Barque Stefano by Heronguy - MarisStella - 1:63

[Heronguy]

Continuing with 1st layer of planking. Working from both directions - keel upward and top downward.

 

So far so good.

[Worldway]

Looks nice, good job

[donrobinson]

Looks like you are getting it done, good stuff.

[Tim Curtis]

Heronguy,

Love this kit, and thoroughly enjoying your posts.

You seem to be able to keep build logs for about 5 kits on the go at once.

Amazing. 

Anyway this seems to be a partic beautiful kit....keep posting.

 

Tim

[popeye the sailor]

I knew there was another out there like me    looks like your trying to beat my record     planking looks good....the stern is always the tough spot.   the differentiation between the transom and the counter is visible.......you won't have a hard time shaping the contour.  very nice  

[Heronguy]

A minor milestone.  I've completed the planking of the curvy part at the stern. Easy sailing from here other than the tighter space which will make clamping a bit harder.  So far this has been one of my easier hulls to plank.

 

[russ]

Doug:

Your planking looks good so far. The run of the planking appears very nice. The ends of the planking under the stern look very neat. Nice work. 

 

Russ

 

 

[Heronguy]

Thank you Russ.  I do like this hull as it is closing in.  Part of what attracted me to the kit in the 1st place!

 

 

[Heronguy]

1st planking was completed a while ago and 2nd planking is well underway.

 

 

The challenge with the 2nd planking was clamping around the stern where the filler block didn't allow the clamp jaws to rest.  Since the filler block will be removed in a future step it seemed far to cut a channel now to provide clamping surface.

 

When that wouldn't work I tried elastics to provide some clamping force.

 

But soon the clamps wouldn't work.  On this site I recently read (and of course forgot to note from whom I got the idea) that using a planking iron to heat the plank accelerated the setting of the wood glue.  This turned out to be a brilliant idea.  I've been using it to attach each of the 100mm planks.  It takes about 10-15 seconds for the adhesive to set.  It works especially well on the curvy bits.  I think the moisture in the PVA glue, when heated, helps the wood to adopt the shape of the surface it is pressed on.  I have not used any CA adhesive.

 

Thank you ?????  I wish I could find the post I read to give proper credit. I am grateful!  Planking has just reached past the waterline.  All the planks so far are full width.  I'll shape the ones from here to the keel as required with the likelihood of some stealers and/or drop planks.   Below the waterline the hull will be coppered (a 3rd layer!)

 

 

[donrobinson]

coming along nicely Doug

[popeye the sailor]

look'in good Doug.......what type of wood is the second planking?

[Heronguy]

On 2018-04-18 at 11:07 AM, popeye the sailor said:

look'in good Doug.......what type of wood is the second planking?

 

 

I'm told its is beech (see Don Robinson's build log).  The parts list for the kit says it was to be walnut but it clearly isn't!  

 

The beech is very easy to work with (at least at this thickness - I don't have any other experience with it)

 

 

[Heronguy]

The 2nd planking is done and there is lots of it.  I've enjoyed the exercise but I'm pleased to be on to a new step.

 

 

And like others who have gone before me I wanted to see what the hull would look like with a coat of wipe-on-poly

 

 

My intention is to follow build instructions and paint above the waterline and copper below so we won't see the beech wood in a while.

 

[donrobinson]

Looks great Doug, next up is deck planking!!

[popeye the sailor]

ssssssh!  don't tell 'em that!   com'on Doug...you can do it      your not cross eyed enough yet     kidding aside,,,,the hull looks great!   

[Heronguy]

Funny about that popeye  -  I feel cross-eyed!   In any event planking a deck seems very different than planking a hull.

[Heronguy]

Don, I'm looking forward to planking now that my fear of an earlier mistake has diminished.  I was concerned that the stern section wasn't deep enough to allow for the deck.  Now that the balsa block has been carved out I'm happy to say that it is OK.

 

[popeye the sailor]

well done on carving the stern out.  once the deck is in place,  filler can take care of any gaps.

[Heronguy]

Planked and 2nd planked the deck

 

Since I didn't scribe the planks before mounting them I had to resort to a chisel to create the plank joints.

