Matthew 1497 by Ilhan Gokcay - FINISHED - Scale 1/50

[Ilhan Gokcay]

I will repost my build log for Matthew which I fortunately saved to my computer with text.

 

 

 

[Ilhan Gokcay]

Matthew is explorer John Cabot’s ship on which he sailed to Newfoundland in 1497.

The drawings are from http://www.modelshipbuilder.com/.  These drawings are based on the replica built in Bonavista. The website for his project is http://www.matthewlegacy.com.

There is another replica which has been built in Bristol http://www.matthew.co.uk/ designed by Colin Mudie. During the build I will also make use of the articles at Model Boats magazine about building a model of the replica in Bristol as additional information.
 

Some more info can be found at the following sites.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Cabot
http://www.win.tue.nl/~engels/discovery/cabot.html

http://www.townofbonavista.com/

 

Before starting with the log I have to say something about the plans. Unfortunately after starting with the build it came out that the drawings are very poor. Even the lines diagram is not correct. (The body plan does not match with the waterlines) So I tried to fix these errors during building. I do recommend not to use this plan for any build or otherwise to be cautious and to control every single item on the plan and correct if necessary.
 

Edited February 20, 2013 by Ilhan Gokcay

[Ilhan Gokcay]

Scale is 1/50

[Ilhan Gokcay]

For the bulkheads I’ve used 6 mm birch plywood. For the keel I’ve planned to use 5 mm. As I couldn’t find 5 mm I glued thinner plates flat (2x2mm + 1x1mm) to get a 5 mm ply. The result is a very strong 9 layer sheet.
As the my bulkheads are thicker than the plan suggests I cut the cutouts wider and I omitted every second bulkhead.
I planned to have double planking, the first one being 2mm lime and the second 0.5mm pear. This is again thicker than the plan suggests so I marked and cut the bulkheads 1mm inside as drawn.

I noticed the error at the bulkheads a little bit late. At this point  to fix this I glued strip material to the edges of the bulkheads. I will level them later and try to have a smooth run of the planks and a reasonable hull shape.

To clear off the extentions of the bulkheads above the deck level easily I will try a different method. I cut off completely the portion above the deck level and screwed these back. So after planking it will be easy to remove these and put the pear wood stanchions.
 

[Ilhan Gokcay]

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[Ilhan Gokcay]

I’ve cut a rabbet on the keel and built a cradle to work upside down on the hull. The keel, stem and stern pieces are 5 mm pear wood. They are glued to the keel plate with white glue. At this point I’ve drilled two holes to the keel for brass tubes.

[Ilhan Gokcay]

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[Ilhan Gokcay]

I’ve build a building board and used home made squares (6 mm birch ply) to fix the keel straight. A building board is always very usefull to get a proper hull. To align the height of the bulkheads I matched the waterlines drawn on the keel and bulkheads. I also checked the squareness of the bulkheads to the keel before gluing them in place.  White glue is best for this. I also added spacers to keep the structure stabil. These spacers are again made of 6 mm ply and put on the keel and at the outer edges of the bulkheads at the deck level. I left this structure  a couple of days to dry.

 

[Ilhan Gokcay]

Before starting with the planking it is important to file the edges of the bulkheads so that they go with the imaginary outline of the hull surface. For this I used a  rigid  sandpaper block and filed in the direction of the plank run, taking care not to touch the inner edge  to keep the original shape of the hull not disturbed. I checked the operation frequently with a plank by putting and pressing this on 3 to 4 bulkheads.

Then I copied the outline of the decks and cut this from 1mm ply.

 

[Ilhan Gokcay]

Finished the first planking. I’ve started both at the deck level and at the keel. They joined around in the middle. Before fixing and gluing, I shaped each plank (2x6 mm lime) in both directions so that they easily sit in their places. For shaping I use a 20 W soldering iron with an aliminium tip and an 60 W soldering iron attached to a metal cylinder. I wet the planks a couple of minutes and shape them with the heat. When necessary I wet them several times as they become harder when fully dry.
I also tapered both ends by rule of thumb just only to have them run from stem to stern. I think this is important to keep the shape of the hull. To have a tight fit between the planks I also beveled the edges again by the rule of thumb matching to the curvature. I pinned the planks until the white glue dries and removed the pins afterwards.
 

[Ilhan Gokcay]

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[Ilhan Gokcay]

I sanded the hull and finished the area below the deck level. I brushed the inside of the hull with a mixture of sawdust and diluted white glue. This makes the hull strong and tough.

