Readymade whaleboats in c. 1:128

[Dan DSilva]

Hello again,

 

I've decided to aim for 1:128 scale for my Pequod and other sailing ships..  Before resorting to scratchbuilding the boats, I thought I'd look around at what was already on the market.

 

The best that I've found so far are 25- and 27-foot Montagu whalers made by Quaycraft.  Of course, these are not 19th-century whaleboats; their bows are less raked than what I've seen and they would require added oarlocks.

https://quaycraft.uk/product/25ft-whaler/

https://quaycraft.uk/product/27ft-whaler/

 

The other option I know of are Amati's 65mm boats.  I don't know what real-world model they represent, but I believe it's a more modern naval design.  Their bows have a better shape than the Montagu, but their interiors would require more modification.

https://www.cornwallmodelboats.co.uk/acatalog/4975-Whaleboat-65mm-A4975.html

 

I would greatly appreciate if anyone knows other models out there.

[allanyed]

I will be interested to see if anyone posts sources for accurate boats.  I have looked for well made ships' boats for many years without luck but perhaps they now exist.  Scratch building them are fun little projects that will hone your skills and can be done with simple hand tools.  Appropriate boats would be from the first quarter of the 19th century assuming the Pequod was based on the real whaler Essex.  Hopefully the following will be of some help to you if you are relegated to scratch building them.

 https://www.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/rmgc-object-460842      https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/blog/nineteenth-century-whaleboats-commercial-technology-naval-craft

 

Allan

 

 

Edited May 2, 2023 by allanyed

[wefalck]

I gather, the classic source on whaleboats is

 

ANSEL, W.D. (1983): The Whaleboat.- 147 p., Mystic, Co. (Mystic Seaport Museum Inc.).

 

It has plenty of drawings based on examples in Mystic and on original drawings. If you are building a whaler, this book probably is a must.

 

The ready-made models are probably not based on whaleboats as used in whaling (which were of very light construction), but on the naval boat-type called whaler, which is a double-ended, quite sturdy boat, that was used mainly as a surf-boat, i.e. for accessing coasts without harbours and a strong surf.

[Bob Cleek]

13 hours ago, wefalck said:

I gather, the classic source on whaleboats is

 

ANSEL, W.D. (1983): The Whaleboat.- 147 p., Mystic, Co. (Mystic Seaport Museum Inc.).

 

It has plenty of drawings based on examples in Mystic and on original drawings. If you are building a whaler, this book probably is a must.

 

Strongly agree. It's important to note that there was quite a bit of evolution occurring with (whaling fishery) whaleboats throughout the 19th Century. If one is modeling a particular whaling ship at a certain date, they should take care to identify the type of whaleboat in use at the time depicted by their model. Planking types varied, some being lapstrake below the waterline and carvel planked above at different times. (The lapstrake planked bottom was intended to give the whalers a handhold on an upturned boat. The carvel planked topsides to provide a quiet entry through the water.) Most notably, in the mid-1850's or so (you can look up the exact date in Ansel's excellent book,) centerboards became common. This was coincidental with the depletion of the right whales and the expansion of the sperm whale fishery. The centerboard permitted the whalers to approach resting sperm whales, which were particularly wary, as stealthily as possible by sailing, rather than rowing upwind upon a pod without spooking them by noise or scent. (One can only imagine the distinctive scent of a whaling man after a few months working on a whaling ship!  ) Thus, if you are modeling whaleboats after about 1850, they should have centerboards; before 1850, not.

Edited May 4, 2023 by Bob Cleek

[Dan DSilva]

On 5/2/2023 at 3:05 PM, allanyed said:

I will be interested to see if anyone posts sources for accurate boats.  I have looked for well made ships' boats for many years without luck but perhaps they now exist.  Scratch building them are fun little projects that will hone your skills and can be done with simple hand tools.  Appropriate boats would be from the first quarter of the 19th century assuming the Pequod was based on the real whaler Essex.  Hopefully the following will be of some help to you if you are relegated to scratch building them.

 https://www.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/rmgc-object-460842      https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/blog/nineteenth-century-whaleboats-commercial-technology-naval-craft

 

Allan

 

 

 

Thank you.  Yep, boats built for whaling seem to have had a lot more sheer and sharp raking.

 

My experience with scratchbuilding rowing boats has not been positive so far.

[Dan DSilva]

8 hours ago, wefalck said:

I gather, the classic source on whaleboats is

 

ANSEL, W.D. (1983): The Whaleboat.- 147 p., Mystic, Co. (Mystic Seaport Museum Inc.).

 

It has plenty of drawings based on examples in Mystic and on original drawings. If you are building a whaler, this book probably is a must.

 

The ready-made models are probably not based on whaleboats as used in whaling (which were of very light construction), but on the naval boat-type called whaler, which is a double-ended, quite sturdy boat, that was used mainly as a surf-boat, i.e. for accessing coasts without harbours and a strong surf.

 

Thank you, I'll check it out.

