HIGH HOPES, WILD MEN AND THE DEVIL’S JAW - Willem Barentsz Kolderstok 1:50

Henk Liebre said:
Checked in too late here...

Just to see if there are any pictures between the others, mouth cap on
Nice story you told here

Beautiful work Heinrich, and a very nice Dutch kit
Class work!
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Hello Henk! A big welcome to the log - it is great to have you here and thank you for the nice comments!
 
So I know that I said earlier that I am going to take a break from planking today. Well, that turned out to be a fib :). It seems that addiction is the anme of the game.

Tonight, I want to share a few things with you which will hopefully be helpful.

Tapering of Planks on the Willem Barentsz

Now we all know that hull planks need to be tapered from time to time depending on the specific build. Many of the more experienced builders are very particular about the way they taper - some say they only taper the top part and some say only the bottom part. Well, truth of the matter is that Willem Barentsz requires both.

As a rule of thumb, the tapered plank is always placed so that the tapered portion adjoins the previously straight plank. Once again, I use this picture of the wales as an example. All planks above the top wale (yellow plank) will be tapered on the bottom of the plank, while those below the lower wale (red line) will be tapered at the top.

微信图片_20211214091404.jpg

Graphically thus, it looks like this if we look at the layout of planks on the Willem Barentsz:

Verjonging - 副本.png

The second thing I want to address tonight is the "Lost Strake" or "Verloren Gang" as the Dutch so beautifully puts it.

The Lost Strake

To different builders the term "lost strake" means different things and as such they have different definitions for it. However, I will make it easy for you: Simply put, a lost strake is a plank that does not run all the way from the stern to the stem, but ends "somewhere" before that time.

lap02.gif
These are NOT lost strakes - they are simply a hull plank in sections which are all joined by butt-points and ultimately, all end up at the bow.

2nd Bow view.jpg
Looking again at @pietsan Piet Sanders's excellent build, the yellow arrow indicates a real "lost strake" while the red triangle indicates the exact point at which it ends - well short of the stem.

So why do we use them? Normally when the shear or "swayback" (thanks again @rtibbs Ron!) is too much and starts creating problems in either shaping the planks or placing them, a lost strake is used to "fill up" the shear so that the next plank can follow a more natural and straighter line. By implication, lost strakes are normally tapered and often - quite strongly.

Today, I only laid one plank - the last 6mm plank. This plank was tapered "severely" and used as a lost strake:

微信图片_20211215191837.jpg
The red lines indicate the 3rd 6mm plank that was laid down (only on the port side for now) while the yellow line indicates the exact point at which the strake ends. If you look closely towards the bow you can see clearly just how sharply I tapered that plank.

So what was the effect in practice?

微信图片_20211214235601.jpg
This was the picture I took last night with the second 6mm plank installed. Notice the gap between the yellow line and the top of the 5th plank.

微信图片_20211215191903.jpg
Now compare this picture after the last 6mm plank had been laid to the previous one. You will see that the gap is much smaller and the planking has an altogether "straighter" look at the top - all the result of the "lost strake".

Thank you all so much for following and responding. I wish you enjoy the log as much as I enjoy the build - it's a blast!
 
Kolderstok said:
One important thing to say is that the height of the bulkheads does not determine the height of the planking. Many of the visible plywood bulkheads are broken away further in the build, so this is not something to aim at while mounting planks.
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Correct, Hans.
 
Heinrich said:
So I know that I said earlier that I am going to take a break from planking today. Well, that turned out to be a fib :). It seems that addiction is the anme of the game.

Tonight, I want to share a few things with you which will hopefully be helpful.

Tapering of Planks on the Willem Barentsz

Now we all know that hull planks need to be tapered from time to time depending on the specific build. Many of the more experienced builders are very particular about the way they taper - some say they only taper the top part and some say only the bottom part. Well, truth of the matter is that Willem Barentsz requires both.

As a rule of thumb, the tapered plank is always placed so that the tapered portion adjoins the previously straight plank. Once again, I use this picture of the wales as an example. All planks above the top wale (yellow plank) will be tapered on the bottom of the plank, while those below the lower wale (red line) will be tapered at the top.

View attachment 275675

Graphically thus, it looks like this if we look at the layout of planks on the Willem Barentsz:

View attachment 275677

The second thing I want to address tonight is the "Lost Strake" or "Verloren Gang" as the Dutch so beautifully puts it.

The Lost Strake

To different builders the term "lost strake" means different things and as such they have different definitions for it. However, I will make it easy for you: Simply put, a lost strake is a plank that does not run all the way from the stern to the stem, but ends "somewhere" before that time.

View attachment 275678
These are NOT lost strakes - they are simply a hull plank in sections which are all joined by butt-points and ultimately, all end up at the bow.

View attachment 275679
Looking again at @pietsan Piet Sanders's excellent build, the yellow arrow indicates a real "lost strake" while the red triangle indicates the exact point at which it ends - well short of the stem.

