KeithAug

Tom,
 
This was the first time I have put bilge keels on a model. I have seen drawings like the Booklet of General Plans for many vessels and wondered how to translate the 2D hull profile drawing into 3D positions on a hull. Likewise, the fore/aft drawings often show the bilge keels as more or less straight lines around the curvature of the hull (like great circles), but I couldn't decide how to turn this 2D information into 3D curves. It was a puzzle!
 
So I would like to weave another long-winded tale (this is getting long) about the trials and tribulations of bilge keel design, but that would be BS!
 

 
This is from the MSI Lines and Offsets blueprint. All I had to do is scale it to 1:48. And the 3D curvature on the hull? Just follow the instructions in the Table of Offsets - go to the frame number and get the height from the baseline and distance outboard from the center line and you have an offset point on the hull for the centerline of the bilge keel. That is what the paper bulkhead cutouts were for.
 
Or, if you want, it was an arduous process full of missteps and endless rambling ...

I have bilge keels. It took a while to figure out how to make these. Part of the delay for a few days was an annoying head cold. I made some paper templates using the drawings for the bulkheads with the keel positions marked on them.
 

 
I placed each template over the keel at the corresponding bulkhead and marked the bilge keel positions on the hull. I used the Table of Offsets to get the positions of the bilge keels. Oddly, two of the dimensions (bulkheads 11 and 12) were inaccurate. But the remaining positions lined up perfectly. I have seen errors in the Table of Offsets for other ships so I wasn't too surprised.
 
The cross section of the bilge keels is a trapezoid (truncated isosceles triangle) with sides angled 15 degrees from the base and a height of 0.208 inches (5.28 mm). I cut them from a 1/4 x 1/4 inch (6.35 x 6.35 mm) dowel from a local hardware store. The wood has no grain and sanded/filed/carved easily. If I had a milling machine the setup would have been trivial - but I don't have one. I figured out how to hold the dowel with some alligator clips and set the table on my disk sander to 15 degrees. I used this for the rough cut and finished it with sandpaper lying flat on the work bench.
 

 
The pieces were temporarily fastened to the hull in approximately the right positions with large rubber bands. Then I used the wetting/heating process to bend the sticks. Even though I was bending across the wide dimension the wood bent to shape fairly quickly.
 

 
Next I shaped the ends of the keels, using the photo above provided by Austin Cox. The blueprints do not show the overall shape of the bilge keels in any detail.
 

 
I drilled 0.041 inch (1.04 mm) holes near the ends and at the center Then I held the keels to the hull in the correct position and used the holes as templates for drilling holes into the hull planking. I made six small pins by filing and sanding a bamboo skewer until it just fit into the holes in the keels. These "pins" assured that the keels would be properly aligned while I was gluing them onto the hull. It worked perfectly!
 

 
The keels matched the curvature of the hull almost perfectly after gluing. At the ends there were slight gaps of 0.010 to 0.015 inch (0.254 to 0.381 mm) between the hull planks and the ends of the keels. I filled the gaps with Squadron White Putty.

After "completing" the garboard strake I was looking at the photos of the current day Cape and realized I did not carry the strake forward enough. I was going by the blueprints, and they don't show the strake extending forward of frame 7, just forward of my bulkhead 2. But the photo (below) clearly shows the strake running forward to where the planking is starting to turn up at the stem. I should have been paying more attention to the photos!
 

 
I cut off the most tapered part of the strake (left below) and added a new piece to extend the strake forward to just past my bulkhead 1 (right below).
 

 
This is closer to what is on the real vessel. Maybe not perfect, but good enough.
 
I have also started working on the bilge keels, but that is a story for another post.

The garboard strakes are finished - well, I may do a bit of retouching before I paint the hull.
 

 

 
I may taper the front and rear ends a bit more.
 
These "planks" had to be about 0.080 inch (2 mm) thick, so I couldn't use any of the 1/16 inch (1.59 mm) planks. I started with a 1/4 x 1/8 inch (6.35 x 3.175 mm) basswood stick and shaved it down to 0.080 inch with a plane. Then I used wet heat to bend it into the shape of the hull. I used a file and sanding blocks to make the angled edges and shape the piece to fit in the angle between the hull planking and the keel.
 
