Work in Progress March 19, 2017

Reporter: Dave Yotter

Sidewheel Steamer Robert E. Lee – Don Dressel Since last month some progress has been made on the 1:150 scale model of the Robert E. Lee slowly being realized by Don. The main items completed are the port and starboard tackles for the gangways at the bow. For Don, it was a very interesting experience. The forming and making of the two masts was relatively easy, as the use of the lathe to make the spars was already part of the normal procedure in ship modeling. However, making the copper fittings for the masts was different. At least the instructions, in this case, were well done and making the hinges and other copper parts was fun. The tackles and rigging for the gangways was fun, but again, some parts seemed to be missing, both from the plans and as part of the kit. If one looks at the box art of the completed model, you see a number of cleats installed on the foredeck. However, no cleats are supplied in the kit OR in the instructions. In addition, the work that has to be done of the foredeck is not indicated in the instructions until after the installation of the gangways, but the “belaying points” for the gangways are part of the work that has to be done on the fore deck. Reading ahead in the instructions, it also become obvious that details are missing on the

Newsletter

Volume 44, Number 5, May 2017

Contacts

President: Bill Schultheis (714) 366-7602

E-Mail bsmath@yahoo.com Vice President: Mike DiCerbo

(714) 523-2518 E-Mail: mike.dicerbo@att.net

Secretary: Paul Payne (310) 544-1461

Treasurer: Larry Van Es (714) 936-0389

E-Mail: Larry@uswheel.com

Editor, Don Dressel (909) 949-6931

908 W. 22nd Street Upland, CA 91784-1229

E-mail: roebuckdres4@gmail.com Web Manager: Doug Tolbert:

(949) 644-5416 Web Site

www.shipmodelersassociation.org

Meeting – Wed., May 17, 7 PM, Red Cross Building, 1207 N. Lemon,

Fullerton, CA. 92832

Officers meeting –Wed., June 7, 2017, 7 PM, Graziano’s Pizza,

17487 Imperial Hwy, Yorba Linda

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installation of the “warping bollards” are not even mentioned in the instructions at all and only briefly at the very end of the instructions. In order to install these lines (which prevent hogging), which ARE shown on the drawings, one has to drill a hole though the second deck in order to run the line from the first deck up through the second and third deck to the poles that go horizontally across the ship to the stern. This step is apparently ignored

completely in the instructions. Again, upon looking at the box art, you can see the “warping bollards” lines on the model as well as on the furnished drawings, but nothing is mentioned in the instructions. Curious. Don drilled the required hole BEFORE the installation of the smokestacks – It would have been very difficult to drill the holes at a later date. The next step will be in fabrication of the smokestack braces, followed by the installation of the smokestacks themselves along with the associated rigging. Also of interest is the two small stacks, which again, are not mentioned at all in the instructions and one has to assume that they are installed at the same time. Don feels fortunate that he has not missed anything of importance so far and strongly recommends that a careful study of the plans beforehand will assist the modeler a great deal. Hopefully, by the next meeting, the smokestacks will be installed.

Morgan’s Whale Boat – Hank Tober

From Artesania Latina literature: The American whale-boats were an example of perfect development of design for a specific purpose. Whale boats were always double ended because it was so necessary to back away suddenly so as to avoid sweeping flukes or crushing jaws of a fighting whale. They were distinguished by a sweeping graceful sheer and finely rounded edges, and could be turned and maneuvered easily. They were rowed “ingle banked.” that is, one man to an oar with three oars to starboard and two to port. To gain leverage for the unusually long oars each man sat on the far side of the thwart away from the oarlock. To equalize the pull the oars varied in length, one long and two short to starboard and two medium oars to port. Length varied from 16 to 18 feet and the steering oar handled by the mate was about 20 feet and having a right-angled grip for the left hand, pegged into the loom about a foot from the handle.

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The stem of the whale boat was deeply notched to take the whale line, a small wooden peg being thrust through transversely to keep the line from jumping out. The peg could be broken easily if in an emergency, the line has to be cleared. Just aft of the stem was the “box,” a short, sunken deck into which was coiled the “box warp” or “stray line” a few fathoms of whale line, which was immediately thrown overboard when the

whale was harpooned. A heavy wooden brace called the “clumsy cleat” was set transversely behind the box, and into the semicircular notch carved on its left side. This was important as the harpooner needed to brace himself rigidly in his work of harpooning and this was achieved by clamping the left thigh into the notch. This is probably why there were never any left-handed harpooners. Hank has built his Artesania Latina model of the Morgan’s whale-boat of about 1841 in 1:25 scale. It is set up both for sailing and rowing with much of the necessary gear for whale hunting stored aboard.

