Cats and the Sea, Unsinkable Sam and others...

Cats and the Sea? What the heck does that mean? Well, I'll tell you, but first, let me ramble...

I had two cats growing up, Cleo and Cally. They were great but once a I moved away from home I started to be influenced by the "Dogs are so much better than cats" movement. Did I really feel this way? I mean, I doubt I really even thought about it, but nonetheless, I acquiesced.

This all changed a bit when my girlfriend moved in with me and brought her personal hair ball machine, Spiffy.

Now, the first time I ever met Spiffy was when I stayed at Kelly's house and I woke up at 2 in the morning to her sitting on my chest staring at me. As I refrained from making any sudden movements and she glared me down in the darkness of the night I realized that my interview process had begun. (Meanwhile Kelly's other cat Felix spent the next 5 visits pooping on my socks. His interview methods were slightly unorthodox.) Now, a few years later, I think I can safely say I was accepted. 

Dogs are very loyal and very open about it, but thats not to say that cats aren't either. And if you don't believe me, let me tell you about a cat named "Unsinkable Sam"...

Unsinkable Sam (originally Oscar) was a cat on board the German vessel Bismarck. When the Bismarck was sunk, Sam was picked up by the HMS Cossack. When the Cossack was sunk, he was picked up by HMS Ark Royal. When The HMS Ark Royal was sunk he lived with the Governor of Gibraltar and then eventually made his way back to England and lived in a sailor house. This cat survived 3 ship attacks and multiple battles. And he isn't the only one, there are tons of others!

Cats were treated like crew members on board. They were given rank, their own kit, entered in the Ship's Log, and even given their own hammocks to sleep in. Don't believe me? Check em out:

Unknown of the HMAS Nizam

Saipan of the USS New Mexico

Unknown of the HMS Eagle

Sarah of the HMS Shropshire

Convoy of the HMS Hermione

Unknown of the HMAS Kanimbla

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is what we call overwhelming evidence. Adorable evidence at that. All of these pictures come from the Imperial War Museum and I got them from a cool website called Purr n' Fur. Check them out for a very complete history of cats during wartime.

Sailors aboard war vessels always traditionally had cats on board. In fact, it used to be a requirement for French vessels to carry two cats at all times. Cats were used for rodent control in the stores and also for companionship. Cats and seafarers have always had a strong connection and they continue to do so. Pick up a few books about people sailing through the Caribbean or Pacific, I can almost guarantee they have a feline pilot aboard. 

Do you have any cool stories? Email me or post something in the comments below.

Water is Life.

Brett

Sheer Plan Lofted Due to Sheer Luck!

Puns are gross. Sorry.

So on Sunday my friend came over (Austin) with my other friend (beer) and the lofting process began....

Well, a lot of talking happened, but the basic lofting of the sheer plan happened which is a successful step in the right direction.

Truly, the sheer plan is the only thing I need to loft the Banks Dory... Curious? here's why:

Lofting enables you to have a life-sized set of plans in order to get angles and measurements 'real-time' as opposed to using a much smaller scale to go off of. If you were to expand those small scaled angles and such to full sized, the margin of error dramatically increases. Boat builders find their most useful information from the lofting operation in the creation of the waterlines. Waterlines are curvy lines in the lines plan that create the hydodynamicness (is that a word? it is now, ha!) of the hull. Anyways, it was really hard for the builders to fabricate these, so the plans were laid out and a long wooden batten would connect all the points to form the curve. Then the builders would 'pick-up' lines from the lofting floor. In short-speak, they made giant templates and used it to cut out the shapes from the wood.

So in a roundabout way, here is why the Banks Dory does not necessarily rely on this process. The Banks Dory does not get its 'waterlines' (not truly waterlines, if you want to know, email me, I don't want to bore everyone to death) from a plan. Her waterlines are dictated by the width of the planking material and the angle of the futtocks. Still lost? What makes the Banks Dory so simple is that her planking doesn't get steamed or twisted but simply bent over the natural curve of the frame. This creates her natural sheer and beautiful lines.

So that's why I don't technically need to loft the profile or half-breadth view. I still will, mainly because it will allow me to calculate the different bevels such as the strakes to the stem, garboard to the bottom, etc.

Now, what is necessary, is the sheer plan. This is a simple drawing, and with my dory, a very functional one. Since there is a set of futtocks at every station, then every station marked in the sheer plan ends up being a template for the futtocks. Pretty neat right? The Banks dory really uses the lines plan to her advantage, simplifying it in some ways, using it to the fullest in others.

Sheer Plan and most boring picture in the world

Enough about the lofting, let me clue you in a little on the logistical side of the house. So far, I have spent $50 on my dory. That was for a sheet of 4'x 8' plywood, 3 2"x4"s, a nice new t-square, and a carpenter's speed triangle. This is but a smidgeon of what I expect her to cost in the long run, especially when I cover her in silk and gold-leaf (kidding, unless there is a generous donor out there.) I will post receipts shortly, so y'all can quietly audit me throughout the process. Note on the quietly.

Spiffy has been begging me for a spot on the blog...

Also, I am having to come to a decision point on where I am to build this lady. I have 3 friends with garage offers, Austin, Seth, and Jocie. I am very thankful to them and their donation and I will gladly accept their offer when needed. There have been some other recent developments and one of my professors suggested that I ask another professor if my school could spare me a space. This would be another excellent option because then my fellow Maritime Studies students can use this as a a type of 'living history' project and write papers and all that jazz. Third option is that I approach a landlord in the Galveston Historic Strand area and ask them if they would be willing to loan me their property for a short time, then that way they could have an attraction to get people to lease the property. Who knows? I'm excited to see where this goes. There are so many options that it makes my head spin, sometimes it becomes really hard to decide what to do and what not to do. But, as my Dad puts it, "...ya I know it's hard when you are young and you have so many choices and you don't know what to do, but it's a hell of a lot harder being my age, having no choices, and still not knowing what to do..."


I will keep everyone informed, this should be an exciting week. I will find out about a space, I check out lumber tomorrow, and hopefully 'move-in' somewhere and finish the lofting. If you like what you see, have questions, or just wanna bug me,
email me at: LindellBC@gmail.com

Tell your friends!

fair winds, strong rum, sharp knives, dry socks, hot coffee,

~Brett~