Half Hull Planking Project by Cleat – NRG - Planking Tutorial

[Cleat]

While building my first boat kit (Chris-Craft) I had a hard time doing the planking, I discovered that a straight plank did some unexpected things at the bow of the boat.  I was frustrated and knew I’d have to figure out planking.  I came across the Half Hull Planking kit when searching the forum for planking information. 

I previewed the instructions and realized I didn’t know the terminology.  The instructions identify the names of the laser cut parts but there were a number of terms in the documentation that I didn’t know.  I found an illustrated glossary of ship terms (it is helpful): 

https://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199336005.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780199336005-e-48

I previewed builds by tlevine, dcicero, modeler masa, and LyleK1 and I’ve been referencing those builds during my build. 

The kit comes with laser cut pieces to build the frame structure and planking material you cut for each plank.  The instructions are a PDF file; the instructions are well written and explain concepts to understand how wooden ships are built.  The kit includes an 11x17” print that shows the location of the structural parts along with other significant lines.  I mounted the print on a piece of art board but I quickly discovered that I wanted to cut the size down to accommodate the use of clamps during parts of the construction.

[Cleat]

I place the pieces that make the spine of the kit on the print to check the fit.  Once things fit I glued the pieces directly on the print. 

 

I placed a piece of the planking material on the edge of the keel to mark the width of the rabbet, I also did it on the keelson.  I told myself to cut up to the line.  I tried several methods to cut the rabbet with poor results, I ended up sanding the material along the straight bottom section, I carved the bow section.  When I was done my marks were gone – I made the rabbet much wider than it should be.  (I’m still getting used to working with such small material).

 

 

[Cleat]

I deepened the keelson slots for the bulkhead frames 1/16” as instructed but I wasn’t sure how accurate my cuts were.  I noticed one of the build documents used a marking wheel gauge and I wish I had one.  After I installed the bulkhead frames there weren’t enough spacers so I cut up the Counter to make the two pieces I needed (plus it had the right angle to support the transom).  I realized later I wasn’t supposed to use that piece. 

 

The project is taking shape.

 

[Cleat]

When I made the garboard I cut a notch to accommodate the end of the rabbet but I didn’t like the look with the notch.  I made a new piece without the notch and glued it in place.   In hindsight I wish I had cut a transition. 

 

[Cleat]

I’ve never sanded so lightly when I did the fairing of the frame, I didn’t want to go too far so I worked it in a couple sessions so I could evaluate what I had done before finalizing my shape.  The last four bulkhead frames were connected for my kit (other builds showed fewer frames).  I was trying to decide how far to sand that area.  I wasn’t sure if I should sand them down to create a solid piece.  I decided to go half way and fill the gaps with sawdust/glue, I didn’t have enough sawdust so I used Hobbylite Filler to complete the fill.  I figured I wanted the largest contact patch when gluing the planks to the contour of the stern.

 

 

[Cleat]

I had cut some pieces of scrap barnwood for the wale board, there were about 3mm thick.    I wanted to stain the wale board to customize the kit with something special.  And I wanted to bend and twist a long piece of wood (it is a tutorial).

 

I soaked part of it in water for about 15 minutes, then used an iron to bend and crimp the piece for the bow.  The first piece broke.  I made some shallow cuts on the concave side and tapered the 3mm thickness to 2mm where the bend would be – it worked.  I soaked the other end in water and use the iron to twist the piece for the stern – that worked too.  I soaked the piece two more times to fine tune the fit by clamping the piece to the frame and letting it dry. 

 

I discovered a problem with my wale board, it has a flat spot in the bow curve.  I took some measurements of the frame and compared it to the cutout, they were close.  I considered building up the frame but I was concerned how that might affect the planking, in the end I glued it on.  In hindsight I realized I could have put a piece of plank material behind the flat spot to help reduce the flat spot.  

 

I glued the wale board onto the frame because all of the planking would be referenced from it.  I also stained it to give it some color. 

 

[Cleat]

I measured the distance between the bottom of the wale board and the top of the strake plank for each frame.  I used drawing software to create strips for each bulkhead with the 12 plank marks evenly distributed. 

 

I tried several techniques to create the planks with mixed results. I started to call my Exacto knife the Happy Wanderer, but I really knew it was my technique.  What works for me is to apply painter’s tape on the course of planks, I use a pencil to mark the edge of the plank.  I cut the tape to shape and apply it to the bulkheads.  I use the marking strip for the bulkhead to mark the height the plank, repeat for each bulkhead. 

 

[Cleat]

That's as far as I have gotten so far.  I'm trying to figure out where to install the stealer and how big it should be.  I used a compass to mark the top 4 plank course and the middle 4 plank course to see the where they deviate. 

