Swift 1805 by Scotty W - FINISHED - Artesania Latina - 1/50th scale - Virginia Pilot Boat

[Scotty W]

I gave this kit to my aging Dad back in 1984. Bought it new from Model Expo for $39.99 and still have the receipt!  He had been an avid plastic modeler when I was a child in the 1960’s and from whom I gained much of my knowledge and skills building plastic models.  The last model I completed was a big scale SR-71 Blackbird in 1995 or so.  I haven’t touched one since, until now.

 

While moving some boxes from a closet last spring, I came across the kit, still in the box it was shipped to me in 1984.  I’m retired from disability with neuropathy in my hands and have turned 65.  I can’t imagine what I was thinking when I made the idiotic and expensive decision to attempt to build my first ever timber ship model but it has been extremely rewarding and frustrating at times.  I had a lot of tools to begin with from my plastic modeling days but knew I would need many more to tackle this project.  While it was a kit, I feel it was closer to scratch build given the shaping of each and every part and the need to make scratch parts when some got broken or damaged thanks to my clumsiness.

 

Although its Feb 2023 now and I am now making the masts, spars, boom, bowsprit and flag mast, I’ll start where I started in June of 2022 and work up to the present.  If you something I did that was a rookie mistake, please feel free to offer better ways for the next time I try this.  I already have noted dozens of things I would have done differently from experience and lots of YouTube videos and reading here.  I find sometimes there are just too damn many ways to do something and I have to find the one that works best for me.  I’ll never build museum quality models but my friends and fam are already wanting me to leave this ship to them when I go!

 

The Frame:

I only thought to start photo journalizing this build after I’d completed the first step of getting the ribs together but took an abundance of pics after that to create a time lapse movie of at some point for my YouTube channel.  I read the instructions ahead thoroughly and noticed they get less detailed as you go as though the author got tired and really wanted to finish.  That and the translation from Spanish was lacking in places.  Nonetheless I trudged forward not noticing the last stern rib was misaligned top to bottom.  We’ll deal with that soon enough.  I should have used squares to line up my ribs instead of my eye but puddy and sanding will cover those tracks since it will be covered.  It was at this point that I realized I had to look way ahead to see what pitfalls I was setting myself up for and the journey began.  I would miss the parts of the build that would be covered soon enough.  The instructions had me install the false deck on at this point too, not sure if that was the right move but was afraid of cracks in the deck planking if I planked it before bending the false deck over the ribs.  I measured where the ribs would be so I’d know where to put the nails and marked them on the deck.  So far, I felt ok with how it was going together but was just dipping my toe in.  Frame, balsa inserts and false deck complete. Next, the first planking. Oh joy. 

.

 

Pre-nailing the false plywood deck for installation.

[Scotty W]

Planking, the point of no return.  After watching countless videos and reading volumes on planking, I acquired a couple of tools before proceeding.  I got one of those plank bending crimps and realized quickly it wasn’t for me and got myself a soldering iron, bending jig and a flower vase to soak the planks in.  I also picked up a micro wood plane and a mini-mitre box.  I already had a set of mini mitre saws but didn’t realize they wouldn’t reach the bottom of the box due to the flange on top of the blades, duh.  I solved that later with a Japanese pull saw that would fit and reach.  Most cuts were done free hand on my board anyway. I went to the extent of buying extra planking that was slightly different size to practice bending and planning to shape before I started wasting the 40 year-old lime-wood 2x5mm planking that came with the kit.  I was expecting more detailed instructions but realized quickly on it was up to me to provide the detailed instructions from their general guidelines which got worse as the instructions progressed.  I began as they suggested with the first plank 3mm below the deck line and then moved down, bending, tapering and beveling each plank to fit. I broke traditional protocol with my joints and just went to pointed ended planks to simplify on this layer.  I respected those protocols on the second layer of planking as you’ll see when I didn’t have to bend the super thin walnut planking to get to fit the curves before gluing.  I proceeded one plank at a time on each side trying to match my work on each side as closely as possible.  When I got to the garboard plank, I had to stop and research more since it was so important to get it right.  I still didn’t get it right but wood filler had me covered at this stage as you’ll see in the photos.  I used various clamps and pins depending on where I was on the planking but finally got it done.  It was at this point that I knew I had to finish this thing.  I still don't know why the photos are changing orientation during posting but whatever... The "Whiskey Plank" was my favorite as you'll see below.

