An early Christmas gift - for ME!

I know I know, total update failure. I apologize to all three of my regular readers who noticed I had failed to post yesterday or Monday. Nevertheless, I was hard at work and got plenty accomplished to talk about here today. So. There it is.

There are very few people who could probably get that movie quote. 5 points.

BT

I spent my time this weekend out in the wintry weather taking lines of Monomoys No. 2 and 3 - which, by the way, are doing great in the cold - and also studying up and preparing for this week, where I've been travelling a bit, mostly where my job has been taking me. On Monday I had a great chance to go rummage through the collections at the National Archives Main Branch in Washington DC, an opportunity for which I'd been waiting some time now, and gleaned a great deal of information from many documents, many of which are 200+ years old (!). Those of you who follow NHS on Facebook have seen some of the pictures - and for those who haven't you might want to scoot over and check them out - but I'm sure there are questions about the subject of my study.

For about the last two years now I've been studying the American Sloops of War - ship-rigged vessels smaller than a frigate but still rather formidable. Nearly all were low, flush-decked ships mounting 16-22 guns, and only very late in the sailing Navy was a spar deck added to some. These vessels were truly a mainstay of the early American Navy, but are often overshadowed by the exploits of their bigger and longer-lived partners, the famous frigates. There is a great deal of information available on sloops, and studying the evolution of designs, their unique abilities including shoal-water action, and the range of their service has been of particular interest to me every time I pick up material on the American Sailing Navy.

There is one sloop that stands out for me above the others - Hornet. Built in Baltimore in 1805, this little ship, first built as a brig (two masts, square rigged) and later re-rigged as a ship (three masts square rigged), had an uncommonly long service life and a tremendous range of employments. From 1805 to 1810 she was employed chasing French privateers away from shipping on the US eastern seaboard, and in 1811 she sailed for Europe and brought back dispatches that caused Congress to declare war on Great Britain, starting the War of 1812. In 1812 she cruised in a squadron under Commodore Rodgers in company with the frigates PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES, CONGRESS and the brig ARGUS. She sailed with CONSTITUTION in a cruise to the South Atlantic and was a supposed favorite escort of that ship, specifically requested by several of her noted and famous captains. She captured several ships, including two men of war in famous actions prompting Congress to vote medals struck to commemorate the occasion. Her efficient gunnery was particularly noted among the entire fledgling Navy as having "no equal" by Commodore Isaac Hull.

After the War of 1812, she was dispatched to Tripoli for the second Tripolitan War. Later, she was one of the first ships to patrol the West coast of Africa against slavers when importation of slaves from there became illegal - our first joint activity (partnership) with the British. She voyaged to the Baltic on diplomatic missions, and into the Mediterranean repeatedly. She spent the later part of her career eradicating piracy from the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico.

Her 24 year career (in an era when most sloops had a 6 to 10 year life span) ended in 1829 when she is presumed to have foundered off the coast of Mexico in a hurricane with all hands. At the time, she was participating in humanitarian efforts, pulling Americans out of Mexico during an insurrection. The last sighting of her was by a merchant captain, who from the wreck of his own capsized ship saw her scud by under bare poles "like a phantom ship", the crew working in the hurricane to get her upper spars down "in a flurry, but in good order". The account reads like a scene from a suspense movie.

The goal of our research was to identify where the ship was and when, so as to build a more complete record of her activities during her service life. We also gleaned valuable information such as handling characteristics in foul weather, notes after action, and the names of several prizes unrecorded elsewhere.

There is a certain moment of Zen when you handle these 180-200 year old logs and read "Cape Henry Lighthouse" or "Old Point Comfort" - places I see every day. There is even a deeper moment reading sightings of "Mount Pico" in the Azores and "Gibraltar" - far away places few people except mariners ever get to see - and many times over at that. Reading the navigational bearings off the volcanic mountains of the Azores reminded me of the first time I ever saw them aboard the Training Ship Empire State, and immediately connected with those long-dead observers 200 years ago. Goosebumps. and a smile.

