Glenn-UK

015 - Gunwales and Rudder

Time for another Saucy jack update. I have now fitted the belay pin racks, deadeye channels, gunwales and rudder assembly to the hull. The first couple of photos shows the current build state of the Saucy Jack. She is now ready to have all the deck items added. The various pieces of PE parts (eyebolts, belaying pins, hooks, strops, etc.) are currently being cleaned in hot soapy water and acetone baths so they can be blackened.

The next photo is shows the gunwales in place.

The next photo is a close up of the tiller and stern area.

The one area I am not totally happy with is the stern counter pattern area, as can be seen in the next photo. I tried to be clever with the engraved Saucy Jack by adding a red infill. It almost worked.

I did paint the inner stern area black, which I think made a big difference, noting the odd splash of unwanted black paint on the deck, which I might be able to clean off.

The next photo shows the the left side belay pin rack in place. As mentioned in an earlier post I think painting the inner bulwark support patterns black was a good choice.

The final photo in this post shows left side channel, which has been pinned and glued in place.

014 - The Painted Hull

I have almost completed the hull painting phase. There is just a little bit of touching up along some of the edges. It is not my finest work but I do like the colour scheme. I was undecided about is the bottom of the hull should be red oxide and the bit above the water should be white, but opted for a white hull finish below the water line. I do like the black finish applied to the inner bulwark support patterns. 

I decided the stern counter would be painted flat green with the upper outer stern counter painted black. Before the outer upper counter was fitted I applied a scarlet paint wash over the engraved name. On reflection I think I should have gone for a white wash infill. I might experiment with a fine point to see if I can apply a white infill. I still need to tidy up the outer edges and fit the decorative pattern in the gap above the engraved name. The lower stern counter pattern did split on the left hand side  when it was fitted, as can seen.

27 minutes ago, James H said:

One day, my wife will say that about my guitars! 

I also have a large collection of guitars, from my days as a semi pro musician. My favorite is a Gordon Smith Galaxy, hand built uk guitar, one of 3 Gordon Smith guitars in my collection. I tended to use my two Line 6 variax's when gigging for the versatility of sounds. I also have a "blackie" fender strat.

013 - Deck Fitted

Just a quick update. I have now fitted the deck which was a good fit once the laser char had been removed from the edges. I have also test fitted the inner bulwarks support patterns and deck items. I did have to trim the ends of the support patterns for a good fit.

I have opted to paint the inner bulwarks support patterns black as I think it will be a nice contrast to the bare wood inner bulwark patterns. They have been spray painted and once the paint has dried they can be glued in place. I am also working on painting the upper stern counter area. The top of the inner upper counter pattern has broken away but it can be glued back in place, when the outer upper stern counter pattern is fitted.

The hull smoothing process is still ongoing but is looking a lot better. Once I have fitted the inner bulwark support patterns and outer stern counter pattern I will commence the final phase(s) of the hull smoothing and painting.

1 hour ago, DB789 said:

She’s looking great Glenn. I found the planking on this boat harder than all the other Vanguard fishing boats, except the Zulu with her raked stern post (and I’ve yet to build Ranger). Luckily I think I just about got away with the bare wood above the waterline without filling (although plenty below). Probably wouldn’t have met the exacting standards of the more experienced builders on here, but I was happy.

 

I really look forward to seeing the colour scheme - she’ll look very different. How will you paint the etched lettering on the stern? I struggled with that. 

With a bit of sanding the bare wood finish might have been ok. I really liked the red oxide used on the Eyrcina below the water line with a white strip above, so I'm just extending this a bit for the Saucy Jack. I've not thought about the stern painting as yet. I have a good set of paint brushes, so hopefully with a bit care I will be OK. Time will tell.

2 hours ago, Craigie65 said:

I use Veloset, which is a relatively fast setting woodglue.  Find it gives you plenty of time to work the part, but sets quickly enough to see some progress. I buy it from Wonderland Models in Edinburgh, but I am sure it must be available elsewhere.

Titebond Original (with map pins) is good as it grips fairly quickly. Also Super Phatic is a good fast gripoing glue which is a mix of wood and super glue. I will check out Veloset, thanks for the heads up.

5 minutes ago, wool132 said:

I recently bought some Gorilla Gel super glue to use instead of wood glue when I start my Zulu planking.

 

Hmm...

 

Jonathan

It is certainly much quicker using Gorilla Gel and I know plenty of other builders use super glue without any issues. I think I need to refine my method, probably trying to glue a plank in smaller sections rather than trying to glue a full plank all at once.

