Preface: I built Cheerful starting in 2020, so much of what it required was totally new to me and ultimately led to my build of Winchelsea. It was a fairly popular log at the time, I was told through lost comments and messages the techniques were helpful for Cheerful builders and other models as well. While the comments, including mine, are lost I did create and keep the log in Apple Notes and the photos separately in Lightroom, having learned from logs I lost forever in 2013.

I'm reposting the original log. I’m going to post it just as it was then, resisting any urge for edits based on what I know now or what I would have done different.

Post 1

After much research I am ready to build Chuck Passaro’s Revenue Cutter Cheerful 1806. And so it begins...

After completing nine kits over the years I am making my first attempt at scratch building. Well, I say scratch building but Chuck’s Cheerful plans, starter kit, wood package, and sub-assemblies along with his instructions and always gracious guidance make it a much easier transition.

While I’m a decent kit modeler I’m hesitant to post a build log for Cheerful. There are several outstanding logs already on MSW, some from builders I’ve admired, some I’ve just discovered in searching Cheerful, and of course the master himself, Chuck. I don’t know how I can add anything to what they’ve already done. They do say however every model is unique, I’m pretty sure I’ll prove that...

One thing is for sure, I’m going to learn a lot along the way. A good reason for a build log is having the council and support of the MSW community. I’m going to build it to the best of my ability, and I’m certain at the end of the build my ability will be a bit better than when I started. I’ll ask questions and share how I do things, hoping there is something useful for the next builder. I’d like to think my log will be a Cheerful read and not a Surly one (see what I did there…).

For proper motivation I ordered a copy of the British NMM plan for Cheerful. I plan to hang it in my shop (next to the NMM plan of Pegasus) once frame shops are open again, whenever that is (Covid shut down for future readers). These plans are wonderful to look at - the fact these drawings turned into a ship and stood the test of time to become today’s model … very cool.

We custom built our house, from the very first meeting with the architect I had the intent to include a room for my model building. He didn’t quite get it initially, but the final blueprint has the notation “Ship Room.” We don’t have basements here in Texas due to the soil condition, so it’s fitted into the house architecture tucked away on the lower of the three levels. The upside is it’s a nice sized room for building, the down side is there isn’t a lot of room for machinery, which I don’t have any way other than the Byrnes saw and sander, so Cheerful, hand tools it is. The tub on the back right is loaded with my Cheerful collection of wood, sub-assemblies, blocks, and rope - ready to become a ship.

The first thing was to print off Chuck’s instructions from the website and have them bound in a spiral notebook, something that will always be by my side along with my iPad to cross check what I’m doing with other build logs, So thanks in advance for the good ideas and experiences I’ll find and happily steal, I mean learn, from.

Next I laid out the frame and keel parts from the starter package and thought wow, there are a lot of bulkheads, and felt just a touch better about my first attempt at single planking. Then I remembered fairing and thought, wow, there are a lot of bulkheads…

The starter package didn’t include the rabbit strip (as Chuck says, welcome to scratch building). For some reason I had the perfect 1/8 x 1/16  holly strip in my stock, one of the few remaining bits I had from our retired friend Jeff of HobbyMill fame. Then I wasted no time in stealing a good idea, so from BE’s log I used the waste from the hull billet to shape the rabbit strip at the bow, making it easier to install.

With the two hull parts joined I glued on the rabbit strip. First lesson: I’ve always used Admiralty White PVA glue but thought I’d glue this frame with Tite Bond yellow wood glue. All well and good but it sets up Fast!  I pre-positioned my rubber bands but I had to move way too fast to center the strip. I have some brass gauges, the 1/16th size allowed me to quickly run the edges to get it centered. I got it done, but the white PVA would have given me more time. Maybe limit trying new things...

Next up, the bearding line, the keel and stem...

Cheerful is definitely on my radar of Syren kits to build. Looking forward to seeing your log posted again.

JJ

Post 2 - Prepping the stem and keel

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I’ve cut a lot of bearding lines but never so easily as I did this time.  On the recommendation of another MSWer as part of a discussion about using square stock for masts I ordered this IBEX flat finger plane. It is pricy but well worth it. I’ve tried planes in the past with no luck other than gouging up wood, but this small little tool made short work of creating the bearding line.

I never toss stands from past models, this one I made for Vanguard is a perfect fit, so yay.

I followed the stern reference mark on one side of the hull and with tracing paper transferred it to the other side. The plane slides easily to make the taper down to the rabbit strip. Maybe too easy. I may have gotten a little too much angle. I’m thinking that will be ok…won’t it…I can’t put it back on….

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I removed the stem pieces from the billet and initially was a little disappointed. I have no experience with Alaska Yellow Cedar. I did some test some WOP on billet scrap and wasn’t seeing it. But I knew there was beautiful wood there somewhere - and there was. There is a Lot of char to remove and sanding to do, a lot of work with 220 and 320 grade sandpaper since I didn’t want to risk taking too much or alter the shape of the stem pieces.

After a considerable amount of work (not complaining, I’m not on a schedule) there it was - the Alaskan Cedar is very different from anything I’ve seen, including boxwood, it is very nice. Definitely lighter color than boxwood, it feels almost like a piece of ivory when sanded smooth. I’m looking forward to working more with it as the ship progresses.

I followed Chuck’s on practicum by adding the simulated tree nails using a #76 bit, #2 pencil and natural wood filler, I simulated caulking between the joints of the stem also with the pencil. I have some charcoal pencils I’ve used in the past but I think subtlety here is the name of the game, a little pencil goes a long way.

One practice I’ve followed for every model I’ve built is to address the eventual mounting for display very early, no different for Cheerful. I already have the mounting board, I’ll figure out the pedestals later, the ones shown may not work. However this was a great time to drill the holes through the keel. I use these machine screws, long enough for the board, pedestals, and to go past the keel into the frame, I epoxy them in eventually, no nut needed (other than the builder).

All I needed to do now is drill the holes in the keel, once its securely mounted to the frame I’ll extend the depth of the holes an inch or more into the frame. Then years from now when I finally finish this epic build it will be simple to complete the display mount. A lot easier than trying to turn over a completed ship. I like my models firmly secured to a display board and if I change my mind the holes aren’t going to show…

Two quick posts to get started, they may come bit slower from here.

Now on to mounting the stem and installing the bulkheads.

Post 3 - Mounting the Stem and installing bulkheads

It’s fun to glue the stem and keel onto a bearing strip half its width. Keep it all centered and well-bound. It will all be fine once some planks get attached, but that’s a long way off.

First rule of modeling, when you think you have enough clamps, go by more clamps. I’ve had these, and more of them, for a long time. The rubber bands though are new, the idea borrowed from another MSW builder. They are much more handy than I would have guessed into adding support.

I have all the MDF waste from prior models, the Vanguard was a good source of quality waste. I have and use all sorts of sizes I cut for various jigs. In this case they came in handy by ensuring the keel was glued exactly center down the frame by placing then clamping them along the sides - the various MDF sizes are just what I around that fit. The rubber bands give me more room to use clamps both for the centering and the holding down.

Was it too early to glue on the stern post and rudder, seems like it’s too soon. Just kidding, both the sternpost and rudder are already put away for much later. It was nice to see how well designed the ship is, and a little positive affirmation that I got it on right - such a nice fit and look. I lightly sanded the keel and stem and made sure the bearding line was clear of glue.

I now have the mounting holes 1 inch into the frame past the keel. An important step to make sure some future day the model doesn’t snap off at the keel when pushed or pulled by a small grandchild. Now I can put the screws away forget about this for about a year…

The 2nd coat of WOP and the frame is now ready to install bulkheads. I’m sure there is a very good reason for the out of sequence numbers aft and letters forward of those bulkheads. Doesn’t matter I just follow the plan and the clear direction to ensure the reference lines face the correct way.

It’s my understanding  it doesn’t matter which way the + bulkhead faces. I hope that’s true because I started with it and right now the glue is drying…

I will install bulkheads 1 to 2 at a time triple checking each is square…and facing the right direction. So I’ll be back later with more excessive detail.

Thanks for the comments, likes, and follows. It’s always nice to know someone is watching. I did my last build log (and it will be my last build log there) on that other site, it was like writing a letter to myself, in an empty room, where even the crickets were quiet, or maybe dead…

Post 4

Framed, taped, and ready for fairing to begin. I only had to make a few adjustments on bulkhead 8 otherwise everything dropped right in and easily squared up. I used my mini-squares and worked from bulkhead [+] in both directions, that gave me room to clamp the mini-square as I went.

These little squares have been one of my best buys. They come in handy a lot throughout a build.

The bow and port fillers fit without adjustment, a testament to the design, but another of those positive affirmation things that let me know I’m doing ok so far.

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Now, unless I can outsource, the fun of fairing begins. First I moved to a stand that allows me to safely hold it upside down. I opt for function over form. I’m not a woodworker and just use what I have available, in this case adapting the fairing stand I had for Vanguard (why it’s oddly long). Furniture anti-slip pads on the bottom, some felt on top, sized to fit deck and high enough protect the extensions and the stem. Nothing fancy and about an hour’s work. So yay.

I know from Chuck to use the laser burn as a guide keeping the edge closest to mid-ships brown until the very end. Then finish it off. This will keep me from removing to much wood and/or losing the proper shape of the hull. We’ll see how that goes…

Now to do a google search for model ship fairing outsourcing...

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Post 5

Now interesting stuff starts to happen, or interesting for me anyway.

Failing to find an outsourcer, (I didn’t really look, I instead did my isometric exercises Sand On, Sand Off) I spent a couple of days sanding to get to this point. I concluded it was time to stop and get the ports in before I sanded away the bulkhead extensions.

Lining up the ports is so much more easy thanks to the reference lines Chuck provides on the starter kit bulkheads. I’m not sure I’d started this project if I had to cut them out myself, where’s the fun. I was prepared to make micro adjustments by measuring and doing the look test but frankly it was near spot on just with tacking the batton to the reference lines, though I still measured and looked to be sure.

I later met with near disaster when I started the starboard side. The hard part of this task is getting the pushpins to stay in the bulkhead extension, I pushed a little hard and snap.:-/ I pinned it back with an inserted brass rod and splinted it up. It’s not so pretty now, but it will be covered up soon enough. I should know how to avoid this mistake, stupid pushpin, and I was even pre-drilling the holes…Oh well, I’ll be sure to check the fairing closely, though I accounted for that as I repaired it as much as I could.

Modelers don’t panic, we adapt, overcome, and improvise - Clint Eastwood  in Heartbreak Ridge would approve.

I started doing testing what color red I am going to use. I’ve always used Admiralty Paints but their only red - Ensign Red - just wasn’t red enough and Cheerful has to be red, right.  To be clear, I really like red with this ship. I settled on Golden Cadium. Go Red or Go Home. I’ve since tested it on a piece of Yellow Cedar thinned down and multiple coats (7 so far).

As I installed the lower port sill I made sure they were level with the hull, my many variations of little levels make this easy. I was working from outside in so I could have room for the clamps. There is a little fun beveling to get the outer ones to fit the shape of the hull, just a little bit.

I went ahead and thinned down the bow port filler to about 1/8 with my Dremel after reading ahead in Chuck’s practicum, then cut the ports. One of my many uses of left over MDF from past kits in this case is making port sizers. So yay, the chase port is a square smooth 17/32 like it’s suppose to be. I’m still having trouble adapting to imperial measurements. I’ll say it again, metric just makes so much more sense to me. Why is the US still stuck…he said rhetorically.

