SIMPLE HULL PLANKING TECHNIQUES FOR BEGINNERS Written, illustrated & edited by: Dirk De B akker (kelvin12) and Greg Brooker (gregb)

With assi stan ce from Dav e Rog e rs (heliman41 )

This man u script was first publishe d 2006 on Dry Do ck Mod e ls forum with the con s ent o f the authors . T he authors woul d esp e ci ally like to than k J. Luberti (Y ar dmaste r ) for the oppo rtu n i t y t

o have this work publi s h ed. This document is cop y right. Exce pt for p r ivate stu d y , r e search , criticism or review s, as permitted un d e r the Cop y right Act, no pa rt of this m anuscript ma y b e rep r oduced, stored in a retriev a l s y stem, o r t r a n smitted in an y f o rm o r b y an y m

eans w i thout prior writt en permission. Enqui ries should be made to the au thors. = Page 1 = Table of Contents.

Introduction 1 1. Keels .page 2 2. Bearding line 3. Rabbet line 4. Bulkheads 5. Filler blo cks; Bow 6. Filler blo cks; Stern

..page

.page 3 ....page 4 ..page 5 ..page 6

.. ..page 7 7. Fairing the hull 8. Temporary planking battens 9. Garboard plank 10. Garboard plank; Stern 11. Garboard plank; Bow 12. Bow planking 13. Stern planking 14. Correction plank .page 22 15. General Planking 16. Cutting and fitting st ealers . ..page 24 17. Rules for planking ......page 26 18. General plank tapering 19. Bevelling 20. Fitting g un-port frames (prior to planking) ..page 31 21. Second planking .page 33 22. Spiling operation 23. Sanding the hull = Page 2 = 1 SIMPLE HULL PLANKI NG TECHNIQUES

.. ..page 8 ...page 11 ....page 16 ..page 19 ....page 20 ..page 21 ....page 22 ...page 23

..page 28 ..page 30

....page 35 .page 37

FOR BEGI NNERS Introduct i on: This project has been co mpiled and contributed t o by a numb er of moderators of the Dry Dock Models forum to assist newcomers to this hobby and enable th em to carry out simple plan king operat ions. It has been put to gether partly in response to the nu merous questions a sked by ne w me mbers regarding how to do planking and it will hope fully give them in a practica l way a full and simple method to help them on their wa y t o bigger and b etter things in the future. This instruct ion is not to plank a ship in the traditional way us ed by the sh ipwrights of old but rather it is a simple demonstration of gener al methods t o plank a h ull to satisfa c tory

standards th at the newcomer can be proud of an d display with an element of pride. There are numerous books which d eal with this operation, some of them are e x cellent and generally cover the full aspect of the p l anking operatio n itse lf to varying degrees some are a lot better than others. However it i s the bits th at are missing and the lack o f pictorial de t ail that pose s the biggest problems from a newcomer s point of view. Hopefully this project will explain some of the mystery an d make the whole planking operation le ss stressful and painful. The plan is to show a simple step by step detailed planking pro c edure while explaining the reasons why it is done this way and wha t can occur if it is done anot h e r way. Many books to uch only br iefly on the stem and st ern areas of a ship and as such don t sh ow the detailed operatio n required to allow a no

vice builder to su ccessfu lly overcome wh at is sometimes a difficult part of the model building process. = Page 3 = 2 1. Keels: Figure1: This drawing shows the basic false keels of a plank on bulkhead (POB) ships. These are the most common t y pes of false keels that come with kits. The upper one is a typical one piece keel while the lower one shows the additional co mponents that go to mak e up this type of keel. The keels are basically identical to o ne another and the additional components shown in th e bottom drawing could if needed b e used on t he upper ke el if required. = Page 4 = 3 2. Bearding Li ne: Figure 2: This is a ter m used to indicate the t apered section of the false keel at e i ther the bow or stern of the model. It is a sectio n where extended tapering is required t o allow the

hull planks to la y flat against the false keel. is

This taper is variable from point to point and

shown on your plans an d must be adhered to, to enable you to constru c t a faired model. Figure 2 sh ows a simple method of cutting the bearding lin e with a sharp chisel b e ing careful not t o cut above the indicat ed dotted line of your plans. Ther e are nume r ous other ways t o carry out t h is operatio n but to ma ke this exercise a simple matter a m ong them are sand paper over a wooden block or t he use of p o wer tools such as a Dreme l with a sanding drum are as good a s any. It is r eally just a matter of builder prefere n ce and whatever tools he h a s available to him. Sections AA, BB, CC sh ow an appro x imate finished shape that will need to be obta i

ned. Again this is approximate and th e correct shape for your particular model can be obtained fro m the kits plans.

Important: Take your time with this operation a nd do your best as it is important to the succe ssful outcome and appearance of the model. = Page 5 = 4 Figure 2A: Section A shows the relationship of the beardin g line to the planking at the stern of the ship. Section E shows the angle of the bearding line at the stem. In both cases if the rabbet recess is used bo th details ne ed to flow in to each othe r smoothly so as to prevent a gap or an unsightly bulge in the planking in t hat region. A gap or a bulge is a difficult matter to fix later when things have been glued into place so take your time and check this part of t he operation carefully.

