I am making good progress with the plan drawing of a four-masted barque. Now on Day 4.

Bob

No – it isn't done by computer! (Everyone asks me that) I don't have the money, time or patience to mess about with purchasing and learning CAD and suchlike!

It is done on a sheet of 70cm by 50cm white cartridge paper sellotaped to a large piece of plywood. The drawing is made with drawing pens, a set square, French Curves and a long curved dressmaker's ruler.

I propped it up on a table and photographed it with a normal camera as a jpeg. When the drawing it complete, I will open it in Adobe Photoshop and colour it in. These are some more I did recently.

Bob

Edited By Bob Wilson on 07/05/2016 10:55:25

Edited By Bob Wilson on 07/05/2016 10:56:25

Thanks Bob,

I don't think they are anything special, but I must admit, that I do get a lot of satisfaction when experts ask what sort of CAD I am using, and who taught me how to use it.

In reality though, they are all very "low tech" I have never been much of a scholar, and didn't do very well at school (Not even a single O level and 11+ failed). But what I can't carry, I can drag well enough!

Anyway, to dispel all doubt, here it is as of a few minutes ago. I will probably do another mast this afternoon!

Bob

Martin, thanks,

Know what you mean about computers The same thing hapenned to me. I was Radio Officer in this passenger

**LINK**

liner, but we were replaced by computers and satellite communications in the 1990s. I had been aboard St. Helena for two years, and before that, 11 years in the previous passenger ship of the same name. I had been at sea since early 1961, and it seemed like a job for life, but technology got rid of us in the end. The ship is to be withdrawn from service in less than 100 days now that an airport has just been completed on the island of St. Helena, and they will all be discarded and unemployed.

It was probably the converting of my drawing to a jpeg that made it look like a CAD production!

Bob

No, I never missed it! As well as all the radio communication that kept me busy for 8 hours a day, I also had to maintain and repair it all, as well as repair radars, teleprinters, satellite communications, fire alarms, internal telephone system, computers, videos etc etc as well as passengers radios, recorders, etc etc. In the end when I was offered voluntary redundancy, I was very pleased to take it, but I could have hung on for a further 2 years before radio officers were dispensed with for good. Then, they shared out all the maintenance and repair work to the electrical officers, and heads of departmenst had to do their own communications on the satellite!

I really preferred the old ship, built in 1963. I joined the old one in 1979, and left to join the new ship in 1990! Here is my U-tube presentation of my 11 years on the old St. Helena: **LINK**

After 32 years at sea, I was ready to leave. But a bonus was that my wife was allowed to travel with me free of charge any time she wished! The round voyage was two months, UK – Cape Town, via Tenerife, Ascension and St. Helena.

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I have now rigged the mainmast on the drawing, leaving only the foremast, and the colouring in, that I will probably do tomorrow.

Bob

Edited By Bob Wilson on 07/05/2016 17:27:30

Edited By Bob Wilson on 07/05/2016 17:33:15

Not in the immediate future. I just started it for amusement more than anything else. Initially I started drawing plans because whenever I asked various establishments for permission to use their plans of sailing ships in publications or articles, they wanted vast amounts of cash! Then I though I would try drawing them myself and found out that it was not all that difficult. Next thing, I found myself getting "hooked" on it. As you can see, I am concentrating on a type of ship that is very unpopular. i.e. the big iron and steel square-riggers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries that, to me at least, are far more impressive than tea clippers. This one had a hull length of 317.3 feet, a width of 46 feet. and had a gross tonnage of 3,145!

Bob

Martin,

Very nice silhouette of the puffer, and the water reflection is fantastic. Recollects holidays at Rothesay in the eary 50s, Arran Rose, Texan, Roman, Spartan etc!

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I completed the drawing this morning. The foremast took 1 hour, nine minutes. Then five minutes to photogrtaph it and colour it in on the computer. I will probably add chartroom and raild later. The ports along the hull are NOT gunports, they do not open, but are simply painted decoration.

Bob

PS

On posting, noticed I had missed out the lifts on the fore royal… I have since added them!

Edited By Bob Wilson on 08/05/2016 14:09:13