vaddoc

Congratulations Mark! The stainless steel really worked very well.

Dear all Many thanks for your likes, comments and encouragement! I have not worked on either boat for the last 3 weeks, since my last post on the Yawl log. I now work pretty much 7 days a week and life has gone into hyperdrive-it is what it is and we must do what we need to do! The little spare time I have I ve decided to invest in working out to get back into shape. Today though I popped to the garage to do a bit of testing with stains. I made a grove in a piece of beech, filled it with filler and sanded to 120 grit. I ordered a number of stains, different colours and compositions-some "wax stains", "some oil stains" and some "something else". The next photo shows 5, supposingly completely different colour stains. They came out almost identical! The one on the right is walnut, the middle one is pine. There is however a bit of difference in the blotchiness, I think the middle one is a bit better. The pear wood is very dark because it was not sanded, it looks much lighter and uniform in sanded pieces. The small piece has clear sealer on the left, Tung oil on the right I expected much bigger differences in colour and better coverage of the filler. Maybe when the piece dries, the colours might change. As it is though, I quite like the middle one. But I have a few more stains to try. A word about stains: I now know why they are called "stains". The mess they created was unbelievable-pretty much everything got stained! Vaddoc

Congratulations GL, fantastic work. This last plank on the starboard side, this was no easy task. It is much easier to fit planks as you go with no limitation on the one edge rather than making a plank to fit a gap. Very well done!

Thanks Hakan, that was indeed the question Now I ve never thought about it but I think you are right, unless the plank is perfectly cut, with time it will warp back and no rivet will hold it. Much more difficult to perfectly cut a very long plank than a short one.

Many thanks for your likes and comments! Dowmer, I ll be using 2 mm thick planks, probably 8 to 12 mm wide. Unfortunately, the only edge bending it will tolerate is a little nudge to fit into place! However, I have many lovely maple strips which I d love to use, I ll give it a try and see whether Chuck's method will work. Thanks for the tip Druxey. In the past I had used very thick black fishing line. The problem is that due to the shape of the bow, the perspective is easily lost and I cannot eyeball a fair shape. This is why I need a very wide baten, to make sure there is no edge bending and the lines are fair. But even with this, bending the baten around the curve at the bow, pulls the baten up midships. A very stubborn hull. Bedford, you answered a few queries I had but now I have another for you. Planking the launch, I had noticed that at the bow some planks had a funny S shape. Initially I tried to simplify it but then I realised that this would be wrong and I had to trust my markings. The bow of the launch is very sharp, so probably this is why this S shape was less pronounced-it is much more visible in your boat and I expect even more on the yawl. Now, the planks in your photo are half planks-or plank thirds. I assume many adjacent planks would need scarfing. Here is the question: Does it matter if the scarfing is done at the same point mid ships or would builders spread the joints at different frames? Wonderful plywood by the way! Regards Vaddoc

This is lightning fast progress GL! The planking seems to be going very well. Are your planks straight strips sanded more narrow near the edges or have you done any spilling?

Seriously nice model Bolin. The colour really lifts it a lot.

Do a search, many discussions and lots of good info on painting. With modern paints and thinners and good brushes, you can get fantastic results hand painting. But I assume that consistency is much easier with spraying.

