English Pinnace by EricWilliamMarshall - FINISHED - Model Shipways - Scale 1:24

[EricWilliamMarshall]

I’ll be attempting, without the use of a safety net, for your amusement, a build of the Model Shipway’s English Pinnace. It seems to me that a junior shipwright should try to tackle all the skills and tasks that model ship building has to offer. This model presents a direct assault on a principle task new to me: the dreaded planked hull. This kit is one of Chuck @Chuck Passaro’s designs and is my first kit with humane instructions (kudos to Chuck!).  

[EricWilliamMarshall]

This kit has a clever feature: the ribs start out as full pieces that are partially cut out to begin with. After the hull is planked, the cutting is completed to create a rib. Nifty. While the directions had an abundance of detail, I misunderstood the correct profile of the keel and shaved too deep making all the rib too loose. A rookie move, which led to Model Expo sending me another keel.

[EricWilliamMarshall]

I broke a number of ribs by making the fit of the rib to the keel to tight. So yet again Model Expo was kind enough to send a replacement. The replacement set was also had less variation in thickness, which was nice. I used a squared block to ensure 90 degree angles. I found fairing the ribs challenging due to the flimsy nature of the ribs. I used packing foam to ‘brace’ the top of the ribs while sanding (though next time I’ll glue supporting timber to the top).

Edited January 3, 2021 by EricWilliamMarshall
Typo

[EricWilliamMarshall]

As per the instructions, I wet the wood and used a heat gun (not having a hair dryer) on the clamped wood. I was able burn the wood easily, and found my spring clamps dented the wood easily. But the wood did, indeed, bend! I’m not sure how best to create the correct curves to match the lines of the hull but I’m hoping that yields to practice.

 

I found gluing my first pieces to the ribs harrowing, giving how much the thin ribs flex. I used CA, which I could clamp the whole assembly with just my hands and just wait a few seconds for it to dry. And then circle back, if a bit more glue was needed. I found it tricky to apply enough to the correct area without dabbing the adjacent areas.

 

 I now have a much deeper appreciation for the careful work done by others on this site.

[bruce d]

You are off to good start, and it looks like choosing a kit from Chuck supplied by Model Expo was a good move.

I always like the pinnace and considered it as a first kit, will be watching.

[Ryland Craze]

Your Pinnace is looking good at this stage.  I look forward to following your build.

[EricWilliamMarshall]

I’ve wrestled with the process of planking. I’ll share a couple novice’s insights.
1) CA glue doesn’t set so well at temperatures below 55 degrees F!

2) Also at that temperature, a “set” bond may shift.

3) bending wood is not as hard as I thought. Very high temperature does the trick - with or without soaking. I experimented on wooden coffee stirrers. Boiling water with molds works. The high setting on a fabric iron works and a heat gun works. In all cases, bring the wood up to temperature, setting a shape and holding the shape while the wood cools are the chief steps.

4) Fairing is critical - the better your fairing, the more surface area you can glue to.

5) A fair number of instructions only made sense in hindsight!!

 

Early on, I could remove planks easily but as I corrected my fairing and became a little better at bending the planks, it became harder to remove mistakes. I guess that is a form of improvement, if not success. There are a number of cumulative mistakes I’ve made, which will diminish the final product. This is the process of learning and I will try to see this as investing in a better future instead of the more obvious ‘wrecked kit’ motif that jumps to mind.
 

Next time, I’ll glue in extra wood between the frames to stop flexing. That flexing made fairing tricking, since the wood would bend. I had the same issue with clamping and gluing as well.

 

I still don’t have a strong intuition on what shapes to bend the strips of wood to match exactly the shape needed to minimize forcing the plank into the desired shape. I have to say this process wasn’t as pleasant as I hoped. I assume it will yield to practice.

 

Little by little.

[EricWilliamMarshall]

Chuck’s instructions were clear and helpful. They guided me correctly in shaving the keel so the planks meet the false keel beautifully. I mis-gauged the rabbet on the front of the pinnace and consequently could not place the planks correctly in the rabbet at the front although the Garboards went perfectly.. I also mis-interpreted how to gauge the trimming of the planks as they reach the ends of the hull, so that is off as well. 
Now that there are some planks on the hull, the model feels very sturdy.

