MWD Posted April 15, 2021 Share #1 Posted April 15, 2021 This will be my 4th model and and 2nd plank on frame thank goodness the first was a BlueJacket Lobster Boat with a painted hull ... my planking job was not a thing of beauty. West System lightweight fairing compound and lots of sanding saved the day! Looking forward to the planking challenge and a varnished finish...wish me luck. Ryland Craze, yvesvidal, Tom E and 2 others 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Lad Posted April 15, 2021 Share #2 Posted April 15, 2021 You've made a great start - very neatly done. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MWD Posted April 23, 2021 Author Share #3 Posted April 23, 2021 Finished first planking of the hull bottom I started midship and worked to the stern then midship to the bow where it got a little tricky with the complex curves but it faired out pretty well. Removed from the build board ... amazing how solid the hull is with just the bottom planked and finished rough fairing...moving on to planking the sides. Ryland Craze, Blackreed and yvesvidal 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryland Craze Posted April 23, 2021 Share #4 Posted April 23, 2021 Nice job on this kit. I love the planking that you have done so far. Quote Ryland Member - Hampton Roads Ship Model Society - Ship Model Society of New Jersey - Nautical Research Guild Current Build - Armed Virginia Sloop, 18th Century Longboat Completed Build - Medway Longboat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Lad Posted April 23, 2021 Share #5 Posted April 23, 2021 She's coming along very nicely. john Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gsdpic Posted April 24, 2021 Share #6 Posted April 24, 2021 I have not seen a build log for this kit before, so will follow along with interest. Looks like you are off to a great start! Quote - Gary Current Build: Artesania Latina Sopwith Camel Completed Builds: Blue Jacket America 1/48th Annapolis Wherry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MWD Posted May 17, 2021 Author Share #7 Posted May 17, 2021 I have been busy the past few weeks without time to work on "Scooter" but back at it again. I started planking the topsides from midship aft the compound curves were a challenge for me (broke several planks) I really like the Barrel Back it's one of the main reasons I purchased this model. I completed this portion over the weekend and am ready to move forward to the bow. I am leaving final fairing until sub planking is completed. yvesvidal, gsdpic and Blackreed 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MWD Posted June 1, 2021 Author Share #8 Posted June 1, 2021 Finally completed the sub-planking on the topsides Partial fairing compound and rough sanding below. I wasn't happy with both sides at the stern where the barrel back really turns into the transom It is going to take another fill and final sanding to get it smooth...I hope... Sorry first picture quality isn't good both areas at the barrel back are circled in pencil. Port and Starboard chine and bow turned out pretty good After rubbing down the hull with denatured alcohol marked defects with pencil for re-fairing next. to be continued... yvesvidal, Blackreed and gsdpic 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Lad Posted June 2, 2021 Share #9 Posted June 2, 2021 She's coming along very nicely. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MWD Posted June 8, 2021 Author Share #10 Posted June 8, 2021 Final fairing is finished and sanded...I realize this is sub planking but my thoughts were that it needed to be as smooth as possible to get a good surface for the final mahogany planking to my novice eyes It looks pretty good. Although still apprehensive per the instructions (which by the way leave a lot to be desired at least for the novice... very few diagrams and no photographs) I dove in and started the mahogany planking on the transom ... I found a better fit with each successive plank to be beveled top and bottom with a small block plane for a slightly overlapping and very tight fit (I am sure there is a technical term for this). Next step is to fit and bevel the two mirror image bottom planks that straddle the keel, a fairly touchy business for me but a fun challenge none the less. I am looking for a smaller block plane and stumbled on a violin makers plane... yea another tool fix for a dedicated addict. To be continued... Ryland Craze, Duanelaker, Blackreed and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MWD Posted June 17, 2021 Author Share #11 Posted June 17, 2021 I started this post earlier in the week but have been going back and forth so much in my mind I held off until today... Started the bottom's mahogany planking last week slow going because I know I cannot fill and sand any of the mahogany that will be varnished...wish I was more confident in my skills. I am not sure how to deal with the bow and the false stem that the instructions say should be glued in after the bottom and side planking is complete however this seems counter intuitive at least to my inexperienced mind so I am leaving the planks at the bow long for now...the side planking is another problem I haven't solved as of yet. More completed bottom planking photos below...I finally decided to cut back and fit the bottom's bow planking to the false stem and I am thinking I will try to fit the stem when the bottom planking is finished (since below the water line will be painted with red anti-fouling and any mistakes can be filled and sanded out) before taking on the side planking which I will fit to the installed false stem... I am hoping this approach will give me