what is a master shipwright

[fred.hocker]

In countries with a strong guild structure, master shipwrights were people who had been examined by other master shipwrights and certified as competent to design ships and, perhaps more importantly, supervise and direct other shipwrights. One normally became a master after passing through an apprenticeship and some time as a journeyman, in a path that was typical for many crafts. Master shipwrights (sometimes called building masters or master builders) are mentioned in historical sources at least back to the 16th century. In places without a formal guild structure, a master usually designated the person who ran a shipyard and designed ships, whether he had passed through an official apprenticeship or not, but the implication was that he came from a craft background and could wield an ax and adze as well as a pencil and compasses.

The term naval architect developed to describe people who had a more academic background and focused on the design process, without necessarily having much practical experience of the construction process. It also reflected the changes of the Renaissance, in which the ancient liberal arts and academic training held a new respect in society; an architect was someone who could mix with aristocrats and converse on learned subjects. Master shipwrights were tradesmen; as Pepys noted, their knowledge "lay all confused in their hands." The difference between a naval architect and a master shipwright is analagous to the original difference between a physician (academically trained in theory) and a surgeon (practically trained in manual skills), and was reflected in a similar difference in social status.

There are still some trades that maintain an apprentice/journeyman/master system, in which mastery has to be demonstrated and approved by other masters; it is still common in some trades here in Sweden, for example. In many trades, there are no masters left to preserve the tradition. My friend Ole Magnus was the last person in Scandinavia to be trained in ropemaking by people who held formal journeyman's certificates from the old days, but because there were no masters left to examine him, he could not get a journeyman's letter, much less a master's certificate. Other trades have attempted to restart the system, accepting that the current senior practitioners are masters. These systems are usually based on voluntary association, without the control over employment that the old guilds had, although some associations can be powerful enough that their stamp of approval is necessary to get work.

In many parts of the English-speaking world and in trades that never had a guild, the term "master" is thrown around without much regard for formal training, it is more of a term of respect for someone who has demonstrated competence or experience (or claims to).

Fred

 

[AllanKP69]

So what can be done to help and promote model ship building?

This is a great question and hopefully with a number of possible solutions. Have any of the clubs ever contacted local newspapers to do a story on their organization? It might get the word out, at least locally. Even articles on individuals. My dad's hobby was pysanky, which is the Ukrainian art of dying (not painting) eggs. The local newspaper did an article which led to lectures at Stetson University and Florida State University and picked up a number of younger folks that took on the hobby. It is a TINY hobby but maybe the same idea could work for ours in a bigger way.

Allan

One of Dad's eggs

 

[Roger Pellett]

The term Naval Architect is slightly misleading as it is a recognized branch of Engineering not Architecture. As such, the curriculum involves mastering subjects common to other branches of engineering, especially Mechanical. In fact, MIT’s Naval Architecture program was recently merged into its Mechanical Engineering Department. It, therefore, shares one important feature common to all engineering fields; the use of mathematical models to predict future performance. When I attended the University of Michigan back in the 1960’s all engineering disciplines included five semesters of calculus. On the other hand, there was very little in the curriculum to give students an empirical feel for ship design. This was expected to be learned on the job. Michigan’s Naval Architecture Magazine sent to alumni indicates that there is more emphasis on this “hands on” learning today than there was in my day.

The old time master shipwrights were highly trained but had to rely almost entirely on empirical data passed down from master to apprentice as the theoretical basis for analyzing ship design either did not exist or could not be applied as the shipbuilding process did not provide the necessary information to apply them.

Perhaps the first American Naval Architect was Naval Constructor John Lenthall. Readers interested can read about him in Stephen Chaplin Kinnaman’s excellent book, John Lenthall: The Life of a Naval Constructor. Lenthall began his career in 1822 apprenticed to the Master Shipbuilder Samuel Humphreys at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. In 1831-1832 he spent a year visiting dockyards in Britain and France. In France he became familiar with French Naval Architecture Theory. Returning to America with a stack of French Naval Architecture texts he returned to the Philadelphia Navy Yard where in 1837 he prepared the design and detailed specifications for the store ship Relief. Using this information he was able to calculate the ship’s Metacentric Height, a measurement of transverse stability, prior to her launch. His calculations are included in an appendix to the book.

So, at least one American Ship designer was able to make the type of calculations as early as 1837 that would qualify him as a Naval Architect. What about more famous designers like McKay and Webb? We don’t know unless someone does the research to better understand their design practices.

