Elizabeth Howard by Jond - 1:48 - The White Ghost - Schooner

[Jond]

1 The beginning   

 

This part of a build tends to take the longest time.  I have been mulling over modeling this schooner for at least 5 years.  Where to begin?   My introduction to her was seeing two pictures at our local Boothbay Region Historical Society. One view was of her launch and a second of an accident later in the same home harbor. 

 

 

 

• 1      launch day

 

• 2    oops inexperienced crew perhaps better said " from away" anchored over a ledge, and we have 10-foot tide.  

 

 

The story and other images are in our local newspaper as a history article.   It was January 1919, and she was full of fish.  They pumped her out, took her to town, unloaded the fish, and raised her on the railway.   All was well so then back to work. She was more of a hauler of mackerel than a fisherman in those days. 

 

 

Having recently completed my big Bluenose I moved onto other builds.   Then a few years later I learned about her racing history….wow and from Maine too!

• 3.     great view as she completed the Lipton Cup race in 1923 with Ben Pine at the wheel. this image came from Facebook site for the Fisherman Festival in Gloucester

 

I then fell into an article from NRJ vol 46 starting on page 12.    A member, Daniel Turner, did yeoman’s work to uncover the story of her mysterious length.   Unfortunately, there are no surviving records from the Adams Shipyard here in Boothbay.  Paul Adams, a grandson to the last builder is past 95.   Sharp as a tack, he came to my talk a few years back on the history of the Boothbay Shipyards and sat in the front row.  He corrected a spelling in one of my slides but alas when talking after he had nothing to do with the yards.  As a matter of record, they had closed by 1921.

Back to the story of why this build.   I am trying to build things for each of our yards.  The Adams family shipbuilding started about 1810 and ended 110 years later.   Pinky schooners first and then many schooners, a few brigs, a ship, and other vessels ending with some tugboats and a motor yacht in 1920.  Their last sailing vessel was the 3-masted schooner, Priscilla Alden. launched in 1918.  I started to build a model of that schooner a few years back, but the records here showed a discrepancy in length of the Priscilla Alden, that I documented there and had to make a choice of who to follow. I chose to defer and build another schooner, the Ada Cliff built across town. 

 

Having recently built two steel hulled vessels I felt it time to go back in time a bit and take on another Schooner. I have about 5 of them on my to-build list and the White Ghost looks like a fun place to start.   I highly recommend any schooner lovers out there, especially any Mainers or Bluenose people to chase down the NRJ article The Schooner Elizabeth Howard and enjoyed it. Ten years ago, I built a big Bluenose [ 1:24 scale]. I went to Lunenburg twice over that build and fell in love with the saga of the Fisherman’s Cup Races.

 

In several books they talk about the challenger, but some focus was given to the field of contenders. More so when like the Starling Burgess designed Schooner Mayflower owners tried to enter. What they had built was truly a racing machine that only looked like a fisherman. She was kept out of the races due primarily to the small volume below decks set up to race and not to collect fish. It is interesting to note that one of the schooner Elizabeth Howard’s options was to be sold to the schooner Mayflower owners to use as a match boat if Mayflower ever would be qualified for the Fisherman Cup.

There is a bit of fate to this story too.   The Schooner Elizabeth Howard was bult in 1916 and was quickly followed by her 126-foot sister the Louise Howard in 1917.   To satisfy her owner, Thomas McManus took is 1908 design for the schooner Oriole and extended her bow.   As said above…she had to be fast!  In her early years she was known for speedy long runs full of fish that she typically bought in Nova Scotia to race south. She was reported to do 16 knots in a good blow.  When the Fisherman Cup races became popular in 1920, her owner wanted to get involved.

 

The problem she had at first was that she was not associated with the Gloucester in-crowd.  With a New York owner, and having been built in Maine, she was not accepted to enter the races.   After the 1921 loss to Bluenose the Americans were scrambling for the next year rematch.   The top two schooners to contend amongst four were Henry Ford and Puritan.  The Puritan, designed by Starling Burgess, was launched in March 1922.  As part of her prequalification, she was off to the grand banks to fish.   Disaster struck and she was lost in her first summer. Ben Pine [ future Columbia and Gertrude Theobald skipper] was preparing to race her so now he was looking for help. After Elizabeth made a reported amazing fast sailing return trip to Boston from the banks and the schooner Puritan was lost, Ben Pine, made arrangement to get Elizabeth qualified. He then took her on and in 1922.   In the best 2 of 3 series, she raced but broke a topmast on the first day and was beaten by the schooner Henry Ford in light air on the second day.  The Schooner Henry Ford competed for the Fisherman’s Cup but lost to Bluenose. 

