Having been thoroughly disappointed, almost disgusted, with the overpriced Deans Marine warship kits (of which I have built two), I decided upon a change of tack.
I have already built Caldercraft's tug, Resolve, and impressed with the quality of the kit and the opportunity to learn new skills, I decided to have a go at a plank on bulkhead model.
I chose Cruiser because she is aimed at beginner/intermediate and also, to me, pleasing to the eye.
Once again, the kit is made up of very good quality materials, with all the wooden structure parts CNC cut, the wooden fittings nicely detailed and the cannons made of turned brass.
The instruction manual is adequate, but there are seven sheets of full sized plans.
I am in the process of building the basic hull, the easy bit. The wooden parts have been accurately cut and require very little fettling.
However, the first skill I have to practice is bevelling, the stern bulkhead to enable the deck to fit flush, but mainly the bulkheads to enable the planks to fit flush.
My main concern was, and still is, planking the hull. M B Website member Nonsuch has been of great help with this and plank bending, but more of that later.
So far , so good.

I thought the first planking would be a tester for me and I was right. My main problem is getting the planks around the bow to stick flat to the bulkheads as you can see from the photo. However, having seen first planking on other blogs, before and after fettling, I feel I am not doing too badly.
On the premise that bits can be glued in and then sanded back and the very comforting comment by Nonsuch, that this is only a dress rehearsal for the second planking, I am feeling quietly confident.
I decided to follow the kit instructions and plank from top to bottom. Soaking in warm water aids bending and when tapering the knife blade is less likely to follow the grain of the wood.

As I am writing this log, I have the hull next to me and I think I have found why the planks are not lying flat on the bulkheads.
I did not start tapering the first planks soon enough! I am sure you experienced builders will put me right. Once again, a lesson learned for the second planking perhaps?

I am only fixing two planks per day at the moment, one port and one starboard. This allows me to use modified foldback clips and only brass tack at the bow and stern.Yes, it will take time, but I'm in no rush.
In the meantime I have started to build some of the deck fittings.

Next instalment on completion of first planking, which will hopefully be 'alright on the night'.

The part of the build I most dreaded is now finished.
Lessons Learned.
1. Spend more time bevelling me bulkheads. I ended up using a needle file on the bulkheads for each plank. Not ideal and I still didn't get a good bevel resulting in gaps between the planks.
2. Tapering. Following the instructions I started just below the gunport bulwarks but did not start tapering until the seventh plank down. This meant that I was forcing the planks upwards around the bow, again causing gaps and almost 'kinks'. Pure laziness on my part, or was I afraid of tapering?
3. Bevelling. Once again, more time taken would have resulted in a closer fit of the planks.
4. Even allowing for my mistakes, I found the best method of plank bending (for me), is by soaking in warm water for an hour or so (length of soak depends upon how much bend is required) rather than steaming. And certainly not crimpers.
If I have a difficult place to get to where clamps or brass pins are difficult, eg round the bow, and I want an instant bond, then I use superglue.

The photos show that even a rough first plank can be smoothed with patient sanding, coarse grit followed by medium, and yes, a small amount of filler in places. This has hopefully set me up for a much better second planking.

A dear friend of mine says that this exercise will make me a better planker or a complete planker.

I have started my second planking and I'm so far, happy with the result.
As per instructions, I have started level with the top of the gunport bulwarks, but on reaching the bottom of the bulwarks, I have nowhere to attach the clamps whilst the glue is drying.

The instructions recommend the use of thick superglue, with the warning that the wet plank will accelerate activation. Even without this, I fear I would have very little time to position the plank, which of course is critical. There is also the added annoyance of sticking plank to fingers, fingers to fingers, fingers to thumbs, and upsetting the wife with the resultant screams of frustration.
Another method seems to be the use of dressmakers pins. Apparently subsequent wetting of the wood swells it and closes the pinholes upon removal.
The third, and so far my preferred method, is to use brass pins. Mix the sawdust from the sanded wood with PVA to fill the holes left by the pins.

I respectfully call upon you fellow plankers for any further advice.
Ps. The gunport in the photo need fettling.

Having second planked to the waterline (more about the waterline later!), the pressure was off and I found I was able to crack on down to the keel, without having to be too precise.
I started to enjoy the process and far from having to use the 'f' word, filler, I just needed to use stealers at the stern.

Now for an easy bit, I thought! Just mark the waterline with my newly purchased marker and stick on a few copper plates.

The first problem was the waterline. I have marked many waterlines on modern day hulls, but it took three attempts before I got anywhere close to this one. In the end, I used the two dimensional plan and measured down from the top of the bulwarks. I transferred these measurements onto the hull, taking in to account the tumblehome. I then joined up the dots with masking tape. I think I got reasonably close.

I had read up and watched various youtube videos on plating and it looked pretty straightforward.
I decided to run two rows of plates just below the waterline and then work up from the keel. It was a bit tricky filling the gaps where the two lines joined as, although the plates are malleable, they are quite difficult to cut.
The other problem was finishing off around the keel, due to the size of the plates. They were just too big for the base and the sides of the keel so I had to fold them over by tapping each one with a small hammer.
Lastly, I found it very difficult to keep the dreaded superglue off the plates (and my fingers!), however careful I tried to be.

I am just coming to the end of a very interesting and often frustrating phase of the build. I am not sure if I have made a passable job of the plating as I have nothing to compare it with. However, I am hoping that as things progress, the upper works will be of more interest to the observer.

The next stage is the bulwark inner planking and the deck planking.

Instructions say to plank the bulwarks first, but I thought I would be clever and do the deck first, so I could cover any minor errors in the trimming with the first bulwark plank.
To do this successfully of course, the deck needs to be completely flat, which mine wasn't. However, I think I've got away with it using the good old 2 foot rule.

