La Couronne by EJ_L - FINISHED - Corel - 1:100 - 1637 Version

[jeff shreve]

Nice looking carriges and the first layer of the planking, coming along fine !

[francisb]

Hi its good to see some more pictures she s coming along nicely! I have had a quick look at my plans and can t see any stern gunport openings did you decide to cut them out anyway?, really interested in this build as I hope to start my Couronne in a few months,

best wishes from mark

[EJ_L]

Thanks! I know a lot of people in MSW have built her but there are only a couple of build logs on here about la Couronne so I am trying to keep mine up to date and as complete as I can.

 

What set of plans do you have? I have seen a couple different versions while researching this ship. I have seen a few discrepancies in the forward facing canons above the prow deck but from what I can tell all are in agreement that there are 8 canon in the stern. From what I have gathered for the 1637 version of la Couronne which was a 3rd rate carrying 64 guns, there were 8 on the bow, 8 on the stern, 24 on each side from lowest to highest decks, 10, 9 and 5.

 

Finding reliable information on her has been a struggle so a lot of how I am making her look is based on what I have gathered of my plans (which are Corel), other sets of plans that I have found online, pictures of completed models and comparisons of the construction of other ships of her era. If you have something different that I have not seen I would be interested in looking at it as I may be building wrong. 

[francisb]

Hi thanks for the reply I have been looking on the web just to get some ideas it seems there are quite a few variations so I guess its best to get settled on one plan and stick with it,I think this sometimes saves confusion! Hope to go to the maritime museum at Greenwich sometime if I find anything interesting will let you Know 

[EJ_L]

More work has been taking place in the shipyard and la Couronne is getting her 2nd planking. I am using mahogany for the majority of the planking. The wales and some of the trim is walnut and the white sections at the gun ports are maple. I am trying to have minimal paint and so I want the wood's natural colors to do the job. There is an exception to this as I am using a dyed blue boxwood for parts on the upper hull. I like the look of the blue dye over paint in this case and as it is a small area I think it will look good. Might have some of that on in the next update.

 

I've stated mid ship installing the wales and working upward. I wanted to work on the "easier" part first before tackling the lower hull. I also needed to have good starting points and I've seen from other build logs and planking instructions that starting this way seems to be the most common route for planking. In the past I have tended to just do things my way and hope for the best. Although I am proud of my work, I have discovered a deep desire after viewing many remarkable builds on here to push myself harder to make a better ship. This has involved changing a lot my methods and habits and so far I am very glad I did.

 

I have also discovered that the kit did not come with nearly enough mahogany to plank this ship. Luckily Jason at Crown Timberyard has come through for me and found what I was needing. They say that a bad review will travel faster than a good one and so I am trying to change that. This was the second time I have ordered from Jason and I have been very pleased with the service each time. The wood is excellent quality, and his service, response and shipping is very good as well. This was even more noticeable this time as it was a custom order and not "off the shelf." He wen out of his way to find the lumber to match what I needed. I will use him for all my wood needs for ship building and highly recommend anyone not familiar with Crown Timberyard to check it out if you are needing wood for your build.

 

And now enjoy the pictures!

 

Edited March 21, 2016 by EJ_L

[yancovitch]

nice...and thanks for that info.............vc

[Elijah]

She's getting farther! I too have some wood from crown timber yard, and I can hardly wait to use it!

[EJ_L]

A lot of progress has been made in the past few days. I have been very fortunate to have been able to dedicate so much time to this build at 158 hours as of tonight. Not counting research, studying plans and reading some really wonderful articles and other build logs. I would love to dedicate more time but as much as people at my job love seeing progress pictures they are not yet sold on the idea of paying me to build ships.

 

So here she is. I have topped out the 2nd planking on the starboard side and have started the final shaping of the hull at the stern. Now to duplicate this on the port side.

 

 

[francisb]

Good to see these pictures she is really looking great even at this early stage,looking forward to starting mine in a few months,I think your build will be a real help to me all the best with your build!

