Bertie Builds a Boat - Lady Isabella - Scots 'Zulu' Herring Drifter - Finished ! ! !

[Bertie McBoatface]

I have no progress to report from yesterday (Friday). I'd stayed up late on Thursday night by not attending to the time and then my poor old pooch was ill during the night once again so I had very little sleep. I was so jetlagged I thought it inadvisable to go near the boat until after a solid afternoon nap and then my son made a surprise visit to take me out for a meal in the evening. So I probably won't go near the boat today either on the grounds of a light hangover! 

 

I've reset my clocks by the way, it's hopeless for me to drift into staying up late if the dog keeps her regular hours, or worse. I simply can't function unless I'm well rested. I've also started a plastic kit as a back up project for when I'm not feeling sharp enough for the boat, which needs my full concentration. I've got to have something to do that's easy on the mind. 

 

Tomorrow I'm out for the day with the other son, so the earliest I can get anything done on the Lady will be Monday.

[Faraway]

Very sensible approach.
Have a good relaxing weekend.

Jon

[Bertie McBoatface]

Today's exciting update!

 

I've done some more planks.

[BillF67]

Following this with interest, old bean. Just wondering where the catapult for the Hurricat goes? Don’t those big sticky up thingies get in the way?

[SafetyDad]

I am enjoying this thread so much!

 

Waaay off my normal modelling activities.

 

But a little part of me has always liked the idea if building a wooden boat (or ship?)

 

I have learned so much from this thread Bertie - your planking tutorials are marvellous!

 

SD (who hasn't worn a watch for over 30 years)

[Bertie McBoatface]

6 minutes ago, BillF67 said:

Following this with interest, old bean. Just wondering where the catapult for the Hurricat goes? Don’t those big sticky up thingies get in the way?

 

There was a cat but it died from a surfeit of herring.

[Bertie McBoatface]

7 minutes ago, SafetyDad said:

I am enjoying this thread so much!

 

I'm very glad to hear that. I'm afraid it's gone a bit dull lately. "I've done some more planks" isn't very inspired prose. But what else can I say? It's slow, painstaking work although I have speeded up a lot. It now takes no longer that 30 minutes per plank and ten minutes of that is holding it in place while the glue grabs.

 

7 minutes ago, SafetyDad said:

Waaay off my normal modelling activities.

 

I have to keep trying new things or I'll lose the will to build models at all. Then how would I avoid boredom, that killer of old men?

 

7 minutes ago, SafetyDad said:

But a little part of me has always liked the idea if building a wooden boat (or ship?)

 

Then do it. Get yourself a pair of Nike's and just do it. You wooden believe how much fun it is. I'm never board, oak-kay?

 

7 minutes ago, SafetyDad said:

 

I have learned so much from this thread Bertie - your planking tutorials are marvellous!

 

"Other methods are available." I don't think any two shipwrights do it the same way, and my method may not work on hulls with radically different shapes. My next one HMS Beagle, has a bluff bow, quite a tumblehome and a transom type stern. It's giving me nightmares already.

 

7 minutes ago, SafetyDad said:

SD (who hasn't worn a watch for over 30 years)

 

I believe my three-day experiment has allowed me to ease off the manic modelling a trifle. Today for example, the boat got an hour of my time first thing but then Tess and I went for a ten mile walkies, losing ourselves in previously unexplored territory and getting home ... whenever! I didn't rush her or myself even once, even breaking off in the last half mile for 'just one more swim in the cool river, please Dad?"

 

 

[Bertie McBoatface]

 

I put another pair of planks on tonight including one that fought back all the way. It was acting like it was half an inch thick, resisting bending. And the grain was so tangled that I couldn't plane it either way so I had to sand it. 

 

There are seven left now. That's at least two days worth.

 

 

On a lighter note, why is a wood shaving like getting up at five in the morning?

 

 

It's twirly.

[psdavidson]

3 hours ago, Bertie Psmith said:

I've done some more planks.

Too much of the one type of exercise isn't good for you. You need to do an all round body workout

 (well, my all round body needs a workout anyway)

 

13 minutes ago, Bertie Psmith said:

why is a wood shaving like getting up at five in the morning?

