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Ship-In-Bottle Model of the

Schooner Yacht AMERICA


As she appeared during her naval career
during the American Civil War

A "Web" article by John Fox III

Almost everyone has seen the AMERICA at one time or another, either in
model competition, on the cover of one of the many model kits, or in the
pages of their favorite magazines.

Even those who are not as directly interested in ships know of her lengthy
and successful career in the yacht racing world. So why another model of a
ship that has been almost modeled to death. Personally, I found a
particularly interesting phase of her career that I hadn't previously read
or heard about.

Not one of the many models of AMERICA that I have seen, or read about,
showed her as an armed Civil War U.S. Navy blockade ship. This use for
that fast and already famous racing yacht intrigued me, and set me to
thinking that a ship-in-bottle model of America as she appeared at that
point in her career would not be out of place. Of course, her fine hull lines
and graceful appearance are not to be discounted as well. In my article on
building the BLUENOSE in-a-bottle, I mentioned that I was a sucker for
fine hull lines.

Little did George Steers, AMERICA's designer and builder, or the


members of the New York Yacht Club, who financed her building, realize
that the graceful racing yacht would someday be armed and listed as a
U.S. naval vessel.

The AMERICA was built at the shipyard of William H. Brown, in New


York City, and was launched in May of 1851. Although she lost her main
gaff and fore mast during her first trial race, the builders were confident
that with heavier spars she would show her true colors. During this most
famous and widely known period of her career. AMERICA was to win the
Hundred Guinea Cup in open competition around the Isle of Wight. The
name of the cup was changed to the America's Cup, and the AMERICA
went on to race in many of the most prestigious races of the times. While
she didn't win them all, AMERICA did win enough of them to make her
name known throughout the yacht racing world. The AMERICA changed
hands a number of times during her racing years, and even underwent a
name change, to CAMILLA, under one owner. From her launching until
July of 1860, AMERICA was owned by at least three wealthy and
influential British subjects. She also underwent at least one rebuilding
during this time.

In l860 AMERICA (CAMILLA) was sold to Henry Decie and fitted out for
a trip to the West Indies. By the fall of that year, she was being used by
Decie as living quarters in Savannah, Georgia. There, Captain Decie
mingled with the people who were preparing Georgia for her part in the
new Confederate States of America. Apparently Captain Decie's
sympathies extended to the Southern cause, for CAMILLA was used as a
dispatch boat to carry Confederate agents to England, to procure naval
supplies. While in European waters, CAMILLA was again in her element,
entering a number of yacht races.

From her last race, in British waters on August 5, l861, until March of
1862 there are no records of CAMlLLA's movements. However, rumors
had it that she had been sold to the Confederacy and renamed MEMPHIS.
All that is known for sure is that she was found, in March of 1862, scuttled
in Dunn's Creek about 70 miles from Jacksonville, Florida. The U.S. Navy
sent Lieutenant T. H. Stevens to Dunn's Creek to investigate and raise her,
if possible. After several abortive attempts, the AMERICA (MEMPHIS)
was finally raised and towed to Port Royal, South Carolina.
Flag Officer S. F. DuPont, aboard the Flagship WABASH in Port Royal,
requested the Navy Department to allow him to arm and use the
AMERICA as a blockade ship in his theater of war. His request granted,
AMERICA was resparred and a new set of sails was made for her. As well
as general refitting, she was also armed with a 12 pdr. rifled cannon
forward and two 24 pdr. smooth bore cannon amidships. This is the point
in AMERlCA's career I chose to represent in my model.

AMERlCA's career during the rest of the Civil War was spent as a
dispatch vessel and mail carrier, as well as stints as a blockade ship. After
the war, AMERICA was used for a number of years as a training ship for
cadets of the U.S. Naval Academy. As a naval vessel with a navy crew, the
AMERICA entered the 1870 America's Cup races. She finished fourth in
that race, won by the schooner yacht MAGIC.

Three years later, AMERICA was put up for sale by the navy, and
purchased at auction by John Casels, representing Benjamin Butler. She
spent the next 44 years in the Butler family who kept her in good
condition. The Butler family continued to race AMERICA, and she still
won her fair share of races.

AMERICA was again put up for sale in 1917, and interest was expressed
to purchase her for Cape Verde trade. However, the Eastern Yacht Club
purchased her and refitted the famous yacht through the America
Restoration Fund. She was then sold to the navy Department for the sum
of one dollar, and turned over to the navy on October 1, 1921.

The AMERICA spent the rest of her lifetime at her permanent berth in
Dewey basin at the U.S. Naval Academy. She was hauled out and blocked
up for storage in 1940. In 1941 AMERICA was to be rebuilt again, and a
shed was built around her to allow work to proceed year round. A
snowstorm and World War II closed the final chapter in her life. The
collapse of the shed roof under the heavy snow load, and the decision of the
Navy Department that only war related projects could be carried out,
spelled her final doom. When the remains were found to be beyond repair
during a post war survey, she was ordered to be broken up during the
winter of 1945-1946.

My model of the AMERICA followed the same building procedures as


those used in my BLUENOSE model and article. Therefore, I will be
referring back to that information at times during my discussion of the
America's building. For those of you who have mentioned a desire for a
materials list for models described in articles, I have included one along
with my bibliography. Please consider all materials and descriptions of
construction as a starting point only, and feel free to substitute where a
favorite material or procedure of your own would do the job as well. Or
even better yet, experiment a little with something new. Ship-in-bottle
models make the perfect medium for trying out new and different
products and techniques. Less is lost if you don't succeed in your efforts.
They also take up considerably less of your time and effort to build, and
can surprise you with a very nice looking model.

