Model Boat Building: The Menhaden Steamer (Paperback)

by Steve Rogers (Author), Patricia Staby Rogers (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Menhaden steamers were double framed, heavily built offshore fishing boats in use during much of the 20th century. As the name implies, they were used to catch menhaden, a member of the herring family used for bait, oil, and fertilizer. Powered by diesel or steam hundreds of these boats fished the waters of the eastern United States, from Maine to the Gulf of Mexico. It was a huge industry employing thousands of people working. During the World Wars many menhaden steamers were pressed into service for the U.S. Navy, searching for submarines among other duties. Today these boats are gone, the plants mostly closed or torn down, and the men retired, but this new book, by boat modeler Steve Rogers, captures the memory of the boat, and allows the reader to recreate it in 1/2-inch scale, resulting in a 56-inch model. With clear drawings, plans, and step-by-step illustrated instructions, the reader moves from carving the hull master, through the authentic steps of construction, to the final painting and rigging of the boat. The result is a model that commemorates a bygone period of maritime history and reflects traditional craftmanship by the proud builder.

Product Details

• Paperback: 64 pages
• Publisher: Schiffer Publishing (October 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764310704
• ISBN-13: 978-0764310706
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #613,539 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for model railroaders, too!, September 11, 2008

By	James M. Nelson "blacksmithn" (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I only got into ship-building because my model railroad will be built around a fishing harbor, thus requiring a plethora of small craft of various types. Upon discovering that the range of fishing boat models is both very limited and very pricey (especially if you envision needing a dozen or so!), and figuring (erroneously, as it turns out) that crafting one model type is pretty much like crafting any other, I decided to try my hand at building one or more.

After going through half a dozen fairly useless, and ponderous, tomes on the subject of building model ships, I stumbled across this one. I wish I'd found this book first. It's pretty basic, but it carefully explains (with beautiful photos and good illustrations) each step. Not only that, but many of the techniques shown herein can be directly transferred to my modeling of other subjects.

For me, the book is excellent with the exception of one issue specific to my situation and one shortcoming. My issue is that the book shows how to construct a full hull and my models will have to be waterline. While I should be able to puzzle out a revised construction, it would have been nice to have seen that addressed.

The book's only shortcoming, which I have noted in most other ship modeling books, is that there is a dearth of information on both painting and detailing (a subject dear to this hobbyist's heart). As an aside to ship modelers, it seems very odd to me that so many books on this subject seem to skip over something so obvious. Maybe I'm just reading the wrong books!

In any case, for anybody looking to build a cool little purse seiner for whatever reason, I recommend this book as a great starting point! Happy building!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lobster Boat, November 9, 2007

By	K. Page "woodcarver" (Rhinelander, WI 54501) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Model Boat Building: The Lobster Boat (A Schiffer Book for the Hobbyist) (Paperback)

As far as I know I have all the books written by this couple, and I have built all the models. I made three of the Menhaden Steamer and four of the Lobster Boat, one each of the two sail boats, and an uncountable number of the rowboats. Although there are places in all the books that aren't as clear as I would have liked, I had no problems in eventually overcoming them. The text and photos are as clear as one could expect, understanding that the authors can't be aware of the skills of every user. I would buy any future books by these authors. I spoke with Steve a couple years ago asking when the next book would be out, and unfortunately, he said the time requirement was too great and he was going to put his time to building models for museums. I see this as a great loss to those of us that enjoyed all five of his books. One can always hope he will someday change his mind and another boat building book will be available.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nice Book, March 3, 2006

By	Michael Tree "2 many hobbies" (DECATUR, GA United States) - See all my reviews

Great photos, and a nice overview of how a scale modeler attacks a project. I like the format, not a lot of wasted space describing how to use a hammer or what sandpaper is, they spend the money on great graphics and photos. If you want to get into scale modeling, this is a good view of what is involved in building from scratch out of wood, using some bought fittings. If you want to build this particular boat, all the information for that is here as well.