Alexandrian Grain Ship – Mike Eskew

Acts 27 is the twenty-seventh chapter of the Acts of the Apostles in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It records the journey of Paul from Caesarea heading to Rome, but stranded for a time in Malta. The book containing this chapter is anonymous but early Christian tradition uniformly affirmed that Luke composed this book as well as the Gospel of Luke. Ancient records reveal that Egyptians grain ships were the largest vessels of the time, being about the size of an early nineteenth century sailing vessel. This size is implicitly confirmed by Luke’s statement that there were 276 people on board. Since their ship was pointed due north, while the wind was from the northeast, the azimuth, or direction, of the ship’s lateral – or sideways – drift from Claude would

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have been approximately west eight degrees north. The Island of Malta is not directly west of Claude. Instead, Malta’s bearing from Claude is exactly west eight degrees north. Acts 27 goes on to extensive detail the voyage and the eventual shipwreck on Malta. Mike has constructed a scratch built Alexandrian Grain ship of 67 A.D. presumed to be similar to the ship that started out to carry the Apostle Paul to Rome. It is a Roman ship that was built in Alexandria. It was described as loaded with wheat for its annual voyage to Rome. The model is done in1:96 scale and represents a ship 100 feet long. Mike has place lots of folks on deck, representing the “coach class” passengers of the time. The duck head on the stern (or swan) was hoped to bring good luck.

USS Constitution – Paul Payne

Paul is continuing progress on his 1:96 scale scratch built model of USS Constitution built in her as launched configuration. New research material has come to light in the form of a book by William Bass on the Constitution’s appearance as of 1802 to 1805. Additional material includes a Paul Burnett painting “Shadow Cruise” and a print of Constitution going down the ways at Hart’s ship yard. Also, there is a “gouache believed to be by Michel Felice

Corné, which is the earliest eyewitness painting of USS Constitution. Internal evidence, such as the number of stars in the flag, dates it to 1803 and it was almost certainly done as Commodore Preble was readying her for the Mediterranean. Compared with documentary evidence of the period, and against existing draughts, it has been found to be very accurate, both as ot scale and detail. It is the only known contemporary image of the Hercules figurehead, details of which become apparent through microphotography.” The drawing of the Hercules figure in the Bass book comes from this painting. The stern details are also quite elaborate compared with many carvings showing the later stern configurations. So, in light of this information, Paul has been reworking the stern carvings and some details such as the main sheet boomkins, trail boards and figurehead. There is also evidence from the Corné painting that the hammock irons should replace railings in the waist. There are also some curious berth

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deck structures that had not been identified previously. It is likely that these may be tie-ins for athwart ship truss rods.

HMS Surprise 1796 – Chris Carl HMS Surprise in French service: Pierre-Alexandre Forfait designed Unité, the name ship for her class of corvette. Although the French initially rated Unité as a corvette, the ships of her class bridged a gap between smaller warships and frigates, and at various times were rated as frigates. On 20 March 1794, Lieutenant de Vaisseau, Jean le Drézénec, who was 41 years old and had entered the naval service soon after the revolution

from a career in the merchant service, arrived to take command of Unité. He supervised the fitting out of the ship, and found the long guns were too large to be easily reloaded, and the lower sails were also too large. He notified the authorities, who urged him to finish fitting out the ship because a major naval operation was imminent. Soon afterwards, Unité took part in the battle of the Glorious First of June by escorting the dismasted Révolutionaire as she was towed by the Audacieux. In June 1794 Unité completed repairs in Saint-Malo and Brest to damage she had sustained in the battle. In the following months, she escorted merchant vessels along the coasts of France. On 28 September, with the corvette Bergere and under the command of Lieutenant de Vaisseau Gouley, the two ships left Brest to sail northwest in between Ireland and the islands of the Hebrides and St. Kilda to intercept enemy merchant ships. On 17 October, the ships captured a 200-ton merchant ship Dianne. The next day the weather turned foul and the two ships were separated. Unwilling or unable to continue the mission alone, Unité searched for Bergere fruitlessly for sixteen days before finally returning to Brest on 1 November. (from Wikipedia). Chris is continuing work on his Mamoli based kit of Surprise. The model is in a sale of 1:75, is of plank on bulkhead construction and double planked. The masts are set and the rigging started with the setting up of the fore and fore topmast shrouds. He used a laser level to make sure the masts were straight and in line and also to line up the ratlines. The ratlines have proven particularly tough to keep straight and tidy. He used a jig to set up the lanyards length so that the deadeyes would all line up. He is reading up on rigging practice and particularly on belaying points. Most of the major

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headwork is completed. The gammoning is in and the mermaid figurehead is carved, painted and installed. A major portion of the bowsprit and jib-boom rigging is in place.