Dear all With the hull of the fishing launch completed (but still not finished), I decided to start working on the Yawl. The initial intention was to build two hulls back to back, one carvel and the other lapstrake, as a learning exercise as well as building two boats I like. The two hulls are very different and my initial impression is that planking the Yawl will be much more difficult. The first challenge came when I tried to deploy a baten. My usual 2 x 4 mm strip cannot negotiate the curve at the bow, it will break. How do you plank a boat without batens? I tried a slightly wider one-no go. I used a 2 x 2 mm pear strip that looked bendy and starting playing with the hull. My initial intention was to divide the hull into three areas. To do this, 2 lines are needed. One going through the point where the transom and sternpost join, and another one halfway from that point to the sheer. In lapstrake, the planks should have equal widths but to the eye, only the planks at the sides being vertical will show their true width. The planks bellow the turn of the bilge being at an angle will appear more narrow. So, in reality, only the planks in each zone need to have the same width. I tried to eyeball the run of the strip, to make sure it is fair but that was impossible. A square sectioned baten will happily bend in all directions. Again, the very curved bow made it very difficult to arrange a fair run. I tried many times but afterwards, eyeballing the hull, it was obviously wrong. I did manage though to define the sheer using my CAD markings-I hope these are accurate. However, all of the above attempts were wrong. The run of the 2 dividing lines is far from fair-it is all over the place. It is impossible to do this without a baten. So I use two maple strips, 1x8 mm (or something like that) as batens, They are very straight, very bendy and do not permanently deform and of course they will not tolerate any edge bending. After many failed attempts, I think I got my 3 zones kind of close. Now, the following photos show how difficult this hull is and how the bow messes up the perspective. In the first photo, the lower baten seems wrong and the one near the sheer appears fair. In the second photo, it is the other way around. In the third photo, both look ok. I marked the lines and removed the batens This would be a very difficult boat to plank as carvel. Lapstrake, even more. I have no idea what kind of spilling will be needed. Judging by the lift of the batens though, I expect the planks will have significant curves. Considering how long they will be, I think all of the planks, except perhaps the garboard, will need scarfing. I had decided on this boat to hold all planks with threaded brass wire. This would mean drilling 0.5 mm holes, using brass pins to hold the planks to the temporary frames, then re-drill to 0.6 mm when the steam bend frames are installed and screwing everything together. Have I bitten more than I can chew? Quite possibly!

We ve been waiting a long time for this Michael. But the wood is indeed patient and so are we. I am sure you ll overcome the difficulties and we will all enjoy the rest of this journey.

The reason I am asking Hakan is that printing the plans has been a headache for me. Printing A4 and gluing together produced major inaccuracies at 800+ mm. Printing in a shop was not an option to print the 3D shapes I wanted at the views I needed-would the shop have the needed software to open the files? Converting to pdf, the compression is such that curves become series of small right angle lines-not an option, at least for 3D plans. I bought an A3 paper roll and I cut long pieces to A4 width and print with custom settings on my A4 printer. Even so, long straights lines end up ever so slightly curved. My next printer will def be an A3 one. I m really looking forward to this build!

Oops! I completely missed your new log Hakan! An excellent choice of boat and of scale. I ll be following for sure. Your drafting looks good. One advantage 3D has is that after the initial fairing of waterlines etc you can create and work with surfaces, then project vertical lines to get the shape of the frames with all bevels in a flash. But you have done very well on 2D. How will you print your drafts? Some will be close to 1000 mm long!

Welcome Bob!

Welcome! Absolutely start a log, it is def worth it.

Thanks Noel! My main issue is the colour of the wood and that I would like the filler to disappear completely. I have many options for sealing the wood and a protective top coat. The wood needs some colour enhancing, the pear is now very pale pink and the beech again pale with a faint pink hue as both are steamed. I have no idea what the effect of the wax will be on these two very different woods and on the filler Cheers Hakan! I dislike shellac Wefalck but I do use sealer and steel wire-leaves the hull as smooth as baby bottom! The problem is that the wood needs some enhancing and I did not like much how beech responded to Tung oil. I have ordered some stain samples to experiment. I read that beech is notorious for staining blotchy so it seems that wood conditioner or a very light coat of sanding sealer is needed before staining. The 2 woods will of course respond very differently to the same stain, how the filler will like the stain is uncertain. The yawl is 18th century, from plans from the National Maritime Museum. You will find a link in my signature to the log. Now, today I started thinking on the planking and deployed a couple of battens-oh dear! The batens refuse to take the turn at the bow. When even the batens need steaming, this spells bad news. Regarding spilling, I suspect it will be so great that the planks will need scarfing. It does not help that I intend to do a lapstrake. I ll try and find the discussion you mention but if you remember where it is, please do let me know!

