Fam

I think you are overdoing it with the photo etching. Using copper tape and an appropriate stamp should do the trick (as described in the Art of Ship Modelling) at a reasonable price and without any detriment to either realism or aesthetics. If you don't have the book i can send you the page where Frölich's approach is described. It's in german but the pictures alone should be sufficient.

Hello,
to build the sloop for my French corvette I have a lot of research on the Internet. I have seen this many wonderful plans and construction reports of a large long boat. This sloop can carry a 24 pound cannon. With a length of 13 m was used on large ships of the line.
Many of these modelers build this sloop "Chaloupe armee en Guerre de 1834" according to the plans of Gerard Delacroix (Boudriot series) in scale 1:36.
Current construction reports are good studio objects for all the details, just only bigger, like my small sloop for La Créole.
Many of these models are fantastic works that have been produced with absolute precision.

Therefore, I felt the need to compare the two models in terms of size.
This I have done with a picture assembly.
That's interesting?

Tuesday, July 21st, 2015
 
A few days ago I wrote with some enthusiasm, about the photo-etched copper plates, as below:

Today, as promised, I received the answer, answer I reproduce in full here below:

I am genuinely stunned . .
 
I asked for a quotation of 10 sheets, A4 size, although in reality I would need only 5. This because if the option was interesting, I was able to propose the material also for my friend FAM who is doing the same model.
On the website they advertise it was a really easy matter, I had only to prepare and send them an AutoCAD file, done following certain rules, and their highly sophisticated and flexible equipments would be ready to do all the work !!
It sounds me like a steal . . the AMATI photoetched plates available on the market, unfortunately too small for my needs, cost about 15€ per sheet !!
 
I think at this point I will have to reconsider other options, not last to leave the hull in natural wood . . and of course try other suppliers. It's a pity for the time lost but with shipmodeling we always need lot of patience !
 
Anyway I'll resume the matter after I'll get back from Tuscany. By the way I'm facing some other problems and I'll will delay my departure for a couple of weeks.
 
Regards, Jack.

Hi all
yesterday I tried a variation to Tlevine method for scuppers lead lining, that I’m hoping to use on the bulwark outside (Tlevine’s method on the inside end).
I got inspiration from the model of the Dutch brig Irene (formerly HMS Grasshopper), a British built brig of 1806, which I’ve seen in Annapolis US Navy Academy museum...
 


 
On the outside of the hull the scuppers look like a pipe cut at an angle, flush with the hull surface...
 


 
Unfortunately the inboard ends of the scuppers are totally missing (!), an evident error of the model.
So my idea was to roll a strip of thin paper around a drill bit, let’s say 1.5-1.75mm diameter bit for a 2mm scupper hole. The paper is glued to itself, creating a small pipe. The pipe is then slipped and glued into the scupper from outside, and cut flush when glue is set. Finally painted medium gray.
I did another test on the same scrap piece of wood where i'm doing the other tests: this evening will cut it and see how it looks like. Tomorrow hope I have something new to show you.
 
Cheers
Fam

May 15th, 2015
 
Hi all
lot of work but so little to show...!
I’ve completed the weather deck treenailing, sanded and sealed with matt sanding sealer. Then I’ve cut the gunports and started treenailing the bulwarks. Finally I’ve drilled the water scuppers, but unfortunately don’t have images of this last job.
 
So, some pictures of the various phases:
Treenailing... well, deck and bulwark and gunports were not done in subsequent steps because treenailing is so boring that I couldn’t resist the temptation of jumping to other tasks here and there...  
 

 
This is a small area of the deck that I’ve already sanded to see the final effect...
 

 
The holes are marked by pencil, then punched with a needle point and drilled at 0.6mm. Then the tip of the nail is inserted  with some white glue, let dry, cut as close as possible to the deck surface and sanded flush (which also helps cleaning from any residual glue).
 
And this is an overall shot of the entire deck, just to give an idea. I left some alternate free areas for better accessibility, then cut the wooden pegs flush with the deck and treenailed the remaining areas.
 

 
I couldn’t resist the temptation to cut the gunports because wanted to see the result of my building method for their framing...
Here you see the Pearwood framing exposed, and contrasting with the Yellowheart wood of the bulwarks planking. Also evident is the upward tapering of the bulwark, as per Ancre plans.
 


 
And the following pictures show the treenailing test for the bulwarks (inboard-outboard). Treenails are Birchwood toothpicks, the same material as for the deck. Treenailing extends only to the area that will not be painted, so only to the first 4 strakes down from the bulwark top.
 

