LOUISVILLE, Ky. - A retired Louisville man has taken his love for old steam ships to another level, and is helping educate people along the way.

Marty Richardson has been crafting model boats for over a decade. He makes his own parts, even taking a year and a half to learn 3D printing software. He doesn’t make any money from the projects and donates many of his pieces to museums, like the Howard Steamboat Museum in Jeffersonville, Indiana.

"I never thought, many years ago, that I’d be so wrapped up in this," laughed Richardson. "I don’t know if you would call it a hobby or a compulsion but it’s a lot of fun, I enjoy it."

Marty says each boat takes about a year to complete and costs about $600 to build. He adds that his wife has supported his hobby the entire time, even when he had to temporarily move operations to the dining room table to complete his largest boat.