uss frolick

I heard that they found a political campaign flyer on board the CSS Hunley that was still legible. It read: "Re-Elect Strom Thurman."
 
(Old Charleston joke.)

Hank lives!
 
Huzzah!

wq3296 makes an excellent point and I agree with him/her.
 
Wasa was mentioned in a prior post, which got me thinking about her, so I pulled out my copy of "Wasa I: The Archaeology of a Swedish Warship of 1628" to look at the plans for the decks.  BTW, Wasa is 98% complete (except for the rigging).  Her decks are asymetrical, planks are seldom straight, they differ in width and length, the hook scarfs in the waterways differ port to starboard, and there are some 'planks' that are almost square, eg small.  There are steelers, jogs and all manner of sizes.  This tells me that the builders would use what ever wood they could get their hands on and then shape it to the spacing. 
 
One item that does not appear is a plank with a sharp end.  Many are spiled but the ends are never cut to a point.
 
 
Marine archaeology can dispel myths and provide answers, when we can get such artifacts.    Duff  

I have heard of at least one other instance where the U.K. and U.S.A. titles were altered, and it was one of the patrick O'Brian seafaring novels. The fifteenth novel in the series is The Truelove in the United States but in the United Kingdom it is titled Clarissa Oakes. I have never heard ANY explanation why the editors decided they needed a name change. All of the other titles in the series of novels are the same on each side of the Atlantic.

No doubt later on, he was known below decks as "Kiss-Me 'Ardy" ...

Let's not forget the infamous scurvy-dog pirate Jose' Gaspar, whose bone-chilling exploits around Tampa Bay are celebrated by the yearly Gasparilla Celebration and booze-fest we see today! Arrrghhh, Matey!
 
Actually, Gaspar was pure fiction invented a century ago by a real estate developer who hoped to make backwater Tampa more exciting ... didn't work.

Thanks Cookster for posting this gem from the 1980s! You gotta love Portia Takakjian for doing this exercise BY HAND!

I heard that they found a political campaign flyer on board the CSS Hunley that was still legible. It read: "Re-Elect Strom Thurman."
 
(Old Charleston joke.)

I heard that they found a political campaign flyer on board the CSS Hunley that was still legible. It read: "Re-Elect Strom Thurman."
 
(Old Charleston joke.)

Received a copy of this beautiful book as a Christmas present from the Admiral, spent a few days reading and my compliments to David for yet another fine read.
As said before it doesn't reitterate TFFM but it does build on and give more info and insights on building RN ships of that era, especially interesting is a breakdown of building quarter galleries which is an art of itself.
I have placed on the bookshelf right next to my copies of TFFM. Wish mine was signed by the author as well.
 
Ben

Not many of this particular class fought single ship actions. Blanche was the only one, I think, but she was taken by a mob of French frigates and corvettes afterwards.
 
In terms of fighting history, the most interesting ship of the Euryalus Class was, IMHO, HMS Hebrus. She fought the heavy French Frigate L'Etoile and took her in 1814 after a severe nighttime action, and was one of the British frigates that bombarded Ft McHenry in Baltimore. Then, in 1816, she went on to bombard Algiers with Lord Exmouth's fleet, helping to finally end Christian slavery on the Barbary Coast.
 
But Hebrus was built of fir in 1813, so she would need to have square tuck stern fastened to Euryalus's frame.

Hello again -
 
Thanks for the likes and comments, and a happy Christmas Eve to everyone.
 
Just a quick post about the last bit of work before I go on vacation for two weeks.
 
Since the last posting the standing rigging has been completed.  Here are two shots of the overall model with the upper standing rigging complete.  No different techniques were used, just a selection of thinner lines as the rig got higher.  The final lines, the fore t'gallant stay and the outer bobstay, are tensioned by lanyards between eyes worked into the ends of the lines.
 
1
 
1a
 
Here is a closeup of the foretop before any of the running rigging goes on.  You can see that the upper deadeyes are not in a perfect line.  I have seen similar irregularities in photographs of later, much later, working merchant sailing ships.  I do not think that pirates would have been as careful as the Royal Navy, or even the French navy, at such details, so leaving one a little shorter adds to the realism.
 
