Or did I get into another hobby just as it's dying? All of the links I've seen on my local club's website are 404 links, or stores that are shut down, or shops that just don't have much.
Send a message to @Bob, there is an active group in Minnesota that can help you get started. Kits and stuff are good but there are many second hand boats sitting on shelves, majority of building supplies can be ordered online and at your door quickly
Yeah dude, we have a PPB email list and whenever somebody mentions needing a boat, those suckers pop up like whack-a-mole. Worst case Ontario, GLAS over in Michigan has boats too. I battle with them pretty often and can act as a transport to get the boat at least part of the way to you.
best way to get started is to buy a used ship and refit it. You'll learn a bunch of "what to do", a fair bit of "what not to do", and a whole lot of "making it work". That said, if you want to do more work, you could always do a fiberglass ship kit from BC, or one of the 3d-printed ship projects currently ongoing.
Part of the draw of the hobby for me is the building and modeling; I've been a maker for years. Not to say that your suggestion isn't a good one, but if I had my druthers, I'd prefer to build my own ship rather than somebody else's.
This hobby is not dying anytime soon, I can tell you that for a fact. However throughout the entire life of this hobby vendor support has been medium at best. You will not find any kind of almost ready to run "kit" boats. Most are scratch built. The closest you will get is a fiberglass hull with a wood deck kit from someplace like Battlers connection and then you have to figure out the rest. Definitely reach out to @Bob in Port Polar Bear. There's a good population of captains in the Minnesota area who can help you get going. As for ships / kits to build a ship, why don't you let us know what kind of ship you would be interested in and we might be able to help you find something? A lot of what is available in this hobby has no central location to be advertised as being available. There are fiberglass molds for hulls stuffed in random attics and basements and sheds all across the North American continent.
Agreed with Will. There are a lot of us who are working to make it more available. From ship plans, how-to videos, and 3d printing files, to router/laser cut or 3d printed parts. The hobby is growing! Thanks to the internet, it is a lot easier to get the information to get your first, third, or tenth boat on the water. When I first became interested in the hobby (mid-2000’s) unless you were in an active area with experienced captains, information was scarce. You either had to figure things out on your own or seek out those who knew. Now, things are much easier to find. There is a project right now to create and make Armored Cruiser plans available. Want to scratch build a boat from a fiberglass hull? Kevin has a video series on that. Need some fast gun canons? Will has a video on that with parts list links. Need a superstructure? Check our resource section. If it isnt in there, someone would happily make one to share! Heck, several of us are building and sailing fully 3D printed boats! This hobby community is a big family. Tell us what you are looking for and we will help you find it!
You shouldnt have any problem getting a usable ship in the area your at, best to join a group & go from there. Our group has 3 battlers that come from out of our state to battle once a month! & drive in for the day! AZ to NV to So Cal in a day! & back!
If your looking for info on boat ideas or drawings and such…..look at profile morskie(I believe I spelled it correctly) they are a lot of drawing and such their. I just ordered all of the HMS Rodney/Nelson books and they show a good deal of detail. Hopefully this helps.