 
A shot of the completed deck, after sanding.
Treenailing of the port bulwark is completed on the outside only: it requires about 500 nails for each side, because the vertical rows of nails are more closely spaced w.r.t. those of the deck... so still other 1500 nails to go!
 

 
Finally these pictures are taken after application of one coat of matt sanding sealer to the entire deck: difference is subtle but evident, the color of Ramin planks is warmer and the treenails are more contrasted. The yellowish deck area close to the starboard bulwark is just a reflection from the bulwark planks, not a color defect.
 




 
Finally, I drilled the water scuppers: they are 4 per side just in front of gunports 5-6-7-8, 2mm diameter, drilled in the waterways at the same level of the deck.
I used the method of progressively drilling from outside and from inside, until the two drill bits met in the middle. This way I had no problems with the linearity of the holes. I finished the inside of the scuppers, in the waterways side, with spherical diamond grinders. Could not do the same to the outside because the outward holes are in the area still to be covered by the 2nd planking.
These holes were lined with leather or lead: I’ll use the method suggested by Tlevine, in his buildlog of the HMS Atalanta... will see how it works.
 
My best regards and stay tuned!
Fam

June 8th, 2015
 
Hi all
this will be the last update from my “Brik de 24” shipyard for a while, since I’m going to close it for one month due to another business trip for the Company I work in.
In these two weeks I completed several long lasting works and started preparation for the hull second planking.
 
Keel, stern post and “shoe”
Before doing this job I had to refine the hull shape at the junction with the keel parts. These are 7mm wide, so I had to measure and sand the hull in the junction area until its thickness was 6mm, to take into account for the 0.5mm thick 2nd planking layer.
After this, I glued the stern post, the two keel pieces (joined with horizontal scarph joints) and finally the piece that I call “shoe”, the one protecting the keel in case of contact with the undersea floor. All junctions were strengthened by wooden pegs (the usual 2mm toothpicks). Of course the holes for the supporting screws were drilled before adding the keel parts.
Here are three views:
 



 
Obviously addition of the stern-post required refining of the rudder tiller hole, which I later completed by adding the 2nd planking to the counter in order to have the correct and final shape for the rudder hole:
 

 
Second planking strips are obtained from Tanganika wood veneer, 0.5mm thick.
 
Wale and bulwarks mouldings
Next in the sequence, so to complete the preparation for laying the 2nd planking, was the addition of several mouldings that are needed to better define the upper boundary of the wale. Additionally, I prepared and installed also the mouldings for the gunport sills, inboard and outboard of the bulwarks.
The first moulding is obtained from 3.5x2.5mm Pearwood strips that are shaped, as three-lobes, using a scraper. I was really pleased to see how simple is this method... several light passes and the moulding slowly takes shape under my eyes The important is to stick the wood strip to the work surface and hold the scraper at right angle to the wood.
The gunports mouldings are obtained by cutting 1x1mm strips from Yellowheart wood: not an easy task, because this wood is extremely hard but also fragile and tends to split apart under the table saw blade, when cut in very small strips.
The next pictures show the results:
 



 
I really like this other picture because shows the beautiful curvature of the hull, as it is highlighted by these mouldings:
 

 
The lines defining the bulkheads positions are also traced on the 1st planking and will be used to calculate the shapes of the second planking strips using the method described in C.Passaro tutorial.
 
Bulwarks treenailing
Very few to say about this boring work. I didn’t want to leave it behind, as it is another milestone to be passed for the preparation of the deck. The interested area was the interior of the bulwarks and the interior of the transom. Technique has been thoroughly described before, so the only detail worth noting is the total amount of nails I installed... 2860, plus or minus ten! It’s not the biggest number I’ve seen here on MSW, but gives an idea of what anyone has to be prepared to when the decision is taken!
After having completed the job I have to admit I’m very pleased by the result, the treenails add a beautiful texture to the look of both deck and bulwarks... just wondering how much of it will remain visible after installation of all deck fittings and guns...
Here are a couple of pictures:
 


 
As I had the hull in the upright position, I also finished the top of the bulwarks by removing the tips of the gunport framings and sanding the bulwarks top flat: now they are ready to receive the gunwale.
Also visible in above pictures are the hawse holes and the water scupper holes.
 
