Enterprise Maryland 1799 1:51 [COMPLETED BUILD]

[Rowboat]

Finished the 1st hull planking (below deck only).
I must say it was a challenge.
Trying to get everything to fit involved some scraping, cutting and sawing .
Pieces broke, snapped and overall were a pain.
Things did not line up as neatly as I had planned but eventually every plank was glued on.

Here's the view from the bottom.


Port side...


... and starboard side ....

 

[Rowboat]

Here's some pics of my "issues" ... also I ran out of brass nails so substituted some other nails.


5th plank from the bottom (below) I had to wedge in a piece.
That one will need some xtra sanding.



another look at it.


At the bow some "hacking" was necessary.
A couple of wedge pieces were needed to fill in the gaps.



Some wood split at the nail heads, also the hull needed more "fairing" as the planks don't line up neatly.




more pics .... showing what I was dealing with.





The next step is to fill-in and sand the first planking.
I have some wood putty that I'm thinking of using.
It can be spread on fairly easy and is sandable (there is some wood putty that is non-sandable).

Anyone have issues using wood putty?

 

[Rowboat]

lessons I learned.
Spend more time "fairing" the hull in the beginning.
When putting on the planks if the bulkheads at the stem or bow are causing the planks to snap or crack, then sand and fair that section of the bulkhead more.
I noticed two areas where I should have rounded the bulkheads more, the curve was to sharp and the planks cracked and snapped.

 

[Jimsky]

Greetings, Rowboat. Yes, you have learned the lesson, unfortunately, the hard way... For the next model, spend a decent time fairing the bulkheads. This is critical! Also, in the bow and transom sections, you may consider using wood blocks as the fillers. I use balsa wood as it easy to shape and it is relatively cheap. Take a look at the attached file.
Now back to your build, Yes wood filler can be used for sure. But... Take a look at your imperfections first. It may be well worth to use pieces of scrap wood to feel the gaps or deep surfaces. The rule is simple: Do not put too much spackle (filler) and on large-area surfaces. I am using Elmer's wood filler, it dries fast and sands really smooth, also stainable (if needed). Another way to feel the cracks is to dissolve sanding dust in PVA (white glue) to a paste and use it like putty. Great results from my own experience.

Hope this helps

 

[Rowboat]

Thanks for the advice, Jimsky.
I actually have already read that attachment and did build stern and bow fillers.
Used that technique described, albeit not as well.
The issues were the two bulkheads next to the fillers were not "faired" correctly, that's where I encountered breaking and snapping of the planks.

I have now used wood filler on the entire hull and started the sanding process.
At this time I am glad the planks are 2mm thick, as this allows me to be slightly aggressive with the sanding.
The hull is coming along nicely now.
I'll throw up some pics soon.

 

[Rowboat]

The wood filler I'm using is from Minwax.
Goes on smooth enough and sands easily, though I used an electric hand sander.
Here's pics of the filler on the model, pretty much just smeared it everywhere.

 

[Rowboat]

.... and here is the after sanding pics ....

 

[Rowboat]

Not done with the sanding, waiting to complete the next hull sections.
I'm happy with how it has smoothed out.

Following along in the manual I started working on some trim and housing stuff.
Did not glue on the housing yet.

 

[Pathfinder65]

You’re making good progress.

Jan

 

[Rowboat]

Thanks Pathfinder65.

I'm about to start planking the hull area above the deck. It's not clear to me how the planks come together at the Stem.
Do the planks stop short of meeting at the stem, leaving room to fit the Stem piece or do they meet forming a "V" and i fit the Stem over them.

If they meet forming a "V" then the planks would need to fit over the front of the main keel. I would have to fair that top front piece of the main keel otherwise the planks would buldge out .

Apologies if i'm not clear. I writing what i'm thinking after a day of wine tasting.
I'll study up some more.

Also, i've managed to read through page 10 of your build and your notes are helpful. You packed alot of info in your log.

My log seems to be more ramblings than info .

 

[Pathfinder65]

I'm about to start planking the hull area above the deck. It's not clear to me how the planks come together at the Stem.
Do the planks stop short of meeting at the stem, leaving room to fit the Stem piece or do they meet forming a "V" and i fit the Stem over them.

If they meet forming a "V" then the planks would need to fit over the front of the main keel. I would have to fair that top front piece of the main keel otherwise the planks would buldge out .

