Sea of Galilee boat by Bryan Woods - FINISHED - SE Miller - 1:20

[Bryan Woods]

 

I was told stories my entire life of boats like this never imagining the possible details of the stage in which they were set. Now with the stories well planted in my mind, I get to become a shipwright of antiquity. With only 5 months of modeling experience, I will depend on my skills given to me by the Creator of all. I for sure want to mention Scott Miller for preparing the kit so one like me could start to build the boat.

 

 

 

 

[Bryan Woods]

THE STRONGBACK

 

After viewing over about 6 past build logs  and kit suppled instructions. Not a whole was said about the strong back. Even I could feel the excitement of getting into that wonderful looking wood and build that boat. Scott Miller had the centerline and the locations of each frame marked on the plywood board. I decided to glue the frame support cleats on first. To keep the bottoms square I clamped two blocks together offset.

 

 

Then lined the centerline up and clamped it square.

 

 

 

[Bryan Woods]

 

After gluing the two middle frames, I remembered all the different ways to try to keep the CA off the strongback. After a simple test of trying to glue wood to clear packing tape, I made the decision to use it, especially for the ease of installation.

 

 

I found it easier to install this before gluing the frames.

 

 

The strong back is ready and I have the confidence that I have accurately assembled the strongback, that will shape the wood into a beautiful hull of a boat that been hidden in my mind for over 6 decades:-)

 

 

Next up is the keel, stern and bow pieces.

 

 

 

Edited July 27, 2023 by Bryan Woods

[Knocklouder]

Great start my man!!  It's really a fun model to build Good luck on your journey . I  will be following along to see you having so much fun     

[JacquesCousteau]

Cool model, looking forward to seeing it come together!

[Bryan Woods]

The keel has been pre-bent and attached to the stern piece. It needed trimmed down around 1/4” to fit the strongback. I squared the bottom as best I could to give a large area to be glued down to the strongback. The bow piece only needed the angles to be right where it meets the keel and glued to the strongback.

 

 

 

 

 

The newer kits have grooves in the frames to hold the first plank tight against the strongback.

 

 

I soaked the planks in hot water for a few hours and applied heat. I hope it will take some of the tension out of the boards after they’re glued on.

 

 When I was satisfied with how the first planks set I trimmed the ends and glued them to the stern and bow only.

 

 

 

 

I repeated the other side. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 30, 2023 by Bryan Woods

[Louie da fly]

Very nice. Work. I'm enjoying following this one.

 

Steven

[Bryan Woods]

 

Tonight I took the first planks on both sides ,that I have shaped and dried. I glued the end to the stern with a small dab of thick CA. 
 

Then to the bow.

 

 

I have just received the thin CA tips that I will use to apply along the seam of the planks. The CA wicks into the wood. After the hull is finished, the entire hull will be coated with CA so the finish will be uniform.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then next planks are tapered. I plan on soaking them tonight, and bending them in the morning. They will need to dry and pass QC before they go on.

[Bryan Woods]

As I get started into this build,  I’m finding it difficult to decide how I can display this log so it will be helpful for another. You basically are just bending and forming planks around the frame. The uniqueness of all the different logs maybe the way we clamp the wood. The experience I long for is learning how to soften the wood so it is more relaxed when fitted. Not in a bind when you are trying to glue it. Bear with me as I teach myself and gather helpful tips from others. 
 

I have been soaking the plank in hot water for different amounts of time, depending on my schedule on getting back out to the shipyard. First I spend minutes just lightly twisting and bending up and down the plank, not taking the wood near its bending limit. 

I’ve also used a heat iron.

 

While the plank it wet,  I run the iron over the plank while dropping water on it occasionally with a sponge. I can hear the water turn to steam, I’m hoping it’s helping loosen up the fibers. 
I took one plank and just kept trying different ways, wetting it bending it drying it over and over. It became so malleable you could bend it easily anyway and it would hold its shape.

But was very weak. This taught me you can make the wood undesirable by breaking the inter fibers even when it’s still in one piece. 
 

