Hi Oldiron,
My first ever attempt at building a model boat was the Billings Smit Nederland, I bought the whole kit, including fittings pack, at a local model shop. Due to my ignorance at the time I didn't realise it was intended for experienced modellers and there were no instructions in the box ! I kept at it and after 5 years of extreme frustration I finally got it built and sailing.
If only I had known about this forum then, the likes of yourself would have saved me many a heartache.
At some point in time I'll try and get some photo's of my vessel and show everyone how not to do it !
Now to the point of my reply......how do you make the oiling/greasing points on your proptubes i.e. what size hole to drill in the tube and how to attach the vertical part.
Also, I had a number of attempts at making the fore & aft "buffers" ? with the wood supplied in the kit - no joy. Then Hey Presto ! I found and old timing belt from a car, the belt being of the "toothed" variety. This was turned inside out, cut to size, and epoxied to the bow and stern respectively. They have stayed in place, though with hindsight maybe I should also nut & bolt them to the hull.
Finally, for my bulwark capping, I cut the outer rubber tubing from an electric cable (lengthwise obviously) and the natural curvature of the tubing gripped nicely onto the wood of the bulwarks.
I have read the whole of your thread to date and am well impressed with your workmanship. I look forward to seeing your project to completion.