themadchemist

Planking progresses.  Band 1 on the starboard side complete, band 1 and 2 on port side complete now, so 3 of 8 done.
 
I'm liking the way it's coming together.  As long as I don't make a massive mistake at some point along the line I fully expect to leave the hull below the wale natural.  I may do something with the waterline (paint line) but still undecided at this point, not sure if it would look good or terrible with the natural above and below it.
 
Still using just PVA, but I am using pins with collars to temporarily clamp some of the planks at the stem and stern to help me hold the trickier ones in place while the glue sets.  Getting the curves mostly set into the planks using a heat gun makes things go pretty smoothly for the most part.
 
I do need to figure out how to open up the rabbet a bit before laying the garboard strake, as I currently can't get the thickness of a plank into it along the keel, and I need to get these planks flush.  Combination of sanding blocks and filing I imagine, but I've got band 2 on the starboard side to complete while I ponder that.
 

 
Still not completely happy with how the planks meet the transom, but can't think of any way to improve it at this time. I'm thinking that it would look better with wider strakes landing on the transom, but I'm not going to deconstruct half the planking in order to add the drop planks needed to get wider strakes to it at this point.
 
 

I remember doing that with masts on the revel constitution plastic kit I did years ago, now that you mention it.
 
I like the idea of the canvas too, I'll have to see if it will work once i get that far.
 
Also to this point in the build I'm finding, as Keith said, the instructions are a big problem with this kit, especially in this last section.  It really looks like they did it in a rush just to hurry up and finish it.  First two parts were more step by step and now its like 10+ steps under each heading.  Wonder if they had a page limit with the printers for the instruction sheets.
 
..............
 
Image hosting site is working again.  Just easy to upload there, auto resize and pick the images in the order I want to post them.
 
Everything today is little bits of work here and there.  Masts were dried so removed the angle jig and tossed it back in my scrape wood pile.
 
Put the knights head together.  Like allot of parts none of these matched size wise so had to do allot of filing and sanding to get similar widths, lengths etc.  nor were the pre cut notches done very well and had to do allot of filing them out.
 

 
Tacked it down to a craft stick for painting.  This blue paint is about had it and ready for the trash.  Opened the can this morning and it had a big, well...., 'poo' sized glob of mold growing on the top of the paint.
 

 

Even with the mold it has a nice color to it though.
 
Glued the knightshead in place along with the cabins.  Cabins needed some extra clamping. 
 

 
once knightshead was set up glued in the bowsprit
 

 
I'll do some reinforcement glueing on all this tomorrow after this dries.
 
Mean time the main mast boom was bent all out of shape.  it had 3 major bends in it it looked bad so I soaked it 3 hours in ho water and clamped it down into a aluminum angle iron piece ( thanks to keith again for recommending these).  
 

 
have to see how it turns out tomorrow.   hope it works or gets me close so another soak and clamp gets it straight as I rather use this piece vs replacing it, I like how this wood looks after finishing.
 
Also started on the anchors.  Another example of poor instructions as there is almost none for the anchors assembly or installation.  All I could find was one sentence in the last paragraph of the instructions. 
 
So i glue the 'top' pieces to the anchor body with some JB weld.
 

 
After dried I cleaned up all the molding seams with a hobby knife and files, glued on a ring on the top of each for tying the line to also with JB weld and then put some brown paint on the 'wood' parts of the top piece cross members.
 

 
After the glue dries I'll straighten the rings out and finish painting these, so more to come on the anchors.  Has to wait until the cabins dry as I used my black paint bottles to hold down the cabins

Last post and this post the image hosting site I have been using has been down.  So I am uploading my pictures to the forum.  If people are having a problem seeing pictures in the old posts let me know and I'll re upload them here.
 
----------------------
 
Worked on the pin nail heads for the rudder hinges.  Little bit challenging to work with only the top 1/16th or so of a tiny nail
 

 
But it makes the hinges look nice.  So worth the work.
 

 
Getting a good layout plan for my rigging hammered out so I can go ahead and move on to installing the masts.
I'm not going to use the flared out stops as show on the plans for the masts, instead I'll make some cheeks and bolsters.
 
I will taper it with a household drill since a lathe isn't in my tool set yet.
 

 
I mark the start point where the mast will start to taper and I sand to the tip, then start sanding another pass an inch down the length of the mast  from the previous point I started to the tip again.  keep progressing down the mast this way gives a nice start to shaping the taper.
 
