Brief history of the ship:
The Olympia was the flag ship of Adm. George Dewey. She was the ship that ended the Spanish American war in Manila Bay. After WWI she was designated to bring home the body of the Unknown Soldier.
As with the Maine the Olympia is a limited edition kit by Bluejacket and again it is #10. The kit was highly modified and consists of a bass wood solid hull, etched brass fittings, cast metal and phenolic parts.
Modeler’s Name: Erik Collette
Period: last 300 years
Scale: 1:60
Type of Model: Modified kit
Build Time: 150 hrs.
Build Materials:
Boxwood, Sapelli, Walnut, Brass fittings
Ship’s Story:
The Red Dragon was a Chinese junk. These ships have sailed the Far East oceans as far as Africa for over 3000 years. They navigated with the help of the sun and over 2500 greater stars. Navigation became a lot easier when they invented the compass in the 11th Century. Originally, junks were built with a flat bottom and without a keel, a stem and stern posts. Only when they began to sail on the open ocean did it become a necessity to incorporate a keel to strengthen the ship. The junks were always built with watertight bulkheads which the Chinese learned from studying the structure of the bamboo plant. Junks are still built today, the same way as they were built centuries ago.
Modeler’s Bio:
Erik has been a member of the Rocky Mountain Shipwrights since he was bitten by the modeling bug after visiting the RMS show in 2003. He completed his first model in 2004. Erik hails from Norway, where he was around boats during most of his youth. He attended the Norwegian Naval Academy and sailed on a merchant ship for a year. He came to the USA in 1962 and earned his BSCE and MBA degrees from the University of Denver. He is currently semi-retired as an engineering consultant.
Modeler’s Name: Erik Collette
Period: 815 AD
Scale: 1:50
Type of Model: Kit built
Build Time: 150 hrs.
Build Materials:
Birch plywood, pine and basswood
Ship’s Story:
This ship was a Norwegian Viking ship built in approximately 815 AD. It was used as a burial ship in 834. It was discovered in a burial mound on the Oseberg Farm in Norway in 1904. It has been restored and can be seen today at the Viking ship museum in Oslo. It is 71 feet long with a beam of 15 feet. The construction was unique in that it was klinker built with iron nails and then the planks were tied to the ribs. The mast was approximately 35-40 feet tall. Homespun wool, woven into squares, was used for the sail. The squares were sewn together and the sail was reinforced with strips of leather. There were 15 oar holes on each side. The rudder was an enlarged oar fitted on the aft starboard side. In 2011, a full-scale copy was built to evaluate the design and test the ship’s seaworthiness. The ship is docked in Tonsberg.
Modeler’s Bio:
Erik has been a member of the Rocky Mountain Shipwrights since he was bitten by the modeling bug after visiting the RMS show in 2003. He completed his first model in 2004. Erik hails from Norway, where he was around boats during most of his youth. He attended the Norwegian Naval Academy and sailed on a merchant ship for a year. He came to the USA in 1962 and earned his BSCE and MBA degrees from the University of Denver. He is currently semi-retired.
Period: 1883-1933
Scale: 3/32″ = 1′
Type of Model: scratch build from original plans
Build Time: 500 hrs.
Build Materials:
Scratch built from original plans of wood, styrene, and paper.
Ship’s Story:
The only passenger ship built to the whaleback design. Built at West Superior, Wisconsin in eighty one days. She served as an excursion liner on the Great Lakes from 1883 until 1933. Scrapped at Manitowoc, Wisconsin 1936. Length 363′ Beam 42′ Tonnage 1,511 tons. Carried more passengers than any other vessels on the Great Lakes.
Modeler’s Bio:
Retired construction supt. Model builder for 75 years
Martin Jelsema modified the CSS Alabama from the Mamoli kit
Modeler’s Name: Martin Jelsema
Period: Civil War
Scale: 1:120
Type of Model: Modified kit – plank on frame
Build Time: 700hrs
Build Materials:
This Model is a modified plank on bulkhead Mamoli kit build. Both deck configuration and rigging deviated from the Mamoli plans to follow the details illustrated in the book by Andrew Bowcock, Anatomy of a Confederate Raider. Hull is double planked in basswood and walnut. The “hammocks” on the rails are Q-tips. Completed with wood, cord and metal fittings.
