Jim Lad Posted January 1 #61 Posted January 1 A very nice start to the planking! John JacquesCousteau and Keith Black 1 1
wefalck Posted January 2 #62 Posted January 2 Good job on what is usually the most difficult plank on a boat. Not sure, whether it is due to the perspective of the photograph or real, but there seems to be an upward curve between the last two bulkhead - I hope that doesn't cause you problems in the further planking, because I have the feeling that the next plank may end up having to have to be narrowed in that area ... or in other words the garboard plank should have gone higher up on the sternpost perhaps JacquesCousteau 1 wefalck panta rhei - Everything is in flux
JacquesCousteau Posted January 2 Author #63 Posted January 2 19 hours ago, Keith Black said: Sweet work on the garboards, Jacques. 18 hours ago, Jim Lad said: A very nice start to the planking! John Thanks! 7 hours ago, wefalck said: Good job on what is usually the most difficult plank on a boat. Not sure, whether it is due to the perspective of the photograph or real, but there seems to be an upward curve between the last two bulkhead - I hope that doesn't cause you problems in the further planking, because I have the feeling that the next plank may end up having to have to be narrowed in that area ... or in other words the garboard plank should have gone higher up on the sternpost perhaps Thanks for the suggestion! After coming back to the model this morning I had the same thought about something being a little off in that area. From photos it seems like there were usually multiple planks ending against the sternpost, so I didn't want to widen the plank at the aftmost end, but I thought I might be able to narrow the plank in some parts and get rid of the odd flatness to the run of the garboard aft. I considered trying to remove the plank with alcohol but was concerned that it would be difficult as this plank is the most solidly glued of all the hull planks (substantial surface area glued to the deadwood, sturdily set into the rabbet). Before taking it off, I decided to try reshaping the plank on the model--worst case scenario, I'd just have to redo it anyway. It was tricky as I don't have all my tools while traveling, and the files would have been really useful, but with a sanding stick and a craft knife I was able to give the plank a bit of a better run. Before: After: Thukydides, KurtH, wefalck and 6 others 9 Current Builds: Lancha Chilota Coasting Sloop (1:32) [Scratch] Completed Kit Builds: Model Shipways Dory (1:24); NRG Half-Hull Planking Kit (1:48); Midwest Maine Peapod (1:14) Completed Scratch Builds: Xochimilco Trajinera (1:32); Juana y José Cross Section (1:32); Lake Chapala Canoa de Rancho (1:32)
wefalck Posted January 2 #64 Posted January 2 Yes, indeed, that looks like less trouble with the next planks 👍🏻 JacquesCousteau, Paul Le Wol and Keith Black 3 wefalck panta rhei - Everything is in flux
Rick310 Posted January 2 #65 Posted January 2 Very nice! Rick JacquesCousteau, Keith Black and Paul Le Wol 2 1
JacquesCousteau Posted January 2 Author #66 Posted January 2 (edited) Thanks, all! With the garboard squared away, I’ve been working out the planking belts. I actually started on this a bit earlier as a way of figuring out what width I should give the garboard. I don’t really have any information about what sizes of wood were available, but what I could do, in at least a few of the photos that I have, is to count the number of planks on the hull, and from there work out how many planks I wanted to have on this model and what their maximum width would be, from which I was able to choose a slightly wider dimension for the garboard. Interestingly, many lanchas have planking of highly variable width where it intersects the stem. This is maybe clearest in this photo from 1935, which seems to have 14 planks below the sheer strake, some of them much wider than others. Source: https://www.bibliotecanacionaldigital.gob.cl/bnd/629/w3-article-320806.html Similarly, the vessel below (which seems to have 12 planks below the sheer strake) from 1963 also has planks of different widths. Source: https://www.memoriasdelsigloxx.cl/601/w3-article-1805.html I was unsure of how to best handle the uneven plank widths. I would like to make an accurate model, but this seems like something that could be easily overdone and