vaddoc

Thank you all for your kind words and likes. The continued support is what helps keep me going.
 
I think I have resolved my anchor buoy conundrum. There just isn't a lot of information on the Brown Water Navy in regards to the ships anchors that I was able to find. I finally resorted to researching the Blue Water Navy and the many models that were built of ships from the mid-19th century. There were many different methods used to secure the anchor buoy to the anchor, and I found many pictures of them (they were not posted here due to copyright rules) so I just picked the one that I though looked best. This is the solution that I came up with.
 
The rig that had the buoy rope secured around the arm and the shank had the most appeal to me so I ran with it. Securing the rope to the shank.

 
Anchor, buoy, and rope coil completed.

 
Assembly installed on the foredeck.

 
Hopefully I got this right. If not, at least it's easy to access and fix.
 
-Brian

Greetings to all or should I say "Gratings!"? Yes, today we will be scratch-making gratings!
 
Honestly, it is far easier (and less bloody) to get them from Chuck. But I had an itchiness to try and either way, I don't think there are gratings at 1:10 scale.
 
Now, I did make gradings for the Deben but there I cut corners. They came out alright but were not done properly. I ve been scratching my head for the last 2-3 days and tried a few things that did not work. Sadly, a search on MSW was not too helpful.
 
The problem is the scale. If the size of the squares equals that of the table saw blade, things are easy. But in 1:10 scale, my squares are 5 mm and the tine Proxon blade 1 mm thick.
 
So here it goes:
 
I have the small Proxon table saw, it is very underpowered but actually quite accurate and easy to use. I first added a sheet on top of the table saw so that I could clamp something to act as a fence. Then, I  cut several 5 mm strips from a pear sheet, I think it is 3 mm thick.

Then, I glued the strips on another piece of pear sheet.

Then, I drilled, inserted treenails dipped in PVA glue, allowed a few minutes to dry (in the meantime worked on a second piece), then lightly sanded and cut a strip across.






I actually forgot to take pictures but the strips produced look like this

After I made very many, I managed to cut my finger, thankfully not deep at all.
 
Then, I started to assemble the gratings. I had to trim every single square with a sharp chisel, by afternoon the dining room was full of tiny wood chippings but the gratings came out quite acceptable I think. They still miss a few tree nails and need sanding, gluing and trimming but I am happy. Apologies for the terrible photo, I ll take a better one for the next post.

Of course they are far from perfect, the tree nails are in the wrong positions, the squares are not perfect or symmetrical, the grain runs parallel in all pieces instead of crossing 90 degrees (not an issue with pear) but I can live with these.
 
So I have 3 pieces, one will go on the small deck at the bow, one to the floor aft and the third one I have not figured out yet where I ll use it.
 
Best wishes
Vaddoc

Greetings to all or should I say "Gratings!"? Yes, today we will be scratch-making gratings!
 
Honestly, it is far easier (and less bloody) to get them from Chuck. But I had an itchiness to try and either way, I don't think there are gratings at 1:10 scale.
 
Now, I did make gradings for the Deben but there I cut corners. They came out alright but were not done properly. I ve been scratching my head for the last 2-3 days and tried a few things that did not work. Sadly, a search on MSW was not too helpful.
 
The problem is the scale. If the size of the squares equals that of the table saw blade, things are easy. But in 1:10 scale, my squares are 5 mm and the tine Proxon blade 1 mm thick.
 
So here it goes:
 
I have the small Proxon table saw, it is very underpowered but actually quite accurate and easy to use. I first added a sheet on top of the table saw so that I could clamp something to act as a fence. Then, I  cut several 5 mm strips from a pear sheet, I think it is 3 mm thick.

Then, I glued the strips on another piece of pear sheet.

Then, I drilled, inserted treenails dipped in PVA glue, allowed a few minutes to dry (in the meantime worked on a second piece), then lightly sanded and cut a strip across.






I actually forgot to take pictures but the strips produced look like this

After I made very many, I managed to cut my finger, thankfully not deep at all.
 
Then, I started to assemble the gratings. I had to trim every single square with a sharp chisel, by afternoon the dining room was full of tiny wood chippings but the gratings came out quite acceptable I think. They still miss a few tree nails and need sanding, gluing and trimming but I am happy. Apologies for the terrible photo, I ll take a better one for the next post.

