18th Century Longboat by divarty - FINISHED - Model Shipways - 1:48

[divarty]

Throwing my hat into the ring with a long boat build as well.  The kit came incomplete I'm missing the brass and fittings, eyes and blocks and cordage.  I need to contact Modelexpo to get that sorted but was having some issues with the contact page, however it doesn't matter for the moment as I have enough to start on the bulwarks and planking.

 

I filed/cut/sanded the false keel from the bearding line down and attached the keel and the stem to it, doublechecked the depth of the rabbet I have 1/32" all along so I think its all good.  I dry fit all the bulkheads, each was off by a touch so some filing was required for each piece.  I built a portable jig to hold the keel by using two pieces of square wood and clamping them together with the false keel sandwiched between them. I started to mount the bulkheads and I already made a mistake, the G bulkhead is square to the keel but not correct vertically so I'll have to sort out how to detach it and square it up again.

 

The temp jig and my work so far.  Pretty standard stuff for this group build Hopefully I can make it look as nice as some of the others in here.

 

[divarty]

Very minor update, I had mounted 4 of the bulkheads and thought I had them correct with 90 degrees and flush on the top, turned out the first one I laid was off slightly and I followed with the rest so I pulled them all off and will be restarting the process again.  Getting these bulkheads true may just drive me insane. 

 

When I have all of the bulkheads in should the flat top be level all the way across the boat or is there a little bit of tolerance wiggle room for some being slightly higher than others, and by slightly I mean roughly a 1/32" deviance.

[Chuck Seiler]

Div,

 

   Welcome to the build...good luck.  I think you will enjoy it...sandwiched in between bouts of frustration.  It is a great model.  It won 3 of 4 places (out of 8 models) in the San Diego County Fair Design in Wood competition (Scale Model Class).

 

   A couple recommendos.  Check out my build log and see the procedure I used to make sure things were square in 3 dimensions.  Also read my recommendations regarding reinforcing the stem piece BEFORE it breaks off.

[divarty]

Thanks Chuck your log was really helpful in sorting out how to get all three dimensions to line up correctly, I don't have any power tools (like a table saw) that would allow me to cut a groove into a base board for the keel so instead of removing material from my base board to make the keel holding slot I went additive with two pieces of wood sandwiching a smaller piece all glued to the base board.

 

I used another small sheet of wood, measured lines out and mounted it to two small L brackets.  This allowed me to pull it tight to the bulkhead and make sure the bulkhead was squared in all directions, the lines allowed me to check the side to side level.

 

Having to redo the bulkheads a couple of times was actually beneficial, I realized before I put it together for the last time I hadn't stained the bulkheads or the keel so I took care of that prior to putting everything together.

 

Jig and first bulkheads

 

From the bow with all bulkheads set

 

 

From the stern with all the bulkheads set

 

 

Hopefully what I have is close enough tolerance wise, I'm not sure how much tighter I could get it.

[divarty]

I was looking through the pictures I took of my build hours after I had closed up in the shipyard and I noticed that I had mistakes at bulkheads 4 and E, they didn't come down to the bearding line in the case of 4 and in the case of E it was a little high and threw the line off.

 

 

Using the mighty powers of isopropyl I pulled them cleaned up the slots and reseated them properly, then it was off to the races truing the bulkheads and starting on planking. 

 

I decided to do some quick bending of the wood so I soaked it and went in search of a round item to bend it around.  The directions from Chuck suggest a lid, I couldn't find one of the proper size, however while digging around I found one of the admirals cookie cutters that was the perfect size and shape.  

 

 

The use of this eventually led to a conversation with the admiral that included the words "What is the nice cookie cutter my mom gave to me doing on your work bench?"  I begged forgiveness demonstrated that no harm would come to said cookie cutter and I can continue to use it for this plank job.

 

I put the first two sheer planks on and I think it seems to have come together nicely, but looks they can be deceiving.  I figure I would post up some photos for you experts to look at and someone can shout it they see something off that will haunt me further down the road.

