Batelina by JpR62 - FINISHED - MarisStella - 1:10

[JpR62]

Recovering from a health problem that kept me away from my studio since june, I decided to start a small project that will hopefully allow me to slowly find my feet.
I've had this little kit from MarisStella for some time now, and I decided to build it because it should perfectly match my expectations: a simple model without any headaches that should be a pure pleasure to build and yet give a nice looking model.

 

The kit

Batelina is a 4 meter flat bottom boat used since the early 1900's as a small fishing boat. The name "Batelina" is derived from the Italian word "battere" which means to hit, this was describing the sound of the flat bottomed boat hitting the waves. This vessel is now found throughout the entire Croatian coastal region. The kit is at the 1:10 scale.

The wood supplied is of excellent quality and can be used without needing to be replaced.

The box also contains a laser board with a precise cut and without too many traces of burn residues. There is also a base provided (which I do not think used because the laser board is plywood)

A 1:10 scale plan and an instruction manual richly illustrated with color photos describing the different steps complete the box. The manual is written in three languages (English, Italian and Croatian)

 

Rabbet

The rabbet is already drawn on one side with a small laser cut. You just have to remove the wood inside the tracing with a small wood chisel.
I photocopy the plan to simplify the drawing of the rabbet on the other side.

The plan is cut out and the rabbet area is removed so that the rabbet can be traced on the blank face.

A wood chisel will allow me to hollow out the rabbet.

Bow Filler

 

I photocopy the original plan again so that I can have templates to trace the part of the bow fillers that needs to be beveled.

Once the two fillers are beveled, they are glued to the keel with the first frame.

Time to move on to the next frames...

[JpR62]

Thank you to all the 'Likes'.

I worked on frame #5 and decided to anticipate the plywood covering phase. Indeed, as already indicated the frames are provided in plywood and to obtain a more interesting result, MarisStella recommends to cover the plywood frames with walnut strips of 0,5 x 5 mm.
Normally, this step should only be done once all the frames are installed on the keel. But I think it is better to do this before gluing each frame. In my opinion, it makes the task easier and gives a better result.

All strips are glued to the side of the frame that will remain visible.

The strips are cut to their final size and shape.

The frame can then be installed on the keel

All that remains is to repeat the operation on all the other frames.

 

 

[JpR62]

Thank You to all the 'Likes'

 

Work continues on the preparation of the various frames

[captain_hook]

Nice start! Good luck with your new build and hope you will recover soon. I also lost my modeling-motivation for about a year and still have to force myself to start the next intended step. But when the first 30 minutes have passed I‘m into it again for hours. But you‘re right - a small project is a good way to get experience of success and light the fire again ..

[JpR62]

Thank You to all the 'Likes' and Thank You Captain Hook for your words of encouragement. I wasn't really lacking motivation but after my heart problems I was completely tired and it took a whole rehabilitation program to get back into shape. But fortunately, I am now much better and I can gradually resume all my activities.

 

All the frames have been covered with the walnut strips.

I really think that preparing them before putting them on the keel was a good idea. It makes the job much easier to do.

The frames are then glued to the keel, taking care to align them properly. My children's Legos were again put to use. Thank goodness my kids are past playing age...

All the frames are in place. I will be able to glue the 4 battens that will stiffen the frames before proceeding with the planking.

You can see the slots at the bottom and top of each frame. These slots will need to be adjusted so that the battens do not protrude from the frames. It will be my next task.

[JpR62]

Thank You to all the 'Likes'.

I put the 2 battens that will be used as a limit for the bottom planking of the boat. MarisStella, in its instruction manual, insists on keeping the keel straight during the installation of these battens because at this moment, the installation is still fragile and the keel being in plywood it can deform very quickly.

So I built a temporary work base that will keep the keel straight and facilitate the planking phase.

First step, adjust the slots that will receive the battens.
I start by gluing the battens from the bow and work my way up to the stern. Nothing too complicated, you just have to take your time.

Before installing the 2 battens at the top of the frames, I will proceed to plank the flat bottom of the Batelina. This will help stiffen the structure.

 

[JpR62]

Thank You to all the 'Likes'.

This week, I finished planking the flat bottom of the boat. I used my temporary support to make sure the keel stayed straight. The work base also made it easy for me to use clamps to make sure there were no gaps between the planks.

Some glue residue to remove but overall I am quite satisfied. I also added a filler at the bow to stabilize the construction.

The bottom has been sanded. Only one small regret for the moment: it's a pity that the keel is in plywood and not in wood. It will be necessary to stain it so that one does not make the difference. But apart from this point, this kit is a real pleasure to build. The planking wood is really of very good quality.

I started to prepare the notches at the top of the frames in order to install the top batten that will permanently stabilize the frames.

