New Free Ship Plan: Racing Yacht America

Free Ship Plan of Yacht America Added

Check out the Plans!

New Article: Bread and Butter Hull Construction

Waste Less Wood than Cutting a Solid Block

Using the Bread-and_Butter Technique for Solid Hull Model Ship Construction

Ship Plans Provide Everything You Need to Scratch-Build a Red Sea Dhow

Red Sea Dhow

 The most basic form of scratch-built ship modeling is the solid hull technique that we demonstrated on our page Creating a Solid Hull Ship Model. While the method demonstrated there - using a solid block of wood to create the hull for a 19th Century William Doughty-designed revenue cutter - works well for smaller models, a solid block of wood large enough to build a bigger model will be either hard to find, or prohibitively expensive.

In our series Scratch-building a Bread-and-Butter Solid Hull Ship Model we discuss the popular method of scratch-building a solid hull for larger ship models, called the bread-and-butter technique, that reduces the thickness (and expense) of wood needed as compared to the solid block method.

This method uses the waterlines from the ship plan to cut out several planks that will be layered like slices of bread to create the solid hull, and glued together (the butter).

A major advantage of this method - in addition to less cost for wood than a solid block - is that since each plank is cut to the breadth of the hull at a certain level, there is less filing and sanding to reach the final shape than a single block of wood, which must be cut to the widest breadth of the hull.

Free Ship Plans U.S.S. Bolster

Salvage Vessel U.S.S. Bolster

The Last Remaining World War II Era Auxiliary Ship of Her Class

Ocean-going Tug Served 49 years in the U.S. Navy

U.S.S. Bolster sister ship Opportune (ARS-41), circa 1945

U.S.S. Bolster (ARS-38), now part of the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet located in Solano County, California, is the last surviving member of her World War II era auxiliary ship class.

Built by Basalt Rock Company, Napa, California, U.S.S. Bolster's keel was laid on 20 July 1944. She was launched 23 December 1944 and commissioned 1 May 1945. Presently owned by the U.S. Maritime Administration, U.S.S. Bolster is a member of the inactive National Defense Reserve Fleet.

Our Free Ship Plans of U.S.S. Bolster include profile, deck, section, lines, and detail plans.

More Progress on Midwest Products' Chesapeake Bay Flattie Model Ship Kit

Midwest Products' Chesapeake Bay Flattie

Plank-on-Bulkhead Model Ship Kit

Promises Ease of Construction

Midwest Products Chesapeake Bay Flattie kit.

While solid-hull ship models are generally considered the easiest to construct, Midwest Products has created a "Success Series" of ship model kits that offer plank-on-bulkhead models that promise to make model shipbuilding easy for the complete novice.

We decided to test this theory by making Midwest's Chesapeake Bay Flattie ship model kit our first on-line kit build. The simple lines of these boats that made them ideal for locals to build from locally-available lumber should also make this an ideal ship model kit or a person with no prior wood ship model building experience.

The biggest challenge of plank-on-bulkhead ship models is planking the hull, and because of the simple shape of these boats, this task is accomplished in this kit with a single plank on each of the sides, and two planks on the bottom.

The kit comes with well-executed die-cut and pre-cut parts, as well as fittings, rigging line, sail material, and a well-done set of instructions and building plans.

Click on the links below to visit each stage of construction:
Chesapeake Bay Flattie Kit: Introduction
Chesapeake Bay Flattie Kit: Chapter 1, Keel and Bulkhead assembly
Chesapeake Bay Flattie Kit: Chapter 2, Deck Assembly
Chesapeake Bay Flattie Kit: Chapter 3, Mast Steps and Bow Stiffeners
Chesapeake Bay Flattie Kit:Chapter 4: Keel and Chine Strips
Chesapeake Bay Flattie Kit:Chapter 5: Installing the Cabin
Chesapeake Bay Flattie Kit:Chapter 6: Planking the Hull
We have a lot more steps ahead of us, so keep checking back for updates!

