MAY 2020

This is the second newsletter meeting held by the club due to restrictions to gathering because of the Covid-19 Pandemic.  Following are submissions from members.

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In April, Alan joined a Webinar on the restoration of the Mary Rose, Henry VIII's flagship, which sank in 1545.  Below is a downloadable PDF summary of the presentation.

the_mary_rose.pdf
File Size:	312 kb
File Type:	pdf

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Ray has now completed the ratlines on the lower masts of HMS Ontario as can be seen in the photo above.  He suggests it was not such a difficult job if you have a white card positioned behind the shrouds with ruled lines to guide even spacing.  The card is also useful to help depth perception while tying clove hitches in the dark brown line at each shroud with two pairs of tweezers. ​ 

Having finished the ratlines he was now able to complete work on the tops for the fore and main masts.  Ray made these tops some time ago, but adding the necessary blocks and other fittings has had to wait until now.  Below is a downloadable PDF report entitled "Tops and blocks", in which Ray describes the finishing of the fore and main tops for "Ontario". 

​Who knew the tops on a fighting ship were so complicated?!​

tops_and_blocks_-_rev1.pdf
File Size:	997 kb
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Tijs reports: "Still working on my 1750 American fishing boat. Here is a photograph (seen above) showing the fish working station they had and the bilge pump at mid-ships. The bilge pump is about 3/4 inch tall."  This is a model of a "pinky" type boat with the characteristic pinched stern at the waterline and a distinct overhang at deck level.  They were said to sail to windward very well and hence return to shore with their catch quickly against the prevailing westerly winds off the East coast.

​Ray commented: "That's nice detailing on the black chest, Tijs, and also on the handles on the hatch covers. The frames extensions from deck to bulwarks give a good impression of the strength this construction gave to these boats". 

Tijs also sent the attached PDF downloadable story of an article on the Spanish flu as it affected Bill Walton and the steam ship "Kawigamong", built in 1913.  The ship operated on the Pickerel River, a tributary of the French River, that drains Lake Nipissing into Georgian Bay.   A most interesting account. I have added the Wikipedia entry for "Kawigamog".   The original was sent to Tijs by a neighbour with a cottage near Tijs' in Port Loring, Ontario.

kawigamong_and_bill_walton.pdf
File Size:	314 kb
File Type:	pdf

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