Sultan Arab Dhow by SiriusVoyager - Artesanía Latina - 1:60

[SiriusVoyager]

The dhow seems to be quite the important boat historically, however I haven't found a whole lot of information about how dhows are constructed.  Most of the information about the dhow is about their importance to trade and the cultures that used them.  The range of the dhow extended from the Red Sea to the the Indian subcontinent.  According to Wikipedia, Dhows likely originated in India 1400 years ago, but are now more common in the Red Sea with most being built in Yemen. 

 

A kit review can be found here.

 

 

As far and the build, the kit starts in a pretty standard way.  The false keel bulkheads seem to be very precise in their shape and cutting.  In previous builds I would remove the char from every edge.  That resulted in bulkheads that were loose and needed to be carefully aligned.  By not removing the char, the bulkheads fit quite well and everything was mostly square.  Two bulkheads, 2 and 8 needed a little adjustment to square up. 

 

 

 

 

The stern bulkhead, number 13, is supposed to have two support pieces added.  As they are shaped, it appears that they should line up with the stern bulkhead's lower edge.  The problem with that is that they don't line up with the false keel.

 

 

I lined up the the support pieces so that the false deck will sit on them and beveled the edges so that they would be level.  The instructions in the next steps show that the supports will line up with the bulkhead after faring, so I will see how this lines up.  It seems like an excessive amount of wood to remove.

 

 

Stem supports were also added.

 

 

Basic deck pieces were added and nailed down.  The nails are necessary and useful because there is a slight concavity to the deck.

 

 

 

Once the false deck pieces are in place, the instructions call for gluing along every edge to secure everything in place.

 

 

 

 

 

The next step will be faring the hull after the glue dries.

 

Edited December 5, 2024 by SiriusVoyager

[wefalck]

Put some resources to your kit review: 

 

 

[SiriusVoyager]

Time to fare the hull.  Frame 10 seemed to be a bit short so I bulked it up a bit with some pieces of scrap from the plywood sheets.

 

 

 

The shape of the bow is also a bit strange.  With the added structure, I'm not exactly sure how much to take off.  The bulked up part of the false keel doesn't line up with the forward bulkhead, so I will have to make a educated guess to get the right shape.

 

 

The false keel and "actual" keel aren't quite the same shape either, so I will need to be careful with the planking to make sure there aren't any gaps.  It is also tricky getting the shape of the false keel just right.

 

 

 

 

I took a couple days to check and recheck the faring.  I think I got it about as fared as I felt comfortable getting it to, without taking off too much wood.  I'll touch it up as needed as I add planks.

 

 

[Rick01]

Hi - I see you've had a look at my build and will have noted a few of the problems I ran across with the build. To make the best of this you do need to dry fit and measure most items as I was never really happy with what was given on the plans. As for the padding out of the bulkheads I seem to remember at least two needed work otherwise the planking had a dip in it!! 

Have fun and look at as many photos of actual working dhows as you can find, avoiding the tourist ones if you want something with realism.

 

Rick

Edited December 10, 2024 by Rick01

[SiriusVoyager]

On 12/9/2024 at 4:45 AM, Rick01 said:

Hi - I see you've had a look at my build and will have noted a few of the problems I ran across with the build. To make the best of this you do need to dry fit and measure most items as I was never really happy with what was given on the plans. As for the padding out of the bulkheads I seem to remember at least two needed work otherwise the planking had a dip in it!! 

Have fun and look at as many photos of actual working dhows as you can find, avoiding the tourist ones if you want something with realism.

 

Rick

Rick, I have definitely taken note of some of the issues that you came across in your build and appreciate your documenting them.  I’ll be referencing your log as I go.

[SiriusVoyager]

Just your standard first layer planking.  I am using a curling Iron to heat the strakes to bend and twist them.  It is working fairly well to get the strake to be the general shape of the hull.  This is also the first time I have used nails while planking.  I am not putting a nail into every bulkhead because it doesn't seem necessary where they fit and conform well.  I am putting a nail in where the strips need just a little help to conform to the shape of the hull, mostly in the stern.  At this point I will need to start shaping the strakes better to fit without huge gaps.  The last strake to go on was a bit tricky because of the amount of lateral bend needed.

 

 

 

The one area that is giving me grief is the bow.  After the first or second plank, the first bulkhead isn't in contact with the strakes. I could visually tell this would happen from the beginning.  The instructions don't really have any information on it and it is pretty obvious that it would be a very odd shape to force the strip to conform to the bulkhead.  I am contemplating wedging some scrap wood in there just for some structural support.  I have had to do that a little bit with second bulkhead.

