θωερτψυιοπασδφγηϕκλζξχϖβνµθωερτψυι οπασδφγηϕκλζξχϖβνµθωερτψυιοπασδφγη ϕκλζξχϖβνµθωερτψυιοπασδφγηϕκλζξχϖβ νµθωερτψυιοπασδφγηϕκλζξχϖβνµθωερτψ υιοπασδφγηϕκλζξχϖβνµθωερτψυιοπασδφ γηϕκτψυιοπασδφγηϕκλζξχϖβνµθωερτψυι οπασδφγηϕκλζξχϖβνµθωερτψυιοπασδφγη ϕκλζξχϖβνµθωερτψυιοπασδφγηϕκλζξχϖβSMA SMA νµθωερτψυιοπασδφγηϕκλζξχϖβνµθωερτψ υιοπασδφγηϕκλζξχϖβνNewsletterNewsletterµθωερτψυιοπασδφ γηϕκλζξχϖβνVolume 47,µθωερτψυιοπασδφγηϕκλζξχ Number 1, January 2020 ϖβνµθωερτψυιοπασδφγηϕκλζξχϖβν µθωε ρτψυιοπασδφγηϕκλζξχϖβνµρτψυιοπασδφ Contacts γηϕκλζξχϖβνPresident: Jeanµθωερτψυιοπασδφγηϕκλζξχ-Philippe Dal Gobbe – [email protected] Vice President: Brian Stein – [email protected] ϖβνµθωερτψυιοπασδφγηϕκλζξχϖβSecretary: Paul Payne: (310) 544-1461 νµθωε Treasurer: Larry Van Es: (714) 936-0389 – [email protected] Editor: Don Dressel: (909) 949-6931 – [email protected]. ρτψυιοπασδφγηϕκλζξχϖβνWeb Manager: Doug Tolbert: (949) 644-5416µ θωερτψυιοπα SMA mail address: 21520 Yorba Linda Blvd, Suite G234, Yorba Linda, Ca. σδφγηϕκλζξχϖβνµθωερτψυιοπασδφγηϕκλ92887 www.shipmodelersassociation.org.

ζξχϖβνµθωερτψυιοπασδφγηϕκλζξχϖβνMeeting – Wed., January 15, 7 PM, Red Cross Building, 1207 N. Lemon, µθ Fullerton, CA. 92832 ωερτψυιοπασδφγηϕκλζξχϖβνµθωερτψυιο

πασδφγηϕκλζξχϖβνµθωερτψυιοπασδφγηϕ κλζξχϖβνµθωερτψυιοπασδφγηϕκλζξχϖβν 1 µθωερτψυιοπασδφγηϕκλζξχϖβνµθωερτψυ ιοπασδφγηϕκλζξχϖβνµρτψυιοπασδφγηϕκ λζξχϖβνµθωερτψυιοπασδφγηϕκλζξχϖβνµ

WORK IN PROGRESS

December 18, 2019

Reporter: Dave Yotter

Baby Alligator Chapleau – Dave Yotter

From Wikipedia: Alligator boats were a type of amphibious vehicle used in the forestry industry throughout Ontario, the Maritime provinces of Canada and the northern United States from the mid-19th century to the beginning of the 20th century. These boats were so named because of their ability to travel between lakes by pulling themselves with a winch across land. Alligators served as “warping tug”. They towed log booms across lakes and then portaged themselves using a winch to the next body of water. The rugged, steam- powered tugs were one of the pioneers in the mechanization of the forest industry in North America.

Alligators were scow-shaped, shallow draft boats, fitted with side-mounted paddle wheels, powered by a 20-horsepower steam engine and provided with a cable winch and large anchor. By using the winch Alligators could pull themselves over land, around portages and up as much as a 20-degree incline at the rate of 1 to 2 ½ miles per day. They could haul a boom of some 60,000 logs across water against all but the strongest winds. They were heavily but simply built, making rebuilding and repair easy. Alligators began with paddle wheel propulsion. Later versions used screw propellers and diesel engines in place of steam.