look strange. It also would pose a challenge to lining out the hull. After some consideration, what I’m currently planning is to divide the hull into three equal bands of planking. However, while the upper and lower band will be made of 4 strakes each, the middle band will have 5 strakes. This way, the narrowest planking is around the turn of the bilge, which seems to be more or less what’s going on in the second photo above and which would make the most sense to me if there was any deliberate planning about where to use narrower planks (instead of the builders simply making do with what was available, which likely was at least a part of it). So, the middle band’s strakes will be about 20% narrower than the other strakes, which seems notable to anyone paying attention to the hull without going so far as to make the hull look weird. I’ve therefore begun marking out the bands using chart tape. As on the half-hull build, after getting a good run I’ll be letting it sit overnight to approach it with fresh eyes tomorrow. If anyone has any suggestions about the variable planking width and my plans to deal with it, I’m all ears! Edited January 2 by JacquesCousteau Harvey Golden, Keith Black, Thukydides and 4 others 7 Current Builds: Lancha Chilota Coasting Sloop (1:32) [Scratch] Completed Kit Builds: Model Shipways Dory (1:24); NRG Half-Hull Planking Kit (1:48); Midwest Maine Peapod (1:14) Completed Scratch Builds: Xochimilco Trajinera (1:32); Juana y José Cross Section (1:32); Lake Chapala Canoa de Rancho (1:32)
Thukydides Posted January 3 #67 Posted January 3 (edited) 3 hours ago, JacquesCousteau said: If anyone has any suggestions about the variable planking width and my plans to deal with it, I’m all ears! This is one of those cases I think where you have to weigh the aesthetic considerations with historical accuracy. Too much randomness may potentially look a bit off. You might want to try gluing card paper planks on a section just to make sure you are happy with the look before committing to the wood. That being said I would say your plan sounds like a good one. If you want to make the variable widths more random you could split into more bands and/or potentially randomly adjust some of the widths so that they are say 75% of what you put on the ticks and then make another one in the band take up 25% more. What I mean by this is lets say you have a band of 4 planks and at the point you are measuring they are each 8mm if equally divided. Then you could make the first one 6mm, the second 8mm, the third 10mm, the fourth 8mm. So essentially you are still equally dividing up the band, just in a much more random way. Now obviously this is much more complicated than just using a planking fan, but it will probably get a more random look if that is what you want to achieve. Edited January 3 by Thukydides JacquesCousteau and Keith Black 1 1 Current Builds: HMS Perseus (Scratch) Completed Builds: Type VII C U Boat (HobbyBoss); HM Cutter Alert (Vanguard Models)
JacquesCousteau Posted January 4 Author #68 Posted January 4 On 1/2/2025 at 8:10 PM, Thukydides said: This is one of those cases I think where you have to weigh the aesthetic considerations with historical accuracy. Too much randomness may potentially look a bit off. You might want to try gluing card paper planks on a section just to make sure you are happy with the look before committing to the wood. That being said I would say your plan sounds like a good one. If you want to make the variable widths more random you could split into more bands and/or potentially randomly adjust some of the widths so that they are say 75% of what you put on the ticks and then make another one in the band take up 25% more. What I mean by this is lets say you have a band of 4 planks and at the point you are measuring they are each 8mm if equally divided. Then you could make the first one 6mm, the second 8mm, the third 10mm, the fourth 8mm. So essentially you are still equally dividing up the band, just in a much more random way. Now obviously this is much more complicated than just using a planking fan, but it will probably get a more random look if that is what you want to achieve. Thank you for your detailed comments on this. I'm definitely wary of having too much randomness and making it look weird/wrong rather than interesting/accurate. The idea to test it out