HM Bark Endeavour by Sideways Sam - Caldercraft - 1:64

[SIDEWAYS SAM]

A brief introduction to this kit  ---

Unpacked and contents checked.

All complete and in very good order.

Ply sheets perfectly flat and undamaged,  All strip wood is of finest quality and straight as a die.

Fittings and brass sheets perfect.  Eight big sheets of plans.   Full size plans are important.

With my eyes measuring from reduced plans then scaling up or down is hard work.

Ordered necessary paint pots with kit plus, balsa sheets for stem and stern blocking.

Bought a building board from my local hardware shop.

Already have wood glue and cyano in stock from my last build.

Tanganyika strip supplied instead of lime so no extras to buy.

Have a copy of Marquardt's AOTS book and, James Lees Masting and Rigging in stock

also several logs (of excellent quality) on this forum

Noticed from other logs on this forum that there may be a problem with the width

of the mizzen channels but have found enough 2mm walnut sheet in my spares box

to cover this.  So all ready to go.

First is to build the jig,  then assemble the false keel and bulkheads and the false decking.

Working as a draughtsman for 53 years, 20 of these using AutoCad I much prefer

drawings rather than pictures so am really looking forward to working on this kit.

 

Photo's to follow.

 

Best regards,

Sam.

[SIDEWAYS SAM]

Hi, and thanks for visiting.

Bulkheads 7,  8,  9  and  10 dry fitted.

Also false deck to central lower area.

Bulkhead 7  --  chamfered to suit planking run.

8,  9  and  10 left square,  mid ships so won't need chamfering.

So far this kit is a dream to work on.  Everything fits.

Bulkheads were a perfect sliding fit onto false keel.

Slots in keel needed opening slightly.

It looks like the false deck won't need any work in this area .

 

Next is the other bulkheads and false decks.

Then forming pockets for the masts.

Won't need the jig until I start glueing the bulkheads.

 

Best regards,

Sam.

 

[SIDEWAYS SAM]

Bulkheads  5  and  6 added.

False foredeck fitted.

Deck supports to bulkheads 7  and 10 lowered to fit properly.

Took a long tie to spot this error but once spotted

it became very difficult to ignore.

Dry fitting is important.

 

Best regards,

Sam.

 

[SIDEWAYS SAM]

Hi and, thanks for visiting.

Bulkheads and false decks glued to false keel.

Jig built.  This is a lot sturdier than it looks.

Nothing warped and all slotted together with

minimum work or trouble.

Rear deck was approx. 3mm too long.

According to posts on this forum this seems

to be a deliberate design feature

to give a better fit to stern plate.

Next step is balsa blocking to stem and stern.

Wouldn't like to attempt planking on this kit

without packing especially at the stem.

 

Best regards,

Sam.

 

[Oldsalt1950]

Time to pull up a chair and watch the building evolution. Looks good.

[SIDEWAYS SAM]

Welcome  Old salt and thanks for the comments.

 

Sam

[Edwardkenway]

Looking forward to see what you do with Endeavour. 

You've made a good start. 

[SIDEWAYS SAM]

Thanks for the comments Edward.

This is my first Caldercraft kit and I am amazed by the quality.

 

Best regards,

Sam.

[SIDEWAYS SAM]

Blocking to stem and stern completed ready for first planking.

Have already run a plank around to make sure everything fits.

Would not like to try planking on this kit without it.

 

Best regards,

Sam.

 

[SIDEWAYS SAM]

Started first planking.

5 x 1.5  lime strip provided appears to be excellent quality.

Due to the thickness of the strip and, the very blunt bows

I decided to build a simple jig to preform the bend required.

Main body of the jig is 5mm thk balsa (because I had it in stock).

Used the remains of the decking ply sheet as a template.

Used  5 x 5mm walnut for the stops and small clips to locate

and hold the strips whilst drying.

Strips were pre-soaked in an electric kettle but not boiled

for 20 minutes then placed in the jigs and the clips applied.

Put on one side to dry and set in shape.

Photo's of jig construction shown.

The lime strip is excellent quality and bent without splitting.

 

Best regards,

Sam.

 

 

[SIDEWAYS SAM]

First plank fitted to bulkheads.  Allowed to follow it's own line at bow.

Fitting slightly damp is easier than letting planks dry out fully.