1b
 
 
The first element of the running rigging was the spritsail, the spar handling lines, a furled sail, and the sail lines.  Here is how I approached it.  The spar is simple.  A properly sized length of square maple stock was planed to an octogon.  The center section which remained octagonal was marked off, then the spar was tapered and rounded with a small plane, Dremel sanding drums, then a sheet of sandpaper glued flat to a piece of acrylic.  This procedure is exactly like that used to shape the masts in an earlier log entry, just carried forward till the spar was properly tapered.  Cleats were mounted in the center section and stop cleats glued and pinned at either end.
 
3
 
The first lines to go on were the stirrups and footropes.  Since the ship was quite small the spritsail only needed one stirrup on each side.  These were made by laying up an eye in the end, then wrapping the running end over the spar twice, leaving enough hanging down so the eye came 3 feet (1" in scale) below the top of the spar.  This would allow a sailor to stand on it and reach over to furl the sail.  An eye was siezed into the ends of the footropes sized to slip over the spar ends.  The free end of the footrope was slid through the eye in the stirrup and a small eye worked into its end.  According to Budriot the ends of the footropes were not lashed to the spar or to any of the lines circling the spar, but laced to each other.  
 
Once the lengths had been adjusted and set, and the center lashing tied, a series of small weights were used to make the stirrups and footropes  hang vertically, as if by gravity.
 
4
 
In the closeup you can see the first heavy steel clip pulls the footrope down near its seizing, while the second pulls down the stirrup.  The two smaller aluminum clamps were set on either side of the stirrup to mimic the footrope sag. 
 
5
 
 Once I liked the look the lines were painted with water to assist in the penetration of dilute white glue which was left to dry to set  the sag permanently.  
 
The various blocks and rigging fittings were added to the spar.  The first was the line for the sling.  An eye was spliced into one end which was wrapped around the spar and under the center cleat on the port side.  A round seizing secured it in place.  The running end was left free until it was time to lash the spar to the bowsprit.  It did, however, provide a way of temporarily securing the spar while various measurements were made.
 
Moving outward, the clew blocks were tied to the spar so they hung down, then the small deadeyes for the standing lift which sit on the forward face of the spar.  At the end of the spar a large single block was spliced on facing forward for the running lift, and a similar single block on a short pendant for the brace.
 
Not shown in the photo are a large single block tied to the center of the spar for the halyard, a small block in the center for the leach line, and the clew lines themselves which tie to the spar just ouboard of the clew blocks.
 
6
 
Then I turned to the sail itself.  The first choice was what to make it out of.  Working in 1/36 scale allowed me to use actual cloth rather than silkspan or other paper-based product.  I haunted fabric stores and searched the internet for the thinnest that I could find.  I found it at the New York Fashion Center.  Their Imperial Batiste measured out to 0.008" (0.288" in scale, or just over 1/4") which was acceptably thin.  As you can see in the photo, you can read through it.  Best of all, it is quite reasonably priced.
 
7
 
Now, how to shape it to a furled look.  Although most of my ideas on this topic have been developed over many years, they are succinctly stated in an article by Professor John Tilley of Texas A&M which can be found on this website at this location: http://modelshipworldforum.com/resources/Rigging_and_Sails/ScaleSails.pdf 
 
The first idea is that a furled sail has to have less bulk than a full one, and that this has to start out as a trapezoid, because the outer ends of the furl are even less bulky than the middle.  I modified this to add two triangles of cloth that would hang down as representing the clews of the sail.  To this shape a series of panel lines were drawn on.  The outer ones were angled to lie parallel with the outer edge of the sail.
 
8
 
After that a lot of experimenting went on to get the size, layout and panel lines adjusted.  Then the edges of the sail were painted with white glue.  When dry the sail was cut out, the tabling folded and ironed, and the sail mounted on the spar.  It was soaked in clear acrylic matte finish and teased into furls that were tied with gaskets to the spar.  The teasing process continued throughout the drying process.  Where I was unhappy, water was liberally painted on the problem section to soften the cloth and the sail adjusted some more. I was so caught up in the process that I failed to take photos of my techniques, but I will do that with the fore and main courses, which will be furled in similar fashion.
 
