28 foot American cutter by druxey - FINISHED - 1:48 scale

[wefalck]

Wouldn't it have been possible to cautiously lift off the assembly just a little bit after each strake ? In this way you deal with the problem strake by strake, rather than having multiple 'sticking points'. 

[druxey]

Not really, Eberhard, as the stem and frame tops are secured to the plug. Certainly I do this with clinker style hulls where no internal frames are needed when constructing the shell.

[bruce d]

🤞

Bruce

Edited April 27, 2021 by bruce d

[Bob Cleek]

On 4/21/2021 at 4:28 AM, druxey said:

The last strake will be added after removal from the plug. This, however, is some time off yet!

Duh-oh! Now I get it.  An obvious solution I completely overlooked. Thanks!

[druxey]

This post should be labelled 'Snatching victory from the jaws of disaster'.

 

The removal of the model from the plug was more difficult than usual. I now realize why. In the past I've used holly for planking open boats. It bends easily and almost no moisture or heat was required. Castello is a different story. It needed a lot moisture and heat to form. In the process the planks welded in spots to the gesso layer on the plug. The photo tells the story. Repairs are under way, as you can also see.  This will take a little time.

 

 

[AON]

The wife claims she heard you using your "sailor words" ... muffled as it was due to the distance.

[Keith Black]

 David, hoping the repair goes smoothly and that you're pleased with the end result. 

[rlb]

Druxey,

The delicate nature of this is revealed to me in the last photo.  And if anyone can 'snatch victory' from what we see in the first photo, it is you.  

Ron

Edited April 27, 2021 by rlb

[Tony Hunt]

My fingers are crossed, David!

[druxey]

And for those who doubted that this was salvageable, after a few hours work:

 

It still needs finessing before I can begin to install the rest of the framing.

 

 

Edited April 28, 2021 by druxey

[Keith Black]

David, I don't think any doubted your ability to recover. Nicely done. To my uncalibrated eye it appears that the plank thickness is just about that of an egg shell, close? 

[Chuck]

Beautiful work and glad to see their will be no more anxious moments on this project.   😉

[Maury S]

I see you used the special "planking repair clamps".  Would you now recommend sticking to holly, or some other prophylactic?  Now on to the making and installing of the remaining frames?

Maury

Edited April 28, 2021 by Maury S

[bruce d]

Druxey, has anyone ever mentioned that you are pretty damn good at this?

[druxey]

Keith: The planks are 1/64" thick or a scale 3/4". I haven't yet measured an eggshell! Not much gluing surface, so I was not surprised by things giving way, other than the 'welded' areas.

 

Maury: In hindsight holly would have been a better choice, but I wanted to try for an unpainted single-color model. I had not tried using Castello for planking on a boat this size before. Live and learn! If I were to repeat the exercise, I would not gesso the plug but go with plain waxed wood instead.

 

Yes, after some fine-tuning the shell, the frames will be the next step. There are still some doubtful seams needing attention first.

 

Thank you for looking in and commenting, ladies and gentlemen all.

[Keith Black]

38 minutes ago, druxey said:

I haven't yet measured an eggshell!

 I just did, the eggshell measured .015 to .016 , 1/64 inch = .015625   Glueing surface, what glueing surface? 

[AON]

To put that in perspective...

That is about the thickness of 4 human hairs side by side.

Edited April 29, 2021 by AON

[dvm27]

I suspect many members of this group would have difficulty fielding four human hairs, Alan!

 

As for me I had no doubt that Druxey would be able to recover. When he said "this will take a little time to repair" I'll bet many were thinking days. Of course it turned out to be only a few hours in Druxey time.

[Keith Black]

2 hours ago, dvm27 said:

I suspect many members of this group would have difficulty fielding four human hairs, Alan!

 Greg, I'm sure most of us could scrounge at least four from the wasteland perimeter. 

Edited April 28, 2021 by Keith Black

[druxey]

Bending in frames has now begun. Again, bending Castello is a very different experience to bending in holly. With the latter, all I had to do was wet it and in it went. Castello has to be soaked and heat bent off-model. This is going to be a long and drawn out procedure. I'm beginning to regret my decision to build an open boat in this specie of wood!

 

The model has spread a little and will be cinched in when the risers and thwarts are added.

 

 

[tlevine]

19 hours ago, Keith Black said:

 Greg, I'm sure most of us could scrounge at least four from the wasteland perimeter. 

Another advantage to being a girl! 👸

[druxey]

Thank you, Toni!

 

Forming and bending in of frames is now under way. I made a small jig to heat and moisture bend the stock on. I still need to fine-tune the spacing of a couple of installed frames. Another 18 of 27 frames to go, then the floors need to be added after that. So the next update will be a while.

 

Thanks for dropping by.

 

 

[FriedClams]

Ouch !  But a very nice recovery Druxey.
 

On 4/28/2021 at 7:35 PM, druxey said:

I'm beginning to regret my decision to build an open boat in this specie of wood!

Yes, but I don’t see how you could have anticipated the difficulties beforehand.  Sometimes a thing just needs to be tried.  
 

I have no doubt she will be an absolute beauty in the end.

 

Gary

[Maury S]

Druxey,

So the frames do not butt up against the keel or the opposing frame part?  Will a keelson go on top of the frames?  The jig is tapered so the bend is different as you move fore and aft?  The frames appear to be tapered before being bent.

Maury

[druxey]

Maury:  There are floors that will go in that butt against the futtocks. The keelson runs above the floors in this case. You'll see all this - eventually! The jig just give a me basic bend. After that, each frame has to be free-hand bent to fit. That is why this takes so much time. In previous models all I had to do was wet the holly stock and bend it in place, quick and easy.

 

Progress to this point:

 

[druxey]

Progress continues. I'm improving my ability to bend frames freehand to fit the hull. As there are no cant frames, the most forward ones have to be twisted as well as curved to shape. An interesting experience! Only four more pairs to make and fit at the stern. Next will be making and fitting floors that abut the futtocks.

 

 

 

[druxey]

The futtocks are now complete. The S-curved timbers aft were very challenging to bend and fit. Next are the floors. You can see the first midship floor already installed. Floors are in two parts for convenience, as the joints will be covered by the keelson.

 

[wefalck]

Is there still a strake/wale to go on now ? I am wondering, because the transom stern-post seem to be above the level of the frames.

[druxey]

There is much work yet to do, Eberhard. I'm going as fast as I can while still maintaining quality!  The transom is still overheight at this point. All will become clear in time. There is a wash strake yet to go on, interrupted by tholes. It is supported by separate stub toptimbers. However, that is a long way off yet.

[JpR62]

A nice step forward with all these futtocks in place. What finesse. On the way to a new little beauty!