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Building the Radio Controlled model of the Denis Sullivan
a
replica of a three mast Great Lakes schooner
In 2000 I became a member of the
Wisconsin Scale Boat Association to learn how to build a
radio -controlled model of a great lakes schooner. I wanted
to build a model of a three masted Schooner Henry A Kent
(similar to the Moonlight), Dundee, S. H. Foster,
etc. vessels that my grandfather Captain Daniel
Charles Sullivan had sailed on when he was a master on the
Great Lakes in the late 1800's. Plans were available for
similar static models such as the Lucia Simpson and
Challenge but these were designed for display not for
operation. I opted to build a model of the Denis Sullivan
since it was a replica of the old schooners and was designed
to sail.
Since I have never owned a boat, never
learned to sail and had only been a passenger on the real
Denis Sullivan once, I had a lot to learn about model
building and R. C. sailing. I had completed a R. C. model
from the MidWest kit of the Jim Wilder tug so I had some
minimal experience building an RC model. I am also a
volunteer member of the Wisconsin Marine Historical Society
where I was able to obtain much of my reference material
from the files and other members. That coupled with 45
years as a Professional Engineer I thought would allow me to
take on the challenge.
I contacted Timothy Kraul Marine Design
in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin and they sent me a set of plans
of the Denis Sullivan. The scale of 3/8"= 1' 0"(1/32
scale) was selected so that the finished model would fit in
the back seat of my car. At that scale I also felt I would
have room in the hull for mounting of radio control, servos,
motors, batteries, etc. During the construction of the model
I used photos lent to me by Pier Wisconsin, photos that I
was able to take while on board the Denis Sullivan
and information from the files of the Wisconsin Marine
Historical Society. I also did a lot of reading and studying
of books and magazines on schooners, models, sailing and
learning boat terms I was unfamiliar with.
After conversion of the plans to the
scale I selected I had to modify them to allow for radio
controlling of the finished model by sail and by motor just
as the real Denis Sullivan is designed. This required
modification of the interior of the hull to allow for
mounting of the interior motors, control equipment, the
masts and reeving of the lines for operation of the sails. I
had to also arrange to allow for access to the below deck
equipment without modifying the exterior appearance of the
vessel.
Using what I had learned from the
building of the MidWest tug I mounted strong back rails in
preparation for building the hull upside down. I made
templates for the twelve hull & keel frames, sternpost and
bow stems and cut these from bass wood. I mounted these to
the strong back rails and proceeded with planking of the
hull after mounting of the two motor stuffing boxes and
rudder post. I then removed the hull from the strong back
rails. I had decided to go with two motors and motor
controllers just as used on the Denis Sullivan. With
some modifications I built the mast, motor & rudder
mountings and reeved the sail lines in the hull to the sail
servo in preparation for securing the deck. I had delayed
purchasing the selected radio control, motors and servos
until after the completion of the basic hull in case I did
not get that far. Removable platforms were made for mounting
of the motors, radio control and servos to allow removal of
these components. The rudder shoe, rudder shaft and rudder
were installed along with the motors, prop shafts and radio
control components. The sub deck and deck were put in place
before mounting of the bulwarks. (If I had it to do over I
would mount the bulwarks before mounting the deck). I then
mounted the bulwarks, bulwark rails, bow rails and cut in
the scuppers.
The hull was fiber glassed in two
halves. The after cabin and hatches were designed and built
as part of the removable sections of the deck. Three masts
complicated the placement of the removable deck sections and
below deck equipment since the masts had to be avoided and
are not designed for removal. I used the standing and
running rigging arrangements from the Denis Sullivan
and the Lucia Simpson modified for radio control of
the sails. All sails are operated from one servo. I
purchased those standard fittings available from Model Expo
using the Lucia Simpson model plans as a guide. My
wife helped me by selection of materials and sewing of the
sails. Also her encouragement through out the six months of
construction was invaluable. I painted the model to match
the existing vessel using some paint generously donated by
Pier Wisconsin.
The Denis Sullivan has
inflatable life rafts that I replaced with a life boat
mounted on the stern which is more in line with the Great
Lakes schooners of the time. The Denis Sullivan plans
called for a steel counterweight under the keel. I later
found (after tipping) that this was actually made of lead
castings (approx, 45 ton) not steel and so added a 3/8" X
3/4"X 20" long steel bar to my keel.
I started the project in November 2001
and launched my Denis Sullivan on Mother's Day 2002.
I spent approximately $1,500 on materials and 700 man-hours
during construction.
