Maine Peapod by JaquesCousteau - Midwest Products - 1:14

[JacquesCousteau]

My other builds are going through some doldrums at the moment as I'm working on very tedious parts, so I felt like starting a new build. I thought that I should make some progress on the stash of kits that I've accumulated--the Model Shipways Lobster Smack, Midwest Peapod, Corel Sloup, and Disar Jábega. I limited myself to rowing vessels, given that it looks like I'll be doing a big move this year and it would be complicated to pack something with sails, so I was left with the Peapod and the Jábega. I really wanted to like the latter. Seeing Spanish fishing boats, including a Jábega, in the Barcelona Maritime Museum was what got me interested in picking up modeling. But Disar's kit leaves a lot to be desired. From reputation, I expected some issues and simplifications, but I hadn't realized that the model's hull shape barely even looks like a jábega, being weirdly squat instead of sleek. So, I decided on the Peapod.

 

It's a very straightforward kit. The hull is built shell-first on a mold, with frames and other internal pieces added afterward. I didn't take a picture out of the box, but the wood's quality is solid and the laser-cutting seems fine. You get a nice plan sheet and some fairly thorough instructions (although they're a bit skimpy on details on how to actually plank), a solid build board, several laser-cut formers and other parts, and a few bundles of sticks. Everything is basswood except for two mahogany strips for the rub rail.

 

Although I enjoy doing research on the boats I'm building, I think other build logs have generally covered it for this one and have pointed to useful sources and the like. Basically, it's a small Maine workboat, notably used for lobstering but also for all manner of other work, as it has a seaworthy and capacious hull that rowed well. (Some were also sailed--I'm looking forward to robert952's kitbash to build a sailing peapod). The kit includes plans for a lobster trap, and even a tiny cast-metal lobster, so I may build it that way. But by now I've already made two lobster traps--which is a lot for someone who's allergic to shellfish!--so I may look into some other fishing activities to model intead.

 

One thing I noticed is that the kit's construction method is not necessarily accurate. The kit's hull is strip-planked with a ton of narrow 1/8x1/16 inch basswood strips. Some modern peapods are indeed strip-planked, but historically they were either lapstrake or carvel-built using wider planks. I briefly toyed with converting the build to one of these styles by shaping my own planks, but the formers are very widely spaced, which would make it difficult to determine the shape of the strakes. So I decided to just go with the strip planking--the hull will be painted anyway, and existing build logs show that the result looks nice.

 

There are a few build logs already that have been quite helpful in understanding the kit and some of its issues. Right off the bat, they pointed me toward the problem that the formers are very flimsily-attached to the building board. As can be seen, they're just edge-glued to the board, after you mark the centerlines and locations to get everything aligned.

 

So, I added some supports cut from scrap. I think the curves add a nice almost art deco touch.

 

The photo also shows my second deviation from the instructions. The instructions have you just glue the stem and sternpost to the keel plank. I did that, and then realized after that they weren't squared. I was wondering how to hold the posts vertical when I realized that I could just install them on the building board first, using the centered formers to hold the posts squared, and then could glue the keel plank in place on top. It took a bit of work to figure out the right location for the posts so the keel plank would fit the notches. I also had to prop the posts up on some 1/8‐inch scrap in order to get the posts to sit right. The other option would have been to remove a very large amount of material from the former notchs instead, but I decided to just add the scrap (althoughI still had to slightly widen and deepen the notches with a file). In any case, I was able to install the keel plank after marking the frame locations as per the plans.

 

 

I noticed that the keel plank was hovering a little over the second and fourth formers, so I slid a piece of sandpaper under the central former to lightly sand it down. It worked well and didn't significantly change the former's shape.

 

The next post will discuss the beginning of the planking process. All in all, this is shaping up to be an enjoyable, simple little build. (Knock on wood)

[JacquesCousteau]

Strip planking the hull has been fun so far, although I think it's going to become more complicated soon as I get closer to the keel.

 

The strip-planked hull starts at the wales and then moves in toward the keel. Some other logs noted that the hull tends to squeeze shut once it's pulled off the formers. To mitigate that, I've been bending the strips by soaking, heating, and letting them dry in place. Slow, but nothing too bad. It's great to start getting a sense of the hull shape, even with very little planked.

 

I've been trying to do both sides at the same time. It's working ok so far, but definitely requires some creative clamping. One of my solutions is seen below:

 

That turned out to be a pretty delicate balancing act, though. Many times, the clamp assembly wants to spring back off the hull. Using a large clamp to hold it in place has helped, although it will be harder to do the further up I go:

 

I somehow cut one of the strips slightly too short, and didn't notice until everything had dried. As the strip is glued all along the length of the other strip, it was still held securely in place, but there was a slight gap.

 

I was able to add a bit of scrap wood to fill the gap. It doesn't look great now, but should be smooth once sanded and painted:

 

My plan is to do the first three or four strips without additional shaping (besides slightly beveling the edge). Then, I'll start narrowing the ends a bit.

[JacquesCousteau]

A bit more progress on the planking. I'm bending each plank with water and heat and allowing it to dry in shape before gluing, which should help keep the hull from springing shut once it's taken off the formers but means that I can only do a pair of planks or so per day.

 

Lacking a rabbet, there's been some variation in where the planks end on the stems. I don't think it will be a problem once thinks are sanded and painted, though. Thankfully the 1/16-thick planks should be able to withstand a bit of aggressive sanding, which seems to be the only way to make this strip planking method work.

 

Although it's difficult to see, I began tapering the planks after the fourth strake. My plan is that the first strake will be covered by the rub rail, and there will be a stripe of paint below that, so I am hoping to use the strakes to help guide making an even paint strip.

 

One issue that I've run into is that the planking strips aren't totally consistent. Some are slightly narrower or wider than others. Unfortunately, as a result my planking runs are now slightly uneven at one stem. I'm trying to correct the issue by better shaping the next strake.

 

In any case, another set of planks is now drying overnight and will be glued tomorrow. Clamping this hull has definitely been a bit tricky!

[JacquesCousteau]

As can be seen, I was able to correct the unevenness at one of the stems by paying more attention to shaping the planks. Although one plank is wider at the stem than its pair on the other side of the hull, this discrepancy shouldn't be noticeable once the hull is sanded and painted.

 

As I continue, I'll pay more attention to making sure the planks are an even width as I taper them. I recently got a mini plane, and I'm looking forward to using it to taper the planks.

[yvesvidal]

Charming little boat. Great work putting it together.

 

Yves