bulwark planking instructions - so I guess than means a total of 35 planks). I marked each plank with where the taper to 1/16" had to be and ran that end through the thickness sander then tapered the plank to this thickness over the next bulkhead length. With four planks in place I added an additional plank of "normal" thickness behind all but the lowest (highest in pictures as hull is upside down) and sanded to get things a semblance of smooth. I decided not to use the pencil substitute for caulk on the hull planks as I was afraid that the near white Holly would show the caulking too much. Plus I believe that the "slush" that was used on the bottoms would probably have made the caulk more difficult to distinguish. So here is the port side with four planks in place, rough (100 grit) sanded and wiped down with paint thinner.