Blue Dolphin 1926 by Jond - FINISHED - 1:48 - Arctic exploration schooner

[Jond]

The Schooner Blue Dolphin 

 

 

BD 01.  The Beginning

 

I start this new log with a little nervous excitement. Fortunately, it is only 'father time' making it scary.   The story of the Blue Dolphin I am finding is quite interesting, but my knowing a principal character in this play and having the possibility of meeting more of them is really exciting.  The big fear for me is the short deadline to prepare for a conference next June to celebrate the three schooners that combine both Boothbay Harbor, Maine, and Arctic Explorations in their history.  

First at the highest level let me offer the plan for the panel discussion next summer. There were three schooners that fit the bill. 
 

• The first was Bowdoin. She was built here in 1921 and returned many times while leaving for or returning from the far north.  She was recently replanked here in 2018-19. While here I got to climb all over her with Will McLean her captain and I built a diorama depicting her in Greenland in the spring of 1924. In more recent times, she sails here most every year, normally for the same Windjammer week that would include our panel discussion.
• The second was Ernestina Morrissey.  There are many connections of people that will come out as we tell this story. In short, her long history included many seasons sailing in Greenland especially 1935- 1940 when a local summer resident / college student was on her every summer.   She came to Boothbay again in 2015 to be completely rebuilt. I had the fortune to climb through her many times and meet the crew that did the work.  I built another diorama depicting her in her 2021 rebuild.   
• The third will be Blue Dolphin.  The connecting history is the owner who bought her in 1949 and led scientific expeditions from Boothbay to the arctic from 1949 to about 1954.  The owner and captain David C Nutt Sr had sailed on Effie Morrissey, was the executive officer on Bowdoin in her early WWII days, and then captained the Blue Dolphin.  His son still lives here and has many memories to share.

 

I will be building a model of her in the same 1:48 scale of the other two, to present as part of the panel event next June.  Ah then JUNE!!!! … the downside of this venture … That means I need to get to work right away.   I need to put down or at least drastically slow down the build I am doing now and jump into this build with only 5 months to do the work.   

 

Blue Dolphin  brief History

 

So first let’s look a little more at Blue Dolphin and see what we must do. What do we know, and where are plans and photos?   She was designed by William Roue and built in Shelbourne, Nova Scotia in 1926.  Mr. Stephen H Velie Jr of Kansas City retained William Roue, the architect of the well-known 1921 schooner Bluenose.  The charge was to design a 100-foot version of Bluenose to be fit out as a yacht for ocean cruising.  The vessel was built in Shelbourne, Nova Scotia in 1926. The owner kept her there until 1933 and reportedly took long trips north.

 

In 1933 Blue Dolphin was sold to Amory Coolidge of Boston.  In the first year she was chartered by the Ralph Chandler family, who sailed on a five-month cruise to the Galapagos islands and back.  Nina Chandler Murray was a 13-year-old part of that family and in recent years has published a book, The Cruise of the Blue Dolphin detailing their family adventure. ( a fun read)

 

In 1942 the vessel was sold to the navy for $1 and she was assigned to be on station in Casco Bay off Portland Maine. One might recall Bowdoin was similarly taken over by the navy.

1.    in this photo we see her with a cabin built around the helm [ Maine winter duty is cold!!!].  The Navy painted her white.  She was repainted black when she came to Boothbay after the war.   

 

In 1949 Blue Dolphin had been decommissioned and was sold to David C Nutt Sr. , a summer resident of Boothbay Me. David was an active participant in the arctic exploring world and for roughly 5 summers led scientific cruises to the arctic.   Records of these cruises are part of Woods Hole Institute archive, Dartmouth College, and other groups.  As mentioned above, Captain Nutt had a history that ties together our three schooners who frequented Boothbay Harbor and the arctic.

Who was David C Nutt Sr.

 

David C. Nutt Sr. as a student at Dartmouth College sailed every summer on Effie Morrissey, now Ernestina Morrisey, with Captain Bob Bartlett from 1935 to 1940. David is mentioned several times in the history of the Effie Morrisey and fondly remembered by Bob Bartlett the well know skipper.

