Ship building is a passion of mine. Each one has a character, all their own….not a one ever the same. I was bursting at the seams, when I walked out of the 606 hobby store with the 1:96 scale model of the U.S.S. United States in my arms. I had never seen this kit around before, the owner telling me that there were a lot of gawkers, but no takers. He was happy to see it find a home. I couldn’t wait to get it home and start on it. The United States was a very large ship, larger than her sister ship, The Constitution, which I had built before….for my mother. Not so much in length, but in girth…measuring at least two inches wider than her sister.
The build went extremely smooth, as if she was guiding my hands over the many pieces that made up her being. It went faster than I expected, spending as much time with her as I could at each sitting. Sometimes i would work on her well into the night. losing track of time, 2:00am was not unusual for me. When the last of the rigging and few touches of paint was completed, she was finished. This majestic lady, whose life started out of a large rectangular box, was now sitting on my build table. She boasted a total of 39 sails, four more than The Cutty Sark, another 1:96 scale ship I had built. All of my builds showcased them under full sail, I couldn’t build one otherwise. The sails, I feel, gives life to a ship. The artist and the sculptor in me, wanted to convey the message that….yes, these ships were real. They fought our wars, they moved our cargo, and most importantly, they were a window of the past. As I daydreamed, another thought came to mind…where was she to berth? During the build, Phyl and i talked about it and I had come to a very good place to put her.
I mounted a shelf on the wall above the stairwell leading to the second floor. The Bathroom was up these stairs. when you would go upstairs, she was behind you, but when you came down the stairs….you would see her and the decent would give you an ever changing view of her. Standing in the short hallway leading to our bedroom, you could look over the railing and see her in an aerial, diagonal view. I wished i could have found a way to mount a light over her, as it would have highlighted her in a spectacular way. For now though, she was put on the shelf in the living room, the shelf where I put the ships during their build. I had to do it soon, because I had come home with my next project, the C.S.S. Alabama and i needed the shelf for her build.
Time went on, and soon the Alabama was very near to completion. I had worked on her during the morning hours and was putting her on the “holding shelf”, after being reminded by my wife that I had chores to do. I set about my chores, wanting to get them done, so I could get back to the build. It was in the middle of my last one, that Phyl laid one more chore for me to do. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but your boat is looking pretty dirty. I can’t reach it, and to tell you the truth, I’m not sure I want to….their your responsibility….but you need to take care of it.”
When I saw her, I was shocked, to say the least! She was laden with what looked like a good 1/8th inch of dust and her rigging and sails were full of cobwebs! Ashamed of my neglect, I set about the task to clean her up. I had a long, soft bristled brush that i used for this purpose and the vacuum cleaner, that I used to suck up what I had loosened. To clean the deck, I used the “blow” feature that the vacuum was capable of, which was not a good idea. Dust blew up into the air, which settled around the area and Phyl seeing this did not amuse her. I had to find a better way of doing this. I then noticed the light breeze that was coursing through the trees outside…..it gave me an idea. I set up a table out onto the porch and moved the operation out there. As I brushed and blew the dust and cobwebs, the breeze took it and sent it harmlessly away. It got to the point that I didn’t need the vacuum any more, the recurring breezes seemed to had taken the job away from it. I also noticed that when I would pause from cleaning, the breeze would continue to chip away at it, taking more of the loosened debris away, sending it over the porch railing to parts unknown. I then decided to position it, starboard side to the breeze with the bow pointing over the porch railing and allowed the wind to pick at it some more, while I finished what I was doing in the house. I put the vacuum away and carried on with what I was doing before I got distracted. Of course, another chore came to being and I set on that one soon after.
It was later in the afternoon, when i started to notice that a much stronger wind had kicked up. I then thought about the ship outside and figured I had better get it off the porch. As I started for the door, an even stronger gust came up and channeled between the houses like a freight train! I quickened my pace, reaching the door just as the next wave hit. I opened the door seconds too late however, opening it just in time to see the wind do what it was meant to do. The table, as high as the porch railing, offered no resistance to the wind, for the demise of the United States. The sound of plastic scraping wood was what I heard as it was pushed over the railing, four feet down, to the asphalt below! I ran down the stairs, pieces of the ship strewn about and the shattered mass of the broken ship lay in a heap in the driveway. As I picked it up, string, still tied to the masts and sails, dangled off the sides of the ship. The hull was cracked….the damage was immense…my stupidity!!! Phyl appeared onto the porch just as I was throwing it into the trashcan. She tried to make me feel better by suggesting that I could get another one, but it’s been since the mid 90’s and I haven’t seen another one of that scale. My search continues to this day……I take solace for the fact that I took pictures of this fine ship….and for the memories to look back on.