Here is where I as a kit builder knew I wasn’t in Kansas anymore. The sides of the gun ports call for multiple, seven to be precise, different sizes to match up to the plan location and size for the ports between the bulkheads. This I where kits wouldn’t go, they’d be limited to a few sizes of stock wood, and of course the famous gun port patterns. It took me a second to wrap my head around the fact I was no longer limited by what stock wood is included in a typical kit.

I purchased the wood package from Chuck, this lovely bundle of Alaskan Yellow Cedar billets comes in multiple sizes, six of the seven needed were in the package. I used my Byrnes saw to rip ¼ inch widths of 1/32, 1/16. 3/32, 5/16, 1/8, 5/16 (all in the package). For the last one I just took one a piece of the ¼ square piece I’d already ripped for the port sill and cut it to the called for 7/16. See how I did all that imperial thing there…

I will say once again the best tool I ever bought for model building is my Byrnes saw. Now, with a little help from Chuck, Rusty, and Jim Byrnes, that I know how to properly rip a plank with the proper blade I’m cutting and ripping whatever I need with joy in my heart and fingers still on my hands. If you don’t own a Byrnes saw, buy one. You’ll never regret it. (Though I learned he’s on Covid hold until the end of June for new orders waiting for his supplier to deliver 120v engines).

I made a longer gunport checker for the gun ports, which I will also use to make sure they are lined up with the other side. I also use it to double check the two side pieces will create the called for 7/32 opening. That whole measure twice cut once thing. I also determined I didn’t need the pieces quite this tall…

So here she is with the port side ported and faired. The batten lays smoothly top to bottom. Now that I’ve splinted my broken bulkhead extension work can begin on the starboard side.

Comments and feedback welcome. It will be a day or two before I can get back at it again. I still have to process my granddaughter’s 7th birthday portraits as part of my other photography hobby.

As I glance at text written six years ago I recognize how much I've learned since. Nonetheless I'm not going to edit it now so continuing on with repost 6 and 7 (I recommend everyone keep a backup copy of text, Apple Notes is a quick and easy tool for creating and backing up text just as Lightroom (for photographers) or iPhoto a great tool for cataloging photos. These tools are the only reason I can recreate the log):

Post 6

While I still have fine tuning to do, I’ve completed the ports and fairing on both sides. The second side went in easier since I had a little experience, I’d also cut some of the pieces by duplicating the fit on the port side before I installed them, making finding the size and angles easier on the stern ports. In the foreground are the various sized wood I ripped to make the ports - I’m sure the remainder will come in handy later.

You can see I’ve added some ugly reinforcement between bulkheads without ports. I took this from Rusty’s log sort of, his were much neater. I used 1/16 and put them close to the outside after fairing. I’m anticipating some challenging sanding on the inward side later, these are more preparation for that. Of course they’ll be covered by planking and if the get in the way they’ll be easy to remove. So I sacrificed form for function, there went my pretty faired ship.

A lot of doing the second side is keeping it equal in all ways to the first side, my little port leveler made sure I had the ports aligned and the sills on opposing sides level with each other. I even measured the width of the remaining bulkheads at the stern and bow so I don’t end up with a lopsided ship. I may still end up that way, but this helps reduce my chances. Everything measured up fine, once again a testament to the design. I am taking it very slow and careful with this frame - hopefully that pays off later.

My other consistency jig was my “port sizer” I had the wood gauges to use as I was building - my last step was take a square jig - reduced in size just enough so it was 17/32 including the 320 grit sandpaper wrap.  While I was close for the most part, using this little tool to run through settled all my ports to be consistent in size, including the chase ports up front where it really came in handy.

My tool of choice for cutting the chase ports was my Razor Saw. As Chuck advised, I cut inside the line and short of the bottom, used my #11 blade to clear and my port sizer to size after first using some sanding sticks to get it close.  I measured the port side to the plans, I was more focused on matching the starboard to the port - remarkably they came out the same. How’d that happen - oh I measured a lot.

I will confess I was working in millimeters. I’m trying to be a good imperial boy, but I fall back to the MM ruler every time I need to measure something close. I’m still trying to get my head around 7/32 numerators /denominator measuring.

I know some have opted to line the chase port with wood, I have elected not to do so, though I thought about it. The wood to me is so smooth and the cut square I’m ok painting it as it is.

Speaking of which, here is my earlier mentioned choice of Golden Cadium, I’m nine coats in on a piece of yellow cedar. It’s not quite as bright as this photo, but it is very red and I’m ok with that. I decided 7 coats was the right number, don’t ask me why cause I don’t know.

Finally, here is my collection of various tools and sanders I used for this stage of the build. The flexible 3M holder was used for the heavy lifting. It has velcro face and matching sandpaper, I used 80, 120, and 220 with it. The yellow handle has the same velcro connector, I used it for tighter quarters and fine tuning. The sanding sticks, 120, 220, and 320 grit for even more fine tuning and opening the ports. I also went back to my Admiralty White PVA glue, the Titebond wasn’t working for me, too little time to adjust.

I discovered these Vallorbe Barrette files on Derek’s Speedy build log. They are really great. They file only on one side, I have them in coarse and medium. I’ve always had an issue with a standard flat file since it files on the side edge as well. These eliminate that issue, important when you’re trying to square something up, like a port. I also prefer the triangular file for corners as opposed to the square one for the same reason, I can file the side I want with out impacting the other and the point of the triangle cuts a nice corner. I have so many versions of needle files, they are now tossed in a drawer. I got a full set these Swiss Vallorbe files based on Derek’s recommendation, they are sharp and cut evenly. I also now highly recommend them. There is my file lesson for the day.

So I feel a stern is coming, see what I did there. Uh Oh, more new ground. Here I can ponder such questions as why is a square tuck a triangle shape. I won’t get ahead of myself. First I have to attach and fair some stern brackets without breaking anything.

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Post 7

I did a little side project, putting together the winch sub-assembly from Chuck’s https://www.syrenshipmodelcompany.com site. This is one of several I have as part of my Cheerful semi-scratch build. This model with the plans, starter kit, monograph, and these sub-assemblies make entry into scratch building so much easier an experience.

The winch comes in a little baggy of finely lasered parts, mine is in boxwood. I printed the simple to follow instructions from the website and commenced to sand and file away.

The instructions say to bevel the many panels (5 barrels and obviously 8 to each barrel) so that only a brown edge is showing. Not surprisingly my last one was better than the first. The big key is when the instructions say only a little edge is showing, it means a very little tiny barely visible bit of brown edge.

With everything assembled, it’s time to paint using the Golden Cadium Red I’ve selected for the model. This is in a bottle not a tube, but I still mixed it at about 3 parts paint to one part water. This gives it an almost ‘red water’ consistency. I found 3 coats were enough to make me happy. I painted a scrap piece and after 3 it started looking a little too thick.

I use Admiralty Paint Ironwood Black for the components that are, well, wood meant to look like iron, (so that’s how they got the name…) on a real winch. This is great paint, it took only one coat, any more and it will look more like paint and less like metal.

Because I’m using very thin paint I did have to remove all the laser char otherwise it would show through. That was a bit challenging with the end pieces.

I’m a big fan of 400 grit sandpaper, I use it to soften everything to make it feel “warmer” and “worn.” With 400 grit as opposed to even 320 there is no danger of losing shape or too much material.  I also did a little shaping at the top, not too much, its a winch…

My hemostats come in handy to hold things while I’m painting, easy here since I could use 1/16th stick to hold them.

The final dry-fit. It’s really not shiny, just the bright light and my iPhone thinking too much.

The final step is glue it all together, snip off the rod running through it and add the red caps to the ends. I’m not going to do that until I’m ready to mount it on the ship - a long long time from now - just in case any adjustments are needed on the fit to the deck. So off it all goes to join  the rudder and sternpost on a cabinet shelf I keep free of every thing but future parts of the ship. I’m sure a few cannon will find their way to that shelf before they’re ready to mount. I like little projects like this to break up the build process.

So now back to the hull.

Post 8

-To this day the single most devastating event in my modeling career-

It’s been a while. So, here’s what happened:

I reached the point where I had started on the stern when disaster struck, every modeler’s worst fear. My hull was knocked to the floor and didn’t just break, it shattered. I think it actually bounced but everything is foggy now. The hull broke in half, multiple BH extensions, one of the Z stern frames and installed ports broke off and the stem shredded. It was hopeless. I just sat there on the floor holding my wreck.

So - with nothing else left to do I ordered a new frame set and started all over. Preparing the new stem, gluing new frames, installing new ports, and fairing a second hull. Chuck asked if it was easier the second time around, maybe faster but fairing is fairing. Today I got past the point where I last worked on the first hull. I feel like now I can share and set aside my pain and move on.

I don’t think I have starting a third one in me so here’s hoping.

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Post 9

Not wasting anytime I moved on to the stern. Every stern on every model has been an adventure for me. I’m not trying not to over optimize and going very slowly. Chucks instructions are easy and clear. Well, the words are easy and clear but the work isn’t simple and nothing like any kit I’ve ever done - can you say scratch build…

Chuck provides a set of stern frames as part of the starter kit wonderfully and precisely cut in boxwood. The fun part of these is that apparently boxwood likes a suntan, the laser char though light in color was not at all easy to remove, especially as I’m trying hard not to take too much off. My approach was to skin each frame by frame (not taking to much) before they are installed on the ship. So sand and sand and sand I did for each of the 12 stern frames.

From the one on the right to the one on the left I finally got them all done with the skin gone from my forefinger.

Then its gluing Z and its three ZZ friends to port and starboard, most of these will be faired off but you have to start off right to get it right.

Next its creating my version of Rusty’s pencil lead marking tool jig to identify the line to fair. That’s the easy part. Next is the semi-panicked step of grinding it down to near that line with my Dremel tool with sanding drums. Go slow Glenn don’t go to near the line Glenn, don’t drop it Glenn…

After managing not to do any of those things its back to the sanding to shape up the combined four Z and ZZ frames making up the outer stern.

After adding the interior X and Y frames I finally reach a new point of the build. From here on I really want to just do everything once if that’s ok.

Next up stern ports and the start of the square tuck. I finally get to see what one of those are. So far I know it starts with a triangle so ….

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Post 10

Short log for a lot of work. As noted by @Chuck instructions and multiple Cheerful logs this part, seemingly simple, takes a lot of “fiddling” as my English friends say. I’ll be honest and say while I finished with 2 sills and 2 lintels, more than 4  were used in the making of this stern.

Cutting out the stern pattern from a copy of the plans is the first step to get a feel and mark where they go. But that in itself isn’t enough.

I modified my port shaper for these smaller ports, its a great jig to both get the size right and with the help of various levels to get the sill parallel with the waterline (matching to another level not shown here setting at midship).

Definitely an opportunity to demonstrate patience and taking the time to get it right. I almost settled at one point with one slightly off but quickly said no I’m not doing that.

Though still a bit more fairing to do, in the end I got there.

Post 11

Completing the square tuck is the final step of building the ships skeleton. I was glad to learn the plan template as I cut it out from a sheet of 1/32 cedar fit with just a few adjustments. So far everything is standing up to being where it;s supposed to be.

