Building a wood ship

If you have the time hop down to your local library and get hold of Harold Underhills Plank on Frame Models vols 1 and 2. They will give you a lot of helpful information.
Dai

Thanks for the insight. When the kit arrives (which should be soon) I'll make another post describing the kit.

11 months should be sufficient for a Viking-boat, those were built very clever (and fast), simple lines.
Now, if it would have been a galleon, then you would have had reasons for worrying, but I'm sure you'll make it in time, even for a beginner.

My first wooden ship was the "Blue Shadow", an American 18th century Frigate wich was built in less than a year (and I didn't work on it every day).

The steam iron idea will work. But don't start spending money or energy on this problem till you have the kit in hand. I don't know which kit you're getting; most of the wood ones, frankly, aren't very good. But the Vikings knew what they were doing (even if the wood kit manufacturers don't). The actual Viking ships had sweet, gentle hull curves that, to a large extent, were established by the natural bending tendencies of the wood. Depending on what kind of wood the manufacturer provides, you may well find that no steaming, heating, or other radical methods are necessary to get it to assume the curves you want. Lots of the European companies use beech, which is extremely flexible. Others use walnut, which isn't.

When you have the kit in hand, do another post. Maybe some of us can offer some more specific suggestions. Good luck. It's a great hobby.

If you can lay your hands on an old steam iron, it works great in bending wood strips.