The Model Boatyard Home Port

Greetings -

I started building models as a kid (mostly plastic) but as I grew older and other fun things came along, I abandoned modeling (although I have always loved to view and marvel over ship models in museums). I tried a few wooden models during my middle adult years, but mostly without success. I often started a model with great enthusiasm but rarely got past the point of completing the hull. I believe I tried to tackle models that were either too advanced for my skill level or simply would have taken a longer time than I was prepared to spend. (If you are a newcomer to the hobby, please read my suggestions for choosing your first kit and my list of suggested tools.)

Muscongus Bay Lobster SmackSome years ago, I had a long Christmas vacation and dug out a kit I'd started some years before. It was Midwest's Muscongus Bay Lobster Smack. Although I didn't finish the kit during the vacation, I did keep at it and finished it up a few weeks later. It will never show up in a museum, but it turned out OK. Completing that kit was key for me and I continued to build - and finish - more models.

Spring and summer of 2006 kept me very busy with outdoor work around the house, so not a lot of progress on any models. Sometime in June, I started working on a Chesapeake Bay Crab Scraping Boat. I finished it December 14th. Within a few days, I'd started work on Alma, a San Francisco Bay scow schooner. Unfortunately, I suddenly lost interest in building Alma for some unknown reason and went into a modeling slump for a while. In the Fall of 2007, I built a colonial ferry model for a small museum in Virginia.

As soon as I finished the ferry, I started building my first plank-on-frame model -- Hannah, the first ship commissioned by George Washington for the Continental Army. Unfortunately, I lost interest in modeling completely part way into building that model, so it remains at a very early stage. I then stopped modeling altogether for about 6 years. I'm back into it now, though and have been for several years. My last completed models were a draketail workboat, a Chesapeake Bay Head Boat, a mini round-stern workboat, and a boatyard diorama.

I hope you'll enjoy exploring the site and taking a look at my models. They are shown in chronological order on the Models page, so you can see if I've improved any over the years. If you have any questions about my models or ship modeling in general, or suggested improvements to the site, feel free to email me.

Cheers-
John