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Per remember that the wood that comes with the kit is Basswood not Boxwood. And I think I can get you some Swiss Pear.

Doris - My wife was just asking if you had made an update recently. Your log is the only one she reads on this forum. Now I can report that she needs to come take a look. Great work as always.

Chuck thanks for the advice. Unfortunately the fever got to me and I already removed the bulkheads from the sheet. But I can still sand them as you suggest. During our club meeting today it was agreed that we will do a club build of this kit. 2 members already have the kit. I will sent out the newsletter and we will see who else joins us. Chuck - Am I correct that you have built this longboat in Boxwood, Swiss Pear, & now Holly? If so can you give me feedback on the differences and advantages of each?

Well folks I am going to jump in here. I will dispense with posting any pictures of the box etc. I am sure that has been covered by the wealth of logs on this forum. My recent acquisition of this kit is explained elsewhere (see Dr. Per) So let me begin with my impressions and a few question for my fellow Longboat builders First of all this is a 1st class kit. Extremely well designed (what else would you expect from Chuck?) and the materials are very good. I have done a trial fit of the bulkheads and they all fit very snugly with almost no adjustment. I plan to use this as a learning tool. I want to experiment with Boxwood (which I have never used before). I also plan to use this as a platform to do treenailing (another item I have never attempted). I am especially interested in Chuck's method of using putty. Lastly Sam has inspired me to think outside the box and so I am not sure yet how I will modify the kit from the standard provided. So now some questions for those who have built this kit - The Basswood sheet that contains the bulkheads is 3/32 of an inch thick. Also on this sheet are the 2 lengths for the keel & 2 rudders. is this just extras or are we intended to glue then together to get a thickness of 3/16? The same occurs on the sheet with the Stem. I have 2 stems. Next question, On the 3/32 sheet with the stem there are 2 small pieces which I believe are the stern post. Again is the intent to glue them together to get more thickness. Finally there are 3 bow blocks on this sheet. I can figure out what to do with 2 bow blocks but is the 3rd one extra? Last question (for now) - I see many using brass rods to mount the longboat. In particular concentric brass rods. can you tell me where you got these? this method looks quite nice. A final comment, since Jeff is backed up supplying all of us builders with wood. This log may move a bit sow for the next couple of months. I started it now because this is a great opportunity to gather info from those who have gone before me. I also felt this was the best way to ask questions without cluttering someone else's build. PS you should all hound Dr. Per to start his build log here too. he has agreed to do a group build with me. My local club is meeting at my house today. I am going to suggest that this would be a great club build.

Hey Chuck! No posts for almost a year? !! Is she done? What about the inside details and rigging? Thanks for the heads up on the stem. I will use some bamboo to add strength.

Ben - I know its been awhile since you finished this project. But can you tell me how you decided to mount her? Also did you replace any of the wood with wood from Jeff?

Sam - I have been following this build on and off. I like your ideas. Can you explain the technique on the sails? From the photos I would challenge anyone who told me they are paper. As it happens I am having a trying time with my current project and I think you are right this could be just the diversion I need. Particularly since I just received this kit.

Gil - I can see that it makes a big difference. Very nice color choice!

Jim - You are a wealth of information. Thank you.

Grant - My point is like you have read and tried to do the same Joggle as you have. Unfortunately my results do not compare with yours. Truly beautiful work.

Ok Ok, Yves. Week after next she is going to be out of town visiting family. I can safely take the Endeavor out of hiding and upload some pictures. I might even fair the bulkheads and lay a plank or 2.

The individual Hammock was not covered. But there are several references to the row of hammock cranes filled with Hammock and then covered. But Jud are you sure that the Canvas would mold? remember that the most common source of cloth was old sails. This was used for Hammock and slops.

I must confess I started with the practicums too. It is the primary reason my first ship was the Bluenose. But now I would suggest the best "practicum" out there comes with the Syren for Free. Its call the instructions. It is a wonderful book full of color pictures and great suggestions on how to approach a problem. I think there is so much there that can be applied to other builds. I would consider getting just the book if I were you. Or you could just by the Syren kit and read the book and build the model later.

I have the deepest respect for all who served! I also know that although I did not serve in the armed services. The Navy was a life changing experience for my dad, and indirectly has had a huge impact on my life. Heck I might not have been born if my Mother was not part of a church group entertaining Sailors far from home during the Holidays. Thanks for your posts S.os.