3 . Rabbet Line: While this r abbet recess is not str i ctly necessary it is ho w it was do ne on a rea l ship . The idea is t o give the g a rboard plank, (first pla n k against t he keel) a better and stronger sealing jo int . The rabbet recess o peration ca n be done away with a nd the garboard plank insta l led directly against the keel itsel f. T here is no indication th at this oper ation has not been carried out in the completed model. Again make sure the transition from bearding to rabbet is sm ooth and flo w ing without bumps. The rabbet recess is show in section form in figure 2 a t CC, and again in figur e 2a

at sections B, C and D. = Page 6 = 5 4. Bulkheads: Figure 3: The bevelling of bulkheads can be carried out in the same manner and with the same tools as mentioned in the keel sect ion. Someti mes the be vel is shown in the kits plans sometimes not. I would caution a gainst u s ing the plan s indicated be vel though. Good advice is to dry assemble the bulkheads to the keel and check the a m ount of material required to be removed using the method shown in figure 6 . The amount of bevel required ca n be seen by laying and pinning a temporary plank the f u ll lengt h of the model as sh own. Do this at several points thro ughout the hulls leng th to establish this bevel. If th e bevel of th e kit plans lo oks right the n bevel in th e method de

scribed earlier. The correct bevel is essential to a llo w the planks to lie fair along the fu ll length o f t he hull. Sharp or incorrectly be velled bulkheads ca n cause loo s e, springy or lumpy planks later during the final san d ing of the hull and are extremely hard to repa ir at a later date when the hull is ready fo r sanding pr ocess . = Page 7 = 6 5. Filler Blocks; Bow: Figure 4: B alsa filler blocks can be used in the bow and stern se ctions to a l l o w for a better controlled shape to these sections. Apart fro m the adde d advantag e of superior glue surface the shape of the hull ca n be better formed wit

hout the use of additional bulkheads o r separate formers. So me hulls are more difficu lt in the area of bow sh apes than others. With hulls like End eavour , wh ere a real apple shap ed bluff bow is required fille r blocks are almost invaluable to obtain the correct curvature. With another completely different for m of a hull such as F lying Fish or a clipp e r sh ip with smoot h free flowing line s at the bow the use of filler blocks is probably n o t required at all, and w ould be a matter of choice in this case. To build up the filler blo cks a bread and butter type construction is bett e r. Don t pay too much attention to getting the exact shape of the area at this point in time as sanding and

fairing will show up any errors. It is better to ha ve too much material rather than too little as low spot s take more time to fix with the use of wood f illers. Althou gh low spot s ar e not a sign of a disaster they are an unnecessar y problem th at could be overcome e a rlier with some though t. = Page 8 = 7 6. Filler Blocks; Stern: Figure 5: With the stern, filler blocks are again an advanta ge to obtain the correct fl owing shape of the counter and transom of the ship. As in the bow the ad ditional gluing surface area is of great benefit. Althou gh in both in stances the use of nails in these fil l e r blocks to h o ld planks is do ubtful due to the soft nature of balsa, if you do use nails to fix the planks be sure they go into the act

ual bulkhea ds. = Page 9 = 8 7. Fairing the Hull: Figure 5a: This drawin g shows t h e smooth tr ansition fro m the bulkh eads to bea rding line . This transition n eeds to be smooth, fr ee flowing and without severe cur v es. If the latter occurs a de pression or bump will appear in the p l anked hull . Again something like thi s is most difficult to correct at a later d a te. So again take your time and look at this step carefully and from all directions. R un your fingers over the transition surface or la y a temporary b a tten along t he bulkhead s to check t he alignment. It is impor

tant.

Figures 6 & 7: This is the method used to actua lly fair the hull and to che ck the lie of the hull pla n ks along the hu lls bu lkhead s. Take a t e mporary b a tten, something in the o r der of say 5mm x 1.5mm. This temporary batten mu st be withou t weak area s and knot s as this will a ffect the natural f l ow of the timber being used and will certa i nly g i ve you a fa lse or incorr ect reading. Pin the batten at every bulkhead st ation. Pre drilling may be necessary to prevent splitting the bu lkheads an d batten.

Any type of temporary fixing (pla nking screws are invaluable) can be used as long as t he batten is held in constant contact with the bulkhea d, if allowed to bulge away a false re ading will result and the hull planking will be incorrect and almost impossible to correct la ter. Move the batten u p and down the bulkheads a s many time s as possible, the more accuracy yo u obtain in this operatio n the better and smoother the finished hu ll is going to be. Note: Planking screws can be obtained from many hobby stores and t he authors f u lly recommend their usage. = Page 10 = 9 Take the time to look along the b a tten from stem to stern, look for its even smoot h flow with no lumps, bumps or loss of con t act with the bulkhead, t h is is important.