Bowdoin.  David Nutt Sr became the U S Navy exec. officer on board Bowdoin during her early WWII days. They were surveying to find the best airbase locations in Greenland.  David left after completing that mission and went to the pacific to continue ocean surveying as part of the Pacific campaign. When he returned, he found Bowdoin committed to return to Capt. Donald MacMillan and Blue Dolphin available. After buying her, Blue Dolphin came to sail out of Boothbay in 1949.  After 5 years of northern cruises, she stayed in the harbor until the early 1970’s. She was then sold and moved to the great lakes. More on that story later.

Where to get drawings????

 

David Nutt Jr. is a neighbor and friend of several years.  David was a professional boat builder. One of his joys after selling his business, and by the way sailing for four years around the world with his whole family, was restoration of classic racing sailboats.   David restored my Boothbay Harbor One design, a 1941 classic 21-foot beauty.   More on the story in my BHOD log for the two 42-inch RC models I built a few years ago. There were many views of his work included in that log.   

I contacted David a few months ago when the possibility if this schooner project came up.  David owns, and kindly shared with me last week, an old print of the lines of Blue Dolphin. He also built a Half model years ago. The black paint on the hull is the same as on the real schooner.   

2.    David Nutt sharing his old print of Blue Dolphin

3    David Nutt’s Half model of Blue Dolphin he built many years ago.  

 

So, with about 25 photos so far from the internet and the local Boothbay Region Historical Society along with these plans, we are ready to begin.  First up I embedded the squared-up photograph in my 2D cad.     David said he has many more on deck photos and we hope to get to see them this winter.  My intent would be to try to depict the 1950 sailing version as it applies to our town.

Much to do to get ready
 

[Jond]

02 pre work

 

There is a lot to do before this build can take over the shop. The biggest item is getting the build H G Berry,  two Boothbay half brigs before it out of the way.   Looking forward, the first thing to me is to plan out the build board and bulkhead strategy and the start to prepare material for them and the hull.

 

• 1.    here I have a rough draft of what will become the pattern for the Keel/ keelson and back bone assembly.   As of now I am planning to make this out of maple planks.   The upper half of the drawing is made by extending the station lines and adding centerlines for the pattern to be glued to the build board.   That way I am not remeasuring stations twice.   

The main prework is to make all the station bulk heads.

• 2.    Here I have developed the standard for the stations to be cut out and set on the building board.   This is one of 22 stations with the embedded photo from David Nutt’s plan of the lines behind. The double outer line is to account for trimming the planking dimension.

 

• 3.    Here I have printed out all the stations and spread them out on a sheet of ¼ plywood.  I had to buy it yesterday, as what I had left over was a bit warped.   I think after getting another piece of maple for the keelson that for the most part I have enough material around to make the hull. 

 

• 4.    So here we are with all stations glued on and cut out. I then need to get the slot right for fitting the keelson assembly

 

• 5.    Here I have rescued a past used building board.  I have cleaned it up and glued down the pattern for laying out the frame.   I also made up the blocks as reusing them proved not to be a good approach.

So next up I cut out and sanded down all the 22 station bulkheads.  I also made lots of blocking.  

 

• 6.    Here all the bulkheads are in, the keelson assembly is trimmed to conform, and the rabbet cut out 

 

• 7.    Here from the stern we see that patterns on the forward frame is visible so after fairing the bulkheads, the lines should survive…..a little hope here. I also learned to make the blocking soft wood and small enough to both hold a clamp while planking and able to be cut out later.

 

• 8.    Here from forward we see the patterns on the forward side of the aft bulkheads which again are intended to survive fairing.  In both cases I made the bulkheads 1/16” smaller than the lines to accommodate planking.

This update means as of early December we are making sawdust.  Next up will be to fair all bulkheads out, select material and mill out planking and get going on that process.
 

[KeithAug]

She is an elegant vessel Jon.   I look forward to seeing how she develops.

[Jond]

thank you keith.  she really was . 

 

I just found another article written in 1995 after she had unfortunately met her demise, sinking in a canal near Detroit. She apparently is still there today.    She had left Maine in 1972 after a 24 year career here sailing often to the far North.  The owner David Nutt Sr was reminiscing for a local paper in that article .  He commented in passing that she often sailed over 12 knots, leaving many in her wake.  On one trip she returned from labrador to Boothbay in five days.  I am starting to get access to more pictures from the owners son to help me understand the deck design, and look forward to learning more of her story.

