The St. Louis Admirals R/C Model Boat Club

UU http://stlouisadmirals.comUU BROADSIDE

25 April 2016

Commodore – Jane Rivers (636) 447-4016 Secretary – Bob Keeler (314) 434-8640 HH Vice-Commodore – Dave St. Clair (636) 671-5353 Treasurer – George Kirby (636) 978-6288

Editor – Jane Rivers (636) 447-4016

NOW HEAR THIS

FROM THE BRIDGE

We had an interesting meeting on the 4th of April, and I believe sellers and purchasers at our Swap meet were happy. I just received information from Russ Wick and we will not be part of the Ballwin Days this year. The person who was in charge has been transferred and Russ will provide us with more information later. I hope everyone is enjoying the beautiful weather and hope to see each of you and your guests

at the picnic on 15 May -- start time 1200 until? Please bring your food and beverages, and some to share if you like. Please note that there are no vending machines close by; however, there is a Culver’s at the corner entrance to the park. I am sure many of you are looking forward to seeing your boats on the water at this start of our new season.

NOTES Attention: Next Meeting 2 May, 2016. Prior to dinner, sailing at St Ferdinand Park, Florissant, MO – weather permitting. Dinner set for 5:00 PM at Applebee’s, 2309 N Highway 67, Florissant, MO 63033, followed by our 7:00 PM meeting at St. Stephens Church, 33 N. Clay Ave, Ferguson, MO 63135. Sailing at St Ferdinand Park -- weather permitting -- third Sunday every month, March thru November. Jane, Commodore ≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈

Tentative 2016 Meetings Events

June 6, 2016 May 15, 2016 12PM - ? Picnic - St Ferdinand Park, Florissant, Mo

July 11, 2016 ALTON LOCK & DAM June 18, 2016

August 8, 2016 REGATTA Sept 24 & 25, 2016 September 12, 2016

October 3, 2016 November 7, 2016 December 5, 2016

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Report from the Treasurer Membership Dues Please take note of the following: Dues for new members will be prorated on a per-month-basis -- based on the beginning of May 1st dues. Please make checks for dues (no cash) in the amount of $30.00, payable to: “St Louis Admirals R/C Model Boat Club.” If you want a hard copy of the newsletter mailed to you, please add $10.00 for postage and printing. Please send checks to:

George Kirby 1146 Alyssa Ct O’Fallon, MO 63366 Thank you. George Kirby

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Report from the Secretary 4 April 2016 Meeting Minutes

Call to Order

Commodore Jane Rivers opened the meeting at 1910 hours at St. Stephens Episcopal Church in Ferguson with the pledge of allegiance led by Dave St. Clair. There were 10 members present.

Boating Items of Interest

A. Boat building activities/ acquisitions: • Greg Rocklage is still working on the SS Admiral.

• Bob Keeler is working with the Shipcrafters Group building a static display 1/24th scale of the Civil War

Ironclad USS St Louis.

B. Commodore Jane thanked Jeff Jones for his article on adding sound to his PT boat which appeared in the March Broadside. She would like more reports from members regarding building their boats (in work or already built).

C. Commodore Jane and Michael Benefield visited a meeting of the St. Louis Shipcrafters.

• Commodore Jane is considering to incorporate their newsletter with the Admirals newsletter. She requested permission to combine the two newsletters into one which would make her job easier. George Kirby made a motion to combine both newsletters by adding a page to Broadside for Shipcrafters news. Gary Harmon seconded motion which was passed.

• Luther Disher made a motion that the Broadside format would not be changed except for adding the St.

Louis Shipcrafters page. Dave St. Clair seconded the motion and it was passed.

D. It was suggested that the business portion of the meeting be limited to 30 minutes and the rest of the time be

for discussing and displaying boats both built and in work (the fun stuff). E. The club picnic will be May 15 at Ferdinand Park in conjunction with the third Sunday boating schedule. F. The 40th annual Model Ships & Boats Contest will be held at the Wisconsin Maritime Museum in

Manitowoc, Wisconsin on May 20-22, 2016. G. Commodore Jane received an email from Jennifer Vaughn from an organization called Neighborhood

Houses which sponsors a summer camp for kids from 5-12 in south St. Louis. Their theme this summer is “Anchors Aweigh” and takes place from June 6-10. They would like us to participate. Commodore Jane will contact Jennifer for more details. There is some interest in helping out.