 

 

[Rob S]

Great kit Cleat! Looks like you are well on the way. This forum has recently been reorganized but used to have this great planking resource that really got into the details. I do remember one planking constraint where no plank should be tapered below 20% of the non-tapered plank width... so in those cases, the stealers come in.  It looks like you are employing many of the techniques (e.g., creating bands, measuring the band length for each bulkhead, etc.) from the resource. You may be familiar with the resource I’m referencing, but in the meantime will try to find a link to it. 
 

Rob S

[Cleat]

I found the tutorial historical information about the size of the planks to be interesting but my goal is to learn how the shapes work.   I chose to ignore the historical accuracy in favor of practicing the skills needed for planking.  I installed the wale board because it is a reference for my process.  I discovered that both ends of the wale board aren't exactly where they should be.  And I'm having to deal with running out of room for the last planks at the bow.  The stealer plank worked as it should, but I should have read about the dropped plank concept before I got to the last four rows.  I have a lot of gaps to deal with but I have a plan for that (I hope a woodworking trick works for this application). 

 

I'm planning on using the barn wood I used for the wale board for the railings and dress up the stern feature.  

 

I'm finding the tutorial to be worthwhile.  I thought this build thread should be in the planking section but the build logs I'm referencing are located here. 

[kurtvd19]

1 minute ago, Cleat said:

The stealer plank worked as it should, but I should have read about the dropped plank concept before I got to the last four rows.

Reading the instructions all the way through can head off situations like this.  In my writing I always advise right up front that reading the instructions completely is the single biggest step one can take to assure a good build.

[Cleat]

This screen door won’t float.  This picture shows the gaps between planks, I didn’t think it was as bad as it is until I backlit the hull.  I’ll be testing my “fix it” ability (I'm pretty sure I can't fix all of my mistakes). 

 

 

I completed planking the belts and I see my mistakes.  I’m reviewing my work I’m not happy with how it turned out.  But I am happy with what I learned by completing this task.  I tried several planking methods to see how they worked.  I’m still getting used to working with small stock and impatience snuck in.  I have a pretty good idea what I did wrong with the bow.  When I did the rough sanding I backlit the hull to ensure I wasn’t getting too close to sanding through the thin material.

The best thing I learned was performing the tasks of measuring, cutting, and shaping dozens of planks.  Learn by doing.

I used painter’s tape and I noticed my marks indented the tape, I think I'll look for better tape. 

 

 

I've started working on some embellishments, I'm adding barn wood to the transom and the transition between the planks and transom.  I filed away enough to expose defects in the scrap wood I used so I'm remaking the transition with new pieces.  I'll be staining the pieces to match the wale board.    I still need to make the bow rail but I noticed a splice called a scarf in the instructions that I'm not familiar with, I've never made that kind of splice before. 

 

 

I will sand the hull smoother; I will be using a back light to determine where I'm getting to thin.  There will be some indentations that I can't recover but this is a learning experience. 

 

[Cleat]

I created a new transition piece.  I didn't twist the wale board enough for a flush fit.  I was concerned about breaking it, I broke the first piece and this was my only spare piece so took it as far as I thought it could take.  

 

[Cleat]

I completed the kit.  I wish I knew then what I know now when I started the kit.  I had hoped for a better result – I expected a better result.  But I learned a lot.  One of the things I learned is that I want/need more practice at ship building. 

 

I had some goals.  I wanted to how much I could bend and twist the wale board without a splice.  I avoided making a slice on one bulk head to see how the planks look uninterrupted.  I also wanted experience working with small pieces (I still haven’t mastered tweezers), I’m used to working with ¾” stock and I knew it would be a challenge working with small stock.   I cut some barn wood to size for the black embellishments shown in the kit, I took the opportunity to try a sequence of different stain colors just to see how the color changed. 

 

 

I didn’t think my joints were that bad; when I sanded the hull I think that I probably made an angled cut – something to be aware of the next time I cross cut with an Exacto knife.  I had used wet/dry sandpaper with saw dust and finish in the past with good filling results, but that was with darker wood.

 

 

I practiced some scarf slices (z-splices) to make a base for the trim piece.  I made the trim piece one piece from bow to stern like the wale board.  I wanted to see how much I could bend the stock I made – I found the limits.  I broke a piece off on my first attempt and didn’t have any stock to try again.  I made a piece to splice in but the color was too different.  So I went with the look of side trim of an old car. 

 

I purchased a river boat kit for my next winter project.  I had reviewed a couple build logs before I bought it.  I can see more challenges with that kit. 

 

Edited March 7, 2021 by Cleat