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KenW

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Everything posted by KenW

  1. KenW
    Hey Dave - good questions. The outer bulwarks and counter are boxwood; and the transom is swiss pear. I may use walnut for the upper outer bulwarks. The carvings are something I'm still pondering. I may make an impression of the stern carvings from the cast metal and then make an impressions from that impression so that I can re-shape the carvings and perhaps improve them. I can't see myself doing those intricate carvings myself.
  2. KenW
    Thanks Scott. I suspected as much.
  3. KenW
    Thanks Augie. I used a #78 drill which is pretty small. Now I’m ready to plot out the deck and start planking. First I added a waterway and planked the inner bulwarks. Then I got the plans, made a copy, cut the deck out and put it all on the deck. Next I placed the hatches on the deck and added some scrap wood to insure that the hatches and deck planks have something to glue to. I started by adding four 1/8 inch planks in the center of the deck. Some carving was necessary, but I took my time (like I do when I’m making furniture). I also made the bow sprint to ensure it fitted properly. I want to plank the deck using the method described by Chuck Passaro in his Cheerful log. He says that ships built at this time were planked with curved and tapered planks. And, when I looked at the Rattlesnake plans, sure enough that is the way the deck planking is shown. So I mapped out the planks and used an artist tape at the half way point to check if my plan looked “correct”. Don’t know if it's “correct”, but I think it looks alright.
  4. KenW
    I also like the new method of planking. I'm in the process of lining of my deck. Is there any convention as to when a plank ends? Like perhaps when it gets to one half the original thickness? Your workmanship is excellent, as usual.
  5. KenW
    Almost there! And it is looking excellent. Cheers.
  6. KenW
    Amazing work. And bravery to take that much off and start again. Very impressive.
  7. KenW
    I haven’t made an entry in quite a while. A lot of distractions and work was slow. I’m not all that satisfied with the results of the overall planking of the hull. But the tree nails look good, if they don’t all line up properly. I did paint (stain) the expanded black stripe, a half inch thick, as the plans show. Looks O.K. I also made up the hatches with their coamings. I’m pleased with all the deck furniture I’ve made so far, including the new hatches. I don’t understand why I can make small, detailed binnacles, capstans, bulge pumps, etc. that I’m happy with, but I can’t plank a hull. I guess I just have to view a planked hull as a large piece of furniture.
  8. KenW
    WOW! The rigging techniques you are using are top class. I will have to re-visit these pages when I finally get to the rigging stage of my build. Keep leading the rest of us. Cheers.
  9. KenW
    It looks like you are getting off to a great start! I have a general question: Is the alligator clamp you got from your surgeon a better quality than a simlier clamp you can get from one of the mail order houses? Thanks.
  10. KenW
    Definitely looks like a model to be proud of. Excellent work. Congratulations. Look forward on watching your build of the Syren. Cheers
  11. KenW
    Great work! I like the turnbuckles. Can't wait to see the finished model. Cheers
  12. KenW
    Thanks Bill and Scott and the 'likes'. I've been using Chuck's method as described in his Cheerful log for the tree nailing. It looks pretty good. I'll post the results soon. Cheers.
  13. KenW
    It feels like forever since I had made enough progress on my build to justify an entry in my log. But the lower hull is now fully planked. I’m not totally pleased with the result. Looking back, I think my planking plan was not as precise as it should’ve been; and the plan I had was not adequately followed. I will have to do better on my next model. Somehow the whole plan just seemed to dissolve as the end drew near. Hopefully, the tree nailing will distract from these problems. The obvious sanding on the ‘wales’ is to remove the lip between the wale planks and the lower hull planks. I decided that I want to adhere to the plans and have a half inch black band around the boat measuring down from the ‘top of the wales’. There’s still a lot of work to do. Now, it’s on to the dreaded tree nailing.
  14. KenW
    It's really quite amazing, but now that I look at the plans for the boat I'm building (the Rattlesnake), the deck planks are curved just like you say. I never noticed before.
  15. KenW
    I hope I'm not replying too late - but I vote for option 2. Cheers.
  16. KenW
    Well, I favor the (Second drawing and photo) companion way; with a coaming that is just not wider than the companionway. Just my two cents. Cheers.
  17. KenW
    Great work, as usual. In the last photo, has the coaming for the smaller grate been added?
  18. KenW
    Thanks Augie and Mark. I have replaced the port side forward garboard plank and the length also changed slightly. The new plan still calls for 10 strakes to be added to both sides. Thanks for the 'likes' as well. Cheers.
  19. KenW
    Another Update: I have completed half (10) of the planned strakes working down from the wales. After sanding with 80 and 150 grit, I feel that while the workmanship isn’t perfect, it’s better that my last model. There will be more sanding with finer grit once the outer hull is done. I added the garboard strake using a 3/16 inch strip and then made new paper strips for the lower half of the planking. The plan is still for 10 strakes on the lower portion. If there is too much space for the last planks, I will reduce a larger width strip and hope that the needed width is so small that it will not be noticed. I still haven’t soaked a single plank in water. I’m replacing the forward garboard plank because I don’t like its positioning and the way the two sides don’t line up. So, while there are a lot of ‘summer-time fun’ interruptions, modeling does continue.
  20. KenW
    Excellent model! Your workmanship looks impressive and the hull lines are nice and clean. Your result will be a beautiful. Cheers.
  21. KenW
    Thanks augie, as well as Dave and Brian. I'm using holly on the lower hull; that way I don't have to paint it white (all my mistakes will show). Cheers.
  22. KenW
    Just a quick status. I have completed the first belt of 5 strakes. My planking plan is being followed with only a couple of slight corrections needed. I’m not having any problems with the planks at the bow. I’m following Chuck Passaro’s method which can be seen in the video on his Cheerful build log (page 16, entry #316). The problem I’m having is at the stern. I can’t seem to get a proper bend to get the planks up to the fashion piece. I think an edge bend plus a very tight ‘regular’ bend is needed and I’m getting small spaces between planks. Also, the ends aren’t really lining up well, although I figure I can cover that with a piece of molding.
  23. KenW
    The last effort looks pretty good in the photos. But if you aren't happy with it, you will forever wish you tried again. Best of luck.
  24. KenW
    I will give it a try, but I won't expect too much.
  25. KenW
    Thanks Jon. I've been looking at your carvings - and I don't see how I'm going to be able to do that. But, for now, the lower hull is calling. Cheers.

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