The next step is planking the wales by first marking where then go. I started with the reference lines and then smoothed out the curve until it looked right.  I found that if something looked wavy I could just remove the nail at that point having placed ones to either side of it. Definitely don’t want a nail in every frame to allow it to flow. I took my time until I felt good about it then did the other side.

I love it when a plan comes together. Having done all that, I thought lets just check the distance between each port and the wales agains the plans. I used my millimeter ruler and I wasn’t just close, I was right on the distance - on both sides.  How the hell did that happen.  I have to attribute it to the design, I don’t think I’m near that good.

After painting the gun ports I started on the wales. I’ve never done a single planked ship before, really hoping I can get the planking tight enough so it doesn’t look like a sieve. I sort of wish the wood was long enough to have a single run for this lower layer of the wales, but I might as well get used to running short planks. I’ll be doing a lot of that from here on in. It took several hours to get one side done.

The small 1/16rh piece marks the lower edge of the ports and the distance to plank between that and the wales. I came pretty close to the goal of leaving a 1/64th rabbit above the piece - I never really thought about how small 1/64th is.  I used a piece of my batten, coincidently 1/64th thick as a bit of a tool to measure.

I’ve lightly sanded the stem and keel. I’ll put on another coat of wipe on poly later, no need at this point.

Almost every step something I haven’t done before, it’s an adventure. Hoping it looks like it’s suppose to look…

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Post 12

It’s starting to look like a ship. Every single plank takes time.

The good news is the time on the fairing was well spent. I’ve only lightly sanded so far, I’m going to wait until everything above the wales is complete for doing any serious sanding.

It’s going to take a really long time to finish above the wales. Not only maintaining the 1/64th rabbit on the sides of the ports, but also cutting the proper angles of each plank between the ports. Slow and careful.

Having finished the run below the ports on both sides I decided to give myself a little reward for the day by planking up the sheer at the stern. Right now there are two 1/16th strips in that run flush with the other planks. Later I’ll cut a fashion strip above both those, no idea how but I’ll figure it out then I guess.

So back to cutting properly angled lengths of planks in very precise lengths, 64 of them to be exact, well 60 more since I did that stern second to day.  I won’t complain about kit gunport patterns ever again.

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Post 13

Well, I’ve finished Starboard above the wales. It’s very slow going measuring out each of the 4 planks (one just 1/16th, the others 5/32) between the ports to keep the 1/64th rabbet.

I wish I could impart some sage wisdom on cutting these, but its just grinding it out with careful measure and cutting. More finely and carefully than I’ve ever had to do on any kit. I finally determined the best way for me is using my Veritas mini- chisels to cut the planks on carefully measured and marked lines using the sides as the ports to mark the angle from the in-board side.

I will have to build up the sill on port 3 by 1/64th. I have a plan, but it will keep until I thin out the bulwarks and before I put in the false deck, so a while from now. I’ve already tried it, it works. Still it’s pretty amazing to me with all that it took with aligning port sills and wales to the frame to get here that I was that close to being right. Once again I attribute it to the design and some peaceful patience on my part (something I’m that good at).

I do have two questions:

1. I don’t know what to make of the dark lines between many of the planks. There are no gaps, I’m sure of that. And while I’ve done only preliminary sanding, I’m not sure sanding will remove the haphazard lines. Any thoughts appreciated, maybe they are just character.  Hopefully with wipe-on poly they’ll blend.

2. Speaking of which, should I apply a coat of wipe-on poly to this completed side above the wales, or wait until later.  I’ve already lightly sanded parts of the stem and keel and plan to re-apply poly after I’ve completed the above wales planking and stern before starting on planking below the wales. Any thoughts on the timing of the poly? I will be sanding it more later, just don’t want to over-sand at this point. This single planking stuff can cause some anxiety knowing what I see now is what I’ll always see…

Now on to port side…

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Post 14

The wow factor of a single light coat of wipe on poly (not even dry yet). While it serves to highlight where more sanding is needed (but I knew that) it certainly serves to demonstrate the Alaskan Yellow Cedar is pretty nice stuff.

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Post 15

The port side is now complete.

Cutting and measuring these 64 planks (more like 84 including the ones I rejected after cutting them the wrong length or angle) was an exercise in patience and perseverance, but I like how it all turned out. I will make a few adjustments to the sheer once I start the cap rail step and a few minor modifications to some sills after I thin the inner bulwarks, for now though I’m content to move to the next step.

Which is thinning these outer stern frames. I’m not excited about this step, not that confident with a Dremel, small drum or not. While I can paint a 1/64th rabbet with a 18/0 brush without concern I’m hoping not to gouge one of the inner stern frames in the thinning process.  I’m going to have to think about this a bit. I may first try a jeweler’s saw. I do have one unbroken frame on the first now crushed hull so I get one practice run.

I can’t do anything for a few hours while the poly dries - so I’ll just sit and stare at it for now.

I'm not sure if the reference links still hold up, leaving them just in case

Post 16

Well I did it, right at 1/16th with no broken frames and fingers intact. As advertised the Alaskan Yellow Cedar is soft and easy to carve and sand - as wood goes.

I thought I’d share a little bit about how I did it in the event it might be beneficial to future Cheerful builders. For starters, here are the tools used in this task.

I’ve never used a jeweler’s saw before, but I will again. I got this on Amazon, ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00  it and 6 sizes of 144 blades were reasonably priced and it worked great. I got it for this specific task because I really didn’t want to try it with a Dremel. In fact I took a shot with the Dremel on my busted hull and demonstrated to myself it wasn’t the way to go, at least not for me.

Note: I was so focused on this task I failed to take any photos of the process until it was done.

I marked a 1/8th line down the outside of the stern frame to allow room for error. The saw runs pretty accurate and is easy enough to turn, the thing to watch is keeping track of the cut both inside and outside the frame, what looks good on one side may not be on the other due to the angles involved. I reversed the blade in the holder in order to cut inside out at the very base of the frame stopping at the 1/8th mark I’d made. Then when I reached that cut sawing from the top the bulk of the frame just dropped off. It was relatively easy, for me the key was not to saw faster, just be patient and let the blade do the work.

With the bulk of the frame now gone I evened up the rough cut to a consistent 1/8th creating the proper alignment for the future inner bulwark planks. Then it was slow and careful application of my Veritas mini-chisel in concert with my trusty #11 blade and sanding sticks to gradually reduce the frame to 1/16th. I did as Chuck suggested and took multiple breaks, and a few deep breathes here and there. I had two measurement aides, I had earlier added a 1/16th thick brace between the last two bulk head frames as I was planking because it got a little wobbly with such a long space between (and I read ahead in Chuck’s monograph), now it became a thickness gauge along with my handy brass 1/16th saw gauge. I don’t recall where I got these (I have multiple sizes) but they often come in handy. So then it was cut, chisel, sand, repeat - maintaining the angle for future planks and keeping track of both inside and outside.

Here’s a warning: The sides of the stern had been very sturdy as I planked it, but once the bulk of the outside stern frames are cut away it quickly becomes fragile. In fact I cracked a plank with a moment of carelessness of too much finger pressure. It was just a tiny crack on the bottom layer of the wales that will later get covered, but it was a good reminder to be gentle with all the cutting and sanding. I used a razor thin spatula and filled the crack (even as small as it is) with some Titebond to keep it from becoming a bigger crack.

I had dreaded this step for a while, now it’s is done. The jewelers saw, plus the #11 blade, chisel and sanding sticks, is the way to go in my opinion. I might have pulled off the Dremel, but more than likely there’d be a gouge in one of the inner frames. These remain visible when the deck area is done so it’s important they remain pretty.

Next the stern and see if I can continue the trend of not breaking anything or stabbing myself.

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Post 17

The comments about the use of sanding sealer encouraged me to do a little experiment. So I used the same paint and applied it to a valuable stick of my Alaskan Yellow Cedar. The counter and inner bulwarks will be painted red and I wanted to see what worked best.

I know it won’t show up on the photo but there are very definite color differences and texture when applied to the different bases. Here’s what I tried from left to right using four coats of very thin Golden Cadium Red paint.

1. Matte Water Based Poly

2. Golden Open

3. Sanding Sealer

4. Nothing

5. Gesso

So based solely on my subjective view in order worst to best: 5. I quickly ruled out sanding sealer, it closes the grain of the wood and the resulting look is glassy. It also didn’t take the multiple coats very well. 4. No base is fine, but it absorbs so much into the wood the finished look was only ok, It works if I use thicker paint. 3. The Golden Open product took forever to dry as a base (its more for acrylics on canvas as I read about it). It also had the most negative affect on color making the red almost orange. 2. The gesso was good, but as a base it has to be sanded, way too much work around gun ports for me. It also darken the color more than I liked.

1. My favorite is using what I’ve always used, the water based matte poly (which is not to be confused with wipe on poly, totally different stuff). It dries quickly, seals the wood in a good way and provided the base for the best version of the Cadium Red color. NOTE: Not what I did for Cheerful and have never used since. Fully a Wipe On Poly guy, all day.

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I noticed I often make reference to comments that no longer exist, I miss those comments - most of them anyway...

Post 18

Every stern on every model I’ve ever done has been an adventure, they really come out the way the plans show and I have to improvised adapt to make them work, usually fun. I expected the challenge of the scratch built Cheerful to be no different - but I was wrong.  Not that it was easy but Chuck’s design, for lack of a more elaborate description, - works.

Reducing the frames in the last post was hold my breath time but wasn’t that hard with the process I described. Then it’s just a matter of planking up the counter.

The first plank is the first challenge because the counter is curved both in and down. But thanks to my Chuck Passaro plank bending station it’s a problem quickly solved. No way that plank was bending with out some help. The benefit of Chuck’s method is there is no soaking or its potential for warping. Rub a wet finger along the board and the steam travel iron does the work heating the bent board into shape.

I’m a CA planking guy, no clamps to hold PVA for me. With the bent plank (and the lower side of each beveled for a tighter fit), a little CA, and 30 seconds of finger pressure… plank complete, on to the next. In no time I was up to the transom.

Here’s a thing to remember - the inward side of the counter is also a final product so be neat with the glue.  The inside result of the beveling looks like Shiplap and adds a little character. It’s a good time to use some sanding sticks on the counter, much easier to get at it than after transom is on.

The transom is a little more fun than the counter, having to fit the planks around the stern ports. Since I plan to have these closed I left a little larger rabbit for the port lids to grab on to, I may leave them, or one of them open - I still have the option later to decide. The third row is fun since it has to be cut to fit over the top fourth of the ports. I elected to use a 7/32nds plank on the top instead of a fourth 3/16ths one. I liked the look better and it gave a little more clearance above the top fo the frames.

Back to the inside of the transom to sand a little to remove any excess glue. Unlike the natural transom the inside will be painted red eventually so it doesn’t require extensive effort. I’m glad I sanded and shaped up the stern frames before they were installed, I’d hate to be removing laser char at this stage. I have already learned from building the wench my Cadium red won’t hide laser char. Eventually I’ll be cutting a hole in here for the rudder, which should prove to be another hold my breath moment.

Now to cut some fashion pieces having only a #11 blade, maybe the jewelers saw to do it. Anyone want to hazard a guess how many I’ll do before I get two I can use?

On another note, I ordered a Proxxon MF70 micro mill today - I think Cheerful will provide me some opportunities to learn how to use it since I haven’t the slightest glue, though thanks to Delf for giving me some pointers. MSW is a world wide resource of talented people, I hope to be one someday.