Of course they are far from perfect, the tree nails are in the wrong positions, the squares are not perfect or symmetrical, the grain runs parallel in all pieces instead of crossing 90 degrees (not an issue with pear) but I can live with these.
 
So I have 3 pieces, one will go on the small deck at the bow, one to the floor aft and the third one I have not figured out yet where I ll use it.
 
Best wishes
Vaddoc

Greetings to all or should I say "Gratings!"? Yes, today we will be scratch-making gratings!
 
Honestly, it is far easier (and less bloody) to get them from Chuck. But I had an itchiness to try and either way, I don't think there are gratings at 1:10 scale.
 
Now, I did make gradings for the Deben but there I cut corners. They came out alright but were not done properly. I ve been scratching my head for the last 2-3 days and tried a few things that did not work. Sadly, a search on MSW was not too helpful.
 
The problem is the scale. If the size of the squares equals that of the table saw blade, things are easy. But in 1:10 scale, my squares are 5 mm and the tine Proxon blade 1 mm thick.
 
So here it goes:
 
I have the small Proxon table saw, it is very underpowered but actually quite accurate and easy to use. I first added a sheet on top of the table saw so that I could clamp something to act as a fence. Then, I  cut several 5 mm strips from a pear sheet, I think it is 3 mm thick.

Then, I glued the strips on another piece of pear sheet.

Then, I drilled, inserted treenails dipped in PVA glue, allowed a few minutes to dry (in the meantime worked on a second piece), then lightly sanded and cut a strip across.






I actually forgot to take pictures but the strips produced look like this

After I made very many, I managed to cut my finger, thankfully not deep at all.
 
Then, I started to assemble the gratings. I had to trim every single square with a sharp chisel, by afternoon the dining room was full of tiny wood chippings but the gratings came out quite acceptable I think. They still miss a few tree nails and need sanding, gluing and trimming but I am happy. Apologies for the terrible photo, I ll take a better one for the next post.

Of course they are far from perfect, the tree nails are in the wrong positions, the squares are not perfect or symmetrical, the grain runs parallel in all pieces instead of crossing 90 degrees (not an issue with pear) but I can live with these.
 
So I have 3 pieces, one will go on the small deck at the bow, one to the floor aft and the third one I have not figured out yet where I ll use it.
 
Best wishes
Vaddoc

Greetings to all or should I say "Gratings!"? Yes, today we will be scratch-making gratings!
 
Honestly, it is far easier (and less bloody) to get them from Chuck. But I had an itchiness to try and either way, I don't think there are gratings at 1:10 scale.
 
Now, I did make gradings for the Deben but there I cut corners. They came out alright but were not done properly. I ve been scratching my head for the last 2-3 days and tried a few things that did not work. Sadly, a search on MSW was not too helpful.
 
The problem is the scale. If the size of the squares equals that of the table saw blade, things are easy. But in 1:10 scale, my squares are 5 mm and the tine Proxon blade 1 mm thick.
 
So here it goes:
 
I have the small Proxon table saw, it is very underpowered but actually quite accurate and easy to use. I first added a sheet on top of the table saw so that I could clamp something to act as a fence. Then, I  cut several 5 mm strips from a pear sheet, I think it is 3 mm thick.

Then, I glued the strips on another piece of pear sheet.

Then, I drilled, inserted treenails dipped in PVA glue, allowed a few minutes to dry (in the meantime worked on a second piece), then lightly sanded and cut a strip across.






I actually forgot to take pictures but the strips produced look like this

After I made very many, I managed to cut my finger, thankfully not deep at all.
 
Then, I started to assemble the gratings. I had to trim every single square with a sharp chisel, by afternoon the dining room was full of tiny wood chippings but the gratings came out quite acceptable I think. They still miss a few tree nails and need sanding, gluing and trimming but I am happy. Apologies for the terrible photo, I ll take a better one for the next post.

Of course they are far from perfect, the tree nails are in the wrong positions, the squares are not perfect or symmetrical, the grain runs parallel in all pieces instead of crossing 90 degrees (not an issue with pear) but I can live with these.
 
