uss frolick

Awesome research, JohnE. Humbly received. Much to ponder ...

There is (or was) an original pre-1814 onboard profile plan of the New York in the National Archives that Chapelle used to fix Allen's draught. But it has never been published. Note the deck details on the Chapelle draught.

Huzzah! Lovely work.

Chapter 11, of NRG's epic "Ship Modelers Shop Notes", edited by Merritt Edson, deals with contemporary painting and finishing of ships. One of the articles, written by Howard Chapelle, is a collection of contemporary American newspaper accounts from the 1760's of small, un-named, abandoned merchant vessels, brigs and schooners, found floating awash at sea, that describes them to their readers, for identification purposes. They were sometimes brightly painted with red or blue portions of their hulls. This chapter deserves a re-read.

Having just looked at a picture of the Harvey model online, I think you could probably just add an additional pair of ports in the after bulwarks without shifting the others. There seems to be a lot of empty space back there. But don't place the pair so far aft, that the carronades would have interfered with the tiller's running tackle.

Yes. The Ringle was more of a chaser, not a so much a chasee (although the guns could have been run out the stern, if needed) so put them in the forward-most broadside port. The bridle ports were used in the everyday running of the ship, so they needed to be empty most of the time.

You will need to place them in the forward-most broadside port, not pointing directly forward. But I don't know if your Harvey has enough ports in her side to mount them all. If not, then since you are altering her into a fictitious vessel, you might want to be creative, and rearrange the existing ports to be closer together (without shifting the chain-plates around) and add one more pair of ports to her broadside. Leave the forward pointing ports, call bridle ports, empty. The crew would shift a chase gun there, if they needed to. Arming the bridle ports full time would put too much weight in her extremities, and cause her to pitch.

The long guns would be forward, because any Royal Navy tender would be more concerned about chasing, not being chased, if they were of a light caliber, such as six pounders. However, if the long guns were unusually large, (like the USS Spark, 1815, which had ten 18-pounder carronades and two long 18-pounders) they might also be placed amidships, where their weight might push the sharp bow down, badly affecting the trim of the ballast. Any chase would hopefully be to leeward, not necessarily in front of you. The outhouses are called roundhouses, and they probably have been removed for naval service, as they would splinter greatly if struck by shot.

I would say the Bluejacket solid hull Constitution is one of the most challenging. She is very complicated for 1/8th scale, and the sheer number of her "Britania-metal" fittings looks rather daunting.

The USS Maryland, 24 gun subscription-built ship-sloop of war, was built in Baltimore. Since she too was named after the state that built her, we should note that she sports the coat of arms of her state on her central taffrail. The description comes from the Federal Gazette and Baltimore Daily Register, June 4, 1799: "On the Taffrail is the Seal of Maryland, representing the figure of Justice and Peace with proper insignia; It is supported on the right by a Genius with a book and pen preparing to record the honors the ship may confer on her country, while on the left the Genius of Music is ready to strike his lyre in celebration of the rising greatness of America."

I'll cut and paste from an earlier post: The Frigates President, Adams and New York were all building at the same time in New York yards. Stern carvings of the other two survive: USS Adams, 28 gun frigate launched in in New York from the New Hampshire Gazette, June 4, 1799: "On the stern in the centre of the taffrail, are the arms of the U. States, supported by Sybele and Neptune - the latter with his left hand resting on his Trident and his right extended over our "Infant Navy", with some Attributes of Commerce. The former reclining on a sheaf of wheat with a septre in her right hand, in her left is the Key of the Earth and Supporting a Cornucopia ..." USS President, 44-gun frigate, built in New York, from Claypole's American Daily Advertiser, Philadelphia, April 14, 1800. "Stern: In the center of the taffrail, the figure of America the right arm resting on the base of a monument and three books representing the three branches of government; in the right hand a pen, to record the heroic actions of her sons; in her left, the Constitution of the United States; at her feet, the American Fasces erect, supported by the standards of the Army and the Navy. On her right the figure of Wisdom, and the left the figure of Strength, both inclined, and looking to the center; in the right hand of Wisdom, a spear, the left resting against the port, and the bird of vigilence at her feet.; the left hand of Strength resting on a herculean club, the right hand resting against the port as the grand supporters of America ..."