 

 

 

 

 

Used a little plane to taper the planks. Worked great!

 

Bending station.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Whiskey Plank is ready to install.

 

And Christened with a few drops of good Rye.  The rest for the ship builder.

 

 

Steelers? I was an Oilers fan.

 

 

Done.

 

Now some filler for those ugly joints.

 

Ever see a worse bow than this? It'll be covered, no worries.

 

Edited February 28, 2023 by Scotty W
Added comments.

[Scotty W]

Mast hole drilling and Deck Planking: I asked everyone I knew if they had a drill press I could borrow since the engineer in me knew the mast holes were critical and could not be done with a hand drill and eye balling it.  Turns out my next-door neighbor had one he’d forgotten about so I absconded with it, cleaned it up and used it to drill my mast holes.  I made a jig from the sprues the frame came in to hold the ship in place during drilling with the help of some clamps and rubber bands.  I should have bubble leveled the rig to the table but eyeballed it instead, we’ll see how that goes when I get to installing the masts.  I studied installing deck planking and chose a plan.  I used pencil around each plank to mimic the caulking as shown in some YouTube videos I watched.  It was tedious as hell but looked great.  I used CA glue and stuck myself to the ship many times but would get used to that.  The deck planking was .6 x 5mm and after marking the positions of the planks in pencil on the deck went well.  I used a sharp pencil to put the nails in each end of the planks and stained with a golden oak stain when done.  I had to repair a couple of places that the CA glue stuck before I was ready for it to but oh well.  I love CA glue but I hate CA glue for the trouble it can give during builds.  I am trying to not use it as much as the build progresses but sometimes, it’s the best choice for me if clamping is off the table.  Anyway, I think the deck came out fairly well for a first-timer.  I screwed up and didn’t stagger my planks on the very back deck but oh well, live and learn.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 16, 2023 by Scotty W
Reduced number of pics and reoriented by cropping

[allanyed]

Hi Scotty

Glad to see you started the build log.   I really appreciate the story behind it and that you picked up the model to see it through to the end!

 

For the future...... consider studying the hull planking tutorial in the articles data base by David Antscherl here at MSW and the four part YouTube videos on planking by Chuck Passaro.  You can find them it on-line and in an old post here at MSW https://modelshipworld.com/topic/22975-chuck-passaros-planking-videos-where-are-they/. 

 

Rather than go into a long explanation, compare the results of two photos below.  In the lower pic, note how all planks are tapered to nearly half their widest point and end at the rabbet.   Again, this is something to consider for the future.   If your model  has two layers of planking, you may want to give it a try for the outer layer.   It takes most of us a bunch of do-overs but gets easier with experience.

 

Allan

 

 

 

[Scotty W]

14 hours ago, allanyed said:

Hi Scotty

Glad to see you started the build log.   I really appreciate the story behind it and that you picked up the model to see it through to the end!

 

For the future...... consider studying the hull planking tutorial in the articles data base by David Antscherl here at MSW and the four part YouTube videos on planking by Chuck Passaro.  You can find them it on-line and in an old post here at MSW https://modelshipworld.com/topic/22975-chuck-passaros-planking-videos-where-are-they/. 

 

Rather than go into a long explanation, compare the results of two photos below.  In the lower pic, note how all planks are tapered to nearly half their widest point and end at the rabbet.   Again, this is something to consider for the future.   If your model  has two layers of planking, you may want to give it a try for the outer layer.   It takes most of us a bunch of do-overs but gets easier with experience.

