hull planking - completion
Hull planking continued on this day, the hopes was to complete it by day's end. frustrated by the pins that I was using, I took to using 7mm brass brads to secure the planks to the ribs. this enabled me to go a bit faster, rather than to do a couple rows and then wait for them to dry enough to pull the pins out. as I went along, the edges of the planks that were sticking out annoyed me. I have been wetting down the planks and wrapping them in wet paper towel, leaving them on the kitchen counter. I did this in batches, enough to do three or four rows at a time. when they were almost depleted, I set up another batch, and so on. against my better judgment, I sanded lightly along the sides to bring them down.
At one point, I could hear the scrapping of the sandpaper on the brads, so I pulled the offending brads out.....which gave me an idea. I would have to putty anyways, so.... why not just pull all the brads out. I played a bit of "catch - up", but I managed to pull almost all of them out. a few were embedded into the planks and I didn't try to take them out......they probably wouldn't be a bother anyways.
I was still dissatisfied with the way the planking was going. the sanding that I had done made some improvement......and I thought about how the Nordkap looked before and after. I shook it off as being my own worst critic and continued on.....it could only get better, right? soon I was nearing the keel, four or five more rows to go. I can tell you this....I stink at sterns.
the staggered butt joints that was illustrated in the instructions, I carried it all through the rest of the task, until I got within a couple rows of the keel rabbit. I mentioned that I had done some sanding to the bulwark wall joints. I had done the starboard side bow joint first.....it was still bugging me, so I did the port side bow joint. this side came out better that the starboard side, having more of the desired slope that it should have.
I needed to put it down for a moment, so the planking that i had done could dry. the hull was complete enough, so I took the finished cradle for the Nordkap and set the Cux on it.....perfect fit!
one might be able to see the uneven slope of the starboard side bow joint in this picture.....I hadn't touched the port side as of yet. but, when I did, I saw it right away.....a little more sanding will correct that. I still have to do the stern joints at this point. soon I was finished.....
I have applied putty to some of the deeper cracks and to the stern. it was kind of a let - down how the stern came out, but i think of the Nordkap and how it wasn't that hard to correct the mistake I had made on it. I feel confident that i can correct this as well. I must leave you for now.....I have to contend with a wife who's a little miffed at me for having such a dusty looking desk. *note to self*.....never listen to the guy that sits on my right shoulder....