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Post 19

So who here besides me was expecting a train wreck after my last post. I cut the fashion pieces only to decide the plan size was too short for my ship, I decided that after they were glued on, because they curve into the ship dry-fitting didn’t help. So I remade them, more in a moment. The concept of a drop plank is simple and works great once you’ve done your first three and then it clicks - seems obvious and maybe that was my problem, trying to outthink it - figured it out eventually so let’s start:

I “adopted” my process for cutting out the planks from Rusty. I made copies of a section of the plan, cut out the fashion pieces and then used rubber cement to attach them to a section of 1/16th board. This process worked well, but here’s what I learned - to be clear this applies to my model your milage may vary. I noticed right away the first ones I cut seemed to “small” so to make it better I enlarged the copy of the plans to 105% and used those for the template. As I mentioned those still turned out too short so as you can see in the photo I added a few marks to them extra long so I could trim to fit. I’m not going to say what number of cut-out wound up on the ship, let’s just say more than 4 are in the scrap heap. First-timers…

I found this simple little jig helpful. a strip of 1/32nd up against the hull for the right distance of the piece back from the transom and another scrap on top of it as a backstop to align the piece equal to the run of the transom.

You might note the two fashion pieces are on opposite sides of the ship, that didn’t stop me from making as near exact copies as I could as my multiple measurements (sorry Chuck, in millimeters) taken multiple times until I got them near copies.

I learned from attempt one I have a bit of a curve on the lower wales plank, so to make the fit easier I modified my plank bending station to roll the fashion piece into a curve over a dowel. I did this having first “stretched” it because my counter was longer/wider/shallower that the plans - really not very much at all, but enough that bending the curve out helped. I would like to add - this worked and I soaked nothing (at some point I knocked my beer over, but that’s not the point)s. This advertisement of Chuck’s Plank Bending method brought to you by me.

Don’t look too closely at this photo because those planks don’t exist anymore except as a waste of a perfectly good Alaskan tree. I didn’t like the fit and I just wasn’t going to compromise. On a double planked kit I know I could easily make it up with the remaining planing, but here I was concerned it would just compound as I went. The problem, for me, was the alignment of the drop plank extension. First I pushed it up too far, and then let lay down too much which makes the subsequent planks less than a clean run. I figured out, and while this will come as a surprise, to glue it down the way it wants to lay naturally…go figure. easy for you to say.

So I ripped all the planks off and while I was at it see above on fashion pieces going with the rest. I walked upstairs and told my wife - you know how I’ve been working on this ship for the last several days - well I wasn’t because everything I did is gone. At least the frame hadn’t dropped on the floor and exploded again, at least not yet - let’s not think about that…

I lightly sanded the entire hull down and will apply a new coat of poly after installing the wales and before moving on to the rest of the planking.

So, anyway, I arrived to a point where I’m ready to move on. I’ll add the 2nd layer of the wales next then start the process of lining the hull, cutting more sticks, I mean planks. Did I ‘mention I was impressed with myself for ripping the 1/32nd thick planks required as the top layer of the wales. I figured I needed 6 but was having fun so I cut 12. I hope I don’t need them but who knows.

On we go.

Post 20

After completing the drop plank and the first two rows of planks below the wales (where the drop plank counts as two at the bow), plus installing more than one or two fashion pieces I’ve now completed the wales. I painted them using Admiralty Paints Ironwork Black, which oddly enough is duller (really more flat) than the Dull Black I normally use.

I was really tempted to also paint the counter but decided to wait until I’d at least had a dry-fitting with the square tuck I’ll somehow create after getting the next 8 rows of planks on both sides.

I didn’t take any photos of installing the wales, but it’s as straight forward as on any model - I did try extra hard on keeping neat paint lines. Me and Tamiya tape did ok with that with some effort. It’s worth it to take the time getting the tape right, its either that or scrape, sand, and clean up where you didn’t. If you’re not familiar with Tamiya tape, get some. There is nothing better, blue painter’s tape isn’t even close, in getting a close tight seal for painting - for those of us like me who lack the skill to free-hand. I am pretty handy with an 18/0 brush to do touchup.

I also followed Chuck’s instruction to thin out the wales at the bow. I cut and dry-fitted both top and bottom planks then held them side by side on a work board and tapered them down to near saxophone reed thickness. In my case they actually did fit into the rabbit. They do look so much better this way.

Since I’ll be working upside down it was time for a new stand, really an old stand modified. I go for function over form with these things so its nothing fancy, just a cut-down of a stand made for my Vanguard with some cross blocks added for stability. The fun part is I used my new mill for the very first time - for the very easy job of adding a slot down the center of the cross blocks. So I’m now a miller, sorta.

I added a fresh coat of poly across what is now the completed top third of the hull. Now it’s time mark the two belts with artist tape, get out the tick strips and line the hull as I start planking the 8 rows of planks that make up the top belt.  Not that anything has been fast, but this next phase will be slow going to get each plank right - and as a bonus I also get to rip more planks, so yay.

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Post 21

I’ve built a number of models but taking on Cheerful is a new challenge. Before I started there were a number of tasks that were concerning for me. From port sills, thinning stern and bulkhead frames, square tucks to scarph joints there are lots of things I’ve never attempted despite having built eight kits. On top of that list was single planking a hull that will be left natural (other than poly). No place to hide major mistakes and not much way to hide small ones. I’ve now finished the upper belt of the port side and thought I’d share what I did and what I learned.

Chuck, as I’ve noted throughout this log, provides great instruction in his monograph. However, reading and doing are two different things, though following his direction helps get me there. The first critical planking step happened long ago, fairing the hull. Taking the time to do that right back in the beginning pays off, just as not doing so would make planking now so much harder.

The next step is dividing the hull into two belts. This keeps the measurements accurate and planking consistently more manageable. It starts by measuring from bulkhead zero (midships) the distance of 8 full planks (using the planking fan), since the known is full width planks at the center - that’s the first attachment point for the tape, then it’s connecting that to the stern and bow.

I struggled with this simple step of adding the artist tape (perfect for this job) to create the belts. I applied and re-applied tape until it wouldn’t stick and then did it again with more tape. I was being too analytical in how I was approaching positioning the tape. It wasn’t until I got some (more) sage advice from @Chuck I understood to step back and look at it straight on from the side and find the graceful curve (it’s there, let it come to me…be the hull…) and flow from bow to stern.  And I mean from the side straight on. When you tilt the hull up to apply the tape it gives a false look of the flow, at least to my eyeballs - the curve doesn’t present itself until you lean back and look directly from the side at the balanced hull. Having found the curve, I marked lines on each bulkhead and threw away the tape I’d spent so much time moving around. The marks define how those 8 planks will fit the length of the ship and where and how much tapering I’ll do to make it fit, obviously thinner at the bow.

Then it’s time to line the hull. Chuck has .pdfs and videos here on the forum so I won’t go in to detail, I can’t begin to explain it as well as he can. I will say making tick strips and using the planking fan is precise and tedious work, but it’s time well spent and essential to success. It takes the guesswork out of planking.

Another key to these tick marks is not only the width at the bow but as important where to start the taper. In the case of Cheerful that was bulkhead 6. I kept the same starting point for all eight planks which turned the curve I created with the tape into a wooden reality.

Here I have a plank tapered and angled properly to fit the rabbit. Transferring those tick strips to each bulkhead and then to planks is how you get to consistent. The most critical of course is the bow - how wide strips need to be for 8 to fit within the tape mark. Often its also true of the stern, but the lining process (and Chuck’s monograph) noted for Cheerful this first belt from mid-ship to the square tuck it is full width planks. The other nice thing about these tick marks is the reassurance as I planked I was still on plan, still I double checked the measurement at the bow every other plank. I did have to make a few minor adjustments due to less than perfect tapering.

Then it’s on to my bending station. Again @Chuck’s monograph, .pdfs, and videos explain this. I can only add that in my mind there is no better way to achieve a tight fit. No soaking, just a wipe of water across the plank with my wet finger and then a hot iron. It’s surprising just how much the wood can bend. It’s counter-intuitive but bend the plank down in order for it to curve up on the bow. Then when that’s done bend it again to follow the inward curve. The wood can take it, just go slow and careful, Multiple times I bent the wood more than once (I only snapped one) to get a fit. It should almost lay into the bulkheads on its own.

I am also following the planking plan for proper lengths and pattern (rather than running one plank for the full length of the hull). I first added some edit marks to the plan (hard to see with those skinny lines) then transferred that to hash marks on the hull to maintain (well, actually not forget) the pattern. Another note: The plan is a two - dimensional view of a three dimensional hull, don’t be deceived by the plank widths shown on the plan, that’s obvious when you think about it. Visually you’re thinking you can take the width shown on the plan, you can’t. It works above the wales but not below.

I will own up to one cheat. For the short joints near the bow I scored a joint line on a longer plank that reached the second joint end nearer mid-ships. Tapering, bending, and fitting a single plank at the bow is hard enough, getting a match with a short plank was more than I wanted to do. Hence my joints at a the bow are perfect…because its the same plank.

I spent a long time on each individual plank, way more than any plank on any ship I’ve built before. I can’t make it up with paint or on a second planking. Here’s a little fun fact; different planks that measures 3/64ths on my digital caliper can measure between 1.18mm and 1.31mm. That’s not much, but it makes a difference on getting a smooth fit between planks. So now I measure the thickness on every plank in millimeters even though I cut them in imperial, its that or sand it out later. And I’m learning to do a better job with ripping planks.

After tapering, each plank is first beveled along the top edge and also slightly at each end, especially at the rabbet. This is a time consuming but important step for me to get a tight fit. Then the plank at both the bow and stern are “bent the wrong way,” down to fit up. The stern, due to the big curve from side to bottom (great use of nautical terms) is particularly challenging to get the right bevel and the right bends (more of a twist than a bend actually). It’s tempting to force it, it’s better to take the time.

I should be clear here. There are eight rows of planks in this belt. I probably made at least 14, tossing away almost as many as I fit. It’s another example that if my ship had three sides my third side would look great, I learn as I go.

Then it’s gluing them on. I placed CA with my thin applicator on no more than 2-3 bulkheads at a time and finger clamp the plank down and up for 20-40 seconds. That of course means as I moved along the plank would be too close to the bulkhead to use the applicator. I’m big fan of dental tools - here’s one I use to slip CA under the plank. I don’t glue the top edge. The bevel is how I get the fit, not edge glue.

While the tick marks confirmed I was on the right track, it was nonetheless nice to see the 8th and final plank fit at the stern right where it’s supposed to be as part of the eventual square tuck. I left them all a little long at the stern to give me some latitude when I get to the square tuck. I’d already had to make adjustments to the square tuck by sanding the triangle base down (again with advice from Chuck) to provide the 1/8th inch depth between it and the counter for the square tuck. After all that I repainted the wales, they got a bit banged up.

And I got to here following a light coat of poly.

I didn’t get a perfectly tight fit in the rabbit, so I helped myself by putting the slightest amount of super phatic glue with a toothpick (it dries clear) then added some sawdust taken from beneath my saw and packed it in at the rabbet. After light scraping (another dental tool) and sanding to remove the excess glue and poly and it now looks fine.

I’m happy with the curve of the stern, though maybe it’s a little flat. As I’ve noted earlier the initial fairing is critical, but I did over sand the final bulk head. Layering a 1/64th strip (that’s all it took) on between bulkhead and planks created a smoother run. It took work, especially on beveling, to get a tight fit together with a tight twist that would have been very difficult without my handy travel iron.