The planks should form a "V". I fixed a sets of temporary blocks (3/4 X 3/4", three on the Port side and an equal number on the Starboard side) to the deck to help hold the planks vertically, you'll find that without some support they will try to bow outward and distort the hull. I placed a copy of the deck plan on the deck and spotted the small blocks where the gun carriages will eventually be fixed.

I invented as I build. I think sometimes I spent more time thinking about "how to" than actually doing a build part.

Jan

 

[Rowboat]

Good morning from central California, just waking up .
Here's the latest .

I am still confused on how the first above deck plank should fit at the bow.

Here is the current state of my bow.






Using some test wood pieces I took these pics of how it would look using the "V" shape connection.
This method has the planks go around the main keel stem.


... and here's how the Stem would look if attached... I know the Stem is not correctly placed just showing it this way to show my confusion.


Here's the look if I don't attach the two planks at a "V" but just cut them short to leave room for the Stem.


... and showing the Stem ... .... fitting between the planks.

So, is my bow construction incorrect?
Am I not understanding how the Stem should attach?
Are my fingers to big in the pictures ... Is it time to Firethis thing?

This issue comes from my lack of knowledge on how these all go together.

I am still reading up on this so don't give up on me just yet.

Each model builder has their point(s) in the build where they question how pieces fit together.
Surely we don't all have the same points of contention.
I assume some novice builders have no problems with the "first plank above deck" fitting, unlike me .. but ..there issue is elsewhere.
Just got me thinking, where was your contention point?

 

[Pathfinder65]

Maybe these will help.

Jan

 

[Pathfinder65]

A couple more pics.

Jan

 

[Rowboat]

@Pathfinder65

Thanks for pics.
Looks like l’ll cut the planks short of meeting so there is room for the Stem.
From your pics, that’s how it looks for the first planking.
The second planking seems to be where I need to build the “V” shape.
This will be the easiest way to handle the attachment.

For better or worse i’ll try to attach the first two planks (cross fingers for good luck).

 

[Rowboat]

I just noticed that the emblem with the bird, under my picture on the right has changed.
It was 3 slashes, now I have my first reversed carrot shaped emblem!

Awesome, it’s the little things in life that make us happy

 

[Rowboat]

The kit I have is missing some material.
There are not enough 2mm X 6mm sapelli strips.
I bought some walnut to replace the missing wood, I wanted a dark wood.
Currently having to mill my own strips. I’ll use these for the inside part of the upper decking. Not sure how it will look.
Using my mini 4 inch table saw and it’s having a tough time with the walnut.

I’ll also have to cut the walnut to make the gunports. I’ll Make some tests cuts with the exacto knife to see if it even can cut.

 

[Rowboat]

Laying the first above deck hull plank.




using these screw pins only works if the wood is strong enough, otherwise it splits.
Since I'm going through the 2mm wood of the hull plank, it works for the first above deck plank.
After that I'll need another method.



Since I don't have enough of the sepelli wood I will use wallnut for the interior hull planking.


Milling the walnut down to 2mm X 6mm






Next post will be attaching those walnut planks.

 

[Rowboat]

Before adding the interior planks I need to cut the scuppers, here's how I went about it...

I based the scupper(s) positions from the main mast post.
Measured the distance from the scupper by the main mast, as shown on the blueprints.



Measuring from the main mast scupper end, going left to the next starting scupper.


Then doing the same only going right.


Transferred the distances to the model and marked in pencil.


In the following pic you should be able to see the straight line going through the Main Mast circle mark, the main mast scupper marked in pencil , and then a scupper being marked to the left of the main mast.


After marking the cutting begins. I bought this fine tooth saw at the local hobby shop ( I try to support them when possible) for about 12 bucks.
The digital caliper came from Harbor Freight for about the same price.


I made a number of cuts in the planking and then cut and chiseled out the scupper.



The end result...



Next is to install the interior walnut planks and cut the scuppers.....

 

[Rowboat]

Cut the upper part of the scuppers for the interior planks.


Attaching to the model.




Continue with the planking, basically glue on an interior plank then an exterior plank.
This goes on till 4 interior planks have been glued on.


I did have a concern on how the planks attach at the stem.
Should they be cut short to allow for the Stem or meet to form a "V" shape at the bow.
I decided to go with both ways. The first plank (deck level) I cut to allow inserting the Stem.
Above that I joined the planks in a "V" .
My thinking is that the high point where the Stem attaches to the bow will not go higher than the first plank.
Not sure if I'm right but that's the decision I made.