ClipperFan
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Druxey, It will be interesting to see how many images get through. To me a large part of the article is the beautiful pictures which tie it all together coherently. Time will tell.- 3,560 replies
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Rob, Thanks for the compliment. The next project I'm concentrating on is to finish the scrollwork. It's challenging to do. Once the port side is satisfactorily done, it has to be reversed for the Starboard side. It will be done! 😊
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Rob, Vladimir, Druxey, et all, in final preperation for submitting my 30+ page Nautical Research Journal article, with a hard deadline of June 30th (July 1st per their guidelines). That gives me 2 weeks to finish. Here are 3 finished pieces: Glory of the Seas rear coach house ornate front fascia. Skylights with the correct 6 panes Wheelhouse split-level ventilator Stern letters & carving, in process
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MikeR, I'm constantly impressed with the high level of vision, craftsmanship and artisan abilities of modeling I'm privileged to observe on these pages. For a couple years now, Rob, Vladimir and I have been in the most exhaustive reconstruction of McKay's final Medium Clipper Glory of the Seas. Why should that concern you in your Flying Fish build? There's been major structural components of the McKay bow which I know for a fact, have been largely ignored by the modeling community. Why this is, I don't know but since there exists enough documentary and visual evidence to correct the issue, I've been endeavoring to share this. In his evaluation of the rugged construction of the prow of Donald McKay's second Extreme Clipper Flying Cloud in his April 25, 1851 Boston Daily Atlas article Duncan MacLean described his impression of this unique maritime invention: "She has neither head nor trail boards, but forming the extreme, where the line of the planksheer and the carved work on the naval hoods terminate, she has the full figure of an angel on the wing, with a trumpet raised to her mouth." further on he describes his evaluation of this construct: "Her hood ends are bolted alternately from either side, through each other and the stem, so that the loss of her cutwater would not affect her safety or cause a leak." I've added the italics to emphasize a point. If you look at any model of Flying Cloud you won't find either naval hoods or cutwater. Rob and I are now convinced that's due to these clever devices being intentionally hidden by the inventor himself. Any doubt can be cleared up by looking at the lines of his 1854 Extreme Clipper Lightning. Where her bow stem should be completed, there's literally nothing, just open space. In conclusion, since his Extreme Clipper Flying Fish was his fourth such large vessel after the Clipper Packet Staffordshire it's doubtful McKay would have abandoned such a successful construction. Since it carried all the way to his final sailing ship, it's logical to believe that Flying Fish also incorporated both nautical devices. Attached is the original sheer and body lines plan of Flying Fish from the Bergen, Sjorfortsmuseum, Norway of all places. It's an original tracing of Flying Fish. Excluded are the 16" fancy rail above the main rail molding, as well as the cutwater and naval hoods. I've shared my conjectural sketch overlaying this original tracing, drawn to scale with her 18" inner bowsprit, naval hoods, cutwater and figurehead. A more lifelike image of a possible flying fish figurehead is also included. It's my belief that this makes much more sense than tacking on the flying fish figurehead onto a bare stem, which is how most completed models have done.
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Rob, Having been on several tall ships, I've been able to see these rope coils first hand. Believe me, the realism you're portraying is first rate. Your replica would look odd and unfinished without them. And it's a tribute to your meticulous attention to all the little details.
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Rob, just a dumb process question. Can't you put in rope coils after you secure lines, at least some of them? That way, wouldn't it relieve you of some of that challenging, I've got to imagine tricky 1 ft tweezer work? Or, does doing it that way slow down your process even more than they way your doing it now?
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Rob, Unless someone has stood on the deck of a tall ship and stared straight up at the apparently bewildering latticework of complex blocks, tackles and practically limitless lines, they cannot fully comprehend how incredibly faithful to an actual sailing ship your work is. Looking intently at these images brings me back several years to when I was standing on the deck of the venerable Frigate USS Constitution "Old Ironsides." I remember craning my neck backwards as I stood behind the main mast. There's something just so relaxing to view those lofty masts and powerful yardarms. I get that exact same feeling now as I review your pictures. Well done indeed. Qq
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Rick, From the few online images I've seen of the spectacular Flying Cloud miniature, especially in reference to her gorgeous sail plan, this Boucher model is definitely worth seeing in person. Having said that, it's still inaccurate to the Boston Daily Atlas contemporary description, as well as several contemporary art depictions. Her lovely trumpet bearing winged angel figurehead is merely tacked on below the bowsprit. There's no naval hoods or gilded carved arch cutwater. Meanwhile a small portico protecting the entrance to rear cabins below is a substantial building on the model. Eventually I intend to make sketches correcting these oversights and share them on a separate page. As for the two artists, it's quite possible that both were able to view Flying Fish in person. The similarity of portrayals is just too much for coincidence. It's also a good possibility that in a refit, a single stick mizzen was replaced with a built mast after discovering sticks weren't strong enough.