It’s not perfect - it has flaws, I mean character, but I can’t see through it so there’s that. - And it’s mine. - I like the slightly different colors of wood that comes from following the planking pattern, just more character.

I have 24 more planks to go to finish the hull so it could still all fall apart. But at least I’ve proven to myself that I can more or less single plank a ship - with the help of Chuck’s monograph, the process of lining the hull and bending planks, and a lot of time and patience.

So as it turns out, I can get there from here.

As I continue with this reposting I'm thinking if I'm ever to build a model twice it would be this one.

Post 22

In my last post I said if my model had 3 sides the third side would be better.

Turns out I elected to prove that point. After finishing the port side I looked to finish the remaining 4 rows on starboard. I was already concerned because I had a thin spot where I had over-sanded. I looked, thought about it, looked some more, shook my head a few times, looked again, thought about it. Then ripped off the whole side (after doing two more rows, only two from being finished) all the way to the bottom of the wales. So including those first two rows I’d put on multiple times already.

So I did the starboard side again, all 10 rows including the drop plank (which fortunately Chuck provides a couple of extra). I’m much happier with the result, I will not be seeing if I get better if my model had four sides. There are still imperfections, but I’m wrapping that up as character and the acceptance that as I am an imperfect person, so then should be my ship.

Here, at least for me, is what I found made the difference. It may seem small but in my work I found it to be important. First, as I mentioned at the beginning of the log I had no experience ripping planks prior to starting Cheerful. Now with the help of others and doing a lot of it I’ve gotten better. The key difference now is I can rip planks a consistent thickness. I’ll show what my steps are in a future post. It’s not that they were wildly different in fact all measured 5/64th with my digital caliper. But as I mentioned the difference in millimeters ran from about 1.18 - 1.32. Clearly that’s not much but it meant more sanding to get them evened up, hence the thin spot.

Secondly, I determined I was happiest with thicker planks. With plank bending the thickness wasn’t a problem - so I cut a batch of about 48 planks (enough for the remaining rows on the bottom too) at about 1.38. - which is closing in, but not quite, 1/16th thick.  With them all being much closer to the same width and thicker I got better results with much less sanding. This is probably because I’m just an average modeler and certainly because in my life I’ve now single planked three sides of a ship, but it’s what worked.

This may all seem obvious to most, my rationalization is that if I’d only measured it using imperial, they’d all been 5/64ths, perhaps my digital caliper may not be as precise in imperial as it should be. But cross checking that in millimeters sent me on an unrecoverable requirement to start the starboard side over. And here I am. I’m really hoping I’ve solved this. It would be much more difficult to rip off the bottom rows, I don’t want to do that again. In case you’re wondering - it wasn’t fun.

Now I get to figure out why a square tuck is actually a triangle - this may take a while. Oh, and I’m going to need more 3/16ths wood for the deck…:-)

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Post 23

There were a number of things I’d never done seen before I wasn’t entirely sure about, in the case of the square tuck didn’t even know what one was. Fortunately Chuck’s instructions are clear enough - I just dove in taking it a step at a time.

I’d already made it challenging by not leaving enough of a gap between the bottom layer of the of the square tuck and the counter. So I filed and sanded until what once was a 1/32nd into a thick backing triangle was now equal to a communion wafer. Still I elected to use 3/32 wood for the square tuck itself instead of 1/8 for a better fit.

Step one is adding the center piece and the two top pieces, that was pretty easy, if only I could stop there.

And then the fun begins, I got a little involved and forgot to take a lot of photos. The next step is shaping a solid piece to fit against the top and center pieces, lightly attach it to my wafer thin backing, then shape it to fit the bottom of the hull. My recently acquired foam sanders in different shapes came in handy. Of course the key is to sand the piece flush but go through the bottom of the already sanded hull, which I managed not to do.

With it sanded smooth, using 180, 220, and finally 320 sandpaper I removed the triangular piece and marked a 1/8th line along the curve using my digital caliper and a series of marks as I moved it around the outside of the curve. I don’t have a scroll saw but I was able to rough out the curve with my #11 blade, one benefit of using the thinner 3/32 wood I suppose.  I cut away from the line and then carefully sanded it down to 1/8 wide - measuring the flat part of the wood, the sanded slant doesn’t matter and is not included  in the 1/8.

With both sides complete I attached them permanently and begin the process of filling them with 3/16 wide planks cut from the 3/32 wood (although plank width regular planks are too thin). I didn’t take any photos of that process. I first sanded the top angle to match the top piece (I never changed that angle on my Byrnes Sander so it was easy to match). then measured the two lengths of the bottom angle to fit….and yes while 10 planks are fitted, more than 10 were cut - my scrap pile got a little taller. I also used my phatic glue and cedar saw dust to fill in the gaps. There was only one recut, otherwise I was perfect. I can say that because they are all nicely filled and no one can tell now…ok there were two…ok more than two.

All sterns are different, mine being no exception - I had to use a piece of 6mm wide (about 1-2mm wider than 3/16 wood) for the teeny tiny triangle of the outer most piece to fill the gap. This is the mindset I have been able to adjust to, differing from kits. I have a lot of uncut wood in various thicknesses, I’m not limited to what’s in the kit - so I needed wider piece I cut a wider piece.

And now I have a square tuck, though I still don’t know what’s square about it. Once again its not perfect. I stop looking at Chuck’s nice photos in his monograph, no good can come from that once I’ve finished the one I made. So I added a little more character to my model.

I have the counter sanded ready to paint red but I’m not going to do that until I get a good tight fit of the stern post. For whatever reason at the moment I’m not close to it fitting tight - hard to know what part to sand where, that’s a challenge for tomorrow.

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Post 23.5 (posted later but to keep the sequence)

I've started lining the lower planking belt. It is a chore but so worth the effort once the planking starts.  I also used the plans to add a vertical hashmark where the plank joints are so I remember to cut the planks the proper lengths.

Really though I just wanted to share a photo of my ***RED*** counter. For Cheerful I wanted to go RED or go home, I think I'm successful. I've never used anything but Admiralty Paints Red Ochre, this Golden Medium Cadium Red makes a statement.

Of course I've already painted the gun ports a long while ago, but the counter really pops against the gold of the Alaskan Cedar. (five thin coats in case you're wondering).

Post 24

After 3 months I have a completed building and planking the hull. It isn’t perfect but I’m happy with the results of my first single planked model. Being a mere mortal, here’s a few things I learned in my failed quest for perfection as I planked the lower belt:

The taper point, determined by the tick marks, for the upper belt was consistent at bulkhead B and only required only forward to the bow. Although for the most part the lower belt taper mostly began at bulkhead 2, the lower belt was a bit more complicated. I don’t know why exactly but I had to make adjustments different from the original tick marks. However, validating the process I did this by “updating” the tick marks, measuring the remaining distances with a strip of tick paper after installing each of the final 5-6 planks to establish the widths required at each bulkhead for the remaining planks. It sounds more complicated than it was. The real point is the process worked and kept the guesswork at bay

I installed the first three of the final ten from the top, but then switched to cutting the garboard and two planks above it. This is a sound process I’d recommend for everyone. You really don’t want your last plank to be the garboard (the plank next to the keel) or even the 2nd to last one. This plank (actually two pieces forward and back from bulkhead 0) took me a long time to shape. As normal, I did better on the 2nd side, but this time no third attempts. Aside from the more complicated fit of the garboard, there is another reason for us mere mortals. Any adjustments that might be needed (I acknowledge nothing:-) are done on planks that won’t be seen once mounted.

There is a small curve at the stern along the keel and of course the upturn of the keel to stem at the bow. I thought about how to get those curves just right and wondered if only there was someplace to copy them for an exact fit….Using the original laser cut waste worked pretty well, especially for the small curve in the keel at the stern.

Many of you know this, the best wood filler is the sawdust gathered beneath my saw from the planks used on the ship. I’ve not had to use a lot having been very careful (and doing stuff over … and over), on occasion it comes in handy. Here for example I did a really great job on the shaping the port garboard until I placed the next plank up and found the garboard to be about .05mm short, leaving a very small hole between it and the stem. I used a toothpick to put a little PVA glue in the hole then placed a pinch of sawdust on top. I used the backside of my favorite dental tool to pack the sawdust into the hole with the glue and blow off the excess. I let it dry and then sand it, the hole essentially disappeared. One lesson learned for the best result is to let the glue fully dry before sanding. Also to use the least about of glue needed to fill the gap and wipe it off either side makes final sanding easier.

I’ve mentioned plank bending using @Chuck’s method several times in this log, my Lady Nelson log, and multiple times as comments on other logs. I can’t say enough about the difference it makes for me. I happily use CA to apply my planks, required for this process, The real value is the dry heat bending. Neither of the planks show above were touched by water (I normally rub a wet finger across before I apply heat, but wanted to make a point so on these two I didn’t). They are clamped to a board, bent to shape, and heat applied with a travel iron (much quieter than hair dryers or head guns, and its always ready).

I don’t know how I would have single planked Cheerful’s hull by any other method. I have a tight fit between planks, there is no edge glueing, the butt joints other than a few cheats near the bow are tight. Once properly shaped, it sometimes takes 2-3 times under the iron, I can almost lay it into position, including the heavy twist required on those immediately below the square tuck.

I’m not perfect with the lining, as I noted above I had to make adjustments, but doing so told me where I was. However, doing more tick strips as I went have my planks terminating at the bow a more consistent width. It also showed me, which is a really big deal, where to start any required taper. It’s a process that works, it doesn’t take long to learn, though it does take time to do. The reward is a much nicer planked model - in my opinion and this experience. Certainly a nicer one than I would have otherwise done.

2768,2-4

So with all that said, here is my finished hull.

The stern post took some work to fit. Don’t wait until this point to start that fitting process. I’ve been checking it since completing the square tuck. In my case I had to cut off about 1/8th inch from the bottom, this will vary per model. Chuck told me it’s made larger to allow for adjustment give every model is a little different. It is more of a chore to get a good fit, mine isn’t perfect. I know I’ll later cover the small gap between the counter and square tuck with a trim piece and it’s be fine.

One final comment on planking. I elected at the beginning not to “caulk” each plank by adding a pencil mark on one side. I wasn’t confident how it was going to come out. As it turns out the Alaskan Cedar in combination with Wipe On Poly brings out the planks in a subtle way that I like. The butt joints are easily seen and the slight variations in the wood highlight the overall character enough without pencil marks - in my opinion. (ok, now I wish I had added that pencil caulking as I did later on Winchelsea, my bad)

I’ve never single planked a hull before, I was really concerned about even attempting it. My advice to those thinking the same thing: This is the model, Alaskan Cedar is the wood, and Chuck’s instructions provide the opportunity to give it a try.

I’ve come a long way from that day with my first frame shattered as it fell to the floor. I’m hoping I can continue to make progress without that happening again.  For now I’ll just sit back and think about how I want to attack moulding strips.

Post 25

Before I get into my log on starting the deck work I wanted to share the latest addition to my workshop, my framed print of HM Cheerful, a true copy from the UKK NMM of the original plans. Note the matte color was selected to match my paint choice on the model. Cheerful joins a NMM print of the Pegasus on a different wall. It’s a bit high to get above the ceiling speaker volume control, I’m out of wall space.

