vaddoc

It has been a very long time since my last post, progress is at snail pace but at least things are moving along.
 
I had some equipment issues: My Dremel moto saw suddenly died. It had 8 years of continuous hard use. I opened it, cleaned it, repacked the bearings with grease and put it back together. Still dead. I suspect the brushes are gone but I thought best to get another one. I like it very much due to small footprint and the ability to take side cutting blades.

The garboard planks are in place, so I started work on the first broad plank. It is much easier to use scarfed planks than very long single piece ones and I will stagger the scarfs.
So here it goes:




So far, the time invested on the 3D plans pays off. The distances seem identical on both sides and the two plank halves are identical.

Planking continues



I switched to 1 mm card, much better than the 2 mm I was using




The plank halves are not too curved and I don't think they ll get any worse. They would have needed very narrow blanks.



Now, I am paying much more attention cutting the plank in this boat than I did on the Launch. The planks are sanded to line, with the disc sander on the convex edge, with hand on the concave edge. The result is very close fitting planks so far:

The twist at the bow is pretty acute, I hope it is not going to get worse. Just wetting the beech though is enough to get the wood to fall into place. Interestingly, I had to trim the second frame a bit for the plank to sit nicely, exactly the same area that I had problem during my lofting. 


The beauty of the hull slowly starts to emerge


I used a sander to trim the bow end of the second plank, much more accurate result

It is getting there slowly

With the hand held belt sander, the scarfs are very easy to make

The bow twist is indeed significant
And a final photo, boats are beautiful things.

Till next time
 
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
 

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
 

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
 

A couple of things on epoxy Mark:
It can be very messy, uncured epoxy though can be cleaned with vinegar (Epoxy is alkaline)
Different epoxies can be very different, some flexible and some not, however they are generally all brittle. Epoxy thickened with something (I use gypsum) is far stronger. It also fills gaps very well.
In cold weather, if the 2 parts become very thick, a few secs in a microwave restores them.

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
 

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
 

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
 

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
 

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
 

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
 

A couple of things on epoxy Mark:
It can be very messy, uncured epoxy though can be cleaned with vinegar (Epoxy is alkaline)
Different epoxies can be very different, some flexible and some not, however they are generally all brittle. Epoxy thickened with something (I use gypsum) is far stronger. It also fills gaps very well.
In cold weather, if the 2 parts become very thick, a few secs in a microwave restores them.

What a wonderful way to describe modelling! These last few weeks I seem to spend more time on my knees looking for pieces on the floor than on my stool.

A couple of things on epoxy Mark:
It can be very messy, uncured epoxy though can be cleaned with vinegar (Epoxy is alkaline)
Different epoxies can be very different, some flexible and some not, however they are generally all brittle. Epoxy thickened with something (I use gypsum) is far stronger. It also fills gaps very well.
In cold weather, if the 2 parts become very thick, a few secs in a microwave restores them.

A couple of things on epoxy Mark:
It can be very messy, uncured epoxy though can be cleaned with vinegar (Epoxy is alkaline)
Different epoxies can be very different, some flexible and some not, however they are generally all brittle. Epoxy thickened with something (I use gypsum) is far stronger. It also fills gaps very well.
In cold weather, if the 2 parts become very thick, a few secs in a microwave restores them.

A couple of things on epoxy Mark:
It can be very messy, uncured epoxy though can be cleaned with vinegar (Epoxy is alkaline)
Different epoxies can be very different, some flexible and some not, however they are generally all brittle. Epoxy thickened with something (I use gypsum) is far stronger. It also fills gaps very well.
In cold weather, if the 2 parts become very thick, a few secs in a microwave restores them.

And building a simple boat first and progressively taking on more complex projects allows one to gradually buy the truckloads of necessary and "nice to have" stuff without the admiral realising the cost. Also, one can gradually expand and occupy space in the house that otherwise would be point blank denied.

Dear all
 
Thank you for your likes. 
Indeed Bedford, there are some tasks in model building that are certainly therapeutic!
 
So the first bunch of nails came out just about acceptable, still trying to standardise the process and solve issues.

However, from then on things went much better and lovely tree nails produced

This is about 2000 nails. I ll make another 1000, and since I am at it I ll process that slice of cherry for future use. Then I ll be ready to start replacing screws.