 

Allan

 

 

 

Thank you for the reference. I will study it. My first planking job truly sucked. I knew it would be covered by second planking so wood filler covered my bad spots. The second planking came out pretty nice as you’ll see when I get to it. I have much to learn and retain. Thanks!

[Peanut6]

Hey Scotty, welcome aboard.  As Allan said, great backstory.  I'll be following along with your build as I'm very strongly leaning towards this kit for my second build.  I'm so close to finishing up my little Jolly Boat, but just can't seem to get my act together lately so I can get it done.  I've decided it's better to hold off and be in the right frame of mind than to force thru it just to be done.  As I'm sure you're figuring out, this site is the best.  So many knowledgeable and experienced people who are more than willing to guide/advise you thru any snags you may come across.  All you have to do is ask.  Just about any oops/error/screw-up/failure can be fixed/corrected if you feel strong enough to do it, so don't feel as though you must resolve yourself to a situation if you can't "live with it".  Regarding your CA trouble, you might want to consider using a gel form.  Some builders swear by CA and others avoid it like the plague.  I finally tried the "liquid" formula and had major issues.  Then I tried a medium gel formula and it made all the difference in the world.  The various formulas will have different set-up times to help you decide which one fits your needs.  I only use CA when clamping is an issue.  Good luck with your build and don't hesitate to ask questions.  Oh, BTW you can/will get better responses/replies to your questions if you post them both in this build log but also in the appropriate folder.  More people will see your question(s) there than those who may be following your build.  Sorry to ramble on like this.  Have fun and enjoy the voyage of your first build  

[ccoyle]

You got the first layer on -- that's a good start!

[Scotty W]

7 hours ago, Peanut6 said:

Hey Scotty, welcome aboard.  As Allan said, great backstory.  I'll be following along with your build as I'm very strongly leaning towards this kit for my second build.  I'm so close to finishing up my little Jolly Boat, but just can't seem to get my act together lately so I can get it done.  I've decided it's better to hold off and be in the right frame of mind than to force thru it just to be done.  As I'm sure you're figuring out, this site is the best.  So many knowledgeable and experienced people who are more than willing to guide/advise you thru any snags you may come across.  All you have to do is ask.  Just about any oops/error/screw-up/failure can be fixed/corrected if you feel strong enough to do it, so don't feel as though you must resolve yourself to a situation if you can't "live with it".  Regarding your CA trouble, you might want to consider using a gel form.  Some builders swear by CA and others avoid it like the plague.  I finally tried the "liquid" formula and had major issues.  Then I tried a medium gel formula and it made all the difference in the world.  The various formulas will have different set-up times to help you decide which one fits your needs.  I only use CA when clamping is an issue.  Good luck with your build and don't hesitate to ask questions.  Oh, BTW you can/will get better responses/replies to your questions if you post them both in this build log but also in the appropriate folder.  More people will see your question(s) there than those who may be following your build.  Sorry to ramble on like this.  Have fun and enjoy the voyage of your first build  

Great advice! Thanks Kev.  I love CA glue because it works so well and I hate CA glue because it works so well.  I use both thin and medium.  I use medium when I need time to a fit a piece just right and thin when a quick stick will do but only if I can't clamp, otherwise PVA glue and clamps.  My clamp collection is growing fast.  I'm still learning the forum and the where's, what's and how's.  Still don't understand why my pictures posted sideways and upside-down when I uploaded to my build log but whatever.  More to come that's already done, just need some time to type and post.  Thanks for the warm welcome.

[Scotty W]

 

Deck Stringers:

 

Note, the instructions had me put the deck stringers on BEFORE the bulwarks.  That turned out bad because of a gap in the bow section after getting the bulwarks on.  I would recommend getting the bulwarks installed before the deck stringers so the stringers can be shaped and fit better. 

 

Had I followed the instructions for installing the stringers at this point, I would have been searching for replacements for the them  and as they surely would have snapped by placing with pins with no pre-bending.  I had already bent many planks during the first planking but not 2x5mm bokapi edgewise. Edgewise. That’s a big deal. So before I knew about MSW I checked YouTube and found some ideas.