Occasionally checking the mast vs the illustrations so I stay on track.
 

 
Once I get close I switch to a finer sand paper to finish it off.
 
Repeat the same steps for the main mast and the bowsprit
 

 
gave them a test fit on the ship
 

 
Strapped down the angle jig and glued and clamped in the fore and main masts.
 

 
Bowsprit will go in later after I build the knightshead and the aft end of the bowsprit needs to be squared off yet.
 
 

Thank you for the hand drawn illustration Nils.

I figured it was accomplished with beveling of some kind. If it was just sanded flush one would tend to sand through the overlaying plank and show the space (gap) beneath. Especially on such thin stock. 
The geralds, to my understanding are to get the planks to overlay and interlock with the opposing gerald or rabbet of the underlying and overlying planks. Building such a small feature at that scale would be near impossible but your technique simulates it very nicely. The plank narrowing adds much further detail.
 
I've watched the videos of the clinker build dinghy by Traditional Maritime Skills on youtube many times and it is a project that I very much would like to attempt, maybe even at a much larger scale, even possibly to 1:8. It may be best to start with a smaller scale for practice though. After finishing my first longboat, I still wish to continue with another, as I find them a very relaxing project and not near as easy as one might expect it to be, which is part of my intrigue.

One of my recent studies has been the building of a clinker vessel and I always appreciate those that build them and show details which help me in understanding the best way to simulate the smaller details in such small scale.
Thank you for your expertise, it is appreciated.

Thanks mate   Just for you,proof of nail existance           Wire is slightly larger than the hairs on my Jack Russell  
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Thank you for the hand drawn illustration Nils.

I figured it was accomplished with beveling of some kind. If it was just sanded flush one would tend to sand through the overlaying plank and show the space (gap) beneath. Especially on such thin stock. 
The geralds, to my understanding are to get the planks to overlay and interlock with the opposing gerald or rabbet of the underlying and overlying planks. Building such a small feature at that scale would be near impossible but your technique simulates it very nicely. The plank narrowing adds much further detail.
 
I've watched the videos of the clinker build dinghy by Traditional Maritime Skills on youtube many times and it is a project that I very much would like to attempt, maybe even at a much larger scale, even possibly to 1:8. It may be best to start with a smaller scale for practice though. After finishing my first longboat, I still wish to continue with another, as I find them a very relaxing project and not near as easy as one might expect it to be, which is part of my intrigue.

One of my recent studies has been the building of a clinker vessel and I always appreciate those that build them and show details which help me in understanding the best way to simulate the smaller details in such small scale.
Thank you for your expertise, it is appreciated.

Martin,
many thanks, I`m glad you like it
 
 
Omega,
thanks for your appreciation and also a merry Christmas to you
 
Michael,
thanks for your words , I also like the clinker build for those reasons. I would have liked to build a real wooden Dinghi for sailing and rowing, but then had a GRP hull daysailer instead for many years
 
Mark,
thank you very much, the Little Shell turned out to be 4 mm longer than planed, but luckily it still fits in at the foreseen place at the "Pegasus" waist area
 
Keith
I see with a smiile you realy have looked at the details......
the build-stem and transom surfaces are flat without any rabbet grooves, the planks are rather thin and do not allow much sanding after Fitting. The plank Ends are cut (beveled to the end sections, appr, 15 - 17 mm), the plank widths are tapered with a scalpel from mid length to both Ends with aid of a metal ruler.
The "rabett" at the stem is simulated by means of post adding a seperate stempost (also keel) after the planking is done. This can also be seen done a number larger, in the same technique for my "HMS Pegasus"  post # 23, build log part 12.
For the Long overlappings in remaining plank length there was no beveling done for the landings. Glueing was per CA application with toothpick at landings , stem and transom.
For the Illustration of the plank endings here is a Little Hand scetch
 
 
NIls
 
 
 

Relooking at your work, (I love relooking at good work and thinking my way through your process) I'm now beginning to question how you achieved that correct look.
 
Did you bevel or “brow” the Lands (lap) and were gerald's cut adjacent to stem or was this achieved with beveling alone or just sanding them back even?
Your plank widths, wide mid-ship and narrowing at the stem and transom, with narrowing happening at maximum curvature points makes your little walnut shell quite real looking, to the form in which I understand them to be build. I wondered if one could make a razor blade scrapper to scrap in the geralds and was just wondering how you achieved your excellent realistic results.
 