I had make a thread on making nails, I ll update that as well.
 
Regards
Vaddoc

Dear all
 
Thank you for your likes. 
Indeed Bedford, there are some tasks in model building that are certainly therapeutic!
 
So the first bunch of nails came out just about acceptable, still trying to standardise the process and solve issues.

However, from then on things went much better and lovely tree nails produced

This is about 2000 nails. I ll make another 1000, and since I am at it I ll process that slice of cherry for future use. Then I ll be ready to start replacing screws.

I had make a thread on making nails, I ll update that as well.
 
Regards
Vaddoc

Another quick update
 
I started steaming and installing the ribs. As expected, beech responded wonderfully to wet heat becoming as pliable as boiled spaghetti. My steam box is working great and in no time I had bent half of the ribs.



I made a simple spacer to make sure the rib is placed at equal distances from the frames


Then I started screwing the ribs to the planks. 


Regards
Vaddoc

Dear friends
 
Planking is finished! But what a difficult boat to plank!
 
With great difficulty I managed to scrape a few moments here and there to work on the boat. My 3D plans I am pretty sure are correct, but I think they did not transfer that well to wood as some of the lines looked a bit wrong. In any case, with a lot of eyeballing and using the 80 - 20 rule, it all came together. But it was not easy!
 
It is not only that the planks need to bend and more importantly twist a lot, it is also that the largest distance keel to sheer is near the bow and not midships. On top of this, batens cannot really be used due to the very curved bow. The scarfs also made a fair plank curve difficult. That was a mountain to climb. 
 
My planking I think is more or less correct but if I was to build this boat again, I would change the run of the planks a bit at the bow.  A few photos:







Perhaps the planks could end a bit lower at the bow but I do not think this is too significant, there is plenty of room.
Another issue is that gaps have appeared between the planks. The wood database mentions that beech has large movement in service and indeed, the planks have shrunk considerably after they reached their moisture balance.
I will use filler but I cannot sand the hull just yet, the screws need to go which means all the ribs need to be installed, the temporary frames to be removed and all the screws exchanged for tree nails.
 
So we now move on to the next stage: steam bending ribs! And also making a few thousand tree nails...
I started cutting parts of the frames to open up the space



This is as far as I was able to get, at least I managed to not go into hibernation.  But I am really sorry I have not been able to keep up with your logs and updates. 
 
Till next time
My very best wishes to all
 
Vaddoc
 

Life went a bit into overdrive but still I managed to do a bit of work.
First, I glued the cant half frames with thickened epoxy using the jig to hold them in place. They came out fine but I forgot to take pictures.
 
Then I made the decision to use the solid wood keel and trimmed it to shape-I think it will be fine.
I then made the sternpost and the knee and I fiddled a bit with it, to make sure it sits flush with both the keel and sternpost.
 
Then I made the stem. Initially I wanted to laminate it but I decided to make it from overlapping 4 mm thick pieces. Not historically accurate but certainly faster and simpler.



Then I worked on the jig. It needs to be completely flat and it seems that the boat will need to be built upside down. We ll see


I also made a brilliant purchase, a 1 m steel ruler. I really don't know how I managed so far without it! Lovely thing


Then I assembled everything together and of course they don't fit. The frames seem ok but the sternpost and stem don't have any reference points so they are not in the right place and need to be further trimmed.


I checked the bevels once more now that most pieces are in place and it really looks ok

Then I hit a snug. In the plans the Transon needs to be 5 mm thick but I do not have 5 mm think pear sheets but I do have 4. Only solution to shim the sternpost-I think it will be fine.
 
There are still many other tasks to be completed. Somehow I need to trim and align everything, secure the frames to a near vertical position and cut the rabet on the sternpost and keel-this last job will be difficult.
Then the sternpost and knee will need to be securely attached to the keel and the whole thing somehow to the frames. I need to make the transom and fit it to the sternpost squarely.
Baby steps...

Bruce, Vlad and Druxey, many thanks for your comments. I have corresponded through PMs with Bruce (very grateful Bruce!) following his very kind offer to help but on this occasion should not be needed.
 
