Norwegian Sailing Pram - (Modelshipways)

RodneyB

RodneyB

Joined
Dec 31, 2019
Messages
121
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Location
Sterling, VA
So I decided to take a break from my Bluenose II project and have a little fun, so I ordered the Norwegian Sailing Pram. It's a nice little kit with what appears to be excellent instructions. It just came in a few days ago, so I'm eager to get started.

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Here's what's inside.
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So I made a little progress this morning followed by a little disappointment. I completed the stem and stern transoms and was fairly pleased with the results. After fitting them in the Transom supports on the base and attempting to bend the first piece of planking, the stern transom support snapped. At first I figured I applied too much pressure, but when I looked at the pieces, I saw they ran the thinnest part of the support along the grain. That's about as weak as you can make something. So I've glued that back together and then I'm going to glue some supports running along it to provide some support. In my opinion, this was a design flaw in the kit as they know the transom support is going to receive a good bit of pressure. No worries, it can be fixed. Just a minor bump.

Anyway, here's today's progress.

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This is one sound, which we all hate when we hear it !!!
"Snapp" - immediately you know, that you did something wrong...... o_O
 
Even though this is a very small model, progress is slow, bending the wood and letting it dry, then gluing the various pieces and letting them dry, but I am making some good progress after my initial setback. Tomorrow is on to the garboards after a little sanding.

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JohnR said:
Enjoying watching your progress. I had a good time with this kit as well.
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This is very enjoyable. the advantage is you can see significant progress very quickly, not to mention it's great fun and nice looking when it's done. Also my wife doesn't complain as much about where a small boat will go.
 
I've made a good bit of progress this week. The basic hull is complete. There are a few minor issues, but overall it came out fairly well.

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While waiting for the hull to dry I shaped the rudder, and one of the oars. I think the oar came out very nice. The rudder can still use a little work.

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Now it's on to the internal structures.
 
I've run into a problem and I'm not really sure how to fix it. Actually you can see it in one of the photos above. I didn't actually notice this until I was putting on the inwales. But the top plank is slightly deformed, I assume from the rubber band when I was bending it. But it slightly bowed the top plank. Any ideas on how to fix this?

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If it is just the top plank you can try using a paint brush to apply water to the outside of the plank. Then gently press it into shape from the inside while using a hairdryer to dry it off.
 
As John R said, wet and use some scrap pieces as mold with braces from inside may help get the curve back as it should.

Another thought is use stiffer rib on outside and clamp to it, if the stiff rib holds proper curve.

Wet and dry with high heat in few minutes and it should hold reasonably well.

I have several of these small kits, mostly from Midwest Products. They have discontinued there ship kit line so all are older or used have built kits I find on Evil Bay.
 
Kurt Konrath said:
As John R said, wet and use some scrap pieces as mold with braces from inside may help get the curve back as it should.

Another thought is use stiffer rib on outside and clamp to it, if the stiff rib holds proper curve.

Wet and dry with high heat in few minutes and it should hold reasonably well.

I have several of these small kits, mostly from Midwest Products. They have discontinued there ship kit line so all are older or used have built kits I find on Evil Bay.
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Overall the clinker planking makes it look like a fun little boat to sail. I'm sure that the deformed top plank can be straightened back out with a little moisture and maybe a light touch of heat to further help soften the fibers. Rich (PT-2)
 
PT-2 said:
Overall the clinker planking makes it look like a fun little boat to sail. I'm sure that the deformed top plank can be straightened back out with a little moisture and maybe a light touch of heat to further help soften the fibers. Rich (PT-2)
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Thanks, I'll give that a try.
 
I've made great progress. The dagger board case is in. The bottom frames, quarter knees, inwales and thwart frames are all complete. I've also cut down and shaped the transom. It's taken a few days, but to be honest, I spent most of the time waiting for glue to dry. Overall, I'm fairly pleased.

Rather than post individual photos, I'll just post this latest one with everything in place.

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RodneyB said:
I've made great progress. The dagger board case is in. The bottom frames, quarter knees, inwales and thwart frames are all complete. I've also cut down and shaped the transom. It's taken a few days, but to be honest, I spent most of the time waiting for glue to dry. Overall, I'm fairly pleased.

Rather than post individual photos, I'll just post this latest one with everything in place.

View attachment 271137
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This looks very well built and in place. Rich (PT-2)
 
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