It's twirly.

Where's the "groan" emoticon when you need it? 😕

 

 

/P

[Bertie McBoatface]

20 minutes ago, psdavidson said:

You need to do an all round body workout

 

2 hours ago, Bertie Psmith said:

Tess and I went for a ten mile walkies

 

'nuff sed.

[ArnoldAmbrose]

8 hours ago, Bertie Psmith said:

On a lighter note, why is a wood shaving like getting up at five in the morning?

 

 

It's twirly.

Yeah, definitely a candidate for the 'groan' emoticon. 😁 I used to get up at 5am every morning to go and clean the school. I don't miss that! Regards, Jeff.

[Bertie McBoatface]

I've been getting a bit cheesed off with the planking lately. It seems to have been going on for a long, long time. That's because it has. I laid the first plank on April 17, more than a month of this. Being a bit cheddared with the process leads to sloppy work resulting in edam more of the blues. 🤣

 

However, I've found new energy today. I watched this video, which I've started for you at the shot that brought a lump to mt throat, so you'll have to rewind to the beginning to see the fascinating scenes of the 15 year build of this ship!

 

 

The video reminded me what I'm building. Its not just a 40cm D-I-Y jigsaw puzzle, its a model of a real sailing boat. The kind which took thousands of men into glory and terror on the seas, and didn't always manage to bring them home again. It's beauty and drama and emotions! 

 

So I laid another four planks today. Only three more to go! 

 

(I have more to say in a while but my photo host is down atm.)

 

 

[Bertie McBoatface]

 

With three planks to go the front end is going well. You can see the target pencil marks for each of the three and although the gap narrows towards the stem, the closing is graduated and intended.

 

 

Not so at the stern though. Somehow I have a four plank gap in the middle of the curve of the stern. That line of marks was the first one I drew and it was laid out in groups of five. For the rest of the frames, I switched to groups of three to avoid exactly this mistake happening. A pity I didn't amend the first one. At some point, with the natural variations in plank width and inevitable inaccuracy of working, I've lost my count and failed to notice it. So I have three planks left to fill a four plank space and even if they are used full width at that point, they will not bridge the gap. The crude alternative of a two inch drop plank is unthinkable. So what's to be done?

 

I believe I mentioned buying some timbers from a local exotic wood merchant? One of these small blocks has been band-sawn into useable pieces by my son, including some 1mm thick sections. I'll drive over to his place in the morning and pick these up (a two hour round trip!) and make one or more slightly wider planks to invisibly fill the space. 

 

Well, I wanted a bit more drama in the build to break up the boredom! 🤣

[Bertie McBoatface]

 

I came up with a better plan. I found that the last plank of the day had the error. It was too late to get the whole thing off without damaging the adjacent planks and structure underneath but I was able to remove the too thin section back to the point where my planing went awry. The extra pencil mark which led me astray is on the next set of markings off camera to the left. Now I have four planks to fill a four-and-a bit plank space and that is definitely doable. I could probably manage it by allowing a bit of space between the planks but I prefer to drive over to get material for that extra wide one. It's a pleasant day to drive and always nice to see one of the kids. 😃

 

 

This was the (for me) messy state of my working area at the time I made the mistake. I took the photo to show how many tools I was using for this 'simple' job but with hindsight, I think it illustrates a lack of concentration. I was half watching a TV show too!

 

 

This is a wood glue dispenser. I apply the glue with a cheap brush, dipping into here. By the time the next plank is ready, it will have set beyond usability so I switch the lids over. Then when the glue has completely set a few minutes later, I can peel it out and re-reuse the bottle top.

 

 

This is a wooden-boat builder's spares box. It's the same as the one I have for plastic kits in that it rarely contains what I actually need! 

[Faraway]

3 hours ago, Bertie Psmith said:

This is a wooden-boat builder's spares box. It's the same as the one I have for plastic kits in that it rarely contains what I actually need! 

I’ve got one of those (plastic) the gods only know why I keep all the bits, as you so rightly say, it never contains what I need.