Dave has started work on his 1:48 (O scale) Train Troll kit of the baby alligator- warping tug Chapleau. He purchased the kit at a past NRG Conference. Andy Small is the designer, builder and manufacturer at Train Troll www.traintroll.com and the kits are of very high quality. All his kits are designed around the model railroad scales of O, S, HO and he even has some F (1:20) scale models in the works. Andy says: Train Troll is a “Small” family model railroad business specializing in waterline and full hull vessels, small paddle wheelers, towboats, barges, and On30/On2 narrow gauge craftsman kits, as well as unique detail kits, crates, wagons and carts in various scales.

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The kit Dave is working on is a waterline, side-wheel version of the warping tug. Andy also has a screw propeller version of the same tug. So far, the hull is put together and the engine house is started. Since the model will require painting I was delighted to find that my ancient hoard of Floquil paints have been easy to resurrect. The ones that were tightly capped so far have only required some extensive stirring.

HMS Roebuck – Don Dressel

Roebuck was the prototype of the Roebuck-class ships, two-deck, fifth-rate ships built to operate in the shallower waters of North America. She was designed by renowned naval architect Sir in 1769 as an improvement on his Phoenix model, and ordered by the Admiralty on 30 November. Her keel of 115 feet 9 inches was laid down in October the following year at .

As built, Roebuck was 140 feet long at the gundeck, with a beam of 37 feet 9 ½ inches and a depth in the hold of 16 feet 4 inches. She measured 879 26/94 tons burthen. Launched on 24 April 1774 and completed by 4 August 1775, Roebuck cost £18,911.0.6d plus a further £1,749.5.5d for fitting.

Roebuck was built with two rows of windows in the stern, giving the illusion of an extra deck, but behind them was a single-level cabin. The design was eventually phased out for the Roebuck-class ships completed after HMS Dolphin. Most of the remaining ships of the class had a traditional -style stern.

On her lower gun deck, Roebuck carried twenty 18-pounder guns. Her upper deck originally had twenty-two 9-pounder guns but these were later upgraded to 12-pounder guns. There were two 6-pounder guns on her forecastle but the quarterdeck was devoid of armament. When fully manned, Roebuck had a complement of 280 officers and enlisted men. This was increased to 300 in 1783.

First commissioned by Captain Andrew Snape Hamond in July 1775, Roebuck left for North America in September, joining Lord Howe’s squadron and taking part in operations against New York the following year. On 25 March 1776, she was cruising alone off when she ran aground. She suffered no damage, enabling her crew to get her off and into deep water where she was anchored. The following day, a sail was sighted in the bay and Hamond sent two of the ship’s boats to investigate. The craft turned out to be a small American , which the crew abandoned on seeing the British boats approaching. The newly acquired prize and Roebuck’s tender then pursued and caught two sloops. On 28 March, Roebuck’s boats were again in action, taking another sloop. In the afternoon, her tender narrowly avoided capture by the American 10-gun sloop Hornet. On hearing of the encounter, Roebuck set off in pursuit of the American vessel but was unable to locate her.

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Roebuck took part in the on 27 August 1776, attacking the American gun batteries at Red Hook. On 9 October she was in action on the , which HMS Phoenix and HMS Tartar, where she destroyed two armed galleys and forced her way upstream, whilst engaging, on either side, the two forts of Washington and Lee. Between 10 March and 21 December 1776, Howe’s squadron captured or destroyed 166 vessels, of which Roebuck claimed partial responsibility for at least twenty-three. In April 1777, she took two warships, the 14-gun Carolina State Navy Defence and the 10-gun USS Sachem.

In August 1777, the British were planning to land an army at the head of the Elk River with the object of securing . Because of Hamond’s familiarity with the local waters, Roebuck, which had hitherto been involved in operations on the River, was withdrawn to mark out a channel through for Howe’s 267- strong flotilla. Roebuck, with the 32-gun Apollo and four smaller vessels, escorted the troopships up the river on 25 August and provided cover while the army disembarked about six miles from Turkey Point.

