United States Merchant Marine Academy - Midships Yearbook (Kings Point, NY)

Page 10 text:

 DEDICATED TO Lines and the Model Before actually constructing the vessel a model had to be prepared from which the lines could be taken. This model, known as the waterline or lift model, was con- structed of a block of wood which consisted of many pieces doweled together. When it was finished it could be taken apart and the sheer, body, and half breadth plans trans- ferred to paper. Aside from serving as a guide, this model could be employed to compute the center of gravity and dis- placement of the vessel.

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 DONALD E. McKAY KING OF THE CLIPPERS A man of vision, a dreamer with the energy and ability to make his dreams a practical reality, a ship- designer endowed with the creative genius of an artist and the clear perception of an engineer, a pioneer in the field of nautical mechanics who blazed a path when others held back, Donald McKay stands today as the epitome of those qualities which symbolized the spirit of a growing, young America. His name is indelibly inscribed in the pages of history with that high-spirited and inspiring Age of Clipper Ships, an age which he did more than any other man to glorify with the creations of his brain and hand. To the memory of this man we respectfully dedicate this, the 1962 edition of MIDSHIPS. • AS 7' The Art of Shipbuilding Shipbuilding had come to the United States with the earliest settlers and had been practiced for nearly two hundred years before the Age of the Clipper. What was learned and evolved by the construction of the California clipper ships on the Atlantic seaboard of our country established a school of world-experts in the art of designing and building ships of wonderfully swift sailing ability. America quickly became the world’s leading shipbuilding country.

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jemmfc DONALD E. McKAY KING OF THE CLIPPERS A man of vision, a dreamer with the energy and ability to make his dreams a practical reality, a ship- designer endowed with the creative genius of an artist and the clear perception of an engineer, a pioneer in the field of nautical mechanics who blazed a path when others held back, Donald McKay stands today as the epitome of those qualities which symbolized the spirit of a growing, young America. His name is indelibly inscribed in the pages of history with that high-spirited and inspiring Age of Clipper Ships, an age which he did more than any other man to glorify with the creations of his brain and hand. To the memory of this man we respectfully dedicate this, the 1962 edition of MIDSHIPS. Selection of Timber Perhaps one of the most important duties of the shipbuilder was the selec- tion of the timber to be used in the vessel since the quality of his work and the life, apart from accidents, of his ship de- pended mainly upon the material from which she was constructed. Southern pitch-pine was the favorite wood for al- most all parts of the vessel with the ex- ception of the stem, keel, stern-post, and frames. Oak or some other hard wood was preferred for these members.