Fair American by GaryKap - FINISHED - Model Shipways - Scale 1:48

[wq3296]

Greetings Gary,

 

Really nice job. Your prep work has paid off. Looks good by anybody's standard, especially for a first timer.

 

wq3296

[rafine]

Very nicely done, Gary. 

 

Bob

[dgbot]

Nicely done.  I have found out over the years  that the walnut supplied in kits is almost always unusuable.  Either too dry or prone to cracking.  You are doing a fine job.  The use of battens is really not a big mystery.  All you are doing is seperating the hull into a more managable area for planking.  Once you get used ti you would probably do it all the time.  Keep up the good work.

David B

Edited February 14, 2014 by dgbot

[KenW]

Your planking looks great!  I want to compare mine when I am up to 9 strakes. 

I can only hope it looks as well.

Great work.

[GaryKap]

Thank you all for your kind comments and support.  Ken, I am sure your bow will look just fine after sanding.  And I think the contrast between your holly planking and the basswood keel / stem/ skeg will enhance the appearance of the ship - not detract from it.  David, I have to wonder where the walnut comes from in the kit.  I have worked with American walnut, and it has always cut and shaped very nicely.  I think this is some foreign variety with very different characteristics.  Wq3296, I am glad that you urged me to start planking at the wales and work towards the keel.  I am sure this started the planking along that nice bend and allowed me to do what I did.  And Bob, your excellent pictures in your build  log continued to guide me along the way.

 

<<Gary>>

[dgbot]

Much of the wood that is used is run through a sheer while still green.  They then stack it up and claamp it down until dry.  Much of the wood strip are dried out with no structural integrity after a long time just sitting around in storage.  I saw a video of this years ago at a club meeting.  Ever since I have been leery of using it.  I will either cut it myslef or go the the Hobby Mill.

David B

[Mirabell61]

Ken, thank you for your comments and support.  I am also using your buildlog extensively.  I am still in the process of  “fairing” everything while figuring out my next step...the gunports.  I will follow your lead and make them 3/8 square.  The plans show the bottom sill of the gunports as 3/16 inch above the deck.  Is that accurate, or would I be better off constructing one of the cannons and making sure?  I would attempt to have the center of the cannon barrel in the center of the gun port, making allowance for the decking under the cannon. 

 

Fairing the inside of the bulwark stanchions is proving to be a demanding job.  My work plan is to install the gun port framing, then the waterway, and then the cap rail.  Does anyone see a problem with this?

 

I have attached some pictures to show progress to date.  One “heads up” for future Fair American shipwrights – the wing transom does not sit at an exact 90 degree angle with Bulkhead 16 due to a small error in the laser cut center keel (aka bulkhead former).  This effects the filler blocks and also the stern frame installation.  Check it and fix it before you glue it in!

Now back to the sanding...

<<Gary>>

I like it Garry,

she`s coming on fine...

 

Nils

[Mirabell61]

Beautiful lines Garry

 

Nils

[GaryKap]

Hi Nils.  Thanks for your kind words.  One more strake and a stealer, and the lower hull will be planked.  How do you like my "trenails"?  Those are a smaller version of a T-pin made for quilters that I found in a crafts store.  They work great for holding the strakes against the bulkheads until the carpenter's glue dries.  <<Gary>>

[KenW]

I think your planking looks excellent.  Much better than mine.  I haven't ruled out painting yet.

I don't like using the pencil to simulate caulking.  I am still not able to control it and it gets into the glue and makes a mess.  Most of the mess will sand itself out, but not all of it.

 

My plan is the stop working from the wales up (the boat is upside-down) when I get to the half-way point.  Then re-measure and work from the keel down.  (The garboard strake is glued on.) 

 

Advise is always welcome.

Cheers.

[dgbot]

I never saw the need for simulating the caulking.  The reason for this is that at the scale I am work at it would not be visible.

David B

[rafine]

Really nicely done planking Gary.

