Bateau de Lanvéoc by JacquesCousteau - Scale 1:32 - From Ancre Plans

[JacquesCousteau]

Lots of ups and downs, but I've made some progress on the Bateau.

 

First, I advanced a bit on the building jig, although I still need to file the frame notches to the proper size (I forgot to bring the files that day) and add the bolt, nut, and washer assembly that will hold the jig up properly.

 

I also decided to try cutting out my first frame. 

 

The first futtock turned out great. For the second, though, I didn't leave enough space cutting outside the line, and somehow managed to cut at a bit of an angle, resulting in an unusable, thin piece. I resolved to do better with the floor. But, as I was nearing on tip, the wood suddenly snapped, cracking at a diagonal that rendered this piece, too, unusable.

 

The good piece is on the right, the unusable ones at center and left:

 

This was a frustrating experience, but I think I can draw two lessons from it. First: I should just start drawing a line about 1mm outside the frame line to follow, because I have a hard time cutting a consistent distance outside a line. Second, I should cut the frames purposely overlong and only trim the edges to the proper size afterward, so that there's more support around the ends of the frames and they're less likely to break while cutting.

 

Meanwhile, I worked out the rabbet shape. It was a bit tricky to get right, because the edge of the garboard is bevelled in a way that changes over the length of the hull. So rather than assuming a squared-off plank edge and setting the rabbet to the changing angle of the plank, I had to figure out how the plank bevel was changing and would interact with the rabbet. The result is a little messy and probably not quite right, but it should work and I can always make minor adjustments as necessary later.

 

At both the bow and the stern, the rabbet needed to transition from a simple beveled edge to a squared-off cut, which I did with a sharp blade and mini-files. I think I extended the squared portion a little too far forward at the stern, but checking with a piece of planking wood shows that everything should still fit well.

 

 

While the deadwood was pretty straightforward, just thinning the lower edges and corner a bit, the stem and sternpost were more complicated. At the top of the sternpost, the planks enter pretty much straight from the sides due to the pronounced curve of the hull, but that gradually shifts until, by the bottom, the planks will run flat into the sternpost.

 

The stem is similar, but a different shape.

 

To transfer the rabbet shape to the opposite side, I used a metal divider to scribe the line before cutting.

 

 

After a lot of careful cutting, I decided that it was finally time to start gluing. I began with the bow. Unfortunately I couldn't get a clamp onto the parts very well while holding them against the plans on a flat surface, and right after gluing, I realized that it was angled to the side--very slightly, but possibly enough to cause a problem. I applied alcohol and began to separate the parts, when a minor tragedy struck and the stem snapped at the joint:

 

After a bit of cursing and considering my options, I decided that I may as well see if I could glue it back together before making a new one. Between carving out a tight scarf joint and the rabbet, the stem had been the most complex part so far, and I wasn't exactly enthusiastic about remaking it. Fortunately, the parts fit very well and, after clean-up, the joint was practically invisible from the sides.

 

While waiting on that to dry, I glued the sternpost and deadwood to the keel:

 

And then the stem. After sawing off the excess bit of keel at the stern and sanding off the extra I left below the stem, I'm pleased with how the keel structure turned out!

 

 

There's a bit of touch-up here and there to do, but it's coming along well. The repair at the bow is invisible from the sides and barely visible from the bottom (which of course will be barely visible on the completed model).

 

 

Overall this has been an eye-opening experience. The complexity of making a POF build from scratch is an order of magnitude greater than any previous builds I've done, and I've made plenty of errors. (And tried to learn from them.) Even something as seemingly simple as the keel structure has taken a lot of work and plenty of frustrations. Challenging as it is, I'm learning a lot and (mostly) enjoying the experience.

[Keith Black]

 Jacques, I missed this build till just now. I look forward to following along. 

[wefalck]

Very nice ship's capentry job !  Although on a real boat it would be a lot more physical labour to cut the rabbets, laying out in 1:1 is a lot easier than at a small scale (how do I know this ...).

 

[Paul Le Wol]

Nice recovery Jacques and beautifully crafted!

[KLarsen]

Very nice work, it's coming along great!

However, when you lay out the frames to cut, try and use the curved part of the sheet to your advantage: some of the frames could have had the veins running all along them instead of across them. I always try to maximise the curved veins in a sheet when I'm lucky enough to get them 😁

[JacquesCousteau]

Thanks, all! @wefalck, yes, I think I'll be looking into getting some more tools for detail work--a riffler file, maybe some micro-chisels--in the future. I'm making some basic furniture in my carpentry class and there's a lot more room for error at full scale. (At least for my current skill level--no fancy dovetail joints for me!)

 

@KLarsen, you're right, I need to figure out how to make more effective use of the wood grain, especially when the futtock takes nearly a 90-degree curve. I think that laying out more frame pieces at a time will help me to set them up more efficiently on the sheet.