Report from Homeport

A. Status of Club Members: Russ Wick will be back for May meeting. B. Secretary’s Report: The March minutes were published in Broadside newsletter. Motion to approve

minutes as printed was made by Dave St. Clair, seconded by Dave Dickey and passed. Also the applications for insurance for Great Rivers Day at Alton Lock and Dam, Ballwin Days and Green Tree Festival in Kirkwood has been sent. In preparing the application I noticed that the wrong dates were on our insurance for 2016. I’ve contacted Gary Dickinson SSMA Insurance Director to have that corrected. Check to see if your SSMA is due for renewal. Note new Membership Director: Lee Stewart, SSMA Clubs/Membership Director, 7325 176th Street SW, Edmonds, WA 98026

C. Treasurer’s Report: George Kirby gave the financial status

Fleet Information

A. Green Tree Festival in Kirkwood: Bob Keeler contacted Fred Burke about participating and he said it was

an open invitation to participate every year. He suggested that I attend a meeting of the Green Tree planning group which I did on March 23. There were about 15 people there. Each with some responsibility

to report on, yet the meeting only took about 30 minutes. They seemed like a great group to work with. The Green Tree Festival will be September.

B. Russ Wick was not present to report on participating in Ballwin Days Festival on June 9-12. (We plan to

participate on Sunday, June 12.) C. The Great Rivers Festival will be on June 18, 2016. Bob Keeler has sent in the application and requested a

location next to the stream.

D. The 2016 Regatta: Bob Keeler: The 2016 Regatta is scheduled for September 24-25. Kent Morgan is preparing the flyers with applications. We are starting to work on the award plaques.

E. Hobby Town in Ballwin has closed.

F. Commodore Jane has club shirts for $10.00 each.

Raffle

The winners for gift cards to Mark Twain Hobby Center were Gary Harmon and Jane Rivers. Show and Tell

Paul Kirby showed two cardboard ship models; USS Nimitz aircraft carrier and a submarine that appeared in the movie Crimson Tide. This also brought up memories of cereal box models produced by Lionel during WW II.

Notes

Before and after the business meeting, the swap meet which had been postponed from the November 2015 meeting was held.

The next meeting will be May 2, 2016. The meeting was adjourned at 1942.

Respectfully submitted, Bob Keeler *************************************************** *************************************************** *

FOR SALE – Chris Craft 30” and 36” For additional information please contact Bob Schwarze at 314-704-2222

Bill Kammermeyer, President Howie Smith, Sec’y 636 230-3921 314-837-5653

Gateway Model Shipcrafter's

Meeting: April 20, 2016

Gather at 6:30 p.m. Meeting begins at 7:00 p.m.

ATTENTION: ST. LOUIS SHIP MODELERS

We are a small group of static display ship modelers and maritime enthusiasts ranging from novices and beginning kit assemblers through experienced scratch builders and collectors. Our informal meetings are conducted one evening per month, usually rotating between the homes of several of our members who possess fairly comprehensive modeling workshops in the suburbs of St. Louis. This permits extensive member “hands-on” modeling activity and demonstrations of new techniques and tools.

We offer complimentary assessment and repair of any damaged ship models which are intended for personal display. Members are encouraged to bring and share their modeling projects and experiences.

All interested modelers are invited to attend. For more information and/or inclusion on the Shipcrafters meeting notice roster, please call or email: Bill Kammermeyer (636) 230-3921 – President (Email: argonne7@sbcglobal.net) -- or -- Howie Smith, Secretary (314) 837-5653.

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Ironclad Project

In addition to providing support of our individual Shipcrafter’s personal ship modeling projects we have encouraged all members to participate in larger club managed group projects which may be beyond the capability of any individual modeler. One such example of this is our “Ironclad Project” which will scratch build a plank-on-frame model of the “USS St. Louis” which began in September 2014 and is expected to continue into 2017. "USS St. Louis" History

The "USS St. Louis" was a steam powered, stern wheel casement "City Class" gunboat built by James Eads in Carondelet, Missouri for the Union War Department, launched on 12 October 1861 and subsequently attached to Rear Admiral Foote's squadron of the Western Gunboat Fleet. After several engagements on the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers she was renamed the "USS Baron DeKalb" and transferred to the Navy Department in October 1862. Over her career she fought in 18 actions in 19 months until sunk on the Yazoo River in Mississippi in July 1863 by a Confederate mine. The actual “USS St. Louis” is illustrated below.

Ironclad Project Background

Informal discussions between the Gateway Model Shipcrafters and Mark Trout, Exec. Dir-Chairman of the Missouri Civil War Museum (MCWM) in St. Louis, Missouri revealed we had a common interest in providing and displaying a Civil War ironclad model in the museum. Originally the thought was to use the National Park Service (NPS) set of plans to scratch build a 1:48 scale model of the "USS Cairo".

However further discussions indicated the museums' desire for a larger, more ambitious model with direct connections to the St. Louis area and in particular to the US Army since the MCWM is located at the Historic Jefferson Barrack's site near the Mississippi River. Therefore, agreement was reached for the Shipcrafters to build a 1:24 scale model of the "USS St. Louis", City-Class sister ship of the "USS Cairo" by using the NPS plans and incorporating any unique differences between the two that we could find.