The build went extremely smooth, as if she was guiding my hands over the many pieces that made up her being. It went faster than I expected, spending as much time with her as I could at each sitting. Sometimes i would work on her well into the night. losing track of time, 2:00am was not unusual for me. When the last of the rigging and few touches of paint was completed, she was finished. This majestic lady, whose life started out of a large rectangular box, was now sitting on my build table. She boasted a total of 39 sails, four more than The Cutty Sark, another 1:96 scale ship I had built. All of my builds showcased them under full sail, I couldn’t build one otherwise. The sails, I feel, gives life to a ship. The artist and the sculptor in me, wanted to convey the message that….yes, these ships were real. They fought our wars, they moved our cargo, and most importantly, they were a window of the past. As I daydreamed, another thought came to mind…where was she to berth? During the build, Phyl and i talked about it and I had come to a very good place to put her.
I mounted a shelf on the wall above the stairwell leading to the second floor. The Bathroom was up these stairs. when you would go upstairs, she was behind you, but when you came down the stairs….you would see her and the decent would give you an ever changing view of her. Standing in the short hallway leading to our bedroom, you could look over the railing and see her in an aerial, diagonal view. I wished i could have found a way to mount a light over her, as it would have highlighted her in a spectacular way. For now though, she was put on the shelf in the living room, the shelf where I put the ships during their build. I had to do it soon, because I had come home with my next project, the C.S.S. Alabama and i needed the shelf for her build.
Time went on, and soon the Alabama was very near to completion. I had worked on her during the morning hours and was putting her on the “holding shelf”, after being reminded by my wife that I had chores to do. I set about my chores, wanting to get them done, so I could get back to the build. It was in the middle of my last one, that Phyl laid one more chore for me to do. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but your boat is looking pretty dirty. I can’t reach it, and to tell you the truth, I’m not sure I want to….their your responsibility….but you need to take care of it.”
When I saw her, I was shocked, to say the least! She was laden with what looked like a good 1/8th inch of dust and her rigging and sails were full of cobwebs! Ashamed of my neglect, I set about the task to clean her up. I had a long, soft bristled brush that i used for this purpose and the vacuum cleaner, that I used to suck up what I had loosened. To clean the deck, I used the “blow” feature that the vacuum was capable of, which was not a good idea. Dust blew up into the air, which settled around the area and Phyl seeing this did not amuse her. I had to find a better way of doing this. I then noticed the light breeze that was coursing through the trees outside…..it gave me an idea. I set up a table out onto the porch and moved the operation out there. As I brushed and blew the dust and cobwebs, the breeze took it and sent it harmlessly away. It got to the point that I didn’t need the vacuum any more, the recurring breezes seemed to had taken the job away from it. I also noticed that when I would pause from cleaning, the breeze would continue to chip away at it, taking more of the loosened debris away, sending it over the porch railing to parts unknown. I then decided to position it, starboard side to the breeze with the bow pointing over the porch railing and allowed the wind to pick at it some more, while I finished what I was doing in the house. I put the vacuum away and carried on with what I was doing before I got distracted. Of course, another chore came to being and I set on that one soon after.
It was later in the afternoon, when i started to notice that a much stronger wind had kicked up. I then thought about the ship outside and figured I had better get it off the porch. As I started for the door, an even stronger gust came up and channeled between the houses like a freight train! I quickened my pace, reaching the door just as the next wave hit. I opened the door seconds too late however, opening it just in time to see the wind do what it was meant to do. The table, as high as the porch railing, offered no resistance to the wind, for the demise of the United States. The sound of plastic scraping wood was what I heard as it was pushed over the railing, four feet down, to the asphalt below! I ran down the stairs, pieces of the ship strewn about and the shattered mass of the broken ship lay in a heap in the driveway. As I picked it up, string, still tied to the masts and sails, dangled off the sides of the ship. The hull was cracked….the damage was immense…my stupidity!!! Phyl appeared onto the porch just as I was throwing it into the trashcan. She tried to make me feel better by suggesting that I could get another one, but it’s been since the mid 90’s and I haven’t seen another one of that scale. My search continues to this day……I take solace for the fact that I took pictures of this fine ship….and for the memories to look back on.
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