18th Century Armed LongBoat by Dr PS - FINISHED - Model Shipways - Scale 1:24

[Dr PS - Paul Schulze]

Hello All, this is both my first plank-on-bulkhead build and first build log.  I am very slow but hopefully not as slow as my first ship, Scientific Models solid hull Cutty Sark (above) which I started many years ago. My hobby time is divided between astrophotography, model N-Gauge trains and ship modeling. I will start by posting some kit pictures. 

Edited July 18, 2019 by Dr PS - Paul Schulze
Finishing

[SandyBay]

I shall sit in and watch this build if I may. It’s a model I’ve tried to buy here in the U.K. but can’t seem to find any for sale.

[Dr PS - Paul Schulze]

24 minutes ago, SandyBay said:

I shall sit in and watch this build if I may. It’s a model I’ve tried to buy here in the U.K. but can’t seem to find any for sale.

You are most welcome to watch me putter alongside my build. By the way, there is a kit on sale on eBay UK if you are interested. 

[Dr PS - Paul Schulze]

1 hour ago, SandyBay said:

I shall sit in and watch this build if I may. It’s a model I’ve tried to buy here in the U.K. but can’t seem to find any for sale.

You are most welcome to watch me putter alongside my build. By the way, there is a kit on sale on eBay UK if you are interested. 

[Dr PS - Paul Schulze]

The tools I really like are the Dremmel, an X-acto #17 chisel blade for trimming, a tabletop belt sander for shaping, assorted hemostats, tweezers and sanding sticks, side cutters, and assorted clamps. For glue, my go to is yellow glue.  Toothpicks are indispensable. 

 

Notice the 2” solid oak board with two clamps attached. This works great for clamping ship/boat by strong back or keel. 

Edited May 25, 2019 by Dr PS

[Dr PS - Paul Schulze]

I used a granite countertop as a flat gluing surface. The first attempt was nearly disastrous as the keel and false keel snapped apart when I tried to clamp them. I decided to glue them in steps. I made little wedge “clamps “ using scraps of wood just for this.  Next will be to add bulkheads. 

[Stevinne]

If the parts are too damaged to salvage, Model Shipways is very good about replacing them. Great customer service there.

 

[SandyBay]

9 hours ago, Dr PS said:

You are most welcome to watch me putter alongside my build. By the way, there is a kit on sale on eBay UK if you are interested. 

Thanks for the heads up about the kits on eBay UK. I’ve seen those before but when you consider the exchange rate and postage from the US it makes them very expensive.

[Dr PS - Paul Schulze]

The placing of the bulkheads showed up another kit problem which I caught only after gluing. Three bulkheads were slightly thicker than the rest. I measured the laser cut sheets and, yep, the entire sheet was 1/32” thicker than specified in the parts list. I got a replacement and all is well. 

[Dr PS - Paul Schulze]

A couple of additional notes to my above post   I didn't want to redo the keels when I replaced bulkheads, which I should have measured,

 2, 3 and 4, so I made shims to fill the gaps left by replacing the wider bulkheads. This issue could have been avoided if I had been more careful and observant.   I feel some work arounds are Ok as real boat builders will surely have had to face them.  

 

Secondly, I accidentally found that wood glue on wood from pieces pulled apart will reactivate when a wet piece of wood with no glue is pressed or clamped against it. This can be useful or not depending on the situation. This last fact may be old hat to most but I found it quite interesting. 

Edited April 29, 2019 by Dr PS
Left out information

[paulsutcliffe]

14 hours ago, SandyBay said:

Thanks for the heads up about the kits on eBay UK. I’ve seen those before but when you consider the exchange rate and postage from the US it makes them very expensive.

There's one on ebay at the moment with free postage, £75 including shipping, good deal I think?

[Dr PS - Paul Schulze]

At first I was confused about the garboard. The manual gave instructions which left me somewhat clueless so I asked for help elsewhere on the planking, etc., forum section.  After several discussions, all became clear as the lightbulbs came on. My drawing there was essentially correct. Shown below the garboards are being glued into place. The twists were accomplished by soaking in nearly boiling water for a few minutes, clamped in place and then fanned with a heat gun set on low for several minutes. I used yellow glue to attach them to the keel. I did one side at a time. 

[Sea Hoss]

Nice start, I think this one will be on my radar after I use up my stash!

[SandyBay]

Today is the day I tackle my first ever garboards on my longboat. From what I can see yours looks exactly the shape all the ones I’ve studied on other longboat builds so, as the resident “non-expert”, I’d say you’ve nailed it.

[Dr PS - Paul Schulze]

One problem I have not solved is the “denting” of the planks by clamps. I have tried everything  I can think of too avoid this. I may be clamping way too hard but I don’t think so.  Some marks can be removed by wetting the affected areas slightly with water after the glue has dried. I hope those with experience can throw out some suggestions. 

[vossiewulf]

The only answers are either to reduce clamp pressure, spread that pressure over a larger area, or use a harder wood for the strakes. Sometimes just gluing a small piece of 1/32" or 1/16" latex rubber on the clamp jaws evens out the pressure enough to prevent significant denting. If that isn't enough, you need some kind of small cauls to spread the pressure over a larger area. A fancy-dancy caul will be slightly concave so when a single center clamp bears down, it ends up very evenly spreading the pressure.

