BLACK VIKING

Absolutely brilliant work the sails are stunning 
 
Martyn

Superb job of planking and well done on not using any droppers or stealers  looking forward to seeing your next update 
 
Martyn

Absolutely brilliant work the sails are stunning 
 
Martyn

E.J,.
 
Yes sails do add a nice finishing touch. That said get ready to spend a lot, lot of extra time with your build. They (sails) are filled with added work – much more than I had anticipated. Making the sails is easy compared with mounting and rigging them.
 
Not regretting this by any means. But I can work for hours and seem to get nothing done beyond preparing blocks, ropes and knots for one sail (;-) then trying to mount them to their respective masts along with all of the lines and ropes hanging limp to be secured later; so far so good. If I might suggest for your next build find a kit that comes with sail/rigging plans as part of the kit (mine did not). You will be glad that you took the challenge. I’m glad that I am. Thanks for your nice post 
 
In the aggregate it will be so worth the effort. My Santa Maria from so long ago was a walk in the park compared  to this build.
 
Cheers,

Finished the lower hull planking on the starboard side today! Wow that feels good to say that. Better yet but I did it without drops or stealers. Bow, stern and everywhere in between contain 22 strakes from the lowest wale to the keel. Of course now I have to do it again on the other side but I always feel better with the second half after I know my plan has worked on the first. Hopefully have less waste too as I should have fewer do-overs. More to follow!
 

Hi Mates,
 
Here are a couple of full view rigging update views. The sail on the table is a reduced size lower fore. It will be furled - full size furls would have looked too thick
(thanks Frank for that tip)
 
Cheers,

Very nice! After seeing your build I'm going to have a hard time arguing reasons why I can't do sails on mine. Guess I better put sewing lessons on my to do list.   Loving the results and looking forward to seeing more! 

A few hours into today's building session and the first four planks have reached the stem. 

This paper back supplement to volume IV of the The Fully Framed Model Swan series is a little gem.  For those who may not see themselves building the Swan ship, but are looking for a well thought out approach to scale sails which can be displayed deployed or furled, you owe it to yourself to pick up a copy of this booklet.  David presents his approach, including a multi-part jig, in clear and logical steps.  The example sail he presents is square rigged sail for Swan, though one can easily employ his approach for triangular or other configurations.  I plan on using this approach on my schooner's sails - none of which are square.
 
David uses what I will refer to as mixed media as a means of achieving his scale sails, with the basic sail material being silk span.  His results are impressive, and his process appears to me that one, with a little practice, can achieve a surprisingly realistic set of scale sails.  My experience with silk span sails in the past was mixed - owing to the materials and process I had read of and employed on my Oneida brig.  While my sails would furl, I couldn't keep bolt ropes attached, I had difficulty with cringes, etc.  I had used a PVA glue/water/acrylic paint applied to the sail, and PVA glue for all of the attached strips and ropes.  [writer's note - do not follow my aforementioned materials - they will lead you to frustrating times].  David's set of materials and approach allows for clear panel lines, tablings, grommets, cringles, and reefing points.  He shows how sails present light as both front and back lit, and his approach yields a very realistic semi-transparent panels and overlaps.  At the end of the supplement he provides guidance on bending the sail to a yard, reeving details, and then how to furl the sails.  
 
Highly recommended!
 
Elia Gianopulos

Wow I have only been away for a few days and boy have you made some progress. Superb work on the planking EJ as they say round here lovely jubbly  
 
Martyn

Tuesday 29 August 2017
 
The display case setup continues . . Still a few days again . .
 
01 20170829_104314.jpg

02 20170829_104326.jpg

03 20170829_104349.jpg

04 20170829_104358.jpg

05 20170829_104530.jpg

06 20170829_104541.jpg

07 20170829_104548.jpg

08 20170829_104652.jpg

DROMON UNPLUGGED!
 
After two years and 5 months since I started planning it, and a year and seven months since I began building, the dromon has finally come off its plug. It was with heart in mouth that I undid the screws that held it in place and carefully jiggled it back and forth to free it up. I was concerned that the cling wrap might not have done its job properly, that glue might have seeped through and stuck the hull to the plug, with possibly disastrous results. But no ominous cracking or splintering sounds, and with a minimum of manoeuvring, the hull came away cleanly!
 

 

 

 

 

 
I had already completed the stand so the newly free hull had something to support it safely. I'd hoped that putting gold paint on the stand would make it look like it was made of gold, but it didn't. What it did look like was gilded wood, which in my opinion is just as good and just as typical of Byzantium.
 

 

 The plug formed a support and and helped protect her from damage. Now she's off it, I have to be a lot more careful to keep her safe from cats and small children (both are risks where we live!). 
 
It was interesting to find that many of the frames had fragments of a thin skin of glue adhering to them, where it had been pressed up against the inner face of the clingwrap and dried, and I needed to crack them off to tidy the inside up. I'm not going to bother with being too thorough getting rid of them, as they'll be hidden by the deck planking anyway.
 
Turning the ship right way up for the first time without the plug and its supporting substructure makes evident for the first time the slim elegant shape of what is effectively a bloody great 90 foot rowing boat.
 

 

 
Removing the clutter at the top by trimming the frames that were sticking up above the gunwales made the shape more elegant still.
 

