J-class yacht Endeavour 1934 by The Sailor - Amati - 1:35

[cdrusn89]

Richard,

 

Am considering building this to replace a similar sized "store bought" model of Endeavour. Are there instructions provided in English with the kit?

 

Best

 

Gary

[The Sailor]

Hi Gary, the instructions are in English, Italian and French. Be careful with the big Endeavour, you'll need a lot of space in your house.

[Jeff-E]

Hi Richard,

 

Your first planking looks excellent very clean and smooth, it doesn't look like any filler will be needed  

[Timothy Wood]

Hi Michael,

 

 

It's been a while since I checked in on your build, "Looking Good"....    

I have a quick question for you!  I wos wondering if there is any reason you ended all the planks on the same bulkhead? 

 

Cheers,

Tim

[malmoerik]

Hi

I was extremely happy to find this log, thank you so much for sharing. I built the 1:80 Amati Endeavour a year ago, it was my first build. I had no clue how to plank the keel in a nice way, now I know how it should be done . Have to admit that I smiled when I read about you using super-glue at the stern, been there done that. 

 

I have just ordered the 1:64 1893 Britannia. Cornwall model boats Ltd advised me to go for the Mamoli one over the Mantua one. Would be interesting to know why you thought Mamoli kits are bad.

 

Back to Endeavour, any idea how you're going to paint the ultra-thin line just below the deck (don't know what that line is called in English)?

 

Cheers

Edited January 5, 2014 by malmoerik

[The Sailor]

Hi Tim, the reason is, the kit provided stripes are not long enough to plank the hull from bow to stern.

 

Hi malmoerik, your model looks very nice. At this time I don't worry about the thin line. But I think, I'll use the good old Tamiya tape for marking and painting.

 

Please don't get me wrong, Mamoli kits are not bad, I just don't like the huge number of metal parts. That's the only reason why I'm not happy with those kits.

Edited December 11, 2013 by The Sailor

[Keith_W]

Wow, I just saw this today. What a beautiful yacht! I would hesitate to build one, because I won't have anywhere to put it! 

[The Sailor]

Thank you, Keith.

 

Well, here are some impressions of the sanded hull:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And here is the start of the second planking:

 

[Mirabell61]

Beautifull Model Richard,

I like these classic lines so much that I decided many years ago to scratchbuild the Endeavor and make her raedy for RC control. So into the lowest keelportion was integrated appr. 3KG lead (non removeable)as deadweight. The model was very Long and although it was a lightweight hull contruction, Balsa diagonal stripes on ply Frames, and coated with glass rowing Cloth and sealed with epoxy Raison it was very heavy because of the lead. Halfway completed and with lateral-testing in water, I found it would take even more lead to compensate and withstand the windpressure on the high mast ans sail. The model was too heavy now to have fun in handling the whole Thing, so it went into the dark Basement and out of the mind. After moving homes for 2 or 3 times I decided to sell the hull, and so someone else may complete it or not.

 

As you are building a stand model, that sure should have been my decision as well in the beginning. Wish you very much pleasure in finalizing your wonderfull model, and shall follow your further build with pleasure

 

Nils

[TBlack]

Richard,

Love the close-ups. Very intricate planking to bring out the beautiful shape of the hull. Not for the faint-hearted. Well done!

Tom

[malmoerik]

Hi Richard.

Looking great!

Do you think you could walk me through how you planked the keel?

If I understand your pictures correctly you started with the A-planks (see my picture). Why did you use 2x2 planks here?

 

Did you then do the B-part? Why did you use separate strips here instead of just letting the A-strips continue?

 

When you planked the rest of the keel, did you then start by doing the C-plank and continued with the D-part or vice verse?

 

Are you going to apply the same "methodology" for the second layer? 

 

Cheers

 

Erik

[The Sailor]

Thank you very much for your kind comments, guys.

 

Nils, i can imagine it's not easy to scratch build a RC sailingboat. But I'm not familar with RC.

 

Hi Erik, thanks for your interest. Yes, I started with the A-planks because I followed the instruction. It's very much easier planking such an area with small stripes and the 2x2mm stripes are kit supplied. Next were the C-planks. For closing the gap I used the B-planks. At last I planked the rest by using the D-planks. Well, that was my method planking the keel but I think, there are some other ways to get the same result.

The second planking should be a lot easier because the vaneer stripes can be bend around the radius very well.

[malmoerik]

Thanks for your explanation Richard.

In the 1:80 kit there were no special A-planks, nor any instructions what so ever about how to plank the keel, hence my curiosity. Please keep the photos coming, especially close-ups!

 

The A-planks look very curved, did you use steam or anything like that to shape them or were they thin enough to bend just with some force?