So, good times in DC, but now its back to work.

BT

Due to the holidays, work travel and other distractions, I'm taking a bit of a hiatus from the regular entries here. Check back for regular 'quips' and whatnot but I don't anticipate writing much until the new year.

So until then, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a fantastic New Year to you all, and I'll catch you on the flip side.

NNNN

What did you do?

This weekend was a total rout, with very little having been accomplished. I did manage to get some of the improvements to the 3-pdr skids, which our event in Hyco were little more than through-bolted 2x4s. I was actually a little amazed that the improvements took a grand total of about 2 hours on Sunday, BS-ing with volunteers included. Now instead of 2x4s the assembly is made up of white oak, using about half the fasteners.

I also managed to get the sharpening arrangements all set up and all the chisels, plane and spokeshave blades nicely honed and sharpened. Simple as that sounds, getting the grinder, stones and oil in the same place at the same time had become something of a white elephant in the shop in recent weeks. And as much as daylight savings has been taking an inordinate amount of time to settle in with me, I hope to make it part of my regular "chillaxin" routine to enjoy my evening programming on the couch, sharpening stone, oil and blade in working dilligently on my coffee table.

But despite my best hopes, no, we didn't make it to our white oak supplier and no we STILL do not have materials. I have partial access to my budget - namely the cash the Finance Director withdrew for me - but my debit card is still 'in the mail'. Hopefully this week we can get back on the ball and get pumping with these critical parts. We have until December 15 - my goal deadline - to finish two complete sets of keels, stems and sternposts. We'll see. Many more delays like this one and we'll be repeating the same setbacks we saw on the Launch.

BT

On a positive note, I did visit the Outer Banks for the first time this weekend. A friend of mine who stopped down is looking at beach houses, and so when most of the volunteers for Saturday either didnt show or called to cancel, I hung up the "gone fishin" sign and decided to take a one-day road trip with him.

Now, for those who weren't familiar with the sea state this weekend, abnormally high tidal surges and twenty foot rollers were thrashing the Outer Banks. Even in Norfolk we saw the tidal surge, but the waves crashing ashore were definately something to see. The road out to Hatteras Island was broken at intervals by the huge rollers pouring seawater directly onto the road, and tons of sand with it. At one point in Rodanthe, my SUV became stuck in the sand on the road - to the point where traction or lack thereof was a non-issue - the frame of the car was fast on the drifts, growing ever larger as seawater washed around it with every new huge wave. Luckily the locals came out with shovels to help dig out, and before long we had a chain made fast to a large truck that dragged me clear of the deepening drift.

We made it down to our destination in the town of Avon, had lunch and checked out the beach houses, then made a quick jaunt down to the cape to see the lighthouse - which until then I had only ever seen from ships at sea. The drive through the National Seashore is fantastic and I look forward to getting down there again as soon as possible.

I should note that there was much discussion looking out at the mountainous surf about taking our Monomoys out in such conditions. Life-threatening though the prospect is, we had completely envisioned a crew bedecked with crash helmets and mouth guards pulling like furies out into the crashing waves. Ultimately, those of us having the conversation safe in the vehicle, decided that wrecking a boat and injuring the crew (who would have to be crazy anyway) would only be worthwhile if we managed to get it all on film.

I hope you picked up on the irony and insanity of that conversation.

BT

This week I hope to break this now week and a half long stretch of stagnation at the Dockyard. Tonight I'll be making the trip out to pick out the oak and get it back to the stickers (come hell or high water!) and begin setting up the lamination jig. Tuesday evening I hope to get folks back out to start the laminations with cutting and gluing the scarfs.

THURSDAY we have a unique opportunity. The local Boy Scout troop here has sponsored a preservation initiative to save a cannon unearthed at Fort Boykin. They've built a carriage for it, and will be displaying it here in Norfolk Thursday night before it makes the trip back to the Fort. We've been invited to bring our 3-pdr out to display it next to the Fort Boykin gun and talk about the functionality of the guns in historical application. Should be a fun time, hopefully with some good media coverage as well. I'll need some volunteers to help get the gun out there, so if you're free Thursday night, let me know.