Glenn

30 minutes ago, Craigie65 said:

Hi Glenn,

I found the planking on this one a bit more challenging.  Did you taper the planks as well as edge bend? I struggle with getting the taper right.  Each time I think I understand where I have gone wrong, but by the time I am ready to plank a new model I have forgotten the lessons learned.  

 

Looking forward to seeing the colours you have chosen. 

Hello Craig

I did not edge bend. I have tried edge bending a few times on other models but I have found normally just tapering the planks is more than good enough. It may have gone better if I had followed Chucks method for tapering and edge bending the planks. In the past I have used wood glue and map pins when adding the second planking layer to very good effect. This time I used Gorilla Gel super glue which seemed to cause me no end of problems. I think I ended up with more glue on my fingers.

I am confident that once the hull smoothing and painting process is complete it will be OK.

012 - Second Planking

I have made more progress with the Saucy Jack build and I have now completed the second planking. I have to admit that with all the models I have built this is, by far, my worst attempt at the second planking phase. I had a perfectly smooth hull as the base and I bent and shaped the planks as they were fitted. Despite all that I ended up with a very clinkered bow section and the stern area was not much better. 

I have now decided on a painting scheme that, once the second planking has been filled and sanded smooth, should not show the errors of my second planking. The upper bulwarks will be painted flat green down to the upper rail. Both the upper rail and main wale will be painted black. The area between the upper rail and main wale will be painted white. The area below the main wale will also be painted white down to the water line. Finally the area below the water line will be painted with red oxide.

The pictures below show I have masked the hull and then sprayed it with white primer to highlight all the problem areas, noting this is the second iteration as I had already painted, filled, sanded and repainted the hull before these photos were taken. The photos still show the level of my poor workmanship in respect to the second planking. It is now a case of more iterations of sand, fill, paint, sand, fill, etc until the hull looks and feels smooth so in the end no one will be any the wiser. This will take a few days to complete as I have to allow time for the paint to dry before the filler mixture can be added. I then have to allow time for the filler mixture to cure before I can start sanding.

011 - Smoothing and Rabbet Patterns

As detailed in my last post I had sprayed the hull with a light coating of white paint and then used a filler solution as required. I was able to find a couple of hours in the shipyard today so I proceeded to sand the hull so the white paint and excess filler could be removed. The end result is that I now have a smooth hull which is ready for the second layer of planking.

I added the rudder post without any issues.

The final task was to add the outer rabbet patterns to the stem post, keel and rudder post. I used all my clamps when adding these patterns and the patterns lined up perfectly when the various locating pins where inserted.

On 11/30/2022 at 10:39 PM, wool132 said:

I'm thinking that the first planking surface is a great testing ground for surfacing since it will be covered up by the second planking.

 

As for Penguins, I've nabbed the wrong Glenn - sorry!

("Glenn Shelton followed in a penguin costume..." in an article on the Dalby Parkrun in The Scarborough News, circa 2017)

 

Jonathan

 

Hello Jonathan

That would have been me at Dalby Parkrun as I do run there most weekends. I have no memory of running in a penguin suit, however but my wife does remember.

12 minutes ago, wool132 said:

Thanks for your informative post before being off with your grandsons! I'll be sure to give this a go when I get there on the Zulu. Neither my Fifie nor my Nisha planking was as smooth as what you've got.

 

By the way, you wouldn't happen to know anything about a penguin suit, would you?

 

Have a good time!

 

Jonathan

Hello Jonathan

A light spray of white paint really does highlight the problems. It is not strictly necessary for the first planking as the real smoothing is done once the second planking has been added. I thought I would try it after the first planking to get a better base for the second planking as I'm in no hurry to complete this build.

I might be missing something obvious sorry, as I do not understand the penguin suit reference.

010 - Prework for getting a smooth hull after first planking.

I was not intending to post again until I had completed the hull smoothing process. Then I remembered that my wife and I are looking after some of our grandsons over the next four days so I will have very limited time, if any, in the shipyard.

This afternoon I started to sand the hull smooth, using some 120-grit sandpaper. After an about an hour the hull felt smooth to the touch and looked very smooth. I decided on a belt and braces method to be absolutely sure. After taping the hull, so only the first layer of planking was visible, I gave the hull a very light spray with white paint. This will highlight any problem areas with the hull, not readily noticeable to either sight or touch.

As can be seen in the first collection of photos below the hull does not look too bad but there are a few areas which needs a bit of attention.

I mixed up a filler solution, which comprised 50% wood filler, diluted with water and 50% titebond original. Using a paint brush the filler solution was applied to the hull.

