Nirvana

Slow progress but I did finish sanding the deck. I started with 120 grit emery cloth and removed all the plank thickness irregularities. I then used 400 grit wet and dry paper (used dry) to give a silky smooth finish. I used a damp cloth wiped over the deck to raise the nap and when dry I again used the 400 grit wet and dry. I repeated this twice.
 



 
I also sorted out the stern planking detail.
 

 
Time is drawing near when I will need to address the bulwarks so I decided to mount the plank required for inverted handling of the hull. To protect the deck rubber pads are attached to the bearers where they bolt to the hull. The plank is mounted parallel to the waterline so that the setting out of hull details (portholes etc) will be easier later on.
 


 
Having completed the deck sanding I wanted to protect the deck from workshop grime. I decided to give it a few coats of satin finish varnish. I need to glue ribs etc to the deck edge once the bulwarks are in place so I masked the deck edge mahogany planks so that gluing would not be a problem at a later stage. The photos were taken with the 1st coat of varnish still wet.
 

Hi Pete / Michael,
 
I'm not really very quick - I just stuck at it, all day and some of the night. Putting the caulking in makes it quite fiddly and slow. Their must be a better way of simulating caulking but I don't know what it is. I bet their is a thread somewhere. Thank you for the comments.

I am amazed at how fast you put that deck planking on, it looks good.
 
Michael

Wow Keith, You have been busy, The Deck looks Fantastic, Well done 
 
 
Best Regards,
Pete

Deck planking complete - but as yet not sanded:-
 
A quick post this time consisting mainly of photographs.
 
Yesterday afternoon / evening and earlier today I completed the deck planking the initial photographs show where i started yesterday.
 





 
The accurate marking and positioning of the deck edge planks paid dividends and by the time I reach the deck centre line the symmetry was virtually spot on. No doubt an element of luck played its part.
 




 
Deck sanding tomorrow...........
 
 
 
 
 

Hi Mark
 
Yes the deck planking pattern is a bit unusual. I'm not sure why they would do it like that but it may just have been a consequence of the timber they had available in the ship yard.
 
Hello Pete
 
Altair is a beautiful yacht and I hope I do it justice.

The deck planking is looking great.  That is an interesting pattern they used and you're matching it.

Very Nice Keith, She's going to be an Amazing Boat 
 
Best Regards,
Pete

More deck planking:-
 
I made a start on the planking which follows the contour of the deck edge. As explained previously these planks are much narrower. I made the planks .108 inch wide x 10 inch long which is 3.5 inch by 26 foot at full size.
 
It's probably worth posting a few images of the real thing at this point:-
 



 
I wanted the deck to be representative of the real thing but accepted that absolute accuracy wasn't quite achievable.
 
So here are a few images of progress to date:-
 






 
I was progressing well until my helper arrived and demanded some exercise!
 

 
 
 

Hi Jond
 
I think using the balsa method to create a plug is a possibility. I like wood finishes so for me it wasn't an option. My plan is to second plank in mahogany and then finish above the waterline in white enamel with a polished mahogany finish below the waterline. As you say the hull is very light at the moment.
 
Thank you Bedford / John for your feedback.

Kieth
 
wow   i just had a great half hour finding and reading this log.  You are doing a great job with a difficult shape.   I am intrigued with your method because I assume your hull is very thin and light.
 
also I wonder if the the bulk head and balsa process could lead one to a plug for  a gel coat hull.
 
 
regardless I look forward to follow along as this looks like a beautiful yacht
 
cheers 

That deck is looking very nice, Keith.
 
John

I do like a bit of ingenuity!
It looks great

Starting the deck planking:-
 
I decided to make the deck planking .045 inch thick. This is thicker than the previous build (Endeavour) which was circa .030 thick. The additional thickness should make the caulking easier. 
The mahogany deck edge planks were glued in place taking great care to make sure they were equidistant from the centre line. It's really easy for the deck planking to become unsymmetrical about the centre line and this can look pretty bad.
 


 
I wanted something that looked like teak for the deck planks and the nearest thing I had were slats recovered from a broken wooden venetian blind. The deck planking is a bit unusual in design in that the centre line planks on the fore deck are greater in number than over the remainder of the deck. The centre line planks are also wider than the other deck planks. I decided to go for a width of 0.188 inch for the centre line planks which equates to a scale width of 6 inch.
 
I decided to caulk between the planks using .008 inch thick black card. This equates to a thickness of 1/4 inch which is about right fro deck caulking.
 
