Schooner Germania (Nova) by KeithAug - FINISHED - Scale 1:36 - 1908 / 2011

[wefalck]

Will she be painted later a per prototyp e? Seems to be a pity to hide the nice mahagony under some paint ...

[Mark Pearse]

Hi Keith

 

yes there are some interesting things happening around the keel, just at the stern part where you filled there seems to be an intentional hollow.

[KeithAug]

15 minutes ago, wefalck said:

Will she be painted later a per prototyp e?

Eberhard.

 

My current thought is white down to the waterline and mahogany below waterline. I can change my mind however as I just need to plank over the ply with a thin mahogany veneer. I may reconsider as I too like to see the beauty of natural wood. 

 

18 minutes ago, Mark Pearse said:

you filled there seems to be an intentional hollow.

Mark - not quite sure where you are referring to? The only hollow that I could feel was the one I filled. I'm going now to have another look.

[Mark Pearse]

What I thought I could see isn't a fairing error, just the way the hull form lifts around the aft part of the keel.  I looked back at earlier photos & it doesn't seem to show, so perhaps it's just an optical illusion from the added black lines. The yacht designer Ben Lexcen often had a hollow in the same part of the hull.

[BANYAN]

I am glad to hear I am not the only one Keith   - I find that having just become proficient with a tool, jig or technique, I then put that aside until the next model by which time I have to relearn a lot of it again.  I am envious of those who can master these things and simply step back into the process without issues.

 

BTW I like the stops, mic adjuster etc fitted to your Byrnes saw, have you covered these in another forum as I would be interested in learning more about them.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[KeithAug]

17 minutes ago, BANYAN said:

BTW I like the stops, mic adjuster etc fitted to your Byrnes saw, have you covered these in another forum as I would be interested in learning more about them.

Pat

 

All covered here Post 46 and later (although earlier posts are also interesting):-

 

Edited March 4, 2019 by KeithAug

[KeithAug]

In preparation for planking I thought I needed a clamp for holding planks while tapering the edges. In the past I have bodged something at the time with varying degrees of success. This time I thought that given the number of planks needed I would construct something little better. The clamp was made from a pine plank of 40" x 3.5" x 1" and a piece of ply 40" x 2" x .250".

 

Both pieces were temporarily stuck together and 7 holes were drilled - 5 holes to take M10 clamping bolts and 2 holes to take 10mm alignment spigots.

The top edge of the pine had recesses routed on either edge - one recess was 0.1" by 0.1" to take a pair of .055" x 0.225" planks and the other recess was 0.1" x .05" to take a single 0.55'  x 0.225" plank.

The clamping bolts and spigots were glued into the pine with epoxy and washers were made from .375" ply. The top surface of the pine is marked in inch divisions to assist when planing different tapers.

There clamping nuts are temporary pending a visit to the local hardware store to get some M10 wing nuts. The ply has a sacrificial inner edge glued in place and this is cut to a taper as a guide for the planing of the hull planks.

 

Below are the first 2 tapered hull planks laid temporarily on top of the pine plank. You can see the taper guide plank still in place on the moveable ply jaw. 

I also slotted out a piece of oak with varying thickness slots to hold the planks while chamfering the edges. A plank is inserted in the nearest slot for chamfering. Chamfering is of course necessary to ensure gaps are eliminated on tight hull curvatures.

 

Edited March 6, 2019 by KeithAug

[vossiewulf]

Nice shooting board.

[BANYAN]

Great idea; inexpensive but effective.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[michael mott]

Very Nice!

 

Michael

[FriedClams]

Hello Keith,

 

I just wanted to stick my head in to say what wonderful progress your making on your schooner.  Your process is well thought out and meticulously executed.  The log is a pleasure to follow and educational as well. Thanks for sharing this with us.

 

Oh - and yes I am envious of your sophisticated sanding devices that you chose to shamelessly flaunt back on post #136.

 

Gary

[KeithAug]

13 hours ago, FriedClams said:

and yes I am envious of your sophisticated sanding devices

Gary - thank you for your kind comments. You too may ultimately possess tools of this quality if you save up your pocket money.

