Model Boat Builder Constructs Replica of the HMS Nimrod

From the June 7, 2013, Falmouth (Ma.) Enterprise" by Christoher Kazarian.

Alan G. Alan G. Lunn loves anything to do with the sea and ocean.  Just look around his home.  he collects, he builds, and the latest is a scale reproduction of the British brig-sloop HMS Nimrod that played a part in Falmouth's history.

He has spent some two hours a day and the last eight months fine-tuning his effort.  He alludes to four  specific traits for someone who makes these reproductions:  "You need to have the eyes of an eagle, the patience of a saint, the hand skills of a surgeon and the ability to curse like a sailor."  (Well, I got one of the three.)

The 84-year-old was able to get the Nimrod's  original plans from the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England, as well as materials from Woods Hole Historical Museum that proved useful in the project.

During his research, he discovered a factual error in the painting of the Nimrod in the Falmouth Public Library which shows a two-deck ship, the Nimrod only had a single deck.

The process of building a boat like this was, at time, painstaking.  For the rigging he took bristles from a broom, glued them together and painted them black.  He laughed that there were times he needed hands of a surgeon, nut those were all too often overshadowed by cursing like a sailor.

A picture of Mr. Lunn and his model of the HMS Nimrod accompanies the article.

Job Well Done, Mr. Lunn   --Brock-Perry

Nearly Life-Size Replica of the HMS General Hunter Being Built-- Part 2

Recovery efforts have been led by Ken Cassavoy.

Bruce County has set aside $100,000 over a three-year period to help cover the HMS General Hunter exhibit and gun deck.

Visitors will be able to walk on the ship's deck and get a sense of history.  When finished, the deck will be forty feet long, sixteen feet short of the original 56 feet,

--Brock-Perry

Nearly Life-Size Replica of HMS General Hunter Being Built-- Part 1

From the January 15, 2012, Owen Sound (Canada) Suntimes "HMS General Hunter" by Willy Watertown.

A nearly life-size replica of the ship is being built at Bruce County Museum and Cultural Centre in Southampton to mark the 200th anniversary of the ship and the War of 1812.  It is expected to take 24 volunteers six months to complete the brig's battle-ready deck, complete with a towering mainmast.

The museum also has a General Hunter and War of 1812 exhibit scheduled to open June 19th.

The General Hunter was built in 1806 at Amherstburg and was used as a provincial marine transport and took part in several War of 1812 actions.  It was wrecked during a storm on the Southampton Beach in August 1816, while an American ship.

--Brock-Perry

Discovery Harbour, Ontario: "The Blood Boat"

Now located at the site of the Penetanguishene Navy Yard on Lake Huron has several replicas of War of 1812-era warships to explore.

HMS BEE is a full-scale replica 79-foot supply schooner that was stationed at the navy base from 1817-1830.

The HMS TECUMSETH is also a full-scale replica. The 124-foot ship was built at Chippewa in 1815 and transferred to Penetanguishene Navy Yard in 1817. The original Tecumseth rotted and sank by 1828. Its remains were raised in 1953 and are on display.

They also have a 19-foot JOLLY BOAT called "The Blood Boat." It is a general purpose boat used by the Royal Navy during the era. These boats were often used to procure fresh meat and that is how they earned the name "Blood Boat."

--Brock-Perry

War of 1812 Tall Ships Coming to Chicago This Week-- Part 1

From the July 28, 2013, Chicago Tribune Special Section "Tall Ships Chicago 2013.

They'll be here August 7-11 at Navy Pier and there will be 14 of them. Two pages of the edition were devoted to a thumbnail sketch on each ship and several had War of 1812 connections (and non 1812 one was even built of recycled German U-boats. I'll write about that in my history blog.)

THE FRIENDS GOOD WILL (U.S.) "We have met the enemy and they are ours..." Commander Oliver Hazard Perry, USN, sent that famous dispatch after the Battle of Lake Erie on September 10, 1813. His message went on to describe a merchant sloop turned man of war named Friends Good Will.

The Michigan Maritime Museum launched a 101-foot square topsail sloop replica of that fateful ship in 2004. Today, the ship trains people in traditional maritime skills.

--Brock-Perry

Ships of the War of 1812-- Part 4: Wrecks, Originals and Replicas

The wrecks of the HMS St. Lawrence, HMS Prince Regent, HMS Wolfe and USSsloop Jefferson have all been identified in Lake Ontario.  The remains of the USS Eagle, schooner USS Ticonderoga and sloop HMS Linnet have been found in Lake Chaplain

Of course, there is the original USS Constitution in Boston, and even though the ship did not participate in the Americas, the HMS Vicory, an example of a first-rate ship-of-the-line is in England.

There is a replica of Perry's flagship, the USS Niagara, based out of Erie , Pennsylvania.

The HMS St. Lawrence was rebuilt from 1976-1977 and sailed around the world until it sank in a squall in 1986.

Canada has plans to rebuild the HMS Detroit, Barclay's flagship.  The original was raised by the Americans in 1837 and renamed the Veto with plans to send it over the Niagara Falls as a message to President John Tyler.  The keel of the replica was laid in 2000, but funds dried up and work stopped.

Recently, a salvage company discovered what is thought to be the well-preserved wreck of the Canadian-built frigate HMS Caledonia, but a U.S. court ruled against raising it because of the men who went down with her.

John Marsh wrote this.

So, Now You Know.  --Brock-Perry