Before I begin actual building descriptions, I would like to explain a little


about the plans used in this article. I derived them from the plans of
AMERICA drawn by Joseph Bruzek, from the original lines, and as
published in the booklet "The U.S. Schooner Yacht America". They are
greatly reduced to get to the size used, and while I try not to change
anything from the original, some things are exaggerated or changed to
accommodate building the model.

For example, the bulwarks as drawn on my plans are out of scale in


thickness, to match my modeling style. I do make the plans as large as I
can and still be able to fit them on two pages, even if that won't fit in any
but the most wide mouthed bottles. They are definitely made to be reduced
on a copy machine if necessary, to fit the bottle selected. This is also the
reason I don't specify sizes in the plans and diagrams, it is assumed that
the needed dimensions will be taken from any reductions made. I also
show full hull sections instead of the traditional half sections, even though
only half sections are needed to make the templates to finish the carving.
This is done to help the less advanced builder to "see" the final hull shape
more easily.

All in all, I hope the plans and the following description will help you on
your way to building the AMERICA in-a-bottle model.

As related in the introduction to the BLUENOSE article, mentioned


previously, I prefer not to use putty or clay to portray the ocean in my
ship-in-bottle models, but rather I prefer to make them appear more like
the standard static models. I do this by building the entire hull of the
model and setting it on a base and stand, glued to the bottle bottom or side.

I built my AMERICA the same size as the plans published with this
article, to make the photographs as clear as possible. I had to dig through
my bottle collection to find one with a neck large enough to fit a model of
this size through, however. I measured the widest distance across the plan
view and compared this to the smallest dimension of the inside of the neck
of my bottles. This is the same measurement I would use to determine the
amount of reduction necessary for the plans, if I were using a bottle with a
smaller neck.

I also had to determine if the model would fit in the barrel of my bottle. I
did this by cutting a bamboo skewer stick the same length as the model
would be high. This measurement can he taken from either elevation views
in the plans. I drilled a hole in the center of this bamboo piece and ran a
piece or small diameter rigging line through the hole and tied it in a big
loop, at least a foot long when doubled.

The loop of line was then fed through a 12" long by 1/8" outside diameter
brass tube, and the bamboo was laid along the tube while both are led
through the neck of the bottle. When l pulled the line tight where it
extended through the tube, the bamboo piece pivoted upright and I could
determine if the necessary clearance for the model was available. Once I
was sure that the model would fit through the neck and had room enough
to be raised to full height in the bottle, I started actual construction.

The basics of construction started with a hull block sandwich made from
basswood and sheet styrene. I cut two 4" pieces of 1/2" x 3/8" and one 4"
piece of l/16" x 3/8" basswood, to make up the lower hull portion of the
block. I then glued the pieces together on their 3/8" surfaces with the 1/16"
piece in the middle. I used a gap-filling cyanoacrylic glue, such as JetX.
The thinner piece in the middle gives me a dead straight keel line to follow
when carving the hull. The rest of the hull block sandwich is made up of a
1" x 4" piece of .010" thick sheet styrene, representing the waterline, and a
1" x 3/8" piece of basswood 4" long, for the upper hull. The block was held
together with two 3/32" bamboo dowels, pushed into holes drilled through
the entire block, after taping the block parts together. The holes for the
dowels are located on the plans, and positioned for the later addition of
deck structures that will hide the dowel ends at what would be the deck of
the finished model.
Now that I had a finished hull block sandwich, I made templates of the
hull, minus the keel. One template for the plan view and one for the
elevation view, from l/32" basswood. By locating and drilling the
construction dowel holes in the plan view template, I had an easy way to
line up the template for tracing onto both the top and the bottom of my
hull block. I then proceeded to cut and lightly sand the hull block to match
the plan view, top to bottom.

I used somewhat the same treatment for the elevation view, I drilled two
1/32" holes at the waterline near each end of my profile template. This
allowed me to match the holes and the styrene waterline sheet when
tracing the template onto both port and starboard sides of the hull block.
After cutting and lightly sanding to the elevation lines, I had a block that
matched the plan and elevation of the intended model.
I like to carve in the deck and bulwarks at this point, because the hull is
still somewhat square and more stable than at a later stage. I use a slightly
improved dividers to mark off my cut line on the top surface of the upper
hull. A Dremel Moto-Tool and a cutoff wheel were used to flatten the
inside of one of the two needles on my dividers.

I extended this "doctored" needle approximately 1/32" beyond the tip of


the other needle. It can still be used quite easily to transfer dimensions
from the plans, as a normal dividers. It also now makes an excellent tool to
set down a line parallel to a curved surface. I simply set the dividers open
to 1/16" and traced around the top surface of the upper hull, letting the
flat surface of the doctored needle hang over the side.

By keeping the dividers as close to perpendicular to the changing curve of


the upper hull as possible, a light line parallel to the outside surface of the
upper hull was made. Because the AMERICA had slight wings, of a sort
on her stern, I used circle templates to mark the inside and outside lines of
the stern bulwarks. Care had to be taken, when using the dividers, that the
tracing point did not get caught in the grain of the wood and change the
openings of the needles. All that was needed was a light line to follow with
my cutting knife.

