VOC retourschip Batavia AD 1628 built in oak

Hi Ron. This was one of the challenges during my build. I used the walnut strips as per instructions but they simply did not fit into the available space. Glad to see yours went well.
Those Obachi strips were 7,5 mm wide, so I assembled two 7,5 mm strips and one strip of about 3 mm in the middle. I was warned beforehand by your blog :D
 
Planking deck A


I decided to remove upper parts of frames 6,7 and 8 so that I could finish planking of this deck (not recommended in the Kolderstok instructions) when I planking at this position I will have to use clamping between frames 5 and 9. Maybe I wil regret my decision later :rolleyes: Bit of a ‘shell first method’ at this position.


AF557B65-31FB-49D0-8B67-32B5EDC909BF.jpeg

only between frames the maindeck 5 and 9 is completely visible. Between frames 9 and 13 this deck is only visible through the hatches on the Quarterdeck. Nevertheless I decided to plank the complete deck between frames 4 and 13.

I find the colour of Obachi a bit bleak so I treated the wood with a vinegar-steal wool solution included in the kit, supplied by Kolderstok. The resulting colour I find very satisfying. The ‘schaarstokken’ ( dont know the English words) became a shade darker.

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Because the vinegar-steal wool is solutable in water I finished the planking with mat stain.

To suggest caulking I colored the sides of each plank with a soft pencil 8 b. This gave a very subtle caulking effect not quite visible in the above picture.

The two closed hatches I will mount on top of the planking between the ‘schaarstokken’.
 
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Dear Ron

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Just bear in mind that all around the edges, a "box" has to be built on which the strengthening part (verschansing) of the bulwarks (fortuining) comes later. For this deck, I did not remove the frames (spanten) but did plank right to the edge as you did. Afterwards I had to remove those planks again - so it was double work.

Build 317.jpg
Here you can see the "Black box" I was referring to.

Then I learnt my lesson (see the picture of the forecastle deck where you can clearly see the unplanked edge where the verschansing will goes.

WeChat Image_20201023025025.jpg

Another random thought while I'm here now. Make sure that the bulwarks markings on the bulkheads are clearly visible. I marked my lines on both sides so that they could be visible from the front and back. Those lines are worth their weight in gold when it comes to planking this hull.

Now back to your deck: It looks great! The steel wool vinegar solution certainly does the trick - I was too scared to try that!
 
Dear Ron

View attachment 187177
Just bear in mind that all around the edges, a "box" has to be built on which the strengthening part (verschansing) of the bulwarks (fortuining) comes later. For this deck, I did not remove the frames (spanten) but did plank right to the edge as you did. Afterwards I had to remove those planks again - so it was double work.

View attachment 187179
Here you can see the "Black box" I was referring to.

Then I learnt my lesson (see the picture of the forecastle deck where you can clearly see the unplanked edge where the verschansing will goes.

View attachment 187178

Another random thought while I'm here now. Make sure that the bulwarks markings on the bulkheads are clearly visible. I marked my lines on both sides so that they could be visible from the front and back. Those lines are worth their weight in gold when it comes to planking this hull.

Now back to your deck: It looks great! The steel wool vinegar solution certainly does the trick - I was too scared to try that!
Dear Heinrich,

Interesting discussion!

I decided to plank the whole Maindeck because I wanted to colour the deck with the steel wool- vinegar solution. Using this is a bit tricky like you said. I tried it beforehand on a piece of balsa wood. Left i painted with dark oak stain I might want to use for the hull, right the solution and the result in minutes:


6F239500-8D5D-4A25-AB47-71B18A0320DD.jpeg

very thin and watery

93EE9EA2-228E-47BC-9D54-4E8627E9B283.jpeg
0 minutes


970F913B-4DA0-48B6-8FA9-FB925E6B8120.jpeg
2 minutes


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10 minutes

After about 10 minutes the wood will no longer darken.
Problem with this method is that you need to paint the whole surface at once and as evenly as possible. Finishing the deck planking after finishing the hull planking was not an option. The grayish colour compared to de dark oak stain I do like for the deck.
 
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That makes perfect sense, but the box that will go on top of that is painted black in any case.
 
Dear Ron

View attachment 187177
Just bear in mind that all around the edges, a "box" has to be built on which the strengthening part (verschansing) of the bulwarks (fortuining) comes later. For this deck, I did not remove the frames (spanten) but did plank right to the edge as you did. Afterwards I had to remove those planks again - so it was double work.

View attachment 187179
Here you can see the "Black box" I was referring to.

Then I learnt my lesson (see the picture of the forecastle deck where you can clearly see the unplanked edge where the verschansing will goes.

View attachment 187178

Another random thought while I'm here now. Make sure that the bulwarks markings on the bulkheads are clearly visible. I marked my lines on both sides so that they could be visible from the front and back. Those lines are worth their weight in gold when it comes to planking this hull.

Now back to your deck: It looks great! The steel wool vinegar solution certainly does the trick - I was too scared to try that!

Box around the edges of the decks


During my last visit of the Batavia I made just one clear picture of the edges of the deck. I always regret making too little ;)

189B5776-96E9-4B49-B17A-201758761B06.jpeg
You see starboard site of halfdeck and spardeck. You can clearly see the (black) box at the edges. On the halfdeck it looks asif the box is placed on top of the deck planking. I was planning to assemble the box on top of the planking.

The drawing by Kolderstok indicate this:

DC3BAAAD-0C72-4328-8594-22AA3D1BCB88.jpeg



And the drawing by Batavia’s shipwright Willem Vos indicate this:

83E91CFB-5295-4378-84E5-48943A6FEB06.jpeg
So model and replica show detail differences.
 
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Looking at the two methods, I can understand Hans (Kolderstok's) reasoning perfectly.
 
Good choice. She will not tolerate anything less that your full and undivided attention!
 
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