trippwj

Glad to hear that, sir. I think the needle thingy is called a catheter - my littlest grand daughter has one for her infusions.

Looking really good, Popeye - really good!

That paint scheme looks pretty nice - should really standout with the black rail and grey waterway added. Would suggest not attempting to paint while driving, though...

Thanks, Adam - Will be passing through late afternoon next Thursday. With only 16 miles of highway to choose from, and maybe a dozen overpasses, should be easy to find the right one! Popeye - strange as it seems, after 15 years in the land of heat and tornadoes, we are actually looking forward to ice and snow where the road crews know how to handle it! I can almost taste the fresh lobster now...5 days of packing left (including today) then load out and hit the road on Monday!

Adriaan - As the others have said, take the time you need to heal fully. Will keep you in our prayers here.

A hearty well done, Andy! Congratulations, Augie!

C'mon, Augie - 1 more and Sjors will buy you a record Grayling!

yes, Ma'am.....

Ask, and ye shall receive! here is the link to Rafine's Fair American log http://modelshipworld.com/index.php?/topic/1114-fair-american-by-rafine-model-shipways-kitbashed/#entry19650

There are a couple that come to mind - Lever, Darcy The young Sea Officer's Sheet Anchor 1819 - available from Dover books Falconer An Universal Dictionary of the Marine 1784 - available on-line for download. You might also find it in the list here (which is slightly out of date now - will update by this fall). http://modelshipworld.com/index.php?/topic/21-nautical-and-model-building-resources/#entry54 Good Luck!

Wow, John - Looking fantastic! I'm with the peanuts here - I like the deck color. Has the new R/V arrived yet? I have this somewhat scary image of you driving down the road carving whale bone into davits...reminds me of the bus driver who shall not be named....

You can edit the title - go to your first post, click edit, then use full editor. You can then change the name to anything you want that describes the build appropriately.

Glad to have you back, Cookster - looking forward to seeing the log start back up!