Quoddy Boat Yankee Hero – Jim Ingersoll While there is little to no information on-line regarding Maine fishing boats, the Bluejacket Shipcrafters description follows. Handsome, seaworthy boats such as the Yankee Hero met the need for fast, easily-handled boats to transport sardines to the processing plants in eastern Maine. Yankee Hero was an actual boat whose model is in the National Watercraft Collection of the Smithsonian. She is

typical of a type of craft known both as a Quoddy boat or an Eastport pinky. Jim has finished his sloop. It took three months of one to two hour days. The kit is built on a solid hull in 1:32 scale. Spars, hatch cover and cockpit grating are all finished bright. The deck is on and has a nice finish, not flossy and some extra detail was added by using a knife to score the deck planks. Rigging is complete and Jim reports making good use of Aleene’s tacky glue to stiffen the standing rigging.

Rigging Tool – Bob Penikas

Bob brought in a tool that can be used to make railings, fencing, shrouds and ratlines, netting or anything where evenly spaced cross pieces are needed. The device consists of a board to which four nut and bolt sets are affixed in a rectangle configuration with hot glue. The photo makes this clear. He used 4 metric bolts for a tota cost of $2.54 from the hardware store and some wood from the scrap box. In his examples, he used kite string to make fence rope or rail. Hot glue is added for strength. Silver upholstery thread moistened with Aleene’s tacky glue and allowed to dry prior to rigging.

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Cy

anoacrylate and other types of glue may work depending on the material being used. He notes that kite string and some threads not reinforced with Aleene’s tacky glue will be flexible enough to wrap around arco and/or act as simulated netting.

USS Constitution – Tom Stellar

Tom brought in the start of what will be two builds of USS Constitution in 1:196 scale. He is starting with Revell kits to illustrate the possibilities of model building. The first kit will be built as a stock out-of-the-box kit. For the second build the intent is to super detail it using 1:96 plans and using as many eye bolts, blocks, cleats and such items as possible – items that would normally be missing from the stock kit.

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Don Dressel’s Robert E. Lee           Morgan’s whale boat – Hank Tober           Alexandrian Grain Ship – Mike Eskew     

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       Paul Payne’s USS Constitution           HMS Surprise 1796 – Chris Carl             Quoddy Boat Yankee Hero – Bob Penikas 

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By Don Dressel 

Old  Salts  in  Port:    John  Bakker,  Don  Dressel,  Steve  Jones,  Guy  Bell,  Tom  Stellar,  John Vanderneut, Edward Fischer.   

Ships  in  Port:  Nina,  Essex,  Syren,  Sovereign  of  the  Sea,  PT  boat,  steam  powered  launch, Washington Galley. 

  The  Mayflower  Group  meeting  began with a  short presentation of  two RC boats,  the PT boat and the steam powered launch, neither of  which  was  constructed  of  wood  but  was slightly  interesting  nevertheless.    They  are pictured here, which goes to show you that you can  never  tell  just what will  show  up  at  John Bakker’s home at one of these meetings. 

  John  started  off  the  meeting  with  a discussion  of  the  Model  Shipways  kit  he purchased four years ago of the USS Essex.  John informed  the  group  that  Model  Expo  has  re‐done  the kit and even has  informed  individuals who had previously purchased the kit to contact them  and  they will  send  them  the  “improved” kit.    John  still  thinks  that  there  are  problems with  the  “improved”  kit  with  the  frames  and stern lights but has decided to start work on the model  anyway  a  month  ago.    There  were  a number  of  suggestions  for  John  on  his  current effort to realize his efforts to build the model of 

the USS Essex, which after all is a very attractive and imposing ship model once completed.  In the  newer  “improved”  kits  apparently  the  laser  cutting  has  improved  somewhat,  but  is  still lacking on some aspects.   While discussing the model, tools were brought unto the discussion as well as the usual material supplied in Model Shipways kits, which is basswood.  John did use 

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some filler wood to fill  in the bow area before planking with the wood supplied in the kit.  You can see the results in the photo attached.  John has  done  a  great  job  so  far  with  the  initial planking  of  the  model  and  it  will  be  very interesting to see the final result once John has progressed  further  along.   This picture  shown to the right is indicative on one month’s work. 