Edited January 3, 2021 by EricWilliamMarshall

[druxey]

As in all things, experience will inform you when it comes to subsequent models. Planking well, in particular, has a steep learning curve! Persistence will pay off.

[EricWilliamMarshall]

2 hours ago, druxey said:

As in all things, experience will inform you when it comes to subsequent models. Planking well, in particular, has a steep learning curve! Persistence will pay off.

Thanks for the encouragement and forgive the grousing! I appreciate you taking the time to support folks like myself; it’s an honor!  

[EricWilliamMarshall]

I’ve sanded the hull and I’ve removed the inner ‘tabs’ from the the ribs and trimmed the ribs. 

[EricWilliamMarshall]

I have to decide if I will use some wood filler and I have a few ribs to repair. When held to a bright light, so can see the variation in the thicknesses of my planking (as well as other sins).

[EricWilliamMarshall]

I have repaired the broken ribs. The replacements were cut with jeweler’s saw from the no-longer-needed tabs. I simply pick a tab with a matching curve and cut ‘inside’ of that curve. The original thinning of the ribs were with sand paper, chisel and Demel tool using a sanding drum. I used a mini saw to cut the tabs from the ribs and didn’t have any issues similar to those noted by Chuck in his instructions. Originally I add a bit stain, which I wouldn’t repeat in hindsight. I did add stain to match the keel on the outside. I also used a pinch of filler on the bow where I misjudged the rabbet. Since I believe the use of these logs are to inform our fellow travelers more than protect my ego, I have a straight shot of the bow. I used HobbyLite Balsa Filler, since I didn’t have enough saw dust to mix with glue. I used a bit of water-solvable walnut stain and clear matte water-based Varathane polyurethane to coat the outside of the hull.

[EricWilliamMarshall]

I found the source of some of my error in attempting to layout the shape of the planks (I didn’t include the rabbit on one side and didn’t measure past the rib on the other end of the pinnace. I also took time to file the ‘ball’ of the ball joint of my vice. It was poorly formed, but I’m not complaining since it was so poor I received the vise for free! There also is a picture of scrap I use to support my use of the jeweler’s saw.

 

Edited January 3, 2021 by EricWilliamMarshall
Upside down photo!

[Ryland Craze]

Your Pinnace is coming along nicely.  It seems you have overcome some of the problems that occurred during construction.  My Longboat builds also had the translucent hulls.  It happens when you sand down the planks to get a nice finish.

[EricWilliamMarshall]

Thanks to @bruce d @Ryland Craze and @druxey for the kind words and everyone for the likes! I know there is plenty of fine reading matter here at MSW competing for your time and I appreciate you stopping by.
 

To my surprise, I find myself thinking a lot about the planking process. I’m looking forward to trying the whole process again, as weird as that sounds. I won’t for this model but I thinking about some experiments and possible next projects. 
 

I rushed the process a bit while spending a lot time in the wrong areas (and a bit of just ‘wrong’ as well ). I love the beautiful, crisp planking of @Chuck (which is even more astonishing in person) and @druxey. And I would like to move in that direction, so the long term goal is to make the process more manageable and precise. And ideally, easier.

 

I put a space heater in my workshop, which solved the problem of CA glue not settling. I had assumed the problem was due to gluing wood under tension.
 

I did poke around the NNM website and found quite range of color schemes and details in contemporary/period models - very interesting. I’m fighting the urge to use paint to hide my sins. More seriously, the range of material opens the range of options for this a ‘hypothetical’ model and its embellishment.
 

But the first task is to work towards finishing this model!

To the work at hand, I cleaned up the interior, attempted to bring all the ribs to a similar shape and thickness, fixed an over sanded plank and some other small items.  Mostly via sand paper and some via wood chisel. I’m a huge fan of wood chisels. I mostly use English-style wood chisels and use the set my father bought for me in the ‘90s. 
 