Ship’s Story:
The CSS Alabama was Confederate raider whose mission was to interrupt Union merchant trade during the Civil War. During it’s two years of raiding it captured 63 American merchant ships and one War Ship. It was in port at Cherbourg, France when “called out” by the USS Kearsarge. It was sunk by the Kearsarge. It was discovered by divers and is being raised little by little by the French.
Modeler’s Name: Edward Quam
Period: 1864
Scale: ½” = 1’
Type of Model: plank on frame kit
Build Time: 6 months
Build Materials:
Basswood, Brass, Cast Britania Metal and simulated coal
Ship’s Story:
The boat was commanded by Lt Cushing and crew of 15. Cushing was a washout at the Naval Academy but was given this command because of his brash bravery. The mission was to sink the CSS Albemarle that was protecting the Albemarle Sound pinning down the Union forces. Cushing rammed the Iron Clad, placing the torpedo through a gun port and firing his 12 pound howitzer into it. Cushing was the only one to escape and made it to the Union forces. Declared a hero he was promoted to Lt Commander. The carved figure at the tiller depicts Cushing in full dress uniform.
Ed Quam constructed this model from a kit but modified it considerably. Materials include basswood, styrene, metal and fiber.
The Portland was an intercoastal side wheel steam boat designed to carry passengers and cargo between Boston and Portland, Maine. She was caught in a “nor’easter” and sunk with all hands on board. The wreckage was founded in 1988 by the Historical Maritime Group of New England off the coast of Cape Ann..
Period: 1890’s
Model length: 42”, height: 14”
Scale: 1/8” – 1 ft.
John McGann built this model from a kit in 1944 when he was 16.
It was his first. Since then, John has lost count of the number of
models he has built, but it has been a continuous avocation for 67 years.
The Bounty was a collier purchased by the British Royal Navy and converted to an armed transport. It’s mission was to collect bread fruit seedlings in Tahiti and transport them to Jamaica to feed the slaves on the sugar plantations there. The crew mutinied and cast Captain Bligh and 18 loyal crew members adrift in a small launch. After an epic voyage of 3,618 miles, Bligh landed at Timor, while the Bounty sailed to Pitcairn Island with a partially native crew where their descendents live to this day.
Period: 1789
Model length: 24”, height: 22”
Scale: 1=48
Modeler’s Name: John R. McGann
Period: circa 300 AD
Scale: 3/8”=1”
Type of Model: Scratch built
Build Time: 200 hours so far
Build Materials:
The Model is entirely scratch built and under construction using beech wood to replicate oak. The photograph is of a full sized reproduction of a “Navis Lusoria” displayed in the Mainz Museum
Ship’s Story:
The Navis Lusoria (Dancing Ship) was a riverine troop ship that was used by the Roman Legions to patrol the Northern Border of the Empire. The Rhine, Moselle, Main, and Danube marked this Northern Boundary. In 1981 during the excavation for an extension of the Hilton Hotel at Mainz, Germany the remains of five of the vessels were discovered. The wrecks have been salvaged and are displayed at The Museum of Antique Shipping, Mainz.
Modeler’s Bio:
Retired commercial construction general superintendent. First ship model completed 1944
This Baltimore Clipper from a kit named Harvey is being modified and built by Martin Jelsema
Modeler’s Name: Martin Jelsema
Period: Early 19th Century
Scale: 1:50
Type of Model: Modified kit – plank on frame
Build Time: 250 hrs so far
Build Materials:
This modified plank on bulkhead kit by Artisania Latina contains several wood types and will be complemented by brass and rigging cord of various sizes. Cherry wood was substituted for the walnut strips provided by the manufacturer. The entire deck layout will adhere to actual ship plans instead of the inaccurate deck plan supplied.
Ship’s Story:
There was no ship named Harvey from the time or the design of this model. Therefore, much research from several books will make it an authentic Baltimore Clipper fitted as a privateer in service of the U.S. during the War of 1812. The ship will be rigged as a topsail schooner.