Windling World: December 2005

@allant of Glenfield sails home Another masterpiece from Andreas Gondesen The models Gondesen have been of Andreas of Germany shown in two back issues of WW. The original man-o’-war was built in here 1664-65 and was 163 feet long and 43 feet wide. She was capable of devastating firepower and carried 8O guns. The history of the ship is far too lengthy to be included. The short pictorial of the model by this master shipmodeller shows the extent of detail carried out by Andreas, and his standard of workmanship. ss Powe ___ Brian Cuthbe “Now where is When Aucklander Malcolm Wil- kinson was a kid, (he told me) he used to make pirate ships and pirates out of plasticine and stage that map of Treasure Island ?” ‘play battles’ in his head. Progressing through his he frigate the Essex, the details of which promised himself that one day he life’s “voyage’ Malcolm obtained from one of the would make one of those models ‘Anatomy and enjoy sailing her. The Gallant Conway Maritime Press, written and shows he has achieved that prom- illustrated by Portia Takakjian. of the Ship’ Series by ise. The Essex was launched September In actual closely fact, based on the model the 32-gun was US 30th 1798 after nearly three years Back to the future. And so | move onto the hardest At the helm | may yet one day have to write, the one that will say that this magazine is shutting down. Thanks to less than one handful of readers (that means four persons) WW enjoys a stay of | admire JK Rowling and she won’t execution for a few more issues any- mind that I’ve started on my new way (| hope). | have never solicited 700 page book, Larry Blotta and ‘lifeline’ cash donations, but | now the half-mad model yot won’t say “no thank you”. spotta, to be released at one minute after The fine model schooners of mid- night in the year 2006 Alan point three, (deep under- line-control model schooners water, of Dave Shull (remember pre- naturally!) ‘Hog’s Breath’ at pond in Suydam, the non RC RC days of control-line flying Itchybottom. of model aireraft?), masterpiece, Another this one by Windling is all about relaxing either Brian Clark. (MS KILLINGWORTH on ones own or with friends. It re- will hopefully set some of you drib- quires the right attitude that enables bling with amazement and delight, you to enjoy the peace of the pond perhaps even motivate some build- or lake, and the wind or lack of it, ing in sheds here and there. as you wait for that zephyr that you know will come eventually. It is also I’ve not forgotten Malcolm Wilkin- about son of Auckland’s Gallant seen in the camaraderie and _friend- ship of those with similar beliefs, the August issue and now shown on and the time you take to say hello to the cover, and within. passers-by as you sail. Variations on a theme shows two It is about sharing time and space on completely different Bawleys, one in the water with the boats of fellow windlers, and with the ducks, the Auckland and one in the UK. The odd eel and. the shags, and it is Bawley has nice hull lines indeed about humorous banter, saying good and morning goodbye, and about attractive choice and of boat for mod- sharing and ideas helping fellow makes an sailors who have run aground. As | ellers. have said, it is an attitude thing and John Butter- is far distant from being a fiercely with’s cruising competitive activity. version, Janie M. At left is Dobrikin§ Duck- Sailing a model sailing boat under works is the excellent Online maga- on Duckworks. radio, and ‘working the wind’ to me zine for amateur boatbuilders and it represents an occasion of low-level was there | discovered an interesting Dobrikin of the ecstasy, which | believe many of us in the “ageing adult’ retirement time construction of a fleet of large mod- zones of our lives will find benefi- els of the Sabot Brigantine Venus. It cial to our immediate well being. story by Jordan J is included in this Described another way, it is when issue. Just type in the boy in us comes back ready to ~“Duckworks appreciate Magazine’ provides us with what is known as of you online) (those who are and the search engine will and it “quality time’. The year has sailed on by so quickly but Leinweber(seen activities, hasn’t it ? In a month or so it will be get you there. Chuck such below) is a memory. Seasons Greetings friends and may all your 2006 sail- the brainy guru behind the success ings take you wherever your heart of that site, desires, remembering that this is the and | Ee crucial have agreed him Ff WW renewal to selling some This subs gentleman, Canadian Robert Savary of the Minisail Classic readers which might help in our ef- group forts to stay afloat. Those subs will land, also knows that you have to get as to issue where the majority of subs fall due. US and be at US/Can $24 or you can still in