Using an X-Acto #1 handle with a #11 blade, I cut l/l6" deep all along the
bulwarks outline. I tilted the knife near the bow so that the bulwarks
would have a slight inward sloping surface from top to bottom. I then
removed the wood between my cuts using the same knife with a #17 chisel
type blade. I did this evenly from bow to stern and lightly sanded the
surface, being sure to include the camber in the deck surface. I then had to
locate the line where the deck level changes, using the distance from the
center of either, or both, construction dowels to the line, in this way this
location was transferred from the plans. I then cut down another 1/32"
along the deck change line and deepened the previously cut bulwarks from
the deck surface change line forward to the bow.

Close to the bow, I tilted the blade to get a slight inward incline. The same
procedure was used to cut away the wood between these cuts. Both deck
surfaces were sanded with progressively finer sandpaper until very
smooth.

The inside surface of the stern bulwarks being carved along with the deck
surfaces, left the outside of stern bulwarks to carve. This was done by
cutting down, following the marked line, l/16" deep. Then cutting inward,
and parallel to the top of bulwarks, 1/16" below the top of the bulwarks.
The excess wood was removed and the outside surface of the stern
bulwarks was framed. The same sanding procedure used on the deck was
used to smooth inside the bulwarks surfaces and the outside of stern
bulwarks. The deck surfaces were then stained with black walnut stain,
and sanded with very fine sandpaper until only light fore and aft running
lines were left.

The only major difference in constructing the AMERICA, as opposed to


the BLUENOSE, was the sunken floor of the cockpit area. I marked the
sunken area with a circle template, then cut it out 1/16" deep. I used a
Dremel moto-tool and a l/8" diameter high speed cutting bit. The flat
cutting end of the bit made it handy for smoothing the bottom of the
sunken area. A little very light sanding around the top edge of the cockpit
recess finished my work on the deck and bulwarks.
Since I very much like having the bowsprit on the model when I'm
carving, I had to cut the bulwarks at the bow to accommodate this spar.
Using a single edged razor blade, I cut straight down through the bulwarks
to deck level 1/32" on each side of the centerline, and knocked out the
small piece. With a little light sanding, this was enough to fit the bowsprit.
The method for building the bowsprit is the same as used for all the spars,
and will be explained a little further on. For now I'll continue carving the
hull.

Hull carving progressed in much the same manner as any other solid hull
model, treating the whole hull block as if it were a single block of wood.
Station marks were drawn on the top of the bulwarks and on the bottom of
the 1/16" wide basswood piece in the center of lower hull, as these surfaces
were already cut to finished size. This way the marks remained
undisturbed through the remainder of the carving.

Using half-hull paper templates cut from the hull sections in the plans, and
extending the line of the keel piece up the bow and stern of the upper hull
piece, my hull block was ready to carve. The only liberty taken with scale
at this point was to carve so that the very bottom of the hull was left 3/32"
wide between, and a little beyond the construction dowels, as I wanted the
brass stands, added later, to end at the bottom of the hull. I did carve the
bottom of the hull down to nearly 1/32" near the extreme bow and stern,
so that the hull would flow evenly into the rudder and keel, added next.

The keel was the next addition to my AMERICA. I traced the keel from
the plans onto l/32" thick basswood. The keel was traced in two pieces, the
part below the waterline was one piece, and the part of keel above the
waterline another.
The keel had to be divided at the waterline so that the hull could still be
separated. I could take advantage of this to use the grain pattern of the
wood to make each piece stronger. The keel was then glued onto each
respective hull part, with gap filling cyanoacrylic glue. I was careful not to
set any of the glue on the ends of the construction dowels on the bottom of
the lower hull.

The next step was to remove the sections of keel directly below the
construction dowels, as the brass tube stands, added later, will pass
through the keel at these points. I used a single edged razor blade to cut
these areas out of the keel. The rudder was then cut from the 1/32" thick
basswood and glued into place, with the gap-filling cyanoacrylic glue. The
rudder was only glued to the lower hull, again to make it possible to
separate the hull sections.

The last phase of the hull carving was to cut out the hollowed area on the
underside of the upper hull. This space was later used to run some of the
rigging through. I marked a line 1/16" in from the outside edge of the
underside of the upper hull.

I did this with circle templates and ships curves, because the improved
dividers would not have worked well with the hull angled away from this
edge as it was. I then cut down l/16" deep on the line and removed the
wood in the same manner as I did for the deck. I sanded the area smooth
to keep lines from getting hung-up later.

My next procedure was to drill all the holes in the upper hull. The position
of all the holes is shown on the plan view. The hawse hole and backstay
hole locations were obtained from the elevation view. All holes, except the
hawse holes, were drilled through the upper hull so that they came out in
the hollowed out area in the underside of the upper hull piece. All holes
were drilled using a pin vise and a #80 drill bit, and then were enlarged
with a #75 drill. The rigging exit/anchor hawse scuttle holes were then
enlarged to l/32", along with all other holes that show more than one
rigging line going through them on the plans. The hawse holes were then
enlarged to 3/32".

I now had a carved hull, with keel attached, the upper hull portion looking
somewhat like a piece of Swiss cheese. My next step was to sand the hull
smooth and finish any shaping with pieces of progressively finer
sandpaper. When l had a very smooth, properly shaped hull, I started
alternately sanding and giving the hull and keel coats of sanding sealer. I
separated all the hull parts for sealing, and did not have to seal the styrene
waterline sheet. I also re-drilled all of the holes between each coat of
sanding sealer. After the fourth coat of the sealer, I used steel wood to
lightly score the surface in preparation for painting.

