AndrewW

I don't have any in progress photos of the rest of the steps, I pretty much followed the instructions and did a LOT of head scratching when it came to the rigging. Also, I suffered the same problem with the rudder that everyone else seems to have in that it is too "long". I ended up trimming off the bottom of the rudder level with the keel and that worked pretty well. Was also missing the hinge pins from the kit so fashioned some replacements from toothpicks. I am pretty certain I have all the lines running to the right locations through the correct blocks etc, but I have a serious issue with the top booms on each of the two masts: Looks reasonable here (excuse the excess rigging hanging around, I have not tied off and trimmed some of it yet). These closeups also make the ropes look a lot fluffier/hairier than they do in real life ... need to investigate solutions to his before my next model though.

A couple of coats of matt varnish applied with a light rub down in between and things are starting to look really good, way better than I was hoping for:

First layer of planking complete. I was feeling quite chuffed with myself. Time to start on the second layer. A few little rough spots, lots of swearing, but I was very happy with the results. Also dyed and then attached the rubbing strakes and gunwale covers. Mistake 2: I didn't follow the instructions and missed that I was supposed to install the keel before planking, so my keel sits on top of the planking an things don't quite line up as they are supposed to. Mistake 3: I followed the instructions and installed the gunwale covers .. should have left them off as they make it impossible to install the bases (bench seats) later.

After much deliberation ... and I mean hours of staring at the contents of the box, the instructions, online articles and videos etc I decided it was time to bite the bullet and start to put the hull together: Here are some photos of the first row of planking going on: I soaked each plank in very hot water for 15 minutes, clamped it in place and let it dry overnight. The next day I was able to remove the clamps and glue with PVA as the plank retained its shape. Mistake 1: I did not smooth off the frames quite as well as I should have, being afraid to ruin something. Therefore some of the frames do not make "square" contact with all of the planks. Thankfully this does not show through as sharp creases in the planks.

This is my first attempt at a wooden ship build. I come from a background of plastic model aircraft, radio control aircraft (fabric over balsa) and recently a foray into plastic model ships (CVN-65). I got the bug for model wooden ships after discovering the work a mate of mine did while helping his father clean out his possessions after his untimely passing. I inherited a box of spare parts, cannons etc and could feel them calling to me. To be honest the thing that intrigued me most about wooden ship building was the rigging. I am a perfectionist. Just ask my wife. So I purchased a kit that would allow me to practice plank on frame hull building as well as rigging. I wanted a kit that wasn't too expensive in case I stuffed it up. I picked the Endeavour longboat because of 1. The ties to the history of the discovery and settlement of my country 2. It looks pretty 3. It has three masts so I figured more rigging to play with, even though I know there are lots of comments on other logs that the longboat would almost certainly not have had 3 sails! I should have started this build log a long time ago, and for that I apologise. I also should have taken more photos, but I will attach the ones I have. I have learnt a lot of things doing this build. I have made quite a few mistakes, although I believe I've recovered from most of them fairly well. I have an ulterior motive for posting this build log, I have a serious issue with the rigging which will be detailed in a future post, and I am hoping for some advice. Cheers, Andrew.