I also found myself using a raking light to reveal imperfections in the ribs and in the hull. It makes it much easier to compare areas, shapes and even surface textures (I.e did I miss an area with fine sand paper?) quickly and over distances.

 

 

Edited January 7, 2021 by EricWilliamMarshall

[EricWilliamMarshall]

I mentioned before experimenting with wooden coffee stirrers. Here is an image of some of that silliness.

[EricWilliamMarshall]

I made some progress. I made the floor board from the coffee stirrers since I used a large number of my kit strips on attempting to bend planks. I used @Chuck’s suggestion to make paper patterns to find the correct fit and then cut the wood to match the paper’s shape. I used a mitre gauge to add the beading on the seats.
 

[EricWilliamMarshall]

I made a bit of progress. I used Grumbacher Academy Scarlet Lake watercolor with a brush. The wood was sanded down with 500 grid sandpaper and I used CA as my glue.

 

[GuntherMT]

It's looking good Eric.  You are doing a good job of spotting your mistakes and learning from them, which is key!

 

I did notice you made a comment about not having enough sawdust to mix with glue for filler.  A sanding drum on your Dremel tool with the cut-offs from the planks will very rapidly fix that issue for future projects.  I've found that making filler like this, mixing white glue/water mix with the sand dust from the same wood I'm planking with makes the absolute best filler and once sanded in and finished nobody will even know it's there.

 

Will follow along as you complete this little boat.  I have this kit partially completed (partially planked) and just never completed it.  Maybe I'll get back to it as a side project someday.

[EricWilliamMarshall]

A careless oversight on my part may prove instructive to others. I sanded both sides of the bass wood hull with 280 grit sand paper but treated only one side with 500 grit sand paper and OOOO steel wool. I then, on both sides, used a water-based stain and then when dry, I used matte acrylic varnish on top (details above). In the image below you can see the difference in evenness and color. For this model, I’ll be painting the hull in order to minimize my mis-step. In the image below, the left side is the rougher surface.

Edited January 10, 2021 by EricWilliamMarshall

[GuntherMT]

Nice comparison.  Really shows a significant difference in grain and roughness, thanks for adding this.

[EricWilliamMarshall]

I’ve added the filler strips without any trouble.

[DelF]

Hi Eric

 

I've just found your log, and I'm impressed with your work, especially the neat job you've made of cutting out the frames and thinning the ribs down. I found that one of the trickiest parts of the build. One of the next jobs for you could be almost as tricky - the internal planking from the thwarts upwards. I've described in my log how I cut each plank in half lengthways to make it easier to follow the internal curves. I ended up using a lot of filler, but that part's painted so it doesn't show.

 

Anyway, it's a fun kit to build and produces a beautiful model, so I shall follow with interest from now on.

 

Derek

Edited January 12, 2021 by DelF

[EricWilliamMarshall]

Have it not read @DelF’s advice yet, I started on to the inside planking. This seemed extra tricky. My first attempt didn’t yield to my skills and I noticed there would be glaring gaps given the size of the boards across the bow.

[EricWilliamMarshall]

So I made another from my cache of coffee stirrers.

[EricWilliamMarshall]

I found in this phase I have a wiggle in one side. It is subtle but can be seen if one looks down the side of the boat.

Edited January 13, 2021 by EricWilliamMarshall

[EricWilliamMarshall]

This time I make a paper pattern (by simply rubbing a pencil against the paper held to the boat). It wasn’t accurate enough to be a pattern, but it showed where and how to bend my planks. It seemed to go better than before. 

 

 

Edited January 13, 2021 by EricWilliamMarshall

[EricWilliamMarshall]

The second strip was smaller and bent much easier as @DelF suggested! I then trimmed the top as prep for the top rail to come. I also started to paint.

[EricWilliamMarshall]

I have stared to rough out what will be the top rail after taking a pencil to outline the hull. I also trimmed the rear seat, so as not to interrupt the rail - an easy detail to miss.