Switzer- deal directly with me at $20. It is low down to the sail- the choice of the reader. ing level of a model in order to capture it Among other offerings within this realistically. The use issue is a condensed version of The of the photo Paxton Legacy by Russell Potts—the Classic Minisail group. well told schooner restoration William of Paxton. the is courtesy of Swiss toy Also a Have a safe and happy Christmas mini-pictorial on another fine model my friends. May 2006 be a good by Andreas Gondesen. one. By the way, the new photo of yours truly (top of page 2) is by Tim Since “down many refer under’, to Australia do Australians the rest of the world “up over 2’ as Steele, son of my wife Norma and I. call Mark Steele Publisher/Editor (Continued from previous page) of meticulous planning and con- struction, and when it appeared it drew much attention, acclaim and commendation. The Essex enjoyed a colourful and courageous career and_ finally wound up as a hulk which was used as a convict prison about until 1837, a period of years which by 39 wife map of Island is evident on the table a wooden war- (shown below). ship. model a Treasure was not bad for The Malcolm’s Mary, is 63” long (or 1.6 metres from the tip of the outer jib boom driver to boom, and 39” (or 1 metres) between the perpendicular. The sails are It is built at a scale of 1:48 or a quarter inch to the foot. Malcolm’s have a model aim was of masts display which sailed beech, a ‘You contradiction !). have a to have the decks are of (which he says was a bit of and yards are of Southland to quality polyester motto n,, kauri go, don’t and superstructures mainly of ebony. you ?’.The hull is planked, has several ‘depths’ within which are exten- The model is a tribute to Malcolm’s sively detailed though not seen, and already evident in several in the cabin of her “Captain and Commander’ (Russell Crowe) carved ship modelling skills prior models made. De . CANNONBALLS ALL OVER THE PLACE «+» TORN SAILS AND SHATTERED MASTS… Or | think that the New Zealand auxilliary schooner Te Aroha (above) would make a nice RC model. She was built in 1909 from a single kauri log and serviced the river settlements around the New Zealand in pursuit of survival or greed. no doubt gers. It was rig- Cliff Hawkins drawing must find live in yourself on your ment’. eternity Q Q Sa ff ees, was it ? launch pea REGATTA! not so just a few years ago “You » ‘ THIS WAS OUR. BEST EVer of a ‘wave of intersquare sis, a. ers are on the crest in . 4 about it, modelmak- est’ we SEVENTEEN GUYS everything done at speed, living our lives in fast forward is – TOTAL DESTRUCTION Folk speak too loud most move too fast There < four large sheets and a multi page 8 boats writer, the editor is most grateful). The Sabot Brigantine plans consist of and the ~ tween the masts. 12X11 and Jordan J Dobrikin to whom Jats carried two triangular staysails be- an Catch the tradewinds in amateur your sails. 16’ rowing skiff which in mid-project he con- Explore, Dream, Discover” verted into a 17th century Galleon hull. (Mark Twain) 14 Brian Clark built and sails H.M.S Killingworth, this 1840. 12-gun man-o’-war brig over a lengthy pe- riod of 3 years and 3 months. He lives in Newcastle on Tyne in the United Kingdom. Because he wanted it to be a fully This worked out at a hull length of 63” with a total length including the bowsprit, booms, spits etc of 84” working sailing model the scale had to be practical and as large as possi- —_— =— ble, so he chose to make it as big as LOA. The hull is a scratch built fi- his little car trailer could carry. The plans (bought Scotland plans from a service) breglass shell with a planked deck. Glasgow, are of a A sail winch drives a mini-toothed class, not any particular ship, and belt, he named his after the local sailing driving the steering wheel through pulleys to the tiller. lake, doubling the plans from a 1/4“ to 1/2” to the foot or 1/24th scale. (Continued from previous page) 15 (continued from previous page) The anchor winch is a_ battery screwdriver. The anchors themselves and the guns are cast in phosphor bronze and gun blackened and all cannon trucks are wired for electrical firing of the guns using Py- rodex for powder. Each gun can be fired individually. The guns are fired by 12 volts being put through fine cables which are weakened in the middle of the charge. The charges are all hand above the fighting tops. By removing brass pins the masts can be folded forward and locked. HMS_ Killingworth was finally launched in August rolled and using cigarette paper they do smoke. last year and from the outset sailed beautifully and as hoped for. She is most impressive under sail, and it is evident that Brian Clark and very New Zealander, Malcolm Wilkinson come from the same mould. They both possess not only the skill