Ships in Bottles for Schools

.....is to show schools around the World this ancient secret process that craftsmen have jealously guarded for many, many years. Today, we want to bring it out into the open and share it with you.........to make sure this valuable information on ‘How To Make Sailing Ships in Bottles,’ is given FREE! to every school, educational establishments and public librarys throughout the World. We have made a personal undertaking that this craft is not lost to the future generations and that they will have a visual and practical knowledge of how to make sailing ships in bottles. Thank you for helping show and teach this ancient secret craft to the World.



Rod Mills

Master Craftsman

T Wally Royal Director/Writer 2013



Welcome to the exciting world of making sailing ships in bottles. We wanted to get this 60 page book out FREE! to schools, libraries, other eductional institutions and people interested in this hobby.....why? There are not many people out there with experience in the area of making ships in bottles who really want to pass on this knowledge to people (especially young people), and see this practise carried on in future generations. This book has sufficient information to allow anyone (from 7 to 70 years old) to learn this craft and build a ship with 2 days - in normal school hours, as a part of a school curriculum or as a hobby. Over the years of teaching this subject in schools, homes, markets and maritime institutions, thousands of people in Australia have been shown these simple procedures. School students as young as 7 have brought their model ship in a bottle to show the class the next day. The procedures are that simple. And guess who’s pleased the most?........the student. And, the teacher -

Students as young as 7 have brought their model ship to show the class the next day. The procedures are that simple......really, really easy. who gets a pat on the back from the school authorities...plus the parents. Sometimes the local newspaper gets involved and I am photographed with the students in the classroom workshop. Mind you I didn’t have this book available in those days, and it was the ‘hands-on’ experience in front of them, that made the knowledge easier to learn. We wrote the book and handed it out at $60 each, allowing schools to photocopy them freely. Today it’s yours - FREE! ...........and then, it was a natural progression. People asked if there was a teaching DVD available for schools.

It had to be a DVD that showed beginners how to do this in the classroom. Step by step. A simple, visual demonstration of the procedures that had been created. We got swamped by schools asking for it - proving to be an excellent teaching tool of an unknown craft. Many teachers have emphasized this to me, “it’s the easiest lesson I have taught pupils in years!” Repeating the video four or six times a year to various classes is an important part of their annual teaching curriculum.

PRACTICAL ON CAMERA STEP-BY-STEP TEACHING BY ROD MILLS - 40 MINUTES OF HIS 50 YEARS EXPERTISE AND INSTRUCTION. “The traditional skills involved in building ships in bottles is waning in our society and bypassing this generation. In many instances these skills are unheard of and as such it was perhaps a once in a lifetime chance for our students to experience this craft.” (Principal, Katherine School of the Air, Australia)

LIMITED INTRODUCTORY OFFER ENDS JULY 30 2014 - NORMALLY US$1147.00

DOWNLOAD YOUR DVD TODAY - US$672.00 www.sailingshipsinbottlesforschools.com

Goal - Free Information - Contents - Introduction - Overview 2 - 10 Tools required for this craft 11 Suitable bottles for a great presentation 12 - 13 Making a sailing ship 14 - 18 How to curl ship’s sails 19 - 22 How to make a racing yacht 23 - 25 How to make a racing yacht spinnaker 26 - 27 How to make a gaff rigged schooner 28 - 30 How to make a topsail schooner 31 - 32 How to make a brigantine 33 - 34 How to make a barque 35 - 36 How to make a sailing clipper 37 - 39 The Cutty Sark Clipper 40 - 41 Sailing ships in a bottle library 42 - 48 How your school can make money from this hobby 49 - 50 Rod Mills Biography 51 - 52 Sailing ships in a bottle glossary 53 - 57 Reference Acknowledgements 58

CarPeye Publishing, Cooranbong, NSW 2265 Australia. First published by CarPeye Publishing 2003 - Copyright: c CarPeye Publishing - Text copyright: c All

rights

reserved.

No

of the publisher. Editor,

part

of

this

publication

may

be

reproduced,

stored

in

a

retrieval

Project Co-ordinator & Art Director: T Wally Royal.

system

or

transmitted

by

any

means,

electronic,

mechanical,

photcopying

or

otherwise,

Rod Mills & T Wally Royal without

the

prior

permission

Sailing Consultant: Taylor Keriata. Picture Manager: Cam Tauaiti. Proofreader: Maddy Rae.

I decided years ago I would put together a specialist beginners manual that teaches how to build sailing ships in bottles. In the following pages I have put together a simple step by step procedure of various types of sailing ships that anyone, (you could be 7 years old or 70 years old), can make very easily and quickly. Once you have prepared the various bits and pieces that are required, such as making a number of masts, cleaning, preparing the different sized bottles, cutting out the sails etc, you will then be ready for the closest assembly line you could get to mass production! You will notice as you go through the motions of ‘curling’ a sail or carving a hull, the procedure remains the same....over and over again. You might even come up with an easier way to do the job than me. If you do, my best advice is to go with it - you’ll get a lot more out of this than just job satisfaction. In fact some of the people (and schools) I have taught, get more than just job satisfaction, some make income from this hobby - see page 49. I wish you well with this.....and I hope it proves to be financially rewarding for you as it has been for me, and other people I have taught......ships ahoy! and many bottles later,

Rod Mills Master Craftsman 5

Background



Just, HOW how do they put those ships in there? Obviously, the ship is much larger than the opening. Some people think that the bottle is cut away and the ship is assembled on the outside and then placed inside…..WRONG! It’s all assembled on the outside and then carefully slipped through the neck being s-l-o-w-ly pulled (manipulated is a better word) to full sail by various strings attached and instruments, in our case home made.... explained later on in this book. History