Scarf Joints for Model Ship Builders

Technique for Joining Timbers Important in Shipbuilding

Scarf Joints Create Ship-length Timbers from Shorter Lengths

An Important Technique for Ship Model Builders, Too

In building full-size wooden ships, it is impossible to get wood timbers long enough to make some of the structural members.
In these cases, several pieces are joined together lengthwise by "scarfing": tapering the ends, lapping them and then fastening the two together.

An illustration from Charles G. Davis's The Building of a Wooden Ship shows the details of creating different types of scarf joints, which are useful to the model shipbuilder as well.

Often, the model shipbuilder must join several pieces of wood around a curve to make sure the wood grain is aligned to its strongest direction at each point of the piece.

Some examples of this include the stem, which curves through the gripe to join the keel; log rails that curve around the bow or stern, or transom pieces with complex curves.

Scarf joints are the strongest way to join these different pieces to ensure a joint that will not fail.

Our page Scarf Joints gives Davis's rules of thumb for creating strong scarph joints.

Free Ship Plans Brigantine Schooner Carlo

Free Ship Plans of Brigantine Schooner Carlo

Italian Cargo Vessel Built 1909

Brigantine Schooner Carlo

Built at the end of the age of sail, and the dawn of the 20th Century, our Free Ship Plans of the Brigantine Schooner Carlo demonstrate the pinnacle of sail design as naval architects attempted to use modern hull designs and materials with simplified rigs that needed fewer sailors to handle.
Even though the Age of Steam was upon them, many of these last sailing ships earned a living well into the first half of the 20th century.

Glossary of Shipbuilding Terms Explains the Jargon

It's Important for Model Shipbuilders to Understand

The Language of Shipbuilding

Glossary of Shipbuilding Terms Explains the Arcane

Whether you are just starting in the hobby of model shipbuilding or are an old pro, there are times when you will find mysteriously arcane terminology that traditional dictionaries don't define.
Our Glossary of Shipbuilding Terms comes from Charles G. Davis's The Building of a Wooden Ship (1917) which was written to familiarize carpenters and cabinetmakers with the art of shipbuilding.

We've added illustrations from a number of period sources and comments to help with comprehension of these terms, many of which have few, if any, modern equivalents.

Free Ship Plans of US Navy Cargo Vessel USNS Comet

U.S.N.S. Comet First Roll-on/Roll-off Cargo Vessel of Her Kind

C-3 Cargo Ship Had Stern Loading Ramp Allowing Vehicles to Load Under Their Own Power

FIRST DEEP-DRAFT OCEAN GOING CARGO VESSEL TO OFFER SELF-LOADING

C-3 Cargo Ship U.S.N.S. Comet

The first of her kind, U.S.N.S. Comet was designed for roll-on/-off loading of wheeled cargo such as military vehicles. Her keel was laid May 15, 1956. The ship was launched July 31, 1957, and delivered January 24, 1958.
U.S.N.S Comet was designed by the U.S. Navy Bureau of Ships and the Maritime Administration to carry fully-loaded self-propelled wheeled or tracked vehicles, and able to load and unload them through a ramp in her stern and four side loading ports. A series of internal ramps allowed the vehicles to be moved under their own power or towed into the holds.
Our U.S.N.S. Comet free ship plans page offers seven sheets of high-resolution downloadable plans perfect for the ship model builder looking for a challenging scratch-building project.

Free Ship Plans of Italaian Brigantine Schooner Gigino

Italian Brigantine Schooner Gigino

Demonstrates Pinnacle of Sailing Ship Design

What Chapelle would term "Hermaphrodite Brig"

20th Century Italian Brigantine Schooner Gigino

As steam powered ships threatened to finally replace sail for ocean-going cargo vessels, this pressure led naval architects to the pinnacle of their design skills. The final sailing ships balanced capacity with fine lines that allowed greater speed while carrying the maximum amount of cargo.