Oh yeah, the more I see of your build the more I am in awe of your skills and patience.
And the more I realise that I will NEVER build a wooden ship.

Mind you, I said that about 1/700.......and look what I’m doing now. 
Jon

[Bertie McBoatface]

2 hours ago, Faraway said:

Oh yeah, the more I see of your build the more I am in awe of your skills and patience.

 

a feeling of reverential respect mixed with fear or wonder. I hope it's wonder rather than fear 😁

 

2 hours ago, Faraway said:

And the more I realise that I will NEVER build a wooden ship.

Mind you, I said that about 1/700.......and look what I’m doing now. 
Jon

 

I've never built a wooden ship either. Not yet anyway. 😆

 

It's not that hard, just different in some ways. I think you should try one. Did you know there's a 1/200 Prinz Eugen kit out there? It's wood and photo etch mostly. Right up your alley!

[Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies]

I'm just catching up on this. I do like the fact that your planking strakes do run fore and aft like there's supposed to without loads of drop planks and stealers like lots of wooden boat models end up with.

 

Likewise the turning down of that mast looks nice and fair also. Good work.

 

I would suggest (easy for me to say) to try not to get too downhearted about lack of engagement on a forum - much engagement is of little added value anyway and something like you're doing here is out of many folks' comfort zones so they will have less to add technically.

[Bertie McBoatface]

28 minutes ago, Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies said:

I'm just catching up on this. I do like the fact that your planking strakes do run fore and aft like there's supposed to without loads of drop planks and stealers like lots of wooden boat models end up with.

 

Thank you. I'm very determined about that. 😊

 

28 minutes ago, Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies said:

Likewise the turning down of that mast looks nice and fair also. Good work.

 

Thanks. That was a rare pleasure! Walnut is so beautiful. There are more spars to come later.

 

28 minutes ago, Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies said:

I would suggest (easy for me to say) to try not to get too downhearted about lack of engagement on a forum - much engagement is of little added value anyway and something like you're doing here is out of many folks' comfort zones so they will have less to add technically.

 

Oh there's no problem here at all. This is the friendly one and I appreciate that few people here are interested in maritime modelling generally and in wooden ships in particular. No, my slight discouragement was due to the business-like approach of the Model Ship World forum. I can see the advantage to future readers of a lack of banter and keeping on topic, but I'm not really interested in leaving a legacy. I just want a bit of social contact, digression and most of all, humour!

 

[Bertie McBoatface]

 

With two planks left to fit, the gap is all that I could ask for. It's nowhere wider than the two planks and there aren't any sudden swerves or narrowings like last time. You can see my replacement plank top right. It's a different colour but let's all pretend it's a repaired plank on the real boat as well as on the model. 🙂

 

 

This is the timber prepared by my lad. It's been cut from a turning blank within the last three days and then stacked as you see it. The moisture content is a lot higher than the kit supplied planks which makes it less brittle, more malleable, easier to plane in either direction, and easier to heat bend. For a minute or two I was cross with the kit for giving me such dry wood but then I remembered that I opened the packet weeks ago and the planks for this second side have been laid out on my dining table for at least a fortnight. They are only a millimeter thick and would dry out very quickly once the sealed packets were opened. There's a lesson learned! I must find a way to keep my wood in slightly humid conditions on the next build. I bet @psdavidson will have some suggestions how I can do that.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

A digression. This is cheap aluminium oxide sandpaper of 120 grit. After years of using much smoother papers on plastic it seemed really harsh. Yet it didn't seem to be making an impression on the pearwood planking on the port side, not as much as I hoped anyway, and the resultant surface was scratched horribly.

 

 

This came yesterday. It's 120 grit wet and dry from Germany photographed at the same magnification. The grain size is the same but there's a lot more of the abrasive on the paper giving a more even surface. There's a cutting edge every X microns whereas the cheap stuff has a cutting surface roughly only every 5X microns. It makes a difference! This takes the wood away easily and fast and leaves a comparatively smooth surface with fewer deep scratches. I also wouldn't be surprised if the silicon carbide crystals(?) were actually sharper than the aluminium oxide ones.

