So I was invited to show off some of my work. I love my hobby but I can't compare to the fine lines and computer tech that I see in this wonderful website. What you guys do is truly amazing and inspirational. So what follows is a work of love for the last decade. In 2003 I was reading a Patrick O'Brian book when it hit me that I would love to see one of these boats moving on the water. Problem is I live in the prairies and there's no water anywhere to sail. Over the next three or four years I gradually familiarized myself with RC sail boating and modeling. I followed a few sites that showed how to build plank on shadow balsa hulls from scratch. I sailed my ship for a number of years before I realized there was more. I stumbled upon this website and the idea was intriguing but overwhelming. Nobody else seemed to be doing age of sail combat. To me the strategy of maneuvering with the wind is captivating.Some more talking with strike models and I had 4 cannons in my frigate . My Micky Mouse gun crew. Several floats on all sides of the sinking ship (though she hasn't ever sunk yet) which I can only imagine will fail in the rigging. But nobody up here battles so I started building more. I've just finished construction of a seaworthy sloop of war. It now awaits its cannons and next season I will start another sloop of war that my sons will battle with me. I'm hoping to put blood bags around the playmobile- killing off crew or captain gives you more points. Please understand this is not in any way a club event and the rules and competitions I see you guys have are amazing, but it's just us up here. I spent five years looking at different ponds and lakes and now I've found a pond that is at most 9 feet deep and is flat all around so that I can harness the prevailing winds. This summer should see me target shooting and training up my nine-year-old in fore-n-aft sail rig controls.
That's awesome, I have always been intrigued by sailing ships. I know almost nothing about them, but think they are neat nonetheless.
Looking good, Ponderous! I wish you good luck with your project. May the weather be fair and the pondwater not too cold for ship recovery... Be cautious if you arm broadside cannons in your sloops-of-war. Smaller ships are more prone to heeling than larger ships, which means increased risks to people. You can deal with this with good trigger discipline (my preferred method), or by arming chasers instead.
