napoleonicfrigates

Now was time for the second, visible, layer of planking. I enjoyed putting this on as the ships lines take on more of a permanence than before. I initially followed Donald Dressel's methods for this by utilising proportional dividers.

The basic process was as follows. Firstly I decided to use a base plank length of 4.5 inches. Several of the books state you should use small plank sizes as wood does not grow long enough (or manageable enough) at the lengths to plank the entire length of the hull but then tended to add the addition that if you do then you should dowel your planks. The options given appear to be

A) Butt plank and Dowel
B) Plank entire length

One of the reasons for butt planking (apart from accuracy) is that smaller planks are easier to handle. This to me was all modeller waffle. If you look at any actual existing ship you will see that they are covered in dowels and not just at the end of the planks so the argument that you must dowel at joins  is to be frank rubbish. Equally the statement - don't butt plank unless you dowel is equally nonsensical. If it is easier to do this with small planks then that should be reason enough. Anyway I digress due to annoyance at holier than thou writers..

Once the plank length has been determined run a piece of paper for that length across your start point. Here I would not start both ends - the upper section will be visible so start there and work down. Mark the position of any bulkheads and then mark the distance between start point and batten. Set the proportional dividers to the number of planks required and for each bulkhead use the dividers to mark on your plank the amount of wood to be cut off. Then sand to the mark. Next up take of the corner of the upper edge to allow the plank to sit better before gluing the entire plank to the hull. Then repeat across the hull. This method is easy and understandable. One very good reason for doing this is that the visible section is the upper section. You do not want to get into the situation of having a visible area having a 'fix'. Here again most books talk garbage. All will say - if you need to fill an area less than half the width of a plank or more than the length of a plank then use a stealer - This is true but on most ships such fixes were done low down and on the model such areas would be covered by the bronze under cladding. So I would avoid doing that until the area would be later covered and then stealer away.

Now though I have waxed lyrical there are a few other tips that I as a beginner would provide. Firstly when covering the bulwarks use pegs or similar to clamp. The process will go much easier then as soon as you are past the bulwarks switch to using push pins - remember you are covering the under layer so you can pin in the under planking layer to keep your planks tight and close. Secondly remember both sets of planks should be level on both sides. Thirdly never be tempted to shape a bulge into a plank to fix a perceived error. I did and spent the next 5 planks paying for it with hard to fit issues. The difference between my initial planks and the mid ones when I started holding was quite astounding. As this is unlikely to be perfect most beginners will paint the upper section so errors can still be dealt with (hidden)...Finally swap the hull so it is upside down as soon as you can - do not try and plank at an unusual angle as you will get gaps.

For a first attempt I am happy enough with the results though I am highly certain of doing better on my next model. Out of the things which I did not do and will next time lies in the creation of a Rabbet. Read the guides and they say do this because this is how ships were done yet it looks complicated and there seem to be enormous looming pitfalls concerning how much to remove. Nothing I read stated that it is useful to do this to tidy the line of planks when it reaches the stern bow and I do not believe I read anywhere of its possible advantages, if sized correctly, in holding the outer plank in without the need for clamps, pins or glue. My experience so far has taught me that the depth of the rabbet would need to be the thickness of both inner and outer layer of planking though to wide would be far worse than to little. Do not panic if like me you do not feel like generating a Rabbet which your instructions do not tell you to build, just expect to have a harder time getting the joining points to look tidy.

Next adding the wale and planking the inner bulwarks