The planks now are tapered on the stern end, with it facing the keel. After I have got the plank ready I cut the angle of the stern and clamp it. 

 

Then lay the plank on the previous, clamping as I move towards the bow.

Bending around the frames so far has been simple. The challenge is the twist so each plank sets on top of the other with the sides flush. I tried using a sponge and dripping water on it while applying heat and twisting back and forth until it seems to set right. If careful you can dry the plank quicker running it lightly over it.

 

 

I’m going to mostly post the shots of the build when the clamps are off. They seem to hid the part everyone wants to see. 
 

 

You have to watch the planks so they don’t drift away from the frame. The starboard side second frame from the bow on mine tends to do this. I done different things at times to combat this.

and

 Here is the build with 3 planks on both sides.

 

 

stern

 

bow

[mtaylor]

Make it easy on  yourself for planking... here's a great groups of tutorials:  https://modelshipworld.com/forum/98-planking-downloads-and-tutorials-and-videos/    Just soaking really 

 

I find the easiest way for planking is after lining off the hull, to mark and shape the wood to taper to the tic marks.  Then I use the Chuck method of a bit of a soak and then fix to shape on piece of scrap wood... and apply heat from either a hair dryer or a heat gun.    The key is the heat which softens the chemical bonds of the wood fibers.  Plain water just won't do it.

[Bryan Woods]

27 minutes ago, mtaylor said:

Make it easy on  yourself for planking... here's a great groups of tutorials:  https://modelshipworld.com/forum/98-planking-downloads-and-tutorials-and-videos/    Just soaking really 

 

I find the easiest way for planking is after lining off the hull, to mark and shape the wood to taper to the tic marks.  Then I use the Chuck method of a bit of a soak and then fix to shape on piece of scrap wood... and apply heat from either a hair dryer or a heat gun.    The key is the heat which softens the chemical bonds of the wood fibers.  Plain water just won't do it.

Thanks Mark, I’ve took a quick peek and it’s looks like they will be super helpful.

[Knocklouder]

Looking good  as each plank goes on it starts to look better and better, and it gets  funer and funer you'll  see. !!!!

                      

Edited August 6, 2023 by Knocklouder
Typo of course

[JacquesCousteau]

Planking looks like it's coming along nicely. Interesting hull shape with the widest point not quite amidships, is the bow or the stern the narrower end?

[Bryan Woods]

2 hours ago, JacquesCousteau said:

Planking looks like it's coming along nicely. Interesting hull shape with the widest point not quite amidships, is the bow or the stern the narrower end?

Thanks Jacques, The bow is the narrow end.

[Bryan Woods]

I see the advantage for a novice like me, to keep the log current with the build. I took the advice of @mtaylor and watched the related videos from the like he posted. I immediately set up my bending station. I had a heat gun but never thought about using it until he mentioned it:-)

 

 

After eyeballing the shape of the curve, I applied heat and headed for bed:-)

 

Early this morning, I removed the plank. It did spring back a tiny bit, but still retained its intended shape. It fit nicely on top of the previous plank, without needing the bottom pushed in. Here are the other views after 5 planks on either side have been laid.

 

 

 

 

 

Just a word out there, after one more plank, they will start transitioning from the side to the bottom then back to the side. I know the meeting edges will need to be beveled. Not sure yet what to expect from the rest of the board:-) 

[Bryan Woods]

Here’s the first six planks on both sides. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

[Bryan Woods]

Seventh plank

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Bryan Woods]

I noticed the sides near the bow were separating from the strong back. The next planks make the transition from the side to the bottom. I realized I need to tighten the hull up before I continue. I dampen the planks around the area that needed attention. I used a flat nylon pull rope to cinched it up and waited till it dried.

 

 

I’ve found what works best for me for shaping the planks. I soak the plank in warm water and just gradually work it into the shape, clamping as I go if possible. After it’s dry I carve the bevel, and also the end at the bow that meets the keel.

 

 

So plank eight goes on without any problems.

