Jaager

Sweet Cherry Prunus avium is more dense than Black Cherry Prunus serotina.
Only birds eat the fruit of Black Cherry as far as I know.  It is mostly the stone, so eating it would be more work than it is worth.  It is used to make wild cherry syrup - an old vehicle for compounded Rx liquids - mainly pediatric.  The syrup is made from the bark, not the fruit.
I do not consider Black Cherry wood to be significantly hard.  It is easy to work and serious sanding can get you into trouble much more quickly than with Hard Maple.
Black Cherry is not very far up my list of wood species for fine detail carving.

I followed your wonderlandmodels link - clicked models and kits -  so much junk! - then checked the Billings isolating factor on the left and Torborg is top row at the right column.
It also looks clinker - the point is that it is an open boat.   - Rowing or single mast,  a boat is the best chance for completion.
 
The attrition rate for those attempting a first time wooden vessel and even going the extra step of doing it with a log is so high here that I have the conclusion -  it is almost impossible to start with a kit that is too simple. 
 
Most - probably pretty much all of us - start with plastic. 
I blame a large portion of  the high abandonment rate as  involving those who were serious about plastic and tried wood thinking that it is the same process with a different material.  The whole process is so different that it is like a whole other planet.   The unrealistic expectations about what help the instructions will provide and it being fabrication rather than the simple straight forward assembly of plastic leading to frustration and anger.   I have seen no exit interviews to support this proposition.
A wooden ship model is not one single process.  It is a series of subunits, each of which is a model unto itself. 
For all of us, our muse and our inspiration comes and goes.   The larger, the more complex the model,  the higher the probability is that the builder will not be there when the muse returns.  This is more likely with freshmen rather than seniors and grad students.  Nobody ever graduates.

I followed your wonderlandmodels link - clicked models and kits -  so much junk! - then checked the Billings isolating factor on the left and Torborg is top row at the right column.
It also looks clinker - the point is that it is an open boat.   - Rowing or single mast,  a boat is the best chance for completion.
 
The attrition rate for those attempting a first time wooden vessel and even going the extra step of doing it with a log is so high here that I have the conclusion -  it is almost impossible to start with a kit that is too simple. 
 
Most - probably pretty much all of us - start with plastic. 
I blame a large portion of  the high abandonment rate as  involving those who were serious about plastic and tried wood thinking that it is the same process with a different material.  The whole process is so different that it is like a whole other planet.   The unrealistic expectations about what help the instructions will provide and it being fabrication rather than the simple straight forward assembly of plastic leading to frustration and anger.   I have seen no exit interviews to support this proposition.
A wooden ship model is not one single process.  It is a series of subunits, each of which is a model unto itself. 
For all of us, our muse and our inspiration comes and goes.   The larger, the more complex the model,  the higher the probability is that the builder will not be there when the muse returns.  This is more likely with freshmen rather than seniors and grad students.  Nobody ever graduates.

I followed your wonderlandmodels link - clicked models and kits -  so much junk! - then checked the Billings isolating factor on the left and Torborg is top row at the right column.
It also looks clinker - the point is that it is an open boat.   - Rowing or single mast,  a boat is the best chance for completion.
 
The attrition rate for those attempting a first time wooden vessel and even going the extra step of doing it with a log is so high here that I have the conclusion -  it is almost impossible to start with a kit that is too simple. 
 
Most - probably pretty much all of us - start with plastic. 
I blame a large portion of  the high abandonment rate as  involving those who were serious about plastic and tried wood thinking that it is the same process with a different material.  The whole process is so different that it is like a whole other planet.   The unrealistic expectations about what help the instructions will provide and it being fabrication rather than the simple straight forward assembly of plastic leading to frustration and anger.   I have seen no exit interviews to support this proposition.
A wooden ship model is not one single process.  It is a series of subunits, each of which is a model unto itself. 
For all of us, our muse and our inspiration comes and goes.   The larger, the more complex the model,  the higher the probability is that the builder will not be there when the muse returns.  This is more likely with freshmen rather than seniors and grad students.  Nobody ever graduates.

