Sloup by Dee_Dee - Corel - 1:25 Based on 'Bergere de Domremy / Shepherdess from Domremy

[Dee_Dee]

Markku,

Thanks for stopping by!  You did a great job on your Flattie, especially all the little details.  Agree, it's interesting to see how work boats change to work the local waters.  

 

Eamonn, JesseLee,  

It's always nice to have you stop by. Yep!  I managed to add another 'character' mark!  You'll get to see it in my next update.  

 

And Thanks to all that hit the 'like' button.  

 

~~~~

 

I'm finally home after a couple of weeks on the road and plan to get back to the boat yard this week.  But that may be delayed by some nice long rides on my bicycle.     

 

I need to add one more plank to get to my next planned build update.  So far, I'm happy with how the planking is going.  But the last five planks added on each side have been a real challenge!  Each plank bends, twists 90* and has significant edge bending in the middle of the plank and also add some edge beveling!  It takes a few hours to make and glue each plank.  I'm taking my time to make sure each plank fits snug, I don't want to use any filler and single plank the hull.   

 

As I progress in my build, I'll be posting a few more photos of the Bergère de Domrémy.  These photos are not being added for 'fluff,' 'log filler' or 'eye candy', rather they are a reference when I make a change (or where I wish I had made a change, such as dropping the height of the cockpit floor 10-12".)

 

I'd like to share with you more about the boat I'm using as my model guide,  the Bergère de Domrémy, (Shepherdess from Domrémy, referring to Joan d'Arc).  (See post #2 for more photos.)  The Bergère de Domrémy, hull #B5929, is a coquillier, shellfish sloop, built in 1936 at the shipyard M. Auguste Tertu in Le Fret, France, length 37'5", beam 13'.  Of the more than 200 boats built, only a few still exist and are used for recreation purposes or as museum boats today.  Since 1982, the Association An Test has owned, maintained and operates the Bergère de Domrémy, which is considered a French National Treasure.  The boat was overhaulled / rebuilt 1989 - 2002 at the museum shipyard Chantier du Guip in Brest. 

 

 

The Bergère de Domrémy hull is cleaned frequently, always on a king tide day.  The boat is laid over on one side (here port side) and some weights are hung from the mast to stabilize it.  Below the water line is cleaned with high pressure water and scrapers.  

 

Any wet spots on the hull are dried with a flame so it can be painted.  Weird to see a flame on a wooden boat, but they only have the tide duration to do the job.  On the other side, the paint is touched up above the water line.  The next day, the boat is laid on its starboard side and cleaning process repeated.

 

 

These boats were built to last and were very heavy.  Careening (leaning) these boats over was done frequently, to strengthen the hull, the plank that it lays on is ~2" thicker.  I'm thinking about adding this detail, it can be done by adding a layer when I'm done planking.  These next three photos show this plank.   

 

 

Ringed Plovers are enjoying some of the mussels that have been scraped from the hull.

 

I was starved for info and photos on my MBLS, but for this build, there is a lot of information available! 

 

I'll add a build update as soon as I get that plank added. 

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Dee Dee  

[egkb]

Good to see you back Dee_Dee and planning away ..   am looking forward to the updates !

 

Stay Well

 

Eamonn

[Dee_Dee]

After I get this posted, I'm going for an easy short 35 mile ride today up to Old School and back.  The winds are favorable, so I'll have a light tailwind home.     

 

SO!  I added that last plank and that brings me to my next planned build update.  Original planking plan was 18 planks + Sheer + garboard = 20 total.  12 planks done, 8 more to go.  I picked this point for a planned update, because this is where I will re-measure the remaining distance to be plank on each bulkhead and make any adjustments. 

 

The planking has been going well.  It takes well over an hour to completely shape each plank, (the planks are only 12" long and I have 8 measuring points.) So far, the planking on the port and starboard sides have a 1.0mm or less variance.

 

 

