Hello, this may be my first and last post on SoS, we'll see. I am an American living in Sweden for many years.
My story started back in 1990 when my wife and I travelled to the States to present our first child to the family there. My wife's sister and boyfriend also happened to visit that year. We made a daytrip to Mystic Seaport together and they were very impressed by the wooden ship models on display. I said they should buy a kit and build it, but they said is was very difficult and would take a very long time.
3 years later in 1993 they got married so I bought them a kit of the Corel Flying Fish and told them I would build it for them. I did not know what I was promising!
After the weeding I got a job with ABB Fläkt Marine with an assignment in Saint-Nazaire France designing ventilation systems for new build cruise ship at the Chantiers de L’Atlantique, which is the largest shipyard in France.
My plan was to build ships both day and night! It started off well. I had a small apartment and evenings to myself. Each night I was planking the hull, steaming the planks, shaping, gluing and nailing, without actually knowing what I was doing. This was before internet and YouTube, but it seemed to go OK.
When the second child arrived we realized I could not stay in France and be a father in Sweden so I changed jobs and moved back to Sweden. Unfortunately the Flying Fish got put n the shelf for many years until this year.
My brother- and sister-in-law announced a joint 60 year birthday party and I decided to finish the boat. With the helpful articles in SoS and other internet sources I presented the finished model last weekend!
I learned a tremendous amount about wooden ship models. Not sure where I will go from here, but I wanted to thank all and share some photos of the project.
Glad to have survived the project and my wife is very pleased I am finished.
I did of course make mistakes. some threads were too thick and "hide" some details and it lead to some bulky connections, but it did add a rustic look and I was pleased with the overall results.
Happy sailing!
My story started back in 1990 when my wife and I travelled to the States to present our first child to the family there. My wife's sister and boyfriend also happened to visit that year. We made a daytrip to Mystic Seaport together and they were very impressed by the wooden ship models on display. I said they should buy a kit and build it, but they said is was very difficult and would take a very long time.
3 years later in 1993 they got married so I bought them a kit of the Corel Flying Fish and told them I would build it for them. I did not know what I was promising!
After the weeding I got a job with ABB Fläkt Marine with an assignment in Saint-Nazaire France designing ventilation systems for new build cruise ship at the Chantiers de L’Atlantique, which is the largest shipyard in France.
My plan was to build ships both day and night! It started off well. I had a small apartment and evenings to myself. Each night I was planking the hull, steaming the planks, shaping, gluing and nailing, without actually knowing what I was doing. This was before internet and YouTube, but it seemed to go OK.
When the second child arrived we realized I could not stay in France and be a father in Sweden so I changed jobs and moved back to Sweden. Unfortunately the Flying Fish got put n the shelf for many years until this year.
My brother- and sister-in-law announced a joint 60 year birthday party and I decided to finish the boat. With the helpful articles in SoS and other internet sources I presented the finished model last weekend!
I learned a tremendous amount about wooden ship models. Not sure where I will go from here, but I wanted to thank all and share some photos of the project.
Glad to have survived the project and my wife is very pleased I am finished.
I did of course make mistakes. some threads were too thick and "hide" some details and it lead to some bulky connections, but it did add a rustic look and I was pleased with the overall results.
Happy sailing!
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Sure you made some mistakes on it. That is called experience and it is partly how we learn. 