Next will be the bilge keels, and then the "guards" (rub rails) around the edge of the deck.

Another of the hull details to be completed is the garboard strake. I have installed the first layer flush with the other hull planks. Now I need to add the second layer that is built up on top of the first layer.
 
The blueprints do not show the details of this strake clearly. However, thanks to photos from Austin Cox (the current owner of the Cape) of the vessel on blocks I can see what the strake looks like and where it ends.
 

 
 

 
 

 
As you can see in these pictures the strake tapers down to match the contour of the other hull plating just aft of where the stem starts to curve upward, This is about bulkhead 2 on my model. The taper at the aft end is a bit harder to see.
 

 

 
It is clear that the strake tapers down to the contour of the hull planking a bit forward of where the planks fair into the deadwood, forward of the stern frame and propeller. This is just aft of bulkhead 15 on the model.
 
To help visualize the shape of the strake I made a series of paper templates from the drawings of the bulkheads.
 

 
You can see the gaps in the templates where the keel and planking come together. These show the shape of the garboard strake. I think the strake can be carved from a 1/4 x 1/8 inch (6.35 x 3.175 mm) basswood stick. I will cut the angle at the corner between the keel and planking first. This will be on the "inside" with the glue where it won't be visible so the angle doesn't have to be precise. Then I will use heat to curve the plank to the shape of the hull. After that I will use the templates with files and sandpaper to shape the exterior surfaces.
 
At least that is the plan. We'll see what Murphy has to say about it!
 

Here is another "sea tale" about the Cape - and minesweepers in general.
 
We went out once while I was aboard to sweep magnetic mines. Our forward engine room had two large generators to produce current for our "magtail." This was a two wire cable - the wires were 1 inch (25.4 mm) diameter copper cables (probably the most valuable part of the vessel) - that was strung out behind the ship. It had two electrodes that were spaced 50-100 feet apart. The current from the generators was fed to these electrodes and then flowed through sea water. The current through the water generated a large magnetic field several hundred yards behind the ship. This magnetic field simulated the change in the Earth's magnetic field that a large iron ship would create, and this would detonate mines that had magnetic sensors.
 
But the minesweeper itself should create no change in the Earth's magnetic field if it wasn't to be blown up. As I have explained earlier, our engines and other large metal objects were all made of non-magnetic materials. We had a few magnetic things aboard, like the magnetic compass, but these things had degaussing systems to cancel the magnetism.
 
While we were in port (most of the time for the Cape) we had all sorts of magnetic items on board. Metal office chairs, typewriters, some tools, personal belongings and such. When we went out to sweep magnetic mines all of these things had to be off loaded and stored in a locker on shore. It was a real pain in the posterior to get all of these things off the ship and in storage, and then to have to move them all back aboard after the sweeping exercise.
 
We went to San Diego for a yard period (when they screwed up one of our engines) and afterward passed through the Navy's degaussing station off Point Loma. This was a series of under water "metal detectors" off to the side of the channel into harbor. We made several passes through these and adjusted our degaussing system to cancel all magnetic fields from the ship. However, there was one magnetic field we couldn't cancel. As we passed through the array yet one more time the station ashore radioed us and said there was a metallic object in the bilges and gave us a frame number.
 
Our enginemen pulled up the deck plates and looked around in the bilges. Sure enough - we found a small crescent wrench one of the yard workers had dropped, right where the degaussing station operators said it would be!
 
That really impressed me! After losing the wrench over the side the ship had no magnetic signature.

Thanks, John!
 
One of the tasks for finishing the hull was to fair the stem.
 

 
 
 
 
In the blueprint (left) the stem is shaped to continue the angle of the planking right up to a metal stem band running down the front of the stem. The two cross sections shown in the drawing show how this is supposed to look.
 
I have been a bit skeptical that this would work out correctly on the model because the angle at the bow changes from the keel up to the top. Just looking at the planking and the thickness of the keel piece I wasn't sure I could get the proper angles.
 