So I have 3 pieces, one will go on the small deck at the bow, one to the floor aft and the third one I have not figured out yet where I ll use it.
 
Best wishes
Vaddoc

Greetings to all or should I say "Gratings!"? Yes, today we will be scratch-making gratings!
 
Honestly, it is far easier (and less bloody) to get them from Chuck. But I had an itchiness to try and either way, I don't think there are gratings at 1:10 scale.
 
Now, I did make gradings for the Deben but there I cut corners. They came out alright but were not done properly. I ve been scratching my head for the last 2-3 days and tried a few things that did not work. Sadly, a search on MSW was not too helpful.
 
The problem is the scale. If the size of the squares equals that of the table saw blade, things are easy. But in 1:10 scale, my squares are 5 mm and the tine Proxon blade 1 mm thick.
 
So here it goes:
 
I have the small Proxon table saw, it is very underpowered but actually quite accurate and easy to use. I first added a sheet on top of the table saw so that I could clamp something to act as a fence. Then, I  cut several 5 mm strips from a pear sheet, I think it is 3 mm thick.

Then, I glued the strips on another piece of pear sheet.

Then, I drilled, inserted treenails dipped in PVA glue, allowed a few minutes to dry (in the meantime worked on a second piece), then lightly sanded and cut a strip across.






I actually forgot to take pictures but the strips produced look like this

After I made very many, I managed to cut my finger, thankfully not deep at all.
 
Then, I started to assemble the gratings. I had to trim every single square with a sharp chisel, by afternoon the dining room was full of tiny wood chippings but the gratings came out quite acceptable I think. They still miss a few tree nails and need sanding, gluing and trimming but I am happy. Apologies for the terrible photo, I ll take a better one for the next post.

Of course they are far from perfect, the tree nails are in the wrong positions, the squares are not perfect or symmetrical, the grain runs parallel in all pieces instead of crossing 90 degrees (not an issue with pear) but I can live with these.
 
So I have 3 pieces, one will go on the small deck at the bow, one to the floor aft and the third one I have not figured out yet where I ll use it.
 
Best wishes
Vaddoc

Greetings to all or should I say "Gratings!"? Yes, today we will be scratch-making gratings!
 
Honestly, it is far easier (and less bloody) to get them from Chuck. But I had an itchiness to try and either way, I don't think there are gratings at 1:10 scale.
 
Now, I did make gradings for the Deben but there I cut corners. They came out alright but were not done properly. I ve been scratching my head for the last 2-3 days and tried a few things that did not work. Sadly, a search on MSW was not too helpful.
 
The problem is the scale. If the size of the squares equals that of the table saw blade, things are easy. But in 1:10 scale, my squares are 5 mm and the tine Proxon blade 1 mm thick.
 
So here it goes:
 
I have the small Proxon table saw, it is very underpowered but actually quite accurate and easy to use. I first added a sheet on top of the table saw so that I could clamp something to act as a fence. Then, I  cut several 5 mm strips from a pear sheet, I think it is 3 mm thick.

Then, I glued the strips on another piece of pear sheet.

Then, I drilled, inserted treenails dipped in PVA glue, allowed a few minutes to dry (in the meantime worked on a second piece), then lightly sanded and cut a strip across.






I actually forgot to take pictures but the strips produced look like this

After I made very many, I managed to cut my finger, thankfully not deep at all.
 
Then, I started to assemble the gratings. I had to trim every single square with a sharp chisel, by afternoon the dining room was full of tiny wood chippings but the gratings came out quite acceptable I think. They still miss a few tree nails and need sanding, gluing and trimming but I am happy. Apologies for the terrible photo, I ll take a better one for the next post.

Of course they are far from perfect, the tree nails are in the wrong positions, the squares are not perfect or symmetrical, the grain runs parallel in all pieces instead of crossing 90 degrees (not an issue with pear) but I can live with these.
 
So I have 3 pieces, one will go on the small deck at the bow, one to the floor aft and the third one I have not figured out yet where I ll use it.
 
Best wishes
Vaddoc

Well, it's official: I am Covid positive! I am actually quite well apart from some odd symptoms and fatigue and there is a good aspect to it: I ll be able to work on the boat for the next few days.
 