 

 

One thing I did note (I'm probably looking at the wrong thing) in the instructions it calls for leaving 1/16th of an inch from the top sheer rail to the top of the bulkheads then it instructs you to use the measurements off the plans, when I checked the plans it shows the sheer rail down 1/8th of an inch from the top or the bulkhead.

Edited July 27, 2014 by divarty

[divarty]

I knew it was too good to be true, looking at stuntflyers build and his discussion with Chuck Passaro as well as pictures from the stickied post I brought the sheer strakes up too high at the stem and that will cause future problems with the cap rail so when I get back to the shipyard Ill be busy using the magic of isopropyl again to remove the strakes and move them down.  I have to agree with my admiral though when she told me "Just enjoy redoing each part five or six times, then it will feel like you worked on a much larger model"

Edited July 29, 2014 by divarty

[divarty]

Working on the boat today I came to the realization that I think the bulwarks are off by a smidgeon, but I'm to deep into it to back out now  I redid the sheer strakes to leave more room at the stem and I fit the garboard strakes.  After the garboard strakes I tried to fit the next plank only to realize the edge bend was too severe and I needed to pull the garboard strakes off and redo them with less of a profile so I did that and spent the next couple of hours trying to edge bend a single plank to fit over the new profile of the garboard strake without having it snap or flex up. 

 

All told I worked in the shipyard for 6 hours and managed to form but not attach two planks  All in all another good day in the shipyard.  Will provide pics of the planks later once I've attached them.

Edited August 4, 2014 by divarty

[divarty]

I have decided that edge bending is something that I do not enjoy  I finally came up with a jig that seems to work by tracing the garboard strake curve onto a slightly thicker piece of wood, I then carved the curve out and glued it to my working board.  I'm then able to wet a plank, clamp it down (using another piece of scrap to protect it) and slowly curve it using a pushpin and some more scrap to hold it in place.  

 

 

I use a heat gun to dry it then rewet it, bend it a little more heat gun it again, finally wetting it, bending it to the final position and letting it air dry naturally, I do get a little spring back but with some careful sanding of the inner curve and then attaching it first to the keel and clamping it tightly I am able to bend the rest of the plank into the proper posistion and fix it to the bulkheads with glue.

 

So after today I have both garboard strakes in place and the first plank above it on one side with the next plank drying in the edge bending jig.

 

 

The plank edge above the garboard strake is slightly higher then the garboard stake edge but I think I can fix that when it comes time to sand down the hull. That step is only about 9 months out and thankfully gaps can be filled on this lower section and it will be covered over with paint.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[divarty]

Progress has been made!  I can almost guarantee that someone who has done this before will look at it and tell me the progress is flawed but progress none the less!

 

The pictures make it look fairly poorly but in person it's not as horrible.  I do see a lot of places where my connections aren't quite precise and where a plank is too high or has a gap but at this point I'm running with it.

 

 

The method I'm using to figure plank width was to measure the open space left on the bulkhead and divide by the number of planks I had left (I had 7 more to place) I used this instead of the tick strip method.

 

 

 

[SkerryAmp]

Nicely done so far from what I can see.

 

I have this one on the shelf waiting it's turn so will enjoy watching yours progress!

[divarty]

Thanks Skerry  

 

Today I finished up planking on one side of the boat and came to some conclusions.

 

1. The four planks that I placed (2 above the garboard and the 2 at the sheer) should have been trimmed down from a full 3mm width to something slightly under that.  This would have allowed the other planks to have less taper.  

2.  My tapering ability is non existent

3. Once you get down to just a plank or two left you don't have any place left to clamp so use something that dries faster than standard wood glue, or be prepared to just sit for a long time holding planks in place

4. The last plank was by far the most fiddly.

 

Here are the pics of the finished side.  After looking at everyone else's log and seeing the job that Chuck Passaro did I decided that a real boat should be ugly and uneven in appearance and should have gaps where it can leak and keep the sailors busy bailing it out.

 

 

I'm hoping some of my lessons learned will help me on the other side and I can do a cleaner job, I can always make this the wall side or as someone else on the forum said get a 5x5x5 foot case to put this little guy into so you can only view it from a distance.

