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Hi, I’m mjohn. I live in the Pacific Northwest, and have been a fan of wooden boats and yachts for many years. I have built a full-sized drift boat from plans as well as a ½ size traditionally built lapstrake dinghy (Acorn converted from glued lap to traditional), which I have turned into a coffee table, and a quarter size Shellback dinghy. Over the years I have built a some model airplanes and even a few model boats. But I am far from an expert model builder, and this is my first complicated planked model. Several years ago I built the planked hull catboat from BlueJacket. I anticipate the catboat hull to have been much simpler to plank than Bowdoin because the hull shape did not have the big reversal that Bowdoin has below the water line. Also, the rigging on Bowdoin is much more complex than I have tackled before. But I’m really doing this for the fun of it, so we’ll count any mistakes as part of the learning process. Thanks to some of the prior build logs for pointing out areas I will need to pay attention to. And thanks to BlueJacket for the kit. This is also my test post- 48 replies
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- Bowdoin
- BlueJacket Shipcrafters
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Bowdoin in ice display build post 1 This build will be my first attempt at a diorama I wanted to start this log to record both the research and the effort to replicate an expedition scene. It is going to more about studying the ship from 1924-to say 1930, its expeditions and the making of the overall display rather than only the model itself. I know I am going to need help. More than 15 years ago, I either bought or was given the Bluejacket model of the Bowdoin. When I stared modeling schooners in about 2012, my first thought was to use the 1:48 kit information as a study and then to build a 1:24 sailing model. [ that is the scale of my Bluenose and it is fun!] I still may do that, I just have too many possible projects. I want to use this opportunity to explore more of a diorama display of a type of ship to better learn how it was used. The Kate Cory build that is now on hold will come back, and I will try to have a whale on the side being treated. For the Bowdoin I am not sure, but think I want to show her in the ice or afloat next to the ice set up for winter in the arctic. I hope to have this display ready for next summer as a local family store owner wants to make Boothbay Built schooners a feature of their new venue. I have offered this model up as a backup, as other Bowdoin models may come available. My thought is an icy diorama with the model in it. As I have tried on my other models, I am more about trying to find out how things worked and what they were like in old photos and then try to adjust the model in that direction. I hope I can carry that off. This log is also for the purpose of documenting those items. The local historical society has tons of visuals to review, and the Donald Macmillan material is all available at Bowdoin College that is only 45 minutes away. [ in the winter light traffic anyway]. My love of this boat started in 1962. I was a junior sailing instructor in a summer program in Massachusetts and Donald Macmillan came to talk to us and sell his book. I fortuitously bought an autographed copy that is still in my library. I have read it both years ago and then again more recently as part of my extensive reading about the arctic. So many items will fill in as we go, but to start off …where are we with the actual build? There are just a few old photos that show that in 2012 ish, as I was starting to play with 1:48 scale builds, so I could down size my scale experience to be able build the four masted Schooner Charles Notman. All I did at that time was to rough out the hull and set up the deck. I noted that the kit did not require nor include any line drawings. A few years later as I was researching the Boothbay Harbor One Design at the Boothbay Region Historical society, I found they have a copy of the William Hand design of Bowdoin….I got a copy of the section lines so in the future I could rough out a scaled hull in RC friendly larger scale . I am told the original drawings of all of Hand’s work is in the Hart Museum at MIT. In a casual search of their site, I was unable to find them in their data base. If anyone seriously wants them that is a place to go. So to the build…these photos are about about 5 years ago... . · Here I was using the famous bondo glazing putty to smooth out the hull. Looking at the results 6 years later, I would likely send it back for another few coats. Three days more maybe then would have been great…..oh well. · Here we got some base coats painted and deck stained. · Here we added the bulkhead strips · Here we have the cap rails on and I notice more putty fixing the sides. It seems that for some of us, we can only see those defects after the first base coats of paint. That is why I stared the filler prime process. …. just spilled milk as they say · Finally, here is furniture partially built or as supplied in the kit in place and we are resting waiting for any action. This roughly represents the amount of deck detail I would include for an RC model. I have taken what I can find of the unused kit material. Obviously after this much time, it is scattered, so I am sure I will make or reorder what I need. The bell by example is nowhere to be found. What big new thing do I want to learn? ……The most urgent modeling method study for this build is to find out where to buy and how to work with textured and tinted Acrylic sheets. I want to cut out a hole for the boat and maybe a dory. Then one looks from the side and sees the underwater hull, maybe a fish or two, or even the anchor. There are several of these in Lunenburg museum and they are stunning. So far, I only found one source and they need about $50 for one sheet about the right size. That’s fine if it is right, but I need to practice. I looked all over MSW and was unsuccessful finding any articles or logs that jumped out at me. Anyway that study and experiments will be part of this build…..also how to make ice? then if i get brave or find some help make people and dogs. all in time. Cheers jon
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I took advantage of a brief trip to mid-coast Maine to visit Bluejacket Shipcrafters in Searsport and purchase my next project, the schooner Bowdoin. This will be my second plank-on-bulkhead model. The first was twenty-five years ago, Laughing Whale's small Friendship Sloop. (That kit lives on in Bluejacket's line; they acquired Laughing Whale some years back.) Bowdoin looks like a good project for reacquainting myself with the planking process, and I have ESF's (Steve's) excellent build log for reference. Why Bowdoin? As the official state sailing ship of Maine and sail training vessel of the Maine Maritime Academy, she has strong connections to the state. I have deep roots in Maine on my father's side, and my wife's parents had a cottage on the coast for many years, so we spent a good deal of time there. I like the looks of the ship, and the fact that she was built for Arctic research and carried out that mission with great success. I like the relative simplicity of the rigging (I've had my fill of square-rigged masts for now). I get a kick out of knowing that the kit was developed (originally by Laughing Whale) and is built right in Maine, a short drive from where Bowdoin is based in Castine. Bluejacket Shipcrafters. A wonderland of beautifully finished ship models. That's proprietor Nic behind the counter. (The camera was inadvertently set on the Toy Camera effect for this shot and the next.) And here's Bowdoin. This will be a long project. I want to do Bowdoin justice as her centennial approaches. This is a good opportunity to learn new skills and improve existing ones. I'm not going to rush. I think there are at least two other Bowdoin's in the works, but neither has broken cover yet with a log. I'm looking forward to sharing information with these ongoing projects, especially when I run into the inevitable problems along the way..jpg.d2fa7481e181ed3327a4011767200ca0.jpg)
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BOWDOIN kit started 2/8/22. Completed keel, framing, subdeck and sanding steps.
