Progress has been much steadier on The Going Merry. I’m still in the building stage before I start significant refinements. I’ve pretty much finished the decks and much of the detail. I’ve started on the main mast today: I have the main boom and crow’s nest up, and I’ve started on the rigging. My next step will be to create the mainsail. I’ve debated a couple of approaches for the sail: print on fabric (least likely), print a single- or double-layer sail that can be bent to shape, possibly with a heat gun (most likely); or print a pre-formed hard sail (maaaaybe….).

Next, I’ll build the aft mast and triangular sail (I know there’s a name for it, but I can’t remember). Once I finish all that along with the rigging, I’ll go through and refine some of the details. I want to work on the fleece scroll work from the ram’s head. I have the basics, but I want to tighten up the carving work and round out the spirals.

After that, I want to create a stand that looks like The Going Merry plowing through the ocean and riding its bow wave with a bit of an angle.

Finally, I’ll create the color-separated parts, creating parts that need the least support possible, set up the connections between the parts and test print. Once I’m satisfied, I’ll release it. This is a HUGE project.

This was a very tough project to get started on, with multiple false starts, and I nearly gave up multiple times. However, it’s become much more satisfying as it has taken shape. It’s a FAR larger project than I anticipated, but I’’m really enjoying it at this point.