So today some more progress.
I first made a rough template for a deck to sit bellow the breast hook. I d like this deck to have grating but I do not have a mill so I must figure an easy way to do it with the tools I have.



Next, I started cutting the floor timbers and sanding them to height (16mm so that the floor to top of thwarts will be 45 cm in full scale). Unexpectedly tricky, I made two and wasted some expensive pear wood.

These are 16 mm high or 16 cm in the real boat. Kind of look a bit high and going a bit wide and high up the sides. I could lower to 11 cm but then as discussed above, the thwarts will sit 50 cm above the floors - a bit too much.
I ll cut a few more timbers and see how they look. 
 
Regards
Vaddoc

Dear all
 
It's been almost two month since my last post. I have been working on the boat when life permitted - which was not too often.
But even so, there has been progress.
To start with, all the screws have been replaced with tree nails. Unscrew the screw, re-drill the hole by hand, dip the tree nail in glue and insert in the whole, wipe the excess glue and trim the nail - then repeat many hundreds of times. 
 
Then, I started filling the large gaps between the planks with filler, both from the outside and the inside. It is a shame really, these gaps are due to the shrinkage of the wood. When I cut the planks they were tight against each other. However, beech really has a tremendous movement in service and huge changes in dimension with changes in moisture. I will not be using beech again!
 
So here is how the hull looked like after the filler liberally applied. Not an elegant sight!




Then I started sanding inside. The little Proxon pen sander was very helpful.

Then I started sanding the outer hull. This is how one side looks, this is with 80 grit. Beech is very hard wood. There is a dimple in one of the planks at the bow. I think I ll paint this hull so it will be filled.


Now, just to show how much the beech moves, this is the hull of the Launch. There are cracks everywhere! I think I will not repair it, I ll just leave it as is.



Till next time
 
Vaddoc
 

Greetings to all or should I say "Gratings!"? Yes, today we will be scratch-making gratings!
 
Honestly, it is far easier (and less bloody) to get them from Chuck. But I had an itchiness to try and either way, I don't think there are gratings at 1:10 scale.
 
Now, I did make gradings for the Deben but there I cut corners. They came out alright but were not done properly. I ve been scratching my head for the last 2-3 days and tried a few things that did not work. Sadly, a search on MSW was not too helpful.
 
The problem is the scale. If the size of the squares equals that of the table saw blade, things are easy. But in 1:10 scale, my squares are 5 mm and the tine Proxon blade 1 mm thick.
 
So here it goes:
 
I have the small Proxon table saw, it is very underpowered but actually quite accurate and easy to use. I first added a sheet on top of the table saw so that I could clamp something to act as a fence. Then, I  cut several 5 mm strips from a pear sheet, I think it is 3 mm thick.

Then, I glued the strips on another piece of pear sheet.

Then, I drilled, inserted treenails dipped in PVA glue, allowed a few minutes to dry (in the meantime worked on a second piece), then lightly sanded and cut a strip across.






I actually forgot to take pictures but the strips produced look like this

After I made very many, I managed to cut my finger, thankfully not deep at all.
 
Then, I started to assemble the gratings. I had to trim every single square with a sharp chisel, by afternoon the dining room was full of tiny wood chippings but the gratings came out quite acceptable I think. They still miss a few tree nails and need sanding, gluing and trimming but I am happy. Apologies for the terrible photo, I ll take a better one for the next post.

Of course they are far from perfect, the tree nails are in the wrong positions, the squares are not perfect or symmetrical, the grain runs parallel in all pieces instead of crossing 90 degrees (not an issue with pear) but I can live with these.
 
So I have 3 pieces, one will go on the small deck at the bow, one to the floor aft and the third one I have not figured out yet where I ll use it.
 
Best wishes
Vaddoc

Greetings to all or should I say "Gratings!"? Yes, today we will be scratch-making gratings!
 
Honestly, it is far easier (and less bloody) to get them from Chuck. But I had an itchiness to try and either way, I don't think there are gratings at 1:10 scale.
 
Now, I did make gradings for the Deben but there I cut corners. They came out alright but were not done properly. I ve been scratching my head for the last 2-3 days and tried a few things that did not work. Sadly, a search on MSW was not too helpful.
 
