molasses

Doreltomin: I'll get this ship in a bottle even if I have to commission a custom bottle for it. We even have to allow for the thickness of finish coatings. The first time I vowed to not figure my clearance too tightly I got fouled by the thickness of the paint and had to re-touch the damage inside the bottle. Reminds me of a pair of miners who used a landboat to cross a dried up lake bed near the Mojave Desert on their journeys to and from town back in the early 1900s. Iceboats are the fastest sail-driven vehicles on earth capable of speeds of 10 times the wind speed. Unconfirmed speeds of over 150 mph (240 kph, 130 knots) have been rumored and there is a documented record of 143 mph (230 kph, 124 knots) set in 1938. Modern land yachts (iceboats with wheels instead of runners) are the second fastest sail driven vehicles. The official land speed record for sail driven land vehicles is 126.1 mph (202.9 kph) set in 2009. Chinese records mention sailed carriages in the 6th and 7th centuries AD. Several European windwagons are depicted in artwork of the early 17th century. Ship of Fools by Hendrik Pot, 1637 Windwagons built by Simon Stevins for Prince Maurice of Orange in 1649 A sail wagon built in Brooklyn, New York, ca. 1910 Windwagons actually were used on the American prairies in the 1860s. From 1877 until at least 1887 the Kansas Pacific Railroad used sails on handcars. Here's the link to the Kansas Historical Society windwagon article: http://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/wind-wagons/12239 NASA is studying the feasibility of wind powered rovers for future exploration of other planets.

For clarification, the "Royal" part of Royal Charles is correct, the "Charles" part isn't. Her other name was made very famous about 100 years later by a ship of the same name.

Not Naseby, but Royal Charles is partly correct.

Did some hull detailing and bowsprit rigging, then encountered a problem due to a deficiency of prior planning. Two piece hull, separated. Note the gammoning at the bowsprit to the stem, and the bobstay and bowsprit shrouds. Two piece hull, assembled. Bobstay and shrouds are rigged to eye bolts in the hull with .010 in. (0.25mm) diameter eyes made from 36 gauge (.0055 in./0.14mm) wire. Here's my problem. I tried to pass the upper hull through the bottle neck knowing there would be contact with the inside of the neck at the top edges of the bulwarks and the lower corners - just enough contact to hold the hull in place for this photo. What I didn't see in my planning was that there will not be room for channels attached at the top edge of the lower black strake, as you can see here. The gap there, strake to bottle, might be as much as .020 in./0.5mm. Fortunately, Ogallala is my own design and after considering my options I've decided to move the shrouds to the top of the bulwarks without channels as was done on boats. I think (hope?) this will solve my problem and not cause another later. We shall see. I know better than to plan for a "close fit" - but did it anyway. This will learn me. Dave

See what we learn from playing this game? Name the Ship: I think it's safe to say she's English. Known by two names, either will be accepted. Good luck.

I agree, Doreltomin. Also a lot of learning goes on when searching for a photo to post. I found that image on Romanian, Turkish and German language sites; unfortunately, computer translations are almost as unintelligible as the language itself. My best guess is the Turkish armored corvette or battery ship Idjalieh (1870) or one of that class. Also identified as Iclal on a Turkish website. (Same name in the different languages, perhaps?). I couldn't find any history except the launch date, that it was a training ship after 1900 and scrapped in 1922.

A bowsprit topmast! I like it. About 1700 those topmasts were being eliminated but a traditionally minded owner and/or builder would include it. You will also need cross-trees (or very small platforms) at the main and fore topmast/topgallant mast doublings to provide a spread for the topgallant mast shrouds. The mizzen top could be done like the tops you have now on the main and fore masts or, as an alternative, similar to the cross-trees. Cross-trees set on the trestle trees ( r). (p) is the location of the lower mast, the upper mast is located in the other square. Image borrowed from The Young Sea Officer's Sheet Anchor by Darcy Lever, a paperback reprint of the 1819 second edition, available for US$14.95 - a very useful addition to every ship modeler's library.

A half millimeter is as good as a mile as long as it clears.

Well done, Slog. You're better at this than you let on. Your turn. Dave

Name the Ship:

It's 2am here and I'm going to bed. I'll post something in about 10 hours.

