Grand Banks 46 by Mindi - FINISHED - Amati Models - 1:20

[Mindi]

First faulty parts today. The flybridge windscreen frame has delicate legs (7) attached. Two of them had fallen out of the rail in transit but that is not a problem really. Two near the front were badly bent...the small pin lugs which go into the actual rail were bent and the most gentle attempt to straighten them to get the rail legs positioned correctly were unsuccessful and the tiny lug pins broke off. They were all sealed in a clear envelope within a cardboard box so they can only have been bent when made. There is a warning about the fragility of the part in the instructions ..but it should have been heeded by the maker/packer..?

I have written to Amati asking for 2 replacement legs ... they are only short pieces of 2mm plated wire with small pin lugs on the ends. I have not yet had any response.

[Mindi]

The flybridge is nearly recovered from it's steam bath and re-bend. Just a few more fill-sand-paint repeats and it will be good. I have made up the templates for fitting the upper deck rails and have now planked the upper deck.Put in a couple of blond highlight planks which I think give it a lift and also free up 5 or 6 walnut 1 x 2 s for extra trim which I might do in wood where it was intended to be plastic angle. The quantities of everything have been good and generous so far so I should have enough 1 x 2 walnut to do the edges if I want to.

[cog]

Lovely all those different planks, good choice, Mindy

[Mindi]

Thanks Carl, the supplied walnut 1 x 2 planks are good wood..easily trimmed.

[Mindi]

Amati have responded well on the broken rail legs and are sending replacements. Thanks Amati. The whole rail set is very fragile... I have had a few legs break after I started lookijng at them, my fault...but the assemblies are chome plated soft wire held together with pins in holes....it is just a very fragile and I would think expensive approach..? I am glueing it back together and will be OK>

[Mindi]

Put the half round trim on where the instructions said and I ran out of material beforte completeing. You get 180cms and I reckoin you need 200-205. Not a big deal..just used some other material in front internal sides.

[cog]

You really hit the jackpot with that floor Mindy, as the British would say: "Smashing"

[Mindi]

Got the flybridge railings in all except for the windscreen which I am waiting on legs for. The instructions say to drill 2mm holes for the fence posts...then later say drill 2.2mm holes. Well good luck finding a drill that size. It is very close to 3/32 which can be bought. In the end I drilled oversized holes (about 3.5mm) and put UHU Hart glue in the holes and let the legs set hard overnight. It gave me a bit of fiddly filling and repair but all things considered I would do it that way again because what is a fragile fence construction is now pretty solid in place. Put the furniture in place...looks OK....wouldnt say I am really happy but I will have to take what I have and move on.

[Mindi]

I wasnt happy with the brown plastic table so I made another one from walnut 4 x 1 planks.

[Mindi]

I am seriously considering attaching the flybridge as it is still a little out of shape and I can lock it down and then finish it's fitout when in place as the cabin roof.The flybridge has locating slots forward and underneath which locate on the tabs sticking up from the forward roof beam. I cannot get the holes to locate there so I have extended the two tabs upward and hope that will make it possible.

[Moab]

Looking awesome...Moab

[cog]

Not to shabby a job, Mindi. It actually turned out rather good

[Mindi]

This is it for about 9 weeks...off on a fishing holiday so the Grand Banks will have to wait until August for more progress. Glad I attached the flybridge. It only has the windscreen still to do and to fix the furniture in place. The flybridge went on pretty well, had to plane down the top of the windscreen and the extra tab on the top of the front roof beam was very helpful in locating it correctly. I made the antennae from the 1mm plastic extrusion they provide but it was pretty floppy...I had some 1mm piano wire from a previous project and I used it to make much better ones.

[cog]

Looks very spiffy, Mindi. The planking on the flydeck  ... I really love the way it turned out

[Mindi]

Back to the Grand banks after 4 months offline. Need to finish off the cabin structure before I tackle the hull...not much to do. Today was just some stair railings, side steps, fixing the flybridge furniture, and defining the cabin doors.

[cog]

It has been a while, she looks stunning though.

[Mindi]

Thanks Carl. Went away for a winter holiday and was then stuck by movement restrictions. I am waiting onthe answer to a query on planking from Amati. It is not clear whether the main planks are spaced by 1 x 1 strips left in place or just used as temporary spacers. If the former, I cant find the stock in the kit to do that. I would just buy some locally and press on.