Instructions say that this plank should be fitted un-tapered.

All other planks need tapering as required.

So far, so good.  Have a feeling that this hull will require

lots of stealers.

 

Best regards,

Sam.

 

 

 

[SIDEWAYS SAM]

Still working on first planking.

Planks above deck level at the stem look problematic to say the least.

Instructions say to use the bulkhead extensions as guides

then break them off before deck planking.

Tried this approach on a previous build and caused so much damage

I swore I would never do it again.

Photo's below show my method of replacing with spare bits

lightly superglued to the deck plus, a guide at the stem fixed with one screw.

Before finishing the planking I detached parts 114 and 115  (forward capping rails)

and dry fitted to check line of top edge of guides.

Being Caldercraft they fitted perfectly.

The bulkheads are from very good quality strong ply which makes

detaching the upstands difficult.

Also noticed a very generous supply of good quality strip for first planking.

On some kits in the past this hasn't always been the case.

 

Best regards,

Sam.

 

[SIDEWAYS SAM]

Hi, and thanks for the likes.

First planking finished,  whitewashed and marked with bulkheads, waterline and main 'wale.

The top rail will be located to suit the second planking

and the bows will be trimmed to suit the first line of second planking.

The main wale will be located to suit the planking run.

Marking out is a guide only.

First planking was easier than expected but needed a lot of thought.

 Let's see how the second planking goes.

Next is to fit the wales and stern fascia and, to plank the counter.

The quality of the plans supplied has taken a lot of stress out of planking a bluff bow.

 

Regards,

Sam.

 

[SIDEWAYS SAM]

Hi, and thanks for visiting.

Wales fitted, painted and varnished.

Used Admiralty Paints  Shark Black and

Winsor and Newton Artists Satin Varnish over.

Both one coat wonders and quick drying though

the varnish takes a couple of days to fully harden.

Was expecting trouble at the bows so used flexible beech strip.

Went OK.  Second planking next  ---  this will need thinking about.

Using 4 x 1mm tanganyika for this along with 6 and 7mm wide strip

for stealers etc.

The shear strake will be notched to suit the channels.  Easier now than later.

 

Regards,

Sam.

 

[SIDEWAYS SAM]

Hi, and thanks for the likes.

Starting on second planking above wale.

After a first measurement I think that towards the stern planks will need tapering

and towards the bow I will need to fit two or three stealers.

This build has a very busy hull so I will try to keep these towards the wale.

Photo below shows the first run cut.

 

Regards,

Sam.

 

[allanyed]

On 4/15/2022 at 6:17 AM, SIDEWAYS SAM said:

Have a copy of Marquardt's AOTS book and, James Lees Masting and Rigging in stock

also several logs (of excellent quality) on this forum

In addition to the references you mention, are you using the contemporary drawings of Endeavour as well? There are 7 contemporary high definition deck and profile plans available for free on the Wiki Commons site on the eighth page.  The profile drawing clearly shows where the wales lie. 

 

5 hours ago, SIDEWAYS SAM said:

Starting on second planking

Have you studied the planking tutorial by David Antscherl in the Articles data base here at MSW and the four part video on how to properly plank a hull by Chuck Passaro?   They are well done and yield a hull that has been planked like a ship rather than what some kits think is proper planking. Typically the strakes taper to about half their full width at the bow and widen slightly at the stern.   Use the tick strip method and mark off the hull in several places or more along it's length to see the width of each strake at various points.  Every strake should end at the rabbet.  

Allan

Edited June 27, 2022 by allanyed

[SIDEWAYS SAM]

Hi Alanyed and thanks for the input.

Unfortunately I have already located and fixed in position the wales

according to the profile drawing supplied with the kit. This seems to match the AOTS book

but gives what appears to be a different planking run requiring stealers.

I will check the contemporary drawings you reference but feel it's a little late to change course.  

I have trawled through other logs on this forum and found an enormous amount of information

some of which is contradictory and some which is supplied by different kit manufacturers.

I feel that I need to pick a direction and stick with it.

 

Once again, thanks for the interest shown and have a good summer in Florida.

 

Regards,

Sam.

