Captain Jim-sib

Try this link. Scroll down to the section: "the Fleet" http://www.floridascubahound.com/plate_fleet.htm In Drake's & Morgan's time, casting metal in bars & sheets/plates was a compact form of transporting the goods.

For those who have ever been to Ocracoke, raise one for Buffy. http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story...1616&ran=208043

Golly !!! Ya think Prince Andy experienced that ritual when the Royal Navy went to the Fauklands (another conflict for oil) in the 1980's ? Read that Neptune paid him a visit on that voyage yet the details were lacking. In me oil-field days, rituals (hazzing) took place for the newcomers to an offshore platform, regardless of position status (as it should be). Heard that OHSA now frowns on that now.

Aye, yer got that right Cpt'n S.o.t.P. Though ol' Red Raven has a 4 gun broadside, she could still send 13k to Davy Jones

RC Square Rigger !!! Now that be a difficult one to handle. Aye, I have built several small (3' -3.5') RC schooners and under $300 in materials. One I put topsails on, & it twas difficult to handle. Could have put a winch on it, but RC winches are expensive. Firing cannon via RC be no problem...just put nichrome wire in the touch hole with leads to the microswitch and 9 volt battery. Made 32 caliber cannons on me Red Raven schooner out of scrap stainless pipe I found...just right for giving a park duck a broadside. Heard of a fellow that made an HMS Victory and for tacking with square sails, he had it rigged up so that the masts themselves would turn.

Art be good in this pirate lot...and historically, most adventurers of the Spanish Main turned a nice pen. Mine be at : http://carolinasib.com

Faucon... Plank bending depends upon the thickness of the wood. For a 1.5mm or greater, soaking & bending to form gives good results. For thinner pieces, you can do a variation of the paper curling trick with a pair of scissors. Get a sharp metal edge (I use my bandsaw table), place the plank at about 45 degrees on the metal edge, place a couple of fingers of the other hand on the plank and add a little pressure, and then give a quick pull. As you pull, friction heat and finger pressure will bend the wood. Do this several times to get the desired curve. Also, trim the plank before you bend it in this method. You will break a few planks getting the hang of this...but they can be used in the short stern and bow spacing pieces. As for the electric plank benders or model forums...I have not tried them. Perhaps Doc has. Also, if your hull is going to be painted, there is nothing wrong about using wood filler. A good book for ship model beginners is The Neophyte Jackstay. Lots of luck & fun to you.

With Respect to Rum Ration...From James Henderson's The Frigates, 1970, page 22 In the Royal Navy in the age of sail..."The allowance of beer was a gallon a day, and of rum half a pint; but this rum was almost pure alcohol, and when cut down, as it was, with two pints of water it was still equivalent to very nearly two bottles of rum at the strength at which it is retailed today. Anybody today who drank eight pints of beer and the best part of two bottles of spirits every day would be put down as an alcoholic, yet this was the daily ration for every man in the Navy. It was eagerly expected. The severest punishment less than flogging was to cut a man's rum ration off for a week; the withdrawal symptoms must have been very unpleasant..."

You got it , Casabel !!! Doc, The Model Expo Kit of the " Virginia Sloop" is pretty much what Blackbeard's Adventure & Bonnet's Revenge looked like. As for Blackbeard's Queen Anne Revenge...there is a poster published, I believe by the NC Maritime Museum in Beaufort, of master modeller Frank Gaskill's QAR. At that time, 1717, jib sails were fast replacing the bowsprit square sails. Yet no one can give a difinitive answer of what the QAR looked like. Perhaps she had the double bowsprit square sails when Benjamin Hornigold first captured it...and later gave it to Teach. As for finding plans...lotsa luck. I have recently completed a 3' model of the sidewheeler blockade runner CSS Nashville. Had to build it based upon period Harper's Weekly etchings and comparision of similar period vessels. Twas challenging to say the least. After doing many models myself, Casabel's comment is dead aim. Acquiring plans from the Smithsonian is very slow. Their person in that department only works 10 hours per week...they do not take phone calls...or respond to phone messages. Best source of period plans would be the Howard Chapelle books...History of American Sailing Ships & The Search for Speed under Sail. Most of the Smithsonian's available plans are Chapelle's and are found in his books. Just enlarge them to your scale and modifiy to your needs You can view some of my pirate vessels at: http://www.carolinasib.com

Zephyr, Did some edits on my original response that may be worthwhile for you. As fer dancing yer way in map making...that would vary your pace. Try sashsaying about...tis a more uniform step. Besides, one's best work is done for thyself.

Egads, tis what I teach to my darlin' college students in Geology Lab. 1) measure yer pace...a pace be two steps, not one as in the movies. Mark off 50 ft & count yer paces in a "normal, unforced walk". Do this 2 or three times and take the average. Then get a ft/pace unit. A 6 ft. person has about a 5-5.5 ft/pace at "normal" walk. Pace will vary as you go uphill & downhill. 2) Shoot a transit/compass direction. Record direction. Count paces on that transit to a particular point or landmark. Record paces...multiply by ft/pace to get footage distance. You can plot and record as you go along your area. In plotting up yer course, remember that north be at the top of the page. A protactor will be handy to have. 3) Repeat #2 for all points you desire. If you encounter an obstruction while pacing your transit line, such as a tree, rock, or massive kudzu growth, side-step at right angles from your course to clear the obstruction, continue your pacing until you clear the obstruction, and then side-step back to your original course position. 4) In walking a course, you want to end at your first point. That will give you closure in your course 5) For a good source, check out an old Boy Scout Handbook (pre-1980) under the section of "Map and Compass" or "using a Compass" or the Boy Scout Orienteering Merit Badge Book--both can be found at your local library or at a good used book store

Right on-Dead Aim, Bath, NC was the 1st capital of Colonial NC. Charles Eden was govenor from 1714-1722. Word spread that any pirate was safe in Bath as long as he shared his loot with Gov. Eden. After Blackbeard grounded the Queen Anne's Revenge and stranded most of his crew at Beaufort, NC, he took his Bermuda sloop, Adventure, to Bath in the summer of 1718. Gov. Eden gave him a King's pardon, and the Adventure was offically listed under Teach's name by the Vice Admiralty Court in Bath for trading expeditions. During this time, Teach married, again, the daughter of a wealthy planter/merchant. It is rumored that Gov. Eden urged Teach to continue in piracy. After the capture of a French ship whose cargo was sugar (know as the "Sugar Ship"), Virginia's Govenor Spottswood sent Lt. Maynard to deal w/ Teach. Research shows that Eden & Spottswood were rivals in the King's court and with merchant connections. Eden had the rich family connection that would often slide appreciation gifts to the King. Gov. Spottswood was out to make a name for himself. He did not like Colonial America and longed to return to England,

Something to mark the Calendar for. check out: http://historicbathnc.com/calendar.htm September 22 - 25, 2005 sound fun for all Their events are schedule, though details are missing

Greetings, A note about a distant event. Class A & B Tall Ships will be coming into Beaufort, NC, July 1-5, 2006. The homeport of the MEKA II. Press announcement found at: http://ncmuseumofhistory.org/press15.html