Glenn-UK

The roof of the two rear cabins have now been added. I have just noted @Blue Ensign comment on his build log regarding the position of the roof with regards to the gunwales and I have the same issue with the rear section of the gunwale being above the level of the cabin roof. I do not plan to do anything with this for the time being. I also plan to add a margin plank between the deck and stern board joint. My next task is to install the inner bulwark sheer rail and spirketting patterns. Experience has taught me that I need to check the position of the sheer rail with regards to the various belaying racks to ensure the racks can be installed without fouling with the bottom edge of the sheer rail. I plan glue the belaying rack in place before the sheer rail so that I can sure the racks are full engaged in the locating slots provided. In the photos below I am test fitting the sheer rail and spirketting patterns, both of which required a little bit of trimming. In the final photo below I am also making sure the bowsprit will fit through the hole provided at the bow. Before fitting the racks and patterns I will coat the various parts with sanding sealer and then paint, red for the patterns and black for the racks.

The inner bulwark patterns have now been glued and they were left overnight to allow plenty of time for the glue to fully cure. I did use the gun port jigs to ensure the patterns were correctly aligned. I then turned my attention to the rear cabin side panels. Having made a template which was a good fit I decided the kit supplied patterns could not be trimmed to get a nice looking fit. Therefore I opted to make some new side cabin pieces. I cut some lengths of 4mmW planking material which were then glued together. The template was then used to draw the required outline on the glued planks. To complete the process I added the outer framing strips and the assembly was then trimmed to match the template. I ended up rejecting my first one due to any error with the framing, as shown below. I was much happier with my second attempt, albeit I did need to add an additional filler to the right hand side panel. After sealing and painting the side panels black they were added to the Harpy along with the doors. In the photo below the door handle is missing in action. The missing door handle has now been attached and I have also dry fitted the roof section. I need to make sure it is a good fit with the top edge of the side panel before gluing it in place.

I have returned to the shipyard after a busy two days looking after our youngest 1 year old granddaughter. The upper, laser etched, deck pattern has now been glued in place and was left for 24 hours to give the glue plenty of time to cure. I then decided to dry fit some the upper deck items and patterns. I am very happy that these items seem to fit perfectly as can be seen in the next two photos. My next task will be to glue the inner bulwark patterns in place. The next photo shows the stern area, noting I still have to shape the rear cabin side patterns. The next three photos shows the midship section(s). The next photo shows the bow area, the front grating assembly will require a little bit of fettling to get a good tight fit. I might add a little shaped deck infill so it follows the line of the lower partition, as can be seen in the photo below I can either paint the inner face of the visible partition shown in the photo below or I could add a filler piece so the inner face of the partition is not visible. I will probably try to paint the partition.

Looks great Richard, well done.

I have not been able to spend much time in the shipyard today and will have very little or no time in the shipyard over the next couple of days as we are looking after our youngest granddaughter (1 year old). I am hoping I can glue the upper deck pattern in place when she has an afternoon nap (fingers crossed she will have a nap) One more dry fit test was my first task today. This time the inner bulwark patterns were aligned using the gunport jigs. As can be seen below everything lined up perfectly. Next I applied some sanding sealer to the various bulwark, rear cabins, stern counter and stern board patterns. Once the sealer had dried the various patterns were painted. The stern board and counter patterns were then glued in place. The stern counter was positioned and clamped before the stern board. I am reasonable happy with how this looks. I then decided to paint the outer frame work of the cabin sides patterns black. In the final photo you get an idea of how the different colour parts interact, noting I still have much work to do with the stern cabin fittings.

Thanks Maurice. The template side pieces were fashioned from spare 0.8mm thick plywood. If, when fettling the side panels, I am not happy then I will just use 4mm planks. I am also thinking of planking the roof section. Much to ponder. I wish I had your skill and patience to plank the upper deck.

You're welcome

Many thanks. I have done a bit more work. I have made a test cabin side piece which I am using to work out the required adjustments. It is still WIP at the moment.

