Spiling:
I learned to spile from Trish Levine at the Nautical Research Guild. They have developed a kit you can purchase, which I di dseveral years ago along with a tutorial on planking including how to spile, which I will hopefully spell out now. I am building this so that there will not be any steelers or drop planks.
First of all you have to measure the largest frame from the rabbit to the lower part of the whale. This will give you an idea of how many planks you will want depending on the scale and how you want it to look. you can make all the planks the same size or measure after you have decided how wide you want the garboard strake or the garboard and broad strake.
Depending on how many planks, you want to build, I chose 15 planks just under a quarter of an inch after the garboard, you can divide the area to be planked into bands, 5 planks per band in my case. I also marked each frame as to where the plank will sit. I also marked the build board with the demention of the plank at each frame. At this time I also make a chart of planking joints(jpg822,823,824,830)
To make sure there are no drop planks I've made the stern end of the planks larger to prevent this. This will make the measurement different at the stern. I decided to do this in 5 planks and then the planks over the last frame will be a smaller size which allows for less bending over the large bend of the last frame. you will have to blend this extra material in each plank forward 4 or 5 frames.
Once you have decide the number of planks and measurements and the garboard strake is installed for the first plank, take a piece of tape and lay it along the plank to cover the length of the planks per the plank chart and with a pencil rub it along the top the the preceding plank. Mark all the frames, and frame ends (jpg825). Put it on the wood to be used for the plank and follow the curve you drew on the tape. Make any adjustments to the cut curve to make sure they match (jpg826,827).
Once satisfied the two planks curves are the same measure the planks with at each frame, mark them on the tape and connect them (jpg828) and cut outside the line and then sand to the marks. Check you measurements. If you make a mistake and over sand like I do sometimes you can always make it up on the next plank if it is not too grievous.
Once the planks is made check the planks end aligns with the center of the frame (jpg833) then bend (jpg 34) and glue. Hopefully, I'm not preaching to the choir, but if you have more questions let me know.