 

 

 

[allanyed]

Definitely pick a route to follow and stick with it.  The only thought I can add is whatever route you follow, do not use any road the kit makers that produce Endeavour have mapped out as they are chock full of very deep pot holes.  Check every detail against sources based on contemporary information before securing anything from the kits in place.   Even with the wales in place, there is no reason you cannot mark out the hull with tick strips to be sure each strake of planking is shaped well before gluing in place.

 

The Wiki site is https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Ship_plans_of_the_Royal_Museums_Greenwich   Of the 3679 plans on the site, about 800, including Endeavour, are high resolution. 

 

Allan

[SIDEWAYS SAM]

Alanyed,  have finally had time to visit the Wiki site you gave a link to.

This will be a valuable source of information,  thanks very much.

 

Regards,

Sam.

[allanyed]

Sam,

You are welcome.  I have no idea why RMG cannot have that link taken down, but such is the case and we are lucky to have it.  I have downloaded virtually all the high res drawings as the low res plans can be found on the RMG Collections site.  I set up folders by rates and similar labels, then I have subfolders within each for each specific ship and each drawing for that ship in the subfolder.  Added contracts in a few cases as well and a couple low res plans if needed to complete a set.  MSW expressed an interest about a year ago to take this and set it up for all members in the articles data base as the set is over 40MB.  The way they want to do it, new information can be added as it becomes available.  Alas, everyone has other things going on so this project has been a lower priority so far.  Hint hint😀

Allan

[SIDEWAYS SAM]

Second planking added above wale and counter planked.

Next will be lower planking and brown stuff.

Then final sand, add trennails and varnish.

Will then move onto deck and stern.

Rebates in sheer strake are of course for channels.

This kit is going together well.

 

Regards,

Sam.

 

 

[AJohnson]

Looking very good Sam, I have this kit in my stash, so following your progress with interest. 👍

[SIDEWAYS SAM]

Thanks for the comments Andrew.

And thanks everyone for the likes.

There are some very good threads on this forum for Endeavour.

I have replaced the walnut second planking with Tanganyika I had in stock.

The walnut is very good quality but I prefer the replacement colour.

Everything else in the kit is high quality and will be used.

Not an easy build to plank but not as difficult as I expected.

Good luck with your build, I will keep an eye out for your log.

 

Best regards,

Sam.

 

[SIDEWAYS SAM]

Hull second planking fixed and painted.

This has taken a month, mainly due to too much good weather.

No real problems   ---   this kit is easier to build than I expected.

Next is deck planking and waterways.

 

Best regards,

Sam.

 

[shipaholic]

Good work, planks look great

[SIDEWAYS SAM]

Hi shipaholic and thanks for the comments.

I have been ploughing through your postings (all 19 pages)

of your 1:51 build since last November.

A real quality build with outstanding detail.

Am picking up a lot of tips and inspiration so thank you.

 

Best regards,

Sam.

 

[DaveBaxt]

I haven,t been back to see your progress for some time but coming along really nicely. Some great work on the planking there. Well done Sam!

Edited August 23, 2022 by DaveBaxt

[SIDEWAYS SAM]

Hi and, thanks for stopping by and for the comments.

Deck planking done and one coat of satin varnish.

Got carried away a bit on the aft deck trying to follow

the deck plan in Marquardt's book.

Not 100% happy but it's done now.

Next is bulwarks and stern piece.

 

Best regards,

Sam.

 

[AJohnson]

Excellent progress Sam, what did you paint the bottom of your Endeavour with?  See you have gone for the historically correct way rather than the more often seen pure white.  Though I think the fresh tallow was a off/creamy colour when initially applied and darkened rapidly when exposed to the sea.

[SIDEWAYS SAM]

Hi Andrew,

Thanks for visiting.

For colouring below the waterline I have used

Admiralty Paints  AP9119W  WOOD (WALNUT)  BROWN

an acrylic paint.

WWW.JOTIKA-LTD.COM

I get mine from Cornwall Model Boats  (other suppliers available).

They are just up the road from me and delivery is usually by return post.

Two coats have been applied but I think she needs another one.

According to one thread of research both Cook and Molyneux

record boot topping using pitch and brimstone

both ingredients of  "brown stuff".

Cook did suggest in his journal the new procedure of painting with white lead.

Admiralty order of 6th October 1771 suggests that this was acted upon.

 

Best regards,

Sam.