Chaperon 1884 Stern Wheeler

[Pathfinder65]

Definitely glue the deck to the hull first.

OOPs, I didn't do that. I used the exposed ribs to clamp on supports to hold the hull high enough so I could paint in even passes.

Found a good use for some the Admirals knick knacks. They work great for holding the deck in place while the glue dries.



The instructions label these two deck parts as 35S and 36S. The weights are needed to conform the decks to the curvature of the hull and keel.



Overall view of the starboard side.

Jan

 

[Pathfinder65]

Plan reading 101:

I decided to install the bow pieces, I have no clue as what they are called. I had a wee bit of difficulty translating what is shown on the plans



into the following.





But I think I've got it right.

My reasoning for doing this step now is to help with the planking of the deck. I'm thinking that trimming the new planks at the bow will be much easier with these pieces as a guide.

Jan

 

[Heinrich]

She is looking great Jan! That sure is one big deck!

 

[Pathfinder65]

She is looking great Jan! That sure is one big deck!

I'm working very hard at not getting ahead of myself. It's awfully tempting to start some of the sub assemblies. I've made a list of the steps I went to do next and checked the build instructions to make sure I'm not skipping over any items.

Jan

 

[Heinrich]

A bit of executed temptation is always good for the motivation. But then ... sanity should prevail.

 

[Peter Voogt]

Plan reading 101:

I decided to install the bow pieces, I have no clue as what they are called. I had a wee bit of difficulty translating what is shown on the plans

View attachment 255979

into the following.

View attachment 255980

View attachment 255981

But I think I've got it right.

My reasoning for doing this step now is to help with the planking of the deck. I'm thinking that trimming the new planks at the bow will be much easier with these pieces as a guide.

Jan

That rim looks nice and tight, Jan. In the Cyclopedium from Alan Bates it's just called the coaming.
regards, Peter

 

[Pathfinder65]

That rim looks nice and tight, Jan. In the Cyclopedium from Alan Bates it's just called the coaming.
regards, Peter

Peter, thank you for that bit of knowledge. I‘ve added that word in red on the build plan with a big circle and a smiley

Jan

 

[Barry1]

Plan reading 101:

I decided to install the bow pieces, I have no clue as what they are called. I had a wee bit of difficulty translating what is shown on the plans

View attachment 255979

into the following.

View attachment 255980

View attachment 255981

But I think I've got it right.

My reasoning for doing this step now is to help with the planking of the deck. I'm thinking that trimming the new planks at the bow will be much easier with these pieces as a guide.

Jan

Looks good. One item to consider. I’m not sure how thick the planking you plan to use will be but by adding the coaming to the original deck you may encounter the situation where the coaming no longer stands up on the deck. Something to keep an eye out for.

 

[Pathfinder65]

Looks good. One item to consider. I’m not sure how thick the planking you plan to use will be but by adding the coaming to the original deck you may encounter the situation where the coaming no longer stands up on the deck. Something to keep an eye out for.

The planking I'm adding is 1/32 X 1/8 inch. The height of the two pieces that make up the coaming is an 1/8 inch. So I don't think there will be an issue adding the planking. Plus my intention is to only plank the deck area where the kit planking is laser inscribed, pieces 36 P/S have the Boiler area that I will leave as is and pieces 35P/S have the inside of the structure that needs not be planked.




Jan

 

[Barry1]

The planking I'm adding is 1/32 X 1/8 inch. The height of the two pieces that make up the coaming is an 1/8 inch. So I don't think there will be an issue adding the planking. Plus my intention is to only plank the deck area where the kit planking is laser inscribed, pieces 36 P/S have the Boiler area that I will leave as is and pieces 35P/S have the inside of the structure that needs not be planked.

View attachment 256359


Jan

I will be using 1/32 planking as well. Doesn’t look like there is much difference from your picture. I think I am going to extend the planking to the end of the deck and just add the coaming on top. Less cutting and fitting that way. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Pathfinder65]

Planking Start:



The plank lines on the starboard side of the deck are very faint. The plan is eventually stain the deck with Minwax Light Oak. Much of the deck will not be visible once all the structures are in place. But I do want see the plank lines on the part of deck that is.

