I always plan to work on the model for an hour or two, then set it aside. Eight hours later….. well, you know.
Donnie, I have two locations on which to work on boats, one in the garage and one in my home office. The garage of course is for the "dirty" stuff like sanding, using wood filler, and painting and staining. Basic stuff like cutting, bending wood, rigging and glueing is done in the A/C comfort of my office. With baroque music and/or smooth jazz in the background and a glass of wine close by I will normally last about 3-4 hours before taking a break to critique my work. Magic Mike
Like you about an hour and half then an hour or two off. My back starts bothering me if I go longer plus I like what I have done to dry. Sometimes I have to stop sooner because of clamps or jigs in the way of the next step. Interested to see how others reply.
I am up around that hour as I found as you get older you sleep less. But I cant function that early till I have had coffee and breakfast. Maybe around 7 I will get out to the garage if it is warm by then.
I may sit at my bench for five minutes or 5 hours. It depends on what life hands me and what part of the modeling process I am in. I will sometimes work on 2 models at once. Say I have paint drying so I work on my second model. Do what works for you and enjoy what you do.
I too am retired. I usually spend 2 to 3 hours a day on the project. Planking at about two strakes a day According to the dry time. I’m over 85 so my eyes can only take so much. It’s a lot of fun and a challenge to keep going
It varies hugely. I don't feel duty bound to do anything. I own the model, not the other way around, although if I disappear down an interesting rabbit hole of research or to come up with a way to make a tricky part with my limited tools, I can spend 8 hours or even arrange a trip to a town or city an hour or more away to visit an archive or museum. On the other hand,.it's Saturday morning 8am. 
in hand I just wandered into our hobby room adjacent to the living room. I checked a detail on the drawings and sanded a feature on the hull of HMS Terror for 10 minutes. Then I walked away and it gave me information to chew on through the day about how I'll approach it. I'm retired so lots to do but I get to determine the schedule. As advised by SWMBO of course.
in hand I just wandered into our hobby room adjacent to the living room. I checked a detail on the drawings and sanded a feature on the hull of HMS Terror for 10 minutes. Then I walked away and it gave me information to chew on through the day about how I'll approach it. I'm retired so lots to do but I get to determine the schedule. As advised by SWMBO of course.- Joined
- Feb 23, 2023
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It depends on the type of work. ordinarily I can work an hour or two on things like hull or deck structure. However, with rigging it used to be a half hour, Now, it is even shorter, twenty minutes or so. This may be due tto not doing that much rigging lately- smaller ships with simpler rigs.
It depends on the time of year, I am retired and I work PT at a Golf Course as a ranger during the Golf season which in MN is mid April till mid/end of October, I also play golf at least twice a week so during that time I pack up the tools etc . During the off season I work on my model 1 hr in the morning then 2 hrs after lunch unless my eyes start getting tired which happens no matter what I do these days , I have multiple pairs of glasses and a modeling microscope screen which i was given at my last birthday it really does help when working on very small pieces .
i try to set aside Sunday afternoons if I can. Between working full time, household duties and family….. that’s ” me time “. I look forward to the retirement days when I can get more build time in. A fellow builder who is retired said don’t count on it. Doctor apt’s, moving a lil slower, forgetting what you were doing…. Oh don’t forget your naps too….
ohhhhhhhh afternoon naps…. That’ll be a lil bit of heaven right there…. Would a big comfy recliner in my shop be outta place ?
ohhhhhhhh afternoon naps…. That’ll be a lil bit of heaven right there…. Would a big comfy recliner in my shop be outta place ?
I have found over my time in building model ships that if I can set up the model and leave it set up on the work bench I can vary the time I work on it. Targets of opportunity! So my shipyard bench is set up with my current build in place. For example, I can work on something for ten minutes…set the tweezers down, go off and do another chore, come back later and work for an hour. I can fuss a lot over the day this way. When I want to concentrate it is usually a two hour session. For me, the key is the model being set up on the bench with tools, pieces, parts lying around waiting for attention. When I am tying ratlines, for example, I can tie a few and walk away to return later to tie a few more…if one concentrates too long on ratline knots in one session it tends to drive one bat crazy! Just saying…
As we are discovering it seems to be an individual choice for how much time is spent in the shipyard. I too am retired and have the freedom (and blessing from my admiral) to spend as much or little as I choose in the shop. But like @Donnie I usually spend 1.5-2 hours in the morning and again after lunch. Unless the snow is calling! Then I’m skiing… 
Much to my wife 's dismay, I might spend 3 to 4 hours at a time.
Of course being retired helps.
Of course being retired helps.
I'm a fortunate retired person with homes and shipyards in two locations which I shuttle between based on no system at all. The city home project and the beach home project serve different needs. In the city, the ship building is an alternative to TV, yard work, occasional business tasks, and boredom. At the beach, the shipyard resides in a roomy tidy garage with lots of fresh air with the door up. After beach walks, the ship project is my lead non-family activity there.
In both cases, the ship building is my alternative to working. When I worked, there was a fair amount of problem solving involving humans. Ships aren't humans, but the feedback on my solutions is more immediate and less noisy and emotional. Also, wherever I'm sleeping, I sometimes dream solutions to ship issues, which I don't recall ever doing when I worked.
My current beach project is USF Essex, which I will adapt from the admiralty version by adding masts, spars, and rigging. At home I'm finished with HMS Surprise and beginning the Billingboat HMS Victory. Happily there's a computer in the shipyard there, since I will need to rely on the photo display (in 70 or 80 files!) available online.
