Glenn-UK

Deck Planking – Update

I realised that I had omitted any photos of the central section deck planking in my last post, so I took a few pictures showing this aspect.

The first photo shows the current state of the gun deck planking.

The next few photos are some close ups of the different central openings. As each opening was made I did make sure the various deck items would fit be it hatches, bitts, masts, etc.

As mention in the last post as the planking approaches the right-hand side inner bulwarks I would have to include the openings for the cannons. As can be seen in the next set of photo’s I have now created the first two openings, one for the bow and one for the aft cannons. These openings are checked with the locating piece of the cannon.

I remember it took me several weeks to add 3000+ copper tiles when I built Caldercraft's HMS Victory so I'm not surprised this task will take you some time to complete, even without the interruptions of gardening related work. 

Deck Planking – Very Slow Progress

As reported a few weeks ago I have been incapacitated with an ongoing prolapsed disc. The back pain did relocate to the outer and front part of my right thigh which indicated I had developed meralgia paresthetica (nerve entrapment as a result of the disc prolapse) and is caused by compression of the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve that provides sensation to the skin covering your thigh. Thankfully it has been warm and sunny so I have spent a great deal of my time sat in the garden developing a nice tan and doing the exercises provided by the physio to help. Over the last four days the pain has finally started to subside, and I no longer need to take the oral morphine for the pain relief although there is still a tingling sensation in the right thigh. As a result I have now been able to return the shipyard however I am keeping my sessions short for the time being, limiting each session to no more than 20 minutes with plenty of rest between each session.

I am using a 3 butt shift pattern for the deck, with a plank length of 100mm, but I'm not using the shift pattern around the central section cutout area. I have also made some templates which can be loaded into my plank cutting jig (see post #145) for cutting the shorter planks (25mm, 50mm and 75mm).

I started by planking the area around the central deck section moving outward toward right-hand bulwarks. To ensure I get the eyebolt holes drilled in the right position I used a simple template, as shown below.

To ensure I get the best possible join between planks I add an indication mark to the back of the plank to show where the next plank should be orientated so the two planks are fitted end to end with the common cut line.

The next 100mmL plank has just been cut I (and is still in the jig) as is ready be glued in place.

Once I have cleaned up the edges I apply a coat of titebond to the underside of the plank and then it is placed in on the deck. I have found it useful to use some offcuts to hold the glued plank in place whilst the next plank is being prepared. The 3 butt shift pattern can also be seen in the photo below.

I am not adding a margin plank to the first part of the bow area, as this will not be visible once the forecastle deck has been added.

The stern area is not as neat as I would have liked but again it will not be visible once the upper deck sections have been added.

Fun times ahead as I will need to add the cut-outs for the deck cannons.

Once the deck planking is complete it will need a good scrapping with a sharp blade before the WOP is added.

Slow and steady with the tiling, looks good so far.

Jim used wood glue on the prototype and then pinned the 2nd planks in place. The pin holes were then filled during the sanding phase before painting.

Fabulous. I'm very impatient to restart my Indy but I must wait to allow time for my back to recover.

Great build, well done.

Nice progress. With regards to the waterline I tend to use the plan sheets to work out the position at the bow and stern. When practical to do so I will also add some additional reference points in between. I will add a length of tape using the reference points as a guide. I will adjust the tape as necessary to get a nice smooth flow in conjunction with the waterline tool.  I find getting the aft portion (transom area) of the waterline most troublesome to get right.

Nicely done, great job. I'm still AWOL with my glass back so not sure when I can resume work on my Indy. My current goal is be be in a fit state to travel to a Switzerland (by train) at start of July. Plan is for a river cruise to Dussledorf. If back is still playing up I might try to book into one of the special Swiss  clinics for instant and total pain relief

12 minutes ago, aydingocer said:

Is it me seeing only small part of your photo? (most of the photo shows black)

No idea why that happen I have deleted and readded the picture and seems OK now

2 hours ago, aydingocer said:

Question about yards construction: On the plan (Sheet 19) it is instructed to paint all yards and booms in black, while in the photos the booms are left natural.

Is it a question of preference? 

I went black

Very nice

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

6 minutes ago, ECK said:

Thanks but please take care of your back, hope you are improving.

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

17 minutes ago, Kevin said:

Glenn i found depending on if you plank or not, that the beam supports will need adjusting, and i added mine after the beams were secure

 

Thanks for the advice.

19 minutes ago, Blue Ensign said:

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 think you mean the upper ledges, Glenn, the spirketting fits below the gunports.

 

Ease back on the medication.😉

 

B.E.

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.

45 minutes ago, James H said:

Strap you to a plank for a week and be spoon-fed your meals. 

 

You'll be right in no time!

 

Hope it's fixed up soon.

Thanks, great advice 

3 minutes ago, Blue Ensign said:

I can sympathise Glenn, I knackered a disc back in the 1980’s playing sport, catches me out occasionally, usually making a silly little movement. I find rest, a tens machine, ibuprofen, and a liberal supply of Merlot, gets me through it🤞.

 

Hope you’re back firing on all four soon.

 

B.E.

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.