Over the centuries, sailors on ships of all sizes and types have used scrap wood, cloth, and rope to make model or toy boats to pass away the long boring hours at sea. Over 4000 years ago the Egyptians buried miniature ships with their mummified masters, and the Phoenicians, Etruscans, and Greeks produced models that are shown in wall murals. From that we can believe they were making models back then. The making of model ships in bottles is really only a modern day phenomenon, due largely to the poor quality of early bottles. When glass manufacturing improved, bottles were clearer, less distorted, and free of bubbles and heavy seams. But in these times, minor distortions, soft tints, and the antique appearance of hand-blown bottles are seen 6

as advantages for the model maker adding character to the look. There are glass containers in the market place that suit this craft; for instance large outdoor light bulbs are ideal - sealed glass vases sometimes have tiny openings that can be used.....just use your imagination when the opportunity presents itself. Model ships were not bottled until about 1850 when the great clipper ships plied the seas from port cities in England and America. Sometimes there were as many as seven masts on a vessel and many, many sails for the speeds needed to cross oceans and deliver products quickly to the many international trading ports. These ships were equipped with guns (“pirates on starboard Sir!”) and the large crews of sailors for manning the rigging and weapons. Most of the classic sailing ships have been preserved in bottles and are in maritime museums arond the world. Raw Materials



The wood for the hull and the glass bottle should be chosen after the model is selected; the proportions of the ship are better suited to some bottles, and measurements of the ship parts are controlled by the inner diameter of the neck of the bottle. Usually, Balsa wood is best, easy to carve and sand. Bottles with flat sides are great as they can lay on their side for display easily - three-sided bottles with “dimples” also display easily. But, round bottles require stands or supports for stability. Ships with more than three masts look sleek in slender in elongated bottles. Sloops, schooners, and other ships with one or two masts fit shorter bottles well. Other wood supplies include bamboo cocktail skewers or small-diameter dowels for spars. Sandpaper in grades from about 7

120-200 for smoothing the hull and other wood are also essential. Paint thinner, model enamels in a variety of colors, and fine paintbrushes are the materials and tools for painting the ship parts. Medium-weight white bond paper is cut into the shapes of the sails, and seams are drawn on with a pencil or tweezers that are used to curve the sails. The “sea” beneath the ship can be made with one of two materials. Sometimes, pieces of blue paper work but in larger models plasticene is best to shape the sea - be careful how you choose the best sea color. Small vessels should sail on green or greenish blue near coastal water, rather than the deep blue of the open ocean. Remember, ships do not confront rough seas in full sail. Plasticene has the advantage of providing its own adhe-

KATHERINE SCHOOL OF THE AIR, NT - AUSTRALIA....I am writing on behalf of the staff, students and parents of Litchfield, and Kakadu to express our appreciation in conducting these lessons and passing on the many, many skills and knowledge involved in your specialized craft to our students and the adults present. The traditional skills involved in building ships in bottles is waning in our society and bypassing this generation. In many instances these skills are unheard of and as such it was perhaps a once in a lifetime chance for our students to experience this craft. Our students really appreciate it when experts such as yourself give of themselves in both knowledge and time and travel.

sive effect. If it is used as the sea, it should be added first the bottle in the construction process. Otherwise, the bottle should have glue placed on the area that holds the ship. Most glues stay wet in the confines of the bottle until the ship is collapsed to fit in the bottle. Medium-weight bond paper is excellent for sails

because it can be easily marked and curled. Soaking it in tea or coffee, drying it, and ironing it can “age” the paper. The sails should be drawn on the paper to match the 8

dimensions on the plan. After cutting out the sails, each one should be held in position against its spar to confirm the fit. The seams and reef points (short lengths of rigging that pull up the bases of the sails) are drawn on the sails with a sharp-pointed pencil.The sails are glued in place with clear glue, some are glued along one side only so the mast and other spars will fold back. The edges that should be glued must be carefully checked. You also need a selection of simple tools like stanley knives, a hobby drill with fine bits, and miniature screwdrivers, saws, and a vise - all explained in full later in the book. Some tools have to be made for the specific bottle and model size. These include wire tweezers, scoops, and tampers for reaching the back of the bottle and for scooping and tamping plasticene or clay into place. Clothes hangers can be cut and shaped into long handles for these tools, and pieces cut from a tin can should be soldered to the wire to finish them to suit your need....explained later in this book. Remember, we wrote it for beginners and have tried to keep it simple so that you will have a ship in a bottle on your shelf within a few days. Design

The ships that are featured in bottles are historical subjects, and part of the

modeler’s skill is recreating a miniature version of the original including the colors it was painted. Design aspects of the ship are the modeler’s choice of which ship to build and personal depth of research. In this book the simplest of models are constructed along with some of the basic nautical terms for sails, rigging, and parts of a ship. Proportions of masts and rigging to hulls, and flags should be as true as possible because some 9

errors will be obvious even to someone who has never seen a ship in a bottle before.,....... as we have said, this book is for beginners and as time passes, you will get better in this craft of making sailing ships in a bottle. As you get more experienced, the types of bottle and display stand or wall mount, and decorations inside the bottle are a personal choice - bottles may be chosen for size, shape, color, character, or historical value. Ships have also been sealed in light bulbs from large, clear globes to Christmas tree bulbs. Watch out for big-big light bulbs that light shops may have trashed....they are excellent pieces for this craft. The building process in the next chapters describe in full each step so that you follow a simple logical order to get your sailing ship in the bottle.. The Future

The hobby of building sailing ships in bottles is not for everyone. Love of

research, ships and sea lore, history, woodworking and other skills, and minute details, as well as considerable patience, are required.....especially patience. One of the things emphasised in this book is the ability to turn this hobby into a part time money making venture. I know. I have earned up to $300 a day just showing people how it is done.....maritime museums love me taking classes during school holidays and teaching how to make sailing ships in a bottle. School teachers love the idea of having a workbook and video to explain this ancient art to a class while they sit back and and let me do the teaching for them through the DVD/video lesson.

