Chapter VIII: How We Made a Christmas Ship

BY C. STANSFELD-HICKS, Author of _Yacht and Canoe Building_, &c., &c.

‘What shall we do to amuse the boys?’ was the question asked at a friend’s house. ‘They are tired of Christmas trees, and it is so difficult to think of anything new.’

‘Well,’ I suggested, ‘why not have a Christmas ship?’

A Christmas ship! We never heard of such a thing! What is it?’

And this was the commencement of the planning and building of the vessel in question. To commence was a comparatively easy matter, but before she was finished and ready for her cargo the shipbuilders got rather weary. But you see they had to do everything for the first time, and with little or no previous experience. By attention to the details given in this chapter, those who go in for this Christmas ship will get on faster than we did, profiting by our experience, and not having to retrace their steps and do things over again, which was often the case with us in our first attempt.

When all was finished, the ship, as she appeared in the library, was an extremely pretty sight, her long black hull illumined by the light from the open ports, through which was caught a glimpse of her main deck with its fittings. Around her extended a very realistic sea, ruffled in miniature waves, and far above, towering over the heads of the young people present, were her lofty masts with their complicated rigging. Some of the sails were set, while others were stowed on the yards. Deep down in her hold were most of the presents, while many others were suspended from her yards and rigging, which too were lighted up with small coloured lanterns.

Everything had been kept a profound secret until the library door was thrown open to the guests, and the Christmas ship, glowing with her illuminations and crammed full of presents, stood before them. Such was her capacity, that, although there were some thirty or forty young people ready and eager to plunder her, it was not until they had made three successive raids on the goods and cargo that the hold was declared to be empty, and even then in some of its recesses there still remained a few unappropriated gifts. And now to the details of her construction.

The first operation is to make the frame or stand. This is shown in Fig. 2 and Fig. 3, as well as in the sketch of the ship complete. It is marked H H H H in Fig. 3. The size of the stand will of course entirely depend on the size you intend making the ship, but it should be in about the same proportion to the hull of the vessel as is shown in the diagram (Fig. 2). If the ship is to be 5 ft. long and 3 ft. wide, the stand should be 8 ft. long. You will require two pieces of 11-in. deal plank, 3/4 in. thick, and a short piece about 3 ft. long, which will be used as follows. For the hold of the ship you must get a suitable box, which may be obtained from the grocer. An old currant or biscuit box will do. We used a Florence oil case, which answered very well with the V end turned down and the bottom taken off (see Fig. 6). Fig. 7 shows the manner in which the boards for the stand are arranged round the box. A is the box, B an 11-in. board with a slot about 2 in. deep cut to fit the box. C is a similar board the other side, and D D are two filling pieces placed between the long boards to fill up the space left at either end of the box. A couple of cross pieces may be placed at the dotted lines to secure the frame together. The top of the box is left flush with the upper edge of the stand.

In Fig. 3 the dotted line shows the outline of the box. When the stand is made and put together, the simplest plan to adopt is to take any large packing case which the stand will cover, by about a foot at each end and a few inches at the sides, and nail the stand down on this case. A block of wood must then be put under where the box for the hold comes, of sufficient thickness to keep this box up just flush with the top of the stand, and when the block is nailed down the box can be screwed to it. No fastening will be necessary at the top, as the stand should fit all round it too closely to prevent it working. Care should be taken that there are no nails or splinters inside the box, or when the presents are being taken out some one’s fingers may suffer. It is a good plan to glue some smooth thick wrapping paper over the inside of the box after it is screwed down.

