Scotland 1775 by skymohammad - Corel - Scale 1:64 - Baltic Ketch Yacht

[skymohammad]

Hello,

After building several plastic models, I decided to move into the wooden boat building. I have done some research on what should be my first model, and considering different factors, I selected the “Scotland Baltic Ketch Yacht 1775" (Corel). I plan to describe all the steps during my build. Sorry if I explain the very basic things, or asking stupid questions.

I appreciate any help or suggestions especially for the first steps. Here is the picture of unboxed kit.

 

 

[sygreen]

Welcome to the Scotland build. We have a few of us doing the same  build on this site. I, myself, am new to model ship building and this is my first build.

So far it has be enjoyable.

Feel free to ask as many questions you like. I found that the more questions and pictures taken , has helped me the most.

[skymohammad]

So the first step is to attach part #12 (as false keel in the lower edge and to the beck edge) to part #11 (keel). There are two 300mm strips which look like to be part #12. The dimensions are not accurate, and they are between 3.1mm to 3.4mm, so I’ll have to correct it by sanding and filing after the parts are attached. Ill cut 234mm from one of them and glue it to the lower edge. Then 60mm for the back edge.

Ill use Aliphatic glue for the framing process, and razor saw to cut the strip.

One thing I realized is that the keel is not perfectly in-plane, and it is kind of twisted. Any idea how to fix it?  the second picture is describing the problem better:

 

 

[sygreen]

Yes, you attach the walnut strip to the bottom and the stern. There should not be any need for filler if you make your cuts to match at the base of the stern. My strips fit flush with the keel, so very little need for sanding. Even if it does overlap a bit, remember, you are going to cover the bottom of the keel with 2 layers of planking, so the difference will not matter

 

Wow, your keel is badly warped. I am not an expert but check the site by doing a search for "warped keel" see what shows up. I would take the heaviest book you have and lay it on the keel for 1 day or so. Also, when you attach the wood strip , it also will help to straighten it.

This warp has to be fixed 

[sygreen]

The pieces in my kit were cut true and none were warped.

 Check all the pieces that shape the frame and make sure they are not warped as well.

[skymohammad]

Hi,

Thanks for the advice. I did some research, and it seems I have a few options:

 

1.       Rebuilding the keel myself: this seems to be the best and most reliable option, but I have some difficulties to find the correct wood here in Stockholm. I also don’t have the tools to cut it correctly. I will still look for this solution and if I find the wood and tool, I might still consider it

2.       Trying to straighten the keel: I found several methods to do it, such as wetting the concave side and pressing that under heavy weight for 1 day. According to most of the sources, the wood will be warped again anyway. And as I tried since yesterday, the wood cannot become real flat. Maybe it is wrapped in a bad way. I moistened the keel with very hot water again today, and it under the weight now.

3.       Using the warped wood, and fixing the frame with blocks later: This idea seems promising, and it has been mentioned by some people that after planking, it would be fine. But it seems it has its own risks although I have not found anything against it yet.

 

So what I do now is to wait more and see if it becomes better. In the mean time, Ill search for the wood and tools and check for the price. If I realize that rebuilding is too pricy, Ill continue with the current keel, and try to fix it with blocks during the build.

I checked the bulkheads too, and they are almost ok, not perfect. The qualities of cuts do not seem very good, and they do not match exactly with the drawings. Ill have to check the symmetry of them too. 

[skymohammad]

so I could find the wood, and it turns out that I have access to a laser cut machine for free. since all the cuts, and dimensions are really inaccurate in my kit, Ill just scan the plots, redraw the blueprints, make a CAD file of the whole ship, and cut the frame parts again. this way, I can be sure that all parts sit together nicely. Ill put some pictures after finishing this process, probably in a week or two.  

[sygreen]

That sounds like the best solution. Amazing you have access to a laser cut machine.

Waiting for your pictures when you get all that done

[SGraham]

I'm also building a kit by Corel, the Shenandoah. The keel in my kit was also warped. I heated up a pipe I use for bending guitar sides. A few seconds of holding the warped keel against the hot pipe is all it took to straighten it. I was worried beforehand that it would be a difficult problem to fix, but it turned out to be very easy. I think a curling iron or clothes iron would work as well. Hope this helps!

 

Steve

[skymohammad]

Thanks for your comment Steve. Mine was so badly warped and twisted, that I could not fix it. I didn’t use iron or anything hot, just water and heavy weight. Ill try your method just to see if it works or not.

Anyway, I made all the frame parts from scratch to be safe. I scanned the blueprints, made a CAD file from that. Afterward, I used a laser cut to cut it. However, the process was not as smooth as I though. First of all, it was difficult to find a really flat wood. The first wood that I found was bended and then I tried to wet the concave side and put it under weight. It actually worked and it was flat, but only for couple of days. Then it returned to the way it was. So I used another wood.

The next problem was that not all plywoods are easily laser cut. The ones I found were also really difficult for this process, and I had to do several round to cut it. Although it is 3mm wood, I had to go 6 rounds with full power. You can see in the photos that the edges are all black because of that.

Anyhow, I could make all the parts, and they are flat.

Next, I attached the false keel. I attached the lower and back parts, and then used a file to shape them. The bulkheads, as you can see in the photo, do not need any adjustment. They fit in place smoothly, and I don’t need to be worry about the symmetry since I am sure of the accuracy of the new parts. I also did some very small changes in the bulkheads to be sure that the deck will not have problem later on.

I will glue the bulkheads now. 

 

 

 

 

[SGraham]

That's impressive work, skyboat! Thanks for sharing.

 

Steve

[skymohammad]

I glued the lathes to the deck. Not so much problem, but I realized that the kit needs two more walnut strips. I had to cut them from LS234, and now I need two more for stage 6 in the instructions (second planking) I have to order it from somewhere, or just use another type of wood. I need to figure it out later.