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Rob, Addition of those rope coils to the belaying points is an ultimate touch of miniature realism. When she's complete, your Glory of the Seas Clipper Ship with such devout attention to detail will blow people away.
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Rob, For Vladimir's sake, I really hope you're keeping meticulous records of your impressive rigging scheme. It's nothing short of amazing!
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Hi Rob, I hear you about that distracting phenomenon. I recall having similar challenges with much smaller sailing ships. They had woefully inadequate, painfully simplistic rigging instructions, just your very basic standing, running rigging with preformed rubberlike ratlines. So we innovated quite a lot to approach as much realism possible. I remember making teenie blocks of knotted black thread. At the scale they were, these were quite realistic. In our case we simply worked from inside out and fore to aft from lowest to highest yards. I have no clue how you're designing your lines but I recall that by staying consistent, things seemed to flow better. Of course, you already built and fully rigged the King of Donald McKay's Clipper Ships with your scratch built masterpiece, the Great Republic. So I'm very confident, you got this.
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Rob, As the complex rigging of your miniature becomes ever more complete, it strikes me how critically important it would have been on these massive sailing vessels to be sure none of the lines get tangled up with any others, or there must have been hell to pay! I constantly find myself running out of superlatives to describe your progress. Impressive, most impressive!
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Rob, Thanks for the encouraging words. My placement of the bit matches exactly that of Mike's, which I figured matched the exact end of the inner end of the bowsprit. My other concern is placement of the capstan. There was no specifics of that location, so mine matches the side view placement of my large sketch. If you have exact dimensions for that device, I can reposition it in both sketches.
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George, I meant no insult to the legendary Tea Clipper Cutty Sark and for that disparagement, unintentional as it was on behalf of the Bonnie Scottish Lass, I apologize. After all, Cutty Sark herself is a most successful survivor whilst poor old Glory of the Seas was burnt to cinders. My point was the lost design uniqueness of McKay's Clippers, which has been buried for well over a century is finally coming to light.
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Rob and Rick, No surprise, I agree completely with Rob's conclusion. I write this, not to hijack your Flying Fish posts but to reinforce the importance for yours and all future Flying Fish builds, even to get all future McKay Clipper models constructed accurately. This unveiling of a universal nautical feature of all Donald McKay Clippers hasn't occured possibly since the launch of Flying Cloud in the Spring of 1851! In fact, I have not even seen one accurate example of Flying Cloud herself. None has ever been built, including a two-thirds scale version of her docked in East Boston in the '70s. That beautiful Clipper was constructed by the same skilled Lunenberg, Nova Scotian ship builders who constructed the 1963 HMS Bounty! In a way, it's a back handed slap, a tribute to McKay's jealous protection of his savvy marine ideas. Perhaps, posthumously his spirit's finally decided to set the record straight. Even though, for those who can read and view images with discrimination, these have been somewhat open secrets.... "This magnificent ship has been the wonder of all who have seen her. Not only is she the largest of her class afloat, but her model may be said to be the original of a new idea in naval architecture." The New Clipper Stag Hound, Boston Daily Atlas, December 21, 1850 (italics added for emphasis) There's a "blink and you'll miss it" reference to the bow construction of this revolutionary new Donald McKay Extreme Clipper Ship. Here's all the author says on the subject. In fact, it's actually a single, almost toss off sentence: "An idea of its sharpness may be formed from the fact that, at the load displacement line (as the cutwater is tapered to an angle) a flat surface applied to the bow from its extreme, would show no angle at the hood ends." (again italics added for emphasis). In fact, Duncan MacLean never uses the term naval hoods until his more in-depth description of McKay's second Extreme Clipper Flying Cloud. That's where he makes his critical observation of the incredible strength of such a brilliant construct. To get an idea of this built in ruggedness, take a look at the relative open, near frailness of the Tea Clipper Cutty Sark. So, is it any surprise to see this very same marine architecture utilized by Donald McKay in his self-funded, desperate last build to save his shipyard and very livelihood? Think about it, McKay literally spared no expense, employing the very best materials in building his Glory of the Seas. It's noteworthy that his reliable stem, protected by cutwater surmounted by naval hoods are all there to the end.
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Rick, With Mike's encouragement, I've already prepared a 30+ page in-depth article to be submitted before July 1st to the Nautical Research Journal. It's very image heavy but not because they're extraneous. The pictures included are actually integral to the topics discussed. Since Mike has told me he really enjoyed reading it, I'm confident it will be published. Earliest would be their Winter issue, probably this December. After that, I plan on starting my own topic in research. It will be on the topic of finally realizing authentic looks of Donald McKay's Clippers.
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Rob, Nice pic of one of Donald McKay's fastest Clipper Ships. She was very close in size to Glory of the Seas too.
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Rob, Here's where I'm at with Glory's revised 8.3 degree stem below the waterline. I have to admit that this appears to be much closer to the one scene we have of her in the Spokane Grain Co. dock which shows her somewhat aggressive prow. Both illustrations are to the same 1:96th scale per Mike's request.