However, when I made the keel/center piece I did put the rabbet line where it was shown on the blueprint. And to my surprise the angles did come out almost perfect! Here are some photos, although it is difficult to show the angles in the pictures.
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
The metal stem band is a 0.050 inch (1.27 mm) brass strip from the foot of the bow up to where the stem widens to the  3/16 inch (4.76 mm) width of the plywood keel/center piece at the top. The different layers of the plywood are different colors, and the colored stripes were very helpful for filing and scraping the piece to a uniform taper.
 

 
 
 
You really can't see how the stem fairs into the hull at the same angles as the planking, but the surfaces are very smooth to the touch where the planks and the plywood meet.
 
This came out a lot better than I thought it would!

I have sanded the hull with 80 grit followed by 220 grit to knock down some of the high points and remove any of the epoxy that made it through to the surface. Now it is ready for the first coat of sealer. I will use an acrylic sealer. There are still some significant "divots" to fill.
 

 
I have also glued on the two halves of the main deck.
 

 

 
There is still a lot to do on the hull. The biggest project will be making the stern frame that carries the propeller shaft and provides the lower pivot for the rudder. I'm not sure how I will do that.

John,
 
It is almost like making sails or rigging ratlines - it seems to just go on and on ...
 
Today I coated the interior with epoxy to seal all the cracks and bond everything together securely.
 

 
You can see the shine of the hardened epoxy in the photo at left. I applied a heavy coat to be sure all the seams are glued tight. Since it is a two-part epoxy mix with a limited working time (15-25 minutes) I slopped it on pretty quickly. It is a bit messy, but it is on the inside where it won't be seen. In the photo at the right you can see how the thin epoxy flowed into the cracks between the planks and absorbed into the wood. Where the planks were glued to the bulkheads with SIG Bond glue the epoxy didn't flow. At at the very stern, aft of the last bulkhead, the space between that bulkhead and the transom did not get any epoxy. This shows clearly how the epoxy fills the cracks where it is applied. Keep in mind that I beveled all of the planks to fit the neighboring planks and jammed them together pretty hard while installing the planks. Even so the thin epoxy flowed into and through the joints. They are all glued together securely now!
 
I spent a day or two filling all the noticeable gaps between planks (there were some about 0.010 inch (0.25 mm) wide in a few places and I filled them with wood shavings and cement. But there were a couple I had missed and a bit of epoxy flowed through. I was counting on that. There are no unfilled gaps between planks on the hull now! It will be rock solid!
 
I'll give it a day or two before I start sanding the hull smooth. With all the planks bonded together with the epoxy I don't have to worry about any planks flexing under the pressure of sanding and causing problems getting a smooth hull.
 
I also have to shape the stem to match the curve of the planks so there is a fairly sharp cutwater on the bow.
 
I think any thin clear epoxy will do for sealing the interior of a hull. I used a product intended for covering counter tops, tables and such. For those applications you pour it on and allow it to flow into a flat film 1/8 to 1/4 inch (3.2 to 6.4 mm) thick. After it was mixed I used a small spatula to "spoon" the epoxy on the the planks and then spread it around. It was about as runny as maple syrup at first so it flowed evenly over the planks. I pushed some up onto the bulkheads to get a bond between the planks and bulkheads (in addition to the wood glue used when installing the planks). The thickness of the epoxy is only about half a millimeter thick (0.020 inch) since I don't need a nice smooth surface. I occasionally rotated the hull back and forth to get the epoxy to flow over the planks and not pool in the bottom along the keel. After about 20-25 minutes it had thickened so it didn't run and I could just leave the hull upright.
 
I did have one concern before I started. I have used many different two-part epoxy and urethane mixtures, and some generate a lot of heat. I mixed up at least half a cup (120 ml) and with some epoxies that amount would get quite warm. Since the aliphatic resin glue I used when installing the planks will soften when heated, I worried that the heat from the epoxy would unglue everything! But there was no problem - the container I mixed the epoxy in just barely got warm.
 

Horse neck…sounds delicious. Can you give us the proper proportions?

THE LAST PLANK!
 

 

 
Here is another view of the planked hull.
 

