False Decks and Planking the Counter

After taking a bit of time to sand down the bulkhead bevels a bit more to clean up the rough edges, I moved on to installing the false decks (seems like an awful lot of "false" parts to this model...).  The false decks are thin strips of wood that will be used for the foundation of the deck planking, which I will eventually have to do one plank at a time...

 

Three out of the four false decks fit pretty good - I had to sand a smidge off one so it would line up properly, and one seems a little too thin (i.e., not quite wide enough to span the stern), but I can cover that up when I put down the decking.

The fourth false deck - the main deck - didn't quite fit because the keel is still a little warped.  But after a bit of sanding (maybe 1mm altogether off the edges - the warp isn't that bad), it fit smoothly.

 

 
Looking up through the eyebolt hole.

With the decks in place and after a bit of sanding on the sides to make sure they flow smoothly into the rest of the hull fairing, I began to work on the first bit of planking - the counter.  I'm not 100% sure what a counter actually is, but for the purpose of this model, it is a section on the stern.

This area should have 2 layers of planking - the first to raise it from the stern frames to be flush with the bottom piece, and then the 2nd layer covering the counter and the bottom stern piece.  Almost everything else done so far will eventually be covered by planking or decking - this 2nd layer of planking will be the first large section that will be visible on the finished model.

Because of the issue with not having the bulkhead quite down far enough, I had to add a 3rd layer underneath so that the 2nd layer would be flush with the bottom piece of the stern.  I just used some thin scrap wood I had left over from one of the other models.

With the first 2 layers glued in place, I next cut out the area where the tiller will eventually go.  I did this by drilling a number of small holes where it should go (based on the plans), and then using some files to widen and shape the hole.

 

 

 

 

Once the glue had dried on those 2 layers, I trimmed and sanded the edges to match the rest of the hull bevels (i.e., for the smooth running of the planks), procrastinated for a bit, then sat down to do the final layer.

Rather then bend the bottom plank, I decided to make the curve to match the top of the bottom stern piece by shaving off wood from a straight plank.  If that hadn't turned out, I would have soaked a strip of wood in hot water and then bent it to fit, but the shaving did turn out good so with a few drops of CA, I glued it in place.

The next plank up passes over the hole for the tiller.  I wasn't sure how to best to this (given my skills) - cut separate pieces for either side?  Put a full piece in place and then cut it out later?  Notch out a 3mm x 16mm section from a 3.2mm x 65mm strip?  Since the kit comes with extra wood (I hope!), I opted to try the last option first.  Surprisingly, I was able to notch the piece out without breaking the wood!  It's a bit smaller than I need, but a quick pass or two with a file after its glued in place will fit that.

The rest of the pieces in the counter went on with no problems; I did have to shave the top strip slightly, but that went easily.  The first and last strips used CA, but the other strips all used wood glue.

I did try darkening the edges of each plank with a pencil to simulate the caulking, but it did not turn out as good as I hoped (i.e., not really dark enough to make a noticeable difference - doesn't look bad, just not that dark).

Next is to plank the bottom section of the stern, starting with the 2 port covers, which went on with no problem.  After they dry, I'll need to trim the edges to make them a bit more square before I do the rest of the planking in that section.

 

 

Everything below the counter will eventually be painted white, so no need to try the caulking on the port covers or the rest of the stern below the counter.