At the bow stem, the variance is only 0.50mm, 27.04 and 26.54.  Most of that is from the first plank on the port side, which is a bit too high.  I'll sand it down so it's level with the starboard side and the variance should be close to zero. 

 

Somehow, this garboard strake was chipped, I'll fill that in with a little bit of filler.  I keep the bow stem wrapped in layers of tape to keep it from being eroded away.    

 

The tail ends of each plank still need to be sanded even with the transom.  I've kept the stern covered with tape to keep a crisp corner.  You can also see the edges of the keel have been lined with a strip of walnut, to prevent the wood from eroding away.  

 

 

Next up, redo all the measurements and plan out the final 8 planks!

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Dee Dee

 

 

Edited to add length of measure

Edited to change 'final 8 planks' to 'final 9 planks'   

Edited to change 'final 9 planks' back to 'final 8 planks'   oops!

Edited January 1, 2016 by Dee_Dee

[captainbob]

Looking good Dee Dee.  Really starting to take shape.

 

Bob

[egkb]

Crackin good planking there D.  Your build planking looks better than my sanded & finished planking !!

 

Stay Well..

 

Eamonn

[3sheets10]

Dee Dee, 

 

Excellent job so far! This is a cool little build. I was cruising around the kit builds and came across your's and was very impressed with your planking. Very clean and neat work. I cannot wait to see how your build turns out! 

 

Tyler

[Dee_Dee]

Cap'n'Bob,

Thanks for stopping by!  I wish I had a magic wand that could grant you unlimited time in your shipyard!

In Floyd's J Boat Endeavor build, you commented:  "If the deck is not on yet, epoxy the inside to stiffen the planks."   I had a similar concern and added a few layers of PVA glue.  In this situation, is epoxy better?  Thanks again.   

 

Eamon,

This kit hull is double planked, but I'm challenging myself to single plank the hull.  You've set the bar high. 

Hope you're having a good day and spending time outside enjoying that bright shinning thing in the sky.        

 

Tyler,

Thank you.  I'm with you, can't wait to see how this build turns out.  Your Swift is looking really good!  I have the Swift on the shelf and will be checking your build for ideas. Thanks for stopping by.     

[Dee_Dee]

I've been traveling for work again and have got a bit behind in posting updates on my progress.  So I'll a couple of updates to keep things straight.

 

 

In hindsight, I'm thinking I should have added balsa fillers on the bow and stern to increase gluing surface.  I dripped in a few layers of PVA glue inside of the bow and transom.  In Floyd's J-Boat Endeavor build log, Cap'n'Bob suggested epoxy the inside of the hull to stiffen the planks, I think this might be a better plan.        

 

I'm using the 'tic / fan' method to plank my coquillier.  I was a bit lax on the first three planks and I paid the price on the eighth plank.  Edge bending was an issue at the 6th bulkhead and the plank snapped on the port side.  To ease the edge bending, the next two planks were undersized aft of the 6th bulkhead.  

 

Here's my fan / tic planking plan.  Need to redo measurements for the remaining 6 planks.  Then, a new plan with 4, 2 and 1 plank.  Again, I was a bit lax with measuring on the first three planks, but after that my goal was <0.05mm variance.  (A sheet of paper = 0.1mm).  

 

  

[Dee_Dee]

Due to the hull shape, a few planks had sever edge bending.  I was doing well, until 'SNAP!' and I broke another plank.  It wasn't going to get better and didn't want to chance breaking any more.  To relieve the edge bending for the remaining planks, the next two planks were undersized from the 6th bulkhead to the transom.  So instead of 4.42mm, the planks tapered down to 3.0mm. 

 

This photo sort of shows how the last two planks were undersized aft of the 6th bulkhead (in the middle with the cracked plank) to ease the edge bending. 

 

[Dee_Dee]

Below is the line drawing of the hull with extraneous lines removed.  (The garboard strake highlighted in dark blue is oversized / out of scale in this drawing.)  

 