The caulking was accurately cut into strips .045 inch wide using a set up on the mill. This consists of a MDF board clamped to the mill table with a steel bar clamped into the chuck to form a guide. With the card taped to the MDF the steel bar is positioned a couple of thou above the card and this forms the back stop for the set square. The mill table is then indexed in .045 inch steps and at each step a strip is cut from the card using a craft knife.   
 

 
The centre line planks are then glued in place - making sure they are symmetrical about the centre line. In the photos below you can see one of the caulking strips laid on the deck and the tail of one of the installed strips.
 

 
The centre line planks are now complete but at this stage not sanded.
 



 
The caulking effect looks pretty good.
 

 
 
 
 

Awesome 
 
Best Regards,
Pete

Bingo!!!!!!!!!!!!   You got it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pete / Mark
 
Thank you for the advice. I think I have sorted it out.

Keith,
 
A good step by step is here:  http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/760-how-to-add-a-build-log-link-to-your-signature/
 
Nice workshop... 

Hi Keith, Coeur d' Alene is a beautiful part of the North West. The Deck is looking good. The way to add all references to your posting is done in the Signature. go to your profile page and hit the edit my profile button in the upper right corner, Then on the left side select signature, it will then display " my current signature" scroll down and in the edit signature, you can set it up however you like. I hope that helps
 
Best regards,
Pete

Thanks Pete
 
I stayed at Coeur d'Alene once on the way to visit the Scablands and Glacier NP. A nice part of the world.
 
Progress of a different kind!
 
Having glued the deck in place and strengthened the areas unsupported by frames (g clamps in photo), I thought I had better take stock.
 


 
 
For the deck edge planks I needed to cut .040" x .130"  mahogany strips from a 40"x12"x7/8" former table top. This involved planing and sawing operations on my full size wood machines as well as sawing on the Byrnes saw using TCT and slitting saw blades. Multiple operations and setting on different machines is always something I am inclined to put off. This instance was no different and I found myself looking  for something else to do. My diversion project started out as cleaning up the workshop (photos attached) but very quickly expanded into clearing out my tool draws. I set myself the challenge of throwing out all the tools that I couldn't remember having used in the last 20 years. It was quite a haul but I failed with a few items that I thought might come in useful some day!!! They will probably be thrown out by the kids when they come to sort out my affairs in another 20 years time. The up side though is that I discovered stuff that would be useful if I had only remembered that I had it.
 


 
Having exhausted all my diversionary jobs I made the 6 deck edge planks, yawn!
 


 
I have a question for all you experienced posters. I see that when you sign off your posts you frequently attach reference to all your past, ongoing an future builds. I assume that you don't type this stuff out every time and that somehow you have set it up automatically. How do you do this please?
 
Keith

Hi Keith, The deck looks good, Nice work 
 
Best Regards,
Pete

The sub deck:-
 
The various apertures for the chart house, skylights, hatches etc were cut out using a craft knife before
hacking the deck roughly to shape using the jigsaw. I left about 1/8 inch all round for final adjustment. A prolonged process of plane a bit, pin in place, check, remove, plane a bit more then ensued until I was happy with the fit. With the sub deck in place I drilled through it into the frames at multiple positions. As explained earlier the deck is concave longitudinally and convex across the beam. Some force is needed to hold the shape while gluing and the multiple holes will take the holding pins during in the gluing operation. The photos show the deck temporarily in place.
 


 
I mentioned in a previous post that the frames were spaced randomly on the plan and I had thought that this was for some greater purpose - to be revealed later in the build. It would have been sensible if the frames had been organised around the deck apertures but this wasn't the case - so the mystery of the random spacing continues.
 

 
With the deck temporarily in pace I marked the aperture positions on the frames and then removed the deck and cut the frames away with a razor saw. In one position I reinstalled an offset deck beam to support the deck. In two other positions I intend reinforcing the ply to compensate for local removal of the frames. I decided to install 2 oak blocks threaded and tapped (M8) to take the bolts for later installation of plank to handle the hull inverted for the 2nd planking operation. I find oak takes a thread well and shows no tendency to strip.
 


 
Finally I marked the edge of the deck on the line where the mahogany deck planks meet the teak planks.
 

 
Nothing to do now but glue the deck.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

I don't know what to say to that, I came to a grinding halt on my schooner when I sailed on endeavour, I guess the real thing made the model seem redundant but I will finish her one day. Meanwhile I'm loving your build and have a set of plans for her as an rc model so you never know....

You have both courage and a steady hand Keith.  Taking a saw to a model like that gives me the willys.
David B

Thank you bedford - not quite on the scale of Miane but big enough for my house. I have built RC models in the past but I rarely got round to sailing them. Maybe I'll reconsider when I see your finished model.
 
Regards Keith