The problem is the scale. If the size of the squares equals that of the table saw blade, things are easy. But in 1:10 scale, my squares are 5 mm and the tine Proxon blade 1 mm thick.
 
So here it goes:
 
I have the small Proxon table saw, it is very underpowered but actually quite accurate and easy to use. I first added a sheet on top of the table saw so that I could clamp something to act as a fence. Then, I  cut several 5 mm strips from a pear sheet, I think it is 3 mm thick.

Then, I glued the strips on another piece of pear sheet.

Then, I drilled, inserted treenails dipped in PVA glue, allowed a few minutes to dry (in the meantime worked on a second piece), then lightly sanded and cut a strip across.






I actually forgot to take pictures but the strips produced look like this

After I made very many, I managed to cut my finger, thankfully not deep at all.
 
Then, I started to assemble the gratings. I had to trim every single square with a sharp chisel, by afternoon the dining room was full of tiny wood chippings but the gratings came out quite acceptable I think. They still miss a few tree nails and need sanding, gluing and trimming but I am happy. Apologies for the terrible photo, I ll take a better one for the next post.

Of course they are far from perfect, the tree nails are in the wrong positions, the squares are not perfect or symmetrical, the grain runs parallel in all pieces instead of crossing 90 degrees (not an issue with pear) but I can live with these.
 
So I have 3 pieces, one will go on the small deck at the bow, one to the floor aft and the third one I have not figured out yet where I ll use it.
 
Best wishes
Vaddoc

I painted mainly because the strakes in the kit were in two very different colours and I just didn't like it. And yes the paint does bring out the imperfections, I may go back and make a curved sanding block that fits between the ribs and polish it up a bit. I do like a 'factory fresh' look so I might paint again.
Next time I might play with pre-finishing the inside of the strakes, perhaps with diluted wood glue (after staining if that is the desired look) so they can still be glued to the ribs/frames. Just a thought.
 

@mtaylor Thanks Mark, I am sure I ll figure it out, as always lots of good info on MSW.
@Bedford I was not aware of Shackleton's open see adventure, amazing strength and indomitable spirit. Tiny boat!
@iMustBeCrazy Thanks Craig, very interesting. Could I ask, I see you painted the boat inside. Would you do it again, or would you leave it unpainted? I would like to paint it but I am concerned the paint will bring out the many imperfections and will not look good.
 
A bit more work done.
 
I finished the floors, they came out ok relatively painlessly.

I then started thinking how the small deck could be arranged. It took a long time and a lot of wasted cardboard, nothing is finalised but I have a vague idea how it will go.


Then I made again the breasthook. The one I made was fine but the pear wood was the wrong colour, I used a sheet of apparently unsteamed pear that came from a not so good order of wood I got years ago. I made it again but this took hours, I kept messing it up. Finally, it came out fine.


I then trimmed the excess plank length at the transom, I have been putting it off for some time now. This needed a seriously sharp chisel.
 
I then boiled some pear wood strips and wrapped them around the hull to take the shape, I think it is time to start putting the boat together.

Unfortunately, putting the end of the strips in boiling water had a dramatic effect on the wood. Even after it was cold, it was very soft and pliable and the colour changed from pink to a dead brown. The next photo did not capture the colours well.

I ve actually never steamed pear before, I hope the colour will return after it dries.
 
Vaddoc

Well, time for another update! I was unwell and stayed home, so got to work a bit more on the boat.
 
Now, there is some progress but also a lot of questions to be answered and decisions to be made. Any of your thoughts would be most welcome!
 
First issue is how high to place the thwarts and the floor boards. I tried to find relevant info in books and the internet but did not get anywhere. In the end I measured the original NMN plans and the actual dimensions of the model and tried to use common sense for a realistic and comfortable arrangement.
At midships, keel to sheer will be 83 mm or in real boat, 83 cm. I think the distance top of thwart to sheer should be 20 cm. The floor timbers should be something like 10 cm high to allow a reasonably wide floor and the top of the thwarts will be about 50 cm from the floor boards. I think this should be a realistic arrangement. Then again, those days people were probably shorter than we are today. Oh well...
 
