Cathead

I've been working on the rudder, which was slightly simplified by my color scheme (no need for color striping or friezes). Sanding it to shape was straightforward, and needs no explanation.
 
I was worried about my ability to align the iron straps of the pintles properly, as they should be at an odd angle to the rest of the piece. So I decided to experiment with filing a gentle notch into the rudder where the straps should fit, to help guide their placement.
 

 
I also pre-made the pintles and gudgeons by wrapping blackened brass strip around the spare rudder and cutting them to length. I then CA-glued a piece of wire inside both, and cut it to length. I think if I were to do this again, I'd do it by gluing the wire into a straight piece of brass, then wrapping that around the rudder so I could get the pin adjusted just where I wanted it.
 

 
I experimented with shaping the tiller using scrap first. I didn't think I'd be able to make the tiny hole & tenon for inserting the tiller into the rudder, but it actually wasn't bad. I used a square file (top of image) to gently file down all four sides of the tiller, to the width of the file, until I judged it narrow enough. The resulting peg was longer than I needed, but it was easier to file a longer stretch and cut it down to length, than to file a tiny stretch. I drilled a tiny hole in the rudder, then widened it with a round file and squared it with a nail as I did for the windlass. The first result showed why I tested all this first on the spare rudder piece, as I drilled too far and came out the backside. This taught me how to do it right on the real, stained tiller.
 
To shape the rest of the tiller, I used a wide flat file to shape a broad notch just before the "ball" of the handle. I then gently rounded off the ball, and used wrapped sandpaper to round off and thin the handle overall. I used several rounded files to create and maintain that notch in front of the ball throughout the thinning process. The photo above shows my test pieces, my final pieces, two of the files I used, and another view of my metal work.
 

 
And here is the completed rudder. Turns out that, even with the filed notches, I didn't get the strap angles quite parallel to each other, but once it's mounted it's not very noticeable. And I did find that the notches made it much easier to slide the pintles on and get them oriented quickly before the CA dried. It's also worth noting that, as the instructions suggest, I did deepen the slots for both pintles to allow more room for them to fit flush with the forward end of the tiller. I stained the tiller with a mix of the darker rudder/stern color and the lighter interior color, to provide visual interest and to help link those two shades together across the stern.
 

 
And here's the rudder mounted. I simply held it up to the stern, marked where the upper eyebolt would go, drilled that, and inserted it. Then I hung the rudder on that bolt, carefully marked where the lower gudgeon should go, and glued that on while holding the rudder in place to ensure I got it aligned. The result is actually pretty accurate; the rudder sits nicely to my eye, swings cleanly through about 45 degrees either direction, and is easy to take on and off for further work on the model.
 
You may note that I've also completed a few other minor details, like the thole pins, knees, and horse. The latter I shaped with a jig, just a length of square wood sanded into a curve at each end and the width of the hull, over which I bent wire to get the right shape. Then I just drilled holes and pushed the horse in.
 
Now it's time to start thinking about masts and rigging.

Roger, thanks for your input. At this point my longboat's paint scheme is pretty well set.
 
David & Per, I'm actually looking forward to the rigging, though we'll see if I change my tune once I get there.

Thanks for the kind words, folks. I'd intended to do more this weekend. Instead, two glorious days meant I spent a lot of time outdoors. Time well spent. The longboat waits patiently for its rudder.

After a really useful discussion of squaring off windlass holes over on Ryland Craze's build log, I hunted around in my wood shop and found a perfect nail to use as a hole punch. I didn't even have to file it down, it already had a nice squared-off point. This was almost embarrassing in its simplicity, but it hadn't occurred to me until both Ryland and DocBlake suggested it. Thanks!
 

 
I pre-drilled holes for the windlass, as shown,
 

 
and used very short lengths of wire to hold it in place. The instructions aren't kidding, it has to be really short or you can't get the windlass in there. I still ended up making a slight gouge across the riser, but as the end of the windlass pretty much blocks it, I didn't worry about it.
 