 
I have been doing a rough smoothing job with files and scrapers while the glue was setting for the latest planks. I haven't done this for the last two or three planks near the keel so you can see some plank edges standing proud.
 
Now I can get on with a few other tasks to prepare the hull for installing the sub deck. I mentioned earlier that I had a few spots where some of the planks were noticeably thinner than the others, especially at the plank ends. This created some low spots at the butt joints.
 

 
To solve this problem I used a plane to shave off thin strips of basswood from scrap planks. These I glued into the low spots in the planking (left). After the glue set overnight these patches were sanded/filed down smooth with the surrounding planking (right).
 
Next I will coat the inside of the hull with thin clear epoxy that will soak into the wood and fill gaps between planks and between the planks and the bulkheads. This will produce a rock solid hull that will not gain cracks between the planks over time. After the epoxy sets I will sand the hull smooth and put on a sealer.
 
****
 
I know many of you celebrate the last plank with your favorite cordial. Well, it's a bit early for tea time here (unless you are still on Daylight Savings Time). But I am celebrating with an orsenek. For those of you who don't speak British that translates into (American) English as "horse neck." It's something I picked up from the Brits in Hong Kong. When the Okie City steamed into HK they would berth us at the pier at HMS Tamar, the British naval station. They tied us up with our Officer's Brow aligned with the door into the base Officers Bar. That was very convenient and friendly of them! The British officers threw a cocktail party in their bar for the OK City officers, and we reciprocated with a dinner in our Wardroom for them.
 
I have always liked ginger ale since I was a kid, and they served horse necks - brandy and ginger ale with a slice (not twist!) of lemon (and no ice!). I had never had one before, and it was delicious - really good ginger ale! I have tried ordering a horse neck at bars here in the US and they have no idea what I am talking about. One bartender thought it was some form of rum and coke or some other awful concoction! But I make a proper orsenek in my house!
 
Cheers! 

Yesterday (Thanksgiving in the United States) a local radio station played Arlo Guthrie's "Alice's Restaurant" a couple of times - it being a Thanksgiving song. And it reminded me of another sea tale, although it is only indirectly related to the USS Cape. But it does tell how/why I ended up in the Navy and on the Cape.
 
I graduated from The University of Arkansas in 1968 with a Bachelor's degree in microbiology. If you recall your American history, the little fracus in Vietnam was at it's height in 1968. While I was in college I had a 1S Student Deferment from the draft, but that was about to end. Our local Draft Board was dead set to allow all eligible young men to have a chance to spill their guts for their country, and had already drafted two of my friends out of college and into the Army. I guess you could say the handwriting was on the wall.
 
So I started looking around for other opportunities. The Air Force had more personnel that they needed, and plenty waiting in line ahead of me. I had already taken two years of compulsory Army ROTC (Reserve Officer's Training Corps) and that was enough of that. I didn't want to be a grenade catcher sleeping in a muddy foxhole. The National Guard was booked up.
 
So that left the Navy. I took the Naval Officer Candidate School (NAVOCS) entrance exam and passed with flying colors. I went to the Navy Recruiter Office in Little Rock, Arkansas, and signed up for Officer Candidate School. But before they would take me I had to have a physical exam at the induction center where the recruiter's office was. I was the only person going through the medical facility that afternoon, and they gave me a long and thorough exam. For example, they took my blood pressure five times (walking, lying down, after 30 pushups, sitting and standing). I passed the physical and went down to the Recruiter's office to sign the papers. I was in the Navy, although I had never seen a ship or an ocean.
 
A couple days later I received my draft notice from the Army! I called the Navy Recruiter and asked "Interrogative Whisky Tango Foxtrot, over?" He said not to worry, the paperwork had just passed each other in the mail (this was before the Internet, cell phones and video games). But he said it would cause them a lot of paperwork to try to cancel my appointment for the pre-induction physical, so he asked me to just go through it again. "They can't have you" he said, "You're our boy!"
 
