SWOHammer

That's incredible! Not only that you've persevered, but that it is still in great shape and looks FANTASTIC! I wish you all the best on you finishing it. I hope you have a build log so we can see your progress (hint, hint); if you do, can you share the link?

Welcome aboard, shipmate!

Fellow Shipwrights!! It has been ages since I posted an update, and slightly less than that since I finally got back to work on my model. It's amazing how a many "real life" events bumped my time for this endeavor. Nevertheless, I finally gained the courage to apply the chisel to the chunks and I shaped the bow of the Willie. Practiced and practiced on blocks before I was happy with my nascent chisel abilities. I'm still very unskilled. Thank goodness for filler. and paint. repeat. After that, I finished up the hull structure, filled in the holes, low spots, sanded the hell out of it, and finally pulled it off the mold!! After that, followed the instructions and installed temporary braces until I built the strong backs and the knees. Also got the knight heads cut and sanded. Looks much different when you can HOLD it and not just look at the bottom of the ship. Now working on the framing. At least I'm back at it and making progress. Happy to be back! You all have been doing fantastic work while I've been away!

I'm watching this thread closely because my son and I are about to start building the MS Phantom solid hull. Though not completely not germane to the topic of the OP, I noticed the perfectly drawn lines in the photos (both longitudinally and athwartship). How do you all achieve this? This applies to all ship molding techniques (POB, Solid, etc.)? VERY Impressed Thanks, Rob

Joe, I, too, am a product of Great Lakes. I graduated from boot camp there in early 1989. I remember living in an apartment in Alameda, CA; three or four of us at any given time crammed into a two-bedroom apartment. The only redeeming quality about the place is that it was only a couple of blocks from all of the bars.

Thistle, You are absolutely NOT insulting my intelligence; I drive and fix ships made of steel, blood, and sweat in the Navy for a living, and have done so for almost 28 years. In that time, I've had little opportunity to learn how to carve wood; thus, I have NO experience...zero, zilch. I need the BASICS!! Thanks!!! Cheers, Rob

Hervie, I know I'm late to the party, but I just finished pouring over your build log; you do a FANTASTIC job of documenting your work (and your re-work, which I think is VERY valuable). I am many years away from plucking up the courage (and the skills) to attempt a build such as this one, but I do aspire to one day. In the meantime, I like to sit in awe at the artistry, craftsmanship, and talent of the builders that contribute to this site. Thank you so much for sharing. The ship looks AMAZING so far; keep up the great work on the ship and the excellent log. I know that I'll use it when I finally promote myself to this level of building experience. If you don't mind, I will pull up a chair, pour a couple fingers of single-malt, and continue to watch with reverence and anticipation!!

Good Morning, Happy Friday, Everyone!!! E.J., Thanks for the tip. The "conventional" finish is paint on the hull and vertical surfaces, and stain on the deck and other horizontal surfaces. I think I'll end up doing just that, depending on how the decking turns out. I think the hull looks great with the hull red below the waterline and white above. I forgot to post the last couple of photos I took last night that show where I was when the yardworkers punched out. I need to pluck up the courage to start carving the chunks; the ONLY experience I have with a chisel was the other night when i shaped the forward bottom planks. See you in the Fleet!! Cheers, Rob

Good Evening Fellow Shipwrights, Thank you all for your kind feedback and likes; it really helps motivate me. Also, thank you, Kurt Van Dahm for responding to my question I PM'd about the camber. I'll respond to your message in kind, but wanted to publicly acknowledge my appreciation for your assistance. It's been a few days since I provided an update, but I wanted to have substantial progress before sharing. I'm almost finished planking the bottom; I have a couple of the thicker planks to trim and I have to carve the "chunks" on the bow. I've noticed that even as careful as I was, I'm going to have to sand so much of the bottom down to make it all even, I'm wondering if I should get most of it true and then use putty to fill in the planks that are still too low...Thoughts? For those of you who have already built this model, do I need to trim the stem (most forward part of the bow) to be even with the forward part of the keelson? There are drawings in the instruction book that seem to indicate that I do, but others, make it look like it still ends up at a fine taper. I know I have to add the cutwater, and the very forward part of the bow will need to be flat to fit that piece, but I'd think I would only trim the stem until it is as thick as the wood used for the cutwater. What did you do? Thanks, and here are some photos showing the progression. I left the aft end of the bottom plank "square" as shown in the instructions, though I've seen many shipwrights sand them down to be flush with the transom. While just getting started, I was cutting each plank and measuring each angle every time. I knew there HAD to be a better way... ...So I made this jig which made things a little faster, but the angles weren't perfect so each plank had to be individually fitted anyway; nevertheless, I think it sped things up a bit. Progress on the Port side. Decided to mostly finish the port side before finishing the stbd side. Easier to cut the same angle rather than switch back and forth because there was a little variation between the two sides. You can see how I had to "fan" out the forward planks as well as use thicker wood because of the "twist" between the chine and the rabbett. Port side trimmed and sanded. Took a long time to make those thicker planks look like they are part of the same ship!! Port side "chunk" glued on. A bit intimidated to start carving it. Think I'll finish up the starboard side first and then try not to screw it up too badly!! I look forward to your continued critical and constructive feedback. Thanks in advance! See you all in the fleet! Cheers, Rob

Jack, Really looking good! I think the rails look fantastic, as does the rigging to raise/lower the centerboard. Cheers, Rob

All, Great advice all around. I think my best course of action is to contact Model Expo and explain the situation to them and ask to purchase a replacement hull from them. Thanks!! See you all in the fleet! Rob

Good Evening Fellow Shipwrights, I got the sides of the Willie B. glued and beveled, and I'm ready to start planking the bottom. I'm building a jig to simplify cutting the inboard angle of the planks, but once that is done, I'll begin. I hope to have the entire bottom finished by the end of this weekend, which will be the end of building the "basic" hull and I'll be ready to take this thing off the building board and the "real" work can start!! Being in a Drydock is the toughest time to be aboard a ship...Sailors belong on ships, and ships belong on the seas!! I hope you all are doing well and thanks in advance for your constructive criticism!!!

All, Even though I'm embroiled in building Willie Bennett, my next build is the MS Phantom. My friend purchased it a fair time ago, and it looks like he quit right after he started hacking away at the stern before giving the entire shebang to me. I think he realized his talents lie elsewhere. At any rate, if I wrote Model Expo and request they send a new hull for "my" Phantom, do you think they'd send one? For a solid hull kit, it seems like a pretty important part, but I don't want to take advantage of them, considering how great they've been for me with the WLB. Has anyone tried to get this particular part replaced under their part guarantee? Thoughts? Cheers, Rob