Jaager

If you want a supply to play with in a couple of months, you can dry some billets in a home made kiln.
Make a box using 1 inch  foam foil surface house exterior insulation. Foil surface facing in.
I mounted mine inside a shelf. No need to seal the seams, let some air leakage occur.
Heat using incandescent light bulbs   -  200 - 300 W was enough for a 4' x 16" x 16" volume.
I used a $10 computer cooling fan to pull out the moist air -  they are DC motors but apparently you can use a transformer that supplies more power than the fan wants, but less will burn it out.  
Sticker the billets for complete air circulation.
300 W 24/7  - your electric bill will go up a few bucks.  I kept the temp at 120 degrees or less - dry heat about 20 degrees above ambient seems to be enough. I did it in my garage in Mar- Apr -  I guess 20 > ambient in GA in July- Aug is above 120 sometimes.  There are low cost digital thermometers that record the highest temp. 

Think of wood as being like a bundle of straws.  The end grain is the open ends of the straws.  The trick is to have the water in green wood leave the surface of the end grain at the same rate as the sides.  The stress of drying more quickly from the ends leads to splitting (checking).   You do want the water to leave.  Getting logs into billets speeds drying as it increases the ratio of drying surface to total volume.  You can use old left over house paint to coat the end grain, though you would want to keep an eye on things and add another coat or two if checking starts.
If you coat the sides, and really slow down water loss, I am thinking that it will take forever to dry and set up a situation for fungus to rot the wood.  Fruit wood may have a higher sugar content than other types, so fungus would be a problem in any case.  My ideal would be to store the drying wood in an environment where the internal temp in the billet is a bit higher than what a fungus could tolerate.

The top of the large log - looks like there are two branches .  I would cross cut that log about 1/3 down and have mostly a straight cylinder for the bottom 2/3 s.  
The top 1/3 - the side towards the camera - will be a short 1/2 log that is what 6- 12 inches or so?  very usable.  
The branch side.   Creative cutting with the band saw - you may get some curved grain that is useful for 2nd and 3rd futtocks, davits, knees, foothooks.   The curve will not be 1:50 - 1:100 scale, but still help in avoiding cross grain.
The way the log is now, is not even good for a splitting.
 
You are going to have to break these logs into smaller pieces at some point.  Doing it now gets it into sizes that will dry faster and with less tendency to split.   
 
If nothing else,  get a few more logs from the orchard, take them to a place that sells firewood and see if they will use their power splitter and 1/4 the logs.   That should get them band saw ready.  Who knows, the firewood dealer might have something interesting you can salvage in his stock.
 
The split planes are likely to be curved and twisted.  You will definitely need the carrier board for the band saw. 
 
You are new at this, my tendency would be to focus on the loss from the splitting and chain saw kerf,  Better to focus on what you are getting instead.  In the end, once you get hard dry lumber,  resawed, thickness sanded,  sawed into various pieces,  at best, 50% of this wood will go to saw dust anyway.

The top of the large log - looks like there are two branches .  I would cross cut that log about 1/3 down and have mostly a straight cylinder for the bottom 2/3 s.  
The top 1/3 - the side towards the camera - will be a short 1/2 log that is what 6- 12 inches or so?  very usable.  
The branch side.   Creative cutting with the band saw - you may get some curved grain that is useful for 2nd and 3rd futtocks, davits, knees, foothooks.   The curve will not be 1:50 - 1:100 scale, but still help in avoiding cross grain.
The way the log is now, is not even good for a splitting.
 
You are going to have to break these logs into smaller pieces at some point.  Doing it now gets it into sizes that will dry faster and with less tendency to split.   
 
If nothing else,  get a few more logs from the orchard, take them to a place that sells firewood and see if they will use their power splitter and 1/4 the logs.   That should get them band saw ready.  Who knows, the firewood dealer might have something interesting you can salvage in his stock.
 
The split planes are likely to be curved and twisted.  You will definitely need the carrier board for the band saw. 
 
You are new at this, my tendency would be to focus on the loss from the splitting and chain saw kerf,  Better to focus on what you are getting instead.  In the end, once you get hard dry lumber,  resawed, thickness sanded,  sawed into various pieces,  at best, 50% of this wood will go to saw dust anyway.

