Ok, so it's been a little while, but I almost finished the first layer of planking on one side. (I know that we're supposed to do both sides together to prevent warpage, but I've been checking the keel against a straight edge, and it's been rock steady, I've decided to do one whole side so I can learn how to do a better job on the second half from my mistakes.)
This model is a little unique in that they suggest that I plank just between the first and last bulkhead (rather than going all the way to the bow and stern.) Then, after the planking is done, there is a bow filler block and and stern block that will fill in the very front and back. After that, there is an option to plank a second layer over the whole thing, which I think I will do.
In these pictures, I've tried to show my current progress on the one side. (I still have 2 planks to go at the bottom.) I've gotten the routine down to:
1) taper the front end of the plank down from 5 mm to 3.75 mm, and back up to 5 mm by the fourth bulkhead from the front.
2) pre-edge bend if necessary based on a dry fit. (this has been minimal; just about 1 mm of edge bending, if that)
3) pre-bending the plank to conform to the hull curvature.
4) pre-twisting the plank to fit the hull, again based on dry fitting.
(I do all of the pre-bending by clamping the plank to a board in the approximate shape I need, and heating it with a hair dryer for one minute and letting it cool for about 5 minutes).
In this way, I was able to glue the planks on with CA glue at the bulkheads, and titebond along the edge of the previous plank, and avoid the use of nails and clamps entirely.
I did end up using the stealer as I originally planned, except that I made the mistake of thinning the upper plank width at the stern end by 2 mm, rather than leaving it full 5 mm as I should have. I just wasn't thinking. So I added a 5 mm stealer instead of a 4 mm one, and I end up gaining 3 mm instead of 4, but I think I can live with that.
RichieG attached the following image(s):
US
