Albatross by KevinR - 1:32 scale - Skipjack

[KevinR]

My current project is the Skipjack Albatross as she was originally built in 1899. Based off of drawings found in "Notes On Chesapeake Bay Skipjacks" by Howard Chapelle. This go around I am working at a smaller scale (3/8" = 1') and using forms to ensure the correct shape and no gaffs.

 

Length bet. perps....44'-2"

Beam .....................15'-10"

Draft........................2'-9"

 

What made me choose the Albatross was that there are two versions. The As she was built (1899) and then after being modified for gas powered winders and push boat (1911~). I was looking forward to building the gas powered winders and the push boat, but she looks so much cleaner as she was built. I also like the more historical aspect of the as built plan.  I have chosen to build the As Built version of the albatross. I ordered the plans for Albatross from the Smithsonian Institute.

 

Two-sail bateau Albatross
This fine bateau has been drawn up to show her as built and as raised upon. When originally built at Cambridge in 1899, she was intended both for oystering and crabbing10. Because of her very low sides, however, she had very little room below. Hence, she was raised upon the unusual amount of 12 inches. When first built, the Albatross was considered a very fast sailer, but since being raised upon, her speed has decreased. She requires some ballast to overcome the effects of the increased windage of her sides and great flare. Generally speaking, counter-stern bateaux are are not usually as fast as those with outboard rudders, but there have been some notable exceptions.
"Notes on Chesapeake Bay Skipjacks" by Howard I. Chapelle
10. Albatross was built by George E. Leach in Lloyds, Maryland, near Cambridge, according to the carpenter's certificate. CBMM 1998.

 

Gluing the forms down.

 

The forms in place withe thee keelson laid. I used my router table to cut the taper for the crossplanks. I did the starboard side first and it worked fairly well. The Port side did not go as well. I may have to use some putty.

 

The Bow Stem tapered.

 

The Rudder Housing/Sleeve

 

Centerboard Slot

 

The rudder housing glued to the keelson.

 

Transom glued to the keelson.

 

Well that is all for now. I hope to have more soon.

 

Later,

Kevin

[thibaultron]

Will be following your build.

[Omega1234]

Will be following your build.

Me too!

[thibaultron]

If you are going to build the As Built version. Look at my build. I have a section on the hand dredges at this time. The Chesapeake Maritime Museum, may also have one on display. They at least have a photo of one that I used as a basis for mine. If you go there, please take a few pictures of it for me.

[thibaultron]

Here is a drawing of the hand winder I came up with:

 

 

My drawing

 

 

Photo from the Chesapeake Maritime Museum site

 

 

Drawing from an 1880s government book on fisheries

 

I have more references in the post on my build, also some history that might interest you.

Edited September 14, 2015 by thibaultron

[Mahuna]

Hi Kevin

 

I'll be following along, and look forward to seeing your posts.

[jazzchip]

I'm in awe of what you all have done and the work shown as well as your interest in my plans. 

[Jack12477]

Just pulled up a crate to follow along !

[captainbob]

Looking like a good start. Thanks for providing the chairs.

 

Bob

[KevinR]

Welcome Ron, Omega, Frank, Jack, Jazz and Bob. I glad to have you along. Thank you for all the kind words and feed back.

 

Ron, here are the pictures of the Hand Winder at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum.

 

I also have lots of pictures of the E.C. Collier. The Album from our visit can be seen here.

2015-05-23 Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum

 

Thanks again for stopping by,

Catch yall later

Kevin

[KevinR]

When we went to the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum we were able to catch a Sail Tour on the Skipjack Herman M. Krentz, Captained By Ed Farley. Captain Ed Farley gave a great talk about oystering and the state of oystering in the Chesapeake Bay. Unfortunately, I was more interested in what he had to say, than to take pictures during the ride. I was able talk with him afterward and he provided me information on the constructon of the rudder and transom on counter-stern Skipjacks.

Captain Ed Farley of the Skipjack Herman M. Krentz (Right).

 

Captain Farley's drawings comparing the construction of the Herman M. Krentz and the Rosa Parks. The Herman M. Krentz, Rosa Parks and Albatross are/were counter-stern skipjacks. After reviewing the drawings, I realized I made a mistake on the Rudder Post Housing. I braced it with a knee. It should have been a strong-back. luckily I still have time to correct it.

 

 

Catch yall later,

Kevin

[thibaultron]

Thank you for the pictures!! Now I can correct my drawings! I have been trying for a long time to find more information on them. Wonderful pictures of the skipjack. I'd probably would have spent the whole time listening to the captain too.

