- Joined
- Jun 16, 2018
- Messages
- 11
- Points
- 58

Hi All,
I don't know why I love sailing ships, perhaps it's from the wooden construction aspect of it, as working with wood is something I've been fairly good at since I was a kid. I love being out on the ocean but I do get sea sick on smaller vessels, so although I did try sailing, it did not become a passion, so that was not the key.
My first creative use of a sailing ship was to purloin this image from a Currier and Ives print.

Which I used for the peghead of my first guitar build. It is made of Mother-of-Pearl and Abalone on East-Indian-Rosewood. Built around 1979-1980.

Many years past by, and then one day I accompanied my wife to a conference in Boston and visited the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. Downstairs, off in a corner of the building are several rooms dedicated to ship models. When I saw this model of Donald McKay's, Flying Cloud, I fell in love with the beauty and detail of it and vowed that I would build one for myself.

I scoured the internet finding everything I could about this ship to prepare for a "scratch build," but soon discovered that a first time build is a daunting task. I decided to build a kit to get my feet wet. Not knowing anything at the time, I bought Artesania Latina's Bluenose II from ebay at a good price. Of course, this is a terrible kit to buy for a first time builder as the instructions are horribly insufficient. I got to the point in the next photo and then stopped until I could buy a copy of Jenson's book, "Bluenose II," that has wonderful detailed drawings and measurements.

But while waiting for the Bluenose book, I came upon and ad for a free Model Shipways Armed Longboat 18th Cent. @ 1:24, and have switched over to building that.

So my love of ships has never faltered, but perhaps is smaller in scale now.
I don't know why I love sailing ships, perhaps it's from the wooden construction aspect of it, as working with wood is something I've been fairly good at since I was a kid. I love being out on the ocean but I do get sea sick on smaller vessels, so although I did try sailing, it did not become a passion, so that was not the key.
My first creative use of a sailing ship was to purloin this image from a Currier and Ives print.

Which I used for the peghead of my first guitar build. It is made of Mother-of-Pearl and Abalone on East-Indian-Rosewood. Built around 1979-1980.

Many years past by, and then one day I accompanied my wife to a conference in Boston and visited the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. Downstairs, off in a corner of the building are several rooms dedicated to ship models. When I saw this model of Donald McKay's, Flying Cloud, I fell in love with the beauty and detail of it and vowed that I would build one for myself.

I scoured the internet finding everything I could about this ship to prepare for a "scratch build," but soon discovered that a first time build is a daunting task. I decided to build a kit to get my feet wet. Not knowing anything at the time, I bought Artesania Latina's Bluenose II from ebay at a good price. Of course, this is a terrible kit to buy for a first time builder as the instructions are horribly insufficient. I got to the point in the next photo and then stopped until I could buy a copy of Jenson's book, "Bluenose II," that has wonderful detailed drawings and measurements.

But while waiting for the Bluenose book, I came upon and ad for a free Model Shipways Armed Longboat 18th Cent. @ 1:24, and have switched over to building that.

So my love of ships has never faltered, but perhaps is smaller in scale now.