 

 

 

 

 

[divarty]

I have been looking at the instructions and photos that were supplied with the kit and crawling through all the build logs and I am unhappy with my end result compared to all the other builds.  I'm not sure if I put too many planks on (12) or if it was all a matter of not tapering the first couple that I put on but the end result of my planking just doesn't look right.  I think I may strip off everything I have and try it again. 

 

The other builds have more consistent size across the planks where each plank is very very close to the same size at the bow of the ship, in addition they come in "flatter" where as mine seem to arc upwards.

 

If I redo it (leaning heavily towards yes on this) I will need new wood as I don't have enough left, what recommendations do folks have on getting new strips?  Is there a vendor that has a wood replacement or upgrade kit specifically for the longboat or would I just go to hobbymill and get a stack of new strips?

 

I have ordered additional wood from model expo and will strip off what I have and clean up the glue while I wait for the new materials to arrive.  I will also continue to pour over the instructions and the other build logs to see where I went astray.

Edited September 2, 2014 by divarty

[jburchfield1@wowway.com]

I can sympathize.  Took me 3 tries to finally get my planked.  Don't give up, you got closer on your first try than I did.  

 

I would suggest however, that you not use the previous method.   Example - seems to me that if you make a plank too wide and then measure the remaining space, the next plank is actually going to be too narrow.  I finally, on my third try, went strictly by the tick strip method.

Edited September 2, 2014 by Pops

[Mike Y]

Divarty, congratulations with a decision to redo the planking, I thnk that model is perfectly suitable for it.

Have you considered a boxwood package from Hobbymill? A bit more expensive, but worth every penny. Planking with boxwood is such a pleasure comparing to basswood. I planked two models - Pinnace with bass, and Longboat with box - the difference is very big, boxwood planking is easier, more stable, etc.

And just a mere fact that after initial sanding basswood planks from the kit are like twice thinner than boxwood ones from hobbymill. It means a lot!

You can compare the photos in my logs (see links in the signature). Longboat planked with box is not sanded yet, and already looks much better than basswood after sanding!

 

But beware: when you will try a booxwood package for longboat, you will never go back to inferior wood, and will end up paying quite a lot for a good one!

[divarty]

I can sympathize.  Took me 3 tries to finally get my planked.  Don't give up, you got closer on your first try than I did.  

 

I would suggest however, that you not use the previous method.   Example - seems to me that if you make a plank too wide and then measure the remaining space, the next plank is actually going to be too narrow.  I finally, on my third try, went strictly by the tick strip method.

 

Thanks Pops, I have looked at your log quite a bit and it's fantastic, one of the reasons I decided to redo it was seeing what you had done with your build and remembering it's not just about just finishing the model but doing it right and having built something that you are proud of.  I have been looking at BobF's build log, yours and Mike Y's and will begin with the tick strip method and spending the time to lay it out before I put wood together.  (after I deconstruct what I have )

 

Divarty, congratulations with a decision to redo the planking, I thnk that model is perfectly suitable for it.

Have you considered a boxwood package from Hobbymill? A bit more expensive, but worth every penny. Planking with boxwood is such a pleasure comparing to basswood. I planked two models - Pinnace with bass, and Longboat with box - the difference is very big, boxwood planking is easier, more stable, etc.

And just a mere fact that after initial sanding basswood planks from the kit are like twice thinner than boxwood ones from hobbymill. It means a lot!

You can compare the photos in my logs (see links in the signature). Longboat planked with box is not sanded yet, and already looks much better than basswood after sanding!

 

But beware: when you will try a booxwood package for longboat, you will never go back to inferior wood, and will end up paying quite a lot for a good one!

 

Mike thanks for the feedback, I think both of your boats look amazing.  I had not considered boxwood but I will keep it in mind for the future.  Depending on how this order of basswood strips I got goes I may have to order even more replacement wood and I'll take a look at the Hobbymill boxwood.