[EJ_L]

Here are some more progress shots. Finished the upper planking on the port side over the past week. I still need to trim up some of the over hanging planks and sand everything smooth but she is together. Now it's time to attempt the lower hull. I've been putting this off as I still struggle with planking this area with all the curves and size changes. I've been reading up and watching videos for tips and practicing so I am as ready as I will be. Just have to keep telling myself to go slow, draw it out first, measure twice cut once, and if it starts to look wrong stop and see what is going on. I find I will stay focused on a small section and lose the over all perspective. That always leads to planking that may look great in a section but is doing something crazy elsewhere.

 

Wish me luck fellow ship builders! I will keep the log updated with how it is going.

[EJ_L]

Well I have started the lower hull planking. I'm using Mahogany for this area. I have sectioned off portions of the hull and after determining the number of strakes that will be needed, (22 in this case) I have divided out each section to determine the widths of each plank. My widest is 5mm tapering to 3.5mm at the extremities. After doing some reading I have learned that a plank should not taper to less than half the width which would be 2.5mm. At 3.5mm I am good with 1mm left to play with if I did something wrong with my layout, (which is quite possible).

 

I started by laying the garboard strake first. I decided to start from just forward of mid ship and work aft and upward. I will come back to plank the forward portion later. Next I measured out 80mm lengths for the individual planking. This would come out to be about 8 meters or 26 feet on the real ship. I'm sure this is probably too long of length for an actual plank but I think it looks good on the model. If anyone knows what an average plank length should be I would be interested to know.

 

I've also had to curve and taper the planks as needed though nothing too extreme yet. I've tried to show this in a couple of pictures but as the shape is minor it may be hard to see.. As I've laid each strake I have set the starting plank back 20mm from the preceding strake's edge.

 

So far I think it is coming out right. At least I'm still on track with my plan..... 

[EJ_L]

A full day of planking has ended on a high note in that so far my layout seems to be working. So far I am very happy with the way it is looking and it is quickly on it's way to being the best planking job I've done to date. I still have a long way to go so the ultimate verdict is still a long way out but, if things continue to go like thy have, I believe I will have a nice looking hull.

 

One tool that has been a huge help is a triangular needle file. To get the planks that go over the widest curves on the hull to lay flush along their edges I have been going in and angle filing the underside of the previously laid plank so the new one can slip under it and close out the joint. See the pictures below. This is keeping the joints nice and tight so hopefully I will not need any filler on this 2nd planking.

 

I still have not done much at the bow yet. The couple of strakes that have reached there have turned out good though. I will be focusing on the bow area in the next few days as I gradually make my way forward.

 

Also, I know some of these pictures are not the best. I am using my phone to take these progress shots as that is easier than clearing off the table and setting up the good camera and background boards for nicer photos. I will take some of those when I hit a bigger milestone, say when half the hull is planked. I will definitely need to clean up all the sawdust then anyway!

[Elijah]

Very nice planking! She's looking great!

[EJ_L]

Thank you Elijah. 

[EJ_L]

Almost have the starboard side planked. Hopefully this weekend will allow me to finish it. I'm still very pleased with the results I'm seeing. Even around the bow which was my biggest fear has so far been coming along as planned. I'm getting real excited to see it complete. Yes, I still have a whole other side to plank but I will hopefully be able to do it with less fear and worry if I know that what I'm doing actually works.

 

Edited April 8, 2016 by EJ_L

[KenW]

Great work EJ.  I like your color scheme and the planking is outstanding.  Looks like there is an advantage to 'double' planking.

An impressive looking model.

Cheers.

[cobra1951]

Nice job on your planking EJ

[EJ_L]

Thank you Bob and Ken and thanks to all the likes as well. It has been a busy weekend but I am still hopeful to have the starboard half completed soon. Pictures to follow soon!

[EJ_L]

So great news! I've managed to spend the past four hours finishing up the starboard planking. I am very pleased in that I have finally planked a ship with no stealers nor any drop planks. I have 22 strakes plus the garboard from bow to stern. Granted I have to replicate this on the port side but I am confident I can do this now. I think all that reading I have been doing over the past several months on planking has finally sank into my head. One day I may even be able to do it in one planking but lets not rush things. Haha.