Its going to be another busy week!

NNNN

Arming the Monomoy, was 'Super Secret Project'

Yesterday I wrote a bit about our 3 pdr gun and the great surprise we prepared in bringing it out to the End of Summer Bash. But the ten days leading up to the event were a flurry of activity as we worked to complete the naval carriage for the gun and the skids to mount it in the bow of the boat.

The whole business started at a weekly meeting on Wednesday September 8. Examining the incomplete parts of the 3 pdr's naval carriage, the idea came up "what if we put all efforts into getting that gun out to the lake - as a surprise." The oak we'd recieved for the project was improperly seasoned and had begun to check and crack considerably. Even two pieces that were selected for quality and had been fashioned into the cheek pieces of the carriage were severely checked. We would basically have to start from scratch, with no budget and no new materials.

Looking around the Dockyard, we tried to find something with which we could build the carriage. Much of the oak stock was earmarked for the Launch. The plans call for white oak, being better suited than red oak to moisture and conditions at sea in general. Of course, that's when the idea hit to laminate the cheek pieces. Before very long we'd located clear spruce stock, very light but with good tensile strength, and began laminating it together into horizontal lifts with Smith's All Wood Glue. If you've ever worked with that stuff, you know it's tough as nails, bonding even the hardest and oiliest woods, even when burned - the glue will actually bond the wood until it becomes ash. It was formulated by the Navy in the 1950s for use in laminating the cold molded hulls of minesweepers, and we've been using it on the oak keel of the Launch. Thankfully we had extra to spare. The sides were laminated and tested to five times the weight of the gun, using our trusty bottle jack and compression scale - thats 1,500 lbs of pressure on EACH CHEEK. Might not be period correct but dammit it works well. The cheeks were cut, planed, primed and painted a bright cherry red - so that now the laminations are completely invisible.

The axles were cut and turned from several blocks of the original carriage oak that were able to be salvaged. It was our first time turning wood in the shop, but the results were quite satisfactory. The wheels for the carriage were also turned, after being made up of 1" oak planking, laminated and planed to thickness.

The irons holding the carriage together are all stainless steel, chemically blackened and fitted through holes drilled through the laminated cheeks into the oak axles. They are driven in with mallets, then held in place with washers and nuts threaded onto the ends. The nuts are all square, per original drawings, but are also stainless steel chemically blackened.

The cap squares worked well, but need to be improved on. They are not the correct type for our carriage, but they did the job well enough and we ran out of time. Correct cap squares should - and I stress should - be completed and retrofitted within the next month or two.

The boat skids are composed of 3/4" oak planking, jointed and laminated to form L-rails on which the gun's wheels ride. A crude riser was made forward and bolts were passed between the planks of the bow platform - so no new holes were needed. They compress clamps above and below that prevent movement, and provide a good base for the skid risers. For purposes of speed, the risers were made up of short sections of 2x4 stock, needing only to resist the compressive forces presented by the weight of the gun and carriage. For time reference, you should realize that we are up to last Thursday night when these were assembled.

The gun was hoisted into the boat at the dockyard, and situated in a purpose built shipping cradle situated athwartships just aft of the 3-thwart. The carriage was designed to nestle neatly between the 2 and 3 thwarts oriented fore-and-aft. Both were disguised with canvas tarps and covered with equipment bags for further camouflage. The skids were dissassembled after weight testing and stowed under the bow platform with the implements to serve the gun. Six charges were made up from cannon grade powder, each one weighed to 1/3 lb (5.33 oz) and friction primers filled the gap where we hadn't had time to prepare quill primers nor the linstock - and our slow match is somewhere in the US mail system even now.

We wrapped up all preparations by noon on Friday, just in time to depart for the 5 hour drive to the event. The rest, I recorded yesterday.

The whole system performed flawlessly all weekend and all the hard work certainly paid off. Now, we can go back and refine a few items, particularly the skid risers and clamps, in time for operations in October. Special thanks to all involved who helped make this crazy project work, and without a single material or personnel casualty. BZ!

