Amazing windjammer documentary

[Bob WilsonParticipant @bobwilson59101]

Just came across this on utube:

**LINK**

Once it has got past the "galleon" stage, you will see real movie footage of large merchant sailing ships underway over 100 years ago. I have built several of the ones shown: Preussen, British Isles, Herzogin Cecilie and Grace Harwar.

Bob

[Bob WilsonParticipant @bobwilson59101]

[BanjomanParticipant @banjoman]

Absolutely fascinating images – warmest thanks for the link, Bob!

Mattias

[Bob WilsonParticipant @bobwilson59101]

Glad you liked it – I hoped someone would look. A friend brought it to my attention earlier today.

Bob

[BanjomanParticipant @banjoman]

While I am, shall we say reasonably, interested in men-o'-war, I have always by a very large margin indeed preferred civilian shipping in all its forms, with a particularly weak spot for the sailing merchant ships of the late 19th and early 20th century.

Firmly written onto my to-build list (planned build start in, say, ten to twelve years from now) is a static model (maybe at 1:48?) of one of the steel barques from the Erikson fleet; ideally, because The Last Grain Race is one of my favourite books, Moshulu, or else (if I am unable to find sufficient documentation for her) Pommern, as she can still be visited in Mariehamn on Åland.

[Bob WilsonParticipant @bobwilson59101]

Both are easy enough for info. The plans of Moshulu are to be found in the book Modelling Maritime History, by Malcolm Darch. Plans of Pommern are in Deepwater Sail by Harold A. Underhill. Find 2nd hand copies via **LINK** or get them from local library (UK).

Bob

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

Yes, interesting.

Colin

[BanjomanParticipant @banjoman]

Bob,

Many thanks for those tips! The Harold A. Underhill book is still available from the publishers, Brown, Son and Ferguson in Glasgow (**LINK**), as are his other books and all his plans. Another Underhill book that I'm definitely also going to buy at some point is his Masting and Rigging (**LINK**).

As for Modelling Maritime History, I had a quick look and just found a used but hopefully decent copy sold on Amazpn by the Bournemouth Oxfam for the princely sum of £5.93. With postage to Belgium, it came in at £9.95, so an order was put in straight away (and, funnily enough, I did not go for another used copy, also on Amazon, that would have been an absolute steal at only £130 … ). Again, warmest thanks for these very useful suggestions!

Mattias

Edited By Banjoman on 11/10/2016 07:33:28

[Bob WilsonParticipant @bobwilson59101]

The Malcolm Darch book contains full plans of Moshulu – Lines, sail and decks. Deepwater Sail only has the deck plan of Pommern, but the sail plan is in in Sailing Ship Rigs & Rigging also by Underhill, a thin publication. Deepwater Sail is an excellent book with a large number of fold out plans in it. Masting & Rigging the Clipper Ship & Ocean Carrier is very comprehensive and I refer to it often.

Bob

[BanjomanParticipant @banjoman]

I have now also put in an order with Brown, Son and Ferguson for the three Harold A. Underhill books. Although as already mentioned this particular project is for maybe 10 or 12 years down the line, I like to start my thinking and planning processes well ahead — just mulling over a build idea in my mind gives me great satisfaction, and is also a nice way of passing the time while waiting for a bus or for paint to dry — and apart from their specific project usefulness, I'm also sure I will take much general pleasure from just reading these books anyway

Mattias

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Hi Mattias

You are absolutely right I think the fun is in the anticipation of the next new project that drives me on, also procuring the information and parts/materials. I'm itching to start the cruiser HMS Belfast from scratch for which I have drawings now at 1/96 scale, I will need a 7 foot long space on the bench. Maybe Christmas start, I will start a thread to record the progress

Regards Ray

[BanjomanParticipant @banjoman]

I just wanted to report that over the last few weeks, I have managed to find not only the 1988 book Modelling Maritime History by Malcolm Darch, but also the nine 1987 issues of Model Boats in which his Moshulu build is described in further detail and finally, to my great joy, full size, high resolution scans of Malcolm Darch's two 1:96 plans for said ship!

The two Eric Newby classics, The Last Grain Race and Learning The Ropes, I already had since quite a number of years.

I have also been in contact with Mr Darch by e-mail, which he most kindly and helpfully took time to answer. Unfortunately, he no longer sells any of his plans, as he explained simply because getting them reproduced these days requires too substantial a trip.

However, some further googling turned up a set of his Moshulu plans at the Brunel Institue, attached to the SS Great Britain museum in Bristol, and an enquiry there gave the positive answer that their entire plans collection (some 7,000+ plans from the David MacGreagor collection, see **LINK**) has been digitised and that copies can be ordered at a reasonable rate.

As already mentioned, there'll probably be at least ten týears before I even get around to attemting a build, but at least I now have the essential documentation ready at hand …

Mattias

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