Armed Virginia Sloop by grayarea - FINISHED - Model Shipways - 1:48 - First Wood Ship Build

[Grimber]

Looks good.  I'm painting my first build hull too so planking is more about practice and getting a smooth end result for that paint.  

[GuntherMT]

Looking good.  I didn't even try to use 'authentic' planking on my first layer, I used full length strakes, with much trimming, mostly as they approached the bow.

[ortho85]

Not sure if you realise, most of us are lazy and make pretend scuppers inside and out, not connected through.  Others have said that takes too much work - and sawdust!

 

Cheers,

 

Brett

[grayarea]

Not sure if you realise, most of us are lazy and make pretend scuppers inside and out, not connected through.  Others have said that takes too much work - and sawdust!

 

Cheers,

 

Brett

Brett,

I did hear about the scuppers after I'd already managed to make a matched pair of inner and outer planks with real scuppers that line up. The outer planks have been waiting for months with matching scuppers already carved into them, so I'm looking forward to putting them in place.

 

But on the next build, I'll take the easier route on that step, because I'm not at all sure yet how this is going to work out. 

 

Looking good.  I didn't even try to use 'authentic' planking on my first layer, I used full length strakes, with much trimming, mostly as they approached the bow.

Brian, I wouldn't have found full-length strakes to be easier at all. I do have some that are quite long, but I was happy to cut off every strake at some point and just start fresh on the next curve.

Edited November 17, 2014 by grayarea

[grayarea]

I went to the workshop today to begin my outer layer of planking. I found I had suddenly lost the ability to identify 1/16 x 3/16 walnut stock - even with a digital caliper. 

I accept that as the Universe suggesting I take the day off.

Edited November 23, 2014 by grayarea

[ortho85]

That's because it's time these 'Murrican plans switched to metric!  Imagine how hard it is for us?

 

:piratetongueor4:

[grayarea]

The Stock that comes with AVS is actually now mixed. Some of the walnut is 1/16" and some .020 - but actually .030. That's where my confusion started, though I really just didn't have the patience today to sort it out.

[ortho85]

There are several discrepancies between the plans, the list, and the actual sizes included.  Fortunately (unlike the Swift I tried first) the AVS seems to include plenty of spare timber.

 

Plus, you can easily source additional/different wood - something very difficult here in Oz.

 

Cheers!

 

Brett

[GuntherMT]

I went to the workshop today to begin my outer layer of planking. I found I had suddenly lost the ability to identify 1/16 x 3/16 walnut stock - even with a digital caliper. 

I accept that as the Universe suggesting I take the day off.

 

Your excuse is better than mine, I've been lazy and playing video games. 

[grayarea]

After finishing the first layer of planking, I needed some time to regroup and reorient. I've been doing a lot of reading about techniques - this forum, the plans, and the practica. Then I did the walnut wale and black strake. It was straightforward and I feel good about the way it looks.

 

My one unique take on this fabrication is that I did the black strake in pieces - with one long piece that spans all the scuppers. To do it over, I'd use a single piece. But back when I was doing the basswood black strakes, I made an identical walnut copy at the same time by clamping two planks together. It was my solution to create scuppers in both layers.  

 

Yes, I now know I could have made artificial scuppers. And I still have to match them up with the insides scuppers when I put in the bulwark ceilings - which I hadn't figured into the equation the first time around. It wasn't a mistake so much as an unnecessary detour.

 

Anyhow, I find myself a bit immobilized and am looking for thoughts on which direction to go next.

 

I assume I ought to paint the wale and blackstrake before laying down the nearby planking above and below. 

• Then I could do the ceiling buwarks like Brian did (http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/8085-armed-virginia-sloop-by-gunthermt-model-shipways-scale-148/page-16). I see the sense in it.
• Or I could do the hull above the black strake. I see the sense in that too.
• Or I could move right into the lower part of the hull. Also reasonable. 

 

I'm wondering what reasons others might have for going in a particular direction next.

Edited November 29, 2014 by grayarea

[GuntherMT]

The only thing I can think of that might help you decide what order to go in if you aren't following a plan, is that if you are like me, whatever part is completed first will be getting a lot of 'mileage' and wear from handling while you do the other parts, so it might make sense to do the part that you are most concerned about wear/touch-ups, last.  If you are going to be waiting to paint until after everything is done, then that wear and tear won't matter at all.

 

My inner bulwarks already need touchup work, and I haven't even started the lower hull.  You can of course mitigate a lot of this by being more careful and less clumsy than I am!

 

Edit: Your scuppers look very uniform, nice.

Edited November 29, 2014 by GuntherMT

[grayarea]

Thanks Brian. The wear is a big part of my thinking.

[grayarea]

Planking the hull with walnut

 

I've started the walnut layer. Not sure yet how I feel about it. I'm struggling to make the planks even and the curves smooth - although I'm doing much better at it this time than with first layer. 

I'm also annoyed that the width of the planks varies so much at the bow. I think this will be my wall side. 