 
Above is my windlass in place, showing another problem that I think other folks have referenced. If you don't sand down your frames enough, they take on an angle too quickly, so that the thwart riser ends up angled toward the interior rather than mostly vertical. This creates a slightly odd platform for the thwarts, and also makes the windlass installation more challenging, as it doesn't sit (or rotate) cleanly against the angled riser. I was terrified of overdoing my frames, so let them stay a little thick, but this is what it does down the road.
 
If I were to build this again, I'd measure down the frame to where the bottom of the riser should lie, and be sure to sand the frames nearly vertical that far down before allowing the turn of the bilge to begin. As it was, I just sanded a small angle into the windlass and accepted that it wouldn't rotate 360 degrees. It turns about 180 degrees, which is enough for me.
 

 
In the absence of contrary advice, I proceeded with hand-sanding my own belaying pins and completing the mast thwart from a 1/4" plank. While the resulting pins are certainly larger than scale, I also think it's cool that I made them myself, and they have a slightly rough quality that seems to fit visually with the rest of the boat. The wood does look better than painted metal. And it seems like I should be able to belay rigging to them. So I'm happy with how that came out, even if it's not "right".
 
I also ended up doing the iron straps a little differently. The one that wraps around the mast was easy, I just used the second one I'd made as a backup on my jig (discussed earlier). However, the two support straps that wrap around the thwart got a different treatment. The first time, I'd bent them around a jig ahead of time, but found it hard to get the ends exactly the same length. This time, I glued strips of brass onto one side of the thwart, arranging the ends nice and evenly, then wrapped the strips tightly around the thwart, cut off the other ends just right with some nippers, then glued those in place. This produced a better result than the jig method, as the straps fit exactly in their intended spot and I didn't have to fuss about making adjustments while glue set.
 

 
So here's how the longboat currently looks, with windlass, thwarts, lift rings, and locker hinges installed. Oh, a note about those locker hinges: I had the devil's own time trying to manipulate tiny strips of brass and wire to get something that looked remotely good. Finally I sanded down a narrow strip of wood really thin, painted it black, and glued wire on top. With two coats of shiny black paint it's nearly indistinguishable from metal.
 
Moving on...
 
 

I woke up this morning feeling refreshed and inspired, and decided to take a new stab at the mast thwart. This was helped by finding dcicero's build log, which I had overlooked before, which seemed to wrestle with several of my questions posed above. So below is a new thwart carved from a 1/4" wide strip (with the old one for comparison). I laid it all out in advance, drilling the holes before doing any carving, and it seems like it'll work.
 

 
I also decided to try making my own belaying pins. I don't have a lathe or other machinery, so gave it a shot by hand using small files. I used the flat file shown to thin a dowel down for the pin's bottom, then both round and gently rounded files to carve a depression in the head. I held the dowel against a solid surface and rolled it back and forth while filing slowly, to get a reasonable consistent texture all the way around.
 
What do you all think? Will this work? I made this first one in about 15 minutes, so it won't be horrific to make three more. One thing I'm not certain of is whether this filed-down dowel will hold up. I'd hate to have it crack off as I try to tie rigging to it later on. But it was a fun thing to try no matter what.

It has been a disappointing week. I'm not happy with my work on the mast-thwart, or the windlass, and am trying to figure out what to do differently.
 

 
The thwart started well. I carefully shaped the plank to match the images I've seen, including filing a matching slot for the mast dowel. As I'm not great with metal, I built a jig to help shape the mast strap, by filing an equivalent slot into a block of wood and gluing in a scrap of dowel. This let me shape the strap over a solid surface without risking breakage of the thwart. I made two, just in case. I did the same with the support straps (not shown), forming them over scrap wood, and making twice as many as I needed (four). I then blackened the strips and started assembling the thwart.
 
