Glenn-UK

I would recommend lateral plank bending for the bow area. I tapered the bow planks to approx 3mm

Recovery is still very slow so I must limit my shipyard time at the moment.

Looking good you'll soon be overtaking me on my Indy build

Deck Planking – Started My ongoing bulging disc is still limiting my time in the shipyard to small sessions. That said I have been able to start planking the gun deck. I started with fitting a margin plank to the stern. I then decided to plank the central section of the gun deck from stern to bow. I have not utilised a butt shift pattern due to the short plank lengths required between the various deck openings in the central gun deck area but I will use a 3 butt shift pattern for the rest of the gundeck. As each central gun deck section had been planked the various gun deck openings were opened and the associated deck items checked. I have included a set of photos showing the progress I have made over the last four days. You will note my progress is slow, but the planking is looking OK so far. The trickiest central area to plank is the stove base to the bow area. As can be seen in the next photo after some careful measurements one of the planks has had the various cut-outs added. The plank is then test fitted with the deck items in place.

Deck Planking I ended up in A&E last week as my lower back lumber disk related condition worsened. I am now waiting for a MRI scan so the consultants can determine the nature of the problem which is probably a bulging disk. Thankfully the morphine as helped ease the back pain, however I seemed to have developed a lateral femoral cutaneous nerve pain which is still very painful when I try to walk. After a few days the pain has eased a little bit and I was able to spend a little bit of time in the shipyard today. With regards to margin deck plank for the bow area I made a template of the bow area and then clamped the plank to follow the required curve. I think this method will work. For the general deck planking I have opted to use a 3 butt shift pattern, with 100mmL planks which equates to approx. 6m long planks when scaled up to full size. To help me cut the deck planks to 100mmL I built a simple jig. In the first photo the deck plank is being fed into the jig. The plank is fed through some guide plates and is then butted up to the end stop, as can be seen in the next photo. The next photo shows the plank in position and ready to be cut to size, Using the cut slot guide the plank is cut to length using a razor saw. The various planks, when cut to size, are then place in a container ready be glued in place when needed. I have only managed to cut a few planks so far.

Welcome to the Indy party, you've made a good start

Looking good Kevin

As @Blue Ensign pointed out the Spirketting is the bottom pattern as shown in the next two photos. The lateral bend of the stern margin plank is now a nice fit now as can be seen in the photo below. I have also added a test waterway section from some old walnut material. I will need to use a different wood for the waterway. I will now try to get a suitable lateral bend for the bow section

Thanks for the advice.

You are right of course. In my simplistic mind both the upper and lower patterns were both called spirketting

Deck Planking Preparation Work I was able to spend a little bit time in the shipyard this morning. I still to be very careful with how I move at the moment so the time spent will be short and sweet for the time being. My initial thought was to see if I could apply a suitable lateral bend for a gundeck margin bow planks. I have opted to trial 5mmW boxwood planks for the margin planks, noting the rest of the deck planking would be done using 4mmW boxwood planks. I soaked two 5mmW planks in hot water for around 45 minutes and then I applied a sharp bend to these planks, as shown in the photo below. When I did a test fit of these bent planks around the bow area I realised I would need to add a much sharper bend. It may take two or three interations of the bending process to get the required bend for these planks. However when I checked these planks with the stern section the bend was just about right, but a minor adjustment would be needed. The planks were clamped again and I then brushed on some water. These planks will now be left to fully dry out. Once I am happy with the stern margin planks bend I will soak and bend margin planks for the bow section. While the planks were immersed in the hot water I did a trial fit of the Spirketting. In the photo below the left-side front pattern has been test fitted. I used some brass pins to help with the alignment with the eyebolt holes. I had previously constructed the gundeck grating assemblies, noting they still need to be painted. I did this because if I decide to plank the deck with the boxwood planks then I would like to make sure the grating assemblies are a good tight fit once the planking is complete. I decided it would be nice to take a few photos of them on the deck. It was nice to see the grating assemble for the main mast area is a good fit with the bitts. The main mast and pump holes also are nicely aligned.

Thanks, great advice

I agree it is the silly movements that catch me out. I was well on the way to recovery last week then as I reached for my socks last Thursday the prolapse reacted. Fingers crossed it has settled back down again but I'm being very carful with my movements.

Thanks for all the kind comments, it is greatly appreciated.

