Planking disaster

[sgrez]

Because of being new at this, I'm not sure how to continue with planking. Hopefully I don't have to rip any of them off, but I'm not sure. If anyone has any suggestions, comments or tips by all means please let me know. This is getting a second covering. This is an OcCre albatros.

[palmerit]

You don’t have any clinkering - steps in planks or planks that want to pull away - which is nice. Even though you will be adding a second planking I’d probably not hammer in the nails all the way but use them to hold a plank in position then remove them. But maybe it doesn’t matter.

 

The little I’ve watched of the Occre videos they seem to just have planks cover the hull even if it mean adding pointy planks. One potential issue is that there will be some places where a piece of planking ends between bulkheads rather than on a bulkhead. 
 

I’d say to just plug ahead to get the first planking done and then look at other resources how how to do planking the “right” way. I don’t think you need to rip out. 
 

The one planks need to be tapered, especially at the front end, which is why you ran out of room. The instructions for Vanguard models (which you can download) have some photos showing how to do this. Lots of other great resources out there showing the “right” way to plank. 

Edited August 30 by palmerit

[ubjs]

Look at this build log of Polaris and you get some ideas for the second planking.

Your first planking looks ok so far.

 

[wmherbert]

Hey, that's no disaster.  For first time to me it looks really pretty good. You're going to cover it all with second layer.  After a smoothing sanding of first layer and the practice of the first layer I think it will come out great.

Don't be discouraged,  you should see some my planking jobs!

Bill

[CPDDET]

I've seen much worse. Remember, it's only wood and can replaced or repaired as you see fit. Check out other build logs of this model and see how the planking was done. Don't get discouraged, it's a process, not an event.

[barkeater]

You're ok, just taper the remaining planks. The first planking in a double planking is really just a base to apply the second planking to. I would get rid of the nails as has previously been noted. You can't sand them. Use some wood filler and sand nice and smooth to receive the second planking. Have fun.

Rich

[sgrez]

I appreciate everyone's input on the planking. I'm just so nervous about messing it up. I'll see what I can use to dig out the pins. I know that I read somewhere that they would all have to be filed down, but I think removing them would be a little easier. 

[CPDDET]

On my first build I had to rip out about a 3rd of the hull planks and redo them. Tough lesson for me, but it wasn't all that difficult to recover. Have faith, carry on.

[palmerit]

Check out my Sherbourne first planking. It was a complete mess compared to what you did. My second planking was also terrible. Especially if the hull is being painted, it’s amazing what you can do with filler and sanding, filler and sanding. If you treat every opportunity to plank as an opportunity to just leave the planking bare, maybe with some oil or shellac, eventually you’ll develop the skill to want to leave the planking bare with just some oil or shellac. 

Edited August 31 by palmerit

[wmherbert]

My personal savior. Works great. Sands easily. Let dry thoroughly before sanding.

Bill

[CPDDET]

1 hour ago, wmherbert said:

My personal savior. Works great. Sands easily. Let dry thoroughly before sanding.

Bill

Mine too!

[ERS Rich]

Good job so far.  Do you want to take it to the next level, beyond the instructions?  Start tapering the plank widths.  Consider planking 4 bulkheads at a time - it’s easier.

 

Consult the How to Plank references here on MSW.  Get into plank tapering.

 

Good luck!

 

-Rich

 

 

[ERS Rich]

Consider a lot of putty means painting the hull. The putty texture will not match wood grain.  This means sealing the wood, prime, then paint.

 

Good luck,

 

-Rich

[Stevinne]

As other folks have said, that's no disaster. Your hull is looking good and any issues will be covered by your second layer of planking. Going forward, I'd recommend using tacks with large plastic heads in place of nails for your second build. I used nails on my first build and pulled them all out before laying the second layer of planks. It's much easier with the tacks. Good luck and don't get discouraged. It looks like you are well on your way to a very nice build.