 

cheers

[RonGinger]

I cannot resist adding my piece to the story of Blue Dolphin. I grew up and started sailing in Detroit. One of my closest friends was Joe Pica. Joe wanted a big schooner and made several trips to the east to look at boats. Early in 1972 he asked me to go to Boothbay ME and look at Blue Dolphin. I visited on a gloomy, rainy day and found the inside of the boat as wet as outside. She had massive deck leaks, and we eventually discovered considerable rot. Joe bought the boat anyway. I made a few trips to Boothbay to work on the engine and electrical system. Joe had always worked with Sea Scout troops and in July of 1972 a bus load of scouts from Rochester MI arrived and sailed the boat home, around Nova Scotia and the St. Lawrence river.  Joe docked the boat in Sarnia ON, Canada and began working to restore her. I could probably write a book on Joes trials and tribulations of the rebuild. Sadly she sank at the dock a couple times. During this period a Canadian folk singer, Stan Rogers, visited and wrote the song Man With Blue Dolphin.  Eventually Joe was forced out of the dock in Sarnia and towed the boat to Detroit into a canal off the river. He resumed working there, and the boat finally made its last sinking where it remains on the bottom. 

This photo was in 2005, when I was last in Detroit it was completely underwater.

[Jond]

Ron

 

Thank you for dropping in. It was good to catch up the other day too. I have enjoyed some of your other anecdotes regarding your personal history with this wonderful schooner.  I hope as we get through this build and the fun next summer you think more about building one.....maybe and RC version.  

 

cheers 

jon 

[Jond]

just a quick update as the we head into the holidays.  I am experimenting using maple as the planking material. It is definitely hard. It doesn't soak up water and twist . There will be a lot of mending to do. The first two bands are done, now the fun one in the center.

 

[Jond]

O3 BD 2022 year end update.  The hull is planked!

 

My goal was to get the hull roughed out in this first month of the build.  I also enjoyed the experiment to try to use maple for planking.  I learned how hard it is to work with and perhaps why it does not show up as a choice of materials that I have seen before.   Fortunately, this to be Bondo, then putty, then a painted hull.

 

• 2 As I began the middle band, I was able to use simple clamps until the last few planks. I then used wedges.

It has been great that my daughter visited us again this year for Christmas.  Last year she helped me with the first time learning and production of preparing silk span material ready for the sails on the schooner Ida Cliff.   This year she again helped.  To do big sheets it really is better to have two people.

• 3.   Here is the set up. A lesson learned was to take a thin strip of wood at the top end of the sheet before painting and place at least 6 small clips.  This approach would mean that when picking up the wet silk span there are many points of tension, not just two hands. One then adds just two bigger clips to hang the wet sheet to dry.   As we found last year latex paint works fine.  We used up the can.

 

• 4    while rolling on the paint, I continuously sprinkled more water into the paint and roller at the roller pan. I also lifted the wood strip to drag forward the sheet, so the line between the green cutting pad and cement board would not become a defect in the paint.  Thank goodness for those strips of wood.

 

• 5   here we have hanged the completed sheets at the end of the work bench.    These sheets are the full size as they come from Blue Jacket.  

The hull is a day from completion underneath as the paint dries.   And just a day later we celebrated.  I have set all the planks and done some rough sanding.    

• 6,8   Here are two views of the hull. Planks are on, and the first rough sanding is done.  I need another session of sanding then will fill and make smooth for painting.  The maple was too hard for me to twist in all areas, and I have about ten little holes at the transition to the keel. I am not into steaming to make things more pliable. I made all the planks 1/8” wide with a few of the finals a bit less.  My spiling was simple sanding since this hull is painted.
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Happy new year
 

[Jond]

New Year’s Eve photos added to recent post

 

Today I wanted to record what is done as we close the year.  I will do an update of the process to get here next week some time.

 

• 1 Hull….here is the second prime coat over glazing putty.  The blemishes are reduced, so about two more sequences of sand putty sand and prime to get ready to paint.  In front we have three photos that I used to design the masts and sails

 

• 2  Masts….here we see the other side of the hull and the cad rendition of sail and spar design taken from the embedded and scaled photo.  Also, there is a blow up that shows the detail of the mast tops.  The two masts are Sitka spruce.

