Don't forget to hang up your Missie Toads.

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!

Bateau - The French word for boat, theis generally refers in north America to flat-bottomed, oar propelled craft of the XVIII and early XIX. They were double-ended, with a sharp and raked bow and stern and much sheer,and were used on the rivers and lakes of the Northeast and what we now call the northeast part of the Middle West.The word itself originally may have gone to France from England (Old English)

Carrick Bend - Now an ornamental knot, it was once a method of bending a line to a heavier one. The term's origin is obscure, but it could e related to carrack..

Fluke - A blade of an anchor, also called a palm. The word probably came, via Middle English, from the Old English floc, which also meant the fluke of a fish.

Reefer - A short, heavy wool jacket worn by sailors for many years. It apparently got its name because it is short and convenient to wear aloft. (see Peajacket)

Peajacket - A short jacket of heavy wool worn for several centuries by sailors; in the services a short overcoat. There are two possibilities for this origin; one, from Britain, what they were made from"pilot cloth," a heavy water repellent wool, hence "P"; the other is the Dutch word pij, pronounced pea, a similar material used by Dutch mariners and shoresiders for many years. (See Reefer)

Information is from the book "Origins of Sea Terms" by John G. Rogers

Our friend Delbert H of PA sent this in to me. Our Wendameen and HO Friendship sloop look so realistic! Here's what he said:

 

Nic's bench - The end is in sight for the Wyoming. Just a few more lines to do on the bowsprit.

Al's bench - Al is working on an old Model Shipways kit of the Newsboy (1/8" scale) for a customer. Being an old kit, we're replacing a lot of it with more modern (read-laser cut) parts. You know he's going to pass the rigging off to me.

1- The space between your eyebrows is called a glabella.

2- The way it smells after the rain is called petrichor.

3- The plastic or metal coating at the end of your shoelaces is called an aglet.

4- The rumbling of stomach is actually called a wamble.

5- The cry of a newborn baby is called a vagitus.

6- The prongs of a fork are called tines.

7- The sheen or light that you see when you close your eyes and press your hands on them is

called phosphenes.

8- The tiny plastic table placed in the middle of a pizza box is called a box tent.

9- The day after tomorrow is called overmorrow.

10- Your tiny toe or finger is called minimus.

11- The wired cage that holds the cork in a bottle of champagne is called an agraffe.

12- The 'na na na' and 'la la la', which don't really have any meaning in the lyrics of any song,

are called vocables.

13- When you combine an exclamation mark with a question mark (like this ?!) it is referred to

as an interrobang.

14-The space between your nostrils is called columella nasi.

15- The armhole in clothes, where the sleeves are sewn, is called armscye.

16- The condition of finding it difficult to get out of bed in the morning is called dysania.

17- Illegible hand-writing is called griffonage.

18- The dot over an "i" or "j" is called tittle.

19- That utterly sick feeling you get after eating or drinking too much is called crapulence.

20- the metallic device used to measure your feet at the shoe store is called Bannock device.

HOW MANY OF THE ABOVE DID YOU ALREADY KNOW? (I only knew #6 and 10)

From our friends at Redwood Empire Model Shipwrights newsletter:

In the olden days, shipyard parts were made of salt-cured oak, which they pulled out of the mud. Workmen would chop it out with axes and adzes to shape, pile shavings over it and set it on fire. When he wood was soft enough, it was clamped to the hull and fastened to shape. Steam boxes are commonly used for the same purpose today.

Here are three wood-bending methods that have been successfully used by model builders:

Ammonia Soak planks up to 1/16" thick in full strength, non-sudsing ammonia for an hour or so. Remove, bend to shape and clamp in place until dry before gluing. thicker pieces can be similarly bent, but it helps to pick a piece longer than needed and use the center section rather than the ends which will be too stiff.

Fabric Softener Mix 1/2 cup f liquid fabric softener to 1/2 gallon of water and soak planks as in the ammonia method. 1/16" thick pieces may need to be left in overnight. Remove the piece from the solution, wipe it off, bend and glue.Close grain wood such as basswood works best.

Heat Take at least a 60-watt soldering iron, modify the end with a sleeve around the tip of large diameter (such as 1/2 or 3/4") copper pipe end cap. Soak wood pieces up to 1/16" thick for a short time, roll the hot iron over the wood letting it soak up the heat whiole you bend it to an instant permanent set. Model Expo sells a bender like this for around $30.

(Note - I never knew about the fabric softener!)

May you all have a merry holiday season and a happy new year. I remember being a kid and judging Christmas by how many model kits Santa brought me. May he do the same for you!

BlueJacket Shipcrafters