What is a fan template ?

[Rcflyer]

Can u tell me how to make one?
Ship is 1/50 scale, if that matters...
I downloaded 2 tutorials on planking....they both have one and there different...
I know what there used for (quick way to divide length by number of planks)
What I don't know is how to make one ....

 

[Gennaro]

Scale is not important. You'll need some drawing program to render lines (fan out) from a single point to equidistant points at the bottom. The number of points at the bottom depends on how many planks you want to install. See attached file for 6, 3 and 2 planks.

 

[Rcflyer]

Thanks for replying.....so the width of my plank is not a factor?

 

[Old Man258]

measure the widest part of hull to be planks and divide by 4. Now measure plank width. this gives you number of planks per section. Plank waterline first and keel second. You need to taper each plank to fit same number of planks in the middle as the ends. If you need more planks than fit the space you add fillers. Someone has a bunch of videos on how to do it.

 

[Gennaro]

Thanks for replying.....so the width of my plank is not a factor?

Actually it is. As @Old Man258 pointed out, the length on the midframe under wales needs to be divided by the plank width in order to get the number of planks. So, what is a plank width? In actual building practices, somewhere between 9" and 12" - in your scale (1:50) somewhere between 3/16" and 1/4". Take a look at Antscherl's planking primer in previous post - outstanding guide. Happy planking!