For this Extended Learning Internship (ELI), I am building a model sardine fishing boat carrier called the William Underwood. The original was built built and launched in Dorchester, Massachusetts in 1941. She has an overall length of 70 feet, has a double ender type hull, and is framed with oak and planked with yellow pine. I am planning on building the boat at 1/2” scale where one foot is equal to half an inch.
My mentor is Ed Chavez, who has built more that 100 model ships. The ones I have seen are amazing and very intricate. I think that he will be a great resource. To build the boat I am using the lay up method, in which I take pieces of wood and cut them in the shape of the hull, or body of the boat, at that section of the hull. Then I glue the sections together to make the hull. I then carve away the extra material to make the hull smooth. This is an easier method that building the frame of the boat and laying on the planks like a real boat is made.
My goals for this ELI are to build the hull of the boat using the method described above and determine what type of engine I want to install in the boat. I have the option of using an electric or a gas engine. I also am going to install the engine and remote control equipment in the boat, and in the end finish the boat to make it look realistic. I can’t wait to watch it motor up and down the swells in the open ocean.
~Patrick R.
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