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The schooner Bowdoin was designed by William H. Hand, Jr., and built in 1921, in East Boothbay, Maine at the Hodgdon Brothers Shipyard. She is the only American schooner built specifically for Arctic exploration, and was designed under the direction of explorer Donald B. MacMillian. She has made 29 trips above the Arctic Circle in her life, three since she was acquired by the Maine Maritime Academy in 1988. She is currently owned by the Maine Maritime Academy, located in Castine Maine, and is used for their sail training curriculum. She is named for Bowdoin College. Information taken from Wikipedia. Actually found this vintage Laughing Whale kit in Searsport, Maine in the Bluejacket Shipcrafters Gallery. They had some kits in the corner from a long time customer’s estate. What was really cool, is that I talk to a gentleman (forgot his name) working there that worked at Laughing Whale in Wiscasset, Maine. He verified the kit was complete and told me he probably cut out the pieces for the kit 40 years ago. 😎 Bluejacket does have this kit available with all the laser cut pieces and nicer fittings. So this build is for you @MrBlueJacket I love to rescue these old kits, I will try to make you proud. Yes I have this drawing framed. I like collecting and framing these old blueprints for my Gallery. Everything is in very nice condition considering the age of this kit. Sheet No 1 is up on the board. These keel and bulkheads are all hand cut 40 years ago. Everything else will need to be cut out by me. 😆 First steps, glueing the keel and bulkheads. Trying a new glue (new for me) Loctite has a wood glue with a 10 minute clamp time. I think this will be better for laminating than CA Glue. We will see… 🤔
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- Bowdoin
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Hello from a newbie and second year NRG member. This is a log of the Bowdoin arctic explorer schooner kit by Bluejacket Shipcrafters. I started model building many, many years ago, mostly with plastic cars, at a time when it was more fun to rush through the build than to paint. But I always admired wooden ship models, and when I decided it was time for the plunge I looked for a kit where I could learn the skills of planking and rigging on a more modest scale. The Bowdoin seemed a good fit, being about 24 inches long and with two masts. And I liked that the kit is manufactured in Maine. The Bowdoin was constructed for Donald MacMillan in 1921 by Hodgdon Brothers in East Boothbay, Maine. A good history is available in The Arctic Schooner Bowdoin A Biography, by Virginia Thorndike, 1995 published by North Country Press, Unity, Maine. The Bowdoin was eventually transferred to the Maine Maritime Academy and is used for student training. The Academy has a wonderful series of ship photos from various student voyages and from the ship restoration in the 20-teens. The log is retrospective and condensed, based on 90 pages of notes and photos gathered from the keel laying in June 2017 to completion in May 2018. Part of the reason for holding off was abject fear that my work would fall far short of the very high bar you have all demonstrated. You have been my teachers this past year and I would never have gotten through the build without your tips, techniques, articles and enthusiasm for ship building. So I have decided to throw caution to the wind and put the Bowdoin out there for all to see. If my execution has misinterpreted what I have seen and read please jump in. I welcome your comments on what I have done to help prepare me for my second build. My work area is my old professional drafting table from my former architectural practice, which I squeezed into our combination laundry room, pantry coat closet. It’s a great table with hydraulic lift, tilting top and a laminated rubber cover (Borco) over the wood surface. The lamps are great since they can be positioned wherever you need over the work. The building base is two pieces of pine anchored at one end to an old saw vice which is mounted on the table and with C-clamps at either end of the keel. The bulkheads went in without incident although a few laser cut slots needed sanding. The subdeck consists of two pieces that must be glued along the edge. The instruction manual, which is well written, makes some assumptions regarding knowledge of nautical terminology - lazy jacks were a stumper. But the manual also includes helpful tips, such as adding drops of CA mixed with sawdust on the underside of the subdeck to strengthen the joint line. I made ample use of rubber bands, clothes pins (full and sawed off) and binder clips for the deck and plank work.
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- first build
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