It looked good when I got ready to drill holes for the belaying pins, but that's when I realized: it's somehow not wide enough. The instructions explicitly say to form this thwart from a 3/16" strip, wider than the 1/8" used for the other thwarts, but it's not nearly wide enough to allow for the drilling of two belaying pin holes far enough apart to be useful. See second image above; I went ahead and did it anyway, but my pins are nearly touching, and there's no room to put the holes farther apart. I reread multiple build logs but could find no reference to this problem. Everyone else's looks like they started with a wider strip that the kit doesn't supply. Am I supposed to glue a second wood strip onto the edge of a 3/16" thwart and shape THAT to hold the mast? Regardless, I'll have to start over. But how?
 

 
Now for the second frustration. I've made three attempts at a windlass, none of which seem quite right. I can't seem to find the trick for shaping the perfect square holes I see in other logs, but I haven't been able to find anyone describing exactly how they did it (not even BobF's meticulous documentation, unless I missed it somehow). The instructions talk about using a square punch; I've tried using a square file of the right size, but the soft wood doesn't take the hole cleanly, it's still rounded and ragged. I've tried cutting the corners with a fine-tipped blade but the soft wood just splits or bends. Of the three attempts shown above, the nearest is the best, but it still doesn't look right.
 
I also learned a few things about shaping the windlass properly. On the middle one, I used sandpaper too much (even very fine) and ended up with a rounded shape. The nearest one, I relied on a metal file and very careful use of a sanding stick to keep the edges sharp. I think I'd be okay with it, if the holes weren't still sloppy looking. If this is the best I can do, it'll likely still blend into the model's overall amateur appearance as slightly rough if you look too close but fine from a few more inches away, but I'd certainly be interested in any other tips I could try while there's still a few windlass-lengths left on the blank.
 
Kinda fitting for a week in which a strong late freeze killed most of the fruit blossoms in our orchard, I came down with a stomach bug, and other work issues cropped up. Hopefully I can get back on track. In the meantime, thanks to anyone who's reading this; I doubt it's all that instructive given the excellent work done elsewhere, but having an audience at all helps keep the motivation going.

I've made progress on the hull's interior, adding the thwart risers and the floors. The main floorboards were straightforward, though I departed from the instructions by sanding a taper into the outer boards' edges to help them form a nice parallel curve at bow and stern. I forgot to take a photo of this before covering them with the bow and stern platforms, though. It's nothing new from regular planking, though.
 
In order to get these platforms right, I made patterns from thin cardboard, using multiple attempts to get the shape right. I started with the shape shown in the plans, and worked to adapt it to the actual shape of my hull, which apparently was subtly different. I particularly had trouble with the bow platform, I just couldn't seem to get the curve I wanted.
 

 
I tried two different ways of transferring these patterns to wood. For the stern, I covered the pattern in double-sided tape, then laid planking onto that (top side down) and laid thin cross-supports underneath. The instructions just say to glue the planks together at the edges, but the real thing would obviously have had supports underneath, so I didn't mind doing this. Then I peeled off the tape and pattern and sanded the platform to fit.
 
For the bow, I pre-made a square of edge-glued planks, then traced the pattern onto it and cut it out. This seemed flimsy, so I again added cross-supports underneath. They can't be seen in either case, but made me feel better about handling the piece. Again, I really had trouble getting this platform right; I discarded two attempts in wood before settling on my third as good enough. I was having a really hard time getting the perfect shape and notches of the pattern transferred to wood strips, which were too thin at the edges to hold the shape well. Not sure what I was doing wrong, but I settled for the approach seen below, which approximates the idea and will be partially hidden beneath the forward thwarts.
 

 
I also departed from the instructions when installing the thwart risers, by attaching them before installing the platforms. I felt it was important for the platforms to be at a proper spacing from the risers, and wasn't sure that would happen if I did the platforms first. I edge-bent the risers as suggested, tapered them a bit, and they went in just fine. I clamped some scrap wood below the cap rail as spacers to keep the risers parallel, and that worked great.
 
