BlueJacket blue sailor logo

November 2015
Vol 5, Issue 11

ShipShape

News,Tips and Happenings


Dear Shipmate:

IMPORTANT - Early this year we said there was going to be a price increase in April, but it never happened. We will have that increase effective January 1st, 2016. In general, kits will go up 5% and fittings 10%. There will be no increase in paints, pedestals, baseboards or cases & case kits. Just request a new price list and we'll mail one out to you.

We are waiting until January 1st because December is traditionally our busiest month, and I did not want to burden your holiday gift ideas. By midnight on the first the website will be updated.

Remember, BlueJacket gift certificates make great gifts!

On another topic, I am looking for a 1/350 finished model of an Iowa-class battleship. Call or email me if you have one you would like to part with.

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 terms and origins

Boom - The lower spar of a fore-and-aft sail, a spar on which a studding sail was set on a square-rigger; also a type of shipboard crane for handling cargo and supplies.  The word was seen in the XVI century, but was used more commonly from the XVIII, when fore-and-aft sails were replacing lateen.  It probably came from the Old Norse word bathum, meaning beam.

Drop - with its many meanings, is the name for the vertical measure, usually at the center, of a square sail. The word in this sense comes from Old English, dropian, meaning distance downward.

Pelorus - Also known as a dummy or dead compass, an instrument for taking bearings. The derivation is uncertain, but a romantic supposition is that it was named to honor the pilot who got Hannibal around hazardous Cape Faro, Sicily, in 204 B.C.  The cape was once known as Cape Pelorus.

Skeet - A long-handled dipper of various uses.  The origin of the term is obscure; it was seen in the XV century, but possibly not for shipboard gear.

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 - Sea Horse 
We had the pleasure of making our Herreshoff 12 1/2 model look like the "Sea Horse." Bill of MA is giving the model to his wife as a surprise Christmas present, the Sea Horse is her boat. Dean J. did the model, and I think you'll agree he duplicated the original very well. The following photos show the actual boat followed by the model.

Overall view


Cabin area:



Transom

 



Cockpit area



I have no doubt that she will be thrilled with this present.
What's on the workbench?

Nic's bench: Now that the Yankee Hero is off the bench, it's back to the USS Kidd.  Here's the after deckhouse, there's a lot of stuff that hangs on the walls!



Al's bench: Al is busy drafting the plans for the Charles Morgan cutaway. The Morgan has irregular spaced and sized ribs, we are duplicating them. This will be a VERY detailed model. Here's the plans so far:


 Something Fun

ONLY A GRANDMOTHER WOULD KNOW....

A Cup  of Tea made with cold water  
     
One day my Grandma was out, and my Grandpa was in charge of me. I was
maybe 2 1/2 years old.    Someone had given me a  little 'tea set' as a gift, and it
was one of my favorite toys.    Grandpa was in the living room engrossed in the
evening news when I brought him a little  cup of 'tea', which was just water.
  
After several cups of tea and lot of praise for such yummy tea, my Grandma
came home.  My Grandpa made her wait in the living room to watch me bring
him a cup of tea, because it was 'just the cutest thing!'
  
Grandma waited, and sure enough, here I came down the  hall with a cup of tea
for Grandpa, and she watched him drink it up. Then she said, (as only a grandma would know),
"Did it ever occur to you that the only place she can reach to get water is the toilet?"

Tip of the Month  -  Cuticle nippers
These handy clippers are the perfect thing to snip off excess line after you've tied a knot. You can get them at any pharmacy or grocery store. Because the cutting edge is flush, you can get right next to the knot and cut without leaving any loose line.  You can do that with an Xacto blade, but run the risk of cutting off something you didn't want to. (Don't ask me how I know!)


Here's a thicker rigging line with a thin line tied around it.  Think shroud and ratline.


Now put the cutting edge of the clipper right up to the knot.  Because they flush cut, there will be no little stub end left.


One squeeze and the job is done!  notice how close it is cut.

 
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.