Before painting, the hull parts were separated, and the construction dowels
cut and glued to the upper hull. I pulled the lower hull away from the
upper hull and waterline sheet, leaving the dowels in place in the upper
hull and flush with the deck surfaces. The dowels were then marked where
they extended through the bottom of the waterline sheet, and then
removed from the upper hull. I added 1/8" to the length marked and cut
the dowels off at this point. They were then glued back into the same holes
in the upper hull from which they were removed, with gap-filling
cyanoacrylic, so that they were flush with the deck. The ends of the dowels
extending below the upper hull were rounded with a bit of fine sandpaper.

The deck surfaces and the bowsprit were then masked-off, using plastic
electricians tape. I used spring clip clothespins to hold the hull parts
during painting and drying. The dowels extending below the upper hull
worked fine as holding points, and leftover dowel pieces pushed into the
lower hull construction dowel holes were used. The waterline styrene sheet
was not painted.

I prefer air-brushing to painting my models by hand, and used thinned


down Testor's paint in flat black for the upper hull and copper color for
the lower hull. When the color coats were thoroughly dry, I carefully
removed the masking from the upper hull and bowsprit. I then hand
painted the inside of the bulwarks white, using a fine brush. The upper
and lower hull parts were then given a light spraying of semi-gloss varnish,
mostly to protect the finish from being marred by all the handling still to
come.

The lower hull portion of the model now had a small piece of the .010"
sheet styrene glued to the surface where the keel extends beyond the hull at
the waterline. When the keel was added, separately, to each of the hull
parts, it was sanded flush with the hull parts at the waterline. This left a
gap, because the original waterline styrene sheet was carved and sanded
with the hull as a block, and the keel pieces were added later. I used a piece
of the styrene the same width as the keel and cut at the same angle as the
bow tip of the full waterline sheet, as it was carved and sanded. Gap-filling
cyanoacrylic was used to glue this piece in place, to the lower hull only.
Then the hull parts were reassembled and the styrene piece cut off at an
angle flush with the front of the keel.

The next step was to cut out, and glue the bulwarks cap rail into place. The
rail was made from a l" x 4" piece of the .010" thick styrene. I held it in
place above, and across, the top of the bulwarks. I used a straight pin to,
trace along the outside of the hull, scoring the styrene lightly. At the stern I
had to work around the wings in the hull below the bulwarks. And at the
extreme bow I had to use a circle template to score in the rounded end.

In order to make the line just scored easier to follow while cutting, I
burned a small piece of paper and dipped my finger in the ashes and
lightly wiped along the scored line in all directions. After a light rub with a
tissue removed the excess ashes, I had a clearly visible line.

I cut the styrene just outside the line and lightly sanded until the line just
disappeared. The inside cut line of the cap rail was scored using the
improved dividers. I set the points of the dividers a little over l / l6" apart,
and traced around the outside of the styrene, keeping the flat needle over
the edge, and keeping as close as possible to perpendicular to the different
curves. The ashes were used to highlight the line and the same cutting and
sanding procedure was used to finish the inside edge.

I tried various techniques to hold the fragile and floppy rail cap while
sanding the inside edge, including a shallow slit in a piece of basswood. The
best results were obtained, however, by working slowly and holding the
narrow rail piece between thumb and forefinger of my left hand. I rolled a
small piece of very fine sandpaper into a tight cylinder to finish the tight
curve in the extreme bow. I held the finished cap rail in place and lined it
up on top of the bulwarks.

A straight pin was then used to apply small amounts of glue to the top of
the bulwarks while lifting small sections of the rail. I worked from stern to
bow, using just enough glue to hold the rail firmly in place. Once the cap
rail was glued in place, the four holes drilled in the bulwarks earlier had to
be re-drilled through the rail. I did this from the bottom of the upper hull
to the top of the rail, using the #75 drill bit. I used a single-edged razor
blade to cut off the excess styrene pushed up around the holes when they
were drilled.

The brass stands and the wooden base needed to be constructed. After
cleaning a 3/32" o.d. brass tube with steel wool, I pushed the end into one
of the construction dowel holes in the lower hull from below.

The entire hull assembly was held together while I pushed the brass tube
in until it stopped at the dowel previously glued into the upper hull. I then
marked the bottom of the keel line on the brass tube and pulled it back
out. I then took the dimension from the bottom of the keel to the base on
the plans and added this to the marked brass tube along with the thickness
of the base. The tube was then cut and glued into the hole in the lower hull.
I used just a small amount of gap-filling cyanoacrylic, and made sure not
to glue the hull parts together or allow the glue to glob up where the tube
entered the hull. The same procedure was used for the other brass stand
piece.

The base was constructed from a 5/8" wide, 3/16" thick piece of basswood,
the length of which was determined from the plans. I then drilled two
1/16" holes through the base's centerline, in positions to match the brass
tubes on the model. I marked the underside of the base to make sure I kept
fore and aft of the base labeled. The base was then sanded and sealed the
same as the hull, and then given one coat of varnish. When the varnish had
dried, I lightly used steel wool on the base and used small dry transfer
lettering to apply the ship's name and date, plus my own name and
construction date to the long edges. Another air-brushed coat of varnish
locked the lettering in place.