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Rob and Vladimir, Please post direct bird's-eye views of your Glory of the Seas forecastle to the front two-thirds of her great house. Here's my conjectural sketch, incorporating Vladimir's two red lines revising Mike's 1992 deck view from his general arrangement. Before sending it to Mike, I want to verify the accuracy of my interpretation.
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Druxey, Considering that her hull was 53 years old by this point, I'm amazed the owners, not to mention dismantling crew, felt sanguine enough to carve so many large holes in her upper superstructure! You would think that they would have been concerned that such reckless activity might cause her to buckle and sink. Remember, she still had all that weighty factory refrigerator processing equipment aboard too. Since obviously that didn't happen, it's a real tribute to the long lasting durability of her design, materials and construction. This also makes me wonder, what if? What if those Boston magnates who held the final fate of Glory of the Seas in their hands had decided "let's go for it!" Let's take on the challenge and tow her home to be restored in Boston! If she makes it, we've saved Donald McKay's last Clipper. If she doesn't, then the seas have taken her to her final grave".... Had they given poor, old faithful Glory her final chance to survive, I for one firmly belive she would have made it.
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Rob, I can't imagine any museum not being truly excited to put your fabulous model on display. I can see her posed direcly in front of that 1877 reference picture you have of Glory docked in San Francisco. Better yet, maybe she can become a traveling exhibit, going from museum to museum. That way, I might finally get to see her in person myself!
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Rob, Part of the oversight is the fact that a lot of American ship modeling seems to have descended from Popular Mechanics style do-it-yourself articles geared towards a general population looking to create an impressive mantle piece object. Topics such as figureheads were as inaccurate as to describe options, such as a fiddlehead or mermaid decoration for McKay's Clipper Sovereign of the Seas! Personally, I owe a great debt of gratitude to Lars Bruzelius. His website is where I have found dozens of great, highly specific documentation of many popular McKay vessels, including lesser known Clippers as Santa Claus, Bald Eagle and Mastiff amongst others. That's where I first learned of such critical nautical devices as naval hoods and cutwaters, which completely alter the appearance of a McKay Clipper bow.
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"Her hood ends are bolted alternately from either side, through each other and the stem, so that the loss of her cutwater wouldn't affect her safety or cause a leak." This quote is verbatim from Duncan MacLean's, April 25, 1851 Boston Daily Atlas article with its' usual lengthy description of McKay's most famous Extreme Clipper Flying Cloud. Why is this relevant to your build of the Flying Fish? Because such a successful robust nautical design component, which originated with McKay's inaugural Extreme Clipper Stag Hound wouldn't have been abandoned lightly. However it would have been tightly guarded as a design element by Donald McKay himself. If you harbor any doubts, just look at McKay's Clipper Lightning. Reproductions of her prow mysteriously end in a blank space. This may almost sound heretical but I'm convinced that until the exhaustive, methodical research done on Glory of the Seas uncovered a photographically accurate McKay bow, none of the models of McKay Clippers have been accurate. That includes the spectacular 1930s large Boucher model of Flying Cloud. That's due to none including naval hoods or cutwaters. They all leave just a bare stem, tacking on the figurehead underneath the bowsprit almost as an aforethought. Which is exactly how your Flying Fish model plans appear too. As a visual aid, I've attached a close up image of the bow of Glory. Naval Hoods are the large curving devices just over her figurehead, cutwaters are the ornately carved arch mounted just below her figurehead. The stem is hidden by the cutwater. I've done some proper reconstructions of the real appearance of your clipper, including a more lifelike flying fish figurehead. You can decide how much, if any you want to incorporate
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Rob, Sadly America has never seemed to put much value to what we now consider priceless items. Consider the abysmal fate of the historic Yacht America. Launched in the 1850s, after setting the mark to win the 100 Guineas Cup, which has forever now been known as the America's Cup, she survived being a Confederate Blockade Runner as well as a Union Blockade enforcer during the Civil War. While the US Navy had ultimately planned to restore her, they left her poorly protected. As a result, a damn snowstorm collapsed the shed she was resting in and she became a total loss in the 1940s, when she was 90 years old. This disgraceful history of benign neglect continues to thi day. Back in the 60s, I used to love to watch Hawaii 5-0. Not only did it feature one of my favorite Montague Dawson works of art The Ariel and Taeping very often a wonderful fully restored 4 masted sailing ship the Falls of Clyde featured as a constant backdrop. Fast forward to today and that same magnificent steel ship is so neglected, she's in danger of sinking...
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Rick, Believe it or not, I'm actually relieved to hear you say that. I often feel like it's a thin line to walk between offering historically accurate discoveries and insulting the work of others. My consistent goal is to be an aid in reproducing Clipper Ships, especially those of Donald McKay's as closely to the original as possible. Thanks for the compliment.
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