Bluenose II by Bulwark - Artesania Latina - Scale 1:75

[Bulwark]

Planks aren't filling the space to the batten.

 

This is the weird thing. If I measure from the lowest existing plank (as if it were the 4mm/8mm mark from the deck) to the batten then the tic marks show too big at the 8, as if expecting me to widen the plank, lol.

 

I tried using John's method with 1/4" squares but that gave me weird issues with bulkhead 8 (tic marks being wider than the plank). I then used the planking triangle pdf from the site. That worked, but only for 35mm width from the deck tick mark to the batten. Any smaller widths and it doesn't seem to work (again, the 8 bulkhead plank width is wider than the planks themselves). 

 

Maybe I missed something in my reasoning. 

[hof00]

Hi Chap,

From my perspective, I wouldn't tear off what you have already done.

This is double Planked, Yes?

If it were me, I'd continue with what you are doing, make it a learning experience....

If you end up with "Longitudinal" gaps between adjacent planks, you don't have to rely on Filler alone but you can cut material to fit the gaps.

 

Once the first cover is done, Fill/Sand and try to make the second cover as good as possible. (This is what I went through also with my BN II, if any consolation.... )

I found also, that it was best to move on and "Make Good" rather to "Tear Down" and try to make perfect.

 

"Perfect" will come with time, at least, that's what I tell myself.

 

Cheers....HOF.

[Bulwark]

I wasn't going to double plank, but I'm seriously considering it now.

[Heronguy]

Just looking carefully at your photo of the planking batten I'm wondering ig it is actually 35 mm down on bulkhead #8  It looks like more to me when I compare to my own photo and to John's in the tutorial.  remember you want to measure along the bulkhead.  I use a strip of paper marker at 35mm and lay it along the bulkhead to mark the 35mm location.  If your planking batten is too low it is not too late to move it.  You'll have to remeasure at all the other bulkheads but it is quite recoverable!

 

 

[Bulwark]

Okay. Great idea! I shall check those and reposition the batten if the measure is wrong.

[Bulwark]

Okay, that worked. Still a bit of discrepancy at the batten on both sides. We'll see how it goes.

 

[Heronguy]

The batten is just there as a guide.  You can remove it as you proceed with the bottom of the hull.

 

Your moving fast!!!!

[jhearl]

As Doug says, the planking batten is just a guide - not an absolute. When you fair the bulkheads, you might take off more or less material than someone else building the same model so your measurement from keel to deck along any given bulkhead could be slightly different. The key with this and perhaps most other models is that you want all the planks at the widest part of the ship to be about the same width (mostly because it looks nicer). It doesn't matter what that exact width is. For example, if when you measure along the outside of the bulkhead you determine it is 75mm from deck to keel (assuming that's the area you plan to cover - I'm not referring to this model specifically) and you want to use 15 planks, then each plank needs to be 5mm wide at that bulkhead. If you decided you wanted to cover that space with 17 planks, then each plank would have to be about 4.4mm wide at that bulkhead. The number of planks you use is up to you. Of course, if you want to make a realistic model, you might not choose to use planks that would be 3 feet wide on a real ship! And, as with any rule, there are always exceptions. The garboard plank, for instance, could be wider than the rest of the planks. That's not the case on this particular model, however. As you measure plank widths for other bulkheads, the width of the plank will change since the overall space to cover is less on the other bulkheads, but you want to strive, again, to have all of the planks on any given bulkhead to be the same width. In your last pic above, that final plank next to the batten concerns me a little because it seems way too narrow at the ends. It may, however, just appear that way in the photo. Still, I'd take a look at that before going further. You may need to re-do that one. Overall though, it seems to be coming along just fine.

 

By the way - I heartily agree with the suggestion to just buy basswood if you need more planking material. There's no point in buying expensive boxwood - especially if you plan to paint the hull.

 

Cheers -

John

[Bulwark]

Am  right  In thinking the planks going to the second batten are all about 4mm wide at the 7-13? I did the calculations but i don't trust my brain tight now. I am seeing that some planks near the bow are basically going to be sheared as they run out of room... hitting the keel.