a better fit and ultimate finish. slot cut in the bottom planking for the false stem The kit includes an adhesive backed aluminum foil that will approximate the real boats chrome plated stem and cover the joints between the false stem and the planking so maybe all this fretting is moot...but since it's a foil I don't want any gaps in the planking/stem telegraphing through the foil. To be continued... Ryland Craze, yvesvidal, Duanelaker and 2 others 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MWD Posted June 21, 2021 Author Share #12 Posted June 21, 2021 Bottom planking complete to Starboard chine...Instructions called for a 1/2" wide plank but I decided to finish out with 3/8" and a tapered filler (I don't know the name of that type of plank) Bottom Planking completed. I will wait to do the final sanding when I finish the hull sides and false stem Received my Lie-Neilsen violin makers block plane I mentioned in a previous post Wonderfull tool for trimming planks. To be continued... Blackreed 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Lad Posted June 21, 2021 Share #13 Posted June 21, 2021 That bottom planking look very neat. John Blackreed 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrBlueJacket Posted June 22, 2021 Share #14 Posted June 22, 2021 Very nice planking job! That tapered plank is called a stealer. Nic Blackreed 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MWD Posted June 23, 2021 Author Share #15 Posted June 23, 2021 My humble thanks to you both for your kind comments... I must say this is a lot of fun. The instructions didn't call for "stealers" (thanks Nic) on this build but I used them on my previous build of a Blue Jacket lobster boat and they seemed appropriate on Scooter to achieve a clean line with a not too narrow edge to install the final planks on both sides. To be continued... gsdpic and Blackreed 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MWD Posted June 28, 2021 Author Share #16 Posted June 28, 2021 Completed side planking from chine to the final two planks these first four I did without paper patterns the instructions say to make the final two from a paper pattern and fabricate from 3/4" stock I can see there will have to be some fiddly shaping so that is my next step. I will be using Bristol board for the patterns as suggested we shall see how pattern making works out... To be continued... gsdpic 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MWD Posted July 2, 2021 Author Share #17 Posted July 2, 2021 Took a couple of tries but I did get my bristol board patterns for the final two planks but there must be an easier way... any guidance for future projects would be much appreciated! The patterns were very helpful but I am glad I left a 16" margin on all sides when I transferred to the planks Finished port and starboard planks...and below is the finished planking To be continued... yvesvidal, Duanelaker and gsdpic 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Lad Posted July 2, 2021 Share #18 Posted July 2, 2021 A little clean up and that planking will look superb. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MWD Posted July 6, 2021 Author Share #19 Posted July 6, 2021 Thank you sir! I did some sanding over the weekend and I am happy with the results. I will wait to complete the sanding until just before varnishing. To Be continued... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MWD Posted July 13, 2021 Author Share #20 Posted July 13, 2021 Haven't had a whole lot time to devote to modeling lately...over the weekend I did install the cabin floors and painted the bulkheads with a couple of coats of flat black to provide a sense of depth for the footwells. I also completed the deck sub framing...Pay attention to the outer framing where it meets the cockpits at the front and rear I will explain later... Worked a few hours this morning fitting the four cockpit walls and realized I had made a big mistake... properly done the walls should be a continuation of the outside deck framing however I had oh so carefully fitted all 4 of them to the sides of the hull...uggh! Thus they all were way to short (and the rears too narrow) to fit in the proper locations. After calling myself a few choice words for not double checking the plans (mostly DUMB _ _ _ ) since I forgot who I loaned out my board stretcher to I started thinking about how to correct my mistake. I made card stock templates of the correct locations and thanks to Bluejacket there was just enough "waste" material left from the laser cut sheets to make two new rear cockpit walls. The front walls were not quite as bad as the rear walls as they were just too short so I will use left over mahogany topside planking to fashion a "baseboard" to fill the gap between side wall and floor I think this will be a good fix and when finished only I, and now you, will know. So my next step is to correct my my totally self-inflicted mistake and hopefully in the process of fabricating and fitting learn a good lesson: to read the instructions and look at the plans more carefully...twice. One more time to self... YOU DUMB _ _ _ Now I feel better. To be continued... Duanelaker 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Lad Posted July 13, 2021 Share #21 Posted July 13, 2021 Any progress is good progress! John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MWD Posted July 15, 2021 Author Share #22 Posted July 15, 2021 Thanks John... it is about the challenge of the journey not the destination. Finished the mis-made panels with only a couple of hours of work and installed them. I added a foothold/step in the rear cabin similar to ones I saw at a wooden