The second planking will be 0,5x5 mm pear and the wales 1x3 mm pear upon this.
Before starting with the second planking I made the calculations for the run and tapering of the planks and marked on the hull. There are 6 wales at each side. First I marked the positions of these wales which are 3 mm wide throughtout. Between these wales 3 planks will be fitted and will be tapered.
I planned to plank the hull first by 0,5 mm planks and then I will put the wales upon this. As the wales should not run across the planks I will have 0,5x3 mm planks upon which the wales would sit. The 1x3 mm wales will sit exactly on these planks so that the 0,5x3 mm  planks will be invisible. For a better explanation please see the diagram. As starting point, first I glued the 0,5x3 plank referencing the 4th wale.

[Ilhan Gokcay]

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[Ilhan Gokcay]

For the 0,5 planks I used Pattex contact glue. As said before there are groups of three planks of 5 mm and one narrow plank of 3 mm. The wider planks are tapered as calculated. The 1x3 mm wales will  exactly be glued upon the 3 mm planks. I applied the contact glue on both surfaces and waited for approx. 10 minutes then pressed firmly. Each time I glued the group of 3 wide planks and one narrow plank. Again I bend the 0,5 mm planks where necessary by soaking and heating before gluing.

[Ilhan Gokcay]

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[Ilhan Gokcay]

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[Ilhan Gokcay]

Near to the deck level I stopped to plank and completed the passage of the aftercastle. Also planked the front face of the aftercastle  with 0,5x5 mm pear. The beam at the stern is 5x5 mm pear wood, fitted and glued in place. Then I glued bulkheads of 6 mm plywood for the stern and counter just above this beam.
Completed these works I proceeded with the planking and for this I screwed the bulkhead structure above the deck level in his place.  At the deck level there are scupper holes on the bulwark. As the inner planking will be visible at these areas I used here pear strips instead of the lime strips. Before fitting this plank I cut out the scupper holes roughly. Then finished the first planking again with lime wood.

Here I would like to take attention to the sequence of the work done. Planning in advance always pays off.

[Ilhan Gokcay]

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[Ilhan Gokcay]

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[Ilhan Gokcay]

I’ve cut out the portholes at the poop and planked the counter with 2x5 mm pear strips. The inner frames of the portholes are 1x5 pear bent in a mold with a round soldering iron tip.
For the curved planking of the forecastle I made a packet of short strips of 0,5x6 pear and I shaped this packet by sanding. But after releasing the packet every plank needed a further fine adjustment one by one. Then I finished the second planking of the forecastle and poop.
 

[Ilhan Gokcay]

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[Ilhan Gokcay]

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[Ilhan Gokcay]

I shaped the futtock riders from 3x4 pear strip before putting the wales. So I can close fit them to the hull shape. Until assembly in order not to lose their position I stick them on a double sided tape in the order they would have on the hull. At this point I removed the bulkhead structure for bulwarks as there is no need to keep it any more.

After gluing the sternpost to its position I moved to the wales.

For the wales I used 1x3 mm pear strip and trimmed the ends little by little to match to the stem and stern without any gap. I glued them exactly on the planking which is 3 mm wide.
 

[Ilhan Gokcay]

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[Ilhan Gokcay]

Planked the inside of the bulwarks. I used here white glue and clamped the thin planking all the way in order to prevent  warpage.
Next I fitted the wales at the deck level and above it.

 

[Ilhan Gokcay]

I’ve taken some photos at this stage and kept building
Next I’ve cut the mortices on the futtock riders to suit the wales and also shaped the outer contour. Here I used a thin epoxy stick (1x2 mm) ( cut from PCB ) having sandpaper glued on one face. I’m not going to fix the riders yet, I will do this much later. 
 

[Ilhan Gokcay]

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Edited February 20, 2013 by Ilhan Gokcay

[Ilhan Gokcay]

It’s time to fix the deck. Again I used  white glue (PVA) and screwed the deck until the glue had dried as there is an adverse slope in two directions.

Deck planks will be maple strips (1x5 mm). First I shaped the waterway with the aid of water and heat and glued in place. Then I started to plank at both sides of the center line. For the caulking I colored the sides of the planks with pencil (2B). This method seems to be sufficient at this scale. 
The ends of the planks are joggled. For cutting the waterway a homemade minature chisel was used. This is made of old dull knifes.

[Ilhan Gokcay]

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[Ilhan Gokcay]

For the deck plank nails I’ve used the same wood as the deck which is maple. I’ve cut 1x1mm strips with a blade and tapered the ends manually and stick them to the 0.5 mm holes and secured with CA.
I’ve cut the ends and sanded the deck .