2 - Finishing the Hull

With the upper stern and bulwarks in place, it was time to start the second planking of the hull. We measured the width of the planking in various places along the hull with a piece of paper held against the surface of the first planking. This indicated about 15 levels of planking at mid-ship with full widths of the 5 mm strips. Using dividers, we divided the various points along the hull into 15 equal sections and then drew lines along the hull for reference during the planking. This allowed us to more easily keep up with how much to taper the planks toward the stem and stern during the planking.

As with the deck, we decided to plank with strips 50 mm in length in a 1-2-4-3 sequence and this time we used CA glue to attach the new planks against the first layer. Super glue dries very fast, in just seconds, which has its advantages and disadvantages. You can work real fast, but you will also often glue fingers to the hull. The middle third of the hull would all be full width strips but we would then taper the strips slightly toward the stem and stern to a strip width of about 3-4 mm. The first two levels below the bulwarks were planked full width from stem to stern. This was in anticipation to the rubbing strakes being later attached to this upper area, and we wanted to have the visible upper plank and rubbing strakes parallel the entire length of the ship.

This was where it was very handy to have four hands. I do not know how anyone alone can plank a hull using superglue, bending the planks against the previously installed level and keeping from crushing the bulwarks and stern at the same time. The two of us were able to accomplish the planking in a methodical manner with little difficulty, with me applying the glue to the hull and then holding the ship while Caroline applied the plank and bent and held it in place for the few seconds it took to dry. We both had to use finger nail polish remover on our fingers after each planking session to remove super glue.

After planking the first two levels, we planked the stern, which looked good enough below the lined upper stern to encourage us. We carefully trimmed the access within about a half mm and then used sanding files to finish the shape.

We alternated laying the planks port and starboard and closely monitored the progress down the hull. The layers stayed surprisingly even, from stem to stern, all the way to the keel.

We were concerned with how the forward planks were going to meet with the stem. We had seen plenty of pictures of completed ships, with this looking great on all of them, but we were still not sure how we were going to pull it off. We decided we would need to build up and reinforce the bow area with more putty. The stem was temporarily fitted in place during the planking but would need to be removed for sanding the final planks.

At each level of planking, when we came to the final plank to meet the stem at the bow, we cut the plank to fit and sanded the plank to a wedge to fit tightly against the stem.

As we progressed down the hull, we found that there were gaps being left at the bow between the initial planking and the final planks.

These would need to be reinforced to keep from breaking the sharp pointed planks during sanding. As you can see, the gaps were sometimes significant when we removed the stem.

We filled the gaps with our Squadron MMD White Putty, applying it and poking it under the planks with a toothpick. This stuff dries quickly and is very easy to sand.

We kept sliding the stem in to make sure it would fit after everything was dry.

The stern was done differently. After much discussion and test fitting, we decided to sand the stern planks flush to mount the sternpost later.

On the keel, we made a transition from the keel lying between the outer planks toward the bow to lying against the planks on the stern. I’m sure that a real ship isn’t made this way, but it was a much easier way to do it for us at this stage and we were worried we might mess it up any other way. I found a rough nail file the width of the stem, keel, and sternpost and we used this to sand the grove for the keel.

We used this same file to carefully even up the grove at the bow for the stem.

Next we will attach the rubbing strakes and the stringers and railings.

1 - Starting the Hull

Caroline was impatient to get started on our Virginia 1819 schooner as soon as we had returned from M&M Hobby Center in Houston with our tools and books. This would, of course, be a problem since we still had to get everything home to Dubai. We didn’t want to take a chance of breaking anything during the trip so we decided not to just get started building the frame. So she studied the instruction book pictures and browsed the other books we picked up on building wooden ship models.

We decided to try to build a caulked deck and experimented with markers before deciding on construction paper for the caulking. See our construction article “Caulked Deck for a Wooden Ship Model” for details on how we did it. So we completed lining the deck.

We still had a week before we left for home, so she got some small plastic bags at a jewelry supply store and started cutting and separating the parts in sub-assemblies and placing them in separate bags. She labeled them by instruction page numbers.

Then she noticed that some of these sub-assemblies could be assembled now with no risk of damage during travel. So she skipped right to pages 18-19 and built the cargo hatch. She also attached the handles and cannon balls so as not to lose them. These went back into the same plastic bag.

By this time, she had built a deck, the cargo hatch, and cut quite a few parts for future sub-assemblies. Caroline decided to take a crack at building the companion, so after studying page 17 she assembled it. This kit is entry level, so although it will look great built right from the box, Caroline had been inspired by looking through other books and decided that we could improve areas of the model with a little extra effort. Not liking the plywood walls, her first decision was to add planks to the outside of the companion. She was very pleased and encouraged with how this turned out.

When we got home to Dubai and got an area we could use for the build, we started on the frame of the hull. No problems occurred during steps 1-8, which left us with a hull with the first level of planking strips. We used a little of my Squadron’s MMD white putty, which stuck to the wood quite nicely, to fill in low areas and then sanded the hull smooth. It looked a little messy, but since the final strakes were so thin, we knew we had to have a very smooth surface to begin.

When we came to the bulwarks, Caroline noticed that there were scuppers to drain the deck shown on the box top but not in the instructions. We figured we could easily add these and improve the appearance a little. So we carefully marked on the bulwarks exactly where the deck surface would be after they were glued in place. We then marked where we wanted the scuppers and drilled two holes for each scupper the width apart of our flat file.