  Don  was  next  up  to  talk  about  the progress  he  has made  on  the Nina  since  last month.  All the deck detail was completed.  Don decided to use the blocks supplied with the kit, since the model is of an early Portuguese ship.  Since the spars were already turned (except for the  spar  at  the  stern, which  had  to  be  turned),  the  blocks  located  along  the  deck were  all installed along with the deadeyes, which were turned from annealed steel instead of using the eyebolts provided  in  the kit  (they hold better and will not  come  “adrift” when  installing  the rigging).   The  latten yards were made  (two  spars  lashed  together  to  from one yard) and  the main yard was installed along with the “bucket” that the sailor stands in at the top of the mast.  It was suggested by the group at the Mayflower meeting that a “ladder” should be installed to reach this “bucket” on the mast since there are no ratlines installed on the shrouds.  There are also no channels installed, instead the shrouds are rigged with blocks which are installed on the deck.   

Don also  indicated that he  is now working on the  three  sails  for  the  Nina,  the  largest  of which he brought  along with  the model  (see photo).   The  red on  the  sail was done with a Zig Memory  System  called Brushables, which do  not  run  when  coloring  the  sail  material.  Done  also  used  a  product  called Mod  Podge Matte‐Mat‐Mate to seal the seams of the sails before  cutting  them  from  the  material supplied  in  the  kit.    Both  products  were recommended by Don’s daughter Olivia.  They 

worked very well.  The ships boat, part of the kit, was also installed, but a “canvas” cover was installed over the boat since the rudder assembly was not supplied with the kit. 

  John  Vanderneut  then  discussed  his  latest  effort  – making  the  posts  and  pin  racks around the mast for the mizzen off the ship (see photo on next page).  He used a hand drill to 

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install  the  items on a  flat board, which will  then be cut out on the deck sheet and have the deck planking installed  over  it.    This  was  an  ingenious  way  to accomplish  this  task.    John was  concerned  that  the posts and belaying pin racks would come adrift when rigging.  Don suggested that maybe next time he may want to try drilling a hole  in the bottom of the post, inserting twisted annealed wire into the hole, drilling a corresponding hole in the deck, and gluing the post (with annealed pin)  in place.   That works and posts 

do not come loose when rigging – at least in Don’s case. 

  Ed  Fischer was  next  up,  and  he  talked about his current project,  the Sovereign of  the Seas, a Sergal/Mantua kit of the  large 100 gun Ship‐of‐the‐Line, the kit having been purchased about 15 years ago.   One of the  first things he did was clean all the brass parts supplied in the kit using a Dremel tool with a wire brush.   The photo at the  left shows the model  in bulkhead frame with  the  lower deck  inserted.   Planking of  the  model  was  discussed  and  it  was suggested that he procure his own wood rather 

than  use  the  wood  supplied  with  the  kit.    That brought up the subject of tools and a good saw was recommended to cut your planks.  John showed us his Preac  saw, but  that one  is no  longer available unless one is found on E‐Bay or possibly obtainable from a retired ship model builder.  The current Saw table  available  is  the Model Machines  Saw  from Jim Barnes – you may want to attend the upcoming Nautical Research Guild Conference  in Florida  this October –  I am sure  Jim Barnes will be there.   His saw is the best one available today.   

  Along with the great ideas Ed was given for planking the model, which included a great discussion of the garboard strake along the keel and the installation of a rabbit along the keel, he showed us a neat addition had added to a purchased planking clamp, which is shown on the next page.  He simply added extensions to the lets of the clamp to make it work better and hold 

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more  firmly.    Cool  idea.    Ed  was  also  given suggestions as to the best wood to use for planking his model and given  suggestions about how  to go about planking – proportional dividers were highly recommended.   

  John Bakker  concluded  the meeting with a brief discussion of his  latest acquisition,  the kit of the Philadelphia Gunboat.  As with Model Shipways kits,  the wood material  is  basswood  and most  of 

the parts are laser cut, but John thinks the kit is very nice (he purchased it for $100.00).  He did comment  that  there  are  no  extra’s  in  the  kit,  but  it  does  include  six  sizes  of  line,  one  12‐pounder  and  two  9‐pounder  cannon  plus swivel guns.  The Gunboat Philadelphia seems to be a very popular kit at this time. 

