Chapter 2:
July 19th, the beginning of the first layer of hull planking. As a newbie to shipbuilding, I can affirm that at first I was curious as to why two layers of hull planking were necessary. Having at this point completed both layers, I can attest that one layer would have been an umitigated disaster for me. I floundered a bit, wondering which method of planking I should use, given that I ran into several methods via the youtube, internet and ship model building books I've purchased. Ultimately, I chose a hybrid, based on slight variations of what seemed the easiest methods.
Fellow newbies: it ain't too hard to get the planking to lay flat and true. The biggest problems I had were the "sponginess" of these half-milimeter thick planks which really bothered me. It seemed mighty fragile with nothing to support the planks in between bulkheads. I tried stiffening up the wobbles with an inordinate amount of wood filler (regretful in hindsight) and lots of sanding, and I even thought that a coat of paint would help firm up the hull in anticipation of the final layer.
The cutting and fitting of the first layer planking went fine, but I do recommend patience and very sharp cutting blades, along with bright lighting, sharp pencils, and a metal rule that has a non-slip backing (the very fine cuts require preciseness and a ruler that won't slip out of place on you halfway throught the cut!).
