Recreations: Front Vision to Reafi-ry by Allen & Elizabeth Rawl hile it 's true that a good many dreams of recreating hi storic vessels are " happy hour" fa ntasies, few of these visions move beyond idle, romantic speculation. On the rare occasion that such a conception is perce ived and pursued as a serious endeavor, a master plan deve lops and the vision has the momentum to proceed. After establi shing an hi stori cal signifi cance, definin g the purpose and limitation s of the vessel should be paramount in the planning stage, for a vessel too large to manage or too small to serve the needs of the owners will guarantee failure. This achieved, the integrity of the founding body will determine if the re is enough moral and financial support to justify furth er action. The following are exce ll ent exampl es of good pl anning and execution . Perhaps the smallest "ship" to represent an organization in the service of a spec ific function and perform under sail was the recreation of the Maryland Federalist, a miniature, three-masted, ship-rigged and dressed sailing craft measuring all of 15 feet in length , complete with a horsedrawn carriage.Federalist was commissioned in 1987 by the Maryland State Archives to be desi gned and built with the fonn and function of her 1788 predecessor, constructed to ce lebrate and symboli ze Maryland 's ratification of the Constitution. T he original was to be presented as a gift to the most popular advocate of federalism , George Was hington. With hi storic acc uracy and seaworthiness, the modern Federalist was completed within budget and in time to participate in the bicentennial of the ratification of the Constitution parade in Philade lphia, and to reenact Captain Joshua Barney ' s hi storic
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journey to Mt. Vernon. She to ured Maryland schools for one full year creating a visual awa reness of the Constituti on for thousands of parti cipants and now resides under the dome of the capitol building in Annapolis . On the other end of the spectrum the 96-foot bark Susan Constant di spl aces 275 long tons and requires a minimum crew of twenty to be sa il ed comfortabl y. Susa n Constant was commissioned by the Commonwealth of Virginia through the Jamestown-Yorkto wn Foundation and is operated by Jamestown Settlement in company with two small er vessels, Godspeed and Discovery, as mobile dockside museum exhibits. Susan Constant is an appealing public re latio ns vehicl e for Virginia , partic ipating in selected publi c events and is highly valued as a sail training vessel. Agai n, the vessel was completed on time and within budget and continues to be an asset to the owners and more than fulfill s its intended purpose because her mode l and size are both practical and manageable. Both Federalist and Susan Constant are exceptionall y well maintained, a fac tor add ressed in the initial pl anning stages. Currently , the Kalmar Nyckel is be ing built by the Ka lmar Nycke l Foundation, a Wilmington , De laware, based organization whose name is taken from the ship that, under the leadership of Peter Minuit, tran sported the first Swedish settlers to New Sweden in 1638, landing very near the present site of the Kalmar Nyckel Shipyard-a complex of cultural , hi storica l and educati onal facilities promoting the shipbuilding trades. The Dutch-built pinnace Kalmar Nyckel is approximate ly 97 feet on deck and displaces 317 long ton s. Kalmar Nyckel will serve as a port side ex hibit for the museum and will be a traveling Tall Ship Ambassador for the State of De laware, as well as a sai l training vessel. With the ship ' s construction begun , the vision is becoming a reality. No di sc uss ion of traditional wooden shipbuilding is immune in these times to challenging phrases-like engine propul sion, deforestation/ozone depletion , to xic chemi cals (pa ints, preservati ves) and power tools. One thing that all of the above vessels share in common is the phil osophy, which I share, that compromi se is not only poss ible, but necessary. In all cases safety at sea is the first consideration . The larger vesse ls have powerful diesel engines that can offer auxili ary support as necessary . They are artfull y camoufl aged, as is all mod e rn navi gationa l equipment. All are constructed of the most suitable m ateria ls available at the time of construction.
Susan Constant under construction (fa r left) and undergoing sea trials in J991.
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SEA HISTORY 76, WINTER I 995-96