Then I did some final shaping on the platforms to help them match the risers, and glued them in. Next, I'll be working on the locker at the stern.

I am almost finished with the planking.
 
The aft end needed to be finished and shaped first. I didn't take a picture when I finished planking the aft end, but here is a picture as it sits now.
 
 

 
I started at the aft side rail and worked my way down.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CH, no apologies necessary, sometimes photos do not do things justice.
 
Buck, thank you. Your words of encouragement are always uplifting.
 
Sam, thanks. The treenails are .02inch / ,53mm. I oversized the holes just a hair for glue allowance.
 
Thanks to everyone for hitting the like button.

And here's the finished hull:
 




 
I'm pleased with how it came out. This weekend I'll be working on the interior floors and other details.

I chose the all-white hull. It was Mrs Cathead's first choice and my second, and it does give me a very unique model. As this is different than most approaches to this kit, I decided to document my work more thoroughly. Here's a step-by-step tour of the week's work:
 

I hollowed out the hull using a motor tool. This was nerve-wracking at times, but I avoided any slips. I finished the inside with a rounded sanding tool I made: a short length of dowel, with a screw inserted for a handle to make a T-shape, and sandpaper attached to the dowel with double-sided tape. I adapted this approach from another build log, but am ashamed to say I can't remember which.
 
I also decided to make the cap rail a single piece, rather than two. So I held the hull against a sheet of 1/32" wood and traced the outer hull, then traced a parallel edge in both directions. After cutting it out, I ended up with the fat piece you see, with the center line for orienting it properly.
 


 
Here I departed from the kit instructions, which say to glue the cap rail in place before finish-sanding it. I did not do this, as my paint scheme involves using white and black paint, and two shades of stain, in very close proximity to one another. So I made a point of finishing and coloring the cap rail and moulding strip before attaching them. In the photos above, I'm carefully holding the cap rail in place while sanding it to shape. A lightweight rubber band near the stern helped with this.
 

 
I wanted the hull white, but not with a thick coat of paint that would obscure the planking. So after one more round of finish-sanding, I applied a thin coat of white primer, using a cotton swab, which I feel gives more even coverage than a brush. When this dried, I sanded it with very fine paper, then added another thin layer of primer. In the photo above, the starboard (lower) side has only the first layer, while the port (upper) side has both. I think you can see that the first layer still showed some wood color through, while the second coat gave it a true white color while still preserving the run of planking. I like how this came out; my less-than-perfect planking job was also a benefit here, giving just a little extra texture to show through the paint.
 

 
With the outer hull painted, I stained the inner hull with a diluted oak (all paints/stains used are Model Shipways brand), and the cap rail with a diluted cherry. I intentionally kept the inner stain slightly ragged, as I think it adds a more realistic level of texture to the hull's appearance. In a close-up photo it looks spotty, but in person it provides some visual texture that I find preferable in a lot of my models (I think the eye sometimes perceives perfection as false). I sanded the cap rail more than is shown here, removing most of the stain, before re-staining it and lightly sanding again. This gave the final surface a more complex appearance than solid color (note: I did the second staining of the upper surface after gluing it on, as described below).
 

 
I then painted the sheer strake black, and stained the inner, upper two planks and the transom with diluted cherry. In retrospect, I wish I'd thought to NOT prime and paint the sheer strake, as the black over white made it too smooth and shiny; I'd have liked the black to soak into the wood more. But the final result is ok, as the cherry strips on either side help obscure that effect. I did the black freehand, without mask, following the plank's edge. I knew that the moulding strip would cover up any slight wavers on my part. This stage also shows why I left the cap rail off; it was much easier to do both of these jobs without it.
 

 
I glued on the cap rail, did any final touch-up sanding of the top and sides, then re-stained it with more diluted cherry. I pre-bent the 1/32 square moulding strips by soaking them and clamping them to the hull (I did this before attaching the cap rail), then stained and sanded them. At this point they were easy to glue on, with some careful adjustment to try to get a smooth run parallel to the cap rail.
 