Just use old paint to coat the ends- ASAP -  several coats  - if nothing else  use TiteBond  or whatever PVA glue you use,  but left over paint is usually something that goes to waste otherwise.  
 
I don't know about you, but I find 16-18 inches is a good length for my stock, longer is difficult to handle  -  I will  use 6 inch if that is what is available.  That is 24 feet long at 1:48. 
 
If it is what it takes to get it band saw size,  I would bisect the logs using a chain saw - down the pith - a bow saw and hand rip saw if that is all you have.  The kerf is horrible, but still better than nothing.  
 
For the band saw, you will not have one flat surface, either for the table or the fence.
Use a board to ride on the table and against the fence - 1/2 inch thick or so  2-4 inches longer than the log.
I used right angle framing braces/brackets  and drywall screws  to fix the log to the carrier board - keeps the log from rolling and lets you define the cut line.   Once you get two planes at right angle on the log - you don't need the carrier.
 
Use the band saw to shave off the bark from the billets.
You can use a draw knife to shave off the bark, it is just a chore to fix the log to keep it from moving.
 
RE: your friend with the band saw.  Find out how long  his blades are and buy about 3 economy rip tooth blades for it from a local shop.  Green wood is tough on blades and if Peach is like other fruit wood, much harder than what most wood workers are used to.  It will dull the blade faster than usual wood stock.  I would expect at least one blade to break.

Lets' say you have a hull planked except for one last plank in the bow area so that the plane of the frame surface bends toward the stem.  The line of the planking  strake bends up with the sheer.
 
Take a 3 x 5 card and place it over the hole to be planked.  Rub a pencil over the edges of the surrounding planks to get the shape on the card.   Cutting the shape of the plank from the larger card is  spilling ( spoiling the rest of a good board as waste).  You now have the plank shape.  To get it to lay flat against the surface of the frames and not want to spring back up, this is what steaming is for.

Just use old paint to coat the ends- ASAP -  several coats  - if nothing else  use TiteBond  or whatever PVA glue you use,  but left over paint is usually something that goes to waste otherwise.  
 
I don't know about you, but I find 16-18 inches is a good length for my stock, longer is difficult to handle  -  I will  use 6 inch if that is what is available.  That is 24 feet long at 1:48. 
 
If it is what it takes to get it band saw size,  I would bisect the logs using a chain saw - down the pith - a bow saw and hand rip saw if that is all you have.  The kerf is horrible, but still better than nothing.  
 
For the band saw, you will not have one flat surface, either for the table or the fence.
Use a board to ride on the table and against the fence - 1/2 inch thick or so  2-4 inches longer than the log.
I used right angle framing braces/brackets  and drywall screws  to fix the log to the carrier board - keeps the log from rolling and lets you define the cut line.   Once you get two planes at right angle on the log - you don't need the carrier.
 
Use the band saw to shave off the bark from the billets.
You can use a draw knife to shave off the bark, it is just a chore to fix the log to keep it from moving.
 
RE: your friend with the band saw.  Find out how long  his blades are and buy about 3 economy rip tooth blades for it from a local shop.  Green wood is tough on blades and if Peach is like other fruit wood, much harder than what most wood workers are used to.  It will dull the blade faster than usual wood stock.  I would expect at least one blade to break.

As for sealing,  I would do this:
 
rub surface using 0000 steel wool or  600/1000 grit Silicone carbide paper.
coat #1   Pure Tung oil cut  1:1 with mineral spirits.
rub surface using 0000 steel wool or  600/1000 grit Silicone carbide paper.
coat #2   shellac cut 1:1 with shellac thinner ( anhydrous alcohol /  MeOH or EtOH or IsopropylOH ).
rub surface using 0000 steel wool or  600/1000 grit Silicone carbide paper.
 
Now use a paint primer.

Think of wood as being like a bundle of straws.  The end grain is the open ends of the straws.  The trick is to have the water in green wood leave the surface of the end grain at the same rate as the sides.  The stress of drying more quickly from the ends leads to splitting (checking).   You do want the water to leave.  Getting logs into billets speeds drying as it increases the ratio of drying surface to total volume.  You can use old left over house paint to coat the end grain, though you would want to keep an eye on things and add another coat or two if checking starts.
If you coat the sides, and really slow down water loss, I am thinking that it will take forever to dry and set up a situation for fungus to rot the wood.  Fruit wood may have a higher sugar content than other types, so fungus would be a problem in any case.  My ideal would be to store the drying wood in an environment where the internal temp in the billet is a bit higher than what a fungus could tolerate.