10

Most of these tools you will have to make yourself, OR find them in the bathroom cupboard. You will have to adapt other “things” to suit the job, but like I had to, try and develop the tools as you go.  tweezers of various lengths  hobby knife or scalpel  a strong Stanley knife  various lengths of wire tools  PVA glue  sandpaper  timber or balsa for hulls and also deck housing  old business cards or cardboard to cut up for gunwales (railings)  mosquito netting  metal ruler  twist drills - from .6mm or .7mm through to 3mm  bamboo skewers  paper  silk or nylon thread with needles and threader  acrylic paint  fine paintbrushes  modeling clay OR plasticine  cutting board 15cm (6 inches)

#1 wire tool tweezers ends of tool, foot

#2 wire tool

scalpel 11

for a great presentation When you’re about to select a bottle for your ship take notice as to the type of ship that will go into a particular bottle. You can virtually use ANY GLASS CONTAINER, providing there is not too much distortion as to detract from viewing your ship. Some samples are:

 perfume bottles....check that the opening is wide enough. An approxi-



mate diameter is 12 mm to13mm. The smallest opening I’ve used is 1/8th



inch or 4mm.



 medicine bottles.....go check your local “friendly” chemist to see if he has some spare.



 beer bottles......has Dad got some? Spirits bottles.....come in all sorts of



shapes and sizes. Take account as to whether the bottle is round or square,



triangular because with the round bottles you’ll also have to make a stand



to hold the bottle steady while you are working on it. And, this can be



added to the finished product to give a great presentation. THE most



favoured bottle for hobbyists is the “Dimple Whisky” bottle which is triangular



and does not require a stand. These bottles are very attractive on their own 12



with a ship inside. Make friends with your local cocktail barman/hotel bar



manager as he just throws these away with the rubbish each week.



 wine bottles.....these have a great variety today but you will have to look



hard for a clear glass bottle. They make excellent containers and most have



a slight tint but the elegance of their shape makes a great presentation con-





tainer and does not necessarily take away from the ship. Make the stand as





inconspicuous as possible so that it does not detract from the ship.



 plastic bottles can also be used, but they will get scratched and eventu ally



disintegrate. I personally do not recommend them for this reason.



 electric light bulbs.......the larger clear ones make excellent containers as



there is no distortion in the glass. The only drawback is that the glass is very



fragile and a great deal of care must be taken if you are going to attempt this.

Through trial and error I have learnt the art of how to open the fused end without breaking too many. As I have mentioned later on, I once saw a very large light bulb “outer” which I thought was easier to insert the ship as the opening was about 4” wide and the effect would be fantastic. Make friends with your local light retailer and see what he’s about to throw away into his rubbish bin!

13

......making a

This is the basic construction sequence in which to make your sailing ship. Follow this and you will be seeing great looking models within a few hours. SEQUENCE TO FOLLOW: 1

Mark out the hull from your balsa board and then carve it and sandpaper to

make it smooth. 2

Mark and drill the holes for masts and bowsprit - glue the bowsprit on.

3

Paint the hull and leave to dry.

4

Prepare bottle with “sea,” - I use blue plasticine or blue paper.

5

Glue the hull into bottle on top of the sea.

6

Measure and cut mast (or masts) to size.....check the height of the inner bottle

from the sea. 7

Glue sails to masts.

8

Curl the sail and glue the mizzen (back) mast into position.

9

Repeat the above with the foremast.

10 Cut out jib sails, curl and glue into position. 11 Leave to dry and seal the bottle. 12 OPTIONAL: Your ship can be gaff rigged by cutting the top of the sail square. 14

Timber or balsa wood

NB.....to get a steeper angle on the bow cut further back from the underside of the hull, until you have the desired angle. Remember, the further aft (back) you cut, the steeper the angle becomes. As follows:

Angle cut for bow and stern

2

Using a needle, mark the hull for the desired masts and bowsprit, and drill out.

Deck holes, aerial view 15

3

I find it easier to paint the hull and bowsprit by turning the hull upside down and

pushing a pin firmly into the underside of the hull, which gives you something to hold on to while the hull and bowsprit can be painted without touching either. Then by placing the head of the pin into some plasticine, the painted hull can be left to dry. 4

By measuring the length and width of the bottle, the “sea” can be cut from

blue paper. Place the sea in the palm of your hand and run the tweezers over the length of the paper to take the shape of the bottle. Then run some pva glue on the inside of the bottle and place the sea on the

MANLY VALE PUBLIC SCHOOL...........On behalf of

glue and spread by running the tweezers over

the Enrichment Workshop Co-ordinating Committee I would like to thank you for participating in the workshop Ships Ahoy! in our October series. The children really enjoyed themselves and they had an exciting experience at sea. Your boats and ships in bottles were an important part of this workshop. Your con tribution towards making this Enrichment Workshop series a success is really appreciated......Principal

the paper. If the bottle is to be mounted on a



stand, do this now. 5

Again, by putting a dab of the glue on the

sea, place the hull (stern first) into the bottle and press firmly onto the glue. Remember to heel the boat over slightly to port (left) or starboard (right). 6 Split the bamboo skewers until you have the right thickness for the masts (approx. 1mm).

Then sharpen one end so that it will fit into the holes drilled for the masts on the deck. Keep cutting the mast height down until it will stand upright in the hull comfortably.