Since the "USS St. Louis" was originally built for and operated by the Union Army until renamed "USS Baron DeKalb" and transferred to the Navy’s Western Gunboat Flotilla in October 1862, the ironclads' configuration at the time of this transfer was selected for our model. Model Configuration

Although the NPS plans provide a rare detailed basis for reproducing a faithful model of a "City Class" ironclad, it was immediately apparent that certain construction aspects were either omitted or are in error, probably attributed to the challenging "USS Cairo" recovery and salvage efforts after 100 years being submerged in the muddy waters of the Yazoo river where she was sunk by a Confederate mine in 1863. The NPS Historic Structural Report (HSR) helps considerably by reproducing the original construction specifications and Eads' "as-built" dimensions for “City-Class” ironclads.

Museum display of this large 7.5-foot-long, 1:24 scale plank-on-frame model offers a rare opportunity to include a significant amount of detail not normally possible at the smaller scales of models built for personal display. It also enhances the possibility of detecting and resolving issues with ship construction and operational handling thru further evaluation and research. Since little has been documented on the "USS St. Louis" as compared to its more famous “City Class” sister ship "USS Cairo", numerous assumptions and conjectures were found to be necessary to complete this model and therefore these will remain open for confirmation or refutation in light of further research and discussion.

We have also committed to the Nautical Research Guild (NRG) our intent to document the results of our “City Class” ironclad research for use by all interested model builders. To our knowledge this will be the only 1:24 scale, plank-on-frame model of the ironclad "USS St. Louis" currently on public display.

Last, but not least, this Ironclad Project will attempt to document our experiment on "How a diverse group of amateur modeling enthusiasts with varying experience, skills, and shop capabilities can participate and receive personal gratification from creating a product that is deserving of display in a museum?" “USS St. Louis” Ironclad Construction Timeline and Project Status

Oct-Dec 2014: Established model quality criteria & an initial construction plan, including a “Sequence of Construction” and prospective interested Shipcrafter participants and identified the location for the model assembly. Developed assembly jigs and procedures for fabrication of the 60 common lower hull full and half frames. Further reviewed and refined the potential list of features to be incorporated into the model as desired by the MCWM.

Jan-Mar 2015: Completed fabrication of the 80” x 30” model transportation dolly and construction platform with the NPS lower hull framing drawing secured to its top for accurate build up. Acquired bulk hard maple stock and further resized it to the required scale timber sizes for the keels and lower hull frame members of the model. Reassessed existing NPS drawings and available data to identify areas of further research necessary to achieve our desired model accuracy. Located and secured the 3 keels to the construction platform and began construction of the 60

common frames, each consisting of 14 to 16 individual timbers. Assembled frames were located, glued and tree-nailed to the keels as they were completed.

Apr-Oct 2015: Developed dimensional tables for the 17 individual timbers required for each of the remaining 55 unique lower hull full & half frames and developed adjustable jigs for their fabrication. Created assembly procedures and began construction. After thorough research, created corrected TurboCad drawings for the 5 different types of cannon barrels which will be used to machine the 14 guns required for our “USS St. Louis” model.

Nov-Dec 2015: Developed drawings for, and fabricated the stem & stern posts and 8 bow & 4 stern” cant” frames. Used auxiliary locating templates to “dry-fit” these items on the ends of the lower hull structure.

Jan-Feb 2016: Acquired and further sized hard maple bulk stock as required for the major interior longitudinal lower hull scale timbers; including the main, port, starboard and 4 bilge keelsons, the three-member gun deck clamps, and the engine & paddlewheel blocks. Temporary internal bracing was secured to the hull and it was inverted and re-secured to the construction platform for installation of exterior lower surfaces between the keels and planking of the lower chine.

Mar-To Date Status: Recently the exterior surfaces of the lower chine structure have been aligned and shimmed where necessary and beveled to provide a true surface for the exterior planking. Meanwhile a separate construction platform has been completed for buildup of the upper (Hurricane) deck structure as a subassembly which will later be located and secured to the lower hull. Lower-hull progress to date illustrated below.

Future Activity: When lower chine planking is complete the model will be reverted to its upright position and the gun deck installation will begin. In addition, we have a total of 9 Shipcrafters, some working separately, responsible for various aspects of the model including such items as research, boilers & firebox, waterway chute, cannon barrel machining, paddlewheel, steam engines, and representative crew figures. Each of these areas will be phased in as the basic model structure reaches the appropriate stage of completion.

The final display configuration at the Missouri Civil War Museum facility is still under consideration, however construction of the model has now reached a stage where that day can be confidently visualized and is looked forward to with renewed enthusiasm. *************************************************** ********************************************

Jane Rivers 25 Treebeard Circle Saint Charles, MO 63303

PLEASE SUPPORT OUR ADVERTISERS

Swap Meet – (1) Luther Disher and Dave Dickey, (2) Greg Rocklage, Phil Frisch, Bob Keeler, Gary Harmon, (3) Dave Dickey, Dave St Clair, Phil Frisch, (4) Michael Benefield, Gary Harmon Greg Rocklage Bob Keeler (5) George Kirby, Dave St Clair, Paul Kirby

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