 

I've done some initial sanding on the hull but will of course do more before I apply a finish. I must say that the Mahogany wood from Crown Timberyard has been great to work with. Much better than what came with the kit. I honestly do not think I could have gotten the same results using the kit supplied wood as the strips edges left a lot to be desired in terms of straight and square. They do work fine in small areas and for deck furniture so I do not feel they were a complete waste. 

 

Now it's onward to the port side. I will start layout tomorrow and planking also perhaps. As always enjoy the pictures and thanks for stopping by.  

[mtaylor]

Lovely planking, EJ.   Looks super nice.

Edited April 13, 2016 by mtaylor

[Elijah]

Very nice planking E.J.!

[francisb]

She looks really good great planking,did you use the blue planking strips that came with the kit? Wishing you all the best when planking the other side.

[EJ_L]

Thanks everyone for the compliments.

 

Francis, I did use the blue dyed boxwood from the kit. I like the coloring and I think that after I put a satin finish on it that it will look very sharp with the mahogany. The quality of the wood left a lot to be desired in terms of straight cuts and even milling but for the small areas I used them they worked fine. I am trying to avoid painting as much as possible as I like the natural colors of the woods and although blue dye is not natural, it looks more so then if I would have painted the blue on top of the wood. The obvious exceptions being the black areas on the dummy decks. I may make some more exceptions if I decide to make my own carvings for the decorative pieces. I'm not overly fond of many of the kit supplied ones but I do not think my carving skills will yield anything better. I plan on making the attempt and then deciding. If they look better I may end up painting them gold. 

[md1400cs]

EJ,

 

I have been actually been "stealth" following your build, but it's time that I actually declared how impressive your work is. For example your second hull planking is perfection indeed. Love the upper hull muted colors. It all works together very well. 

 

This ship has always intrigued me. Some post back there was a link to HD plans those look very good. I hope that you downloaded them. Now I will actually get updates. Awesome work!!

 

Cheers,

 

Michael

[cobra1951]

Looking at the side of the ship as whole it looks fantastic

[yancovitch]

yep...it looks lovely......very nice planking job....

[EJ_L]

Michael, Welcome aboard!

 

Bob and VIc, thank you both for the kind words.

[EJ_L]

Life has been extremely busy since my last update but, I have still managed to find time to work on la Couronne. The planking on the port side has been moving along smoothly as I have stuck to the same plan that I used on the starboard. This is also why I have fewer progress pictures as it is the same as the last ones just opposite side. I'm hoping another week and I will be looking to finish sanding and prepare it for finishing. I'm planning on just a satin polyurethane but I am open to suggestions if someone has something they like better. I don't want any kind of shine so no semi-gloss or glossy finishes just something to protect and bring out the color in the wood. 

 

Also with the exterior hull planking wrapping up I have begun to think about the interior planking that I will need to do as well as building all the canons. There is a lot of detail work I'm wanting to put in on the interior decks and not as much information on these spaces so a lot of it will be guess work based on what I have and similar ships of the era. This will also begin the tying of a thousand knots as my wife calls it with the installation of the canons. Granted, those are still weeks out but I find it best to start planning the process early so I don't forget anything that needs to be there. 

 

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the small update. There should be a bigger one coming soon!  

[yancovitch]

i used satin wipe on poly by minwax.....was very happy with that.....have to mix the can really well though

[tomasg]

I used wood oil which is similar to tung oil on my Thermopylae, the one that is used for indoor furniture but also for wooden spoons and this kind of stuff. So far this gave me the best results that i wanted, that is that the coating being almost invisible, like on garden furniture. Maybe even too invisible

One thing that i read that is good about wood oil is that it lets the wood to "breathe", i didn t thought much about that until i discovered tiny cracks on an older model that i coated with synthetic wood lacquer many ears ago.

 

Tomas