  The meeting was great fun and a lot of things were discussed in addition to the items included  here.    One  book  (of  several)  that were  recommended  for  ship  modelers  was The  ART  OF  SHIP  MODELING  by  Bernard Frölich.  As usual, the cookies and coffee (and other beverages  if desired) were plentiful at John’s house. 

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An SMA Ship Modeler 

By Randle McLean Biddle, MS 

  As with most of my cohorts, many happy hours in my youth were spent learning to build models  of  various  subjects;  airplanes,  ships,  cars,  trains,  and  other  structures.    In  time, m primary focus shifted away from modeling airplanes to modeling ships.   Now, at age seventy‐two,  what  was  once  a  hobby  has  become  a  small  business  in  what  I  have  come  to  call “retirement…and other fables.”    It has been my privilege to have gained sufficient knowledge and skill that a number of my works have been acquired by institutions and private collectors.  And, the products of my research  into specific vessel histories have  led to numerous speaking engagements at conferences, museums, historical societies and other less formal occasions.  Of course, no one gets to that point without the  instruction, counsel, mentoring, wisdom‐sharing and, frankly, criticism; generously and constructively offered by the giants in our field, and our dear colleagues in this arcane art and craft we call ship model building. 

  My first crude effort was of the vessel  Chaleur  (1763‐1768.    A  “plank on  bulkhead”  attempt  which  to  my great  surprise  in  1968 was  purchased by  a  gift  shop  patron  on  Cape  Cod where I lived at the time.  Now, almost fifty‐years  later,  I  am  nearing completion of a book about the origin and  early  history  of  that  vessel,  and another model  of  her  as  well.    Read about  her  in Chapelle.   But wait  until you read my book before you decide to make a model of her based upon what 

he, or our deceased  friend Harold Hahn, had  to  say about Chaleur.   The model  shown  in  the picture  is a model by Boucher c. 1962  for  the Smithsonian, showing Chaleur as a  two‐masted merchant schooner (which she never was….) 

  Rather than a “maritime historian” in the broader sense, I prefer to think of myself as a “vessel historian” or as my wife Rita calls me, a “vessel genealogist.”   My choices of subjects tend  to be of  the  lesser  known  craft –  interesting  and  significant  in  their own way, but not famous as with Cutty Sark or Constitution.  Here are just a few, but there is a longer list which I hope  I  shall  live  long  enough  to  study  in  sufficient  depth  to make what  Rob Napier  calls,  a 

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“responsible” model.  One which is a “model of a ship” rather than a “ship model” and “creates a  compelling  impression of  the original  vessel.”    Thank  you, Rob,  for  those  insights,  and  for much more. 

Rita  B.    A  New  England  dragger  fishing  schooner,  built  In  the  A.D.  Story  yard  at  Essex, Massachusetts in 1928.  At 1:96, this one was perhaps  the  most  challenging  of  all, 

particularly to reproduce the complex Otter trawl gear at the small scale.   These photos are of Rita B., a 1928 Dragger Fishing Vessel, model by Randy M. Biddle 2009, Images by Randle M. Biddle. 

Grampus  (A‐3,  SS‐4)  the  first  American submarine  launched  in  the  Pacific  Ocean (1902  at  the  Union  Iron  Works  in  San Francisco)  and  commanded  by  Lt.  Arthur MacArthur,  the  elder  brother  of  General Douglas MacArthur.   This work  is owned by the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History  and was  constructed  in  1974.    It  is currently  in off‐sight storage.   Grampus and her sister boats – as gunnery targets – were sunk off Corregidor in the early 1920’s.  This forty‐two  year  old  model  was  visited  by Randy  in Mid‐March  of  2017,  being  invited to view the model by the Los Angeles County Museum. (See the photo on next page.) The work  was  on  display  at  the  San  Francisco Maritime Museum  for nearly  twenty  years, on  inter‐agency  loan.    When  the  Aquatic 

Part  facility of that museum was closed  for much needed repairs and restoration of  its  iconic Art Deco murals and tiles, all models and exhibits were struck and put in storage.  At that time, 

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LACNHM  asked  for  the  return  of my  model.  Protected  by  a  “traveling  frame”  it  has languished in off‐site County facilities for more than  twelve years.   The  first  two views  shown here  ore  of  the  model  completed  in  1974.  Photos by Randy Biddle. 