It looks open pore, similar to Oak.  The write up = irregular grain.   These are not desirable characteristics for wood that shows. 
A display base.  A case.   Hidden parts.  Jigs.   Tools.  Tool handles.
I would not waste the wood,  but I would NOT use it for planking, frames that show, uncovered deck beams, bits, coaming, etc.   Irregular grain could be a disaster for davits and catheads, top parts, masts and yards.
If you use paint, it is better to use a wood species that does not require a pore filling step in surface prep.

It looks open pore, similar to Oak.  The write up = irregular grain.   These are not desirable characteristics for wood that shows. 
A display base.  A case.   Hidden parts.  Jigs.   Tools.  Tool handles.
I would not waste the wood,  but I would NOT use it for planking, frames that show, uncovered deck beams, bits, coaming, etc.   Irregular grain could be a disaster for davits and catheads, top parts, masts and yards.
If you use paint, it is better to use a wood species that does not require a pore filling step in surface prep.

If you have a full size band saw, I don't think you can do better than a WoodSlicer blade for serious resawing.  It is a quality steel and has a thin kerf.  It really does not break easily.  The teeth have almost no set, so the finish is smooth.  It is only for resawing however.
 
For scroll cutting,  adding a Carter Products blade Stabilizer with an 1/8 inch blade allows for acute turns and the blade is much less likely to bind and snap.
 
For milling billets from green logs and branches  ( fixing a log to carrier board that rides against the fence, keeps the log from rolling and allows the plane of the cut to be determined - is a good thing to do - right angle metal braces for 2x4 have holes for screws and are low cost)  I think that buying a 100 ft coil of a 3 tooth basic grade saw blade and having a local shop weld the lot into however many blades you can get is probably the most cost effective way to go.  Green wood is hard on a blade - they want to break and dull too quickly.  But breaking a $4 blade is less painful and losing a $25 blade that might only last twice as long as the cheap one.

If you have a full size band saw, I don't think you can do better than a WoodSlicer blade for serious resawing.  It is a quality steel and has a thin kerf.  It really does not break easily.  The teeth have almost no set, so the finish is smooth.  It is only for resawing however.
 
For scroll cutting,  adding a Carter Products blade Stabilizer with an 1/8 inch blade allows for acute turns and the blade is much less likely to bind and snap.
 
For milling billets from green logs and branches  ( fixing a log to carrier board that rides against the fence, keeps the log from rolling and allows the plane of the cut to be determined - is a good thing to do - right angle metal braces for 2x4 have holes for screws and are low cost)  I think that buying a 100 ft coil of a 3 tooth basic grade saw blade and having a local shop weld the lot into however many blades you can get is probably the most cost effective way to go.  Green wood is hard on a blade - they want to break and dull too quickly.  But breaking a $4 blade is less painful and losing a $25 blade that might only last twice as long as the cheap one.

From your photo, this appears to be a POB kit? 
Is it double planked and this the first layer?
The purpose of the first layer is to offer support for the actual planking.  On most all kits, the frame moulds are spaced too far apart to give adequate hull shape and plank support.  The first plank layer is intended to provide this.
Smooth off the planking. (Plane, file, sand, scrape) The gapes will be covered by the display planking. 
When you have a smooth base, look at it carefully.  If there are hollows/ dips between mould stations use something like Bondo to fill out the hollows so that base hull has the proper shape for the planking.
 
The real planking will need spilling,
Ribband location so that no belt of planking has an extreme difference between the plank width at midship  and at the stem or sternpost
and edge adjusting to give tight seams.

No actual data, but:
 
Raising the level of the after deck by 4 feet would give more head room below.  Having full deck framing at 4foot layers would add weight to the aft area to no good purpose.  A cabin below whose deck could be 4 feet higher would provide storage space below that deck - either as a crawl space, or the cabin floor could be hatch covers.

