28' Ranger-type Yacht by Mark Pearse - FINISHED - 1:12

[mikegerber]

Hi Mark

 

I am happy about any additional plank on your build - comes really great!   

 

Best regards

Mike

[Mark Pearse]

thanks guys

[Mark Pearse]

A couple of issues with the model had to be sorted & so progress was fairly slow while I was considering them. I've decided to make this a display model only, not a sailing model; also I was finding that after having done about 1/3rd of the planks it was still too flexible to be able to fit ribs into this hull, if I had continued as is. The Huon Pine planking is flexible & the ribs would have to be also v flexible to not distort the planking when fitting them. I did some tests with strips of Spotted Gum & it just was not going to work out, the Gum takes a fair bit to bend & the Pine would have been distorted by that. So, the plywood moulds are staying. Ultimately it is more important to me that the hull shape is accurate to the design rather than just the model looks nice.

 

So, the hull was slipped off the moulds while it was still possible, the ply cleaned up & the planking was glued to the moulds.

 

The planking in the stern area will need to be trimmed, the profile has been roughly pencilled on.

 

 

 

 

 

Shown up side down you can see the hull shape somewhat, & you can certainly see that they would make good centreboarders.

 

 

thanks, bye for now

 

MP

 

 

[mikegerber]

Hi Mark

 

Important decisions need time, but your Ranger looks absolut great so far!

 

All the best,

Mike

[Omega1234]

Hi Mark

 

A "display" only model! That must've been a hard decision to make, particularly after all the work you've put into it. Nevertheless, even as a display model, it'll still look brilliant.

 

All the best

 

Patrick

Edited October 5, 2015 by Omega1234

[Mark Pearse]

thanks guys,

 

Patrick, yes it was a bit tough to swallow that I wouldn't get the chance to sail her, but I reasoned that it was probably no more work to rig & sail our real boat ... so the pain dissipated. It would still be possible to reverse that decision & make her sailing, we will see.

[michael mott]

Good morning Mark, These major decisions are sometimes deeply reflective ones and are often difficult to make, it is in these that we learn the most about what we are doing though it seems to me. The lessons that are solved one way or another are valuable additions for the next project.

 

The planking and the shape of the hull are looking very nice.

 

Michael

[Mark Pearse]

thanks everyone for your interest & comments 

 

I've started work on the keel. I have some nice old Queensland Maple, which I selected because it planes well (unlike most native timbers) & yet is hard enough to resist most knocks (unlike most native timbers that plane well). This timber was logged almost 70 years ago so it should resist further warping. 

 

I'm building it up from thick longitudinal laminations. However, I picked up a measurement error so there's going to have to be another 4-5mm lamination in there as well.

 

The reason for working on it now is that the shape of the keel timber immediately below the garboard is related to the keel shape etc, so roughly shaping it now will help in shaping the lower parts, even though the garboard is done. I'll glue the keel laminations together, shape them & leave it unfixed to the hull until after the planking is completed. Some brass pins will be used to accurately locate the keel, & will also give better purchase for gluing. 

 

One thing that is really showing is how far aft the centre of lateral resistance is on the hull. I take it that this is because of the power of a gaff mainsail, & the way the long boom usually overhangs the transom so there's quite a bit of push a long way aft. 

 

thanks, MP

 

there's another thin lamination required in addition to these

 

2 outlined & in position

[Mark Pearse]

The keel was glued up, roughly shaped & glued on. I'm leaving final shaping for later, but it's getting fairly close.

 

The transition at the front edge at the keelson needs to be done carefully & I don't want to rush that. It's quite difficult to get it straight & symmetrical as well.

 

thanks

 

 

[Omega1234]

Hi Mark

 

Looking really good. It's clear to see that she's got some beautiful lines to the hull, especially now that the planking is progressing.

 

Good luck with the transition to the keelson. I definitely agree that that can be tricky.

 

All the best!

 

Patrick

[mikegerber]

Hi Mark

 

Now, one can already see the ingenious design - absolut beautiful lines, love it! ...

... and you are doing a superb job with the planking!

 

All the best,
Mike

[dgbot]

Looking good Mark,  the lines are really starting to show.

David B

[Mark Pearse]

thanks guys

 

Yes I find the shape interesting too. As far as I can see, not so many countries really developed beamy boats. There will be a lot of examples that I'm not aware of, but when I think of beamy boats it's American & Australian boat types that come to mind in particular. This design isn't massively beamy at 28' x 9'6", but it's no gazelle either.

 

I like the way this hull shape has a clean water exit aft, but still maintains a lot of bouyancy stability right through to the transom - using the beam to get righting moment rather than by adding more & more lead to the keel. They can be comparatively lightly built & ballasted as a result.

[Mark Pearse]

The planking getting close to where stealer planks are needed, I'll probably do one more each side up from the garboard & maybe 3 or 4 more each side down from the gunwales. The planking is ok, a few wobbles, I'm just not sure to what extent that can be sanded out or not - or whether they will be noticeable. If there is any that bother me enough I can cut some softwood veneer strips & glue them on top & fair it. I'll need to read forum threads on sanding, whether to use something more than just fingers. At 28" I am thinking of a small torture board ... there are sanding blocks where are a foam core, or I could glue sandpaper to something flexible.