16

7

Remove the mast from inside and measure, cut and glue the sail to the mast as

follows - on this page. 8

By putting a tiny bit of glue on the foot of the mast, place the mast into position

by holding it midway with the tweezers and pointing the foot towards the back of the

Run the glue the length of the mast

Mast

Paper

Mast height above deck to inside of bottle

Cut along the dotted line and glue the right angled edge to the mast

This end fits into the hole on the deck

17

bottle. Place the mast in the hole you have drilled and stand it upright in the bottle presuming you have measured it correctly and it fits inside. 9

Repeat the above with the foremast. Push the foot of each sail till they are near

the leeward side (the lower edge of the hull) and remember that the foot of the foresail must be pushed past the main mast. Take a look at pictures of yachts with wind in their sails to give you an idea of what I mean. 10

Only glue the top and bottom corners of the jib sails before placing into position.

Glue spots here

18

......how to curl

INSTRUCTIONS: 1

To curl the mainsail, lay it in the palm of your hand and put the flat edge of the

tweezers alongside the mast on the sail. Then, pressing down gently, d-r-a-g the tweezers across to the foot of the sail - the harder you push down on the sail, the more it will curl. Then by putting a tiny bit of glue on the foot of the mast, place the mast into position by holding it midway with the tweezers and pointing the foot towards the back of the bottle. 2

The sail should now have a curve in it, as though the wind is billowing strongly

outwards (as in Diagram 2 & 3....page 22). Make sure the sail is curved on the CORRECT side. 3

Curl jib sail as follows:

Place the sail in the palm of your hand and place the edge of the tweezers (dia 2a - page 15) on the long straight edge of the jib. Press down on the tweezers and at the same time drag the tweezers to the foot of the sail. 4

Pick sail ‘B’ up with the tweezers, (Page 18), holding the sail in the middle of the

long straight edge with the foot of the sail towards the stern (back) of the boat. Glue either end of the sail (above and below the tweezers) and place the sail into position 19

touching the top end to the mast and the other end (below the tweezers) to the bow (sharp end) of the boat and gently release the sail. Now, using the #1 wire tool, push the foot of the sail into position. Make sure when you do this,....do not touch the glue. Otherwise the sail is likely to stick to the wire when removing from the bottle. 5

TORBANLEA STATE PRIMARY SCHOOL, AUSTRALIA - on behalf of the students and teach-

ers at the Torbanlea School, I would like to thank you for coming to our school to share your knowledge. We are planning future classes with parents and locals as the children have enthusiastically embraced the art.







When the glue has dried, seal the bottle with

the selected top. 6

When you have done that, the finished result

should resemble the curve of the sails in Diagram 5 on page 16. 7 NOTE; If you accidentally get glue on the inside of the bottle, leave it to dry completely. It will then be like clear plastic and can be removed by scraping it with a pin, you should then have a clean bottle again.

Curl square sails as follows: 1.

Pick a sail up with the tweezers and place it in the palm of your other hand. and

place the edge of the tweezers on the top straight edge of the sail as seen below.. Press down hard and at the same time drag the tweezers across the sail till it curls. 2

You will see your square piece of paper slowly curl and take the shape of the

sail as those that are seen on the great sailing clipper ships on page 40.

20

3

This effect on your square piece of paper will be a permanent fixture lasting

years. It also helps, just for looks, if the paper is a little crumpled before you do it.

d-r-a-g tweezers

(a)

21

e te dg str aig h lon

g

tweezers

grip with tweezers here, then... glue here

d-

r-a

-g

tw

ee

ze

rs

foot of sail

foot of sail bottom (sail B)

(sail A)

Birds eye view of sails curl

22

......how to make a

HISTORY OF RACING YACHTS: Possibly THE most famous racing yacht ever built by Australians was the one that broke New York Yacht Clubs’ heart in 1983, called, “Australia II.” She was so revolutionary with her winged keel hidden beneath her keel that many threats were issued against her by the opposing Americans...called her “cheat,.... unsportsman-like etc.” Lawsuits were in place to stop her from racing in the 1983 America’s Cup finals - but she won 4 - 3 against the famous American sailor, Denis Connor. MODEL ANALYSIS: This is definitely one of the hardest and most “finicky” of models to make....just take your time and watch the “how-to” instructions closely. Here’s a clue that may help you get a better idea of building a racing yacht - watch yacht races on TV. See how the lines of yachts are formed, how they look, how they cut through the water and draw some ideas from them for your yacht. Please note...the bottle should be standing upright, NOT laying down.....so that the mast can be longer for effect as you can see on page 19. The mast in most racing yachts are a very dominant feature. It’s like motor vehicle grunt, the bigger the motor, the faster the you go....so it is with a racing yacht - the more sail area you can get, the faster your yacht will go.

23

BASIC CONSTRUCTION PROCEDURE..................I

have tried to make it as

simple as possible.....as all ships have the same basic shape and the sails are

the same with slight differences - according to the type and style, the easi-

est way to show you is to repeat the process for every model you make. * Construction of a sailing ship - pages 14 - 18

* How to curl a ships sails - pages 19 to 22

Because we are placing this yacht in an upright bottle, there are a few things we have to observe, so I have added a few pointers:

OURIMBAH PUBLIC SCHOOL, NSW.........Rod visited our school with his amazing array of ‘Sailing ships in bottles’ in all shapes and sizes - all made by himself. He learnt his trade in the English Merchant Navy during the late 40’s and 50’s – a very talented craftsman who demonstrated the various processes to our school. The children and staff were enthralled by his wonderful skills and presentation – so much that many of them made their models at school the next day. These were a result of the workshops he conducted while he was here. We thoroughly endorse and recommend Rod Mills teaching video to all schools in Australia as an educational classroom activity for teachers who wish to educate children of this little known art. Marie A. Principal

1 Referring to diagrams on page 22, pick sail A up with the tweezers holding it to the top of the mast, while the foot is pointing straight down. Glue it to the mast. Now, using the glue stick put a tiny drop of glue on the foot of the mast and carefully place it into the hole on the deck with the foot of the sail pointing to the stern (back end) of the boat. Once the mast is upright in the hull, use the wire tool to push the the sail around into position. 2