The
History of the Denis Sullivan a Replica of a Great
Lakes Schooner
Over the past 45 years I have been
searching for information on my grandfather Captain Daniel
Charles Sullivan who sailed on the Great Lakes between 1870
and 1906. My main search was to find the date and place of
his death which was sometime between 1899 and 1910 when he
was lost overboard on the Great Lakes. To complicate
matters there were at least three Captain Sullivan's sailing
on the Great Lakes between 1870 and 1933. My grandfather
Captain Daniel Charles Sullivan (1851- 1906?), Captain Denis
Sullivan (1849-1918) and his brother Captain Daniel Clifford
Sullivan (1856-1933). During my search I have found no
connection between these two Sullivan families.
During the mid to late 1800's two and
three masted schooners were used to haul packaged freight,
cargo (ore, coal, copper, lumber, etc.) and passengers
between ports on the Great Lakes. They were designed with
minimal draft to service the shallow harbors, canals and
rivers found on the Great Lakes at that time. Centerboards
were designed to be raised and lowered to allow the schooner
to come closer into shore for load and unloading. The
centerboard was lowered under sail to provide stability
sailing to windward. When compared to square riggers the
fore and aft sail rigging of the schooner allowed the sails
to moved out of the way to get closer to shore and made for
easier load and unloading of the vessel. They also required
less hands to operate, nine to ten being the normal crew.
They tended to have flat bottoms, blunt bows and slab sides
to accommodate more room for cargo.
According to Wisconsin Marine
Historical Society's "Age of Sail" 3300 schooners and 1195
scow schooners were built on the Great Lakes between 1731
and 1911. Beginning in the mid 1800's the railroads and
steam vessels took on more of the freight due to their
efficiency, greater capacity, speed and reliability. In the
late 1800's schooners were mainly used as lumber carriers
and finally as tow barges. Shorn of their mast up to a dozen
were towed by a steamer. Some still retained lower sails to
be used in heavy weather when they were cut loose.
In 1993 Timothy Graul Marine Design was
selected by the Wisconsin Lake Schooner Education
Association to design the schooner. They patterned their
design after the Moonlight, Rouse Simmons and
Lucia Simpson and those built by William Bates of
Manitowoc WI who built the Challenge and Clipper
City and was credited with the unique triangular shaped
topsail on the foremast called a raffee. Since a schooner
had not been built on the Great Lakes in over 100 years they
had to rely upon information that was available and modify
the design to meet modern Coast Guard and stability
regulations for passenger and sailing school vessels.
 The
final specifications of the three masted schooner are
Length on deck: 98 feet, Length Overall: 138
feet, Draft: 8 feet, 9 inches, Beam: 24 feet,
Mast Height: 95 feet, Sail Area: 5916 square
feet, Displacement Tonnage: 156 tons, Gross
Tonnage: 99 tons.
The hull was made deeper to
accommodate passengers and crew below decks. 89,000 pounds
of lead ballast was bolted to the bottom of the keel to
provide stability and take place of the normal cargo that
eliminated the raised and lowered centerboard. Watertight
bulkheads were added below deck to satisfy regulations. Two
34" diameter propellers were added powered by two 180 BHP
diesel engines for redundancy and enhanced maneuverability
and to make sure the vessel could reach and leave port
regardless of wind and not require a tug. Above the
waterline the Denis Sullivan resembles a Great Lakes
cargo schooner, her rigging and deck arrangement are
authentic. Regulations for sailing school vessels required
that she may carry either the raffee topsail without main
and mizzen fore and aft topsails or the main and mizzen
topsails without the raffee on exposed waters. On the Great
Lakes exposed waters are defined as those outside of 20
nautical miles from a harbor or refuge between October 1 of
one year and April 15 of the next year and partially
protected otherwise. On partially protected waters she may
carry a full complement of sails.
Construction began in the spring of
1994 with the delivery of six 160 year old white pine
timbers by the Menominee Nation and were shaped and used as
the masts and spars. The hull construction is made up of
laminated oak frames set 22 inches apart on a laminated keel
24" wide by 15" deep. Wood planking with caulked seams were
used based on designs of the old schooners. Between the
autumn of 1995 and end of 1999 WLSEA 130 volunteers and
shipwrights laid the keel, laminated the schooners frames
installed the stem, stern, keelson, cant frames, frames, and
completed planking of the hull. Originally the work force
was made up of 65% volunteers and 35% shipwrights (from all
over the world) and at the finish was made up of 65%
shipwrights and 35% volunteers. By the end of 1999 the two
diesel engines, and the 88,800 lbs. of lead ballast were
fastened to the keel. Also the schooner was given the name
Denis Sullivan after one of the most prominent Great
Lakes ship captains. In 2000 the Denis Sullivan the 124th
ship built in Milwaukee was completed, launched and
sent on her maiden voyage to Florida.
Today the Denis Sullivan is used
by Pier Wisconsin as a floating classroom and good will
ambassador for the State of Wisconsin |