[JpR62]

Thank You to all the 'Likes'.

The upper batten has been installed. I started by gluing it in the rabbet of the bow. In the photo below, you can see the shaping of the notches that follow the future shape of the hull.

Once the glue is dry, the boat is put back in the working base and I proceed to glue the batten by gluing it on two frames or three at the same time and thus moving backwards little by little towards the stern.

I'll be able to start planking the hull. It will be a single planking. So the fairing of the frames will be important.

[yvesvidal]

With such jig, you are ready for mass production 🙂 

Great work, it looks sharp and neat.

 

Yves

[JpR62]

Thank you to all the 'Likes' and thank you Yves for your comment.

My keel will stay straight for sure 😂! But what is most practical is that I can take my boat out and put it back in at any time. Just 4 screws to remove.

It also allows me to use rubber bands to hold the planks in place when gluing. And with the plywood keel, a work stand is absolutely necessary to ensure that nothing gets warped.

I do not regret the time invested in its construction.

[JpR62]

First of all, allow me to send you all my warmest wishes for the New Year.

I started by planking the hull by placing the second and third planks under the top  gallant rails. Indeed the first plank will be very thin (of the thickness of the planking: 1,5 mm)

So I decided to put the first row in place only after the second and third rows are laid.

In order to precisely position my two rows, I temporarily nailed small slats made of scrap wood used for the planking. This way I have a fulcrum on which I can base my two rows and leave room for the first plank. But the pictures are surely more understandable than my explanations...

I can now glue the first row.

[JpR62]

Thank you to all the 'Likes'.

Small update. The first row of planks has been added. It will be sanded to its final height once the whole hull is finished.

I will be able to continue the planking from the fourth row of planks.

 

[AJohnson]

A very neat looking boat!

[JpR62]

Thank you to all the 'Likes' and thanks to Andrew for his kind comment.

 

Planking continues.

For easier planking, I use Chuck's method: I wet the strip with my finger moistened with water and apply a heat source with a small travel iron. As if by magic, the plank keeps its shape.

Since I glue with wood glue (Titebond - Original wood glue), I have to hold the strip in place while the glue sets.

Since the hull has only eight rows of planks (including the three already in place), the installation of the five additional planks is completed fairly quickly.

I still have to sand it all down and remove any unwanted glue.

 

[bobandlucy]

Excellent craftsmanship. I admire your imaginative jig-building.

 

I need to get some Legos.

 

Bob 

[BobG]

I just found your Batelina log, Jean-Paul and your build is coming along beautifully as usual. The Batelina was my first build and it turned out pretty well considering that I had never built a wooden model boat before. I didn't do a build log so I'm really enjoying yours. 

[JpR62]

Thank you to all the 'Likes'.

@bobandlucy, For me, legos are really useful. I often used them in my different assemblies. I don't regret keeping my children's legos 😄.

@BobG, Batelina is really an interesting boat to build. The wood supplied is of very good quality. Glad that my build log brings back good memories.

 

First disgression from the instruction manual. I decided to plank in the stern of the boat as shown in the photos in the manual. Since this piece is made of plywood, I use the excess planking strips from the hull to get a more interesting look in my opinion. Nothing complicated, the edge of each strip is just marked with a pencil to distinguish the different planks. This operation was also done during the planking of the hull.

I started to put the top gallant rails on the boat. It will be made of two row of strips. The gallant rails were shaped with the travel iron. The gluing is done in several steps starting with the back of the boat.

I hope to be able to present you the final result of this step soon.

Thanks to those who follow my work.

 

 

[JpR62]

Thank you to all the 'Likes'.

 

The top gallant rails are now all installed.

It will be made of two row of strips. They were shaped before gluing with the travel iron. This makes it much easier to set up.

 

Still many traces of glue to be cleaned...

 

[AJohnson]

That looks like a nice wood, are you going to treat it with anything like Danish oil or varnish, or is it painted outside?

[JpR62]

Thanks to all those who follow this work.

Andrew, as the wood is really beautiful, I will simply treat it with Danish oil. Some elements will probably be stained and I'm thinking of using a second wood species for some parts of the boat.

[JpR62]

The work on the Batelina continues with as much pleasure as ever.

 

I first reproduce the gratings based on copies of the plan. To respect the right angles, legos are again very useful.

The next step is to install the deck at the bow of the boat. As I have some boxwood strips in my surplus, I decided to alternate the 2 wood species: the walnut planks provided in the kit and the boxwood strips from my own stock.

The use of various clamps as well as small pieces of wood in inaccessible areas ensures that no gaps remain between the planks.

I'm quite happy with the contrast between the walnut and the boxwood.

Since I'm only going to apply an oil, it will give the boat a little more character.

