Once again guys I am so encouraged by all your very kind comments. I like Allen's suggestion but I'll give it a miss this time
. I must give him and John time to perfect the technique
Wales all done although I think there is one more to fit further up the hull. Once again the instructions say to fit slightly oversize and trim/sand back. The whole thing is too fragile for that and anyway I can't risk sawdust getting inside the model. I cut each piece accurately and then fit - slower but less fraught.
Next is planking the quarter deck. They suggest fitting and then staining. I paint one side of each plank off white and then stain the other surface before fitting.
The outer planks are hard to clamp so I just weight them down.
Staining first works but as you can see there is a little touch up needed but that is easy and only takes a moment.
There are only a couple of stages left although having looked through them there seems to be a lot involved yet.
Thanks for your continued support.
Jim