Greetings folks.
It's been a while since I last battled with timber, I got lost in plastic, but I decided I wanted to return to wood. Having learned new skills and improved on existing ones, I felt I could probably do a better job than my previous efforts.
And to start with, I wanted to right a wrong on the last ship I completed, HMAV Bounty.
On the last one there were a number of errors, most glaringly was the main rubbing strake. It sweeps too low, way too low, at the bow, and it's annoyed me for years. Plus I enjoyed the kit last time, it was a good quality kit with only one minor issue: the length of the centre section of the keel is a few mm too short. Wasn't a problem last time as I coppered the hull as per the kit, I am not planning on doing that this time as it is subject to a lot of doubt as to whether she received that upgrade before leaving Portsmouth (or was it Plymouth?) for the last time.
I also invested in some new tools that I didn't have before, and a proper slipway rather than a home made one. Following the general consensus I was directed to the Model Shipways one, which I have to say is pretty good. My only gripe with it is it's designed for ships that have the keel already attached, so at the moment it isn't easy to get it to sit level, but that's not an issue at this stage anyway.
Anyway, I got the keel/bulkheads assembled, false deck fitted and the fairing done on the bulkheads.
I'll quickly summerise where I am upto so far. First planking went ok, no massive issues although it wasn't done historically correct. Sanded, filed and re-sanded.
The second planking gave me a bit of trouble, mostly due to my own errors. I had the garboard plank too far forward, and the planks were starting to require lateral force to get them to lay right. The solution to this was edge bending the planks, something I didn't even think could be done until yesterday. This solved my problem and the numbers suggest that I will be able to meet with the lower edge of the wales without the need for a drop plank, and keeping the widths at 50% or above.
Yeh, that remains to be seen...
Thanks for stopping by.
Dom
US