Much to ponder on the way forward after a morning of test fitting various parts. I did a check that some of the upper deck items will align with the lower deck openings. I am pleased to report that no issues were found. I then turned my attention to the inner stern board and counter pattern. After a little bit of trimming of the lower pattern I was happy with how the join between the two patterns looks. However there is an issue with where the lower pattern joins with the deck, as can be seen in the photo below. I am undecided what to do but my current thinking is either: a) to see if I can add some material to the bottom of the stern board pattern so there is no gapping with the deck edge. I will also need to add some packing to bring the stern board up to the same level as the back end of the deck. This will be time consuming and I may end up creating some more problems. b) Leave as is and then fit a filler piece to cover the gap, as per the photo below, noting the filler piece will need be full length rather than the short experimental test piece shown below. c) Add some packing to bring the stern board up to the same level as the back end of the deck and then add a filler piece. I am currently drawn toward option c). However there is bigger problem to resolve before I can fit stern board and counter patterns. In the photo below I am test fitting one of the rear cabins side patterns. It can be seen that the pattern does not sit flush of the deck. This can be rectified by removing some of the patterns curved section so it follows the shape of the lower stern board pattern. Also the pattern is not square where the cabin door pattern will be located. The cabin door assemblies are a good fit. The outer cabin frames were then glued to the cabin side and door panels. Another aspect to consider is the fitting of the cabin roofs. As can be seen below the cabin side panels need to be level with the cabin frames, When looking at both the cabin side panels and the stern board and counter patterns I am happy that there are no issues with regard to how cabin side panels will fit against the stern counter pattern, as can be seen by the red arrow. The problem area is indicated by the yellow arrow. However as this is not the case with the stern board pattern. My options are: a) Fit both the stern counter and board patterns and then, when fitting the cabin side panels, trim the bottom edges as necessary to get a good fit. b) Resolve the alignment issue of the cabin side panel before fitting the stern counter and board patterns. The curved edge of the cabin side panel can be trimmed so it sits flush on top of the stern board pattern. c) Sort out the basic alignment issues as per option a) above. Once the stern board and stern counter patterns have been fitted trim the curved edge of the cabin side panel so it sits flush on top of the stern board pattern. Unless anyone has any bright ideas my current thinking is to go with option c).

Totally agree.

The top outer rail has now been added. Before fitting I brushed on some sanding sealer and then painted the rails dull black. I decided to apply some cherry wood dye to planked area between the waterline and wale. It might not be to everyone's taste but I am pleased with the end result. Next I applied a WOP coat to the hull. After checking the position of the waterline I added tape so the hull is now ready for coppering. After removing the bulkhead ears the laser etch deck was test fitted and seems to be a perfect fit without any need to make any adjustments. I still need test fit some of the deck items such as the masts and bitts to ensure there are no issues before the deck is glued in place. The rear inner bulwarks patterns were test fitted without any issues. I used some pins, placed in the gun port eyebolt holes, to help with the alignment of the rear patterns. The front patterns need to be bent to follow the curve of the bow. After soaking the front inner bulwarks patterns in warm water for a few minutes they were clamped in place and will now be left overnight to fully dry out. Next I moved on to test fitting the inner stern counter and board patterns. The upper pattern required a little bit of tweaking and then split along one of the laser etched lines as I was sanding. I was able to add some glue to rectify the problem. With both parts in place they do not look great. The top part is not a problem as it lines up perfectly with the two openings. I will need to spend some time working out a solution to get the lower pattern to line up with both the deck and the upper pattern. In the photo below the top pattern is not correctly aligned but the join between the two patterns looks better. My next task (in the morning) will be to test fit all the rear cabin outer patterns.

Great progress, coming along very nicely 👌

I have experimented with some different wood dyes and ended up adding a cherry wood finish to the square tuck. There is still a little bit of tiding up work required in this area. I then moved on to adding the wales. I marked and taped the position of the waterline. I also added tape to the area above the wale. Once that was done I sanded the area smooth between the upper and lower tapes. The previously bent wales were then checked and I did end up adjusting the bend for a better fit around the bow area. I have also been experimenting with both oak and cherry wood dyes on some spare planking material and will add a cherry wood finish to the planked area below the wales and above the waterline. The wales were then coated with a sanding sealer and two coats of dull black painted were brushed on. Next I brushed some wood glue to both the underside of the right-hand side wale and the hull. The wale was then carefully aligned and clamped in place and were left to dry. Once the glue had had time to cure the process was repeated for the left-hand side wale. You may note in the photos below I did add one pin to the lower wale section at the stern so it follows the curve of the hull. I will remove the pins first thing in the morning. The upper tape layer has also been removed now the wales have been fitted.

Hello Mark Many thanks for the kind comment. It nice when you enhance a kit and the end result justifies the extra work.

The Square Tuck Following on from @Blue Ensign lead I decided to fabricate a square tuck to finish off the second planking. Previously I had used the lower stern pattern, before it was fitted, as a template to shape the lower framing pieces for this task. The square tuck frame pieces were cut from some spare 0.8mm pear wood. After a little bit of tiding up work the lower curved framing pieces were glued in place. The bottom edges were then sanded flat with the second planking, where necessary. The top edge framing pieces were then glued in place. The next task was to add an infill to the framed area. I initially make an card infill template and planked on top of that. I ended up abandoning this approach as the planked assembly did not hold together when I tried to trim the excess material from the planks to the get the required shape. In the end I simply added strips of 4mm planking material, using the template as a guide for the bottom edge shaping. This was easy to do and did not take long to complete. The final task was to sand completed square tuck area so that the planks were flush with the frames. It has been an interesting little side project and one which I am glad to have undertaken as I am really pleased with the end result. The square tuck area is still slightly damp from the cleaning process in the two photos below.

