April 2024 Volume 14 number 4

Later this month, on April 27th, we will be a vendor at the 41st annual Joint Clubs meeting of greater New England. It is held in New London CT, and draws about 100 models and modelers. It runs from 8 to 3 at the Port & Starboard Convention Center. It is the clubs of Philadelphia, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts.

If you would like to attend, here is the link for information:

https://www.ctshipmodels.org/41st-ship-model-conference.html

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! And yes, BlueJacket is one of the sponsors.

www.modelshipworld.com

We recently received a visit from Juliane Gardner, son of John Gardner, who was a fantastic modeler. She has gathered 3 boxes of wood from his workshop, and is looking to sell them at $150 per box, plus shipping. If you are interested, get a hold of me, Nic or Trisha.

Josh

Bend - As a noun, the product of fastening one rope's end to another. As a verb, doing the above, or fastening a line to a sail, the anchor, etc.; also the term used for rigging a sail. It is derived from the Old English word benden, of the same meaning.

Draw - (1) A vessel is said to draw however many feet of water that are her draft. The origin of the word in this sense is obscure. (2) Of a sail, that it is c"full," and doing its job. In this meaning the word goes back to Old Norse, thence to Old English, dragen, to pull.

Nuts - The protrusions on the shank of an anchor to keep the stock in place. The word comes from Old English, but it is not known when it came to have this particular meaning.

Tagline - A line for steadying a load or boat on a hoist. The term appears to come from the Middle English taegel, tail, or the same word in Dutch.

Information is from the book "Origins of Sea Terms" by John G. Rogers

copyright 1985 Mystic Seaport Museum, Inc. and available from BlueJacket.

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 $500. 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

2 Pin Vises

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 promotional code BEL if you choose to stay there. They are holding rooms at $160.49 for us. There is a pool,sauna and Jacuzzi, plus 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

refunded except by extreme circumstances, which we reserve the right to determine.

From Dick B of MI

"Hi Nic,

A couple things. First, I want to show you my latest project. This is a “from scratch” model of an NM (Northern Michigan) which is local boat unique to our area of Michigan. It is 32 ft long and very similar to an International One Design. The model is ¾ scale so is 24 inches long. I have just finished building the cradle so I can raise the hull high enough to install the keel and rudder. The uprights or bunks on the cradle are ¼” Plexiglas and I do not peel the protective paper until the last thing. I also think I will probably do a varnished mahogany base.

I must say that starting from just line drawings is a challenge. Makes me appreciate what really goes into one of your kits, especially the laser cut components. This summer I plan to come over to BlueJacket and pick up various rigging components with the intent of doing mast, rigging, and sails next winter." 

Hi Trisha

We called in at the end of September on our way from Boston to Bar Harbour.

I attach a photo of a corner of my workshop.

You will see a Laughing Whale catboat and that I have a weakness for the designs of Ted Stinson.

I am currently building his Nellie G from plans although I do have the kit.

If you would like more pictures please let me know.

I believe that the business has been sold but will carry on with advice from Nic (and you?)and wish it all the best for the future.

Regards

Ian H of England

Nic's bench - The Santa Maria is almost finished - 2 more sails and some flags to go.

Al's bench - Al has been making some simple new HO scale barges.

This is also from Dick B. of MI

"My second item is a “tip”. I doubt that I have invented it, but discovering it has saved a lot of time for me. When I am installing planks on a plank on station model I use a common wood glue on the edges of the planks. I also put a small dab of Super Glue on the station. Holding the plank in place for a short time lets the Super Glue set quickly and hold the plank in place for the carpenter’s glue to dry more slowly. One can work the plank and gluing in segments quite easily.

Thanks for all your help. Looking forward to getting back to Maine."

Semi-retirement is a lot of fun. I'm taking Tuesdays off to do indoor R/C flying. On Mon, Wed, Thurs I work 8 - 12 or 1, and all day on Friday, when Trisha takes off to do quilting. That way, we have reduced hours, but still have things covered.