Mike,

That picture of the harbour sitting in those crystal-clear waters is absolutely superb.

It must be a real pleasure to navigate a model with precision and care around such beautifully realistic structures — that setting truly does them justice.

If I lived in Switzerland, I’d be immensely proud to build a lighthouse for that harbour… it would feel almost like a duty to the scenery! 🇨🇭⚓
😎

Hello LewZ!
> Vielen herzlichen Dank! <
Do what I do: assign smaller tasks to your club mates or ask your loved ones for help.
I managed it, so you'll have no problem doing it too.
Get people involved, pass on work like a boss!
This is called delegating...
Your Michel-C.
(Sounds like the Spice Girls >> Mel C 🤣🤣🤣 . . except I'm actually male!)

Looking really good Mike. Looks like you beat us to the punch. Ours is still needs finishing up and painting. The weather here in Florida has not been too kind to us this year. Got so many things to do, hopefully your photos will motivate me to get moving on finishing up our docking system. Thanks for the good photos!
Lew

Good evening everyone,
We are proud to announce that the christening took place to the complete satisfaction of all involved!
I had to ask my friend to take off his cap! 🤣🤣🤣🤣
As you can see, a short prayer was said before the harbour was assembled.
Now we just need to make a few small changes and add some additional covers, as well as the obligatory flagpole with a beautiful Swiss flag!
At some point, films will be shot in the evening with the lighting, but it should be a little warmer and accompanied by bratwurst, bread, mustard and a beer.

Yours, Michel-C.

PS:My friend is such a cool bloke, he's up for anything. And . . . he's quite a bit older than me!

Hello everyone,
It's 11 a.m. This afternoon is the day of reckoning!
I'll be back in touch this evening... or maybe not!

🤣🤣🤣🤣

Michel-C.

Hello Alessandro, Hello all!!
Thank you for your praise, good thing you can't see my red cheeks . .
. . . Depending on the situation, I won't show the photos . . . if I'm lying in the water, because the floor is slippery . .
Oh, come on! You should have some fun too if I happen to have a mishap. Laughter gives you beautiful skin and makes you look good.
And when I look in the mirror in the morning, I see a smart aleck with a smile on his face anyway! Cool, huh?
Your Michel-C.

Beautiful static modeling work applied to ship modeling: useful, fun, and fine.
Seeing these works makes this fantastic hobby even more enjoyable.
I look forward to photos and videos in the water.

Hello friends,
Now we are waiting for our pond to thaw so that the water test can be carried out.
Here are a few pictures of the completed work. The light can now be operated by remote control.
In summer, weather permitting, we will set up the harbour in the evening once a month. To complement this, a club member will organise the barbecue, sausages, bread and drinks. This will allow us to fully enjoy the night-time atmosphere with lights.
There are still a few details that need to be worked out, but that will be done after the upcoming water test. My mate will take some amusing pictures there.
My helpful club mate has another ace up his sleeve, but he's keeping quiet about what he's working on...
But honestly, it was a worthwhile experience and I always look forward to his new ideas, which I end up adopting! What the heck, I'm retired!

Your Michel-C.

Ps: MOB = M-ichel-C. and O-tto B. >>> And let's not forget the painting department, which is handled by my wife!!!

Hello friends,
There's something else I'd like to explain:
You may be wondering why our club harbor is called
“Harbor of 1.6 Hectares of Freedom.”
A young filmmaker made a film about our club as part of his final project and titled it: 1.6 Hectares of Freedom.
How did he come up with that?
Quite simply because our club pond is 1.6 hectares in size!
And there we find peace and freedom in nature. . . .
That's right!
Greetings of freedom,
Your Michel-C.