 

• 2 Sails.  Here the patterns were made using photos for seem direction.  More on sails later as all the finish work needs to be done next.

Happy New year 
 

[Jond]

05 we are off the building board !! 

 

This update is to cover the completion of the exterior of the hull and getting her off the building board. The focus for me in this build is to get a better finish on my hull than previously achieved.  I own, but have yet to try, the spray painting set up that so many true modelers use.  I will be using "rattle cans" again.  I promise to try the spray gun one of these days.  The sequence below takes us through about 7 steps , many just repeated efforts to get the preparation better for the final product.  Here we go 

 

• 1.    this is using Bondo glazing putty, used normally for auto body work.  It is one part in a tube and dries relatively quickly .That is why I really like it.  imagine in this photo that eventually it is hard to see defects.

 

• 2    I use the filler primer. It helps a lot for us amateurs 

 

• 3    I expect to have one more sequence but had three times where I use the putty, sand  and repeat.

 

• 4    this sequence is repeated about three times

 

• 5   here is the fool proof low tech water line marker.   The pencil lead is 3/16: less than 6 inches off the table, measured from the station patterns.

 

• 6   here is ¼ "painter’s tape. It is not perfect but bends

 

• 7   I had to spray twice. the first time I used painter normal tape and it pulled off spots of the primer.  This time I used newspaper and the light 1/4" tape.    Talking with David Nutt jr. this week he remembers as a kid having to paint the bottom with red lead.  He told quite a story. I apologized for selecting satin finish "heritage" red at the local hardware store.  Note the lack of ugly orange that was in the real stuff from the era. He laughed.

 

• 8   Even after the first coat, we find little defects coming through and need to putty sand and paint again. 

 

• 9 thru 12   Finally we stop and say enough is enough. The finished job ......also the incredible warm weather had let me open the shop door and paint here and not take everything to the garage.   
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And now..... ta da ....off the board

• 13    end stage 1

All for now 
 

[Jond]

06. researching deck and small boats

 

On a separate project, a group of us are digitizing the collection at the local historical society.  My job is to oversee the photos.   Through this effort I was able to gather the Blue Dolphin collection. There are 19 photos in the general group and a separate collection by a local student who traveled on the 1950 cruise to Labrador. That student is still in town.  Here are three of the general views courtesy of the Boothbay Region Historical Society.

 

• 1    this view is one of the few color images. In noting colors and having spoken with David, when in doubt, his dad varnished everything.  The deck was fur and oiled, all the spars were. Douglas fir or spruce.    Even the ratline slats were varnished ash.   Hoops were ash

 

• 2    here is one of many I will use to figure out the deck layout

 

• 3.   In this close we understand the relationship of the rail, bulwarks, gold leaf cove etc. 

Here are three views from the 1950 cruise

 

• 4.   sailing to the dock….in a one-hundred-foot schooner. Not bad

 

• 5    leaving town for Labrador

 

• 6   back home from Labrador

Then, David Nutt Jr has kindly lent me the first batch of photos from his father’s cruises in 1952 and 1954. He says he has so many more, and this prospect is great. These, as asked, where to show things on deck, so I could size things and understand what they looked like in that period. I asked for a focus on the deck. Many of them show activity that will go toward trying to retell a story.  For the model they will give me a way to dimension cabins and other deck items to try to replicate that era.   

 

• 7   here looking aft we can scale the width of the deck at the main cabin, see the water barrels etc.

 

• 8    here turned around we not the darkness of the deck when wet.  Also, I need help sizing the middle cabins

 

• 9     in this view, we see the fore sail gaff, several ventilators and again sizing for the companionway

I have been using these photos to draw up a deck plan that will let me get close to the original.

A second part of the deck is the search for the two types of small boats. The whale boat, as David Nutt calls it, is sitting in his barn. Wow!!!! I have the first of what will be sufficient pictures.   

 

• 10    here is the whale boat still in storage. 

There were 3 Dories on board during these cruises.  The story is not yet fully clear. In different photos I see a different dory profiles, and occasionally only 2 on the starboard side of the deck. It is possible that different dories made different cruises. David remembers the dories that were on the schooner for all its final 20 years in Boothbay and that is good enough for me.  He believes two of them went off to Detroit apparently with the schooner in 1972. A third remained with David all these years. Last year he donated it to Ernestina Morrissey in honor of his father…….not bad aye!  This is a small world.
 