[divarty]

Following the advice from Pops about using the tick strip method (many many thanks to both Pops and Mike Y for the kinds words and advice about starting over again) I peeled everything off.  I spent some additional time truing up my bulkheadss better (easier to see where I was off before) and spent some quality time making up strips and transferring the information to the bulkheads.  

 

I decided against putting on the sheer strake to start with and began planking both sides from the garboard strake on up.  I have 4 more planks per side but it's coming along quite well.  Hopefully I have left enough room on the bow and it won't end up biting me that I skipped putting on the sheer strake.

 

 

Thats all from the shipyard this week, hopefully Ill get some time this week or next weekend to finish up the planking and begin the process of removing the bulkheads.

[Mike Y]

Wow, now it looks very accurate! Lovely!

[divarty]

The planking redo is done!  While not at the level of some of the other fantastic builds I've seen on this site or the original I'm happy with it.... disclaimer this is the first time I've ever planked a build so I have nothing to base it on

 

 

Hopefully the sheer is a good form, I know I was a little too high on some of my bulkheads vs the plans but cutting the sheer plank down any more would have just looked wrong.  Any and all honest feed back is appreciated, specifically if what I did is going to screw me up further down the line and make some other portion of the build impossible.

 

 

[fnkershner]

Nice job on the planking! I hope to return to my model in the near future. Real life has thrown me a big curve.

[BobF]

This little long boat can be very deceptive.  I've planked a number of models, and I feel that this one was the most challenging.  It's hard to believe that this was your first attempt at planking.  Congratulations on a very nice job!

 

BobF

[divarty]

Thank you guys for the kind words.  Floyd I hope you manage to hit that curve ball and get back to doing what you enjoy.  Thank you John.  BobF I appreciate the compliment, I do have to say I used your build log to guide me on my second go at the planking, it was incredibly instructive and I wouldn't have gotten my long boat to this point without it!

 

One of the things that I'm curious about are the glue stains that seem to have bled through the planks to the surface.  I used standard carpenters glue and was very judicious (or so I thought) on how much I used but you can still see the stain.  Ill have to test a spare piece to see if the bleed through affects the stain.  Has anyone else seen the same problem?  How did you handle it?  Sanding doesn't work as it's bleed through the wood from the bottom.

 

The other issue I had/have is the "furriness" of the basswood and the softness.  I dented the hell out of the false keel and the transom as well as any wet wood the I used clamps on.  

 

Next up in the build saga will be dismantling the bulkheads and working on the cap rail.

[BobF]

Hmmm.  I'm stumped as to why the glue would bleed through the wood.  That certainly could impact how staining the hull will turn out.  Applying a pre-stain wood conditioner might minimize, or even eliminate any uneven appearance.  It would be a shame to cover that very nice planking job, but if all else fails, the hull can be painted.  I wasn't happy with my stain job, and had to pursue that option.

 

BobF

Edited October 10, 2014 by BobF

[divarty]

BobF, the glue staining is actually from where I had excess between the planks, it appeared to have come all the way through but it's only pronounced right where the planks meet, I did some test runs and it looked fine with stain.

 

And I was wrong in my last post, the next step was not the bulkheads and cap rails it was tree nails and staining the hull.  I put together a quick tester to see how I wanted to do the tree nails.  I tied three sets on a test piece, pencil with one nail and two nails, two size drill bits with one nail and two nails filled with wood filler then stained.

 

 

I decided to go with the smallest drill bit and two holes per plank (where the plank was wide enough to support two)

 

 

Then a quick sanding to get rid of some of the cruft followed by filling

 

 

A light sanding after that and then stain

 

 

I'm of a mixed opinion about the end result, the admiral likes it and says it looks fine, I like it but I think its a bit cartoonish?  A little fuzzy not as perfectly defined as some of the other builds.  I think it will work well if I finish off the rest of the boat as a "working" boat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[divarty]

Today I finished up the tree nails on the second side of the boat then filled and stained it.  Another round of sanding and scraping and I feel like I have a reasonably decent result

 

 

Then it was on to taking out the bulkheads and getting the boat ready to sand down the frames and tidy up the glue on the inside.