Hello all . . .
Since New Year's Day, the construction site has moved from the somewhat chilly basement into the flat.
I have a deal with my wife: Friday afternoon must be tidy and clean so that Saturday and Sunday can be peaceful!
No work is allowed in the harbour shipyard.
In return, she actively helps me.
But today, Sunday, she broke her deal.
We found some beard lichen while out walking. At home, she insisted on planting a couple of trees. I never argue with that. Now we'll finish up next week and do the electrical work.
Then we'll do the water test again, but we'll wait until the end of February for that.
My ships have filed charges because I pushed them aside.
Well, if you want one thing, there will always be others who have to wait their turn!
Ciao tutti!
Your Michel C.

Hello dear friends,
Tomorrow is New Year's Eve. Today I received a crazy phone call from my harbour builder friend.
Despite the problem with the batteries, which need to be replaced, he is secretly building a third harbour section... I'm slowly having to come up with something for the space. Well, a stacking solution as suggested can no longer be dismissed.
And what is Michel-C. doing?
Laser cutting a new house, despite the many construction sites. I'll hand this over to him in the shell. Master painters wanted!
Now I wish all of you on this page a wonderful Wednesday morning and a happy New Year in 2026, along with a sack of luck, health and everything else we need. Oh yes! A large tube of glue and lots of craft wood! 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
See you again in 2026! 😎😎😎
BB Your Michel-C.

PS: Barrels created with a 3D printer. It's amazing what you can do with these things. The paint and lights are still missing...

Good Morning Lew,
Stackable . . I don't have that at home, but I found a small corner in the basement.
Much to my wife's chagrin . . but somehow we always come up with good ideas together. She thinks very practically, which she cultivates and practices in the household.
Well, sometimes I look for something again because she moved it or stored it to save space.
You see, Lew, even at my age, I'm still learning from a wife who is 10 years younger than me! 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Your Michel-C.

Mike, I am glad you got back to your "Port Area" posting. I created a number of floating dock section about ten years ago. We used them for a while but they were retired.

They were assembled on the water while we were standing in boots. Although the pond is not deep the edge slope drops down quickly and the bottom is very muddy so assembly was difficult and time consuming. This was the main reason why we stopped bringing them for meets.

Lastly, what do you do when boats of drastically different scales are at the docks? Everyone can't be satisfied. My thought is 1/25 scale might be in the middle. Most boats seem to be in the 1/16 - 1/48 scale. Liners, freighters, and large warships tend not to use small docks freighter, and are too far out of the range of scales that most boats are.

In the design and build of model docks several conditions need to be considered. In our (SSMBC) case, we will need to assemble the entire dock set on the shore and slide it into the water. The last piece closest to the shore will need to be held at that point. All connection between the sections need to be flexible.

Because the dock set will be composed of multiple pieces, one eight foot long, several four and 3 foot sections.

Another requirement is that they need to be transported and stored. I made our docks stackable which you will see in future posts.

Lastly is cost and simplicity. That is pretty self explainable.

Ironically, the timing of this post is interesting. I am starting on modifying these old sections and documenting the process and I will create a building blog for anyone interested.

Lew

Salut les copains modélistes!
Now, one step further, until I receive my parts from the other club members, progress is a little slower. But the harbour will be finished by the opening drive at the end of April.
Here are a few pictures . . all the lanterns will be lit. I will receive the missing large harbour lights soon. We work at a senior citizen's pace, we're not in a hurry!
Have a nice evening in our model world, sleep well, it's now 9.30 p.m. here.
Your Michel-C.
Ps: The first photo shows the receiver for our old garage door opener.
Recycling, just as the Swiss love it...😉

Bonjour mes amis!
After a long break, we continue with the jetty, minor improvements and many details.
See for yourself . .
Best regards, Michel-C.

Last pictures:
>> Hafenamt = harbour authority
>> Dry test in the laundry room

Hello Friends!
I'm making slow progress, but giving up is not an option for me. The laser will have to do some work today.
I also had to overhaul some equipment.
As my late grandfather always told me: If you want to understand how the world works, start with the things you can repair yourself. (Today too?)
I just got his old lathe back into shape. He would certainly be proud that it is still being used!
So I have to keep lasering, despite our holiday, the founding day of Switzerland in 1291.
At that time, there were only small fishing boats, but no model boats... or were there? Just without remote controls and annoying iPhones!
During my last vacation, I left my cell phone and all my technical gadgets at home. What a relaxing 4-day trip!
Best wishes, Michel-C.