SMS Panther (1901), Imperial German Navy. 35 minutes

Yes, Challenge is correct. Your turn Slog. Challenge was the first ship to be built on three decks with iron bracing of her wooden hull and, at her completion, was the longest and largest displacement clipper afloat. She was specifically designed and built to set records and to beat Flying Cloud. Robert Waterman was hired as Captain to sail from New York to San Francisco with a $10,000 bonus for a passage of 90 days or less. He was famous for setting a record from Macao to New York of 78 days on Natchez in 1842, then improved on it by one day in command of Sea Witch in 1847. Then in 1849 he set a record of 74 days, again on Sea Witch, a record for sail powered vessels that still stands. Challenge set sail from New York on 13 July 1851 under "Bully Bob" Waterman and First Mate James Douglass and arrived in San Francisco on 29 October, a voyage of 108 days. Reports of the brutality by Waterman, Douglass and other officers against the largely inexperienced crew of Challenge - including the beating of sick crewmen for being sick - incensed the populace of San Francisco to rioting in the streets. One newspaper called for Waterman to be "burned alive" and he narrowly escaped being lynched. The first 21 criminal cases of the newly established US District Court of Northern California were the nationally publicized Challenge "hellship" trials involving Waterman and his officers. Waterman was convicted for beating a sick man and Douglass was convicted of murder for beating a man to death. Eight sailors were accused of mutiny by Waterman, but only one saw trial and he was acquitted. Neither Waterman nor Douglass served on another ship. In the following years, Challenge operated primarily in the Pacific and set many records until her sale in 1862 and name change to Golden City. She was sold again in 1866. She sank with all hands off Ushant in 1877. more info: http://www.bruzelius.info/Nautica/Ships/Clippers/Challenge(1851).html (ship timeline) http://www.bruzelius.info/Nautica/News/BDA/BDA(1851-06-16).html (a highly detailed description, inside and out, as newly constructed) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Waterman_(sea_captain) (more on Waterman and the hellship he created)

Arrival of this ship at her first destination caused rioting by angry citizens. Name the Ship:

Tiger is correct, Dave. I'll be back soon - I thought I was getting a break from searching for a photo to post. Dave

Thank you, SpyGlass. You had me doubting my eyesight and my sanity - what little there is - for a while there. Here are two artist's studies for a 17th century ship. Name it.

Sorry. but it doesn't look to me like it's square rigged on all three masts. While trying to figure this one out I found the highest resolution image available and drew lines at the yards on the foremast in green and on the mainmast in red. When I did that I found there were no more unmarked yards for the mizzen mast - it's clearly three masted, so it has to be a barque. Click the image for full size. The photo was published by Arvid Fimreite on 6 January 2011. Link to his website: http://www.photosight.org/photo.php?photoid=121755&ref=author As can be seen, his own note for the photo is "A Mexican beauty." Based on the photographer's note I'm making a new guess, the Mexican Navy School Ship Cuauhtemoc, a three masted barque. This photo of Cuauhtemoc was taken at dusk and the ship is at about the same angle to the camera as the one we're guessing. Note that the lights match very closely to the other photo (particularly the slightly peaked string of lights at the two royal yards and the wide & shallow "V" of the lights at the main topgallant) and that the hull has the same lines and details.

Unfortunately, those crosses don't show in the original photo taken of her under power with sails furled, at night, lit up like a Christmas tree!

I found that image in about 37 different places identified as "Tall Ship Races". Period. Kind of hard seeing the ship for the lights. My best guess is the Portuguese Navy School Ship Sagres III, sister to Gorch Fock I (ex-Tovarishch, ex-Gorch Fock), Gorch Fock II, USCGC Eagle (ex-Horst Wessel) and Romanian School Ship Mircea. Launched as Albert Leo Schlageter in Germany in 1937. After being seized for war reparations she served as the Brazilian Navy School Ship Guanabara from 1948 until 1962 when she was sold to Portugal. The school ships Gloria (1967, Colombia), Guayas (1976, Ecuador), Simón Bolívar (1979, Venezuela), and Cuauhtémoc (1982, Mexico) were built from the same plans with modifications. Daylight photo of Sagres III, the third Portuguese Navy School Ship of that name.

I was curious about the number of plans for the Cruizer class (and variations) available at the National Maritime Museum. I found 79 plans of which 19 are downloadable (low resolution, 1280 pixels horizontal). Here they are as of 24 December 2013: Cruizer Class Plans at NMM.pdf If you know of any others please let me know and I'll add them to the list and update this file.

Thank you all for your comments and likes. The wheels were outside my experience in ship modelling but easier than expected and fun to make. I'm glad I reduced the number and increased the size of the spokes from my initial drawing (24 spoke rear and 18 spoke front). I almost forgot to verify that the rear wheel and axle assembly will pass through the bottle neck. I measured and calculated and measured again but hadn't physically tried it -- until now.