[AJohnson]

I really like the alternative planking colours, very neat! 

[king derelict]

Beautiful model' super work

alan

[JpR62]

Thanks to all those who follow my build and who are kind enough to comment on it.

 

I spent some time treating the grating on the bottom of the boat. I wanted to get a darker tone than the hull.

I stained the wood with Schmincke 'Aero Color' acrylic inks. These are references 28.602 brown Brazil and 28.603 sepia at a ratio of 5 to 1. The mixture was diluted with alcohol.

Once the wood is dry, it is treated with Black Bison antique wax from Liberon. The color used is 'Light Oak'.

and I finish the treatment with powdered pastel (Doc O'brien's)

 

The nailing is imitated with 0.4 mm brass wire. It will take on a less vibrant hue over time.

And always a lot of fun to build this little boat.

 

 

 

[king derelict]

Lovely detail work. The grating is a very nice piece of work

Alan

[JpR62]

Thanks to all the 'Likes' and thank you Allan for yours kind words.

 

I am finishing the construction phase of the hull by laying the last 6 planks. These are the ones that will border the top rails.

The small difficulty lies in the fact that when installing these planks, it is necessary to be sure that they are glued 2 mm higher than the rails.

To do this, I again use a small jig with a thickness of 2 mm and which follows the shape of the rails. Small pieces of wood glued at regular intervals allow to glue the strips at the right height.

This jig is held in place with nails (the nails are placed exactly at the future location of the bits and oar tholes so that the holes drilled in the rails are hidden once these elements are in place)

The support is further strengthened with the help of clamps.

The photo above shows the preparation phase and the setting up of the jig on the starboard side.

Then simply glue the strip in place, using the small protruding pieces as support. In the picture above, the outer plank on the port side is already glued and has been shortened to the right length at the stern of the boat.

The rear deck is then finished by alternating walnut and boxwood planks. Then, I finish the job by laying the 4 strips of the upper internal planking.

The installation of the 4 interior planks is easier because they are shorter.

For these six planks of the upper planking along the rails, I opted for boxwood to again bring a colorful touch that differs from the rest of the hull.

Next step: setting up bits and oar tholes.

 

 

 

[BobG]

I'm really enjoying your build log, Jean-Paul. It brings back a lot of memories of my Batelina build. 

 

The photos you posted today reminded me about a problem that I had with installing the thwart. With the top gallant rails and the vertical planks that line them already in place, it makes it quite difficult to add the two pieces that will support each end of the thwart underneath the top gallant rails. It took me quite a bit of time and finger gymnastics to get each support piece glued correctly onto the interior of the hull so that the thwart sits level because you are working rather blindly underneath the top gallant rails and there isn't much rooms for your fingers. I finally managed to do it but it took me a bunch of tries to get it right.

 

Now that I'm thinking about it again, I think that it would have been better if the instructions would have me install the thwart supports and the thwart before the top gallant rails were added. The rails wouldn't get in the way of your fingers and you could see what you are doing instead of working blindly underneath the rails. 

 

Sorry I didn't think about mentioning this before. However, this may just have been a problem for me and you might not have any trouble with it at all.

[JpR62]

Thanks to all the 'Likes'.

Bob, glad to see that the assembly of the Batelina gave you good memories.

Now that you've drawn my attention to this future step, I think it would have been easier to put the bench down first. It will indeed be more difficult.

The only advantage is that we will be sure of its position in height.

 

[JpR62]

So I worked this week on the bits and the oar tholes.

The oar tholes supplied in the kit are made of plywood. So I decided to replace them with solid walnut. Luckily I had in my wood stock some strips of the right thickness.

 

A few cuts with my Byrnes table saw then the right size holes drilled and I'm ready for assembly and shaping.

A copy of the plan allows me to precisely position the oar tholes.

I can now focus on the bits.

[JpR62]

Thank you to all the 'Likes'

I have  finished now the installation of the bollards. They were made from a 6x6 mm stock, referring to the drawings shape.

I shaped them from longer strips and once the final shape was completed, they were shortened to the required length.

I treat them before they are put in place using the same process as for the gratings. Small metal rods will reinforce the bonding. For a precise location, I again use copies of the plan.

Once the installation is complete, I treat the boat's decks with teak oil.

You will notice the presence of a small davit at the back of the boat. I like to add a few extra details to give my model a personal touch. I found a precise drawing of this small davit in the excellent monograph on a Mediterranean Pointu Gozzo 'S. Caterina' written by Franco Fissore and published by Ancre Editions. As it is a boat of the same period and also used in the Adriatic Sea, I took the liberty to add it on my model.

Here is a photo from this superb monograph that shows us this detail.

I will now add some details about fishing...