 

That plank you were talkng about, John, is relatively the same size as the others. There are discrepancies but they seemed to even out.. lol. 

[jhearl]

I can't say exactly what width your planks should be, but there should be 5 planks between the bottom-most plank of the first belt and the top of the second batten. Of course, the width of each plank will change as you move aft. So the width of the plank at bulkhead 7 will be greater than the width of that same plank at bulkhead 13. You might want to take a look at page 6 of part 2 where I talk about placing the second batten. Note that the hull is fuller between bulkheads 8 and 9 than it is on either bulkhead. So in order to have a 5mm wide plank between those two bulkheads, the plank has to be slightly less wide on the bulkheads on either side. That's the reason for pulling that second batten up the hull a bit.

 

Note too, that when you plank the second belt, you'll wind up with fewer planks on each bulkhead as you move forward from bulkhead 7. That's discussed on page 6 as well.

[Bulwark]

In my defense i was a bit sleep deprived. But i figured it out, read and reread. Looks like five planks will reach the batten. A bit shy of it on 7 but, i hope, close enough. I'm getting better at trimming planks. Will post a pic soon.

 

planking is a fairly meticulous process. I find i lose myself in it. Except when I m muttering under my breath after breaking a plank. I tend to double and triple check my measurements, but am trying to not go so far as descent into second guessing every move.

 

great advice all around, folks. Much appreciated!

[Bulwark]

Belated pics of finishing the second belt.

[Bulwark]

I'm a bit unclear on how the next plank should be placed. The practicum reads "...place a full-width plank all along the edge of the keel." 

The arrow is where the first plank is laid, yes? Seems obvious now that I've drawn it out. Call it a map. lol. Onward and upward! 

 

Hmm. Yeah, i need some help here. Looking at it and placing a plank dry against the bulkheads by the keel isn't looking good. If inplace it right against the keel it poke over the edge.

[Bulwark]

Okay here is wht I'm confused about. These pics are two ways to place it... which, if any, is correct?

against a bulkhead...

 

flat against the keel...

 

this is the goal? 

[Heronguy]

I had the same question when I got to that point.  I went with your Pic 1 although the plank then twisted along the false keel to the stern.  This photo might show it

 

This is from the stern with the hull upside down.  This is after the walnut keel has been added.

[Bulwark]

Oooooh... okay. Yeah I see that now. Thanks very much, Doug. I did try to read other build logs, but never saw a pic that really illustrated that particular point. So I'll be sure mine has it documented. Gotta think of the other people building this particular kit.  

[glennreader]

Your first picture is correct. Against the bulkheads. You will need to shape the edge that rests against the keel so there is not a gap. This plank is called the 'Garboard strake', the first plank on the ships bottom next to the keel.

 

Also the edge of  this plank will need to be shaped so it is flush with the keel. Also it will not extend all the way to ends, just to where the natural curve of the bottom of the hull extends to. In your bottom picture probable to the frame just aft of the number 9 on the plank. Forward it probably will extend to about where your black line ends in the last picture in your previous post.

 

hope that is clear.

 

Glenn

[glennreader]

The other response is also valid aft, but I would recess the planks so the end is flush with the stern post. Cannot quite tell if they are in the picture. Depends on the width of the sternpost.

 

Glenn

[Bulwark]

Thanks, Glenn, that helps a lot. Clears up some cobwebs in my brain!

[Bulwark]

Okay let's hope this is how it is supposed to look. Haven't trimmed the bow-ward part of the starboard plank.

 

 

[Bulwark]

Making progress. Have a couple more planks to lay on either side. At this point I am looking at needing stealers. Love that word.