Following the defeat of an American force at the and its subsequent retreat to Philadelphia in September, Howe led Roebuck and a squadron of small vessels up the Delaware where the Americans had erected redoubts overlooking the river and sunk obstructions to prevent its navigation. At Billingsport, a large earthworks and gun battery protected a channel, blocked with a submerged cheval del fries. This implement was constructed of large wooden frames, filled with stones and fronting iron- tipped spears. Stationed along the river were floating batteries and , and 3 miles further upstream, another set of obstacles had been sunk between and .

The British captured Philadelphia on 26 September but control of the river was crucial to keeping their forces there supplied. Hamond offered to force a channel at Billing’s Point, if Howe could muster sufficient men to put the fort there out of action. Two regiments from Chester, Pennsylvania, crossed the river and chased off the American garrison while the men of Roebuck breached a seven-foot opening for Roebuck, Augusta, two , a sloop and a to sail through. After unsuccessful attempts to take the forts Mifflin and Mercer, the six British vessels were subjected to heavy fire when they engaged the American flotilla at the Battle of Red Bank. Augusta ran aground and caught fire and the sloop, Merlin, blew up; Roebuck and the remaining force broke off the attack and returned to Billingsport.

Still requiring a supply route to Philadelphia but unable to open up the Delaware while Fort Mifflin was occupied, Howe took possession of Province Island in November and began erecting gun batteries. Following a six-day bombardment, the Americans abandoned the fort. Two days later Fort Mercer also fell, leaving the British free to work their way upriver in pursuit of the enemy fleet which was later scuttled at Gloucester. By 18 May 1778, Roebuck was in Philadelphia where she took part in celebrations, held in honor of Howe and his brother William who was commander-in-chief of the British land forces.

In July 1778, Roebuck was at Sandy Hook, near New York Bay, and in August she took part in an action against a French fleet. France had entered the war on the American side in February that year. On 29 July, the French fleet from Toulon, commanded by Charles

4 Hector, comte d’Estaing, arrived in Narragansett Bay, and the next day they began raiding British positions on Conanicut and Goat Island. On 8 August, 4,000 French soldiers and sailors were landed to reinforce the 10,000 American troops who had just crossed from the mainland to attack the British garrison on Rhode Island. Howe’s fleet arrived off Point Judith on 9 August and, fearing the British might soon be reinforced, d’Estaing sailed out the next morning while he still had superior numbers and guns. Several days of maneuvering, in which both parties sought the weather gage, were curtailed by a violent gale, which scattered the fleets. The storm abated on 13 August, leaving Roebuck, Apollo, Centurion, Ardent, Richmond, Vigilant, and Phoenix within sight of each other. Apollo, then serving as Howe’s flagship, had lost two masts during the previous night and Roebuck, also with a mast missing, was ordered to escort her to Sandy Hook. Howe moved his flag to Phoenix and, after searching for the French fleet, followed a few days later.

Roebuck captured an American privateer in February 1779, before setting sail for Woolwich where she underwent a refit and had her hull sheathed in copper. This took until April.

Roebuck returned to American waters by 5 December 1779, when she captured the American privateer Lady Washington. Then, with five ships-of-the-line, the fifty gun Renown, the 44-gun Romulus, four sixth-rate frigates and two 20-gun sloops, she accompanied transports, carrying 7,550 troops for an attack on Charleston. Under the command of Admiral Marriot Arbuthnot, the ships left New York on 26 December and in January 1780, in need of repairs, called in at Savannah, captured by the British the previous month. From there, the convoy proceeded to the North Edisto River where the army disembarked on 10 February. The troops marched the 30 miles overland and occupied James Island, while the ships sailed to the entrance and affected a blockade of Charleston harbour. Some of Roebuck’s company were among the 450 seamen and marines later sent to lay siege to the town. The 64-gun and 74-gun ships-of-the-line, being too large to be of any use in the shallow waters around the harbour, left for New York in March 1780, leaving Renown, Romulus, Blonde, Raleigh, Perseus, Camilla, and Roebuck, to which Arbuthnot moved his flag. These ships were lightened while they awaited a high enough tide and favorable conditions to carry them over the sandbank that lay across the entrance to the harbor.

