Esperance by Felix Båtvarv - Billing Boats - 1:30 - First Build

[Felix Båtvarv]

 

Hello everyone,

 

My name is Felix, and I’m 18 years old. I’m excited to start my first-ever build log for my first ever wooden model ship, and I thought this would be a great place to share my journey. I have a deep love for sailing and I like woodworking. Building a wooden model ship is something I have been wanting to try for very long time.

 

For my first build, I’ve chosen a kit from Billing Boats. From what I understand, many of their kits are inspired by real vessels, but they’re not exact replicas. I don’t know much about the specific history of this boat, aside from what is listed on Billing’s website, but I’m eager to learn more as I go along.  

 

From billing, 

”A French fishing boat built in Honfleur in the bay of Le Havre in 1866. These typical boats operating in this region had a crew of 3 members, a sail area of 47m2 and a length always less than 10m.”

 

The reason I picked this kit is that I wanted a  relatively small ship but something with a deck. Something that would teach me on planking, decking and rigging.—I’m really looking forward to diving into this project, learning new skills, and connecting with other model ship enthusiasts here.

 

My English is not perfect (it’s my third language), I will do my best!

 

Felix

 

Edited yesterday at 01:41 PM by ccoyle
corrected log title

[Felix Båtvarv]

Hi!

 

Progress!

 

I have glued the frame together!

No problems with this. Added some extra sticks for support in the bow and stern. Realized it’s completely unnecessary because with the deck attached, it will be strong enough.

[Felix Båtvarv]

Hi again!

 

The next step was the deck. According to the instructions, “Draw a line 6 mm from the edge all the way round the deck. Plank the deck from center to this line”. This is what I did. I used this measuring stick and glued a piece of graphite on it. Little fiddley but it did the job. Pictures are down in the post(Don’t know how to put them between text) Then I started cutting and glued the planks. I also used a black marker for the plank sides. The boat is under 10m or 32 feet in length so i chose to just have planks the same length as the whole deck. 

 

6 mm gap from the edge to the plank’s is a little confusing. In Billings picture they just paint that part white. What is the point of the planks not going all the way to the sides?  *Last picture is Billings

[ccoyle]

Welcome aboard, Felix!

 

Your model is off to a good start. The white portion of the deck along the bulwarks would most likely have been what is called a covering board on the original vessel. As the name suggests, its job was to cover the ends of the planks. Since the covering board must fit the curve of the bulwark near the bow, fitting one can be a challenge. It was probably omitted in this kit to simplify the construction for beginners.

 

Cheers!

[Felix Båtvarv]

Thank you Chris!

 

Happy for the first response!

That makes sense. Billing boats seems have this painted gap without the planks on quite many of their models. On future models I just might make the decking all the way to edge as that seems even easier then what I did here. I would say it’s even better looking, but I’m happy with this and I can’t blame myself too hard for following the instructions. 

 

Next step is connecting the deck to the “frame” and then I will start with the planking. Wonder how that will go. I need to do some research on how I should plank this vessel.

 

Felix