Chapter 19. Planking (1st hull). 

 

09.05.2026

 

Gun ports sill.

 
While I'm still working on the second hull's lighting and copper plating, I've decided to continue working on the first hull.
As they say, a good idea comes later... but it's what it is. If I were building the hull now, with the knowledge I have now, I would do everything differently. More on that later (this information will at least help those just starting to assemble frames, so they can at least get everything right from the start, like in anatomy). But I'll be adjusting what I can now as construction progresses.

I used a template to mark the marking line. Tip: use one template for both sides—this will reduce the margin of error when using a second template on the other side due to imprecise alignment of the two templates. Insert the wedges from the inside out—this will press the template against the hull.

 I draw only one (specified) line!

I will cut off some frames (in the port area to replace them with new parts) or cut and move frames into the desired position.
 Correction!! Later I moved the port forward a bit.
 

All these parts will be further refined, and their arched shape will be polished later. Therefore, I didn't see any reason to focus too much on their aesthetics. The main thing is the correct side walls, front, and inner (they're all in order). The top will still be trimmed to level, and the bottom (where the glue is) will be completely covered with planks. 

But if I were doing it all over again (from scratch), I would integrate these parts into the frames (making windows in them) before sanding. And then sand the hull simultaneously: the frames and gun ports.
A logical question: why don't I do it as in the kit instructions? Firstly, I absolutely don't like the solution with the railings and window sills that the kit suggests. Secondly, due to errors in the frame placement, the railing topstems (posts) don't line up, and it's very noticeable. Therefore, when I make my own version of the railing, I'll place the posts in the right places, as I did on the second hull. But the steps there are slightly different, so I've essentially already come up with two different ways to implement this area.
Another mistake in the laying was that the second frame was too close to the first. And with this distance, it was impossible to install the bowsprit. I would have glued frame #2 further down, but since it was already glued, I simply moved it.
Then I installed 1 mm spacers under the template and used a scalpel to mark a second line. This line is no longer the center of the sill, but the joint line of the first plank with this sill. I marked this line because I would be gluing the first board first, followed by the others, and then the sill itself, which will have a complex prefabricated shape (like the one in the second hull, but slightly different).
This line was also needed to correctly position the sill of the first port. The rear wall coincides with this line, and the front is 1 mm lower. The plane can easily be determined by placing a square block on both ports simultaneously.
Now, about what I would have done right away if I were just starting to assemble the hull from frames:
1. I would calculate and glue all the frames so that their upper parts or top timbers completely coincide with the actual positions of the railing posts and all the gun ports. If necessary, I would connect the lower and upper parts of a frame not so that they are in the same plane, but rather form steps and can thus be shifted to the desired positions at the top (as is essentially implemented in anatomy).
2. I would initially make paired frames in both the fore and aft sections, as in the photo below.

It wasn't much work, just like it would have been if the kit manufacturer had done it right away. It's a shame they didn't (with all due respect to the effort that went into creating the kit, which is actually quite good!).
3) I would also narrow the top frames from 4mm to 3mm, so that the railing posts would be all 3mm thick. Not like in the kit—4mm frames and 3mm top timbers.
4. I also don't like the implementation of the detail under the aft frames. I have a couple of ideas for how to replace it, but since it's too late for me, I'll just cover this area with partial planking.
I forgot to clarify... since I can't move the frames without reducing them, these areas will be covered with planks both from the outside and inside. Therefore, if you want these areas to be exposed, you need to do it correctly from the start, during hull assembly.
Next in line is fixing the planks (boards) below the railings-window sills and then the railings themselves...



10.05.2025

 

Carvel planking. 1st hull.

 
I already had the plank from the second hull (only there it was used below the waterline). It was polished and coated with Tung oil for the trim. After fixing it, I'll give it a final polish and recoat it as usual.
I spot-glued it to the SA, following the marking line (the bottom one!! Which I did the second time).

Then I checked the symmetry and smoothness of the arc. If necessary, you can carefully tear off the strip where it needs to be moved; this is only possible while the glue is still in a few spots.
Once everything was checked, I applied glue from the inside to the joints using the capillary method. You don't need a lot of glue—there'll be a lot of spills to clean up later.
 Then the second belt did the same. But before that, I made a slight chamfer on the two slats where they met, so that there would be a gap between them halfway down the contact line.