 

One suggestion I had readone place or another is that you can put a small bevel on the edge of each plank so they stand out a little bit when painted. I'm regretting that decision too, because it seems to exacerbate every imperfection - while adding a few more in the process. But I'm committed now. So I'll stick with it and if I don't like the result when I start priming, I can use wood filler to fill in the bevels and smooth out everything. It all depends on whether I feel I want to emphasize or de-emphasize my crapsmanship.

 

I've bent two strakes around the stern and am happy so far with the curve and the makings of a good, clean edge where they meet the transom. Obviously, more work is needed there and I'll wait until I get the side - or the whole stern - done.

 

The best news is that another day has passed without gluing my thumb to the hull. 

 

Some photos - which I'm reluctant to post because they made everything look wavier, rougher and blotchier than with the naked eye.

Edited December 12, 2014 by grayarea

[GuntherMT]

I'm interested in seeing how that beveling looks with a painted hull.  I'd never heard of doing it that way, but if you are going to paint it, I can see how it might work.  Worst case scenario, as you already said, fill/sand/paint - all covered up!

 

I'm actually doing my beveling the other way in order to try to eliminate all the gaps as much as possible, but I'm also planning to leave my walnut hull below the wale natural finish.

 

Are you using the thin .030" planks here?  Pictures can be misleading, but with your bevels it almost looks like you are using the thicker 1/16" planking.

 

I hate the curves over the stern/transom.  I'm on my 6th attempt now on the 3rd plank.  I keep spending 30 minutes getting a piece perfectly shaped and then being stupid and breaking it where it's narrow at the transom curve. 

[grayarea]

Brian, those are .030 planks.
I hadn't thought about beveling the underside; I can see why it makes sense. But wherever it was that I read about beveling the outside was specifically for a painted hull. I give it a 50-50 chance that I'll end up filling it all to get rid of the bevels - which will be a big pain in the neck and I'll hate myself for it if that's what happens. 

So far, I'm at peace with the transom curves. I've been bending them with true steam - holding the plank over steam from a small hot pot, rather than soaking the plank and bending it with a hot iron.

I've built a small bending jig that holds the long end of a plank in place while I hold it over the steam with pliers. As the wood softens, I bend the plank in small increments using tweezers until it's eventually bent 90 degrees. It takes patience and about 5 minutes once I actually start bending the wood. But in the early going, the walnut seems to be holding up to it. 

[GuntherMT]

The transom curves aren't the problem per se', the problem is me being hamfisted, and or just plain screwing up. 

I'll get the shape and curve just perfect, and then lay it into position and realize that it's too narrow at one end because I oversanded it.

I'll get impatient while forming the curve and apply too much force and tear the wood.

I'll get the shape and curve done again, fit it perfectly at the transom, see that it's just fractionally too long at the other end, and then over trim it.

 

Etc.  I have no idea why it's happening on this piece, just a bad run of me being dumb I suppose.  I've been busy most of the day finishing up Christmas (wrapping presents) and taking care of appointments and stuff, so I just set the boat aside for today, and I'll get back at it in the morning, since I'll be stuck here all day while the A/C repair guys are replacing my air handler (yay for home ownership bills...  woop).

 

For bending, I'm effectively using steam, just not directly.  I'm not soaking the planks, I just dip them in water and then form the curve over the end of a heat gun.  It works great, the wood becomes extremely pliable (probably very much like your steaming does).  For minor bends just the heat works great. 

 

One lesson I learned from the Carmen was that wood will shrink and leave gaps if it's placed while wet, so I got the heat gun to use and pre-form all my bends off the ship instead of doing wet placement like I did on the Carmen.  So far it's working great.

[grayarea]

The picture of a project that is not going well at the moment.

 

I had been beveling each strake to emphasize the woodwork. I hated it. All it did was emphasize the flaws. It was bad advice - at least for a beginner.

 

So beforeI got any farther, I filled in the bevels. So here's a picture with the filler sanded and the first few unbeveled strakes in place. Nobody's going to have any trouble seeing the individual planks; I don't have to worry about that. 

 

Now it's smoother and I'm happier with it. But I'm pretty sure that no matter what I do, it's always going to look a bit different from the rest of the hull. Unless I go ahead and give the whole thing the same treatment.

 

I hope to avoid that, but I'm open to the likelihood of it.

 

Meanwhile, I've finished belt A on the Wall side and have marked it on the other side, which I intend to work on this weekend. 

 

 

It looks pretty rough in the pictures, but not so bad to the naked eye. In dim light. If you squint.

 

Edited December 19, 2014 by grayarea

[GuntherMT]

Not making your strakes narrower at the bow and stern?  I'm interested in seeing how you make it work as you do the lower half after all the work I went to making my strakes so narrow at both ends (hell, I'm interested in how it will work out for me!).

 

Looks like you are chugging right along though, about the same point as I am (on one side), but attacking it differently.

[grayarea]

Not making your strakes narrower at the bow and stern?  I'm interested in seeing how you make it work as you do the lower half after all the work I went to making my strakes so narrow at both ends (hell, I'm interested in how it will work out for me!).