 

[Slowhand]

On 8/31/2025 at 1:35 AM, sgrez said:

I appreciate everyone's input on the planking. I'm just so nervous about messing it up. I'll see what I can use to dig out the pins. I know that I read somewhere that they would all have to be filed down, but I think removing them would be a little easier. 

You should be able to lever the pins out quite easily. When I am doing second planking I never pin directly into the wood just use the little brass pins provided or more recently a drawing pin into bulkhead next to the plank push plank up to its neighbour and use head to push strip down

[buntzi]

On 8/31/2025 at 4:35 AM, sgrez said:

[...]I'm just so nervous about messing it up. I'll see what I can use to dig out the pins. I know that I read somewhere that they would all have to be filed down, but I think removing them would be a little easier. 

You're stressing too much for a minor issue. I don't blame you, but you need to relax

The nails will come off quite easily with a cutter or a cutting plier (or any tool that have a flat face and a cutting edge that can get under the nail's head), and as @barkeater mentioned above, the first layer is just a support for the second one. This is the beauty and major advantage of the two-layers hulls. You can be a little rough with the first layer, use wood filler to get the proper shape and then finalize beautifully with the second planking.

Good luck with your build!

[Bill97]

Rather than file down or pull the nails I just use a nail head set tool to tap the heads down into the first planking. 

[sgrez]

Well finally finished the first planking. I guess it it's not too bad, seeing how now I'm going to use crack filler on it. Then the second planking which is like a walnut veneer. Don't know if I should use contact glue or not as I've never worked with that. From what I've read and heard once you stick it, that's it. 

[Knocklouder]

I wouldn't  use contact cement.  After your hull is filled and sanded , I would brush a coat of wood glue, thined 25% - 30% water. Then when planking  a good coat of wood glue.

  This is what I do, other's have there way.

       It looking good though

Bob  M.

[palmerit]

I've seen that some people use contact cement and swear by it. Others say just as strongly to stay away. I'd also suggest wood glue. I tried using CA glue on entire planks - the Vanguard instructions describe doing that - but I made a mess. CA doesn't give me enough time to make sure a plank is in place. Maybe someday I'll be able to use CA when planking more often. The only time I use CA glue when planking is when securing the plank end to the bow. I just apply CA to the very end. If I mess up, it's easy to get acetone in there to undo the glue. Using CA on the very end - assuming you really get it set in the right way in the right place - can then make it easier to apply wood glue to the rest of the plank. Also, the bow (and stern) ends are often the hardest to secure in place to let wood glue dry. While some say if the plank is shaped right you don't need any clamps or rubber bands, there's also the fact that wood glue sets better under pressure, at least from what I've read. I'm no expert though. Still trying to work it out for myself and exploring different options.

Edited Thursday at 05:53 PM by palmerit

[sheepsail]

Contact cement creeps and stuff shifts about.  Has no torsional strength.   Can be sort of twisted apart.   Does work on stuff like Formica and  foam rubber. Not so great on wood to wood joins.

 

I think most people use the casein white glues, such as the Elmer's brand. 

 

Had a friend attempt to use gorilla glue for cabinet veneers.   Total disaster, humidity caused excess swelling and de-lamination.

 

CA glue is best at gluing skin together.

 

My personal preference is for hide glues, which have been around for centuries. Steep learning curve, and not really the norm anymore.

 

 

[barkeater]

ok, my two cents. I use wood glue (pva) when joining wood or wood products (paper). If I need to glue wood to metal or plastic, I use cyanoacrylate (ca). My planking I do with pva. I heat bend my planks before gluing and even if I have to clamp with my fingers, a slow count to 100 usually gives enough time to set the glue. Ca is messy and if you get it on a surface it will stain. Even if you paint you can see the stain as it is plastic and fills in the wood grain. You also can't easily sand it out either. Yes, you can remove with acetone but with excess pva I just wipe with a wet paper towel. It also sands nice with no staining. My main use for ca is pinning deck furniture where I place a pin internally and glue it to a hole drilled in the deck.