[fnkershner]

How long are the 2nd planking strips? are they longer than the 1st layer. What pattern do you intend to use for the 2nd layer? and when will you plank the deck?

[The Sailor]

Thanks Erik and Floyd.

 

Erik, the 2x2mm stripes are quite soft, so no soaking was required.

 

Floyd, the stripes for the second planking are slightly longer than the stripes I used for the first planking. I don't worry about the pattern because the hull will be painted later. That means, you don't see any planks after the hull is being painted. I will plank the deck when the hull planking is done, but before painting the hull.

Edited December 17, 2013 by The Sailor

[hamilton]

What a gorgeous hull! I turned my laptop upside down to take a good look! 

hamilton

[Alfons]

Very nice work Richard! The size of the model is truly impressive, allowing for a great level of detail.

 

How do you plan to paint the hull, brush or spray paint?

 

Keep up the good work.

/Alfons

[pete48]

Shes looking great Richard, the Hull looks Fantastic

 

Best Regards,

Pete

[Sailor1234567890]

I have always admired those boats. They are pure beauty under sail. Way too big to be of any practical value other than racing machine but incredibly beautiful none the less. 

[The Sailor]

Thank you very much, guys.

 

Alfons, the area is to big for painting so I'll use my airbrush.

 

Well, time for a little update. Some more rows on and time for planking the keel.

 

 

 

Again I started with the bulb area covering using 3mm stripes

 

 

 

 

The rest was planked with the 5mm stripes

 

 

 

 

 

[fnkershner]

Richard - It doesn't look like you used any filler. Did you just sand the first layer and then lay on the 2nd? Also did you cover over the slot for the drop keel? And finally since you plan to paint her do you really need the 2nd layer of planking? Last question, can you offer some feedback on the difference between planking at 1:48 or 1:64 and 1:35. Is it easier to taper the planks?

 

By the way she look beautiful. You are tempting me very much.

[Timothy Wood]

Richard - Wow, I must say what a beautiful job.  Can't wait to see her when she's finished!  You should be very proud up to this point.

 

Cheers,

Tim

[The Sailor]

Thank you very much Floyd and Timothy.

 

Floyd,

I used some filler but not very much. Don't worry about the slot - it's still open. The reason of the second planking is I just want to paint her above the waterline and leaving the bottom covered with the mahogany planking. I know, it's nonsense because the Endeavour have a steel hull but it's an option of the kit. And it looks nice.

The scale makes no different in planking or tapering the planks.

[hamilton]

Hi Richard:

 

Beautiful work! It seems to me that (unless my eyes are failing - which is always possible - the image on the box shows the hull finished as you describe, no? After such a beautiful planking job it'll be good to show it off a bit! And the mahogany presents a nice contrast with the painted hull above the waterline. Can't wait to see more

hamilton

[The Sailor]

Hi Hamilton,

unfortunately it's undetermined what the photo on the box shows but I think it's the painted version.

[malmoerik]

Richard, really nice work. Impressed with how you manage to plank so tightly despite curvature. 

 

Floyd, the 1:35 Endeavour is rated as 4 out of 5 by Amati (in difficulty). The 1:80 Amati Endeavour that I built is rated as 2 out of 5. I asked Cornwall boats about why the bigger one is so much more difficult to build but didn't get any answer that made any sense. Regarding difficulty of planking I'd actually expect the opposite, that it's slightly easier to plank a bigger model because the curvature is not that extreme in relation to the plank size. 

 

Richard, did you find any particular section of the hull tricky to plank?

[fnkershner]

I agree, that is why I asked. The larger model should be easier to plank. I would also expect that larger scale planks would be easier to taper correctly.

[henryjames]

gulp, about to start the 1:80 verison of this little / not so little beauty,

will sort a build log asap!

[Twister]

Richard,

 

I'm fairly new to this forum and have just come across your fabulous build log - Endeavour is arguably one of the most beautiful yachts ever built and is most definitely a firm favourite of mine. I had the privilege of going aboard her sometime in the late '70's (before her purchase by Elizabeth Meyer and subsequent initial restoration) when she was owned by some friends of my father. Their dream had been to restore her but unfortunately money was the determining factor with progress. If memory serves, the hull plating and frames had been repaired but she was unballasted (other than temporary concrete) and even back then the lead was just too prohibitively expensive.

 

Having scratch built a J class plug in the past (to produce a GRP hull for fitting out with r/c) I am well aware how difficult these hull forms are to plank and you really have made a superb job of it so many congratulations!

 

As and when time permits I'll definitely be logging on to follow your progress - many thanks for sharing this build.

 

Regards,

 

Row

[klimi]

Hello Richard, you done planking very nice and clean. I´d like to know in how way do you gonna do whole ship? Like an old original or how are contemporary J classes?