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.

1st Layer Planking (Lime)

Where the lime meets the centre of the hull I rebated the ply to accept the wood so the finished hull would be only one thickness of wood (when the walnut was applied) above the ply level.

And that was the first layer of planking finished.

A view of the back of the hull with the lime planking finished.

A view of the front of the hull with the lime planking finished.

I decided to start planking the rear of the boat at this stage, probably because i was bored with the other planking !

The hull had to be turned over now, I made up some blocks off wood for the hull formers to rest on and screwed it with some very small screws to stop the hull from moving around while it was being worked on.

This proved to be very successful.

I alternated the planking on each side of the hull, doing 2 planks on one side then two on the other, this assured that the hull remained straight and was not pulled to one side.

I had to remember to mark the centre lines of the blocks for the dummy canons.

A few more are positioned , the technique I used is to nail through an off cut of wood let the glue dry and then break the off cut of wood away the nail can then be removed easily. (You can see this on the bottom plank)

The start of the planking always a daunting task, firstly I laid a couple of lime strips along the hull fairly straight with the decks.

Hull Formers and Decks

A close up of the rear terrace's showing the curvature of the decks. The two blocks between the two rear terraces are there to keep them parallel to one another, while providing more strength.

Another view of the decks, note the timber across the deck on the 7Th hull former was only glued slightly as this was to be removed at a later stage.

The 3 decks glued in positioned along with the rear terrace's.

Showing the blocks in position again looking back it would have been better to have painted these out black before the planking was started.

The side ribs showing the blocks that are used to accept the dummy canons, looking back now it would have been better to have made these bigger, so the tolerance was bigger when opening up the gun ports.

So this is it the start of the San Felipe

After completing the HMS Pandora a few years ago I promised myself I would never do another period ship model as that one took me 5 years !

So here I am starting another one, and yes ive now jumped in the deep end with probably one of the hardest ships to construct, so who knows how long this one will take.

But its a hobby and theres no time limit on it, the idea is to enjoy it and its finished when its finished (well thats what I keep telling myself)

The first stage was to make sure the hull formers are straight, and think of a way of holding the hull while it is being constructed.