Barque Stefano by donrobinson - MarisStella - 1:63

[donrobinson]

Thanks Frank, It's always a pleasure to have you stop by.

[donrobinson]

Lawrence, so good of you to stop in. It really is a great kit, at the moment this is MarisStella's top of the line kit and it's full of goodies!!.There are so many things for me to learn with this build it's going to be a real gem to build, the materials are all excellent. 

[donrobinson]

Good morning all, Thanks for all the compliments, likes and for just stopping in.

 Not much has been going on lately just planking and more planking, I am just a little over half done now and going hard. To date I have 38 strakes completed which is approximately 254 planks that equals to about 30.4 meters of .5 x 4 mm strips of beech wood. So, yes, life has been a beech!!

 Really not much to show as it is all kind of boring, I thought if any of you were suffering from insomnia this might help. Here we go: 

 

Planking around transom complete, this was a little exciting 

 

Showing here the little section of planking that needs to be filled in. I really wasn't too sure how the correct way of doing this was but thinking this will all be painted later that this method would do just fine. This is three pieces of .5 x 4 mm planking edge glued together and the rough shape of opening marked out.

 

The back side of the laminated piece was coated with thin ca before cutting to shape, this wood is fairly brittle

 

Final fitting and glued into place

 

And how it looks after the next  strake installed  on either side

 

 

Garboard and broad strakes installed, final trimming and sanding will be done when planking is completed. I have almost completed the area above the waterline, which is all painted, below the waterline is covered with copper plates. Decision now is to just get the hull covered or continue doing it the proper way, which takes a lot more time.

 

 Thanks for stopping in and have a good day

[Heronguy]

It is looking very good Don. 

 

P.S.  Do it the "right away" - just one man's opinion!

 

Edited December 11, 2017 by Heronguy

[MESSIS]

Yes it does my friend. How are you long time no see.

[rafine]

Really nice Don. That is a whole lot of planking. You know that you're going to do it the "right way". Why even think about it. 

 

Bob

[donrobinson]

Doug: Thanks, I agree about the right way. It was just one of those lazy thoughts, that has already faded away

Messis: So good of you to stop in, I am doing fine and hope you are also. Your Hermione is looking great!

Bob: You made me laugh with that comment, and you are 100% right. Thanks for dropping by

[Landlubber Mike]

Very nicely done Don!  I take it this is a single planked kit?  Just curious as beech doesn't seem to be used too often, but I like the look of it.  

[donrobinson]

Hi Mike, Thanks. It is a double planked kit with the beech being the top layer. I have never used beech for anything before this so this is new to me also. It will all be hid with either paint or copper plates. It sort of resembles oak in a lot of ways and when sanding areas such as the butt ends of planks it will splinter if you are not careful.

[Landlubber Mike]

Gotcha - sorry, I should have looked back earlier in your build.  I have to say, with that planking job, it's a shame you'll be painting and plating it

[Jim Rogers]

24 minutes ago, donrobinson said:

Hi Mike, Thanks. It is a double planked kit with the beech being the top layer. I have never used beech for anything before this so this is new to me also. It will all be hid with either paint or copper plates. It sort of resembles oak in a lot of ways and when sanding areas such as the butt ends of planks it will splinter if you are not careful.

How was the beech for bending?

.

[donrobinson]

Hi Jim, the beech bends easy. Around and underneath the transom there were some crazy bends and with a little soaking in water the beech took to the bends very good.

[robdurant]

I think I'm right in saying that Ray switched to beech for the rails on his fantastic HMS Diana precisely because it would bend so well when steamed. It seems to be a strength of beech wood and I noted it down because I'll need to follow in his footsteps when I get to that point.

 

Link to Ray's post about Beech rails

 

Fantastic build! This model is well up there on my "would like to build" list so I'm following with great interest.

Edited December 12, 2017 by robdurant
Add link to Ray's build log

[donrobinson]

robdurant: Thanks for the compliment and for the link. I like how the beech bent so well I am going to get some to have on hand for future builds. I have no idea how it takes stain or a finish but I will be experimenting with it to see. If all else fails paint will do the trick. I'll be sure to show my results here.

[marktiedens]

Hi Don - beautiful ship you have going there. Model Expo used to sell what they called flexible beech - they advertised that you could tie it in a knot without breaking. I don`t see it there any more,though. It was pretty expensive ,too, if I remember.

 

Mark

 

[Hubac's Historian]

Planking coming along beautifully, Don.  Having never done it before, it seems to me that getting around a curved transom, like that, is a little more tricky than it may appear.  Is it necessary to back-bevel the top edges of the planks, in this area, to keep the seams tight?

