Vol. 64, No. 4 winter 2019 324


5. T e Godspeed model on display at St. John’s Lutheran Church, Mamaroneck, NewYork. Prior to the ceremony to suspend it permanently in the sanctuary raſt ers, the detailed model was on display for the congregation in a protective case.


Godspeed is an accurate reproduction of the fi rst four-masted commercial sailing schooner launched in 1894 in Bath, Maine. It was one of dozens of commercial ships built in Maine during the late nineteenth to early twentieth century. This era was the early industrial revolution and sea-lanes along America’s east coast were buzzing with commerce among the major population centers. St John’s Lutheran church is located in close proximity to a small harbor inlet on Long Island Sound, New York.


A well-designed model kit fi t the bill, perfectly


To create the model of Godspeed, I chose the highly regarded plank-on-bulkhead kit from manufacturer Bluejacket, Inc. of Searsport, Maine, of Charles P. Notman, a 1:96-scale Down East schooner, also referred to as “old number one.” The load waterline length of the historic Charles P. Notman, now


6. The Godspeed nave model is a replica of a 19th-century commercial sailing schooner. The ship is 42 inches long, has seventeen set sails and is suspended twenty feet above the pews.


Godspeed, was 219.6 feet. This kit was selected for several reasons. First and foremost, even at 1:96-scale, this is one of the largest, high-quality kits available, with an overall length of forty-two inches. Importantly, the model did not require the extended timeframe entailed in a scratch-build. An eight-month build time was the target for delivery to my client and it was met without undue anxiety, including my fi rst attempt at creating a full suit of sixteen fore-and-aft rigged silkspan paper sails. Secondly, and also importantly, I wanted a model that was a commercial vessel native to the Atlantic seaboard. The fact that I could assign an original name that was more in keeping with where the model would be displayed was also considered. In my judgment, a large-scale warship model was an inappropriate subject and, thus, out of the running from the beginning of early discussions with Pastor Marvin Henk, who wholeheartedly agreed with my model choice.


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