Norwegian Sailing Pram by Venti - Model Shipways - 1:12

[Venti]

Hello all!
It's time to start another one of these as I just got the boxes with the pram and smack in it! 😁

 

I just want to start this out by asking for a suggestion on desk vises. Specifically ones that will work for the pram, smack and then the larger size ships I will be doing more of in the futures. I used to have a nice ball vice to use for stuff but not sure if I want something as mobile as that for this hobby.

 

I've been going through the other build logs for it and read through the instructions already! Pretty excited to work through this one. One thing I've kind of annoying so far is that it's not clear at all which pieces are which on one of the wood sheets. There are multiple pieces that look like they could be the transom knees... or they could be stern/bow quarter knees... I thought it was the ones right next to the bottom half of the stern transom but it looked much smaller than in the pictures so I went with the two from the empty sections shown below. It looks correct comparing the transoms to the pictures in the book so we move forward!

 

Will update soon. Thanks in advance for all the help/suggestions!

 

[Venti]

Well quick update. It looks like most people in build logs are using the larger knee-looking piece with a hole in the corner for the stern transom knee... It looks better so I am going to swap to that as well.

[Kenchington]

2 hours ago, Venti said:

the larger knee-looking piece with a hole in the corner for the stern transom knee

Something is weird. My kit had the various knees labelled by the laser-cutter.

 

I can't give you definite answers because my sheet has been cut up as I needed scrap for various bits and pieces. However, I think that the two knees you had glued to the transoms before taking your photo are the stern quarter knees.

 

The stern transom knee is the one with the transverse hole laser-cut through it. (A hole that has no known purpose!) You seem to have two copies of that.

 

The pair of knees at the far left of your image are the ones that go on top of the midship thwart.

 

The bow transom knee is next in from those two, under the mould labelled "25".

 

The pair of knees just above where you took out the bow transom are the bow quarter knees.

 

But you should double check all that!

 

 

Trevor

[palmerit]

Check to see if you might have a part sheet in your box that has a map of the parts. I'm building a Midwest model (made by Model Expo too) and discovered that the instructions were quite different from the actual layout of the parts on the sheets and only then realized that there was another sheet in the box that in addition to having a parts list at the top had a map to a couple of the laser cut sheets at the bottom.

 

I also used the wrong knee when building the Pram. Good practice to undo some glue and try again. It's definitely a skill you'll use again - and just know that you can do it with a bunch of alcohol (if using PVA) or acetone (if using CA) with a few applications and some patience is a good skill to have. Also learn from my mistake and be careful using a scalpel or other sharp blade to remove a glued piece - on my Smack I had to remove a piece and it removed all at once and a blade went into my hand (just barely escaped with just a nasty scar without needing stitches).

[Venti]

Ah thank you so much you guys!

Yes you were right, Trevor.

 

And yes Palmerit, there is indeed a sheet with the the parts and it is labeled! That will be very nice moving forward...

 

I got the knees swapped out to the correct ones and added a couple strips to the bottom of the building board to make it a bit more sturdy. Credit: Kenchington

[OldeManToad]

I had the same problem with my Pram kit. I found this picture on the internet with the correct labeling.

 

 

Hope this helps.

[Venti]

That does help a lot OldeManToad, thank you!

 

Got a little bit done today! Got the building board built and the transoms built (with the correct knees this time).

I'm not extremely happy with the bevels on the transoms but I think they will be fine... I need to not overwork them or I won't have a transom left haha... I think I put the knees a bit too high and so when I did the first bevel to match the knee, the other ones ended up not lining up with the laser marks.

 

I glued the transom holders in and plan to just cut them off afterwards. Got a nice little wedge in there and some pins to prevent anything from moving too easily and I'm about ready to start planking! After watching Chuck's planking videos I got me a little baby iron and will try to bend the planks with it. I hated having to wait most of a day for the planks to dry after soaking them in hot water. 

 

[Kenchington]

Looking good so far!

 

If you leave that char on the moulds, it will stain the planks -- or it would if you bent wet planks over the moulds. Maybe your bending approach will eliminate that. Even sanding almost-all char off mine, I still had staining. But that's not much of a problem if you plan on painting the interior.