 

Do you remember the approximate height of the winch?

[KevinR]

Ron,

I am not sure, but if I remember correctly, I believe the crank was at about 36".   Before gas powered winders there was a sunking work area called a "sunk platform".  The crew would operate the winders from there. The winder would be placed on the main deck*, at the forward edge of the sunk platform. The sunk platform was 8" below the main deck. This put the crank at about 43" height when standing in the sunk platform.

 

"Abaft the hatch in a two-sail bateau or abaft the mainmast in a three-sail bateau, there was a sunken deck or cockpit with its level about 8 inches below the sheer line. Lead pipe scuppers about 1 inch in diameter led through the side of the hull at each corner of the fore end of the cockpit. The decks or half decks at each side of the cockpit were about 18 inches wide."

"Notes on Chesapeake Bay Skipjacks" by Howard I. Chapelle, page 7.

 

I hope this helps.

 

*("The winder would be placed on the main deck" - further reading revealed that the winders were placed in the sunken deck, not on the main deck.)

 

Catch Yall Later,

Kevin

Edited September 15, 2015 by Kevin from Hampton Roads

[thibaultron]

I think the winders on these sunk wells were a little shorter, see the Fisheries drawing I posted earlier. The crank handle would be much closer to the deck than the one I drew and you provided the pictures for. If you look the dredge itself is narrower.

 

I have the Midwest skipjack kit. In reading Chappelle's Small Boat book, I found drawings of the skipjack "Messenger" that almost exactly match the Midwest kit. So close that it is a matter of less than inches. I think Midwest based their kit on these plans. This skipjack was one of the type used for "Oyster Pirating", dredging the oyster tonging beds at night, illegally. This boat has the sunken well, and a narrow roller for the dredge, like in the drawing.

 

Below is the drawing with the two plans overlaid. The black is the Messenger, the red the Midwest skipjack.

 

[KevinR]

Ron,

They look the same to me. In one of your posts you you have a picture of men working next to some hand winders. The winders look like they come to the men's waist. 38-42".

 

A correction to my earlier post. The winders were placed in the sunken area, not on the main deck.

[thibaultron]

I saw that, but figured that the men were probably 2" to 4" shorter back then.

[thibaultron]

Thank you for the additional info on the placement of the winders in the sunk well boats. I'll place mine there when I get to that kit.

[Mahuna]

Hi Kevin

 

I'll be visiting the museum in a few weeks, and enjoyed your photos.  Thanks for the link to your album.

[KevinR]

Ron,

I believe you are correct about the height. Maybe Frank could help us out.

 

Frank,

The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum is a great place to visit. Is the museum the reason for the trip or and added benefit? I was wondering, when you visit the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, could you get the height of the Hand Winder? You would save me a 6 hour drive.

 

Thanks everyone for the feedback and the likes.

 

Catch Yall Later,

Kevin

 

[Mahuna]

Hey Kevin

 

My trip east is actually for the NRG Conference in Mystic.  I expanded the trip to visit the St Michael's museum, The Norfolk Maritime Museum, and the Naval Academy and Smithsonian museums.  I'll also be visiting my son in Midlothian, and will be heading to Portsmouth on Saturday 10/16 to see the ships that participated in the Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race.  I'm also hoping to see the Skipjack Kathryn up close.  This Skipjack is a National Landmark, and has recently been rebuilt (for the second time).   I first learned about her when I found the plans in HAER.  She's unique in that she's one of the few skipjacks that have longitudinal hull strakes, rather than herringbone strakes.  I'm hoping to scratch build her, but have a lot of research to do before I can begin.

 

It will be a long trip, lots of driving, but I'm really looking forward to it.  Please arrange for nice weather.

 

And yes, I'll be happy to send you measurements of the Hand Winder, especially the height.  I'll put a reminder in my calendar.

[KevinR]

Frank,

Sounds like a busy trip. In the Norfolk (Hampton Roads) area there are actually 4 Maritime Museums.

Hampton Roads Naval Museum, Nauticus, The Mariners Museum and The Lightship Portsmouth Museum. Which one are you visiting?

 

The Hampton Roads Naval Museum is in downtown Norfolk (co-located with Nauticus) and has the Battleship Wisconsin.  This is the US Navy Museum. (FREE)

 

Nauticus is in Downtown Norfolk. It has been years since I have visited, so not sure how they are set up now. When I visited, all of their exhibits were borrowed from other museums, mostly the Mariners Museum. Though they advertise the USS Wisconsin, it is part of the Naval Museum.