9
 
With the sail mounted to the spar the sling was tied and siezed.  The halyad, the standing and running lifts, and the braces were tied, run through the appropriate blocks, and then to their belaying points.  Several, including the running lifts and clew lines, go through a long gammon block with six sheaves lashed to both sides of the gammoning.
 
10
 
At the belaying points, whether cleat or timberhead, the lines were secured with hitches. not knots or glue, leaving long tails for further adjustments.  Pirate Pete is supervising to make sure.
 
11
 
So here is where it is as I leave for Santa Fe.  I know that there are some items that I will have to adjust when I get back, and please, please, if you spot any that you question, let me know so I can correct them before I go too far past to easily redo.
 
12
 
My very best wishes to you all and your families.  I will see you in the New Year. 
 
Dan
 
 
 
 
 

I have it. It is the best quality ship kit that I have ever inspected (though I have not yet built it). The Brittania fittings are very clean, numerous and precise, and although the kit is a solid hull, the gun-deck is left open so you can fully detail it. The kit shows the 1812 configuration, and the plans and instruction booklet are the best of any in a historical sense, but at only 1/8th inch scale, you had better have a decent pair of glasses! It is also a tad expensive.

I have it. It is the best quality ship kit that I have ever inspected (though I have not yet built it). The Brittania fittings are very clean, numerous and precise, and although the kit is a solid hull, the gun-deck is left open so you can fully detail it. The kit shows the 1812 configuration, and the plans and instruction booklet are the best of any in a historical sense, but at only 1/8th inch scale, you had better have a decent pair of glasses! It is also a tad expensive.

As noted, this topic has been discussed at length before. Search the archives for the back story. Two of many issues in the AOS series are inconsistency between drawings and inaccuracy of constructional detail. Some books are better than others, but there is no substitute for research from primary (that is to say, contemporary to the time period) sources. 

As far as sailing vessels go, the best of the series was the first volume on HMS Diana, by David White. The others are not as good, as general references, and most have major issues, like the Constitution framed as though she came from an English yard! Brian Lavery's Bellona was the worst, IMHO, many drawing being mere small tracings in a sea of white paper.
 
I think the series format is rather dated. Unless you are building a specific ship that is the subject of one of the other volumes, like Bounty or Pandora, they are unnecessary. I would highly recommend the classic "The Construction and Fitting of English Men of War" by Peter Goodwin, as well as Diana book.
 
Alas no centerfold of sweet Diana!

If you use a band saw you will need to use a jig in order to have the depth of cuts equal on all sides. I would go with hollowing out the hull. Use a depth gage to make sure the port and stbd sides of the deck are even with the top of the bulwarks. Along the quarterdeck and poopdeck  make a shelf for deck beams. Which ever way you go I suggest shaping the exterior of the hull first. This way you can see what you have to play with. 
  Ron W.

The Channel Islands Maritime Museum in Oxnard California is also linked to the POW Bone Ships Website www.pow-boneships.de, and the museum is listed in the "worldwide" list of the same website to have 5 of these precious models. Thanks for the info. 

“Chesapeake was seized by HMS Shannon in June 1813. Captain Lawrence was killed in the engagement. The ship was brought to Halifax, Nova Scotia, repaired and later integrated into the Royal Navy. The American sailors were brought to England and were confined on English hulks or in prisons like Dartmoor, like their fellow countryman Benjamin Waterhouse.Waterhouse writes in his “Journal of a young man of Massachusetts”: “Some of our countrymen worked very neatly in bone, out of which material they built ships, …” He may have known the builder of our Chesapeake. According to the literature, the model was built by American prisoners who were confined in English prisons around 1814.
When the French prisoners of war left Dartmoor in July 1815, a great deal of equipment was taken over by the Americans. Benjamin Palmer noted in his diary that on February 1st 1815 his fellow convicts in Dartmoor were building model bone ships. Perhaps the builders of the Chesapeake  were among the prisoners of war in Dartmoor.”
With these historic facts – based upon published literature – I should like to come back to the discussion on “The Chesapeake and Bonhomme Richard being two products from this time?” There is no doubt that American prisoners in Dartmoor built bone ship models. I have, however, never heard that British prisoners had produced any bone ship models while in captivity.
So, as Alan indicates, the bone ship model Bonhomme Richard is pure speculation.

