The models...
No.605 St. Roch
Suitable for the "Advanced Beginner"
At this particular point, I am unable to make any
recommendations on this kit from Billing Boats, because it's the first
wooden kit I've ever bought and I have no reference-point against which
to compare it. To me, the quality of the components and the wood itself
(laser-cut) appear to be fine, but perhaps that opinion will alter as I
commence work.
The St. Roch was built at the Burrard
Dry Dock in North Vancouver in 1928, intended for sailing in Arctic
waters. It was the first ship to sail through the North-West Passage
from the Pacific to the Atlantic. In the summer of 1944 the St. Roch
sailed from Halifax to Vancouver, thereby becoming the first ship to
complete the journey in both directions.
The St. Roch
is probably the most famous Canadian-built Arctic vessels. She had been
ordered by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police as both a supply ship, and
as a floating detachment. As such, many special design features were
incorporated, from having both sail (she was schooner-rigged initially)
and diesel power, to an ice-strengthened hull shaped to ride up over
squeezing ice, and accommodation for large sled dog teams.
The St. Roch
took three seasons, from 1940 to 1942, to make its first transit of the
Northwest Passage; this was only the second time it had been
accomplished, and the first time from west to east. In 1944 she was able
to take a more northerly route back to Vancouver in only 86 days. After
being officially retired in 1948, she became the first ship to
circumnavigate North America when she went through the Panama Canal en
route to Halifax. A lengthy effort to preserve her began when she was
returned to Vancouver in 1954, and she is now the main exhibit at the
Vancouver Maritime Museum.
NOTE: 22 Mar
2010 - In
addition to this model, I have also subscribed to DeAgostini's
HMS VICTORY which is a MASSIVE
undertaking for a rookie like me, but it comes with the benefits of
colourful and comprehensive instructions on a week-by-week basis and the
support of all the other people who are building it at exactly the same
time as you.
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