 

Bob

[wq3296]

Greetings Gary,

 

I've been shoveling snow, so I haven't had a chance to get back. Nice progress and all looks well. Suggestion: The last two planks you installed have a short downward bend at their ends at the stern post. This probably wouldn't have been done in reality. If it is not too late, cut those planks loose at the bend, raise them up straight to where they want to be, and put a stealer in to fill the gap. This is a perfect application for a stealer: to avoid having to bend plank runs unnecessarily. Note that stealers are not supposed to be pointed at the small end. In reality, a pointed end could not have been fastened to anything, so the small end was squared off too. Of course, you will have to similarly notch the adjacent plank(s) to receive it. Keep up the good work.

[wq3296]

Follow up to last post - references to down and up are in context to the hull being inverted.

 

wq3296

[GaryKap]

Hello wq3296 -  Thanks for the suggestion, but that's just not going to happen.  The yellow carpenters glue that I am using is stonger than the basswood planks.  And each plank is not just glued to the bulkheads and bulkhead former, but also to the adjacent planks along its entire length (my version of oakum).  So it would really botch the job to attempt to rip out parts of planks.  I will simply accept the inaccuracy and move forward. 

 

<<Gary>>

[GaryKap]

Planked!!! The lower hull planking is finished.  I have done some sanding but need to do more.  I am very pleased with the way it turned out. 

<<Gary>>

 

[trippwj]

Looks great!  Nice job, Gary.

[rafine]

You should be pleased Gary. Well done.

 

Bob

[dgbot]

Great job, well done

David B

[KenW]

Great job planking.  The hull looks great.

[wq3296]

Greetings Gary,

 

Nice job, really. What are you using for a finish? Based on the success of the first planking, you could come back with the walnut.

 

wq3296

[scott larkins]

That came out great.  I can only hope my RS comes out that good.

[GaryKap]

Thank you all for your kind remarks.  I feel a bit like a first time parent with a newborn baby.  I keep holding the hull, looking at it and thinking - Wow! I can't believe I created that.  Wq3296 asked about a finish.  I am not going to attempt a second layer of planking with the walnut.  Originally I was simply going to paint it, but now I am not sure...  Back to sanding and figuring out the quarterdeck framing. 

 

<<Gary>>

[mspringer]

Gary,

 

Let me add my congratulations on a super job.  I was really glad to see the measuring (using thin strips cut to measure each bulkhead) and sanding to size technique work to such a fine degree.

 

Mark

[riverboat]

Excellent! planking job Gary.... well done!!!

Frank

[GaryKap]

Thank you Mark and Frank.  The technique worked so well that for the final strake, I only had to reduce the plank width from bulkhead 4 forward.  The rest of the length it was a nice snug fit for the plank in its original width.  In the case of planking the hull, I believe that there is more than one correct way to do it.  The important thing is the result. 

 

I am attempting to go into some detail in my build log in places where it might help someone following me; either because something worked or because it did not.  When others have done this, it has certainly helped me. 

 

<<Gary>>

[GaryKap]

OK - now I am working on the quarterdeck framing and companion way.  Wq3296, could you provide us with a photo of the companion way that you constructed for your Fair American?  You gave the dimensions but I can't quite picture it.  I am very familiar with a sliding hatch over a door as on the pilot boat "Katy" and also a "doghouse" style as seen on "Cutty Sark". (pictures below).  Also, you suggest green as a suitable color for the bulwarks inboard.  What shade of green?  And would the gun carriages still be red?  Thanks <<Gary>>

[dgbot]

Looking Good

David B

[wq3296]

Greetings Gary,

 

Take a victory lap and an extra ration of grog for the plank job. For the bulwarks, go to the USS Constitution web site for answers to your questions on the color green. In general, dark and flat should be a starting point. I think the carriages were the same color. Connie is roughly from the same era as FA. Also, buff may be used for bulwarks/carriages.

 

I will try to get pictures up this weekend. My companionway and skylight are very similar to the pictures you have shown. However, the face of my companionway extends only about a foot or so forward of the cabin wall. Note that there is not much room between the cabin wall and the main mast, etc.

 

wq3296

[KenW]

I visited the USS Constitution a few years ago.  As you can see, the bulwarks were painted green and the gun carriages were red.

Hope this helps.