The model club’s annual barbecue is happening late this year, and will be taking place in lieu of the regular September ship model meeting on Saturday, September 17th.
So, there will be no regular meeting that day, and the ship model shop on board the Eureka will be closed. Members who haven’t done so, should make sure to contact Paul Reck about attending the barbecue, which will be at 1pm at his house.
For those who didn’t know, I’m in Japan doing some research on my own on Japanese watercraft.
Yesterday, I was in Tokyo and visited a museum where there was once a thriving fishing community. It’s all landfill and upscale apartments now, but they have a city museum that is a recreation of the old fishing community. They also keep some of the old boats there.
So, what do I find when I walk downstairs amongst the old boats? A workshop set up in the middle, with three old guys at benches surrounded by small band saw, drill press, sanders, racks of clamps, sheets and blocks of wood, etc., and they’re making model boats!
An Urayasu bekabune similar to the one I’m trying to build.
Big language barrier here, more than is usual at a museum, but they’re all museum volunteers, and in the middle is the kind of gruff guy they pointed out as the “boss”. It was clear to me that this was kind of like the equivalent of the Hyde Street Pier Model Shipwrights.
Now, these guys aren’t part of the Japanese ship model society called The Rope, that I’ve mentioned before. The boss is a former boat builder, and the others more or less appear to volunteer as his assistants. He actually has a full-sized boat building project going on there.
I wasn’t able to discern why they were building these models. They were actually kind of crude by ship modeller standards, but they were neat. They might be the kind of model you’d mass produce for museum shops, though there was no sign of anything like that. In one case, a larger model was clearly being set up for radio control.
I finally ran across someone who actually worked there and he spoke some english, so we talked about the specific boats that the region was known for. The guy was kind of like their own Terry Dorman, our hard working volunteer coordinator with the Park Service, and he was dropping off some band saw blades that the builders needed.
I didn’t catch his job title, and I haven’t had a chance to translate the Japanese business card he gave me, but his name is Mr. Shimamura. Since I’m now modeling a bekabune, which is the boat type built and used in Urayasu, he showed me some details about them and gave me their museum pamphlets.
Unexpectedly, as we were heading towards the lobby, he left me for a minute and came back with a paper bag and motioned me to come outside. In front of the museum, he took one of the bekabune models that the volunteers built and handed it to me, saying “gift”. I was really taken aback, but grateful and thanked him very much.
In case you’re wondering, it was 80˚+ with 87% humidity in Japan
I had no idea how I’d take the 14″ long boat model back home with me, but I was expected I’d figure something out. As it turns out, I think this will be a great prop for my demo on Japanese boat modeling at the Nautical Research Guild conference next month. And, as it turns out, if I’m really careful, I can pack it quite comfortably in my luggage.
I could easily have spent another hour or two at the museum, but it was late in the day, and having received the gift from Mr. Shimamura, it seemed like a perfect end to the visit. I will definitely be coming back here again on another trip
– Clare Hess
It’s not enough that I belong to two long-standing Bay Area ship model clubs, the Hyde Street Pier Model Shipwrights and the South Bay Model Shipwrights, but a couple years back, I got together with a couple local people I met on the ship modeling forums and we started a quarterly get-together that mostly meets at the Naval and Historical Museum in Vallejo, California.
Recently, a couple of us discussed the merits of having us all, or at least a group of us, working on the same kit, but each person with his own model. The idea was that we could better discuss techniques and problem solving if we were all dealing with the same issues at, more or less, the same time.
Being that physical location of the ship model store and distributor Ages of Sail is pretty local to all of us, we decided to go with…
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A mandate was made this year that all volunteers working at Hyde Street Pier must attend a safety training course. As all Hyde Street Pier Model Shipwright members are officially Park Service volunteers, all club members are required to attend safety training.
Terry Dorman, the Volunteer Coordinator, in coordination with our lead volunteer and President, Paul Reck, has set up a session for club members on the morning of April 30th, and has graciously offered to provide us lunch. All members are expected to attend. Those who can’t attend should have made alternate arrangements with Terry to attend a session on April 23rd, or made some other arrangements.
We’ll be discussing this a bit further and answering any last minute questions at the upcoming April club meeting. Ω
Today, the lumber schooner C.A. Thayer returned to its home at Hyde Street Pier from restoration work that was done in Alameda. We’ve missed seeing the old girl, even though she’s been without rigging or masts for many years.
CA Thayer after her initial restoration work, still lacked masts, rigging and more for years.
But now, she’s got masts, bowsprit and standing rigging. Looks like they’ll be finishing up the rigging, and hopefully the rest of the deck house construction and furnishings, alongside the pier over the coming months.
Here’s a link to the full story:
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Historic-C-A-Thayer-returns-to-home-port-after-6847780.php
And don’t forget there’s a talk on the C.A. Thayer this Thursday evening at 6pm at the San Francisco Maritime Research Center in Lower Fort Mason.
A useful book, made possible by our friends at the SF Maritime Park Association.
Somebody on Model Ship World recently posted a link to a book that’s available online. I checked it out and this is a copy of a book written by Commodore S.B. Luce, of the U.S. Navy for the U.S. Naval Academy in 1891. The book is called Seamanship, The Equipping and Handling of Vessels Under Sail or Steam.
The text of the book has put transcribed and available thanks to the wonderful folks of the San Francisco Maritime National Park Association.
Access the book online here: Seamanship.
Also, you might consider supporting their efforts by becoming a member, or simply making a donation. As a member, you’ll received their semiannual magazine The Sea Letter, plus other nice benefits. Ω
This should be a great presentation, and it’s freeeee!
Those of you who have been following the news on the last West Coast lumber schooner C.A. Thayer are probably aware that it is currently in Alameda at Bay Ship & Yacht Company, currently receiving her masts and standing rigging. This is exciting news as she’s been sitting for years at Hyde Street Pier, unrigged. While she went through a major restoration of her hull many years ago, what’s a sailing ship without masts? She’ll be home soon and ready for the remaining rigging and deckhouse work soon.
Coming up on Thursday, February 25, there will be a presentation the Thayer by three members of the National Park’s preservation team at the Maritime Library in Lower Fort Mason at 6:00 PM. This event is FREE TO THE PUBLIC.
Below is the flier for the event. Don’t miss it!
Hyde Street Pier Model Shipwrights 