• 11     here is the dory at the shipyard before restoration. In the photo she is sitting under the bow of Ernestina Morrissey.   

So much more to learn.  
 

[Jond]

7. research and making masts

 

Combining photos that I have been able to collect, I was able to embed a broadside view of Blue Dolphin under sail for scaling, blow ups to get the seams and reefs figured out, and another one to see the mast top connections for standing rigging.  I learned from David that the mainsail was on a track. He remembered it was bronze and ‘big’ and the light-colored hoops on the foresail were ash. He had to varnish them he said.  

 

Here are three views I used for the review.

• 1   gave me a good blow up of the mast head details

 

• 2   here it is annotated and scaled

 

• 3   This image was embedded for scaling then layout of spars and sails

 

  To make up the masts I used a familiar process from earlier builds

 

• 4     here in a jig with which I cut off the first corner of a Sitka spruce blank

 

• 5   Here I keep rotating and cutting the other three corners to end with an octangle.

 

• 6    Here we go to the lathe. I have a mini lathe. This feature means I can only make things up to about 15 inches without some effort.  Each time I come up with a different solution.   For the short foremast we took my favorite anvil and set is across the bed.   A single copper pipe made a sleave to house the lower end of the mast that does not get much treatment.

 

• 7   to make the taller main mast we added to concrete blocks and shims to extend the bed and asset the anvil and copper pipe 

 

• 8   my daughter was visiting over the holidays and wanted to try something on the lathe, so why not.  She roughed out the masts as well as the sails

 

• 9   here we are with two rough masts 

[Jond]

8 Let’s start with roughing out the sails.

 

To make sails in silk span I am using the same method I leaned with my Ada Cliff build last year.  My daughter and I experimented with paining and hanging. I later cut out the sails. This year she wanted details, both to prepare, then also to cut out and prep the sails.  So, first I went to the drawing board.

• 1.    here is the cad overlay of the sails

 

• 2.    here is one version of the detail for a sail that she used. I stated before that we have several photos showing us the direction of the seams.

 

• 3.    Here we have the marked-up template and resultant cut out and edged sail.  Two sides, the luff and foot, got string for the interior bolt rope and the leech got fine wire with end loops.  The loops are for rigging and the wire shall hopefully hold some shape when rigged

 

• 4.    In this photo we confirmed the reefing lines. We also see the only image to include a fisherman staysail.   I think I will include this image in the story board but not make this extra sail.  I would doubt its use in the arctic.

[Jond]

9 starting the deck

 

prework for decking:

 

This stage included getting the mast steps done, blocking between the bulk heads, and laying out the cabins, bitts and raised sections under the buffer aft and the windless up forward.  First up is to choose the decking.  I loved working with yellow cedar recently, and I have a stock left over.  Looking at the photos, and hearing David, the deck was oiled fir.   The color slide photos showed a rich dark tone after 25 years of use, so some type of staining will be needed.  The planks ran with the sides presumably ending nibbed into a king plank or planks.  The first part is clear the second supposed. More than half of the centerline will be hidden by cabins or the raised and painted areas under the winch etc.

 

• 1   here is the stock pile of yellow cedar laid out.  The photos suggest about 4 inch so what I have will work well.

 

Now for the mast steps.  I laid out the rake and position from the embedded photo.  After cutting the affected bulkhead and adding side pieces, I set up a plumb bob and yard stick to set the rake.  

 

• 2   here is the fore mast. The rake 1 inch at 17.5 inches

 

• 3    here is the main mast with wedges that I glued in to hold the mast when stepped later.

Next, I completed the waterway, stanchions, and rails.  I also filled in between the bulkheads using soft Luan plywood scraps. This softish material allows enough umph for cutting out a square as needed to hold bitts and things in place. Also, if I need to attach a block to the deck, there is enough blocking that it should stay.  Its ugly but not too hard to sand into shape before gluing down the decking.  In earlier builds I laid in a layer of 1/32” birch plywood covered with 1/32 decking.    I decided not to use that method this time. I hope I don’t regret it. In those cases, the decking was 1/32” thick bass wood, square amidships so the cabins went is first.  Here the cedar is 1/16, full thickness.  I prefer this approach as I will have more meat in the decking to all sanding and where needed attachments. I can then set the cladded cabins.