Thinning the stern frames was the first frightful task, that one I avoided the Dremel sanding drum with the use of a jewelers saw (described earlier in the log).  No such luck with the second frightful thing, thinning the bulkhead extensions and the port sills to a very thin 1/16th. So after convincing myself 1/8th wasn’t good enough I let the Dremel do its thing.

However, the near magical step I did first was to line the bulwarks with 1/16th basswood strip between and below the ports. Aside from providing some needed strength these strips marked exactly how far and and how much to take out from the neighboring bulkheads and port sills with the Dremel. This worked great in keeping me and the sanding drum where it was supposed to me and not where it wasn’t. I’m not sure how I’d have gotten an even 1/16 without them or without a whole lot more trouble, not to mention not gouging my way through the hull planks.

After getting the majority done with the Dremel I finished off with my chisels at the base where the Dremel couldn’t reach and then sanded it all out even with my various sanding tools. I used 180 grit to get the last little bit of the 1/16th thickness and 220 to finish it out. Did I mention 1/16th is very thin. My 1/16th thickness gauge came in handy to constantly cross check what was left of the once thick port sills.

A lot has to happen right along the way for this build. The port sills were put in early and carefully using reference lines on the bulkheads, later an outer plank was run beneath them following the sheer of the deck. That had to be done with a /1/64th clearance for the rabbet (and I thought 1/16 was thin). I actually did ok with that. I erred on the high side with the original port sills (no more than 1/32 on the high side) because I knew, and did on a couple, I could file them down to the 1/164th rabbet height.  Despite that I knew I had one port to address when I got to this stage.  I filed this too low port sill completely flat to the hull, added a 1/64th strip, cut that flush, and painted it. You’d never know it was too low now. Improvise, adapt, overcome.

I faired the top of the bulkheads and frame to provide a smooth surface for the false deck, It looks kinda pretty now - maybe I should just stop here. Skipping this step would have resulted in a bump near the stern frames and a rough spot here and there along the frame former.

My process for cutting the false deck (learned from others, thanks Rusty) was to cut out the deck drawing from the plans, cut out the locations of the deck furniture and rubber cemented it firmly to 1/16 basswood, finally extended the center line through the openings. I cut it out with a #11 blade, the basswood was easy to cut. Including the stern frame slots, skylight, and mast openings. It’s a tad confusing, you do cut out the paper to show the hatches and opening, but just on the paper. Only the skylight and

It was easy to peal off the paper, rub off the rubber cement residue with my finger and my false deck was ready to mount. I did have to do a little work to ensure it was centered, in addition to the dowel for the mast hole I glued and cut a plug to fit into the skylight opening. Still not satisfied I cut little square in the hatch openings (which I will cover or fill later). With the top faired there is a clear line down the center of the frame from the plywood lamination - the dark middle layer was perfectly centered, so I had only to match it up with the line I’d marked down the top. Now I won’t later be looking at off-centered deck furniture, at least not due to the false deck.

So on went the Tite Bond III, a coulple of weights to hold down the center, and plastic clothes pins to push the edges down onto the bulkhead, and not mark the outside of the hull in the doing.

A lot of tools got me to this point. Here are just a few of them.

I’m on to planking the bulkheads, I’ll save that for the next post.  Thanks for stopping by.

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Post 26

Next up is planking the bulwarks. The first step is adding a 3/64 vertical strip as a false keel/stem at the bow. I elected to make it 1/16th thick so the spiriketing would be flush, while it stands proud for the upper two planks.

The first 3/16, 3/64 thick plank is added with its top even to the bottom of the port sills. This is another of those things had to go right back at the beginning in order for that plank to run smoothly. I mention this only as a reminder to future Cheerful builders to take the slow careful time to get those measurements right. Just as important as a properly faired hull is a properly measured one, no gun port patterns to guide you on Cheerful.

Here is the first layer of planking, prior to adding the spirketing. The plans call for a second 3/16 plank to go below this first one, but I found I needed a 7/32 to leave an acceptable amount of space below.  I’ve also lightly sanded the outer hull with 400 grit above the wales to make ready for the moulding coming up next.

I chose to cut the top row from the stern most port to the transom as a triangle from a sheet of 3/64 thick stock. The alternative with my stern would have been to have a small triangular sliver to fill at the top. It won’t be noticeable once sanded and painted and importantly it provided more wood to adhere to the bulwarks.  I cut it over-sized, glued it on, then trimmed it down to fit. I imagine transom heights will very from one model to the next.

In this photo you can see I painted the inside of the area where the skylight will be and added a few strips of deck planking (before adding the false deck). I don’t know if it will show once the skylight is there, but what the heck, it took 5 minutes to do.

I then added the two rows of planks above the sills. There are lots of ways to do this. I could have, like I did on the outside where rabbits were required, cut individual planks between the ports. I chose to run planks the full length and then cut the ports out with my #11 blade. I feel like I get a smoother plank run this way and I’m comfortable working the ports open with the #11 blade by first cutting down the edge a little, peeling it back, then repeating that multiple times while alternating sides to prevent splintering or cracking until the waste falls away. You can see the ports in various stages of being roughed out in this photo and one above. I don’t have planks long enough for the full length, the holes and gaps are when a plank terminates I end it in the middle of an open port.

The bottom two planks now have a second row of 1/32 thick planks to simulate the spirketing, I rounded the top edge a little with 400 grit to soften the edge. In reality this was a thick row of planks, not two layers, but no one will know the difference. It’s good to remember we’re building models, not actual ships and its ok to simulate some things.

Along with my #11 blade and needle file to square the corners, I brought out the “port sander” jig I made so long ago when the sills first went in, only this time turning it upside down so I only sanded the sides and not the bottom and ensuring all the ports are the proper finished width. I like how the lens distortion in this photo makes the stern look long and skinny, merely an illusion.

With everything shaped and fitted it’s time to paint. Here she is with my nice bright red paint. As I said at the beginning of my log I was opting for RED! on this model. I think I’ve achieved that with my Golden Cadium Medium Red, I like it.

Now I’ve put off adding the fancy moulding as long as I can, that and the cap rails are up next.

Post 27

I moved to the cap rails next knowing I’d be doing a bit of sanding (and hacking up my nice bulwark paint job). I guess I could have cut out the bow section from 1/16 sheet with a #11 blade but it was a good excuse to purchase a scroll saw. I cut out a template of the bow by tracing its outline on card stock and transferring that to the wood, along with a line 5/32 inside that one. Though a tool I’ve never used, me and the scroll saw made short work of cutting out the bow pieces, I then sanded the rail flush both inside and outside the ship.

I elected to place my rail in three sections to make managing the curve a bit easier and knowing I could fill any gaps and cover with paint. I cut and sanded flush the tops of the fashion pieces having added the taffrail earlier. I also decided to paint the fashion pieces black to match the wales and cap rail, for me it seemed to bring it all together.

I’m happy with how the first phase of the cap rail turned out.

As you know from my last couple of posts I’ve had a good amount of angst on how best to do the fancy moulding. In the end it was just as Chuck and others have described, cutting a profile into a piece of brass. The hard part was getting a small enough profile to work. A seemingly no brainer, it needed to be near exactly 1/16 wide and 1/32 deep.  My first several attempts were just too big as were all 6 of the Amati scrapers I acquired. My approach was to use a long piece of smooth floor tile, apply a long strip of double sided tape, lay the strip wood on it and scrape. First lightly to set the groove, then tilted forward to cut, straight up to smooth, tilted backward to cut, and repeat. By the last piece I said to myself “Self, that wasn’t so hard now was it..” Who knew.

This again is where great design comes together. A long time ago part of building the sheer above the wales included two 1/16 strips. Those strips now are the guidelines for the two strips of fancy moulding, no guesswork or measurement required, just follow the path already there. My favored approach is to run the moulding over the open ports to keep a smooth flowing line from bow to stern. I’m comfortable cutting them out with a #11 blade though it was bit more challenging with the rabbit, I could only use the very tip of the blade. Another reason I buy #11 blades in lots of 100, I change them often.

Not being clever enough to carve two separate moulding designs, I was a little clever by turning one upside down from the other. At any rate I like the symmetry as it turned out.

A note; I’ve repeatedly said how much I like the Alaskan Yellow Cedar on this model. However here it just wouldn’t work. the 1/32 strips shredded when scraped (at least scraped by me). Chuck was kind enough to ship me a selection of Boxwood strips which proved perfect and easy to shape.

I cut the hawse plates from 1/32 wood by once again rubber cementing the template cut from the monograph but with an angle to match my stem, easy. I later mounted them to the ship, careful to follow Chuck’s direction to cut the holes parallel to the keel. I colored the inside of the hawse hole with graphite pencil to simulate lead sheathing.

Next up is the “ear” at the bow stem, also from boxwood to match the moulding. Cutting one of these little jewels, which I first rough cut with my new scroll saw then shaped with needle files and sanding, was hard enough. The real fun part was cutting as second one to match the first one, (you can see in the photo I wasn’t quite there yet). Then when you’ve done that, using the scraper to cut in the same moulding design. I was wishing for thinner fingers, yet I managed to pull it off with a good deal of time and patience, did I mention patience.

The last step before painting is adding a third strip of 1/32 moulding to the outer edge of the cap rail. I have to say it makes for a simple but elegant cap rail. I’m glad I asked questions, practiced, made prototypes, and wound up here with the three strips - it makes the hull really pop (even though its still sanded above the wales at this point.

Then was time to paint the rail black, touch up the red, touch up the black, scrape off the side, touch up again, back and forth. Although a process made much easier by Tamiya tape, I’m pretty picky about paint lines. I used Admiralty Paint Dull Black for the cap rail and fashion pieces.

Before moving onto the deck, I decided to add the boarding steps. I brought out my new scraping station and repeated the process with a new profile for the steps (I know how to do this now, and I didn’t care for the Amati scraper options:-). I thought of giving the mill a go, but for a cutter I decided a basic step would be appropriate and at this point I was comfortable with scraping them, this time from 3/32 square boxwood strip. I needed six identical steps so naturally I made twelve and selected the best six.

And with all that, along with a fresh coat of (not quite dry so I can’t polish it up yet) WOP the starboard side of my hull is complete.

Now off to the port side and do it all again.

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Post 28

I elected to take what I thought was a short diversion, and at the same time had a larger diversion thrust upon me. The large one was a long undetected leak in our dishwasher drain resulted in a six week demolition and reconstruction of our kitchen. Not fun, lots of contractors, noise and dust to deal with every day and not much ship time at all. But enough of that.

What I though was going to be a short diversion while all the above was going on, was completing the stern port lids. I used Chuck’s hinge mini-kit with the instructions printed from his website. It all seems pretty straight forward, but as our British friends say there is a lot of fiddling to get all the tiny pieces to come together.

First I glued three strips of planking together, plenty long enough to cut more than two lids. I measured, cut, and gently sanded to get just those planks to fit the opening and to align with the transom planking.

Once that was done I measured, cut and glued and painted red a smaller set of planks to to fit within the interior of the port, shown here inboard with a photo also designed to display the most possible dust particles (I cut the bowsprit hole earlier today, more on that later).

I created the lid lift ring by wrapping 24 gauge black anodized wire around the right size drill bit and with a little snipping, shaping, and bending, pulled it through the lid. So far, easy and fun.