Time for a few photos.
I first made the breasthook. It was a bit fiddly, sanding it curved and bevelled but actually I got it with the first attempt, which was good as pear wood sheets this thick are expensive.


However, it did look a bit huge and out of scale so I reduce it - I think it looks much better now.


I think I might add a small deck bellow the breasthook, I think this is what the plans show:

I then made template for the floor timbers. Again, it was actually a pretty straightforward job.



Now, these are my thoughts: I d like to seal the interior, prime it and paint it white but keeping the pear wood transom, keel and floors unpainted, these will be enhanced with Tung oil. The stringer that will support the thwarts will also be painted white but everything else added will be unpainted pear wood treated with Tung oil. The outer keel will be painted last.
 
Alternatively, I could leave the interion unpainted. Just apply Tung oil, seal with water based sealer, rub with 0000 steel wool and then add all the remaining pear wood trims etc and last paint the outer hull.
 
I do have a suspicion that if I paint the interior, since it is not well sanded and prepared, it might look horrible with all imperfections highlighted by the paint.
 
Any suggestions would be very welcome!
 
Regards
Vaddoc

@mtaylor Thanks Mark, I am sure I ll figure it out, as always lots of good info on MSW.
@Bedford I was not aware of Shackleton's open see adventure, amazing strength and indomitable spirit. Tiny boat!
@iMustBeCrazy Thanks Craig, very interesting. Could I ask, I see you painted the boat inside. Would you do it again, or would you leave it unpainted? I would like to paint it but I am concerned the paint will bring out the many imperfections and will not look good.
 
A bit more work done.
 
I finished the floors, they came out ok relatively painlessly.

I then started thinking how the small deck could be arranged. It took a long time and a lot of wasted cardboard, nothing is finalised but I have a vague idea how it will go.


Then I made again the breasthook. The one I made was fine but the pear wood was the wrong colour, I used a sheet of apparently unsteamed pear that came from a not so good order of wood I got years ago. I made it again but this took hours, I kept messing it up. Finally, it came out fine.


I then trimmed the excess plank length at the transom, I have been putting it off for some time now. This needed a seriously sharp chisel.
 
I then boiled some pear wood strips and wrapped them around the hull to take the shape, I think it is time to start putting the boat together.

Unfortunately, putting the end of the strips in boiling water had a dramatic effect on the wood. Even after it was cold, it was very soft and pliable and the colour changed from pink to a dead brown. The next photo did not capture the colours well.

I ve actually never steamed pear before, I hope the colour will return after it dries.
 
Vaddoc

@mtaylor Thanks Mark, I am sure I ll figure it out, as always lots of good info on MSW.
@Bedford I was not aware of Shackleton's open see adventure, amazing strength and indomitable spirit. Tiny boat!
@iMustBeCrazy Thanks Craig, very interesting. Could I ask, I see you painted the boat inside. Would you do it again, or would you leave it unpainted? I would like to paint it but I am concerned the paint will bring out the many imperfections and will not look good.
 
A bit more work done.
 
I finished the floors, they came out ok relatively painlessly.

I then started thinking how the small deck could be arranged. It took a long time and a lot of wasted cardboard, nothing is finalised but I have a vague idea how it will go.


Then I made again the breasthook. The one I made was fine but the pear wood was the wrong colour, I used a sheet of apparently unsteamed pear that came from a not so good order of wood I got years ago. I made it again but this took hours, I kept messing it up. Finally, it came out fine.


I then trimmed the excess plank length at the transom, I have been putting it off for some time now. This needed a seriously sharp chisel.
 
I then boiled some pear wood strips and wrapped them around the hull to take the shape, I think it is time to start putting the boat together.

Unfortunately, putting the end of the strips in boiling water had a dramatic effect on the wood. Even after it was cold, it was very soft and pliable and the colour changed from pink to a dead brown. The next photo did not capture the colours well.

I ve actually never steamed pear before, I hope the colour will return after it dries.
 
Vaddoc

Well, it's official: I am Covid positive! I am actually quite well apart from some odd symptoms and fatigue and there is a good aspect to it: I ll be able to work on the boat for the next few days.
 