If an error is present su ch as a h i gh spot move the batten u p and down to determine the amount of error involved. Sand or r e move the bulge to corr ect the prob lem. If there is a low spot a wooden slithe r or wedge can be added, just don t forget to glue the correction piece into p l ace, no sen s e in allowing the piece t o fall out lat e r resulting in springy planks when trying to sand the hull down. = Page 11 = 10

Important: Really take your time wi th this fair i n g operation it is probab ly one of the most import ant procedures t

hat will dicta t e the appea rance of the finished mo del so it is w e ll worth taking extra time to get it right. Look along the hu ll again and again lookin g at the clea n flow of the hull, run your hands along the temporary batten/s. See how the batten loo ks at the bow and stern, is it smooth and graceful a nd flowing e v enly. Look to see that it is and can make smooth contact with t he stem piece rabbet without being unduly forced into place, make sure the transition is in the sa me plane and not twiste d out of sha pe. With the ste r n, there are many different ways that planks join in this are a . Some come to an abrupt halt on the edge of a sq uare transo m others curve up drama t ically to for m a very gracefu l flow to the counter. In all case s take a good ha rd long look to make sure everything is in order an d flows smoothly. I can t emphasise

enough this step in the build, it is ju st so import ant. = Page 12 = 11 8. Temporary Planking Battens: Figure 8: Temporary planking bat tens are also referred to as planking bands. The idea of the temporary p l anking batt ens is to br eak the hull into small segments to allow for the correct sizin g and shaping of the planks to effe ctively cover this particu lar section of the hull. Not all segments or bands will be the same i n the shape or number o f planks. This is due to th e irregular shape of the bulkheads a nd as such different pla n k requirements will be need ed in th e various segments or ba nd s. Band s n eed to be a bout 20mm wide, this is not a hard and fast rule but at a narrower width such as this it is a lot easier to calculate an d control the planks. A t e mporary b a tten needs

to be in the order of 3mm X 3mm or 5mm X 1.5 mm. The number required will be determined by the size of your particular hu ll. Bands n eed to be a bout 20mm or so wide, this will give good contr o l of the number and shape of planks r equired to successf ully plank your hull. As planks come in various widths depending o n your particular kit jud ge the width of the band s by the plank sizes. Planks at 5mm wide equal a 2 0 mm band width (4 planks X 5=20mm, 4 planks per b and). Planks at 3mm wide equal a band 18mm wide (6 planks X 3 = 18mm, 6 planks pe r band). W h ile this is certainly not critical it is a handy size and ea sy to control. Lay the first temporary b a

ttens along the bottom of the hull a d jacent to th e keel. Laying the hull on a soft pillow is a good ide a to prevent damage to the top side s while carr ying out this ste p . These battens are the only ones to lay differently to the above rule because this first plan k is the odd one out and is called t he Garboard plank. The shape and cutting of this odd shaped plank will b e dealt with l a ter as a se parate headi ng. = Page 13 = 12 Lay this first batten about 10mm from the keel. DO NOT FORCE the batten into position. It must lie where it wants to go without being forced laterally across its width. If it i s forced against its natural flow any other planks cut to this shape will also caus e problems when it comes to their laying. Space the other battens as mentioned before at the calcul ated width to suit your par ticular planking. Again lay these battens in a natural flow try to obtain something of an equal spac ing particularly at the stem and stern areas if possible. If this can t be obtained do not worry unduly as other methods can be used to break up the pattern and thereby reduce the number of planks going to the problem section. Thes e methods will be dea

lt with later in a separate section. = Page 14 = 13 Figure 9: This figure shows a suggested layout of the tem porary battens at the stem and ste r n. It can be seen that not all sections will or ca n be t he same width at any g i ven point an d as such a great er or lesser number of planks will be used to cover these sections.

Figures 10 & 11, 11A & 11B: When the te mporary bat tens are f i xed into p l ace and you a r e satisfied t hat they are all lying naturally and gracefully along the hu ll and that there are no undue bends or bumps in the flow it is now time to take som e measurements and go onto calculate the nu mber and width of the planks required. Now it gets interesting a s this is going to determine how your planked hull is going to loo k

. At this stage I might point out that we are probably going to double plank the hull as p e r most kits dir e ctions. Ho wever it is the intention to show you the correct way to plank a hull as if it was a single planked hull. The reasoning behind this is that if t he initial 1 st planking is done correctly then the 2 nd planking will virtuall y fall into pl ace without an y real problems. If the 1 st planking is wrong then the 2 nd planking must be carried out f r om the start of this planking project to get it right. So it stands t o reason if the 1 st planking is right then th e 2 nd will usually be a breeze. The battens should be laying the same on both sides of the hull. That is the spacing of the battens either side of the hull should be a mirror ima ge of each other. This will ensure that

both side s o f the hull wh en complete d are identical when viewed at the stem or stern. Mark the position on the bulkheads where the battens inter s ect with a sharp pencil. Do this to all batten intersections on both sides of the batten and to both sides of the hull. When this is complete remove the ba ttens completely. l. = Page 15 = 14 With a dark marker pen or pencil make a mark exactly in the centr e of the batten positions wh ere they we re laying on the bulkhead. This will give you o ne mark to work from on eac h bulkhead band rather than two where the batten used to lay. It is much easier than having to a dd or su btra ct half the w i dth of the b a tten from your calculations as you advance. Figur e 10 shows you what you should h a ve regarding the markings

mentioned above.