The fiddling comes not in following the instructions to mount and install the hinge plates and cutting 1mm lengths of tiny brass tubing for the hinges along with 28 gauge wire, it’s getting it all fitted together and mounted. Nothing difficult in concept, just working with tiny pieces and tiny holes. Between dealing with contractors in the kitchen I managed to get it done over a longer period than I would have anticipated. Anyway…patience tested and passed.

Every stern on every model I’ve build has been an adventure. It seems on many kits it’s an afterthought, just that thing at the end of the ship. At least in my case it was always an adventure in adapting and overcoming little challenges to get everything to fit and call it a stern.

None of that’s true with Cheerful. It is a well guided process from the initial base, to adding the counter, completing the planking as it rises up then finishing it off with a lovely square tuck. Then there’s the fit of the transom to the counter and the addition of rail and moulding strips. There’s my choice to follow Chuck with a RED painted counter with me adding black to the fashion pieces either side meeting the transom rail and the contrast of my choice of a natural stern post, and of course those fiddling port lids. It all works, it looks like a stern should look in my humble opinion. I’m kind of pleased with the final completed stern of my Cheerful, I hope you like it and decide to build one of your own.

The contractors are gone, now I’ll do the port side moulding.

Post 29

After 5 months of work I’ve completed my Cheerful’s hull. I thought I’d pause a minute and share a few photos before moving on to the deck.

I’ve written in this log about the many things I’ve learned from this semi-scratch build, so many things I’d never done before. I have many more such challenges ahead, I’m looking forward to them all.  The fun continues.

Post 30

As I posted earlier I took a break from the hull to put together some cannon, turns out it wasn’t much of a break - it’s a process to assemble these guns. I thought I’d take a step back and show some of how they came about.  Likely nothing novel, most of us have made plenty of ship’s guns.

Before I left the hull I took the time to make a little jig to drill the holes for the gun eyelet’s and ring bolts at each port. I won’t add them until later, but it was easier to drill the holes with an empty deck.

Next up was giving the brass guns an acetone bath as painting prep and then testing my eyes and fingers to put the tiny emblems on each barrel. I almost gave up, it does take some effort. It’s a good thing Chuck’s mini-kit provides plenty of extra’s, a lot died during the process. The secret is putting glue on a pin to apply it. Once you have as little as possible, then put less than that on the emblem. Fine point tweezers are essential.

I’m not big on using an airbrush, I have a very basic propellent can model I rarely use. My thought is the ships of the time weren’t painted with spray guns so…  It’s different with metal cannons, so airbrushed they are. I used a different primer paint this time as I noted in my earlier post.

The mini-kits for the guns include everything needed to build the carriages from laser cut parts, so after making the first one it was time for a production line.

As many have noted before, a jig is essential to aligning the axels to the sides. Cleaning off the laser char from all the small pieces is a chore but the red paint would show through if I hadn’t, so time well spent. Rounding off the axels is also a process, there are no extra axels in the kit so it’s a process done slowly. I suppose maybe I could have made my own quoin handles but my patience was already tested enough with small part assembly. Fortunately I have 5mm brass belaying pins that fit the bill.

Then it’s hand painting each carriage and mounting the trucks. Someone said to paint them anything but black, I’m not in on that so mine are in fact black. Just to be different and because I like the look I left the axels natural (though I may not stay with that choice, we’ll see later).

Added to my never done before list is the use of weathering powder, I was skeptical but I have to say it made all the frustration of applying the emblems worthwhile. The Doc O-Brien’s Rusty Brown gave life to the barrels and really makes the emblems stand out.  I went all in and bought this weathering brush set from MicroMart, I’m sure any brush would work but using one to apply, one to even out and the large very soft brush as a final buff really is worth the expense. No surprise, the key is minimalism - it takes very little power to make it work.  I was pretty basic on the cap square, cut from black card paper, I may add a hinge later when I make the next five. I did use the weathering powder on the card strip, it’s just too black next to the barrel otherwise.

So after a lot more time than I thought it would take I have the two long guns and five of the ten carronades finished. There are ring bolts that go on the sides of all the carriages (and the hull) but that comes later by making the breech ropes as a single unit off the ship, the holes for them are drilled and ready.

I enjoyed making the guns, among other things it put off figuring out scarph joints for a while. There were times though when I felt like mini-me here and was ready to blow things up. I still have five more to do the next time I need a break from the deck work.

Off to the deck I go - maybe to never be heard from again.

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Post 31

The margin planks and waterway - this small step is no small thing. I had no idea how to even begin despite reviewing multiple logs and reading the monograph multiple times. The finished product is just one ¼” strip of wood that runs along the outside perimeter of the deck. Making the six separate pieces along the bulwarks and five more small ones for the stern was an interesting adventure, and once again a first for me. It doesn’t look like much seeing the final result, but a lot of time goes into fitting everything together.

I elected to start with what I considered the hardest step first, cutting margin planks to fit the bow area. I decided to place the first scarph joint near the second port, consistent with photos in the monograph but a little different than shown on the plans. This basically divided the hull into thirds. I started with a cut out of the deck from the plans, used that to cut card stock to get the curve, then further modified that on the model to get an accurate curve. I transferred that to 3/64 sheet and then off to my new scroll saw.  I smoothed the resulting edge on my Byrnes Sander then used the dividers (thanks Rusty) to measure the ¼ width, which I also cut out on the scroll saw. Once sanded smooth (by hand this time) I copied a model of the scarph from the plans on a piece of scrap, penciled that onto the bow piece that I knew fit perfectly then cut it out with my #11 bade with an assist from my freshly sharpened chisels. I did it all over again for the other side and smiled with relief I’d figured out. My scroll saw skills are improving and while in theory I could have cut it without one, it sure comes in handy.

That may sound quick and simple but it wasn’t - I did each step slowly it was important to get exactly ¼ width to match up to the planks I ripped from ¼ wood for the mid and stern sections. Slow sanding and constant checking to ensure I got it right.

Next up, the stern. I started by sanding a 15 degree bevel with my Byrnes sander into a 6 inch strip of ¼ cedar to match up flush to the counter, then used the plans and card stock to get the proper width and angles. Using the card stock saved a lot of wasted wood and using the cut out of the plan got the card stock close to the shapes needed, card stock I have. I created a little expander cutting one piece short of the width, putting double sided tape on that and sliding another short piece to fit snuggly.

The stern portion of the margin plans was pretty straight forward. I got my plank bending station out and was able to fairly quickly get both sides shaped and using my scarph pattern penciled on and cut out on the ends. Again card stock along with some cut tape made it easy to get the proper angle on the stern end of the margin plank.

I thought I was almost home. I followed the same plans, card stock, process to get the needed curve to bend but it wasn’t until I used and extra long plank and multiple heating sessions and curve patterns on my plank bending stations was I able to get the curve for the middle section of the margin plank. It’s a shallow curve with a strong bend at the bow end, it took some time to bend the ¼ cedar into the proper shape. My first attempt with a plank cut to the proper length wouldn’t allow me enough torque to clamp the hard curve at the end, with the extra length I was able to get the curve then cut it to proper length, Once again I’ll say Chuck’s heat plank bending method works. Without soaking (using the steam setting on the iron did appear to help this time) I was able to shape, reshape, and reshape again to get a flush fit. These two planks both basically took a day’s work to get right.

To get the proper scrap cut penciled on I just put the freshly curved mid plank under the bow piece held in place with plastic clothes pins (these have soft tips and not much pressure to avoid marking up the hull), traced and cut the joint then the same for the stern, one at a time is essential to ensure the right length. I cut the joint too big based on the penciled guide then slowly sanded all the angles and cuts into a relatively smooth fit. It comes as no surprise that while the pattern cut worked for the stern and bow sections, the curves create a different angle to match - something the first version, which I’ll politely call prototype now that its in the waste pile, proved. I was too in the zone and forgot to get photos of this step.

I know it just looks like a few curved sticks of wood, on a kit these would be provided as laser cut parts if they were provided at all. Making them myself was something I wasn’t sure I could sort out, it’s pretty rewarding having done so. I’m pretty happy with the result.

The last step is to use 1/32 square strip with one corner rounds to form the waterway (when you want something fun to do take a piece of 1/32 square and round off just one corner). As Chuck notes on the real ship these and the margin planks where actually one solid piece, this simulated approach works just fine. I was able to use boxwood strips Chuck kindly provided. I love the cedar but it doesn’t cut down to 1/32 square very well, it just kind of shreds.

I have some tools that become versatile for me, this very thin spatula is one. I put a dab of CA on the tip then ran it under the waterway then fit it with a soft cloth and using my trusty dental scraper. Once I settled into this approach it went quickly.

Here is the finished product with a light coat of WOP to protect it a bit, I’ll wait until the rest of the deck is in before sanding it. As I noted I’m happy with the result and having had the experience, but I’m glad to have this step behind me. It was one of those that I really had no clue how to do when I first read at the monograph. Although things I didn’t know how to do is becoming a pretty long list as I’ve noted throughout the log. I do know how to make cargo hatches and that’s next.

PS: I feel like this post has a lot of photos of sticks…

It's great to relive the Cheerful.

Post 32

Making the Deck Furniture is actually six mini projects and a nice change of pace. The hatches and skylight are based on Chuck’s mini-kits, the companionway was scratch-built.

I first made the cross-hatches from boxwood using the Syren mini-kit. These made up into much nicer than the traditional kit jigsaw pieces I’ve used before. With the hatches made and sanded I had the measurements needed to make the frames. As Chuck points out, it’s easier to make the frame second than to force fit the hatch into an already made frame. I elected to pull out my limited supply of boxwood to make the hatch frames, both to match the hatches themselves and to provide a little contrast to the cedar deck. Plus who doesn’t love to work with boxwood.

I made a simple jig both to help square up the frame and more importantly to notch the frame to fit the deck. On Cheerful the deck furniture mounts directly to the false deck with the planking fitted around it. I used my chisel, #11 blade and planks from the batch I have already cut for the deck glued at 90 degrees to some smooth scrap as a jig in order to round off the corners while leaving a 90 cut to match up with the decking. You can see the resulting corners in the photos. The hatch is curved, so the frame is rounded as well. Corners on the hatches are done with lap joints. This is a nice exercise in precise cutting, with my Byrnes saw and cross table option it’s no problem than getting the math right. I think the rounded corners, lap joints, slightly rounded hatch tops and frame all in boxwood made for pretty nice looking hatches.

NOTE: Although I liked it at the time, I should have then and since have rounded the grating to match the cowling, not flat like these are - but still I kinda like them.

Next up was the skylight - the four pieces in the photo are actually eight pieces, each being two layers. Chuck’s mini-kit is very precise - I used PVA white glue applied with a needle to give me time to keep things aligned and keep it neat. The lower layer of the frames is the inset for the “glass” (acetate) and glass frame, a brush dipped in water cleared away any excess glue. This mini- kit is very well designed, its amazing to me how the laser cut pieces all fit so perfectly together (when it’s done it consists of six layers).

I got a little lost in the doing and forgot to take photos, but next was squaring up and assembling the pieces, including cutting the corners identical to the hatches using my handy jig.  Cheerful builders vary here I’ve noticed. Some opt for natural color on the skylight and some forgo the coaming. My including the coaming and my RED paint is purely personal choice.

Last up is the companionway, fully scratch built based on the plans. I used 1/32 board cut into planks, The width of the planks is determined by the plans, divided by six. I then edge-glued those planks with PVA after first penciling one side of each edge. Although I was painting it red, this helped to keep some definition to the planks - otherwise I could have cut solid pieces.