 

I made a jig out of some leftover plywood by tracing the shape of the deck onto a piece and jig-sawing it out. It then was screwed onto a larger rectangular piece to create the jig.  I then made the clamps out of leftover 2x5mm basswood planking by using the stock to determine the width of the gap in the clamp.  I cut a couple of dozen clamps out after gluing with CA glue.  Next I drilled them to accept a push pin which secured them to the jig with the piece in place.  I soaked the piece in clear ammonia for 3 days in a glass cake pan before attempting to bend around the jig.  I was pleased how this old wood bent around the jig, one clamp at a time without splitting or snapping.

 

I left them to dry in the jig for a couple of days and removed the clamps.  There was some spring back which I expected but was able to easily fit to the sides of the deck. (I really should have waited until after the bulwarks.)  The clear ammonia took some color out of the wood as I had to careful now not to mix up my bourbon and the bourbon-colored ammonia.

 

Thanks for reading if you got this far.  I have questions for what I’m doing now with the masts and drilling that I need to go the forums for, but I’ll continue soon with the battle of installing the stem, keel and stern.  Still can’t believe I got through that struggle. I’m backfilling all this until I catch up with where I’m at in the present. The last pic here is from 11/6/2022 to give you an idea. Thanks for helping me keep my pics oriented by cropping a little if they post wonky.  It worked great.  Now I got a ship to build, take care.

[Peanut6]

Interesting jig you came up with.  It could/should be able to get most of your planks bent close enough that some fine tuning and a bit of coaxing gets them just as they need to be.  May I ask why you opted for ammonia and a soak time of 3 days?  I've not heard of that combination being used before and looking to learn something here.  I've got some guesses but don't know for sure.

[Scotty W]

On 2/11/2023 at 12:30 PM, Peanut6 said:

Interesting jig you came up with.  It could/should be able to get most of your planks bent close enough that some fine tuning and a bit of coaxing gets them just as they need to be.  May I ask why you opted for ammonia and a soak time of 3 days?  I've not heard of that combination being used before and looking to learn something here.  I've got some guesses but don't know for sure.

I think I got the jig idea from Olha Batchverov on YouTube, it worked great.  The ammonia came after extensive searches on edge-bending planks but only a couple were bending small planks like mine but a few used ammonia. This kit is close to 50 years old and I was afraid of snapping the brittle wood so I let it soak. I covered the dish with a cutting board to contain the fumes better and poured it in a glass jar with a lid to reuse, which I did for the top rail when I got to those. Used the same jig but had to make new clamps because these planks were narrower.  Something about the ammonia really softens the wood, just don’t breathe the fumes. I’m learning too.

[Scotty W]

8 minutes ago, Scotty W said:

I think I got the jig idea from Olha Batchverov on YouTube, it worked great.  The ammonia came after extensive searches on edge-bending planks but only a couple were bending small planks like mine but a few used ammonia. This kit is close to 50 years old and I was afraid of snapping the brittle wood so I let it soak. I covered the dish with a cutting board to contain the fumes better and poured it in a glass jar with a lid to reuse, which I did for the top rail when I got to those. Used the same jig but had to make new clamps because these planks were narrower.  Something about the ammonia really softens the wood, just don’t breathe the fumes. I’m learning too.

Corridor Ballardin on Youtube gave me the idea first to use ammonia but he used “cloudy ammonia” which I could not find where I live so I used the clear. He soaked his planks in a piece of pvc pipe but my dish worked for me.

[Scotty W]

I built a pliers rack out some scrap which turned out good but need a slick way to store all my tweezers. Any suggestions? Also, I got an airbrush for ❤️ day and used it, my first time with one. Priming my scratch made ventilation tubes, don’t know the nautical term for them.