The remaining 8 planks (highlighted in yellow and orange) need to land neat and tidy on the keel, with a straight edge and taper smoothly to the keel.  (Where's that magic wand?)

 

It took a while, reread numerous build logs and then had a light bulb moment!  I pulled out two kits on the shelf, AL Swift and Emma C. Berry, reviewed the drawings, parts instructions and came up with a plan to add a stern post.

 

The two planks in orange, are the two that were tapered aft of the 6th bulkhead. 

 

The remaining 7 planks, highlighted in yellow, will land on the keel at full thickness.  Next, a wedge shape section will be removed from the keel, similar in size to what is highlighted in purple on the line drawing.  The planks will be sanded and tapered to a smooth transition.  Then, I'll make and add a stern post out of walnut.  The stern post will have the tab to prevent lines and nets from getting snagged on the rudder.   

 

But first, I need to redo the measurements.  

 

Thanks for stopping by.  Your thoughts, comments and suggestions are welcome!!

 

 

 

    

[captainbob]

Cap'n'Bob,

Thanks for stopping by!  I wish I had a magic wand that could grant you unlimited time in your shipyard!

In Floyd's J Boat Endeavor build, you commented:  "If the deck is not on yet, epoxy the inside to stiffen the planks."   I had a similar concern and added a few layers of PVA glue.  In this situation, is epoxy better?  Thanks again.   

 

 

 

Dee Dee,

 

I really don’t know.  I never tried with PVA.  But in my experience when PVA dries it is still flexible like hard rubber.  (This probably depends on the brand.)  Epoxy resin, on the other hand, even without the glass will set up hard.  If all you are doing is to glue the planks together PVA is fine but if you want to give the planks body to resist the pressure of sanding, I would use epoxy.  One more thing. If you sand through the wood planks epoxy will still be hard enough to paint.

 

Bob  

[Dee_Dee]

Josh,

 

"I'm planking the sucker."  Now THAT's funny!! 

 

 

Cap'n'Bob,

Thanks!  Gread info! 

 

I added the PVA to support the glue joints. 

 

One of my goals in this build is to single plank the hull and it's going well.  I will need to sand down a slight ridge, so I'm going to follow your suggestion and add some epoxy before I start sanding.  

 

 

Dee Dee

[Dee_Dee]

I enjoy planking, it's sort of like a jigsaw puzzle with all rectangular pieces and there's no picture. 

 

Here's the puzzle:  I laid out 6 strips of art tape, (same width as the planks) on a piece of glass and fixed them with the strip of gold tape.  The tapes were transferred to the hull (parallel to the keel) and each strip of tape was then laid flat following the contour of the hull.   The views from the bow and stern show the puzzle the best.    

 

 

 

 

 

Just a few more planks to go. 

Here's a quick review on how I made each plank:

Each plank was steamed, edge bent, then shaped to size.  The measurements at each bulkhead was taken, then divided by the number of planks to go.  My goal was +/-0.03mm at each bulkhead, bow and transom. I averaged 45 - 60 minutes shaping each plank, it's a process that just cannot be rushed.    

 

This target measurement here was 3.58, I got 3.57.  The amount of pressure applied on the calipers will change the reading, so I just tried to be consistent with my process of measuring. 

 

This is the port side #17 plank, it just needs to have the top edge beveled and it will be ready to glue. 

 

Port plank #17 glued and partially sanded.

 

Three more planks to go!

 

There's a slight ridge on the port side, on planks 14 and 15.  It's not visible on the bare wood, but I'm thinking it might become visible after the hull is painted.  So I'm going to follow Cap'n'Bob's suggestion, add some two part epoxy on the inside of the hull, just in case the wood gets a bit thin while sanding that ridge.

 

The kit wood for the cockpit flooring is about 12" wide, way out of scale.  So I'm thinking of going with some maple, 3" wide  and staining it to the gray weathered color.   But before that, the mast thwart is too wide, so I need to extend the foredeck a few inches.  It's really kewl to have an actual boat to refer to.  

 