 

 
And to give some idea of just how thin the planking is, here is the ship with the light behind it - you can see right through the planks! (Note; this also made evident some gaps I hadn't seen when it was on the plug, so I have some more filling to do. But it's really not as bad as it looks in the photo - the light shining behind makes even the tiniest gaps look enormous). And she's so light!  - 70 grams, or 2.4 ounces. I know that there's more to add to her before she's complete, which will make her somewhat heavier, but she will still be very lightweight, as is appropriate for a vessel powered only by human muscle.
 
My temporary (or perhaps I should say one-time) clamps work a treat counteracting the springy frames' tendency to push the sides outwards. The clamps are just held there by friction so I can take them off and put them back on as I work on the rest of the ship. 

 
I won't be able to take them off permanently till I have glued at least a reasonable number of deck beams in place to hold the sides of the hull in, but first I have to do a fair bit of mucking around within the hull, as otherwise the deck beams will get in the way of what I want to do.
 
My next task is to put in a new frame between every pair that are currently in place - due to lack of space I'd only been able to put in every second frame while she was on the plug, so now she needs the rest of them installed. (I've got the new frames already made and bent roughly to the correct curve. But if as I plan to, I soak them before gluing and clamping them in place, I think they'll lose whatever shape they previously had, and will take on the shape of the vessel itself as they dry. So I suppose I might as well not have bothered to bend them in the first place. But that's all part of the learning experience.)
 
Then I have to put in the mast steps, plus the frames to hold the lower oars in position (and I'm still not certain how I'm going to do that). And on and on after that. There's a lot in the sequencing, to avoid painting myself into a corner. 
 
But I'm very pleased with how she's turned out. She's just beautiful!
 
Steven
 
 

Wow I have only been away for a few days and boy have you made some progress. Superb work on the planking EJ as they say round here lovely jubbly  
 
Martyn

Another update to the hull planking. Started off by doing a little rework at the stern post. Spent some time looking through pictures of museum models and I am happy now with the look. Had to remove a few planks and ended up reworking the garboard strake some and I am glad I did. Too many things were bothering me and I am trying to break those bad habits of ignoring those things that bother me in order to keep moving forward. I've always regretted it so this has been a good opportunity to interrupt that pattern. 
 

More planking has also been completed. I start making my way around the prow this weekend. While still a lot of work to do, the starboard lower hull is nearing completion.
 


Starting a three day weekend tomorrow after work so I am hopeful that I will be able to get a bunch more done on her for the next update.

Ah, I did not know that the planking lengths changed amidships. I have been under the impression that they remained the same length or as close to it as possible across the entire hull with the obvious statement of the ends at the bow and stern being shorter. It makes sense from a materials perspective. I guess I have been looking to long at the even, symmetrical patterns that are always stressed in model planking more than actual practices. 
 
Looks like I have a lot more reading to do. Good thing the temperatures are starting to slowly drop to make sitting on my deck reading more enjoyable!  

Tom, I knew that there is a rabbet in the keel which I rarely actually cut but can often be simulated by tucking the planking into the veneer on the keel. I thought there was something similar to that on the stern post which is why I have always stopped my planking at the post and not run over it. If like Cedric has told me the first three strakes run out over the post, (which makes sense as it would help tie it to the ship for added stability and strength) then how far out would they go and again, how does that blend into the post or do they do something different? Do they terminate into a rabbet before the aft most edge of the post? How far into the post would they go then? Please be a purist as I really do want to know if I am building wrong. I don't always correct right away but I always file the information away for future use. In this case, I am likely to fix it as it is an easy enough fix as soon as I understand fully what it should look like. 
 
As for the current progress, I have extended the planking a bit further down the hull in the slow march towards the bow. As anyone following the thread has noticed I may be redoing some of the work at the stern but the quest to reach the bow is still moving forward! As always thanks for the comments, likes and following along!

Mark,- Too bad  well 2024 but not to be in your neighborhood at all - 2017 would have been awesome indeed.
Frank - No excuse for you, I don't think? -- ha ha 
Denis - 
Martyn - thanks ! funny as well
 
PS: Installed the first two parrels. 
 
Cheers,

Your build certainly eclipses mine lol a stunning build my friend 
 
Martyn

I must admit I am the same as Vic and use long strips but now I seen you're planking the next one I will try shorter ones as it looks brilliant . Very nicely done EJ 
 
Martyn

Wow love the Ultramarine blue that really pops 
 
Martyn 

From one elephant builder to another stunning job my friend the stem looks brilliant definitely will be doing that on mine 
 
Martyn

E J
Great job on the planking. I know from experience on my Vicki that scale length planking adds several months to this tedious task. You have extraordinary patience. Drive on!
 
Regards
 
IMO - the French Blue looks much more "royal" than the Ultramarine Blue. A little dulling with a day of gray or black should take the glare off.

EJ,
 
Catching up--- yup that planking is very nice indeed. On my next build I will have to add that level of details to the hull. Hoping this wont "disappear" after sanding and such?
 
Cheers,

I must admit I am the same as Vic and use long strips but now I seen you're planking the next one I will try shorter ones as it looks brilliant . Very nicely done EJ 
 
Martyn

Cheers EJ for the support I am going on holiday tomorrow with my family for a week so will have plenty of time to think about it 
I might carry on with the rest of the whales and see if it looks OK in blue or wood 
 
rgd Martyn