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.
The San Felipe, launched in 1690, was one of the most beautiful Spanish galleons of the XVII century. She was the lead ship of the famous Spanish Armada. The San Felipe displaced more than 1000 tons and was armed with 96 cannons, enabling her to take on the most formidable ships in the French and British navies. In 1705, she participated in a furious and heroic battle between 12 Spanish ships and 35 British ships but ended up at the bottom of the ocean with several tons of gold.
Sunday, 4 July 2004
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 !
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.
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.