I also did not glue the last two lath on the deck, since they interfere with part 17. I did not exactly follow the instruction about how to glue the laths to the deck, instead, I marked the approximate proper places of laths on the deck by dry fitting on the keel, then fix the deck to the drawing, and using the extension of lath drawings and the marks, I places the laths and glued them. 

next, I glued the deck to the keel. no specific problem.

Then, I glued the filler parts 15 and 16, and also part 17. Some filings were required, and I had to reduce the size and fix some angles.

My next step would be to shape the bulkheads for planking. Any suggestion from your experience in this phase? I am not quite sure about how to shape the lower parts, especially of #15, #16, #1, and #2. 

 

[skymohammad]

I finished the fairing of the bulkheads, although I think they might need more during planking (first and second pictures). I am about to start planking the deck. But there is question regarding attaching part 24 to the frame. From what I have seen in most of the build logs, part 24 is attached to the lower part of the deck similar to third picture, and no more of part 24 are attached to the part 17. But from what I see in the instructions, part 24 should be attached to the back of part 17 like fourth picture, and then some kind of planking using the same strips should be done on the part 17 like fifth picture.  

Any idea which one is the correct one?

[skymohammad]

Planking of the deck is finished, and I will start planking the hull soon.

I used 70mm planks for the deck. I chose the 2 level buttshift method, first because of suggestions in other build logs regarding probable shortage of planks for more than 2 level, second because it is the easiest and it is my first build, and third it looks good on the other ships.

I did not wet the planks in any stage, and I did not face any splintering problem. To shape the planks for the edges, I used a knife and cut them to an almost correct size, and after gluing all of them, I sand them to make the proper shape. I did the sanding slowly and carefully.

At the end, I still have 3 long piece of wood for planking, which will be used in the next stages. That means that there is no room for error, and almost none of the deck plank woods should be wasted.  

To simulate the caulking, I used the suggested method by the manual which is using a pen on one side of the planks. After gluing and shaping all the planks, I scraped them using a blade, and then I used a very fine sanding paper (#1000) on the deck. Now the surface is very smooth when I touch it, and the planks separation is visible too. I didn’t face the problem of making the deck dirty by the graphite, probably because I used mainly scraping than sanding. The wood provided in the kit was not consistent in the width especially in the ends. that caused some gaps between the planks, which I filled with a mixture of white glue and saw dust. This turned out ok, but I will be more careful next time not to spread it on the wood itself since it is difficult to remove it. The model is not that big so I did not consider simulating the nails.

 

for the backside, I glued the wallnut strips to the part 17, and also to the backside instead of lower side of lower deck, as illustrated in the manual.

 

I attached two photos showing the deck and backside of the ship.  

[sygreen]

Very clean job, skyboat. I ended up with splintering probably because I was not as careful as you are. The splintering though did not matter as once you place the bulwarks and rails , it covers them all up. I used the walnut strip as well and it will make for a better fit for the transom.

Keep it up

Planking, first layer next?

[sygreen]

I did have trouble with the stern. I noticed above that you only covered the stern with a layer of walnut. You did not use the first layer? Why?

I ended up being able to do that last walnut strip only after I had laid both layer of planking. I think the end result was the same but hard to be sure from the pictures

[skymohammad]

I did have trouble with the stern. I noticed above that you only covered the stern with a layer of walnut. You did not use the first layer? Why?

I ended up being able to do that last walnut strip only after I had laid both layer of planking. I think the end result was the same but hard to be sure from the pictures

The reason I did was because of stage 15 in the manual (as shown in the picture). As you can see, the walnut strips are attached before the hull planking. But as you said, the end result is probably the same. 

[skymohammad]

I finished the first layer of planking. I posted several pictures of this stage in this post. I followed the instructions in the manual, which was easy, but not the best. Ill probably use more advanced methods for my future builds. The biggest problem I had was the bending of some of the strips too much laterally, which made clinkering effect. It happened around bulkhead 5 and 6. I had to spend some time to fix this by using filler putty and sanding it. In the rest of planking process, I did not have major issue.

In summery, the planking is ok (although it could be done better), and it is smooth enough for next layer of planking.

For the future builds, Ill do more measurement, and try to be more accurate. Ill certainly not use the same method as described in the manual of this ship.  

 

I started the next layer of planking which seems easier since the strips are thinner, and I have a smooth surface now. 

 

 

[skymohammad]

Due to several reasons, I did not update the log, which is not good!
However, the model is finished a while ago, and it is now in its case. I will start a new model soon, and I will try to write a complete log for it (at least for my own records).
A few notes about the Scotland model:
The model was a good start for beginners, but I always felt that the instruction could be much better. For a beginner in the ship modelling hobby, I think a thicker instruction would be more helpful. There are several places during the build that the instructions are a little vague, and you really need to be careful not to make mistake.
The kit also lack several components, which I had to contact the seller several times. I bought the kit from cornwallmodelboats, and their customer service was really helpful to send me the missing parts within a few days even after 1 year of purchasing.
Regarding the sails, I made them, but mainly for learning. I think the model would look better without them.

Edited February 21, 2017 by skyboat

[tasanhalas]

Hi skymohammad,
 

Congratualtion on finishing the model. I'm also almost completing mine - I'm a begginer and I agree with you, the instruction are awful... Not only that but I had 1 missing piece and the metal ones which are supposed to be perfurated were not, and since they are all so small I ended braking several trying t create the hole or just working around that... improvising...

I have one problem, I'm missing the last instructons page, step number 20. Does your book have it? it's supposed to be the handrail and I don't know if something else... If you could send me a photo of it would be much appreciated.

Thanks for the help