21 ft Yawl Longboat for a Sixth Rate by vaddoc - FINISHED - Scale 1:10 - Plans from the National Maritime Museum

[vaddoc]

Dear all

It has been 2 months since my last post, I have not had the time to work on the boat or even to catch up with your logs. I will try to though, in the meantime I do hope that you are doing well!

Today though I did visit the shipyard and did some work-and had a nasty surprise.

 

I am still not certain how I will secure the planks, whether I ll use threaded brass wire, treenails or bras pins. I experimented with 0.55 mm brass pins, nailed against a steel surface. The tips bend exactly as they should and hold the planks very securely. I think however the pin heads are out of scale.

I finished the starboard garboard, the planks are secured with brass pins 0.6 mm through 0,5 mm pilot holes. The scarf is glued for now but some form of reinforcement nailing or screwing will go on. As I am not sure what I will use to fasten the planks to the ribs, I just cut the pins leaving a length so I can pull them out later as these are the temporary frames.

 

Then I started work on the port side. Disaster...

A few days ago, I needed a small piece of wood so I just broke a segment from a scrap piece I found on the bench. yep, that was the plank!

I used the broken pieces to recreate the plank and thankfully, with a bit of sanding it came out fine. Then, I secured it in place

The ends at the bow will need to be trimmed, I think I ve put the nails very close to the trimming line-we ll see.

Till next time

 

vaddoc

Edited September 19, 2021 by vaddoc

[vaddoc]

It has been a very long time since my last post, progress is at snail pace but at least things are moving along.

 

I had some equipment issues: My Dremel moto saw suddenly died. It had 8 years of continuous hard use. I opened it, cleaned it, repacked the bearings with grease and put it back together. Still dead. I suspect the brushes are gone but I thought best to get another one. I like it very much due to small footprint and the ability to take side cutting blades.

The garboard planks are in place, so I started work on the first broad plank. It is much easier to use scarfed planks than very long single piece ones and I will stagger the scarfs.

So here it goes:

So far, the time invested on the 3D plans pays off. The distances seem identical on both sides and the two plank halves are identical.

Planking continues

I switched to 1 mm card, much better than the 2 mm I was using

The plank halves are not too curved and I don't think they ll get any worse. They would have needed very narrow blanks.

Now, I am paying much more attention cutting the plank in this boat than I did on the Launch. The planks are sanded to line, with the disc sander on the convex edge, with hand on the concave edge. The result is very close fitting planks so far:

The twist at the bow is pretty acute, I hope it is not going to get worse. Just wetting the beech though is enough to get the wood to fall into place. Interestingly, I had to trim the second frame a bit for the plank to sit nicely, exactly the same area that I had problem during my lofting. 

The beauty of the hull slowly starts to emerge

I used a sander to trim the bow end of the second plank, much more accurate result

It is getting there slowly

With the hand held belt sander, the scarfs are very easy to make

The bow twist is indeed significant

And a final photo, boats are beautiful things.

Till next time

 

Vaddoc

[mtaylor]

They are indeed beautiful things, Vaddoc.  Your's is coming along very well and will be a thing of beauty.

[mbp521]

Vaddoc,

 

Glad to see you back. Beautiful work on the planking so far. Can’t wait to see more. 
 

-Brian

[BobG]

Wonderful work, Vaddoc!

[Chuck]

Indeed....very nice.  

[Wintergreen]

Looking good Vaddoc!

And I feel your pain when you realized exactly what piece you maimed. Ouch.

 

Keep it up!

[vaddoc]

Dear all

 

Many thanks for your likes and good words!

Planking continues, I am making an effort to get the planks to sit nicely without big gaps. It seems to be going well so far and the most difficult planks are behind me. I did not have to remake any plank, they all came out fine on the first attempt. 

 

One thing that surprised me was the amount of adjustment I had to do on the frames. The two more forward and the two more aft frames had to be trimmed quite heavily, despite my CAD drawings looking good. I am not sure why, however: the two forward frames were the ones I had problems with at the drawing stage and I suspect I may have sanded the bevels at the Transom wrongly. 

 

It does not matter though as the planks do act as batens and show where wood needs to be taken off to have a fair curve. I think it is all fixed now.

 

A few pics:

 

All planks up to the level of Transom finished. The next plank sits at an angle at the transom and needs extra care to sit handsomely.

These are the paper templates for the next plank. 

And the process is repeated. This is a difficult plank but I think it is coming out fine and fits well with the previous plank on both sides.

This is how I steam my planks now, I just stick them in the kettle for a few seconds and then immediately place on the boat. The beech will take any shape with ease.

