James Tuft 1/96 barquentine

[birder]

Well, hopefully this will be a successful project, have started scaling plans from Chapelle for the James Tuft, a 4-mast skysail barquentine built in 1901 by the Hall Brothers yard Port Blakely in the Puget Sound. The Hall Bros. put out nearly 100 sailing ships from this yard. She was built as a coastal lumber trader mostly, at the cost of 74,000 dollars in 1901. Some of this cost was absorbed by the yard as part owner, and by the conveniently located Port Blakely lumber yard, also part owner. She sailed safely for her life until 1935 when she was cut down to a gambling barge, and caught fire. Still was a long productive and safe life for a wood ship on a windy coast.
This started as a project when lines for the hull were scaled, and these were selected individually for the formers. The formers were printed on card and glued to a sheet of card about 3mm thick. (the ship in 1/96 is over 2 feet long). The formers were squared up using card between before glueing the formers, and then were glued when it looked pretty much square, with the keel straight and true to the eye.
Wide glue strips were glued to the formers, and to shape the hull cleanly have run strips of card over these to twist and take the shape of the formers. Here's progress so far

[redhorse]

Whoah! You're off to a good start!

[birder]

Thanks Jim it's an exciting project for me I hope can produce a decent model of this ship, it is a new challenge but cool to watch the ship emerge from the formers, Chapelle says he traced the lines off the builders plan.

[firdajan]

So, Glen, you ´ve started the new shipbuilding, as you promised. Good luck with this beautiful and very interesting project! I´ll be watching it carefuly.

Jan

[birder]

Thanks Jan, early on yet, but hopeful!

[Wyvern]

You go, Glen! I'm excited to watch you bring this ship back to life in miniature.

Wyvern

[birder]

Hi Wyvern I hope this one does come together, so far the plans have been pretty nice in forming the hull. Here is progress, many strips of card, lengthwise first to follow the shape of the station formers, then eventually parallel to the former strips. I did find that gluing a strip over the former glue strip aids to tack down the lengthwise strips and when dry is very strong. Now researching to find out the deck details yet, thankfully the C A Thayer exists which although much smaller than J Tuft is similar construction. No filler or sanding yet so I think soon will have a fair hull when I can do those

[Michael Mash]

Great to hear your expertise on these old vessels Glen. As the hull comes together, I was wondering: could you descibe the types of boats that come under the definition "barquentine"?
Thanks,
Mike

[SCEtoAUX]

I do believe that a barquentine has three or more masts with only the foremast square rigged and the other masts fore and aft rigged.

[birder]

Thanks Mike, I'm still learning, but lots to catch up on with ships, Doug's description is right out of the book:D