levels A number of these little ships remained in commission in the Royal but an abundance of patience so nec- essary to ensure that every single de- Navy well into the 20th century as seagoing training ships, Nautilus, Liberty and Seaflower among tail is not overlooked. Perhaps they should make contact, and form their own society of model Square Rigger them. builders and windlers, share ideas, enjoy friend- In order to facilitate ease of transport, Brian hinged both masts just ship. | put it to them. Ed 16 A Another Auckland ~Boatus windler, un-interuptus’ Rule Ron has completed this rather stylish Thames Sailing Barge, R Gee. (Bargy ? There comes a time in the affairs of Ed) Length over- man, when he must part with items all is 48”” with for whatever reasons. Moving home a was good enough reason for the edi- and tor to part with his beamy Caribbean ballast. trading sloop Blossom and Auckland carved Ancient Mariner windler, Bob Wal- out ters will, as a project, be stripping then scratchbuilt the boat and bringing it back to life, the model using and so to sail the waters of Onepoto pictures on the internet as a guide. It again, briskly trade in island fruit ! looks good and goes well. In the April issue in the Kensington Round Pond in London story, turns Seen here are US reader, Steve Levesque (perhaps as prolific a out builder that Robin long time WW_ reader, 10” beam 10 Ibs of Ron the of hull foam, as Ron seen launching a 3-masted barque. about It had been originally rigged as a 3- Boats maga- masted zine Pub- Bermudan schooner Rule) holding a lovely looking Footy, with Messing Redhead was the small boy when in bought in Hamleys famous toyshop, lisher and but Robin had not been able to re- Editor, Bob sist the urge to Hicks. re-rig the boat as a_ barque using mast, When — asked the spars to comment on ‘certainty’ and sails from of the WW magazine continuing in- a table top toy definitely, model about the same size. one ~Pete Plonk’ was quick to assume a para- It was steered free keet facial expression, interpreted after the first with a swing rudder, and the photo was taken in 1940, repeated here to “Tweet Tweet” to mean refresh the memory. that he reserved the right to remain tight-lipped on “He that will not sail till all dangers the are over must not be put to sea” “neither confirm nor deny’ (Thomas Fuller 1608-1661) maritime subject ! V7 model A line-control Some of us | am sure remember the pre-RC days of ‘control line’ model aircraft flying, where the ‘pilot’ went round and round in a circle until he was as giddy as a blue-ass fly. Well, Dave Shull (seen at right) sails a lovely little 16” schooner called EFle- gant Betrayal by a method known as “line Dave Shull works as control’ a Pastor for the Salva- that is quite popular in some parts of tion the US and Canada. which sees him trans- Here in Auckland, New Zealand, mine a (Jacqui friend of we therefore should not every four years. He now lives Denver, Colorado ing is perfect as | think scoff job where the sail- ton) occasionally used to do just that with her schooner models. a ferred in Welling- Army, there are many at ponds those not using RC, for LC like free- and lakes in the city sail is another form of model yacht- itself. The pho- ing. tos shown here of Dave’s small, simple boats start life as a kit from Seadercraft, a company website tells nothing about who or His models use cedar wood for the where they are, but in his case, his solid hull, shopping bags for sails, flair for producing a lovely finished skewer sticks for booms, balsa wood product takes over. has models also for decks and cabins, the boats at- built and including models Arizona, his last posting. in Canada that despite a colourful He his on the water were taken in Phoenix, a tached with lightweight fishing line, sails other and multi-master his painted. seen on this page. 18 models appear beautifully The method of sailing adds up to ‘inexpensive simplicity’ itself with use of common materials making it easy to explore the possibilities Kids would also have a blast out of early modelmaking using this method and get a load of enjoyment on the water after completion. While so many people the world over are getting hooked on yachts and model sailing, not everyone can manage to invest five hundred to a maybe a thousand dollars on an RC model. So | say, hats off to people like Dave Shull for having a go, and for getting involved in model yacht designs of his own and enjoying sailing them “his way’. We cannot all do the same things, and as | have always s A recent build from my friend Ken Impey in Falmouth, Cornwall. The schooner is called Thomas and is no relation whatsoever to Thomas the said, “it is not what one sails or how one sails, but that one sails !’ People find their own levels that suit Tank Engine ! their conditions as well as their financial capabilities. It is like the lit- tle 12. not One of WW’s “Keepers of the spirit of windling’, Ken has built an im- ~ Footy’ RC yachts- they are every single person’s delight, posing collection of sailing models over the years | have known him. (Editor) but they represent freedom of choice ! Mark Steele The saying goes, crime does not pay. Does that mean this Editor’s job is a crime ? 19 You saw. Ewer on this WW’’s Christmas card last year, the fine photograph inset) (see taken by Hans Staal of the Netherlands. It is such a fine model built by Harald Kossack of Harsewinkle in the Republic of Germany that it warrants a bit of backgrounding. (Editor) My model is built as a freighter and is based on the original built in 1896 in Germany at Wewelsleth by the famous shipwright, Gustav Junge. It took me 3 years to build and is at a scale of 1:10. There is no motor, false keel or enlarged rudder and sails very much like the original fullsize boat. The ability to go to wind- ward is not very good because the Harald’s story. model makes a great amount of lee- ‘The typical Ewer was used for fish- way in ing, as a freighter and in some cases wind even as a warship, the hull form and rigging variable, depending upon makes good speed. light winds, increases the but when the John Harry She can be sailed in up to force 5 the intended purpose. Freighters were beamy and shallow in order to reach small harbours, needing lee- winds and 5 winches control rud- der, leeboards, mainsail, mizzen. (Continued on page 21) boards because of their flat hulls. 20 The boat is sailed with the fleet of Minisail Classic, an association involving the building of sailing models to from scale, its members Netherlands, coming Switzerland, Denmark and Germany. Those leaving Harald Kossack Tides come and go, winds rise up and blow, dusk to dawn oft no time to warn, impossible to guess let alone to know when each of us upon our final tide will go. Which friends could well without delay, *Sherty’ slip anchor, sail away, Vhe Lengship within the minute or the hour, today… tonight or on the morrow leave loved ones in sorrow which ones among us who for sure can say ? Mark Steele Above is my Viking 13cms of trolled 2 Silly question her. Is Longship, she radio ! Slipping anchor this year and not all until now mentioned, were con- readers Daniel Davis, Isn’t my Peter Mahoney and toothbrush Pratt & Whitney turbine Jeffrey Senner, and farewell to powered ? 1 don’t muck about ! It is a lovely lady, Norma, wife of one of Seaworthy Small Ships wee reader Ian Macintosh. ones, photographed from a helicop- ter in my _ wife’s kitchen sink ! (Editor) 21 In early 1999 a special lot came up Slowly, across the pond while taking for auction in Sussex. After inspection it was clear to me that this was out and towards the end of the day in quite a bit of water. | emptied it the remnant of the workshop of a put her back in the water to take very serious modeller and | soon discovered that some of the boxes had some photos. The wind had swung a bit and instead of going across the trade cards attached showing that all pond, had stately traverse of the come from the workshop of she set off on a slow and length. She was on the water a good deal longer William Paxton. than in crossing and water kept bit about coming over the side filling her hull Paxton who had traded as a profes- and she just sailed under. Attempts at recovery proved unsuccessful, she | already sional knew model quite a maker from various addresses in the East End of London was deemed ‘lost at sea’. from the 1880’s onwards. His main line of business had been large and elaborate display models of the sort that used to be found in the win- The second of the Paxton toy boats | set out to restore was the schooner, half as long again as the cutter. It dows of shipping companies, and he was a much finer boned and rather was also a designer and builder of elegant very serious model yachts to the Rat- was ing Rules of the day, which he had main hull was carved out of a single sailed as an MYSA member on the piece. design. slightly The construction different in that the Round Pond. The hull had suffered a lot, both in the manufacturing process and dur- A third string to his bow was the manufacture of toy sailing boats of ing its century of waiting for some- which one to rescue it. There was a crude he had made about 300. The lot was bought by another of repair our members and after negotiation with him | secured two versions of a where the gouge had gone through cutter, and one of a schooner. There | decided to restore the small cutter counter which must have been the result of a century of drying out of as the in the topsides, interior was was a large being split probably carved. in the first and after restoration, on launch- less