Where to from here?
Well, I’ve managed to spend a nearly fifteen months slowly building Mary Ann in amongst other things in life. It’s been a great experience and now that I’ve got started, I don’t think I want to stop! Unfortunately, I don’t have a ‘stash’ of potential subjects to dig through and find something to take my fancy. So, the big question is ‘where to from here’?
I have a real interest in what I call older style working boats…tugs, trawlers, puffers, drifters and the like from the 19 & early 20th centuries. I think my next build probably should be another kit, although I have longer term plans to do some scratch building.
Things that interest me…
Well, I’ve managed to spend a nearly fifteen months slowly building Mary Ann in amongst other things in life. It’s been a great experience and now that I’ve got started, I don’t think I want to stop! Unfortunately, I don’t have a ‘stash’ of potential subjects to dig through and find something to take my fancy. So, the big question is ‘where to from here’?
I have a real interest in what I call older style working boats…tugs, trawlers, puffers, drifters and the like from the 19 & early 20th centuries. I think my next build probably should be another kit, although I have longer term plans to do some scratch building.
Things that interest me…
- There are a few older style tugs that would be fun to build…Occre’s Hercules, Panart Anteo, or Caldercraft’s Imara (although I’m not sure where I’d put something that big when completed but I guess I’d find somewhere). These would be RC builds…I enjoy a bit of engineering. I also harbour thoughts of scratch building either of the tugs ‘Forceful’ or ‘Fearless’…both are steam tugs that ended their days in Australia. Fearless was the last working steam tug (she is in my profile pic) and still lives, on the hardstand in Adelaide. I’ve made enquiries to see if plans exist for either of them.
- Maybe a gentleman’s cruiser, Riva style with lots of beautiful timber and chrome work, maybe a Dumas Chris Craft, or a timber cabin cruiser, although that would probably have to be a scratch build.
- I’m currently reading ‘From Tree to Sea’ by Ted Frost (a great book) about the build of the real wooden steam drifter ‘Formidable’. I can source plans from a supplier in Melbourne, and there are a couple of excellent build logs on this site for a scratch model build, it will happen one day, but I think that is for some time further into my future. It would also be RC and possibly steam…although that might just be me dreaming.
- I can appreciate the skill that goes into building period naval sailing ships, but I think that I’d struggle to enjoy the fine detail on the rigging of such a boat. However, there is one sailing boat that might twist my arm, I think I could happily build and rig a ‘Bluenose’…I don’t think there is a prettier boat, and of course it was also a working vessel. This would be a static build but would look great somewhere in the house.