Now Druxey, I ve been digesting your suggestions and I think you are right. As much as I like to laminate staff, a solid piece of wood should be just fine, as long as it is good quality. So I am preparing a large timber order from Arkowood in Germany. The timber I had received in the past was top quality and I am taking the opportunity to also order beech for the planking as well as a few extra sheets of pear for future use. Overall £200 worth of wood, however the admiral is on vacation abroad with the girls so again a rare opportunity which should not be wasted...Building in large scale is expensive.
I did however order some strips the size of half keel, in case I need to laminate the hull from two pieces!😉 The lamination this time would be vertical and invisible.
 
Ok, lets move one to the garage now, there is some wood dust further down I promise!
 
I did a lot of work on the 3D plans and improved a lot of details. I also managed to get my printer to talk again with my computers so I can now print in decent quality. I printed the patterns for the keel, the hog, the jig and all 17 temporary frames.

My lines kept coming out curved instead of straight but I managed to solve this problem as well. Now, the garboard planks will intersect the hog which will need to be shaped. The shape and angles can be found from the temporary frames after everything is erected but the 3D easily shows this so the hog will be shaped (grossly) before attached to the keel. The photos bellow explain this, these are the frames (inner surface of the hull)

Chapelle mentions in "Boatbuilding" that a boat will either have a rabbet or an apron (hog in a sense) but that both are not needed. This looks logical as both options are there to secure the lower edge of the garboards. However, it seems that it is not uncommon that both are used and this is how my boat will be built. The following photo taken from my searches of the net shows what I mean. (source: https://buildinganfldpunt.home.blog/2019/04/06/the-rabbet-lines/)

At the same time, I have been laminating the plywood for the frames. The only way to get perfectly flat plywood is to laminate it. I used very good quality plywood from Cornwall models, 2 & 1.5 mm thickness. I had to make sure that the film of epoxy was thin as the sheets were just a tiny bit oversized and I did not want the laminate to be more than 4 mm. I forgot to take pictures of the process but essentially thickened epoxy was applied to one sheet, the other sheet went on top, then a plastic film, then a thick flat table top and then whatever heavy items I could find to pile on top.
 
The result: perfectly flat, spot on 4 mm thick very strong plywood! The second photo shows how straight the 600 mm edge is.

One thing to mention, I have stopped using talk powder to thicken epoxy as I am slightly worried whether it could contains asbestos. I used gypsum and the results were pretty much identical.
 
Then I glued the patterns to the wood. I decided to use spray glue instead of the Pritt glue I ve been using so far. I used the Craftmount 3M spray glue, it is the cheapest in their range (still expensive) but works very well and I think I prefer it over Pritt, at least for these large surfaces. The ruler is 50 cm long, this will be a ridiculously large boat! 


I then changed the sand paper and the work top on my home made disc sander. I used 80 grit as there will be some heavy sanding happening.

Then at last I cut some wood!
 
I roughly cut the frames and then followed the outline within a mm or two. The final trimming to the lines will be done with the disc and the drum sanders

There certainly will be some curves in this boat!

The frames are completely flat

The laminate came out very nice

The little motosaw did very well and had no trouble cutting the thick plywood but I did a few breaks to allow it to cool. That was a lot of cutting the poor thing did!
 
I will finish the frames but then I will need to stop as it will take a couple of weeks I think for the wood to arrive. I previously was thinking to also laminate the stem and false stem but now I think I ll make them out of solid wood. We ll see.
 
Regards
Vaddoc

Dear all
 
Thank you for your likes. 
Indeed Bedford, there are some tasks in model building that are certainly therapeutic!
 
So the first bunch of nails came out just about acceptable, still trying to standardise the process and solve issues.

However, from then on things went much better and lovely tree nails produced

This is about 2000 nails. I ll make another 1000, and since I am at it I ll process that slice of cherry for future use. Then I ll be ready to start replacing screws.

I had make a thread on making nails, I ll update that as well.
 
Regards
Vaddoc

Dear all
 
Thank you for your likes. 
Indeed Bedford, there are some tasks in model building that are certainly therapeutic!
 
So the first bunch of nails came out just about acceptable, still trying to standardise the process and solve issues.

However, from then on things went much better and lovely tree nails produced

This is about 2000 nails. I ll make another 1000, and since I am at it I ll process that slice of cherry for future use. Then I ll be ready to start replacing screws.

I had make a thread on making nails, I ll update that as well.
 
Regards
Vaddoc