Model ships from Virginia

[David Enghauser]

My daughter and son in law have a second home on the York river across from Yorktown in Virginia. I am finishing the Endurance by Occre, and would like to build a ship. barge, etc. that would sail or have sailed on the York river or Chesapeake Bay in Virginia. They would display it in their home on the river. Open to any ideas. Thank you,

 

Dave

[ccoyle]

Lots of possibilities out there. Baltimore clippers are common kit subjects, e.g. Pride of Baltimore II from Model Shipways. Wye River Models also makes a number of kits featuring Chesapeake Bay work boats.

[David Enghauser]

Meant to say tug boats not barges.

[Roger Pellett]

Chesapeake Bay was home to a large collection of unique watercraft:  Skipjacks, Bugeyes, Log Canoes, Schooners, Sloops, Buy Boats, Ducktails, etc. Some like Shipjacks were specialized craft designed for dredging oysters in the open waters of the bay but the others were equivalent to today’s short haul trucks carrying seafood and agricultural products to and from the markets, so they certainly would have appeared on the York River.

 

Fortunately for model builders, Chesapeake Bay craft have been extensively studied and Documented by knowledgeable Naval Architects and historians:  Howard Chapelle, MV Brewington, Robert Burgess, and the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum at St. Michaels, MD to name a few.  If you are willing to dig a little you can build one of these craft to whatever level of detail that you might wish.  Also, the craft are relatively small with compact rigging so your your daughter will not have to move out of the house to make room for the model.

 

Pride of Baltimore II is a replica.  Her underwater hull lines were drastically modified following the loss of Pride I to improve transverse stability.  She, therefore, cannot be considered to represent an authentic Bay built sailing vessel.  As Chris points out there are kits purporting to build authentic models of Bay working craft.  But why not scratch build a unique and authentic Bay Working Craft.

 

Roger

 

 

[ccoyle]

14 minutes ago, Roger Pellett said:

Pride of Baltimore II is a replica.

 

Regardless, she is an official Goodwill Ambassador for the City of Baltimore and does sail on the Chesapeake, so she meets the OP's criteria.

[Jaager]

Moran tugs have an ongoing presence here in the lower Bay.

There is a Dumas kit for Carol Moran

Plans for Moran tugs do not jump out at you.

 

If you want a Revolutionary War vessel - There are NMM plans for the frigate Roebuck -  a first generation sister was Charon - who's  coppered lower hull is still on the bottom of the York right at where your daughter lives (I think). 

 

Any of the NMM plans for Revolution War era British sailing merchantmen could stand for the ones sunk during the Yorktown campaign.

 

 

I searched for plans for the tug Dorothy 1891 - Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock hull #1

DOROTHY: HULL NUMBER ONE COMES HOME
FOX,WM A
NAUTICAL RESEARCH JOURNAL
1976
22
183-202  
STEAM BOAT NA 19TH
A
DOROTHY

This article contains a full set of plans -  The CD ....

 

Edited December 8, 2023 by Jaager

[Roger Pellett]

I think that I still have a large scale set of plans for Dorothy.  Back in the ‘80’s NRG held a conference at Point Comfort, VA and I met someone from NNSD who sent them to me.  If you decide to build a model of her I would be happy to send them to you.

 

Roger

Edited December 9, 2023 by Roger Pellett