I followed your wonderlandmodels link - clicked models and kits -  so much junk! - then checked the Billings isolating factor on the left and Torborg is top row at the right column.
It also looks clinker - the point is that it is an open boat.   - Rowing or single mast,  a boat is the best chance for completion.
 
The attrition rate for those attempting a first time wooden vessel and even going the extra step of doing it with a log is so high here that I have the conclusion -  it is almost impossible to start with a kit that is too simple. 
 
Most - probably pretty much all of us - start with plastic. 
I blame a large portion of  the high abandonment rate as  involving those who were serious about plastic and tried wood thinking that it is the same process with a different material.  The whole process is so different that it is like a whole other planet.   The unrealistic expectations about what help the instructions will provide and it being fabrication rather than the simple straight forward assembly of plastic leading to frustration and anger.   I have seen no exit interviews to support this proposition.
A wooden ship model is not one single process.  It is a series of subunits, each of which is a model unto itself. 
For all of us, our muse and our inspiration comes and goes.   The larger, the more complex the model,  the higher the probability is that the builder will not be there when the muse returns.  This is more likely with freshmen rather than seniors and grad students.  Nobody ever graduates.

Give a thought to something about the size of of Billings'  Torborg. 
With no experience with Billings as far as quality,  a search for a log that might provide the desired data came up empty.  A log by you would cut new ground.
A schooner is not a boat. A boat can be quick and dirty,  and if done using quality materials :  A finished small subject using one of the larger scales and the completed model living in a case on a shelf near you => confidence  and inspiration.   The more you bounce around here, the more background gained about what is of interest -  and how involved a specific kit really is.
As far as real quality wood materials that are a joy to work rather than a fight,  options are fairly limited - for example  Syren,  Vanguard, 3rd party sawmill sourced substitution, you being your own sawmill.

Give a thought to something about the size of of Billings'  Torborg. 
With no experience with Billings as far as quality,  a search for a log that might provide the desired data came up empty.  A log by you would cut new ground.
A schooner is not a boat. A boat can be quick and dirty,  and if done using quality materials :  A finished small subject using one of the larger scales and the completed model living in a case on a shelf near you => confidence  and inspiration.   The more you bounce around here, the more background gained about what is of interest -  and how involved a specific kit really is.
As far as real quality wood materials that are a joy to work rather than a fight,  options are fairly limited - for example  Syren,  Vanguard, 3rd party sawmill sourced substitution, you being your own sawmill.

It drys to a hard shell.   It is used to protect steel tables and tools from humidity produced rusting.  So it will not be a sticky dust magnet.  It also does not contain trace amounts of insect digestive enzymes or anything to allow hydrogen ions for to be acidic.
 
Plastic polymer line IS a shell.  There is nothing about it that needs a wax coating of any kind.

Use Renaissance (conservators') wax.

Centurion was a "modified" 1719 Establishment 60 gun.  The "modification"  was to increase the breadth by 1 foot.
The NMM has the original Allin design for sale as a print 1:48  ZAZ1688  - it is pretty beat up.
There is also a redrawn plan by I think  Fredrik Henrik af Chapman the first naval architect that is cleaner and has more detail (stern)  ZAZ 1689 also a print 1:48
 
 

Find a post of the person of interest.  Placing the cursor over the name or the cartouche opens a window.  In the window is a link:  Find Content.
Click that a scroll the list.  On the entries where the person is the author of the post, check to see if it is a build log.   Not efficient, but it is through. 

Centurion was a "modified" 1719 Establishment 60 gun.  The "modification"  was to increase the breadth by 1 foot.
The NMM has the original Allin design for sale as a print 1:48  ZAZ1688  - it is pretty beat up.
There is also a redrawn plan by I think  Fredrik Henrik af Chapman the first naval architect that is cleaner and has more detail (stern)  ZAZ 1689 also a print 1:48
 
 

It is also possible that knowledge and lessons learned give you the power and determination to persevere , when not having that chip would have lead to the easy path.
If you did it twice, that would be troubling.   At least you are not a song writer who signed over the rights to a song whose royalties could have supported you for the rest of your life.