In the next post I'll share photos of the final effect; otherwise I'll go over the image limit for a single post.

So I mocked up examples of four possible paint schemes, partly to get Mrs. Cathead's input since she'll have to look at the finished version, and partly to see if any of you had input.
 

 
A. is essentially the kit plan, with a black stripe replacing the friezes.
B. is the "Victory yawl" pattern I've found various photos of, using a black stripe and stained-wood cap rail and moulding strip.
C. is an all-wood version using either a black or white stripe replacing the friezes
D. is A but with stained wood replacing red on the cap rail.
 
There are a few alternate rudder possibilities as well.
 
I know which one I favor personally, but are there reasons for or against any of these, whether authenticity, feasibility, or other?
 
Finally, I've never done treenails before. Is it worth doing them in areas that would be painted (like below the waterline)? Would they show through the paint on the real thing?

Hey, Toni, me too! I appreciate your taking the time to provide feedback, it definitely made me go measure and check what I'd been doing.
 
I've been giving some thought to the final appearance of the model, as it's about to affect how I proceed. There are two changes I'd like to make: to add sails, and to use a different color scheme. I'm just not a fan, personally, of the ornate friezes and don't think they'd look right on a model displayed in my very wood-heavy, non-ornate house. I like very laid-back models and the kit version is just too "loud" (not a criticism of Chuck or the kit, just a personal quirk). So I'm considering alternative approaches.
 
I did some image research on other styles of longboats, and like the color scheme of the longboats from HMS Victory and similar approaches, like these:
 
http://i2.wp.com/intheboatshed.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/victory-yawl-3.jpg
http://www.blogstaugustinelighthouse.org/blog/longboat%20fullsize.jpg
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IlVDIgPQXMo/VCgqFHskLPI/AAAAAAAAGD4/oqRiBjTLU4k/s1600/long-boat-peter-rindlisbacher.jpg
 
I particularly like the idea of using a black stripe to replace the friezes, as an understated way of highlighting that upper strake. What I'm considering doing, is staining the hull and seeing how it comes out. If it looks good, I'll leave it at least partly as wood, otherwise I'll go all-white. So it could be one of these approaches:
 
1) All-wood, different stain on cap rail & molding strip
2) All-wood, black upper strake, different stain on cap rail & molding strip
3) White under water, wood above, black upper strake
4) All white, black upper strake, wood highlights (like second link above)
 
For any of these, there's also the question of whether the red caprail and highlights still makes sense, or whether to stick with the white/black/wood scheme shown in all the photos linked above.
 
Any thoughts? Should I put together some diagrams?
 
I need to decide this, as it will affect the way I move forward on the cap rail and other hull finishing. Thanks for any input.

That's probably where I got the idea from; makes more sense than thinking of it myself!

I'm definitely afraid of sanding right through a plank, especially at one of the less-good joints where the planks are already slightly angled to one another, but I suspect you're right that I can go farther. I guess holding it up to the light could help judge plank thickness.

Here's the completed hull, for comment and critique. The flaws I see include some divots (resulting from clamping wet & soft wood while bending), and some plank edges that don't quite line up due to my less-than-perfect bending. What do you see?
 
After a first sanding, it's reasonably smooth and seems like the faults will fade with painting and finishing. I think the port side is better than the starboard side; the strakes are more evenly spaced. I'd like to do a better job on my next planking task, but feel that this is acceptable as a learning experience.
 
Also, after being so careful not to break the stem throughout the planking, I snapped it off while sanding the hull. Figures.
 
 

I'm well past the stage shown in the last photo, only the final plank to go, so when I get a chance to process photos we can all judge how it turned out. To my eye, the run of my planks looks pretty similar to many other builds I've been studying, (other than some asymmetry in plank width that I put down to the amateur learning process) but we'll see what you all think when I get the photos up.
 
