Endeavour by Markus16 - Amati - 1/80 - J-Class

[Markus16]

So here is my second project, the Amati J-Class Endeavour. It took me quite a while to start this and as a sort of motivation I had this acrylic picture painted by a friend. The template was a picture I found in the net.
Since the model of the Rainbow, which was the winner of the 1934’s Americas cup, came with a ready resin hull, the model of the challenger, Endeavour, has a wooden hull. So this is a new challenge for me.

[Markus16]

I sanded the small wood plates, which connect the front and back part of the keel, before glueing to make sure they wouldn‘t jut out when applying the planking. To ensure that the frames are absolutely square, I used a small piece of wood with a precise 90° angle and always checked the right angle while the glue was drying. 
Fixing the deck with rubber bands was the best option since it is not plain , but there is a slight concave bending from bow to stern and a convex bending from starboard to port.

[Markus16]

First planking finished. I decided to use CA-glue for this part. 

[Dion Dunn]

Following with interest.  I also built the solid hull Rainbow (and recently rebuilt it).  Thinking about building one of these as well.

[Markus16]

Building a ship with a solid hull is certainly a good warm-up exercise. But it's much more fun to build the hull with wooden planks. I wasn't overly cautious with the first layer, knowing that the finishing touches would be done with sandpaper and putty. When I look at other users' topics, I'm full of admiration for the skills some people have.
I'll try to give a few comments on this topic of which mistakes I've made and which tips I have for model builders who, like me, have little experience, in order to avoid typical beginner mistakes. If you have any questions, please contact me.

[Markus16]

Now the hull is prepared for the second planking. Unfortunately, I had first bought wood putty that was too coarse. At first I

thought about making my own putty from wood dust and glue, but then decided against it and bought fine wood putty.   I didn't need any tools, just applied the putty with my hands and smoothed it out with lukewarm water after a very short drying time. 

Since I would like to have a shifted planking of the deck (see illustration), I marked two vertical auxiliary lines on the hull to have an even offset here as well.

Incidentally, I had bought a small adjustable vice, but realized very quickly that I didn't need it at all.

[Markus16]

Now the second planking is almost done. I thought hard about planking from deck downwards and from keel upwards at the same time. But I decided against it and just worked from the deck to the keel. As you can see, the result is ok. I also attached this planking with wood glue as corrections can still be made during the drying process.
It was essential, especially in the central area, to water the wooden strips extensively beforehand, otherwise they would not have adapted to the curves. Likewise, in these critical areas I did not glue the planks in one piece, but mostly in threes. A permanent pressing of the planks is absolutely necessary, otherwise they stand out slightly (which unfortunately happened to me too, as you can see). Since they are very thin, there won't be much room for sanding.

[Markus16]

After a longer creative break, I have now completed the deck. The sides of the planks were colored black with pencil to imitate the calfation.

As described above, I decided to plan for the three butt system.