At the flash of Anne’s red hair…

It’s not as though I don’t have enough to do these days, but outside of reading (which I enjoy tremendously), and MUSHing I don’t really have any hard and fast hobbies. I don’t count collecting and watching DVDs. Plopping yourself down infront of the boobtube can hardly be concidered a hobby. I also don’t count the woodworking and such I’ve been doing lately because it’s all been necessity type stuff. Woodworking is a hobby when you build an end table or a wine rack for the sake of building one, not because you need one. No, I need a true hobby. Something that combines some of the disciplines I already enjoy. So, I’ve settled on model ship building, specifically model sailing ships. It combines reading (for research), woodworking, and problem solving, all of which I enjoy a great deal.

I’ve decided I want to build a Xebec (pronounced: zeebeck) first. Here’s a picture of a finished model built by a Brazilian gentleman whose name I could not find:

Nice, huh? I’ve taken the first step and ordered some plans. I was originally going to buy a complete kit, including all the wood needed, rigging, outfitting, etc., but those kits are upwards of $200.00. I decided to go with just a set of plans. This will let me work it my own way, selecting what woods and materials to use, and experimenting with techniques for building. Since this sort of thing often takes years to complete (the Brazilian gentleman in question spent 1 1/2 years building his Xebec) I figure this will work out just fine. Plus, once I get to the outfitting stage I’ll actually be able to pick the cannons I want, make my own choices about rigging, sail materials, etc. Should be fun.

The plans wont even ship for another twenty days or so. Apparently the ship model people I’m ordering from in the UK take a company wide vacation around this time, plus it could then take upwards of a month to get to me because I picked the cheapo shipping method. Again, more time to ponder and plan. Wish me luck!