Commence at the seco nd band as in, the first is the garboard plank band and will be dealt with la ter. If you wish to st art with the ga rboard plan k move to that sect ion now and come back to this section later after the garboard has b een cut and fitted. Using masking tape or reasonably stiff paper card carefully place the card at t he first marking on the bulkhea d away fro m the keel as in figure 11 . Lay the card around the bulkhead a nd on the card mark the 2 nd positio n of the pla n king band. Measure this distance on the card wi th a ruler and transfer the measurement to the graph shown in figure 11A . This measurement should appear in the lowe r left hand box 2

nd from the bottom if wo rking from t he stern, I might point out that it is easier working from the stern to the stem. Moving forward in the same band, mark on th e tickstrip t he width of this band at bulkhead number 7. Again measure this tick str i p marking and again transfer it to the graph at the second box from the bott o m of the g r aph at number 7 bulkhead. Carry out this operation on all bulkheads on ei ther side. You will ob viously need two separate gr aphs to reco rd all the ba nd measurements for both sides of t he hull. = Page 16 = 15

From the graph divide t he first measurement w here you st arted by the width of th

e kits planks. Say this measurement wa s 15mm and the kit s planks are 5 mm. There f ore 3 planks will be required to fill thi s space exactl y. Howe ve r say this fir s t measurement was 12mm. Obviously 3 X 5mm planks ar en t going to fit evenly into a 12mm band. = Page 17 = 16 So some ta pering of the planks is going to be required of at this point. As 12mm d i vided by 3 = 4, thi s gives us a plank width of 4mm. Again referring to the gra ph the next band width at bulkhead 7 giv es us a wid th of say 14 mm. This also is uneve n for our plank widths so a gain divide this measurement by 3. Still short of an exact width and still the need for so me tapering. Move to t he graph again to bulkh ead 6, this measureme nt ma y record as 15 mm. OK great, 3 X 5mm planks = 15mm e

x act no tapering. On the 3 planks mark the calculate d measurements from the graph. On the 1 st plank start at the bottom of th e plank, left hand end, mark up 4mm, at the po sition o f bulkhead 7 mark up from the bottom 4.6mm, then at bulkhead positio n 6 the measurement is the full width of the plank. Take a ruler and join the dots. This is the taper r equired for one of these planks to fit the space required. You will note the taper only co mes off the top of the plank not the bottom. This will give you a straight sur face to mate up to with the lower edge of the next plank. Carry out this o peration for the remaining two plan ks. If your tapering is corre ct and car efully done this b and will be fill ed to the exact measureme nt at this point.

Note 1: In regard to all of the above you must always remember that the hull is up side down whilst calcula ting these measurements and in particular when determining which edge of the plank to tap er. Note 2: An y plank sho uld not b e t apered to a ny less tha n half o f it s width. If t his situation ari s es a steale r or drop pl ank should be fitted and will be dealt with under its own separate heading. Note 3: This is by no means the correct mea s urement for any particular ship an d has been somewhat simplified to give an indicatio n as to how the planking might actually run. 9. Garboard Plank : Figures 12, 13, 14 & 15, A, B, C, & D: This would be without a doubt the h ardest of all planks to fit.

The garbo ard in a real ship is heavier a nd wider than the other planks. Its width is d i ff erent to the others because normally it is su ch an o dd shape to lie against t he keel and twist sometimes throug h 90 degrees to produce a straight edge for the first of the other planks to lie against. Figure 12 shows a temporary batten secu red along th e bulkheads at a distan ce from the keel that is at t h e maxi mum width of the piece of mat erial to be u s ed for the garboard plank. As an example say the garboard plank is 10mm wide. Measure the distance fro m the temporary b atten at the widest gap t o the keel a c ross the t o p of the bulkhead. Make sure this measurement does not exceed the width of the plank being used e.g. 10mm.

At each bulkhe ad record t he measurement from the batten to the kee l , a gain record this measureme nt in the bulkhead plank graph figur e 11 in the b o ttom boxe s. = Page 18 = 17

When the measurements have been recorded take your piece of plank and starting from the stern en d this time mark down w ards from the top of th e plank. Make a mark as to the measurement from the graph. Likewise do the same at bulkhead 7 the measureme n t from the graph again from the to p of the pla n k. Carry o u t this oper ation for the full le ngth of the plank finishing at the st em. With a piece of pap

er card mark ou t the angle of the stem pi ece, cut the card to the shape and transfer this shape to the end of the plank. I would sug gest leaving a little add itional length t o this step t o allow trimming of the plank on the job. When a ll marks and measureme n ts have be en checked and record ed on the plank t a ke a pla s tic ruler on it s edge and jo in the dots, using at lea s t three dot s to obtain the correct flow of the line and draw a line with a sharp pencil. Ships c urves are a better option to a plast i c ruler but if n o t available a ruler is suitable. These marks sho u ld flow gracefu lly without sharp humps and bumps for the ent ir

e length. C a refully cut along the line leaving a little ex tra material little to be sa nded later to ensure a pe rfect fit. = Page 19 = 18

NOTE: I ha ven t mentioned about cutting the planks to act u al scale len g ths. This is a matter of c hoice but my ad vise at this stage would be to at least make the garboard plank a full length rather than cut it into separat e scale leng ths. This w ould at least get you underway with a straight edge t o work from. = Page 20 = 19 10. Garboard Plank Stern: In figure 15 the garboa rd plank ha s been fitte d. Sections AA - DD s how the various angles the g a rboard plank goes thr ough when it s actually fitted to the h

u ll. This cha nge of angle is what accou n ts for its od d shape, fro m vertical at the stern to almost horizontal at midships then back to vertical at the stem. Th e variation in this plank can at times be great; this is why the garboard plank should be made from wi der material than the other hull planks.

