About to plank my first hull

[Captain Amateur]

Hi modellers. 
 

I'm about to plank my first hull (HMS Bellona by Corel) and have a question about the bulkheads. How do I feel with bulkheads that aren’t flushed with the deck? Obviously if they are wider I can taper them down. But what if they are a bit inside? How best to add materials? Adding a couple of pictures. Thank you all in advance!

[barkeater]

You can fix it in either of two ways. First option, take an EXTRA piece of wood strip for planking and either run it up the bulkhead and glue with pva or cut several small pieces and place these across the bulkhead so your planking will have contact wood continuously to glue to. You probably will have to sand down or file it down at least the end to taper depending on your situation. If you run it up long ways, then you probably are going to have to clamp or heat bend in your case. Be careful you don't snap off the bulkhead as they can be somewhat fragile. If you ever do break a bulkhead, you can just sister brace them with a piece of wood. Finally, it looks like you are going to have to add some wood to the bulkhead below the deck as well from your picture. 

Second option, you could shave the extra wood from your false deck, so it doesn't stick out. Just lay a plank across the bulkheads from for to aft and slowly and carefully trim away the excess wood so that the plank you are using as a reference can slide up and down over the deck. 

Rich

[Captain Amateur]

Thanks barkeater. I think I'll go with your first suggestion. And will add a plank from bottom to top. Potentially more than one until flushed with the deck.

 

[Ronald-V]

Be aware that with almost all kits, you'll need to sand the false deck to the same size as the bulkheads. The false deck is almost always left slightly larger so you can give it the correct curve later.

 

You can check if a bulkhead is too small by placing a strip of wood across several bulkheads simultaneously. Does the strip fit snugly against each bulkhead with a good curve? Or is there a gap between them that needs to be filled (Corel is known for this, since the bulkheads aren't laser-cut). Barkeater offers a good way to fill that gap.

[Captain Amateur]

ah....Thanks Ronald-V. 

That gives a new perspective...I thought the false deck is what I should align to... 

However, some of the bulkhead perfectly flush with the deck and a few aren't. I will likely fill in the shorter ones. Just need to find new strips and not overuse the kit's planks.