Another major design change was the change from square sail rigs to fore-and-aft sails. These schooner rigs required fewer sailors to handle the ropes, allowing sailing ships to remain financially competitive with the smaller crews of steam ships. The "brigantine schooner" - or "hermaphrodite brig," as American historian Howard I. Chapelle would name it - combined the two sail rigs with square sails on the forward mast and fore-and-aft sails on the main mast, giving it positive benefits of both sail types. These sailing ships remained competitive with steamships well into the 20th Century.

Our free ship plans of Italian brigantine Gigino offer a large body plan with ships' curves, as well as a detailed framing plan, section plan, keel and deadwood plan, and sail and rigging plan.

Building Midwest Products' Chesapeake Bay Flattie Ship Model Kit

Chesapeake Bay Flattie Ship Model Kit Project Moves Ahead
Skeleton of Midwest Products Kit Takes Shape
Entry-level Kit is Great Place to Start Ship Model Building

Adding Chine Strips to the Chesapeake Bay Flattie

Next up in our construction of the Midwest Products Chesapeake Bay Flattie ship model kit is to create a supporting surface for the bottom and side planks by adding keel and chine strips.

The keel strips lie along the keel to keep the bottom planking from sagging between the bulkheads.

The chine strips run along the edge where the bottom and sides of the boat meet. The Chesapeake Bay Flattie is considered a "hard chine" boat due to the acute angle at which the side and bottom planking meets. The chine "logs" on a boat like this provide strength to the hull as well.

Click on the links below to visit each previous stage of construction:
Chesapeake Bay Flattie Kit: Introduction
Chesapeake Bay Flattie Kit: Chapter 1, Keel and Bulkhead assembly
Chesapeake Bay Flattie Kit: Chapter 2, Deck Assembly
Chesapeake Bay Flattie Kit: Chapter 3, Mast Steps and Bow Stiffeners

Free Ship Plans of Fletcher-class World War II Destroyer USS Capps

Fletcher-class Destroyer U.S.S. Capps

Saw World War II Service in Atlantic and Pacific Theaters

Then Went on to Long Career in Spanish Navy as Lepanto

Fletcher-class destroyer USS Caps during service for Spain as Lepanto

U.S. Navy Fletcher-class destroyer U.S.S. Capps (DD-550), built by Gulf Shipbuilding Corp. in Chickasaw, Alabama, was launched in May 1942 and commissioned in June 1943.
A member of the Fletcher class, the largest class of destroyers built during World War II, she served in a number of operations in both the Atlantic and Pacific theaters of operation during World War II including raids on German ports, escort duty, and the battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa.
After being decommissioned by the U.S. Navy, she was transferred to the Spanish Navy, where she served until 1985 as Lepanto.
Our USS Capps Plans Page features plans of each of her decks, inboard and outboard profiles, sections, and body plans perfect for model ship construction.

Free Ship Plans USCG Cutter Acushnet Former USS Shackle

U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Acushnet serves 67 year career

That began as U.S. Navy salvage vessel USS Shackle

Decommissioned in 2011, she was the only World War II vintage vessel still in Coast Guard service

USCG Cutter Acushnet/USS Shackle

U.S. Coast Guard cutter Acushnet's long career began during World War II as U.S. Navy salvage ship USS Shackle (ARS-9). After joining the Coast Guard, she served as a tug, oceanographic research vessel, and medium-endurance cutter. 

With the attack on Pearl Harbor, navy shipyards were suddenly hard-pressed to build all the new vessels that would be required for the war effort. The U.S. Navy turned to the U.S. Maritime Commission to contract many of the attack transports, oilers, and other auxiliary ships it needed, such as salvage ships.

Outboard profile USCG Cutter Acushnet

While the first task of salvage ships was to clear the damaged ships in Pearl Harbor, duties went beyond dealing with destroyed or sunken ships to any repair tasks beyond the scope of a ship's crew, such as fire-fighting or towing disabled craft. The Navy used every resource possible – both military and commercial salvage company - in the design of what would be named the Diver class salvage vessel to which Shackle/Acushnet belongs. Her keel was laid in October 1942 at the Basalt Rock Company shipyard located on the Napa River, and she was launched February 1944. This shipyard constructed all 16 Diver class salvage ships.

