Posted by Mike Spears on November 19, 19103 at 19:17:24:
In Reply to: 19th Century Great Lakes Ship Building posted by David Miesch on November 18, 19103 at 12:27:23:
: Does anyone no of any sites which might contain imformation on the history, including names of some of the leading builders, their methods, maybe even plans for building 19th Century Great Lakes Ships?
: thanks for any help,
: Dave
Dave,
I know of few existing plans for any really early vessels. Most of the early vessels were not built from plans, as we know them.
Most wooden vessels (especially very early ones) were built from half-models. The builder would first lay a keel, then scale off the half-model for dimensions. They would then make sketches of the frames and other components with chalk on a covered concrete floor, and craft them from that.
There are two interesting books that may be found that describe this process. They can be found in used bookstores occasionally:
The Evolution of the Wooden Ship by Basil Greenhill
The Great Lakes Wooden Shipbuilding Era by H. C. Inches
Years ago, Institute for Great Lakes Research, now called Historical Collections of the Great Lakes (Bowling Green State University, Ohio) published a book called:
American Ship Building Company and Predecessors
This book lists many vessels built and many of the plans are available at HCGL.
The drawings of the Lucia A. Simpson and Alvin Clark were made from the vessels themselves, long after they were built.
Hope this helps