 

Elizabeth won the Lipton Cup races  in 1923 but after that win, Ben Pine moved on to the new Starling Burgess designed Columbia.   There is a large collection of photo images of these races on the Boston Library website.  Elizabeth’s distinct white hull surely makes an impression, and it is easy to see how she got her name…the White Ghost. The unfortunate end of her story connects her fate to the schooner Puritan. It was later in the fall of 1923 when just like Puritan, she was lost off the coast of Nova Scotia. 

 

What was her length?

 

Let’s look at her lines for a moment.   Daniel’s NRJ article touches on the racing and then proposes a solution to the length mystery saga of the Elizabeth Howard.  She was designed by the renown Thomas F. McManus.  Howard Chapelle includes the lines of Elizabeth Howard shown annotated over the lines of an earlier 1908 schooner Oriole.   The schooner Oriole was 127 feet at the rail.  The only change was to push the bow forward [ in scale] 6.5 feet.    The only reason to do this would be for speed. she started as a knockabout [ no bowsprit]. The confusion comes from a note on the Chapelle document stating the length at the rail being 148.  

 

The short version of Daniels work is a follows.
•    A Fisherman Cup racing vessel must be less than 150 feet.
•    The reported bowsprit added to Elizabeth was 14 feet long.
•    If one scaled the Chapelle drawing showing the extension one gets 133’6”
•    Add the bowsprit and you are under 150 at the recorded 148 feet.

Go with the 133’6”.     I think that is more than good enough and it is what I will try to build.  

 

 All for now
 

Edited May 5 by Jond

[Rick310]

Interesting!

Rick

[MAGIC's Craig]

Interesting indeed. I wonder about that schooner on the ledge, though. The bow of the Elizabeth Howard shows the long "spoon" bow of the time and yet, it appears from the photo that the stem in outline is considerably closer to a plumb bow.  Did she get damaged in the bow and was later rebuilt?  Or did the article mis-title the schooner on the ledge?

 

Just curious.

 

Craig

[druxey]

I also noticed the disparity mentioned by Craig. However, a closer look revealed a structure beyond the bow of about the same tone. Perhaps the vessel behind her? Certainly an interesting subject, Jond!

[allanyed]

8 hours ago, druxey said:

However, a closer look revealed a structure beyond the bow of about the same tone. Perhaps the vessel behind her? Certainly an interesting subject, Jond!

I enlarged it and it indeed looks like another vessel or some such behind it.

Allan

[Jond]

Rick. always a pleasure to hear from other Mainers.   Your work on Flying fish is incredible so I am honored.

 

 

[Jond]

1 part b the oops revisited.  

 

Thank you all for your interest.  the short answer is Allan once again is right on. I add this reply to the first post.

 

I am  happy that I will be able to answer the query as to what is in the photo of the January 1919 accident.  Fortunately, there are a few more views that I share here.  As the story goes, three years after her launch she was sailing by on her way to Boston and decided to come into the yard of her birth for a pit stop.  The crew at the time were most likely not local Mainers, Boothbay at any rate. When they anchored, they were over a ledge, and unfortunately, they all went ashore for a break.  Town is about two miles or so away and out of view. As the tide went out, over she went.   See these two added photos.

• 4.    looking East across the Damariscotta River 
• 5    Looking west toward east Boothbay.  That is the Hodgdon Brothers yard in the view. 

I took the image I shared before and annotated if for the record.  In this view of interest, one can also see all three of the 1919 active yards of East Boothbay.    One can then see the derrick barge beyond the hull.  Presumably this photo is after they had pumped and rolled her back a bit. If one looks clearly ,as Allan did, the lighter colored bow is there.   

 

6    here we see the annotations. In these early days she sailed as designed with no bow sprit.  That appendage came later when racing.

 

Just for fun I share a more recent photo of other sailors “ from away” coming into Boothbay and anchoring over a ledge….oops.  

• 7.     sailors “ from Away” fortunately, this event ended well as reportedly the crew had a nice evening in town and then about midnight, at high tide,  Sea Tow got them away.

Cheers 
 

Edited May 5 by Jond

[allanyed]

Actually, Druxey spotted it, I just enlarged it to see what it was all about.   Good eye for the  old guys.

[Jond]

Allan

 

ah you are right again....good eye to the other old guys...thanks Druxey. 

 

[Jond]

2 First up are the sources for drawings. 

 

I went to the Smithsonian catalogue and ordered the McManus design for both Oriole and Elizabeth Howard as prepared by Howard Chapelle.    Note this is actually very easy to do once you have hold of their catalogue.  It is unfortunate that it is not on line….[I think].

