Display Models |
 |
| TITLE |
+ |
- |
| FILE NAME |
+ |
- |
| DATE |
+ |
- |
| POSITION |
+ |
- |
|
|
Enterprise (J Class)515 viewsBelow decks she was completely stripped out. Even the floorboards were slatted to reduce weight. She had a clean, open, deck layout. All halliards were led below, and a total of twenty-three winches ensured efficient handling of her lines. The mast was laminated from sheets of duralumin, in those days the latest modern wonder material. It was held together by about 100,000 rivets. It was stepped in a steel tube filled with a liquid resembling quicksilver, and a special member of the crew, known as the "mast nurse" had the job of seeing that the stays were properly adjusted on different points of sailing.
All this technology did not come cheap. "Enterprise cost about £100,000, or more than five times as much as the challenger, "Shamrock V". She was built in 1929, before the crash, and in America the rich had money to burn. Four American J class yachts were built that year. "Enterprise", "Yankee", "Weetamoe", and "Whirlwind" were all built without expense spared.
|
|
Enterprise (J Class)515 viewsAs well as having a superb boat, Harold Vanderbilt, the owner and skipper of "Enterprise", used the best American management methods. His professional crew was well paid and well treated. The ship was run by an afterguard consisting of Vanderbilt as skipper and helmsman, an assistant helmsman, a navigator, and two specialists for the setting of the rigging and the sails. Each man had his job to do, to ensure the whole team functioned smoothly.
The selection trials to choose the defender were closely fought. "Whirlwind" proved a failure, but both "Yankee" and "Weetamoe" came close to beating "Enterprise". After the selection series, the Americas Cup contest of 1930 proved an anticlimax. "Shamrock V" never looked like winning even one race.
|
|
Enterprise (J Class)507 viewsLike all American J boats, "Enterprise" had a short life. She was made obsolete by changes in the J class rule in 1932, which made her stripped-out interior illegal. She could not carry the interior fittings required without badly compromising her performance. She spent most of her last years laid up, and was dismantled in 1935.
Yet she is of immense historic importance. Many of the innovations she pioneered are commonplace on today's racing yachts. Not the best-known of the J boats, she is still one of the most interesting. Our model is a fitting reminder of this fascinating yacht. We would be honoured to create one for you.
|
|
Euterpe534 viewsThe Clipper ship "Euterpe" was built on the Isle of Man for the Australian trade. She was one of the first iron ships. After an eventful life, she is now preserved as the "Star of India" at San Diego, California. We built this lovely glass-case replica for a gentleman whose grandfather had been the ship's sailmaker, in the days when she ran her easting down, around the howling Horn.
(model by Frank Hasted)
|
|
Euterpe507 views
|
|
Euterpe (poop detail)502 views
|
|
Eye of the Wind512 viewsThe lovely little sail training ship "Eye of the Wind" is one of Frank Hasted's favorite ships. He has had many happy times afloat on her. This model was made for his beloved Lesley, to commemorate her introduction to offshore sailing, steering the ship on her eightieth birthday in a full gale.
If there is a ship which holds particularly happy memories for you, we will be happy to build a high quality miniature replica for you, too. One day, if the demands of the business ever give us enough time, I may ask Frank to build "Hoshi" for me; but that's another story!
(model by Frank Hasted)
|
|
Eye of the Wind (detail)507 views
|
|
HMS Bounty633 viewsH.M.S. "Bounty" will forever be associated with the famous mutiny. There is still controversy over whether Bligh was an unusually brutal captain, or was simply cursed with a bad crew. It is certain he was a superb navigator.
"Bounty" was a typical small merchant ship of her era, used as a transport ship by the Admiralty. This lovely model faithfully represents the original. In the detail shot, you can see that some parts of the upper deck have been cut away, allowing you to view the lower deck, which is fitted out in detail. At 30" l.o.a., this lovely model is large enough to be properly admired, without being unduly demanding of display space.
(model by Frank Hasted)
|
|
HMS Bounty (detail)658 viewsDetail of Frank Hasted's model of HMS Bounty, with deck cut away to show interior detail.
|
|
HMS Endeavour548 viewsCaptain James Cook is best known for his discovery of Australia. He has other solid claims to fame. He was a superb seaman. He was almost certainly the best navigator of his era. He was one of the very few men of this period to be commissioned from the lower deck.
His greatest achievement was to virtually eliminate the terrible scourge of scurvy. This disease is a vitamin deficiency, caused by limited understanding of diet. Before Captain Cook, it was accepted that on every long voyage, a large proportion of the crew would die. Cook was not prepared to accept this. He made a scientific study of diet, and used his crew as guinea pigs to test his theories, experimenting with a variety of different diets. He nearly caused a mutiny at one point, by ordering that every man should eat two pounds of raw onions each day for a week, but in a voyage of almost three years, he did not lose a single man to scurvy.
He was also responsible for enormous advances in the science of navigation. While a ship's distance north or south from the equator can be calculated using a simple noon sight, to calculate an accurate position east or west demands a precise knowledge of the time. There is an alternative method involving sights of the moon, but it is complex, and only the finest navigators would be able to use it. Cook took to sea and tested the first really accurate chronometers. It is a sobering reflection to realise that before this important advance in technology, few captains could have been exactly certain of where they were once they sailed out of sight of land.
It was these huge advances in diet and navigation which made long-distance ocean voyages far less reliant on chance. They thus paved the way for the huge expansion in European colonialism in the nineteenth century. This quiet, intelligent son of a Yorkshire farm worker probably did more to change the history of the world than all the fighting admirals put together. To a very great extent, we all of us live in the world he made possible.
This model of Captain Cook's "Endeavour" is thus not only a beautiful display piece in her own right, but she is of the greatest historical interest. She will make a fitting embellishment to any home, to a museum, or to the offices of any shipping company, all of which still owe a debt to Captain Cook's pioneering discoveries.
(model by Frank Hasted)
|
|
HMS Victory749 viewsNelson's famous flagship needs no introduction. With her complex hull form, three decks of gun ports, intricate rig and ornate decoration, she is one of the most complex and demanding wooden boat model projects possible.
|
|
|
|
Login