I've just started my new project. i bought the plans on ebay, they are for a "1922 hacker gold cup racer". the plans are for a model that is 39" long. i scaled these up 1.5 times to give a total length of 58.5" so i can use a zenoah. i've never done a planked boat, although i've done 2 wood boats before ( http://p086.ezboard.com/fjimsrcboatd...cID=4755.topic outdated, but still...) and want to make this one a natural wood finish, and so i naturally want the wood and planking to look nice. i'm almost finished cutting the bulkheads out of 5.2mm mahogany ply, and am planning to get the keel cut out tonight so i can start framing. what thickness/width planks would you use, and can i buy it cut or should i buy the wood and cut it with a table saw? i was thinking maybe i could buy it pre cut, beaded and coved. any help would be great!!

JS take a hop over to the 8' PTB I have posted in this section. look at the bottom right hand shelf under the PTB. You should just be able to make out the frames and full keel of a 5.5' Hacker runabout that is a on hold scratchbuild.It has concave frames everywhere.

Are you going to wind up with a similar framed up skeleton? I have covered this type and they can be very aggravating when doing it with the thin strips method.
More than 1 way to do any job.

The PTB is skinned with 5 big pieces of plywood.

Can you post the plans or scanner them my Email ?

Rich

it looks quite a bit like that. it's kind of hard to tell from the pictures, but yes, there are concave surfaces. this is the set of plans, although this is not the auction i bought them from. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=6035241752

if i could do it with ply and have it look nice, i would just as soon do that instead of planking it.

You can do about 60% from the transom to past the middle using VERY thin --Rubber Plywood--also known Italian Bending plywood.

Call a couple of Kitchen redecorators and cabinet makers.
They may have enough scraps from jobs to do the whole boat.

It can be cut into strips to do the front area.

Sheeting and or striping a boat HAS TO BE done equally on each side to prevent accidently putting a permanant twist in.--

I cut dozens of 1" long glue blocks for both sides of the frames, transom and keel.

I forgot to ask you.----Do you know how to sheet and then convert to strips in the bow area ?

Rich

when you say glue blocks, you mean...??? and no, i don't know how to sheet and then change to strip. you can see on my drag boat (page 2 of the link in first post) that i did that on the rear portion to get that curve from the sides/deck to the transom, and after some filler i think it turned out quite nice. however, without using filler (for the natural finish) i wouldn't fare so well in that department.

If I try to glue sheets or strips of anything to just the frame edges, I never get enough gluing area.
So I place a 1" glue block against a frame with just enough out side the frame to be able to trace the frame shape on the block.
Power sand the blocks curves, up and down--bow to stern also, and glue it in place.
I know it is a lot of little steps. But I dropped the 8' PTB 4' to the concrete floor with do damage.
That sold me on that way of laying up strips or sheets.
On Mahogany wooden runabouts cover the boat somehow.
Then buy some wood VEENER that you love and put it over the hull in staggered strips.
It is stunning.
Nobody but you will know.

Enjoy.

Rich

that sounds good! Today i got the keel traced and cut out, and the bulkheads completely cut out except for the notches in the very bottom where they insert into the keel. i got through the 3rd one (started putting them together but not gluing) and so i'm actually making PROGRESS (imagine that) and my band saw blade snaps [:@] !! so question 1, i should be leaving a little extra keel below the bulkhead bottom right? where the sheeting/planks will glue to? also, can you post up any other pics of that full keel boat in your other picture? some bigger ones maybe? the ply i have for the bulkheads and keel right now is veneer, but it's 1/4", so too big for sheeting!! i'll try to snap some pics tonight or tomorrow (after work)

JS. I am no picture taker. Births and weddings. When I remember.

On leaving this or that sticking out.
I left the keel bottom a 1/4" lower than the bottom skin for 2 reasons.
Nice edge to butt skins to. Butt blocks along the keel.
Helps a lot on the boat going straighter in small breezes.

I dry fitted the keel and ribs. Then fitted 2 side skins with masking tape to check the frame trueness. I just moved any that did not seat right.

Use a THIN epoxy to soak into that exposed 1/4" to 1/2" of keel so it never rots or soaks and swells up.

Rich