Lightning by Andrew J. - Scale 1:12 - centerboard sloop from Sparkman & Stevens plans

[Andrew J.]

Hello all, I think it's finally time to give this project its own build log in the proper section of this forum. For those who may be seeing this for the first time, here's a little info. The Lightning is a 19 foot centerboard sloop designed by Sparkman & Stevens, and first sailed from the Skaneateles Country Club in central New York in 1938. It quickly became an international racing class and there are now over 15,000 Lightnings sailing in hundreds of fleets all over the world. My initial interest came from working at the Skaneateles Country Club for a few years. Even though I have never actually sailed in one, or gone sailing at all, for the that matter, I found the Lightning to be such a beautiful boat, I wanted to build a model of it.

A little over 5 years ago, I started building a Dumas kit of the Lightning, which you can find the log for here:

 There's a lot of good information and reference material there, particularly many pictures of Lightning #1 that I took for reference. That project eventually fell by the wayside when I decided it wasn't accurate enough for my liking (and later realized I hadn't done nearly as good a job with the shaping and fairing as I originally thought). So I decided to buy the plans for the real boat from the ILCA (International Lightning Class Association), scale them down, and scratch build a Lightning in the same way the real thing would be done. Once I had just about finished the hull, I got hung up in overthinking how the next steps should be done and the project ending up sitting idle for about 4 years. Fast forward to a couple weeks ago, I caught a sudden burst of fresh inspiration when a good friend of mine asked me what ever happened to that boat that I was building and I told them I still had it sitting safe and sound up in my closet. So I got it out and showed it to them and realized (not to toot my own horn too much) what a good job I had done so far and that I owed it to myself to continue working on it and prove to myself that I could finish what I had started. So for the past couple of weeks I've been sharing my progress in the Dumas build log. But since I'm not actually working on the Dumas kit anymore, this project needs its own log in the proper area of the forum.

[Andrew J.]

Using the original table of offsets, I scaled all the measurements down and lofted my plans. Then I made a building jig fairly similar to what would be used to build the full size boat.

[Andrew J.]

And then for the planking. The lines on this boat are so smooth and I think the hull has such a beautiful shape, it really made planking a breeze. Everything went together smoother than I could have expected.

[Andrew J.]

And then with some temporary deck beams in place, it was time to remove it from the building jig! And then just after that is where I got stuck. I didn't know what the best way to go about installing the deck and cockpit framing was, and got so hung up overthinking everything, I just stopped working on it. But fast forward 4 years, with my fresh inspiration and some more research and a little logical thinking, I came up with a plan of action. I decided the best course of action would be to install all of the deck beams at full width to give the form maximum strength and the most uniform shape for fairing. A brilliant design feature of this boat is that the deck is actually a straight line from the bow to the transom at the center line, and the sheer is determined by the intersection of the deck beams and side frames. The deck is a consistent arc, being that of a circle of a 20 foot radius, or in this case 20 inches. So when the time came to fair it, all I had to do was mount a sheet of sand paper to my work surface, flip the boat upside down, and just rock it back and forth across the sandpaper, constantly checking it with my deck arc template until everything was fair. My technique, as shown above with the bottom framing, was to lightly color all the frames with a blue Sharpie, so once all the blue was gone, I knew everything was fair! Then I proceeded to cut out the cockpit and install the stringers. The front stringers were two of the trickiest pieces I've ever made, being angled in both directions, but I got there eventually. I'd say they came out just about perfectly symmetrical. When it comes time to install the splash guard and cockpit coaming, it will be a similar process, but I suppose if I did it once, I can do it again! So that brings us up to now, as I finished the cockpit framing last night. I believe the next step is going to be painting the inside, which of course must be done before installing the deck, floor boards, and seats.

[Michael_A]

Beautiful work! Love the 1:12 scale as you can build it like the real thing.  I can't tell from the photo, but is the inside painted yet or is it just the wood is very light?

 

Edited April 8, 2021 by Michael_A
clarity

[Andrew J.]

42 minutes ago, Michael_A said:

Beautiful work! Love the 1:12 scale as you can build it like the real thing.  I can't tell from the photo, but is the inside painted yet or is it just the wood is very light?

 

Thank you! No, nothing is painted yet, the basswood is indeed very light. I’m going to paint the inside a very light grey.

