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Greetings From The Chesapeake!

SeaWorthyGrog

SeaWorthyGrog

Joined
Jul 22, 2026
Messages
2
Points
3
Hello,

Firstly, I want to thank the admins for welcoming be to this wonderful community!

I am an absolute beginner; my first project is going to be a Cannoniera Olandese No. 2 (a Dutch Naval Gunboat). I am deliberately moving slowly on this, but I aim to document my progress here and share my first attempt with you all! My first entry into my log should be within the next couple of weeks. I will continue to scour the beginner thread for tips and information, but any thoughts or anecdotes would be greatly appreciated. If anyone else has completed this project anything and everything is welcome.

This is the first step into a larger endeavor to satisfy and physically manifest my interest in all things naval and maritime. My ambition is to create a portfolio of models complete with a placard crafted by me eventually spawning my own little museum in my office. After many books, many travels, and many dives. It is time to get my hands crafting.

Cheers,

SeaWorthyGrog
 
SeaWorthyGrog said:
I am deliberately moving slowly
Click to expand...
You are a wise person to start slow. If you are into research you might be able to find the original plans at the Scheepvaart Museum (National Maritime Museum) in Amsterdam to compare with the kit version.

You are in a beautiful part of the US., Living on the Chesapeake it would be hard for me to find time for ship models. Between striper fishing, eating oysters by the gunnysack full, the best crab cakes in the world, and hanging out at St. Michaels at the boat yard there would be little time to make sawdust.

Welcome to SoS.
 
Last edited:
AllanKP69 said:
You are a wise person to start slow. If you are into research you might be able to find the original plans at the Scheepvaart Museum (National Maritime Museum) in Amsterdam to compare with the kit version.

You are in a beautiful part of the US., Living on the Chesapeake it would be hard for me to find time for ship models. Between striper fishing, eating oysters by the gunnysack full, the best crab cakes in the world, and hanging out at St. Michaels at the boat yard there would be little time to make sawdust.

Welcome to SoS.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the thoughtful reply. That research recommendation is very intriguing. If I find anything from there, I will be sure to follow-up with a post!

And yes, my time is spread very thin! However, I am trying to trim and replace the old with new and different things. Funny enough, I have crab cakes planned for Saturday.
 
Welcome aboard! You live in a wonderfully nautical "little" inlet of the Atlantic!

If you need inspiration I recommend visiting the museum at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis. It has a superb collection of model ships that will leave you in awe. I believe they also have workshops for hands on experience and advice.

Look forward to your build log!
 
SeaWorthyGrog said:
I have crab cakes planned for Saturday.
Click to expand...
Lucky you. :)

A Preble Hall visit as Brad recommends is a must if you have not spent time there. For your building collection, have you given any thought to your local craft like the skipjacks? One book, The Skipjack by Steve and Patricia Staby-Rogers is a great source if you ever decide to build one.

Allan
 
Welcome to the forum! Not sure if you're new to Hampton Roads or not, but if you are, there's a model ship society at the Mariner's Museum in Newport News https://www.hrsms.org/. I have been meaning to go, just haven't gotten there yet.
 
AllanKP69 said:
Lucky you. :)

A Preble Hall visit as Brad recommends is a must if you have not spent time there. For your building collection, have you given any thought to your local craft like the skipjacks? One book, The Skipjack by Steve and Patricia Staby-Rogers is a great source if you ever decide to build one.

Allan
Click to expand...
Great book Allan! Highly recommend. Magic Mike
 
SeaWorthyGrog said:
Hello,

Firstly, I want to thank the admins for welcoming be to this wonderful community!

I am an absolute beginner; my first project is going to be a Cannoniera Olandese No. 2 (a Dutch Naval Gunboat). I am deliberately moving slowly on this, but I aim to document my progress here and share my first attempt with you all! My first entry into my log should be within the next couple of weeks. I will continue to scour the beginner thread for tips and information, but any thoughts or anecdotes would be greatly appreciated. If anyone else has completed this project anything and everything is welcome.

This is the first step into a larger endeavor to satisfy and physically manifest my interest in all things naval and maritime. My ambition is to create a portfolio of models complete with a placard crafted by me eventually spawning my own little museum in my office. After many books, many travels, and many dives. It is time to get my hands crafting.

Cheers,

SeaWorthyGrog
Click to expand...
Welcome aboard from Connecticut! I also was an absolute beginner a few years back, although I did a lot of plastic modeling. If I may be so bold, to suggest you take the route many of us have and consider doing a simpler build first. This way you learn to shape your parts and how to deal with wood on something less expensive. It can be very frustrating and costly to go head first into a kit that too advanced. Especially if the instructions are fairly skimpy as they appear to be in the kit.

Building and adjusting Mantua’s Dutch Gunboat

This is my first online build log. I will try to post regular new updates about the process. First of all I got the kit from Mantua in octobre this year. It looks fine but the instruction manual is not what i expected, very simple and with faults. The included planking has different wides for...
shipsofscale.com


I have no financial interest in, but I do recommend something like the series of starter kits by model expo, starting with the Dory.


I started with the Dory by itself. If you send them a picture of your completed Dory they will credit you the cost of the kit to your next build. I then did the Norwegian sailing pram and then an 18th century longboat my son gave to me as a gift.

Those builds were fun and had extensive instructions. There were also numerous build logs which were more than helpful. I was very glad I completed the simpler kits before I attempted my Constitution cross section.

A great deal of help and support was forthcoming from people in this community. It made a real difference for me.

I look forward to seeing your build logs whatever route you choose.

Rob
 
Welcome from Massachusetts. I went to college in Baltimore a long tme ago. You live in a beautiful part of the world.
 
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