boat show that took place a few months ago at the lake where we live on... I am happy with the fix. I also managed to get a couple of coats of pre-varnish wood sealer on. To be continued... Duanelaker and Ryland Craze 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MWD Posted July 27, 2021 Author Share #23 Posted July 27, 2021 Sorry it's been a while...The kit comes with a scaled set of instrument dials you cut out and glue to the back of the dash I wanted them to have the look of glass covers so I copied the dials on a gloss y photo paper subtle detail but it worked and Installed the dash. In an earlier post I was fretting about the stem needlessly it seems because the installation and fairing went well I think I used a mix of 50% water 50% white glue and mahogany sanding dust to make a filler. Next up was installing the deck sub-planking pretty straight forward. The next step is to fabricate from 1/2" mahogany the port and starboard 3 piece coamings as I was working out the card stock fitting patterns I was struck with a mistake I made (again) with the cockpit sides if you look at the photo below you will notice that I put some camber in the sides but not enough to make a fair curve bow to stern. The coamings are supposed to fit right against the cockpit sides but this will look terrible in my opinion. I am thinking I can shape the coamings with a fair curve leaving gaps between the cockpit sides and the coaming because eventually this joint will be covered by a styrene tube that simulates padding but I am not sure if the tube will cover the gaps completely. My other thought is departing from the model's plan with a re-shaping of the front and rear cockpits final decking surrounds I have seen full size barrel backs with full rounded corners at the front (like the model) and at the rear where the seats will be located (I have a PDF photo but I don't know how to upload it here) I really like this look .... Just have to figure out how to make it happen. To be continued... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MWD Posted July 27, 2021 Author Share #24 Posted July 27, 2021 Thought I had deleted the front view stem photo from my previous post above. I did take a photo of the cockpit design I am contemplating a picture is worth a thousand words especially with my writing. To be continued... yvesvidal 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MWD Posted July 29, 2021 Author Share #25 Posted July 29, 2021 I have been giving a considerable amount of thought as to how to address my problem with the coamings and get the look of the cockpits shown above, I think modifying the models design will kill two birds with one stone (apologies to Blue Jacket for veering from your kit a little). By fabricating the coamings with a fair curve and filling in the space between the cockpits side walls and the coamings with thin strips of mahogany I will get the modified look of the fore and aft rounding of the cockpit openings and allow the correct faired look of the coamings and fix my screw up with the cockpit side walls. Diving in I made paper templates and then the sub decking filler pieces supported by small blocks on the bulkheads after I got them all in I'm sure I can make this change work. Not sure why these photos are so dark? I think the camera is compensating for the light sub decking. This photo is close to the angle of the real boat photo above. And a more overhead view I think this looks pretty good and I am happy with this change so far. Once I start the final deck planking I will shape the portion over the dash to more closely resemble the new curves hopefully I have the skill set to see this change through...and still be happy. To be continued... Duanelaker and gsdpic 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MWD Posted August 12, 2021 Author Share #26 Posted August 12, 2021 Sorry it has been a while since my last post I thought that the coamings would be the biggest challenge for me so far...and they have been. The coamings consist of three pieces per side with a joggle joint between all three, fabrication consisted of copying the much oversized plan templates, which I again did on Bristol board, and adjusting the templates to the deck line and just outside the shear with scribe lines. I then used rubber cement to adhere the now more accurate templates to the provided 1/2" thick mahogany board. I cut the six pieces with my scroll saw and began by fitting the aft pieces first. Working forward on each side I had the pieces reasonably well fit to the deck line then the tedious part began... because the shear rises in the middle of the boat the pieces had to be fitted to that line by removing material from the bottom of each piece in order to keep the four joints relatively level this was a constant sand-check fit-sand-file- check fit dance that took seemingly forever. My former life was that of a custom home builder so I have a level of skill with "home sized" joinery but nothing at this scale plus no straight lines to work from... it was nerve wracking to say the least so much so that I was totally immersed for a few days with the final fitting and then glue-up and took no photos until after I started to block plane and sand...so sorry. Very chunky looking but I am glad to have too much wood instead of not enough Started block planing down aft pieces to follow deck line I will keep the coaming quite a bit proud of the deck and sand down to it when the planking is complete. I can start to see now how important the coamings contribution to the "barrel back" look will be. I glued the joints with 2-part epoxy mixed with wood flour...I think they came out OK. This