Grant, I know from first hand that we are a very self critical lot. I also know that If it weren't for the encouragement I have received from members of this forum I would have burned a lot wooden hulls. All I can tell you is from what I see in your pictures is a very beautiful and graceful ship. One I would definitely want to see more of. I must confess I know little of her true history, but she is a elegant lady and you have done her very nicely. Please continue and by all means post more pictures. I would like to call attention to your joggle planks at the bow. Can you please tell me more about how you got them so even and clean? And your Treenailing is just the right size and does not look like the measles. What woods did you use for the deck planking and the hatch? it give just the right contrast. did you scratch the windlass? She is a wonderful model. I suggest only you will know about the stantions.

Richard - I am going to blame it on you. While I have been fussing and fuming over the final 8 planks on the 2nd layer of my Harvey. I have been enjoying your log so much that guess what? I got my Endeavor out and was tinkering with it. Well guess what? In about 90 min I had all the frames installed and glued! I am now at the point of fairing the frames and then begin planking. And yes I will be starting a build log. But the admiral must not find out!! So SHHH. I have owned the Harvey for about 20 years. You could say she has been my nemesis. The admiral knows this and is pushing me to finish it finally. Anyway I tell you all this for another reason. I was disappointed with the quality of the wood for the deck furniture and I have ordered replacement wood from Hobby Mill. It is a fine kit, everything fits together very nicely. But the cabins are Mahogany plywood. I am even considering replacing the deck planking. And of course I just got a new assignment at work that will be very demanding of my time. So all modeling will be slowing down. Just remember its your fault!

Some where on this forum there is quite a discussion on the details of Hammocks. I suggest you search for it. I will share just a few tips. 1. In the Royal navy the hammock was rolled length wise and had to fit thru a ring under the watchful eye of the bosun. 2. They were tied with what was called a marlin spike hitch. This consisted of 7 loops from one end to the other.

I would give serious consideration to anything designed by Chuck. ME has 4 models to choose from all of them by Chuck.

All I can say Chuck is that I wish my local club had known you were going to ramp up and be selling such high quality lines. We would have saved the cost of the Byrnes Rope Walk and just gone to you. No offense to Jim. As you say it is hard to justify a machine when you consider how much rope one modeler will need. Of course we took this into account by having the club buy the rope walk. But I still think knowing what we know now, I would have just sent you $500.00.

Henry - I thought you were a former Marine? What is a Marine doing on a Tin Can?

I agree with KISS. and in this case KISS tells me to just buy it from Chuck.

S.os - He was on DEs & DDs. The ship mentioned above did Picket duty during the Korean Conflict. He has pictures of being in the carib. and Europe. I think most of the time he was stationed in the Pacific. I think most everyone has heard the joke about Calvin Coolidge. It goes like this - "a guy comes up to him and says, Mr. President I bet my friend I could get you to say more than 2 words. Calvin responds "You lose". That was my dad. You just didn't ask, and he didn't tell you much. Work was its own reward and vacations were extra. He grew up on a cattle ranch in NM where the nearest neighbor was 5 miles away. Spent more time with horses, dogs, & cows than people. His dad died while he was in his teens. Entered the navy before he finished High School. Got his GED because some Chief decided he had the skills to go to OCS. Not sure why he never became an officer. He was ships swimmer because of his stamina. Which is a riot since he never swam in anything but a watering trough smelling of sulfur until the Navy. Met my mother when his ship pulled into Boston during Xmas holidays in 51. I came along in late 53. I have been a life long fan of the Navy and he is probably the reason. He is a large part of why I build these crazy things out of wood and string. Well at least I try. PS. About doing plane guard duty, He told me that back then Helos were in short supply and not very reliable. So it was the Tin Cans that played the role of angel. And since there was no helo to transfer the Brown Shoes back to the Carrier, they used the boson's chair. He said it was lots of fun watching as the ships rolled in the waves. Some guys would make bets on whether the guy would get wet or not. And the reason for the Ice Cream was the Cans didn't have freezers.

S.os - You are not kidding when you say you are an Old Salt. My dad was in the navy at the same time as you were. ET on a DD. And I am about to retire. so You must be Real Old!! PS I have a framed picture of my dad's ship next to my desk. to remember him by. DD 763. He used to tell me how they liked doing plane guard duty for the carriers. Because every time his ship fished a pilot out of the drink and returned him home they got a couple buckets of Ice cream sent over from the Carrier.

Yes I think that would be a good idea. But as I said I only have experience with a modern racing sloop. What you are building is very different. I would also search U tube. There are videos of battles between square rigged R/C ships. And yes the external keel is almost a must. Here is a picture of my sloop.

One thing to remember when building R/C some things don't scale. for example my racing sloop is 37 inches long and has a mast of just shy of 5 ft. If you were to scale that up to full size I don't think the mast would be to scale. This happens a lot in R/C. It is hard to make everything exactly to scale and still function properly.