[donrobinson]

Mark: Thanks. That wood sounds incredible, I wonder if it was a special type of beech or if it was treated somehow. This stuff is incredible how it bends with just a little soaking but still would not come close to that.

 

H,H,: On the first layer I bevelled the edges, with this layer being beech and only .5 mm thick I didn't bother with the bevelling and it seemed to work good. The planks around the transom were soaked in water first, as there was a lot of lateral bending required in order to make them fit. Thanks for having a look. 

[riverboat]

Hi Don...coming along nicely.....nice work on that odd piece of planking on the stern.... looks real good!!

 

Frank

 

P.S. Merry Christmas  to you and your family...

[donrobinson]

Thanks Frank, getting your stamp of approval always means a lot to me.

[r63701]

Hi Don, Robert here, left the workshop for a couple of months in southern California, could not find the snow shovel. Have couple of thoughts for you, need advice for the newbie. Considering using 1ml planking for upper section of Stefano, and staining the wood, which I have and is walnut. Why is it necessary to double plank the section below water line for copper, would the first planking not sufficient? Having completed the first planking, will follow your progress closely from down here, most interested when you start work on deck level as this is where I am sure to run into trouble. Will look forward to your expertise and excellent detail photos.

Robert

[donrobinson]

Hello Robert, lucky you to be in southern California. I myself have not been in the shipyard much lately so do not have much to report yet. Using 1mm stock should not pose too much of a problem as far as the structure goes, it will cut down the overhang of the rail but you should still have enough. Before you commit to using walnut I would try bending some to shape first as there are some real tight bends and walnut is not as easy to bend as the lime wood or the .5 mm beech.

Your thoughts on the second layer of planking are interesting. I have no answer other than to say one continuous even layer of planking maybe easier to plate and allow more more room for errors. I am also wondering if the 1 mm extra thickness of the hull above the waterline would be noticeable.

[Heronguy]

I don't know if it makes a difference in fact but the instructions (top paragraph page 13), in reference to the below waterline area,  say in

 

"..... the planking slats are used only to obtain the default width of the hull."

 

I would think coppering over a smooth area (i.e. no bump due to the 2nd layer of planking) will be more satisfactory as well as more realistic.

[MarisStella.hr]

Hello respected gentlemen...

Yes, there must be a smooth area with no any sort of jumps from the one level to the other... the hull should be done of a single smooth surface... the copper plates come over the hull, after the second planking ...

Regards, Zoran..

[donrobinson]

Good Morning all, thanks for all the great comments, visits and likes. Since my last post there has not been too much activity in the shipyard but I have completed the planking on the port side. All went as expected and with no surprises. Unlike the first layer I did not bother to taper the planks resulting in having to use three stealers at the stern, these will be covered by copper plates so I was not that worried about this. I found trying to taper the .5 mm planks was just not worth the effort for something that was going to be either painted or covered with plates. So I guess I did do it the easier way in some ways . I could not resist putting a coat of wipe on poly to see how the beech would look, this will be sanded and act as my sealer for the paint and plates. I really like the looks of the beech and think it is defiantly worth considering for future builds.

 Not much to show but here it is: 

Putting in a stealer

 

Planking completed

 

Stern trimmed

 

Bow trimmed and coat of wipe on poly

 

Wipe on poly is still a little wet, if you look at the transom you can see some of the beech without any poly. Love how this wood looks

[Seventynet]

Hi Don,

 

Congratulations on completing the massive job of planking your Stefano. Beautiful job! The wood looks very good with a coat of poly on it. 

 

Regards,

Ian

[rafine]

Really nicely done Don. Seeing it with the Poly on, it almost seems a shame to cover it with paint and copper.

 

Bob 

[Heronguy]

The finished beech does look very nice!  I wonder how it is to work with as planking at 1mm - does it bend easily?

 

You hull looks terrific from stem to stern!

[Hubac's Historian]

Great job on the planking, Don!

[donrobinson]

Ian: Thanks, although the starboard is only half complete I plan on having it done this week. Too cold to go outside!

Bob: I was a little surprised how it looks as well, I'm thinking I may experiment and stain the other side to see how it looks. Thanks for stopping in. Your Halifax is looking fantastic, I apologise for not commenting more but with every update you leave me speechless

Doug: I'm thinking at 1 mm it will still bend easy, much easier than walnut would. I'm seriously thinking of buying some and milling it myself to try out

H.H.: Thanks for dropping by and for your nice comment

[EJ_L]

Very nice planking! I agree with the look of the wood. It is a shame to cover it up. Good to keep in mind though for another build.