 

 

 

 

 

 

thanks for watching, bye for now

 

MP

[Jim Lad]

That's really coming along nicely, Mark.  You're doing a fine job.

 

John

[mtaylor]

Doing great, Mark.  Always back the sandpaper with something other than fingers.  I've used stiff cardboard even.

[Jim Lad]

Just had another thought, Mark - will she be ready for this year's Sydney/Hobart?

 

John

[Mark Pearse]

I'm still here, still working slowly away when I can. Planking is closer, 4 planks left each side plus a stealer .... & I'm still hoping that the clouds will part soon & reveal whereth should reside the stealer plank... But there's still time for that so I'll press on at my glacial pace & hope that it will all become clear at the appropriate time.

 

 

 

Today we celebrated the 90th birthday of Bill Gale (son of the designer of the craft I'm building). Retired from sailing last year after 75 seasons; Bill with two lady admirers, Ranger (the boat that started it all) & our boat Cherub (further away). 

 

 

 

[Omega1234]

Hi Mark

 

Nice work on the hull. She's really coming together beautifully.

 

The nod to Bill Gale on his birthday is also a fitting tribute as the boat's designer.

 

Well done.

 

Cheers

 

Patrick

[Jim Lad]

Slow, but sure, Mark.  She's looking first class.

 

John

 

PS. Happy birthday, Bill!

[Mark Pearse]

thanks all

[Mark Pearse]

One plank remains & it's the one with a stealer, but when I checked through some photos, it's actually not going to be as difficult as I was expecting. In one of the excellent forum primers on planking, it describes how to do a stealer plank on a ship. But I'm going to do it as in the photo below, from our boat Cherub - you can see where one plank stops & becomes two that take up the extra width further down. So I guess that's how they did it for this scale of boat in Sydney at that time. It will make it a lot simpler too.

 

 

 

[michael mott]

Mark the hull is looking very nice. Not long now before you will be able to sit her in a cradle and work on the topsides.

 

Michael

[Mark Pearse]

thanks all

Planking completed & some rough sanding done. There are some planks where it may be easier to infill thin strips of timber on top of the planks than to sand it all back to the lowest part. You can see in one of the photos that this is the case for the upper edge of the port side garboard plank, the change in colour of the sanding highlights the recess. I think it would be pretty easy to thin down some timber & glue it on.

 

Yes, Michael, I'm wondering about the next few stages...there's always the attraction of doing next the stage that will give the most dramatic visual change, over a more reasoned & sober reckoning. So, after sanding the hull, & probably undercoating & marking the waterline while the base it there holding the hull level, I will no doubt succumb to the most dramatic visual change & do the deck & the basic parts of the cockpit area. The model is still a bit scaleless with no parts to give the eye a reference of size, & I'm keen to get a sense of the yacht's design & feel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Omega1234]

Hi Mark

 

Nice work!

 

Cheers

 

Patrick

[Jim Lad]

It's great to see her fully planked, Mark.

 

John

[Bedford]

Always a great day when the last plank goes on. She's looking beautiful, love the lines

[Mark Pearse]

thanks guys,

 

Bedford, I especially like the transom shape, at this stage it still looks similar to Ranger's (first blog entry has photos), but I think that when the transom fashion piece goes on, the planking ends are fined off & the hull sides are shaped to suit the raised deck etc, it will be the prettiest transom in a pretty good looking bunch.

 

Mark

[Bedford]

Yes I have to agree, she's more the old style champagne glass than the wine glass and it's just beautiful

[michael mott]

Hi Mark, I just reread your whole log , I find it useful sometimes to pull the whole of the builders thinking back together. Over the long incremental reads I sometimes lose the reason and thoughts that go into the whole.

 

Also knowing what know now, that I didn't when you switched from the notion of putting the ribs in after and that of gluing to the building frames. On my next hull I am going to give the process of bending the ribs first inside some ribbands (full size practice). I believe that on models that are the size of 1 inch to the foot and up this will be a viable method.

 

I am also thinking that your extra high moulds are a good way to gain access to the inside. The other thought is that in some ways the method developed by Harold Hahn with the support board outside the frames gives unobstructed access to the inside. If you were to make your next build structure wider by somehow getting the aluminum bars to the outside Your build frame with the double run of aluminum bars would be similar to the reversible frame that I developed for Skipjack. 

 

What I am now thinking is to use a combination of taller build molds as you have done in combination with stronger ribbands, bend the frames from Costello with a single lamination 2x 3/64 or 2x1/16 I am very sure that this will provide enough strength. The frames can be bent one lamination at a time to ease the tension on the ribbands, this will be slower to do all the ribs but I am confident that a superior hull will result. All of this in an open frame that can be reversed easily to enable work on both the outside and inside at the same time. perhaps a locking rotisserie type build structure. 

 

Anyway back to your own model she is looking very nice, noting that you had to add a steeler is this a result of using strip planks versus using wider spieled ones?

 

Michael