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Is bigger better?

R

Rcflyer

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Oct 5, 2020
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Can builders of larger ships tell me the width of hull planks?
My first build looks good except hull and I've seen what look like wider planking
On some pictures. Tapering 5mm planks seems harder then maybe 10mm.
Is this true...is it easier to plank larger ship?
 
The u tube videos show planks wide enough for two nails ....
Maybe half inch wide?
 
Like Brian mentioned already:
Good to know the type of ship, time period or name and important the scale - otherwise it can be from X to Y
and which type of wood do you want to use? depending on this the behaviour for tapering and bending is different
And if you want to show treenails on the hull planking you have also to think about the length of the planks.
Maybe it would be good to show your project also with some photos, so we can give better advise.
Planking larger ships: I think the form of the hull (form of bow and stern etc.) has more influence on the "easier", than the size of the ship by itself.
 
and by the way a warm welcome here on board of our forum
 
To answer directly, Yes, to me, it is much easier to plank a ship that is larger and easier to build as well. This is just my humble opinion. You have more area to work with - the parts are not so tiny. However, due to the larger size, there is going to be much more attention to details than you will have. The pulleys and Blocks will need more detailed rigging as it starts to become more realistic and more scale-like. The much smaller ships can only afford a "representative" of things. A larger model ship will lend itself to more different sizes of rigging line as you can now tell the difference - however a very small scale usually only has maybe two different sizes of rigging line as you can not tell anyway from the scale being so small UNLESS you are willing to go to the extra effort to find very FINE thread type material. On larger scales, the different line sizes are readily apparent as the different sizes stand out more. So, I think the point is made. Ofcourse I am leaning towards the three-masted ship of the line types. The Viking ships of that type are only going to have perhaps two sizes of rigging line at full scale anyway and also depending as the others pointed out the era, type of ship, and country.

A half-inch wide planking strip is going to be a huge model perhaps at 1/24 or more scale which would be gigantic. On a more serious note, most all of the larger-scale ships that are about 48" long or about 1300mm, (1/90 or 1/85) the Deck Planking would be about 3/16 or about 4-5mm. The Hull planking on that same size model would be about 7 or even 8 mm or .30 inches.
These are approximate given the type and era and country of origin of the ship - this at least gets you in the ballpark of the largest ship model I know of. I am sure that I will be corrected on some of this data, but I might be close.
For instance, the Santisima Trinidad (just using for rough example) is a 1/90 scale ship. Now, the deck planking was about 1/8 inches or 3.175mm and the Hull Planking was about 5mm or almost 1/4 inches. Now, this DOES NOT make the Trinidad model "correct" as I am sure that it is not. I only used it as an example. Most all model manufacturers I am sure have constraints they work within.
 
Thanks Donnie for your detailed response. I've read that some serious builders cut planks to lengths as on actual ship, but I have not read of cutting planks to a certain width ( except to fit ). I agree with you on dealing with small stuff as my old hands not as flexible.
The little boat I'm working on looked great atfirst and I planned on not painting but some planks did not lay down flat and now I'm loosing interest.
 
I have seen some who suggest a thin plank on solid hull for learning the process.

Thin planks are a bit easier to deal with, but not realistic on real ships.

Traditional Plank of Bulkhead (POB) with two layers of planking are good for learning the dealings of laying out planks. Your first layer is heavier and mistakes in work are covered by final outer layer. But you get to learn how to plank with out mistakes being so obvious. Second layer of planks can be done with more accurate layout for the ship being built.

I have learned that planking methods varied from period to period and which part of the globe the ship was built in. Good to do some research online and see if any good plans on how plank lines were done on actual ship in real build.
 
I can't find the u tube video but man was hammering nails into ends of the planks what model would be that big that it would require a hammer and nails?
 
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