Cort

Figuring out how to make the sole (floor) was the first challenge. I didn’t want to spend big money on real teak and Holly. And I also couldn’t find the right dimensions that would line up with what the real Orca had. So, I bought plywood and routed my own lines. I filled the lines with real teak caulk and then applied stain. This project is basically a movie set, so I made no detail to hidden areas. Thus, the reason I stained the sole the way I did. The stringers are not evenly spaced on purpose. I wanted to use 4x8 sheets instead of 5x10 because it was easier to work with. So there are three sections of the floor. The middle section is the same as the hatch dimensions and is meant to be removed so that the stringer halves can be separated and moved out of the basement. The whole build is composite and built in sections that can come apart to facilitate moving.

Here is an overhead shot of the dimensions. Figuring the size for both hatches was a little tricky, but I think I got it pretty close.

And probably most notably, Orca 1 looks to be made from Fir tongue and groove whereas Orca 2 appears to be pine or something more grainy. I’m sure to save costs during filming. I ended up going with pine for my build to also save costs. So my build will have very different grain appearance when compared to Orca 1.

Cabinets different. Orca 1 has tongue groove, Orca two has no tongue and groove. Orca 1 at top.

The spacing between the door frame and the big back window were quite different. As well as the placement of the bench seat arm rest under the window. As well as spacing between port hole and door frame. Orca 1 at top

Of course, as most of you may know, there were two orcas in the movie and both VERY different at least as far as the interior is concerned. Orca 1 has 8 planks across the face of the helm console. Orca 2 has 7 planks across the face.

I settled on 30” windows and 3” tongue and groove planking for the build. Those measurements worked well when lining up the props. During the build, the windows came out just slightly under 30” and I think the planking ended up being 3 1/8”. But everything lined up perfectly.

Hi everyone, I am by no means a talented modeler as you all are (maybe one day!) but I wanted to share my scratch built 1:1 scale of the cabin of the Orca from Jaws. I’m hopeful the information and pics I post here will be quite useful to any future Orca modelers. I am a lifelong fan of Jaws and it partially influenced me to join the marine industry at 18. I spent almost 9 years in the Coast Guard and have spent the last 12 years in the recreational marine industry. About a year ago, I had this idea to see if I could figure out the exact dimensions of the inside of orca by finding and purchasing all of the props and equipment that was present during filming and using those items to make accurate drawings. It sure was hard to locate some of these things…and thank goodness for the HD version of the movie or I would have never been able to make out what most of these things were. I feel confident I found all of the exact props used, except for one of the items I cannot locate yet. I will be sharing everything I found here. So, once I had enough props to start measuring (stove, fire extinguishers, clocks, barometer, engine gauges, liquor bottles, etc.) I began drawing. And drawing. And drawing. Every time I thought one drawing was spot on, I’d use those dimensions to draw another view and it wouldn’t line up. So back to checking dimensions…. I’m not sure how many times I actually drew each bulkhead view, but it was numerous! But finally after many renditions drawing top views, side views, straight shot views and when all the different views lined up I knew I had it! So that is my intro. I didn’t get a lot of pics of the construction, but I have a few. Mostly I want to provide the finished pictures and explain how I did it. I am a tinkerer at heart, not a skilled shipwright or wood worker. So you may not be impressed with some of my choices of joinery, but I feel I have a very close representation of the real thing. Standby for pics and some good info!

Thanks everyone! Ok since no one protested, I’ll start a log in the scratch section and I’ll post helpful pics and dialog for any future Orca modelers.

Hello everyone, I stumbled upon your sight while I was looking for photos of the “Orca” from the movie Jaws for my project. I found flying fish’ log and was amazed at his talent and detail on his build. I am not a model ship builder, but the reason I joined is that for the last year or so I have been studying/drawing and obtaining screen accurate props to construct a dimensionally accurate, 1:1 model of the interior of Orca in a spare basement room to use as my office/man cave. I thought perhaps my project could have useful information and pictures to modelers wishing to build an accurate Orca boat. I believe my scale replica is accurate with 1” or so in any direction. I’ve attached an example of the STBD side of the cabin in comparison with a screen shot from the movie. My project is about 80% complete and I am happy to share more if there is an interest. if this is not appropriate for this website, please let me know as I wouldn’t want to muddy up the waters on a great site with such talented modelers. thanks in advance for any comments or advice. Cort

Wonderful build! Truly a work of art. Love the painstaking detail. I can appreciate that as I myself am building a 1:1 scale of the interior cabin only. I’ll be posting short videos on YouTube soon and will try to post info in this website if it is allowed/appropriate.