[Bulwark]

Had some rough bits but after sanding the hull they laid down and behaved. The hard curve at the stern where it meets the keel was the worst offender (I'm scapegoating the boat, how sad) but even my fillers looked okay afterwards. I still need to putty the gaps, but this is the sanded hull. Any other issues I can see where the keel and hull meet near are probably going to 'go away' when I add the rest of the keel. If not, I'll figure it out then. Maybe some gaps will be able to be fixed with putty or a filler piece. I've gotten a lot better at making those! A trick I never got to try out was using a kneaded eraser (or comparable material: silly putty) to take the shape of a gap and then use the raised area as a stamp. Apply a bit of paint to it and pressed it gently against the wood. Then cut it out, or sand it out with a dremel. Wish I had access to the stuff dentists use to make tooth impressions. Hopefully the next model won't present with so many newbie issues. 

 

On with the pictures:

 

[Bulwark]

Going to start planking the deck. A bit confused about what to do with the waterways. Am i Laying them prior to the deck then planking along it? 

[Heronguy]

Yes,  waterways 1st.  This was a deviation that I made from John's instructions and it caused me trouble when it came to stanchions, bulwarks and scuppers.  I detail my problems caused by my deviation in my build log. The AL instructions put waterways on top of the deck planking.  

[Bulwark]

Any possible issues if i double planked the deck? Had a rough time with the afterdeck. I'm trying split the 5mm planks in half but it is a devil of task getting an even cut. The grain often works against the blade despite the straightedge. I may have to rig up a device to solve this.

 

Are the deck planks made from the darker wood or is that stain what makes the pale planks dark?

[Heronguy]

Yeah,  been there - I wimped out on the splitting of 5mm planks.  

 

I think you'll likely be ok if you ended up double planking deck as long as the waterway height is left as it is.  Thats where the stanchions attach and where the scupper holes are located ...

 

Still you'll be able to figure out how to get by on the 1st planking!

 

 

[Bulwark]

Okay, the double planking made little difference. But it looked better. I went with the mahogany strips and they looked decent after I applied Red Mahogany stain. It might be darker than the actual boat, but the reddish hue is nice. sadly the afterdeck has some glue stains. After staining I rubbed teak oil. The stains are less apparent. 

 

I modified the transom per the practicum. Now I'm about to do the bulwarks (hey... that's a familiar word...). Going to research this process a bit before I start cutting wood. I've got the material to make my own, and I did dry fit the AL bulwarks, and John's right, they don't fit. Another issue regarding said bulwarks is that the deck overhangs the top plank a bit (a mm abouts). I'm hesitant to do surgery but this calls for some sanding correction. This will change the width of my waterways, though, but it can't be helped. the waterways will be slightly skinnier at the bow, but in the end I don't think this will be easily noticed (i'll notice... every day... lol). Amazing what tiny little mistakes can do later to you. This is definitely a learning experience and one learns from one's mistakes... and I'm learning a lot!

 

Pictures of the deck:

 

Hmm.. looking in close I can see the filler putty. Is it true that the caulking between decks is black? If so I might go into that filler with a thin brush and some black ink. I just wish I could have found a way to get rid of the glue stains. I tried sanding them. Didn't help much. Oh if only I had... etc. etc.*

 

 

*(for posterity: if only I had used carpenter's glue and just held the planks in place for a minute or two; they were wet with water in order to allow them to bend at the angles in the picture; holding that bend was a pain even with super glue)

 

 

[Bulwark]

This has been an adventure. Making my own bulwarks. Tough work and frustrating at times. Not sure how the bow got so messed up. The bulwark i fabricated doesn't want to play nice. So i bullied it into shape. Still rough, and the bottom of the first part of the bulwark sits ourwardly from the top plank. This was caused by the deck itself. I hope sanding will make it flush but I'm not sure. 

 

The sternward bits fit like a glove, though. 

Advice? Suggestions?

[Bulwark]

Well as usual, the 'crisis' has passed. lol. Judicious sanding has fixed many of the issues and some filler putty fixed the others. If I decide (grudingly) to double plank this boat that will probably fix every other issue with the bulwarks. Not sure I want to do another planking job so soon, but it would help. Definitely going to sleep on it. Until then I've got some more building up of the bulwarks using those 1/16"x1/16" strips I bought. Will post pics of the sanded bulwarks after the putty dries tonight, but wanted to post an update on the build. 

[Bulwark]

looking better!