Having built, restored, and bought quite a few old model boat kits over the years, I have always been surprised to find how non-symmetrical the bulkhead shapes are when checked.
Most of these old kits are “saw cut” and so some variation has to be expected - and I suspect that very few of us actually check the symmetry of the bulkheads before gluing them to the keel before assembling our latest projects?

When building my early Aerokits Swordsman back in the 1960,s I took great care aligning the bulkheads onto the keel, but some amount of “adjustment” was needed to ensure the correct depth of fit to the keel when checked against the plan.
At a later stage of construction, some of the stringers did not give the correct “flow” when they were “given the eye” to make sure everything aligned correctly and again some form of correction was needed.
As an eager teenager keen to make a good job of my first kit that had taken all of my spare apprenticeship pay that month I was happy (but a little surprised) that it was necessary to do this.
Making copies of the kit bulkheads to create symmetrical templates can save a lot of “fettling”, but usually shows the need to make some adjustments to most of the kit bulkheads........and sometimes to cut some new wood and replace them !

Hi dave976,

Your observations and comments are “spot-on”, several of my build and restoration blogs have been posted (sadly elsewhere) but the response I have had to date suggests that there may be a growing interest in these classic models - so there is some hope that others are restoring and building the classic model boats from the 1960’s time period that I continue to enjoy 😀

When I get home next, I hope to make enough time to check all the parts inside the original (water stained) Sea Commander box and to copy them all onto some good thin card (cereal packets) and then fold them along their centre lines to check to see if they are symmetrical.

These early kits were all “saw cut” - probably by someone hoping to be able to cut enough parts each day to earn a living wage - not the most likely combination for producing precision component shapes day after day.

Modern kits are not without fault, but being mostly laser cut (or water jet cut ?) the same shape part is more likely to be produced time after time.

Once each template has been folded along its vertical centreline I can correct any small deviances (with reference to the plan) to produce a full set of perfectly symmetrical templates.

When completed,I can cut a complete new set of bulkheads etc to produce a full set of components that can be more readily assembled into a perfectly symmetrical hull

- leaving the original kit untouched and unmade - to be sold on to another person who would like to own it.

In response to Chris and his comments about the accuracy of drawings, I have to say that I have been fortunate enough to be the recipient of some of his drawings and have found them to be accurate and more than helpful.

Along with a certain “mad Welshman” we spent some time discussing the merits of a model inspired by the (unexpected) performance of my LesRo Rapier and the desire for a model that shared the deep vee hull format in a size mid-way between the Rapier and it’s smaller cousin the Stilletto.

Chris produced some fine drawings to give at least three different versions of a craft to this mid size specification that all shared the same hull format (shades of Fairey Marine) but with nicer and better superstructure.

Hopefully we will all convert some of his excellent work into wood sometime soon as it will produce some really good looking models that I am sure will perform as good as they look.