First stealer and first drop plank

Slowly onwards with the second planking below the wale. At the sternpost I’ve fitted the first stealer. In the end it will disappear under the wale.

I’ve since learnt the distinction from Piet: stealers belong at the sternpost, drop planks only at the bow. There the hull narrows so quickly that tapering alone won’t get you there, and you let one strake ‘run out’ between two others.

Two days later, even though this time I started tapering earlier (the lesson from April), the first drop plank at the bow already. The whole lot still needs sanding, so it looks a bit messy. That will improve.

I think a few more drop planks will be needed. In the end none of it matters much, since most of it disappears under the copper plates anyway. But it has to be neat all the same, even if nobody will ever see it.