The sides of the ship, which are only the height of the vessel above water, can be made of thick cardboard. Millboard will do, but it cracks easily. The shape of the side having been cut out, a couple of lines must be marked within which the ports are to be cut. The lower edge of the port should be about two inches above the water-line, and the ports themselves two inches high and three wide, the whole height of the vessel’s side out of water amidships being about 6-1/2 inches (this is for a 5 ft. ship), while at the bow it will be an inch or so higher and half an inch at the stern (see Fig. 1). In cutting the ports you will find a sharp chisel the best tool to use, particularly if you are operating on thick millboard. When the ports are cut out the pieces of millboard cut away will do for port lids (see Fig. 10). A is the ship’s side, B the port lid, which is hinged on to the upper port sill by a piece of calico D D, glued on; C is the tricing line for raising or lowering the port. Fig. 9 shows the battens (A A). These are about an inch high and three-quarters thick; they are screwed down on the stand just inside the line the side of the ship will take, and serve to secure the lower part of the ship’s side by glue or screws; or another batten can be run outside the ship’s side--the two battens taking one side of the ship between them, and this is the stronger plan. The deck should be made of a stout piece of deal board, about three-quarter-inch; it must be strong, as it serves to bind the whole fabric together, and the sides are none too strong. This deck is the upper deck, the main deck being formed by that part of the stand inside the vessel’s hull, and the main hatchway being the box. The deck must be placed just at the top of the line of ports (see A A in Fig. 8), so as to leave room between the two decks, and also to leave a bulwark all round the upper deck. The stern may be made of a piece of deal an inch thick, shaped as Fig. 11. Fig. 12 shows the section and the way the edges are bevelled off at A A. The bows can be fastened together by screws or glue, to a wedge-shaped piece of wood put between them (see Fig. 13). C is a triangular block of wood shaped to suit the vessel’s lines, B B the millboard sides, A is a piece of millboard or wood shaped as Fig. 14. The part A A goes between the sides which terminate at the line B B, shown in Fig. 8. The hook B is formed by a piece of wire inserted into the end of the knee of the head, and is used to hang a small figure for a figure-head. Those little plaster angels which have a small wire eye between the wings from which they are generally suspended by elastic, are the most suitable, as the wings fit on either side of the bowsprit, and the figure looks very well.

The most effective part of the affair has now to be described, and that is the way the hold is lighted up. Fig. 2 shows this. A is a common paraffin lamp, with say a three-quarter inch burner (though an inch is better); L is a tin reflector so fitted as to throw the light downward and forward toward the bow; at K is a strong partition to secure the lamp from being upset or damaged while the hold is being pulled about for presents; M M shows the line of the main deck, opening from which is the box P. The rays from this lamp light up the whole length forward of the main deck, and, if the ports are open, send a bright radiance from them through the room.

The upper deck must be fitted with a hatchway of sufficient size just over the box which constitutes the hold, and this hatchway must be so placed that every part of the box can be reached through it even by a small child. The ports may be made to open and shut simultaneously by bringing all the tricing lines into one hauling part, which on being pulled hauls up all the ports at once. This is very effective if the ports fit well, as the room can be darkened, and the ports being suddenly hauled up, the whole interior of the ship is shown brightly illuminated.

The fittings for the lamp on the upper deck have next to be considered. The principal part is the funnel, which can be made of an old canister by cutting it down where soldered together, reducing it to the required diameter and boring holes along the lapping and lacing it together up the side. This is better than soldering, as the heat of the lamp cannot affect the joint. The lower ends of the tube are cut and opened out as at Fig. 4, and a kind of tin washer is cut out (Fig. 5), the inner circle just being large enough to slip over the funnel, but being stopped by the lower ends. The outside circumference of the washer must be large enough to cover these ends. By screwing the washer down on the upper deck, having previously slipped the funnel through it, the funnel is firmly fixed in position, the rake being determined by the way in which the lower ends are cut. To further steady the funnel and make a neat job, a small bridge is cut out of another tin canister or piece of sheet-tin or zinc, as at Fig. 4, B B. This may be made of any suitable width and pierced with a hole in the centre to pass it over the funnel; it is then bent down to the required curve, the ends joining the bulwarks and fitting in the upper deck. A light rail may be fitted, as shown in the elevation, or if the tin is cut as Fig. 4A the side pieces A A can be bent up to form a rail. This bridge may be painted with japan black, which can also be used for those parts of the vessel which require to be painted black.

