Cape Cod Catboat by Seventynet - FINISHED - BlueJacket Shipcraffters - Scale: 3/4 '' = 1 '

[Seventynet]

Hi all,

I thought I'd start a build log for this little Cape Cod Catboat that the Admiral gave me for Christmas.

I am following Marcus's excellent build log (http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/11964-cape-cod-catboat-by-marcus-botanicus-–-bluejacket-–-scale-¾”1’/#entry362573). I am using my own milled wood: walnut for the hull and deck, Padauk for the pilot house area, maple for the deck planks. I am not painting. I will not spend time repeating aspects of the kit and instructions as Marcus has already covered that. Except to say that you must be very careful lining things up, thinking things through and reading between the lines of the instruction book. I'll point out a few areas.

 

A am still very much a novice builder and I hope that people will feel free to make suggestions to improve the model and to point out mistakes or help me head off mistakes.

Anyway, on to the pictures:

Box cover of Cape Cod Catboat:


Centerbox construction, keel stringer assembly. Frame 2 is very delicate (they all are) but the instructions and plans could have perhaps done a better job of showing exactly where the keel stringer is to be located and therefore the frame location. In fact the temporary frame horizontal must butt against the top of the centerboard box. That may have been obvious to others but not me.





Deck assembly:





Filler blocks and fairing. Instead of using the kit supplied garboard strake (almost half the width of the hull, if you can call that a strake) and the limited planking and spackling approach I have opted to use balsa filler blocks between all the frames and basswood filler blocks at the bow and stern where plank torque and attachment are more important than just shaping. This took me about two days including the fairing so I don't consider that too much of a penalty.






Defining Hull plank run bands: I have added plank run bands, intended to contain four, 5mm planks each at their widest point. I located the widest point on the hull using string measurement then divided that into 6 equal horizontal bands. I then divided the stern and the bow into 6 narrower equal horizontal bands. The trick was to find the correct run of one or two of the bands and the rest followed.





The next step will be to mark out the port side then use my proportional dividers to define each individual plank. Does anyone see anything I may have overlooked or done wrong?

Thanks for looking in,

Best, Ian

[Elijah]

Looks good to me, Ian! Good luck and have fun. At this rate, you shouldn't be gone from the victory long!

[michael mott]

I think it look like you have done a great job so far Ian, I wonder if you laid it out for 7 planks on the opposite side and looked at the difference regarding the sharpish turn at the bilge on the transom landing in the middle of the plank on the side that you have marked with 6 planks. I personally would go with 9 planks because I think it would feel better to me.

 

Not having the model in front of me I could be just completely out of it, it is just an opinion.

 

Regards Michael

[Seventynet]

Hi Michael, thanks a lot for looking in. I really appreciate the suggestion. I think you think I plan six planks but what I tried to show was six bands with 4 planks (not marked out yet) in each band. So a total of 24 plank runs each side. But you're right a plank that is too wide is not going to mold around that bilge stringer very well. It is almost a chine so I tried to round it as much as I could.

 

I wanted to say that I turned to your build a few times to figure out how I could copy your lovely center bow king plank to receive my converging pilothouse floor boards. I just couldn't make it work though, the angles would not allow me, so I just stuck a straight piece of walnut down the middle. I might be able to try it at the bow though, we'll see.

 

Best, Ian

[michael mott]

Oh OK now I understand, it is interesting that on some of( Gil Smiths PDF) Catboats he used as few as 11 planks I think it was. Here is a great set of photos of a catboat being planked.

 

Michael

[Seventynet]

Fantastic, wonderful, thank you so much Michael, that is just what I was looking for. Now I will redo how many planks I use. They have used 15, including the garboard and the sheer plank (if you call it that) to my 24 and it looks by sweet. It's funny, I searched the net for a long time yesterday looking for just this thing and only found one that got as far as the garboard strake. What a beautiful job they have done on that cat.

Best, Ian

Edited April 1, 2016 by Seventynet

[flying_dutchman2]

Very nice and like the way you use different types of wood. The wood in the pilot house looks awesome.

If my built was not for my sister I would have done this as well. Mahogany, some oak and a lighter wood, either tulip tree (Liriondendron tulipiferum) or Sweet Gum (Liquidamber styraciflua).  She wants it painted the way her own catboat looks like.  Also my work has started up and my modeling will slow down.  (Spring is the busiest time of year).

