I have had the Sterling Models R/C Emma C. Berry sailing Schooner for a long time and it has sat started but unfinished for over 15 years. My son decided it was time to finish it so he can sail it. The issue I have is I don't understand how to attach the "planking" to the hull. The directions say to cut each section out, soak it in hot water, bend it into place, let it dry then glue it in position. This is repeated for each section and on each side of the hull.
I soaked the balsa wood and it bent easily enough into place, but I tried to pin it into place so it would hold the shape to dry, but balsa is too soft to pin, the piece just pulled the pin out.
So my question to the wood model builders here is this, how do I keep these pieces bent in place to dry? I thought about tape, but didn't think that would work well. I thought about using epoxy hoping it would stick to the wet wood. I also thought about just tossing these pieces, getting long, thin balsa strips and planking it like a real ship. I'm not sure how best to move forward and was hoping we could build this over the winter. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated! Oh, and the directions do suggest to fiberglass the hull when done, so having a perfect, waterproof fit of the planking isn't a requirement.

Thank you for the help! Pictures of what I have are attached.

ECB hull_planking.jpgECB box.jpgECB planking.jpg