April 2021 Volume 11 number 4 |
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ShipShape
News, Tips and Happenings
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Back when I bought BlueJacket in October of 2013, Jeff and Suzi Marger had a Portuguese Water Dog named "Mr. Shanteyman" - Everyone loved him, and he was the "vice-president of customer relations"
We now have an 11 - week old Goldendoodle named "Finn" who will be taking over Shantey's old title. He is already used to coming into work every day, and loves greeting people. So stop by and give him a pet.
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NRG'S MODEL SHIP WORLD
Model Ship World is an on-line forum of over 39,000 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
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Fred S. of CA writes:
"I'm getting ready to paint the hull of the lobster boat. Should I use an airbrush or spray can?"
My answer is:
"An airbrush gives you more control, but a spray can is easier to clean up. Take your choice."
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Nautical terms and origins |
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Binnacle List - A ship's sick list. In the XVIII century and probably before, a list was given to the officer or mate of the watch, containing the names of men unable to report for duty. The list was kept at the binnacle.
Felloe - The outer edge of a ship's wheel; also the segments from which one was made. The word comes from Old English, felge, of the latter meaning.
Hawse - There are several uses for this term, but it generally pertains to the area in the bows, outboard under the bows, to anchoring and to mooring. Earlier it was seen often as halse. The term was very generally nordic, but was also seen in French. The Middle English hale, pertaining to the bows, was found in Old Norse and Icelandic, and appeared as heals in Old English and in Anglo-Saxon.
Plimsoll Mark - The marking on the side of any ocean-going vessel, indicating the depths or drafts to which she may be legally loaded under various conditions. It was named after Samuel Plimsoll, a British "M.P.," who was very much involved with safety at sea and who was responsible for the regulation being enacted into law in 1876. It has long been international in scope.
Information is from the book "Origins of Sea Terms" by John G. Rogers
copyright 1985 Mystic Seaport Museum, Inc. and available from BlueJacket.
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Model of the Month - Gloucesterman |
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This was built by George L of FL
"Hello,
As requested here are the modifications I made to the model.
The model”Pauline” from Blue Jacket I modified into an eastern rigged dragger. The main mast was moved aft. The top stay was changed to chain and lowered below the spreader between the two masts to go with the style of the boat. I made the winch from wooden dowels and metal washers. The winch head was from Blue Jacket. The net doors I made from wood and the brackets from brass rod. The gallows frames and bollards were also made of wood. The dory was from Blue Jacket. It’s bracket and fish pens were made of wooden scraps from the model kit. The net rollers were made from Blue Jacket chain. I painted the store bought beads. The net itself was tulle which I washed to make it more pliable.
I hope this is what you wanted. Please send me a copy of the news letter when it’s printed.
Thank you,
George"
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This is from Dave G of NY
"Hi Nic
I have been building your models in my New York City apartment I share with a wife and 3 kids! So space is at a premium. I built the Bowdoin, the lobster boat, large and small friendship sloops, a dory, and the Smuggler (you can see the plans on the wall) at this little desk.
It’s like a Where’s Waldo book...but everything has a place. See pic below.
Dave"
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Nic's bench - I'm working on our KLW207 lobster boat for a client. There's 4 layers of primer and filler so far. |
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Al's bench - We just got the photo-etch in for USS Oregon. Al is eager to go back to working on the Oregon prototype.. |
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We're still battling COVID-19 and the next thing is here already.
The *NILE Virus, type C*
Virologists have identified a new Nile virus - type C.
It appears to target those who were born between 1940 & 1970
Symptoms:
1. Causes you to send the same message twice.
2. Causes you to send a blank message
3. Causes you to send a message to the wrong person.
4. Causes you to send it back to the person who sent it to you.
5. Causes you to forget to attach the attachment.
6. Causes you to hit SEND before you've finished.
7. Causes you to hit DELETE instead of SEND.
8. Causes you to SEND when you should DELETE.
It is called the *C-NILE* virus.
And if you can’t admit to doing the above, you’ve obviously caught the mutated strain -
The *D-NILE* virus.
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Tip of the Month - Thread staining tool |
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This was sent in by Guy B of ME who stops by the shop several times a year. He also has brought us some wicked good homemade caramel corn puffs.
"Hi Nic,
Here's what I did.
I used a 6 volt motor and experimented with battery voltage from 6 volts down and found that 1 AA battery was about the right speed. I haven't tried other speeds yet to get a lighter color. The one I used is to dark but it was more a proof of concept. I notched the tip of the marker fairly deep to keep the line in and moved it out a little against the line. I put a spring on the spool to keep tension. The spring had to be played with so it didn't spool out but it had to be light enough not to stall the motor. Reverse the spools to return the line to the correct spool. You have to come up with a collet for the motor shaft, plastic tubing works and I just drilled out the spools to fit snugly.
Edit out what you want but it sure speeds up line staining.
Guy"
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These trying times:
We see that phrase a lot in the past year. What does it really mean? For some, it is a total disruption of their normal routine. Work from home, home schooling, Zoom meetings. Shortage of toilet paper, of all things! For others, it is a real hardship - think of the effect on the restaurant industry for example.
For us here at BlueJacket, trying times means extra work, overtime, weekends working, and desperately trying to keep up with the increased demand from people wanting a hobby while cooped up at home. For our customers, occasionally it means disappointing delivery promises.
With vaccines becoming available, I sincerely hope this phrase will fall out of such widespread use soon.
Sincerely,
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Nic Damuck
BlueJacket Shipcrafters, Inc.
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