The next step in the base construction consisted of adding 1/16" brass
tubing. I cleaned the end of a piece of 1/16" o.d. brass tube and cut off two
1/2" long pieces. They were then glued into the two holes drilled
previously, in the base, with gap-filling cyanoacrylic, so that they were
flush with the bottom of the base. This left 5/16" of the tubes sticking
above the base.

The ends of the tubes were rounded off slightly, using the moto-tool and a
cutoff wheel. The lower hull piece was then trial fitted to the base, sliding
the stand tubes over the base tubes. As I do all my drilling by hand, I did
have to bend the tubes a little, until the upper hull slid easily over both
1/16" base tubes and slid down until the lower hull stand tubes bottomed-
out on the top of the stand. I used the stand to hold the model through
most of the rest of the construction steps.

The billet boards on each side of the bow were next constructed and added
to the hull. I used .0l0" thick styrene to make the billets, by tracing from
the plans, cutting and sanding to final shape and size. I glued them to the
hull before painting, because they were so small. Gap-filling cyanoacrylic
glue was used. I painted each with flat black paint and then trimmed the
edges with gold paint.
At this point I also accented the rudder by painting a very fine line of flat
black along the line where the rudder meets the hull. The hull was now
virtually complete, so it was set aside while I began the construction of the
spars.

All the spars for my AMERICA model were constructed from black
walnut. I started with 1/32" square stock, as I find it easier to drill the
holes in the walnut while it is square. I cut the various spar blanks to
length, adding 1/2" to 3/4" to each before cutting. The holes were drilled at
the points indicated on the plans, using a pin vise and a #80 drill. One hole
was also drilled 1/16" above the location of the bottom of each lower mast
piece. All the holes were then enlarged using a #75 drill bit.

I always cut and drill an extra spar for each one needed for the model,
because in some cases the holes get sanded out or end up so close to the
edges of the spars as to make it likely that the spar will break. Sanding the
spars to shape was accomplished by clamping the extended end of the spar
into my moto-tool's chuck and pinching small folded pieces of sandpaper
around the walnut while it's spinning. The sandpaper gets very warm from
the friction, so I folded it a number of times and let-off on the pressure
quite frequently. I used progressively finer grades of sandpaper as the spar
neared its final dimensions. Once the spar was the proper thickness and
shape, it was cut-off to length. I do not use any finish on my spars, I let the
oils from my hands darken them as they are handled in subsequent steps.

I next finished the main boom and main and fore gaffs by cutting a small
slit about 3/16" deep into the ends of each of the spars, with a 52 TPI razor
saw. The slit was cut perpendicular to the holes drilled previously near the
opposite end. I then constructed the jaws for these spars from .010" thick
styrene.
The steps for the jaw construction were as follows:

1. A l/2" x 3/8" piece of styrene was cut and a hole a bit larger than the
mast diameter was drilled on the centerline, toward one end of the styrene.

2. A size #75 hole was drilled on centerline, 1/32" from edge of previously
drilled hole toward long end of styrene.

3. The styrene was cut 3/64" on each side of edge of larger hole and
parallel to the centerline.

4. The styrene was cut-off through the large hole, perpendicular to the
centerline, leaving 3/4 of the hole. The other end of the styrene was also
cut-off perpendicular to the centerline, 1/4" from the edge of the small
hole.

5. The width of the spar was then marked off on the centerline of the end
of the styrene opposite the large hole, and the styrene cut from the marks
to a point just short of the centerline of the larger hole, on each side.

6. The jaw was then glued into the slit in boom or gaff, using gap-filling
cyanoacrylic glue. The small hole in the jaw was just clear of the end of the
spar, and was drilled out again if any of the glue closed it off.
All three jaws were then painted a dark brown, and these spars were then
set aside while the spars making up the masts were assembled.

The masts were assembled using 1/16" wide paper strips and regular
cyanoacrylic glue. The upper mast piece was marked to show the top of the
doublings and the lower mast piece was marked to show the bottom of the
doublings. One end of each strip was glued to the lower mast piece, one
just below the top of this piece and one just above the doublings mark.
Each paper strip was then wrapped around the mast three or four times,
over itself, and glued to hold it in place.

The upper mast piece was then held in place while the paper strips were
wrapped around and over themselves, and both mast pieces another three
of four times. The strips were cut-off at an angle and glued. The upper
mast was still loose enough to move around the lower mast just a bit. This
allowed me to make final adjustments to keep it in line with the lower mast
piece and to make sure it was perpendicular to the hinge hole drilled
previously at the other end of the lower mast piece. The paper strips were
saturated with the glue and, after they were dry painted a dark brown.
The same procedure was used to assemble both the main and fore masts.

The bowsprit was made in the same manner as the other spars, and was
attached to the hull before it was carved, as mentioned previously. The
jibboom was the next addition on my AMERICA model. After turning the
jibboom down with the moto-tool and the sandpaper. I cut it off at an
angle from top to bottom. I then glued it to the top of the bowsprit in its
proper place, using gap-filling cyanoacrylic. This connection was
strengthened, and the marlin striker was formed by wrapping a 1" long
piece of 38 gauge brass wire around both spars once, near the end of the
bowsprit.

The free ends of the wire were twisted tightly together below the bowsprit,
using a forceps clamped to the ends of the wire. I cut off the twisted wire to
length and coated it with regular cyanoacrylic glue to fill it in and lock it
together. I also used the same procedure to strengthen the other end of the
bowsprit/jibboom connection, wrapping and twisting the wire a short
distance from the end of the jibboom. This time, however, I cut the twisted
wire as close to the underside of the bowsprit as possible.