We cut out the material between each pair of holes with a knife

and then finished up with our flat file.

We wanted the scuppers finished and exactly in the right places before gluing the bulwarks in place. This would keep us from accidentally scratching the finished deck planks while finishing the scuppers. This meant we jumped ahead to page 11 and lined the bulwarks before fitting the second lining on the hull. As with the deck, we cut the lining strips into 50 mm lengths and staggered them. We thought this looked a little more realistic, simulating boards about seven feet long. We lined the inside of the bulwarks and re-cut the scuppers in the lining. Then we lined the outside of the bulwarks and re-cut the scuppers again. When the bulwarks were lined and the scuppers shaped on both sides, we attached them to the hull and deck.

We were pleased with our progress thus far. These pictures show the

deck and bulwarks at the bow and stern. The upper stern was also lined inside and out.

The stem is shown in the photo, but it is not permanently attached yet. As you will see in the next chapter, we fitted it in place as a guide to the final planking but removed it for sanding the hull.

Caulked Deck for a Wooden Ship Model

Start with a flat wooden deck slab upon which will be mounted the individual planks. If the deck is to eventually be curved, it might be best to wait until the deck slab is mounted in place and then add the planking. The planking must be done and sanded down before the bulwarks are mounted. Since our deck was only slightly curved, we mounted the planks while the deck was flat and then curved the finished deck assembly to mount onto the bulkheads.

For the 1/41 scale Virginia 1819 schooner, by Artesania Latina, we used 5/32 by 1/16 basswood about 2 inches in length ( approximately 4 mm by 1.5 mm by 50 mm ) which was thicker but narrower than the 5 mm by 0.6 mm strips included in the kit, but this gives more room to sand it down later. This made the caulked planks a scale width of about 7 inches and length of 7 feet. These are probably a little smaller than actual planks for the period, but they looked right to us. Still, if we were to do it over, we would go with 3/16 strips to give a more accurate scale 8 inch width planks. We chose to stagger the deck planks in a 1-2-4-3 sequence, again, because it looked right.

First cut the planks into the desired lengths. They should all be the same. We used “The Chopper” from NorthWest Short Line.

Use charcoal construction paper for the caulking, as thin as you can find. Black is too dark for scale effect. For gluing the planks to the deck, either super glue or wood glue can be used. We used Elmer’s Wood Glue for our ship model and super glue for the demonstration in the photos. Super glue is very unforgiving as to placing the planks correctly the first time. Wood glue allows more time to push the planks flush with adjoining planks and it also saturates the paper caulking which provides thinner join lines.

Select a manageable set of planks, about 10 to 12, and set them on their edge with the ends exactly even. Use a square for this. On a strip of the construction paper paint a thin layer of glue and then place a set of planks edgewise on the glue.

The paper may be glued to the edge of the planks with superglue. Take a thin strip of paper, just larger than the end of the set of planks, put glue on the surface, and place it against one end of the planks. Do all sets of planks the same way.

After this is dry, which will be seconds if you are using super glue, use a new razor blade to trim the excess paper from the plank set.

Carefully cut through the paper attached to the end of the set to separate the ends of the planks.

Flex the set and cut to separate the planks.

Start with more than enough planks for the entire deck.

Planks will now have one paper edge and one paper end. Care should be made to ensure that all planks are oriented the same way to make sure there is caulking between all planks and none have double calking, which would be noticeable.

Mark the sub-deck center line and then outline the center deck plank along the length. Then draw a perpendicular line across the center of the width of the deck, another the length of a plank from this one, another halfway between the two, and two more halfway between those. This will give five lines perpendicular to the length of the deck indicating where the planks should start.

Glue the center plank to the deck. Then add the remainder of the planks on the centerline to the fore and aft. Use a straight edge to keep these first planks exactly straight.

All planks are mounted consistently with the paper to the front and to the right. We used a 1-2-4-3 stagger for the planks.

Special care should be made to ensure that the stagger is consistent.

When dry, sand down the deck with rough sandpaper, then gradually finer grits. The initial dark grey color will eventually get sanded away with the finer grits.

When finished and sanded, the deck should look like this.

We are still deciding if we will add some representation of treenails, which were used to fasten the planks to the bulkheads.

Our First Ship Building Project: Virginia 1819 Schooner

My daughter decided she wanted us to build a wooden sailing ship together. Since neither of us had experience with this we visited the Modelbouw Wapstad hobby shop in Rijswijk, The Netherlands, to see the options. They had quite a selection of all sizes and difficulties. The Artesania Latina model of the Virginia 1819 schooner caught her eye and since it was considered an entry level kit, we purchased it.


We picked up most of the tools and books we thought we would need while visiting Houston at M&M Hobby Shop in Bellaire. Everything else we even thought we would need were purchased while in Houston. We would be assembling the ship in our home in Dubai, UAE, which would not have much of a selection of tools or supplies.

While still in Houston she wanted to get started, so she went through the instruction manual looking for sub-assemblies that could be built that would not take up much space or get damaged in our trip back to Dubai. These were assembled and placed in plastic bags to keep separate. She also didn't like the toy-like appearance some of the kit would have, due to it being an entry level kit, and we decided we could modify our build, providing some more detail. This was a good idea, since we discovered more things we would need and we went back to the hobby shop to get more wood.

We have benefited from looking at build logs and pictures of this model on the Internet. We decided to create our own build log of our experience, mainly for ourselves, but this might share our ideas with others as well.