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[rosinante]

Hello all , Iam new to the forum and model making, Iam a competent woodworker and have a full workshop of woodworking equipment and a small engineering lathe, as a retired ex RN artificer Ihave taken it into my head to make a scale model of a 27 ft seaboat, aka whaler that I rowed as a boy in my early years in the navy, Ihave tracked down plans from Cornwall model boats so that's a start, now I need some guidance regarding the timber species required, the idea is to try and faithfully reproduce a whaler in 1 :12 scale , so bear with any questions that may seem daft ,
Thanks
Chris

[Neil]

If you are going to build faithfully to the real thing, then hopefully with a little research on timbers used for a whaler, and I would presume oak or teak keel, stem and stern post, you might consider lime for the clinker planking, unless they were the more modern hull with carvel planking.


But if I were to build one, I would still stick to lime for the planking....a nice pliable timber with good graining allowing it to be steamed and formed without splitting unlike short grained Sapele, Meranti or Mahogany, which would give the finished colour but harder to work especially on thinner planks.

[tigertiger]

If you want it to look more authentic, and imagine scaling down the wood grain, then lime is the way to go; if you are not going to paint the model. It is easy to work with, especially if you are going to carve any details. It is quite flexible and the hull will take knocks. If you are going to have any mahogany detail, it is better to stain a softer wood as mahogany can be brittle.
An alternative used a lot is cedar. You can cut your own planks very cheaply, and used the straight grained pieces.

[rosinante]

Thank you for your kind replies, my location is East cornwall , Lime seems to be the preferred timber , I have none of this but lots of Plum and Cherry, also holly in small 1 inch board form , I will track down some lime and resaw it to approximate dimensions  and let it settle,
Has  any other member of the forum built one of these whalers in clinker form ? If so would you kindly post a pic for my inspiration and guidance please,
Also can any tell me when the whalers went over to carvel hull form please ,
Thanks
Chris

[tonyH]

I seem to remember that holly was used a lot for planking before lime became the preferred choice.
I'll re-check but I think it was used by Mr Longridge for his model of the Victory.

[TailUK]

If you're having trouble finding Lime (or Linden as it's also known) consider Bass which you might find easier to obtain.  Bass is the same Genus as Lime and has many of the same properties.

[grendel]

or consider converting ikea wooden venetian blinds as they are generally lime, just need to remove the stain they use to imitate all of the other wood species.

[Netleyned]

If it was a 27ft Montague Whaler as rowed and
sailed at Jupiter Wack, then whatever
Wood you use should be painted grey on the hull
White inside with bare wood thwarts.
Remember the tiller was a yoke around the mizzen
base.
Was at Fisgard 59/60 and got my cox'n's badge
sailing them and cutters and RNSA 14's
Jupiter Wack was us apprentices name for
Jupiter Point.
Ned

[rosinante]

My rowing was at Royal Clarence Yard and at sea on Hms Defender back in the 60s, Jupiter point at Anthony is still going,  about 10 miles from where I live, 
I will paint it as you describe , pussers grey and white,
Chris

[Netleyned]

They had a steel centreboard lowered when sailing,
The plate was in a box on the keel with a lever/handle to lower and recover.
First time I sailed one would have been 57/58 in
the Pembroke Dock Sea Scouts.
The Carvel 'Three in one' seaboat
Arrived on the New builds in the
early 60's The old Darings were
Beauts. First AC Ships.
Ned

[rosinante]

I remember the Defender as DC , when we were alongside on shore supply in Chatham there used to be a trailer with massive mercury filled thermionic diodes feeding the ship and Donkey boilers for steam to the calorifiers ,
Chris

[Netleyned]

Think Diana was the AC version
She was 440 reduced to 115 for services.
I know the first AC switchboard was fitted on a
Daring.
Those Mercury Arc Rectifiers were a bit scary
but needed for high demand DC
Ned