BT

Tomorrow I will discuss the ongoing construction of the Launch and plans for the framing party to come in October.

NNNN

Surprise ................BANG!

I've just returned to the dockyard and got the Monomoy Pulling Boat nestled back in her parking spot next to the Framing Bay. This weekend we had a great time out at Hyco Lake in North Carolina - the first waterborne event we've held in our Western theater of operations, in our marines' back yard. The intent was to use the Monomoy Pulling Boat and our friendly neighborhood chase boat, Ye Saucy Trollop, to provide seamanship training for the local Boy Scout Troop 300. Saturday morning, we embarked eight scouts onboard the Monomoy, and sent three to the Trollop. A good time was had while basic training was taking place, and all were settling into the training routine by lunchtime. At lunch, the Trollop returned to the main docks while the Monomoy was beached in a small cove near the base camp. After we finished lunch, we had a first aid lesson, then returned to the boats. And that's when we sprung the surprise.

The Monomoy crew scurried to assemble a set of skids forward in the boat, lifting the timbers from their hiding places under canvasses on deck, bolting them to the bow platform onto risers carefully hidden by coils of line. Then another flurry of canvas yielded a hidden contraption, painted bright red, which was fitted to the skids and rigged to slide back and forth. And finally a huge 300 lb piece of pig iron and steel was lifted, passed carefully forward, and mounted on top of the whole contraption. The crew made their way out of the cove to await the arrival of the Trollop, all hands giggling quietly with anticipation.

Meanwhile, the crew of the Trollop were slow in getting underway. A failed mechanical bilge pump meant that the steady accumulation of water from swimmers coming aboard required manual pumping. It took about twenty minutes to complete the operation to the satisfaction of a very hot and irritated craft master. But finally they were underway, and headed slowly into the open lake.

The Monomoy coxswain sighted the Trollop as they rounded the point into the lake. He had taken every measure to position his boat carefully, clearing his bow to port and starboard, while being sure to place himself where he would see the Trollop first. The master of the Trollop noticed nothing unusual about the Monomoy except that the crew were rowing unusually slow. He would later say that he could hear the coxswain shout something, and saw a flurry of canvas covers pulling back from behind two men on the bow, but that he thought that what it revealed was a toy. Of course it was only after what happened next that he realized that it was anything but.

With a shout "FIRE" an errution of flame, smoke and sound burst from the bow of the Monomoy. Car alarms sounded over the adjacent hill, and the park ranger and local police chief gazed smiling down from a clearing on top of it. Cheers resounded from the Monomoy's crew, and several nearby boaters joined in. The Trollop stopped dead in the water as though she were aground. And although the master of the Trollop would not admit it, I think I won my bet that he would crap himself.

The 'super secret project' we've embarked on over the last 10 days was, in fact, to complete the naval carriage for the 3-pdr gun that we have been putting off since June, and mount it sucessfully in the bow of the Monomoy Pulling Boat. The carriage, skids and rigging were so perfectly calculated that when the gun was fired, it glided slowly backward to the 'run in' position and gently stopped at the end of the recoil strap. No new fittings, fasteners or holes were needed in the boat. And the crew was able to mount, and later dismount the carriage and gun safely while underway.

We fired a total of six rounds, each one drawing dozens of specators to the shoreline as the scouts and crew/instructors cheered our success. The Trollop's master's signature "god dammit" was sufficient to indicate he was similarly impressed.

A good time was had by all, and the surprise of the gun just crowned a great day of swim calls, rowing drills, tubing and barbecue. The scouts all earned their Rowing and Power Boating Merit Badges, and one Sailor came closer to his final qualification as Coxswain of the Monomoy Pulling Boat.

More on where we go from here, tomorrow.

NNNN

Hey Joey Guns! I have a new toy for you!

It's clogging up my damned shop entry and weighs a sodding ton! Worse yet it's on one of those horrible green rolly carts and the tires are damned near flat. Someone had better get their hide over here and shift this thing into the gunner's cage where it belongs!