I haven t gone into edge bevelling of the planks. As this i s more than like l y a double planked model and as such some small gaps at this stage w ould not be seen and I wouldn t worry with a second planked hull. However if your planking is working exceptionally well and you are satisf ied then y ou could leave it as a single planked h u ll. It is up to yo u, there is short discu ssion later con c erning edg e bevelling. = Page 21 = 20

11. Garboard Plank :

Bow

When fitting the garboard plank DO NOT allow it to curve up the stem piece as in fi g u re 15A inset, keep it flat an d straight. T h is is important, if allowe d to curve up this will cause crow ding of the f o llowing pla n ks to the e x tent that numerous drop planks will need to be fitted. Drop planks are dealt with under their own separate heading later in this project.

When the garboard stra ke is fi tted calculate the remaining planks neede d to fill the fi rst band. As this stag e of the plan king is carried up to the lower edge of the main wale the last plank/plan k s should be a s near to full width for their full leng t

h s. Some slight tapering may be requ ired but that is all. It is a ppearance t hat we are trying to achieve and in most ships t he planks immediately below the wale were full un-tapered planks. Abo v e the wale the planks sho u ld be full le ngth also un -tapered. However this is not always achievable. = Page 22 = 21 12. Bow Planking: During the course of p l a n king you might in some bluff bowed ships su ch as Endeavour or Bounty for example be stru ck with what a ppears to b e the need to bend a p l an k laterally acr o ss its width as is seen in figure 15B . This is rea l problem as the lower edge of the plank

bulges out causing a clinker built lo ok or similar to a weather boarded house where the u pper plank wants to overlap the lo wer plank. In this situa t ion a te chn i que called spi llin g needs to be done to the plank. Spiling is d e scribed lat e r in this project under its ow n heading.

In a normal hull more than likely a drop plank would be needed rather than what is described a bove. Drop planks are required where bunchin g of the pla n ks occur s and excess tape ring would result in splin ter or sharp pointed plan ks. = Page 23 = 22 13. Stern Planking: Figure 15C shows how stealers may or ma y no t have to be used. There are man y

times when they will not be required. It all depends o n the shape of the ship s buttocks. This shape is a s varied as there are types of ship s to be built. 14. Correcti on plank: Figure 15D is a midship s view where if you elected and star ted plankin g from below the main wale downward and at the same time from the keel upward you may get into a situation wh ere despite your best laid plans the r e results a gap between the planks. A gap that is t oo wide for the plank material being used or where two very narrow planks would be required to fill the gap. A carefully tapered and fitted corre ction plank can be use d if needed. The correction plank should be somewhere near a standard size plank tap e red at both ends and fixed over at its ends onto a bulkhead. T h is correct io n plank sho u ld not be t apered more than

half the nor mal planks width. = Page 24 = 22a = Page 25 = 23 15. General Planking: Figure 16: Moving into the full planking operation, from t he bulkhea d planking graph Figure 11 determine the widths o f the variou s plan ks a t the given b u lkheads. Cut these p l anks section by section fittin g them into place as you move al ong. Don t try to cut all the required pla n ks at once for the fu ll ship as so me creep or errors will occur as you go along. It is no good having a heap of undersized planks lying on the bench that aren t going to fit. So cut and fit section by section. At the ster n if you

see a droop de velo p immediately as in fig u re 19 , think ab out adding a half steale r into the eq uation. Doing a half stea ler will prevent an unnece s sary full ste a ler having to be u s ed so early in t he process. NOTE: Ru les for half stealers and full stealers and drop planks are list ed under there own heading later in this project. If it become s immediately necessar y to add a full steal er th en it will hav e to be don e but this shou ld only be reall y necessary in a hul l wit h

v e ry full buttocks whe r e the plank s are curving up dramatically. = Page 26 = 24 16. Cutting & Fitting Stealers: Figures 17, 18, &19: Fitting a st ealer is not a problem. Figure 17 shows where a stea ler might be u s e d to correct a wi dening gap developing in the planki ng operatio n. We will take a situati on as in figure 17 with a hull with full butto cks and a g ap has appeared that is at or near the full width of a plank. Proceeding along you will ha ve pinned the lower plank temporarily to see how the work was p r ogressing b e fore gluing this plank in to position. The next pla n k above is laid into posit ion but a g ap appears.

DO NO FORC E A PLANK IN TO POSITI ON l e t it lay naturally. With all planks securely pinned into position on ALL bulkheads cut and shape the end o f the full stealer as shown in figure 18 . Lea ve this stealer long er than required.