Edited February 16, 2023 by Scotty W
Pics fixed hopefully

[VitusBering]

39 minutes ago, Scotty W said:

I built a pliers rack out some scrap which turned out good but need a slick way to store all my tweezers. Any suggestions? Also, I got an airbrush for ❤️ day and used it, my first time with one. Priming my scratch made ventilation tubes, don’t know the nautical term for them.

 

I use empty pill containers for my tweezers and scissors, a few other things. I use the bottles for lots of stuff in the shop. They come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, I can almost always find one that fits my needs. The Tupperware comes in pretty handy too, to organize the smaller containers. I got a bunch of 'em around the shop.

 

[Knocklouder]

Hay Scotty,  great job so far. Isn't so much fun putting things  all together  in the ship yard, For tweezers  I use a pencil holder I got given to me  long ago.

[Scotty W]

I've got just the piece of 2x4 to build that! Thanks Knocklouder!  Also thanks VitusBering, I like the pill bottle-tupperware system as well.

[Peanut6]

I figured that due to the age of the planks they would be pretty brittle and that was the reason for the 3 day soak time.  For my edge bending process I soak my planks in water for a short period of time and use a steam travel iron to get my results.  Would you share the advantage of ammonia rather than water to soak the planks?  Knowing water swells the wood, I can only guess that ammonia may not.  Planking my little Jolly Boat was a nerve wracking, trial and error ordeal, but very rewarding when I was done (rather proud of the final results actually).  Any tips or suggestions I can get for my next build would be greatly appreciated.

[Scotty W]

5 hours ago, Peanut6 said:

I figured that due to the age of the planks they would be pretty brittle and that was the reason for the 3 day soak time.  For my edge bending process I soak my planks in water for a short period of time and use a steam travel iron to get my results.  Would you share the advantage of ammonia rather than water to soak the planks?  Knowing water swells the wood, I can only guess that ammonia may not.  Planking my little Jolly Boat was a nerve wracking, trial and error ordeal, but very rewarding when I was done (rather proud of the final results actually).  Any tips or suggestions I can get for my next build would be greatly appreciated.

I really don’t know what the effect of the ammonia is on the wood. Perhaps it softens the cellulose? I didn’t notice any swelling after soaking but that would seem hard to notice given the scale. They may have well been bent using water and a travel iron like you did for all I know. It was my first time edge-bending planks and I decided to try the ammonia and it worked but those fumes, ugh. Funny how the kit cost $40 in 1984 and I’ve probably spent $600 on tools and materials to build it. LOL! Probably have to spend another $600 to finish it! I’m ready to varnish the boat and masts before gluing things on the deck and can’t decide on gloss or satin. Leaning towards satin in a spray can and would appreciate recommendations. I’ll ask in the appropriate forum as well. I’ve got to start stropping (is that the right term?) my blocks to attach at various places soon and I’m nervous and probably don’t have the right ropes (1mm and .2 mm that came with the kit) and probably not enough of it as well so I need to decide on ropes for stays, anchor and halyards and need help with that too. I’m sure you guys will have good recommendations for that. Thanks! I must check out your Jolly Boat now.

[Knocklouder]

Hi Scotty, ahh Down the tool rabbit hole we go lol .

  When you buy tools get good ones or you be buying them again. You get what you pay for. I have never used ammonia before so can't say anything about it. Except,  because the wood is so old it might be better to use it. For  myself I use an  electric plank bender, and an old iron, and sometimes  a heat gun. A little water and they bend like magic  lol.Works for me , but if you found a way you like, as they say, use that.

 Most of my ships will be early centuries models so no shine to them. I stain to the colour I want ,then a couple  of coats of shellac sealer  sprayed on. After it dries  I sand and put a brush coat of satin varnish. After that's dry and before the mast and rigging starts I give it two quick coats of flat clear coat to give it depth  👌.   But I have been painting  for about 46 years give or take lol. 

 You're doing great, keep up the good work.    

[rcmdrvr]

After a lot of work and some frustration; it looks like you obtain an nice first planking.  Like a nice smooth bourbon myself.