 U.S.C.G. cutter Acushnet/U.S.S. Shackle has great lines and would make for a great ship model, built from the free ship plans available at TheModelShipwright.com

Steam Tug Hercules Photo Gallery

High-resolution Photo Gallery of Steam Tug Hercules

The Only Remaining Steam Tug on the West Coast

A great subject for a historic ship model

Steam Tug Hercules

In 1907 the San Francisco firm The Shipowners and Merchants Towboat Company ordered two ocean-going tugboats from John Dialogue and Son of Camden, New Jersey, builders of tugs, pilot boats, and small steamers. At the turn of the century many harbor tugs were built with wooden hulls and powered by a compound two-cylinder steam engine of about 500 horsepower. Hercules and her sister Goliath instead were built with 150 foot riveted steel hulls and triple expansion three-cylinder 1000 horsepower steam engines.

The only remaining ocean-going steam tug on the West Coast, Hercules was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1986. She was was documented as part of the Historic American Engineering Record, a program of the National Park Service. 

Our photo gallery of steam tug Hercules features high-resolution photographs from that survey that are kept by the Library of Congress.

Also, check out our Free Ship Plans of Steam Tug Hercules.

Building Midwest Products' Chesapeake Bay Flattie Model Ship Kit

Midwest Products' Chesapeake Bay Flattie

Plank-on-Bulkhead Model Ship Kit

Promises Ease of Construction

Midwest Products Chesapeake Bay Flattie kit.

While solid-hull ship models are generally considered the easiest to construct, Midwest Products has created a "Success Series" of ship model kits that offer plank-on-bulkhead models that promise to make model shipbuilding easy for the complete novice.

We decided to test this theory by making Midwest's Chesapeake Bay Flattie ship model kit our first on-line kit build. The simple lines of these boats that made them ideal for locals to build from locally-available lumber should also make this an ideal ship model kit or a person with no prior wood ship model building experience.

The biggest challenge of plank-on-bulkhead ship models is planking the hull, and because of the simple shape of these boats, this task is accomplished in this kit with a single plank on each of the sides, and two planks on the bottom.

The kit comes with well-executed die-cut and pre-cut parts, as well as fittings, rigging line, sail material, and a well-done set of instructions and building plans.

Click on the links below to visit each stage of construction:
Chesapeake Bay Flattie Kit: Introduction
Chesapeake Bay Flattie Kit: Chapter 1, Keel and Bulkhead assembly
Chesapeake Bay Flattie Kit: Chapter 2, Deck Assembly
Chesapeake Bay Flattie Kit: Chapter 3, Mast Steps and Bow Stiffeners

We have a lot more steps ahead of us, so keep checking back for updates!

Plates from Pâris Souvenirs de Marine Perfect Holiday Gift

Souvenirs de Marine by François-Edmond Pâris

One of Most Sought-after Source Books for Model Ship Builders and maritime history enthusiasts alike

Selected Plates from Souvenirs de Marine brings together 130 ship plans from Pâris's historic work.

Selected Plates from Souvenirs de Marine

Vice-Admiral François-Edmond Pâris was a French naval officer who is well known in his home country for his significant contributions to naval engineering during the transition from sail to steam and his leadership of the Musée national de la Marine, but now is mainly remembered outside of France for his detailed books on the subject of naval architecture.
Ship model builders and maritime history enthusiasts alike are constantly on the lookout for copies of his books, which can range into the thousands of dollars for vintage editions.
However, we have brought together Selected plates from Souvenirs de Marine, plates from "Souvenirs de Marine. Collection de plans ou dessins de navires et de bateaux anciens ou modernes existants ou disparus avec les éléments numériques nécessaores à leur construction" (A Record of Navy:  Collection of plans or drawings of vessels and of boats ancient or modern, existing or disappeared, with the numerical elements necessary for their construction.) for just $9.99 on Amazon.
Our edition features more than 90 plates from the first two volumes of this set, and feature more than 130 ship plans from vessels ranging from ancient triremes to late 19th Century warships. Vessels from across Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and the U.S. are included.  The plates are indexed by plate number, type of vessel, name of vessel, and the country region of the vessel.
We've also included a biography of Vice-Admiral François-Edmond Pâris and a bibliography of his works, and an article "How to Read a Ship Plan" that explains how the lines on a two-dimensional plan picture the shape of a three-dimensional ship.
Selected Plates from Souvenirs de Marine is a sure hit with the model ship builder or maritime history enthusiast on your holiday gift list!