The end cut s of the stea ler should b e about 45 degrees. Place the stea ler over the gap and move it forward to a dequately cover the forward end of the gap, more is better than too little . W i th a sh arp pencil tra c e around the stealers ou tline onto th e planks below, remove the stealer and

remove the two planks involved carefully cut aw ay the timber not required. Sand and re-f it the cut planks to the hull ensuring they go bac k in the locations they came from. Carefully trim and sand the st ealer if nece ssary, fit int o place and trim to length. Mark all planks with a witness mark to ensure they fit again in exactly th e same place. Remove all plan ks, glue and care fully fit. Job done, sit b a ck and ad mire your work. Well done. = Page 27 = 25 Full stealer: Use temporary pins to hold lower plank to bu lkheads. To p plank A is also pinne d. Shaped stealer is pinne d over the top of planks A & B . Trace around th e stealer the n remove the stealer and A & B plan ks. Cut outlined shape into planks, f B

A &

B

i t to check for a c curacy and glue in pla c e.

Half stealer: Temporarily pin plank A to be checked into pos it ion. Pin half stealer over plank A an d trace the out line. Remove and cut ou tline. Refit a nd check for accuracy, g l ue into position. A half stealer is fitted in the same manner e xcept only one plank, th e lower plank is effected not the upper plank. It is t he same procedure as for a full ste a ler but only half the width of a normal plank. = Page 28 = 26 NOTE: All stealers are t o be joined over a bulkhead, half an d half. See figure 17 inse t.

17. Rules for Planking:

Securing the planks Securing th e planks, th ere are time honoured rules for se curing the pla n ks to the h u ll of. Figure 20 d eals with an d shows the s e rules a s t hey applied, together with the methods used for fixing the planks to the frames (bulkhea ds) using tre e nails a s a method of securing the planks. = Page 29 = 27 Stealers & Drop Planks: Half Stealer: A half steale r is used ge nerally in th e stern sect ion and probably fairly close to the keel. If a droop d e velops in t he first coup le of planks above the keel as in f i g u re 19 it is t

i me for a stealer. As with all planking do n t be too ea ger to glue t he planks in to position because in t he case of a stealer the last plank f i tt ed is the on e that has to be cut to let the stealer into it. So o f course the plank that h a s to be cut has only been pinned, hasn t it? Make a decision as to th e length of t he stealer th at is going t o be needed . Allow a small addition to the length f o r snug fit. Shape the end of the pla n k at an ang le of approximately 45 degrees as sho w n in figure 21 . The for w ard end of the half stea ler will need to be tapered but no more than half its own width is allowed fo r this proce s s. See A-A of the half steal er diagram. Any more and the plan k will be l

i ke a splinter a nd not shipwrig ht. To the st ern end of t he plank ag ain the taper should be n o less ha lf t he width of the plank, howe v er B in the diagram shows a more realistic tape r that would be required so mewhere in the vicinity of of the planks width. Of course the upper half of the diagram is the se ctio n that is act ually the half stealer. To carry out this operation shape the h a lf stealer a s describe d above after determining the width of the stern section of th e stealer. Pin this stea le r over the previous pinn ed plank an d mark out the outline of th e shaped st ealer. Remove both stealer and und er plank, cut under plank carefully. Tr ial fit both a nd sand to o b tain an accurate fit, if all fits well g l u e into place. = Page 30 = 28 Full Stealer:

A full stealer is made up in the same manner as a half stealer except its e nd section consist s of t w o 45 degree cuts. Again this end of the stealer BB should be no less th an half the widt h of the plan k. However the stern en d of this st e aler is to be the full width or close to it. Again the two under plan ks affected should have been pinne d into place to determine the length of t he stealer re quired, cut a nd shape th e stealer as in the diagra m . Place and pin it over the top of the un der planks. Mark around the outline and remove . Cut the under planks to suit and tria l fit. Sand if n ecessary an d glue into p osition if all is well. Drop Plank s: Drop planks are used to reduce the n umber of tapered planks going to th e bow sectio n.

In effect a dr op plank red uces two pla nk widths int o one plank width. These are used where crowding of the p l anks is start i ng to occur and if not used the taper ed ends of t he planks would be mere splinters. Similar rules ap ply as in ste alers. Again the forward end of the drop plank is not to be tapere d more than half the wid th of the pla nk. In the tw o planks coming forward at section AA they are n ot to be tape red any more than half t he width of the plank. As with the other stealers and as a drop plank is te chnically a stealer, place the sh aped drop plank over the ends of the planks affe cted to ensur e a flowing fit to section s A-A. Pin into place and mark the forward end where it fits in to the stern rabbet. Allo w a little extra at the poin t for a snug f i t. Sand as r equired and glue into position. Note: All stealer and dro p planks mu

st be secure d at the joint s with the u nder planks over a bulkhead, half an d half as in Figure 17 in set. This will ensure a so lid surface t o the completed hull and when sanding operation s are carried out. Failure to do so can result in a springy joint t hat is extremely difficult to fix after the planking is finished.

18. General Plank Tapering Figure 22: The top tap ered edge mates with the un-tapered bottom edge of the n ext proceeding plank. This makes a smoother flow of the plank s at the end s of the ship and prevents the planks twist i ng and dropping away at the ends. With bow planks start th e taper just f orward of mi dships and again only taper to half t he width of the plank. Stern tapering is a little different. La y the plank over the under plank and note where the planks in ter s ect, mark a nd taper from this point.

