Craigie65

Same experience here, that particular plank was the hardest. As and Andy and Craig mention the planks above and below are approx. 90 degrees different in section. Don’t be tempted to try and twist it, as the guys have said sand it to shape and if you are painting filler is your friend!

Totally agree, that this was the most difficult plank.  What I could not get my head around was the prototype build had this plank neither on or below the one above.   If you look closely it actually straddles the corner of the counter - I was convinced that I had put the bulwarks on too high.

DB789
Originally I tried to plank as you have shown the third plank, but it was just not sitting right for me at the cross over from where it changes from vertical to almost horizontal to meet the counter.

Hi Jonathan,
Whilst I cannot part with my secret for wealth and happiness, here are my steps for getting that pesky plank on
mine.
 
I had two planks below the bulwark before turning the next to meet the stern. The first plank was full like you have, the second covered the triangular shape. 
The third plank is tricky, as you have to twist it to meet the counter.
Where the third plank wants to ride up over the second, I chose to twist the plank so that it lay on top of the edge of the second plank rather than meeting it at an angle.  I use CA glue to help me here.  I think I had to sand a little at the point where the third  plank twists to help it sit better.  I was then able to sand the contour, using the trick of sawdust and glue to fill any small gaps.  
 
The starboard side was the best.  Looking at the port I had to shape a hook into the second plank to let the third rest better.  You can just about see that in the picture below. After that the remaining planks sat fine with edge bevelling and a bit of edge bending (steam the rear if you are doing this).
 
Once all your second planking is done a bit of gentle sanding will bring it all together.

DB789
Originally I tried to plank as you have shown the third plank, but it was just not sitting right for me at the cross over from where it changes from vertical to almost horizontal to meet the counter.

Totally agree, that this was the most difficult plank.  What I could not get my head around was the prototype build had this plank neither on or below the one above.   If you look closely it actually straddles the corner of the counter - I was convinced that I had put the bulwarks on too high.

That's also the way I did this part of the second planking but I didn't have any photos of this and I wasn't sure I could describe it clearly. This part was the hardest bit to do. 

I've lined off the hull. I have Chuck's Medway Longboat planking instructions. I also have my bending board, three clamps, hair dryer, travel iron, plank bender, and silicon pad, so what could possibly go wrong?

Well!

I mis-measured at the stern so I wound up a little short on the total plank width, even using the full width available for the nine planks. As a result, I had to add a steeler a little below the future water-line. There is also a glaring gap towards the bow. Lord knows how THAT got there!

Speaking of the bow, here's a close-up showing the two planks that are significantly shorter than they should be. I started with the garboard plank and the one right below it then the first two strakes just below the bulwark. I struggled with determining where the planks should end at the stem until I ran across a comment by Craigie65 in Glomar's Nisha Blog. He suggested dry fitting part 58 to determine this. I fitted the part and drew a line to show the ending point. That helped a lot when fitting the five remaining planks in the middle.
The other problem at the prow is that I've tapered some of the planks so that they vary significantly in width. One is rather narrow and another, right below, is much too wide. I suppose I was trying to get back on track with my tick marks.

Meanwhile the stern didn't seem to come out too bad (after inserting the steeler). I used the hair-dryer-twist method so that the planks didn't need much pressure to fit in place. I like using woodworker's glue wherever possible. I dispense it with a hypodermic needle, smear it around a little into a thin layer using a toothpick, and finger-clamp the plank in place for a minute or two (or three if it's being cranky) until the glue dries enough to hold it in position, then move on to the next plank. I imagine distributing my fingers across the length of the plank is good practice if I ever decide to learn how to play the recorder. 🙂

I discovered that storing the syringe in a bit of water keeps the glue from drying out and clogging up the 18G needle, though I do need to press out a little glue before using it to get rid of any watery bits at the tip.
 
So, feeling rather chagrined but still hopeful, I'm moving on to the port side for another attempt.
 
As usual, any advice and counsel would be greatly appreciated!
 
Jonathan

Work on the Nisha continues… The rabbets and outer stern counter were fitted and clamped. 
Then outer bulwarks went on fine. As others have noted the holes in the outer bulwarks at the bow don’t line up with the inner bulwark. Should be very easy to fix with a little filing. 

I’ve second planked the starboard side only so far. The photos show it with preliminary sanding but no filler yet. 


Second planking went on quite easily. The first three planks went on untapered and then the rest were tapered to approx 50% of width at the bow. I still needed two spacers at the stern. Quite a bit of edge bending was required to cope with the curve where the stern flares out. 
 
The rabbets were big enough at bow and stern but not amidships for the keel rabbet. 

The only real difficulty, as in the first planking was trying to work out how to neatly finish off the planking along the sternpost and in particular how to neatly plank the area where the planks terminating in the stern rabbet meet those terminating against the outer stern counter. It’s quite a sharp corner and not the easiest to plank. So the messiest part of my planking. 
Port side next plus some additional sanding and filling. 

What I did was keep the second plank below the bulwark roughly parallel to the first plank and didn’t twist it to fit at all. Then added the third plank at a near right angle with its end against the stern counter. Then sanded the second plank down to shape.
Seems to have worked OK on both sides - there’s a tiny fit of filler which could have been avoided if I’d sanded down the second plank to be roughly in shape before fitting the third plank. 
 