 

Marcus

 

Note.

I mentioned the above wood as it is native and cheaper than the wood most scratch builders use.  I plan to do the Statenjacht Utrecht completely in native woods.  Many have similar characteristics as the exotics people use.

[Seventynet]

Thanks for the comments everyone.

 

Marcus, thanks for looking in and the comments. It is my intent to use native wood on one of my builds. Last year I cut branches off our ornamental plum and our mountain ash tree. Sorry I should look up the Latin names. I dimensioned some of the plum tree and sliced a plank off. Incredibly beautiful wood and perfect tight grain with a little purple colour showing on some of the grain lines. It is still a little green (wet) so the plank quickly warped so I'll have to wait a bit. I know this is off topic but the role of wax on the end grain versus where it got sliced off during the dimensioning process is truly remarkable - if there was ever any doubt about how effective it is for the drying process.

 

I hope Spring isn't too crazy for you and that we see your latest update soon.

 

Best, Ian

[Seventynet]

Good Day Shipmates:

 

This is kind of a nothing post and I apologize for that. I should be posting in the next day or two with my completed hull. The reason for the post is that I posed a question of Marcus and then, I think, answered my own question. Rather than mess up Marcus' log I'll provide my rationale here and invite anyone to correct me.

 

The issue surrounds the sheer plank. I've worked from the keel up so it is my last plank to lay. I started thinking, actually the admiral asked the question, would I extend the sheer plank 1/8 inch above the hull to provide a backing for the deck planking which will sit on top of a basswood deck? The plans show a thin strip as the edge which I assume butts the deck planking. Since I'm planking with walnut I thought why not just extend the sheer plank and use it to butt the deck planking as the admiral hinted.

 

In pondering this I realized there is probably a shipbuilding taboo against doing this. I could see how such an arrangement could allow water to channel to the inside of the hull. Better to seal off the hull under the deck? Anyway that's a guess. The more practical reason is that my deck is not flat - it has some humps that I'm going to want to sand out and I don't want to hinder that by having the sheer plank sticking out.

 

So there you have it. Sorry for the ramble.

 

Best, Ian

[Seventynet]

Hi folks,

 

I've finally finished the hull planking on the cat.

 

I should mention that I used the reference for the build of the real life cat that Michael Mott provided (http://www.woodboatbuilder.com/pages/maid-planking.html) to determine the lie and number of planks to use. That is one sweet boat.

 

My biggest challenge was figuring out a solid clamping system, something I wasn't entirely successful with. The pictures are after a coarse sand. I am going to buy some walnut stain to try to mute the contrast between the planks.

 

Clamping system:

 

I added thin cheeks to the stem so that I could make a rabbet for the planks. I used a notch system on the planks so that they would fit into the rather narrow rabbet. Worked ok.

 

Planking completed:

 

Best, Ian

Edited April 15, 2016 by Seventynet

[Elijah]

Nice planking Ian!

[Seventynet]

Thanks so much for the compliment Elijah and hexnut and Black Viking for the likes. I sure hope that I can mute the colour of the contrasting planks. That's the major problem with walnut. Otherwise I have found it very good to work with.

 

Best, Ian

 

Post Edit: I have abandoned the attempt to either stain or bleach the walnut on direct orders from the Admiral. After all the boat is being done for her.

Edited April 22, 2016 by Seventynet

[Seventynet]

Advice appreciated: I stupidly did not think of planking or covering my transom before I planked. My question is how should I finish it now that the end of my planks look like they must be covered by my transom planking? Can I have the transom cover edges flush with the hull planks? Or is that a big no no? Anyone have some ideas for me? Thanks in anticipation.

Ian

Edited April 17, 2016 by Seventynet

[Seventynet]

Thanks Don, if I understand you correctly that seems like the way to go.

 

I am wondering about a slight variation to your idea that might take less skill and precision. Would it be better to plank the transom first to just proud of the underside of the hull planks, file off excess to be exactly flush with the bottom of the hull planks, then edge bend a strip around the whole deal? Same thing I guess just the other way around. I like the treenails idea too.

 

Best, Ian

[Seventynet]

Thanks Don. Next time I need to think ahead, it would have been so much easier.

 LOL.