with card first is a good one. I also agree that a more variable width between planks rather than between bands may end up looking more natural, but it will be tricky to balance this so it doesn't look off. It's also worth noting that some lanchas had relatively even planking, as on the Marisol, below. Any unevenness there is pretty subtle--and somewhat obscured by the paint, as will be the case on my build: Source: https://www.carlosvairo.com/galeria-puerto-montt-lanchas-chilotas So, for now, I've decided to start the lower band of planking with equal-width planks marked out. After I get a couple strakes down, I may revisit whether I want to switch to some variable-width planks instead. After getting the bands finally adjusted, I marked out the plank widths (which may be adjusted a bit later, as mentioned above). I also worked out a 4-plank butt shift pattern. Based on photos like that of the Marisol, above, it seems like having 2-3 planks per strake should be reasonable. I then began work on the first plank, using the same method I used on the NRG Half-Hull--that is, using tape to mark out the shape (the method is described in more detail in that build log). So far I'm finding that the planks are close enough in shape that, after shaping one, I can trace around it to make the plank for the other side, leaving it very slightly wide and carefully sanding for the final shaping. I've added the fore and aft planks of the first strake above the garboard. Despite the pronounced twist, they seem to have turned out all right. There's a slight gap at the aftmost end on the port side, which I couldn't see before due to the clamps, but it's small and a bit of filler can fix it. davec, FriedClams, Scott Crouse and 4 others 7 Current Builds: Lancha Chilota Coasting Sloop (1:32) [Scratch] Completed Kit Builds: Model Shipways Dory (1:24); NRG Half-Hull Planking Kit (1:48); Midwest Maine Peapod (1:14) Completed Scratch Builds: Xochimilco Trajinera (1:32); Juana y José Cross Section (1:32); Lake Chapala Canoa de Rancho (1:32)
Jim Lad Posted January 4 #69 Posted January 4 I've always found that 'slow and steady' is the way to go with planking! 🙂 That's a very interesting looking stealer down near the forefoot in your image of the 'Marisol'. John Paul Le Wol, JacquesCousteau and Keith Black 3
JacquesCousteau Posted January 5 Author #70 Posted January 5 4 hours ago, Jim Lad said: That's a very interesting looking stealer down near the forefoot in your image of the 'Marisol'. Thanks, very good eye! I actually hadn't caught that. Somehow I misinterpreted the slight horizontal line through the stealer as the continuing plank, not sure how I missed that it's actually a stealer. It's definitely an interesting stealer, given that it seems to suddenly double the width of the plank. It looks like the plank above also turns into a steaker, this one with a pointed diagonal joint with the plank running into it. Keith Black, Glen McGuire and Paul Le Wol 3 Current Builds: Lancha Chilota Coasting Sloop (1:32) [Scratch] Completed Kit Builds: Model Shipways Dory (1:24); NRG Half-Hull Planking Kit (1:48); Midwest Maine Peapod (1:14) Completed Scratch Builds: Xochimilco Trajinera (1:32); Juana y José Cross Section (1:32); Lake Chapala Canoa de Rancho (1:32)
JacquesCousteau Posted January 10 Author #71 Posted January 10 By now, the planking is about one-third of the way complete. I've added three out of four strakes in the lower band and one out of four in the upper. So far, the planking is coming along all right. With the rather beamy and full shape of the hull, the planks in the lower band have all been very curved and the foreward planks have all had a pronounced twist, which has posed a challenge to getting a good fit. That said, the hull will be painted, which--compared with the NRG Half-Hull--gives me a little more flexibility with any minor issues, as I can just use filler if there's a tiny gap. I've been following the same planking methods as on the Half-Hull. To briefly recap: First, I use a bit of semi-translucent Tamiya masking tape to mark the shape of the plank. Then, I put it on a sheet of 1/32-inch-thick basswood and cut it out slightly oversize. I then dry fit, noting high points along the joint with the previous plank and sanding them down a little at a time, checking and rechecking until it fits well. Then I