I've certainly learned quite a bit about how I'd proceed the next time, which is half the point of building models in the first place! At least for me.

Toni,
 
Are you sure? Both my garboard strakes end 3/16" beyond the forward end of the keel's scarph joint (I just remeasured them), which is as near to Chuck's layout as my eye can judge. The instructions say it should start "just forward of the scarph...don't start it too far forward". From other logs, I didn't think it should go much farther than that or the rest of the planks would be too squeezed as they ran in to the stem; the instructions give the same warning. I also tried to taper the garboard at least as much as I saw in other logs, I think it's more than Chuck's, to allow for a smoother run. Can you clarify what you're seeing in the photo that gives you concern?
 
At this point I've done all but the last few planks. One thing I didn't do quite right is keep the ends of the next few planks symmetrical; if you view the boat head on, they don't meet up in the same place across the stem. I didn't notice this until I was past the point of being willing to rip them all out, but I adjusted the next few planks to compensate back to even, and the area where they don't match will be covered by paint.
 
Looking back at my last photo, you may be seeing a combination of the 2nd planks not quite matching up, and camera angle foreshortening the port one. But I'd be happy to hear more, to understand if I'm missing something.

Thanks! I appreciate the feedback, especially given how beautifully yours turned out.

Sometimes mood is everything. By Friday evening, I was feeling a tad frustrated, having struggled over and over to get my planking right. I'd decided to do things properly, so carefully removed my first attempt, re-faired the frames, and started over. The first plank went on fine again, but I just wasn't getting the hang of bending the planks in three dimensions, and things kept either buckling or not lining up. Finally I just went to bed.
 
This morning, I took a deep breath and started anew, changing focus to the garboard planks and the next strake up. These allowed me to practice solely edge-bending a plank, and I started to get the hang of it a bit, so went back to work on the sub-sheer strakes again. I was having fun and feeling good again, and something finally clicked, at least a little.
 
I also realized after some experimentation, that I may have over-faired one of the forward bulkheads. Gluing in a little filler strip and filing it to shape definitely helped with forming the planks properly. A fresh approach let me see that, whereas the night before I was just bulling ahead with blinders on.
 
The results, as of this afternoon, are definitely below the standard of the best builders here, but I think are satisfactory for me. There are still some odd gouges, dents, and humps in a few places, but I think these will fade with sanding, painting, and the overall completion of the model. They show up well in the harsh light and shadows of close-up photography, but won't be as obvious in the general display conditions of the finished model. I think.
 
Bow view, with the sheer strake now set lower. I gave the planks a quick, rough sanding but there's more work to be done.

 
Side view. I think I've gotten the hang of edge-bending planks around the garboard strake. It's too bad this part will be painted, while the upper bow will be stained, because things look better down here.

 
Bottom view. Not sure if it shows, but I've been using a tick strip to lay out the course of the remaining planks.

 
Edge-bending planks. It's taken some practice to get this right, especially without denting the soft planks too badly. I used the edge of my cutting map, as the rough surface gives the clamps more purchase. I've learned to turn any such plank upside down, so any clamp marks are on the inside where they won't be as visible.
 
Does anyone see further faults or problems, other than those I've already pointed out (a few humps and nicks in the planks, for example)?
 
I'm looking forward to filling this in, now that I'm finally understanding more about how to do it. I wanted this kit to teach me more, and it sure is!

Hmm...tough call. Wouldn't be THAT much work to take these first two off and start over.

The first two strakes are done; I felt they went on smoothly and looked good.
 

 
Then I discovered that I'd made a significant mistake. Despite obsessively rereading various build logs and the instructions, I did something wrong. Can you tell what it is?
 

 
That's right, I was supposed to leave a gap above the sheer strake, at the stem, to allow for the cap rail to fit. Now that I see it, it's obvious in many other logs, on the plans, and in the instruction photos. I have the rest of the strake set out just right, a bit below the tops of the bulkheads, but without thinking I ran the sheer strake all the way up the stem to the end of the rabbet. It's supposed to look like this.
 