Hull lining for planking
Just before temporarily closing my shipyard, this was the last task I did. It needed an entire work-session of measurements and comparison with Ancre plans of planking, but I think I’m pretty close to an acceptable result.
I ask all of the readers to write their opinions, and also ask Chuck to drop by here and give his judgment, so that when I’ll go back home in a month I can copy-paste to the opposite side and start planking. I will really appreciate any suggestion and apologize for posting maybe too many similar pictures!
 







 
Bye
Fam

Jack, the website seems promising, unfortunately google translator is needed to understand every single word... apparently they don't have an English version of the site, only German language... but as far as I know usually German people know English language pretty well, so it's just a matter of finding the contact address! Maybe Anobium/Christian can help with this ;-)Ciao
Fam

Friday, July 10th, 2015
 
After a long break due to family problems and, last but not least, thanks the hot weather of these last days where I live, finally yesterday and today I was able to resume activities on the model.
Being for now suspended any task on the brick hull, waiting for news regarding the copper plates, I started the construction of one of the three lifeboats carried by this ship.
In recent days I spent enough time designing plans with AutoCAD and now in theory the three boats are ready to be built. The design method is the same for all, then, to avoid that an error is reflected on all the three projects, I decided to start to build only one for now. Later, if the method will work, I will start the other two, otherwise I will have to correct something before proceeding further.
The choice is obviously fallen on the largest boat: being larger it should be easier to work with. .
The first image shows all the pieces cut and finished, after I glued the AutoCAD printouts on a birch plywood, 5 layers, 2mm. thickness. The metric scale in the background should give a idea of the size of this boat: about 16-17cm.
Shown below is the mounting basement, consisting of a plywood tablet on which has been glued a boat plant. On the centerline is a strip of 5x5mm. intended to keep the bulkheads capsized but aligned.
01 Brick%20by%20JackAubrey/20150709_185229_zpsgbqkmzvn.jpg

After removing the paper from all the cutout pieces, I started the actual installation just glueing all the bulkheads. The alignment is obtained with the 5x5 strip on the base. So far everything seems to work well. With a special tool of adequate size, I made me sure to glue the frames perfectly vertical with respect to the base. So far, so good.
The next two images show the work at this point of the installation.
02 Brick%20by%20JackAubrey/20150710_105949_zpsgmkqv3ay.jpg

03 Brick%20by%20JackAubrey/20150710_105940_zpsa0kprqd1.jpg

The work is still in progress, see you soon, Jack.Aubrey.

Hi
hope these picture give some indication, they are examples based on:
- first three is the French xebec Le Requin (models by Frolic and Roma)
- last five is my Genoan Pinco (my personal interpretation based on Le Requin rigging adapted to the Pinco rigging)
On my Pinco I tried to encircle the yard and the mast with the parral, but it didn't work. Much better if the parral encircles the halyard where it is tied to the yard (the one showed is the mizzen, main and fore have double halyards but he concept is the same).
The xebec is slightly different as there is no single halyard tied to the yard at its middle point, but two lines made fast to the yard ends and passing through the sheaves in the mast head.
Bye
Fam
 

Hi Jack
it depends on the price... I mean, I already have a reliable method with the sticky copper tape and honestly I am more concerned about finding the carronade barrels than about the copper sheating.
Just let me know, I will consider and give you an answer any way.
 
BTW
I've got three guns barrels from TheLumberyard, they are quite good quality and correct size, but I'm not sure about blackening, will see how it works or what I can do as an alternative.
 
Cheers
Fam

Hi all
I've finally started laying the second planking, after several other adjustments to the 3 thread lines dividing the hull into 4 belts. Then I've copied-pasted to the opposite side of the hull, each thread for each bulkhead line. Finally I've traced the lines to the hull with a soft pencil and removed the threads/pins.
Now the hull is divided into 4 belts that, per my intention, show the run of the planking and the tapering-enlarging of the belts. Next was to calculate the width of the planks and thus the number of planks required.
 
I measured from the Ancre plans, for each plank strake and at every bulkhead line, and got an average width between 5.5 and 6mm. So decided to go with 5.5mm width plus a 7.2mm wide Garboard plank - measurements taken at bulkheads M1 and M2.
There will be a total of 23 strakes 5.5mm wide plus the Garboard, total 24 strakes at M1-M2. Ancre plans show only one drop-plank at the bow and one stealer at the stern, both located in proximity of the keel... will see if I manage to maintain this layout or need to do some adjustment.
Yesterday night started laying the Garboard, which is tapered to zero at bulkhead "IIa" and widens to 7.6mm at the stern post.
 
