Half hull clippers 1845~1869 by rwiederrich - Finished

[rwiederrich]

16 hours ago, Sailor1234567890 said:

They were all fully rigged 3 masted ship except GR with her 4th mast, is that correct? The difference in scale even at this stage of the project is striking. Discounting GR, the remaining are all 3 masted so the difference in size of the rig and gear must have been quite considerable. Looking forward to more progress.

Cheers,

Daniel

All were 3 masted fully rigged ships..cept the GR as you mentioned..  Just imagine..the average main yards length for most clippers was 80~90ft.  the Great Republics main yard was 110ft...20 ft longer then the next longest yard...ever measure out 20 ft?

 

Your reaction is exactly why I wanted to create a plaque showing the actual scale of these vessels to one another.

Also the main mast of the Young America was 36in..in Diameter and 92 ft long while the GR's was 44in in diameter and 130 ft long.

 

Scale comparisons makes a big difference I think.

 

Rob

[Sailor1234567890]

44 inches? That's mammoth. You could essentially call it 4 feet, it's close enough nobody would know the difference. 110 foot yard is pretty big as well. Who has the next longest? I think Cutty Sark's are interesting in that her fore and main yards were interchangeable which provided a bit of backup but also made her rig quite a bit larger than what was normally rigged on ships in those days. 

[rwiederrich]

The James Baines and Donald McKay had very long main yards as well.

The Cutty Sark is a tiny thing compared to the average  American Clipper of the later part of the 1850's.  She was more like the early extreme California clippers of the early 1850's.  Fast and with little storage capacity...but the Brits wanted their tea..didn't they...and they wanted it now...just like the Americans wanted that gold and they wanted to get to it now.

The American fast clipper had come and was nearly gone by the time the little CS was launched in 1869.  Do mostly in part by the American civil war.

 

Notice in my last comparative image the Cutty Sark (3rd from bottom).  Compare her to the Young America (2 above).  Young America was an average sized American Extreme clipper.  You can hardly compare the 2.

 

Rob

Edited March 5, 2018 by rwiederrich

[Sailor1234567890]

Oh, I knew that size difference was pronounced. We're talking 960 tons vs 2500 and more. Not even the same ballpark. But still, both are quite similar in hull shape. 

[rwiederrich]

Indeed...960 tons compared to 4555 tons.  And the Great Republic was just as much a fast *Extreme* clipper as was any before or after.

The idea of size was McKay's idea that the latitudes of the *Roaring Forties* needed a large stout shipt to endure the extreme weather found in those Souther parts around the horn and off to Australia.

 

Rob

[Sailor1234567890]

It really is a shame the world never got to see her stretch her legs in those conditions. Anyone with extra deep pockets feel like an experiment?

 

[rwiederrich]

Oh boy what an experiment that might be.

Over the weekend I cut the backing and made the frame for the half hull plaque.  Painted the backing green trimmed the frame in antique gold and added the half hulls to it.  This week I'll begin making the name plates for each hull.  These will be made on maple strips of wood, embellished with some minor carving on the ends.

The goal is to then add another small internal framed plaque (off to right in the upper corner)with a short description of the American clipper ship era and note some builders info.

 

Then to finish I will antique the entire plaque by rubbing a very thin layer of stain over the entire surface....in effect edging and detailing(weathering/aging) and finishing the plaque.

Images will follow.

 

Rob

[rwiederrich]

  I worked a bit on the plaque by adding the name plates.  I ran out of labeling so I'll get some tomorrow.

 

Rob

[Sailor1234567890]

Ed, do you care to have a go at Great Republic in the same scale as your YA build? What a project that would be. Nice work Rob. Look forward to seeing the last few pics once you finish this project.

 

[rwiederrich]

Almost finished....A few more items to add.

[Omega1234]

Hi Rob

 

Wow!  Talk about surprising and informative.  I would never have imagined the difference in sizes without seeing what you’ve done.

 

BTW, Rob...I think you have to slow down. I can’t even build one hull, let alone eight in the same time.  You’re a machine!

 

Cheers. 

 

Patrick

[rwiederrich]

Patrick..it is the wide use of powered tools and mills and lathes and sanders that aids me in my hurried building adventure.

It helps me refocus on the 4 other builds I'm currently tackling.  A side project motivates me to keep going with the others.