If you have ever seen the Alice's Restaurant movie, or if you were drafted, you probably recall the induction physical. "Turn your head and cough." And like Arlo said, we were inspected, detected and selected, and they were leaving no part untouched. This was the same place, and the same people who gave me the Navy OCS physical. But this time I was in a line with hundreds of other guys shuffling along in my skivies. When we went into the office where they took our blood pressure the line didn't stop moving. It was one quick check and we were on our way. The Army would take anyone with one good arm, one good leg, one good eye and still breathing.
 
After the physical we had to take the Army entrance exam (on the cold benches like in the movie). We had an hour to answer 100 questions. I had just finished five years of intensive test taking and I breezed through the test in 15 minutes. I looked around and everyone else was scratching their heads in intense concentration. This was a bad sign - I learned in college if a test seemed too easy I was missing something. But I rechecked my answers and went up to the sergeant at the desk up front (I swear it was the same guy in the movie - or maybe all sergeants just look alike).
 
"What do you want" he asked?
 
"I'm finished" I said.
 
He took the test and checked my answers. Then he looked up in surprise and said "Yours is the highest grade anyone has ever made on this test!"
 
He said I could leave, so I got dressed and started out of the building. Well, the Navy Recruiter's office was on my way out, and had a large window facing into the hallway. I waved at the recruiter as I passed and then it hit me! I realized what I was missing and almost doubled over with laughter.
 
I am probably the only guy who ever tried to pass the draft test!
 
And that is how I dodged the draft. I graduated from Naval Officer Candidates School and was assigned to the Cape by the Bureau of Personnel (BUPERS).
 
****
 
I hope you all had a happy Thanksgiving (or whatever day you had where you live)!

More planking done. Now about 2/3 finished.
 
The planking has come together at the stern so I can start thinking about work on the transom.
 

 
I have sanded the ends of the planks to about 3/16 inch (4.8 mm) aft of the transom. Around the edge of the transom is a "guard" (what it is called in the blueprints), that should be 1/8 inch (2.3 mm) high off the transom.
 
Here is a photo of the current day Cape stern (thanks to the owner Austin Cox). You can see this guard around the stern.
 

 
Here is another photo showing the guard on the model.
 

 
 

 
 
 
 
The guard should be 1/8 inch (2.3 mm) wide. The planks are 1/16 inch (1.6 mm) thick, so I needed to add another 1/16 inch to the inside. To do this I glued five successive layers of basswood shavings around the inside of the planking. The shavings are about 0.008 inch (0.2 mm) thick. The glue adds to the thickness to build up to slightly more than the needed thickness.
 
The stern also had the vertical "guard" boards shown in the ship's photo, but in a bit different configuration. It has been modified a few times since it was a Navy vessel.
 
 
 
 
 
 
This picture shows the layers of shavings glued around the inside of the planking. After the glue has set a few days I will sand the ends of the planks down to the proper height. Then I will sand the shavings to a better shape and add a plank across the bottom as is shown in the photo of the ship's stern. I suspect a bit of putty will be necessary to finish the job.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
I made the shavings with my trusty 3 1/2 inch (89 mm) Stanley 12-101 plane. I have had it for decades (it has U. S. A. stamped on the side) so it is probably an antique by now. I selected a 1/8 x 1/8 inch basswood stick and shaved several strips from it. The laminated shavings are the right height for the guard.
 

 

The hull planking is about half done. The top down view gives a pretty good idea of how the hull is shaped. The planks are tapered at the bow, but I have left them straight at the stern. The 1 in 3 pattern creates a butt seam at every fifth bulkhead from the bow. The latest planks are long running from bulkhead 5 to the stern. The short planks from bulkhead 5 to the bow will be added next.
 

 
The planks are running pretty true to the planking plan. Because the planks I ordered vary quite a bit in width I divided them into two batches, those wider than 0.180 inch (4.5 mm) and those that are narrower. I started with the widest planks in order to keep the  planking run about the same on both port and starboard sides. This did cause the planking to creep ahead a bit in some places from the nominal spacing I have marked on the bulkheads. I have used all of the widest planks and now I expect the narrower batch to cause the planking to creep back to the marks. Any differences will be corrected with the last planks outboard of the garboard planks.
 
Here are some more views.
 