than ing day she sailed very effectively, if and | decided to fill the gap, sealing 22 perfectly seasoned wood the joints between the tube and the post. It is cranked and can be ro- wood. To protect the split from the tated to ensure that the rudder lies outer end | relied on a lot of paint central in the ‘neutral’ position, and the expectation that though the model be Designing would sailed, would mt spend all the rig was relatively straight forward on it paper, the CLR de- its life in the wa- termined ter testing the hull in the bath. | made and cold in a damp the boat house. by spars push from pine dowel, keepPreparing ing them light and the hull was a question of filling the odd knock and scrape, sanding off the water-based deck paint ing of and several white coat, dainty to the match hull style and the headsails and topsail were made apply- of coats plastic, only under- the mainsail and _ foresail masking off of cotton. the waterline and painting the lower portion blue. The deck was painted Russell a pale cream and Potts left unlined and | probably is relied on a not too steady hand to the most learned person in Britain avoid getting paint on the mahogany on vintage model yachts and a visit hatch covers and bowsprit fitting. to the VMYG website tells more about the Paxton legacy. | have had The existence of a rudder trunk sug- to gested Some years ago | visited the Potts that something Paxton more had _ intended than a greatly condense it for WW. home in London and was most im- weighted rudder in the way of steering and | pressed chose to use a weighted tiller made vintage model sailing boats of every by his huge collection of from brass wire with a small lead imaginable size. Now, visit the web- weight The site . (Ed) mounted on the end. tiller is a push fit through the rudder 23 Aucklander, Richard Gross and Englishman, John Butterwith are friends of mine who coincidentally chose to build Baw- leys, the former opting to construct a For me, BIG 1200mms IS fits BEAUTIFUL (unrigged) on and the back seat of our car, so the hull was made on a building board, frames 200mms apart using mahogany cut down to 10mm by 3 mm. At the stage of bending and gluing | found a shake in the timbers so plank on frame boat on traditional glued (Doris) lines (above), the latter who weak areas later removing them to- had already built the traditional Bawley Pamela previously featured, going this time for a cruising style on a commercially available fibreglass hull. Richard writes about his Anita: After building my schooner Maggie with the help of the design package from Carene UK came the old problem, what boat next ? | really like old boats…work boats and gaff rigs in par- ticular. | had built stitch and tape, had also. built epoxy in resin and of course the schooner currently my favourite, so plank on frame it would be, but what boat ? A working Bawley yes, but then, what size ? temporary bridges over the gether with the frames to leave a clean open hull. Deck beams were placed and deck the planked Anita as took shape. As the mast to scale was 1750 and the bowsprit was 600 some decisions were needed. | ended up with deck 1100mm for on length. beam was 400mm the The re- sulting in a very big hull indeed. | shortened the rig slightly to 1650mm, the sprit to 550mm and the topmast slides down over the main mast (as does the sprit) and the whole rig comes off for transport. (Continued next page) John lives in Devon, England and his circa 1900’s cruising version Bawley, Janie M has a 37” long hull and a mast height from the deck of 57” plus a 14” protruding bowsprit The sail plan is identical to that of the working trawler he built before, a loose-footed gathered mains that in at the centre, can a be large gaffs tops’! and a flying jib. Bawleys in gen- eral developed at Harwich, in Leigh Essex and Rochester, Chat- ham, Milton, Faversham Swale, He has laid the deck with mahogany strip on a the 1/32nd marine plywood The main mast he carved down (the bowsprit held Richard’s model the keel is glued and screwed and has 4 kg of in lead plus a 2 kg gel cell battery. The sails are polycotton sheeting for more realism and have been made so he can reduce sail easily. The place by a pin) able to be brought inboard, making his model also easily transportable on the back seat of his car. main does have a boom as it is easier to control the sheet. It also stops Pulley blocks were made from oak the skipper from being hung and lost with brass sheaves and the deadeyes overboard. are oak. A small motor and prop is fitted to get out of trouble, and the boat is named at On from beech wood for strength and it drops up Thames both Greenwich and at Gravesend. base and built the cabin also in mahogany. and and after a dear daugh- ter. There you have two different 5, versions from two people in