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May 2022 Volume 12 number 5

ShipShape

News, Tips and Happenings
Last weekend we attended the 37th annual joint clubs show in New London, CT.Although the show location stays the same, each year a different club hosts the event. The clubs involved are the Philadelphia Ship Model Society, the Ship Model Society of New Jersey, the Ship Model Society of New York, the Connecticut Marine Model Society, and the USS Constitution Ship Model Guild.

About 95 modelers attended, displaying 73 models. The date is always the last Saturday in April. Here's a link to some photos from the event:

https://modelshipworld.com/topic/31967-the-39th-annual-northeast-ship-model-conference-photo-report/#comment-906187



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 2022 - May 23 thru 27
STILL 4 PLACES LEFT
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 $440. 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 above.
 
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 $99 for us. There is a pool and Jacuzzi, exercise room, a decent breakfast bar, 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.

IMPORTANT - YOU MUST BE FULLY VACCINATED TO ATTEND - MASKS NOT REQUIRED
Nautical terms and origins
Anchor - A device for mooring a floating object to the bottom. Here's one for you! Clearly traceable from the Greek - agkura - possibly from the X century B.C., it is believed to have come to that language from the Phoenicians at least 500 years before. From the Greek, it can be traced, through Latin and the older European languages, to Middle and Modern English. The word can be recognized in virtually all European languages, including Russian (yakor'). One scholar suggests that the word is related to ankh, the Egyptian cross, but this is very doubtful as most anchors in those days were simple weights or in the form of a simple hook.

Bustle - (1) A special kind of fairwater aft, on larger (and faster) merchant ships and some steam yachts, in the early XX century. (2) Another name for "blisters" built onto the sides of some merchant steamers to improve stability. (3) A faired bulge on the bottom near the stern on some racing sailboats. The origin for all these, on good authority, is the lady's bustle of the late XIX.

Garnet - (1) A tackle on a square-rigger usually rigged from a yard's end, for handling stores and cargo.(2) A clew line for the courses on a square-rigger; also called a clew garnet. The derivation is Old French, garant, a fall tackle.

Tackline - A divider of light line between flags on a signal hoist. Its origin could be from its similarity to a jib or staysail pendant, both called a tack pendant.

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 - Tugboat Lackawanna
This wonderful video was sent in by Robert Mepham of CA., and speaks for itself.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuO93zllmTg
Real Boat Names
Let's see YOUR workbench
This is from Jerry B of MA
Nic, I enjoy your monthly newsletters. Here is a picture of my transformed work area in our guests bedroom which has been vacant during the pandemic. Much warmer and brighter than the basement!
Nic, Here is a better view of the ship

Jerry
What's on the workbench?
Nic's bench - Spent some time doing a simple restoration of a pond yacht. Here's the before and after pictures.
Al's bench - Quite often, Al and I work on more than one project at a time. While Al is spending most of his time on the Wyoming, he is also building a Red Baron to replace the one we sold from the gallery.
Something Fun
Tip of the Month - Schooner detail
For anyone building a fishing schooner, this photograph is a wealth of detail information. Sent to me by Randy B. of ID
Blatant Publicity
A Final Thought...
A little known fact is that back in 1912, Hellmann's mayonnaise was manufactured in England. In fact, the Titanic was carrying 12,000 jars of the condiment scheduled for delivery in Vera Cruz, Mexico, which was to be the next port of call for the great ship after its stop in New York. This would have been the largest single shipment of mayonnaise ever delivered to Mexico. But as we know, the great ship did not make it to New York.

The ship hit an iceberg and sank and the cargo was forever lost. The people of Mexico, who were crazy about mayonnaise and were eagerly awaiting its delivery, were disconsolate at the loss. Their anguish was so great that they declared a National Day of Mourning, which they still observe to this day.

The National Day of Mourning occurs each year on May 5 and is known, of course, as Sinko de Mayo.

Nic Damuck
BlueJacket Shipcrafters