Over the weekend I gave the hull and other assembled pieces a coat of polyurethane.
While waiting for the polyurethane to dry, I worked on tapering the masts, bowsprit, boom, and gaffs. I am grateful for the strength of the wood provided in the kit for the masts, as the dowels would certainly have snapped if they were of a lesser wood. The kit provides metal pieces for the boom and gaff jaws, but I decided to create wooden replacements. The original metal part can be seen in the photo.