 

The Mariners Museum is located in Newport News. It has a large collection and is home to the USS Monitor Center. You can view the progress on preserving the Monitor Turret. They also have the Crabtree Miniature Ship Model Collection and their Small Boat Collection.

 

I have not had a chance to visit the the Lightship Portsmouth Museum. From what I understand it is about the Lightship Service.

 

Not for away is the Jamestown Settlement, next to Historic Jamestown. They have reconstructions of the 3 ships (Susan Constant, Godspeed and Discovery) that brought the first settlers to Jamestown.

 

If you are into History, there is a lot to see around Hampton Roads.

 

 

 

[thibaultron]

Frank; The width and depth of the base would be helpful too. As you know, I'm going to building ones for my Carrie Price, and I need to build two other sets in 1/32, and 1/28.

[Mahuna]

Kevin - I'll be starting my day in Crisfield, MD and coming across the Bay Bridge/Tunnel, so won't have time to see everything in the Norfolk area.  I plan to see the Mariners Museum, since I believe they have exhibits related to the Chesapeake Bay crabbing and oyster industries.

 

Ron - I do hope to make measured drawings of the winders - both hand and powered.  I'll share them when I can.

[KevinR]

Frank,

It is a beautiful drive down the Eastern Shore. The Mariners Museum no longer has a Chesapeake Bay section. They do have lots of other things worth seeing, though. The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum has the best exhibits on crabbing and oyster industries. I wish i could go to the NRG Conference in Mystic, but, I did all of my traveling in June.

 

I thought about building the Kathyrn myself. She is such a beautiful boat and very historic. But I decided to stick with a traditional Deadrise construction. The Kathryn is a Framed construction. I may build the Kathryn at a later time.

 

Good luck on your trip and have a good time, and thanks for getting the measurements for us.

 

Catch Yall Later,

Kevin

[KevinR]

I do not have an update this weekend. The wife and I spent the weekend in a Basic Small Boat Sailing class. We started in the 420 Club (14ft) boat, but after the capsize drill my wife said she was not going back into the water. So, we moved up to the Navy Knockabout (24ft keel boat). It was easier to sail the knockabout, but harder to dock. Today the wind picked up and the whole class ended up in knockabouts with the sails reefed. We had a great time and are ready to do it again. 

 

Not much planned for next weekend. I should have something to post then if not sooner.

 

Catch yall later,

[Omega1234]

Hi Kevin

 

Any sailing activity over a weekend sounds like a great way to spend your time! Sounds like you and your wife had a ball of a time.

 

Cheers

 

Patrick

[thibaultron]

The post #14 in the thread "Furling a boom-footed forestaysail" on this forum has interesting information on how a main sail would be attached to the mast hoops, on a boat with a steeply raked mast, which the skipjacks have. The above thread has much more information on this.

 

They have a large rake on their masts, and the foot is basically immovably attached to the boom. The sail would jam, if directly the leading edge was laced to the hoops. So they have a rope running between the lower hoops and the sail hanks. This rope was loosened when the sail is lowered, allowing the leading edge to slide back.

 

This is a drawing of the sails of the skipjack Kathryn. Notice details A and B.

 

 

And here is a picture from the top of the box of Pyro's skipjack model showing the sail being lowered. When I started on my model, I thought that they had not cast the sail correctly. I'm used to modern sailboats.

 

Edited September 23, 2015 by thibaultron

[KevinR]

Ron,

Thanks for the information. I had not gotten for enough to investigating the sails and rigging.

 

Catch Yall Later,

[KevinR]

Thanks everyone for tuning in, unfortunately I do not have any updates for you. I started remodeling the bathroom a couple of weeks ago and it is taken longer than I had planned for. I hope to have the remodeling completed in another couple of weeks, than I can get back to the Albatross.

 

Catch Yall Later,

Kevin

[KevinR]

Hi everyone,

If you are interested, You can own your very own  Skipjack.

http://annapolis.craigslist.org/boa/5301875352.html

 

1952 Skipjack, 22' Bateau Cruiser designed by Howard Chapelle and built by Dick Hartge in Galesville, MD. The "Blue Crab" has been recently refurbished. Previous names included Pearl, Diana D., and Albatross. $2500

Edited to add picture and description, since the Craig's List will go away at some point.

 

Catch Yall Later,

Edited November 6, 2015 by Kevin from Hampton Roads