 

But this problem is also why I use CA instead, I've never had any fun figuring out clamping solutions for complex multiple curved pieces. With CA the only clamps in use are fingers 1-10.

[Dr PS - Paul Schulze]

Hello Vossiewulf, when attaching a long strake with CA, do you attach it little by little or all at once? Since it seems to bond so fast, I have not tried it except on small pieces. 

[vossiewulf]

24 minutes ago, Dr PS said:

Hello Vossiewulf, when attaching a long strake with CA, do you attach it little by little or all at once? Since it seems to bond so fast, I have not tried it except on small pieces. 

I do it bit by bit, glue down a section an inch or two long and repeat. I don't edge glue, only putting glue on the bottom of the planks. Also the best method is to add glue in dots, don't try to smear it around, and the dots should be small enough that you never get squeezeout- if you do, you used too much.

[Dr PS - Paul Schulze]

2 hours ago, vossiewulf said:

I do it bit by bit, glue down a section an inch or two long and repeat. I don't edge glue, only putting glue on the bottom of the planks. Also the best method is to add glue in dots, don't try to smear it around, and the dots should be small enough that you never get squeezeout- if you do, you used too much.

I really like the idea of not edge gluing. How well does this work?  Do you get any edge separation early or later on?

[Dr PS - Paul Schulze]

11 hours ago, SandyBay said:

Today is the day I tackle my first ever garboards on my longboat. From what I can see yours looks exactly the shape all the ones I’ve studied on other longboat builds so, as the resident “non-expert”, I’d say you’ve nailed it.

Glad to see your on it. Are you doing the armed long boat? It’l be good to have build company. 

[vossiewulf]

35 minutes ago, Dr PS said:

I really like the idea of not edge gluing. How well does this work?  Do you get any edge separation early or later on?

[SandyBay]

1 hour ago, Dr PS said:

Glad to see your on it. Are you doing the armed long boat? It’l be good to have build company. 

No, mine is the 18th century longboat by Chuck, although it would be nice to have a ‘build buddy’.

[Dr PS - Paul Schulze]

Well I got the next two strakes on. I first sanded a gentler curve on the stem end of the garboards. See the comments by Arthur Wayne in his log on the same boat where he discusses the length of the curve. I concur with his analysis that the cord of the curve on the garboard should be nearer 2 1/4” rather than the suggested 1 1/4” in the instructions.  This allows the planks to be edge bent more easily. To edge bend the stem end and twist the stern end of the second strakes, I soaked the stem and stern planks in very hot 50-50 water isopropyl alcohol mixture for several minutes. Then the planks were clamped in place and a heat gun set on low dried them. The planks were then attached using CA applied only on the bulkheads

Edited May 4, 2019 by Dr PS
Incomplete description

[Arthur Wayne]

That looks awesome! I haven't tried mixing alcohol with water, I'm definitely going to give a try on my next build. 

[Dr PS - Paul Schulze]

The water alcohol mixture allows heating the water to boiling, penetrates the wood well, and more importantly, evaporates quickly with the heat gun. I keep the hot solution in a stainless vacuum thermos type drink container. I also found that small dents can be fairly easily removed by dabbing hot solution on the dents and allowing them to swell out. 

Klean Kanteen

[Dr PS - Paul Schulze]

Well, I have completed the third strake. The stem end falls a bit short of what I think it should as seen in the instructions where it seems to end slightly past bulkhead G.  In order to extend the third strake farther resulted in a slight concave or reverse edge bend somewhere in the section from the tip at bulkhead G to bulkhead D and this was not acceptable.  I was just unable to get it to work.  A wider strake would have worked, but I am proceeding as is with the stock planks extended as far as possible while at the same time hoping everything will work out well later. 

[CPDDET]

Not sure I fully understand. But could you edge glue 2 or 3 planks together to form a wider strake? This has worked for me in the past.

[Dr PS - Paul Schulze]

17 minutes ago, CPDDET said:

Not sure I fully understand. But could you edge glue 2 or 3 planks together to form a wider strake? This has worked for me in the past.

Thanks for the suggestion. My description is very specific to this model. As far as wider planks, I have some 1/2" 

basswood stock; however, I want to keep the strakes in this region at 1/4 inch. 

[Dr PS - Paul Schulze]

Well, I finally got the sheer plank and two more strakes added. No real issues but I redid the stern section of plank #6 several times because of the severe twists involved.  I am only somewhat satisfied with the overall build so far but I believe it will work out alright.  If I started over, I’m not sure  it would end up being completely satisfactory anyway as perfection takes lots of practice and this is my first plank-bulkhead boat/ship.  I have backed up several times to correct issues.  BTW, I forgot to put “tar” lines in before gluing and I am trying to put them in after-the-fact with a 0.5 mm mechanical pencil.   Oh well, on from here I go. Any suggestions would be great.👨🏻‍🎓

[CPDDET]

Can't make any suggestions as, like you, I'm in the process of my first build as well.

I can say that my Bluenose won't be perfect but I'm getting better as the build progresses. That said, I'm looking at this first build as a learning process and I know my next build will be better.

Keep up the great work and don't be too hard on yourself.