• 1.    Here are the hull plans they shipped. They are basically at 1:32 scale just off a hair.    

Before we get to the hull let’s gather all the other info we plan to use. There are no surviving drawings of the on-deck configuration nor sail plans, but artistic license should warrant a “close enough: / generic finishing above deck. So let’s find some photos.  Here is before bowsprit and racing with a bowsprit.

• 2.  this view is one of two images I am after….note there is no bowsprit in the image. This shows the working vessel. 

 

• 3   
• here we are racing in all her glory….the likely choice.      

The other option having no deck plans could have been to use the great hull drawings and do all the in between framing and show it in the yard under construction.      I chose not to follow that approach for the "White Ghost" of Maine.  I think it is the sailing image of such a short lived thoroughbred racer to be the better way to go, so off we go.

To complete my outreach at this point for the above deck, I will use two photo documents and will annotate them.   Once again, I have taken a broadside photo and embedded it in cad and scaled it. I found it strange with the subtle roll to starboard of the hull in this image, the masts are absolutely plum.  I will add a bit of a rake as can be seen above.

• 4   .                          here is screen shot.

 

• 5   
• by example of the next steps, here is the spar plan.  

 

• 6   
• here is the first sail plan. I will later do one for each sail. Where like this mainsail where they are larger than tabloid 11”x17” my printer limits, I have added coordinates to lay out the pattern manually.   Smaller sails will simply be printed.

To place furniture on deck I will use the 1919 photo of her in the water swamped to give running on deck dimensions for the cabins that are visible.   There are also a few online images for Bulwarks etc.   

• 7    Here is the partially annotated photo of on deck.  

 

• 8    here is sample of online deck views .  Yes that is Columbia with I assume Captain Ben Pine ahead of us.

I will then use Gertrude Theobald and Columbia plans that I have rolled up somewhere [ the once upon a time to build list] for added guidance.  More on that when we get there.

Cheers 
 

[Dr PR]

Beautiful schooner, with a classic sail plan. It will make a great model!

[PvG Aussie]

Jond, If only I had a suitable place to build such a wonderful boat, I would build one also! Enjoy your build.

Cheers,

[Jond]

Peter

My life time admiral used to say....a lack of space is only an opportunity to build.....smile

 

Phil

 

thanks for the encouragement  

 

 

Edited May 11 by Jond

[Jond]

3 the hull framing 

 

I first, scanned the line drawing, embedded it into 2d cad, scaled, and then traced bulk heads.  I chose to do this hull only as bulk heads because the affect I think is to have the unusual white hull and flying sails as the chosen image.   I then scanned the Keelson on three images and embedded them in a 2d Turbocad drawing, then aligned and scaled them.  Unfortunately, when I first did this, I was following the note by Howard Chapelle on the drawing that made it (148ft at the rail). Fortunately I   re-read the NJR article mentioned above and learned that the best approach would be to shorten the vessel to 133.5 FT at the rail.   Thank goodness for cad scaling.

• 1    Here are the stations all cut out and glued to luan plywood ready to cut.

 

• 2    Here we see the keelson assemble drawing and building board ready to go at 148 feet

 

• 3   here is the Chapelle note that set us on the path to 148 ft.

 

• 4.    here are the dotted lines that extend the bow all above the waterline.    Purely for speed, I am sure.  Later measuring this extension, as in the article it is 6.5 feet.

 

• 5    here is the rescaled keelson assembly.   I remade the building board template on the same drawing.   

Now the first cutting

 

• 6     Here are the bulkhead templates cut out 

 

• 7     In this view we see the raised portion to support bulwark planking up to the rail.   I struggled with this detail on my last build [ it was at smaller 1:96 scale] to remove these “tabs” after the planking.   Since these must be removed to allow continuous stanchions at each frame[ 4 per bulkhead], as seen in the in the photo I found,  I have decided to remove these tabs now and then add stanchions later. We’ll see if it’s a better way to go . 

 

• 8     here I am doing something new as well.  I chose to laminate the keelson assemble with three layers of basswood.  I used solid maple last time.  My reason was here there is more sheer to the assembly, so there will be three full joints. The overlapping allows a stronger joint both forward and aft.

 

• 9    Here after cutting out the keelson assembly one can see the considerable shear in this design. A butt joint would not have worked well.  The other reason is the width of the keel in the section drawing is only 3/16 [10in} where other heavy fishing schooner keels were ¼ “ [12-14 inches.]. this keel projectys further below the hull than other schooners.  We will address again later.

 

• 10-11   

 

 

•  Here are progress images of a rough first dry fit as I approach the end of this phase. 

Next up will be to complete the frame and get the first planking installed.  

 

All for now