Dear all Hull is completed! All gaps are filled and it is sanded to 400 grit. It is very smooth to touch! The next photos were taken with the Admiral's fancy iphone as my cheap one was not up to the task. I must admit the quality is phenomenal. Inside is very rough but it will not be visible. Now, I am not sure how to finish the hull. I have decided I will not paint it. Now, I though that Tung oil will make the filler invisible. It does but only viewing it from certain angles. From others, the filler stands out the same. I oiled a few strips of pear and beech and this is the colour they take. The pear will be much less blotchy. I am really not sure what to do, leave the pear and beech light with the pink hue or darken them to this drastically different more wooden colour? I think now I should put this project on hold and start planking the yawl. This is a project I am getting a bit apprehensive with, I think it will be very difficult to figure it out and very difficult to convince the beech to wrap around the hull. The frames also look too flimsy and too far apart for the task. The two hulls side by side. Note the bow of the yawl, how did the builders of old got the planks to take this turn? Best wishes to all Vaddoc

Time is an issue for most of us Hakan! You are doing a fantastic job with your boat. Did you prime the brass in any way before painting?

Lovely work Bolin. They must have had a reason to make the seer so close to the water. Maybe to help in loading and off loading cargo? The video of the boat going in the water is impressive, this is an imposing boat.

Wonderful model George! Your paint job is very good.

Wonderful tool set. How very clean and tidy, every plane has its own tight fit partition. I actually like this blue background Mark, reminds me of the blue sky we have not seen in the UK since last summer...

Fantastic Keith. More of a jewel than a model!

My condolences Brian. I hope things get better with time. You are doing a fantastic work, I am sorry I do not have the time to visit as often as I would like to. Now, I had not realised that the armour plating was actually railroad tracks. The weight must have been very considerable and it is impressive that it is all secured essentially on a wooden frame. I also find very interesting that despite all the armour and guns those boats were still ramming each other. Your paddle wheel is truly very impressive, well actually the whole model is wonderful. The red oxide paint is very nice. Regards Vaddoc

Great progress GL, you ve done a ton of work! This is a very nice and different approach, your choice of wood is also interesting. I ve never used ebony but I have used mahogany. Beautiful but difficult wood to work with and after a few (10) years of exposure to light, the colour has changed from red to brown. I am really very interested to see how your planking will come out and what challenges may appear, also how much spilling your hull will need. How long is the hull and how thick your planks? Regards Vaddoc

Dear all Many thanks for your likes! GL, after some encouraging testing yesterday, I think I will. Thanks Nils! I ve followed some of your work, really happy you visited! You know something Bedford, I would just come running. Thanks Mark, I am following your half model with great interest. Thanks Michael! The planking is only sanded to 80 grit, there is a lot more sanding to do and many imperfections to fix. Now, these are not moulds, these are the actual frames. The plans call for steam bend ribs but I wanted to use frames-actually, I think Chapelle does mention they can be used. As I have very little time for modelling I had accepted to cut a few corners. So I used less frames than I should probably have used (this worked fine) and used cheap plywood for the frames (this did not work fine). However, the interior will be completely planked and floored so the frames will not be visible. After I bring this hull to a reasonable state, I will probably stop and start the lapstrake planking of the Yawl. This will be a much more difficult undertaking Now, back to the boat, I did a bit of testing to see how Beech and filler react to things. In the next photo, the left side of the test piece has two coats of water based sanding sealer, the left a coat of Tung oil and both are smoothed with steel wool. Photos are very unforgiving but in reality, the filler on the Tung side is almost invisible. I am concerned though that the beech itself will have a blotchy look after Tung oil. I have a few failed planks left so I will oil them and see how long pieces will look. Vaddoc

I think I ll contribute my 2 c I tried the PVA-wood dust mix but couldn't make it work. Too dry, too crumbly, did not sand nicely. I much prefer purpose made fillers. I tried mixing Elemers filler with wood dust. Did not work. In my current hull I used Beech and I tried Osmo filler that comes in various wood colours. Very nice to use, only issue it dries really fast. Yesterday, I did a bit of testing, This piece of wood has a groove filled with filler. The left side has 2 coats of a water based sanding sealer. The right side has pure Tung oil on. Both were smoothed with steel wool. On the Tung oil side, the filler is barely visible on the non-forgiving photo but it is completely invisible actually looking at it.