News, tips, and happenings from BlueJacket Shipcrafters, Inc.

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March 2016

Vol 6, Issue 3

ShipShape

News,Tips and Happenings

Dear Shipmate:

February has broken records here in Maine for the warmest ever. We have had 6 days of temps over 50 degrees. Last February we only had one HOUR of temp above 30 degrees during the entire month.

This month's Nautical Terms is all tongue-in-cheek, it was a co-operative effort with our advertising company, which is Maine-based.

For Something Fun, We're telling how Notable people would explain why the chicken crossed the road. I think we poked fun at everyone pretty equally.

Continuing to add videos of our kit contents, you can now look at the parts of our

SS Portland on our website here: http://www.bluejacketinc.com/whatsin.htm

BlueJacket is a proud sponsor of:

NRG'S MODEL SHIP WORLD

www.modelshipworld.com

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

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Nautical terms and origins - MAINE STYLE

Oah - Any of myriad pieces of wood flattened on one end and rounded into a handle on the other. Used to propel a craft when the motor breaks. Comes from the Tourist word Oar.

Aya - an invisible gaseous substance used sparingly as an energy source by mother nature as soon as she sees you set sail. From the Flatlander word Wind. Also see antonym Hahd Blow.

Dubbing v - Puttering around your boat doing things that others may deem as without purpose or value. (He's just dubbing around.) From the Maine word...well, this is a Maine word. See also Dubber n, or one who dubs; and Dub n - one who should be dubbing but isn't.

GWON GIT! - A friendly warning term generally used in a densely packed anchorage to discourage other boaters from anchoring too close. A Maine substitute for the more genteel term, Would you please give us a little more room? Synonym - Scram! Antonym - Let's raft! Also used to rid the galley of unwanted nibblers.

Ankah - Clevah nautical decoration seen tattooed on many forearms and in front of almost every seafood restaurant. From the Modern English anchor.

Daw-ray- A double-ended workboat used for hauling herring nets and such. The daw-rey is confusing to some tourists who learned that the bow is the "pointy end" of a vessel. When they see a daw-rey, with two pointy ends, they can't tell if it's coming or going. But that's a tourist for you.

Information is DEFINITELY NOT from the book "Origins of Sea Terms" by John G. Rogers

Model of the Month - Nantucket Lightship

Al has just finished this model for the Nantucket Lightship Museum in Boston. A rare period in the ship's life, she looked this way only from 1942 to 1945 when she was an inspection vessel assigned to Portland ME harbor. This was immediately after an executive order by FDR. The quote below and other interesting information can be found here:

http://www.uscg.mil/history/articles/Steamboat_Inspection_Service.asp

Executive Order 9083

On February 28, 1942, President Franklin Roosevelt, as a wartime measure, signed Executive Order 9083, which transferred the Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation temporarily to the control of the U.S. Coast Guard. This transfer was made permanent by Reorganization Plan Number 3 on July 16, 1946. This marked the first time in the nation's history that all functions of maritime safety came under one agency.

Overall view:

Stern view. Al scratch-built the 3" gun and water-cooled 50mm machine guns.

Bow view. Another 50mm gun between the cowl vents.

What's on the workbench?

Nic's bench: I've done not much work on the USS Kidd. As you can see, the deck is painted, the 01 deckhouses are installed, and more work has been done on the forward stack.

Al's bench: After finishing the Nantucket, Al did his ritual bench cleansing and will be diving into another new kit. this will be a J-24 yacht with a solid hull in 1/2" = 1' scale. Like the Revenue Cutter, this will be available as a normal kit and as an Ensign Series kit with all the tools glue and paint.

Something Fun

So why did the chicken cross the road?

SARAH PALIN: The chicken crossed the road because, gosh-darn it, he's a maverick!

BARACK OBAMA: Let me be perfectly clear, if the chickens like their eggs they can keep their eggs. No chicken will be required to cross the road to surrender her eggs. Period.

JOHN McCAIN: My friends, the chicken crossed the road because he recognized the need to engage in cooperation and dialogue with all the chickens on the other side of the road.

HILLARY CLINTON: What difference at this point does it make why the chicken crossed the road?

GEORGE W. BUSH: We don't really care why the chicken crossed the road. We just want to know if the chicken is on our side of the road or not. The chicken is either with us or against us. There is no middle ground here.

DICK CHENEY: Where's my gun?

BILL CLINTON: I did not cross the road with that chicken.

AL GORE: I invented the chicken.... and the road.

JOHN KERRY: Although I voted to let the chicken cross the road, I am now against it! It was the wrong road to cross, and I was misled about the chicken's intentions. I am not for it now, and will remain against it.

DR. PHIL: The problem we have here is that this chicken won't realize that he must first deal with the problem on this side of the road before it goes after the problem on the other side of the road. What we need to do is help him realize how stupid he is acting by not taking on his current problems before adding any new problems.

OPRAH: Well, I understand that the chicken is having problems, which is why he wants to cross the road so badly. So instead of having the chicken learn from his mistakes and take falls, which is a part of life, I'm going to give this chicken a NEW CAR so that he can just drive across the road and not live his life like the rest of the chickens.

ANDERSON COOPER: We have reason to believe there is a chicken, but we have not yet been allowed to have access to the other side of the road.

NANCY GRACE: That chicken crossed the road because he's guilty! You can see it in his eyes and the way he walks.

PAT BUCHANAN: To steal the job of a decent, hardworking American.

MARTHA STEWART: No one called me to warn me which way the chicken was going. I had a standing order at the Farmer's Market to sell my eggs when the price dropped to a certain level. No little bird gave me any insider information.

DR SEUSS: Did the chicken cross the road? Did he cross it with a toad? Yes, the chicken crossed the road, but why it crossed I've not been told.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY: To die in the rain, alone.

GRANDPA: In my day we didn't ask why the chicken crossed the road. Somebody told us the chicken crossed the road, and that was good enough for us.

DONALD TRUMP: We should build a wall so the chicken can't cross the road.

BARBARA WALTERS: Isn't that interesting? In a few moments, we will be listening to the chicken tell, for the first time, the heartwarming story of how it experienced a serious case of molting, and went on to accomplish its lifelong dream of crossing the road.

ARISTOTLE: It is the nature of chickens to cross the road.

BILL GATES: I have just released eChicken2014, which will not only cross roads, but will lay eggs, file your important documents and balance your checkbook. Internet Explorer is an integral part of eChicken2014. This new platform is much more stable and will never reboot.

ALBERT EINSTEIN: Did the chicken really cross the road, or did the road move beneath the chicken?

And the winner.........

COLONEL SANDERS: Did I miss one?

Tip of the Month - Making very small eyebolts

This tip of the month is reprinted with permission from the pages of the

Nautical Research Journal, Issue 61.1, and with special thanks to author Dan Pariser

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 111 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.