 

Ian

[Seventynet]

Ok transom installed. Thanks again for the vision Don. With the dimensions the wrap around piece ended up paper thin from the transom view, so no treenails for this baby. In any case I'm happy with the result.

 

 

Ian

[donrobinson]

That looks real sweet Ian, good job

[gerty]

Nice work Ian - look forward to following along.

[Elijah]

Very nice fix! It looks great!

[Seventynet]

Thanks for the encouragement Don, Gerty and Elijah and others for pressing the like button, I really appreciate it. I am currently working on bending deck planks. I may regret it but I am trying to rig up a notched king plank to accept deck planks like Michael Mott's Herreshoff Buzzards Bay build. My standards are not as high as Michael's but I think something even close would really give this model some cachet.

 

Ian

[Seventynet]

Here we go with a minor update but I feel that I have put in quite a bit of work without much progress being shown. I guess it just goes like that sometimes.

 

A few pictures to share:

 

Deck Sheer Planks and King Plank:

To follow Michael Mott's king plank approach I milled some 7mm walnut strips, soaked and bent (in a jig), and repeated endlessly. That stuff could be used for long bows - it just does not want to edge bend. But I finally defeated the stubborn planks and glued them on. No finishing at this stage. Next was to dry fit the king plank. Tape left in place to mark the mast hole. I won't glue it until I finish fitting and shaping all the deck planks to it.

 

Stern Decking:

I figure I would border the stern with walnut - for no reason other than it seemed like a good idea:

 

Milling deck planks and cutting rebate:

I decided to contrast the walnut with maple. I cut up an old butcher board. I cut the strips 3.6mm wide to fit 5 planks amidships. I cut the wood so that the end grain is on top with the notion that it will bend easier that way. The wood looks pretty speckled but it will do I think.

 

The part I am most happy with was the solution for cutting the rebate on the inboard of each deck plank to accommodate the calking. I installed my slitting blade on the Byrnes saw and adjusted the height and fence gap to suit. It worked a charm, so far. One plank looks like the rebate faces the adjacent rebate but that's just poor optics - in fact it is a remnant of the laminated butcher block LOL.

 

Getting the planks ready:

The one picture I have shows two planks ready to bend, which I think I'll try to do inplace first. I am not savvy about exactly how the ends should butt the king plank as I know Michael's had some slightly different angles, so I am a bit hesitant. If anyone has any advice I'd certainly be appreciative.

Edited April 22, 2016 by Seventynet

[Seventynet]

Hi Folks,

 

I am nearing the end of this operation and am quite pleased with the results. The next step is to caulk the slots. I think I will use a combo of walnut and ebony wood filler then cover with poly. I'm not sure how the poly will like the filler so I'll have to do some experimenting. Other suggestions are more than welcome.

 

Best, Ian

 

 

[GuntherMT]

Beautiful planking work on this.  Thanks for sharing, great job so far!

[donrobinson]

great job Ian, the maple looks real good.

[cobra1951]

Wow you really are going along fast and still achieving an amazing planking job all over. Love it

[NMBROOK]

Excellent work Ian I simply love the notched planking detail.

 

Kind Regards

 

Nigel

[michael mott]

Just checking in Ian, what a lovely job you have done on the planking and your solution for the transom worked out very well. I also like your deck planking. Hopefully one of these days I will get some of my own projects back on the bench to get finished.

 

Michael

[Seventynet]

Thank you for the praise Brian, Don, Bob and Nigel. You have no idea how influential your own builds have been to my projects. Michael if it wasn't for your Herreshoff's king plank example my boat would be without this little experiment, which I thoroughly enjoyed doing. I might also say how much I liked working with maple for the first time. It does not seem to crack or check nearly as much as the walnut. Anyway with luck I'll be showing you how the filler worked out today.

 

Best, Ian

[Seventynet]

Greetings again,

 

Did I mention how much I love the lines of this catboat? A credit to Bluejacket for making this kit available.

 

Now the first question I had was would this work as a launch for the Victory?

 

A little too big I guess.

 

I've applied and cleaned up the grouting (1 part ebony to 4 parts walnut Elmer's wood filler). I plan to apply a waterbased clear satin poly by Minwax which seems to work on my test piece.

 

Thanks for following everyone.

 

Best, Ian

Edited April 25, 2016 by Seventynet

[michael mott]

The decking looks super Ian. Nice clean job with the filler.

 

Michael