Once it has had time to fully cure, I can sand the hull again so all of the paint and excess filler mix can be removed leaving a nice smooth hull which is be ready for the second planking layer.

The assembled windlass was test fitted to the hull. I did manage to break one of the two cleats. I will have to search my other kits to see if I can find a suitable replacement, as I have been unable to repair the damage. I think using the flat green paint was the correct way to go when painting the resin part.

009 - 1st Planking Completed

I have now completed the 1st planking and the hull is now ready for sanding smooth. I have added a selection of photos showing the un-sanded planked hull.

I have also taken some photos with the deck items placed on the deck.

I had originally painted the windlass a wood walnut colour. As I was not happy with the end result and repainted using a flat green colour and I think it looks much better.

Coming together nicely, looks good.

Nicely done

008 - Mast, Topmast, Boom, Gaff and Bowsprit

As I wait for the arrival of some more Titebond Original glue the planking task has been put on hold. The Titebond should arrive later this week, as the delivery has been delayed due to the current Royal Mail postal strikes.

I jumped forward in the build process and ended up making the mast, topmast, boom, gaff and bowsprit. I used my Proxxon mini lathe to shape and taper the dowels. I have added all the blocks, cleats, eyebolts and thimbles. In the photo below you will note the blocks are not shown on the mast eyebolts. I have dipped into my collection of pear blocks rather than the kit supplied blocks.

I then moved on to start building some of the deck items, as can be seen in the next few photos.

In the photo below I am checking the windlass side panels will fit in the deck slots, once the laser char had been removed. The resin windlass is currently being painted. I have also built the capstan, but I did not take a photo.

007 - 1st Planking Continues

With the first plank in place I moved on to adding the next plank. Once I trimmed the both the right and left-hand planks, they were soaked in hot water for approx. 10 minutes and then bent so they followed the shape around the bow. They were then clamped in place to allow the planks to fully dry out.

To continue with the planking progress, I then trimmed, soaked and bent the garboard planks.

When the first plank in place I added a stealer at the stern to fill the gap.

006 - Start of the First Planking

Now that I completed the Erycina build I can now turn my attention to completing the Saucy Jack. I have decided that I am in no hurry to complete this build, given the timescale for the release of the Indy kit, which is my next planned build.

The Saucy Jack is ready for the first planking layer. Having checked the kit supplied planks, which should be 5mmW by 1mmD I noted that quite a few of the planks were nearer 0.7mmD, and the rest seemed to be around 0.9mmD. Whilst this is not an issue with the first planking, I have decided to use some of my existing stock of planking material which does measure 1mmD.

Starting with the first plank I cut an angle and then sanded a camphor to the underside of the plank edge, to match the angle at the stem post, as can be seen in the photo below.

It would be better if the plank was bent to follow the curve around the bow. With the plank laying across the planks I was able to see where the plank bend should begin, as indicated in the photo below.

I marked the start of the plank bend on the reverse side of the plank. The start of the bend mark can be seen on the 10-line on the photo below.

I do have a planking bending tool which, by scoring the underside of the plank, creates the required bend. I have opted to use my heated plank bender tool for this project. The planks are soaked in hot water for a few minutes and then bent with the application of heat to the underside of the plank.

With the bend applied to both the left and right-side top planks they were clamped to the hull to allow time to fully dry out before they are ready to be glued in place. I am more inclined to try and fit the first plank as one continuous plank rather than in two halves.

31 minutes ago, AJohnson said:

Great looking model, well done. 👍👏

Many thanks Andrew

33 minutes ago, Blue Ensign said:

Well done, Glenn, I like the cut of her jib.👍

Vanguard's range of Fishing boats are very appealing.

 

B.E.

Thanks. I opted for building two fishing boats as a stop gap before my next major build which will probably be the Indy. Next up will be completing the Saucy Jack.

24 minutes ago, wool132 said:

Great job and congratulations on another build!

 

I second Dan's thanks for the detailed log. I've learned a lot from your posts - thanks!

 

Jonathan

Many thanks Jonathan. I have  learnt so much from other members build logs so I pleased you've found my build log helpful.

10 minutes ago, chris watton said:

Very nice work, Glenn, well done!

Thank you Chris, it was a very nice model to build.

34 minutes ago, James H said:

She' very pretty indeed. You did a real nice job with her.

Thanks James, your support and help was greatly appreciated.

10 minutes ago, DelF said:

A superb addition to your fleet Glenn. I’m not usually keen on sails, but yours help to make her a very attractive model. 

 

Derek
 

 

Thanks Derek. It is my first model with sails. I think they look good on a small model like the Erycina.