3sheets10

Here is my attempt to fix the bow filling based on the advice Skid gave me, which helped a lot when I put the main deck on and saw that the filling extended a good amount past the edge. Now when I fit the main deck on, the edges line up perfectly. I am not sure if the roundness of the bow is still an issue, but it is a lot more streamline than it was before. 

I also did a little work with some sandpaper. 

And while I was waiting for the main deck to dry, I decided to plank the stern deck using a different pattern. For a novice hand like mine, it took a long time, but I enjoyed trying it out.

Here is my attempt to defeat the main deck and get it to form how we want it. I counted and there are 52 rubber bands on there. 

Yeah, see exactly what you are saying. The bow needs to be more of a point rather than rounded like mine. I was actually messing around with the main deck today and noticed that something did not line up with the bow and I front of the deck. Thank you very much for the reference and the excellent advice. Lets see what I can do with it now.

Here is the final result of the bow filler shaping event, bring about a number of cuts and big mess. The hardest part here is getting the two sides to match up. Obviously, making the edges of the balsa wood and the boat frame match up are easy, but I had a hard time balancing the about of material in the mid section of the balsa wood block, the roundness I suppose. I think I have it pretty close, but you can see there are some differences in the two sides where I got a little carries away. 

And here I thought a 105 lbs Great Dane puppy was the worst thing to cause damage to a build. I guess your birds figured you wanted help since you set it so close to their cage. 

I am slowly realizing the opportunity of creativity that comes with this hobby. I was dead set on following every set of steps and using every piece of material that came with the kit that I stress out whenever something does not go as planned. You are exactly right, everything that I am working with can be mended or recreated. I think that is what makes this such a fun hobby.

I also fit the inner decks onto the frame. 

And trying to sand the balsa wood down to match the curve of the bow almost made me second guess my decision, but after some sanding and a look over with a scrutinizing eye, I think I got it where I want it.

I have seen a number of builders add balsa wood to the bow to make the planking process easier, so I decided to go ahead and try it out. Because I could not find blocks of balsa wood, I had to cut traces out of a sheet of balsa and then stack them to make the shape that I would need to fill in the bow area. 

Staining the inner decks. It was harder than I thought deciding on what I wanted to do with these. I decided to go with the Early American stain. 

I am glad to hear others have recovered from these types of mishaps. Honestly, at that moment, I thought, this build is over....pack it up, we are going home. But I looked at it later and thought, man, what was I thinking. I have to keep in mind that all this stuff is 100% workable. Like you said TMC, the miracles of sand paper and wood filler will go far. That is a good lesson to learn early on in this hobby it seems. 

At last the frames are in: 

 Well after recovering from the dog attack on the front of the keel, I think things are coming along well now. It is good to see the boat taking form. 

Hey thanks Kevin for the reply,

I think I am going to go with repairing the mangled keel. After looking at it, she missed the delicate parts of the keel. The only thing I am really worried about is the notch before the first frame. I am not sure how well it will accept the main deck when I place it on. We will see how it goes.

I can't believe I have to ask, but does anyone know where I can get a replacement keel?

Well......after three days of working getting the keel and the frames straightened out.......I get this

And she is able to sleep after what she did. 

While waiting to figure out this problem with my frames, I decided to do some work on my inner decks. I really like that weathered plank look, so I decided to try it out using pencil. Thank you for the idea Jarero.

Hello RiverRat,

Luckily it was not glued. I was doing a test run before I made anything permanent. However, I am using Titebond wood glue for this project. I think the toughest part of this hobby is finding the right tools to use. Right now, I am trying to straighten the keel before I try again. 

Right off the bat, I have some questions. 

As I am fitting the frames into the keel, I noticed that frame #2 is sitting uneven. It is not sitting perpendicular to the keel. Any idea why this is happening and how to fix it, or even if it needs to be fixed? 

Hello Esteemed Builders,

First, I would like to say that it is very exciting to see all the great work everyone has posted on MSW.

I am completely new to the hobby of model ship building. I took a course in the history of sea power during college and fell in love with tall sail ships. Some how I landed on a website looking at wooden model ships and before I knew it I had the Swift kit in my hands. Lucky, I have now found some time to work on it and am excited to see how it goes. I wanted to say hello and I certainly welcome all advice and expertise as I build the swift. 

Tyler