 

Michael, Pat, Vossiewolf - thank you for dropping in again.

[KeithAug]

I am calling the next series of posts "The Plankers Progress" - Chaucer is probably turning in his grave.

 

I am going to try to post this as I progress to give an idea of my (slow) progress. Here goes with the first 2 days of achievement:-

 

Before starting the planking I gave the hull a coat of one part PVA one part water. I did this to seal the balsa and give a better foundation for gluing the planks. Once dry i gave the hull a light sanding to remove the raised nap

 

Before starting I estimated the number of planks I needed. This turned out to be a bit disconcerting - circa 150 nearly all of which need to be shaped. I thought of the guy estimating the bricks for the great wall of China and decided that my task wasn't that bad after all.

 

I started at the deck level with 2 parallel planks and then it was into tapering all 4 planks in each layer. The bulwark planks will be added once the hull planking is complete. 

 

At the stern I attached a "keel" plank as an abutment for the hull planks as they curve and twist towards the stern. `The slight curve at the rudder end of the keel plank was formed after soaking it in boiling waster for a couple of minutes.

Because of the narrowness of the stern it didn't take many planks before the I was cutting the plank ends at a fine angle to abut the keel plank. The angle was established by laying the plank on the hull and marking the line with a fine razor saw. Where necessary the angle was corrected with a sanding stick. The plank transition on to the transom was roughly sanded - to be finished once the hull planking is complete.

 

I also did a bit of light sanding of the hull planks to test that they were going to sand flush.

I'm not sure why one plank is so dark - hope it will not be a problem later.

 

2 days progress looks small but inevitably progress was punctuated by drying interludes as each layer of planks dried - allowing the holding pins to be removed. 

 

Still a long way to go:-

 

 

 

[BANYAN]

3 hours ago, KeithAug said:

Before starting I estimated the number of planks I needed. This turned out to be a bit disconcerting - circa 150 nearly all of which need to be shaped. I thought of the guy estimating the bricks for the great wall of China and decided that my task wasn't that bad after all.

    - now that is the right sort of building attitude!

 

Looks good Keith; very trim work.  As to the colour of the plank, could it be simply the grain running in the opposite direction?  Maybe a silly comment as someone with your experience has probably dismissed that already?

 

cheers

 

Pat

[KeithAug]

15 hours ago, BANYAN said:

As to the colour of the plank, could it be simply the grain running in the opposite direction?

Pat,

 

I'm not sure that it is the grain direction. As I am using salvaged mahogany it could just be that this was on the surface and over the years had become encrusted in grime and is contrasted by the freshly cut planks on either side. It is in a position that I was planning to paint so I think it will be alright.

[KeithAug]

Plankers progress 2.

 

Days 3 and 4 were reasonably productive.

 

To keep things symmetrical I dew a series of circles on the underside of the stern. As I planked I checked that the plank intersection with the circles were mirror images on each side. Slight adjustments were made by sanding the appropriate plank edges as part of the chamfering process.

I 

I also did the circle trick on the underside of the bow.

Progress looks better than it actually is - I estimate I am a little under 1/3 of the way through. My circles on the stern however are disappearing at a pleasing rate.

The side view gives a better impression of progress.

The stern view shows that I am not following the previously drawn (parallel to deck) lines. I am finding that my guess that I need to taper the planks at the stern by half their width is proving to be about right. About one plank in 5 is going in as a parallel plank. At the bow I need less taper and every other plank seems to want tho be parallel.

I'm expecting the next few days to see some disruption. I have been left "Home Alone" to look after the dog. Progress may be slow.

[michael mott]

The planking is looking really nice Keith. The series of circles is a great idea I have not seen that before.

 

Michael

[BANYAN]

Ditto Michael's comments - the circles is a neat technique (tucked away for future reference ) 

 

cheers

 

Pat

[KeithAug]

Planker's Progress 3.

 

On 3/12/2019 at 7:44 PM, michael mott said:

The series of circles is a great idea

 

On 3/13/2019 at 12:40 AM, BANYAN said:

the circles is a neat technique

Michael / Pat - thank you for the feedback.