  It  had  been  over  fifteen  years  since  I had  seen my work,  and  I was understandably excited to see how it had weathered the years.  The photograph will give you an idea.  A couple of items have come adrift or gone missing.  The aftermost stay to one of the short masts needs reattachment and the watertight cover to one of the ventilators needs to be replaced.  Other than that, the model looks the same as the day I delivered it.   

  You may be surprised to  learn that the model was  laid  up with  lifts made  of  –  balsa 

wood  and  the  shape  turned  on  an  old  lathe  in  my  Dad’s  garage.    It  requires  very  close inspection  to  see  that  one  of  the  seams  of  the  lamination  is  visible  indicating  flexing  or shrinkage over  time.   There  is no danger,  in my view, of  further  structural or even  cosmetic delaminating.   Although  I offered to make the repairs and replacements noted (including new rigging – using techniques and skills  I did not know about or possess when  I built the model) and to appropriately address the seam opening, LACNHM said they did not want anything done to  the model.    It  is being  treated  as both  an historical  artifact  in  its own  right, made by  an artisan  almost  fifty  years  ago;  and,  as  a  representation  of  another  item  in  history,  the submarine Grampus herself.  Interesting! 

  There are no plans to display the model.  Regrettably, as with the thousands to perhaps millions of other artifacts they hold, it may never be readily available for viewing by the public.  My  request  to have  it  returned  to  San  Francisco, where Grampus  and  sister‐boat Pike were launched at  the Union  Iron Works  in 1902, was denied.    LACNHM  claims  that no amount of insurance  can  replace  their  artifacts  and  so  they  no  longer  place  them  on  loan  to  other institutions. 

If you have a  full  run of  the Nautical Research  Journal, or  the CD of  issues, you can  read my December  1981  article:  Pacific  Debutante:  A  Brief  History  of  the  United  States  Submarine Torpedo Boat, GRAMPUS  (A‐3, SS‐4).   Please also visit  the  fine web  site, www.pigboats.com, 

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managed  by  Rie  Hedman,  and made  possible  by many  contributors  and  benefactors.    The images and narrative are  fascinating, and will be of  immense value to any historian or model maker  interested  in  the history of our early  submarines.   Please  consider  a donation  to  the maintenance of this online archive. 

Randy Biddle with his 1:24  scale model of  the  early  American  Submarine Torpedo  Boat  GRAMPUS  (A‐3,  SS‐4)  in the  Los Angeles County Natural History Museum  off‐site  facility.    The  lower portion of the model’s “traveling frame” is  shown.  (If  you  look  closely  at  the photo you can see a little of the damage done  to  the  rigging  on  the model  that Randy refers to in his article – Ed.) 

 

  Gaslight  (1874‐1953?)    A  typical  San Francisco  Bay  Scow  Schooner,  modeled  at 1>48  from  drawings  c.  1935‐1955  by  Otis Oldfield.    He was  a  famous  California  artist, who  as  part  of  the  Federal  Writers  Project during the Great Depression, scoured the bay and delta backwaters for the remains of these once  numerous  working  vessels.    His notebooks made  it  possible  for me  to  use  a plank‐on‐frame  style  and  –  together  with many  images  from  he  Robert  A.  Weinstein collection,  and  those  of  the  San  Francisco 

Maritime Museum, essentially duplicate the construction and rig of the original vessel.  Model and Photo of Gaslight by Randy Biddle as shown above, model built it 1997. 

Pilgrim  (1825‐1841)  an  obscure  little  brig,  built  at Medford, Massachusetts  by  Sprague  and James and made immortal in the classic sea story Two Years Before the Mast by Richard Henry Dana, Jr. from his voyage to Alta California out of Boston  in 1834.    I haven’t modeled Pilgrim, but my extensive research (together with the late Raymond Aker of Palo Alto, California) led to what we believe  is the most accurate representation of the appearance of the vessel c. 1830.  Many invitations were extended to me to share the outcome of my work, which also produced a 160‐entry  annotated bibliography of  sources  in 1999.   With  the  advent of  the Web, other 

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information  has  come  to  light  – mostly  from  old  newspapers  and  this material  has  further enriched our knowledge. 

