Thanks Foz,

I'm soaking the planks in boiled water for about 20 minutes and then bend them around the hull. Last night, after snapping 2 planks that had been in boiling water, i took 2 raw planks, soaked them in the (then) tepid water for 2 minutes and proceeded to bend them around the stern without any problems! :o

I leave the plank to dry overnight before shaping, gluing and pinning it, and then bend the next damp plank next to it, I've never tried gluing a wet plank.

Only progress last night was fitting the 2nd layer of stern planks and bending the 3rd set (and leaving to dry)

I also proceeded to shape the little plank I stuck on the too wide gap that developed between layer 0 and -1 on the starboard side of the bow:

The stuck on plank


After sanding

So after a couple of nights off, trying to get my mind off the build and the infernal stern planks, I decided to give it another go last night and lo and behold, 2 levels of stern planks (-4 & -5) were bend without breaking!

Nothing fancy, just provisionally shaped, put in a mug of boiling water and took out when the water was tepid

Here they are, pinned to hold while drying.






Looking at the starboard bow I became a little worried and re-checked the fairing using a long bent plank, only to uncover a 'flat-spot' on frames 11, 11a & 12 below the water-line - this was causing the wide gap in the planks at this spot between layer 0 and layer -1

I used some planking to build up the ribs, but on re-thinking the problem, I'll remove these fillers, strip off the bow-planks this evening, extend the rib-filling to the water-line, sand it down and then re-plank.


I'm wondering whether this problem could have been avoided if I had filled the bow section with balsa before fairing like some of the other chaps on the forum.

My measurements and tapering of the stern planks must have been a little off because I found that I had to taper the planks on the Port side (Right hand side of the picture) much more than the starboard side to keep the number of planks meeting at the false keel equal.




There is slight klinkering, but it is negligible.

Thanks MWG!

Couple of pictures to show I've not been idle:

The Garboard planks fitted and planks up to level -15



I've marked both sides to indicate when 10 plank-widths remain:



The Stern is coming along nicely, I never thought I'd be able to achieve this!



Are the last couple of 'smallish bends' tricky to get right?

Rob,

Saw them on this forum, unfortunately I cannot remember who to credit

Those are self-constructed fold-over clips where a second clip was deconstructed and the ear placed inside the first clip: (19mm IIRC - 3/4" in the old language )

How they look on the shelf:


A clip with 2 ears and an ear from a deconstructed clip


Presto!

Stefan.

Your build is coming on a treat. Keep up the good work.

Good stuff Stefan

That is the most time consuming part of the build I found, but such a sense of relief when the final plank is fitted. Once the keel is fitted you will look back and wonder what all the fuss was about!!!.
Nice build and good luck with the rest of the build.
TIS