alde

I think these are the carronades that most Syren builders are using. The 18 pounders are the ones that match the plans. I plan to order a ship set for my kit as it's next on my list after the longboat and Glad Tidings. They are a bit expensive though.

http://www.model-dockyard.com/acatalog/caldercarft-Gun_Barrels.html

Thanks Cathead. I think you have a great idea. This kit is a great lesson in planking for sure.

Permission to come aboard? Looks like your off to a great start. 

Fitting the first garboard stake went pretty well. It sure is a challange. There is a lot of trial and error in bending and twisting the wood to conform to the hull. The edge bending was not as bad as I thought it would be and the second one went easier than the first. At this point I have both garboard strakes and one up from the garboard strake on the port side. I don't have pictures of that because it's covered in clamps and I just had enough for the day.

Outstanding news Chuck.

22 minutes ago, Nirvana said:

Al, 

Did you get any invitation to PSSM's meeting last weekend. This meeting took place at Foss Waterway Seaport.

I had my longboat on display.

Make sure to contact Floyd for the mailing list.

However, your longboats planking is coming along nicely after the corrections.

 

I thought I was on the mailing list but have not seen anything. I would love to get together with you guys. I'll PM Floyd again. 

1 hour ago, Ryland Craze said:

Be sure that the forward edge of the garboard strake starts about 1/8'' forward of the scarph joint.  I feel this strake is the most important of the strakes to be installed.  I found out the hard way after installing three bottom strakes that my garboard strake was too far forward.  I had to remove them and start over.  You are coming along nicely on your build.

Thanks for the tip Ryland. I will be doing this tomorrow and will follow your advice. I have a feeling I'll know a whole lot more about planking a hull when it's done.

Welcome aboard. Just have fun with your build. You will get all the help you need here, especially if you start a build log. That way we all learn from it. 

35 minutes ago, Tigersteve said:

That is incorrect. It is the other way around. Take a long look at BobF's log. It will help you a lot. 

Steve

Steve, when I looked at BobF''s log it was like a light was lit. It's much more clear now. I really appreciate you pointing me in the right direction. 

I'm glad I didn't go further. I'll take a look at BobF's log before I do anything else and waste more wood?

Progress is very slow today. I only had a couple of hours to work on the boat and got a little done. The garboard stake is quite a challange for me. My understanding is that all the shaping of the plank is done on the edge that runs against the keel. Is this right? My first two hulls used pre-spiled planks so this is my first time doing this.

I need to go back and look at some build logs again. I may be over thinking things like I usually do. I am using tick strips and proportional dividers to space out the planks. Fitting the garboard strake looks a bit tricky but I make as many of them as it takes to get it right. 

18 minutes ago, Blue Ensign said:

A good fix Alde, apart from planking issues the smooth sheer on this model is what gives it its beauty.

 

Looking at your last photo; has bulkhead No 3 (5th from aft) slipped out of true? 

 

B.E.

Yes, it's leaning a bit. I decided that since it shouldn't affect the planking and will be hard to see from inside the boat I would leave it alone. I know it's poor workmanship but I didn't notice it until the two shear planks were installed. I should have made a building jig for it.

10 minutes ago, Cathead said:

Yes, I do think that looks smoother. Very much looking forward to the progression of your build, this was such a fun and instructive kit to build.

Thanks again for pointing it out. I am happy to redo things to make them right.

Thanks Derek.

Better I think.

31 minutes ago, Cathead said:

This may be a trick of the photo, but to my eye it seems that your sheer plank doesn't quite curve smoothly along the whole run of the hull. At about the 7th frame from the stern, there seems to be a sharper curve transitioning from relatively straight sections fore and aft of that point (especially fore). I mention this, not to be critical, but because if this isn't an optical illusion it may give you trouble as you continue planking. Ideally that plank should follow a smooth, sweeping curve with no sudden changes; any of those could ripple through the subsequent planking and give you wider gaps between the planks or more difficulty getting the planks to really follow the hull smoothly.

 

My apologies if it's just optical or if suggesting this is out of line, but I've always hoped others would point out potential concerns to me and wish to do the same for others.

I appreciate tell constructive criticism. I'm still learning and need all the help I can get. Looking at the hull again I see what you mean. I will see if I can remove the plank with some alcohol and do it right. I can see how it would just magnify as I go.

A little more progress today. I managed to get the first two planks installed. It went pretty and the edge bending using Chucks instructions works very well. I'm using all yellow wood glue so it's going to go a little slow. I really don't like to use super glue if I can help it.

Very nice.

I just started my longboat yesterday. It looks like we are at exactly the same place in the build. Yours is looking nice and ship shape. 

Your off to a great start. I'm glad I have a front seat on this one. I have had the kit in my closet for a couple of years too. I don't have the nerve to start it yet though.

By the way, I grew up in East Boston and could see Constitution's masts from my bedroom window. I visited the ship as often as I could.

Glad to have you aboard Jim. It's a great group of people.

The planking looks great. Your doing a fantastic job. You might find a sail plan in American Sailing Ships by Howard Chappell. You should be able to pick up a used copy on ebay or Amazon for a few bucks. If the info is not there it's a great reference and good reading anyway. You should be able to find a sail plan somewhere or use the sail plan of a similar vessel of the period as a guide.

That sure is a nice looking model.

Nice build. She looks great.