In the meanwhile I'd like to show what I've received while I was in Philly:

 
Left are Pearwood sheets from TheCrownTimberyard, right is Cherrywood and Holly from TheLumberyard.
Quality of wood is very good, or even excellent, sizes are precise (in mm for C.T., in imperial units for T.L.) but surface finish is different: sheets from C.T. are as smooth as a peach skin , those from T.L. are a bit more coarse even if I chose the finest finishing.
Luckily a friend of mine is so kind (thankyou Cesare!) to get them through an industrial thickness sander that greatly improves the finish and adjust the thickness to the closest mm size. Additionally, Eve from T.L. added a spare piece of Cherry (just roughly sawn to a variable thickness), I think to increase the stiffness of the package for shipping: it's good quality wood, so I got it finished to 6mm thickness: thank you very much Eve!
About the prices and the shipping: prices are not cheap, but still in line with the prices of modelling material I find here in Italy. Shipping costs are definitely high: I would have not ordered anything for shipping to Italy... too expensive.
 
Stay tuned
Fam
 

With several hundred sailors and marines aboard, sleeping arrangements were important and always crowded on the berth deck.
The hammocks were strung and attached to hooks along the gun deck beams with 18 to 24 inches between sleeping bodies.
 
Before going too far, I decided to add the 'hooks and eyes' to the gun deck beams.
But I cheated. Instead of attaching the hooks (hard to make) to the beams, I reversed it and attached the eyes to the sides of the beams instead. The eye bolts are made by the technique discussed earlier and epoxied in place every 24 inches apart. The hammocks will have the hooks (four of them shown below)      
   
 
You are looking up at the gun deck beams from below. Hence, it is important to install all of the eye bolts before this part goes onto the frame.
BTW the hammocks would go between every other beam; but now, how to make the hammocks?

Hi all
I've finally started laying the second planking, after several other adjustments to the 3 thread lines dividing the hull into 4 belts. Then I've copied-pasted to the opposite side of the hull, each thread for each bulkhead line. Finally I've traced the lines to the hull with a soft pencil and removed the threads/pins.
Now the hull is divided into 4 belts that, per my intention, show the run of the planking and the tapering-enlarging of the belts. Next was to calculate the width of the planks and thus the number of planks required.
 
I measured from the Ancre plans, for each plank strake and at every bulkhead line, and got an average width between 5.5 and 6mm. So decided to go with 5.5mm width plus a 7.2mm wide Garboard plank - measurements taken at bulkheads M1 and M2.
There will be a total of 23 strakes 5.5mm wide plus the Garboard, total 24 strakes at M1-M2. Ancre plans show only one drop-plank at the bow and one stealer at the stern, both located in proximity of the keel... will see if I manage to maintain this layout or need to do some adjustment.
Yesterday night started laying the Garboard, which is tapered to zero at bulkhead "IIa" and widens to 7.6mm at the stern post.
 
In the meanwhile I'd like to show what I've received while I was in Philly:

 
Left are Pearwood sheets from TheCrownTimberyard, right is Cherrywood and Holly from TheLumberyard.
Quality of wood is very good, or even excellent, sizes are precise (in mm for C.T., in imperial units for T.L.) but surface finish is different: sheets from C.T. are as smooth as a peach skin , those from T.L. are a bit more coarse even if I chose the finest finishing.
Luckily a friend of mine is so kind (thankyou Cesare!) to get them through an industrial thickness sander that greatly improves the finish and adjust the thickness to the closest mm size. Additionally, Eve from T.L. added a spare piece of Cherry (just roughly sawn to a variable thickness), I think to increase the stiffness of the package for shipping: it's good quality wood, so I got it finished to 6mm thickness: thank you very much Eve!
About the prices and the shipping: prices are not cheap, but still in line with the prices of modelling material I find here in Italy. Shipping costs are definitely high: I would have not ordered anything for shipping to Italy... too expensive.
 
Stay tuned
Fam
 

Hi all
I'm finally back at the shipyard.
As kindly requested to permit a better evaluation, I post 5 other pictures of the upright hull.
Any indication will be appreciated and more than welcome
Thank you very much
Fam
 
PS: the fourth picture show what seems an upward bend of the wale molding and gunport sills molding, but is is an optical effect
 





 

June 8th, 2015
 
Hi all
this will be the last update from my “Brik de 24” shipyard for a while, since I’m going to close it for one month due to another business trip for the Company I work in.
In these two weeks I completed several long lasting works and started preparation for the hull second planking.
 