 

I got six strakes into the amount of space called for in the drawings - bow, midship and aft. I'm over by no more than 1-2 mm. I'm not putting any more thought into it than that.

[GuntherMT]

I'm pretty sure I'm going to need quite a few stealers in the lower stern section, maybe your wider approach (which, now that I'm looking at it, is far closer to the plan sheet than mine is) will avoid that. 

[aliluke]

Hi

It may feel like it's going off track a bit but don't worry.

 

My advice is to work through ALL of the second planking below the wale and then correct for the bevels or whatever outcomes. DO NOT correct as you go because that will cause gouging and worsen the potential problems. It is all to easy to think I'll fix it up as I work through each plank (or several of them) and you just dig bigger holes for the next belt of planks. My advice is to get all the planks on and then approach the finishing of them together by sand and fill. I emphasised the plank joints above the wales with a very light edge sand but below the wales, with it painted, you can't tell one plank from another in my model and that looks fine to my eye.

 

So my best thought for you - is plank it to completion below the wale, clean it up with sand and fill and then just rock on.

 

Keep it up and she'll be fine!

[grayarea]

Thanks for the encouragement Alistair. 

That is my plan - now. I'm much happier with the few strakes I've placed since making the decision not to bevel. And I know you're right about doing all the filling at once - thought it's too late for the first 3/4 of Belt A.

 

The good news is that if I already know one thing about woodworking, it's that it's hard to do too much sanding.  

[grayarea]

Things are going a little better on the port side so far. 

Edited December 21, 2014 by grayarea

[aliluke]

Looking good.

 

My only suggestion would be to taper the planks leading into the stem/bow further back along the hull. That is start the taper from about the second gun port aft of the bow - a long way back. With that taper you get a good upturn into the stem and it pays off later. If the uppermost planks, by this advice, are too tapered the whole planking is easier to fix than heavy tapering on the planks below them later. In other words your upper planks should rise up and the more so the better. If they stay parallel or, worse, downturn towards the keel the planks below will have a lot to correct.

 

Any way you'll be fine, filling, sanding and paint will sort it out and your planking looks good in any case.

[grayarea]

I wish I'd done the second side first.

 

I finished Belt A on the port side. It went better than starboard.

 

There are still some planks that don't have quite the right bend in them, but I'm getting better at adjusting for them on the next row and not letting them mulitply as I move farther down the hull. 

 

 

I'm happy with the symmetry, which is within about a millimeter at both bow and stern. 

 

 

There is still plenty of sanding and cleanup to do, but I'll take care of that when the entire hull is planked. I also haven't bothered smoothing out the joint at the stern where the hull strakes meet the transom.

 

Edited December 28, 2014 by grayarea

[grayarea]

Finished with Belt C on the current wall side (starboard) and half-way through on the port side. (After a lifetime of sailing, I'm suddenly getting confused about port/starboard because I'm always looking at the boat upside down.)

There've been a couple little blips here and there, like the strake I cracked while gluing it in – which I opted to keep and sand rather than recreate. But none of these have been of any major consequence since I plan to paint the bottom.

I'm a little concerned the unfinished space at the bow will be just a little narrow for all six strakes of Belt B. But I'm confident enough in my improving woodworking that, if need be, I can just go with five strakes at the bow and sneak in a stealer as needed. It may not be necessary; I still have more room for Belt B than I did at this point on my first layer.

It looks best from arm's length.

Instead of battens or thread, as suggested in some of the literature, I've been drawing guidelines directly on the first layer of planking. In the photo below, the black line marks the extent of Belt C when I get in the last layer on the port side.

I'm far enough along just now that I can look forward to being able to work on some aspect of the boat other than planking the hull.

Let's see, another 30 hours or so for Belt B, then perhaps 15 hours for above the black strake, and then I have no idea how long for the ceiling planks.

That should take me into March I think, when I begin worrying about the deck. 

 

I've been informally tracking my time after each build session on the inside cover of the manual, making a hash mark for each hour spent. I've rounded up and down and missed recording some, but since I don't have anyone to bill for this time it's certainly accurate enough.
I began 10 days shy of a year ago, and have recorded 133 hours of productive build time (I don't count time spent on the forum, or reading over the plans, or drinking bourbon and just staring at stuff).

 

At this time next year, I should be just about ready to begin building the ways. 

Edited January 7, 2015 by grayarea

[grayarea]

This is the bugger I had to make 3 times.

Cut the first one a little narrow in the middle; sanded the second one a little narrow at one end. Third one fought me all the way.

Why? It's one of the easy ones.

But it fits like a glove now. Onward.

Edited January 13, 2015 by grayarea

[GuntherMT]

I probably missed it somewhere, but what length planks are you using?  They are quite a bit longer than what I used (4"), I'm guessing about 6"?

[grayarea]

This is one of the longest; perhaps 6". Outside end of what all the literature says would have been realistic. I could be wrong. 

[grayarea]

Slowly coming along.

Edited February 28, 2015 by grayarea