[Michael_A]

Andrew,

 

So many questions; your build is really entrancing. Where did the "jig assembly and setup" booklet come from? It looks like a nice read. And how did you keep the frames from wobbling all over the place in your jig? Finally, it looks like you cut the notches for the chine stringer after all the frames were attached to the form, not before? That must have been tricky esp. if the frames were not braced to each other ...

 

Michael

 

Edited April 8, 2021 by Michael_A
clarity

[VTHokiEE]

Great build so far. I’m also curious about cutting the chine notches - how tricky was that? Doing a scratch build has been on my mind but I keep going back and forth about subjects. I think you’re starting to seal the subject for me. Is the booklet a good help? Or are the plans good enough? 

[Andrew J.]

19 minutes ago, Michael_A said:

Andrew,

 

So many questions; your build is really entrancing. Where did the "jig assembly and setup" booklet come from? It looks like a nice read. And how did you keep the frames from wobbling all over the place in your jig? Finally, it looks like you cut the notches for the chine stringer after all the frames were attached to the form, not before? That must have been tricky esp. if the frames were not braced to each other ...

 

Michael

 

The ILCA has published a booklet, almost literally an instruction manual on how to build a wooden Lightning which is incredibly helpful! You can buy it here: https://www.lightningclass.org/content.aspx?page_id=586&club_id=93488&item_id=5905

 

Before I installed the chine logs, I think I was just extremely careful sanding along the lengths of the frames and was just incredibly lucky that nothing broke loose or became misaligned. In retrospect, I definitely should have put in some temporary spacer blocks between the sides of each frame. I would definitely recommend doing so to anyone else. I was just dumb and should have known better but lucked out anyway. And yes, I did cut the notches after everything was set up, and as far as I can remember, it was extremely tedious and tricky. It was over 4 years ago, but as far as I remember, I was just extremely careful with my razor saw and everything just happened to come out ok. I would definitely recommend cutting the notches in each frame before attaching to the jig. I guess I just didn't think that far ahead at the time and again got lucky that it worked out the way it did. (I'm sensing a theme here...)

[Andrew J.]

9 minutes ago, VTHokiEE said:

Great build so far. I’m also curious about cutting the chine notches - how tricky was that? Doing a scratch build has been on my mind but I keep going back and forth about subjects. I think you’re starting to seal the subject for me. Is the booklet a good help? Or are the plans good enough? 

The book is absolutely incredibly helpful, I don't think I would have known where to begin without it! It outlines in detail the lofting technique to draw your full size lines to obtain your half station measurements and how to set up the building jig and all of that stuff. It's written specifically for amateur builders who are looking to build their own Lightning in their garage or backyard. (See above reply for the link). The specifications manual they provide free for download is also very helpful, as it's the only place I was able to find a specified measurement for the width the deck around the sides of the cockpit.

https://s3.amazonaws.com/ClubExpressClubFiles/93488/documents/Specifications_287597677.pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIA6MYUE6DNNNCCDT4J&Expires=1617910107&response-content-disposition=inline%3B filename%3DSpecifications.pdf&Signature=ExOzPsedzB40nAT%2FgwcLEprtL6Y%3D

[Andrew J.]

Initial trial of chainplate attachment successful! I went with the Micro-Mark 00-90x1/8 screws and nuts. The flat head screws countersink nicely into the 1/16” planking with just enough thread poking through to accept the brass strip and the nut! Let’s just hope the actual planking on the boat behaves itself as well as this test piece did! I won’t have to countersink the heads quite as far as this I don’t think. Just enough to be able to fill and fair. I’m thinking probably 4 screws per chainplate will be sufficient.

Edited April 9, 2021 by Andrew J.

[Andrew J.]

Not my prettiest paint job ever, but a necessary step nonetheless. Unfortunately I couldn’t find a good way to clean up the excess glue from the planking and bottom frames, but most of it will be covered by the floorboards and seats anyway. I had expected it to be a lighter grey based on the color of the lid of the paint jar, but oh well.

[Roger Pellett]

Andrew,

 

Nothing wrong with your paint job that I c not see.  Painting the inside of the hull with the frames and  all is not easy.

 

 Lightnings are nice boats,  I had occasion to sail one in my younger days.