All the wire was painted a dark brown, and the hole labeled #2 on the
plans and drilled during the construction of the jibboom was re-drilled.
This hole was continued on through the bowsprit, and came out the very
end of it. Keeping this end of the bowsprit from splitting was the reason
for making the dolphin striker by wire wrapping.

The construction of the deck structures for the AMERICA was my next
step. I started with a greatly simplified version of the windlass, built from
.020" thick sheet styrene and a piece of garbage bag tire wire cleaned of its
paper cover. The windlass was constructed, painted, and glued to the deck.

The scuttle was made from two .010" thick sheet styrene discs and a length
of 3/32" diameter white plastic dowel I found in my "never throw it away
box." I used regular cyanoacrylic glue to fasten the discs to each end of a
l/16" long piece of the dowel. The scuttle was glued in place on the deck
with the same glue.
The fore and main companionways were constructed from .020" and .010"
sheet styrene, and pieces of tan colored light construction paper. The
assembly drawing shows the steps I used to construct them. After gluing
the tan paper roof, door and hatch, in place, I saturated the paper with the
glue to get an even color. Both companionways were glued to the deck with
regular cyanoacrylic glue.

The galley chimney stack was constructed from a piece of bell wire, a solid
core wire with plastic insulation. I used wire with a 3/64" outside diameter
for the insulation. I cut a 1/4" long piece of the wire and removed all but
1/16" of the insulation. The small piece of insulation left was glued to one
end of the wire, so that the end was flush. The other end of the wire was
glued into a hole in the deck, and the whole stack painted flat black.
Regular cyanoacrylic glue was used.

The skylight was constructed from .020" and .010" sheet styrene and four
3/64" x 3/16" pieces of glitter foil. A two layer laminate of the .020"
styrene was cut to size and sanded at an angle from the top surface
centerline to the bottom at the edges, on its long dimension. This was glued
to a small piece of .010" thick styrene, and the thinner styrene was cut
1/32" from the edges of the sanded piece.
The corners of the thinner styrene were sanded round, in the same manner
as used in the companionway. Next the glitter pieces were glued in their
proper places and the skylight was glued to the deck. I used regular
cyanoacrylic glue in all skylight construction steps.

The low wall around the cockpit area was fashioned out of a 3/64" wide
strip of .010" sheet styrene. The strip was cut just long enough to arc from
one side of the main companionway to the other to form part of a circle. I
wrapped the strip around progressively smaller diameter tool and brush
handles, until when released it kept approximately the necessary curve. A
.010" x 1/32" rectangular piece was cut from the bottom corner of the
strip, at each end. One end of the strip was glued to the aft corner of the
main companionway so that the bottom of the strip rested on the deck.

The other end of the strip was glued to the other aft corner of the
companionway in the same manner. I used a straight pin to apply a small
head of glue to the outside of the strip at the deck, while making any
corrections to the curve. I painted the area between the top edge of the
floor area, cut out earlier, and the strip dark brown. The rudder head and
tiller bar were added at this point.

The rudder head was made from a leftover piece of the black walnut used
for the spars. I drilled a #75 hole 1/16" from the end of the walnut, then
sanded it down to l/l6" diameter. A 1/16" hole was drilled on the ship's
centerline between the styrene wall, just installed, and the edge of the
cockpit floor area depression.
The rudder head was glued onto this hole with gap-filling cyanoacrylate
glue, with the hole in rudder head pointing fore and aft. A 1/4" length of
34 gauge brass wire was then bent to the shape of the tiller bar, and glued
into the hole in the rudder head. The tiller bar was then painted dark
brown.

The cannon for the AMERICA presented the most difficult problem to
construct. I tried all sorts of methods, including wooden cannon, and was
not pleased with the results. I finally decided to try the method as shown in
the included assembly drawing. For the scale, they turned out to look just
fine.

My only disappointment was that the insulation refused all attempts to


match the real barrel's taper. In step 6, I used a 2" piece of the bell wire
with the last 1/4" of the insulation removed to hold the cannon while spray
painting. I pushed the bare wire into the barrel and clamped the other end
into a spring-clip clothespin for a holder.

Before the carriage/cannon assembly was glued to the deck, I sanded off
any paint on the bottom surface of the 24-pounders and the bottom of the
legs of the 12-pounder. The brass anchor scuttles were made of 38 gauge
brass wire wrapped around a drill bit. Because of all the cutting of the
rigging lines that was done around the holes later, the brass circles were
added as the last step before scaling the bottle.

The fore and main masts were installed with traditional mast hinges made
from garbage bag tie bands, after the paper covering was removed. A 1/2"
piece of the tie was centered in the hole near the bottom of the masts and
the two ends were bent down until parallel to the sides of the mast. These
ends were then cut-off 3/16" below the masts and inserted in their
appropriate holes in the deck.

At this point all the construction and assembly procedures were complete,
and the rigging and the addition of the sails were all that was left before
moving my AMERICA to its final bottle home.

The rigging of my AMERICA was begun with the bowsprit/jibboom. The


first step in this process was to drill a number of holes in the upper hull
with a #80 drill. One hole on each side of the hull just below the cap rail
and just behind the bowsprit.

The second set of holes was 1/4" aft and in line with the first two. A third
set of holes was drilled at the same level as the hawse holes, on each side of
the hull, and 1/8" aft of the second set of holes. All of these holes were
drilled right through the bulwarks.