An easy solution to insulating the poured concrete half wall under the windows - get a few sheets of 4 x 8 x 2inch foam insulating sheets (pink or blue) and use construction adhesive to attach it to the concrete.  The 2 inch was readily available in central KY, but here in Norfolk 1  inch seems to be it. 

For the basement - first -make sure that it does not leak.
I had a house in Kentucky where the basement was sited in mid summer during a drought.  Turns out that for six months of the year it was 2-3 feet below the water table.  Nothing but heart ache.
 
Ideal - have a powerful shopvac - in a distant location - sound insulated from the rest of the house and where you work, vented to the outside,  wired so that you can easily turn On/Off  -  a Great Dane sized dog house close to the house - you just need the 4 inch ducting and  12 ga Romex thru the wall.   Be nice if the 4 inch ducting could run between the floor joists and not thru them.  Works for solvent vapors as well as saw dust.

An easy solution to insulating the poured concrete half wall under the windows - get a few sheets of 4 x 8 x 2inch foam insulating sheets (pink or blue) and use construction adhesive to attach it to the concrete.  The 2 inch was readily available in central KY, but here in Norfolk 1  inch seems to be it. 

An easy solution to insulating the poured concrete half wall under the windows - get a few sheets of 4 x 8 x 2inch foam insulating sheets (pink or blue) and use construction adhesive to attach it to the concrete.  The 2 inch was readily available in central KY, but here in Norfolk 1  inch seems to be it. 

For the basement - first -make sure that it does not leak.
I had a house in Kentucky where the basement was sited in mid summer during a drought.  Turns out that for six months of the year it was 2-3 feet below the water table.  Nothing but heart ache.
 
Ideal - have a powerful shopvac - in a distant location - sound insulated from the rest of the house and where you work, vented to the outside,  wired so that you can easily turn On/Off  -  a Great Dane sized dog house close to the house - you just need the 4 inch ducting and  12 ga Romex thru the wall.   Be nice if the 4 inch ducting could run between the floor joists and not thru them.  Works for solvent vapors as well as saw dust.

For the basement - first -make sure that it does not leak.
I had a house in Kentucky where the basement was sited in mid summer during a drought.  Turns out that for six months of the year it was 2-3 feet below the water table.  Nothing but heart ache.
 
Ideal - have a powerful shopvac - in a distant location - sound insulated from the rest of the house and where you work, vented to the outside,  wired so that you can easily turn On/Off  -  a Great Dane sized dog house close to the house - you just need the 4 inch ducting and  12 ga Romex thru the wall.   Be nice if the 4 inch ducting could run between the floor joists and not thru them.  Works for solvent vapors as well as saw dust.

Cuprinol -originally was a copper salt based product intended to protect wood from fungus, insect borers, and ship worms.  I am thinking that copper based compounds have been avoided for reasons of toxicity.  The company seems to have kept the name and moved into other products in the area of wood protection to stay in business.
 
We probably should not be keeping a model in a outdoor exposed situation, so Cuprinol does not provide a use that we need.
 
I would advise using well seasoned wood stock to build a model, so a green wood stabilizer also seems to be a function that we do not need.

Cuprinol -originally was a copper salt based product intended to protect wood from fungus, insect borers, and ship worms.  I am thinking that copper based compounds have been avoided for reasons of toxicity.  The company seems to have kept the name and moved into other products in the area of wood protection to stay in business.
 
We probably should not be keeping a model in a outdoor exposed situation, so Cuprinol does not provide a use that we need.
 
I would advise using well seasoned wood stock to build a model, so a green wood stabilizer also seems to be a function that we do not need.

The false keel was there as a "throw away" bumper?  If the ship ran aground on a moderate slope, it was to come off so the ship could back free?
Seems to me, it would need to be fastened just enough to stay when subject to the forces of water, but not offer too much resistance to a real shear force.
I would think that every ship's captain and especially the NCO responsible for the ship's structure would have their own opinion on how to fasten it.

The false keel was there as a "throw away" bumper?  If the ship ran aground on a moderate slope, it was to come off so the ship could back free?
Seems to me, it would need to be fastened just enough to stay when subject to the forces of water, but not offer too much resistance to a real shear force.
I would think that every ship's captain and especially the NCO responsible for the ship's structure would have their own opinion on how to fasten it.