 

Another 2 days gone by so that makes it 6 days since I started.

 

I am still progressing with the easier planks i.e. those where the curvature is relatively gentle. I don't need to do any heat or steam bending at this stage. The most awkward aspect is the twist that occurs as the planks  turn from the more vertical side on to the more horizontal stern. You can see the twisting region below the 7 pins towards the right hand side of the photograph below.

The stern planks are progressing quite neatly. I am taking care to eliminate any potential gaps between the planks.

I also used circles on the bow to ensure symmetry. It is more obvious in the following photo how the circles assist with this task.

The flat keel line will be covered by a keel plank before sanding to a "sharp" line.

Finally a side view of a section of planking - pleasingly gap free.

[BANYAN]

Very pleasing finish indeed Keith; looks great.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[KeithAug]

12 hours ago, BANYAN said:

Very pleasing finish

Thanks Pat. Im hoping it will look much better when sanded. I need the finish to be very smooth.

[wefalck]

Nice work, indeed. I gather the real challenge is still to come, as the shape becomes more complex and as this is going to be the part that you are planning to leave unpainted.

[KeithAug]

11 hours ago, wefalck said:

I gather the real challenge is still to come, as the shape becomes more complex and as this is going to be the part that you are planning to leave unpainted.

Eberhard.

 

Yes I will need to manage the "flow" of the planks quite well particularly at the hull/keel intersection. The mahogany I am using beautiful close grained stuff but being 100 years old it is somewhat brittle and hence does not like challenging shapes.

 

Thank you for your earlier help with SV Eduard. We obtained a copy of the book you recommended and also turned up an image from the family photo library. My wife's grandfathers Masters Certificate specifically states he was licensed as a Master of fore and aft rigged vessels. 

She was an elegant looking vessel - at least until UC-70 got her.

[wefalck]

So you got hold of a copy of the book on the history of her builders, good !

[KeithAug]

Planker's Progress 4.

 

It's now day 8 of planking and I am about half way. Most of the time isn't actually work, as glue drying and thinking take their toll on productivity.

 

I continue to work my way up the stern and I am managing the symmetry reasonably well. I have started to cover the rear of the keel in preparation for the next stage of planking.

I am still cutting the fine angle at the plank ends with a razor saw but increasingly it is becoming a compound angle with the saw cut currently deviating by about 15 degrees from vertical. 

At the bow I am starting to move on to the flatter section and in consequence the port and starboard planks are overlapping along the line of the keel. As I complete a plank I sand the end flush from the opposite side and then notch it out to take the next plank ( a bit like interlaced fingers).

80 planks are now in place.

Over the next couple of days those awkward hull / keel intersection planks will go on (hopefully).  

[KeithAug]

Planker's Progress 5 - Day 9

 

I had a bit of a frustrating day today so I took it out on paper:-

 

Planker’s Lament.

 

I scratched my head and gave a sigh.

The plank won’t go.

It lies awry.

Its tortured course.

From stem to stern.

Describes an arc of some concern.

Concave, a twist and then convex.

Its aim, I’m sure, is to perplex.

I scratch my head again and sigh.

And wonder where the time went by.

Edited March 17, 2019 by KeithAug

[wefalck]

In 1:1 scale the process looks quite similar:

 

 

[KeithAug]

22 minutes ago, wefalck said:

In 1:1 scale the process looks quite similar:

Yes Eberhard - Thank you for the video, I found it very informative - what a lovely yacht.

[vossiewulf]

2 hours ago, wefalck said:

In 1:1 scale the process looks quite similar:

 

Except for the tongue and groove planking, the finger joints on the ends of planks, the fiberglass, and the massive amounts of green bondo

 

[KeithAug]

17 hours ago, vossiewulf said:

Except for the tongue and groove planking, the finger joints on the ends of planks

Yes I looked at that and thought how much easier it would be if I could tongue and groove my planks. I'm not really up to it though on .055" thick planks.

 

Edited March 18, 2019 by KeithAug