I also just realized that the stem and keel were not fit until after removal from the jig. Was fitting the keel/stem more difficult post planking or did it aid in creating the rabbet line

Nils, you have done a beautiful job simulating the geralds at the stem. The flow from clinker to the smooth lay of the geralds as the clinker transitions into the stem and transom is nearly as difficult a part to simulate at that size as the correct overlapping of the clinkered part of the plank. At least I would assume so....
 
Beautiful work, and fast also. Your work only makes me want to tackle a clinker build vessel all the more.

Making progress on getting the hull planked. The wood strips supplied are basswood & have been bending pretty well. I have had 2 break. As I get to the point where the curving of the planks increase I have been soaking the planks. It doesn't tale much- holding it under hot water running from the sink is all it takes & they bend easily into shape.
 
The instructions recommend using CA glue foe everything in this build but I'm too old school & chose to use wood glue instead. I have only used CA to glue where the planks meets the stems to hold the ends down while the wood glue is drying between the plank edges. It looks a little rough right now but it will look fine once it is scraped & sanded.
 

Planking the hull....
 

This kit has a building jig that the boat is planked over for the shape then removed off the jig once the planking is done. Built the jig, glued the bottom plank & end stems then attached this assembly on the jig to begin the planking.
 

Building this boat for the Wounded Warrior Project sale at Spring MSW Member Show-and-tell Meeting.
 

Brief early Saturday update.  The first group of planking (of 4 planned sections) is complete on both sides, and the 2nd group is started on the port side.
 
As I was cropping these pictures I realized how much damage I'm managing to inflict on my poor painted cap rails, so I'm going to need to do a lot of repainting when I'm done with all the heavy handling of the hull.  In the meantime I'm going to cover the rails with tape to try to prevent further damage, since I'm apparently incapable of doing work on the hull and not beating up the already completed work.
 

Update on the boat.....
 
 
of course I was too impatient to see if all had worked out as I thought it would.
When taking the small (upside down planked) boat-hull from the block I ripped off some of the upper parts of several frames. But thats not too much trouble because the middle sections of the frames will be removed anyhow....
 
 
 
 

 
thats how it looks after removing from the building base
 
 

 
some of the broken upper frame portions
 
 

 
planking so far acceptable, will need some touch up work
 

 
thats the rough hull, without trimming, bow post and keel are on. I was surprised how light the hull is, it feels in hand like the half-shell of a cracked giant walnut
 
 
Nils
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A very small update,but probably a major milestone achieved for me                  
The picture shows the forward grating section sized,however the rebates for the anchor ropes need cleaning up after installing all the fastenings.The eagle eyed(enlarging pic essential) will notice I have installed one line of the double nailing.I have found it necessary to install a pair at the same time due to the limit of how small a droplet of cyano I can apply.The holes are 0.3mm apart.I have decided to sand the radius profile to the top rather than risk damaging what amounts to about twenty hours work so far!!This will be done when the grating has been fitted with the combing.The nailing should become more visible then as there are cyano deposits on the surface at the moment.
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Deadlights.
 
After staring and thinking... I decided deadlights next.  Not the frames yet but the black background part.   Being a glutton for punishment, I decided to use ebony since I love the look of this wood.  Which begat more contemplation because that stuff is a bit hard to work with.  I think I found an adequate solution.
 
Being fond of quick prototyping in many areas, I made up some deadlights from basswood.  Gave it some thought and decided to make some ebony veneer.  I tried to rip some down to 1/64" (.35mm)....by 1" (25mm) with the thin side coming off the 1" thick billet.  Don't try it.   I got it down to 1/32" (.7mm) before things starting exploding across the shop.  Might have something to do with the blade but I wasn't going to kill a new Thurston blade on an experiment.    Anyway... now I have to clean up fragments everywhere.    I was using the table saw for this.
 
I took the 1/32" inch thick piece that survived and ran it through the thickness sander to get it where I wanted it, glued the prototype deadlights to it and cut them out with the scroll saw.  A bit of sanding and they fit about right.  The pics show a gap but that will be covered by the window framing.  Did I mention I hate macros...   To the naked eye (or even with glasses on) it looks pretty good. I don't feel anything out of place running my fingers around everything, so that's good also.  
 