So today some more progress.
I first made a rough template for a deck to sit bellow the breast hook. I d like this deck to have grating but I do not have a mill so I must figure an easy way to do it with the tools I have.



Next, I started cutting the floor timbers and sanding them to height (16mm so that the floor to top of thwarts will be 45 cm in full scale). Unexpectedly tricky, I made two and wasted some expensive pear wood.

These are 16 mm high or 16 cm in the real boat. Kind of look a bit high and going a bit wide and high up the sides. I could lower to 11 cm but then as discussed above, the thwarts will sit 50 cm above the floors - a bit too much.
I ll cut a few more timbers and see how they look. 
 
Regards
Vaddoc

Well, it's official: I am Covid positive! I am actually quite well apart from some odd symptoms and fatigue and there is a good aspect to it: I ll be able to work on the boat for the next few days.
 
So today some more progress.
I first made a rough template for a deck to sit bellow the breast hook. I d like this deck to have grating but I do not have a mill so I must figure an easy way to do it with the tools I have.



Next, I started cutting the floor timbers and sanding them to height (16mm so that the floor to top of thwarts will be 45 cm in full scale). Unexpectedly tricky, I made two and wasted some expensive pear wood.

These are 16 mm high or 16 cm in the real boat. Kind of look a bit high and going a bit wide and high up the sides. I could lower to 11 cm but then as discussed above, the thwarts will sit 50 cm above the floors - a bit too much.
I ll cut a few more timbers and see how they look. 
 
Regards
Vaddoc

Well, time for another update! I was unwell and stayed home, so got to work a bit more on the boat.
 
Now, there is some progress but also a lot of questions to be answered and decisions to be made. Any of your thoughts would be most welcome!
 
First issue is how high to place the thwarts and the floor boards. I tried to find relevant info in books and the internet but did not get anywhere. In the end I measured the original NMN plans and the actual dimensions of the model and tried to use common sense for a realistic and comfortable arrangement.
At midships, keel to sheer will be 83 mm or in real boat, 83 cm. I think the distance top of thwart to sheer should be 20 cm. The floor timbers should be something like 10 cm high to allow a reasonably wide floor and the top of the thwarts will be about 50 cm from the floor boards. I think this should be a realistic arrangement. Then again, those days people were probably shorter than we are today. Oh well...
 
Time for a few photos.
I first made the breasthook. It was a bit fiddly, sanding it curved and bevelled but actually I got it with the first attempt, which was good as pear wood sheets this thick are expensive.


However, it did look a bit huge and out of scale so I reduce it - I think it looks much better now.


I think I might add a small deck bellow the breasthook, I think this is what the plans show:

I then made template for the floor timbers. Again, it was actually a pretty straightforward job.



Now, these are my thoughts: I d like to seal the interior, prime it and paint it white but keeping the pear wood transom, keel and floors unpainted, these will be enhanced with Tung oil. The stringer that will support the thwarts will also be painted white but everything else added will be unpainted pear wood treated with Tung oil. The outer keel will be painted last.
 
Alternatively, I could leave the interion unpainted. Just apply Tung oil, seal with water based sealer, rub with 0000 steel wool and then add all the remaining pear wood trims etc and last paint the outer hull.
 
I do have a suspicion that if I paint the interior, since it is not well sanded and prepared, it might look horrible with all imperfections highlighted by the paint.
 
Any suggestions would be very welcome!
 
Regards
Vaddoc

Well, it's official: I am Covid positive! I am actually quite well apart from some odd symptoms and fatigue and there is a good aspect to it: I ll be able to work on the boat for the next few days.
 
So today some more progress.
I first made a rough template for a deck to sit bellow the breast hook. I d like this deck to have grating but I do not have a mill so I must figure an easy way to do it with the tools I have.



Next, I started cutting the floor timbers and sanding them to height (16mm so that the floor to top of thwarts will be 45 cm in full scale). Unexpectedly tricky, I made two and wasted some expensive pear wood.

These are 16 mm high or 16 cm in the real boat. Kind of look a bit high and going a bit wide and high up the sides. I could lower to 11 cm but then as discussed above, the thwarts will sit 50 cm above the floors - a bit too much.
I ll cut a few more timbers and see how they look. 
 