[Scotty W]

2 hours ago, Knocklouder said:

Hi Scotty, ahh Down the tool rabbit hole we go lol .

  When you buy tools get good ones or you be buying them again. You get what you pay for. I have never used ammonia before so can't say anything about it. Except,  because the wood is so old it might be better to use it. For  myself I use an  electric plank bender, and an old iron, and sometimes  a heat gun. A little water and they bend like magic  lol.Works for me , but if you found a way you like, as they say, use that.

 Most of my ships will be early centuries models so no shine to them. I stain to the colour I want ,then a couple  of coats of shellac sealer  sprayed on. After it dries  I sand and put a brush coat of satin varnish. After that's dry and before the mast and rigging starts I give it two quick coats of flat clear coat to give it depth  👌.   But I have been painting  for about 46 years give or take lol. 

 You're doing great, keep up the good work.    

Thanks Knocklouder! I used water and an electric bender and bending jig for all my first planking and bulwarks but edge-bending stringers and rails was another animal with 50-yr-old bokapi planks. I like the sound of your varnishing method. My instructions just say basically “ok, at this point you should varnish the ship and masts” and that’s about it said. I had already bought some Minwax Gloss polyurethane that I was going to hang the ship on an old guitar string through the bowsprit hole and spray a couple of light coats. Similarly the masts and spars but I’m reconsidering that now seeing so many experienced builders going with satin. My CFO, as Peanut calls his better half, said she wants it to be shiny because , you know, they like shiny things lol. I’ll let her have her opinions I suppose, if I want to eat and not have to sleep on the couch. 

[Scotty W]

53 minutes ago, rcmdrvr said:

After a lot of work and some frustration; it looks like you obtain an nice first planking.  Like a nice smooth bourbon myself.

Thanks rcmdrvr! I find the bourbon helps control my shaking working at this scale and the neurapathy and numbness in my fingers doesn’t help either. The other side of the sword is there may be some boo-boos in planning or execution due to too much of the brown liquid at time. lol 

[Scotty W]

On 2/15/2023 at 8:24 PM, Knocklouder said:

Hay Scotty,  great job so far. Isn't so much fun putting things  all together  in the ship yard, For tweezers  I use a pencil holder I got given to me  long ago.

Made this last night. Thanks for the idea! All my tweezers and knives handy. I think I have too many tweezers unless they’re like clamps which you can’t have enough of. Anyhow, another improvement to my shipyard and SWMBO is pleased since I didn’t have to buy anything for it. 

[Keith Black]

 Scotty, Scotty. You missed a golden opportunity with SWMBO. You should have told her the holder required a special drill and it cost twenty bucks. "I'm sorry honey, I know I should have said something before I spent the twenty dollars but I was anxious to get the job done. Promise, it won't happen again" Going that route you'd be ahead $20.00 with the accounting department. 

[Scotty W]

Bulwarks and Stern:

 

The bulwarks supplied with the kit were too long in the front as noted in other logs of this kit. 

To overcome this I first bent the starboard bulwark using my electric plank bender and bending jig, repeatedly wetting and bending to get the severe curve at the bow.

 

 

 I decided to use the medium CA glue to attach it to give me some time to precisely locate it.  I got lucky with my first bulwark as I guess all the practice I had with bending the first planking made the bend fit nicely toward the bow.  The excess was then cut off where the two pieces would meet.

 

I then repeated the operation for the port bulwark and thought it came out nicely.  I’m not sure if it flares appropriately but looks fine to me.  The only thing I wished I’d done was put these on before the deck stringers because I had a pretty big gap between the stringer and the bulwarks toward the bow and decided to live with it since I saw it as too difficult to use filler in there and couldn’t match the stringer color anyway.  One of many mistakes made or yet to be made in my first build.  Continuing on, I cut and installed the remaining deck trim and the stern piece from the die-cut plywood.