Pick sail B up with the tweezers, see diagram 2, page

22. Holding the sail in the middle of the straight edge, put a tiny drop of glue on the bottom corner of the sail. Now, with your other hand hold the bottle in a horizontal position with the yacht pointing skywards. Carefully move

the sail B between the mast outside the mainsail and touch the bottom with the 24



glue on it to the very tip of the bowsprit and gently release the sail. Using the glue stick, run some glue on the front of the mast from halfway up to the very top of the mast. With the wire tool carefully move the top of sail B till it touches the glue on the mast and stand the bottle upright. Make sure when using the wire tool NOT to touch the glue. Otherwise the sail is likely to stick to the wire when it’s removed. The finished result for a racing yacht should be like the example shown on this page........ or you could lay it down like this cruising yacht below.

Cruising Yacht

Racing Yacht 25

......how to make a racing

INSTRUCTIONS: The procedure is the same as for the other racing yacht except for curling the spinnaker and placing it into position which is as follows. Mark out and colour the spinnaker on a piece of paper as you like and then cut it out. Then cut a piece of thread and glue it to the bottom edge of the sail so that it overhangs on either side approx 12mm or ½”. Pick it up with the tweezers and place it in the palm of your other hand. Then place the edge of the tweezers on one corner at the bottom of the sail, press down on the tweezers and drag it across to the other bottom corner. It should now have a rounded curve as you see on the next page - page 27. Positioning the spinnaker.: Pick the sail up with the tweezers as in diagram b page 21, holding the spinnaker from the side near the top end. Put a tiny drop of glue on the inside point of the sail. Now, carefully place the sail in the front of the mast and touch the glued corner to the masthead and gently release the sail. Place the bottle on the table with the spinnaker downwards so that the bottom edge with the thread on it rests against the inside of the bottle and leave to dry.

26

When the spinnaker has dried in that position use the wire tool to maneuver the ends of the thread to the deck and glue both corners. Seal the bottle and the finished result should resemble this diagram.

glue

top of sail

main sail

spinnaker drag tweezers

grip sail with tweezers here

foot bow

stern hull

bottom corners (a) thread

thread thread

thread

(b)

27

......how to make a gaff

HISTORY OF : Used in the 19th Century as fishing vessels on the heavier northern hemisphere seas around Europe. A 60 footer that can have up to 15 or 20 sailors manning the ship MODEL ANALYSIS: These ships were often converted for the very rich into private yachts - can be 3 or 4 masted. The variance with this model is that the fore sail and the main sail are supported on the top edge by a boom which was to control the direction and angle of the sail for optimum speed.

BASIC CONSTRUCTION PROCEDURE..................I

have tried to make it as

simple as possible.....as all ships have the same basic shape and the sails are

the same with slight differences - according to the type and style, the easi-

est way to show you is to repeat the process for every model you make. * Construction of a sailing ship - pages 14 - 18

28

* How to curl a ships sails - pages 19 to 22



gaff gaff

jib sails

bowsprit

foresail

hull

mainsail

Top view of curl of sails of gaff rigged schooner

stern

gaff rigged schooner

grip mast with tweezers here run glue length of mast drag tweezers

foot of mast

tweezers

29

e dg ai gh te str

grip with tweezers here,

lo n

g

tweezers

dra

gt

glue here

we

eze

rs

foot of sail bottom

(a)

gaff rigged schooner

30

foot of sail (b)

......how to make a

HISTORY: These were basically island trading vessels mainly around Carribean and Mediterranean. They had a crew of up to 12 sailors and carried various cargo which sometimes included livestock. The schooner sail-plan has two or more masts with the forward mast being shorter or the same height as the rear masts. Most traditionally rigged schooners are gaff rigged, sometimes carrying a square topsail on the foremast and, occasionally, a square fore-course (together with the gaff foresail). Schooners carrying square sails are called square-topsail schooners.

BASIC CONSTRUCTION PROCEDURE..................I

have tried to make it as

simple as possible.....as all ships have the same basic shape and the sails are

the same with slight differences - according to the type and style, the easi-

est way to show you is to repeat the process for every model you make. * Construction of a sailing ship - pages 14 - 18

31

* How to curl a ships sails - pages 19 to 22



tweezers

glue here on inside edge grip with tweezers here drag

(b)

(a)

topsail main sail jib sails

foresail lower topsail

bowsprit hull

topsail schooner

32

stern

......how to make a

HISTORY: Brigantines were used as cargo ships much the sames as the topsail schooners....crew was about 25 to 30 sailors. They were quite slow in speed and cumbersome so they were easy targets for pirates. In sailing, a brigantine is a vessel with two masts, only the forward of which was square rigged. Originally the brigantine was a small ship carrying both oars and sails. It was a

ST JOHN VIANNEY SCHOOL, NSW AUSTRALIA...... Rod agreed to come and show the children how to make sailing ships in a bottle. We really didn’t know what to expect. The children absolutely enjoyed it….many of them purchased the $5 kit and had made a model within 2 days! Some of them were quite well done and as one of our teachers said, “an ancient secret was shown to a new generation today. Maybe sailing ships in a bottle will withstand the test in time.” Josephine K, Principal.

favorite of Mediterranean pirates and its name comes from the Italian word “brigantino” which meant brigand’s ship. In modern parlance, a brigantine is a principally fore-and-aft rig with a square rigged foremast, as opposed to a brig which is square rigged on both masts. the late 17th century, the Royal Navy used the term brigantine to refer to small two-masted vessels designed to be rowed as well as sailed, rigged with square sails on both masts.