 

 

The admiral insisted her lego pirate become involved with the project

 

 

 

Next weekend will be onto thinning the frames and getting her set up for the caprail work.

 

 

[divarty]

Today I started working down the bulkheads and getting ready for the cap rail.  I used a small sanding disk on my Dremel (220) to start to bring everything down to size.  Everything was coming along swimmingly

 

 

I took the boat outside and used some compressed air to blow out the dust from teh sanding and I discovered that I had made a huge error, I was only paying attention to one side of the sanding disk and the far side damn near went through the frames and planking on the port side.

 

 

Fortunately I caught the issue before I wrecked the entire boat and I believe that the damage will be covered by the floorboards when I put those in.  After I finished sanding down the frames I stained the inside.

 

 

On a side note we recently snagged a stray/feral cat that we had been feeding on our doorstep and she's adapted to life on the inside fairly well, and by that I mean she appears to be my new assistant.

 

 

After I finished up the staining I started to cut the cap rails, after burning through the supplied by wood cutting it incorrectly (I traced the boat and put an additional marking inside at 1/8th of an inch but failed to leave extra wood on the outside ) and a trip to the hardware store where they happen to carry a lot of balsa and basswood I managed to craft what I call BACR or big *** cap rails.

 

 

I cut two separate rails and was planning on applying them to each side but looking at BobF's build and Chucks build it appears they cut the cap rail from a single piece, anyone want to chip in on single piece vs two separate ones?  I think I may backtrack and lay my current cap rails down as a template and cut a single piece to avoid having a seam.

 

On a side note I've already been seduced by modelexpos adds and have been looking at what I would like to do next.  I'm really drawn to the Model Shipways Rattlesnake but I am having doubts after looking at various build logs if I have the chops to do the kit justice.  I love the Syren as well but if I don't think I have the chops for the Ratt I definitely don't have the skill set for the Syren.

 

Tomorrow hopefully I'll have some time to bring the BACR down to just a standard cap rail and move on with the build!

 

 

 

 

[divarty]

I decided to go with a single piece cap rail and used my two parts as a template to cut a new one.  

 

 

I used a drum attachment to trim down the bulk of the cap rail and then moved to a sanding stick and sharp xacto knife.  At the end of the day it's a hair larger then called for in the instructions but I think it looks ok.  I didn't trim down the frames deep enough to get to the measurements set by the instructions.

 

 

After finishing up the cap rail I set to the friezes using a spray adhesive (word of warning, that stuff is difficult to work with and not have your entire work area glued together)

 

 

None of the friezes for the transom fit so I trimmed it down with no white left and placed it

 

 

When i am doing the white on the edge of the cap rail and moulding I will also paint the edges of the transom around the rear frieze.

 

Adding the caprail, the friezes and the moulding underneath the frieze really adds a lot of character to the boat and this is turning into a great little build.

 

 

[fnkershner]

I know it is a bit too late. but I think I read in one of the logs that the friezes that come with the kit are just a bit out of scale. this is why Chuck has posted them to the forum in electronic form so you can scale them as needed.

 

Now that you have gotten this far do you intend to do any painting on the exterior?

 

Very nice work so far. You have inspired me to get back to my long boat. Maybe some time in the boat shed after work tomorrow.

[divarty]

Thanks Floyd, I like the way the stain and faux tree nailing came out so for paint I'm just going to stick with white on the edge of the moulding and cap rail and the red on top of the cap rail and inside.  I'm looking forward to seeing your progress on the longboat!

Edited October 20, 2014 by divarty

[divarty]

Today was filled with a trip to Michaels to pick up some brushes and acrylic paints.  Once back in the dockyard it was time for amateur painter hour.

 

 

The photos didn't come out that well but the red turned out exactly as I wanted.  Tomorrow will be attempting to start on the interior work with the flooring and the two platforms.

Edited October 26, 2014 by divarty

[SkerryAmp]

Really sharp looking , that is a great shade of red you have on there.