Thank you, Bob and Michael (and the lurkers who don't comment or even hit "like" from time to time ), for your continued interest and support. Where I am; moving ahead with spars, hull, carriage and wheels. Photo montage of assembling an eighteen spoke wheel. Clockwise from upper left: fixture and pattern, and the spoke cut-off station; calculating, cutting and fitting the first three spokes to the same length is important as it makes fitting the rest much easier; fitting some of the intermediate spokes allows the builder to visually check spoke spacing and make adjustments as work progresses; fitting more spokes in the spaces - half way done with this wheel; hurrah, one spoke left; two eighteen spoke rear wheels (1.060 in. / 27mm dia.) and two fourteen spoke front wheels (.860 in. / 22mm dia.) fabricated and ready for a little paint touch-up, further detailing and mounting on the axles. Close-up of the two piece hull posed for a photo with axles and other carriage components. Strips of black construction paper were glued around the rims to replicate the shrink-fit iron tires. Carbon fiber pins (.020 in. / 0.5mm dia.) were glued into holes drilled through each wheel hub into the ends of the axle to reinforce the glued connection. The black strakes at the sheer line are glued in place; three more (on each side) to go. They seem to take more time to prepare than the wheels did. Macro of Fore (to right) and Main masts, tops and topmasts. The tops were fabricated from .015 in. x .030 in. (0.4mm x 0.8mm) plywood strips. Dave

Mark: I can't decide either. I guess either "it" or "she" is equally appropriate. I've made some progress. Work continues in four areas: Wheels (a project in themselves) Hull (both sections including the deck) painting and detailing Spar fabrication Carriage - mostly complete and waiting for wheels - no photos I cut discs of 1/32 inch (0.8mm) plywood and basswood to the two wheel sizes and glued them into sandwiches of basswood between two layers of plywood. When fully cured the sandwiches were chucked in a lathe and center holes drilled for mounting on an arbor in order to cut the outside diameters. From upper left: turning the outside diameter of two wheel rims, drilling the rough inside diameter, turning the inside diameter, and the components mostly painted and waiting for my attention. While the lathe was out I also turned the four hubs, shown with bug pins as handles for painting. The yellow ocher spoke material is finished and ready to be cut to length for spokes. Overall photo of upper and lower hulls with bowsprit, fore mast and main mast in place but not glued. Painting is mostly complete on the hull/wagon body; the bands where the black strips will glue are masked (with Tamiya tape - great product, by the way) so the strips will glue to the wood and not just the paint. Closer shot of installed deck details. Note the ring bolts in the hatch cover planks. Since this "ship" is too small for crew quarters below deck, there is no need for ventilation gratings in the hatch openings. (I'll use any rationale to avoid making gratings. ) The hinge near the base of the mast with an X-acto #11 blade for size reference. Although it requires more precision work than the usual simple bent wire hinge it turns out far cleaner and when painted is nearly invisible. I'm very pleased with the look of my deck planking. Close-up of the main top in progress with trestle trees and two cross trees in place. The mast in the doubling area is properly squared rather than the easier - but incorrect on wooden masts - round. I need to make and temporarily fit my topmasts before the third cross tree can be installed. Thanks for stopping by. Dave

After almost a week, it appears that the last winner isn't going to take his turn. I suggest that we send out the press gang to find the previous winner, JMaitri, to post another ship.

I've been following this build because of its similarity in scale to most of my projects - and to learn from the wonderful work you're doing. I found a source for enameled winding wire as fine as 45 gauge in small amounts. Google "Temco". A two ounce spool of 45 gauge is 7 miles long! according to their website. Bare wire should be .0017, this enameled wire measures .0035 as near as I can tell. I also un-lay fly tying thread. The easiest way I've found is to feed a length of the thread through a wire loop (I use about an inch in diameter) fixed horizontally, then separate the three strands for about an inch so each lays over the loop, about equally spaced. Clamp a small weight (mini clothespins work well) to each of the strands and the bottom end of the thread. These weights will un-lay the thread for you, completely hands off. Just watch to keep the spinning thread and weight from tangling with the spinning strand weights. I added this photo of a sample set-up with a short piece of 16/0 size, 2 strand fly tying thread. I usually start with about 3 feet (1 meter) of the thread and hang it over the edge of my table almost to the floor. As soon as I release the large clothespin gravity will take over and un-lay the thread. It goes rather quickly - I tried to get a photo without the large pin but that short thread un-layed before I got to the shutter button. Also, definitely invest in an Opti-Visor. You will wonder how you ever managed without one. I use diopter #3 (1.75X magnification). That magnification gives me a comfortable focal distance of around a foot (30cm). Higher magnification requires closer focal distances and lighting the work becomes a problem.