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Most don't use thread for caulking because of the shredding.  They paint (or use a black "magic" marker) on the side of the plank before installing it.  

Mark
"The shipwright is slow, but the wood is patient." - me

Current Build:                                                                                             
Past Builds:
 La Belle Poule 1765 - French Frigate from ANCRE plans - ON HOLD           Triton Cross-Section   

 NRG Hallf Hull Planking Kit                                                                            HMS Sphinx 1775 - Vanguard Models - 1:64               

 

Non-Ship Model:                                                                                         On hold, maybe forever:           

CH-53 Sikorsky - 1:48 - Revell - Completed                                                   Licorne - 1755 from Hahn Plans (Scratch) Version 2.0 (Abandoned)         

         

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

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I can't see any possible reason to use thread or "rope" to portray caulking in deck seams. If one wishes a wider seam to show, as with larger scales, the usual method is to glue a sheet of black card stock of suitable thickness to the flat side of the deck stock piece and then rip deck planks from the deck stock piece as would normally be done. The result will be deck planks with a black "stopped seam" on one edge which can be laid down to depict a laid deck with the black seams of the proper thickness between each plank. If the card stock is saturated with thin clear shellac before gluing to the plank stock, the laid deck may be sanded, together with the edges of the card stock, without concern that the card stock will "fuzz" when sanded.

Edited by Bob Cleek
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I have glued black paper strips to the edges of deck planks. The paper strips were a bit wider than the planks, and were trimmed on the bottom side before gluing the planks down. After the planks were glued in place the deck was scraped to remove the high edges of the paper, and then sanded with coarse grit sandpaper because the planks that came with the kit were not all the same thickness. Then the deck was sealed with clear lacquer and sanded again with a fine grit to remove scratches from the coarser grit. The final finish was with 0000 steel wool.

 

There was no fuzzing. I used an organic solvent based wood glue (Duco) and that soaked into the paper and wood. After it dried the paper was pretty hard.

 

You can choose a paper thickness equal to the scale thickness of the grout on the ship you are modeling. I used a full scale 3/8 inch grout width. At 1:48 this was about 0.008 inch, and I found a black paper about that thick. Nothing fancy, just ordinary craft paper. For a 1:96 scale project I will need a 0.004 inch thick paper, and that is about the thickness of ordinary 24 pound printer paper. 20 pound paper is about 0.003 inch thick.

175286962_Nibbing2.jpg.66176b884025839e8203dc91fc5ca1a8.jpg342123036_Nibbing1.jpg.9bde4f5964219127131162e8d15cc1b3.jpg

308777215_Foredeckpartial.jpg.11c253524ed2ec0d10f5e65817b1fc50.jpg1258227204_Foredeckplanking2.jpg.af0ab940d8ec88fd92ccefa821a4cf18.jpg

Edited by Dr PR
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Wahka

0.5mm would be about a 1 inch wide seam if 1:48 scale and 2 inch if 1:96 which would be way over scaled.  Even card stock (~0.3mm)  is too thick in most cases. Paper as PR suggests is better.  For smallest scales, marker or black tissue paper found in craft stores works very well.  Apply as described above.

Allan

Edited by allanyed

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I've just finished a deck and used a 3mm wide marker pen that contained black archival ink.  Being 3mm wide chisel tip it was easy to run down the side of the planks and it did not bleed into the grain.  I think it cost £3 and the results are really good

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The model in the picture below is an example where thread was used in depicting a caulked deck but in a different way.  The fore deck on this US Navy Motor whaleboat is stained navy “deck blue” with the seams payed with white lead.

 

I made the deck from a piece of 1/16in thick plywood with groves to represent deck seams cut on a miniature table saw.   I then sprayed the entire deck with flat white paint and then sanded the paint off the flat surface but leaving it in the grooves.  I then pushed a piece of thread into each of the grooves and sprayed the deck piece with the blue deck stain.  Removing the thread left the white paint “caulking” in the simulated seams of the blue deck.

 

Roger

 

 

B453AF40-A618-4C66-BFCF-3F008F9752C9.jpeg

Edited by Roger Pellett
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Roger,

 

That is a clever idea! Officers' gigs and barges in the 1970s had mahogany decks with white grout (see image below). It is also common on civilian yachts. I have often wondered how to model that.

 

https://www.okieboat.com/Copyright%20images/Com%207%2028%20foot%20personnel%20boat%2011%20Aug%202014%201024%20C%202.jpg

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8 hours ago, Roger Pellett said:

The fore deck on this US Navy Motor whaleboat is stained navy “deck blue” with the seams payed with white lead.