Roger

 

[Dave Stevens (Lumberyard)]

This is a great question and hopefully with a number of possible solutions. Have any of the clubs ever contacted local newspapers to do a story on their organization? It might get the word out, at least locally. Even articles on individuals. My dad's hobby was pysanky, which is the Ukrainian art of dying (not painting) eggs. The local newspaper did an article which led to lectures at Stetson University and Florida State University and picked up a number of younger folks that took on the hobby. It is a TINY hobby but maybe the same idea could work for ours in a bigger way.

The Port of Cleveland



living in one of the major ports on the Great Lakes and once a ship building center you would think model ship building would have a model club.

there are museums the submarine Cod



the William Mather museum



a Coast Guard post



army core of engineers



stuff left on shore even old wooden ship timbers dredge up



all kinds of thing going on





private yachts and clubs

 

[Dave Stevens (Lumberyard)]

Mother nature is reclaiming the once industrial port


old warehoused becoming luxury condo



There was once an active model ship club and part of the history of the port of Cleveland and part of the art community. Like the buildings and structures of days gone by the club is gone and model ship building slipped away.

 

[Dave Stevens (Lumberyard)]

A Renaissance

in model ship building would require a vibrant, active community of model ship builders. It happened once in Cleveland. but that was the golden years with artists who's work were in museums who skills were recognized by their peers and the art community at large. There is a difference between the hobby of kit building and the art of ship modeling.

This is a great question and hopefully with a number of possible solutions. Have any of the clubs ever contacted local newspapers to do a story on their organization? It might get the word out, at least locally. Even articles on individuals.

i seen it happen and i watched it fade away. There may still be model builders around here but they are in the shadows. It is reduced to happiness comes in a box of parts, you do not need to know anything just follow the instructions provided.

The Port of Cleveland is alive and well so are the arts around here. As they say it takes a village same with an art it takes a village not just one person.

 

[Dave Stevens (Lumberyard)]

The first comprehensive American book on shipbuilding, The Practical Ship-Builder by Lauchlan M’Kay, printed in 1839.

Lauchlan M’Kay (also spelled McKay), born in Nova Scotia in 1811, was a younger brother of famed Boston shipbuilder Donald M?Kay, renowned for his extraordinary clipper ships including the Flying Cloud and Sovereign of the Seas. As young men Lauchlan and Donald served together in New York as apprentices to Isaac Webb. On 16 June 1836 Lauchlan joined the Navy as an acting carpenter aboard the sloop Natchez, later serving as carpenter aboard the frigate Constellation. While in the Navy, assisted by Donald and his wife Albenia, he wrote The Practical Ship-Builder. He left the Navy in 1840 and eventually rejoined Donald in the shipbuilding business. During the construction of the clipper Sovereign of the Seas, Lauchlan supervised the riggers and sail makers. His ultimate test came when Donald gave him command of that vessel on her maiden voyage around the Horn. She was partially dismasted during a furious gale on 12 October 1852. Masts repaired, she reached San Francisco in 103 days, nearly a month ahead of her closest competitor. Lauchlan’s first voyage in command had been frustrating, but extraordinary. He would repeat that voyage many times.

 

[Roger Pellett]

Unfortunately, local news organizations especially newspapers today “ain’t what they used to be.

Roger

 

[Bob Cleek]

This is a great question and hopefully with a number of possible solutions. Have any of the clubs ever contacted local newspapers to do a story on their organization? It might get the word out, at least locally. Even articles on individuals. My dad's hobby was pysanky, which is the Ukrainian art of dying (not painting) eggs. The local newspaper did an article which led to lectures at Stetson University and Florida State University and picked up a number of younger folks that took on the hobby. It is a TINY hobby but maybe the same idea could work for ours in a bigger way.

Allan

One of Dad's eggs
View attachment 546136
View attachment 546137

I'll bet this gives a whole new meaning to "walking on eggs" around your house!

 

[Mariner1941]

exactly what is a shipwright in days gone by and in todays ship building industry. naval ships, pleasure craft, yachts, small wooden craft. Traditions passed down.

some model builders enjoy the research, the story behind the models they build. what about expanding that information to the history of ship building and those who excelled in the industry. I wondered if the shipwrights during the war of 1812 on the Great lakes knew one another and exchanged information on design and construction of the ships they built. Who were these guys and where did they learn how to design and build ships? were there schools that taught a formal education of naval architecture? Where these shipwrights just natural talented guys who gained an on-the-job educations?