 
 

 
 
 
The planks are lying nicely with the curve of the bulkheads at the stern. They should come together just about at the top of the aft edge of the skeg where the stern frame fits. I plan to place a center plank along the keel piece that the other planks will join. The bow has been more of a problem. The outward concave flair of the hull requires careful planning and cutting of the planks to maintain even spacing. They must also be fitted into the rabbet behind the keel extension piece. This hasn't gone as smoothly as the planking at the stern.
 
The biggest problem at the bow and elsewhere is that the planks i bought do not have a uniform thickness. Some are significantly thicker than others, and if these are placed side by side the thicker one rise above the neighbors. Adding to this, the ends of many of the planks are only half the nominal thickness. Apparently they were pulled from the thickness sander while still being sanded, causing extra wood to be ground off the ends. I didn't notice this until I had quite a few planks glued in place, and the butt joints where the ends come together have significant discrepancies in thickness. In a couple of cases I have glued a second plank piece on the thinnest parts and then planed, filed and sanded it away until I had a smooth joint. I have had this problem with the wood in some kits, but I expected better quality control from model wood suppliers!
 
After all the planking is finished the stem will be cut down to come to a moderately sharp cutwater. The angle at the bow varies from garboard strake to the sheer strake. It should follow the angle of the planks to create a smooth surface at the rabbet. That is to be seen! However, it doesn't matter if the surface doesn't come out perfectly smooth because the entire leading edge of the bow will be covered by a very thin (0.003 or 0.005 inch, 0.076 or 0.127 mm) brass stem band and chafing plate that extends back some distance beyond the rabbet.
 
I have been using my quilting iron/plank bending/sail making tool to pre-shape the planks where they wrap around the curvature of the hull.
 

 
In my opinion this is a must do thing when you have planks that have to conform to significant curvature in the hull. I have sometimes gotten by with just gluing the planks and holding them with every clamp and rubber band I can find. The planks will glue down and then eventually conform to the curvature. But some edges will try to rise above the neighboring planks if you don't have enough clamps.
 
If I clamp just the ends of the plank in place and then heat the plank over its length, after a few passes with the plank bender the plank retains the proper twist without the clamps. Then it glues into place easily and requires very little clamping to get it to fit tight to the bulkheads. The little modified paper clips shown here are almost useless. They will not hold down the edge of a plank that is trying to twist back flat. But if you use enough of them after the plank has been bent into shape to conform to the hull curvature they will hold it in place until the glue dries. The larger clamps are holding the edges of the neighboring planks together so neither rises above the other and they form a smooth surface.
 

 
I wet the planks with water before heating. The water turns to steam, carrying the heat into the plank. Usually the plank takes the shape after a single pass, but I wet and heat the planks three times to be sure they conform tightly  to the shape of the bulkheads.
 
I also discovered something else. When I heat a plank any remaining glue (SIG-Bond aliphatic resin) on the bulkheads or neighboring planks melts, and when it cools it sticks to the new plank. Another post on the Forum describes using heat to melt Titebond Original Wood Glue and glue planks in place. Apparently you can do this with SIG-Bond. However, I am careful to wipe away any excess glue before clamping the planks in place. Any excess glue remaining on the bulkheads will cause a new neighboring plank to ride high, and glue on the edges of a plank will cause the seam to be wide between it and a new neighboring plank.
 
CAUTION: I have the plank bender set to the highest heat level and it works nicely at this temperature. But if you look closely at the photo above you will see some scorch marks where the tool has browned the planks. It happens when I hold the iron in one place too long. This is especially noticeable on a couple of the planks at the stern. I don't know how deep you would have to sand the wood to remove this "stain." For this build it is not a problem - the hull will be painted. But if you are building a model where the wood will be visible you probably should use the medium or low heat setting to avoid discoloring the wood.

Looks great Keith - I think this would take the gold medal at the local show - I am sure your granddaughters will enjoy playing with this.
 
Have a great 2025.
 
cheers
 
Pat 

"God bless you merry gentlemen" and ladies.
 
