Greetings from Colorado, USA
I am a new member, a retired software nerd, who has always been fascinated by model ships. So at age 70 I’ve finally decided to try my hand at building one.
Having recently binged on “The Vikings” and “The Last Kingdom” I chose the Amati Drakkar as my first attempt. I've read some excellent builds logs here with a mixture of inspiration and intimidation.
But I’ll give it my best shot. I purchased a nice workbench from amazon and a few initial tools (although I'll no doubt need more), so I'm set up. With luck the kit will arrive this week from Ages of Sail. Currently FedEx has sent it on a long journey across the country.
My screen name is because of a 1974-75 job I had working for the San Francisco Maritime Museum as a rigger aboard the square-rigged ship Balclutha, then docked at Pier 39. We did lots of maintenance, including lowering the yards to the deck for restorative work.
I still have some of the tools I acquired or made including my serving board for wrapping tarred marline around standing rigging. I learned to splice wire rope, among other arcane tasks that I have since forgotten. Here's a photo, the rope rug is one I made from instructions in Ashley's book.
It was a great job with a fantastic crew, and lots of Guinness downed at the old Eagle Cafe across the street.
Most likely I’ll be asking some rank beginner questions here as I get into this, though most are probably already answered with a bit of searching.
Thanks.