I also completed the scuppers, anchor Hawse pipe, bow sprit, rudder fab.   And yes I needed the first of several repaintings of the topsides.   

 

• 4    In more checking with the David Nutt photos, I found a long and large raised section at the bow.  This grey section lies under the chains and goes aft, most of the way under the donkey engine. 

 

• 5    here I combined a dockside photo with a scaled deck plan to lay out the cabins. This screen shot is an image of my first draft.  The final draft was adjusted after seeing the added David Nutt photos that gave me better understanding of the distance from the cabin sides to the rail.

 

• 6.    here I have made up a deck drawing to size and locate cabins by projecting lines from several photos.  

Now let’s start the decking.  

 

• 7    here the first few planks were in place. The Luan blocking nicely takes little screw clamps to hold planking in place.  The grey raised section forward in under the engine house.  The two aft bitts are in.  I debated for a while if I would run all the deck and then set cabins above.  I have decided to set the house blocks on the bulkheads and blocking and bring the decking to them.

 

• 8    here I we are making some progress.  Before I can set the cabins, I need to clean up stain and finish the decking.  I may also want to add in things like pumps and deck blocks. I also need to g-figure out where all the lines tie off. I have yet to see a belaying pin in any photos….eech.   The cabins are rough at this stage, they all need work.  

All for now. 
 

[Jond]

10 deck done and rigging started.

 

Over the last few weeks, I got the deck on and most of the work on the cabins done.  I now have a list of what remains but need to get the main rigging in place, lines tied off etc. before adding too much to the deck. I also want to get more input from David Nutt .

• 1 here we see the deck planking on, stained and oiled with partially built cabins sitting in place.

 

• 2   here from the bow 

 

• 3   Here an over all view. These views are what I sent to David before his visit.  

 

While here he confirmed several things. We confirmed the location of the engine room.  Its far forward; about amidship. The color of deck was good because it’s what his father wanted.  The pictures from the arctic cruise show it abused and darker. David said he spent a lot of time sanding and refinishing all the bright work, as it was a passion for his dad.  We agreed to keep it light.  He advised regarding the following:   fore and aft portholes for the cabins, type and location of the deck pump, the cutaway needed for the prop, the use of hounds for the shrouds and a few other rigging questions.

• 4    here I have completed the fore boom and mast and it is resting in place. The gaff is next.

 

• 5    here the main mast is mostly complete. The goose neck is underway, and the boom awaits.   the top of masts are basically set up.  All the fittings are galvanized, and I will paint them out before adding standing rigging.

All for now
 

[Jond]

11 standing rigging is sort of done

 

In this update we see a few normal progressions and a few amusing spirts of trial and error.

• 1   Here against the snowy window we can see the standing rigging is in place.  There are few details to work out and the bowsprit to finish yet.

Now a series of spirts...some almost ok and some that need more help.

• 2   Here we see our unfinished gooseneck.  A little aluminum paint and instant galvanized

 

• 3.  Here when I went to my supply of Bluejacket anchors, I found some missing parts…the stock for the one I plan to use.  The copper wire brass washer and glass beads make up my attempt to replace it

 

• 4.   here a few things.  I cut down a Bluejacket winch to almost fit the one on Blue Dolphin. I am no machinist who can make his own.     I also fudged the bracket for the jumbo boom and the cat heads.   Note the lettering easy to read but a bit big.

 

• 5   the letting and scroll would pass if the idea is be sure folks can read it.   I have looked, relooked and it is just too big…..

 

• 6.   this stern lettering again is too big.  It is more obvious too, so I have gone ahead and re scaled and reprinted all of it on vinyl sheet and will replace.

 

• 7.   here the crew has arrived and give us a better look at how things measure up.

 

• 8.    it was fun that one of the figures is perfect to ride in the crow’s nest…”ice barrel”

 

I need to get the lettering right and continue trimming out the deck ,so I can start the running rigging and sails. More important is the writing and preparations for the talks that start in May and go through June.  
 