 

 

The instructions don't mention beveling the false keel towards the front, but looking at how the keel attaches, it seems necessary.

 

 

 

[Knocklouder]

Looking great, good luck on your journey  with this one.    

Bob  M.

[wefalck]

OK, this is the notorious first planking (I wonder, why kit manufacturers still go for it, while there are better methods to create a solid foundation for the 'real' planking. However, It may have been better to begin planking prototype-fashion from the garboard up. This give you a better feeling for the run of the planking in general and how it is supposed to rund against the keel and the stem. I would consider this for the 2nd round of planking.

 

It is also a good idea to have a look how the planking is/was done on the real thing. One of the places where traditional dhows were built until quite recently is Sur in Oman. Just 'google' with 'dhow sur oman' and lots of pictures and videos will pop up. You will have to search for images with a dhow under construction, as at completion the hull below the waterline was smeared with a concoction of quick-lime, coconut-oil and what not against the attack of Terredo navalis and you cannot see the run of the planking.

 

[SiriusVoyager]

@wefalck  Thanks for the search suggestion.  There are some good photos of hull planking.  I will be starting at the garboard for the second layer planking and trying my best to make that look authentic since it will be the visible layer.

[Nirvana]

Eric, when I read the log name starting with Sultan lead me directly to the band Dire Straits and their song Sultans of Swing,

Just like the song your start of your Sultan looks good.
Does it have double planking? 

[Nirvana]

Eric, I did a quick research on the Dhow and found this link for you.

History and Construction of the Dhow
I don't know if you got it before, hope it can be helpful. 

[wefalck]

Incidentally Norbert Weismann, who is one of those who intensively researched Arab vessels, particularly those of Oman, over the past 30 years just started publishing a series of articles on the Sanbuq (albeit in German):

 

WEISMANN, N. (2024): Der Sanbuq DHI'B.- Das Logbuch, 2-2024: 158-165.

 

Weismann discusses the origins and characteristics of Sanbuqs.

 

The kit seems to be based on a lithograph in PÂRIS's 'Souvenirs de la Marine', Plate 57 in the first volume, which in turn is based on a drawing by LeMasson of 1865 (preserved in the archives of the Musée de la Marine, Paris). This appears to be first detailed western drawing of a Sanbuq (spelling varies depending on the transcription into which western language). LeMasson was involved in the construction of the Suez Canal.

Edited December 30, 2024 by wefalck

[SiriusVoyager]

On 12/29/2024 at 6:47 PM, Nirvana said:

Eric, when I read the log name starting with Sultan lead me directly to the band Dire Straits and their song Sultans of Swing,

Just like the song your start of your Sultan looks good.
Does it have double planking? 

Thank you for the link and compliment.  Fortunately for me the model does have double planking.  I should have some updates to the log very soon.  I happen to have the song Sultans of Swing loaded onto my phone twice.  I'm not sure why but as a result I tend to hear it fairly regularly. 

[SiriusVoyager]

The first layer planking is completed.  I was hoping that I wouldn't need to use any wood putty to fill in gaps, and I likely could have gotten away with not using any.  In the end, I decided to go ahead and use the putty just to make sure everything is nice and smooth.  I didn't expect so much filler to be left after sanding, but that is ok.  I will need to decide how I want to proceed next.  I want to stain the deck and would prefer to do that prior to the second layer hull planking to avoid any unintentional splashes of stain onto the hull.  However, the second layer planking probably adds structure that would help any breaking or deformation of the bulwark when trimming the bulkheads in step 8.  I may try removing one piece of bulkhead and see how the bulwark holds up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The prow isn't quite straight but it will be under the keel/stem and will be hidden by the second layer planking.

[SiriusVoyager]

I decided to trim the bulkheads to do the decking first.  This is to make staining easier and in case I accidentally damage the bulwark.  It will obviously be easier to repair damage to the first layer planking than the outer layer.  I think this was a good plan because there were a few small gashes in the planks, and some of the planks did need to be glued together because without the bulkheads, they were not being held in place.  I used some dilute white glue to get in between the planks, then wiped down the sides so that the outer layer can be properly glued.  As far as trimming down the bulkheads, it went easier than I expected.  A little IPA and some time with a blade and they came off the planks fairly easily.  The trickiest part was actually cutting the bulkhead extensions.  I couldn't get a straight cut and it took a bit of careful cutting to avoid damaging the planks. The next step will be to sand everything down to smooth it out and plank the second layer inboard of the bulwark.