An Enforced Break - Planning Ahead I am in the unfortunate position of taking an enforced break from the Indy as I have suffered a relapse of prolapsed disk in my lower back last week. I first suffered the prolapsed disk around 20 years ago when I bent over an desk to look at an engineering drawing. This time it was due to over extending myself whilst in the garden trimming a large hedge, bending over as I was sweeping up the debris. The back is now starting to respond to the rest so hopefully I can return to the shipyard in the next few days for short periods of time. The time away from the Indy build means I am spending more time thinking of my next course of action with regards to the gundeck planking and spirketting which is to be added to the bottom of the inner bulwark patterns. I have the option of either fitting the laser etched deck pearwood part or to plank with the 4mmW box wood planks. I could take the easy approach which is to fit the laser etched deck followed by the spirketting. If I take this course of action the first task would be to paint the inner bulwarks (except where the spirketting would be located). Once the inner bulwarks had been painted the laser etched gundeck pattern would be fitted followed by the spirketting. The spirketting would also need to be painted. I have already made a cardboard template of the bow area which I can use to check and trim the laser etched deck part as necessary should I opt to fit this part. Alternatively I could start by adding the spirketting. The laser etched gundeck would then be added after the bulwarks and spirketting have been painted. The task would be completed by adding a waterway using some rounded 2mm square timber. Another option I have been considering, after adding the spirketting to the inner bulwarks, is to use the boxwood timber to plank the gundeck, using a 3 or 4 butt shift pattern. I would have to look at adding a margin plank to the edge next to the spirketting. Once the planking is complete I would then add a waterway with some 2mm rounded material. This option would be much more challenging as I would need to bend the margin planks laterally for the bow area. I am also going to laterally bend a plank to see if I can get the required amount of bend. Given the bow area is more or less hidden by the forecastle deck I could probably get away without adding a laterally bent margin plank and to simply butt the plank edge to the spirketting. The other challenging aspect with this approach would be to include the cannon locating slots. I would need to assembly one cannon to ensure the locating slots are correctly sized. Of course I could simple plank over the slots and to remove the tabs from the cannons. The cannon could be glued in place with a flat edge added to the bottom of the wheels.

Thanks. I just need to be careful at the moment and try to avoid moving too fast or twisting which hopefully will settle the prolapse to recovery quickly.

Your Indy is really looking nice. I'm currently taking an enforced break from my Indy due to a reoccurance of a prolapse in my lower back (a slipped disc). I liked your boxwood planked gundeck so I am pondering weather to follow suit or to fit the laser etched part.

I was not very happy with the how the stern/quarter galleries (v1) were looking. This was due to a build error on my part and I could not see a way to correct. Therefore I decided to buy a 2nd kit and start again (v2) and I was pleased with the end result.

Wales – Completed Blue Ensign did suggest that I should consider using a top and butt interlocking planking arrangement below the first wale. This would require 2 pairs of strakes to implement the interlocking pattern, 4 planks in total per side. I calculated that it would be necessary to taper the planks down to 10mm overall for a good fit around the stern area. After careful consideration I decided it would not be practical to implement the top and butt interlocking planking arrangement as I would have to taper the 4 planks down to the required 10mm. I therefore decided to add 3 x 5mm planks as per the build manual requirements. I used a simple 3 butt shift arrangement when adding the wales. Each wale full plank was 192mmL which equates to 12m planks when scaled up to full size. After giving the completed wales a light sand, I brushed the excess sawdust away with a damp brush before taking the attached photo’s.

Many thanks Maurice I am not sure what you mean by the top and butt planking. According to the build instructions I still have to add 3 x 5mm planks below the top 4mmW wale (which is the one I have added.). I suspect you are referring to the patterned wale planking which I have just found on one of your build logs. Click on link

I am pleased with the Indy now the second planking is complete. The Royal Yacht was a nice distraction but certainly not suitable for me.

Wales – Work In Progress Over the last few days, I have been working on a birthday gift from my wife, which was Amati’s Royal Yacht (in a bottle). I managed to construct and shape the hull and to then paint and fit the deck and bulwarks. The problem came when I started to fit the deck items. I really struggled to located and secure the parts. After failing to fit the fore bitts and windlass assembly I decided to abandon this project as I do not have the requisite tools or eyesight (even with my magnifying glasses) as the ship is too small for me. It was a nice gift to receive, and I am glad I tried to build it but unfortunately, in my opinion, it is a very poor-quality kit and very badly presented instructions. You can see the difference in size in the photo below. I have given the Indy hull good sand and it does look and feel reasonably smooth. I have also sanded the gun port openings. I am still debating if I should just add a varnish finish or if I should paint and copper the hull. I have started to add the wales. The first wale is a length of 4mmW boxwood. I was able to use Titebond and clamps when adding the top wale. I suspect I will have to revert to CA clue for the remaining 3 x 5mm wale planks.

Despite my best efforts this kit is way to small for me to complete. I managed to shape the hull and to then paint and fit the deck and bulwarks. The problem came when I started to fitted the deck items. I really struggled to located and secure the parts as required. After failing to fit the fore bitts and windlass assembly I decided to abandon this project as I do not have the requisite tools or eyesight (even with my magnifying glasses). It was a nice gift to receive and I am glad I tried to build it but unfortunately, in my opinion, it was a very poor quality kit.

great work

I thought I would make a start on this build. The hull construction is very different to any of my other previous builds. As can be seen in the picture below the hull is made up of 5 differently shaped sheets which are glued together in a staggered manner. The picture shown in the build instructions is drawn at a scale of 1:1. After a taken a measurement the required stagger is 1mm. I added a strip of 1mm tape to help me align the parts. I continued with the checking the stagger, using tape to help with the alignment as the remaining parts were glued in place. The next task is to sand the hull to get the required curved shape. The kit has provided a series of templates to aid this shaping process. The quarter gallery comprises 4 parts which are stacked on top of each other. According to the build manual the 4 parts are different sizes but in reality the parts were all the small size. hjh