I'll re-fillet the glue joints on the framing and cut them down to shape.  Also need to get the middle area of the counter fixed up with some wood for the landing of the counter plank ends at the rudder and stern post.  
 
First pic of the basswood and veneer laminated together for the deadlights.  Second one is the installation and..hmm... wet glue.      What the hey.. I'm having fun it's turning out well in my opinion.  I past the point where Version 1.0 met it's end (the stern area) so I'll be carrying on.

Great advise Dan, why didn't I think of that




WOW, even better!

Update......
 
the clinker planking is with 0,5 x 4,3 strips of nutwood
 
7 Planks per side between keel and sheer. I`ll fit one more plank later, each side above the sheerline
 
due to leaving the rather sharp edged clinker contours, there is hardly no sanding afterwards possible, roughnesses can be trimmed with a flat key-file if necessary
 
Nils
 
 
 

Let the second planking begin!
 

 
So far done completely with PVA glue and no clamps, just holding each plank in position until the CVA takes enough set to hold it.  We'll see how far along I get with this system.
 
For the stern, I've only gotten two of the planks wrapped to the transom so far, and I've used water and heat to get them into shape prior to gluing.  Hopefully will be able to continue to get the shape of the planks at the stern very close to shape before placing.  If not I'll likely have to resort to clamps at some point.

update on captain`s gig for HMS Pegasus (scale 1:64)
 
The first clinker-Planks on port side are on.....
 
Nils
 
 
 
 
 
 

Captains gig
 
the keellaying took place today
 
 
 
 

 
the obligatory base board with supports for leaning and glueing the frames to....
 
 

 
there wont be any stringers except for one, bothsides, like shown here
 

 
frame precuts (for breaking out) can be seen here
 

 
Nils
 
 
 

Build log part 69
 
 
Starting yesterday with a ship captains gig (POF build in 1:64) to suite the available space at the ships waist and on top of the gallows...., lashed to the spare spars afterwards
 
Looking up my literature for a plan I could use, I fould a nice looking boat ( line- and frame plans), amoungst several orthers, in Chapmans Architectura Navalis Mercatoria.
The plan had to be converted to a max length of 136 mm for the boats overall dimension without hooked in rudder.
 
The frames will have (sawn) precut lines for breaking out the inner frame portions afterwards, and all frames brought to a horizontal level for fixing on a flat building base
 
I would like to do the hull planking in Clinker mode and hope I can do it. Its a long time ago when the two lifeboats of my "Bohuslän" (appr. the same size) were built POF with clinker planking. This now shall be a little intermediate trip to 18 th century boatbuilding
 
For fellow builders that are interested, I have made some pics comprising the to date status on this little project....
 
 

 
this is what I have in mind, (the upper two, and bottom right), pic borrowed from the web
 
 

 
Chapmans book, chose model # 5 lines and frameplan
 
 

 
transfer frames and keel to 1mm ply
 
 

 
 

 
Deck- and waterline view
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
frames cut out with the jig-saw
 
 
Nils
 
to be continued....
 
 
 
 

I think I bagged it....   Fiddly work at best.  I made some templates, changed them, cut some wood, fed the scrap box  Then I got what I wanted.   Since this is hidden by quarter galleries, I'll fair it in and tweak as needed before planking. The interior will need minimal as some is hidden by the clamps, deck beams and deck.   The interior will get planked and probably some trim around the doorways with some nice doors. 
 
It would appear that the French played the "misdirection" game as well as the Brits.  On the Brits Roebuck class, there's two rows of stern windows so that when seen by ship coming from astern it would appear bigger than it is.   On Licorne,  the top of the stern windows are also the beam for the quarterdeck.  From inside, the bottom of the lights are about chest high.  It gives the appearance when coming astern that the ship is taller than she really is and from a distance it could be mistaken for an 18 pdr frigate (my conjuncture).  I think the galleries were designed with the same "look" in mind.
 
Here's some more pics of her rear, and I'm off to the next bit which will either be setting up the deadlights or shaping the taffrail.. 
 

Hi everyone! There's a lot on my plate at the moment, so I haven't had time to be as active as I'd like lately.
 
I have finished the skankläder (war cloth?) for the tops. I then started with the tackles. I was surprised how much work they where. First I reshaped all the block to make them more like the real ones. Then I drilled the holes slightly bigger to fit the ropes I wanted. After that I made the hooks connecting them to the channels before putting the tackles in place.
 
 
/Matti