 

The bow-transom bevels on the pram are a nightmare but you can slightly adjust the shape of each before laying a plank on it. I'd say that you are good to go for now. The point that you should probably fix before going any further are the steps on the stern transom, between the bevels for the bottom planks and the one for the keel plank. Those need sharp right-angles. Your image shows slight curves, which would push the bottom planks outwards, preventing a tight joint.

 

Trevor

[Venti]

Hey Trevor, thanks again for your insight! I do plan to paint it so I'm not worried about it staining the wood this time. 

 

As for the curve between the bevels... This was caused by my poor decision in how to sand the bevels and lack of a desk vise... I ended up sanding too much towards the center so I planned to get the planks close to ready and see how everything will fit and then adjust as needed. I'm pretty sure I'll need to use some wood filler for these spots. 

[Venti]

I got the bottom planks and keel planks bent pretty nicely! The iron works so well! It's very forgiving if you mess up a bend or just want to change it after you bent it once.

 

I had to do some editing of the build board after test fitting the bottom planks... the stern most mold was either not centered or I had it in backwards (or both). but it made the bottom planks not line up with the stern transom at all. Of course I glued the mold in extensively (yes even though the book says not too 🤪) so I needed to use some alcohol to break it out and once I turned it around everything lined up very nicely.

 

I now have 1 issues that I'd like some input before I proceed... the bow transom knee does not seem like it will be flat against any of the planks... And with this same thing, it seems like there will be a gap between the two bottom planks at the bow transom. Not just because of where the planks naturally lie, but because I don't think the two planks will be wide enough to go across the entire bottom of the bow transom. I saw Kenchington add a piece of wood between the bottom planks to fill in the gap and I will likely do the same. I'm confident it will be fine looking at the front of the boat, but how does the inside of the boat look with this? Is the bow transom knee supposed to connect to the planks on the inside of the boat?

I'm worried if I don't do something about it now, it will be MUCH harder to make look good.

 

It's obvious I will also need to makes some adjustments to the bevels on the stern transom to make them line up better with the bottom planks, but I hope that isn't too bad.... I might get all the planks prepped and dry fit them to make sure my angles all work out 🤔 Then I can mark the transoms and hopefully get them right.

 

Anyways here's some pictures. everything so far is lining up better than I hoped and I think that's a good sign 😁

[Kenchington]

1 hour ago, Venti said:

how does the inside of the boat look with this? Is the bow transom knee supposed to connect to the planks on the inside of the boat?

Yes, the knee is supposed to be in contact with the keel plank. (Full-size, that would be essential to the structural integrity of the boat.)

 

The piece I added in the end (after planning, then rejecting, a couple of other solutions) looks like the butt end of an extra plank externally but, internally, it is more like a downward extension of the knee and is probably invisible even with the closest examination.

 

I suspect that a full-size builder would shape the knee so that it extended between the bottom planks and contacted the keel plank. But he (or she) would be building the boat upright, not inverted, and with plenty of space to work inside the developing hull!

 

Trevor

[Kenchington]

1 hour ago, Venti said:

I might get all the planks prepped and dry fit them to make sure my angles all work out 🤔

You may well be a much better model builder than I am. But I could don't have mad that work. Dry-fit planks are too unstable and the fit of each strake, when finally glued in, is too uncertain until everything sets. I had to build one plank at a time. But if you can do better: Go for it!

 

Trevor

[Venti]

1 hour ago, Kenchington said:

is too uncertain until everything sets

Yeah after I said it and started thinking about it, I don't think it's a great idea... especially with the gains.

 

1 hour ago, Kenchington said:

Yes, the knee is supposed to be in contact with the keel plank

Hmm... My brain is not seeing how the bow knee contacts the keel plank like the stern knee does without the step in the transom.

 

I will sleep on it, but will probably end up doing much the same as you have. Add a piece between the bottom planks below the keel plank and make it look like an extension of the knee.

 

Again, I super appreciate your help!