Bottleneck Treasures

October 4th is National Ships In Bottles Day. A celebration of shipwrights practicing the venerable art of putting ships " under glass ".
To all shipwrights here.................Happy National Ships In Bottles Day!

This is my Essex, I used the plans from the book In The Heart of the Sea, but it is not in a bottle.     That is a very fine whale!
Bob

In the ship yard I am presently working on a ship in bottle diorama. A replica of the Nantucket Whaler.....Essex.
I've decided to recreate a scene from the movie In The Heart of The Sea. The real story of the Essex wrecked by a 
sperm whale in 1820.

In the ship yard I am presently working on a ship in bottle diorama. A replica of the Nantucket Whaler.....Essex.
I've decided to recreate a scene from the movie In The Heart of The Sea. The real story of the Essex wrecked by a 
sperm whale in 1820.

In the ship yard I am presently working on a ship in bottle diorama. A replica of the Nantucket Whaler.....Essex.
I've decided to recreate a scene from the movie In The Heart of The Sea. The real story of the Essex wrecked by a 
sperm whale in 1820.

All books are now gone. For those who responded thank you! Your personal library just expanded with the addition of great books.

All books are now gone. For those who responded thank you! Your personal library just expanded with the addition of great books.

In case you missed the boat  on some of these, they can also be found, used, for little more than the cost of shipping on Amazon in most cases. The general ship modeling books are more useful to the ship bottler than you might, at first, think; just a matter of adapting or slightly modifying for use at a smaller scale.

Hello Fellow Shipwrights,
Sometime ago I was contacted by one of our members who informed me that at the young age of ninety, we was no longer able to practice the art of building ships in bottles and that he had books and tools which he hoped could benefit another shipwright preferably a novice just beginning in the art. I was going to place an article in our journal The Bottle Shipwright when we made the sad decision to end The Ships In Bottles Association of America. Unfortunately ongoing issues we were experiencing  prompted us to end our thirty- five year association.
At this point in time, I'd like to mention that Robert Stetson of Marlborough, Massachusetts is the very thoughtful shipwright who graciously thought of helping his colleagues with these gifts. For the time being I have attached here a photograph of all the available books. The tools I will post at a later date. These gifts are free for those in need or who are looking to extend their library. The only requirement is that you pay the mailing costs.
So take your time and choose wisely. You can let me know what book or books you would like and I'll put them in the mail ASAP.  Like I mentioned all you need do is reimburse me the mailing costs.
David Lavoie  Former President / Membership Chairman SIBAA    builderofships@gmail.com

Hello Fellow Shipwrights,
Sometime ago I was contacted by one of our members who informed me that at the young age of ninety, we was no longer able to practice the art of building ships in bottles and that he had books and tools which he hoped could benefit another shipwright preferably a novice just beginning in the art. I was going to place an article in our journal The Bottle Shipwright when we made the sad decision to end The Ships In Bottles Association of America. Unfortunately ongoing issues we were experiencing  prompted us to end our thirty- five year association.
At this point in time, I'd like to mention that Robert Stetson of Marlborough, Massachusetts is the very thoughtful shipwright who graciously thought of helping his colleagues with these gifts. For the time being I have attached here a photograph of all the available books. The tools I will post at a later date. These gifts are free for those in need or who are looking to extend their library. The only requirement is that you pay the mailing costs.
So take your time and choose wisely. You can let me know what book or books you would like and I'll put them in the mail ASAP.  Like I mentioned all you need do is reimburse me the mailing costs.
David Lavoie  Former President / Membership Chairman SIBAA    builderofships@gmail.com

Jeff,
 
Unfortunately no other issues of The Bottle Shipwright will be published. In fact it was becoming a struggle for our Editor Terry Butler to format
an issue as we saw a decline in members wanting to share their ship in bottle projects. Whether this was due to the aging of our membership or
shipwrights not yet ready to share their work as I stated in previous issues The Bottle Shipwright was " their " journal and without content to
publish we see what happens. Of course other factors played a role too. The increase in costs and the decline in members paying their dues
some of which went three to six months delinquent. 
Publicly stating the demise of SIBAA just a couple of days ago has generated much interest in shipwrights inquiring about the journal on CD. 
It's unfortunate that the inquiries are being received now instead of when SIBAA was active.
 
It's no easy feat to operate a non profit and publish a quarterly journal. All the officers were dedicated volunteers spread out over six states,
committed to offering their time and energy for an organization they truly cherished. I will take a moment here to thank each and every one
of them again for all their hard work.
Over the years I have received many comments about the quality of the journal, it received high praise and many positive comments. All due in part mostly to Terry Butler who on occasion struggled for content but always managed to raise the bar and surprise us all. I really don't think people
realized how much time she committed to each issue and the sacrifices she made.
 
I do however want to give a huge THANK YOU to those members who sent in donations along with their yearly membership dues. Those folks
truly understood the undertaking and dedication it takes to publish a quarterly journal. Thank you for believing in us. Your short enclosed notes
and donations made it so worth while.
 
It is sad when any publication ends but even further when it's the only publication here in The United States dedicated to the rare art
of building ships in bottles.
 
