Sloop Speedwell 1752 by baribeaujm (Jean-Marc) - Syren Ship Model Company - 1:32 Scale - POF Sloop

[Rustyj]

That is some very nice work!

[baribeaujm]

Hull Planking

 

I proceeded with the hull planking as per the instructions. The paper template is crucial for adjusting the position of the sweep ports and gun ports. The height of a few gun ports sills had to be corrected (never more than 1/32") to conform to the template. Some sweep ports were a bit off and this could be taken care of by tracing their exact position using the template. I guess these slight adjustments are unavoidable given all the possible variations in frame construction and positioning. 

 

Adjusting the upper wale height at the bow is a bit tricky. For this I positioned a 1/8" guide as shown here.

With the upper wale position established, I proceeded with the planking. For shaping the planks I used the travel iron and air dryer technique. I used a combination of CA and PVA for gluing. I typically would apply CA to 10 consecutive frames and ten PVA on the following 2-3 frames. The CA glued section is position carefully and once the glue is cured, the PVA glued buffer gives me easy access and time to apply CA glue to the next 10 frames. I found this approach insured that all frames were glued to the plank, avoided CA messes, and minimized the risk of opening gaps at the joints when CA is used at once over the whole length of the plank. 

 

Before planking above the wales, I checked the width of my 7/32" planks. My planks were a hair too thick (0.225" instead of 0.219"). I used my Varitas mini plane to narrow the planks down to the correct width. Slightly thicker planks would have led to complications when planking around the ports and shifted the position of the fancy molding.  I completed the first three rows plus part of the fourth. 

 

 A milestone has been reached. It is now time to remove the jig!