Starting in modern times if you want to be a "shipwright" a designer, a marine architect i would suspect you cannot just walk into a firm and say "hey i want to build ships" i would think the first question would be what is your education? Is there a hierarchy within the industry today?

The very mention of “Clyde-built” ships used to send shivers of admiration down the spine of mariners across the globe. Scotland, particularly the River Clyde, was once the undisputed powerhouse of world shipbuilding, producing some of the most advanced, reliable, and celebrated vessels in history.


Alexander Munn, shipbuilder and shipowner; b. 26 Sept. 1766 in Irvine, Scotland, son of John Munn, shipbuilder, and Catherine Edward; m. 6 Dec. 1797 Agnes Galloway at Quebec, Lower Canada, and they had 11 children, of whom six died in infancy; d. there 19 May 1812.

Alexander Munn is a shadowy figure. Since his personal and business records have apparently not survived, the only direct evidence about him consists of disparate references found in routinely generated sources such as notarial records, newspaper notices, and ship and church registers. Difficult to work, these sources do not yield a rounded portrait. But the broad picture that emerges clearly indicates he was a leading Quebec shipbuilder in the beginning stages of that highly productive sector of the city’s economy. It is Munn’s entrepreneurial function that provides the focus in the following sketch.

Munn undoubtedly learned the “mysteries” of shipbuilding from his father before immigrating to Quebec in or before May 1793. In the 1790s the establishment of big-ship construction in the city implied a transfer of skills and capital in person from Britain. Certainly the cumulative evidence about British American shipbuilding in general shows a heavy reliance on Britain for technology (in the wide sense of the term), capital, and markets; the emergence of a native-born shipbuilder before about 1830 is rare.

Munn first appears in Quebec records in February 1794 when he described himself as a “ship carpenter” in a notarial act; by 1803, however, he was calling himself a “shipbuilder.” These descriptions superficially suggest that he rose from journeyman to master craftsman within the craft hierarchy, but in shipbuilding at Quebec at the turn of the 19th century the craft system seems to have been a vestigial formality which bore little weight in the actual economy of shipyards. Apprenticeships, which were common, were clearly used by employing shipbuilders primarily as a legal device to circumvent labour shortages, and the status of master shipbuilder did not entail any special political privilege as it did at Saint John, N.B., where it carried with it admission to the freedom of the city. The change in Munn’s title is more likely explained by what appears to have been a well-observed unwritten rule reserving the use of the appellation of shipbuilder to those who operated substantial yards, as Munn did by the later date.


Henry Eckford was born in Kilwinning, Scotland, to Henry Eckford and Janet Black (a possibly unmarried couple)[1] on 12 March 1775, the youngest of five sons. The family soon moved to nearby Irvine, As a boy, Eckford trained as a ship's carpenter somewhere in Ayrshire, probably in the shipyard at Irvine on the Firth of Clyde.

In 1791, at the age of 16, Eckford left Scotland – to which he never returned – to begin a five-year shipbuilding apprenticeship with his mother's brother, the noted Scottish-born Canadian shipwright John Black, at a shipyard Black had established on the St. Lawrence River at Quebec City in Lower Canada. Eckford proved to be a hard worker and quick learner, with a flair for shipbuilding and ship design. When Black moved to Kingston, Upper Canada on Lake Ontario late in 1792, Eckford followed to continue his apprenticeship, but the two soon went their separate ways, with Black moving back to Quebec City to pursue revolutionary politics and purchase a shipyard in Lower Town from Ralph Gray while Eckford stayed behind in Kingston to continue to learn the shipbuilding trade. In 1794, Eckford joined a Freemason Lodge in Kingston, beginning a long association with Freemasonry.

Adam and Noah Brown were brothers from upper New York State. Noah Brown was apprenticed as a carpenter from 1785 to 1792, and worked in New York until 1804, when he and his brother Adam built the schooner Work at Newark, Upper Canada, (now Niagara-on-the-Lake, Southern Ontario) for the North West Company. In early 1805, the brothers built a whaler at Sag Harbor on Long Island.

Donald McKay was born on a farm on the east side of Jordan River in Shelburne County, Nova Scotia, second of sixteen children of Hugh and Ann (McPherson) McKay. His paternal grandfather, for whom he was named, was a Scottish army officer who took up the farm among United Empire Loyalists in 1783.