Free Ship Plans of French Cargo Vessel Golo

1933 French cargo vessel Golo

French cargo vessel Golo, built in 1933, would be a great ship model to document the inter-war years in European shipbuilding.
Check out our page featuring 15 highly-detailed free ship plans of Golo.

Free Ship Plans of Spanish Mine-laying Vessel

Spanish Navy Mine-laying Boat also Transported Torpedoes

Spanish name “Barcaza para Embarque y Fondeo de Minas y Transporte de Torpedoes”

Translates to “Barge for Shipment and Anchoring of Mines and Transport of Torpedoes”

Spanish Navy Mine-layer

This 1950s Spanish naval vessel was used to transport mines and torpedoes, and also worked as a mine-layer.
The smaller size of this boat would make it suitable for a larger scale ship model. The hard-chine hull would make scratch-building a model easier as well.
Check out the free ship plans for the Spanish navy mine-layer at TheModelShipwright.com

Free Ship Plans of R-boat Pirate

Award-winning R-class Sloop Pirate

Now Best Existing Example of its Type

Pinnacle of West Coast Yacht Design

R-class Sloop Pirate

For a change of pace from our ship plans, we've put up construction drawings for the R-class sloop Pirate.

Presently owned by The Center for Wooden Boats, R-boat Pirate is the best existing example of the R-class yachts.

Constructed in 1926 by Lake Union Dry Dock of Seattle, Washington, from plans by L.E. “Ted” Geary, Pirate embodies the pinnacle of yacht design and construction in the Seattle area in the early 20th century.

Photo Gallery of Historic Lumber Schooner Wawona

Once Lumber Schooners Plied the Pacific in the Scores

After Breakup of Wawona Just One Historic Lumber Schooner Exists

Documentary Photos of Schooner Wawona

Lumber Schooner Wawona

From the scores of wooden three-masted schooners built in the 19th and early 20th centuries for service in the West Coast lumber trade, the schooner Wawona was one of only two known to be preserved when she was surveyed in 1986. She was dismantled in 2009. She and the one surviving lumber schooner, C.A. Thayer (National Maritime Museum, San Francisco), were built by Hans D. Bendixsen, who was well known in his time for the superior construction of his vessels.

Wawona was designed for the Dolbeer & Carson Lumber Company of Eureka, California to transport more than 500,000 board feet of lumber per voyage from from the Pacific Northwest to ports further south on the coast. Like most ships in her day, Wawona’s hull was lofted from a carved wooden half model rather than a detailed set of engineering drawings.

Her official dimensions at launch were:
Length: 156.0 feet
Beam: 36.0 feet
Depth: 12.3 feet
Gross Tonnage: 468.42
Net Tonnage: 413.94
Wawona was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970.

Our photo gallery offers documentary photos of Wawona taken during a survey for the Historic American Engineering Record.

Free Ship Plans of Italian Barque Erasmo

Early 20th Century Sailing Ship Erasmo

Demonstrates Pinnacle of sailing design

With Steel Hull and Four-masted Barque Rigging

Built in Genoa, Italy in 1903, the four-masted, steel-hulled barque Erasmo (Erasmus) sailed from Europe to Australia and to America.
We have massive downloadable ship plans of her as well as quite a bit of info on our page about her.
By the end of the 18th Century, the term ‘barque’ referred to a specific sail plan of three or more masts with fore-aft sails on the aft-most mast and square sails on the others. Barques could nearly match the speed of ship-rigged clippers, and surpassed the performance of schooners and barkentines. They could operate with smaller crews than a full-rigged ship as well, making them more economical to operate.