A last hole was drilled in the center of the keel 1/8" above the waterline.
This hole was drilled about 1/4" deep. The line used for all the bowsprit
rigging was black size "A" nylon rod building thread. Any point where the
line was to be threaded through a hole, the end of the line was stiffened
with regular cyanoacrylate glue.

I began by threading the line through either of the first set of holes, from
inboard to outboard, leaving a bit of line inside the bulwarks. The
outboard end was led down to the marlin striker and wrapped around it in
the place indicated on the plans.

The line was then threaded through the hole near the end of the jibboom
and led back down and around the marlin striker just above the previous
wrap. The line was then threaded through the opposite hole from outboard
to inboard. A drop of regular cyanoacrylic was applied to this line at the
point it wraps around the striker and at each point it goes through the
bulwarks. The excess line was cut-off and a little white paint covered the
line end on the inside of bulwarks.

The same procedure was used to thread a line through the second set of
holes, except the line wraps around the marlin striker right at the bottom
end. Another line was also threaded through the second set of holes, and
led from them to the hole near the end of the jibboom and back again. The
third line was similarly rigged through the third of the set of holes drilled.
This line was lead around the end of the bowsprit and back. A small drop
of the glue held this line to bowsprit end, without plugging #2 hole. The
last of the bowsprit rigging was a line glued into the hole drilled in the
keel. This line was led to the end of the bowsprit and tied to the marlin
striker just below the bowsprit.

Almost all of the rest of the rigging for my AMERICA model was added in
the same manner as that used for rigging the BLUENOSE. Reviewing this
procedure from that article should be all that is needed to duplicate my
work. The rigging line I used for AMERICA varied from that used for
BLUENOSE, as well as a few of the procedures, so I'll run through the
exceptions.

The three forestay lines were made from #24 (.011") black thread. All of
these lines were at least 12" longer than shown on the plans, to
accommodate the neck of the bottle. The main forestay (line lb) from the
top of the main mast feeds through the gap between the mast parts in the
fore mast doublings from port to starboard. And then through the
appropriate hole in the jibboom.
The forestay (line 3) from just above the main doublings runs through the
fore mast doublings from starboard to port and then through the hole in
the deck just behind the fore mast, forward through the hollowed area
under upper hull and then out through the rigging exit hole.

The backstays were made from black size "E" nylon rod building thread.
Also #24 line was used for the backstays, which went through the holes in
the cap rail. I did not use the small pieces of plastic pushed into the holes to
hold the lines for the backstays done with the size "E" thread, as with
BLUENOSE. The lines were large enough to fill the hole, so when the glue
was applied they were held tight enough. Care was taken not to put so
much glue on the line that the hull was discolored.

The running rigging of AMERICA was made from size #24 tan thread and
brown size "A" nylon rod building thread. The main mast boom and gaff
rigging (lines E & F) were added using the #24 thread. The fore mast gaff
was rigged the same, however I did not thread the lines C & D through the
hull until after the sail was added. The reason for this being that no boom
was used so the lines had to be threaded through holes in the bottom
corners of the fore sail.

The topping lifts (lines G & H) were the only lines I used the brown size
"A" thread to represent. The middle of the 2'6" length of line was tied to
the main boom near its outboard end, and each of its ends were threaded
through the main doublings from opposite directions. The ends of this line
were then threaded through the hole in the deck directly aft of the main
mast, through the hollowed out area, and out through the rigging exit hole.

The sails for AMERICA were also made and added in the same manner as
those of the BLUENOSE, except for the fore sail. Because there is no boom
for this sail, one size #80 hole was drilled in each of its bottom corners. To
reinforce the corners, before drilling I glued a small piece of paper to each
corner The rigging lines (C & D) were threaded through their respective
corner holes, from starboard to port sides of the sail. The lines were then
threaded through their respective holes in the deck and out again through
the rigging exit holes.

The flag for AMERICA was made from blue construction paper and the
same paper used for sail construction. I used thinned down white glue for
assembling and adding the flag. A light outline of the width and twice the
length of the flag was drawn on the white paper. A dark red colored pencil
was used to draw parallel lines the entire length of the outline. I had to
make a number of flags to this point, until I had spacing and number of
red and white stripes correct. Two pieces of the blue paper were cut to the
size of the blue portion of the flag, and glued 1/32" apart to the center of
the top edge of the "bars".

The flag was then cut out along the outline, and folded in half along the
gap between the blue paper cantons. I used a toothpick to mold alternating
curls in the flag. A thin layer of the glue was added to the inside surfaces of
the flag, after it had been opened. The flag was then placed so that the
inside fold wrapped around the line running from the hole in the main gaff
to the hole in the main boom (line F). Positioning the fold 1/4" below the
gaff, I then re-folded the flag and squeezed the two halves together with a
tweezers.

The last step before putting my AMERICA into its bottle home was a test
of all the operating rigging. While the model was still on the rigging stand,
I loosened all the working lines from the nails used to hold them during
previous steps. I carefully pulled the lines where they left the holes in the
deck, to be sure they came out smooth and free. I did this using a fine
tweezers, gripping the lines just above the deck. The sails were pulled aft
and loosened from the masts, and the masts were folded down to the
positions they needed to be in for insertion through the bottle neck.