 

I understand the Montagu is a naval boat and not a boat for whaling as such, and there are obvious differences in shape (actually it looks more like a giant clinker-built canoe than anything else I've seen).  But it's close enough that I wouldn't rule it out yet.

[Dan DSilva]

11 hours ago, Bob Cleek said:

Strongly agree. It's important to note that there was quite a bit of evolution occurring with (whaling fishery) whaleboats throughout the 19th Century. If one is modeling a particular whaling ship at a certain date, they should take care to identify the type of whaleboat in use at the time depicted by their model.

 

That's an interesting point, which I hadn't thought of.  I've been attempting to construct a timeline of the novel, and several clues lead me to the working assumption that the story begins in 1840.  The Pequod is a very old ship when the story takes place, but I figure the equipment that's most easily replaced (e.g. boats, harpoons, lances) should be pretty modern.

[wefalck]

These whaling boats were sort of consumables in fact. They were built in early versions of production lines by specialised builders in New England.

 

They were very lightly built boats to make the easy to row and manoeuvre, but also to create as little waves and noise so as not to startle the whales when approaching them. This made them quite vulnerable to physical damage and the whaling-ships always carried a couple of spare boats and material to repair them.

 

As in the old days, tools typically were the property of the workers themselves, a system that made sure that they cared for them and kept them in a good working order. However, harpoons were also a sort of consumable, because they could easily bend or break in use. Lances less so. The ship would carry a good supply of spares including shafts, as the commercial success of the voyage would depend on their availability. There was also a smithy and a smith on board to help maintain and repair these tools.

[Bob Cleek]

7 hours ago, Dan DSilva said:

The Pequod is a very old ship when the story takes place, but I figure the equipment that's most easily replaced (e.g. boats, harpoons, lances) should be pretty modern.

Whaling voyages could run for years once the New England fleet had to hunt in the Pacific. Ships were outfitted anew for each voyage and customarily would carry new, or at least very lightly used, whaleboats for each voyage. It made no sense to carry anything but new or relatively new boats on a years-long voyage. The same went for all the other gear, as well.

[Dan DSilva]

Indeed.  So, logically, the style of boats should be whatever was current in the year that I think the voyage begins.

Edited May 5, 2023 by Dan DSilva

[allanyed]

Hi Dan,

I assume you searched the Mystic sets of plans, and I wondered how many were useful to you, if any,     https://store.mysticseaport.org/ships-plans/catalogsearch/result/index/?cat=129&p=1&q=whale+boat&x=0&y=0      There are 161 sets of plans, perhaps one of them will be what you are looking for.   I for one am curious to see if any of their sets of plans include the proper boat for the Essex (Pequod). The New Bedford Whaling museum may also be of some help.  https://www.whalingmuseum.org/      

Allan

Edited May 6, 2023 by allanyed

[Roger Pellett]

Maybe a few years late to your period but I recommend a used copy of “To Build a Whaleboat” by Eric Ronnberg.  This book was developed from the building manual for a Model Shipways Kit.  In addition to being a master model maker Eric is a serious historian of the New England whaling and fishing industries.  As editor of the Nautical Research Journal in the 1990’s he produced a number of excellent issues.

 

The boat described in the book is a back engineered version of the whaleboats on the half scale model of the Whaleship Lagoda at the New Bedford Whaling Museum.  It represents a mid-Nineteenth Century whaleboat.   The book includes a lines drawing, onboard and inboard profile drawings, plus detailed drawings as needed.  Also included is a detailed historical commentary and a chapter describing Eric’s development of drawings from the examples aboard Lagoda.

 

Roger

[Dan DSilva]

Should I take it as read that there are no readymade actual whaling-type whaleboats of about this scale on the market?

[allanyed]

Looks that way.    As you write in your signature, you'll just have to make them yourself, and we won't mind the complaining😀

Allan

[Dan DSilva]

Yeah, I've decided that's probably going to have to be my motto.  Actually the fact that there are things I wish existed that don't (or that do but are too expensive) has been my main motivation for every craft project.

Edited May 8, 2023 by Dan DSilva

[Brucealanevans]

The whaleboats in the MS Morgan kit were  made from lifts supplied, glued together, and sanded inside and out. Ribs and details added. I made 5 of them (you can check my log). Yours will be what, half that size, so fiddly but doable. Good luck. 
bruce

[Roger Pellett]

At the small scale that you are working to I suggest, carving a plug and vacuum forming them.

[Dan DSilva]

Thank you.  I've had to be away for a while but I'm looking up both of those today.

[Dan DSilva]

On 5/8/2023 at 7:21 PM, Roger Pellett said:

At the small scale that you are working to I suggest, carving a plug and vacuum forming them.

 

Hello Roger,

 

I found where you wrote here that you did a tutorial on vacuum-forming, but I'm having trouble finding the tutorial itself.  Do you recall what the title of the post was?

Edited May 19, 2023 by Dan DSilva

[Roger Pellett]

Dan, I re-posted it.  Look below under tips.

 

Roger

[Dan DSilva]

Thanks!