 

Sometimes I wonder if I'm over doing it..

Thanks for the fine compliment and encouragement.

 

Rob

[BANYAN]

Very nice display piece Rob, you have done an excellent job on those half-hulls and chosen a very good way display them.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[rwiederrich]

Thanks Pat.  I have many scale models of clippers in my library/den/man cave..and about the rest of the home.  However, they all tend to be within the same scale....but they are surely NOT in the same scale to one another...lending confusion to those who view them.  For years, it troubled me that I had no way of demonstrating the actual size differences between many famous clippers.  Not to mention that since the Cutty Sark is the most modeled clipper and by her, many if not most, think she was what could be considered an average, if not typical representation of the clipper model, failing to see the astounding truth of the matter.

 

Clippers are profoundly an American expression...and with wood aplenty, size and luxury was left to the designers(and builders) skill and imagination .  Not to be lost in the discussion, is also the fact that clipper designs(for a better and faster model) were being played out as they were being built.  Not any two clippers are exactly alike...no two share the same design...for ever better designs were being experimented with in each new clipper sliding down the ways.

 

I just hope I've turned the light on of understanding....of just how different and even drastic, comparing(IN SCALE) the extreme size difference there was within the small and short lived class of vessels that were called CLIPPERS.

 

Thanks for your fine comments.

 

Rob

Edited March 19, 2018 by rwiederrich

[rwiederrich]

Made some final mods to the clipper half hull plaque.  I added a short epilogue and description made from a maple tree I cut down in the yard.

Relocated the anchor as well.

 

Now were to hang it.....MMMMMM

 

Rob

[BANYAN]

Very nicely finished Rob; make sure it takes 'pride of place' wherever you select to hang it.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[G.L.]

Very nice plaque, Rob. Well done!

 

G.L.

[Omega1234]

Top job, Rob!!!!

 

Cheers. 

 

Patrick

[rwiederrich]

Thanks everyone for the fine comments and compliments.  I'm pleased, and now I have a nice tool to illustrate the size difference of many of the most famous Clippers that ever slid down the ways.  It is unfortunate that  more ships couldn't  have been added... there are so many more I would have liked to included.  But for such comparisons, most of the average, unknowledgeable would not notice their absence.

All in all, I think I've laid out in an evolutionary manner, the progression from early smaller clippers to what has become realized in the mind of the greatest(IMV) Clipper builder...Donald Mckay..the Leviathan...Great Republic.

 

Again...thank you gentlemen, and all who have enjoyed this adventure of mine, that has taken me years to realize and to bring to fruition.

 

Rob

[Sailor1234567890]

I think Great Republic is a bit of an outlier, even amongst the larger ones, she's significantly larger. There's simply no comparison. How would the ones you've depicted compare with the iron four posters of the next generation size wise? Pommern, Padua, Lawhill, or the five master France? A bit outside the clipper ship area of expertise I guess but a valid question none the less. 

[rwiederrich]

The iron windjammers were an entirely different animal...so were the Down Easters...which immediately followed the clippers.  The Glory of the Seas was Donald McKay's last Medium clipper and it was considered one of the first Down Easters. From what I gather the windjammers were slightly smaller then the Great Republic...however there are some examples that were  larger.  4~5 masted monsters. These were not built for speed but for cargo carrying capabilities to brave the Horn.

I have many books in my library on windjammers, I might just look that info up.

 

Thanks for posting and for your interest.

 

Rob

[Sailor1234567890]

I have a few as well. I have a french one about iron sailing ships between 1880 and 1930. I purchased it in Toulon a couple of years ago on the pretext that it would help me study for my french exams. Ha! That didn't work. It's still an interesting read. Sort of a Boudriot of French iron ships. The four posters and France with 5 certainly were a different beast for hauling volume but they could surely stand up to a blow. I seem to recall hearing somewhere that their lower tops'l sheets were not led to the deck but shackled to the course yard below as they were never furled at sea no matter what the conditions. Not sure of the veracity of that but it struck me as odd and as a testament to how strongly those ships were built. I'd love to have the opportunity to sail one (Kruzenshtern is the only one still sailing I think) but my real love is the little British tea clipper Cutty Sark. Sailing her would be a miracle dream come true for me. I'd replicate her given unlimited resources just so I can see what she's like running her easting down in the southern ocean.