I'm not the first to do this. Stuntflyer did the same thing, and in fact I discovered my error by reading his log, which I apparently hadn't before. I got to that point, and my stomach lurched. However, the ensuing discussion makes it clear that it's a reasonable fudge to just sand down the sheer strake to create that notch/platform for the cap rail, as Stuntflyer did here. His model came out beautifully.
 
So that's what I'm going to do, unless anyone has advice to the contrary? Does the rest of the planking look correct, or are there other concerns that would suggest I should take these two off and start over before I'm in too deep?

Huzzah for weekends!
 

Assembling the keel. I made a paper pattern to transfer the rabbet line to the non-marked side.
 

Attaching the bulkheads. I didn't feel like assembling a build board that wouldn't be used beyond this step, so I came up with this approach instead. The keel is clamped to two large squares, which in turn hold each bulkhead square. I started amidships and worked out, doing two bulkheads at a time. I had previously traced square lines on each bulkhead, and used a third square to ensure each one was vertical relative to the keel, along with the eye test. This worked really well. For the last few small bulkheads, when there wasn't enough keel/stem left to clamp to, I just did it by eye and it came out fine.
 

Stiffening the bulkheads. I used thin scrap left over from another project, and glued a thick square in the middle, the use of which will soon become apparent. I made sure that all the braces stayed within the part that will be removed. I also attached the bow fillers at this stage.
 

Here's the frame, transom attached, all faired. It's a gorgeous day here, sunny and warm, so I simply sat on my porch and sanded away, cradling the hull in my hand and lap. Nothing beats full sun for detail work.
 

Closeup of the bow after fairing. Does it look right? Test strakes seem to fit well.
 

And here's why I attached that square chunk on top. It's sized to fit in my handy movable cradle, so that I can plank the hull while rotating it and holding it in any orientation I desire. I'm happy to say I haven't broken the stem yet, and I'm hopeful I can avoid it for good now that the worst handling is over.
 
Anyone see anything wrong before I start planking?

Ahoy, it's yet another longboat! Last fall, looking ahead to the completion of my steamboat Bertrand scratchbuild, I wanted my next project to fulfill three goals: have good instructions to give my brain a rest, let me develop & practice skills like planking & rigging before tackling a larger ship project, and not be too large.
 
I settled on this little model back in September, when Model Expo had their special offer to buy any kit 50% off, then send them photos of the completed model within a year to get the other 50% in store credit. I bought the two naval cannon kits and this one, figured that I'd have Bertrand done by the end of the year, and should be able knock those three out in the remaining nine months. Well, here it is about March, and the two cannons are done with the longboat underway. So in effect, this is a "free" kit if I can finish it by September. I think that's plenty doable.
 
Here's the kit laid out on my reasonably organized workspace, a plastic "market" table set into a cedar frame I built from the abundant red cedar we log & mill on our farm.
 

 
My mind doesn't think easily in small fractions of an inch, so I took a pencil and labelled the end of each wood strip or bundle as I worked out its identity on the parts list. This way, every time I want a piece, I won't have to measure a bunch of different strips to figure out which one I want. Light pencil is easy to remove as needed.
 

 
We're about to head down and visit the Arkansas in-laws, so not much more will get done in the next week, but I'm too excited to get started not to at least post the log. This will be a fun change of pace from the Bertrand, and will be a nice complement to the MS Bounty Launch I built before that; there's even a space on a bookshelf reserved for the finished model.
 
Thanks in advance to any of you who tune in; I hope I can add something to the collected knowledge of this great kit.
 

I got to meet the Interaction guy a a train meet in Salmon Arm BC last week hes got some new stuff coming out too. A nifty little boatworks in N-scale soon to be in 1/87th.
   The hotel the convention was in had a lot of historical fotos from the area including a sternwheeler working with logs. Ya sure wouldn't wanna get the wheel tangled up in the logs. Bill in Idaho