Before I go much further I need to paint the hull (which I was procrastinating on!) so I've switched to fitting the deck so that I can then fit the rubbing strips and paint the hull - I need to do this now as unlike most of my other Faireys which have removeable superstructures this one is fixed so it will be difficult to work on the model upside down and will risk damage.

So first job was to form the camber on the bow which I did with a triangular bass strip along the centre-line to give the height and angle and glued balsa sheet either side which was then sanded to shape. 2mm ply was then glued in place and sanded at the edges. Next I added in some additional ply pieces to support the joints and cardboard templates were made for the side decks which were transferred to ply with an allowance for sanding and again glued in place and sanded. The stern was a bit more complicated because of its shape but followed the same procedure. I hand sanded the decking around the outside of the hull which is always hard work on ply edges and so for the inside of the cockpit area I used my multi-tool with a grinding wheel to take most of it away and then finished off with curved and round files.

The servo for the rudder arrived this morning. What a great little thing it is being only 10mm thick and 30mm wide and has the benefit of the mounting holes being vertical which will facilitate mounting. Fitting will require some surgery to the stern but I'm confident I can make this work. I will probably have to form some small boxing over the seating area to cover the swing of the servo arm but I can live with that.

I also need to make or buy/modify the rudder hinges so that I can mount the rudder to work out exactly where the servo needs to sit.

Once I'm able to I will get on with this and progressing work to the superstructure.

Bit of work to the cockpit area. Introduced some mahogany, that will be varnished, to form the "wings" to the rear of the cabin that enclose the wheel and console area.

A template was then made for the floor and then transferred to some laser etched planking ply I'd got left from previous builds, which was cut out and sanded to provide a good fit. This will be left loose for future access and routing the rudder servo cables through. With the floor in place I made the housing for the engine.

Then a start was made on the rudder. Like the full-size boat this has a mahogany blade which I'm laminating with thin ply on each side. I've increased the depth of the rudder as is common practice with sailing models, though I've always got the motor to give a helping hand!

Not much progress of late for various reasons. Decided not to fit the sub-mast yet as I wanted to progress the superstructure. First job was to measure up for the rear wall of the cabin and knock up a quick drawing. This was then transferred to ply, cut out and glued in place. Ready to form the roof then but hadn't got enough bass strips so placed an order with SLEC including other timber and ply to replenish stocks for future projects.

Whilst waiting for that I made a cardboard template for the cockpit floor to make a ply template that will be used to cut the floor out of laser etched planking ply.

Package from SLEC duly arrived and I've formed the roof for the rear cabin ready for sanding.

The roof for the forward cabin has been made from bass strip. It is removable and will remain so but it will fixed in place by virtue of the mast being mounted on it. Next job will be fitting the sub-mast that runs between the keel and the underside of the roof.

Made the bilge keels from two laminations of mahogany sheet to get the correct thickness and then glued them in place. Once this was done I was able to return to the superstructure. Drilled the holes for the portholes and then glued the cabin sides in position.

Made the forward cabin front window and glued in followed by that for the rear cabin. Bolted and screwed the upper support for the drop keel whilst I still had easy access.

Really starting to take shape now but still a long way to go!

Chris