To Build or Not to Build According to Howard I. Chapelle

[DAWarden-(Jaager)]

A link to the Smithsonian and their "nigh-impenetrable without prior knowledge" search functions isn't really providing plans, either.

There are several "catalogs" for many of the plans at The S.I. Every illustration in all of Chapelle's books except The Baltimore Clipper is available as a 1/4" scale plan. a few exceptions on scale.




The The necessary data requires the catalog - at least in the position to get it to you if you do not wish to have your own copy. Another large group is the HAMMS plans,


Once upon a time I could find a lot of last 100 years small craft plans at Mystic. If I have the link, I have hidden it well. A visit to the museum website was non-productive.

There are monographs for French vessels at the AAMM boutique - They are drawn for carved hull and are modelers plans:

AAMM - Accueil

L'AAMM, Association des Amis du Musée national de la Marine, participe au rayonnement du Musée national de la Marine, publie la revue Neptunia et des plans de navires, organise des conférences et des voyages.

www.aamm.fr

The ANCRE monographs are not the place to go if doing unique is a goal.
Both ANCRE and AOTS can be bad news for a scratch build beginner. They started a dominant and pervasive fad. The fad is mostly a complete disaster for scratch builders who are not Silver Backs.
The fad is building the hidden guts of a vessel as well as the outside. It increases the time and amount of a build by 2-10 times, to no good purpose that I can see. To me it is a showoff ego trip with no good purpose. If done once by one person that is sufficient. Otherwise it is: "OK, now I have seen your dump. Now, where is your village." My interest is the swimming body. The flow of the lines. In a decided minority am I.

Dean

 

[Dave Stevens (Lumberyard)]

As someone who would like to get into scratch-building, I would recommend providing high-quality, freely-available plans and links to places to purchase materials, and tools needed. Also a selection of plans that aren't just the average ship of the line or simple dory; a variety is would be good.

actually, all that information is scattered all over the forum you just have to look for it. Maybe a future "shop class" can be created here in the school

A link to the Smithsonian and their "nigh-impenetrable without prior knowledge" search functions isn't really providing plans, either. Part of the scratch-building process is going to require an accumulation of knowledge, so easing that accumulation of knowledge, both in model-building as well as maritime vocabulary and understanding, will be crucial to the newbie. (E: A series of links to specific plans would work!)

There are 2 main types of plans (1) is the original plans you will find in the Smithsonian and Admiralty collection, HAMMS collection (2) these are modeling plans redrawn from the original. The modeling plans are drawn for plank on frame, plank on bulkhead and solid hull construction.

 

[Greg Davis]

As someone who would like to get into scratch-building, I would recommend providing high-quality, freely-available plans and links to places to purchase materials, and tools needed. Also a selection of plans that aren't just the average ship of the line or simple dory; a variety is would be good.

A link to the Smithsonian and their "nigh-impenetrable without prior knowledge" search functions isn't really providing plans, either. Part of the scratch-building process is going to require an accumulation of knowledge, so easing that accumulation of knowledge, both in model-building as well as maritime vocabulary and understanding, will be crucial to the newbie. (E: A series of links to specific plans would work!)

E: Should also mention this has been a pretty fascinating conversation to read, lots to think about for anyone serious about model ship-building.

Would you be willing to share a bit in terms of what type(s) of ships / projects come to mind as you consider giving scratch building a try? Have you thought about what type of hull construction you would like to work with - solid hull, plank on bulkhead, frame? Knowing this, it may be easier to start to address your comments.

 

[Greg Davis]

Maybe a future "shop class" can be created here in the school

I think this would be invaluable - while so much info is in the SoS (and MSW) forums, it is really a challenge to track it down with limited organization available. Just a guess, but I am thinking a good number of prospective scratch builders don't get into the woodshop because they are overwhelmed in the gather the starting material phase.

