December 2017 - Page 2 of 3 - The Clockwork Orrery Blog

Virginia 1819 build log – Part 8

Planking the hull is going slow. My procedure is to soak and clamp into place one plank on each side in the morning. Then in the evening, when the planks are dry and bent into shape, I taper them as necessary and glue them into place. This means I can complete one strake on each side per day.

In the meantime, I have been working on the deck furniture. Here is my record of assembling the companionway. In putting the frame together, it was a little tricky to make sure that each corner was 90 degrees. I saw in another build log that someone added a support, and I thought it prudent to do the same.

Virginia 1819 build log – Part 7

At last it’s time for the hull planking.

The instructions call for first marking the start of the planking 5mm under the line of the deck, then planking from that point down by securing each plank in place with the kit-supplied pins. It wants you to insert the pins part way, then clip off the heads and sand down the pins when the first layer of planking is complete. As an experiment, I tried doing this with one strake. Multiple issues were immediately evident. First, there is little flexibility to the planks. Second, if the pins are not driven all the way in, there is not enough friction to keep the plank from sliding back up the pin. Third, the sheer of the deck will be difficult to match, as that requires the plank to bend up.

Virginia 1819 build log – Part 6

With the subdeck glued in place and the glue given a day to dry, the ship is now strong enough to tolerate some rough handling. It’s time to file the edges of the bulkheads down to shape.

I was somewhat anxious about this step. The kit-supplied filler blocks at the bow made it a little easier to work in that area.

Virginia 1819 build log – Part 5

Very short log entry today. I glued the subdeck onto the bulkheads. Initially I was concerned about how I would get it lined up, but once I put the dowels for the masts in place, it was very close and only required a small adjustment to get perfectly centered.

Virginia 1819 build log – Part 4

The directions were very unclear about the precise shape of the combined pieces which will go at the stern under the transom. The directions say to file / sand a curve into the piece. In the insert on the picture below, you can see the piece as it appears on the 1:1 plans. The flat edge to the right, above the curve, measures 10mm. You can see how I tried to shape my piece to match.