 

 

Next, I followed instructions and worked on the stern, filling the hole under the bulwarks in the back with bokapi planking.  It had to be beveled to try to form a curve to the stern.  A lot of sanding and filing got it close enough for me.  I used CA glue here too as I didn’t see a way to cleanly clamp it.  I filed and scraped as much of the excess glue as I could find as I was still learning to control the application of that stuff.  I mostly use a needle to apply it now.

 

 

I forgot to mention somewhere during faring I suppose, the ship came up a little short and a little shallow in the draft.  To overcome the first problem I added wood filler, fattening the bow a little which would be covered by the top rails later on.  You can see the fattened bow in the pic below.  It will be hidden and I will have to use more care next time when faring. Not much I could do to increase the draft of the ship at this point so again, I’ll live with it.  I’m now nearing the point of the “you can’t cover this up” part of the build and was getting nervous but was pleased with what I had so far.

 

Next time, I’ll cover planking the bulwarks and stern which was relatively easy compared to the first hull planking.  Then, the second planking with the thin walnut strips. Still have the keel pieces (3) to deal with to after the planking is finished.  Thanks for reading.  We’re up to Nov. 28, 2022 now and catching up when I have time.  Now get back to work in the shipyard!

[Scotty W]

Planking the Bulwarks and Stern, Second Hull Planking

 

The 0.6 x 5mm boxwood planking was much easier to work with being so thin.  No pre-bending was required.  I began at the bow with CVA glue and clamped it against the bulwark continuing to the stern and cut off excess.  I alternated sides as I went to attempt to keep some symmetry. The bottom plank left me a little gap exposing the bulwark beneath at the stern, but I didn’t fret it as this would be covered by the fenders later on, pays to read ahead and read all before starting.

 

Next, I moved to the stern where I drew out a plan for the pattern I would use laying the pieces at an angle, meeting at the center of the transom.  This went well and I left the clamped up planks to dry.

 

For the second planking, I knew there would be no layer to cover any screw ups during this operation so I planned and figured and planned some more. I watched more videos on planking, I think I’ve exhausted the supply of planking videos on YouTube, if that’s possible.  One thing I wasn’t going to do was taper any of these planks more than half their 5mm width except for the wedges in the deadwood area on the stern.  If one plank didn’t fill the gap, I cut them so two equal widths would fill it.  If two planks wouldn’t fill a gap I cut them so that three would fill the gap.  Had to do that a few times and I just measured at each bulkhead, divided by the number of planks and used the pointy edges of my calipers to mark the thickness at each point along the plank. I then used a metal straight-edge and my scapple to cut them. To cut the planking, I taped it down to my mat and cut through the tape to keep everything still as I cut from mark to mark to shape the pieces.  I measured and drew the planking out on the hull before starting, writing the widths on the hull and on a drawing of each plank.  Tedious but paid off.

 

  I used CA glue to do this planking having acquired better glue bottles with long replaceable microtips for better application.  I glued my fingertips to the ship on many occasions but all was well.  I did have some issues where the planking met the stern because it wasn’t quite smooth enough to terminate well into the stern.

 

 

I finally reached the Whiskey Plank and christened the new hull with a few drops and poured the rest in me.

 There would be a bunch of patching later with tiny pieces of the planking which came out ok after sanding.  Had I had some experience at this, I would have known to sand the false keel at the stern down to half it’s width before planking so that it’s width would match the width of the stern stem.  Live and learn.  I then over-sanded the second planking near the stern attempting to compensate and had to patch with custom cut out pieces of planking which was ridiculously hard to make buy finally got it to where it was acceptable to me.  I think I’ve found 5 or 6 more places to patch since then as well.

 

SWMBO and I celebrated the completion of the planking for my first ship with the adult beverage of our choice.  Little did I know what perils lay ahead.  We’re now up to Dec. 5^th, 2022 and so much more to come. Thanks for reading.  Keel coming next.