Since the Bonhomme Richard sank and the crew sailed off in the Serapis, when would the crew have been taken prisoner by the British?

Agree with you USS frolick. Heck of a story if correct. 
 
As I understand it, Peter Tamm's collection forms the backbone of the Hamburg Maritime Museum's model collection.
 
Hopefully, with the release of Stein's book in Jan 2015,  it will contain the story and pics of the Bonhomme Richard POW model.

Where did you get your information on the existence of a contemporary Bon Homme Richard POW bone model? It would be the historical find of the century!

Charlie,
 
In the case of the Fair American, nobody was sure about what scale the original model is, or the size of the actual ship was. When Model Shipway first offered the popular FA in solid hull form back in the 1950s, they guessed it to be in 3/16th of an inch scale, and so marked their yellow box.
 
When they redid the kit in laser cut bulkhead form in the 1980s, the FA she suddenly became a 1/4th scale model, EVEN THOUGH BOTH KITS AND THEIR FITTINGS WERE THE EXACT SAME SIZE!

Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin series is a body of literature that has helped to shape who I am.  Perhaps that sounds extreme, but those books have influenced my life in many ways; from giving me a much greater vocabulary, to helping me discover some of my favorite music.  I was introduced to the series in 1994 when I was a freshman in high school, and since that time I have read the series through 5 times.  I have read the first four books many more times than that.
 
I think that a comparison to the other related series, Bolitho, Hornblower, etc... can only be done superficially at best.  In this, only that they share the same time and place.  There is certainly not a comparison to be made in terms of language or grasp of the period.  O'Brian spent much of his youth immersed in the Gentleman's magazine and Naval Chronicle.  In one of the videos posted earlier in this thread, O'Brian talks about how he poured through the Gentleman's Magazine, giving him a foundation in the period style, language, and events.  The only way to get a more authentic feel would be to have an author from the period, such as Jane Austen, who also happened to be one of O'Brian's influences.  For those who do not know what the Gentleman's magazine was, it was a variety publication that featured public events, literature, poetry, science, politics, and a host of other topics.  It's publication ran from 1731 to 1922.  You can read about it here:
 
Additionally, as a body of work, I think that they are less sea story, and more examination of the human condition.  At their heart, they search the depths of what it is to be human from the male perspective.  Career, companionship, politics, food, love, hatred, music, disappointment, true friendship, utter ruin, hope, and how men cope with these and a host of other topics are the real back bone of the Aubrey/Maturin series.  Yes they are back dropped in the Royal Navy during the long wars with France at the beginning of the 19th century, but they are about so much more than Cochrane's exploits in the Mediterranean,  the capture of the Spanish treasure fleet, or Dance's action in the Indian ocean against Linois. 
 
I do enjoy some of the other series out there, particularly Bolitho, but to me those books are exciting, linear stories that entertain you from point A to point B.  Escapist fiction similar to Cornwell's Richard Sharpe.  Great yarns, but they are not literature in the higher sense.  Hornblower was once a favorite, but I have since developed a repugnance to the self effacing or even self loathing character.  So for me, O'Brian will remain the undisputed king of my fiction section. 
 
 

For those interested, the BBC will be celebrating Patrick O'Brian's centenary with readings from Master and Commander every day next week at 2pm GMT. On Monday at 2.30pm there is also a recorded interview with Patrick O'Brian.
 
You can listen online, here is the link. 
 
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4extra/programmes/schedules/2014/w50
 
Don't worry if you miss the time, they are repeated later and are usually left on the site for a month to be played at anytime after they are first broadcast. Look at the schedule for details.
 
I am a regular listener to BBC Radio 4 extra. Always full of great drama and comedy programs and no adverts.
 
Dan.