The situation is probably even worse.  The veneer has a high probability of being rotary cut.  Think of a blade producing a continuous sheet of wood that resembles paper towels coming off of a roll.   The wood came from a curved environment and will always "want" to go back to that cupped conformation.  Wetting, pressing, ironing will just be a futile fight against Mother Nature.
Even at a distance, that hideous yellow stuff looks like crap.  It will likely not be the joy to work that an appropriate species is.
It appears that the ZHL episode was not the aberration that I was hoping it was.  

I have an original version of the Dobson   J never found a way to get satisfactory work out of it.
The whole unit wants to move and rock when the blade is being used.  After your comment, I can see that it being fixed to a large enough base solves that problem. It does greatly increase the real estate occupied by the device though. 
The blade is inside a sleeve and held vertical by two plastic screws - and I have not been successful in finding the sweet spot between a wobble and too much friction for the blade to slide easily.  The grab helps cause the sliding and rocking.
The stock wants to  move back and forth with the blade.  The brass wires for a hold down are too flimsy.
It requires four hands.   If fixed to a base, it is then down to three hands.
I am not sure that razor saws models that allow for just the steel blade to be replaced are thin enough to fit the sleeve.  This important because I have come to prefer a cut being on the pull stroke instead of the push stroke.

I do, but I have no hands-on experience with any of them.  I started with a solid hull Balsa Scientific kit - a clipper - not a good beginner's choice - but it was so simplified - not much more than a decorator model really - that I was able to finish it.  I then started with a yellow box Model Shipways solid hull topsail schooner.  Those old style solid hull kits were so basic that going over to scratch and POF was a short step.  The lofting  for POF was and is a deep dive into a complex world and a serious time sink if the subject is a vessel of some size.  
So going by a swift current here, the Model Shipways sponsored  Shipwright Series appears to be a successful way to enter into this.  The old yellow box kits have become extinct.  The parent company Model Expo shows problems with ethics from time to time.  BlueJacket has beginner small craft that will also probably ease you into this.  Both are domestic to western hemisphere colony interests and subjects as well as import duty complexities.  I did not offer an initial suggestion because I suspected that there would be suggestions about kits from British source companies.  I do not know if there are any starter kits that are as hand holding as the Shipwright Series.  However you appear to be starting a bit farther down the road than our usual complete tyro so perhaps something a bit more sophisticated would work for you.
But - start with a boat in any case.   Even if you wish to replicated Nelson's fleet or  in my case Allin's (booo, booo) and Anson's (yeah)  fleets,  all of these ships carried multiple boats.  Learning how to build them first is anything but a waste of time.

I do, but I have no hands-on experience with any of them.  I started with a solid hull Balsa Scientific kit - a clipper - not a good beginner's choice - but it was so simplified - not much more than a decorator model really - that I was able to finish it.  I then started with a yellow box Model Shipways solid hull topsail schooner.  Those old style solid hull kits were so basic that going over to scratch and POF was a short step.  The lofting  for POF was and is a deep dive into a complex world and a serious time sink if the subject is a vessel of some size.  
So going by a swift current here, the Model Shipways sponsored  Shipwright Series appears to be a successful way to enter into this.  The old yellow box kits have become extinct.  The parent company Model Expo shows problems with ethics from time to time.  BlueJacket has beginner small craft that will also probably ease you into this.  Both are domestic to western hemisphere colony interests and subjects as well as import duty complexities.  I did not offer an initial suggestion because I suspected that there would be suggestions about kits from British source companies.  I do not know if there are any starter kits that are as hand holding as the Shipwright Series.  However you appear to be starting a bit farther down the road than our usual complete tyro so perhaps something a bit more sophisticated would work for you.
But - start with a boat in any case.   Even if you wish to replicated Nelson's fleet or  in my case Allin's (booo, booo) and Anson's (yeah)  fleets,  all of these ships carried multiple boats.  Learning how to build them first is anything but a waste of time.