The most heavily decorated ship of the American Navy was the USS President. When launched in 1800, she had a triple figure head, consisting of the bust of George Washington sitting on a rock, supported on either side by two full length female figures, each representing an important virtue.

Boston fought three battles: One against the 24-gun French Corvette Le Berceau (which she captured, but was returned to France) , one against several Tripolitan gunboats, one of which she sank, and finally, she engaged a squadron armed French barges off Haiti, in an all day battle, where she sank one or two of those as well, wherein the Boston actually emptied her shot locker! The real Le Berceau appears in the Patrick O'Brien novel, "HMS Surprise", as one of Admiral Linoirs's squadron. You know Dan, if you wanted to sell copies of your Boston plans, you would have many takers, especially since you have lofted off all the frames. For those of you looking for something unique, there is always the 1799-1814 Frigate USS New York. She was the flagship of Commodore Morris's squadron, and she fought two battles against Tripolitan gunboats and shore batteries. She was a double-banked frigate throughout her whole lifetime. There was a plan to tow her hulk out of Washington and rebuild her in 1813, but she was burned the following year, alongside the Boston, to prevent her falling into the hands of the British. Her lines survive, as does an inboard profile, both of which Chapelle used to reconstruct her. The New York begs to be built. Her stern and carvings need to be reconstructed, but that gives one's imagination a chance to soar !

A hero, eh, Charlie? Well, I guess I'll need a moniker. Nap Man? The Grey Hornet? Flabbio?

Mr. Bruckshaw's model is of the c. 1749 Boston, the earliest known plan of an American-built warship.

Hegner blades are not hard to change,but maybe I'm used to them. But the old Delta's Jack-the-Ripper Stabber-Blades ...

My first cheap scroll saw was a Delta. It shook so hard and broke so many blades, I called it "The Delta Saw of Death." Since then , I picked up a used Hegner Scroll Saw, from Switzerland, or Germany, or somewhere mountainous and cold, I forget. It is very expensive, especially if new, but it was used a lot by jewelers, and it is smooth and almost vibration free. Roman Barzana, the Tampa-based discoverer of Loquat Wood [snap! ], turned me on to the bright-orange Hegner saws.

Matrim, you have one nice library!

It gives you a clue as to what the interior of the Titanic might have looked like, after only one year, in 1913.

That looks like a first post to me ... Welcome !!!!

I agree. We should always interpret the lines of a ship from a small 2D photograph of a model at our peril! Ditto unusual winkie placement.

Don't you think the stern view on page 92, bottom, of Modeles Historiques, shows a more of a v-shape? Anyway, the only other frigate plans that I have seen with eight windows, or any even number of windows, is Forfait's Topaze of 1804 (HMS Alcmene, 1809), and of course Forfait's large L'Immortalitie class. Although Topaze's counter timbers have greater rake than the Renomme's model, they have less rake than the average Sane ship. Topaze and Renomme were both built in Nantes, two years apart, and I can't think of any other Nantes built 18-pounder frigates.

Thanks John! One of the unique features of the La Renomme model is the upright nature of her counter timbers - practically no rake at all. Your sail plan shows the same characteristic. Sane ships usually had a great, gracefully looking rake. One thing that I can not determine, based on the dozen or so photographs that I have seen, about the La Renomme Model, is whether she had a beak-head bulkhead, of a full bow. If anyone sees the model in person, place make note!

Hi Bava! The midship shape seen in a (kind of) head-on photo of the model clearly shows the rising V-shaped dead-rise as seen on the Forfait draughts, and not the Sane apple shape. But Many, including Boudroit, insist that Sane designed La Renomme. And the stern of the frigate shows her name beneath the windows.

JohnE, I just noticed your earlier observation that Forfait was more likely than Sane to incorporate bridle ports on the the forty-gun frigates. This would support my theory that La Renomme (later HMS Java) was a Forfait designed ship, and not a Sane, as is often claimed.