Arabia 1856 by Cathead - FINISHED - Scale 1:64 - sidewheel riverboat from the Missouri River, USA

[LJP]

Eric, will this be recorded on YouTube or Zoom so it can be viewed later?  I have a conflict at that time that I cannot break.

 

Thanks, LJP

[Cathead]

I should have noted, I also posted this in a different thread under Nautical History for broader exposure,  just mentioned it here as well to capture those who followed this log. The same question was asked over there, and the answer is "As far as I know, but if not, I'll make it available". Sorry for not clarifying that point up front.

[kurtvd19]

Eric - the river project publicity says it will be available later on You Tube.

 

[Cathead]

Yeah, I'm being dumb, they have a bunch of past talks archived on their YouTube channel. I always watch them live so had never investigated that before. 

[leclaire]

Hi Eric,

 

I just got through watching your riverboat presentation. It was fascinating and you did a great job. The moderator kind of summed it up for me at the end when he said that he felt like he had just read an entire book on the subject in just one hour. Unfortunately I was unable to stick around for the Q & A session but I plan on watching this again on the recording on the you tube channel.

 

Many thanks.

 

Bob

[kurtvd19]

I too watched Eric's program - for the second time after reviewing it for him last week and It was just as interesting tonight.  The Q&A session was very good too.  Anybody who missed it should check out You Tube.

[mbp521]

Eric,

 

Just finished watching the program. Thanks for taking the time for a great presentation. Very informative. Also great job on the Q&A as well. 
 

-Brian

[michael mott]

Just finished watching your presentation Eric, thanks for doing it and for the link, I learned a whole bunch of new things about the river boats. A great presentation.

 

Michael

[Cathead]

Thanks, folks! Some extra pressure knowing the NRG is watching. I tried not to get out over my skis in the Q&A as there are some things I don't know as much about.

 

EDIT: I just realized that, in the acknowledgements, I'd meant to specifically thank Kurt and Roger Pellett for reviewing the talk ahead of time and for their constructive feedback. My sincere apologies, I'm so grateful for their help.

Edited March 10, 2021 by Cathead

[kurtvd19]

Eric, your plug for the NRG and MSW was appreciated and you thanked me last week.   

[Cathead]

OK, the talk is up on YouTube:

 

 
The actual talk is about an hour, there's some dead-time lead-in, followed by a long Q&A and a video tour of the models at the end.

[wefalck]

Watched the whole presentation this evening. Very good and eloquent. Good to see another geologist at work here and putting the technological development into its socio-economic, cultural, resource geology and ecological context. Really appreciated it.

[mtaylor]

Looks to be fascinating, Eric.  I've just started watching it and will do the whole thing in the next day or so as time permits.

[FriedClams]

I watched the entirety of your presentation last night Eric and thoroughly enjoyed it.  A nice overview of the subject and does what all successful lectures/talks do in that it stimulates the desire to learn more.  Your passion for the topic is palpable and the organization and pace of your presentation I thought was just excellent.  I also appreciate that you did not tip-toe around the catastrophic damage caused to the native tribes and environment by this activity.  I have attended more than one historical presentation where the speaker has cherry-picked information to give less than a complete account on the subject.  Great talk.

 

Thanks for sharing your presentation with us here on the MSW forum.

 

Gary

[Windships]

Superb model. Thanks for posting all your work.

John Earl sent me to you.

 

We recently discovered that my g/g/grandfather Jonathan (John) Biddle of Valley City, Illinois once owned and operated--on the Illinois River--the steam sternwheeler ferry named Z. Biddle after his father, Zachariah. To keep this short, she had an Official Number so I got her primary dimensions (of the hull alone) and was able to reconstruct her complete ownership history. But so far, no written description, sketch, drawings or photographs. She was active from about September 1878 until July 1892 when her license was surrendered with the indication that she had been wrecked and too expensive to repair. I think she may have been a casualty of a freak cyclone which destroyed other boats on the Illinois on 12 July 1892, with great loss of life.

 

Should I locate enough reliable data, I might build a model. Your log will be enormously helpful. Never having tackled a steamboat before, I am amazed at their complexity.

 

She is in Wray's Packet Directory. NARA DC provided her official documentation, but there may be more at NARA Kansas City.

[Cathead]

Great story! That'd be a really neat model if you were able to decide on some parameters. Sadly, so many of these boats were pretty obscure and faded without a trace.

[Windships]

Thanks for you note Eric.

 

It is remarkable to me that this ferry, which was essential in the lives of so many people in that community has become essentially invisible.

Hoping that microfilm copies of a handful of local newspapers from that time may contain what we are seeking. Stay tuned!

[kurtvd19]

I want to let everybody know that this model earned a SILVER award at the WI Maritime Museum's 44th Annual contest (virtual this year) last night.  It was entered in the Scratch Built category.

Congratulations to Eric.

[Cathead]

Thanks for posting that, Kurt. I was pretty shocked; I had settled in on the couch to watch the program with no expectation whatsoever of needing to have my camera or mic on, and had to scramble when that came up! I couldn't have gotten anywhere on this project without the support and mentorship of so many people here.

[Moab]

Eric; congratulations on the award and the Spectacular model...Moab

[mtaylor]

Congratulations, Eric.  Your model deserved that award.

[mbp521]

Well deserved award Eric. Congratulations. 
 

-Brian

[leclaire]

Very happy for you, Eric. All the thought, research, hard work, and attention to detail you put into the Arabia certainly paid off. In addition, along the way you provided an entertaining education not only on scratch building but the history of steamboats in general. I know I certainly came away the better for following your build log.

 

Bob

[Canute]

Well done, Eric. Congratulations.

[mbp521]

Eric,

 

Just saw that your workbench with your Arabia build made this month’s Bluejacket Newsletter. Way to go!

 

-Brian

[Cathead]

Heh, thanks. As you can tell, I submitted that a long time ago, but he's got so many submissions it took this long to make it through the queue!

[Organ tech]

Another wonderful build!! Great job.

[bcochran]

I love your Arabia.  I'm pausing my build to learn more from you. I have been having pain from my surgery and the medication makes me too drowsy to work on my boat.

 

So I'm ready your log.

 

 

[Windships]

Very Happy for You Eric!!

Truly an inspiration!

 

What's' next?

 

Randy

[Cathead]

3 hours ago, bcochran said:

I'm pausing my build to learn more from you

Thanks! Hope you enjoy it, the project was fascinating and fun. You'll probably enjoy the video lecture linked toward the end of this log, too, though it won't apply directly to your Robert E. Lee project as it focuses on the somewhat different Missouri River boats. Best wishes for surgery recovery, I've been there and it's no fun.

 

1 hour ago, Windships said:

What's' next?

This project actually wrapped up a couple years ago, though it doesn't seem like it. Since then I've completed a few others, including a Viking longship and several NRG learning projects (see links in my signature) but I haven't taken on anything in a while due to a complicated situation including wrist injury/surgery, extensive other commitments in my non-modeling life, and the temporary loss of my workshop to (currently delayed) remodeling projects. If/when I get back to building, I'm considering scratchbuilding the JR Wells, a neat little steamboat that operated on Missouri's Osage River; some photos and info are available here.