I am sorry I haven't been around for a few weeks. Dolls house building and Christmas shopping have decimated my time in the shipyard. The good news is that the dolls house (and shop) is finished sufficient to be delivered to Bean (Eve) by Santa. Bean and Ben are being entertained by their alternate grandparents this year but Santa is delivering the dolls house to her home address in time for our New Year visit. I hope Bean won't be too worried about Santa's delivery mistake.
 
My son has been at pains to remind me the dolls house is to be "played with". His way of telling me that finesse isn't required. I hope that I have met his criteria. I leave you all to judge.

 
Thank you all for following along with my build over the last twelve months, as I look back I see that progress has been somewhat slow. Fortunately I have made a bit of progress since my last post so I will post an update later this week. With a bit more time on my hands I hope to catch up with all your build logs before the turn of the year.
 
In the mean time I wish you all a Merry Christmas.

"God bless you merry gentlemen" and ladies.
 
I am sorry I haven't been around for a few weeks. Dolls house building and Christmas shopping have decimated my time in the shipyard. The good news is that the dolls house (and shop) is finished sufficient to be delivered to Bean (Eve) by Santa. Bean and Ben are being entertained by their alternate grandparents this year but Santa is delivering the dolls house to her home address in time for our New Year visit. I hope Bean won't be too worried about Santa's delivery mistake.
 
My son has been at pains to remind me the dolls house is to be "played with". His way of telling me that finesse isn't required. I hope that I have met his criteria. I leave you all to judge.

 
Thank you all for following along with my build over the last twelve months, as I look back I see that progress has been somewhat slow. Fortunately I have made a bit of progress since my last post so I will post an update later this week. With a bit more time on my hands I hope to catch up with all your build logs before the turn of the year.
 
In the mean time I wish you all a Merry Christmas.

"God bless you merry gentlemen" and ladies.
 
I am sorry I haven't been around for a few weeks. Dolls house building and Christmas shopping have decimated my time in the shipyard. The good news is that the dolls house (and shop) is finished sufficient to be delivered to Bean (Eve) by Santa. Bean and Ben are being entertained by their alternate grandparents this year but Santa is delivering the dolls house to her home address in time for our New Year visit. I hope Bean won't be too worried about Santa's delivery mistake.
 
My son has been at pains to remind me the dolls house is to be "played with". His way of telling me that finesse isn't required. I hope that I have met his criteria. I leave you all to judge.

 
Thank you all for following along with my build over the last twelve months, as I look back I see that progress has been somewhat slow. Fortunately I have made a bit of progress since my last post so I will post an update later this week. With a bit more time on my hands I hope to catch up with all your build logs before the turn of the year.
 
In the mean time I wish you all a Merry Christmas.

"God bless you merry gentlemen" and ladies.
 
I am sorry I haven't been around for a few weeks. Dolls house building and Christmas shopping have decimated my time in the shipyard. The good news is that the dolls house (and shop) is finished sufficient to be delivered to Bean (Eve) by Santa. Bean and Ben are being entertained by their alternate grandparents this year but Santa is delivering the dolls house to her home address in time for our New Year visit. I hope Bean won't be too worried about Santa's delivery mistake.
 
My son has been at pains to remind me the dolls house is to be "played with". His way of telling me that finesse isn't required. I hope that I have met his criteria. I leave you all to judge.

 
Thank you all for following along with my build over the last twelve months, as I look back I see that progress has been somewhat slow. Fortunately I have made a bit of progress since my last post so I will post an update later this week. With a bit more time on my hands I hope to catch up with all your build logs before the turn of the year.
 
In the mean time I wish you all a Merry Christmas.

"God bless you merry gentlemen" and ladies.
 
I am sorry I haven't been around for a few weeks. Dolls house building and Christmas shopping have decimated my time in the shipyard. The good news is that the dolls house (and shop) is finished sufficient to be delivered to Bean (Eve) by Santa. Bean and Ben are being entertained by their alternate grandparents this year but Santa is delivering the dolls house to her home address in time for our New Year visit. I hope Bean won't be too worried about Santa's delivery mistake.
 
My son has been at pains to remind me the dolls house is to be "played with". His way of telling me that finesse isn't required. I hope that I have met his criteria. I leave you all to judge.