From my perspective - wood - scratch - POF - if your near term goal is to scratch build a yacht using wood, any time spent building a plastic model is time wasted.
There is very little overlap in the skills required.  The rigging on a large scale version of a modern yacht will have very little in common with the rigging of Nelson Era first rate man of war.   You may even choose to paint with wood rather than pigment in a binder, so the only other overlap is not relevant if you do.  The surface prep on plastic does not relate to that of wood either.
 
A small craft starter kit of a wooden model would be a more productive time investment.  It will probably want a couple more incrementally complex kits to get there.  Meanwhile - read.  Chapelle's Boatbuilding,  Books covering small craft and yacht construction, lofting. 
 
As a background alert,  I see plastic as being an absolutely terrible material to simulate wood.  It is close to essential as a material to simulate steel.  But, it requires really special skills to use it as a raw material and be shaped to match a one-off plan.

Find a post of the person of interest.  Placing the cursor over the name or the cartouche opens a window.  In the window is a link:  Find Content.
Click that a scroll the list.  On the entries where the person is the author of the post, check to see if it is a build log.   Not efficient, but it is through. 

From my perspective - wood - scratch - POF - if your near term goal is to scratch build a yacht using wood, any time spent building a plastic model is time wasted.
There is very little overlap in the skills required.  The rigging on a large scale version of a modern yacht will have very little in common with the rigging of Nelson Era first rate man of war.   You may even choose to paint with wood rather than pigment in a binder, so the only other overlap is not relevant if you do.  The surface prep on plastic does not relate to that of wood either.
 
A small craft starter kit of a wooden model would be a more productive time investment.  It will probably want a couple more incrementally complex kits to get there.  Meanwhile - read.  Chapelle's Boatbuilding,  Books covering small craft and yacht construction, lofting. 
 
As a background alert,  I see plastic as being an absolutely terrible material to simulate wood.  It is close to essential as a material to simulate steel.  But, it requires really special skills to use it as a raw material and be shaped to match a one-off plan.

From my perspective - wood - scratch - POF - if your near term goal is to scratch build a yacht using wood, any time spent building a plastic model is time wasted.
There is very little overlap in the skills required.  The rigging on a large scale version of a modern yacht will have very little in common with the rigging of Nelson Era first rate man of war.   You may even choose to paint with wood rather than pigment in a binder, so the only other overlap is not relevant if you do.  The surface prep on plastic does not relate to that of wood either.
 
A small craft starter kit of a wooden model would be a more productive time investment.  It will probably want a couple more incrementally complex kits to get there.  Meanwhile - read.  Chapelle's Boatbuilding,  Books covering small craft and yacht construction, lofting. 
 
As a background alert,  I see plastic as being an absolutely terrible material to simulate wood.  It is close to essential as a material to simulate steel.  But, it requires really special skills to use it as a raw material and be shaped to match a one-off plan.

It is also possible that knowledge and lessons learned give you the power and determination to persevere , when not having that chip would have lead to the easy path.
If you did it twice, that would be troubling.   At least you are not a song writer who signed over the rights to a song whose royalties could have supported you for the rest of your life.

The situation is probably even worse.  The veneer has a high probability of being rotary cut.  Think of a blade producing a continuous sheet of wood that resembles paper towels coming off of a roll.   The wood came from a curved environment and will always "want" to go back to that cupped conformation.  Wetting, pressing, ironing will just be a futile fight against Mother Nature.
Even at a distance, that hideous yellow stuff looks like crap.  It will likely not be the joy to work that an appropriate species is.
It appears that the ZHL episode was not the aberration that I was hoping it was.  

It is also possible that knowledge and lessons learned give you the power and determination to persevere , when not having that chip would have lead to the easy path.
If you did it twice, that would be troubling.   At least you are not a song writer who signed over the rights to a song whose royalties could have supported you for the rest of your life.

It is also possible that knowledge and lessons learned give you the power and determination to persevere , when not having that chip would have lead to the easy path.
If you did it twice, that would be troubling.   At least you are not a song writer who signed over the rights to a song whose royalties could have supported you for the rest of your life.