Some of my model ships

Judging by the number of them illustrated in various Facebook groups, it seems that Lakers are very popular indeed, usually in scales of 50 or 100 feet to 1 inch, and they also seem to sell very well. I have been assured on times without number that there is no demand for miniature merchant ships, but I have sold just over £65,000 worth of them in the past 33 years. I am far from the best miniaturist, but I was probably the cheapest, and that is the secret - I was always satisfied with the "half loaf" and appreciative customers.
 
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Thanks Roger,
In my early years, I sailed in colliers, ships that hardly anyone would give a second glance, so I know what you mean, although I would add that all merchant ships are "working ships" from passenger liners down. Here I am aboard a South Eastern Gas collier in 1962. I am on the far left, aged 17. Three years later, I was in the mighty Windsor Castle.Bygone glory. Author's old ship, RMS WINDSOR CASTLE 37,640 gross tons (Medium).JPGCollier Wandsworth 1962.jpg
 
Bob,
I have a number of books in my library about British tramps and the coal trade. As a naval architect, I find their development to be very interesting.

Duluth, Minnesota where I live is a coal port. It is located at the extreme end of Lake Superior, the westernmost of the five Great Lakes. It is also the major port for iron ore shipped east to the steel mills on or near Lakes Erie and Michigan.

Prior to the mid 1950’s coal was an “upbound” cargo shipped from the Appalachian coal fields west to Duluth where it fueled the Western Railroads. It was a “backhaul” cargo intended to offset costs of the return voyage for a load of iron ore. Some steamship companies instead chose to make this return voyage in ballast. The trade effectively ended with the dieselization of the railroads although many Great Lakes steamships were still coal fired; the last of these sailing into the 1990’s.

In the 1980’s the coal trade revived, although in the opposite direction. Construction of very large coal fired power plants near Detroit, Michigan and in the Canadian Province of Ontario created a demand for the low sulphur coal mined in the western state of Wyoming. The coal is delivered by railroad to Superior, Wisconsin across the harbor from Duluth. Here is is unloaded and loaded aboard ships at a state-of-the-art coal terminal.

The vessels hauling the coal are diesel powered self unloading 1000ft ships.

Roger
 
I envy you in a good way. The few contacts I have had with ships were military service on an old aircraft carrier, crossing the Strait of Gibraltar by ferry several times, ferry to the island of Mallorca, a cruise through the Mediterranean. And best of all, fishing with my father in a small boat.
I would have liked to have had a professional life at sea. But life sometimes takes you down unwanted paths.
 
Lorenzo said:
I envy you in a good way. The few contacts I have had with ships were military service on an old aircraft carrier, crossing the Strait of Gibraltar by ferry several times, ferry to the island of Mallorca, a cruise through the Mediterranean. And best of all, fishing with my father in a small boat.
I would have liked to have had a professional life at sea. But life sometimes takes you down unwanted paths.
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I felt that I didn't have many choices, never having been much good at school, and not very academic, anyway. Going to sea in the early 60s was open to all, and the only time I ever put my mind to studying was to obtain my maritime certificates of competance. Good life though, all types of ship, and in the last few years, my wife could sail with me free of charge in a small passenger liner running down to Cape Town and back to the UK with 134 passengers -
 
Maybe I confused them - can't really remember, but I am finished with conventional publishers anyway. I seem to have sent manuscripts to most of the nautical publishers where most of them were either rejected or ignored. I sometimes wondered why they didn't send me a book of rejection slips to cover my next dozen or so submissions. A few said they were interested, but I would need to re-write them to their specifications, which I did (each one taking several months) only to be told they still didn't want them The last one, I got accepted and they said it would need to be re-written, but by then I was fed up and said "take it, or leave it!" so they left it, but two weeks later, contacted me agin to say they could have their editor re-write it and deduct the cost from royalties, so I agreed. The editing reduced it from A4 size to a much smaller format, and a large amount of text, and loads of images were discarded. It sold out very quickly, but they were not keen on reprinting, and agreed that I could submit it somewhere else if I wished. I put all the missing text and photographs back, and brought the size back to A4. I turned to the much sneered a "vanity publishing" where the author, desperate to get in print, pays for publication. It sold out quickly and I had it reprinted a number of times until it ran its course. (It was a maritime book of my own experiences at sea). I next produced books on model shipbuilding, and they sold out as well and were reprinted several times before they ran their course, but all sold out. I am now too old for that sort of thing, as it became too much to pack them and tramp off to the post office to post them. I now confine myself to digital downloads, of which I have produced just over 60 over the past few years.
 
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