 
Thank you all for following along with my build over the last twelve months, as I look back I see that progress has been somewhat slow. Fortunately I have made a bit of progress since my last post so I will post an update later this week. With a bit more time on my hands I hope to catch up with all your build logs before the turn of the year.
 
In the mean time I wish you all a Merry Christmas.

"God bless you merry gentlemen" and ladies.
 
I am sorry I haven't been around for a few weeks. Dolls house building and Christmas shopping have decimated my time in the shipyard. The good news is that the dolls house (and shop) is finished sufficient to be delivered to Bean (Eve) by Santa. Bean and Ben are being entertained by their alternate grandparents this year but Santa is delivering the dolls house to her home address in time for our New Year visit. I hope Bean won't be too worried about Santa's delivery mistake.
 
My son has been at pains to remind me the dolls house is to be "played with". His way of telling me that finesse isn't required. I hope that I have met his criteria. I leave you all to judge.

 
Thank you all for following along with my build over the last twelve months, as I look back I see that progress has been somewhat slow. Fortunately I have made a bit of progress since my last post so I will post an update later this week. With a bit more time on my hands I hope to catch up with all your build logs before the turn of the year.
 
In the mean time I wish you all a Merry Christmas.

"God bless you merry gentlemen" and ladies.
 
I am sorry I haven't been around for a few weeks. Dolls house building and Christmas shopping have decimated my time in the shipyard. The good news is that the dolls house (and shop) is finished sufficient to be delivered to Bean (Eve) by Santa. Bean and Ben are being entertained by their alternate grandparents this year but Santa is delivering the dolls house to her home address in time for our New Year visit. I hope Bean won't be too worried about Santa's delivery mistake.
 
My son has been at pains to remind me the dolls house is to be "played with". His way of telling me that finesse isn't required. I hope that I have met his criteria. I leave you all to judge.

 
Thank you all for following along with my build over the last twelve months, as I look back I see that progress has been somewhat slow. Fortunately I have made a bit of progress since my last post so I will post an update later this week. With a bit more time on my hands I hope to catch up with all your build logs before the turn of the year.
 
In the mean time I wish you all a Merry Christmas.

"God bless you merry gentlemen" and ladies.
 
I am sorry I haven't been around for a few weeks. Dolls house building and Christmas shopping have decimated my time in the shipyard. The good news is that the dolls house (and shop) is finished sufficient to be delivered to Bean (Eve) by Santa. Bean and Ben are being entertained by their alternate grandparents this year but Santa is delivering the dolls house to her home address in time for our New Year visit. I hope Bean won't be too worried about Santa's delivery mistake.
 
My son has been at pains to remind me the dolls house is to be "played with". His way of telling me that finesse isn't required. I hope that I have met his criteria. I leave you all to judge.

 
Thank you all for following along with my build over the last twelve months, as I look back I see that progress has been somewhat slow. Fortunately I have made a bit of progress since my last post so I will post an update later this week. With a bit more time on my hands I hope to catch up with all your build logs before the turn of the year.
 
In the mean time I wish you all a Merry Christmas.

"God bless you merry gentlemen" and ladies.
 
I am sorry I haven't been around for a few weeks. Dolls house building and Christmas shopping have decimated my time in the shipyard. The good news is that the dolls house (and shop) is finished sufficient to be delivered to Bean (Eve) by Santa. Bean and Ben are being entertained by their alternate grandparents this year but Santa is delivering the dolls house to her home address in time for our New Year visit. I hope Bean won't be too worried about Santa's delivery mistake.
 
My son has been at pains to remind me the dolls house is to be "played with". His way of telling me that finesse isn't required. I hope that I have met his criteria. I leave you all to judge.

 
Thank you all for following along with my build over the last twelve months, as I look back I see that progress has been somewhat slow. Fortunately I have made a bit of progress since my last post so I will post an update later this week. With a bit more time on my hands I hope to catch up with all your build logs before the turn of the year.
 
In the mean time I wish you all a Merry Christmas.

Keith, you've done what many grandfathers don't manage - you actually completed the doll's house in time for your granddaughter to play with it! 🙂
 
John