Many thanks Maurice. Not working in the shipyard day 😫 due to grandparent duties.😁

Hello Mark Planking is one of the dark arts and I am making progress in making a better job of it. The light bulb moment for me was when I finally understood the lateral bending method and the benefit adding twists to planks for the garboard. Cheers Glenn

Hi Ross Thanks for the comment. I am still trying to figure out proper planking also. Cheers Glenn

I have now completed the second planking on the left-hand side. As with the right-hand side I fitted planks of approx 140mmL. I also applied a lateral bend for the planks that were installed around the bow section. For the most part I am really pleased with how the second planking has turned out. The hull will now require sanding to iron out any bumps before I add the wales and copper tiles. In the final photo I am starting test fitting the parts I have made for adding the square tuck. There is a little bit more work required before they can be fitted. I also have to made the top right-hand square tuck frame part.

Planking on the left hand side has started and so far it is looking good. The first 6 strakes that sit beneath the wale have been added. I have added some marks to aid with the the plank tapering around the bow. In the first photo the blue arrow is where the planks are tapered to 3mmW and the red arrow indicate where the planks are tapered to 3.5mmW. The end of the plank which fits in the stem post is tapered to 2mmW. The final photo shows the planking terminating at the stern. The following set of photos, shows, in detail, the complete process I follow to fit a strake. Step 1 - Stem Post After making an initial angled cut the plank is placed in the rabbet and a pencil line is added so an accurate shape can be made. The plank is then removed and cut along the pencil line. Step 2- Marking the taper points With the plank held in place the 3mmW and 3.5mmW positions are marked on the plank. A 2mmW mark is also added to the stem post end and a mark for the end point for the taper is also added. Using the vernier caliper the taper points are then marked so a line can be drawn between all the marked points. Once the taper has been cut the plank width is checked using vernier calipers. Step 3 - Adding a lateral bend After the plank has been dipped in some water it is clamped so a lateral bend can be added. I used a hairdryer for approx. 1 minute to apply heat to the plank. The laterally bent plank is then test fitted, and as can be seen below, the plank is not a perfect fit. When this is the case the plank is then wetted again and the lateral bend is adjusted. It fits much better the second time around and also, as can be seen in the final photo below, the plank does followed the 3.5mmW and 3mmW marks. Step 4 - Fitting the Plank As I am fitting planks of approx.140mmL the position for the cut is made on the plank. The cut line repeats for every third strake. I used my guillotine to make the cut, and the reverse side of the cut plank is marked to ensure I can line up the cut edges when fitting the next plank. I apply a bevel to the top edge of the plank as this helps to keep the plank tight to the upper plank. I do have a couple of bowls on hand, one has clean water and one has some acetone to remove any excess ca glue. Ca glue is then added to the hull and the dampened plank is then added. Step 5 - Adding the remaining planks The next cut position is marked on the plank. Once the plank has been cut a bevel is added to both the top edge and also to the end which butts up to the previous plank. The dampened plank is then glued in place and any excess ca glue is wiped away. The process is then repeated for the final two planks. The final plank is then trimmed close to the lower stern counter pattern. It might seem a long winded process but it works well for me and is producing much better results. And it is not as time consuming as you might imagine once you get going.

The square tuck arrangement is for framing so there are no open ends where the planking terminates at the stern.

I have now completed the right-hand side second planking. There is a wet nature in the photos below as I did brush the hull with a dampened brush. This was done to remove any unwanted dust from the hull and to also highlight any areas which may require a little bit of attention. Overall I am very satisfied with how this has turned out, it is not perfect but generally it looks good to the naked eye. I will now spend a few more days repeating the process for the left-hand side. Fingers crossed I can repeat what I have done already. The wale (when fitted) will positioned between the lower laser etched line on the bulwark pattern and the third strake. I am planning to add a square tuck to the stern.

Looks great

Work is progressing slow and steady on adding the second planking. I have now completed the planking on the right-hand side down to where the water line terminates at bow and stern. I have also added the garboard along the keel, comprising 2 x 4mm planks. I have continued to use shorter plank lengths (max approx 140mm). In the photo below the red arrows shows the position of the different plank joints, noting the pattern does repeat with every third strake. When fitting a plank I do mark the position of the next plank, as indicated by the blue arrow. The bow planking is looking reasonably Ok at the moment. I am colour matching the planks as I go along. The lateral bend is really helping and there is no real evidence of clinkering which is a first for me. In the photo below the CA glue stain will be hidden by the wale, when fitted. The blue arrow indicates where the plank width is tapered to 3mm and will taper to 2mm at the stem post. The final two photos shows the stern area. Once the plank ends have been sanded flush with the stern counter I am planning to add a square tuck finish. There is still a few days work left to complete the right-hand side before moving on repeat for the left-hand side.

Looks great