Hello, your landlubber greets you again...
I was working in my shipyard again this evening.
Drilling, painting, gluing, cutting the required wooden parts to size, screwing them together . . The usual tinkering!
Slowly you can see something, but always one thing at a time. Building too quickly without thinking always leads to mistakes. I'll continue tomorrow, because it's raining here.
Good for nature.
Sleep well, your Michel-C.

Hello all!
Thank you for the wishes for my wife. I've passed it on to her and she sends her love to you all. She thinks I'm in good hands with you when it comes to crafting!
😊😊😊
Your Michel_C.

Michel,
Most dismayed to read of your wife's accident.
I know only too well how painful and slow to heal back injuries can be.
My very best wishes to her for a full and speedy recovery.
Alles gute, Doug😎

Michael C, just trying to catch up and saw your post regarding your wife. Wishing her a speedy recovery to full health

Mike I'm very sorry about your wife, but this idea of ​​the port is simply fantastic and will have to be realized.

Michel C
Of course i understand! No problem. I wish you and your love all the best😍😍😍

Hi Herman,
Unfortunately, my wife's accident has cancelled all her plans. It will probably be autumn before she is out of pain.
It's a plate fracture above the 3rd spine.
Lengthy and long healing time . .
But postponed is not cancelled!
Please understand,
Your Michel-C.

Michel C schönen Morgen
Our pound is 3/4 covered with algea. So we can’t sail at the moment. Because the algae blocks the screw of the boats 🤣🤣 Any plans of traveling to Belgium? I m still waiting😂

Hello everyone,
Our pond is suffering from the heat because the water supply has been diverted for work.
Now the fire brigade has to pump in fresh water from a hydrant . . . .
As you can see, it's a bit of a brown broth, but as soon as everything is normal, it will get better.
Nevertheless, the harbour approach is looking good. More jetties will follow . . I'm fully committed, but in between there's still travelling to do!
See you soon on this ether, yours
Michel-C. and Friends

@ Sekuru 👍👍👍
Can you see my club colleague's bugbear? (Bugsier 3 / Graupner)

Michel c schönen Abend, good evening
Your port looks amasing.keep on expanding the harbour!!!!
Congratulations

Hello everyone
The Sunday before last (27.04.25) we had our annual opening cruise with the christening of new model ships.
My friend Otto and I put up our test harbor.
The response was perfect, now there are five of us and we are expanding the model harbor. .
The fishing nets, crates, barrels and other things are missing. The start is in full swing!
let us surprise you!
Happy tinkering on my part!
Michel-C.

Hello everyone,
Let me give you a short interim balance of the footbridge,
I'm not sure whether bollards or side trunks . .
What do you think? >>>> Good tips are really welcome!!! Thanks!
Greetings hobbyists
Michel-C.
Ps:ow on to the paddle steamer . . . . Must do the water test . . .
And my bathtub is too small 🙈🙈🙈🙈

Thanks Neil . . .
For the great images and ideas!
Michel-C.

Down here in darkest Devon, the Exeter and District Model Boat Club put our 1:24 model port in place last year. Different members built the buildings - I did the water mill and my dad, Peewit83, produced the control tower.

We are currently refurbishing the buildings and pontoons after they had been out for a year and are currently producing a ferry port extension.

Nice! Always wanted to belong to a club that had the desire to do this type of harbor facility.

Should be great when you get it completed some very good ideas .
Philuk👍

Beautiful!

Michel ich grüsse Sie
You must be over the moon when your harbour is ready!!
Enjoy the building mein Schweizerischer Freund