Keel, stern post and “shoe”
Before doing this job I had to refine the hull shape at the junction with the keel parts. These are 7mm wide, so I had to measure and sand the hull in the junction area until its thickness was 6mm, to take into account for the 0.5mm thick 2nd planking layer.
After this, I glued the stern post, the two keel pieces (joined with horizontal scarph joints) and finally the piece that I call “shoe”, the one protecting the keel in case of contact with the undersea floor. All junctions were strengthened by wooden pegs (the usual 2mm toothpicks). Of course the holes for the supporting screws were drilled before adding the keel parts.
Here are three views:
 



 
Obviously addition of the stern-post required refining of the rudder tiller hole, which I later completed by adding the 2nd planking to the counter in order to have the correct and final shape for the rudder hole:
 

 
Second planking strips are obtained from Tanganika wood veneer, 0.5mm thick.
 
Wale and bulwarks mouldings
Next in the sequence, so to complete the preparation for laying the 2nd planking, was the addition of several mouldings that are needed to better define the upper boundary of the wale. Additionally, I prepared and installed also the mouldings for the gunport sills, inboard and outboard of the bulwarks.
The first moulding is obtained from 3.5x2.5mm Pearwood strips that are shaped, as three-lobes, using a scraper. I was really pleased to see how simple is this method... several light passes and the moulding slowly takes shape under my eyes The important is to stick the wood strip to the work surface and hold the scraper at right angle to the wood.
The gunports mouldings are obtained by cutting 1x1mm strips from Yellowheart wood: not an easy task, because this wood is extremely hard but also fragile and tends to split apart under the table saw blade, when cut in very small strips.
The next pictures show the results:
 



 
I really like this other picture because shows the beautiful curvature of the hull, as it is highlighted by these mouldings:
 

 
The lines defining the bulkheads positions are also traced on the 1st planking and will be used to calculate the shapes of the second planking strips using the method described in C.Passaro tutorial.
 
Bulwarks treenailing
Very few to say about this boring work. I didn’t want to leave it behind, as it is another milestone to be passed for the preparation of the deck. The interested area was the interior of the bulwarks and the interior of the transom. Technique has been thoroughly described before, so the only detail worth noting is the total amount of nails I installed... 2860, plus or minus ten! It’s not the biggest number I’ve seen here on MSW, but gives an idea of what anyone has to be prepared to when the decision is taken!
After having completed the job I have to admit I’m very pleased by the result, the treenails add a beautiful texture to the look of both deck and bulwarks... just wondering how much of it will remain visible after installation of all deck fittings and guns...
Here are a couple of pictures:
 


 
As I had the hull in the upright position, I also finished the top of the bulwarks by removing the tips of the gunport framings and sanding the bulwarks top flat: now they are ready to receive the gunwale.
Also visible in above pictures are the hawse holes and the water scupper holes.
 
Hull lining for planking
Just before temporarily closing my shipyard, this was the last task I did. It needed an entire work-session of measurements and comparison with Ancre plans of planking, but I think I’m pretty close to an acceptable result.
I ask all of the readers to write their opinions, and also ask Chuck to drop by here and give his judgment, so that when I’ll go back home in a month I can copy-paste to the opposite side and start planking. I will really appreciate any suggestion and apologize for posting maybe too many similar pictures!
 







 
Bye
Fam

May 15th, 2015
 
Hi all
lot of work but so little to show...!
I’ve completed the weather deck treenailing, sanded and sealed with matt sanding sealer. Then I’ve cut the gunports and started treenailing the bulwarks. Finally I’ve drilled the water scuppers, but unfortunately don’t have images of this last job.
 
So, some pictures of the various phases:
Treenailing... well, deck and bulwark and gunports were not done in subsequent steps because treenailing is so boring that I couldn’t resist the temptation of jumping to other tasks here and there...  
 

 
This is a small area of the deck that I’ve already sanded to see the final effect...
 

 
The holes are marked by pencil, then punched with a needle point and drilled at 0.6mm. Then the tip of the nail is inserted  with some white glue, let dry, cut as close as possible to the deck surface and sanded flush (which also helps cleaning from any residual glue).
 
And this is an overall shot of the entire deck, just to give an idea. I left some alternate free areas for better accessibility, then cut the wooden pegs flush with the deck and treenailed the remaining areas.
 