So we are working away at it.

Jan

 

[Heinrich]

That is a great start Jan. It will add huge value to the build to have real deck planks!

 

[Pathfinder65]

That is a great start Jan. It will add huge value to the build to have real deck planks!

I agree, the deck will look much better. I will be doing the same thing to the Boiler deck since the laser "etching" there is also faint on the Starboard side.

Jan

 

[Alexander74]

Jan, deck planks will really beautify your model. I completely agree with Heinrich

 

[Pathfinder65]

Jan, deck planks will really beautify your model. I completely agree with Heinrich

@Alexander74, Yes indeed the deck will look much better. My Admiral likes it, so it’s definitely a good idea

Jan

 

[Peter Voogt]

Planking Start:

View attachment 257048

The plank lines on the starboard side of the deck are very faint. The plan is eventually stain the deck with Minwax Light Oak. Much of the deck will not be visible once all the structures are in place. But I do want see the plank lines on the part of deck that is.

So we are working away at it.

Jan

Nice to see the start of the planking of the main deck, Jan.

Much of the deck will not be visible once all the structures are in place. But I do want see the plank lines on the part of deck that is.

I think you will see still a lot of the planking. Much of the structures has open spaces. In the 3D video on the main deck, behind the steam engine:

So a good decision to provide the deck with a nice planking.
Regards, Peter

 

[Pathfinder65]

@Peter Voogt, thank you for your comments, I did manage to spent a few hours in my shipyard. There are a lot more planks to go, I’m about halfway done on the Port side and in process of setting the rear structure walls in place so I have a reference for the planking mid ships and at the stern. Both the Port and Starboard deck pieces there have very very faint Laser scribed lines. The walls will help to establish the new plank lines.

I reworked the front and side walls of the coal bins ( I think that’s a good name), the scribed lines For the boards were also faint, so both of those pieces got the new plank treatment. I test fitted one to make sure I had the alignment holes right after planking over the old ones. I went with the rework on those pieces since I really don’t have the skill set yet to do the 3D version. But I’m going to scratch build the steps with railings versus the kit version.


Test fit of Port side coal bin walls.

Jan

 

[Pathfinder65]

Planking 101, Port side

Manged to get a couple of hours work done. The Port side "over-planking" is complete.



Tough to take a picture with the iPhone because of the hull length. I was worried that the 1/8 inch wide planks would overlap too much at the edge of the hull. But I was pleased to find there was very little trim work to do and that was mostly at the stern. I think the best result of the "over-planking" will be the cover up of the four joints where the deck pieces come together. Those joints stand out at the bottom (Starboard) side in the picture.

Tomorrow we start the Starboard side.

Jan

 

[Barry1]

O

Planking 101, Port side

Manged to get a couple of hours work done. The Port side "over-planking" is complete.

View attachment 257285

Tough to take a picture with the iPhone because of the hull length. I was worried that the 1/8 inch wide planks would overlap too much at the edge of the hull. But I was pleased to find there was very little trim work to do and that was mostly at the stern. I think the best result of the "over-planking" will be the cover up of the four joints where the deck pieces come together. Those joins stand out at the bottom (Starboard) side in the picture.

Tomorrow we start the Starboard side.

Jan

I agree those joints are not good nor is there a way to fully eliminate them. Nice work

 

[Pathfinder65]

Musings and thinking while the planking glue dries:

Looking ahead on the plans and deciding what steps to do next I found a couple of curiosity items.



Me thinks it would be nice to have some sort of wall here to complete the structure. If one were to squint from the bow towards the boiler, or from either side towards to stern I think the opening would be visible. Hmm --- an opportunity for a Jan touch?



Another opportunity to make a slight change. I think 1:1 scale passengers would be hard put to squeeze by this small landing to get from the Boiler deck up to the Hurricane deck.

Ok. Guys chime in and tell me what you think.

Jan