[Jond]

12 time to get the deck work done...but A few fixes need to be done first: 

 

When David Nutt visited a while ago, he thought I have made the center cabins too wide.  He remembered a lot of room on the deck beside the cabins and the ability to walk inside the dory.  He also thought the raised impact on the size of the cabin dog houses below was minimal as the whole lower deck was quite deep . and had full dead room everywhere.  Now the masts are in and the bow work coming to an end, I need to sort this issue out.

 

• 1    here is an overhead shot of what has been done.  The mockup dories come from another 10 year ago build.  They represent 5.5-foot-wide fishing dories from a sardine schooner of 1903.   In the current build with 10 foot wide cabin and 5.5 foot dories there is clearly no passage…..something is wrong

 

• 2    In this photo, from David Nutt collection of a 1952 cruise, we can see a few things to help.
  • •    Using the people one can tell the dory are clearly closer to 4 feet wide than 5.5.
  • •    Using the dory one can tell the edge of the cabin from center is roughly the same width ……ta da….. the cabins [ dog houses] really do need to be cut.  
  • •    The passageway is less than 2 feet but still enough to get by

So off we go and after removing our portlights, and with a little work with some saws we now have 8-foot cabins. 

• 3   here in an overview we can see the better relationship of cabin dory etc. after I cut the blocks down to support 8 foot in scale.

 

• 4.   in this view better to see the work to get this fix done.  
  • •    Decking has to be revised and filled in some more…..not too bad
  • •    The house cleaned up, roof decks cut back, cladding added, port lights drilled out and set and then trim added.  

The Second fix is the lettering etc. at the bow area.

 

• 5    look more at this phot I knew something was wrong …but what

 

• 6    putting this 1952 photo over it I see my goof.   The anchor hawse pipe came almost straight out and not down enough.  There is no room for the cove line to pass foreword.   So,  I dowel led up the hole and redrilled very carefully with a slope.  Thank goodness the wood is maple so no issues.   I did cheat however and only drilled the hole full size.  I did not dill it bigger and insert and brass hawse pipe…..sorry

 

• 7   here I took some 1/16 tape I had to be sure there was decent clearance. I also confirmed that this size is not good.  I need to use smaller tape. It does not come in as many colors. Oh my.

 

• 8    the color is not perfect but close.  Here we are back together.

 

• 9   the other side finally

 

• 10    and yes, the stern is all redone too.  

All for now... I has started the sails and running rigging as I complete the bow deck work
 

[Jond]

13 Getting sails on the foremast and the pulpit built.

 

This stage is always fun. We finally get to see what we are building come to life. 

 

• 1   Here we see the first sail final on, lines connected, reefing lines done etc.   we are almost sailing. 

 

• 2    In this view we see the smaller dog house/ cabins, reduced in width, now giving room for the boats on deck. They have be reclad and are ready to set.

 

• 3.   the forward jumbo and Jibs are on and mostly rigged.   I see no down hauls in the photos and am hesitating to add them.  Maybe later.

The pulpit. I believe that is what it is called????.     Arg!   soldering loose pieces…..

• 4    here I clamped the top and bottom rings to a sized dowel and then clamped a brass strip on top of them.   It sort of worked.

 

• 5   here I am fixing a broken joint. 

 

• 6   finally we are in place.

 

• 7    The ice barrel is now more apparent amongst the rigging.

 

• 8   in this view we see the limits of view from the sails.  I would call it tough duty to be up there.

 

• 9   here is a future, when the model is done, money shot.

 

• 10   I think it will be fun to display the model with a crew member ridding the pulpit….why not? should I rig a life line?

Happy St Patty’s Day
 

[Jond]

14 sort of done

To get …sort of done… I needed to get all the sails on, and basic things on deck, tied off, coiled etc.  the set the cabin doghouses.  A few oops along the way but as I enter April…one month to show time… I think I am OK. After the last posting, I proceeded to get the mainsail ready and set her in place.  I was not sure how the attachment to the simulated track would go, so I was anxious to get going.

 

• 1   here we see the mainsail in place.  I immediately saw what I had not seen before……eeek.  The foresail is just wrong.   The yoke is too low, and the angle is just too steep.  

