The National Maritime Museum in Greenwich houses the largest collection of scale ship models in the world. Many of the models are official, contemporary artifacts made by the craftsmen of the Royal Navy or the shipbuilders themselves, ranging from the mid-seventeenth century to the present day. As such they represent a three-dimensional archive of unique importance and authority. Treated as historical evidence, they offer more detail than even the best plans, and demonstrate exactly what the ships looked like in a way that even the finest marine painter could not achieve. Now available in paperback, this book tells the story of the evolution of the cruising ship under sail. It includes a large number of model photos all in full-color as well as close-up and detail views. These are captioned in depth, but many are also annotated to focus attention on interesting or unusual features. Although pictorial in emphasis, The Sailing Frigate weaves the pictures into an authoritative text, producing an unusual and attractive form of technical history. While the series will be of particular interest to ship modelers, all those with an interest in ship design and development will be attracted to the in-depth analysis of these beautifully presented books.

“Brings Ough’s life and work beautifully to light in a volume rich in photographs, drawings, technical detail and personality.”—Schopenhauer’s Workshop Norman Ough is considered by many as simply the greatest ship modeler of the twentieth century and his exquisite drawings and meticulous models have come to be regarded as masterpieces of draughtsmanship, workmanship and realism; more than technically accomplished ship models, they are truly works of art. This new book is both a tribute to his lonely genius and a practical treatise for model shipwrights. Ough lived most of his adult life far from the sea in a flat high above the Charing Cross Road in London, where his frugal existence and total absorption in his work led to hospitalization on at least two occasions; he was an eccentric in the truest sense but he also became one of the most sought-after masters of his craft. Earl Mountbatten had him model the ships he had served on; his model of HMS Queen Elizabeth was presented to Earl Beatty; film production companies commissioned models for effects in several films. Incorporating many of his original articles from Model Maker Magazine, his detailed line drawings now kept in the Brunel Institute, and photographs of his models held in museums and at Mountbatten’s house, this book presents an inspiring panorama of perhaps the most perfect warship models ever made. “An amazing, almost intimidating view of the method, modelling, drawings, and a life of a builder so obsessed with his work that some may say he was a man who went down with his ships.”—FineScale Modeler

The dory has seen duty as a fishing boat, lumberman's batteau, lifeboat, recreational rowing boat, and racing sailboat. The most comprehensive book about dories ever published, this is at once a history of the dory, a practical handbook on dory building, and a compendium of 23 dory designs with full construction details. The author, a longtime contributor to National Fisherman, and the illustrator, Sam Manning, are perhaps the foremost experts on the subject. A steady stream of letters and photographs to the late John Gardner from successful dory builders worldwide has been testimony to the widespread popularity and influence of this book.

The skipjack is one of the best working boats. Now Steve Rogers offers a guide for building a model skipjack, leading the craftsperson step-by-step through the process. The result is a beautiful boat in full sail. The model is in 1/2" scale, based on a skipjack that is 45 feet on deck with a 15 foot beam. Drawings, patterns, jigs, and accessories are all detailed. Everything is illustrated in clear color photographs.