 

 

This is the manufacturer. I've been using their finer stuff on plastic for years and I heartily recommend their papers to you all. They are a little more expensive but a piece lasts for a long time. (I have no association with the company.)

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Teatime now and then the last two planks go on. Hurrah! I'm going to shape them both before I glue down either of them so in a way they are both the last plank. I think it might be easier that way. Stay tuned for the next exciting installment!

 

Edited May 19, 2022 by Bertie Psmith
apostrophe catastrophe

[Bertie McBoatface]

 

First side.

 

 

Second side.

 

I give myself a well-earned seven out of ten. It's good enough for a first attempt and leaves plenty of room to improve. I'm very pleased that the hull planking is now done and very, very pleased with these results. What you see above is just rough sanded with 120 grit, there's a fair bit more sanding to do and perhaps a little filler here and there. There are no steelers and no drop planks, which was my ambitious target.

 

I declare myself happy to leave the area between the boot topping and the bulwark varnished natural wood and that was my dream target.

 

And now for a beer to wash the dust from my throat. Cheers!

[ColonelKrypton]

2 minutes ago, Bertie Psmith said:

I give myself a well-earned seven out of ten.

 

Nicely done and I would agree with your assessment. It does look quite nice at this stage and with paint and varnish it should look even nicer.

 

I gave up on cheap sandpaper a long time ago. Penny wise and pound foolish. There are decent grades of aluminum oxide paper ( Norton brand comes to mind ) but I always buy a good brand name wet or dry silicon carbide usually 3M.

 

cheers, Graham

 

[Bertie McBoatface]

2 minutes ago, ColonelKrypton said:

 

Nicely done and I would agree with your assessment. It does look quite nice at this stage and with paint and varnish it should look even nicer.

 

Thanks Graham and   too, for all of the encouragement which you've given me so far.

 

I'm not aiming for a perfect smooth finish especially below the waterline. This wasn't a fibreglass racer but an artisan-built working boat and I'm quite sure that the planking was visible in outline through the red anti-fouling paint underneath. That said, I'll be working through the grades to 600 so that the varnish (or perhaps oil) can do its magic on the pearwood and make it glow. There are some rubbing strakes to go on before the varnish and they are walnut for a delicious contrast.

 

2 minutes ago, ColonelKrypton said:

I gave up on cheap sandpaper a long time ago. Penny wise and pound foolish. There are decent grades of aluminum oxide paper ( Norton brand comes to mind ) but I always buy a good brand name wet or dry silicon carbide usually 3M.

 

cheers, Graham

 

 

Funny you should mention 3M, that's my son's paper of choice. We were discussing this over lunch today.

 

 

[ArnoldAmbrose]

Gidday Bertie, congratulations on reaching this milestone. She looks very good. I have no experience with building models such as this but as it's your first I think you deserve 9.999995/10. And at least two beers. 🙂 Regards, Jeff.

[Bertie McBoatface]

1 hour ago, ArnoldAmbrose said:

Gidday Bertie, congratulations on reaching this milestone. She looks very good. I have no experience with building models such as this but as it's your first I think you deserve 9.999995/10. And at least two beers. 🙂 Regards, Jeff.

Thanks Jeff. Before I started this, I didn’t realise how much of the build would be concerned with the basic hull construction. All the rest of it looks relatively easy to a modeller. Assembling details of deck furniture is surely just ‘assembly’. Painting is painting. Rigging this boat is about as complicated as a 1/48 Bristol Fighter, I think. Working with the sails is a new technique but I can sew a button?  I don’t see anything ahead that’s going to test me as much as the planking did so yes, it really is a milestone reached. 
 

It’s not quite passed though, there remain some PE details to fit onto the hull, the rudder, rubbing strakes (go-faster stripes in wood) and the painting of the thing. Maybe the devil is in those details! 🫣

 

I’ll now dedicate a day or two to simply looking at the Lady and enjoying this feeling of satisfaction. 😊

[SafetyDad]

Smashing job there - very well done!

 

And thanks for the sandpaper tips and advice.

 

Very impressed

 

SD