Barque Glenbank –

[Bob WilsonParticipant @bobwilson59101]

Thursday, 23rd November, 2023

With the discovery of the wreck of the barque Glenbank recently, on the Australian coast, I have been asked to complete my drawings of the ship.   I drew the sail plan some time ago, but have so far, not got round to the deck plan.  I have now made a start on the deck plan.   The white card was taped to the lower part of the drawing board (sheet of cheap plywood),   A copy was made of the lower part of the sail plan, and taped above the card, so that I can project downwards and make sure that the masts and other items agree exactly with the sail plan.    I have laboriously drawn the shape of the hull plan on the lower card, and now need to fill in all the deck details.    Not a very complicated ship, as she had a simple stump t’gallant rig with no royals above the upper t’gallants.   And as is usual in sailing ships, not a great deal on deck.

I can never understand why most ship modellers say that ships like this are too complicated, when I look Napoleonic warships with their carved decorations, multiple cannons and gunports, hammock nettings etc or  steam or motor ships with lot of rails, windows, portholes, lifeboats, deck machinery, stacked decks and numerous ladders, masts and derricks.   My first ship, SS Rhodesia Star (1943) had a total of 21 derricks (the odd one being the jumbo),   A large four-masted barque with double topsails, and double t’gallants, had 20 spars.    Glenbank only had twelve.     The rigging of a sailing ship is very easy when fine copper wire is used.   There are no knots anywhere, and it is all glued on in short lengths., but still the cry goes up – “too complicated!”

Here is the Caithness-Shire a practically identical barque to the Glenbank – well-proportioned, and a delight to behold!

[Richard SimpsonParticipant @richardsimpson88330]

I think people’s ideas of what constitutes complexity is usually closely related to what they are familiar with and, for what ever reason, what they enjoy.

I remember when I was doing “Building Drawing” at school, one of the included subjects was Geometry.  I used to really enjoy the whole processes involved in drawing Loci and generating slices through a cone etc.  I used to find it oddly satisfying to project the points around the drawing to create hyperbolas, parabolas and elipses.  Everyone else in the class hated it!

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

It’s the amount of rigging which is the issue. Yes individually the wire just goes from a to b, but 50 wires later….

Also, possibly the majority of people on the site are thinking in terms of a working rig, which has a big impact on how much and where you can put stuff.?

Ashley

[Bob WilsonParticipant @bobwilson59101]

Thanks for replies – The amount of rigging is of no account whatsoever when using special techiniques.   The main sticking point is lack of general interest in the subject of merchant ships simply because they do not have guns (never understood that, myself), and also, as Ashley said, most here prefer working models that they can sail.   I am only completing the Glenbank plans because I have been asked to by someone who actually has a genuine interest.   The completed plans will be for sale for £2, but again, I have no illusions about this – I will be lucky to sell a dozen of them! 

Interest in static maritime modelling has fallen off sharply in recent years, and will soon disapear.   The ship model club that I have been a member of for over thirty years (North West Model Shipwrights) is now considering dropping the word Shipwrights, from the title.    That;s the way it is, I am afraid.    It only took me a few days to rig this one!

[Bob WilsonParticipant @bobwilson59101]

Sold this one for £997 – but it was purchased by a collector who really wanted it, so, all in all, I am happy that hardly anyone else wants to build them!

[Author]

Posts