Edited February 24, 2023 by Scotty W
Typos

[Scotty W]

“Nailing” the Deck and attaching the Keel:

 

I decided not to go crazy treenailing my deck like Olha Batchverov does on her ships on my first build.  Instead I chose the sharp pencil method.  It took a while, but finally I had four nails at every joint, adding some nice detail.  Since it was the dead of winter, I knew I couldn’t varnish it until spring since my shipyard doubles as an uninsulated garage with only a small space heater underneath my desk blowing on my feet and legs.  If I got a smudge I could just use my rotary eraser and redo any “nails” needing attention.  I also roughed in where I thought the guns might go but it was too early for that now.

 

 

 

 I did later give the deck a coat of golden oak stain on a day in almost reached 50*F and thought it looked great (by my newbie standards anyway).  Onward to the damn keel.

 

The keel was comprised of three different colors of what they call “bokapi” wood.  It’s a fine grain reddish wood that shapes well.  I followed the kit’s instructions and planed and sanded the false keel flat from stem to stern.  I then started dry-fitting the pieces and thought the bow stem had to be from another kit because it fit so poorly.  Not only against the hull but also where it met up with the straight portion of the keel running to the stern stem.  I struggled and struggled with a plan to achieve the geometry I was looking for.  I figured the only way I was going to get the bow stem to fit was to cut a rabbit in the bow and reshape the bow stem itself.

 

The work began. I used mini mitre saws and files to hack my was through the planks, wood filler, plywood and frame to create a rabbit (slot) to put the keel piece back in line, or close, with the hull.  It was very time consuming and difficult but I figure it was because of some mistake I’d made earlier. (Remember I extended the bow with wood filler because it looked short? Yeah, that.)

 

 

I then started shaping the bow stem on my Dremel shaper table, taking off ever so little, test fitting and rinse and repeat ad nauseum. Finally, and I mean days of this before ever even thinking about glue, I got it to what I settled was good enough. 

 

File, file, file.

 

Measuring and cutting the center piece.

 

Fitting the stern stem.

 

Almost there...

 

More shaping...

 

Finally! Get out the PVA glue!

 

Sophisticated clamping technology.

 

Closed chip bags too!

 

I did have a slight issue where the bow stem met the middle piece that I had to patch with a little bit of what I cut off the end of the middle piece.  I made a tiny little wedge, glued it on and smoothed out after drying.  I was pleased with the "damn keel" installation but would never want to have to do that again.  I kept telling myself that this damn keel was not going to stop me and that I had gotten this far, only a chump would give up now. 

 

That's better.

 

Still have some repairs to do on the hull too.

 

Thank God! The damn keel is on and stained. I used a sock stuffed with rice for my pad up until now. Time for a new temporary stand.

 

Someone asked me how many hours I have in this ship. I could only guess without getting a calculator out.  Good thing I’m retired.  This installment gets us to Dec. 15^th, 2022.  Next up: Bulwarks stanchions and dressings and more which went much better.  Thanks for reading, please feel free to comment on what I could have done to make this part go easier next time. 

Edited February 28, 2023 by Scotty W
Added some notes.

[Keith Black]

29 minutes ago, Scotty W said:

I decided not to go crazy trenailing my deck

 Scotty, the deck and keel look great.

 

 Regarding treenails, I'm not a big fan for two reasons. One, it's too much work and two, all old photographs showing ship's decks, treenails/wood plugs are not visible. A model is viewed in scale from a much further distance than that of a normal photograph. The photo I've posted is that of the USS Tennessee ca. 1880. Even though the deck of the Tennessee would have been metal fastened and wood plugged, the plugs are not visible. IMHO, treenails on models look out of scale for the most part. But hey, if you like doing it, do it.   

 

[Jim Lad]

Depends on the ship and the light, Keith.

 

These two images are of the preserved iron barque 'Polly Woodside' in Melbourne and the preserved HMS 'Trincomalee' at Hartlepool.

 

John

 

[Scotty W]

Looks like I need to add some nails per that last picture. Busy working on my two guns at the moment waiting for warmer weather to varnish everything.