CONSTRUCTION: As with the previous ships you’ve made and especially the topsail schooner, the procedure is the same.. In fact, in this case copy as close as you can

33

to the topsail schooner.....also add a minimum of three square sails on the foremast. Always work from lowest square sail to the top. To construct the mainsail (the one at the back of the Brigantine that looks like a triangle above a square) follow the diagram on this page. grip with tweezers here

drag tweezers

A

A drag tweezers

foot of mast

foot of mast tweezers

Brigantine 34

foot of sail

......how to make a

THE HISTORY OF THE BARQUE: a Barque is a vessel with at least three masts, the first two are square rigged, except for the mizzen (last) mast which is fore and aft rigged. This was the most common type of deep water cargo-carrier in the middle of the 1800’s. There were other configurations of this vessel including five and fourmasted barques. By the end of the eighteenth century, the term barque (sometimes, particularly in the USA, spelled bark) came to refer to any vessel with a particular type of sail-plan. This comprises three (or more) masts, fore-and-aft sails on the aftermost mast and square sails on all other masts. Barques were the workhorse of the Golden Age of Sail in the mid 19th century as they attained passages that nearly matched full rigged ships but could operate with smaller crews. The advantage of these rigs was that they needed smaller (therefore cheaper) crews than a comparable full-rigged ship or brig-rigged vessel as there were fewer of the labour intensive square sails. Also the rig itself is cheaper. Conversely, the ship rig tended to be retained for training vessels where the larger the crew, the more seamen were trained. Another advantage is that a barque can outperform a schooner or barkentine, and is both easier to handle and better to rise toward wind than a full-rigged ship.

35

CONSTRUCTION: As with the previous ships you’ve made and especially the topsail schooner, the procedure is the same.. In fact, in this case copy as close as you can to the topsail schooner.....also add a minimum of three square sails on the foremast. Always work from lowest square sail to the top. To construct the mainsail (the one at the back that looks like a triangle above a square) follow the diagram on this page. grip with tweezers here

drag tweezers

A

A

drag tweezers

foot of mast

foot of mast tweezers

Barque

Barque

36

foot of sail

......how to make a

THE HISTORY OF THE CLIPPER: During the 1800’s the Clipper was one of the most important ships on the seas of the world - an equivalent of today’s international couriers. Built for speed, she was compact with long graceful lines that sliced through the sea and her sails catching all the local weather winds that could be caught, for her time she was the fastest in the ocean. Built for the fast trading market, she could do more Asian, Australian or Californian runs than any other craft of her time and therefore made a lot of money for her owners with her grain, tea or cotton cargoes. Clippers needed large crews to adjust the sails according to wind conditions. This task was often carried out while hanging on to soaking, slippery rigging and the movement of the mast from side to side in heaavy seas. MODEL ANALYSIS: This is definitely the hardest model to put together, so take your time and you will have a masterpiece for your display. Quick suggestion.......find a large, wide neck bottle/container. For instance I was shown a large outdoor bulb protector/casing that would easily have an opening of say 8 cm and an inside space of probably 30cm. Nice and easy to work with for such an intricate ship such as this.

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Don’t be limited to small bottles....the larger the bottle, the larger the model, the more spectacular the display! not only that, everything is so much easier for you to make. Of course, everything has to be scaled UP now to suit the size of the receiving bottle, but with a little bit of measuring it can easily be done. As with all of the samples before, I’ve put a diagram of the model right up front for you to contemplate........ with this one there is a lot to contemplate! believe me. Soo-o-o, .....what are we up for? lets take a look at the job ahead of you. As in next page diagram, we see 23 individual sails,.....9 in the triangular group, 13 in the square group and 1 main sail, 3 masts, 1 bowsprit and a hull. Don’t be daunted by these numbers, remember this is probably the most difficult model in this book. INSTRUCTIONS: This is an upscale construction of the brigantine. So copy the brigantine’s procedure (on page 33) and add masts and sails accordingly. The difference is the number of masts and the increased number of sails that come with this ship. Obviously, a much more intricate job, but certainly achievable. Be careful of jib sail sizing according to your bottle dimensions and relative to placement from each mast. As in the above diagram we see 23 individual sails,.......9 in the triangular group,13 in the square group and 1 main sail. 3 masts, 1 bowsprit and a hull.

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grip with tweezers here

drag tweezers

A

A

drag tweezers foot of sail

foot of mast

foot of mast tweezers

mast

mast 4 5 1

6

2 3

7

mast

11 12

8

16

20

13 14

9

15

10

bowsprit hull

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19

17 18

21 22

23

......the fastest clipper ship

On the afternoon of Monday, 22nd November, 1869, a beautiful clipper ship displacing 963 tons was launched from Scott and Linton’s shipyard at Dumbarton, on the Clyde. She carried a name that was to become famous throughout the world and was destined to win a place in the hearts of British seamen second only to Nelson’s immortal Victory. Her name was the Cutty Sark. The Cutty Sark was designed by Hercules Linton as a composite built extreme clipper ship for “Old White Hat” Jock Willis of London. She sailed on the China Tea Trade for a couple of seasons without distinguishing herself and lost her rudder in 1872 off the Cape of Good Hope when racing Thermopylae for London with the first tea. She was moved over to the Australian wool trade when the tea trade was taken over by the steam ships. Here she proved to be a regularly fast sailer. Then in 1922 she was purchased by Capt. Dowman and restored for use as a stationary training ship, first at Falmouth then later in 1938 she was moved to The Thames where she remained until 1949 after which she was permanently dry-docked at Greenwich UK as a museum ship. Her registered measurements were as follows: 921

 length - 212 feet 5 inches 40

 gross tons - 963

 breadth - 36 feet

 net tons -

 depth - 21 feet

 moulded depth - 22 feet 5 inches The extreme length of bowsprit and jib-booms was 60 feet, the length of mainmast from deck to truck 145 feet 9 inches mainyard 78 feet and spanker-boom 280 feet.

