BlueJacket blue sailor logo

November 2015
Vol 5, Issue 11

ShipShape

News,Tips and Happenings


Dear Shipmate:

Last Friday we all dressed up for Halloween.  It shocked a few of our visitors!

In the photo, from L to R: Trisha, Billy, Josh, Al, David, Lee Anne, Nic and Tony.


BlueJacket is a proud sponsor of:

NRG'S MODEL SHIP WORLD
Model Ship World is an on-line forum of ship modelers. Topics range from kits to scratch builds, in-process continuing stories, tips, manufacturer information, technical topics.  Too many to list here. Go take a look!
In This Issue
Nautical Terms
Model of the month
Something Fun
Tip of the Month
final message
Quick Links
Nautical Research Guild Conference in Mystic, CT
October 22 to 24 was the NRG annual meeting. We got to see "behind the scenes" in the boatyard, and actually walked under the Sabino, which is on jackstands and blocks getting repaired. We saw the model storage area, with models to die for. The plans archives were amazing.  You can actually access these on the web, we found out. Here's a shot of Al manning our vendor table. More than 100 modelers attended the meeting, making it the largest in NRG history.

Nautical terms and origins

Becket - A small loop of rope or small stuff, of many uses. The origin is not known, but the word may have come from Old English, and earlier from Old Dutch, bogt, bend of rope.

Eddy - A circular or reverse flow of current. The Middle English word was ydy; it came from Icelandic. also perhaps from the Anglo-Saxon ed, backwards.

Rave Hook - A tool for clearing (or reaming out) oakum and pitch from seams. The origin of the term is obscure; it possibly is Old Norse.

Wind - The word comes to us intact from Old English and Old Saxon.  The Old Norse word was windr, wind or winds.

Information is from the book "Origins of Sea Terms" by John G. Rogers
copyright 1985 Mystic Seaport Museum, Inc. and available from BlueJacket. 
Model of the Month - SS Andrea Doria (1952)
At the NRG meeting, my good friend Dan displayed his model of the Andrea Doria. I was so impressed by his model that I asked if he would let me make it "model of the month" and he agreed. So here's his write-up:



This is a rendering of the pride of the post-war Italian Line. She was one of the most luxurious ships afloat, with three separate swimming pools for every class of passenger. She sank in a collision with another ocean liner, the SS Stockholm, in 1956 and now lies in about 200 feet of water some 100 miles south of Nantucket.  Because of her history hundreds of photographs of her were taken, making it possible to build a highly accurate model.

The model is at a scale of 1/16" = 1" (1:192).  The hull was built up of seven layers of basswood lifts, while the upper works are wood sheathed in styrene plastic.  The decks are done with art paper printed with the plank seams. Railings and stairways are photoetched brass.  Windows, depth marks and even the Plimsol line symbols are scratch-made custom decals. Many of the fittings, including the lifeboats and their davits, are cast metal items from Bluejacket.  The bollards, fairleads, winches, cargo blocks, and a host of others were used because they required little cleanup or modification to make them match the actual items seen in photographs.  The project would not have gone as smoothly or been as successful without them.

Dan Pariser
Brooklyn, NY

Waterline view of the bow


Fore deck and cranes


Bridge and superstructure


Funnel and lifeboats


Pools and more cranes


If you would like to see the entire build documented, go here:

http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/10963-ss-andrea-doria-1952-by-shipmodel-116-scale/


What's on the workbench?

Nic's bench: Now that the Kearsarge is rigged, I am back to finishing a Yankee Hero for a customer.


I am also starting to fit out the hull and 01 deck on the USS Kidd:




Al's bench: Well, Al is into his literary mode, putting the finishing touches on the Kearsarge instructions and drawings.


Something fun
FOR THOSE WHO LOVE THE PHILOSOPHY OF AMBIGUITY, AS WELL AS THE IDIOSYNCRASIES OF ENGLISH

1.  IF MAN EVOLVED FROM MONKEYS AND APES, 
WHY DO WE STILL HAVE MONKEYS AND APES?

2.  I WENT TO A BOOKSTORE AND ASKED THE SALESWOMAN, "WHERE'S THE SELF- HELP SECTION?" SHE SAID IF SHE TOLD ME, IT WOULD DEFEAT THE PURPOSE.

3.  WHAT IF THERE WERE NO HYPOTHETICAL QUESTIONS?

4.  IS THERE ANOTHER WORD FOR SYNONYM?

5.  WHERE DO FOREST RANGERS GO TO "GET AWAY FROM IT ALL?"

6.  WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU SEE AN ENDANGERED ANIMAL EATING 
AN ENDANGERED PLANT?

7.  IF A PARSLEY FARMER IS SUED, CAN THEY GARNISH HIS WAGES?

8.  WOULD A FLY WITHOUT WINGS BE CALLED A WALK?

9.  WHY DO THEY LOCK GAS STATION BATHROOMS?  
ARE THEY AFRAID SOMEONE WILL BREAK-IN AND CLEAN THEM?

10.  IF A TURTLE DOESN'T HAVE A SHELL, IS HE HOMELESS OR NAKED?

11.  CAN VEGETARIANS EAT ANIMAL CRACKERS?

12.  HOW DO THEY GET DEER TO CROSS THE ROAD ONLY AT THOSE YELLOW ROAD SIGNS?

13.  WHAT WAS THE BEST THING BEFORE SLICED BREAD?

14.  ONE NICE THING ABOUT EGOTISTS: THEY DON'T TALK ABOUT OTHER PEOPLE.

15.  DOES THE LITTLE MERMAID WEAR AN ALGEBRA?
(This one took me a minute)

16.  HOW IS IT POSSIBLE TO HAVE A CIVIL WAR?

17.  IF ONE SYNCHRONIZED SWIMMER DROWNS, DO THE REST DROWN TOO?

18.  IF YOU ATE BOTH PASTA AND ANTIPASTO, WOULD YOU STILL BE HUNGRY?

19.  IF YOU TRY TO FAIL, AND SUCCEED, WHICH HAVE YOU DONE?

20.  WHY IS IT CALLED TOURIST SEASON IF WE CAN'T SHOOT AT THEM?

21.  WHY IS THERE AN EXPIRATION DATE ON SOUR CREAM?

22.  WHY DO SHOPS HAVE SIGNS, 'GUIDE DOGS ONLY', 
IF THE DOGS CAN'T READ AND THEIR OWNERS ARE BLIND?
 

Tip of the Month  -  Wet Sanding

In any hardware store, there is a special kind of sandpaper called "wet or dry." Normally it is in the finer grades, like 220 and above. It makes sanding easier, because the water keeps the sanding dust in a slurry, and does not clog the sandpaper. This means quicker sanding.  A secondary advantage is that there is no dust flying into the air. It is not used on bare wood, but on a primered and/or puttied surface. Here is a one-minute video demonstrating the technique. Click on the photo.

Blatant Publicity

Thanks for your support

 

My final message in this newsletter will always be the same because it is what BlueJacket has done for 110 years, and we're not about to stop.

 

We appreciate our customers, we exist for our customers, and we listen to our customers. What we do is fun, just as I will try to make this newsletter. If you have any suggestions or comments, still, as always, please just give us a shout!

 

There's nothing I'd rather do than work on, or talk about model boats. Have fun!  

   

Sincerely,

   

Nic Damuck

BlueJacket Shipcrafters, Inc.