Planking Above Deck Level

We then moved house and started a house renovation for two years so every spare moment was used on the house, so the hull was kept very safe in a cupboard and was dust sheeted up to stop the dust getting in and left (which is another reason why I wanted the hull sealed as it was to be left for a couple of years) everyone was banned from going near the cupboard !

The planks all had to be trimmed flush against the stern of the ship, the plans stated to plank the stern in walnut, I thought this unnecessary as it would be painted in blue and the smooth birch ply would provide a very nice surface for the paint.
Note the use of two pencil rubbers one at each end under the keel, this stopped the ship from tipping up and also stopped the ship from sliding backwards and forwards.

In the same way as the rest of the hull was constructed, walnut planks were used for the second layer of planks and sanded smooth.

You cant really have too many cramps when doing this sort of work.

The lime planking formed the start of the upper hull, the hull formers would eventually be cut flush with the deck and removed, so it was important to glue the edge of the planks together but only apply a very small amount of glue to the hull formers in order that they could be removed.

Well I though the planking was finished, until I turned the hull back over and remembered there was still some to do on the the upper level of the hull.

This could all be done using PVA and cramps.

2nd Layer Planking (Walnut)

The space between two rear terraces were planked using lime and sanded smooth, nothing more had to be done to this as it would eventually be painted.

It was now starting to look like a boat, and I was glad I could start on something different !

After the walnut planking was finished it was then sanded smooth and the coated in a couple of coats of clear Matt varnish, firstly to stop fingerprints and glue marks all over the finished hull, and secondly to stop the wood from shrinking or expanding in the different temperatures of the house, for example when the central heating was turned on.

I also try to keep the room to a fairly even temperature and make sure the boat is not left in the sun coming in from a window etc.

It was about this stage that the decision was taken not to paint the bottom half of the hull white as the plans indicated, as I thought it a shame to cover up all the hard work of the planking.

Many other ship modellers that have constructed the San Felipe have also done this.

A close up of the front off the hull with the walnut planking coming to an end.

The rear planking on the stern was then finished.

I used the same method as the lime planking where the nails were put through an off cut of wood so the nails could be removed easily at a later date.

The small spring clamps also came in very handy.

The boat was turned over again and the walnut planking continued.

The boat was then turned over and the second layer of planking started oh good !

The first few planks were positioned as before, after experimenting with various adhesives I decided to use a contact adhesive and a PVA glue about 5 inches in from each end were there was the most pressure. Although the planks were positioned I a way that the pressure was kept to a minimum.