GGibson

Thanks for the comments, SkiBee and turangi! And also appreciate the "likes" by others following my progress! Took a week off and visited my son and family in South Florida, but now back in COLD Kansas City (just in time to root for the Chiefs in the Super Bowl). OK, back to my Norwegian Sailing Pram... Filled the gaps using turangi's suggestion of Elmer's Wood Filler. Great idea, as I was at first going to use a 2-part auto body filler. This was MUCH easier, and seemed to fill and sand down pretty well. Will definitely use it for future models, as well. (Listen to me looking forward to more projects!) Painted the exterior and interior, using the prototype colors shown in the instructions... warm white color for the outside and copper red for the inside surfaces. I also used the warm white color for the thwarts and stern sheets. In retrospect, in looking at both SkiBee's and JohnN's build logs, I wish I would have done the seats in some type of wood stain instead of the white color. The stain really looks sharp. Dang it... So, now on to the tiller assembly, I've read the instructions multiple times already, and still not 100% sure what I am to do. Time to again look at others' build logs to understand this assembly process better. I may be asking more questions VERY soon... Appreciate all the advice, comments and critique.

A quick update on status. I have completed everything up to the point that they suggest painting the interior/exterior hull. Here are pictures from both ends. Obviously, I have just set the seats and thwarts in the boat for the picture, they will come out before painting, as will the raised dagger board.. Before painting, I do need to still fill in some noticeable gaps in some of the planking. I went to a local auto supply store and purchased a small tube of spot putty and hardener. I will try that process for this boat. Perhaps in future models (I sound optimistic, don't I?), I may find a better method for filling in those gaps. Any suggestions are, of course, welcome. Taking a week off to visit family (including two grand-daughters), so will begin the hull painting process when I return after the 1st of February. Thanks again for your following, reading, advice, and critique.

I'm actually amazed that I have already gotten this far, and appearing to do "fairly well". The past couple of days, I have finished the planking and placed the skeg and bilge keels. The instruction book mentions that there will be some some small divots and gaps in the planks and, yes, I have some! The book mentions two remedies... a mixture of sawdust, glue and water, or a little auto body filler. What have you found to work best in filling those little boo-boos? By the way, my thanks to Turangi for your suggestion on using the hot hair dryer to set the planks closer to the molds. Had to wet/dry/band a few times, but it worked well. Appreciate the insight! Now on to the top side! Building the daggar board case now and continuing to move forward. Appreciate all the critique/recommendations anyone has to offer. Hope everyone has a great weekend! And... go Chiefs!

Progressing slowly but surely (I think!)... Have secured and glued the bottom planks and the keel plank. Is there such a thing as using too many clamps?!? The instruction book mentions a tendency for the planks to bow and lift up off of the molds, which is what mine has done, as well. Going to wet the inner sides and band down overnight, as suggested, to see if that brings down the structure to its proper location. Anyone else have issues/concerns with this? Easily resolved? On to more planking! Thanks for following, reading, and critiquing!

Thanks for the clarification, Arild. Makes sense when doing the mathematics conversion. I think I'm good. And, yes, I read other logs and viewed videos that mentioned inventory. As far as I can tell, everything is there and in good condition. I am moving forward! An update on the bottom planks and keel plank will be posted next. Again, appreciate all of the input!

Thanks for the encouragement and advice, Arild! Much appreciated! Although, as a novice builder, I'm confused on your tab measurement references. I measured the tabs on the top of the two molds... 5/8" on the 2.5, 7/8" on the 4. the two bottom planks look like they'll set on either side of the tabs fine, with the keel plank laying on top of them with a proper overlap and the tabs. Are you saying once they are bent, I may have issues unless I reduce the tab widths? Those are pretty significant reductions... 1/8" on the 2.5, not quite 1/2" on the 4. Am I understanding wrong? Looking around the house for an adequate curved surface to use as a guide for the bend. Thanks again for the input, Arlid.

So, I jumped right into the build after receiving the ship on Friday. Took inventory of everything in the box, laid out the tools it appears I will need, at least early on, and prepared a whole bunch of sanding sticks, as it appears I will be using those a lot in doing the necessary beveling, sanding, etc. On Saturday, I worked on the bow and stern transoms, getting them sanded and beveled, and attaching the knees. Had a bit of difficulty drilling the #55 hole in the bow transom and knee with the pin vise, but think it came out ok. I need to read up on what that hole will ultimately be used for to see if I need to clean it up any or redo it. The pictures below are of the building board and closeups of the two transoms. Hope I have beveled them both accurately! I did glue the bow transom support onto the building board as suggested. The stern support is a bit wobbly, and saw in one of the other build logs that he glued the stern support, as well, to provide more stability. I guess we'll see how it goes as I begin the planking. The plank bending will now be my real first test of success/challenges. I do have an electric plank bender tool, but it really appears that the bends in these planks on this Pram are not so extreme that it would require the tool. Sounds like the others have simply soaked the planks and formed them around the building board molds using rubber bands? Wish me the best on the plank bending! I'll update as I progress, and appreciate the input!

First of all, thanks to those that welcomed me in my New Member Introductions post. The warm welcomes are appreciated. Well, after almost two weeks of waiting on the shipping, my ships have come in! The two ships I ordered, the Norwegian Sailing Pram and the Muscongus Bay Lobster Smack, arrived on Friday. I have begun working on the Norwegian Sailing Pram first, of course, as this will be my first build in the ship modeling world. Hope I do as well as SkiBee and JohnN, as I read their build logs and will be referring back to those logs as I encounter my own "bumps in the road". I appreciate any feedback and advice as I sail forward... Thanks...

Thanks for all the positive posts. Looking forward to diving in (ok, a little water pun) and sharing my experiences, and getting great advice. Lansing is just up K7 from me, allanyed. Thank your son for his service! My son is a Navy pilot (technically in reserves now) after two tours several years back.

Hi all. This is Gregg from a suburb of the Kansas City MO/KS metropolitan area. Sixteen years ago (2005), with one child just graduating college and one still in college, I decided I needed a new hobby, and purchased the Bluenose as my first ship to build. Overwhelmed doesn't describe it. After working on the initial basics of the ship, I put it back in the box and up on a closet shelf to be forgotten. Sixteen years later, I am recently retired after a long accounting career, and found it buried in the back of a spare bedroom closet shelf. Other than my meat-smoking hobby (I am, after all, living in Kansas City!), I decided to take another shot at ship building. Well, after pulling it all back out, again looking at plans, reading many of the build logs on this site, etc., I decided perhaps the Bluenose was still a bit aggressive for a first build as a novice builder. So, I have taken a few steps back and have selected the Norwegian Sailing Pram and the Muscongus Bay Lobster Smak as my first two. Anxiously awaiting for their arrival. But, in the meantime, preparing my workspace, checking on my tools and supplies, and continuing to read blogs and posts like these, ship building logs, videos, etc. I am determined to make this a slow, yet progressive, journey. And, have fun along the way. I look forward to the journey. Will try to keep all updated on my adventures. Thanks!