Again, I don't understand why the Smithsonian catalogs are not online - and even if they were, a list of ships is hard to make a choice from. They need to digitize more like the Ship plans of the Royal Museums Greenwich (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Ship_plans_of_the_Royal_Museums_Greenwich)


I feel / hope that as the School develops, more projects - from gathering plans / background info to completing the build - will be presented that can be copied directly by other modelers and / or used as guides for modeling similar ships. Some projects do need to be given out, like what would happen in a high-school shop class!

 

[Dave Stevens (Lumberyard)]

the school does have a facility of sorts and there are discussions that are ongoing about different projects and how to structure classes. The facility is made up of very knowledgeable and skilled model shipwrights. In the short time since the school has started there are over 31,000 views so we know there is an interest. As we develop the school curriculum all types of building will be covered in some way or another from out of the box kit building to scratch building.

in Greg's classroom he is presenting an overview of the hobby/art of the model shipwright the foundation the 101 where it starts

 

[regex]

Would you be willing to share a bit in terms of what type(s) of ships / projects come to mind as you consider giving scratch building a try? Have you thought about what type of hull construction you would like to work with - solid hull, plank on bulkhead, frame? Knowing this, it may be easier to start to address your comments.

My interest in model ship building is in utility craft and west coast US history, generally the smaller ships (two-masted schooners and brigs especially).

HOWEVER...

My intention for commenting here wasn't really to ask for help directly in the thread, it was more to answer the earlier question given.

Example: I have Model Shipway's 1/48 18th Century Longboat kit sitting next to my desk and will be starting the build fairly soon. I notice that the instruction manual not only shows how to construct the model but also introduces the builder to common ship vocabulary: transom, keelson, thwarts, gaff, chainplates... For an absolute newbie to the hobby and general maritime history this is valuable stuff, it's a good on-boarding point. The kit also came with tools, clamps, glue, paint, and can probably be built using only what's in the box. Obviously a forum can't be providing such a service but as far as on-boarding a minimum set of tools list is also valuable (and also likely varies by scale involved!) Similarly, a bill of materials for a particular project and good places to order such materials from

If you want new people in the hobby and you want to see them approach it in the best manner for the continuance of the hobby (or a certain method of the hobby), providing people with a relatively easy on-boarding point is crucial. That means gathering easily digestible information into a central place (maybe that's what's going on here and I'm just some newbie explaining the already in-place plan?) and having a presentation that is approachable for the aspiring modeller. That's mainly what I was trying to say and please pardon me if all this is completely obvious, I approached this thread trying to be helpful.

My comment about a variety of projects was... just me being me and can be safely ignored, although I guess in-line with Chappelle's criticism of fad . It's probably much easier to provide an on-boarding method with a single model (or a small subset to be chosen from).

 

[Roger Pellett]

For those interesting in building models “That should be built:

Begin by hitting the “Forums” button in the above tool bar here on SOS.

Scroll down. There are three relevant different topics: Books, Plans and Plansets, and Research. I would be surprised if you don’t find something of interest.

I believe that most scratch builders also build a library. It can fill an entire room like mine or be limited to the few books relevant to the topic of interest. As books can be expensive, I personally find well illustrated maritime history books to be “keepers” over the long haul vs how to build ship model books.

And last but not least: Even Chapelle “missed the boat” to an extent by largely ignoring the fascinating ships and boats built for sailing on America’s Rivers and Great Lakes.

Roger

 

[Dave Stevens (Lumberyard)]

My interest in model ship building is in utility craft and west coast US history, generally the smaller ships (two-masted schooners and brigs especially).

here is a peek at what the facility is hashing over in historical content, a study of the plans, research and how to approach a model build in different styles.

A pilot boat is a specialized vessel used to transport maritime pilots between land and larger ships at sea or near port entrances. These boats are designed for speed and reliability, ensuring the safe passage of vessels in congested or challenging waters. Pilot boats play a crucial role in maritime navigation, providing essential guidance and expertise to navigate through narrow channels and avoid hazards.

once this class is completed you as a builder should be able to build most anything from start to finish. a model does not have to be big with all kinds of guns sticking out and incrusted with carvings. A skillfully and well-crafted scale ship model is a thing of beauty and can be anything from a canoe to anything you want.

west coast


on the east coast

 

[Greg Davis]

If you want new people in the hobby and you want to see them approach it in the best manner for the continuance of the hobby (or a certain method of the hobby), providing people with a relatively easy on-boarding point is crucial. That means gathering easily digestible information into a central place (maybe that's what's going on here and I'm just some newbie explaining the already in-place plan?) and having a presentation that is approachable for the aspiring modeller. That's mainly what I was trying to say and please pardon me if all this is completely obvious, I approached this thread trying to be helpful.

