INSTRUCTION MANUAL
BLUENOSE
Canadian Fishing Schooner
1921
Model by Bob Evans
MODEL PLANS AND INSTRUCTIONS BY BEN LANKFORD
ASSISTED BY ERIK A.R. RONNBERG, JR.
Model Shipways developed the Bluenose kit in 1996. The model is based on several sources. In 1961,
John R. Stevens pr
epared plans for the Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.
He modified Roué’s original hull lines to include more forward sheer. This change, made during the
construction of
Bluenose, gave the lower deck more headroom. Stevens’ lines were checked against a
similar set prepared by the late Howard Chapelle and now in the Smithsonian Institution. Sail plan
and spar dimensions are based on Roué’s 1922 sail plan and those taken from the ship
during her racing career.
Stevens’ deck plan was modified to agree with photographs of the ship. Ironwork and other rigging
details are based on photographs taken during
Bluenose’s racing and fishing career, and on contempo-
rary fishing schooner practice. Details in a Lunenburg Foundry parts catalog supplemented some
photos. The foundry still manufacturers marine equipment.
Drawings are used with permission from the Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic.
Historian and modelbuilder Erik A. R. Ronnberg, Jr., of Rockport, Massachusetts, served as consul-
tant. He provided considerable data from his personal
Bluenose research papers and photographs.
Ronnberg assisted in searching for photo details and reviewed the drawings for technical and histori-
cal accuracy
. Regarding Model Shipways’ development of the
B
luenose
plans, he states:
“Bluenose has long been a favorite modeling subject with no sign of her popularity fading. For this
r
eason, one would expect knowledge of the vessel to be extensive and accurate plans available. This
was not the case. Changes to the schooner
’s hull wer
e ignor
ed, while fittings, deck machinery
, and
rigging hardware were assumed to be just like her New England counterparts.
“Ben Lankfor
d’s r
esear
ch and examination of photographs r
evealed dif
fer
ences in virtually every detail,
from how the woodwork was finished to rigging leads. Consequently, Model Shipways’ plans show a
dif
fer
ent
B
luenose
, one that accurately r
eflects the practices and traditions of her Canadian builders.”
Erik A.R.Ronnberg, Jr.
Copyright 1997
Model Shipways, A Division of Model Expo Inc.
Hollywood, FL 33020
4
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