I was somewhat disappointed with the deck, but I put this down (it's my story and I"m sticking to it!), to the Tanganyika strip supplied. It wasn't very straight and even though I sanded it before fixing, was still rough around the edges. I have planked decks in the past and got a much better result with lime.
I was also disappointed with the way the matt varnish 'coloured' the deck quite dark.

The inner bulwarks went ok, but I have had to use the dreaded filler in some places.

My main problem was the gun and oar ports. These are pre cut in the bulwarks, but by the time I had cut back the second, and inner bulwark planking, and then filed, they have all ended up about 1mm (that's being optimistic), too big. Some of you may know the feeling, just file a bit off here to get that straight, which puts the other side out, so file a bit more off here to get that straight and so on. Once again, the 2 foot rule!

I have come to the conclusion that this model will not turn out as good as I would have hoped, so to cheer me up a bit I have started to paint the hull. And no more floating twigs in the kitchen sink, as my wife describes my careful soaking of the planks!

Following advice from Nonsuch, I lined the gunports with left over 4 x 1 mm planking. Although not all exactly the same size, they look much better.
The oar ports are also somewhat uneven.

For some reason, the bulwark capping rails did not follow the line of the bulwarks, particularly at the stern, where they curved in too much. I was unable to reshape them very much due to the run of the grain. Not sure why this should be and as the error was on both sides, could this be a design fault? My inexperience suggests otherwise.
However, I was unable to "ensure the rail was equally spaced on the inner and outer sides". You will see from the pictures that it doesn't look too bad after a coat of paint and I'm hoping that it will be even less visible on the completed model.

I don't know whether to be disappointed or not with the second and inner bulwark planking. There are many irregularities, even under my carefully applied paintwork. so I think I will put it down to the realism of a hard worked and hard fought warship - and hope the upper works draws more attention than the hull.

There are items I feel I could have made a better job of, one of these being cutting the gratings to size and jointing the borders.
This was, I think, mainly trying to cut the gratings with a scalpel. Once I had obtained an Xacto knife with a number 11 blade (thanks once again to Nonsuch), it became a lot easier. (Yes, I know, a bad workman always blames his tools!)

However, the elm tree pumps, companionway and bowsprit bracket assembly came together much better. I was also quite pleased with the wheel assembly.

I have glued the the main and fore channels in place. Instructions say to pin as well as glue, as they will have to take the strain of the shrouds and backstays.
I need to be very precise when drilling and pinning as the channels are only 2mm thick.
Having run a filet of thick cyano on the underside of the channels, I am wondering if this will be enough.
Any thoughts Mike?

The chain plates are fiddly to assemble as you can perhaps see from the photo of the components. The deadeye strops, which are shaped wire, have to be prized apart to accept the deadeyes, then closed up again. Too much pressure will split the wooden deadeyes, as I have found. There are no 'spares', so I have added one to my shopping list.

Next on the list is the assembly of the guns. Jotika suggested the use of etching fluid on the barrels as they looked much better than painting.
Instructions say to dilute the fluid with water one to one and after degreasing the barrels, leave them to soak for about 30 minutes.
I ended up leaving them in overnight and they still came out a green brown colour, (instead of black), even though I had emptied the remainder of the neat fluid into the mix for fear that the solution was too weak.
Nether Krick, the suppliers of the fluid, nor Jotika, the seller, could offer an explanation.
However, Jotika have offered to put my barrels into a batch of their items and have another go.
I will let you know the result.

That's it for now. Next job will be the Masts and Yards.

I seem to have spent the last six months gammoning and puddening, fitting deadeyes, single blocks, double blocks, sisters, closed hearts, not to mention the odd martingale and dolphin striker, with nothing really to see.
However, I am now on the masts and spars and things have started moving again.

I started with the bowsprit, which seemed to go quite well and I have made a start on the rigging, having attached the various blocks etc.

Working with dowel to get squares and tapers and hounds is quite a challenge for me, particularly getting the squares lined up on the top and bottom of the topmast.
I was therefore pleased that I had manage to assemble all three components of the foremast in a straight line. Hopefully the same will be true of the mainmast, having been able to practice.

I anticipated that shaping the masthead cap would be quite a problem, until I thought of cutting a piece of dowel of a slightly larger diameter and gluing it on.

One thing I haven't yet worked out is how to fit the spars to the masts!
The instructions are not at all helpful and searching the internet has not helped much either. A close up picture of the fitting would help but I cannot find one.
It is suggested by some, that a hole is drilled in both mast and spar and the joint is made by pushing a brass rod through.
I attached the spritsail yard to the bowsprit by filing a half round grove in each and then gluing.
Do I have to lash/gammon it?
Can I use a similar method with the spars?

Mike, you have some advice please?

I mentioned the last time problems with black etching the gun barrels.
As promised, Jotika dipped them with a batch of their stuff and the result you can see from the attached picture. Although not 'black', I am quite happy with the result. In all fairness, Jotika said that if I was not happy, they would replace the barrels with a new set.

Thank you

Steve

My last entry is showing 5 months ago - how times flies!

The mainmast went together as well as the foremast and thanks to the hints and tips from Mike and Martin (which also helped me understand the plans), I managed to rig the spars and boom more or less correctly. This entailed lashings, parral beads and various blocks.

With all spars in place I stepped the masts ensuring they were upright and had a slight rake, according to the plan.
It was pleasing to see that when looking fore and aft all spars were parallel.

You will see from some of the images that there is some rigging already in place. All will become clear in my next post, which will relate to the comment made by Nerys.
I note particularly his remark of "an unlucky French cannon ball in the wrong place".
For cannon ball read "overenthusiastic use of clippers"!