Till next time

 

Vaddoc

[Bedford]

The planks take on some interesting shapes don't they. She's really looking the part!

[Wintergreen]

Looks good Vaddoc!

One plank at a time... getting there 🙂

 

[mbp521]

Lots of tedious work, but the end result will look fantastic! Beautiful job so far on keeping the planks perfectly aligned. 
 

-Brian

[vaddoc]

Many thanks to all!

 

Things move on slowly. Although planning the planking was easier than the launch, getting the shape of the planks particularly at the bow is a bit tricky as the planks follow a large curve but also twist along the axis a lot. Also, the planks absolutely need to be steamed (or boiled for 30 sec in the kettle as I ve ended up doing) to be convinced to bend into position. Then, they also need to stay clamped overnight to retain the shape but also to dry and return to the original dimensions. Beech swells up a lot when boiled!

 

My fore and aft frames are wrong and material needs to be taken off. This is surprising as I really thought my CAD plans were very accurate. I think however I know the reason. I believe the transom for some reason was made a bit more narrow in its bottom half. Not sure about the bow but then again I was never happy with the shape of the first two frames.

 

It does not matter though, the planks very nicely show the natural curve so that that material can be chiselled away from these temporary frames. The steam bend ribs will just follow the curve of the hull later on.

 

Enough talking, a few pictures:

Till next time

 

Vaddoc

[allanyed]

Hi Vaddoc

I like your build very much!  Is this from the RMG drawing https://www.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/rmgc-object-86936 for the late 18th century?

Thank you

Allan

 

   

Edited December 6, 2021 by allanyed

[vaddoc]

Thanks Allan! Indeed it is this very boat.

[allanyed]

Thanks Vaddoc, much appreciated!

 

Just as an FYI for the future, the planking should be 8 inches broad  (0.80 inches at 1:10 scale) and 7/8" thick. I cannot tell from the photo but they look closer to 0.5" or 0.6"   Of course sanding will take the thickness down so probably a non-issue.   If you don't already have it,  detailed scantlings for every part of the various types and sizes of ships' boats can be found in W.E. Mays book on boats of English men of war. There is a copy on Amazon for less than $10.

 

Cheers

Allan

[vaddoc]

@allanyed The thickness of the planks is 2mm (Actually 2.2 as they came a touch oversized), spot on 7/8 inches!

Now, in regard to the width, these are my amateur, non-educated thoughts: The widest planks are 1/2 inch, you have a good eye! Honestly, I think 0.8 inches might be too wide. Maybe the upper planks near the sheer could be made as wide but the rest I think not, as the turn of the bilge is quite acute and needs more narrow planks. Also, replacing the garboard and the next 3 planks with only 3 wider planks, I think this would be a struggle. And I like all planks to be reasonably equal in width.

Despite the above, I suspect you are actually correct. My planks always end up on the narrow side, irrespective of the shape of the hull! 

Edited December 14, 2021 by vaddoc

[vaddoc]

A quick update. Little progress due to fevers and aching throats with the whole family out of action. Not Covid!

A few pics, I think it is going reasonably well.

[mbp521]

Vaddoc,

 

Progressing nicely!  Hope everyone gets to feeling better. 
 

-Brian

Edited December 14, 2021 by mbp521

[FriedClams]

Progressing nicely, excellent planking.

 

Gary

 

[vaddoc]

Brian, Gary and to all that hit the like button - many thanks!

Indeed, thankfully the family seems to be on the mend.

 

Planking continues at a very slow pace. I thought the bow end of the planks would get easier as I get closer to the sheer but this is not the case, it is still difficult to get the shape right and convince the planks to bend and twist. 20 seconds in boiling water though does miracles, beech really responds superbly to wet heat.

 

A few photos, still some way to go.

 

[mbp521]

Beautiful job so far. The trick is to get the planks on each side to line up with each other perfectly, and you seem to have mastered that. 
 

Have a Happy New Year. 
 

-Brian

[Wintergreen]

Coming along nicely!

What Brian said above and the run of the planks look superb as well.

 

Happy to hear that you are getting out of sick department 🙂 

Keep it up!

[vaddoc]

Oh dear. One step forward, many steps backwards!

But first thing's first. Many thanks to all for your comments and likes!

 

Jan 6: I continued with the planking. I fitted the next plank which was wildly off. Still, I heated it up and fixed in place, to be sanded to shape later on. This is when I eyeballed the planks and thought: "Something is wrong".

Jan 7: I tidied up the shipyard! 