 
I couldn’t resist the temptation to cut the gunports because wanted to see the result of my building method for their framing...
Here you see the Pearwood framing exposed, and contrasting with the Yellowheart wood of the bulwarks planking. Also evident is the upward tapering of the bulwark, as per Ancre plans.
 


 
And the following pictures show the treenailing test for the bulwarks (inboard-outboard). Treenails are Birchwood toothpicks, the same material as for the deck. Treenailing extends only to the area that will not be painted, so only to the first 4 strakes down from the bulwark top.
 

 
A shot of the completed deck, after sanding.
Treenailing of the port bulwark is completed on the outside only: it requires about 500 nails for each side, because the vertical rows of nails are more closely spaced w.r.t. those of the deck... so still other 1500 nails to go!
 

 
Finally these pictures are taken after application of one coat of matt sanding sealer to the entire deck: difference is subtle but evident, the color of Ramin planks is warmer and the treenails are more contrasted. The yellowish deck area close to the starboard bulwark is just a reflection from the bulwark planks, not a color defect.
 




 
Finally, I drilled the water scuppers: they are 4 per side just in front of gunports 5-6-7-8, 2mm diameter, drilled in the waterways at the same level of the deck.
I used the method of progressively drilling from outside and from inside, until the two drill bits met in the middle. This way I had no problems with the linearity of the holes. I finished the inside of the scuppers, in the waterways side, with spherical diamond grinders. Could not do the same to the outside because the outward holes are in the area still to be covered by the 2nd planking.
These holes were lined with leather or lead: I’ll use the method suggested by Tlevine, in his buildlog of the HMS Atalanta... will see how it works.
 
My best regards and stay tuned!
Fam

Hi all
I'm finally back at the shipyard.
As kindly requested to permit a better evaluation, I post 5 other pictures of the upright hull.
Any indication will be appreciated and more than welcome
Thank you very much
Fam
 
PS: the fourth picture show what seems an upward bend of the wale molding and gunport sills molding, but is is an optical effect
 





 

Hi
hope these picture give some indication, they are examples based on:
- first three is the French xebec Le Requin (models by Frolic and Roma)
- last five is my Genoan Pinco (my personal interpretation based on Le Requin rigging adapted to the Pinco rigging)
On my Pinco I tried to encircle the yard and the mast with the parral, but it didn't work. Much better if the parral encircles the halyard where it is tied to the yard (the one showed is the mizzen, main and fore have double halyards but he concept is the same).
The xebec is slightly different as there is no single halyard tied to the yard at its middle point, but two lines made fast to the yard ends and passing through the sheaves in the mast head.
Bye
Fam
 

Hi all
I'm finally back at the shipyard.
As kindly requested to permit a better evaluation, I post 5 other pictures of the upright hull.
Any indication will be appreciated and more than welcome
Thank you very much
Fam
 
PS: the fourth picture show what seems an upward bend of the wale molding and gunport sills molding, but is is an optical effect
 





 

Wow, that's fantastic!!

Wow, that's fantastic!!

Wow, that's fantastic!!

It's a good thing that I tried this because it would have been difficult to install the LED and coal with the front blocked with spits etc. Now my plan is to assemble the stove and base with coal as one unit before I go any further.

Congratulations Cristiano
she is so beautiful and the flags really give her the touch of color that attracts the attention even more!
Fam

Finished planking the bulwarks on the port side after installing the false deck.   The false deck was 1/16" thick.   Then I added some filler strips at the bow and stern where I thought I needed it.  At the bow to beef up where the hawse holes will be.  You can see these strips below which I used 1/16" thick scrap strips for these filler pieces.
 

 
The first plank (3/16" wide and 3/64" thick) was placed right below the gun ports.  The planking below the ports inboard is thick and stands proud of the planking between the ports.  This will be accomplished in two layers much like the wales.   Placing the plank directly below the ports first allows me to get the run of the planking correct as it must follow the bottom of the ports.  Then the remaining planks were added below that and above.  Once completed the second layer of thicker planking was added.  This is the spirketing.  It runs from the deck to the port sills and is thicker....but not by very much.  The original planking draft has the spirketing just 1/2" thicker.  I used 1/32" thick planks for the second layer and actually thinned them down a bit more.  Then I softened the edge where it stands proud along the sills.  I try to soften all of the hard edges like this.  The thickness of the hull where the caprail will be is 5/32" thick after planking.  The cap rail will be 3/16' wide hanging over a bit outboard. 
 
Once I get the planking done on the other side I will install the cap rail.