On 9 April Roebuck led the squadron across the bar. An exchange of heavy fire while passing Fort Moultrie resulted in considerable damage to the masts and rigging of the British ships and the loss of 27 lives. The expedition continued to James Island and anchored, whereupon it came under attack from the batteries at Charleston. Some of the shot passed right through Roebuck but she did not return fire. Consequently, she was thought to be out of range and the bombardment soon stopped. An American naval force which included the frigates Providence, Boston and Queen 0f France, Bricole of 44 guns, a large and two armed were to oppose the British fleet at Fort Moultrie but instead retired to the Cooper River where some were scuttled. This action later denied the British control of the river; on 7 May, they instead landed seamen and marines near Mount Pleasant, where they captured a battery and went on to force the surrender of Fort Moultrie. Some of Roebuck’s crew were used in these land operations. The town capitulated on 11 May and the remaining American ships were subsequently captured. The crew of the Roebuck were awarded a share of the prize money for the frigates Boston and Providence. Hammond was ordered to England with dispatches on 15 May 1780 and was succeeded in command of Roebuck by his nephew, Andrew Snape Douglas.

5 Roebuck was absent from the fleet during a violent storm on 23 January 1781. The British had been blockading the French in Newport and were still repairing their weather- beaten ships on 8 February, when Arbuthnot received information that a French 64-gun ship and two frigates had left Rhode Island for Virginia. He immediately dispatched HMS Charlestown (the captured and renamed USS Boston) to find Roebuck, Chatham and Romulus, which he knew to be somewhere off Carolina with some frigates, and ordered them to intercept. The message was received too late, however, and Romulus was thus alone and unaware, when she was captured by the French squadron returning from its aborted mission.

While Roebuck was cruising with HMS Orpheus off the coast of Delaware on 14 April 1781, they captured the 36-gun frigate, USS Confederacy. She had been on her way from the West Indies to Washington with supplies for the continental army. Taken into service as HMS Confederate, she became, at that time, the largest 36-gun ship in the . The following month, Roebuck was with HMS Medea when they captured the 28-gun Protector near Sandy Hook. Douglas received another commission in July and was replaced by Captain John Orde. In the summer of 1781, Roebuck set sail for Europe with Arbuthnot, who was to be redeployed, and dispatches from Sir Henry Clinton and Lord Rawdon. She briefly returned to American waters where she captured the French privateer Providence on 24 February 1782. Afterwards, she was sent to the North Sea station where she finished her war service, paying off in April 1783. (WIKIPEDIA)

Don is slowly continuing progress on his model of the HMS Roebuck. More history as well as construction details can be obtained from reading the book by Harold Hahn – Ships of the American Revolution and their models. Don has now basically completed the exterior hull planking and has to remove the model from the Harold Hahn building jig in order to make more progress on the interior of the hull and all the decks. Removal of the model from the jig turned out to be laborious and time consuming, but with his trusty Dremel tool with a small circular saw blade attached, the frames were successfully cut through. An “upright” stand was made for the model to continue to work required. As mentioned earlier, the masts, spars and rigging will also be completed, but first the decks have to be done, the gunports made, and the cannon installed along with other deck furniture. The installation of the cannon on the decks would have been problematic is the hull was still upside down – a crewman was subsequently lost and then re-installed on the orlop deck due to the original upside down nature of the model.

USS Essex (CV-9) – Chris Carl

From Wikipedia: USS Essex (CV/CVA/CVS-9) was an aircraft carrier and the lead ship of the 24-ship Essex class built for the United States Navy during World War II. She was the fourth US Navy ship to bear the name. Commissioned in December 1942, Essex participated in several campaigns in the Pacific Theater of Operations, earning the Presidential Unit Citation and 13 battle stars.