And then continued with the planking. With some aggressive sanding, the plank fitted fine:

Something was not right though. The plank had a funny S shape at the stem, did not look fair at all. Also, the general run of the planks is rising too acutely at the bow. Due to the very rounded shape of the bow, it should be a much more subtle rise, following the shape of the sheer to a degree. Something is not correct. See how after the last frame, the plank goes horizontal-this is wrong.

At the most forward frames, the planks should rise a bit higher before meeting the stem.

Jan 8: It is not possible to proceed with the planking. Something is really wrong. There is too much space to be covered at the first 3 frames, the planks do not have a fair run and become too thick near the stem, there is not enough space at the stem and it seems that the sheer should be going a bit higher at the stem - despite the CAD saying otherwise.

 

Even following the current markings which are probably wrong, I have made this plank too narrow.

This plank is clearly wrong. The next plank would need to be very thick at the bow to close the gap.

I thought it would be ok having this plank a bit more narrow - wrong!

Despite these concerns, I went ahead and made the next plank on both sides. The shape looks properly wrong!

I tried to re-arrange the plank widths at the stem but I could feel the main issue was elsewhere.

The new plank fitted in place. Looks absolutely horrible.

It is very obvious that the previous plank is cut too narrow near the bow and is too thick at frames 6, 5 4 & 3.

There is also this very ugly massive gap at the plank further down. Not sure how this opened up but it is not really acceptable.

So decision taken: one plank from port side and two from strarboard need to come out. Here they are:

This was painful but necessary. I should be able to salvage the aft parts of the planks and make again the scarfs.

 

January 10: I redid the run of the planks again. I tried to make them equal width but my primary concern was to have a more pleasant run and to follow the sheer. I think it looks ok. The bow is so curved that it is very difficult to use battens and to eyeball the hull.

Comparing the new with the old markings (not too clear on the photo), it is clear some of the frame were way off.

So here is where we are now. I think the contralateral plank will need to be removed also.

So next: transfer the markings to the other side, quite possibly remove the port plank, fill the screw holes and continue with the planking, hopefully I ll be able to salvage the aft halves of the planks.

This is a very difficult boat to plank!

 

Have a great new year everyone!

 

Vaddoc

[druxey]

It appears that the lowest strakes do not narrow sufficiently as they come into the bow and stem. Once you have lined out the planking runs, you must follow them accurately, or cumulative 'creep' will occur and you'll end up with the same problem again. Also, your garboard could end a little further aft as well to help things out.

[vaddoc]

@druxey You are very right Druxey. A valuable lesson learned! I need to decide now whether I can continue or whether I should take all the planks out and start again. I think though there is enough space at the stem for 4 more planks.

[Wintergreen]

"perseverance" springs to mind 😉 

It is an "ouch"-moment, but better correct the errors and do again then to leave and think "good enough".

Planking is tricky, that's for sure.

 

Keep it up!

[BobG]

Judging from your previous models, this one will be a beauty as well regardless of the little bumps in the road along the way. 

 

It looks like you are using small, Phillips-head screws on the planks. I think I've only seen small nails used when planking before. Have you found that the screws work better than nails?

[vaddoc]

Dear all

 

Many thanks for your likes and comments.

@BobG Yes Bob, for the scales I work at 1mm screws are fantastic. They hold things accurately and securely, can be removed and hole filled with tree nail. I ve used many thousands so far, go for stainless steel to avoid head rounding off.

 

Modelling has slowed down as other priorities have stepped in. One is family, wife and two daughters 5 and 7. Work (of course) but also a need to increase physical fitness. During lockdown I put on a lot of weight that really started to affect me and something had to be done.

So, spare time went to Tae kwon Do, cycling, gym etc. It did work, along side a sensible diet and I am 14 kg lighter - about 31 pounds and much fitter. Still a bit more to go though!

 

Now, modelling has slowed down for two other reasons. One has been the very low temperatures, my garage at -1 C is pretty unpleasant. The other reason was that things have become more complex and difficult. Repair/restoration is much more difficult.

I ended up taking more planks off, more than the photos bellow show, to correct gaps or defects but also because their shape was a bit off, collectively changing the run of the planking. The two plank halves had to be split as the aft part can be reused for some of the planks, Isopropyl alcohol dissolved PVA very effectively.

 

I used the existing planks to re-arrange the run of all the other planks. This time I must stick to the markings, even if the planks end up with pigtail shapes.

I hope the new markings will give a better plank run, we ll see

 

Till next time

Vaddoc

[Wintergreen]

Redo and redo again. I admire your focus.

And 14 kgs! That's a lot to get rid off, congratulations!

 

Keep it up, mate!

[bruce d]

Well done (for both modelmaking and fitness).

👍