I’m a beginner too, on my second build, so this might be technically the wrong approach but provides a relatively easy and aesthetically tidy solution. 
 
There’s more photos on my Nisha build log and I’m only slightly ahead of you in my build Glomar. 
 

Dropped you a PM with the method I followed

That looks really good , Glomar!
Brilliant to see you have persevered and won the battle of the first planking.  It does get easier as you have something to guide you and, of course, you learn so much from the first.
Looking forward to seeing the second planking. 

I use a chisel blade which is fine enough to get under the nail head.  Whilst I have never had a blade break I do wear safety glasses.

That looks really good , Glomar!
Brilliant to see you have persevered and won the battle of the first planking.  It does get easier as you have something to guide you and, of course, you learn so much from the first.
Looking forward to seeing the second planking. 

@starlight Here is my build of Erycina. The garboard plank sits well and the additional pieces form a nice rabbet for the second planking.  All down to the great design from Chris Watton.

That looks really good , Glomar!
Brilliant to see you have persevered and won the battle of the first planking.  It does get easier as you have something to guide you and, of course, you learn so much from the first.
Looking forward to seeing the second planking. 

Busy week so sorry for not posting sooner but I was able to make some pretty good progress! 

I was able to finish the planking! I was a bit too aggressive with the tapering toward the stern and bow but for my first go around I am pretty happy with it and I am much better prepared for the next round. I am working on the second layer of planking right now. Since it is going to be seen, I am trying to be strategic in how I lay out the planks. 

Try Cornwall Model Boat 
CMB

Hi Dan, thank you for your comments. As for the bulwark stanchions, the positions where they were to be glued after painting were protected by strips of masking tape and then peeled off. (The thicker lining style masking tape) That way there was a ‘wood  - to - wood’ contact surface for them (as we know paint and glue are not good friends). 
 
I did find that after priming and painting the position marks were still visible on the inner bulwarks, so no need to worry about them disappearing unless you put loads of thick paint on. 

Hi Andrew,
So thick that it really looked like the timberheads!

I’m sure Andrew will respond, but my guess is styrene strips or spare square stock were added before spraying and removed when ready for the kit timberheads.

Try Cornwall Model Boat 
CMB

I know cost is relative, but if we take a look at something very pertinent, then we get a better idea:
 
Caldercraft 1:64 HMS Agamemnon. A kit that uses the legacy POB methods, with dummy barrels for the lower gun deck, nothing in the way of laser-cut/engraved parts. Many generic fittings and also the gun port positions are determined with a paper template, with the exception of quarterdeck ports that are cut into the inner bulwarks. Finishing and detail timber is generally walnut with Tanganyika for decks. Aggy also doesn't have a lower gun deck at all. The main gun deck is complete, but stops fore of a ply bulkhead so doesn't extend to stern cabin areas as they don't exist in kit. In all, Agamemnon is an amazing kit, and we've seen some fantastic builds of her. 

What does she currently retail for? £935 direct from Caldercraft. This is a kit that's now 22-23 years old.
 
Vanguard Models 1:64 HMS Indefatigable.
A kit that uses new design techniques with gun ports built into the hull framing.  Stern cabin with internal engraved details (chequered floor, panelling etc), accessible quarter galleries with seats of ease. Stern cabin windows can be posed open or closed.  Complete main gun deck with option to plug the gun carts into position so they don't come adrift accidentally. No generic parts. All guns on kit are designed to be the exact ones, printed in matt black resin, complete with George III emblems. Other 3D print parts include a proper scale belfry, Brodie Stove (in 4 parts), anchors, carronades/wheels, and also some rudder parts. 10 thicknesses of laser cut sheets. Planking will be in pear, and not walnut. There really is a price premium for going with the much better pear. Less brittle, less fibrous, finer grain and more realistic in colour. Deck planks will be either Red Alder or maple, depending on supply situation at time. To assist with painting, main gun barrels will be positioned after hull painting, and carronades are designed to retract into the hull until the externals are painted, then they can be pulled out into position! Detailed bulkhead screens for cabin. Deck beam positions are also to scale and in scale position, and do not relate to the MDF bulkhead positions. As with other VM designs, a rabbet is built into the keel, allowing easier plank positioning.  Multi-layer channels to simulate the edging of the real thing. Engraved ply sub decks to assist with planking. Five mini kits for each of the ship's boats. Laser cut acrylic window panes. Laser cut and engraved acrylic stand with two-colour nameplate. Large and heavy full colour assembly manual detailing every aspect of construction and providing tips. Of course, Aggy is a 64-gun, but is around the same size, more or less to the razée Indefatigable. Indy just loses the razed areas, but it actually longer than Aggy due to the flying jibboom. 
 
Price? Tentatively around £1000. 
A whole 23yrs after Caldercraft's kit was released.

I’m sure Andrew will respond, but my guess is styrene strips or spare square stock were added before spraying and removed when ready for the kit timberheads.

Cheers both!
 
I hope so, too, I have wanted to do this one since Agamemnon, 23 years ago, so want to do the subject the justice it deserves.