The differe nce here at t he stern is because of t he full butto ck shape s o f the stern b ulkheads. T he situation I have just described d oes not occur in all sh ip s, some require tapers similar to the forward sections. It is a matter of studying your particular ship and test fitting the p l anks to see where they want to lay. Reme mber do not force a plank later ally. This will almost certainly result in the pla nks forming a clinker like position which is hard to overcome. I f you see this situation de veloping then spiling o f t he offending plank is req uired. = Page 31 = 29 Note: In figure 22 the hull is in th e up right positio n. When tapering the hull planks tap e r the top edge of the plank only as indicated in figu re 22

. Figure 23: As with other rules tapering also has its rules g o verning what can and what shouldn t be done. Generally all tapering should b e reasonably long to avoid sharp bu mps and changes in direction. An y bumps whi c h cause a plank to sit away fro m its neighbour will result in an unwanted gap between the two. The top diagram in figure 22 shows the g ap that can result where a taper is too short and does not give the upper pla n ks lower e dge a smooth surface to mate with. The lower diagram in figure 22 shows cor r ectly cut an d mated planks. = Page 32 = 30 Figure 23A As has been made menti on several times before in this paper the garboard plank is th e odd one out, where plank tapering is concerned t he same applies. The g a rboard pla n k is the ONLY pl ank to be ta pered on the upper edge when the model is in t he upside d

o wn position a s shown in figu re 23A .

19. Bevelling Figure 24 & 24A: If you are intending to go with single l a yer planking then some bevelling of the tapered edge of the plank will be needed. To gauge the a m ount of bevelling requi red test fit th e plank into p o sition and t a ke note of t he location and amount needed to b e bevelled. Sand as required to obta i n an exact fit but remember final san d ing and fair ing of the hu ll will uncover any poor bevelling result ing in a gap usually where you don t want it to be. If you are going use a second plankin g layer then bevelling is not required as the seco nd layer of planking will cover any gaps in the first. T he second l

a yer of planking is u s ual ly of thin veneer of 0.5mm so again be velling is not required in t h is insta n ce . = Page 33 = 31

Note: Bevel the top edg e of the plan k only. 20. Fittin g Gunport Frames Prior To Planking: Figures 25 & 25A: Again there are numerous ways to construct gun port framings. This is a just one method that I found worked extremely well f o r me. From the plans determine the location of the gunport openings on the various decks. Ensure t hat none fou l the bulkhe ads or the rigging chan nels. If you already have glued and positioned t he bulkhead s, no matter as you can just add the gun port frames sect ions by section betw

een the bulkheads. The overall end result will be the same. However my preference i s the cut in t o the bulkhe ads prior to asse mbly and use full length runners or stringers as I can get a more flowing line for the ports. Figure 25 shows what I mean by c u tting into th e bulkheads prior to assem b ly . = Page 34 = 32 The depth o f the framing is determined by the actual barrel le ngth of the cannons bein g used. Don t forget to allow for the planking thickness along with the measurement. -Ais an example of the run ner width to be used, do n t forget to allow for a lit tle protrusio n of the cannon barrel beyond the ships side as if th e cannon was run out r eady to fire . = Page 35 = 33 Material for the frames can be of any scrap ti mber available as they are not seen when the model is finished. T he width of (A) top and bottom stringers may vary a little given the rounded shape of th e hull, but a

l ways the inboard back e dges of the r unners must be vertical to e a ch other (p arallel to the bulkhead centre line). A piece of t h in scrap ply is a good backb oard for the framing to complete th e box like construction. Don t forge t to drill a hole i n the back b oard dead centre as in figure 25A , to suit th e lug on the inbo ard end of the canno n.

Don t worry too much at this stage about the runners and side block fra m ing not fitting exactly to the shape of t he hull and bulkheads. This can be sanded down to the cont our

to the hull shape prior to planking. I find also it is a real advantage to pain t the inside of the cannon port prior to planking. Matt black is my choice for this oper ation as it gives a sense of de pth. Later t he edges of the plankin g and the side blocks can be paint ed red it s your choice. Note: Don t fit the cannons at this stage. T hese are fitted last of all as they tend to get in th e way of everything and always get broken off.

21. Second Planking: Figure 26: If you decid e to fit a se cond layer of planking, commence a s you would with the first. If the first layer isn t looking as it sh ould then you are going to have t o use temporary battens and treat the whol e operation as if it has n t been done before. The garboard once again is the starting point. = Page 36 = 34 Again this plank will b e the odd one out an d as such should be t

r eated sepa rately. However thi s time reduce the width a little so t he joins bet ween the next plank and this one don t sit on top of th e first layer join. In othe r words stag ger the joint. Eventually the joints will coincide with one anoth e r due to plank creep, this is unavoidable so don t worry about trying to correct it with a narrow or wider plank they will separate agai n as the planking progresses. If you find the first layer of planking to be as you would wish but still want t o go with the second it s just a matter of followin g the first layer, again rememberin g to stagge r the garboard plank as you start similar to the abo ve paragraph. Work ca refully plan well ahead and check frequ ently, after each plan k is a goo d id ea. Make sure the plan ks are flowing gracefully, don t bend a plan

k laterally, and don t glu e it down un til you are r eally sure the pla n k is lying correctly. I try to use carpenters glue for this operation as it s slower sett ing and mor e forgiving. Use a litt l e CA on the ends if you wish, both g l ues mix quite happily but remember CA works fast.