David Lavoie

Dear Fellow Shipwrights,
 
In the next few days most if not all of you will receive word that ( SIBAA ), The Ships In Bottles Association of America
due to a downturn in receiving membership content for our journal The Bottle Shipwright, unpaid membership dues and the ever increasing costs of doing business had no viable alternative after thirty five years but to end publication. The last and only ship in bottle association here in The United States.
 
To those of you who were members..... Thank You !!
 
 
David Lavoie President / Membership Chairman SIBAA

Jeff,
 
Unfortunately no other issues of The Bottle Shipwright will be published. In fact it was becoming a struggle for our Editor Terry Butler to format
an issue as we saw a decline in members wanting to share their ship in bottle projects. Whether this was due to the aging of our membership or
shipwrights not yet ready to share their work as I stated in previous issues The Bottle Shipwright was " their " journal and without content to
publish we see what happens. Of course other factors played a role too. The increase in costs and the decline in members paying their dues
some of which went three to six months delinquent. 
Publicly stating the demise of SIBAA just a couple of days ago has generated much interest in shipwrights inquiring about the journal on CD. 
It's unfortunate that the inquiries are being received now instead of when SIBAA was active.
 
It's no easy feat to operate a non profit and publish a quarterly journal. All the officers were dedicated volunteers spread out over six states,
committed to offering their time and energy for an organization they truly cherished. I will take a moment here to thank each and every one
of them again for all their hard work.
Over the years I have received many comments about the quality of the journal, it received high praise and many positive comments. All due in part mostly to Terry Butler who on occasion struggled for content but always managed to raise the bar and surprise us all. I really don't think people
realized how much time she committed to each issue and the sacrifices she made.
 
I do however want to give a huge THANK YOU to those members who sent in donations along with their yearly membership dues. Those folks
truly understood the undertaking and dedication it takes to publish a quarterly journal. Thank you for believing in us. Your short enclosed notes
and donations made it so worth while.
 
It is sad when any publication ends but even further when it's the only publication here in The United States dedicated to the rare art
of building ships in bottles.
 
David Lavoie

Dear Fellow Shipwrights,
 
In the next few days most if not all of you will receive word that ( SIBAA ), The Ships In Bottles Association of America
due to a downturn in receiving membership content for our journal The Bottle Shipwright, unpaid membership dues and the ever increasing costs of doing business had no viable alternative after thirty five years but to end publication. The last and only ship in bottle association here in The United States.
 
To those of you who were members..... Thank You !!
 
 
David Lavoie President / Membership Chairman SIBAA

Good luck with your new website Dana

Hi Daniel,
 
Don't know if this may help or not. I cannot remember the last time I built a SIB using the hinged method on the masts. All the masts
on my ships are pegged into a hole through the deck. All the rigging, her shrouds and stays are attached to the masts. In the process
of building the ship her outboard chain plates are not glued to the hull but rather double sided taped to her hull. So when I removed the
masts all her rigging, the backstays, shrouds and chain plates are one assembly. All other rigging is pre measured prior to the ship passing
through the bottleneck and then secured in place from inside the bottle.
 
 
 
Daniel,
 
Here are some photos of Thermopylae I'm building for a bottle. All the rigging you see is attached temporarily and
as I mentioned earlier her masts, backstays, shrouds and channels will be one assembly when they pass thru the 
bottleneck and the masts is pegged through the deck

A top notch production. Back several years ago I was on WCVB TV channel 5 in Boston and they too would not mention
SIB  associations. As did CBS when Jim was filmed at his home. Not sure why that is

Hi Daniel,
 
Don't know if this may help or not. I cannot remember the last time I built a SIB using the hinged method on the masts. All the masts
on my ships are pegged into a hole through the deck. All the rigging, her shrouds and stays are attached to the masts. In the process
of building the ship her outboard chain plates are not glued to the hull but rather double sided taped to her hull. So when I removed the
masts all her rigging, the backstays, shrouds and chain plates are one assembly. All other rigging is pre measured prior to the ship passing
through the bottleneck and then secured in place from inside the bottle.
 
 
 
Daniel,
 
Here are some photos of Thermopylae I'm building for a bottle. All the rigging you see is attached temporarily and
as I mentioned earlier her masts, backstays, shrouds and channels will be one assembly when they pass thru the 
bottleneck and the masts is pegged through the deck

A higher power was certainly at work here. Glad everyone is well. This time of year especially house fires can be devastating. Happy ALL are well

Gwyl very nice. I'll be looking forward to seeing her built. She's just a tad bit longer than the copper plated replica
I'm building of Thermopylae.

Gwyl very nice. I'll be looking forward to seeing her built. She's just a tad bit longer than the copper plated replica
I'm building of Thermopylae.

Gwyl very nice. I'll be looking forward to seeing her built. She's just a tad bit longer than the copper plated replica
I'm building of Thermopylae.

Gwyl very nice. I'll be looking forward to seeing her built. She's just a tad bit longer than the copper plated replica
I'm building of Thermopylae.

SIB in perfume sampler bottle.
Needs some rigging though...

I agree!  Nicely done.  
 
Gwyl