Education
Donald was equipped only with a common-school education.

Career
Donald emigrated in 1827 to New York where, McKay was apprenticed as a ship-carpenter to Isaac Webb. When his indenture was up and he became a free-lance shipwright, his talents were noticed and encouraged by the leading New York ship-builders. Jacob Bell

Isaac Webb was born in Stamford, Fairfield, Connecticut, on September 8, 1794. He was the son of Wilsey Webb and Sarah Jessup. Isaac and Phebe had four children. Their son, Eckford Webb was named after the shipbuilder, Henry Eckford. His son, William H. Webb, became a shipbuilder.

In September 1810, Henry Eckford took on the 16-year-old Isaac Webb as an apprentice at his shipyard in New York. In the following years, Eckford would take on many other apprentices who would become important naval architects and shipbuilders, including Jacob Bell, William Bennett, David Brown, Andrew Craft, John Dimon, John Englis, Thomas Megson, Stephen Smith, and Sidney Wright.

On 14 January 1840, Webb died in New York City, at the age of 46, of inflammation of the lungs.

Major Contribution

He invested heavily in innovative marine architecture, and even promoting the concept of new ideas in ship construction.

Noah Brown was a shipbuilder from New York, he supervised the construction of the Niagara and Lawrence. The rest were built by local shipbuilders from Erie.

 

[Dave Stevens (Lumberyard)]

Noah Brown was a shipbuilder from New York, he supervised the construction of the Niagara and Lawrence. The rest were built by local shipbuilders from Erie.

i need to check the facts on what happened in Erie if i remember correctly it was Danial Dobbins who started building the ships and Noah Brown came in and finished them. I do not remember if Noah brought his crew with him.

 

[Dave Stevens (Lumberyard)]

At its peak the club in Cleveland had about 60 members. The club was tied to the Inland Seas Maritime Museum and active in shows like the Mid America boat show, art shows, ship model contests, displayed models at the yacht clubs and businesses, county fairs. A club member has a beautiful model at the Coast Guard station. I am not sure it was many years ago, but the decline started when more and more kits began to show up. There was nothing wrong with kits it actually gave a boost to membership, but the art community gave the model builders the snub, they wanted no part of builders who went to the hobby shop, bought a kit and assembled it. That was not considered art. So model building in time lost the support of the art community. which was a major loss. yacht clubs did not want kit models of the Bounty or Victory they wanted original work. Then came a serious decline in membership of the NRG it was a matter of survival so they rebranded themselves and dropped the high end model building for the hobby version. At the time years ago the hi end builders walked away. At one time the Port of Cleveland was the hub of maritime history and maritime art the Inland Seas museum tried to move to Cleveland i remember going with museum board members looking at old warehouses for the museum but in the end the Museum moved to Toledo Ohio. Over time with no public exposure the local club membership declined, the scratch builders became less and less, those that remained stayed to themselves. No more newspaper articles in the arts section. no more art shows, no more support. The soul of the art of the model shipwright was sold to the toy industry as hobby kits for fun and profit. Should we care? it is not what it use to be but it is still a nice hobby and there is nothing wrong with that. In the long run perhaps it will become stagnant, kit designers come from the 1% of research, scratch builders and designers without them it will be the same thing over and over. Higher and higher cost will make it difficult to advance to better and more sophisticated kits. What is the next level? is it scratch building? the problem is you can have model building skills from building kits, a shop full if tool or hand tool. what you do not have is the knowledge of ship building and how it is done from scratch. There are no "instructions" to follow and the knowledge has become esoteric.

​

 

[Roger Pellett]

Yes, but! The internet if used wisely has can provide a tremendous amount of information for scratch builders that could only be found at considerable effort and cost when I began build ship models. Not the silly stuff but real archival information from museums and archives.

The publishing industry also continues to publish books worthwhile to ship model builders.

And will buyers continue to spend $$$$ for the next rehashed but “limited edition” Victory kit?

On the other hand, loss of basic hand tool woodworking skills and the knowledge of how to apply them to ship modeling is troubling. I believe in the end, production of high quality scratch built ship models will still be limited to relatively few individuals.

Roger

 

[Dave Stevens (Lumberyard)]

The term Naval Architect is slightly misleading as it is a recognized branch of Engineering not Architecture. As such, the curriculum involves mastering subjects common to other branches of engineering, especially Mechanical. In fact, MIT’s Naval Architecture program was recently merged into its Mechanical Engineering Department.