Decommissioned shortly after the end

6 of the war, she was modernized and recommissioned in the early 1950s as an attack carrier (CVA), eventually becoming an antisubmarine aircraft carrier (CVS). In her second career, she served mainly in the Atlantic, playing a role in the Cuban Missile Crisis. She also participated in the Korean War, earning four battle stars and the Navy Unit Commendation. She was the primary recovery carrier for the Apollo 7 space mission. She was again decommissioned for the last time in 1969, and sold by the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service (DRMS) for scrap on 1 June 1975.

Essex was laid down on 28 April 1941, by Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company. After the Pearl Harbor attack her building contract (along with the same for CV- 10 and CV-12) was reworked. After an accelerated construction, she was launched on 312 July 1942, sponsored by Mrs. Artemus L. Gates, the wife of the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Air. She was commissioned on 31 December 1942, with Captain Donald B. Duncan commanding.

Chris brought in his 1:350 scale model of USS Essex (CV-9). The model was built using a Trumpeter kit. This is a plastic kit with the addition of Gold Metal Models brass photo etch used to complete the model. The model is titled “Respotting the Deck off Saipan, June 1944.” Essex is painted in a 32D camouflage scheme, which was used for a six-month period on 1944.

HMS Bellona 1760- Chris Carl

HMS Bellona was a 74-gun Bellona- class third-rate ship-of-the-line of the Royal Navy. Designed by Sir Thomas Slade, she was a prototype for the iconic 74-gun ships of the latter part of the 18th century. He particulars were: Tons Burthen: 1615 bm; Length: 168 ft. on the gundeck and 138 ft. keel; Beam: 47 ft.; Draught: 21 ft.; Depth of hold: 20 ft.; Complement: 650 officers and men; Armament: Lower gundeck: 28 X 32- pounders; Upper gundeck: 28 X 18- pounders; QD: 14 X 9-pounders; Fc: 4 X 9- pounders.

Chris continues making progress on the HMS Bellona built from a plank on bulkhead Corel kit in 1:100 scale. Current works has been on the masting and standing rigging. All the masting has been completed. Both the foremast and mainmast have shrouds, ratlines, catharpins, futtock shrouds and burton pendants completed. The mizzen is currently fitted with shrouds and ratlines only. Lots of clove hitches!

Amerigo Vespucci – Brian Stein

The Amerigo Vespucci is a tall ship of the Italian Navy named after the explorer Amerigo Vespucci. Its homeport is La Spezia, Italy, and it is in use as a school ship. The Amerigo Vespucci was built in 1930 at the Naval Shipyard of Castellammare di Stabia in Naples. She was launched on February 22, 1931 and put into service in July of that year.

7 Amerigo Vespucci is a full rigged three-masted steel hull 270 ft. long, with an overall length of 331 ft. including the bowsprit and a maximum width of 51 ft. She has a draft of about 23 ft. and a displacement at full load of 4146 tons. Under auxiliary diesel-electric propulsion the Amerigo Vespucci can reach 10 knots and has a range of 5450 nm at 6.5 knots. The Amerigo Vespucci has 26 sails – square sails, staysails, and jibs: all are traditional canvas sails totaling 30,400 sq. ft. When under sail in severe sea and wind conditions she can reach 12 knots. The rig, some 30 km of line, uses only traditional hemp; only the mooring lines are synthetic, to comply with port regulations. The standard crew of the Amerigo Vespucci is 16 officers, 70 non-commissioned officers and 190 sailors. In summer, when she embarks the midshipmen of the Naval Academy (Accademia Navale), the crew totals some 450. (Wikipedia)

Brian’s model of Amerigo Vespucci is well underway and he has reached the end of manual 3 of the instructions. It is being built from a Mantua Panart kit in 1;84 scale. The hull is complete and painted. The Website Building Model Boats https://www.building-model-boats.com/tissue-and- dope.html has an excellent write-up on the tissue and dope method he used for preparing the hull for painting. Brian has added a complete set of interior LEDs which are installed wired up and working and this will add a whole new dimension for displaying of the finished model. He has a good start on the forecastle deck furniture. Hatchways, anchor handling gear, ventilation, pin rails, catheads and the stack are in place. The ladders up to the forecastle and poop decks are on and a good portion of the railings for each of these decks is done.