 

 

 

 

 

[Knocklouder]

Wow your over half done the planks. If it's  coming away from the strong back,  that means it's not sticking to it,  which is a good sign I think . Keep the rope handy lol.  A couple more planks , then they get tricky, lol   

[Bryan Woods]

1 hour ago, Knocklouder said:

Wow you’re over half done the planks. If it's  coming away from the strong back,  that means it's not sticking to it,  which is a good sign I think . Keep the rope handy lol.  A couple more planks , then they get tricky, lol   

I’ve been kinda wiggling the frames shortly after a glue session. They would be glued if I hadn’t. 

[Bryan Woods]

I soaked, bent and clamped both sides of nine. Then let them dry thoroughly before gluing them.

 

 

 

 

 

Last night I put both #10 planks in to soak. Several hours of soaking has made the wood very flexible. It’s been easy to shape them. The challenge is to hold them while they dry. Here’s a few ways I tried. The longer I looked at it, the more I change the clamps around trying to find the best way.

 

I placed a wooden shim under the keel hoping to help the wet plank lay flat. Maybe no issues will be caused by doing this.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 16, 2023 by Bryan Woods

[Louie da fly]

It's good to see you finding solutions to the problems as they arise. You seem to be overcoming them well.

 

Do you know what kind of wood that is?

 

BTW, it's probably not important now, but I found wrapping clingwrap around the bit I didn't want to be glued to the hull worked quite well (though I was using a plug, not a strongback).

 

Steven

Edited August 16, 2023 by Louie da fly

[Bryan Woods]

Thank you so much Louie for commenting. The wood is mahogany. It’s soft and easy to work with. I did cover the edges of the strongback  with packing tape. When the CA does dry on it, I can wiggle the frame and break the hold fairly easy.

[Louie da fly]

Thanks for the information.

 

35 minutes ago, Bryan Woods said:

When the CA does dry on it, I can wiggle the frame and break the hold fairly easy.

I use PVA (white) glue, not CA. But good to know packing tape  works for CA. I might need that at some time.

 

Steven

[Bryan Woods]

This morning planks 10  were ready to glue.

 

 

First I glued the stern ends to the keel. Then to weld the bow ends and side seam together with thin CA. 

 

 

 

 

 I did have a bit of a morning distraction, when a shipyard visitor introduced herself to me as I got started. If you want to hear about that, you can go to  Visitors at the shipyard

Edited August 17, 2023 by Bryan Woods

[Bryan Woods]

I’ve spent quite a bit of time, just on the starboard side  trying to persuade plank #11 to get tight against #10:-) I soaked it. Cut it to fit, then tried anything I could ram and force against the keel and it. Here was the last thing I tried. Hopefully I’ll have the patience to wait long enough. And maybe it will hold enough shape for me to get it glued. We’ll see:-)

 

 

 

Here’s a side view from the bow looking aft.

 

[Bryan Woods]

I decided not to take the restraints off completely. I did remove some and loosen some. I then strategically spot glued, while holding the edges together. It was the most challenging so far. I think it turned out better than some that were much easier. This is the starboard side.

 

 

 

 

 

[Bryan Woods]

After the rope tourniquet was removed, there were enough planks in place to keep the sides  tight to the strongback. Gradually the bottom planks midship begin to raise off the strongback. Just about a plank thickness. This made the next plank slide under the previous. I must say, issues like this only add excitement and pleasure to the build. It can become extra temporary project that requires imagination:-)  Here’s what I came up with to hold down port side #11. After it had dried overnight, I spot glued as before, with the restraints in place.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Knocklouder]

Looks good Bryan,  one more challenging plank too go, lol. I remember  plank ##11 and 12, they required  every clamp I had, bar clamps, spring clamps, c clamps, and clamps that I don't know the name of. But the good news is that planks #13,14 and 15 are easier, a bit lol. 

   She going to be awesome,     

Edited August 19, 2023 by Knocklouder

[JacquesCousteau]

6 hours ago, Bryan Woods said:

I must say, issues like this only add excitement and pleasure to the build. It can become extra temporary project that requires imagination:-)

Great attitude toward the inevitable challenges of a build!