Island, ex Lady of Avenel (1874‐1945?) built at Falmouth, England and sailing in various trades, including  for a time, as a private yacht, and a training vessel.    In 1926  Island went up toward Spitsbergen under the command of Frank Worsley.   After extensive refitting and outfitting for this voyage of Polar exploration, she succeeded in getting farther North than any sailing vessel prior  to  that  time.    Her  plan  as  produced  by  Harold  Underhill,  plus  the many  images  and newspaper  clippings  and  other  items  I  have  collected  for  her will  someday  inform  a  scale model,  probably  at  1:64.    Read  Worsley’s  account in

 Under Sail  in the Frozen North.   Finding that volume  in a used books store nearly forty years ago  prompted me  to  learn more.    Frank Worsley  was,  of  course,  Sir  Earnest  Shackleton’s captain  in Endurance – and whose navigation skills arguably saved the entire crew from dying there, during their unsuccessful attempt to reach the South Pole.  The photo above is from the image collection of Randy Biddle. 

Chance  (1926‐1952?) was  perhaps  the  first  vessel  purpose‐built  for  oceanographic  research under sail.   This Shelburne, Nova Scotia‐built schooner was commissioned and  first owned by Columbus  Islen,  II  who  became  one  of  the  early  directors  of  Woods  Hole  Oceanographic Institution  (WHOI).   As with  Lady of Avenal,  it was  the discovery of a book, Great Dipper  to 

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Southern Cross by Ed Dodd, Jr. which  introduced me to Chance.   Dodd and some friends took her out  to Tahiti not  long after  Iselin went as her Master  to Labrador on her  first voyage  for oceanographic studies.  My article about Chance in the Nautical Research Journal in 2002 led to a  commission  to model  the  schooner  for WHOI.    It  was my  first  experience  at  drafting  a 

complete set of  lines  for  the hull, based on photographs  and  several  sketches of the vessel’s profile, underbody and rig by men who had sailed  in her.   Chance  the model  and  I  travelled  by  AMTRAK  from Los Angeles to New York In May of 2004, and  from  there by  local  train and car  to Woods  Hole  on  Cape  Cod  for  a presentation  of  the model  to  Jim  Clark, upon  his  retirement  as  Director  of  the WHOI  corporation.    The  friendships  at WHOI  and  with  others  associated  with the  schooner  have  endured  to  this  day.   

Photo  ‐ Chance,  1926 with Randle M. Biddle,  the model maker.    2004  image by WHOI  staff photographer, made in the WHOI carpentry shop while the model was under final assembly and installation  into an exhibit case.   There are many more subjects on my  list, but these few will give you an  idea of my eclectic,  if not eccentric, approach  to  research and making modes of ships. 

For  nearly  thirty‐five  years  I  have  been  blessed  to  be  a  member  of  the  Ship  Modelers Association of Southern California,  to attend  several of  their Western Ship Model Conference and Exhibit events, as participant, exhibitor, and even a guest speaker.  Thank you, gentlemen and  ladies,  for your affection, our enduring  friendships, and  for making me a better  student, artisan and human being for having been in you company. 

About 14 June – Flag Day, for those of us who still remember and celebrate that day, Rita and I will  leave California for our new home  in Idaho.   Address below.   The Email and phone should remain the same.  If you are ever headed that way, please come see us.  I’ll have a good‐sized workshop space, and maybe with some luck, will be established and ready to go to work again before  the  end  of  2017.    Fair winds.    Keep  researching  and  building.    Your  contribution  to preserving  our  maritime  heritage  in  miniature  is  essential  to  our  children’s  future understanding of what made the United States of America we love an defend, without apology. 

10623 W. Wild  Iris St. – Star,  ID 83669   windshipstudies@gmail.com (possibly  in the future) – 661‐645‐5742. 

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Queen Mary’s SOS demands action to save the attraction By ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER EDITORIAL BOARD – March 14, 2017 

