ExiledArtist

2 hours ago, allanyed said:

Super warm welcome aboard George.

 

I also love the skipjacks, and built a couple models based on information found at the St. Michaels boat yard and Steve Rogers' book The Skipjack.  I was lucky when I last visited the yard as they were rebuilding a skipjack and gave me a piece of the original keel which I cut up and used for some of the parts on the last model.

 

Hope to see more photos.  What you show lucks great!!!

 

Allan

Thanks Allan. I've spent a lot of time in St. Michael's area. The  skipjacks I sailed on are out of Tilghman Island just south of there. Which one did you get a piece of the keel from? I may know it.

Its taken me a while to write in. My name is George and I've been following MSW for close to a year and became a member in June. 

My interest in boats comes from growng up and spending most of my life in Southern Maryland. I love wooden work boats and my family has a long maritime history there, specifically on the Potomac River.

I always wanted to build a ship model but never had the time. I retired last year and decided now is as good a time as any.

After looking at different kit options I decided on the Model Shipways Willie Bennett. I chose this because I have a pretty good working knowledge of the Chesapeake Bay skipjack. I spent years researching as well as crewing aboard them. I also liked the idea of building it from the keel up. After digging around the internet I found Griphos' Willie Bennett build log and started building in October. 

I am amazed at the amount of knowledge collected here and the willingness of the members to share, no matter the skill level of the builder. It's an incredible resource for anybody interested in the craft. I've documented the process and may create a build log at some point. In the meantime, I'm really enjoying the project and being a member of this group. 

Here's a shot of my progress so far.