 

Then tried to drill trenails.  A pin vis resulted in broken bits so I tried using the sensitive drill attachment on the mill.  That worked pretty well but couldn't do the whole deck.  

 

I ended up using a small rotary tool to finished the drilling.  Far from a precision job but it seems to look OK.

 

Edited October 29, 2018 by Heronguy

[popeye the sailor]

so the hull is to be painted?   if that's the case,  and the poly dries to the touch,  then it will seal the wood so the paint won't get sucked in.  you'll get a much better job of it      really nice looking deck.  looks like you'll have to allow for the king plank {if it's raised},  when you add the cabins and such.

    the kit didn't supply a deck platform?   most kits do,  and you plank on top of that.........no need to do second plankings  to decks.  I found that very interesting....     she's coming along really swell !   

[donrobinson]

Nice work on the deck Doug. When it comes time for the mast holes be sure to do some very careful measuring off of the plans. As your hole size allows use small dowels to help locate the mast steps to keep yourself aligned then gradually enlarge hole using larger dowels as you progress.

 Keep up the good work.

[Heronguy]

Last autumn's work!

 

The waterway is made from a walnut strip.  Edge bending the strip at the bow and the stern did not work for me!  For the gentle bow curve I cut some narrower strips, bent each of them, and then glued them together.

The same approach was not feasible for the stern due to the sharp curvature.  Instead I milled a small walnut sheet from which I could cut out a curved section using a print of the deck plan as a template.

 

I cut three sections to there would not be weak cross-grain section

Precision smooth curve was a challenge for me but it turns out this section will be under a grating so will not be visible for close inspection and I think I can count on my own memory soon forgetting that I left it like this!

 

Next step is to add the top timbers.

[Heronguy]

To position the top timbers I printed out the deck plan and used it to guide the installation.  A small jig was used to place the strips vertically.

 

[Heronguy]

Once the timbers were in place it was time to drill some holes in the hull (mooring line openings, scuppers, anchor shafts, rudder post etc) and assemble the blocks

 

 

 

[Heronguy]

Once the waterline was established  the hull above was painted black.  

 

It was time to install the wale (called a rubbing strake in the instructions).  This proved to be a bit of challenge for me.  I was aware from early in the build that I may have made the stern curve too soon losing a deep enough flat (vertical area).  Once the planking was done I was thinking I "got away with it" but it came back to bother me in fitting the wale.

 

I just couldn't get the run of the wale to work out

 

After much agonizing and fiddling I pushed ahead 

 

and finished the task.

 

Although the wale at the stern does not lie flat on the hull I think from the normal viewing perspective (i.e. slightly above looking down) it looks OK.

 

However the gap is there and is pretty obvious on close inspection.  A compromise in favour of my sanity.

 

 

[popeye the sailor]

just fill it in.......it should blend in with the counter once sanded.  glad to see your still working on her..........great looking hull  

[donrobinson]

looking good Doug.

[Heronguy]

Denis, Don,

It's nice to be back at it.  I hope the momentum will build.

 

When is your Stefano back on the bench Don?

[Heronguy]

Added the toprail that simply glues to the bulwark and top timbers.  It is laser cut and comes in sections

 

 

I started at the bow and added sections to the stern.  There wasn't quite enough overhang at the stern to I added a small section and blended it into the rail.

 

 

The wale rests underneath the top rail.

 

At the bow I had problems with the wale just underneath the top rail. I had to chisel out a some of the planking to allow the wale to fit nicely.  I didn't feel very confident when I started that fix but thankfully wood is fairly forgiving and you can hide hacks underneath the new strip!

 

 

 

 

[Heronguy]

The next challenge is mounting the topgallant bulwark onto the toprail.  The bulwark is a 1.5X5mm strip that is glued on its narrow edge to the toprail.  Getting if to sit properly for glueing seems a bit difficult.

 

1st thought was just to clamp it with some shims.

 

That looked like it would work but was a bit fussy to hold, position , and clamp without things slipping out of place.  Refinement of the method was to mill a one-piece holder.

 

The groove will hold the bulwark strip and th4e channel above it will position it on the top rail.

 

I cut it into 4 pieces to space out along a section of the bulwark.

The small clamps create the downward pressure on the bulwark while the glue sets.

Hopefully tomorrow morning will validate this effort!