I made up the four sides, all larger than needed, used double sided tape to connect the cut out plans, then made the  required cuts with a #11 blade. Precision is important with making any cube, in this case there’s a little extra challenge added since the sides are angled to correspond to the slope of the deck. I cut a piece of scrap MDF to the interior measurements, this made it much easier to square up my “box” along with my mini-engineering triangles and squares. I’ve had these for years, they come in handy a lot.

The back panel was made up a little different with narrow outer edge planks to distinguish the doors. Since the top is wider and longer, but still six planks I cut a different width from the 1/32 cedar board, again using the plans.

Here is another point where Cheerful builders vary, either no coaming, integrating the coaming as part of the the sides or leaving it natural. I chose to have the coaming stand proud, but only a little bit by using .025 board. For the latch handles I simply bent a couple of eyelets 90 degrees. The hinges are made up of 1mm wide black card stock. I went back the Syren hinge mini-kit and cut 1.5mm lengths of the micro brass tubing I still had left.  Though 24 gauge wire was recommended I though this was a crisper look. All of this was assembled using white PVA glue to ensure I could get things aligned properly.

So here are my completed mini-projects ready to mount. I like the look of the boxwood hatches and marvel at the precision cutting of the skylight kit (which is also angled to meet the slope of the deck).

Here they are sitting loose on their future homes. I simply painted black squares below the hatches, not much can be seen through them. A long while ago just for grins I’d put a bit of decking on the frame below the cutout of the skylight and painted black around it. I was please to find out that flooring can be seen through the skylight, adding a little depth, well worth the five minutes it took at the time. Now I’m thinking why didn’t I build a checkered floor, a table, a small beer stein, and a seated 1/48 character down there (well, it’s not that visible….).

Now I glue these down, hopefully all in a straight line, and begin the process of planking the deck.

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Post 33

The decking begins. Not a lot new to report, just the measure, cut, fit, we’ve all done to lay a deck. This is the first time I’ve first glued the deck furniture to the false deck and the planking fitted around it. While it definitely looks better, it is also definitely more work to get the planking cut to fit.

I use Tamiya tape to fit angles and tight space, just cutting the tape to the right fit, taping that to the plank and cutting from there. I also use card stock, just depends on the piece I’m trying to fit.

While laying the first phase of the deck is straight forward, I piled up all the tools I used. It turned out to be quite the pile of stuff.  I don’t know if I’ve mentioned The Chopper and The True Sander before, I’ve got these long before my Byrnes machines. They make life easier with quick cuts (it uses a standard razor blade so easy to change) and sanding to get tight square fits. It’s one more way to sand stuff along with my sandpaper, blocks, and sticks - sooo many ways to sand…

In case you’re wondering things are even and centered, only the iPhone and the person holding it are a tilted throwing off perspective. I cut ¼ planks to have to fill the notched either side on the bread hatch, I’m sure the shades of the yellow cedar will even out as I go and once the completed deck is sanded and WOP applied.

So now it’s time for the planking fan and tapered planks to form the curved deck planking. This will take a while…

I notice as I repost these some things I might do different now, but as noted previously, it is as I did it and I'm not going to edit it now.

Post 34

Things are proceeding slowly right now, one because some of the deck details are slow work but also because the holidays are coming up and Covid or not life gets a bit more hectic.

I’ve decked a few models in my time but here we are again with another first on Cheerful, the curved planked deck. The deck is planked in two belts (much like the hull only flatter) The first step of the process is to establish the curve for the inner belt of six planks either side from the five already laid. I used thin artist tape, perfect for the job. I had one clear staring point, the full six plank width at midships. maybe a general idea of the bow and stern end point from studying photos of Chuck’s model in the monograph. But then its no more than a feel for what looks right, not easy for my metric based mind. I stuck and unstuck tape until it wouldn’t stick any more then pulled out a new piece and started again. I had to ask for a little affirmation from Chuck I was in the ball park and that finally I was. With that done I duplicated that free wheeling curve on the other side - which I might add is harder to do.  It did help to confirm equal distances from each bulkhead using small scrap wood.

Then it’s time to line the deck just as I did with the hull. I had marked the bulkhead locations back when I installed the false deck, in case I didn’t mention that before that was a wise move on my part, no need to guess at this point.

I converted the tape line to a pencil line and removed the tape. Using the planking fan and strips of card stock I worked each each bulkhead on both sides. This is tedious but essential work, it took me a full day to complete this task, there are no shortcuts to measure, mark, measure.

In order to avoid slivers of planks on the sides of the deck furniture the monograph notes to instead cut the plank at an angle creating a notch to fill with the next plank. I had six of these to make as it turns out. I ripped ¼ planks then using a card template cut in the notches and cutting the remainder down to 3/16 like the rest of the deck planks. I cut one card to be just the plank width then a second one to fit the notch, then with double sided tape created the template.

As with all the deck planks I ran a #2 pencil line down one side of each plank to simulate the caulking. Based on my experience with the hull I believe applying the WOP will also accentuate the seams and butt joints. In the process of making these I twice knocked a hinge off the companionway, I decided not to replace them a third time until I was done with the decking.

These are not easy to make right. The concept is easy, the execution not so much in order to get a tight fit. I used more double side tape to attach the template the the ¼ plank and used my trusty #11 blade to cut it out then did it 5 more times…ok more than 5 more times was needed to get 6 that fit right. I was thankful this was not a kit (yet again) because I just kept ripping and cutting ¼ planks until I had what I wanted. In the end it creates a nice look I think.

I’m happy with how these came out and will admit to two modifications I made, on purpose, because I’m of limited skill. With creating the notched fits around the furniture I elected not to taper the first run of 6 plank belt because I didn’t think the combined tapered and notched plank looked good enough, at least not to the extent I could make them.

I also modified the butt shift pattern from the plans on this first row for a similar reason. As a result I spent a good deal of time on a paper copy of the plan modifying the butt pattern to stay true to the four plank shift then transferred those marks to the deck. I elected to use a razor saw to cut butt joints partway through a full length plank for those close to the stern or bow. This was the best way for me to ensure a clean taper given my limited skill. For model purposes I really only needed one actual cut joint per row.

Here’s the first belt competed, I’m not sure I got the curve exactly right, hopefully it will be fine once the 2nd belt is installed. I have not done the final sanding and scraping or applied any WOP, I’ll do that with the finished deck. I’m ok with the color and grain variation, the WOP will even it out and, like the hull, it gives the deck character.

Off to cutting hooded planks for the second belt and finishing up the deck.

Posts 36-59 to follow later

Post 35

Completing the Deck

Decking Cheerful seems like three different projects, planking the center around the deck furniture, the first belt of six curved planks, and the final belt of hooked scarphs.  It took me a while to sort out how to do these interesting design features of Cheerful’s deck, at least for me it wasn’t readily obvious how to create them, or at least create ones that fit.  So I thought for those interested, and with my never ending quest to provide way too much detail, I thought I’d share how I did them. I again acknowledge there are likely better and more than one way (write your own log:-) this is just how did them.

I did some measurements and determined that starting with 5/16 planks (the widest of my selection of cedar) would be wide enough to include the scarphs. I could have also used 3 inch wide sheet wood, and maybe I should have, but the 5/16 was my choice so I ripped some planks and off I went.

Back from the “hook” itself the plank obviously has to be 3/16 to match the rest of the deck so I slide a 3/16 plank and marked that line. I decided after some experimentation I wanted a 3mm fit “into the hook” on the bow and 2mm on the stern.

I used the smaller on the stern because the hook portion would be too large for my taste due the more narrow angle, so the fit was largely dictated by my choice of size of the resulting hook (or hood as I’ve seen some call it). So I made a little jigs, one 3mm and one 2mm. I slide that under the 3/16 plank and drew a line the would become the size and shape of the hook to check the look and also put a light mark at that spot on the margin plank as shown in the photo.

Next to get the required angle I fit and cut some Tamiya tape.

Then transferred the tape to my 5/16 plank and made the cut.

I slid the full plank into its future home and transferred the pencil mark I’d made on the margin plank to the 5/16 plank, and the first step is done. That mark defines the hook forward and the 3/16 plank behind.

Next I used a 3/16 plank to mark its width onto the 5/16 plank, holding it firm with my heavy ruler and handy square, but double checked it with another ruler. As it turns out I needed to remove 3mm (so fun jumping back and forth from imperial to metric).

My scarph is marked and ready to cut. The total length of each scarph is determined by the butt joint plan I noted in my last post, the total length of course varied for each of the twelve (6 per side) I made.

Since I can’t take a photo and wield a #11 blade at the same time here is the result. I used my little 220 and 320 grit sanding blocks and files to finish it up. I also slightly beveled the back side on all four sides. This is an important step I believe. I want the top edge dictating the fit not any minor differences on the sides or bottom edge.

And what do you know it fits.

To complete the row I do the same process on the stern then determine the length of a 3/16 plank to fit between them. I cut it a little long then use my Byrnes Sander extremely gently to slowly form the edge until I have the right length (it’s actually spinning in this photo, close as I’ll get to live action shots:-).

Then it’s back to the bending station to get the required curve for a tight fit. I’ve said it multiple times and will say it once more (for the last time in this log as I don’t think there is anything left to bend): Chuck’s technique of using dry heat in the form of a travel iron (so much quieter and quicker than a hair dryer) is the way to bend wood in my humble opinion. The only water I use is dipping my finger into the little pitcher shown in the photo and lightly wetting the wood.  I can (and have) unbend the same plank if I bend it too much. This process just works for me. I scorched the wood a bit on this plank, but that easily sands off with 320 grit. I have a couple of templates depending on what curve I need and always put a scrap piece between the plank and clamp to keep it from marking or crimping the plank.

Here’s the completed row, the three pieces now glued to the deck. I don’t think I got the curve exactly right on the first belt. Oh well, it’s the curve I have.

I hope this step by step detail helps someone someday, it was a certainly process of discovery for me. Yet again a thing I’d never done before, thank you @Chuck and Cheerful.

Here’s the nearly completed deck, I’m not done, I’ll lightly sand the first coat of WOP and apply a second plus there are a few blemishes I’ll attend to before moving on. I personally think Chuck’s design and instructions make for a pretty interesting deck. There’s a lot more going on than my usual straight bow to stern planking.

So many joints and angles here at the stern. I think it’s pretty cool how it all fits together, making each plank was a process in and of itself.

A look at the bow and it’s interlocking pieces. The planks aren’t discolored, that’s the shadow they’re casting from the poor orientation of my workshop light above and behind.

Finally another above look. My only minor disappointment is the amount of variation in the cedar color. The WOP did even it out a lot but there is definitely more variation than on the hull. The 5/16 is darker and as it was used only on the outside stands out, plus there is a much paler plank running either side of center.  I like that it’s not all the same, it makes it come alive, I just kinda wish there was just a little less variation. I’m sure that will all fade together as the rest of the deck and cannon are added. Again there are shadows from lighting, I first thought what are those squares, then realized its window light coming through the gun ports on the far side plus the work light coming from behind.

My grumbling aside, I’m happy with the finally completed hull. As Chuck noted in the monograph, with the deck complete all the big messy stuff is done. Now I begin to add the details, sub-assemblies and mini-kits to make it a ship.

I started April 30th, so it’s been eight months to reach this point. What a fun ride its been.