Or maybe I'm making too big a deal of this.

Here at the dockyard we just took delivery of our first gun - a light 3-pdr from Lion's Den Arms. The proprietor, Mr. Les Szabo was very helpful in not only arranging the transaction but also providing specifications for the gun's naval carriage. That carriage is currently back-burnered as the dockyard crew presses on with final preparations for the Monomoy's crossing of Chesapeake Bay. But very soon after, the attention will shift back to it, and hopefully by June we'll see her fitted out and afloat.

For now, I'm still making my calls to get some help here.

Will

NNNN

Something's lurking... don't think I don't see what you're up to

There have been many things rumbling around the dockyard lately, and I do mean rumbling.

For starters, the new ordnance carts we purchased to move the new 3-pdr gun and all its equipment have been shuffling in, out and about. I've noticed one of them is a little - um - bent up (?) and we don't even have the gun barrel in yet. Reports said the carpenters were moving trees? Riiiiight. Well at least we can look forward to getting that gun barrel in today (yes, it is arriving today, truck freight) so maybe that will keep those damned rolly rolly wagons out of my way.

Another rumbling around is the sound of the truck we use to haul the Monomoy trailer. The high pitched wisp wisp wisp is probably a clutch needing to be replaced. Where is our motor mechanized division when we need them? Maybe we need to start looking hard into something beefier.

And the last rumbling - that everyone thinks I know nothing about - I hear talk of a "secret weapon". In and amongst the conversation I hear the word "womper". Don't think I haven't seen that movie and don't know what you're talking about. Anyone who is planning on stuffing more canvas onto a boat needs to have it properly approved first. Don't waste your time trying to produce something that will only get shot down in the end. Enough said.

Now, on the same note, if you want to produce another, larger sail, you can start doing some math. Prove to me your concept could work and we'll talk about getting it made. I rather like the idea of an alternative "fair weather" rig for the Monomoy... just don't pretend that you're going to hoist anything up that mast so much as a napkin without my approval.

-Will

NNNN

Something else to get excited about

I've been quite verbose about our preparations to cross the Chesapeake in the Monomoy Pulling Boat, but I haven't said much about the other projects underway at the dock yard. Soon after the Monomoy is finished and re-launched, our first gun is set to roll out of the shop.

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Our first piece is a 3-pdr Naval Gun, the sort used throughout the 18th century but most notably in the Revolutionary War. It was just about the smallest gun mounted on its own wheeled carriage, but don't let that fool you. The barrel weighs 250 lbs and is capable of lobbing a three pound ball (hence the nomenclature) more than half a mile! It is made of iron cast around a seamless steel tube (for safety) and is manufactured by Lion's Den Arms of Ontario, Canada. Her naval carriage weighs approximately 100 lbs and is being made from white oak. For more information check out the Naval Gunnery Links on the resources for sailors page of the NHS website.

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When completed, the gun can be situated on skids in the bow of a boat, or used ashore for saluting and drills. We plan to make her a regular sight at our live fire events, and when the marines bring out their small arms, the sailors will bring out the gun. I'd be amazed if there was much of the target left when the sailors were done with it. And I'm sure sailors will really enjoy showing off their "big gun" to all the ladies on the waterfront wherever we go.

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In other news, the sail for the Monomoy is wrapping up - grommets and cringles are now being installed, and she should be finished and flying within the next two weeks. There is a rough spar blank in the framing bay that I assume is going to become the yard for her before very long.

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The carpenters are mulling over an assortment of oars recently received, working out a process to standardize them for use in several different boats, as required. They're also stripping down the Monomoy oars in preparation for painting and re-leathering. Note for you guys - the new leather is here, check out the round package on my bench.

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So if you've only been following via blog, you're missing out on lots of other activity at the dockyard. With the constant work progressing on a daily basis (literally!) its difficult to keep track of it all here. So get in touch and come on out - see for yourself the gems our members are working on. And of course keep checking here for the latest and most significant developments as they progress.

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Will