Avoid excess glue, if you do wind u p with glue on the outer surface s u s e a damp cloth to remove it while it s still wet as carp enters glue and CA will mar the su rface and show through the varnish. CA of course can t be wiped off so use sparingly or wait til l its

well and truly dry and sand of f the offending glue later . Same planking rules app ly to the second layer as to the first. If you think you can work better with shorter leng ths of planking do so if you wish, but be careful of bu mps and variations in th e width of some planks. Wood is no t an exact material and some variations do occur. he lengths o f the planks to suit your model if you are going to use the sho r t lengths. See figure 20 ; Planking Rules , for scale plan k lengths. = Page 37 = 35 22. Spiling Operation: Figure 27: This would no doubt be one of the most interest ing operation s that can b e performed in the planking operation. Spiling is u s ed to obtain a correctly shaped odd p l

Scale t

ank where other than b ending a pla n k laterally, the plank ru ns or curves away from t he previous laid planks. A p l ank regardless of the h u ll shape sh ould be allo wed to lay in its natural position. Lo ok at figure 27 and imagine the pape r card is a p l ank and it s not going to lay in the manner we want it to lay. That is a gap at the bow is e v ident between this pla n k and the previous one. F o rcing it and bending it laterally is g o ing to result in the clinker plank look. We don t want that as most hulls are carvel built, that is smo o th with all planks butt i ng edges ag ainst each o t her and not overlapped.

In the sket c h the gap ha s to be overcome. By u s ing a scrap

of paper ca rd, the cardboard b a ck-cover of a writing pa d is excellen t for this ope ration. Cut a strip of car d wide enough to allow su itable marking of the car d to get the right shape of the spiled plank. More is better tha n too little in this ca s e.

Figure 28, 29: Temporarily pin the card board strip o v er the bulkheads with one edge se curely fitted against the previous laid plank. Ag ain do not fo rce the card to fit the sha pe let it lay naturally as shown in fig u re 27 . = Page 38 = 36 Taking a co mpass with some mean s of locking t he legs in p o sition run t he metal pointed leg against t

he lower edge of the pr evious laid p l ank as in th e sketch. If you find the card sags ju st make a mark directly over the top of the bulkh ead itself. This will for m a series o f dots or sho r t marks that will be joine d later to give the cutting line. Take t he opportunity to mark th e stem rabbet shape at t h is time to t he card. When this o peration is complete remove the card from the hull and lay it o v er the piece of selected t i mber. Due to the shape of the spile d plank a wider plank th an the normal planking tim ber is going to be requir ed. This wider material of course ne eds to be th e same thickn ess as the o t her planks being used. This rule ap plies to f i rst as well as second laye rs of plankin g. Lay the card paper over the top of the wood, pin it into position to p

r event it mo ving as you cut the shap e. If you have used the dot method described a bove take a plastic ru ler and possib l y with a willin g helper use the ruler on edge to join the dots usi ng at least t h ree dots at a time. Bending the rule r to suit thi s will form a graceful curve similar to the bending of a plank. Next mark the width of the plank using the sp iled line a s a guide. This plank shou ld theoretically be the same width as the normal planks of the model. OK cut the outlined shape a llowing a slight margin for sanding and snug fitting. You should wind up with something looking like the lower sketch i n fig u re 28 .

Discard the piece of car d marked as scrap in the sketch. Ho wever retain the lower section a s t h

is shaped piece may be the next spiled plank required. A lot depends on the shape of the hull; it may be usef ul maybe no t. Take you newly made pl ank and trail fit it to the h u ll, some sa nding will pr obably be required to obtain a snu g fit so take your time to get it right a s you will be very a w are of this plan k as you made it . Pin to the hull look a l o ng its length if there are no gaps and all appears well glue it into position a s in figure 29 . Good job eh? = Page 39 = 37 NOTE: If yo u are going with the sing le layer of planking som e bevelling t o the top ed ge may be nee ded. Again bevel only the one edge

. See separate heading regarding bevelling procedure. 23. Sanding the Hull, 1 st Lay e r: Now that the planking o peration is complete and you are happy with your work its time sand the hull smooth. I would recommend mak i ng up a san d ing block u s ing very coarse sand paper glued over the block. A bout 75mm by 30mm by 15mm is sufficient. Th is takes the ed ges from the planks qu ickly so take it easy and watch what you are doing . Of course use a finer gr ade if you are worried. Sand and feel with your fingers as y ou go bumps and lumps will need to be removed as th ese will cert ainly show up in the completed model. When you are truly satisfied with the result use finer grades until you get the desir ed surface fi nish you require. Reme mber sanding scratche s will show if you don t finish with finer grade papers. You will now need to pro t ect the hull from mishap s and other ongoing work which may damage the hull so make up a temporary cradle to sit it

in bu t place som e protection between the hull and cra d le, cloth m a terial or blister/bubble wrap is goo d protection. If you have any questions at all reg a rding this p r oject don t hesitate to a sk on the for u m, there are numerous talented people in the group that are more than willin g to offer advice and alternatives to the method described. You may well in fact fin d their methods and approach more suited to your style of buildin g. Rememb er this method may not suit all hulls all t he time so if in doubt ask. Good luck with the rest of your project and enjo y the experience. = Page 40 =