Thanks for stopping by, suggestions are always welcomed!  

 

Dee Dee

[captainbob]

Love your tape puzzle.  It really shows what it takes to plank a hull.

 

Bob

[themadchemist]

Your tape puzzle is very much like a derivative in math. The tape shows the tangent curvature of the hull at 6 distinct points, assuming the tapes center is that point. Thinner and thinner tape would push this to infinity as in calculus. What a very unique method of making a mathematical aspect of hull shape and form mathematically visual.

 

Its like looking at a graph of a three dimensional function describing the hulls form.

Cool exercise, Once again things like this are why reading Dee Dee's logs are just so dang interesting and informative.

[Dee_Dee]

Bob,

I'm a 'puzzle person' and planking any hull is a puzzle!  Too much fun!  I tried my best with single planking and I learned a lot about planking!    

 

Keith,

Scary kewl, but I understand most of what you wrote!  Sort of!  A puzzle with thinner tape would definitely be interesting!  I'm thinking the results will either bring total order or some really kewl '60's Pop Art'. 

 

 

Here's the fun part of this puzzle.

By feel, I know there's a ridge on the port side due to the 14th and 15th planks aft of the 6th bulkhead.

In the tape puzzle, theoretically, there should be no gaps between the strips of tape. 

However, the stern view photo shows a gap between the blue / green tapes and the green / black tapes and the gaps start when the tapes cross planks 14 & 15.   

 

Edited August 11, 2014 by Dee_Dee

[captainbob]

What is fun is that if you were to angle the gold tape, and all attached, 5 degrees one way or the other the pattern of the colors would be completely different.  Isn't it good we can edge bend the wood.

 

Bob

Edited August 11, 2014 by Cap'n'Bob

[Dee_Dee]

Bob,

The black tape was (visually) aligned with the keel and yes, a slight shift would be a completely different pattern. 

Edge bending is definitely wonderful.  A major lesson I've learned while planking this hull:  It's not 'good enough' to do the same general edge bend on all the planks, rather, each plank needs to be custom shaped to get a tight fit.    

Thanks for stopping by!

Dee Dee's

[Dee_Dee]

And then there were two planks.....  then one plank and (almost) done with planking! 

 

The 2nd to last plank was made same as the others with updated measurements.  The last plank was made almost the same.  The major difference is the final plank was beveled on both edges so it could 'press fit' for a snug fit.  Added some glue and called the planking almost done!  Before I sand the bump and lumps, I'll add a layer of epoxy on the inside of the hull. 

 

The ends of the planks will be trimmed up to a nice straight line.  The garboard strake, in addition to needing a bit of filler, is a bit too wide at the front.  

 

The starboard bow needs a bit of clean up. The planking got a bit snug at the bow, but ALL planks run the full length of the hull with no add / dropped planks. 

 

And then I did THIS to the deck!  I got carried away when opening up some of the false deck to add the epoxy.  I decided to add the wells, framing, mast shoe / step.  Good idea, until I figured out, that to do it right, I should have done some of the prep work on the false keel for the mast shoe / step and individual bulkheads for framing (back on page 1).  Oh well, I'll figure it out!  It won't be right, but it will be close.

 

In this photo of the Shepherdess from Domrémy, you can see the cockpit floor boards are in two sections.  From the thwart forward, the floor boards are loose to access the fish wells below, and aft of the thwart, the floor boards are fixed.  The oyster would be stored in the (wet?) well below the floor boards.  At the end of the day, the boards would be put back and head for home. 

 

While I'm trying to figure this out, I'll add a layer of epoxy to the inside of the hull and try to get rid of THAT bump on 14 & 15 and work on the stern post. 

 

As always, thanks for stopping by. 

 

Dee Dee

[Dee_Dee]