Is this something that may have been used around the time of WW1? There is a collection of photos taken aboard SMS Seeadler, a disguised auxilliary cruiser converted from the clipper Pass of Balmaha. The deck planks are very dark and the caulking appears to be white and possibly a bit wider than expected. It is possible the deck was completely replaced when the Germans converted the ship but I have not seen anything to confirm or disprove this.

Wahka est, sorry to deflect your thread. :)

 

🌻

STAY SAFE

 

A model shipwright and an amateur historian are heads & tails of the same coin

current builds:

HMS Berwick 1775, 1/192 scratchbuild; a Slade 74 in the Navy Board style

Mediator sloop, 1/48 - an 18th century transport scratchbuild 

French longboat - CAF - 1/48, on hold

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Roger,  Your description is very clear but alas, the photo is out of focus and can barely make out the boat.  I am curious to see your deck results and kindly ask if you can post a closeup photo.

Thank you very much.

Allan 

PLEASE take 30 SECONDS and sign up for the epic Nelson/Trafalgar project if you would like to see it made into a TV series.   Click on http://trafalgar.tv   There is no cost other than the 30 seconds of your time.  THANK YOU

 

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I remembered that one of my father smaller yachts had white caulking, (teak deck), so I did a quick search.
It is still available to purchase.
I would use thin crisp white paper to simulate the caulking.

 

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Respectfully

 

Per aka Dr. Per@Therapy for Shipaholics 
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Finished: T37, BB Marie Jeanne - located on a shelf in Sweden, 18th Century Longboat, Winchelsea Capstan

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Allan,

Here’s a closeup photo of the caulking.  A larger diameter thread gave a crisper caulking line but to me looked fake to I opted for the smaller diameter giving a thinner caulk line.

 

Bruce,

A well known naval officer, I don’t remember who, once remarked that “A warship is known by the condition of her boats.”  Navies, particularly in peace time made an effort to keep their boats looking smart.  This was especially true of boats that transported officers.  The US Navy used wooden 26ft Motor Whaleboats from the end of World War I until the early 1960’s when they switched to a fiberglass one of different design.  

 

I have found two variations of the same 26ft wooden hull-  a completely open utility model and the partially decked one that I modeled that could be used as a captain’s gig. US Navy World War II Destroyers were equipped with one of each.  White caulking of the fore deck would have added to the appearance of the boat.

 

A number of Movies about World War II, for example The Enemy Below and The Caine Mutiny show these boats with mahogany trim finished bright.  I have chosen to show the boat as it would have appeared during one of the hard fought campaigns early in the war when no one had the time to maintain varnished trim.

 

Roger

 

EE750733-C354-4644-A3C4-65FF0B41D292.jpeg

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Have to say I have always put black thread between the seams of the planks on the decks of my models. I realize that others do it differently and I really admire some of their techniques, but to each their own. As for the procedure, I now have a method that works for me. First I give all the planks a preliminary sanding before I glue them to the false deck. Then I lay down a plank to glue it. Before the next plank is put down I wax and lay down a black thread adjacent the plank. The wax helps somewhat in keeping the thread in place. Then the next plank is glued down adjacent to the thread, which provides the space between planks. Once the planking is completed, the threads are removed. The planking can now be sanded again to remove any glue and smooth out rough spots. I also take a #19 exacto blade and run it dwon the seams to remove any glue that might have got left behind. Then the thread is laid down again between the planks. I like my decks lacquered so I apply a coat as the threads are laid down. It takes a couple coats of matt lacquer to finish off the decks for me.  I realize it's a bit of a process but I like the results, so I keep doing it. Not for everybody I know, but hey, we're snowflakes, we're all different. Here are a few pic's...

 

762047951_CherylAnne3(2).JPG.94a66362a958add4de80212e9bb031f6.JPGIMG_2042.JPG.e29e48326febb2ff199ecaeafadf1958.JPGBounty35(2).JPG.fb756ce5f4b68b6f0809e17ba9d86327.JPG152617608_LEtiole42(2).JPG.330449068a09343874b41f8de73f8a27.JPG

Build Log: Billing - Cutty Sark

 

In The Gallery: HMS Unicorn, HMAV Bounty, L'Etoile, Marie Jeanne, Lilla Dan, Zeeschouw "Irene"

 

A Toast: To a wind that blows, A ship that goes, And the lass that loved a sailor!

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