Cheers.....John

[cog]

14 hours ago, Mindi said:

main planks are spaced by 1 x 1 strips left in place or just used as temporary spacers

What would be used if temporary spacer? Would you be caulking or have grooves .... I wonder what Amati comes up with, but mostly when

[Mindi]

Well I must firstly apologise to Amati because I found the bundle of 1 x 1 inter plank strips......ooops. So they do go in permanently. Started on the two wale strips, planking is such fun.

The blue patch is a colour test for doing  the topsides in Navy  blue...cant find the right blue yet.

 

 

[Mindi]

Thinking ahead to planking and have decided to change the order of steps. The instructions have the planks finished and then the keel and stem added after but I think the planking can be finished up against the stem much more satisfactorily if the stem is in place first. To do this you need to build the bow anchor platform and it's underneath supports, then the first layer of stem-keel (one piece) then plank up to this edge, then second layer of keel. Thats what I am doing anyway.  The way they have it might just be the way the real boat fibreglass mould vanishes the faux planks to "flat"

 

before reaching the stem... whatever...I am doing it the way a timber planking would work.

[Mindi]

Ready for planking I think

 

 

[Mindi]

Good idea I suggest is to sand the planks while in their backing board, we have all broken a plank sanding it after mfr... they are rough surfaced so 320 followed by 600 and they are all good at once

Also sanded on the reverse where the superglue will prefer a smooth surface to bond with the fibreglass hull.

 

[Mindi]

I hate planking...it is what you get to do in hell I reckon. I actually had to abandon the 1 x 1 strips as my fingers just wouldnt install them between planks and I just spaced the precut planks by eye.... it is OK but not perfect. The bottom plank endewd up in the correct place on the hull so it must be overall OK.

 

 

[Mindi]

[Mindi]

Bit of a breakout from the painting instructions because I always wanted a blue boat. Finished painting the hull....Admiralty Paints Matt White and Tamiya Royal Blue X3 darkened with about 5% matt black. Now for dressing the hull with trim and rails. Why didnt I buy an airbrush 10 years ago..?

 

 

[cog]

You wanted it to match your dillpress!!! Love the way it turned out

[Mindi]

Got the black chine stripe fitted which improves the appearance. Thought it might be difficult but went on pretty easily.

 

 

[Mindi]

Started to dress the hull by sanding and varnishing the gunwales and the handrails. The handrails come in two pieces which you have to join. The gunwales come predrilled with a 2mm hole wherever a handrail staunchion is to go.This is very helpful and I taped the sanded and varnished handrails to their respective gunwales, marked the position of the straunchions through the gunwale holes, and then drilled blind 2mm deep holes in the 3mm handrail material at the marks. Couldnt have done it without the dremel drill press. Have put a small drop of UHU Hart in each handrail hole while upside down and tapped in the staunchions. Dont plan to install the finished rails until a fair bit later but will put the gunwales on.

The instruction manual says you have 24 stainless staunchions but I could only find 22. Just about wrecked the joint looking for the other 2 and then discovered that you only need 22 not 24. Good one Amati....( but I think they are very good, they sent me two replacement staunchions for the flybridge windscreen frame which came damaged)

 

 

[Mindi]

Gluing the deck planks to the underdeck sheet. I much prefer Weldbond (Canadian super PVA) to using superglue in these situations mainly because I really hate using superglue.I did use superglue GEL to attach the transom planks because it was really the only practical option but that is the only time I have used it. The Weldbond planks can be unclamped from those bends in less than 1 hour so planking the deck will take a little while. For any joints that are not wood on wood I have used UHU Hart. Fitted the inner and outer fairleads to the upper topsides.

 

 

Edited October 26, 2020 by Mindi

[Mindi]

Hull nearly complete. Made a major blunder with finishing the outside of the hull.... caused mainly by my non standard colour scheme. When I applied the plastic rubbing strip which is white it looked rubbish, partly because it wasnt really a fair line, and the colour contrast was too great. Didnt want to paint it silver...if the hull was standard white then the silver painted strip would look OK but the white on blue looked awful to me so I ripped it off. Now have to fully remask hull, remove fairleads, and respray a number of coats to cover the glue damage and necessary sanding.... dumb and dumber..!

 

 

 

 

Edited November 1, 2020 by Mindi