is just a part of the initial shavings and sanding dust that have come off so far... lots more to come. To be continued... Duanelaker and ccoyle 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MWD Posted August 20, 2021 Author Share #27 Posted August 20, 2021 I was correct there was a lot more planing and sanding to come! She is finally to the place where I can start on the mahogany decking some of it fabricated from sheet goods and some planking with white styrene strips to simulate caulking. I have taken to the inter web to reasearch existing albeit I am sure mostly restored Chris Crafts to give me some direction beyond the models plans and instructions. There are quite a few 1904ish boats around for sale and as such there are a wealth of photos from every possible angle...wish I had started "Researching" earlier it's been big help and has led me in some slightly different directions on a couple of details the first being the more rounded cockpit corners mentioned above. And I think I am going to stain the coamings and the king plank leaving the remaining decking and hull natural. Hummm Leather seats anyone? I have a long way to go 😳 Back to the build...The tops of the coamings are down to just above deck level and are roughly flush to the sides To be continued... Duanelaker and gsdpic 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MWD Posted September 9, 2021 Author Share #28 Posted September 9, 2021 Sorry It's been a while since my last post...life happens. The deck planking was a relativly straight forward procedure first the styrene strips next to the coamings then the solid plywood panels between the cockpits and on either side of the engine hatches then on to the deck planking strips with the king plank first flanked on both sides by styrene strips install the next plank and repeat...and repeat. The really time consuming part was the final shaping of the coamings (the pictures don't really show how chunky they were) there was a lot of material to remove which I accomplished by first carefully planing ( boy am I glad I bought the luthier's block plane I mentioned before) and then switching to sanding down to the deck line. During the process of sanding the actual deck planking and styrene strips I hooked one of the bow planks at it's angled cut somehow and damaged it so badly I had to replace it...arrgh! Had it been later in the sanding process it would have been difficult to cut the plank out without damaging the surrounding styrene and mahogany planks luckily for me it was easy, if a little nerve wracking, to remove with a very sharp 1/8" chisel and a square sanding stick I found on Amazon. Soooo this is where I am now with much more gracefully shaped coamings, all of the planking complete and complete hull sanding up to a 220 grit. BTW I am very happy with the modified cockpit openings mentioned in an earlier post. The next step in the instructions are to round off two corners of a 1/16" square mahogany strip for a stem to stern rub rail to be installed where the side planking meets the coaming. However in my research every "real" vintage Chris Craft this rail is a chrome plated strip...does anyone know if there is a source for a chrome strip this small or how I might make one? I thought of paint but have never seen a paint that ends up with a true chrome finish. Speaking of chrome pieces the kit comes with a silver metal tape to simulate the metal used on the "real" boats I would like to do the cutwater and stern trim in chrome plated metal but I am again kind of at a loss here ... any suggestions would be much appreciated. To be continued... gsdpic, Duanelaker, oneslim and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Lad Posted September 9, 2021 Share #29 Posted September 9, 2021 She's looking very flash! John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MWD Posted September 29, 2021 Author Share #30 Posted September 29, 2021 Thank you very much John..."flash"...I like it. I haven't had much time to work on Scooter much over the past few weeks as my wife and I have taken on a large landscaping project in our side yard. What I have been able to accomplish is refinement of the shape of the coamings into what I feel is their final contours... I didn't realize how hard mahogany is Lot's of sanding to remove what amounted to a few MM's. I modified the seat backs and bottoms to fit into the rounded corners I added to the front and rear cockpits. I think I will wait to install these until I have the hull painting/varnishing complete as I am considering spraying the varnish. With other full size water craft varnish jobs over the years I have realized the hard way that prep for a quality varnish job is everything so the deck and topsides were sanded up to a 320 grit prior to applying a varnish primer. I then stained the coamings and king plank with an alcohol based "Dye" I had left over from another project. And finally applied two coats of Total Boat varnish primer. Here is where I am today. Since my last post I found an alcohol based "chrome ink" called "Molotow liquid chrome" that I plan to use to hopefully solve my "rub rail dilemma" mentioned last time... first by priming the wood with a gloss black paint and then air brushing the chrome ink on the rails...if and when I get it...I ordered it in early September and it has yet to arrive. Still trying to figure out a substitution for the kit supplied chrome tape for the cutwater, stern trim and engine hatches...any suggestions would be much appreciated. To be continued... gsdpic, yvesvidal, Duanelaker and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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