Well, I am finally back with an update! Been wicked busy the past two months between business travel and getting ready for the move home. With the shipyard all packed (along with more stuff than i ever thought we owned!), I finally had a chance to sit down and craft the next installment on this project. Update# 3 – Reconciling the Wreck of the General Hunter to the available plans In parts 1 and 2 of this series, I discussed the history of the Brig General Hunter, and the archeological survey of the wreck that has now been identified as the General Hunter. Reaching this conclusion was no simple leap, and required extensive archival research and re-examination of previous assumptions. In this installment, I am going to go over the key aspects of the debate and the basis for the ultimate identification of the wreck as the General Hunter. As noted in the first installment, in 1803 William Bell drew up plans for the General Hunter and submitted them to the Quarter-Master General’s Office as a proposed schooner for operations on Lake Erie. Bell's draughts show a relatively shallow draft vessel, of single deck, which would be capable of replacing two smaller vessels, the Francis and Maria (Library and Archives of Canada). According to John Stevens, Bell’s plan in the Canadian National Archives shows a shoal draft hull with a long, low beak and no quarter badge of 93 tons burthen. Construction began on the Hunter in 1804 and the vessel was launched the following year. Stevens has provided a significant amount of research into the history and architecture of the General Hunter for Parks Canada. His recreation of the plan for the Hunter is shown below. The following plans, thought to be of the Hunter by Wm. Bell, are believed to be the source used by Stevens in creating his reconstruction (above). The dimensions provided on both plans are as follows: Length of keel ----- 54 feet Breadth moulded – 18 feet Depth of hold ------- 8 feet Tuns ---------------- 93 The dimensions of the vessel upon launching were reported as length of 54 feet, 18 feet at the beam and a displacement of 80 tons. Armament carried varied, but it was envisioned that she would have eight 18 pounder carronades and four 4 pounder long guns (Fort Malden National Historic Site Resource Centre Files). The measured dimensions on the wreck are as follows: Remaining hull length 53 feet 10 inches Remaining breadth 16 feet 10 inches. Remaining Length on keel about 46 feet. Reconstruction of section along starboard side keel/keelson by the archeological team (unpublished manuscript courtesy of Ken Cassavoy, Marine Archaeologist and Project Director Southampton Beach Shipwrecks Project. Profile reconstruction based on wreck dimensions courtesy of Dave Stevens and Winston Scoville, MSB. Reconciling these discrepancies proved the greatest challenge to a firm identification of the wreck. The wreck dimensions result in a vessel with a tonnage of about 60 tuns (using the method described by David Steel, 1805), as opposed to the 93 tuns on the Bell plans and the historical report of 80 tuns when launched. Looking into other reported information on the vessel is not of much help. In Select British documents of the Canadian war of 1812 (1920), the Hunter is listed as having a tonnage of 60 tuns in 1811 with a crew of 19 officers and seamen. It is possible that Bell did not use any plans when he built the Hunter, but rather used the Hunter and the earlier General Hope as the model when he drafted his plans. The lower part of the stem on the wreck is nearly an exact match to the lower part of the stem on the Bell plans, leading to a high degree of confidence that the wreck was built by Bell. An additional set of plans, signed by Bell, are also to be found at Archives Canada. The problem with these plans, however, is readily apparent in that the keel length on these plans is 48‘. On examination we can see that there is a space in the midship section framing. Typically in a drawing this is to indicate that all frames for that section of the ship are to be the same. On closer examination however it can be seen that these are clearly not the original drawing. These plans were discussed in detail in the MSB Journal in May, 2011. The analysis and conclusions are supportive of the plans representing the Hunter. In considering that these drawings may have been used to build the HMS General Hunter the first logical step was to return the drawings to their original condition by removing the added mid-ship section and compare them next to the wreck profile drawings. Here‘s what we find. There is a great deal of agreement between the two sets of plans. When the existence of a set of plans that is closer to the measured dimensions of the wreck is added to the archeological evidence, the case is very strong. Original documents concerning the loss of the Hunter, have been found in the U.S. National Archives in Washington by the Archeological team. The documents consist of a letter from General Alexander Macomb to U.S. Secretary of War William Crawford notifying Crawford of the loss the Hunter, accompanied by an account from crew members giving specific details of the events leading to the wrecking of the ship. Selected portions are discussed below in the context of the identity of the Southampton shipwreck. In General Macomb's letter he tells Crawford of the loss of the Hunter on "...the Canadian shore..." and further states, "...I have dispatched two boats to save the rigging, anchors and cables and to burn the wreck so as to secure the iron of the hull...". No rigging, anchors or cables, and very little else of any size was found during the excavation, and . examination of the hull showed clear evidence of burning in all upper sections, especially on the frame ends. As well, the appearance of many of the iron fasteners found on the wreck, indicated they had been exposed to extreme heat. Although we have no historical documentation yet, it seems apparent the "two boats" sent by Macomb arrived back at the wreck and carried out his orders to salvage and burn the vessel. Ultimately, the wreck has been confirmed to be the General Hunter. A set of model plans based on the wreck measurements has been developed and a prototype build is underway. Based on the wreck data and the model plans, a masting and rigging plan is being developed to reflect the Hunter as a brig at the time of the battle of Lake Erie. The dimensions being used to develop the plans (which will be based on Steels The Elements and Practice of Rigging, Seamanship & Naval tactics (1794)) are shown below. Beam – 17 feet 8 inches Length on deck – 54 feet 8 inches Length on keel – 46 feet 8 inches Sixth class of 10 guns The 1794 method uses the beam, class, guns and lower deck lengths in calculating the dimensions of the spars and the rigging. The following is the preliminary dimensions of the masts for the General Hunter.

Looks good so far!

Nice!!! Looks sharp, Brian!

Your ship is progressing very nicely, Sjors. You should feel pretty danged good about the way she is looking - and I do not polish brass!!!! i understand that cotton balls (which, rumor has it, you have a large quantity in reserve) can be used for the detail parts of house cleaning (gotta keep Anja hapy, you know!).

Dang - late again! Welcome back - hope you had a great holiday!!!

Glad to see you back, Max. Looking good!

Golly, John - you are just flying through this one! Looking very nice each step of the way! Your deck looks great, particularly when you consider that these were built for function over appearance! A working whaling ship would have had a rather wornlooking deck, even with ongoing cleaning, since the whale blubber and oil was all processed there.

Hope you have a wonderful birthday, Jack!

Bravo!!! Most excellent result, Augie.

Dang, Adam - she is a fine looking ship! Will wave as i pass by on the way north - 12 days and counting.....

Richard - You may want to email Eric Snow directly and see who to contact now with technical questions.

Very nice job on the lighting! She is a fine looking ship - enjoy your vacation!