 She is the most famous ship in the world



She is a gateway to the World Heritage Site at Greenwich and is a key asset to both the World Heritage Site and the Borough of Greenwich.  A great epitome of the great age of sail in existence.

 The only surviving extreme clipper, and the only tea clipper still

 Most of her hull fabric survives from her original construction and she

is the best example of a merchant composite construction vessel.  Preserved in Greenwich partly as a memorial to the men of the merchant navy, particularly those who lost their lives in the world wars.

 Is the world’s sole surviving extreme clip-

per, a type of vessel that was the highest development of the fast commercial sailing ship, with the majority of her hull fabric surviving from her original construction.



Her fine lines – a considerable part of her appeal – are defined by her frames which form part of the vessel’s composite construction; a construction technique of which she is the best surviving example.

 As a tea clipper, she is tangible evidence of

the importance of tea in 19th century trade and cultural life. MONDAY MAY 21, 2007......Fire today ravaged the Cutty Sark, causing extensive damage to the world’s last remaining tea clipper. A “substantial” blaze had engulfed the timber and iron hulled ship, which has been undergoing a £25m renovation.

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PRACTICAL ON CAMERA STEP-BY-STEP TEACHING BY ROD MILLS - 40 MINUTES OF HIS 50 YEARS EXPERTISE AND INSTRUCTION. “The traditional skills involved in building ships in bottles is waning in our society and bypassing this generation. In many instances these skills are unheard of and as such it was perhaps a once in a lifetime chance for our students to experience this craft.” (Principal, Katherine School of the Air, Australia)

LIMITED INTRODUCTORY OFFER ENDS JULY 30 2014 - NORMALLY US$1147.00

DOWNLOAD YOUR DVD TODAY - US$672.00 www.sailingshipsinbottlesforschools.com

......sailing ships in bottles

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Cruising Yacht

43

Clipper

44

Topsail Schooner

45

Brigantine

46

Brig

Brig

47

Barque

48

......how your school can make money from





“No matter where you set up a display/shop/market/

show/exhibition, you can almost guarantee you will

be the ONLY person with ship in a bottle display.”

Rod Mills Here is a list of places that will allow you to sell your product:  souvenir shops

 charter vessels

 maritime museums

 ship chandlery

 historical museums

 nautical shops

 cruise liners

 private yacht own-

ers......they all want a model of their yacht in a bottle...and who’s the most likely person to do it?....YOU! How to help your school with fundraising:  make 100 models and get the local newspaper to photograph the models to sell to the public

 set up a special exhibition day and get the headmaster to write to all

parents to invite family members

 arrange for a school promotion inside the local

shopping centre of the models made, and invite the local television news team along, they’re always looking for hot local news. Again.....it’s you! 49

 donate your best model

to a local charity to raffle off. But make sure you get high profile local media coverage from that donation for your near future exhibition which you are about to do.

 set

up a stand at the local weekend market......every market will welcome you with open arms.  get your biggest and best model.....then put it on ebay for a substantial price.  set up a ship in a bottle model making competition in your state. Find a local boat chandlery to sponsor the prizes.

PRACTICAL ON CAMERA STEP-BY-STEP TEACHING BY ROD MILLS - 40 MINUTES OF HIS 50 YEARS EXPERTISE AND INSTRUCTION. “The traditional skills involved in building ships in bottles is waning in our society and bypassing this generation. In many instances these skills are unheard of and as such it was perhaps a once in a lifetime chance for our students to experience this craft.” (Principal, Katherine School of the Air, Australia)

LIMITED INTRODUCTORY OFFER ENDS JULY 30 2014 - NORMALLY US$1147.00

DOWNLOAD YOUR DVD TODAY - US$672.00 50 www.sailingshipsinbottlesforschools.com

biography

I made my first ship in a bottle in 1958 while I was a merchant seaman on board cargo ships that sailed around the world. I had to been to over 30 different countries by the time I was 21 and had seen many kinds of ships in my travels. I learnt the art from one of the seaman who was my watchmate on a cargo ship sailing to Canada and the US from Europe. Since then I have literally made thousands of ships in bottles, mostly small models and shared this knowledge with many people, schools, museums and shows here in Australia and abroad. I have also been mentioned in the top 500 artists listed in the “Who’s Who of Australian Artists. Notably, at the Australian National Maritime Museum in Sydney, Melbourne Brisbane, and Gladstone (in Queensland), there are models that I have made at various times, on display. Most of the times I have been involved with museums, I have conducted 10 day workshops which included how to make a simple model of a ship in a bottle. This exercise taught children as young as 7 (and up to 70 years old) in about 10 minutes to make the ship in a bottle. I have taught this craft in many schools throughout Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and New South Wales with a concentrated effort in Queensland and the far north coast of WA. 51

Many of the parents of the students from the schools have contacted me to buy my video and DVD as further information for their children. One of the observations I have heard back from teachers who have had me in their classroom, is that this craft engrosses the students so much that the teacher can sit back and let the class learn by the video without much input from them. For the pupils involved, because this craft is such a challenge they seem to have a higher level of interest - plus it adds to their creativity because their imagination is stretched to see the end product and the result is the satisfaction of their endeavours. I tell the students, ‘if you never break this bottle, it will be with you forever.’ Over the years, I have made just about every type of sailing craft from the early days of sailing through to the most modern guided missile destroyers afloat today. There have also been trawlers, tugboats, aircraft carriers, water skiers, paraflyers and a tiger moth aeroplane in a bottle! One of the most remarkable models I have successfully attempted is a yacht in a glass container measuring 4mm x 7mm and possibly the largest man in a bottle (working in a ship’s cabin) putting another man in another bottle who has a smaller ship in a bottle, which is actually a torch bulb. I wish all who take up this hobby endless fun and satisfaction in your ship in a bottle achievements.