While guiding the sails back into place, I gently pulled the operating lines
to raise the masts to their final raised position. I have had just one model
in the past that folded down quite easily, but refused to raise back up after
it was in the bottle. An experience I do not intend to ever have happen
again. Hence the final check, to be sure all was in working order.

The bottle chosen as the final home for my AMERICA was completely
different than the one used for the BLUENOSE model; the method for
inserting, gluing, and raising AMERICA also differed in some ways. The
bottle was long and narrow, and the ship model and base would have to
rest on the side of the bottle. For this reason I made a set of two stands for
the bottle. They were constructed from two 4-1/2'' long pieces of 3/8" x 1"
basswood. The basswood was cut at a 60° angle on each end, and a portion
of a 4" diameter circle was then cut from the center of the top edge. After
sanding and staining, the pieces were glued to the bottle with five minute
epoxy. The stands helped to stabilize the bottle during the rest of the
insertion and gluing process.

The base and lower hull were glued to the side of the bottle in exactly the
same manner as the BLUENOSE base and stand were glued to it's bottle's
bottom. I did not have to use the small wedges as the side of the bottle for
AMERlCA's home were relatively flat.

The only major departure from the process used for gluing and raising the
AMERICA as opposed to the BLUENOSE model, was the use of the
mahogany holder tool. In the case of AMERICA, the tool was not used at
all. After inserting the upper hull with its sails and rigging, the masts were
slightly raised and the upper hull maneuvered and glued to the lower hull.
I made sure I could line up and lower the upper hull into place quickly and
smoothly by a number of trial dry runs without glue. I also had to be sure
that none of the loose operating rigging lines from above the deck were
trapped between the hull parts when assembling.
The raising of the masts and positioning of the sails, and the gluing and
trimming of the excess rigging lines was accomplished in the same manner
as described for the BLUENOSE. Review of the steps listed there should
allow duplication of my efforts on the AMERICA. The trimming of the
lines going through the jibboom was a bit more difficult, because of the
more complicated bowsprit rigging on the AMERICA model.

After making the brass anchor scuttle rings, and gluing them in place, I
finished the bottle with a cork and sheet of .010" thick styrene glued over
the end. I now had my completed AMERICA in the bottle, and even
through the distorted glass of the bottle's side, most people who see it
instantly recognize her as AMERICA. But after a little closer inspection, I
usually have to explain how it came about that the famous racing schooner
should be portrayed with cannon on her deck. Not exactly a difficult job
for someone who could ramble for hours on his favorite subject for
conversation.

MATERIALS LIST

Hull Block Sandwich: 8" x 1/2" x 3/8" basswood, 2- 4" pieces, lower hull.
4" x 1/16" x 3/8" basswood, center of lower hull. 4" x 1" x 3/8"" basswood,
upper hull. 4" x 1" x .010" thick sheet styrene, waterline sheet. 1-1/2" x
3/32" dia. bamboo dowels, 2-3/4" pieces, construction dowels. 4" x 1" x
1/32" basswood, keel and rudder.

Finished hull:. 1" x 3/32" outside diameter brass tubing, for stands. 4" x
1" x .0l0" thick sheet styrene, for rail cap. 1-1/2" x 38 gauge brass wire, for
marlin striker and jib boom reinforcing.

Base: 3/16" x 5/8" x 3-5/8" basswood. 1" x 1/16" outside dia. brass tube.
08pt. & 10pt. Helvetica medium dry transfer lettering.

Spars: 36" x 3/16" x 3/16" black walnut, nine 4" pieces. 1-1/2" x 3/8" x
.010 thick sheet styrene, boom and gaff jaws.

Deck Structures: 2" x 2" x .010 thick sheet styrene 2" x 2" x .020" thick
sheet styrene 1 wire garbage bag tie band, with paper cover removed, for
mast hinges and windlass barrel. 1/16" x 1/16" diameter white plastic
dowel for scuttle. 2- l/8" x 1/8" glitter squares for skylight "glass" 3/4" x
38 gauge brass wire, for cannon elevators and anchor scuttles. 1" x 1/2"
tan colored light construction paper for companionway roofs, hatches and
doors. 1/4" x 34 gauge brass wire for tiller bar. 8" x 3/64" o.d. bell wire,
solid core wire with plastic insulation for cannon barrels and galley stack.

Sails and Flag: 1-9" x 12" sheet of sketch paper, from Grumbacher sketch
pad l/2" x 1/ 4" blue colored light construction paper.

Rigging: Size "E" black nylon rod building thread, from Cabela's, 812
13th Ave., Sidney, Nebraska, 69160. #24 (.011") black and tan thread,
from A.J. Fisher, Inc., 1002. Etowah Ave., Royal Oak, Ml 48067. Size "A"
brown and black nylon rod building thread, from Cabela's.

Glues: Regular cyanoacrylic (Krazy Glue). Gap-filling cyanoacrylic (Jet ).


White glue (Elmer's Capenter's). Abrasives: Sandpaper in these grades,
coarse 60 grit, medium 120 grit, fine 150 grit, extra fine 180 grit Steel wool
size 0000

BIBLIOGRAPHY Bruzek, Joseph C., The U.S. Schooner Yacht America,


U.S. Naval Academy Museum. Reprinted from September 1967 Naval
Institutes "Proceedings". Campbell, George F., The Neophyte
Shipmodeller's Jackstay, Model Shipways Co., Inc., 1983 Needham, Jack,
Modeling Ships In Bottles, Collier Books, 1972.

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