I was aware there was a problem before but had tried to fix it. Somehow my brain did not focus at the right moment, and I completed all connections to what has turned out to be the wrong sail.  This episode is an interesting lesson. Back in an early posting I showed the broadside photo of Blue Dolphin sailing, from which I took most of my measurements.   The gaff of the fore sail is angled back away from me into the photo.   The opposite of foreshortening, [for lengthening I guess] and it baffles many amateur painters.  It got me too.  As I had family help last Christmas, we made the sails before setting the masts and other spars…….beware of the risk!!!!

• 2   here we see a new paper pattern behind the errant sail. There is not a lot of room to play with as the blocks for the throat halyard take up some of the available room.   

 

• 3   here from the back side we see we can just get that flapper up onto the bronze mast sheathing.

 

• 4   and here we are today as I celebrate the stage as a new foresail has been bent.

 

• 5   here we have another tada view.

 

What remains now is a punch list.  Many of those things that we try to get done but seem to take a bit long to do.

•  6   This overhead shot shows the basic work of the deck is complete.

 

• 7   this view show shows a similar stage in the stern.

 

What remains for my final month:

•    Get the crew selected and placed.
•    Complete details like binnacle, third small anchor to secure, boom crutches stored on doghouse roofs, water barrels, some odd boxes, more life lines and things as suggested in the photos.
•    The small boats.  This item is big for me, as I struggle as things get smaller. I would more easily build a 40-inch hull than a 4-inch hull. I need three dories and one whale boat. Fortunately photos show they were covered with canvas while under sail……that is an option anyway.
•    Storyboards to go over the display.
•    Glass box…. easy…. I only have to buy it.   It is the support of the hull to solve.   Do I use brass rods into block of wood?    Some type of pedestal?   That is for next week.

All for now
 

[Jond]

15  we are done

 

We have taken her to the Museum store, given our first summer talk on the a Arctic sailing of the Schooners Bowdoin and Blue Dolphin, so it is time to close up the folder.

I have collected a view of her in the museum.The nice guy that used to make us glass boxes is no more , so as light as the model is, we decided it could just rest on top of the 1824 Pinky Schooner which rests next to Diorama Bowdoin.in their boxes.   

 

 

here are several photos of the model before she went downtown

 

[ccoyle]

Well done! I bet all wooden ship models secretly wish they were on display in a nautical museum somewhere!

[GrandpaPhil]

Very cool and very nicely done!

[ilanortho]

Beautiful build log! Thanks for all the tips esp. the hull finishing and working with silkspan! I have used silkspan in a similar manner and it didn't come out as convincing as yours. At some point I'm going to figure out how to make baggywrinkles.

Edited June 30, 2023 by ilanortho

[Tony Hunt]

Lovely model and and a wonderful piece of research to get all the details right. 

[Mirabell61]

very nice work Jon !

 

Nils

[Jond]

Wow. Thank you all for your kind comments.   This was a fun build.   The red sleeve and hand taking the photo in the museum store above was David Nutt son of the owner. He joined me that night in June to talk to a crowd and the crew of schooner Bowdoin as they left for Labrador. I put some pictures on my old log for that build log of them leaving.  I am now getting into the next one. 
cheers

[MAGIC's Craig]

Jond:  Nicely done and as a new member of MSG, I appreciated seeing the amount of time you put into documenting the build. 

 

As an aside, I went to a high school in Colorado with David Nutt, Jr. If you see him again, please pass on our hello. We also are finished with our schooner voyaging.

Craig (and Vicky) Johnsen

[FlyingFish]

Just spent a very enjoyable time catching up on your build. I do admire the way you have gone about the research, and been prepared to go back and change things when needed. The result is spendid! 

Edited July 15, 2023 by FlyingFish

[Jond]

Andy and Craig  

 

thank you for your kind words.  I was just with David yesterday as we recruited him to be grand Marshall for our classic boat and yacht club regatta boat parade next Sunday.  I will pass on your hello.      I did know he was out there in high school.   He still skis.       
 

 

cheers

[Derick V]

Hey Jond I have a connection to Joe Pica Jr. I sent him this form and he was blown away (no pun intended)! He would love to talk and share some of the information and details about his late father’s boat. Please feel free to email me at allcityest(at)gmail.com as he would like me to share his info with you personally. 
 

Derick