 

Roger

[Andrew J.]

Well I went through my paint stash and just happened to find a light grey that I didn't remember having that just happened to be the exact shade that I was expecting the first one to be! So I went ahead and repainted. I am very happy with how the inside looks now. I also got the deck fitting blocking and mast partner installed, as well as the skeg. Throw the centerboard in there for a quick mock-up and she's starting to look like a proper Lightning!

[yvesvidal]

I can't wait to sail her.... 🙂

 

Yves

[Andrew J.]

2 hours ago, yvesvidal said:

I can't wait to sail her.... 🙂

 

Yves

That would be so cool if I could! I'm not sure it would be a good idea, though. I didn't think to varnish the inside faces of the centerboard trunk before assembling it, so I think the wood might get damaged if it got wet.

[Andrew J.]

It’s been a while since I put pencil to paper to plan out parts but I had fun drafting the seats! Now I can trace templates from here to transfer to the mahogany. If you were following my old log, you might remember that I was originally planning on this being a replica of #1 as a gift to the Skaneateles Country Club. This is no longer the plan and I’m just building it for my own pleasure, so I’ve decided not to replicate the cobbled together seats and floor boards of the prototype.

[Roger Pellett]

Very Nice work !

 

If you want to have a model Lightning to sail, the WoodenBoat store used to offer a kit.  The kit featured a deep keel protruding from where the centerboard would be on the real thing.  There was a lead weight on the bottom of the keel.

 

A true to scale model of a Lightning would apparently lack both lateral resistance and transverse stability to sail well.

 

Roger

[KeithAug]

A sweet little boat and nicely made. I look forward to seeing how it develops.

[Andrew J.]

6 hours ago, Roger Pellett said:

Very Nice work !

 

If you want to have a model Lightning to sail, the WoodenBoat store used to offer a kit.  The kit featured a deep keel protruding from where the centerboard would be on the real thing.  There was a lead weight on the bottom of the keel.

 

A true to scale model of a Lightning would apparently lack both lateral resistance and transverse stability to sail well.

 

Roger

Yes, that’s the Dumas kit, which I attempted first but didn’t finish because I didn’t think it was accurate enough. The link to that build log is in the first post of this log. I may yet finish that model some day to try sailing in the pool or something. 

[Andrew J.]

Rudder and hardware dry fit successful! I’m so glad I’m still able to use the pintles and gudgeons I made for the first Lightning five years ago!

[Jim Lad]

I've somehow missed your thread, Andrew.  That's a beautiful model you're building there.

 

John

[Michael_A]

Andrew,

Great photos. The workmanship on the rudder looks really crisp and clean.

Michael

[Thistle17]

Just discovered your work on this great model you are building. Brings back memories of an earlier time when Lightnings and Comets raced on Irondequit Bay in upstate NY. Don't see too many these days. Wonder why. Always admired the lines.

Joe

[Roger Pellett]

Joe,

 

And Thistles too?

 

Roger

Thistle  #1327

[Thistle17]

Thistles were a bit more pricey as I recall and I think that held them back here. I remember as at the time I could not afford one. i just looked up any clubs in the area and all I see is around Albany, Saratoga area.

Joe

[Roger Pellett]

I have a friend who owns and races an Ensign on Lake Saratoga.  He tells me that there is a small Thistle fleet there too.

 

My Thistle was a wooden one that my father and I built from a kit.  I owned it for 10 years.  I sold it in Washington DC in 1970.

 

A friend of mine owns a wooden Lightning and sails it in the Duluth Harbor.  A University of Michigan graduate he has given it a Maize and Blue paint job.

 

Roger

[Andrew J.]

Thank you all so much for your continued interest and kind words! It's so cool to have real Lightning owners and sailors following along here, and to see that this build is bringing such nostalgia and wonderful memories to you guys. It really makes my heart happy to see that I'm doing things right.

[Thistle17]

Dome that too but not in a Lightning! Ok, ok i will throttle it back and let you get on with the model.

Joe

[Roger Pellett]

Joe,

 

Before you throttle back could you tell us what’s going on here?   Is that a man overboard or is the swimmer in the water for some other reason, like trying to water ski?  Instead of fighting the weather helm why doesn’t the helmsman let the boat  head up until things get figured out?    

 

Roger