pictures from the USNA Museum Workshop

The USS Santee. It may look like a prison hulk, but it was used as a dormitory/barracks late in the 19th c. for Midshipmen at the Academy. The net result for its' inhabitants was about the same. Another great idea of one of the commandants who had some questionable ones about education, ways to instill loyalty, discipline and devotion to the Service. Cautious
Soon to be installed as part of the history of the Academy on the Naval history deck. The model/ diorama took at least three years to build. The solid basswood hull was assembled "lift' method and patiently (as well as arduously) hand carved. Based on period photographs.20230706_145150 (1).jpg
 
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Two models in the collection of the USS Ohio. The more colorful of the two, with the two gundecks was built by Horace Boucher in the1920s, founder of what is now Bluejacket Ship Crafters in Maine. The rigging is all dried out and brittle and must be entirely replaced. Both models have been underway for about a year.20230706_144355 (1).jpg20230706_145708 (1).jpg20230706_145551 (1).jpg20230706_144453 (2).jpg20230706_144917 (1).jpg20230706_145539 (1).jpg

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The following are of the USS " St. Lawrence" an 8' long (on deck) model of a Civil War era Sloop of war. The model dates back to the 1870s-90s and was used, we believe, primarily as a platform to literally teach the Midshipmen the ropes. There have never been gun carriages on deck only "Quaker gun" barrels plugged into the gun ports . Work has been going on on this model for upwards of twenty years. She was in a decrepit state when initially hauled down from the attic with cigarette butts , a Fanta can, a bird Skull and a snake skin residing inside. She was the first project to which I was assigned and has kept an assortment of upwards of ten or twelve different volunteers busy over all that time. The Launch I made from the Model Shipways plans of the launch of the HMS "Bounty". The Whale boats were fabricated from scratch by Mr. Dick Nibeck, his first models. The ship's wheel was a cooperative effort by me and a couple of others, employing woodworking, laser cutting, mold making and metal casting. She is now in the capable hands of Deborah Rowan,a master of everything rope, and rigging.20230706_150151 (2).jpg20230706_150237 (2).jpg20230706_150253 (1).jpg20230706_161546 (2).jpg20230706_161556 (2).jpg20230706_161723 (1).jpg20230706_162207 (2).jpg20230706_162136 (1).jpg a master of
 
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Merchant Brig "Topaz" 1807. First to learn of the fate of the Mutineers of the HMS "Bounty". Model from1926.presented to the Academy in 1945.
Evidence that Godzilla lays her eggs in the Academy Museum attic, where they incubate and hatch after about a year. Upon hatching they learn the art of stomping on and crushing the pitiful works of mankind.
An activity necessary and critical to their development as potential movie stars.20230706_160353.jpg20230706_160341.jpg20230706_160413 (1).jpg20230706_160620 (1).jpg20230706_160531 (1).jpg20230706_160443 (1).jpg20230706_160425 (3).jpg20230706_160413 (4).jpg

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Peter Gutterman said:
Pondering. A common activity at any given time in the work shop. (You can make a reasonable assumption as to the average age of the volunteer model shipwrights based on these pictures. )

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With age comes wisdom and patience; as I often tell myself when coming close to throwing the damned thing in the corner. Your pictures support what my Dad used to say - Think a job through before you start - how are you going to do it and what do you need? Good advice which has stood me in good stead.
 
The gentleman into whos' lap the topaz project has fallen is a Coast Guard vet and retired naval architect. When I first started there he was restoring a small wood French Prisoner of War model . One of Godzilla's progeny had stomped on it . The model he located beneath a custom-made scaffold with all the broken masts, spars and rigging suspended in the right approximate locations from above. He restored and conserved the whole damn thing, human hair rigging and all. These lines he carefully restored and/or recreated with monofilament silk. That's right, a single thread of silk just as it comes out of a silkworm's butt!
He is currently measuring everything dangling from the "Topaz" with calipers and making copious notes and calculations in a notebook.
Check back in a couple of years.
Oh, and he was the guy who built the "Santee" diorama.
 
Peter Gutterman said:
It Has its' attractions, but like any other job where you have to answer to a parsimonious hierarchical bureaucracy It can drive you nuts running around doing busywork "Honeydos'" interfering with the progress on the work that is the reason they have you there in the first place. I'm glad it ain't me.Cautious

Pete
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There is a grain of truth in your words, but these models, they are so cool! Thanks for the material..
 
Peter Gutterman said:
You are right! She is the Maine! This was the original builder's model, created as she was originally designed to be a steam/ ship rigged hybrid. When they actually built her, the Navy, which heretofore had clung to the vestiges of the age of sail, finally decided to do away with the ship rig. The Maine was delivered without it and the model never completed. The model has languished there on the workbench for as long as I (or anyone else) can remember. It was decided to finish the model, restoring it to its' original intent with the ship rig. A lot has been accomplished especially to the decks and all the accouterment on them, including the ships' boats, The rig is under way. As improbable as it may seem up to the Maine's time, the Navy still clung to the ship rig for their otherwise modern wardships, fearful of sailing beyond their line of supply ( or so was the excuse by an institution infamously resistant to change Cautious).

Pete:cool:
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Good Day to you, Peter.
I know, I know, it's generally considered bad form to revive a year-old thread but it seemed silly to start a new one just to ask one question pertaining to an old one! :rolleyes: Was the builder's model of the original-configuration steam/sail-propelled hybrid Maine ACR-1 restored since the post last year? Damage seemed light, so I have high hopes. Would it be imposing to ask for a few of your nice hi-res photos of her if she has been restored to a like-new state?
Again, let me thank you for sharing your magical place and extraordinary model shipwright's artistry with us.
Tight Lines,
Ray

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Thanks for the interest. I haven't been back in a while. (Can't believe it's been a year!) The original model was abandoned long ago before it was ever completed.
the ship languished in the shop for years before a concerted effort was made to complete her. there were many lost and missing parts that had to be fabricated and reproduced to a very demanding standard of excellence requiring a team of craftspeople and many hours or research, enginuity and work. I will endeavor to find out the current status or if she was completed. Thanks for the interest.
 
And thank you, sir, for your prompt replay (and thanks in advance for any imagery you may be able to post).
You are quite right about the level of craftsmanship...no, pure artistry...evidenced by the long-gone modelers who cam before us. To your great credit, you and your fellow volunteers have matched it.
Best Regards,
Ray
 
Thanks. I will pass along your appreciation. Thumbsup I did not have a hand in this project but spent many hours over 15-17 years of volunteer work in the shop when I had the privilege of taking part into ongoing preservation and creation of great historic works of art.

Pete
 
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