In countries with a strong guild structure, master shipwrights were people who had been examined by other master shipwrights and certified as competent to design ships and, perhaps more importantly, supervise and direct other shipwrights. One normally became a master after passing through an apprenticeship and some time as a journeyman, in a path that was typical for many crafts


to define a "model shipwright" there is no need to be an engineer or mastering branches of engineering or design. what the model shipwright is doing is creating an artistic interpretation of a historic ship. In order to do so a model shipwright would fall into the second catagory of learning an art from a master and learning about the subject being modeled. So the term "model shipwright" is legitimate, someone who "rose through the ranks" which means to advance or progress in a hierarchical structure or organization. It typically refers to someone starting in a low position and gradually moving up to a higher one, often through hard work and dedication. Does this imply all masters started with kits and moved up? not really i did not start with kits nor did the people who taught me.

 

[MunroIII]

This past June, we visited the Shelburne (Nova Scotia) Dory Museum and had a wonderful tour of the actual building shop; very similar to Lowell’s Boat Shop very near me in Amesbury, Massachusetts.

During the tour in Shelburne, we were told the story of Shelburne Dory Builder Sidney Mahaney who built dories for 79 years. Back in the day, Sidney would row his own dory across Shelburne harbor to his work, where during his career he was instrumental in the building of 10,000 unique Shelburne dories himself!!! He started building dories as a teenager and for the wage of 45 cents a day. It was a big deal when he got a promotion; it increased his pay to $1-a-day pay. We saw a video interview with Sidney near the end of his carreer/life. Very interesting person and place. https://www.saltscapes.com/roots-folks/2886-unlocking-a-shipbuilding-heritage.html

They told us that today, the master builder must be certified. One must have 12,500 documented hours and must have three letters from three professional boat builders who have been doing it for close to 30 years. Then they must take an oral test and their work must be inspected. This program seems to be quite regulated: https://www.nsboats.com/boatbuilders-certification

 

[Bob Cleek]

I am not sure it was many years ago, but the decline started when more and more kits began to show up. There was nothing wrong with kits it actually gave a boost to membership, but the art community gave the model builders the snub, they wanted no part of builders who went to the hobby shop, bought a kit and assembled it. That was not considered art. So model building in time lost the support of the art community. which was a major loss. yacht clubs did not want kit models of the Bounty or Victory they wanted original work. Then came a serious decline in membership of the NRG it was a matter of survival, so they rebranded themselves and dropped the high-end model building for the hobby version. At the time years ago the hi end builders walked away.

The soul of the art of the model shipwright was sold to the toy industry as hobby kits for fun and profit.

Has anybody else ever noticed how so many of the really great scratch modelers have formal training and professional experience in the graphic arts fields? Coincidence? I think not. Somewhere along the line, somehow they learned what art really is. The dynamics described here are spot on. Commercialization stifles art.

Higher and higher cost will make it difficult to advance to better and more sophisticated kits. What is the next level? is it scratch building? the problem is you can have model building skills from building kits, a shop full if tool or hand tool. what you do not have is the knowledge of ship building and how it is done from scratch. There are no "instructions" to follow and the knowledge has become esoteric.

And will buyers continue to spend $$$$ for the next rehashed but “limited edition” Victory kit?

On the other hand, loss of basic hand tool woodworking skills and the knowledge of how to apply them to ship modeling is troubling. I believe in the end, production of high-quality scratch-built ship models will still be limited to relatively few individuals.

The production of high-quality scratch-built ship models is necessarily limited to those individuals who have by chance or intention acquired the knowledge of ship building and a "mariner's consciousness." Some learn by immersion in the maritime culture... just by spending enough time around ships and the sea. Others make the commitment to acquire it from study alone, as all one needs to know, which is a lot, is already available in books. Simply following instructions and assembling prefabricated kits is not alone sufficient to acquire the substantial collection of knowledge and skill required to build a ship model that rises to the level of fine art. This isn't to say that there's anything wrong with building kit models as a hobby, but the two just aren't even in the same zip code.

If fine art ship modeling is limited to a relatively few individuals (among whose number I can only aspire,) so much the better, for in the world of fine art rarity always adds value and increases appreciation.

 

[Mariner1941]

Noah Brown was a shipbuilder from New York, he supervised the construction of the Niagara and Lawrence. The rest were built by local shipbuilders from Erie.

Yes,he brought 25 of his crpenters with him.