adjust the outer edge to fit the marks on the bulkheads until everything fits well, at which point the plank is soaked, clamped to dry in place, and then glued once dry. It's a pretty slow but meditative process that I enjoy, although if you're not careful it can be easy to accidentally oversand and ruin the plank, as I did here. So far I have not made a final decision about whether to add irregular-width planks further along. At the moment, I'm leaning toward no, because I think it will be very hard to see on the completed model, has a high chance of looking wrong, and would add complexity to lining out the strakes. I also have to admit that I think I'm doing a better job at consistent plank width so far on this build than on the Half-Hull, and it feels like a bit of a shame to purposely throw it off. I've also decided that I'll include a slight irregularity in the plank butt shift pattern. From the image of the Marisol shown a few posts ago, it looks to me like there's not necessarily a consistent plank butt shift over the entirety of the hull. I've determined that I can change up a strake in each band--especially because the strakes are longer in the upper band, allowing more possibilities--in order to include a bit of irregularity and suggest that these vessels were planked in somewhat idiosyncratic ways without looking too "off". Bryan Woods, Thukydides, KurtH and 5 others 8 Current Builds: Lancha Chilota Coasting Sloop (1:32) [Scratch] Completed Kit Builds: Model Shipways Dory (1:24); NRG Half-Hull Planking Kit (1:48); Midwest Maine Peapod (1:14) Completed Scratch Builds: Xochimilco Trajinera (1:32); Juana y José Cross Section (1:32); Lake Chapala Canoa de Rancho (1:32)
wefalck Posted January 10 #72 Posted January 10 It begins to look ship-shape 👍🏻 You are in the same dilemma as we all are who try to depict working boats in their real condition: how do I reproduce the irregularities and haphazardness of the 'real thing' without the model looking poorly executed. A problem that our colleagues who build historic ships in an 'artisanal' style to show their woodworking etc. skills don't have. I think there is no problem in using different plank widths or varying shift patterns as long as the planking us such is done neatly. Even if boatbuilders have to do with the random material that is available, they usually take care e.g. to plane/adze the surfaces neatly with no plank edges sticking out etc. I observed this even at the rough beach-building places for dhows in Zanzibar. The irregularities have to be to 'scale'. Keith Black, FriedClams and JacquesCousteau 3 wefalck panta rhei - Everything is in flux
Keith Black Posted January 10 #73 Posted January 10 The planking is coming along nicely, Jacques. Yeah, it'd be a shame to try random widths and mess up the beautiful work you've done thus far. JacquesCousteau and FriedClams 2 Current Builds: 1870's Sternwheeler, Lula Wood Hull Screw Frigate USS Tennessee Decorative Carrack Warship Restoration, the Amelia Completed: 1880s Floating Steam Donkey Pile Driver Early Swift 1805 Model Restoration
palmerit Posted January 10 #74 Posted January 10 5 hours ago, JacquesCousteau said: It's a pretty slow but meditative process that I enjoy, although if you're not careful it can be easy to accidentally oversand and ruin the plank, as I did here. I had to buy additional sheets of thin basswood because of the number of times I did that when doing the half hull. There certainly is a satisfaction that comes with getting a plank to fit just right. JacquesCousteau, FriedClams and Keith Black 3 Current Builds: Sherbourne 1763 (Vanguard Models), Norwegian Pram (Model Shipways), Muscongus Bay Lobster Smack (Model Shipways), Endurance (Lego) In the Queue: Ranger 1864 (Vanguard Models), Endurance (Occre), Syren US Brig 1803 (Model Shipways), Duchess of Kingston (Vanguard Models) Completed Builds: Lowell Grand Banks Dory (Model Shipways), 18th-Century Merchantman Half-Hull Planking Kit (NRG)
