What a great way to end what has been a great month for me on the build, to be able to finish the strip planking of the hull turn of the Port hull. Well almost, I just have to trim the planks, that is pull or push high or low planks up or down depending on where it sits, but this is preparatory work for gluing the planking.
I mentioned yesterday how satisfying this part of the build is. I mentioned that the distinctive Schionning look was the main reason but there was another reason I didn’t mention. If you ask a prospective builder (as I once was) what part of the build process was the most daunting many would say the strip planking. In fact if not for the Wilderness kits with the pre cut panelling the other option is a totally strip planked boat and many are scared off by the idea and I probably would never have started building and even minimal strip planking is daunting. So much so that you can even buy the strip planked parts pre made by someone else, so it isn’t just me that was concerned by the idea. Until now. I am here to tell you that if you are contemplating a more expensive kit with pre-formed curved sections because you fear the strip planking, don’t! At least not if this is the only reason. Strip planking would have to be one of the easiest parts of the build. Really! It is a very simple process and the material is super easy to work with. I cut the tapers with a battery circular saw by eye and I marked out the cuts by eye and although I got it wrong here and there, fixing the mistakes was also super easy. So for 2 days work I have 1 of the 2 sides stripped.
In the photo above left you can see that I cut one of the strips too narrow in a section and rather than pull it out and replace it I thought fixing the gap would not be too difficult and it wasn’t, you will see the result in the next photos below. You will want to keep the gaps to the minimum you can as they will need filling with glue which is heavier than the duracore and more expensive and more difficult to keep in the larger the gap but in the end this is a core for the glass that will cover it so it doesn’t matter that much and wont be visible or effect the strength of the panel. I tapered each plank because the most forward radius is the smallest and once the smallest radius at the bow is filled with core the rest of the planks need to end in an angle. This is not difficult to do and is easy to mark by eye and cut by hand. Then it is a matter of filling the gaps with ever smaller planks until the entire panel is done.
Jo calls this part of the build the whale because it resemble the sides of a sperm whale. This is a long weekend here in Sydney (although not in Melbourne so I may still get work to do) so tomorrow I will work on the boat and the task for the day is to fair the planks ready for gluing. I will use mdf straps to push and pull the planks into line and may need to attach some block from the inside to coerce some of the planks from the inside. Once that is done I can set about squeezing glue into the gaps between each plank, then Once it is set I will have to sand it smooth ready to be glassed in place on the boat between the screws, probably from the inside then I can take the screws out and glass the other side. And then is is on to the other hull.
Time Spent: 76.00 Hours
Total build time so far: 1086.00 Hours
Total Elapsed Time: 2 Years 4 weeks.