In both cases, the ship building is my alternative to working. When I worked, there was a fair amount of problem solving involving humans. Ships aren't humans, but the feedback on my solutions is more immediate and less noisy and emotional. Also, wherever I'm sleeping, I sometimes dream solutions to ship issues, which I don't recall ever doing when I worked.
My current beach project is USF Essex, which I will adapt from the admiralty version by adding masts, spars, and rigging. At home I'm finished with HMS Surprise and beginning the Billingboat HMS Victory. Happily there's a computer in the shipyard there, since I will need to rely on the photo display (in 70 or 80 files!) available online.
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I usually just work until I hit the point of diminishing returns and hopefully a little before that while I can still "see" (both literally and figuratively.) How long this takes, there is no predicting. But then I am in the nearly unique position of having had to make my living as a craftsman. Most often the length of time in the workshop was dictated by the demand to get the job done for my customers in a timely fashion. Hopefully on time and at, or under, budget.
Lately I am spending too much time on this damn forum, which is fun but not the same as getting anything actually accomplished (despite the indisputable pleasure I derive from it. )
Pete
Lately I am spending too much time on this damn forum, which is fun but not the same as getting anything actually accomplished (despite the indisputable pleasure I derive from it.
)Pete
I've been working on my first wood build since June, the HMS Endeavour. Being retired, up until the holidays I would sit for sometimes 5 hours, but, getting up about every 1 to 1 1/2 hours for 15 minutes or so. I'm in the (boring) rigging stage now, having completed one side of the foremast and figured out a better way for the other side which looks much better, now I'm going to redo the first side (ugh).
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- Apr 3, 2023
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I think, as so many others have noted similarly, that the time spent varies based on both your level of interest at that point in the build, your personal life situation, and what stage of the build you're working on. That's the short version of my answer.
The long version:
Though I'm retired, I tend to do most of my model work in the evenings, and a couple of hours is pretty much average in that regard. I tend to work on a couple of builds concurrently, so while planking a larger kit (the Victory), I'll put a couple of planks on each side of the hull of that model, and then slide into work on a smaller kit (the Red Dragon). I fire up SiriusXM on my phone and hook up to a BT BOSE speaker for background music as I fumble away.
But if it's been a long day, or the stage of the build is challenging, my time may be lengthened or shortened based on my patience or tolerance that particular evening. That said, there are points in a build where I'll continue working longer just because I think its essential to complete a specific phase. For example, if I'm running shrouds, I'll spend the time required to ensure I've balanced the work on both sides of the ship to avoid any potential warping or inconsistency in alignment. Ditto if I'm at a point where I'm really fixated on a given task... and the hours pass without even noticing it.
So, yes, the time I'm putting in varies and is all over the map. The key (IMHO), is not to force yourself to do more than you enjoy, as that will just create frustration and anxiety. Which in turn results in you not wanting to return to the model as soon as you might otherwise. If you're tired, you tend to make mistakes. So just do what you feel comfortable with, and like gambling, know when to say it's enough for the day (or evening).
The long version:
Though I'm retired, I tend to do most of my model work in the evenings, and a couple of hours is pretty much average in that regard. I tend to work on a couple of builds concurrently, so while planking a larger kit (the Victory), I'll put a couple of planks on each side of the hull of that model, and then slide into work on a smaller kit (the Red Dragon). I fire up SiriusXM on my phone and hook up to a BT BOSE speaker for background music as I fumble away.
But if it's been a long day, or the stage of the build is challenging, my time may be lengthened or shortened based on my patience or tolerance that particular evening. That said, there are points in a build where I'll continue working longer just because I think its essential to complete a specific phase. For example, if I'm running shrouds, I'll spend the time required to ensure I've balanced the work on both sides of the ship to avoid any potential warping or inconsistency in alignment. Ditto if I'm at a point where I'm really fixated on a given task... and the hours pass without even noticing it.
So, yes, the time I'm putting in varies and is all over the map. The key (IMHO), is not to force yourself to do more than you enjoy, as that will just create frustration and anxiety. Which in turn results in you not wanting to return to the model as soon as you might otherwise. If you're tired, you tend to make mistakes. So just do what you feel comfortable with, and like gambling, know when to say it's enough for the day (or evening).
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- Nov 15, 2018
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It truly depends on how deep I am in crap with my wife.
I have set up a workspace in an office upstairs that I used in the past (I own my business along with the building) and try to spend my breaks in my inner sanctum - maybe an hour a day if I am lucky. Working on boats numbs my thoughts. I am not the type of person that looks good in spandex nor will I spend any time humming on a rubber mat to relieve my stress. Lol
I have set up a workspace in an office upstairs that I used in the past (I own my business along with the building) and try to spend my breaks in my inner sanctum - maybe an hour a day if I am lucky. Working on boats numbs my thoughts. I am not the type of person that looks good in spandex nor will I spend any time humming on a rubber mat to relieve my stress. Lol
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- Jun 17, 2023
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Hello, that's exactly how it is. It doesn't really matter how long you sit on your model, as long as you feel comfortable, don't stress yourself out and it's fun. Because the journey is the destination. I worked on my first kit (The Krappenkutter "Tön12") for almost 4 years. I know that some of us modelers will be working on a floor model for a long time and the Tön12 is a kit with a plastic hull. I sometimes left the kit behind for 1-2 months because I just didn't feel like tinkering. But that's ok, because it should be fun and you should only do crafts when you feel like it and not because you think you have to continue. So don't stress yourself.