15.05.2026

 

Wale. Stern.
Since I've already shown how I made these parts on the second hull, I won't repeat myself; everything is in chapters 9 and 10. I'll only go into more detail on things I didn't mention in previous parts, or anything new.
This is because I didn't have a long blank for the entire board (I had to join two with a lock). If you have a long blank, I recommend using the boards the entire length and then simulating the joint. I've done this before, but I didn't show the process of creating the lock itself...
I really like black hornbeam, not only for its color, but also because if you fill it with CA and sand it, you'll practically see no gaps, which is sometimes very useful... but not when you need to show that the parts are different, so I intentionally create a gap, as in the photo above.
By the way, black hornbeam bends quite well...

 To ensure the wale lays flat, it's best to bend it in two planes first. I used a simple method: I pour a puddle of water onto an electric stove (it could be regular glass, too) and soak the board in it. After a minute, I press a hot iron directly into the puddle and bend it in the desired direction. It's quick and very simple.

I made the stern planks in exactly the same way as on the second hull, except here I'll only use the upper and lower ones to show the internal frame structure. The hardest part was making these half-arches. I had to make them twice, since there are two hulls...


 

Clinker planking. 1/2
On the first hull, I won't be doing the entire planking, just the top chord, part of the second chord, and a few planks of the bottom chords. While I'll be doing the bottom planks using the real method (that'll be in the next post), I'll be doing the top planks with imitation clinker (as on the entire second hull).
Since this is a demonstration version of clinker planking (the boards were actually installed one at a time, from bottom to top, overlapping the top planks), we can't actually see the gaps under the planks, as there are other boards underneath them. But since this is a demonstration, we need to create these gaps. The photo below will show you what I mean.
I won't repeat the details of the locks and structure of clinker planking; I've already discussed that.
Let me remind you of the structure of clinker planking.

 

On the second belt (it is made of three boards, but there will be no middle one) I show the structure of the castle, or rather both of its parts.


Below I will make a few more boards, but using the real method (not imitation), to show the structure of the upper part of the clinker planking board.

 

 

 17.05.2026

 

Clinker planking. 2/2
First, I finished the entire upper section. I've already shown how I did the stern section on the second hull, so I won't repeat myself.
These are the two Adidas badges that came out. ))))
All that remains is the lower rear part of the (real) clinker planking.

I made the blanks on a saw, cutting off a third of the board's thickness to create a groove. As a result, when joined together, the board will visually be 6 mm thick, just like the top.

I beveled the end of the board to allow for overlapping. Since this is the back board (and, incidentally, the first board to be sheathed), the bevel was precisely shaped so that the front board would overlap it, allowing water to flow around the joint like fish scales.

At the front and back (as in this case), the part of the board with the groove goes to zero and then disappears completely... this is necessary in order to create a smooth transition from the clinker part (when the boards overlap) to the carvel part (when the boards are butted).

 When I'm done with the other side, I can sand everything down and drill holes for the dowels and bolts, then install them.
By the way, I ended up using all these boards to cover up the areas I didn't like. These were either defects, kit flaws, or my own mistakes. And now they're all buried under the boards... and that's a good thing. 

 

 

 21.05.2026

 

 I've already done many of these manipulations on the second hull, so I won't repeat them. So, I'll briefly explain what I did: I adjusted the stem post, calculated the position of the plank joints, made the joints, and pinned the holes where I needed to drill.

 The plank joints are strictly according to the rule: one joint every three solid planks! All joints are still on double frames.

First, I drilled 0.5 mm holes where the 1 mm holes would be (I always make a couple of passes for larger diameters). Then I erased the pencil lines and will widen these same holes to 1 mm in the future. I'll drill 0.5 mm holes in the remaining holes to avoid confusion.

Lower Railings (the lower part)

I did the same as on the second frame made of yellow boxwood, only this time I'm not making them as a single piece (previously glued with black hornbeam), but rather separately. I'll glue the lower part (boxwood) first, and the upper part (black hornbeam) later (I'll talk more about this later).

But since the black hornbeam upper section will be installed after the middle frames are cut, I'll first finish all the nailing and bolting and then continue. This will allow me to work longer on a more stable hull.

 

 

 31.05.2026

 

 Last time, where 1 mm holes were needed, I drilled 0.5 mm holes in the first pass. Now I'm widening these same holes to 1 mm.

And now, in all the other punctures I drill only with a 0.5 mm drill.

So, some of the holes are 1mm and some are 0.5mm. Finally, I remove any remaining glue from all corners with a razor blade, sand with sandpaper, and polish with steel wool. And here's the result:

Next, nails will be installed in some of the holes, bolts in others, and the third will be left empty (as this will simulate the absence of bolts in the holes).

 




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