I am well into construction of a Clyde Puffer scratch build from plans, and have been mulling over my choices for scale looking hull plating.
The vessel "Cloughlight" is a 1890 era coal fired, steam powered, iron hulled puffer. The plans were drawn for building a cardboard display model or a wood R/C model. I scaled up the original plans by 200% which gave me a hull that is just under 4 feet long.
The plans include a very good set of templates for cutting out strips of material to glue onto the hull that are indented to simulate the plating. My first thought was to use 1/16" plywood and fit the strips. The problem is that the plates on a puffer overlap, and I am not sure of the best way to go about doing that, especially on a hull I intend to put in the water.
I built the hull using 1/4" plywood for the frames and 3/8" ply for the keel. I used styrofoam blocks between each frame to provide even spacing and keep everything parallel. The foam adds a great deal of strength and will provide an excellent support for the plating. I intend to glass the hull with epoxy resin and a light glass cloth, then sand it to break the gloss, and prepare it for plating.
Looking for any suggestions from anyone who has done a plating project before, and any tricks, tips, or pitfalls you can share. I will put up a build thread for this boat a bit later...
Thanks!