A model sailing ship of tin - possible?

[Grey_Wolf]

I was watching a program called Neat Design (Värsta Formen) and there was this woman who was tin designer.

And this made think about the possibility of making a model sailing ship completely out of tin. Is this possible.

I had in mind a half meter long model ship and about 30 - 35 cm in height.

All shrouds and backstays should also be in thin tin wires.

[Mercutio]

That sounds quite cool (since I love ships and naval stuff).

Hmm...maybe I should ask for a model ship for Christmas.

[jerseydevil]

How much does tin weigh? I guess it would only depend on whether tin is too heavy for it to float.

[Grey_Wolf]

Originally Posted by jerseydevil

How much does tin weigh? I guess it would only depend on whether tin is too heavy for it to float.

Well, I don't know. But a pound of tin is a pound of tin (I don't really know how much tin would have to used to make the model).

"Tinfoil" (somewhat thicker than the usual variety) for the sails, for example, and as I posted tinwires for the shrouds and backstays.

And as for floating capacity, my idea was to make a "window model", that is a model ship which stands on a support in a window.

Then I guess that the amount of tin will rule the structural stability of the model.

What say ye?

[Jonathan]

I wouldn't be troubled about the weight of tin (or density to be exact). With the right construction, nothing is too heavy to float. -- (checked it up, tin has about the same density as steel, which you make ships of that float).

What I come to think about though is tin's melting point which is comparatively low. What if there was a fire onboard? The boat could become quite deformed!

[Grey_Wolf]

Originally Posted by Jonathan

I wouldn't be troubled about the weight of tin (or density to be exact). With the right construction, nothing is too heavy to float. -- (checked it up, tin has about the same density as steel, which you make ships of that float).

What I come to think about though is tin's melting point which is comparatively low. What if there was a fire onboard? The boat could become quite deformed!

Well, I definitely see to it that there's no candles onboard.

[jerseydevil]

Originally Posted by Jonathan

I wouldn't be troubled about the weight of tin (or density to be exact). With the right construction, nothing is too heavy to float. --

Yeah - I was referring to the density. And true - with the right construction - nothing is too heavy to float - but if it's too dense - it can be very unmanageable - because it would need such a large water area (bottom) and can be very unstable. Of the coast of Cape May - where I'm off to now - there are the remains of the cement ship SS Atlantus that was grounded. Yeah - it floated - but it was VERY impractical. Also - if it's not dense enough - like gold - there would be no way that any weight could be put on it - because it would end up bending and becoming deformed. But from what I understand - this is supposed to be a model ship.

[Grey_Wolf]

Originally Posted by jerseydevil

Yeah - I was referring to the density. And true - with the right construction - nothing is too heavy to float - but if it's too dense - it can be very unmanageable - because it would need such a large water area (bottom) and can be very unstable. Of the coast of Cape May - where I'm off to now - there are the remains of the cement ship SS Atlantus that was grounded. Yeah - it floated - but it was VERY impractical. Also - if it's not dense enough - like gold - there would be no way that any weight could be put on it - because it would end up bending and becoming deformed. But from what I understand - this is supposed to be a model ship.

Yes, indeed. It supposed to be a model (as I posted before, like ppl have in their windows).

[EarthBound]

Originally Posted by jerseydevil

Yeah - Of the coast of Cape May - where I'm off to now - there are the remains of the cement ship model ship.

Hey, I've been on some of those cement ships but they were down in the bay near Yorktown, VA. Well, sorta near there, since we did cross a bit of water to get to them.

I was in Cape May in 1992, lovely lovely town. Watched "A River Runs Through it" for the first time there. I was the only one in the theater. Loved the beaches. I was there for about 7 weeks, ahem...


Yup, it's all about displacement, tin works really well off course. That's why in the early part of the 1900's they use to make a lot of tin ships as toys for kids. Should be a fun project. Good luck!!

[Grey_Wolf]

Originally Posted by EarthBound

Hey, I've been on some of those cement ships but they were down in the bay near Yorktown, VA. Well, sorta near there, since we did cross a bit of water to get to them.

I was in Cape May in 1992, lovely lovely town. Watched "A River Runs Through it" for the first time there. I was the only one in the theater. Loved the beaches. I was there for about 7 weeks, ahem...


Yup, it's all about displacement, tin works really well off course. That's why in the early part of the 1900's they use to make a lot of tin ships as toys for kids. Should be a fun project. Good luck!!

Thanks!

[Ragnarok]

Originally Posted by Grey_Wolf

I was watching a program called Neat Design (Värsta Formen) and there was this woman who was tin designer.

And this made think about the possibility of making a model sailing ship completely out of tin. Is this possible.

I had in mind a half meter long model ship and about 30 - 35 cm in height.

All shrouds and backstays should also be in thin tin wires.

Interesting, for my 3d class at Tyler School of Art we had to make a boat using duct tape and newspaper that had to be able to hold a person and still float.