USS Syren 1803 – Larry Van Es

From Wikipedia: USS Syren was a of the United States Navy built at Philadelphia in 1803. She served during the First Barbary War and the War of 1812 until the Royal Navy captured her in 1814. The British never commissioned her but apparently used her for a year or so as a lazaretto, or a prison vessel. She then disappears from records. Syren was a 240-ton brig designed by Benjamin Hutton, Jr. of Philadelphia and built for the Navy in 1803 at Philadelphia by shipwright Nathaniel Hutton and launched on 6 August 1803. She was commissioned in September and Lieutenant Charles Stewart was appointed her command.

8 On September 27th, she set sail for Gibraltar under the command of Lt. Charles Stewart. Syren cruised the Mediterranean during the spring and summer of 1804 and participated in the attacks on Tripoli. She remained there for almost a year after the peace treaty with Tripoli was signed on June 10, 1805. Departing Gibraltar on May 28 of 1806, she reached the Washington Navy Yard in early August, where she was laid up until her reactivation in 1807. During her service in the War of 1812, the 74-gun HMS Medway captured her after an 11-hour chase. Her particulars were: Displacement: 240 long tons, Tons burthen: 298 (bm), Length: 94 ft. 3 in. overall, Beam: 27 ft. 0 in.; depth of hold: 12 ft. 6 in.; Complement: 120 officers and enlisted; armament: 16 X 24-pounder carronades.

Larry has a good start on his Model Shipways kit of the brig Syren. Its hull is of plank on bulkhead construction and in 1:64 scale. The kit was designed by master modeler Chuck Passaro and is largely of basswood. He finished the hull and planking of the kit supplied bass and then substituted holly for the deck and cherry for the deck furniture. The black portions of the railings and wales are cherry ebonized using India ink. Deck furniture such as the helm, binnacle, companionways, hatch gratings and capstan are done. The chocks for the longboat are also done and the longboat has been hoisted aboard. Larry has fun with the ship’s boats. They start out as a rather thick pre-carved solid hull. These are hollowed out, planked and then hollowed out more. Then the interior detailing is added. I think. We are going to have to have Larry give us a less abbreviated description of how he does this!

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Don Dressel’s HMS Roebuck Chris Carl’s HMS Bellona

Brian Stein’s Amerigo Vespucci Chris Carl’s USS Essex Dave Yotter’s Chapleau Larry Van Es USS Syren

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ANNOUNCEMENTS SMA Club Ship Model Plans

Our Treasurer, Larry Van Es, has offered to take on the task of cataloging our Club’s ship plans collection. This job has been attempted various times by others in the past with varying results. Larry promised to do his best. If you would like to help him with this endeavor, please contact him at: (714) 936-0389 or e-mail him at [email protected].

Dues are Due!!

All members of the SMA – Dues are due for 2020. It is that time again. It believe it is still the same as in the years past, with $25.00 due for members and $20.00 for those members who live over 100 miles from the meeting location in Fullerton.

San Diego Ship Modelers Guild

For those SMA members who may be interested, the San Diego Ship Modelers Guild now has their meetings on the Berkley on the second Tuesday of each month. Your editor and reporter routinely attend the meeting that is usually very informative and enlightening.

Presentations

The president of the SMA also announced that the officers are looking for members who may be interested in presenting a short presentation of ship model construction at a meeting. Again, contact any SMA officer if interested.

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Don Dressel’s Roebuck interior under construction

Donald C. Dressel 908 W. 22nd Street, Upland, CA. 91784-1220

NEXT MEETING WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 7:30 PM, HILLCREST PARK RED CROSS BUILDING

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