BobG

Hi Harry, I glad I stumbled across your new build. This is a cool little boat and I've thought about buying it on eBay several times. I've been stalled a bit on my Pen Duick with other home related projects and getting out for so long road rides on my bike. My son's coming for a visit too so it will be a while before I make any more progress. By the way, what exactly is contact glue? Best!

It would be great if you could document the steps of installing all the necessary RC gear. I love to see how it's done.

Amazing photos, Yves! You certainly wouldn't want to be down in the observation chamber in shallow waters when there was a risk of going aground!

It's great to see another build of this historic ship! I'll be following along. Will you be making it fully RC or a static display model? Jacques Cousteau was a hero of mine. Someone I looked up to because of his fantastic documentaries that educated millions of people about world beneath the seas and our need to preserve it. During part of my 4 years in the US Coast Guard as a young man, I was stationed at the Captain of the Port Los Angeles/ Long Beach Station for a 2 1/2 year period from the fall of 1967 to my discharge in January, 1970. At one point the Calypso was docked in the Los Angeles/Long Beach Harbor and I was lucky to get to personally go aboard her and speak with Jacques and his son about some important issues involving a worldwide LORAN program. We met on the mess deck and had a great discussion about the LORAN system and the Calypso in general. His son then gave me a tour of the boat. I was a recreational SCUBA diver at the time also and I was in awe of the amazing, futuristic diving equipment they had. They encouraged me to keep diving and I left with grand visions of maybe joining them someday but, of course, that never happened. Cousteau was a visionary, ocean environmentalist and he did so much to enlighten the world about the importance of preserving our oceans. Unfortunately, if he were still alive today he would be appalled at the pollution and degradation of our oceans and sea life he loved so much.

I thought that the Tung Oil needs to be able to penetrate the wood. How does it do that if the wood is sealed? Is the Tung Oil more like a polish and does not need to penetrate the wood?

I noticed that you covered the deck planks with thin CA and then sanded the deck. After that you applied Tung Oil to the deck. Why do you use thin CA on the deck and then sand it? Doesn't the CA seal the wood and prevent the Tung Oil from penetrating the wood?

I have this model on the shelf and I was thinking of selling it. After seeing your beautiful model, I think maybe I should keep it and build it someday. I love the bright colors.

Check out this thread. This modeler just got plans from them.

Some modelers have gotten plans from Midwest recently after contacting them. Even though they don't make kits anymore they have seem to still have copies of their kit plans and instructions. Here's their contact information from their website (midwestproducts.com): Midwest Products Email: info@midwestproducts.com Phone: 1-219-942-1134 Toll-Free: 1-800-348-3497 Fax: 219-947-2347 Address: 400 S Indiana St. Hobart, IN 46342

I just found your build, Pete, and it is stunning! Beautiful work in every way. I'm following along now.

Beautiful, Bob!

I love that big plan that you have of the Muirneag. Where were you able to buy it? Also, just out of curisosity, is Muirneag pronounced just as it is spelled?

I really looking forward to seeing you build this model. Those models in the links you provided are stunning.

I'll be following along. I have the Master Shipwright Version as well and it will be my next build after I finish the Pen Duick.

Fantastic! Can't wait!

James, will you be doing a build log of this ship here on MSW at some point in the future? I hope so. It's an exciting new model!

Yikes...that would put a scare into me!

This is essentially how did my flag on the Medway Longboat as well. I must have sprayed it 5 or 6 times to wet it again until I got a shape I was happy with. I used a variety of various width dowels to help me shape the flag. The only obstacle for me was that my fingers would get sticky from the artist fixative and that made it tedious trying not to ruin the shape when they would get stuck to the flag. I had to use a very light touch. I was just looking at an old MSW thread on miniature flags the other day. There seem to be several sources for flags made of fabric for modelers. I think that would be the way to go if you can find the flag and size you need. They should hang naturally if they are made of a thin, soft material.

I just discovered your excellent review of this book, Mark. You did a wonderful job. So much so that I'm going to order it right now! Thanks again.

My Flirt arrived today and it is impressive in every way: great materials and fantastic instructions and plans. I really like it that, instead of having a couple of huge plans like most kits have, Chris includes a whole bunch of small plans that are so much more manageable and easy to find what you are looking for. I'll be in the front row following your build. She's a beauty. Good luck, Sjors!

I know exactly what you mean. After I finished the Medway Longboat I began building the Pen Duick by AL and, although I love this sailboat and its history, it pales in comparison to the quality of the longboat. I spend more time grappling to make sense of the instructions and plans than actually building the boat. Like you, I now am questioning whether or not it's worth it to build some of the other ships in my stash. So now I'm thinking that I should just sell some of them.

Thanks, Chris. That's what I was thinking. I couldn't tell from the photos whether or not he had left any openings on the port side to be able to view the interior. I wasn't sure why you would add so many nice details inside the hull if you were then going to cover them up. It seems to be a very nice model.

Hey Harry, I haven't had any time to look closer at the plans in the last few days. I hope to spend some time on it tomorrow and, yes, your photos are always helpful and appreciated. All the best,

Thanks, Joe. It's slow going right now because the rigging instructions are useless. I love the boat and its history so I'm determined to figure things out and complete the model.

I'm not sure that I'm understanding. The deck of the Le Coureur is open on the port side so we can see down into the hull but the sides of the hull are not open. Is this correct?