So why do we use them? Normally when the shear or "swayback" (thanks again @rtibbs Ron!) is too much and starts creating problems in either shaping the planks or placing them, a lost strake is used to "fill up" the shear so that the next plank can follow a more natural and straighter line. By implication, lost strakes are normally tapered and often - quite strongly.

Today, I only laid one plank - the last 6mm plank. This plank was tapered "severely" and used as a lost strake:

View attachment 275680
The red lines indicate the 3rd 6mm plank that was laid down (only on the port side for now) while the yellow line indicates the exact point at which the strake ends. If you look closely towards the bow you can see clearly just how sharply I tapered that plank.

So what was the effect in practice?

View attachment 275681
This was the picture I took last night with the second 6mm plank installed. Notice the gap between the yellow line and the top of the 5th plank.

View attachment 275682
Now compare this picture after the last 6mm plank had been laid to the previous one. You will see that the gap is much smaller and the planking has an altogether "straighter" look at the top - all the result of the "lost strake".

Thank you all so much for following and responding. I wish you enjoy the log as much as I enjoy the build - it's a blast!
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Great explanation Heinrich. I have used the lost strake (not knowing they have a name) quite often in my hull planking efforts. I just thought of them as either fillers or course correctors when I would get offline so to speak. Interesting discussion about plank tapering. I always avoided placing two tapered edges next to each other so as to avoid a really bad looking joint line. I also cringe when it comes time to start tapering because it is such an unforgiving practice when done incorrectly (which I seem to do a lot).
 
@Daniel20 Thank you very much Daniel. You are absolutely correct - two tapered sides should never go against each other if at all possible. With two sides tapered you have no fixed and correct guide to work with as there could be human error in both. Therefore always a tapered against an untapered one. With a single-planked hull, there is, of course no room for error and no way to hide it. So, if you get the tapering wrong on a plank, discard it, grab a new plank and try again!

Looking at your VASA, you I certainly I don't see any issues with your planking - it looks great!
 
Just playing catch up, you are moving right along there Heinrich. I am really enjoying the explanations, especially the always helpful and instructive photos.
 
Hi Roger. It is great to hear from you again and hope that the recovery process is well underway. Yes. progress has been good so far - the planking above the wales on the Port Side has been completed. Now I need to do the lost strake on the Starboard side (which is a real pain in the you-know-what to shape) and then the final three planks. I am very glad if you find the log instructive and helpful!
 
Hello Everyone.

The last plank above the wales on the Port Side went on last night.

微信图片_20211217124405.jpg

And out of the clamps and just a few passes with 360 grit sandpaper.

微信图片_20211217124358.jpg

微信图片_20211217124412.jpg

Butter-smooth and glass-even. Now onto the starboard side (still 4 planks to go).

Thank you all for watching and following.
 
Some of you may have wondered why my planking looks different to that of Piet's after we basically followed the exact same steps. Let me try to explain.

Let's look at Kolderstok's Instruction Manual

微信图片_20211217203259.jpg
A completed hull. This picture is actually intended to show the position of the gunports, but it also serves as a great view of the overall model.

微信图片_20211217203252.jpg
Close-up of the planking at the bow - obviously in an unfinished state with the keel yet to be attached.

微信图片_20211217203747.jpg
And the start of the planking procedure with the first two wales placed at an angle following the demarcated lines.

Thus, when Piet started his planking, he obviously stuck to the instruction manual - never was there any intention to change Kolderstok's planking pattern or do anything different. Note though that placement of the first wales will play a critical role in everything that follows from there.

However, when Piet reached this point (after having placed the lost strake), he saw that the planks were extending too high above the balsa filler piece and therefore cut out this section to ensure a straight planking line from there on.

Bow view.jpg
Photograph: Piet Sanders.

At the point prior to me laying my "lost strake", my build looked exactly like Piet's - so I automatically assumed that I would have to do the exactly the same. Hence that was my step that I regarded with much "trepidation". When I mentioned to @pietsan Piet that I would probably also have to cut my planks, he told me to hold on and really look at my build to see whether it was necessary or not. This advice by Piet turned out to be a lifesaver. I realized by making lost strake narrower and longer, I could reduce the shear of my planks remarkably, meaning that I would have a much straighter planking line. After I placed the lost strake, I liaised with @Kolderstok Hans and he also agreed that it would not be necessary to cut any planks.

And to cut a long story short, that's what I did and why my planking is different to Piet's. I hope that makes sense to everyone :)
 
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rtibbs said:
And to cut a long story short, that's what I did and why my planking is different to Piet's. I hope that makes sense to everyone :)
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“Cut a long story short”. Pun intended Heinrich? :)
[/QUOTE]

Good one Ron! Thumbsup Only now do I realize the pun - its a relevant one, but completely unintended. :)
 
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