The
Built-Up Ship Model
by Charles G. Davis
Softcover
135 x 215mm
206pp
Published by Dover Publications, Mineola NY, USA
R.R.P.$16.90
ISBN 0-486-26174-3
As reviewed in The Australian Woodworker Issue 136:
This little book was first published by the Marine Research Society in Salem, Massachusetts (USA), back in 1933 but was fortunately re-published by Dover Publications in 1989.
It's an absolute gem.
Most books on the subject of making things are written by people who have done the necessary work and who then describe it in print.
But every now and then, an author tackles a project and translates the trials, tribulations and successes of the venture into a book as the project progresses. While anchored by the project, the method still provides opportunity for the exploration of relevant topics.
Needless to say, books written in this manner have a sense of reality and purpose that is hard to achieve in any other way.
In The Built-Up Ship Model, Charles G Davis uses a model of the 16-gun United States brig Lexington (a merchant vessel converted to military use in 1775) to demonstrate the techniques involved in building a model boat from scratch.
The cover boasts that the book contains 133 illustrations. This is a less remarkable number now than it was in 1933, but the illustrations still offer ample support to the interesting and instructive text.
'...The short beams at these hatches are to have their inboard ends dovetailed into the carlings. To fill in the wide space between the mast beams, lighter deck beams are fitted in, their ends being let into bevelled notches...'
There is much to delight aspiring model boat builders, regardless of whether they wish to follow the author's lead and build this particular boat, or simply use the wealth of information provided in other projects.
Photos: Black & White
Units of Measurement: Imperial