The Queen Mary is a Long Beach icon, a treasure, but you wouldn’t know it by the way the city neglected the majestic ship for decades as it slowly slipped into disrepair.  The historic ship, brought to Long Beach half a century ago, is in dire need of major repairs, with a price tag of up to $289 million.  Unless action is taken soon, the vessel could face some internal structural collapse in the next decade, according to documents obtained to SCNG reporter Courtney Tompkins.  Naval architects and maritime engineers, who compiled a marine survey on the ship’s condition, warn ominously that the ship is probably “approaching the point of no return.”  When the Queen Mary arrived in Long Beach in 1967, excitement and optimism filled the air as public officials boasted the ship would attract worldwide attention.  Purchased by the city for $3.45 million, the ship almost immediately became mired in controversy and red ink.  Still, the Queen Mary has endured as a symbol of Long Beach and a destination for Southern California residents and visitors.  What’s unsettling about the latest marine survey is that, while city officials were busy marketing the wonders of the ship to the outside world, the vessel’s insides were slowly deteriorating.  A key problem cited in the marine study is corrosion in the ship’s hull so severe that certain areas could be prone to flooding.  Any major flooding could cause the ship to sink to the lagoon floor because there are no steel, watertight doors that could be sealed, and no way to pump water out because the bilge system is inoperable.  The pillar supports for the raised false floor in the exhibition space (where events are held) are so corroded throughout that it could cause “immediate collapse,” the report says.  Who’s at fault?  There’s plenty of blame to go around.  The city owns the Queen Mary and signs leases with operators to manage the ship.  Over the years, leaseholders struggled to make enough money to pay operations and keep up maintenance.  But nobody took responsibility for long‐term maintenance.  Why didn’t city managers, city councils and majors do more to fix the problem?  Last October, the city council approved a $23 million plan to pay for high‐priority repairs, but that’s just putting a Band‐Aid on the overall problem.  But Ed Pribonic, the city engineer who inspected the ship for 30 years, wrote report after report expressing frustration with officials and operators who ignored critical problems aboard the ship.  “The continued lack of response regarding several issues raised in these reports need to be brought up for discussion,” Pribonic wrote.  Pribonic’s reports were obtained by the Press‐Telegram through the Public Records Act.  Pribonic’s reports went to his department heads, and, presumably, city managers, including current City Manager Pat West.  But they would not have been seen by the public had it not been for Tompkins’ public records request.  This ship needs a captain.  Mayor Robert Garcia and the city council must work with Urban Commons, the current leaseholder, and deal with the decades of deferred maintenance before the ship sinks.  It’s time to stop kicking the can‐‐‐‐or, in this case, the ship‐‐‐down the road. 

Your editor thought this would be of interest to the SMA members, since we held our Queen Mary Conferences there.  Thanks to Dave Okamuro for bringing this to our attention. – Ed. 

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Randy Billde Library and Plans Collection Randy Biddle is thinning his library and plans collection. He does not have an inventory to share but…if you have been looking for a book or a plan, contact Randy directly. If he has it and will part with it, you can come to terms directly. Ten percent of the proceeds will go to the club and Randy will bring your selection to a future meeting. Contact information: www.windships@earthlink.net – 661-645-5742. Randy lives in Valencia so not too close to most SMA members. Dues are past Due! The dues for the year of 2017 are now due, so please make arrangements to pay your dues. The costs are $25.00 for members who receive their SMA Newsletter by Email. For those members who are already receiving their newsletters by snail mail, the cost of $40.00. No NEW snail mail members will be accepted. The cost for members who receive their newsletter by Email AND live beyond 100 miles of the meeting location, is $20.00. For long distance members, check is made out to SMA. Send to: Ship Modelers Association, 21520 Yorba Linda Blvd., Suite G234, Yorba Linda, CA 92887. Treasurer’s Report Larry Van Es reports that there is $4,302.38 in the SMA account for the end of November. Mike has become the advisor and helper for the new SMA Treasurer, Larry Van Es. Since I have received no input from Larry since November, the above figure is still the last info I have. Web Manager’s Report The Webmaster, Doug Tolbert, has no specific announcement for this month, outside of the fact that the SMA web page is working fine. If there are any comments by the SMA membership, please contact one of the officers (see first page of newsletter). San Diego Ship Modelers Guild For those SMA members who may be interested, the San Diego Ship Modelers Guild now has their meetings on the BERKLEY on the second TUSEDAY of each month, instead of the second Wednesday. Your editor and reporter routinely attend the meeting which is usually very informative and enlightening. Tony Devroude cast figure There have been several requests about the Tony Devroude figure on my Halifax model. It is available from Tony Devroude for only $10.00 if you contact him and order the figure. He also does carvings and other figures if desired. Tony can be contacted at buddevroude@yahoo.com.

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Quoddy boat Yankee Hero – Bob Penikas

Donald C. Dressel 908 W. 22nd Street, Upland, CA. 91784-1229

Next meeting Wednesday, May 17, 7:30 PM, Hillcrest Park Red Cross Building

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