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May 2023 Volume 13 number 5

ShipShape

News, Tips and Happenings
We have an Olympia kit for sale (#198 of 200.) the price is $1500 firm, and includes shipping. We will sell it to the first email received at info@bluejacketinc.com. We have examined the kit, and certify that it is complete. In addition, the previous owner copied several articles as well.
NRG'S MODEL SHIP WORLD
Model Ship World is an on-line forum of over 40,000 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!

www.modelshipworld.com
Rigging Class May 22-26, 2023 STILL 3 SPOTS LEFT
NOTE: Room rate is $109 and the hotel has dropped their breakfast.
Our rigging class is a popular event. We run it from 9 to 3 for 5 days (although some people leave early on Friday.) IT IS A CLASS FOR NOVICES. We don't assume you know anything about rigging a ship model. All tools and materials are provided with the class fee of $475. You get a hull to work on, all the sticks and dowels, glue, blocks, deadeyes, threads, wire, beeswax, sandpaper and the following tools:
 
Excel hobby knife and blades
Pin Vise
Assortment of drill bits
Tweezers
needle nose pliers
flush cutters
clamps
cuticle scissors (best for clipping rigging)
and probably some other things I forgot
 
If you use magnifiers for your modeling work, you should bring them. By the end of the class you will have learned how to use the tools, tie a multitude of various knots, and will have completed what you see in the picture below.  You can see shrouds, backstays, bobstays, gammoning, vangs, topping lift, ratlines, hearts, throat halyard, peak halyard, sheet tackle on a traveler, lifts, braces, forestays, etc.
 
Obviously, we don't waste a lot of time to make the model look pretty! We want to concentrate on the rigging. At the end of the class, BlueJacket will ship your model and materials to your home, again all part of the tuition cost.
 
Monday will include a pizza party for lunch and a behind the scenes tour of the BlueJacket facility. In addition, all students will receive a 10% discount on anything they buy during that week. Kits, tools, books, gift items, you name it!
 
The hours of 9-3 are flexible, we have the hotel conference room available 24 hours a day for the week. If you bring a family member, the 3:00 PM cutoff lets you do some sightseeing around the area. But if you need to catch up a bit, the room is yours!
 
Classes will be at the Fireside Inn in Belfast, 4 miles from BlueJacket on Route 1, tel# 207-338-2090. You can ask for the BlueJacket corporate rate if you choose to stay there. They are holding rooms at $109 for us. There is a pool, sauna and Jacuzzi, and all rooms have an excellent view of Penobscot Bay. If you are the camping type, Searsport Shores is nearby.
 
Class is limited to 12 people with payment in advance. Full refund up to 2 weeks before, 50% refund up to 1 week before. Unfortunately, cancellation less than a week in advance cannot be refunded except by extreme circumstances, which we reserve the right to determine.
Nautical terms and origins
Bull's Eye - A specially shaped grommet of wood or metal serving as a fairlead. The origin is obscure; it probably was a nickname.

Crutch - A support for a spar. The term appears to go back to Viking days. A root word was krykkia, Old Norse for a forked or crooked timber, and its original sense was said to be nautical.

Jumper - (1) The stay from the tip of the jibboom to the lower end of the martingale boom, now usually of chain or wire rope. (2) A short name for a jumper stay or strut, the former being a truss-like stay on the forward side of the mast of some craft. (3) A short pullover shirt or blouse worn by many sailors, formerly (and has come back as) part of a navy sailor's uniform.

Runnel - A wave trough caused by a tidal or other current close to shore. The word comes from Old English, of the same meaning.

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 - Whaleboat with a whale
This is from George F of MT. He briefly writes:

Hi Nic, here is a photo on my newest model, "Whaleboat with Whale"!

Great job, George. Some interesting fish skulls in the background, too.
Real Boat Names
Let's see YOUR workbench
This is from Frank I. of NJ

"This is my workbench"
What's on the workbench?
Nic's bench - Still rigging the Newsboy. Now making furled sails from silkspan.

Al's bench - Al is back to working on the 82' Coast Guard boat. The master hull is finished as well as some drawings.
Something Fun - As rock stars age
Rock stars need to update their song titles to reflect their increasing age.......

Bobby McFarin - Don't worry, be nappy

Helen Reddy - I am woman hear me snore

Willie Nelson - On the commode again

The Who - Who am I?

The Beatles - Day slippers

Village People - Got a letter from AARP

Eric Clapton - Rogaine

Garth Brooks - All my friends have hip replacements

Neil Diamond - Jello again
Tip of the Month - Making masts square to round at the doubling
Copied from the Rocky Mountain Shipwrights newsletter

Here are a couple of thoughts on making a mast where adjoining sections overlap. The first is from the Model Ship World Forum, and the second is one of my own thoughts.

1. You start with a square section piece of wood, then make the round part by planing it eightsquare, then sand it round. To make a round dowel square means that the square part will be too small in section.

2. Start with a dowel and square the overlapping section with a file. Then build up the squared
section by gluing a piece of thin sheet to two opposite sides. When dry, trim them even with the
edges and glue two more pieces to the remaining two sides. When trimmed and sanded to the
proper dimensions and painted, the glued pieces should be undetectable.
Tip of the Month - Hobby glasses
Blatant Publicity
A Final Thought...
First, I'd like to thank those who sent in photos of models and workbenches. Much appreciated.

Second, last week we were at the 40th annual joint clubs show in New London CT. It was a great turnout, with over 100 models on display. Here is a link to last year's show:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4yP7u7YPt0

Olha Batchvarov does these videos and others, too. Look for the 40th show video in a few weeks.

Nic Damuck
BlueJacket Shipcrafters