School for Shipmodel Building School for model ship building

[Dave Stevens (Lumberyard)]

Building the bulwarks i am applying all 3 strakes at once to the hull starting at the bow.

NOTE: you will see in these pictures i put the bulwark planks below the wales then took the pictures. After the picture set up i went back and added the planks. when i went back to check the pictures i noticed the error in setting up the photo shots. At that point it was too late to redo the pictures because i already glued the planks to the hull.



I like to glue the ends of the planks at the bow first to avoid and movement when clamping and maker sure everything is tight and even. Once the glue is dry then i will bend the planking. The planks are bent dry no soaking the planks or using heat the Cherry bent with no problem.

 

[Dave Stevens (Lumberyard)]

You can see i applied the bulwark planking in long strips rather than chop up the planking and applying it in pieces between the gun ports. My reasoning to do this is to make sure i maintain that sheer. It is easier to sweep one continues plank along the hull than to chop it up. The gun ports are open at the top so cutting the planking to the edge of each gun port is no problem.

Thinking ahead is a big part of model ship building. Those top timbers are prone to breaking especially if you are handling the hull while you're building. By adding the outside bulwark planks, it protects the top timbers. You see the wales and the bulwark planking just runs off the stern. There is a molding that goes at the stern and we will get to that later.

 

[Dave Stevens (Lumberyard)]

This finishes the outside bulwarks except for cutting in the gun ports. The next time we meet in class there is a lot to talk about. The next step in the construction of a hull is the deck.