gards, e r t s e b y o h ......ships a

Rod Mills

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......sailing ships in bottles

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aft or abaft - the rear part of the ship. abeam - across the ship, at right angles to its length. anchor - a weight on the end of a rope used to secure a ship when mooring. Normally tied to the bow of the ship, although stern anchors are also used. astrolabe - an instrument used by sailors to find a ship’s latitude...ie how far north or south of the equator it was. It measured the height of the sun at night the Pole Star above the horizon ballast - added weight to a craft to stabilise sailing. beam - width of craft at its widest point. berth - the place where a ship ties up. bilge - the bottom of a ship. Blackbeard the pirate - the most famous of all pirates hailing from the Caribbean. When the British navy finally caught him they hung his head from the bowsprit of their ship. boom - the pole along the foot of a sail bow - the front end of the ship or boat. bowsprit - the wooden beam that sticks out from the front of a sailing ship to attach rigging for the forward sails. bridge - the raised area where the ship’s Captain stands and commands the ship. bulkhead - a cross wall in the bottom of a ship that makes a watertight compartment. chronometer - a highly accurate sea clock which keeps strict time at sea and is used in navigation. Made in 1760 it was the size of a pocketwatch. Harrison, the inventor, was awarded a huge prize for solving the longitude problem. clipper - 1800’s sailing ships - had long slim hulls with a vast amount of sail which 54

meant that they were fast in good winds but also kept moving in calm conditions. Their speed was more important so they carried valuable cargoes. compass - a navigation instrument that uses North to find true direction. cordage refers to the ropes, called lines, that connect and manipulate sails. Is attached to the spars and sometimes the sails by systems of metal pulleys and clips. The materials chosen for cordage are determined by the strength and weight of the rope. deck - nautical word for floor. draught - depth of a ship below the water. fathom - unit of length used for measuring the depth of the water - equal to 6 feet. fore - towards the front of the ship forecastle - the front raised part of the ship often used as crew’s quarters. galleon - a large sailing ship built high in the front and back used in sea wars during the 15th century...popular with the Spanish. hatch - an opening on the deck or its opening. heel - when a ship leans over to one side it is said to heel over. hold - the below part of the deck housing cargo. hull - the part or body of the ship that sits in the water. jolly roger - the pirates flag with a white skull and crossbones on black background. junk - the Asians still use these ships - flat bottomed,rigged with square sails strengthened by thin bamboo battens that allows the sail to hold its shape and produce better sailpower. keel - the lowest timber running fore and aft of the whole ship supporting the framework. Todays sail boat keels extend up to 20 feet below the water to give stability in

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windy conditions. knot - a unit of speed at sea - equal to 1.852 kilometers per hour. LOA - overall length of a craft lateen - term used to describe a triangualar sail used by ships in the Mediterranean and the Persian Gulf. latitude - distance from the equator. Lines that run around the Earth, parrallel with the equator. longitude - the distance, measured in degrees east or west of a line running through Greenwich, England. These lines circle the Earth (running vertically) passing through the North and South Poles. mainsail - normally the biggest sail on a sailing ship. mast - the tall upright “stick” that supports sails. mizzen - the mast behind the main mast. monsoon - a wind in India and southern Asia which blows from the south-west in the summer and the north-east in the winter. nautical mile - a distance of 6076.1 feet. pirates - a common part of the sailing ship era. They not only had to be fearsome but they had to be superb sailors who were constantly adjusting the ship’s rigging to get the best speed. pitching - the plunging and rising movements of a ship going across the waves. poop deck - the raised deck at the rear of a sailing vessel. port - the left hand side of the ship when facing the bow (front) of a ship. rigging - the network of ropes the help hold a ship’s masts and allows the sails to be controlled. 56

sails - are fabric aerofoils designed to catch the wind and manipulate the air currents surrounding the vessel. They are attached to spars and rigging in various ways, such as metal clips, rope hoops, or in a luff-groove. Sails are usually rectangular or triangular in shape, which determines their use and placement. Rectangular sails attached to yards, and hanging perpendicular to the keel line are referred to as square sails, because they are “square” to the keel line (not because of their shape); and this type of sailplan is known as square-rigged. sextant - a navigational instrument used to measure the height of the sun in order to calculate the ship’s latitude. square sail - a sail set across the ship from side to side. starboard - the right hand side of the ship when facing the front. stern - the rear part of the vessel. scrimshaw - the art of carving whalebone. spars - are solid beams used to stabilize and manipulate sails. Masts, yards, booms, gaffs and battens are the most commonly encountered spars. Spars are attached to the sails by systems of clips and cordage designed to allow an appropriate range of motion while maintaining the aerodynamic properties of the sails. tiller - length of wood fitted to the top of the rudder for steering. wake, or wash - waves or foam caused by a moving ship. watch - spell of duty for a seaman. yard - a pole slung across the mast to support a sail.

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Rod Mills and author T Wally Royal, acknowledge information from Wikipedia Australian Maritme Museum.

-

New Zealand National Maritime

-

PRACTICAL ON CAMERA STEP-BY-STEP TEACHING BY ROD MILLS - 40 MINUTES OF HIS 50 YEARS EXPERTISE AND INSTRUCTION. “The traditional skills involved in building ships in bottles is waning in our society and bypassing this generation. In many instances these skills are unheard of and as such it was perhaps a once in a lifetime chance for our students to experience this craft.” (Principal, Katherine School of the Air, Australia)

LIMITED INTRODUCTORY OFFER ENDS JULY 30 2014 - NORMALLY US$1147.00

DOWNLOAD YOUR DVD TODAY - US$672.00 www.sailingshipsinbottlesforschools.com