My problem in post #41, was how am I going to get the planks to land all straight, neat and tidy on the keel as shown on the drawing (the purple section.)  

 

This is how the stern looked after I finished planking last week. Not very promising. 

 

So, I took a deep breath and cut off a section of the planked keel and added a walnut stern stem. 

 

 

And the planks line up straight, neat and tidy!!

 

 

The transom was planked before adding the stern stem

 

Working on the framing around the fish wells, have a few more parts to figure out, but it's looking good. 

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Dee Dee

 

 

[SkerryAmp]

Well hello Dee Dee - going through and catching up on build logs I have missed in the past.  You are putting some incredible attention to detail into this and it definately seems to be paying off,  really enjoyed this so far and think I will stick around a bit!

[captainbob]

The walnut dresses it up beautifully.  Well done.

 

Bob

[egkb]

Clever solution Dee_Dee.. was it difficult to cut  ?

 

Cheers

 

Eamonn

[Dee_Dee]

Josh!

Thanks for stopping by.  Remember the crates?  Yep!  THOSE crates!  I need to make some of those crates, fill them with oysters and put them in the well.   

 

Adam! 

Welcome aboard and Thank You! 

I'm sort of new to this hobby.  I have a few kits on the shelf that exceed my skills, so I've challenged myself to learn how to research, add details, use alternative materials and learn other skills I'll need for those kits.  It can get a bit scary, but it only wood and I'm having too much fun!  

 

Cap'n'Bob

 

Thanks for stopping by.  Yes, the walnut gives the crisp corners that are difficult to get with basswood.  

 

Eamon

Good question.

Short answer:  Nay!  I just sawed it off, slapped on some glue, did a bit of sanding and called it done!

Long answer:  Eek gads!  I had been thinking about this for a while.  When it finally came time to do it, I kept on putting it off until I had the courage to execute the plan.  I scored the cut line to keep the saw from floating off, and just sawed very, very slowly.  The biggest challenges were making sure the cut was at 90* and getting a straight line from the now planked transom and all the way down the keel.  Wait till you see what I did with the bow...........

[egkb]

Think I'd have developed a full body twitch at the prospect of doing that cut Dee_Dee..    that and be gently rocking back and forth in the corner of a dark room making cooing sounds ! 

 

Eamonn

[*Hans*]

Nothing to add  here - wonderfull and detailed work done!

[hexnut]

I'll be interested to see how you simulate oysters..

Interesting challenge... I might start with spatter  trunk paint over sesame seeds...

http://www.rakuten.com/prod/dupli-color-dm100-spatter-trunk-paint-gray-white/230024091.html

 

Dee Dee, that hull is looking beautiful!

[Dee_Dee]

Hans, Thanks for stopping by and the kind words.  I really like your Batavia!  FWIW, Batavia is also the name of a suburb, west of Chicago in the Fox River Valley.  Now I know where the name Batavia came from! 

 

Bob,  This hull was a challenge to plank, but I learned a lot!  Umm, as for those oysters.....  Bob, I like your idea of sesame seeds, sunflower seeds also look good.  But not sure if seeds will be stable over the years, so possibly bits of Fimo clay.  What ever I use, I'll add a layer of glue and roll it in crushed shells for texture and color. But first, I need to make those crates.

 

 

 

As for the bow!  I liked the way the stern stem turned out and decided to do the same with the bow stem. 

 

To get the planks to line up neat and tidy, the bow stem was removed 

 

And then I added a new walnut bow stem. It looks good!  But the lines on the bow stem are not parallel and it's a bit curved, so I need to make some corrections.  It's an easy fix, but the obvious is this should have been done on page one. 

 

I've spent weeks trying to figure out how I'm going to do the cockpit decking and it's looking good.  Have a few more pieces to add and shape and then I'll add some photos. 

 

 

As always, thanks for stopping by.

 

 

Dee Dee

 

[JPett]

Ahoy Dee  

 

Very nice, thanks for sharing 

[SkerryAmp]

Wonderful job!! The walnut looks really good