The partition K (Fig. 2) must be made to remove, working in slides, so that the reservoir of the lamp, by taking off the chimney, can be got out for filling and trimming; the chimney is got off by pushing it up the funnel far enough to clear the lamp.

It will have a good effect if a poop and topgallant forecastle are fitted, as in Fig. 8. C is the poop and D the forecastle. These decks can be made of millboard, and light strips of wood are glued along inside the rail or bulwark, the top of which comes about half an inch short of the top of the rail. The small deck is then placed so as to rest on these strips; it can be fitted with a rail as shown, or not, as the builder decides.

The sea is made of green glazed calico, which must be large enough to cover the stand and hang over all round, touching the floor and concealing the rough stand and its supports. A long slit is made in the centre line of the calico, to pass it over the ship’s hull, and it is then glued along the ship’s sides before they are painted, care being taken that this is carefully done, no rucks or puckers being left. The waves are made by rolls of thin paper introduced here and there, under the calico and glued to the stand, and wherever a wave crest appears the calico is touched up with white paint, and if this is artistically done the effect is very good.

The sides of the ship are now painted black, and if the calico comes far up on the side, it must be painted over and considered as part of the vessel’s side; but along the water-line there should be a certain amount of undulation indicated by the paint, and at the bows and here and there along the side, a little white paint must be put, to show the broken water and foam, while the vessel’s wake should also be indicated by lines of foam diverging at an angle from the course of the ship. Copper may be shown by a copper-red just at the bow and stern along the water, but all black will do very well. The streak containing the ports should be painted white, the outside of the ports black, and the inside red.

The rigging will now have attention. The masts may be made in only two pieces; the topmasts, topgallant masts, and royals being all in one. The lower masts should be rather stout, and can be made of common deal; they must be firmly stepped in blocks secured below for their reception, and the mainmast must be so placed as not to unduly interfere with the hold being got at. The rigging and spars and sails of a ship are given in full with diagrams in other articles in this volume, and need not be repeated here.

The character of the rigging and the number of sails set must depend on the ideas of the builder. The ship may be made at anchor, to save trouble, with all her sails stowed, and a good effect can be easily produced by furling the sails, as is the case with the lower yards in the first illustration. Any rough piece of canvas the proper size will do for this. The ends are made fast to the yardarms, the corners are then folded behind (away from the bows) to the middle of the sail, in order to make a bunt, and the sail rolled up and secured to the yard by lashings of thread or string.

To look well, the sail when stowed should be much larger in the roll at the middle and diminish off to nothing at the ends.

Those stays which it is intended to suspend lamps from should be of wire, and the topgallant yards, if used for a similar purpose, should also be of wire, and if the yardarms are used for this purpose short pieces of thick wire should be lashed to them.

When all is ready, to allow of free access to the hold without damaging the sails or rigging, it is best to brace the head yards sharp up and the main yards aback. This is shown in Fig. 15. By doing this a sufficient space is left on one side of the ship. A A is the fore-and-aft line of the vessel, B the fore yard, C main yard, showing the space B C. D is the mizen trimmed in the same way as the fore yard. The ship would then be ‘hove-to,’ which is an almost stationary position adopted when speaking another vessel or waiting for a boat, etc.--in this case for her Christmas visitors.

I do not think any explanation will be necessary as to the presents. The smaller ones, whatever they are, can be just mixed up together in the hold, and if there are any of a superior character, they can be very well fixed in various places in the rigging.

The Christmas ship in which I had a hand was well found in boats, anchors, cannon, etc., all of which were distributed among the boys of the party. In conclusion, I can only hope that, should you decide to build such a vessel, it may prove a source of amusement to yourselves and gratification to your friends, and no doubt very many will be only too anxious to learn when the good ship Santa Claus is likely to arrive.