Varnish the fore deck, a few coats yesterday, Wilko Yacht Varnish, thinned with white spirit about ten percent. and four coats today. Muddy ..

Once the deck was removed and the old bulkheads cleaned up a new ply deck was laid, followed by a Mahogony planked deck, later the side strips were added and some rubbing strips, ( we have bricks lining our local pond and they can take chunks out of the woodwork ) .
This is now the state of play, so a lot of finishing to be done, painting and varnishing plus some deck fittings etc..
But that is all in the future.. Regards and thanks for all the Likes and Comments Muddy ..

New Deck, This two hour job as previously thought, was started, it being 5 years after the first " sea trials" and disappointment. First question was where to start with lifting the planks off, it was quite apparent that the planks did not want to be removed. No matter how delicate and forceful they did not budge. So saving the planks was out of the question, gain access to the plank edges was required and this was done by drilling some 1 1/2 " holes in the deck, but still very reluctant to depart their location. The jigsaw was called apon and ran a series of cuts across the planks, by this time and desperate i just wanted them off we were well past the allocated removal time and it was cold in the shed. So with a lot of grunting a 2lb hammer and a mini lifting chisel/crow bar the deck was removed, the hull was marked out for a 1" removal at the bow tapering back to the original level at the wheelhouse. Jigsaw did most of the work assisted by a roll of sandpaper. The deck was off and ready for a replacement. This was the first time i have ever done a modification to a hull, and i dont mind admitting was not happy untill i could see the light and prospect of a new deck and a better look vessel.
And a lot was learnt whilst this undertaking was in progress, but if i had not done this "job" i would still be in the dark about a lot of things, and my advice is if you dont attempt it, it aint gunna work, so one has to grasp the nettle and give it a go. Now where's the new planks.. Muddy ..

Running Trials, Just before water tests, decided to change the drive motors from Decaperms to 777's. With 12 volts on the motors she was trying to fly and looked ridiculous. The voltage was reduced to 6 and things looked more sedate and true. But the motors ran a little warm, even prop changes did not appear to make any differences, so reverted back to the Decaperms and 50mm 3 Blade Props, from Prop Shop, i do like these Props and they work very well. Off to the pond we go and trials begin, she performed really well and was not disappointed, if required she showed her Foot but no attempt to fly or plane. But, and a Big BUT things did not look right, the Bow/Prow was to high and it look ridiculous, pics to show off this. So back to the Harbour and she was put on the shelf, disappointed was not the word and thoughts went to another build or two.. So over a period of time thoughts went back to her, and a modification was devised, very simple remove the deck chop off an inch or so at the bow and taper it back to the cabin front, a two job i thought , so i went with it, lol but it didnt last long.. Regards Muddy ..

Cabin/Upperworks, Fishing off the rear cockpit, this was just veneered with the planking drawn it with a hard pencil a 1H i think and the nail marks with the centre poit in the compass, a nobed pin could be used, then rub in a touch of Cyno into the nail marks this highlights the mark and makes them more pronounced. On to the painting, used a filler paint for the first cote
the Halfords grey Primer, followed by colours of choice, thought an Ivory or off White would suit this boat better than a sparkling dazzle white.. Launching/ Running trials approaching.. Muddy ..

Cabin/Upperworks, cutting out the sides, and i always cut them as a pair, then made up the internal formers and roof supports, the roof's were planked, and veneer was added after the main cabin construction. Had a bit of a funny senior moment, and planked the roofs in striped, bad idea, i now dunna like em', so more painting.. urghhh ! lol.

Part 2 of "Running Gear", think that was a touch of finger blight on the keypad so the file went to early, continuing on, more pics of rudder forming section, drilling holes for glue key, then adding bits of timber to build up the section, and then car body filler ( P38 ) to hide the mistakes lol, finally the doping or sealing the wood, i tend to mix a drop of dope and thinners 50%/25% dope to thinners in a can, then dip the rudder let them soak for a min and then hang them up to dry, wiping the dripping access off against the can side, after abt 30 mins: you can usually give the surface a quick rub down with sandpaper and dip again, carry on about 5-6 times and you finish up with a nice smooth finish. Motors, they needed to be easily removed, as there was a possibility of interchanging from boat to boat, a little jig retainer was thought up , so they could be slid into place, then arose manufacturing problem the four retaining top edges were not exactly identical, lol, so a paint ID was required, this was done and made the job a lot easier, Regards Muddy..

Running Gear, Fitting the 5mm ply skegs to the prop shaft/hull, this was a big decision, as now i regret not fitting brass skegs and bearings with open type shafts past the hull line, but it can also increase the costs, you need shorter brass shaft tubes and of course longer shafts so there's a possibility of double the expense, some might say thats easy just remove the one end brash bush and shorten the tube, but these days the tubes and bushes are made to a much higher specification than the earlier days , say 1960's 1990's, i cen remember pulling some bushes out by hand

Continuing on, with the hull planking, again checking the shaft and motor fitting. These large headed brass pins approx 15mm in length are not a fixture just a retainer,, they will be remove at a later stage, as in My Susan Bow Bar, although bent on insertion, they were removed totally. Then a lot of sanding down, followed by about 6 coats of dope thinned with celulose thinners at a ratio of 75% Dope 25% Thinners, with a light sanding between coats, these coats will probably dry in about 30 mins: so all this can be done in a day easily, the next thing was to tissue cover the outside of the hull, laying the grain of tissue oposite to the timber, and not cutting the strips but tearing them, it does look unsightly when being applied but all will be good when finished. Same concocktion of thinners and dope applied to the hull and "Painting into the tissue", dont worry about air bubbles or creases they will all disappear at the later stages, then apply another 6 coats of Dope/Thinners, same mix, lightly sanding between coats again. Now she should be ready for some undercoat. But at this stage decided to fix the For Deck, Was not going to plank this deck originally but looking at the lower deck level it just did not look right, so the ply floor was fitted for the planking to sit on, next the planking, Walnut was the choice, to match the rest lol.. I forgot to check the colouring of the Walnut, and it look a bit strange when finished.. Sorry there may be a a couple of pic doubles ... Muddy

One of the other reasons for this build was that originally at pondside conversations, i mentioned that i had a pair of Decapers that i did not know what to do with them, then in conversation this plan was mentioned and originally someone had built it with a pair of Decaperms, so away we went apon deleivery of the plan. Cutting out the bulkheads and then lightening them where possible, its about a 40 x 12inch model at 1/12 th scale.. Once a few planks were laid/fitted then a start on the motive power and shafts, a couple of simple templates for alignment of the prop-shafts and distancing from the hull bottom, i was in a hurry with this one and did not bother with brass skegs for the prop-shafts, but a simple triangular wedge shape to support the external part of the prop-shaft. Just a note here, when planking it is more than advisable to maintain an equal ammount of planks either side of the keel, this will help if not stop keel warping, beleive me , yes i did ! or did not at the time, poor Lorrain. Keep safe Muddy..