JacquesCousteau Posted Tuesday at 07:05 PM Author #75 Posted Tuesday at 07:05 PM Thanks, @wefalck, @Keith Black, and @palmerit for your comments, and to many others for the likes! I've made further progress on the planking, completing the lower band and having just one strake left in the upper band. At this point, I decided that I wil try for semi-irregular plank widths in the central band, so as to better match the photos I've seen of actual lanchas. As noted earlier, many seem to have had slightly slimmer planks around the bilge. To represent this, I took the remaining space--the central band plus the last strake of the upper band--and marked it out for six planks instead of five, reducing the average width relative to the other bands. I considered trying to mark out different widths within this new, expanded central band, but realized this would be tricky as I would need to set up matching irregular proportions across all bulkheads. Instead, I marked the new strake locations evenly, but I will fiddle with the plank widths by making some strakes just under the markings and others just over them. MAGIC's Craig, Harvey Golden, FriedClams and 9 others 12 Current Builds: Lancha Chilota Coasting Sloop (1:32) [Scratch] Completed Kit Builds: Model Shipways Dory (1:24); NRG Half-Hull Planking Kit (1:48); Midwest Maine Peapod (1:14) Completed Scratch Builds: Xochimilco Trajinera (1:32); Juana y José Cross Section (1:32); Lake Chapala Canoa de Rancho (1:32)
Jim Lad Posted Tuesday at 07:13 PM #76 Posted Tuesday at 07:13 PM Your planking is coming along very nicely. John FriedClams, Glen McGuire, JacquesCousteau and 3 others 5 1
Thukydides Posted Tuesday at 07:13 PM #77 Posted Tuesday at 07:13 PM That is a nice looking planking job Keith Black, mtaylor, JacquesCousteau and 3 others 5 1 Current Builds: HMS Perseus (Scratch) Completed Builds: Type VII C U Boat (HobbyBoss); HM Cutter Alert (Vanguard Models)
Paul Le Wol Posted Tuesday at 10:13 PM #78 Posted Tuesday at 10:13 PM Hi Jacques, totally agree with the previous comments. Beautiful planking. Keith Black, mtaylor, JacquesCousteau and 1 other 3 1 Best Regards……..Paul Completed Builds North Carolina Oyster Sharpie - Scratch. - Glad Tidings Model Shipways. - Nordland Boat. Billing Boats . - HM Cutter Cheerful-1806 Syren Ship Model Company.
FriedClams Posted Friday at 03:37 PM #79 Posted Friday at 03:37 PM Been reading through your log, JC and have enjoyed the historical background and research that you've provided. Thanks for that. Regional boats built for specific needs are typically designed for cost effectiveness and ease or repair, but I'm often amazed at how charming they can be. This new project of yours is such a boat, and you're doing a great job on it so far. Keep at it. Gary Paul Le Wol, Keith Black, Justin P. and 4 others 6 1 Current Build Pelican Eastern-Rig Dragger Completed Scratch Builds Rangeley Guide Boat New England Stonington Dragger 1940 Auto Repair Shop Mack FK Shadowbox
Justin P. Posted Friday at 04:20 PM #80 Posted Friday at 04:20 PM I agree with above, I always appreciate the historical context and envy your planking job - looking forward to seeing it through. mtaylor, Paul Le Wol, JacquesCousteau and 2 others 4 1 Current: Galley WASHINGTON 1776 - Scale 1:48 Completed: HMS TRITON - Cross Section - Scale 1:48 / Gallery Secret Vessel MOREL - Master Korabel - Scale 1:36 / Gallery 18th Century Armed Longboat - Model Shipways - Scale 1:24 / Gallery HMS BOUNTY Launch - Model Shipways - Scale 1:16 / Gallery Indefinite Hold: US Brig SYREN - Model Shipways - Scale 1:64
JacquesCousteau Posted Friday at 11:45 PM Author #81 Posted Friday at 11:45 PM Thanks, all, for the kind comments! I suspected as much during the Half Hull build, but I think planking may be my favorite part of modeling. Glad to hear that people are enjoying the history behind this vessel type, too. We'll see if I can add more as the build progresses, I enjoy research and feel it's important to understand not just how a boat was built, but how and why it came to be. Gary, I think "charming" is a good word for it. For such a beamy, full-bodied, and rather squat vessel, the hull still has a bit of grace to it, I think. A couple more strakes have been added. Now I'll be packing up the hull for travel back home, and I'll be finishing planking there. vossiewulf, Bryan Woods, Keith Black and 8 others 11 Current Builds: Lancha Chilota Coasting Sloop (1:32) [Scratch] Completed Kit Builds: Model Shipways Dory (1:24); NRG Half-Hull Planking Kit (1:48); Midwest Maine Peapod (1:14) Completed Scratch Builds: Xochimilco Trajinera (1:32); Juana y José Cross Section (1:32); Lake Chapala Canoa de Rancho (1:32)
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