You are being helpful!

I am relatively self-taught when it comes to modeling and as such a good deal of learning has come in a randomized way - not like the structured learning that I had learning to be a mathematician nor how I was then able to teach within a mathematics curriculum where there are prerequisites (assumptions) as to what the students would know at any given point. In the modeling realm builders arrive with a much more diverse background and with a wide variety of goals. Comments like yours help remind me of questions and pitfalls that I have dealt with; even more important they serve as a reminder as to the parts of the hobby that I sometimes take for granted but are worthy of being noted.

So thank you for participating in the discussion and I hope remain engaged!

Greg

 

[Greg Davis]

Topic 3 – part 2

Now that a feel for what models Chapelle thought would be good to model, I thought it would be a good time to look at his 1964 publication:

• Fulton’s Steam Battery Blockship and Catamaran
• This article can be accessed at no cost via the link https://www.gutenberg.org/files/31179/31179-h/31179-h.htm

The article focuses on the construction of a model of Robert Fulton’s “Steam Battery”. This was a catamaran-type blockship built during the War of 1812. Chapelle notes that ‘the identity of the first steam man-of-war has been known for many years, … Until recently, the only available drawing of the ship has been a patent drawing made for Robert Fulton. … The lack of plans has heretofore made it impossible to illustrate the vessel with any degree of precision, or to build a scale model.’

He goes on to talk about an important discovery:

“The discovery in 1960 of some plans of this historic ship in the Danish Royal Archives at Copenhagen now makes possible a reasonably accurate reconstruction of the vessel and also clarifies some of the incomplete and often confusing descriptions by contemporary writers.”

The article continues with a history of the difficulties in obtaining funding for the project and the eventual building of the vessel. Unfortunately, Fulton died 24 February 1815, months before the Steam Battery’s first trial run on 10 June 1815. The vessel was never commissioned and was placed into ordinary. In 1921, guns and machinery were removed, and the ship was becoming rotten. Until 1829 she was used as a receiving ship. The Steam Battery met its tragic fate, exploding on 4 June 1829 – at 2:30 p.m. 25 individuals lost their lives and an additional 19 were injured. The explosion had been caused by 2 -1/2 barrels of condemned gunpowder.

Fulton’s “Steam Battery” never was given an official name.


The discovery of the plans had been unexpected. Chapelle had requested inspection of a folio of American ship plans held in the Dansh Royal Archives in order to find information on Civil War river monitors. These plans were not there, but three plans for the Fulton Steam Battery were! The plans had been copied in 1817 and showed lines, inboard profile and arrangement, as well as a sail and rigging plan. This became the basis for a reconstruction and a model. The Steam Battery was over 150 feet long, with a paddle wheel mounted centrally between the two hulls, and had a lateen rig. It was symmetric fore to aft and could be sailed in either direction. It was proposed that the vessel would be manned by a crew of 500 men.

The last portion of the article is concerned with reconstructing the plans. Again, Chapelle notes the important aspects:

• It was necessary to reconstruct the deck arrangements without enough contemporary description
• The outboard appearance and hull form, rig, and arrangement of armament require no reconstruction, for all that is of importance is shown in the lines and rig drawings, or in the inboard profile

Chapelle also provides rationale for the choices made in the deck arrangement reconstruction.


Similar to Savannah, I was not aware of Fulton’s “Steam Battery”, nor this interesting article written by Chapelle. Clearly, he endorses this model; and for me, this is an example of a ‘Ship Model that Ought to be Built’.


Thoughts / comments?