Regards
Vaddoc

Well, it's official: I am Covid positive! I am actually quite well apart from some odd symptoms and fatigue and there is a good aspect to it: I ll be able to work on the boat for the next few days.
 
So today some more progress.
I first made a rough template for a deck to sit bellow the breast hook. I d like this deck to have grating but I do not have a mill so I must figure an easy way to do it with the tools I have.



Next, I started cutting the floor timbers and sanding them to height (16mm so that the floor to top of thwarts will be 45 cm in full scale). Unexpectedly tricky, I made two and wasted some expensive pear wood.

These are 16 mm high or 16 cm in the real boat. Kind of look a bit high and going a bit wide and high up the sides. I could lower to 11 cm but then as discussed above, the thwarts will sit 50 cm above the floors - a bit too much.
I ll cut a few more timbers and see how they look. 
 
Regards
Vaddoc

Well, it's official: I am Covid positive! I am actually quite well apart from some odd symptoms and fatigue and there is a good aspect to it: I ll be able to work on the boat for the next few days.
 
So today some more progress.
I first made a rough template for a deck to sit bellow the breast hook. I d like this deck to have grating but I do not have a mill so I must figure an easy way to do it with the tools I have.



Next, I started cutting the floor timbers and sanding them to height (16mm so that the floor to top of thwarts will be 45 cm in full scale). Unexpectedly tricky, I made two and wasted some expensive pear wood.

These are 16 mm high or 16 cm in the real boat. Kind of look a bit high and going a bit wide and high up the sides. I could lower to 11 cm but then as discussed above, the thwarts will sit 50 cm above the floors - a bit too much.
I ll cut a few more timbers and see how they look. 
 
Regards
Vaddoc

@iMustBeCrazy Thank you Craig! What you say makes total sense, actually I measured the height of my office chair and is indeed 45 cm. I could raise the floors timbers to such a height, this would make a very wide floor but I wonder if the bat will look a bit shallow compared to its length and whether in real life it would be a bit top heavy - but it is a very wide boat on the other side. also thanks for the high resolution pictures, very nice.

I used the design of the fellow in the link bellow. Heavy and super solid bench, cheap to make too. The selves underneath are very practical.  I made a large one and then I made an even larger one. Go big, longer and wider than you plan. I think my benches are 90 cm high but I like to sit in tall stools.
 
 

Well, time for another update! I was unwell and stayed home, so got to work a bit more on the boat.
 
Now, there is some progress but also a lot of questions to be answered and decisions to be made. Any of your thoughts would be most welcome!
 
First issue is how high to place the thwarts and the floor boards. I tried to find relevant info in books and the internet but did not get anywhere. In the end I measured the original NMN plans and the actual dimensions of the model and tried to use common sense for a realistic and comfortable arrangement.
At midships, keel to sheer will be 83 mm or in real boat, 83 cm. I think the distance top of thwart to sheer should be 20 cm. The floor timbers should be something like 10 cm high to allow a reasonably wide floor and the top of the thwarts will be about 50 cm from the floor boards. I think this should be a realistic arrangement. Then again, those days people were probably shorter than we are today. Oh well...
 
Time for a few photos.
I first made the breasthook. It was a bit fiddly, sanding it curved and bevelled but actually I got it with the first attempt, which was good as pear wood sheets this thick are expensive.


However, it did look a bit huge and out of scale so I reduce it - I think it looks much better now.


I think I might add a small deck bellow the breasthook, I think this is what the plans show:

I then made template for the floor timbers. Again, it was actually a pretty straightforward job.



Now, these are my thoughts: I d like to seal the interior, prime it and paint it white but keeping the pear wood transom, keel and floors unpainted, these will be enhanced with Tung oil. The stringer that will support the thwarts will also be painted white but everything else added will be unpainted pear wood treated with Tung oil. The outer keel will be painted last.
 
Alternatively, I could leave the interion unpainted. Just apply Tung oil, seal with water based sealer, rub with 0000 steel wool and then add all the remaining pear wood trims etc and last paint the outer hull.
 
I do have a suspicion that if I paint the interior, since it is not well sanded and prepared, it might look horrible with all imperfections highlighted by the paint.
 
Any suggestions would be very welcome!
 
Regards
Vaddoc